08 May 2024 09:25:31
I mentioned in the match chat that I couldn't take my eyes off Steve McClaren in the dugout. Head in hands staring at his monitor, frustrated hands up in the air, shaking his head constantly at what he was seeing.
This morning Michael Owen and Paul Scholes have both come out and said the same thing.
McClaren doesn't seem to have any input to current coaching.
Owen.
“We’ve played under Steve McClaren. There’s no way his fingerprints are anywhere near that team. He is a brilliant coach and that team is not being coached at all. No way. "
“Steve McClaren is a top operator and I can only think other people are coaching the first team and he’s a bystander. ”
Scholes.
“He’s not touching that team, the manager [Ten Hag] is not letting him touch that team.
“Everyone thinks we were a great team that attacked everybody and beat people, sometimes we played against better teams, and Steve McClaren put sessions on to make sure you stopped other teams, getting your distances right, getting your angles right, especially in midfield. He's the best coach I ever had”.
Owen suggests sacking ETH now and giving SM the last four games.
“They are going to get smashed out the ball park playing like that. City are going to embarrass them at Wembley in front of millions of people. ”
What happens happens, but I would hate to see SM be part of the SJR clearout when he could provide a lot of knowledge going forward.
Hopefully this has been picked up by SDB's background visits and one to ones with players and staff.
Come to think of it, wasn't ETH Steve McClarens assistant when he was manager of Twente?
Looking on the bright side, football is a game of ups and downs, but it's disheartening to see us getting all the downs out of the way first.
08 May 2024 10:29:35
I mean, ten Hag personally picked him to be on the coaching team so I doubt it's anything about him not letter McClaren get involved which seems pretty infantile.
You could see both of them gesticulating angrily throughout and afterwards ten Hag (several times) said the players knew what to do in all situations, but didn't carry the instructions out, and couldn't adapt to anything on the fly when Palace did improvise. What can you do?
They lack the ability, desire and mentality to do follow instructions. You can argue that it could be equal parts the communication from the management or the players not having the skills to carry them out, or, at this point, the desire. The fact that this has happened with every manager post-Fergie suggests the latter. They're different players in each era, whether Moyes/ van Gaal/ Ole or whoever, but something fundamental links the failures of each iteration of this team.
I concur we are probably going to lose all four remaining games. I think Ineos have had a huge sympathy and understanding of everything the manager has had to go through this season, but with each loss it's harder to keep him, particularly when the basics are lacking.
We are, currently, a mid-table team - at best.
08 May 2024 11:41:24
We are playing worse football than the teams in the bottom 3.
08 May 2024 11:53:08
It's been awful Jim.
08 May 2024 12:18:53
Ken
What gets me is you have a midfielder at CB that you know can't stay in position and CB that's just come back from injury, would you not make your midfield sit a lot deeper as cover and just try and hit them on the break, you know you have been shipping goals all season.
It isn't rocket science.
08 May 2024 12:31:38
I see all that Jim.
Look some fans boycott their support when it's not going their way, just throwing their toys out of the pram if they don't get what they want.
I will support the team but not the manager. He knows he is leaving the players know it. He is not up to the job and is delusional.
Very hard to get players to set up when they don't respect you.
Klopp learnt this lesson about playing midfielders at cb.
It cost them a terrible season 2 seasons ago.
Once klopp put midfielders back in midfield hendo and fabhino and introduced youth and reserve cbs the team picked up again and made the cl.
I'm sure ed001 would testify to that.
You can't play cm at cb it's a dumb move. They will get caught out only very rarely does it work.
No adjustment made to tactics either Jim eth is delusional and unusually arrogant for a coach that has very limited and unsuccessful experience in the epl.
08 May 2024 12:46:17
totally agree - couple of ocassions where possibly necessary due to injuries but then to counter look at newcastle, main 2 out, rb out schar carrying injuries and dan burn: wtf
it is simple ;our coach is not getting his message through and/ or the players aren't listening, I think its a mix of both but even so the gaps in midfield are laughable- played through, round or over all season then jogging (at best) back.
Keep on hearing about garnacho but tbf his form hasn't been great, hojland a brief spell and as much as bruno has assisted/ scored he gives the ball away far too much in dangerous areas. a lot of the latter is lack of confidense and the players around as complacencey and apathy are contagious. Sooner the seasons over the better, flash sale and hopefully recruit some people who want to play for mufc would be like a lottery win.
08 May 2024 13:12:54
Funky,
No doubt about that.
We should and in my opinion will see significant improvement next season.
Not necessarily with results as it will take time to be cohesive with a new team (largely) and coach.
But I think we will be looking to achieve continuous improvement starting with the basics of ethics and culture and good habits.
