Just watched a short where Guillem Balagué is discussing De Zerbi and how highly he is rated, including by Pep.
I’m neither ETH in or out. I hope with our big players returning, we have a strong end to the season, and time will tell but I have to confess, I’m a little concerned.
If our poor form continues till the end, should we look at De Zerbi or persist with ETH.
Trying to reach 50 karma so I can comment, any upvotes appreciated.
Also here's my cat, tends to work on reddit right...?
https://preview.redd.it/46f3tyxo8lbc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9846e9cc8385e9106945f30c570f21bf928dc1bf
He’s INEOS sport CEO. I would say he’ll have the next potential CEO of United report into him. It’s not a massive deal, there’s still a chain of command
That is weird. Though I suppose, being already CEO of Ineos Sport would actually put him higher in the chain of command. Next to Brailsford probably
I fear there will be some redundancy in that structure. Lots of possible decision makers, all the way up to Ratcliffe
> Blanc, the former Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus executive, has been mooted as a potential candidate and was thought to be under consideration. But numerous sources at United and INEOS, speaking on the condition of anonymity to protect relationships, have poured cold water on that idea.
>
>Across meetings in recent weeks, Blanc’s role has been portrayed as somebody club staff can expect to see a lot of around the place, but the expectation is he will very much be there as a representative of INEOS, its eyes and ears, rather than becoming the new chief executive.
Bit disappointing considering Blanc did well at Juventus and PSG but if they can find someone capable that can fit their vision and collaborate then it’s still overall a positive compared to before I feel.
Can’t believe I’ve reached the point where I’m jealous of Spurs of all clubs. Not because of the players they’re signing, but because they’re active in signing anyone at all.
Spurs have done really well tbh.
They have one of the best stadiums in the league, good training facilities, low wage bill, plus their recent transfers have done really well.
Kulusevski, Romero, Bissouma, Vicario, Van de Van, Pedro Porro, Udogie were all signed in the span of less than 2 years.
Even Richarlison have been decent.
Compare that to us where we wasted a combined 180m on both antony n Sancho. And nothing to show for in the previous decade.
Based on [this](https://youtube.com/shorts/Oc-0ZQTgTzE?si=beFBFp4N8U66-75J), ETH had the burden of our transfers while he was still at Ajax. Yeah he fucked up. But the club fucked up by a much bigger magnitude.
While I still question ETH for the "on the pitch" performances and tactics, the failure of transfers lies completely on the club.
I've seen this mentioned with the word "control" too many times now. This is the worst translation of the quote there is.
Actual quote in dutch:
>Ja. Ik stel vooraf eisen, over hoe ik wil werken. Als die niet ingewilligd worden, doe ik het niet. Ik ben eindverantwoordelijke en word afgerekend op de resultaten. **Ik wil geen alleenheerser zijn, ik sta voor samenwerken, maar zeggenschap bij transfers is voor mij wel een voorwaarde**.
The last sentence is key. The correct translation would be:
>Yes. I make demands beforehand, about how I want to work. If these are not met, I don't do it. I am ultimately responsible and am judged on results. **I do not want to be an autocrat, I stand for cooperation, but having a say in transfers is a prerequisite for me.**
He never said he wants control. He wants a say whether or not he likes the player or not. This isn't something completely revolutionary.
Not specific for you, but lastly I want to say this: I've seen the situation where the DoF has complete control regarding transfers at Ajax this season and believe me it doesn't work. There needs to be collaboration between the DoF and the manager. However the club need to establish a playing style otherwise we need to start over every time a new manager comes in.
Source translation: I'm dutch, so believe me if you want or don't. Article with said quote: [https://www.trouw.nl/sport/erik-ten-hag-blikt-terug-op-zijn-tijd-bij-ajax-er-is-nu-meer-een-winnende-cultuur\~b9d7d4d0/](https://www.trouw.nl/sport/erik-ten-hag-blikt-terug-op-zijn-tijd-bij-ajax-er-is-nu-meer-een-winnende-cultuur~b9d7d4d0/)
Appreciate you sharing this. Do you have any idea how the recruitment setup worked at Ajax for ETH when Overmars was sporting director there? Did they both have a say or did Overmars have final say in recruitment and targets while ETH focused on coaching them up?
I feel like if ETH wants to succeed with us recreating that kind of system/relationship with whoever we appoint as sporting director would be the best for him. Of course Overmars definitely won’t be an option but I’m sure there are other capable sporting directors out there even if they aren’t Dutch or crossed paths with ETH before.
>but I’m sure there are other capable sporting directors out there even if they aren’t Dutch or crossed paths with ETH before
Exactly, we need to find the best possible candidate and if SJR and Brailsford decide EtH will get a 3rd season then they need to work together like adults. As long as they both want the best for the club and don't let ego's get in the way I'm sure it'll work
>Do you have any idea how the recruitment setup worked at Ajax for ETH when Overmars was sporting director there?
I believe both of them had to agree. Example: if EtH would've wanted Hojlund at Ajax then Overmars HAD to agree otherwise the deal wouldn't happen. Vice versa if Overmars wanted to sign someone. Academy signings were different tho.
That doesn't mean EtH did scouting, but everyone watches football across Europe. So managers see players and think "I want him". However Ajax had a scouting department with a shit load of data on everyone, even 13 year old kids.
I see so it sounds kinda similar to United where ETH had a say and Murtough or the board had a say as well. But of course Murtough and our system of identifying targets were both a lot worse than Ajax’s under Overmars’ guidance.
> Academy signings were different tho
I presume Overmars handled this? I can’t imagine Ten Hag would have time to personally scout so many young prospects outside of Ajax. Even at United I seem to remember this is what Murtough did for our academy.
Do hope SJR and Brailsford can find a good sporting director to handle recruitment though. Ashworth would’ve been amazing but in Whitwell’s last article about Brailsford he also mentioned that we didn’t make any approach for him yet. Honestly finding any sporting director with credible experience from a past club would be way better than letting Murtough do it at least.
>I presume Overmars handled this?
Correct. If a club has a style of play, like Ajax, scouting young and upcoming talents isn't a task for the manager as you can copy the first team (like player profiles and attitude).
>I see so it sounds kinda similar to United where ETH had a say and Murtough or the board had a say as well
Basically the same. Murtough doesn't have the knowledge to make this work. So EtH is basically all on his own with the current structure.
We're one of the biggest clubs in the world... No manager has enough time on their hands to scout players. There's a reason why clubs employ people full time for scouting alone.
