Manchester United banter 8

01 Apr 2024 18:23:16
Ed001, how have you been buddy? I just wanted to ask you, what do you think of the prospective new set up at United of Berrada, Ashworth, Wilcox? Do you see the SJR era helping to sort things out off and then ultimately on the pitch? Thanks.

{Ed001's Note - hiya mate, good thanks, I hope all is well with you too?

The new set up looks to be a huge leap forward. They are all much more professional than what was there before, so it should be a big improvement. Obviously you can never tell for sure how well people will mesh as a team until you put them together, but the individuals are much improved and at least football people.

The new regime should sort a lot of things out, though it will be how the club adapts to the new PSR that will ultimately decide things. It won't be as easy to waste money though, as budgets will be much tighter, which should help. Ashworth works better with less, imo. He is better at finding bargains than big spending, so it should give you a good chance of being more competitive at the top.}

01 Apr 2024 21:28:06
They definitely seem to be taking PSR seriously, I know they have started advertising for a senior financial controller with expertise in the new rules and regulations.

All this newly found professionalism seems a million miles away from the slap dash of recent times, but as Ed001 rightly say's they all have to gel. I am however optimistic they will.

02 Apr 2024 09:43:07
What could’ve been with competent, results driven owners….

01 Apr 2024 19:17:32
It seems Jason Wilcox has resigned his position with Southampton in an effort to push through his move to us.
Seemingly there was a compensation clause of 12 months salary in his contract, which we allegedly have offered to Southampton, which they have declined as they want more.
No doubt they will put him on gardening leave, looking on the bright side with all the prospective employees we will have on gardening leave if the football fails we could turn Old Trafford into quite an appealing tourist attraction.

01 Apr 2024 18:44:18
Kieran McKenna. Worth keeping tabs on for the future? Doing a decent job atm and no stranger to United. Discuss.

01 Apr 2024 19:54:49
It's not that long ago he was part of our 1st team management and he got a fair amount of dog's abuse on here for being supposedly useless! How times change.

01 Apr 2024 20:07:21
We had him, Ole, Phelan and Carrick together and they couldn’t get a tune out of this squad.

01 Apr 2024 20:35:44
He always struck me as pretty uninspiring at Utd. On matchday he just seemed to do a lot of staring without suggesting much and on the training ground we can assume it was pretty poor, given that the Ole reign is often cited as one where players pretty much did what they wanted.
Credit where it’s due though, as the main man at a club in that division he’s doing very well. He should stay right there!

01 Apr 2024 20:58:06
He’s working with a group of players who pay attention to him, follow his tactics and eagerly work to his system…we get none of that from our lot! So.

01 Apr 2024 23:27:49
He is doing a fantastic job there.
Always seemed like the 4th wheel of or tri-cycle when he was here bhind ole phelan and Carrick.
Delighted for him and I hope he secured back to back promotion.
I've always had a soft spot for Ipswich since the days of mariner, Mills, gates and muhren.
If he continues doing well he will attract a bigger job no doubt.

01 Apr 2024 13:54:18


DLIB has written an article entitled, Sacking EtH From Utd Is Not The Answer

01 Apr 2024 14:46:24
Agree DLIB. There is a consistent theme here, notwithstanding injuries, in terms of the playing staff and their commitment to the cause. Rashford isn't showing a dip in form in my view, last season was an exception for him. I don't believe him to be the world class player some seem to including himself. He has become a passenger and a liability the team cannot afford. Strolling around the pitch, failing to challenge anything approaching a 50/ 50 nor any aerial challenge just isn't on. He constantly exposes his LB by failing to offer any defence. Bruno has become a petulant embarrassment always looking for the worldy pass and giving up possession and then not defending. He is giving away silly free kicks in dangerous areas far too often. I will have to stop ranting but it's difficult to stomach some of the appalling performances we endure over and over again.
Like you, I think sacking ETH now will simply be a rinse and repeat exercise.
I shall now sit back with a tub of popcorn and watch the fight.

01 Apr 2024 15:05:48
ETH has had a hard time with injuries, recruitment and operating in Glazer Woodward leadership.

I like him but I’m far from convinced.

Game management has been a recurring issues.
Performances against smaller clubs has been consistently poor.

People management has been horrific ETH has devalued players with his management.

Injuries seem more than coincidental and indicate there’s an issue with training.

Recruitment hasn’t been perfect but Amrabat, Antony, Malacia, Weghorst and Martinez are all seem to be his players and one has been a success.

I’m like Zidane, De Zerbi, Amorin but don’t think they would do any better than ETH but have an intuitive belief that someone like Postecoglu or McKenna would be a better fit.