It's not rocket science and all the best businesses in the world operate broadly speaking with those sound principles in place and then recruit accordingly.
08 May 2024 13:16:02
Am fed up of hearing how it’s all the players’ fault.
Nine of the starting eleven against Palace were either players that Ten Haag signed himself or players that he promoted from the youth setup. One of the others (Dalot) was probably our best player on the night and the other (AWB) was being played out of position. Both of them have had their contracts extended during Ten Haag’s time at the club. That was his team.
He can say that the players knew what they were supposed to be doing all he likes, but a blind man could see that they were lost and lacking instruction out there. Either he did a poor job of communicating what he wanted them to do or they did what he asked them to and he’s choosing to blame them rather than admit that he got things woefully wrong. I suspect it’s probably the latter. He has form for throwing players under the bus and blaming everyone and everything but himself.
08 May 2024 14:03:22
Just to confirm, you think ETH coached that performance from Casemiro?
08 May 2024 14:22:34
I guess no one saw him screaming at someone or a bunch of players before crystal palace first goal from the throw in telling them to get back, no kidding they throw the ball in and its a comedy of errors with Olise scoring. Its there go pull up the footage or watch the replay.
On Mclaren its a ridiculous story and if you buy into stuff get on reddit that's where the crazies hang out.
Micheal Owen is blabbing and typical for a few to latch on to everything that comes out of a pundits mouth to suit their argument.
BTW Scholes never said eth should be replaced by Mclaren and he is fuming with how they have taken it out of context and you might hear shortly him setting the record straight. All Scholes said was Mclaren is the best coach he has worked with and funny enough Mclaren is quoted saying eth was the best he has ever worked with tactically when they were together with the roles reversed. Mclaren stuff on eth is on You Tube go watch it. people here are doing character assassination because they don't like the manager.
08 May 2024 14:54:17
I don’t think Ten Haag has coached any of our players since his arrival at the club. Most seem to have gotten worse under his management.
Casemiro was one of the best players in the world when we signed him. Less than two years later, he looks like a Sunday league player. The Ten Haag effect is real.
08 May 2024 14:55:28
The good old ex-player mafia. God bless em. Let's go back to the days of a presenter and a guest rather than ten loud-mouthed idiots sat in a row paid to have overly-strong opinions. Hell knows how most of them are there but we're talking about them and that's all they need.
08 May 2024 16:17:27
I'd say some of them have their own agendas and axe to grind.
Keane on haaland is quite pathetic and personal.
But it would be folly to ignore everything they say after all they are coming from a much better place in terms of knowledge than any fan.
08 May 2024 17:23:42
tumbleweed - earlier reply -i hope so mate as i've no nails left to bite lol.
regarding progress : i really think the changes thus far by sjr are critical to improvement throughout the club and its time we became a more professional outfit.
08 May 2024 18:34:03
The team aren’t functional or playing to anyone’s strengths.
I heard Carl Anka say the players are square pegs in round holes but is EtH are square peg too?
I say ? yes. I just doesn’t have it but I’m sure Southgate and Potter aren’t it, De Zerbi or Tuchel maybe.
08 May 2024 18:56:14
Fingers crossed funky. I'm very positive.
08 May 2024 19:22:08
Ahmad on the throw in point. Caragher raised it multiple times on sky in previous weeks before the palace game. We employ a ludicrous man to man marking system in midfield and in every single game it’s killed us.
08 May 2024 19:37:00
Finally you get it Ken. You think we will see significant improvement, your words. This is a process, that has been running for 2 years with EtH.
Do you think teams plan for situations like our current one? Or more realistically, do you think they assess the squads at the start of the summer, set the season goals and then put the plan in place to execute said goals with said squad, which would have some improvements during the summer transfer window.
I'm hoping you agree it is the latter.
Those significant improvements you talk about are on the back of a bad season, but one that has some positives.
EtH stood firm against the petulant Sancho and others who have tried to show they are more important than him or others. Team game fellas.
EtH has promoted youth, fact.
The youth teams are performing, there is that improvement you talk of, that will bear fruit in years to come.
The hardest part to change, is the current squad, due to a variety of reasons, but that change, off the back of this season, where they rolled the dice with what they had and LOST in a big way, will be rectified this summer.
There will be wholesale departures from this season's squad.
There will be strategic recruitment in place, not reactionary recruitment.
There will be negotiations befitting of a club if our stature taking place so that we don't 1. Pay over the odds and 2. Offer dumb wages to over the hill players
All these things will change in and around the first team.
You have to remember, they likely rolled the dice at the start, knowing the financial restrictions they are operating within.
