29 Oct 2023 21:31:29
I was not impressed one bit. Maybe I expected a bit of a Dutch tactical genius, maybe I expected a superb motivator, what I didn't expect was what we have seen. I didn't expect buying players who the manager was chummy with previously, I did not expect the club to be pushed down a road to buy a winger for £85m, who can't control himself, whose only attribute is curling a ball into the far corner, except he doesn't. That is a mentality that should not be at the club. I didn't expect the captaincy to be with someone who can't lead us. I didn't expect to see what can only be described as blatant favouritism with certain players given more time than others, no matter how they play. I didn't expect to see tactical naivety. What saw today reached unacceptable. What I saw was not a team, I saw a bunch of individuals, headless. Reliant on a defender in Evans who wasn't good enough years ago. I see players who are not coordinated. It just is not good enough.

Take a step back and look at today, we were reduced to playing the Ole tactics, sit back, play on the break. Then there was a change, a tactical substitution at half time that made no sense at all. All through this Bruno and Rashford stayed on the pitch. Bruno, who frankly is an embarrassment of a United Captain, far too emotional. Rashford, who doesn't appear interested. The manager started Mejbri, weeks ago, who was a ball of energy, then drops him. Allows Rashford to meander around the pitch.
The manager buys Mount, gives him the No7, yet would rather play Bruno.

The managers ingame management has been poor. Substitutions not making any difference to games.

This is not a call to sack ETH, but for me today has to be a very very strong shot across the bow. What we are seeing is totally unacceptable, totally the antitheses of what the club stands for. The manager needs to stop this utter nonsense with Rashford and Bruno, enough, he needs to be held to account now, for buying Antony, for buying Mount, for substituting Hojland leaving the utterly useless Rashford, who doesn't look like he cares, on the pitch.

For me the DoF should be reading the riot act to the manager. We sit there saying oh we will give him years, no he needs a very blunt wake up call right now. He needs to understand this isn't acceptable. It's no good saying SAF was given years, there was a watershed, to be honest ETH has reached it. The DOF, should now say enough, we must see a change now, or maybe ETH is not the man.

1.) 29 Oct 2023
29 Oct 2023 22:47:01
Wont happen, there’s no accountability at the club, from the owners to Arnold to murtough to eth to the players. They all just do what they want and are left to their own devices. As long as the money comes in the owners don’t care.

2.) 30 Oct 2023
30 Oct 2023 04:55:56
Oh how quick we were to slate Ole for his tactics. Maybe, just maybe the apple is so rotten to the core it does not matter who we get in?

Moyes, LVG, Mourinho, Ole and now Ten Hag. All potentially good managers who, given a structure could perform reasonably, have failed drastically. It’s only a matter of time before ETH is gone, not if. The LEECHES will be panicking about their retirement nest egg losing money by the millions as we slip down the table and will see him gone by Xmas.

I’m not calling for his head, yet, but something has to radically change or I will be! Regardless of the poor excuse we as fans keep coming up with (unsettled 11, injuries, club sale, distractions etc) we are not performing one iota. There are a lot of internationals at the club and regardless of who is on the pitch they should be playing the ETH way. Mind you, if someone could tell me what that is I would be grateful.

What I am seeing is blind faith being put into totally disinterested and woeful players by a manager who is quite frankly so far out of his depth it’s scary.

Perhaps this is just the level the club is now at. Bang average players with a seemingly bang average manager, bang average structure being led by bang average senior management.

It’s hard to watch. Hell I was not even at this level of hurt with LVG and Ole!

3.) 30 Oct 2023
30 Oct 2023 06:16:35
Terrible game the second half. considering we had Mount, Bruno, Ericson and mctomley on the pitch I can't recall us putting 3 progressive passes together.

They took the ball off of us so easily and then just passed it around with hardly any pressure on them.

I think Bruno's form is rotten atm and he needs a couple of games just to sit and not sure what it is and he got worse as the game went on. He definitely does not do well in games against better sides to who press and don't give him space and time.

There is zero service from midfield to the front and everything is coming from the CB's or fullbacks.

4.) 30 Oct 2023
30 Oct 2023 07:00:41
'First half, we played very well. The game plan went on how we wanted. We defended very good. They almost didn't create - one big save from Andre in that start. ”

This absolute nonsense from ETH, delusional, then ignores his substitution and tactical change at half time. This has made me start to openly doubt he is the right man.

Things have to change, if ETH can’t see this is nowhere near acceptable, he will not survive.

I remember 1989 and a 5-1 drubbing by City, it was the watershed moment for SAF, it had to improve and did. ETH must take note.

5.) 30 Oct 2023
30 Oct 2023 07:11:55
A good post. Some big if s here but if SJR comes in and takes over the football side with his own people in place then just as any compnay getting a new owner where the business is failign you take a good hard look at the management structure.

if it all happened tomorrow and ETH was sat in front of SJR on Wednesday morning then he could expect to be told in no uncertain terms whatever your vision is its not working -we will give you the tools to fix it but if you don't very quickly you re gone.

6.) 30 Oct 2023
30 Oct 2023 08:52:37
I guess there's a few angles to look at this from.
For months everyone has been saying that nothing will change until the powers above the manager changes. We know the Glaziers will still be around, but if the 25% football operations side around ten Hag can be considered enough change, then he needs that chance to work in a stable environment.

The other angle is that the new people coming in make a change, as they often do in this scenario, and then you need to look at who's available. The thought of Graham Potter at the helm makes me shiver.

We need this new sporting team in asap to get cracking and see what, if anything, changes. It's looking like there'll be a lot of upheaval at the club this season in terms of staff and players as it is, I think Erik deserves the full season to see how it all pans out, plus no-one's going to be available mid-season to replace him unless we're happy to get a former legend in again, because that went well. What's Clayton Blackmore up to these days?

7.) 30 Oct 2023
30 Oct 2023 18:51:07
Potter is a very good manager but would need a settled club to work with. Exactly the same as ETH, so we might as well stick, see if the club can settle and back him.