01 Apr 2024 15:09:05
Very good article DLIB, totally agree. I think we know what the follow up will be, from who and what will be said.
All opinions are valid, but I see absolutely no value in removing ETH to bring in another episode of exactly the same thing.

01 Apr 2024 15:11:16
Dlib I completely agree will the last few lines.
Let the ineos team get their appointments in place and let them decide what's best going forward. You are right they are appointing experts to make these decisions. We have to trust their judgement. We all wanted a new footballing structure. Now we have one incoming. They are the best people to decide
A great statement you made, and the last few lines are really well written imo, I don't agree on any of the eth stuff as you know but great that you are calling for support for the new appointees incoming.

01 Apr 2024 15:41:34
Fizz - Nobody has been more critical of Rashford than me and whilst I don’t think he’s anywhere near World Class he did score 30 goals in all competitions last season. If you look around Europe’s top leagues there isn’t that many players capable of scoring 30 plus goals. Haaland, Kane, Mbappe, Salah, Lewanddoski, Martinez, Oshimen immediately spring to mind but beyond the obvious, not many players are capable of hitting those numbers and if you take into consideration Rashford predominantly plays on the wing that number is whittled down even further.

Im not defending Rashford, but I can kind of understand why EtH has persisted with him because he’s more than capable and I’m assuming EtH has been waiting for him to burst into form. Let’s not forget Sancho has been expelled, Antony has been just as bad and Ahmed injured for most of the season. EtH’s options have been limited. The loss of Shaw hasn’t helped either and the new, more aggressive style doesn’t suit him.

I think if EtH had put another body in midfield, sat a touch deeper, employed more of a mid block and allowed Rashford to operate higher, in the left side half spaces we’d have seen a much better Rashford.

In my opinion this team just cannot accommodate Rashford’s poor pressing, Bruno’s seemingly free role and lack of positional discipline and Mctominay in this more advanced midfield role making continual runs ahead of the ball into the box.

Unfortunately we just don’t have the balance in the squad. I’m surprised EtH hasn’t used Amrabat more in midfield instead of Mctominay and deployed Mainoo more as a No8 in the absence of Casemiro. He’s much better on the ball and more positionally disciplined than Mctominay. Ill accept he hasn’t been great however a lot of his games have been at LB, he’s also been injured, although I think we’ve seen glimpses of what he can do with decent games against Chelsea and Liverpool this season.

I think EtH has got the structure of the team wrong this season and he just hasn’t been able to cope with injuries to key players but I don’t think that means he should be sacked. I think he should be afforded a bit more time to put things right.

IWOTB - Cheers pal

Tumble - As you know I wanted a full sale but now Ineos are in charge I will support what they are trying to do. No point in banging that drum anymore.

My concern is that the new CEO doesn’t arrive until the summer and the DoF is not yet in place.

My preference would be to get these people in place first, give them
time to assess the Club and then make a decision about the manager.

Like I said I’m pretty sure that if Martinez, Varane, Shaw and Casemiro had been able to play the majority of games together along with Mainoo, Rashford, Bruno and Hoijljnd we’d have made top 4 comfortably. Of course we should be able to cope better with injuries but long term injuries to key players will adversely affect most Clubs. Even City have struggled when they lose Rodri for a few games.

01 Apr 2024 15:52:55
Martinez, Shaw, Varane and Casemiro are never all going to stay fit.

01 Apr 2024 16:05:20
very good article Dlib. agree with everything you said.

01 Apr 2024 16:26:11
Great article DLIB

Yes Ken, 100 percent, trust the people when they ARE in place. but they aren't yet and won't be for months. Meaning they won't be able to properly assess ETH.

So, in agreement, get the football structure in place, and let them judge ETH fairly.

01 Apr 2024 16:35:22
Porsche - I accept that mate and it’s a big problem, but to replace them with players of an equal standard will be expensive. I’d personally keep them all and be looking to offload the likes of Maguire, Lindelof and Mctominay before Casemiro and Varane. Could we not offer Varane a one year extension on the same terms? He’s only 30 and if he’s stays fit and plays well, offer the same next year as well. I’m sure under SAF older players were on rolling one year contracts. We could look to sign a younger CB, possibly Tobido and integrate him into the team . I still think a Varane/ Martinez CB pairing is one of the best in the league.

Ed001 can probably put me straight, but when Liverpool were at their best Allison, VVD, Robertson, Trent, Fabinho, Salah, Mane and Firminho all seemed to be fit and play the majority of the games. I think it’s far to say they lacked a bit of squad depth, which is to be expected when you don’t have the finances on offer at City, but they struggled on occasions when they suffered long term injuries to key players.

Its been a bad season ravaged by long term injuries to some of our key players, I’d say give him another season, let Ineos put the structure in place and let the experts make the decision once they’ve had time to assess the situation. Anyway I’ve said enough, enjoy the rest of the bank holiday guys!