I have no doubt, that as we have dropped from 4th down to 8th, the plans have changed based upon potential revenue for next year. The club will have spreadsheets galore assessing the situation and how that affects transfer plans etc.
But you are right, significant improvement will occur next season, and as you know, I hope that it is with EtH at the helm. Worst case scenario is we get someone in who wants to 'give Sancho a chance' or extend Martials contract as a couple of examples.
If you look past the issues of EtH, he is doing what no one has done for over a decade, clearly the pretenders from the club.
I say let him have the summer to complete the purge, en masse, and by Xmas, hey even by October, if his team is continuing like they have this year, with the ageing injury riddled squad, even after purging this summer, then I will even be saying, ok it is time to change.
I get your frustrations, trust me.
I can just look past the current season and have a glimmer of hope that it will be better. And yes it can't get any worse.
Not here to fight ?.
08 May 2024 20:24:57
Jimbob your have your opinion.
I have been through this process many times albeit not at a football club but with busineses with greater turnover than Uniteds.
I've bought and integrated businesses multiple times.
I've lived these processes. So believe me I've got it and know what's needed.
I know and sjr knows eth is not the man to lead us through this. He does not have the required skillset from anything I've seen. I put down my caveat to that as you know.
Let's see what happens. I'll be shocked if eth remains in his post.
Jimbob if the new coach wants sancho who are you to say that's wrong?
It wouldn't be my choice but the difference between us is you think you know what we need. When in fact what we need is to leave it to people who know what they are doing.
Let the people we wanted to their job without telling them what to do.
I don't know what they need to do but I think they will let 10hag go. I would in their position based on what I know.
08 May 2024 21:10:14
Couple of things Ken, you’ve been adamant he’s going, 100% gone. He knows it and the players know it I believe have been your words. Yet this post you say you’ll be shocked if he remains and you don’t know what they need to do but you think they’ll let him go. So is he gone or do you think he’ll go?
You state the difference between you and Jimbob is he thinks he knows what we need to do but leave it to the people who know what they are doing yet, you’ve been saying he must be sacked soooo, it seems you think you know what we need to do?
08 May 2024 21:15:54
Whole sale departures? Not too sure about that when players have contracts
Potential revenue is entirely dependant on those hopeful sales. If that doesn’t happen then we are very restricted again.
So yes there will be change, but not to the level we need. And yes it’s a work in progress so ain’t going to happen overnight.
For me it’s not all performance based disaster that has swayed me into the ETH out lane but his delusion.
Some of the stuff he comes out with is beyond words and not what I want to hear from a manager who is allegedly the one to take us forward.
08 May 2024 21:25:21
You have been calling for the sacking for weeks, even months now.
That is not the action of someone willing to leave it up to the people who know what they are doing.
You do know you contradict yourself in the one post? You clearly state, you know, only to later say, you don't know. which or is it.
These businesses you say you've integrated and bought, I hope you were a little more concrete in your decisions. I'd hate to see the state of them otherwise.
Let's just hope there isn't a new coach and the likes of Sancho are removed from employment at United. They are not what we need. Mentally weak individuals.
08 May 2024 23:03:03
Keefy, there are number of contracts up, so those players will be gone, 4 maybe 5 from memory.
There's players that are openly up for sale.
There are players after this season who are now in the above category.
There will be players who want out.
Eds have stated this summer will be more about the departures than arrivals.
Potential revenue I was referring to was based upon competition entries, i. e. Europe being the differing factor here. There will have been a plan for ECL, EL, CL and no Europe.
What we also all have to remember, this is the first SJR summer transfer window. None of us know exactly what will transpire, but from the interviews he has conducted, I would be inclined to believe there will be a clearout of some proportion. Much will again depend upon the final league position/ outcome of FA cup final.
09 May 2024 10:21:59
No-one knows the budgets we can expect, but anyone know the likely difference between being in Europe in some fashion and not at all?
Personally I'd prefer not to be in it. Play less, concentrate on building up properly. Didn't do Newcastle or Brighton any harm last year (but look what happened when they went up a notch this year) . Also I know there's a huge financial hit to no European football.
09 May 2024 11:05:43
Business is good thanks jimbo. With over 80% of homes in UK and ire using at least one of our products every day and expanding markets in the US and part of Aisa things are good. Not without its problems and challenges but thankfully they are good challenges.
09 May 2024 11:52:58
In fairness Ken, I'd be interested to know what you do.
I work with a company from Ireland that has product in 1 in every 4 households.
FYI, I distribute products from across the globe into APAC. specifically HVAC product.
Let me know if our business worlds are more aligned to our thoughts on EtH ?.
09 May 2024 11:59:55
Actually Ken, I'll call it, you work for Glen Dimplex.