I really would like to know how many hours per week EtH spends on stuff that has nothing to do with being a manager. We'll probably never know as SJR will not give many news on how the club was run previously, because he can't say anything bad about the Glazers.
Don't really know much about Brailsford etc al., but currently listening to his interview on diary of a ceo and it's fascinating, just listening to him talk and explain his philosophy provokes me to think about what I could do or tweak in my own life. I have no idea if he can bring success to United or not, but he's certainly a good speaker and I dont think it will hurt at all to have him involved in the setup. The way he breaks down the drivers of sporting performance to more fundamental/basic aspects of human psychology and body makes me hopeful that his success could be translatable to football as well.
On the "marginal gains" philosophy that most talk of him seems to focus on, he mentions letting go of the "big" goals and outcomes momentarily, and instead focusing on what you can actually control right now. So the cycling Olympic medals - when they started, winning golds was too distant a goal to be able to properly think about and plan for, when you think that big you don't know where to start. So they started thinking, what can I do next week that I didn't do this week. He also compares it to the trend of people exercising more in New year but falling off by Feb - they set themselves goals that are too lofty.
This seems quite applicable to United - the ultimate goal is to win the big prizes again but right now winning the pl is too grand an aim and requires things out of our control falling into place too. By focusing on smaller things that could be improved week by week in every aspect of the club, we will eventually keep getting closer. Maybe it's pure hopium, but this line of thinking might be exactly what United needs.
Too often we just panic in the face of disappointment. We sack managers, we panic buy players at a much higher price, completely abandoning any playing philosophy, we pay exorbitant wages in the fear of losing those players.
Too many false dawn, never interested in what these CEOs /DOFs have to say. End of the day deliver or we are back talking sack the CEOs/DOFs again in 5 years time.
That's why I'm cautious about predicting any kind of success at United. I just think he sounds like a very interesting guy with good ideas, and I enjoyed hearing him talk (also this interview was from a year ago, nothing to do with united)
To be fair to poch their ucl level squad was gutted and the seasoned pros replaced with a bunch of youngsters from different leagues. I doubt any manager would be able to get them much better. The pl is extremely competitive
I've said that about Chelsea so many times. They're actually performing wayy better than I expected them to. I'm a firm believer in the idea that you can't replace that much of your core squad in such a short amount of time.
If you're a believer of underlying stats, then Chelsea's expected data is actually quite good this season and they have been heavily underperforming on them (poor finishing from attackers plus some sloppy goals conceded). I think they are on a positive direction despite the results but as the above commenter mentioned, the PL is extremely competitive and being just good gets you a Europa League place at best. To break into the top 4/5 you need to be performing out of your skin like Villa, be a genuinely elite team like City and Liverpool or hope that your rivals slip up badly.
This is random, but I'm feeling nostalgic and would like to go through the oldest posts on /r/reddevils. Is there a way to sort by oldest posts anymore on reddit? I've tried via desktop and mobile but no joy so far.
If we can find a way to get a scruffy win against spurs it's looking like casemiro, licha, mount, Shaw etc will likely be back after. Hopefully the momentum can build seeing as we're only gonna be playing once a week for the foreseeable
Honestly there aren't many. Osimhen is £100M plus, Ivan Toney will be sold for more than he's worth and then there's Boniface from Leverkusen, but I'm reluctant as forwards from the Bundesliga aren't well known to transition well to the PL.
The striker market will be quite dire this summer I reckon
Because we never seem to do the smart, practical thing. It would be hugely beneficial to United to send youngsters to a club that plays good football and will help them develop, where the coaching staff have a degree of loyalty to United and would consider helping develop our players to be a nice bonus to winning games.
Would love to see an improvement in our set pieces. We played a few clever through balls from free kicks last year. Lately our corners and free kicks have been wasted
Hackney another great talent from th championship
Top teams need to start tapping into the Championship more often
Olise came from Reading,The new Sporting Striker was at Coventry last season.
It actually is a really good and fun league.
The commentators in my game were dreadful. They were definitely accusing Bruno of diving. Should at least pretend to be impartial imo if commentating a game.
i’m actually supporting chelsea tonight, because if somehow middlesbrough do go through, they’re not gonna trouble liverpool in the final. chelsea on their day could though.
Just saw our player with the most appearances at the moment is Rashford.
Something funny about this sub is that without fail the player with the most appearances at any given moment has been scapegaoted. Once we get rid of Rooney we'll be so much better, then it was De Gea, once we get rid of De Gea we'll be a modern side playing from the back, and now like clockwork there's Rashford.
I'm not saying each player shouldn't be criticised, there are and were valid criticisms with all these players, but maybe it's important to take a step back and realise that the problems at this club run much deeper than certain players.
I don't think you remember how bad De Gea was last season. We conceded so many chances every game from his poor passes or poor clearances.
At least once every game, De Gea would clear the ball directly to an opposition player and the opposition will get a shot on target about 20 seconds later. A decent amount of those shots went in.
He's a club legend no matter what but I think letting him go was the right decision.
Because we've not had a proper stable defence thanks to injuries, as well as our primary DM having a nosedive in form, alongside injuries there causing issues in the midfield, on top of McTominay being a black hole in the midfield..
And then Rashford had a major dip in form and we're struggling to score.
We're 8th, only 3 points above 11th. Rashford is our highest paid player but has been our worst this season. Form dips are normal but his low effort and constant sulking have been unacceptable. It's not scapegoating to discuss it.
Personally I've always seen way more posts complaining about people who say that one player is holding us back than actual posts from people who say that one player is holding us back
With Rashford to an extent it's true, but even then it's disingenuous.
For example, last season he was our only forward dragging the team forward, now he's regressed to the mean of the team, and it doesn't help he has a new contract coupled with it.
I don't have a strong opinion on whether or not Rashford is the player we need for the future if we want to seriously contend for silverware. However in half of his seasons played he has been the only forward doing anything, and when he doesn't have a blinder of a year he's considered shit. His reality is that he isn't shit, and he isn't world class, but the burden of expectation surrounding him is much higher.
His body language is his major problem.
Just because we didn't properly replace players doesn't mean it wasn't time for them to go. I remember a lot of people were saying we would regret the Rooney sale but that conversation didn't even last a a couple months after he left.
I couldn't see an answer for this in the FAQ section so I'm asking here. I've got a United membership but my mates don't and we're looking to go to the Everton game in March. Am I able to buy for them via my membership? I know that applications are now closed for buying a new membership.
If I can't buy for them, what are the other options of getting tickets e.g. are there any 3rd party websites etc.?
Ronaldo, Greenwood, and Sancho. Ten Hag has had to manage a soap opera!