01 Apr 2024 17:08:05
Whilst I am reticent about sacking or replacing ten hag there are 2 things I look at.

1 ed002 has said a conversation needs to happen will ten hag even want to work in the new set up, undoubtedly it looks like the managers role will be scaled back to focus on coaching with less say over transfers, would ten hag be happy working under whatever set up this is?

2. Let's say you keep ten hag you make all the changes new dog new technical directors all the new back room staff, you make your desired player changes along with ten hag in the summer. These transfers should be heard towards a longer term view which is good. You start the season and there's no improvement 3 months in were still having games like Fulham and Brentford and it looks like another difficult season your then forced to make a change and although decisions have been made with longer term ideas it's a wasted 5 months (including preseason) .

Yes the same could happen with a new manager but a new manager having a difficult first few months is easier to explain and doesn't lead to a reset of coaching staff and having to find a new manager at a much more difficult time.

For me I make the change based on both of these I think even if ten hag did agree to the new set up he wouldn't necessarily be happy with it, and having a new manager gives that set up a little more time to get adjusted and have their own man.

There also seems to be a number of players who aren't exactly happy with ten hag and while I expect the majority of these to leave, ten hag seems to have issues with favouritism and conflict resolution.

01 Apr 2024 18:01:45
Ken

I think where you think some EtH inners differ is exactly where we actually agree.

I want the new competent manager structure to make the decisions, why else bother bringing them in? I just don't trust that the management structure is in place yet, so I question who is making the decisions. The new CEO is not in place yet I believe, but will be shortly. Ashworth is obviously not yet part if the decision.

I don't want EtH hounded out by the press. I would rather the management team was in place and then they start to make some of these big decisions. After the year of injuries I am happy to give more time and feel far more frustration towards the players than EtH. But EtH has also made some questionable decisions, like playing rashford and bruno almost every minute of every game.

Good article DLIB.

01 Apr 2024 21:40:29
I have said for some time ETH needed to show he has what it takes. It’s an audition for Ratcliffe and ETH is failing it. If he has a great plan, wants to stay and Ratcliffe buys it, then he will be here next season but that plan is not in front of us. However, the Brentford game was an utter shambles in terms of teamwork and organisation, ETH should have to explain that to his bosses. If after nearly two years, a managers team in any type of business fails and continues to fail that badly it would put anyones position in jeopardy.

After the Liverpool game we should have been on a high, come out organised, ready tactically, yet it was a shambles. We were not prepared and that is the managers job, had nearly two years to set a team up and we were not prepared, there can be no excuses for that utter shambles.
That finally made me feel a change was needed. I suspect ETH will not fancy being a coach rather than the manager, he took the role on that basis and may resign let alone get sacked. It is clear change in role parameters is coming. We cannot lurch from one design to another with some shouting give x more time, because none of us know whether giving him more time will work, we are all guessing, just basing those calls on SAF, whilst ignoring Sexton and Atkinson examples.

The question is where we are going, where is ETH showing the supporters and bosses what a great future we have with him showing what he is doing is going to give us all what we want? We just see performances like Brentford and similar without any semblance of design, plan or structure so we are bound to crack.

I can take losing, but Brentford showed a lack of planning, tactical set up and poor selection, that’s down to the manager.

31 Mar 2024 23:14:25
Bruno has created more chances than most in the league this season. Yes he can be infuriating with his moaning but we need his creativity. He is not the reason we are struggling.

01 Apr 2024 00:42:45
Yes he is Salford. He gives the ball away and we get broken on. He is a big part of the problem. Also his stats are padded because he passes to rashford, or garnacho, or Anthony and then they have a stupid shot.

Hoylund has pretty much the least amount of chances of any striker j the league who has played any decent game time. So how is bruno creating all these chances yet we have awful xG and our main striker is getting know chances. It is a rubbish stat that does not pass the eye test.

01 Apr 2024 07:09:46
Bruno flatters to deceive. I hope the club sells him this summer if they receive an adequate offer for him.

He has failed as a Captain. He is far too petulant and his play acting is embarrassing.

If the club are to move forward, players like Bruno are a luxury that the club simply can't afford to carry.

The guy is 29 now. In my opinion it would be best to sell him whilst he still has some value left in him.

01 Apr 2024 11:41:45
I’ve always thought Bruno’s stats are a bit misleading. He does create chances and assists, but also does so by trying to play an audacious pass far too often conceding possession. Bit like if a striker took a shot every time a slight chance opened up regardless of distance from goal. May get a decent amount of goals and shots on target but at detriment to team.

