10 Sep 2024 23:28:34
De ligt not having a good time with Holland. see the media are already coming for him! If only he was English they'd leave him be. Welcome to being a United player!
11 Sep 2024 00:24:05
Good for him to get some match fitness, couldn’t care less if they lost 5-0, hopefully comes back uninjured and ready.
11 Sep 2024 02:18:43
On the plus side. Ugarte played another 90 minutes for Uruguay, which isn’t bad for a player who is supposedly months away from match fitness. It’s almost like Ten Haag doesn’t know what he’s talking about.
11 Sep 2024 06:33:39
ETH is said not to have wanted Ugarte and it was Wilcox the one pushing him. The manager wanted an excuse of fitness not to have to fit Ugarte into his unbalanced losing system that needs to improve. If Ugarte could play 90 mins for Uruguay then he should start at the weekend. Must win and win convincingly now, no more excuses.
11 Sep 2024 08:10:12
Losing system?
Is ETH not a winner?
11 Sep 2024 08:19:51
Lost two out of three already this season and finished 8th. Must improve.
11 Sep 2024 09:27:40
Only concern is Saturday is an early kick off. Ugarte played on Wednesday and will have a 20+ hour flight back to England. Factor in jetlag and fitness I honestly don't think he'll be ready. Licha too, though he didn't complete the game against Colombia. Garna on the other hand didn't get off the bench so barring jetlag he should be ready to go.
11 Sep 2024 10:19:43
He has done well to play in the future, made me think for a minute but I’m sure today is Wednesday. Sure he will be ok.
11 Sep 2024 10:55:37
Well we know that Redman, Stevie wonder could see that ? but losing system? I'm not really sure what you mean. He's won 2 cups in 2 years with his losing systems.
11 Sep 2024 12:09:54
New User but been following these pages for many years. Manager won 2 trophies in 2 years and best I have felt about the direction of things in a long long time.
I go to some away and most home games. The fans firmly behind the manager. Some of you geezers are like noisy kids repeating lots of concocted stuff. Support the club, the manager and the players.
Not going to post much but sometimes got to say enough is enough.
11 Sep 2024 12:55:03
Erik's mum has joined the chat.
11 Sep 2024 13:29:25
shashank
As I'm sure you're aware, there are some on here who simply lack the patience for the rebuild.
As someone who has spent an entire career surrounded by dust, sweat and splinters, the term 'rebuild' isn't one that's lost on me.
For example, if everything above the foundations of an old building needs either ripping out or sympathetic amendment, then there's little about the work that's tidy or quick.
If some walls are removed, the requirements of the tipper will need to be factored into the project trajectory - space, time and planning.
Now, the fatuous mind might think that, because the old debris being reversed out of the site is essentially not pertaining to obvious progress, the project isn't working very well.
But this is why some people might be better off avoiding using the term 'rebuild' - simply because they're too ruddy impatient to respect what that actually means.
For better context - Arsenal.
I distinctly remember all the years of negativity surrounding the start of their rebuild and the appointment of Arteta. Lots of their fans who couldn't quite grasp the reality of a rebuild were very vocal then - on and on they went.
But what now? Where are these very vocal naysaying Gooners now?
Yes, that's right, they're now quietly and humbly accepting the reality of a rebuild because it's now delivering on aspects that are more tangible and conspicuous to them.
I'm not saying ten Hag is Arteta, nor am I saying our rebuild will be a comfortable reflection of Arsenal's, but I am patient enough to accept maybe another 5 years of small peaks while the club softens the pang of the troughs before we start to see a clear view of where we're going.
As for the players - I am (like many on here) rather less sympathetic to players like Rashford who, despite their absolute privilege, feel entitled to avoid putting in some graft - I count that as abject disrespect for fans who work their arses off doing far less appealing and enormously lesser-paid jobs while contributing to his salary. I'm a matchgoing fan and if a player disrespects me in such a way on a consistent basis, then, for me, that player falls into the category of Grade A W⚓️.
The basic sentiment of 'Support the club, the manager and the players' is great, but it's hardly much different to the concocted stuff repeated by we noisy kids on here - there's nothing original about that wafer-thin garbage and it means absolutely nish to a matchgoing fan who feels their bare minimum expectation isn't being met.
So that's enough of that gumpf please.
11 Sep 2024 13:47:35
GDS2 obviously you are not aware of the concept of timezones.
11 Sep 2024 14:12:27
Lack patience for a rebuild? Well I supported and went to games home and away for nearly every one of the 26 years between league wins. Watched McGuiness flounder, Sir Matt come back, OFarrell to the Doc. That’s patience. I stood at OT watching Sexton bore us to death, that was patience, was there when Atkinson couldn’t deliver, that’s patience. Supported SAF because we knew what he did at Aberdeen and what we were told about revamping the youth, that is patience. Patience has its place when there is a pattern, some hope of improvement, ETH has not sold us that.
