22 Jan 2022 10:53:33
I saw a documentary recently on Brian Clough where one of his ex players stated he insisted on hard work. His philosophy was simple, if you work hard, you have a good chance of playing well and if you play well you have a good chance of winning football matches. When you win football matches you enjoy yourself and everyone is happy.
There has been accusations for some time at Utd that a lot of our players have demonstrated a poor attitude and have on occasions let themselves down by not working hard enough or at the very least not taking certain games seriously and grossly underestimating the opposition. Call this arrogance, over confidence or over inflated egos these traits have become synonymous with a lot of players at our Club.
What struck me most from the documentary is that football is a team game. Talk about stating the bloody obvious but at Utd I can't help thinking there has been a gradual shift away from the team towards the individual. In a good team all the players fully understand their role and responsibilities. They are prepared to work hard and sacrifice themselves for their team mates. They understand that they can't succeed without each other. We've seen numerous examples at Utd of wide men not tracking back and helping their full back. Midfield players charging forward yet jogging back. Players leaving other players exposed or not offering themselves as passing options. Players playing for themselves and not the team.
A sense of selfishness and individualism has engulfed the Club. In many ways off field values are now manifested on the pitch and we shouldn't be surprised by this. Brand Utd has infiltrated the playing squad. Players like Pogba, Martial, Rashford, Lingard, Sancho Ronaldo amongst others are not just footballers but brands. They immediately get unsettled if they can't have a certain shirt number, hand in transfer requests or complain if they don't get picked. They play for themselves and not the team. They are more concerned with damage to their brand by not having a certain number than winning football matches.
There is an argument to be made that in modern football especially at Utd success doesn't necessarily mean trophies. In a Club like Utd where brand is king and perception everything players can increase their social media interactions and help the Club maximise its sponsorship and revenue possibility's in a mutually exclusive game that has little to do with football.
Maybe success at Utd is now measured differently by not just the Club but the players as well.
22 Jan 2022 18:52:11
The blame has to be laid with Ed Woodward, he wanted the galaticos signings, he said social media was a big factor in players when we tried to sign them.
Maybe if he looked for players for who social media wasn't such a big factor and players who were more interested in playing football for the club than number of clicks they would generate, then maybe we would not be the football version of Love Island that we currently are.
22 Jan 2022 18:59:40
I’m afraid it’s sign of the times, it’s 2022 social media plays a huge part in everyday life and making millions €€€ from … Not that I agree with it but that is today world take Ronaldo he can make more money from this then huge salary, it’s not just at United it’s all over world and will only get worse, Liverpool great team but Salah now want reportedly 400k per week plus more publicity more followers on social media.
The Great Clough never had this to contend with!
22 Jan 2022 19:18:02
Teamwork and hard work should be givens, but Clough and Taylor also had a great knack of buying and selling players at the right time. It's an essential aspect for staying at the top for an extended period of time, especially with a limited budget.
23 Jan 2022 07:57:05
I watched City v Southampton. yes City ended up drawing but the workrate they put in was phenomenal. I've not seen Utd do this for a long time.
Some of the criticisms of this squad do ring true they seem a lazy bunch. teams like City, Chelsea and Liverpool have players that rather than remain static when in possession they actually move forward to make themselves available for a pass and when that pass is made it's accurate and in front of them. Utd players have this curious habit of putting passes to their teammates behind them so the player receiving it has to check their momentum to gather the ball. I don't know who's coaching this into them. Utd constantly lose the impetus doing this. it also makes it easier for the opposition to turn over possession.
Back to topic though this squad has got to learn that nothing will be won without a hell of a lot more industry and endeavour.