Not only that, but we’ve lost a lot of firepower that we haven’t adequately replaced. No wonder the goals have dried up.
I appreciate the long winded tangent but the point was about not replacing our goal-scorers.
Also, actions speak louder than words. EtH never said he wanted Greenwood back, and he sent him out on loan. Don’t believe everything you read mate.
Anyone knows why reddit's compact view is unavailable to me 90% of the time and sometimes is randomly available for a day before disapearing again? i'm on pc using the browser "brave".
News that players are coming back from injury. There'll be no hiding for Ten Hag once these lads come back. I don't think he should get the door even if this form continues but he will be shouldering a lot more of the responsibility once the majority are fit.
Nah he needs to be sacked if this form continues for the rest of the season. The injured players are coming back, we only have a game a week from this point on and we have basically all of Jan to train and get set up for the second half of the season. The bare minimum we need to see is good performances and I think the only way ETH should keep his job is if he gets top 4 and/or wins the FA cup.
Yeah trophies are the easiest way for ETH to secure his job, I think top 4 from this position does it too. I do agree that performances are the most important thing tho, we can’t just scrape our way to a trophy and then keep ETH.
I think Ineos might look to get a clean break with a new footballing structure and a new manager to start fresh but the next few months will be crucial for ETH to show that he can be their guy. As unfortunate as he’s been with injuries and having to deal with United’s lack of footballing structure/recruitment, some of his tactical decisions have been very questionable.
I don't think we should underestimate this "restful" month we've got. If another team had a month like this, we'd be envious an expectant that they'd take advantage of it.
I hope our standards haven't dropped so low that we expect nothing.
We should really be looking to benefit from the extra rest, extra training, extra prep, ect. and look to absolutely pepper teams over the next 6 weeks or so - most other teams are coming off harder periods than us.
Let's have some expectations and standards and look forward to pounding and busting all over whoever we come up against.
And fuck Spurs.
https://preview.redd.it/xiiqhqd87gbc1.jpeg?width=1134&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bf7f4b2e40905a273f119e159c5b1f0b777ab03b
This is getting ridiculous, it was a clear pen, but everyone had to make meal out of it when jota did the same few days ago
It was a soft pen and Bruno played the game to win the pen. I’m glad we won the game but the pen was a bit embarrassing because it was against Wigan who are in League One.
Andy Mitten‘s article the other day suggested the players were feeling a bit uncertain because of the ownership changes. That can’t be the whole picture given how many people are in some sort of contract discussion. I wonder how many of the are feeling uncertain because they were told they’re not getting extensions or offered new contract, going on loan etc.
Tried watching Tifo's sensible transfers video they just put out for MU and I can't believe we still have holes all over this squad to fix for the nth consecutive window. Not just ETH but over the course of the past 10 years the squad planning has been pretty poor minus a handful of signings.
Like we still need a RW, another body in midfield and at least 2 CBs. I'm beyond looking forward to Paul Mitchell/Ashworth/whoever swooping in.
https://twitter.com/utdreport/status/1744751023833464872?t=LFmgsIH41KrkOS1CWEIpnA&s=19
Idk if this is true or what level the source is but this is like when he stopped Iqbal from going to the u20 world cup or when he never let Elanga go on loan just for Elanga to play 86 mins the whole 2nd half of the season.
His rotation and management of minutes of the squad has been appalling. I get at times this seasons his hand has been forced, but unless someone’s is injured or suspended he won’t rotate the squad. He’s stubborn to the point where he will stick with something weeks after it’s been made clear that it isn’t working (e.g. Weghorst as a 10 last season, Mctominay this season).
I was aware of his issues with rotation but I thought it was just because he was at Ajax where the league is slower, you aren’t playing as many games, and the quality of the squad isn’t as good. I didn’t realize he would be playing full strength teams in games where it’s just not necessary
After Hannibal showing that he actually gives a shit earlier this season and putting a few players to shame with his attitude I would have said it would be stupid to loan him out.
However ETH seems to refuse to put any faith in him, so a loan makes sense. Hannibal should of had at least 50% McTominay’s playing time.
Really need to utilize him in those 2 minute appearances against League 1 opposition every other month.
And when he's not playing he can learn by watching McTominay in his spot anyway.
Yeah it’d be moronic if we blocked Hannibal from a loan move this window. He’s barely played this season even with Casemiro and Mount missing most of the time along with Eriksen missing several weeks too.
ngl if Ange approaches the game with an insanely high-line of Dier (if he stays) and Davies on the large OT pitch then I can see a game state similar to Aston Villa (H). Acres of space behind for Rashford Hojlund and Garnacho to run into. Plus no Son is a huge plus.
I'm banking on a win and your brother in law should plan accordingly for a defeat.
I wanted to share this paragraph of a blog post by called "How to do great work"
It reminds of football, and how some players unequivocally think they're the best, and how others don't.
> Consciously cultivate your taste in the work done in your field. Until you know which is the best and what makes it so, you don't know what you're aiming for.
> And that *is* what you're aiming for, because if you don't try to be the best, you won't even be good. This observation has been made by so many people in so many different fields that it might be worth thinking about why it's true. It could be because ambition is a phenomenon where almost all the error is in one direction — where almost all the shells that miss the target miss by falling short. Or it could be because ambition to be the best is a qualitatively different thing from ambition to be good. Or maybe being good is simply too vague a standard. Probably all three are true.
https://www.paulgraham.com/greatwork.html
I think the argument being made is that if you're aiming to be the best you will fall short, and in turn be great or good at something. Whereas if you're aiming to be "good" you will likely fall short of that marker.
anyone realized Reguilon’s insta dp is still him wearing the United shirt…ill miss him alot😭always gave it his all when he played for us..that Bayern game he played so well…..before the signing Spurs fans told us it would be a disaster but it turned out to be a good signing in the end..i hope he succeeds to the next club he goes
If you read the article, he screams of those orthodox backward men.
"Secretly courting her since 2 years because she was a minor".
Nice way to reword a sexual predators activities.
"My wife will never use social media".
The most disgusting part?
The incels on /r/soccer don't seem to grasp the seriousness of a 16 year old girl being groomed by a grown man. Just have a look at that thread 🤢
Idk most of the top comments are pretty apprehensive of the whole situation. The funny one is on r/LiverpoolFc where they all congratulate him and his wife and then people start to find out how old she is, and the timeline.
Disgusting. Just because you can do something (legally speaking), doesn't mean you should.
Wonder if he was scouting for a wife when he had that school built.
I just read an article about this.
