True, I’d take anyone who can do the job right now though.
The sales are as important. Need to get Maguire gone. Two centre backs that push up and stay close to the midfield.
That’s the issue. The forwards and mid field want to press and Maguire wants to be on the edge of his penalty box. Huge gaps are created.
Re midfield,they can either go the Klopp route of running teams over (elite athletes), or the Pep route of killing teams with possession (elite technicians). They’ve the players to do neither right now. I just hope that whoever they sign is elite in one or the other. Its no use just being a good athlete like Scottie Mc, they have to be running guys over like Gini if thats the route.
At centreback, I think theyll be okay with Varane, Shaw and Martinez if the right midfielder comes in. Barrella from Inter gave City plenty of it in the UCL final. I wouldn’t mind him. If its a more obscure guy and it doesn’t work out, it will be tough. Barella will cost a fortune though.
uniteds problem is they think they can compare themselves to the likes of a City or Madrid. They can’t. They aren’t. Signing Kane was the right move to try get them back to the top level of a City. You can’t run without walking.
They’ll learn that, but hopefully not too soon
Two more in the champions league (remember that?) For Harry tonight, in a man of the match performance. 33 in 33 this season iirc.
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Barella is too old at 27.
Varane is playing on memory imo. Need a fast right centre back. Hopefully malacia kicks on.
https://twitter.com/thesecretscout_/status/1765476079383248899?s=46
The next crop from “La Carrington” is ready to bloom.
You rascal you
Does the phrase “clutching at straws” mean anything to you ?
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Anyone hear Ollie on the overlap? Interesting comments on Ronaldo
Didn’t stop Fergie buying Van Persie. Goals are goals even if they are only for a small while
Yep but there was one point between man United and Man City the previous city if I recall correctly and RVP had a choice between city and United. He’d only one year on his contract as well. It was a totally different sort of deal when man United were in a totally different place.
Hojlund is a prime example of the type of player they need to target.
Overpaying for The likes of Kane won’t work for them.
I’m surprised Sky dont show this on the main channel.
It would get some viewership.
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Or Teddy….
Or Larsson
Or Michael Owen
Overpaying isn’t necessarily a problem once you don’t overspend purely for show. Utd spent 160m on Antony and Maguire. They then brought in an ex academy player and have him ahead of the 80m player in the pecking order. No rhyme or reason to their signings. Signing geriatrics like Casemeiro and Eriksen to play midfield in the quickest league in the world just proves it.
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Your all over the shop and years here.
The culture is all wrong there
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer slams his former ‘Gen Z’ Manchester United players in latest swipe
Solskjaer reveals certain players were scared to do pre-match interviews or accept the captaincy during his time as manager
James Ducker, NORTHERN FOOTBALL CORRESPONDENT6 March 2024 • 1:48pm
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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has offered an insight into the weaknesses of some of his United players CREDIT: Reuters/Andrew Yates
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has questioned the “lack of ambition” of the “petty, Gen Z” Manchester United players who were too scared to do pre-match interviews or accept the captaincy during his time as manager.
The former United manager also admitted that in hindsight the decision to sign Cristiano Ronaldo was a mistake and undermined the team’s ability to press and their style of play.
Solskjaer initially took charge on an interim basis in the wake of Jose Mourinho’s sacking in December 2018 before landing the job permanently.
He guided United to third and second-place finishes in his two full seasons in charge before being sacked in November 2021 after a dismal run of results.
Speaking to the Stick to Football podcast co-hosted by former United captain Gary Neville, Solskjaer offered an insight into the weaknesses of some of the characters in his Old Trafford dressing room.
“No one said ‘No’ to being the club captain, it was just for certain games – ‘I don’t want to be captain for this match’,” Solskjaer said.
‘It’s petty and shows a lack of ambition’
Solskjaer said it was “disappointing” those players would have other people relay that news to the manager. “They didn’t want to say it themselves, they had other people come up to me and say it,” he said. “It was disappointing. It’s a different generation, it’s Gen Z. It’s petty and shows a lack of ambition.”
Solskjaer also explained how some players were too petrified to even conduct basic pre-match interviews with broadcasters and revealed how they struggled to cope with criticism from pundits.
Some players at United struggled to cope with criticism CREDIT: NMC Pool/Tom Jenkins
“Many players said no to doing the pre-match interviews, the three questions,” he said. “You had the go-tos, Bruno [Fernandes] always did it, Harry [Maguire] always did it, Victor [Lindelof] did it, David [de Gea] did it, Luke Shaw did it. The others were worried about the questions, so preferred not to do it.
“You’re scared of the whole reaction maybe, but you also understand some of the players’ mental health.”
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On whether criticism from pundits and media affected his players, Solskjaer said: “Definitely, 100 per cent. You criticise players or teams’ tactics, but when it goes above that because there are so many who watch and listen and go on social media [it does have an impact]. If they don’t read it, friends, agents, managers will.
“When it gets personal, about character, they listen and think about it more than you think.”
‘If you have too many players, they get unhappy’
Solskjaer also criticised the dressing-room leaks and said it was partly a consequence of having too bloated a squad. “I felt we [coaching staff] had a very good rapport with the players, but there are always one or two in a squad that leak things because they are unhappy,” he said.
“Being a manager, you play a game Saturday, Wednesday, Saturday, you sack about 14 players every game and the next morning you have to tell them they have another chance.
“There are only a certain amount of times you can say, ‘I’ll give you that game, you’ve got a chance’. In the end, they go sour, we had a big squad with too many players. If you have too many players, they get unhappy.”
Ronaldo rejoined United for £19.7 million amid much fanfare in August 2021 but Solskjaer admits the signing did not work out as planned, despite the player scoring 24 goals in his debut season.
The Portugal forward ended up leaving United in November 2022 after giving an explosive, unauthorised interview in which he took aim at Solskjaer’s permanent successor, Erik ten Hag, and the club in general.
“It didn’t work out for me, it didn’t work out for Cristiano, but it was the right decision at the time,” Solskjaer said.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s second coming at United turned into a disaster CREDIT: Alan Cozzi
“We started off straight away thinking how we are going to press and change the little tweaks.
“Cristiano is different to Anthony Martial who was up front, or whether we would play Mason [Greenwood] or Marcus [Rashford] up front. Edinson Cavani was the one that suffered the most when Cristiano came in – we’d played and got Edinson into a certain way of understanding the way we played.
“With the ball, with him in the team, it was no problem. Without him [pressing], we had to change a little bit the different roles we’d gotten used to. We were one of the highest-pressing teams before [Ronaldo joined]. We let Dan James go when Cristiano came in, and they’re two different types of players.
“Part of signing Cristiano Ronaldo was getting that passion from him, but that did have its complications.
“You’ve got Greenwood, Martial and Rashford who can learn from Cristiano as he’s the best, the most disciplined and he’s been the best player in the world, and you think he’s going to help them.
“When he arrived at the club, he told me to start him for three games in a row, and then put me on the bench for the fourth game, but he’s so passionate so when I did that, he didn’t like it.”
Solskjaer has also disclosed the reasons behind the decision to award the captaincy to Maguire over Fernandes, who has since succeeded the England defender as United captain.
“I knew Bruno Fernandes had captain qualities when I was manager at Manchester United,” he said. “He’s got the personality and quality, but he knows and I’ve told him that he’s too passionate at times and he loses a bit of control.
“I loved Harry Maguire as a captain, he was the leader in that group for me when I was at the club.”