01 Apr 2024 12:06:59
I can't remember too many world class players that have never won the league/ cl
Don't like him as a player never did never will.
The sort of team mate you give a slap to at least once a week for being a pain in the ass.
He has great ability imo but not the type of guy i'd ever want in my team or in my dressing room.

01 Apr 2024 13:12:07
Neither Fabio Cannovaro nor Patrick Viera won the champions league TW, ask Martin O’Neil ?.

01 Apr 2024 15:02:51
Both managed a world cup though.

Both won leagues.

01 Apr 2024 15:06:57
Love Bruno but there’s something Spammy about his numbers similar to Trent.

Throw enough and something sticks.

01 Apr 2024 17:27:16
Bruno isn't the problem, but he isn't the answer either. With the right players around him in the right tactical set up he would be able to produce genuine world class output in terms of goals and assists. The fact that since joining United he has managed close to that level highlights the quality he has.

All that said, he is 29, 30 in September and he isn't the guy to be building the next team around. Personally I'd like to see a fully fit Mount get a run of games this season as I think he has the qualities to replace Bruno in the side. I doubt Mount will ever manage to match the number of goals and assist that Bruno has in his United career, but I think he might be better suited to play as part of a unit that performs better overall. His intelligent pressing and pass selection might be useful to the team performance.

31 Mar 2024 22:53:57
Anyone want to see mount at 10 instead of Bruno and hopefully Casemiro instead of mctominay. I'd also play diallo in place of rashford. Might not make a difference but we couldn't be any worse.

01 Apr 2024 07:11:06
I'd definitely try that. Rashford offers nothing. Diallo can go RW and Garnacho LW.

EtH seems to have hair favourites. He is stubborn as a mule.

01 Apr 2024 09:43:25
Garnacho is making the RW his own, I wouldn’t move him.

I’m all for dropping Rashford, his attitude stinks and he needs to go. Unfortunately the replacements are Antony and Diallo who are worse, so it makes sense that we are stuck with Rashford, for the rest of the season at least.

01 Apr 2024 09:53:49
I find this "manager has his favourites" line pretty funny to be honest.

Anyone noticed that Jose's favourites, pretty much became Ole's favourites, while the same players were Ralf's favourites, and now those same players who were the favourites of the previous managers are the current managers favourites.

It's almost like multiple different managers have spent hundreds of hours on the training pitches with these players and all come to the same conclusion about which ones are the best players ??‍♂️

The argument that they only play the players they sign doesn't even hold up. Garnacho is naturally a LW player, but has been starting ahead of the current managers biggest purchase Antony for nearly two months now on the right.

EtH has literally moved a kid out of position to try and find a solution to drop Antony. That doesn't sound particularly stubborn to me.

People complained that Antony got picked because he was the managers favourite. But completely overlooked the fact that at the time Greenwood and Sancho were unavailable, while Amad was injured meaning the only other option was Pellistri who underwhelmed every time he has played either with us or on either of his previous loans.

Reality was that Antony was the best available player at that time. Since then Garnacho has improved and stepped up, shown he can be relied upon and has taken Antony's place as a result of that.

The only thing I'd criticise the manager for is that tactically I think we need to change our shape in possession from a 3133 to 3223 we need an extra midfielder deeper to protect against the counter.

Tactically the issue we have had all season is the gap between the defence and the forward line is too big. But I'm sure the manager has his reasons for not changing things, and it's more likely due to the players he has available rather than an unwillingness to change his tactics as he has shown himself to be a pragmatic manager and more than willing to alter his tactics to suit the game/ players he has available.

01 Apr 2024 10:40:00
Shappy,

All managers have their favourites.

01 Apr 2024 11:37:51
They’re called the best players.

01 Apr 2024 11:43:58
Correct mad hatter.
Rashford was not a Jose favourite shappy what are you talking about?
Managers favourites under ole were
Rash martial Bruno maguire awb Shaw mctom
Ralph's were not obvious
Eth
Onana martinez Bruno rashford Antony (until it became untenable)
Jose's favs matic I'd say that's it.

01 Apr 2024 12:06:41
Exactly Shappy, it’s no coincidence. The manager has to select from average players with poor attitudes. It doesn’t take much to stand out in the current squad.

31 Mar 2024 14:58:20
Season petering out now, can see some effort at home games for the fans and full effort in the FA Cup. The uncertainty around the manager and many players is a big issue. Not making Europe has such big consequences financially and in attracting players, its essential, but many of these players don't care, its shocking really. EtH needs to grow a pair now a drop the lazy ones, l can see why there is division in the squad, some players appear untouchable, must be so frustrating for others.