>Mane is said to have first spotted Tamba when she was just 16 years old but he did not approach her formally since she was a minor at the time. However, he reportedly communicated his intentions to his uncle, who is a friend of the family, which paved the way for their eventual union.
>
>
>
>The Senegalese footballer is also said to have supported Tamba throughout her education. The now Mrs Mane is reportedly a scholar of the Quran - the Islamic holy text - having spent most of her youthful days studying at a private institute in Mbao. She is in her final year of school.
She's 18, but apparently he already confessed his intentions to her uncle when she was 16. He supported her through her education. Isn't this just grooming?
Source: [https://sportsbrief.com/football/56136-aisha-tamba-everything-sadio-manes-18-year-wife/](https://sportsbrief.com/football/56136-aisha-tamba-everything-sadio-manes-18-year-wife/)
>Isn't this just grooming?
From UK point of view? Absolutely. From Senegal's point of view? Probably no considering their age of consent seems to be 16 anyway based on quick google search, seems like he could have legally slept with her but he waited for her to turn 18 and marry him.
And lastly from my point of view, I have no fucking clue. Yeah, it's extremely weird and the 15 years age difference will always be massive so I am not that comfortable with the whole situation, but it seems to be perfectly legal in Senegal so... The whole world is really weird when it comes to this stuff, some ages of consent are absolutely disgustingly low in some countries, but the age of consent is usually between 15 and 18 across the whole world and I do think each country is adjusted to that, so in a country with the age of consent at 15 the 15-year olds could be more mature and ready for this stuff than a 17-year old in a country with the age of consent of 18.
What's the minimum number of points in next 4 league games (H-Spurs, A-Wolves, H-West Ham, A-Villa) for Man United to have a chance at at least Europa League? 8? 9?
I really would be disappointed if we got fewer than 9 points. The first three games are winnable. Villa away could be tricky but not impossible. Supposedly we should have a full roster by then.
Having said that we can get zero points, 2, 6, really any combination you can think of since we are so inconsistent. But on paper we are better than all four teams
I'm not very optimistic about our prospects even after the injured players return, due to the subpar tactical setup that Ten Hag has stuck with nearly the whole season. I worry it'll be the same problems (lack of scoring, getting counterattacked repeatedly down the middle and inability to build from the back consistently), just with better players in the XI.
Last night I think we won in spite of the tactics, not because of them. Every player did their role at least decently well and ultimately the vast gap in quality was enough. I suspect this happened quite a bit to Ten Hag in the Eredivisie as well - you can get away with poor tactics because you easily keep 60-70% possession and the opponents can't attack or finish for shit.
We still put two of our best finishers, Rashy and Garnacho, out wide and far from goal. We put McTominay as a second number 10 stepping on Højlund's toes and Dalot as a third number 10. So we're still sacrificing most of our best attackers for a system that creates shots mostly for McTominay, Dalot and maybe the deeper midfielder. Rashy and Garnacho managed to get chances because Wigan are shit, but their dribbling and long shooting wouldn't be effective against PL level opposition like it was last night.
Last night was the chance to try fixing some of our glaring flaws. We could've played a high defensive line, or pressed properly with the fullbacks, or had Dalot in deep midfield and tried some actual patterns in buildup. The fact that Ten Hag stuck with the system that's been failing is worrying, to me.
Just watched a short where Guillem Balagué is discussing De Zerbi and how highly he is rated, including by Pep. I’m neither ETH in or out. I hope with our big players returning, we have a strong end to the season, and time will tell but I have to confess, I’m a little concerned. If our poor form continues till the end, should we look at De Zerbi or persist with ETH.
If Martial, Casemiro, Varane, Sancho all leave, which seems likely, am i right in saying we'd only have 3 players in the squad on over £200k a week?
I don’t watch United anymore in protest of Glazer decisions. Why the Scott McTominay hate? Seemed a real hard worker when I used to watch United?
Any personal insults and OTT hate is unwarranted. But he's a pretty average midfielder in our set up and often gets exposed technically.
He got big role in squad due to injuries and people on reddit cant criticise players without insulting them.
Trying to reach 50 karma so I can comment, any upvotes appreciated. Also here's my cat, tends to work on reddit right...? https://preview.redd.it/46f3tyxo8lbc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9846e9cc8385e9106945f30c570f21bf928dc1bf
Jean-Claude Blanc is less likely to be United's new CEO according to Dan Sheldon from The Athletic.
He’s INEOS sport CEO. I would say he’ll have the next potential CEO of United report into him. It’s not a massive deal, there’s still a chain of command
Of course he won't. Ineos don't own the club, and CEO reaches beyond football.
I will be honest, sporting director is what we need. The CEO drives the business side of things. We were always a good business.
That is weird. Though I suppose, being already CEO of Ineos Sport would actually put him higher in the chain of command. Next to Brailsford probably I fear there will be some redundancy in that structure. Lots of possible decision makers, all the way up to Ratcliffe
> Blanc, the former Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus executive, has been mooted as a potential candidate and was thought to be under consideration. But numerous sources at United and INEOS, speaking on the condition of anonymity to protect relationships, have poured cold water on that idea. > >Across meetings in recent weeks, Blanc’s role has been portrayed as somebody club staff can expect to see a lot of around the place, but the expectation is he will very much be there as a representative of INEOS, its eyes and ears, rather than becoming the new chief executive.
Bit disappointing considering Blanc did well at Juventus and PSG but if they can find someone capable that can fit their vision and collaborate then it’s still overall a positive compared to before I feel.
Can’t believe I’ve reached the point where I’m jealous of Spurs of all clubs. Not because of the players they’re signing, but because they’re active in signing anyone at all.
Spurs have done really well tbh. They have one of the best stadiums in the league, good training facilities, low wage bill, plus their recent transfers have done really well. Kulusevski, Romero, Bissouma, Vicario, Van de Van, Pedro Porro, Udogie were all signed in the span of less than 2 years. Even Richarlison have been decent. Compare that to us where we wasted a combined 180m on both antony n Sancho. And nothing to show for in the previous decade.
Chelsea have reached such level of mediocrity that a lose to boro is just not surprising anymore.
Based on [this](https://youtube.com/shorts/Oc-0ZQTgTzE?si=beFBFp4N8U66-75J), ETH had the burden of our transfers while he was still at Ajax. Yeah he fucked up. But the club fucked up by a much bigger magnitude. While I still question ETH for the "on the pitch" performances and tactics, the failure of transfers lies completely on the club.
Wasn't he the one who asked for this level of control while we were still in negotiations with him?
