Manchester United 2022/23 - The Reign of ETH

For a lot of them that’s all they could do.

Lads on here are going down if he didn’t drink he’d have played county route.

Who was the more gifted?
  • R9
  • R7

0 voters

Maradona laughs at you from the grave once more.

Defending is more co-ordinated now, but I would say the overall calibre of defender in the nineties and noughties was a fair bit higher.

Much more of a system based game mainly to messi and ronaldo. Emphasis more on possession so defending has changed.

I think there are more goals scored in knockout stages of UCL and major tournaments these days, but that could as much due to rule changrs and interpretations.

One thing today though, a lot if the top fullbacks can’t defend and many of the the top centrebacks are there as much for their ball playing ability.

Teams can look fantastically solid when their pressing game is going well, but beat the press and those defenses seem to get their arses opened awful quickly. Cancelo and Stones at City two cases in point.

The likes of Redondo in midfield would be top 5 in the world today, same with Cannavaro and Nesta.

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Anyone who doesnt think defending was coordinated in the 90’s never saw the Arsenal back 4.

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Messi played with probably the best midfield trio ever and Ronaldo played with Modric and Kroos who are definitely in the top 10 pairs, I accept your point but circumstances were favourable for them.

Their respective National Teams havent done much.

I think playing style is much more homogenised now due to coaching and we arent getting outright defenders any more, but failed/adapted wingers and central midfielders plus the odd freak athlete like Van Dijk and the Bayern left back.

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1 nil to the Arsenal…

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Poor choice of words on my part, more teams all do the same thing now

One swallow doesn’t make a summer.

Plus the offside rule was very different back then. its much more in the favour of forwards now with the “active” element introduced.

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The Italian teams would have put Arsenal in the ha’penny place too when it came to organised defensive systems. Lets see how much space Messi would have found between the great Milan midfield and back 4.

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Ronaldo played in Italy with Inter Milan and less successfully so with AC. I’d imagine he encountered plenty of low block and resolute defensive systems during this time. Football was nearly more cautious back then if anything. Think of all the tense Champions League games in the early to mid 00’s.

@myboyblue while Mitten does have a close relationship with the club, he is by no means a club mouthpiece. He has done some very good articles highlighting the state of Old Trafford, spoken about the facilities, the hole in the roof etc… he has also written negative articles about the glazers.

Ah here. MBB has no interest in any actual discussion here. Why anyone would answer him on this thread mistifies me.

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Mitten knows how it works, give a little, get a little. He plays the game. You’d be a fool to think otherwise. If he didn’t have his uses the Club wouldn’t tolerate him.

Nani had more talent than cr

Liam Brady had a cracking comment earlier in week about the only 2 things he looks back on in life with regret. One is that he never got to play in a major tournament for Roi the other is that Piers Morgan is an a Arsenal fan

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