The Footie Thread

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A different perspective on Utd’s woes? They are 5th, and 4th is their only realistic ambition at present. West Ham is the team above them, and Utd are playing at that level.

Can Utd realistically compete with City, Chelsea and Liverpool at present? No, they don’t have the squad. They have a decent keeper and centre back pairing, all of which are under pressure because of a dire midfield AND it is dire but it is competitive with the rest of the division. Goals for is in spitting distance of the top 3. A better midfield will improve the defence and attack.

Utd are close to the top three but the points difference over 30+ games will make it look worse than it is. And sometimes you only look as good as the opposition let you. Utd were dire against Liverpool and City… was that all down lack of a cohesive plan, or was that all they were allowed to look like?

Would a different manager improve the midfield? Barely. You aren’t going to improve Pogba, the 2 youngsters have the potential and the fire but they can’t compete without a Scholes or Kean to lead them.

Utd need that 4th spot for Champion’s League football so that they can buy some midfield leaders. Sort midfield and then there’s the potential to compete for top 3.
 
rudebhoy said:
Am far from convinced he is the right guy for Newcastle. Keeping Bournemouth in the Prem for 4 years was laudable but Newcastle will be expecting much more than that. I'd be very surprised if he lasted a year there.

He messed Celtic around for 3 months, before turning them down due to a combination of him not being able to persuade all of his old coaching staff to come, and Celtic's refusal to let him pick his own boss (DOF).

Wouldn't be the greatest surprise to see a similar scenario play out again.
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I would see him as an intermediate guy. Steady the ship now, build a team from scratch, shake up the academy and u23 structure, get the team to top half in the next couple of years. A bigger name then comes in to take them to that next level. The big boys don't want to spend 2-3 years building a team so that will be his role.

If he does brilliantly then he stays in the job. If not it is no great surprise when he gets moved on. I can see him being good for this next stage though.
 
Billysboots said:
Danny Murphy, like or loathe him (I like him), hit the nail on the head. If United want to compete with the likes of City, Chelsea and Liverpool “they need to change the manager.”

I sincerely hope the club use the international break wisely.
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Utd need a new manager, without a doubt. If their manager was another Norwegian with the same managerial background as Ole, but with no previous attachment to club, he would have been gone long long long ago (well, he would not have been there in first place). Certainly would have very little support, or none, from fans. From a tactical standpoint, quite possibly worst in league (still no idea what his gameplan is).

But, Neville has a point about sacking him now. Absolutely fine if the board think the long term successor they want is ready to come in mid season. However, I suspect that is not the case.

So, by sacking Ole, you bring in a caretaker. By doing so early in season, there is a chance the caretaker could improve things and even have a strong finish to season. However, oddly that creates a dilemma. At end of season, do board stick to their long term plan and bring in someone who they see as a long term fit? That could backfire if players seem to have really played well under caretaker, especially if the long term guy then gets off to a weak start. Or, they could say the caretaker has done so well they could extend his stay. However, that could easily be the Ole situation all over again.

So, I can see board sticking with Ole until at least last few weeks of season. Bring in a caretaker then, when even a few wins to finish won't be enough to convince anyone that guy should be full time manager. BUT, with Woodward leaving very soon, once that is done the new guy might decide to act decisively then. Make a statement and get rid of Ole then.

Ultimately, I want Ole replaced. And I want it done before the next game. But, I can see why it won't happen. It is that desperate, I would also be intrigued to see Bruce come in as caretaker. No way I want him as long term manager, but I am sure he is more tactically aware than Ole.

Also worth noting, it is not just Ole, but the entire coaching team are probably not good enough. You can be a good manager without being a world leading tactical genius. As long as your clear in what you want, have great coaches to work with, manage all the pieces to the jigsaw to get the team working to it's full potential and have the charisma to inspire the players, then that is effectively the definition of a great manager in any company. So, I think we need a big change is several non playing positions.
 
4th maybe their goal now, but it certainly wasn’t at the beginning of the season.

Ole’s no good. He had a chance to bolster their midfield but choose to spend £73m on a winger he didn’t need and that he doesn’t play. That’s all on him.

Hobbit said:
A different perspective on Utd’s woes? They are 5th, and 4th is their only realistic ambition at present. West Ham is the team above them, and Utd are playing at that level.

Can Utd realistically compete with City, Chelsea and Liverpool at present? No, they don’t have the squad. They have a decent keeper and centre back pairing, all of which are under pressure because of a dire midfield AND it is dire but it is competitive with the rest of the division. Goals for is in spitting distance of the top 3. A better midfield will improve the defence and attack.

Utd are close to the top three but the points difference over 30+ games will make it look worse than it is. And sometimes you only look as good as the opposition let you. Utd were dire against Liverpool and City… was that all down lack of a cohesive plan, or was that all they were allowed to look like?

Would a different manager improve the midfield? Barely. You aren’t going to improve Pogba, the 2 youngsters have the potential and the fire but they can’t compete without a Scholes or Kean to lead them.

Utd need that 4th spot for Champion’s League football so that they can buy some midfield leaders. Sort midfield and then there’s the potential to compete for top 3.
Click to expand...
 
Poor defending by Watford but definitely a controversial goal. Watford put the ball out as one of their players was down. Arsenal then didn't give it back from the throw in. And a probable foul on Sarr as Watford tried to clear before Arsenal won the ball and scored.
 
ColchesterFC said:
Poor defending by Watford but definitely a controversial goal. Watford put the ball out as one of their players was down. Arsenal then didn't give it back from the throw in. And a probable foul on Sarr as Watford tried to clear before Arsenal won the ball and scored.
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Why would arsenal give the ball back for a Watford playing diving and staying down?
 
fundy said:
Why would arsenal give the ball back for a Watford playing diving and staying down?
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I don't know, why would the ref give a free kick to Arsenal for the Arsenal player diving on the edge of his own box and staying down? And it wasn't a dive by the Watford player. It was a 50/50 challenge that the Arsenal player won and the Watford player came off second best.
 
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