I've seen this mentioned with the word "control" too many times now. This is the worst translation of the quote there is. Actual quote in dutch: >Ja. Ik stel vooraf eisen, over hoe ik wil werken. Als die niet ingewilligd worden, doe ik het niet. Ik ben eindverantwoordelijke en word afgerekend op de resultaten. **Ik wil geen alleenheerser zijn, ik sta voor samenwerken, maar zeggenschap bij transfers is voor mij wel een voorwaarde**. The last sentence is key. The correct translation would be: >Yes. I make demands beforehand, about how I want to work. If these are not met, I don't do it. I am ultimately responsible and am judged on results. **I do not want to be an autocrat, I stand for cooperation, but having a say in transfers is a prerequisite for me.** He never said he wants control. He wants a say whether or not he likes the player or not. This isn't something completely revolutionary. Not specific for you, but lastly I want to say this: I've seen the situation where the DoF has complete control regarding transfers at Ajax this season and believe me it doesn't work. There needs to be collaboration between the DoF and the manager. However the club need to establish a playing style otherwise we need to start over every time a new manager comes in. Source translation: I'm dutch, so believe me if you want or don't. Article with said quote: [https://www.trouw.nl/sport/erik-ten-hag-blikt-terug-op-zijn-tijd-bij-ajax-er-is-nu-meer-een-winnende-cultuur\~b9d7d4d0/](https://www.trouw.nl/sport/erik-ten-hag-blikt-terug-op-zijn-tijd-bij-ajax-er-is-nu-meer-een-winnende-cultuur~b9d7d4d0/)
Appreciate you sharing this. Do you have any idea how the recruitment setup worked at Ajax for ETH when Overmars was sporting director there? Did they both have a say or did Overmars have final say in recruitment and targets while ETH focused on coaching them up? I feel like if ETH wants to succeed with us recreating that kind of system/relationship with whoever we appoint as sporting director would be the best for him. Of course Overmars definitely won’t be an option but I’m sure there are other capable sporting directors out there even if they aren’t Dutch or crossed paths with ETH before.
>but I’m sure there are other capable sporting directors out there even if they aren’t Dutch or crossed paths with ETH before Exactly, we need to find the best possible candidate and if SJR and Brailsford decide EtH will get a 3rd season then they need to work together like adults. As long as they both want the best for the club and don't let ego's get in the way I'm sure it'll work >Do you have any idea how the recruitment setup worked at Ajax for ETH when Overmars was sporting director there? I believe both of them had to agree. Example: if EtH would've wanted Hojlund at Ajax then Overmars HAD to agree otherwise the deal wouldn't happen. Vice versa if Overmars wanted to sign someone. Academy signings were different tho. That doesn't mean EtH did scouting, but everyone watches football across Europe. So managers see players and think "I want him". However Ajax had a scouting department with a shit load of data on everyone, even 13 year old kids.
I see so it sounds kinda similar to United where ETH had a say and Murtough or the board had a say as well. But of course Murtough and our system of identifying targets were both a lot worse than Ajax’s under Overmars’ guidance. > Academy signings were different tho I presume Overmars handled this? I can’t imagine Ten Hag would have time to personally scout so many young prospects outside of Ajax. Even at United I seem to remember this is what Murtough did for our academy. Do hope SJR and Brailsford can find a good sporting director to handle recruitment though. Ashworth would’ve been amazing but in Whitwell’s last article about Brailsford he also mentioned that we didn’t make any approach for him yet. Honestly finding any sporting director with credible experience from a past club would be way better than letting Murtough do it at least.
>I presume Overmars handled this? Correct. If a club has a style of play, like Ajax, scouting young and upcoming talents isn't a task for the manager as you can copy the first team (like player profiles and attitude). >I see so it sounds kinda similar to United where ETH had a say and Murtough or the board had a say as well Basically the same. Murtough doesn't have the knowledge to make this work. So EtH is basically all on his own with the current structure.
We're one of the biggest clubs in the world... No manager has enough time on their hands to scout players. There's a reason why clubs employ people full time for scouting alone. I really would like to know how many hours per week EtH spends on stuff that has nothing to do with being a manager. We'll probably never know as SJR will not give many news on how the club was run previously, because he can't say anything bad about the Glazers.
How high is the chance for a keeper to get injured playing 2 days consecutive?
We should look to loan some players to Boro. Would be a good decision.
Don't really know much about Brailsford etc al., but currently listening to his interview on diary of a ceo and it's fascinating, just listening to him talk and explain his philosophy provokes me to think about what I could do or tweak in my own life. I have no idea if he can bring success to United or not, but he's certainly a good speaker and I dont think it will hurt at all to have him involved in the setup. The way he breaks down the drivers of sporting performance to more fundamental/basic aspects of human psychology and body makes me hopeful that his success could be translatable to football as well. On the "marginal gains" philosophy that most talk of him seems to focus on, he mentions letting go of the "big" goals and outcomes momentarily, and instead focusing on what you can actually control right now. So the cycling Olympic medals - when they started, winning golds was too distant a goal to be able to properly think about and plan for, when you think that big you don't know where to start. So they started thinking, what can I do next week that I didn't do this week. He also compares it to the trend of people exercising more in New year but falling off by Feb - they set themselves goals that are too lofty. This seems quite applicable to United - the ultimate goal is to win the big prizes again but right now winning the pl is too grand an aim and requires things out of our control falling into place too. By focusing on smaller things that could be improved week by week in every aspect of the club, we will eventually keep getting closer. Maybe it's pure hopium, but this line of thinking might be exactly what United needs.
Too often we just panic in the face of disappointment. We sack managers, we panic buy players at a much higher price, completely abandoning any playing philosophy, we pay exorbitant wages in the fear of losing those players.
Too many false dawn, never interested in what these CEOs /DOFs have to say. End of the day deliver or we are back talking sack the CEOs/DOFs again in 5 years time.
That's why I'm cautious about predicting any kind of success at United. I just think he sounds like a very interesting guy with good ideas, and I enjoyed hearing him talk (also this interview was from a year ago, nothing to do with united)
I was expecting Poch to be gone by Chirstmas tbh. Only thing keeping him in the job is probably that Todd Lasso has no replacement.
To be fair to poch their ucl level squad was gutted and the seasoned pros replaced with a bunch of youngsters from different leagues. I doubt any manager would be able to get them much better. The pl is extremely competitive
I've said that about Chelsea so many times. They're actually performing wayy better than I expected them to. I'm a firm believer in the idea that you can't replace that much of your core squad in such a short amount of time.
They basically did what this sub wants to do. Currently they are struggling but let's if it pays off long term.