31 Mar 2024 15:38:30
We still have a cup to play for top 4 was gone long ago to be honest.
Let's hope we can find a way to beat Coventry so we have a cup final to look forward to.
We will be big favourites against Coventry but I'll be going to the game in hope rather than in expectation.

31 Mar 2024 15:47:43
Even if we beat Coventry the likelihood of us beating City is virtually zero

Bottle job blaggers.

31 Mar 2024 17:59:40
You always have a punchers chance in a final. If go in with hope??.

31 Mar 2024 20:01:39
The think is Tumbleweed you at least have to throw a punch
Rashford is scared of his own shadow.

01 Apr 2024 09:44:16
BR the thought of watching Rashford up against Walker again is worrying.

01 Apr 2024 13:55:28
Wazza
It doesn’t matter who Rashford is up against it seems they all get the better of him
I think he is my least ever favourite player at Utd
I can’t stand him and have never rated him but we’ll be stuck with him.

31 Mar 2024 14:10:04
Two questions:

1.) Has anyone been able to make sense of our tactic of letting the opponent have 30 shots on our goal every game? Has Ten Haag even been asked about it at a press conference lol.

2.) Ten Haag pushed for us to loan Andrew Tate from Fiorentina for a huge loan fee but never plays him, another odd signing.

31 Mar 2024 14:41:54
1 Eth says he does not mind us conceeding so many chances as long as we win. So he has perfected making us porous we just have to wait for him to get the hang of the winning part of his philosophy.
2. Eth got his man. Same as Anthony and weggy and erikson etc.

31 Mar 2024 15:33:23
Yesterday we still have to play with wan Bissaka, lindelof, mcguire, mctominay. Bruno, rashford. We need to realise what we are and move all these players out and rebuild. It is shocking how little value our players put in possession. No effort or energy to win the ball through pressure, no commitment in 50 50s, when we have the ball we simply hoof it away. If we are not dealing with the terrible playing staff we still have at the club, then we are not moving forward. With these players jn the team we are where we deserve to be in the league. If we had martinez, cassemiro, shaw, varane fit all season, I suspect we would be challenging for top 4. But it is still not good enough, and Fernandes and rashford, our two stars, are synonymous with how poor we are compared to other top 6 teams.

31 Mar 2024 16:41:50
I fully agree DB.

However, where I do sympathise with some of the EtH outers is his team selections, although it would be remiss of me to just dismiss the injuries he’s had to contend with, I just can’t fathom the over reliance on some players.

If he continues to play Rashford and Bruno he’ll almost certainly lose his job, if he hasn’t already.

Hoijlund up front, Mount at No10, Garnacho left, Ahmed right, Mainoo and Casemiro in midfield. Hopefully Varane and Martinez at CB but he might just have to rely on whoever is fit and available at CB.

We simply can’t get any worse than what happened last night so EtH might as well roll the dice and reward young Ahmed with a run in the team for not only his impact and performance against Liverpool but his work rate and intensity. Now Mount is fit again, he might as well give him at run at No10. He might at least try and look after the ball a bit better.

What’s the worse that can happen now?

I’m not suggesting that team will suddenly start playing fantastic football but at least it has more players aligned with how EtH wants to play and to be honest I just can’t stand the same underperforming players being selected all the time.

Wishful thinking but do we really want to see another game of Rashford not trying, Bruno giving the ball away and Mctominay playing hide and seek?

31 Mar 2024 17:24:58
All those players did quite well last season. 2 Cup finals and 3rd. They are hopefully going to have another cup final this season.
They are consistently inconsistent.
To my amateur eye they're is no obvious game plan. That is not the players fault imo. A man leading that nobody knows how to follow is just a man going on a walk on his own. If he can't get everybody follow him every week then you get what we have.
No doubting we have players not up to following anybody and they need to be weeded out too.
There is no quick fix no magic wand.
If anybody has any doubt about eth then now is the time to change imo.
For me it's not a case of whether he has been a failure it's more the question do I think he will be much better or a success?
I genuinely can't point to 1 thing that leads me to believe that no matter what the circumstances he will get things right.

31 Mar 2024 18:28:01
Last season we sat deep and played long ball (counter attack) all season.

If everyone wants better with these players then we can do that, get ole back. We might get UCL some seasons.

You don't challenge playing like that. And these players can't play any other way.

Could rash and bruno be better if the back four could squeeze up and play a high line? Maybe. But I think we all know that they can't play like that. We have always been poor against a low block with those two I the team.

Mctominay is terrible as a midfielder. He is plan d, when chasing a game in the 80th minute.

31 Mar 2024 20:28:44
Ken, do you think that perhaps the players are incapable of sticking to a game plan?

Jose had a game plan.
Van Gaal had a game plan.

Both, at various points, said the players weren’t doing what they were asked to do on the pitch.

