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The Footie Thread

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Strange how perception don’t equate to what happened. There was a stat on Spanish telly. Neymar put the 2nd highest yardage in( Verrati top)But was it in the wrong places ?

That stat just proves he's done loads of running. What was his stats for tackling, accuracy completed passes, touches in the oppo box etc ?
Lets leave the statistics to internet know alls. ?

On a serious note though, that PSG side who had just conceded to make it 2-1 showed not desire to make sure they never conceded another goal.
They just knew theyd concede another, just not that quick i dont think ?

Too many superstars and not enough grafters.
 
Neymar has literally wasted his peak years dossing it in France. Terrible move for him and also for PSG. They were a much better side without him and he's caused the toxic dressing room due to his fake injuries, getting booked or red carded to miss games and generally being allowed to give it 20%. A shame as for a few years at Barca he was easily the third best player in the world.

Poch and PSG is the worst possible fit. I bet he hates half his own players and can't wait to leave. Ditto Messi, who cuts a sad figure and clearly doesn't want to be there.
 
Well, of course, we can just buy players in. However, if we treated it that simply, we'd probably just be continuing our awful policy of throwing money around and thinking our problems will be solved.

I've no idea who is in charge of identifying and buying players. I used to think the manager would have a large input into this, however signings like De Beek indicate this is simply not the case. And, it has been a disaster. Ragnick only just got appointed before the transfer window, AND he is only a temporary replacement. So, do United go out and spend big money in the January transfer window, for players Ragnick may not want? Before he has even had the chance to get to properly know the players that are at the club? And, even if there were players he wanted, it won't work out so well if the new manager next season does not fancy them. Finally, what club is willing to sell their best players mid season to United, assuming these players are talented enough to show significant improvement to a shambles of a team?

Basically, United have made plenty of mistakes season after season. I was simply saying that, due to these mistakes, Ragnick has no real choice to play Fred and McTomminay in games like yesterday. The best solution is not to rush out and panic buy, but to ensure as soon as possible they know who the manager will be next season (I can only hope this is all being done efficiently behind the scenes, and maybe already settled). Then work out what long term direction they want to go in. They also need to be ruthless. If players show they are not good enough, get rid asap. In the Ferguson years, there was no hesitation in even getting rid of big players like Stam, Beckham, Keane and Van Nistlerooy, yet today not only are we holding on to Pogba, but we still have Phil Jones, Mata, Matic, etc. The people who run the club have become hoarders of players, it is ridiculous.

The scattergun transfer approach has been a huge problem for years, as has the strange difficulty United seem to have in moving on the deadwood. The result is what we now have - a bloated squad of individuals. It’s there for all to see, week in, week out, with pundits left scratching their heads at why a squad which looks so good on paper simply cannot perform. It’s the culmination of years of transfer policy chaos.

The other issue, of course, is the ludicrous prices we have been paying for those players. And why is that? Simply because clubs like Leicester no longer need to sell to survive. Rich owners have come in and, when United come calling, desperate for a new centre half, right back and so on, the world knows how desperate we are and the selling club holds out for an exorbitant fee. Harry Maguire is the classic example - at £80m we paid AT LEAST £40m too much.

I agree with everything you say. Get the managerial appointment sorted ASAP, hit the reset button and start from scratch. The club should have done it years ago. And I’m afraid now it’s going to take several more years before the club are remotely competitive again.
 
WEMBERLEE!!!!
Great cup tie last night between Hartlepool and Rotherham, pity someone had to lose. Penalties is never good for for the players, but is great for the fans - if you win.
Looking forward to a day out at Wembley at the beginning of Apr, first part of a possible league and cup double :cool:
 
WEMBERLEE!!!!
Great cup tie last night between Hartlepool and Rotherham, pity someone had to lose. Penalties is never good for for the players, but is great for the fans - if you win.
Looking forward to a day out at Wembley at the beginning of Apr, first part of a possible league and cup double :cool:

Free pizza in Rotherham on that day ? ?
 
Neymar has literally wasted his peak years dossing it in France. Terrible move for him and also for PSG. They were a much better side without him and he's caused the toxic dressing room due to his fake injuries, getting booked or red carded to miss games and generally being allowed to give it 20%. A shame as for a few years at Barca he was easily the third best player in the world.

Poch and PSG is the worst possible fit. I bet he hates half his own players and can't wait to leave. Ditto Messi, who cuts a sad figure and clearly doesn't want to be there.

Every time I watched him last night, the effort levels were so poor. Clearly not a happy man. Moving to France was the worst footballing decision he could have made - but hey - he followed the money and is laughing all the way to the bank!