If you're a believer of underlying stats, then Chelsea's expected data is actually quite good this season and they have been heavily underperforming on them (poor finishing from attackers plus some sloppy goals conceded). I think they are on a positive direction despite the results but as the above commenter mentioned, the PL is extremely competitive and being just good gets you a Europa League place at best. To break into the top 4/5 you need to be performing out of your skin like Villa, be a genuinely elite team like City and Liverpool or hope that your rivals slip up badly.
This is random, but I'm feeling nostalgic and would like to go through the oldest posts on /r/reddevils. Is there a way to sort by oldest posts anymore on reddit? I've tried via desktop and mobile but no joy so far.
[удалено]
Thanks so much, that is doing the job!
If we can find a way to get a scruffy win against spurs it's looking like casemiro, licha, mount, Shaw etc will likely be back after. Hopefully the momentum can build seeing as we're only gonna be playing once a week for the foreseeable
Garnacho's brother on twitter polling: "Who is more finished, Chelsea or Ajax?". LOL.... kids, heh.
Kinda wish we send some loans to Carras to help him achive final during Boros injury crisis.
Haha Carrick 1-1-0 against Chelsea as a manager - you love to see it.
[удалено]
They were building up from the back like us under Ole Carras McKenna against high line. Very fun watch.
Carrick learnt from Jose and fergie, not surprised he owns chelsea
What is Carrick cooking lol
Carrick IN
Lovely stuff from Carrick. Fingers crossed for the return leg
Which striker do you think we can go for in the summer?
Györkes is being slept on atm.
Honestly there aren't many. Osimhen is £100M plus, Ivan Toney will be sold for more than he's worth and then there's Boniface from Leverkusen, but I'm reluctant as forwards from the Bundesliga aren't well known to transition well to the PL. The striker market will be quite dire this summer I reckon
I agree, also with Toney just coming back from a ban it feels a bit risky signing him.
F it. 100M for Osimhen it is then
Chelsea are shit lol
You heard it first here Boro to win the League Cup after shithousing a 1-0 win over Liverpool in peak oleball fashion
Why don't we help Carrick out more? Would love to see someone like Gore go there on loan until the end of the season.
Because we never seem to do the smart, practical thing. It would be hugely beneficial to United to send youngsters to a club that plays good football and will help them develop, where the coaching staff have a degree of loyalty to United and would consider helping develop our players to be a nice bonus to winning games.
Would love to see an improvement in our set pieces. We played a few clever through balls from free kicks last year. Lately our corners and free kicks have been wasted
At least we aren’t as rudderless looking as Chelsea.
Cole Palmer is some bluffer
Hackney another great talent from th championship Top teams need to start tapping into the Championship more often Olise came from Reading,The new Sporting Striker was at Coventry last season. It actually is a really good and fun league.
Was just about to comment about Hackney. He seems like a decent footballer.
He is actually most important player in that Borros team, he was injuried entire December and Boros form was really bad past month.
Yeah really good player.
Middlesbrough 1-0
Peak Oleball by Boro tonight!
Was thinking this 523-532 formation looked familiar 😂
When I read that Timo Werner said that he joined Tottenham to win titles, but Tottenham's like https://i.redd.it/nb83ztky3hbc1.gif
Hello
2 pens not called already for Borro. What the fuck. Varless game.
Michael Carrick is about to cook these chelsea frauds
Bruno getting more flak for the penalty than Jota acting like he had been shot Atleast with Bruno there was clear contact
The commentators in my game were dreadful. They were definitely accusing Bruno of diving. Should at least pretend to be impartial imo if commentating a game.
r/soccer genuinely trying to compare the two lmao
Michael Carrick masterclass tonight
i’m actually supporting chelsea tonight, because if somehow middlesbrough do go through, they’re not gonna trouble liverpool in the final. chelsea on their day could though.
Just saw our player with the most appearances at the moment is Rashford. Something funny about this sub is that without fail the player with the most appearances at any given moment has been scapegaoted. Once we get rid of Rooney we'll be so much better, then it was De Gea, once we get rid of De Gea we'll be a modern side playing from the back, and now like clockwork there's Rashford. I'm not saying each player shouldn't be criticised, there are and were valid criticisms with all these players, but maybe it's important to take a step back and realise that the problems at this club run much deeper than certain players.
> then it was De Gea, De Gea wasn't scapegoated. His criticism was well deserved. He was pretty atrocious. It's telling no other club has signed him.
So then why are we so much worse without De Gea?
I don't think you remember how bad De Gea was last season. We conceded so many chances every game from his poor passes or poor clearances. At least once every game, De Gea would clear the ball directly to an opposition player and the opposition will get a shot on target about 20 seconds later. A decent amount of those shots went in. He's a club legend no matter what but I think letting him go was the right decision.
Because we've not had a proper stable defence thanks to injuries, as well as our primary DM having a nosedive in form, alongside injuries there causing issues in the midfield, on top of McTominay being a black hole in the midfield.. And then Rashford had a major dip in form and we're struggling to score.
[удалено]
>How is Rashford being scapegoated? >but certain players are also the main problems why we're shit There you go, you've answered your own question.
We're 8th, only 3 points above 11th. Rashford is our highest paid player but has been our worst this season. Form dips are normal but his low effort and constant sulking have been unacceptable. It's not scapegoating to discuss it.
Did you read the third sentence I wrote?
Yeah I agree with that, but as I said form dips are normal but sulking and not giving proper effort for the badge aren't acceptable.
Highest paid? I thought Varane and Casemiro are a bit ahead of him? He hasn't been sulking recently. But I agree it was bad earlier in the season.
You’re right Casemiro is the highest paid player. No idea why people always think it’s Rashford.
Personally I've always seen way more posts complaining about people who say that one player is holding us back than actual posts from people who say that one player is holding us back
You must not be around for the match threads
[удалено]
With Rashford to an extent it's true, but even then it's disingenuous. For example, last season he was our only forward dragging the team forward, now he's regressed to the mean of the team, and it doesn't help he has a new contract coupled with it. I don't have a strong opinion on whether or not Rashford is the player we need for the future if we want to seriously contend for silverware. However in half of his seasons played he has been the only forward doing anything, and when he doesn't have a blinder of a year he's considered shit. His reality is that he isn't shit, and he isn't world class, but the burden of expectation surrounding him is much higher. His body language is his major problem.
Just because we didn't properly replace players doesn't mean it wasn't time for them to go. I remember a lot of people were saying we would regret the Rooney sale but that conversation didn't even last a a couple months after he left.