ETH looked like he had a plan during the first few months at the club. There was more pressing, a higher line, and evidence of the team moving in the right direction. Since then it has reverted to the style these players seem to like to play. Sit deep, break fast, and hopefully win by nicking a goal.

I’m far from convinced by ETH. He has made some dubious decisions in regard to transfers and keeps picking underperforming players. But. I think he came into the club with a plan and is now in a position of abandoning it in the hope that it panders to the players and saves his job. There is obviously something rotten in the culture at the club and in the dressing room that results in successive managers being unable to implement any sustained footballing approach. Every time the team reverts to sit and break. Not sure if ETH can solve it, but somebody in the new footballing directorate needs to.

As for Arambat. A few clubs were looking at him as someone who could be a good fit in the EPL. It hasn’t worked out. At least we didn’t sign him permanently.

31 Mar 2024 21:55:43
Sack ETH and bring in Roy Keane. At least the run in would be entertaining?.

01 Apr 2024 14:31:24
A couple of wins will quite the crowd and we will be well in for a top4/ 5 finish. It will not be easy but doable. Chelsea away game harder to win than Scousers at home imo.

Finally watched the game yesterday and Mainoo, Garnacho, rash, Hoiland, Bruno, mc and plenty more had either poor or stinkers. Personally thought Bruno and awb had stinkers and both defensively Just awful and offensively nothing.

Team looked slow, gassed early and no legs and if I am not mistaken we have done this after every break.

Onana is starting to show he is a top keeper and must be a nightmare to be a keeper with this bunch in front of him.

I might not be popular opinion but playing any combination of midfielders with Bruno is a defensive weakness, he does nothing defensively and makes everyone else look awful whether its cas or mc or mount or name whatever combination you put out there. dilemma is what you lose offensively if you don't play him and maybe mount can do a better job playing as a 10 but he has hardly played with this team and this group of players this year and not match fit and it takes time to play that role properly.

31 Mar 2024 13:38:38
I think rashford has shown more disdain for his manager and teammates and more disrespect for the fans and club than sancho ever did.

31 Mar 2024 14:34:53
Im tired of him Ken, and fed up with all the excuses made for him. There’s plenty of people around the world dealing with personal issues but they have to show up to work every day and give their best, something rashford hasn’t done in a long time. Be interesting to see if he makes the euros, if I was Southgate I’d be leaving him at home.

31 Mar 2024 14:44:19
Guess we will have to wait and see on that one Tim. I hope he is not selected.

31 Mar 2024 14:44:22
Yet ETH keeps selecting him.

31 Mar 2024 15:37:21
I'm guessing that is not optional Redman.

If I'm EtH I'm subbing him off before half time at this stage, just to make a point. He may as well go out on his sword as continue to stand on this player who has done nothing but disrespect the club for more than 12 months.

I would also be subbing bruno off too. He is also disrespectful in a different way. Just hoofing the ball about trying to play an impossible pass rather than helping the team to build an attack properly.

31 Mar 2024 17:27:59
How do you mean not optional DB?
Surely it's not contractual your suggesting?

31 Mar 2024 20:02:14
Subbing him off before half time will also give the fans chance to make known what they think about him.

What an small human being he is. A total embarrassment to himself.

Up until now I've been thinking eth should have another season but I've changed my mind. That he keeps selecting Rashford, Bruno, McTominany and utd have 30+ shots against them wvery game tells me he hasn't a clue what he is doing.

31 Mar 2024 21:46:46
I can't understand why rashford is not being dropped ever. Or subbed before about i0 mins ever. Bruno not dropped ever. Not subbed ever.

I am clinging onto some hope that EtH is not gutless and is being told by the club, maybe due to players contracts, that they have to play.

If that is not the case then my thoughts on EtH drop a long way.

Would like to see mount in the team, he at least tries to pass to a teammate once in a while. Would also like to see a more solid set up with players who will press from the front. But fully expect to see Rashad and bruno again all next game.

31 Mar 2024 23:04:50
Just not really working this season for some reason. I’m inclined to agree with Ed about Erik likely moving on in the summer.

I think the new team running football matters will want to make sweeping changes all round and bring in their own people; and that includes all footballing matters such as coaches, manager, players, recruitment, medical and data teams.

30 Mar 2024 22:55:09
Utterly dreadful, don't let the win over Liverpool fool you, we are a very poor team, facing nearly 200 shots in 2024 keeping company with relegation teams, no style of play, no midfield to speak of, players with no idea what they're doing, terrible and this is a common there now. Does ten hag know what he's doing? What is his style? A lot of these players are levels below what we need so the truth somewhere in the middle but I don't feel like the players play for him or that he knew what he's doing. Embarrassing performances on a consistent basis, I'd be looking at who's out there now before Liverpool nab the best one.