Atkinson won two cups. ETH system lost a 3 nil lead to Coventry to get to the final when at last a complete change of tactics, likely not from ETH by all accounts, saw us beat City.
At the beginning of each season we have hope but two defeats out of three games is a big kick in the nuts. Losing system, watch the Liverpool games again, schooled and Liverpools manager eloquently explained our tactical failure.
The next two league games are must win, must see coordination and a pattern and win. No more excuses.
11 Sep 2024 15:05:30
Well put Ork.
11 Sep 2024 16:02:27
Does anyone know any facts on where hoiland, shaw, malacia are in terms of recovery and being back.
11 Sep 2024 16:46:44
Unruly, I am, but fortunately the game on Saturday isn’t in South America so should be fine.
11 Sep 2024 18:51:35
Ahmad H, yes.
11 Sep 2024 19:51:52
Ahemad, there was a couple of reports on United sites 9ver the weekend that seemed to suggest Hojlund hadn't yet rejoined the team in full training. Not exactly facts as such but I tend to find that the big United sites tend to get accurate reports of player availability.
11 Sep 2024 20:56:09
Red Man
No, patience has it's place when there's demand for objective reasoning.
Comparing the situation now to that of the 70s is absurd because the two situations are nothing remotely alike - we even got relegated then, that won't happen now.
In the 70s, the operational culture throughout the sport was about the game before the business - now it's the opposite and so every other factor of the football club has been influenced by that pivot.
So, let's go by your presumed logic.
We've just finished 3rd and 2nd in consecutive seasons with Ole at the helm. We've won nothing, but we qualified for the CL. Did we win the CL? No, so we still won nothing.
Unfortunately, as we were being run by finance people with very little background in the sport, their focus on arrival being tuned to the money wheel continued and they were given no reason by Ole to change anything.
During that time we had many academy prospects who were each let down in terms of their development by an academy structure that wasn't up to standard.
So at that point, we were splashing big cash on big names who didn't deliver, letting our revered academy rot away from it's core, happily watching the ground beneath us get a bit dodgy while we kept stamping our feet demanding more.
But hey, we didn't finish 8th, but we sure sold some shirts - is that how you measure success as a fan?
It's not how I measure it.
You can finish 8th, 3rd or 2nd, but you still haven't won if you haven't finished 1st.
Great, finish 3rd to qualify for the CL and only get the revenues until the end of the group stage - what resounding success that is.
So yeah, patience should still be the soup of the day, perhaps we should all find bigger spoons.
11 Sep 2024 20:57:26
Fizz
is this trick reply lol. are they training with the squad yet?
12 Sep 2024 06:15:23
Ahmad
I read previously that Shaw would be fit for the first game after the internationals. Suspect he will want to play given it is Southampton.
Ork
We learn from history, that’s why it’s taught. Things are different from the 70’s but patience is something many older fans have in abundance because we know what it is like to be rubbish, taken endless stick for it. Patience is there when justified. Most knew Sexton was poor but the club showed patience, even though he showed nothing but poor football. The fans frustrated by him, as now. The football of Sexton and ETH is similar but ETH has won two cups, which is not to be sniffed at. The club invested this summer, a lot of money, therefore, together with the start of ETH third year coaching, we have every right to expect a pattern, a big improvement on the pitch. We got three ordinary to very poor performances and the Liverpool defeat was totally unacceptable. It has to improve now, win the next two games with a pattern and not scraped by luckily or I cannot see how the manager can genuinely continue.
12 Sep 2024 08:30:41
Another great post Ork.
Ahmad. It was a flippant, mischievous reply because 'somebody' does know. Not me nor possibly anybody on here.
I was bored. ?.
12 Sep 2024 10:14:56
I think like always fans end up taking polarised opinions.
I watched both the Uruguay games, and Ugarte looked good but he started to drop off after 55 minutes in the first game and was subbed on 79 minutes. While he started to drop off around 65-70 minutes into the second game.
International games are also not played at the same pace or intensity that EPL games are played.
So I agree that he still has to build up his fitness to peak levels and depending on how quickly he can do that he could be anywhere from 2 weeks to 5 weeks away from getting to his peak fitness.
I also think that we have to appreciate that EtH is speaking in his second language and his ability with English isn't great (far better than my Dutch though) . Which means it's very likely that something has been lost in translation.
He might have been talking more about how he adapts to the team, teammates, and the style/ tactics he will be asked to play more so than actual fitness or ability to play 90 minutes.
He may also have been trying to dampen expectations and take some of the pressure off him.