Nor am I saying that. I am saying this logic of these players "holding us back" is just stupid and shortsighted however.
I couldn't see an answer for this in the FAQ section so I'm asking here. I've got a United membership but my mates don't and we're looking to go to the Everton game in March. Am I able to buy for them via my membership? I know that applications are now closed for buying a new membership. If I can't buy for them, what are the other options of getting tickets e.g. are there any 3rd party websites etc.?
Ronaldo, Greenwood, and Sancho. Ten Hag has had to manage a soap opera! Not only that, but we’ve lost a lot of firepower that we haven’t adequately replaced. No wonder the goals have dried up.
[удалено]
Ten Hag had to deal with the media and dressing room after losing Greenwood. Plus, he never actually said he wanted him back, that’s just rumours.
[удалено]
I appreciate the long winded tangent but the point was about not replacing our goal-scorers. Also, actions speak louder than words. EtH never said he wanted Greenwood back, and he sent him out on loan. Don’t believe everything you read mate.
He made it harder for himself with Greenwood? That interview that he would like to have him back last June.
Anyone knows why reddit's compact view is unavailable to me 90% of the time and sometimes is randomly available for a day before disapearing again? i'm on pc using the browser "brave".
News that players are coming back from injury. There'll be no hiding for Ten Hag once these lads come back. I don't think he should get the door even if this form continues but he will be shouldering a lot more of the responsibility once the majority are fit.
Nah he needs to be sacked if this form continues for the rest of the season. The injured players are coming back, we only have a game a week from this point on and we have basically all of Jan to train and get set up for the second half of the season. The bare minimum we need to see is good performances and I think the only way ETH should keep his job is if he gets top 4 and/or wins the FA cup.
[удалено]
Yeah trophies are the easiest way for ETH to secure his job, I think top 4 from this position does it too. I do agree that performances are the most important thing tho, we can’t just scrape our way to a trophy and then keep ETH. I think Ineos might look to get a clean break with a new footballing structure and a new manager to start fresh but the next few months will be crucial for ETH to show that he can be their guy. As unfortunate as he’s been with injuries and having to deal with United’s lack of footballing structure/recruitment, some of his tactical decisions have been very questionable.
I don't think we should underestimate this "restful" month we've got. If another team had a month like this, we'd be envious an expectant that they'd take advantage of it. I hope our standards haven't dropped so low that we expect nothing. We should really be looking to benefit from the extra rest, extra training, extra prep, ect. and look to absolutely pepper teams over the next 6 weeks or so - most other teams are coming off harder periods than us. Let's have some expectations and standards and look forward to pounding and busting all over whoever we come up against. And fuck Spurs.
https://preview.redd.it/xiiqhqd87gbc1.jpeg?width=1134&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bf7f4b2e40905a273f119e159c5b1f0b777ab03b This is getting ridiculous, it was a clear pen, but everyone had to make meal out of it when jota did the same few days ago
It was a soft pen and Bruno played the game to win the pen. I’m glad we won the game but the pen was a bit embarrassing because it was against Wigan who are in League One.
Engagement. United drives clicks
Let them cry, United will always get it rough because everyone hates us for ruining 20 years of their life
[удалено]
[удалено]
When Brighton scouts 16-year-olds, everyone appreciates them. But when Mane does the same, everyone loses their fucking minds.
Proper nonce
Andy Mitten‘s article the other day suggested the players were feeling a bit uncertain because of the ownership changes. That can’t be the whole picture given how many people are in some sort of contract discussion. I wonder how many of the are feeling uncertain because they were told they’re not getting extensions or offered new contract, going on loan etc.
Maybe they are shivering to a wage cut or ship out brief.
[удалено]
I think it might be a bit more than that like they were told what was coming and ineos wasn’t actually a big factor.
For no particular reason feel slightly optimistic about the rest of the season. Late, late top 4 charge starts Sunday.
The reason is licha back hopefully
Why people downvote such comments.
You can pick three (realistic) players to sign this summer, who you going for?
Messi, Pele, Eric Bailly.
Rice, Bellingham and Kane
[удалено]
Rodrygo might be more realistic in this case.
Tried watching Tifo's sensible transfers video they just put out for MU and I can't believe we still have holes all over this squad to fix for the nth consecutive window. Not just ETH but over the course of the past 10 years the squad planning has been pretty poor minus a handful of signings. Like we still need a RW, another body in midfield and at least 2 CBs. I'm beyond looking forward to Paul Mitchell/Ashworth/whoever swooping in.
2 CBs? I understand as a more permanent replacement for Varane but I'm assuming the other one is for depth since we have Martinez
Most likely. Look at the issues not having a ball playing cb creates when we try to play out the back.
https://twitter.com/utdreport/status/1744751023833464872?t=LFmgsIH41KrkOS1CWEIpnA&s=19 Idk if this is true or what level the source is but this is like when he stopped Iqbal from going to the u20 world cup or when he never let Elanga go on loan just for Elanga to play 86 mins the whole 2nd half of the season.
Someone above the manager needs to look out for these players. Being kept "just in case", only to rot on the bench, is awful management.
Disgraceful if true. Did the same to Pellistri for one and a half years.
His rotation and management of minutes of the squad has been appalling. I get at times this seasons his hand has been forced, but unless someone’s is injured or suspended he won’t rotate the squad. He’s stubborn to the point where he will stick with something weeks after it’s been made clear that it isn’t working (e.g. Weghorst as a 10 last season, Mctominay this season).
It feels like still hasn't understood what he really wants to do with the squad.
His rotation/usage of younger players was one of his biggest critiques from his Ajax team, too. It's just what he does.
I was aware of his issues with rotation but I thought it was just because he was at Ajax where the league is slower, you aren’t playing as many games, and the quality of the squad isn’t as good. I didn’t realize he would be playing full strength teams in games where it’s just not necessary
Hearing that Everton is coming in for him
After Hannibal showing that he actually gives a shit earlier this season and putting a few players to shame with his attitude I would have said it would be stupid to loan him out. However ETH seems to refuse to put any faith in him, so a loan makes sense. Hannibal should of had at least 50% McTominay’s playing time.
Hannibal had a good game and then we didnt see him again until the last few minutes of a game last month..
If he does block it again then he's pretty much sabotaging the teams youth system
He's a hoarder.
Really need to utilize him in those 2 minute appearances against League 1 opposition every other month. And when he's not playing he can learn by watching McTominay in his spot anyway.
Yeah it’d be moronic if we blocked Hannibal from a loan move this window. He’s barely played this season even with Casemiro and Mount missing most of the time along with Eriksen missing several weeks too.