31 Mar 2024 08:15:09
Champions League? You're having a laugh. It's bad enough to be so embarrassing at home but to become the laughing stock of Europe as well is too much to handle!

31 Mar 2024 08:19:57
All that being said, Brentford were a breath of fresh air. Energy, ambition, played on the front foot and caused us lots of problems. Very impressed by them last night.

We were utter dross. Didn’t match their energy, work rate or ambition. But we say that most weeks about this team now.

31 Mar 2024 09:07:45
I can’t wait for this season to be over

Sick to death of these players.

31 Mar 2024 09:09:14
There's been far too many performances like this across the season, hence the awful stats we have. I've been very much of the opinion that the best thing to do is keep Ten Hag next season and continue to think long term. However, I cannot think of a side who has gotten less from as much as we have. We've had injuries that have not helped, but you simply have to produce better performances with who we have had available compared to other sides. We've been outplayed by Brentford, Bournemouth, Copenhagen, Luton, Everton and plenty of others. All of those sides would be over the moon to have most of our players.

There's no intensity in the majority of our performances, no movement off the ball and almost everyone just playing it safe. We look like a side who have had a new manager for 2 weeks, not almost 2 years. Results are one thing but producing good performances regularly brings good results. Playing the horrendous football we do, doesn't lend itself to winning games.

Players haven't performed and that is a problem going back over many managers but we also don't seem set up to make the most of the players we actually do have. Hojlund is isolated, centre backs are too often left in 2v2 situations, whoever is playing holding midfield is effectively covering the entire width of the pitch on their own.

I've no idea what the answer is and while I'm not in the Ten Hag out camp, it's getting more and more difficult to justify him staying on with the level of performance we're producing regularly.

31 Mar 2024 09:49:27
The chaotic defensive line and huge spaces in midfield are so obvious to everyone, even Jamie Carragher. It has been the same all season.

So why isn’t it being fixed?

Is ETH gambling on throwing players forward on transition to it outscore an opposition who will then flood through the spaces in midfield? (Hence insistence on playing McTominay)

Or doesn’t he have the players to do anything else?

Just cannot wait for the end of the season now and all the changes that will bring.

31 Mar 2024 10:35:43
Not yet in the ETH out camp although if he was sacked today I wouldn't care but i'd love to be a fly on the wall when SJR / Brailsford / Ashworth get in a room with ETH and say, 'Erik, what was that Brentford performance about? and BTW why have we seen this time and time again in the last 2 years and how can we fix it?' Cannot imagine they would leave that meeting with a lot of confidence.

31 Mar 2024 10:45:02
The only shock for me is that some of you seem a little surprised.
Dead men walking rarely do well.
He will be fired and the sooner he is gone the better. Let the professionals in and weed out some players over next 12 months and start to rebuild with a coach or their choosing.
Eth out.

31 Mar 2024 11:01:21
The number of shots we face is alarming and it’s not going to change until we get the right players in of sufficient quality.

I like McTominay the person, but as a footballer he’s a very poor CM. I don’t even remember him touching the ball last night. We are much better when he’s on the bench, and he’s much better playing higher up the pitch as an impact sub. McTominay is today’s Fellaini.

Players such as AWB can’t control the football and we’ll be much better when Shaw is back.

We need Martinez on the pitch. I thought things would get a little better when Cas and Mount came on, and they did, marginally.

It would be nice to see our first choice XI on the pitch before the season is out. Things did get a bit better for about 1.5 games earlier in the season before Martinez limped off again.

31 Mar 2024 11:50:45
Have to agree with Ken. The players are massively at fault but the manager must take the blame too. If we all can see it then he must too. I just hope his after match analysis is just bravado and misdirection because I’d hate to think he’s that delusional. Only 9 games left?.

31 Mar 2024 12:12:31
Yet again Rashford wandered around the pitch completely disinterested. I'm starting to think he's Martial in disguise.

31 Mar 2024 12:13:37
I listened to Poch describe Chelsea performance and they're the words ETH should also use. Instead he said "we give up chances but not goals" after Brentford it the woodwork 4 times. I don't think I can take much more of whatever it is he's trying to achieve.

31 Mar 2024 12:33:01
It's all ANOTHER managers fault ??

Saw a great analogy about being married 5 times, each time the husband dumps the wife. At one point does the husband become the problem ?

ETH in, back him, give him the proper structure and give him a bit more time.

Ken would sack every manager if he had his way ?.

31 Mar 2024 12:57:25
He is being fired and he knows it. He is finished you need to accept the inevitable angel. Eth is a goner and rightly so
I didn't call for Jose or lvg sack Angel don't be talking nonsense.

