13 Mar 2024 13:19:05
Ken, international football is a different beast. I'm not saying the pressure is less particularly, but it's not as constant. You don't live with it day in and day out like they do at United.
Maybe they play a better for their countries because they get a break from the goldfish bowl that is Old Trafford. Or maybe international football is a lower standard and therefore more forgiving of mistakes.
The problem is we have very few leaders, Varane, Martinez and Casemiro seem the only obvious choices. Yet they have all played limited minutes and cannot be relied upon to be fit from game to game.
I think we have a lot of fair weather players. Guys who can do it in the sunshine can play well when playing is easy. But when the weather turns, and it becomes hard graft, they lack the fight for it.
The problem is the media love a crisis and Manchester United sells papers and garners clicks. So regardless, we are always on the brink of a crisis. Look at United this calendar year, 6 wins on the bounce, two losses later and it's a crisis. Liverpool have dropped points back to back, City have also, as have Arsenal.
Though it's never considered a crisis at these clubs when it happens.
Being a Manchester United player is 30% talent and 70% mentality.
You need to be a fighter, you need to revel in challenges, you need to take criticism and use it as fuel and not wear it as a millstone around your neck. You need to be brave.
Unfortunately, we don't have a lot of players like that at the club right now. The few we do are struggling to stay fit and play.
Without them on the pitch, we lack leaders. There is no one to turn to and follow when things get tough.
Beyond signing new players with the right quality and talent this summer, we need to make sure we sign leaders. Fighters, warriors. Guys who see a challenge smile and roll their sleeves up and get stuck in.
I do think we have a few potential leaders at the club. Martinez is the obvious one. Mount has been a leader at Chelsea and captained them on occasions. Maybe he's someone who could develop into a leader at the club once he can get fit and playing. Dalot, I think, is a surprise candidate, he's shown real quality this season and fight. He doesn't let his head drop and is always geeing up his teammates and showing some passion and fight.
Onana has also shown great resilience and mental fortitude to fight back from a shaky start and is showing some great form since the turn of the year. He seems to have the right mental strength required. Mainoo has also shown real maturity and a great attitude. Although young, he could well grow into a leader at the club.
The problem is we need more leaders, at CB, at CM and particularly in attack. Where we have far too many players who go hiding when things get tough.
13 Mar 2024 16:34:28
Shappy
Do you not think mount is a player that epitomises the glazer ownership? He could have stayed at chelsea if he was a leader and wanted to head the challenge of dragging them back to the top. Instead he deemed himself worth a vast amount of wages that he's never proven worthy of! For all those that say oh well klopp wanted him yes at the 100k a week he's probably worth. he's another yardstick for new signings to compare wages to. he's everything that i dislike about our squad it isn't his fault granted but he's come for money not the project at hand.
13 Mar 2024 16:40:03
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with player’s looking to get the highest wage they can. Modern football clubs are set up to make money, players are entitled to look after their own economic interests. With Mount, he could have stayed at Chelsea, or moved for higher wages. Chelsea, during the summer at least, looked a club in a bigger flux than United.
Liverpool don’t enter the equation because they wouldn’t meet Chelsea’s asking price.
13 Mar 2024 16:57:16
W16wes, maybe but I think you're being a bit harsh. Employees move around for many different reasons.
Let's give him a chance to show what he can do before rushing to judgement.
13 Mar 2024 17:44:02
Do we not all work for money and want to maximise our earnings?
I have always liked mount as a player. I was looking forward to him coming into the team and really challenging Bruno for a spot in the side. But eth wanted to play him deeper where he never really played for Chelsea. We never got to see a sustained run of that before he got injured but neither mount nor the team were benefiting from that change of position before he got injured albeit only a few games.
I'd really like to see him fit next season and look to seeing how coach whomever that is getting him playing to his strengths and to the level he was a couple of years ago.
13 Mar 2024 19:03:15
W16wes, I think the issue Mount had at Chelsea was the club were not prepared to offer him wages in line with what they were paying their biggest signings.
He felt undervalued and take for granted because he was an academy player and not a big money signing.
This is despite him being back to back player of the year for them and their best player.
I think it's only fair to expect pay at least equal pay to those you are outperforming on a weekly basis.
13 Mar 2024 19:05:13
Just to clarify, Mason Mount ranked 1st in the following areas since his Chelsea Debut when we signed him:
Appearances, Starts, Minutes Played, Goals, Assists and Chances Created.
Appreciate he had a bad last season and has been injured this season, but there is certainly a proven PL player in there.
13 Mar 2024 19:19:40
I like Mount, touted him earlier in the season as a potential Captain. Have to clear Bruno out of the way when he is fit.
13 Mar 2024 19:27:57
For sure there is kurtis. I never envisaged him as a box to box player though did you?
The plan was to use him with casimero and Bruno as per eth at the beginning of the season. Obviously eth sees something different. It left us wide open but had no time to gel so it's hard to know.
I can never understand why we paid 60m for a player that as pointed out above was excelling in a position and then ask him to play a completely different position. Why not pay 60m for a player that plays the position you want filled?
Just seems a bit of an odd way to go about things.
13 Mar 2024 21:18:23
Here he goes again ….
13 Mar 2024 22:42:26
I agree TW. I don't think is a box to box midfielder. He is too creative and should be playing in the 10 or 8 role. The problem is we are too vulnerable at the back so we are restricted to having 2 defensive midfielders.
Personally I would move Bruno on in the Summer, and if Mount can stay fit, have him play in his role.
13 Mar 2024 23:07:49
Totally agree Kurtis. I thought that may happen last summer but it was a bit of wishful thinking on my behalf. He has to stay fit 18 months now with one injury after another. Hard to give him a key role until he gets an injury free season behind him.
We have incurred a huge amount of non impact injuries this season mostly muscle related. Hope our luck change next season. Coming off the euros players will be needing good rest at times.
13 Mar 2024 23:52:06
He is better than McTominay in the position he’s been playing in a lot of games this season, so if you replace Scott with Mount I think we would be a better team.
14 Mar 2024 10:45:55
I'm excited to see Mount and mainoo together. For more challenging games i.e arsenal, City, Liverpool, i'd like to see a 3 of mount case and mainoo with Bruno on the right as I believe we would need more bodies in there.
But overall, just want to see Mount get a decent run of games. I really like him.
14 Mar 2024 11:32:10
I agree on mount angel but I would not be playing garnacho on the left to accommodate Bruno on the right.
Bruno on the bench is a better starting point than on the right imo.
But eth will know what he wants for the last 13 games I'm sure.