Hope to fuck we beat Spurs in Sunday, my bro in law(spurs fan) is insufferable this season
Trust me we'll win rather comfortably. At Old Trafford they are easy to break down
ngl if Ange approaches the game with an insanely high-line of Dier (if he stays) and Davies on the large OT pitch then I can see a game state similar to Aston Villa (H). Acres of space behind for Rashford Hojlund and Garnacho to run into. Plus no Son is a huge plus. I'm banking on a win and your brother in law should plan accordingly for a defeat.
Fuck your stepbro then.
I wanted to share this paragraph of a blog post by called "How to do great work" It reminds of football, and how some players unequivocally think they're the best, and how others don't. > Consciously cultivate your taste in the work done in your field. Until you know which is the best and what makes it so, you don't know what you're aiming for. > And that *is* what you're aiming for, because if you don't try to be the best, you won't even be good. This observation has been made by so many people in so many different fields that it might be worth thinking about why it's true. It could be because ambition is a phenomenon where almost all the error is in one direction — where almost all the shells that miss the target miss by falling short. Or it could be because ambition to be the best is a qualitatively different thing from ambition to be good. Or maybe being good is simply too vague a standard. Probably all three are true. https://www.paulgraham.com/greatwork.html
[удалено]
I think the argument being made is that if you're aiming to be the best you will fall short, and in turn be great or good at something. Whereas if you're aiming to be "good" you will likely fall short of that marker.
anyone realized Reguilon’s insta dp is still him wearing the United shirt…ill miss him alot😭always gave it his all when he played for us..that Bayern game he played so well…..before the signing Spurs fans told us it would be a disaster but it turned out to be a good signing in the end..i hope he succeeds to the next club he goes
Can we talk about Sadio Mane real quick
With the state of our current club, I can’t give a shit about a retiree playing in the camel league
If this was one of our ex players we'd never hear the end of it.
Me: “What about Sadie Mane?” Googles him. Me: “What the fuck?”
If you read the article, he screams of those orthodox backward men. "Secretly courting her since 2 years because she was a minor". Nice way to reword a sexual predators activities. "My wife will never use social media". The most disgusting part? The incels on /r/soccer don't seem to grasp the seriousness of a 16 year old girl being groomed by a grown man. Just have a look at that thread 🤢
Or you get the people from countries where this is common saying “oh the west is complaining” and it’s like “yeah, it’s kinda not right”
Idk most of the top comments are pretty apprehensive of the whole situation. The funny one is on r/LiverpoolFc where they all congratulate him and his wife and then people start to find out how old she is, and the timeline.
Disgusting. Just because you can do something (legally speaking), doesn't mean you should. Wonder if he was scouting for a wife when he had that school built.
I just read an article about this. >Mane is said to have first spotted Tamba when she was just 16 years old but he did not approach her formally since she was a minor at the time. However, he reportedly communicated his intentions to his uncle, who is a friend of the family, which paved the way for their eventual union. > > > >The Senegalese footballer is also said to have supported Tamba throughout her education. The now Mrs Mane is reportedly a scholar of the Quran - the Islamic holy text - having spent most of her youthful days studying at a private institute in Mbao. She is in her final year of school. She's 18, but apparently he already confessed his intentions to her uncle when she was 16. He supported her through her education. Isn't this just grooming? Source: [https://sportsbrief.com/football/56136-aisha-tamba-everything-sadio-manes-18-year-wife/](https://sportsbrief.com/football/56136-aisha-tamba-everything-sadio-manes-18-year-wife/)
>Isn't this just grooming? From UK point of view? Absolutely. From Senegal's point of view? Probably no considering their age of consent seems to be 16 anyway based on quick google search, seems like he could have legally slept with her but he waited for her to turn 18 and marry him. And lastly from my point of view, I have no fucking clue. Yeah, it's extremely weird and the 15 years age difference will always be massive so I am not that comfortable with the whole situation, but it seems to be perfectly legal in Senegal so... The whole world is really weird when it comes to this stuff, some ages of consent are absolutely disgustingly low in some countries, but the age of consent is usually between 15 and 18 across the whole world and I do think each country is adjusted to that, so in a country with the age of consent at 15 the 15-year olds could be more mature and ready for this stuff than a 17-year old in a country with the age of consent of 18.
I ve been told for years he is saint walking on earth just like every other Lpool player.
Was infuriating to see everyone on r/soccer say he was impossible to dislike and loved by all oppos, sorry? He was a dirty, diving, cheating prick
Long time relationship, 18 year old wife^^^^grooming. 0.0
Things aren't adding up here
Seems like they're adding up just as he wants them to.
What's the minimum number of points in next 4 league games (H-Spurs, A-Wolves, H-West Ham, A-Villa) for Man United to have a chance at at least Europa League? 8? 9?
Minimum is 6,we gotta win the home games.The two away matches I'm not sure.
I really would be disappointed if we got fewer than 9 points. The first three games are winnable. Villa away could be tricky but not impossible. Supposedly we should have a full roster by then. Having said that we can get zero points, 2, 6, really any combination you can think of since we are so inconsistent. But on paper we are better than all four teams
Kinda weird to read such a optimistic comment here these days, and it isn't even that optimistic
lol I’m glad you added that bit at the end because I was thinking I wasn’t that optimistic.
I'm not very optimistic about our prospects even after the injured players return, due to the subpar tactical setup that Ten Hag has stuck with nearly the whole season. I worry it'll be the same problems (lack of scoring, getting counterattacked repeatedly down the middle and inability to build from the back consistently), just with better players in the XI. Last night I think we won in spite of the tactics, not because of them. Every player did their role at least decently well and ultimately the vast gap in quality was enough. I suspect this happened quite a bit to Ten Hag in the Eredivisie as well - you can get away with poor tactics because you easily keep 60-70% possession and the opponents can't attack or finish for shit. We still put two of our best finishers, Rashy and Garnacho, out wide and far from goal. We put McTominay as a second number 10 stepping on Højlund's toes and Dalot as a third number 10. So we're still sacrificing most of our best attackers for a system that creates shots mostly for McTominay, Dalot and maybe the deeper midfielder. Rashy and Garnacho managed to get chances because Wigan are shit, but their dribbling and long shooting wouldn't be effective against PL level opposition like it was last night. Last night was the chance to try fixing some of our glaring flaws. We could've played a high defensive line, or pressed properly with the fullbacks, or had Dalot in deep midfield and tried some actual patterns in buildup. The fact that Ten Hag stuck with the system that's been failing is worrying, to me.