31 Mar 2024 14:38:40
Angel, a number of the players he requested he’s got and they either haven’t been good enough or he isn’t using them correctly. I don’t think anyone on here is solely blaming the manager but he’s culpable too. If we are cleaning house and trying to start with a new plan and culture then eth has to go too.

31 Mar 2024 15:39:16
But there is no scenario where both go.

So, players first then see what the manager does next season.

31 Mar 2024 15:42:45
Tim, you think that's it? A number of his players?

He's still got Varane there, Dalot, AWB, Maguire, McT, No left back, Casemeiro (not a player he really wanted, panic buy) Rashford, Bruno etc. Lots of players that are not his, and IMO players unable to do the job required.

Ken, mistake IMO if he is sacked, as I stated above, they have always sacked managers without actually addressing the underlying problems.

Inevitable? Well the journalists closest to the club, Mitten, Whitwell etc who knows a lot more than you or I don't seem to think so. So who's talking nonsense?

31 Mar 2024 15:53:44
Angel it’s Be easier to just say what’s right at the club, it’s going to be a long road back.

31 Mar 2024 16:00:18
Let's see angel who is talking the nonsense.
Eth has control over transfers who said cas was not his signing more nonsense from you. Because you have no idea.
Your entitled to your opinion. You will have the chance to talk about the mistake next season. He is gone he knows it the players know it and the most fans realise it.
Pity I thought he would have been much better than he turned out.
Can't wait to see who the choose to replace him. Hope he does a better job.

31 Mar 2024 16:02:41
Angel what about the players he did choose.
Anthony
Onana
Ericksen
Casimero
Malacia
Amrabat
Mount
Weggy.

31 Mar 2024 16:24:56
Ken did ETH ask for Weghorst or was he another loan due to poor planning and backing?

31 Mar 2024 16:28:26
What makes you so certain Mr Tumble, that the manager will be sacked. We all see the reports but I've not read anything that I would be sure that he's gone.

31 Mar 2024 17:54:58
Banjoe I don't know anything for sure of course.
But I'm very confident that will be the outcome.
If the new management team see something in eth I don't and he is kept ill 100% trust their judgement.
I've been wrong a million times. Make lots of mistakes but thankfully I get a lot more right than wrong. My opinions on this are just an opinion of 1.
My honest opinion is that there will be a very amicable parting.
We have what we all wanted structure wise those new appointments will need to have 100% alignment with the coach. I'm not sure eth is flexible enough to compromise on his ideals and I don't think he has been convincing enough for them to compromise on theirs.
He lacks charisma imo. He is poor with the press and creates too much noise with his comments I feel.
I don't see an efinity from the manager through the players to the fans. It's the managers job to create that imo.
I don't identify with this team and manager and I don't think sjr and team will either.
I said on another post it's not a question of if he was a failure it a question of do I believe he will be a success? I don't think so and I believe that the management team will align with my thought process or me with theirs.
The team sjr is assembling are all singing from one hymn sheet, for example I don't think for one second sancho would have been eating alone from a lunchbox if this team had been in place for that episode.
Let's see what happens.
If I'm wrong I'll add it to the wrong box all in going for now is a cup win that would be a nice end to a disappointing season.

31 Mar 2024 17:57:56
I don't know wazza but eth demanded control over incoming players so I'm sure he had a hand in it.
We have been told martinez was his 2nd choice behind timber Antony preferred of kudos.

31 Mar 2024 23:08:29
Jesus ken, what a list. I think if you go down through each one, and why they were picked, you end up scratching your head even more.

Amrabat and Weghorst? Desperation as there was no one else.

Onana, well I can't remember the last time he has a bad game.

Mount, just back from injury, never a bad player. someone I think will play well in time.

Eriksen, a free, didn't do too bad last season, needed to be moved on this year.

Casemeiro, again, according to people who know, panic buy put upon ETH. Didn't do bad last year either.

Malacia, looked good until whatever has happened has happened.

Antony, a poor signing thus far.

He also signed Hojlund, brought through both Mainoo and Garnacho.

Again, the club has been a shambles from top to bottom, no structure, balance, or ability to actually pay the right price for a player. hence the reason why we have such a mixmash or talent both on and off field. A shambles.

Good that INEOS are in, and looking to put the right people in place. But once again, looking to maybe replace the manager. Whatever happened to giving the man time.

01 Apr 2024 12:12:53
Angel he has had 2 seasons and brought us backwards.
He has lost a 33% of our games this season.
Bottom of cl group.
He has had time.
Nobody was along him to win a league just to show progression and signs that he might if given longer.
No sign of that at all.
He will be gone in the summer.
Who replaces him is the only question we need answered.
We will find out in due course.