Should have come to the Prem or at least a league where there is some actual competition
 
What a game that was. For all the quality PSG have got, they've got no bollocks whatsoever.

That's definitely true, but I think there's also an issue that their opposition will always feel there's a chance. When a club has a reputation as bottlers, their opposition will always feel that if they get one goal... This then leads to more occasions when they seem to bottle it. And so on.
Cycles like this are just really hard to break and it would take a massive culture shift at PSG, along with a real leader of men in the manager's seat, to ever have them winning the Champions League. Poch was always going to be the wrong man for this one.
 
That's definitely true, but I think there's also an issue that their opposition will always feel there's a chance. When a club has a reputation as bottlers, their opposition will always feel that if they get one goal... This then leads to more occasions when they seem to bottle it. And so on.
Cycles like this are just really hard to break and it would take a massive culture shift at PSG, along with a real leader of men in the manager's seat, to ever have them winning the Champions League. Poch was always going to be the wrong man for this one.
Hopefully he hangs on until the end of the season so he can come back to us when Conte gets bored and jacks it in. :)
 
Massive news: Roman Abramovich sanctioned. All UK assets frozen. Chelsea can still operate under a special licence but sale now on hold. Club will not be allowed to sell any more tickets - only season ticket holders can go to games for the foreseeable future

Taken from Twitter and reported on Sky News. Been added to UK sanction list.

Not before time ?
 
Massive news: Roman Abramovich sanctioned. All UK assets frozen. Chelsea can still operate under a special licence but sale now on hold. Club will not be allowed to sell any more tickets - only season ticket holders can go to games for the foreseeable future

Taken from Twitter and reported on Sky News. Been added to UK sanction list.

Not before time ?
Be like City with the empty seats ?
 
The scattergun transfer approach has been a huge problem for years, as has the strange difficulty United seem to have in moving on the deadwood. The result is what we now have - a bloated squad of individuals. It’s there for all to see, week in, week out, with pundits left scratching their heads at why a squad which looks so good on paper simply cannot perform. It’s the culmination of years of transfer policy chaos.

The other issue, of course, is the ludicrous prices we have been paying for those players. And why is that? Simply because clubs like Leicester no longer need to sell to survive. Rich owners have come in and, when United come calling, desperate for a new centre half, right back and so on, the world knows how desperate we are and the selling club holds out for an exorbitant fee. Harry Maguire is the classic example - at £80m we paid AT LEAST £40m too much.

I agree with everything you say. Get the managerial appointment sorted ASAP, hit the reset button and start from scratch. The club should have done it years ago. And I’m afraid now it’s going to take several more years before the club are remotely competitive again.
This may well be a major part of the problem, rather than the players we bring in.

Going back to the good years, if a player wasn't good enough they'd be moved on pretty rapidly. Even if a player WAS good enough, they'd be moved on rapidly if they were starting to cause any issues within the dressing room. So, the other players at the club knew 100% they had to be absolutely on it all the time, and work their hardest. If they didn't, they'd get an absolute bollocking, and if they continued, they got booted out.

Today, we have kept hold of deadwood for years and years. We have allowed talented players to stay, despite the fact their effort levels are ridiculously low, and are clearly toxic in the dressing room, especially with all their public comments against the club / manager. It means heads naturally drop, and there is much less incentive to put the hard graft in, knowing you position at the club is pretty safe. I'm sure Marcus Rashford feels extremely comfortable that the club will not only keep him as long as they can, but will give him a pay rise in his next contract. Regardless of form, he has already shown his potential at an early age, he was part of the youth set up and he did all that charity work. He has built up a huge amount of brownie points.
 
Massive news: Roman Abramovich sanctioned. All UK assets frozen. Chelsea can still operate under a special licence but sale now on hold. Club will not be allowed to sell any more tickets - only season ticket holders can go to games for the foreseeable future

Taken from Twitter and reported on Sky News. Been added to UK sanction list.

Not before time ?
Official - https://news.sky.com/story/chelsea-...-amid-crackdown-on-russian-oligarchs-12562148

That scuppers the sale. What does it do for transfers?
 
Massive news: Roman Abramovich sanctioned. All UK assets frozen. Chelsea can still operate under a special licence but sale now on hold. Club will not be allowed to sell any more tickets - only season ticket holders can go to games for the foreseeable future

Taken from Twitter and reported on Sky News. Been added to UK sanction list.

Not before time ?

Will they still be able to sell away tickets?
 
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