Vs West Ham (A) - Premier League - 2pm - 22/09/19

[.]

I don’t have MUTV myself but I’m assuming the Paddy Crerand phone in show is taking place tonight.

I feel sorry for the fans who subscribe to it to listen to Paddy himself, David May and Lou Macari, tell fans the West Ham result is another blip on the road and what the hell are we all worried about because we’re a ‘work-in progress’.

Dictatorship TV. Literally.

[Deleted]

Sept 23, 2019 17:16:09 GMT . said:

I don’t have MUTV myself but I’m assuming the Paddy Crerand phone in show is taking place tonight.

I feel sorry for the fans who subscribe to it to listen to Paddy himself, David May and Lou Macari, tell fans the West Ham result is another blip on the road and what the hell are we all worried about because we’re a ‘work-in progress’.

Dictatorship TV. Literally.

Macari was at the club during a really difficult transition. He came into the club as we went from being European champions to getting relegated. So yeah, he will think of finishing 6th as a blip 😂

[redcase]

Sept 23, 2019 17:16:09 GMT . said:

I don’t have MUTV myself but I’m assuming the Paddy Crerand phone in show is taking place tonight.

I feel sorry for the fans who subscribe to it to listen to Paddy himself, David May and Lou Macari, tell fans the West Ham result is another blip on the road and what the hell are we all worried about because we’re a ‘work-in progress’.

Dictatorship TV. Literally.

I think it would be a fantastic idea if each and every fan that phones it tells Woodward to fuck off. How many calls are they going to cut out midway through? It'll look shit for them either way.

[Ole's Red Whiteknight03 Army]

Fan boycotts are about as practical as addicts boycotting their dealer to force lower prices. The only thing that will make an impact is to boycott official sponsors, unfollow and bombard their social media with #glazersout and support their direct competitors. When sponsors start to ask difficult questions about the value of their association with an inferior product change will slowly start to happen. But it needs to be wholesale and relentless, not intermittent or haphazard.

[Rustin Cohle]

This one is worth the click IMO. I’m posting it here as it’s behind a paywall, but please, if you agree with me, take a moment to click on it so they know that this content produces interest.

www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/sport/how-to-fix-manchester-united-shift-focus-from-profit-to-football-vzbwk88l2

How to fix Manchester United: shift focus from profit to football – Henry Winter

SPOILER: Click to show

Make no mistake, Manchester United players were suffering yesterday. Their manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, was hurting. Sunday’s train journey back from London was understandably quiet, squad and staff lost in their thoughts after that deserved defeat by West Ham United. The pain, a bit like the rain, seeped into Manchester yesterday, as it should because the performance was unacceptable. Declan Rice and Mark Noble sensed the vulnerabilities among Solskjaer’s men and hunted them down.

A flying visit to Manchester, and assorted conversations, rammed home the message that United are both chastened and determined to make amends. A feeling of gratitude and deep respect remains, as ever, for the travelling fans who showed remarkable forbearance at the London Stadium, not displaying any real dissent barring some places vacated early, but also there was private acknowledgment that they had badly let down those loyal supporters. Again.

Given the inevitable, damning “Hammered” and “No leaders” headlines, the presence of Roy Keane and José Mourinho sitting in heavyweight judgment in the studio, and continued unforgiving scrutiny on phone-ins, it is important that people are aware how much Solskjaer and his players care.

Take Ashley Young, and, as the terrace joke goes, some United fans wish other clubs would. Critics ponder what Young actually contributes. The undeniable fact is that a 34-year-old right-footed winger who played in the hole for England in his prime is filling in at left back, but that says more about United’s injury problems and enduring squad deficiencies than about the wholehearted Young.

Those close to the squad talk about the exuberant Young’s importance around the camp, a quality never more important than now when they have taken a battering to their esteem. Young possesses a defiant streak, reminding players of United’s values, as befits a player recruited by Sir Alex Ferguson. Fans can rightly lament Young’s positioning at times, and his suitability to a defensive role, but they cannot doubt his professionalism or commitment to the club. United staff have taken to ignoring “the noise” outside; the pundits, the media, the endless swirl of conjecture and condemnation on social media. They are Manchester United, always the biggest story in town. They focus on their work at their training ground Carrington, reviewing and preparing, but are clearly aware of the frustration among fans. They share it.

Solskjaer looks drained, his body language bruised, but he is an intelligent football man who has a rescue plan for United. However, as the saner souls say, it will take time. Solskjaer is still learning a demanding craft and there are legitimate criticisms, some tactical (why no 4-3-3?) and some selection (why Nemanja Matic? Midfield is no country for old men). But, really, what would be accomplished jettisoning him now? He’s had one transfer window. One. He’s renovating a building constructed by five very different architects: Ferguson, David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Mourinho and Ed Woodward.

As so many people contend: Solskjaer is not the problem at United, the structure is. The Glazers’ reliance on a non-football man in Woodward to address weighty footballing matters such as a major squad rebuild is the problem. United need a director of football, a central midfield player and a right winger. In that order.

In fairness to Woodward, he has given Solskjaer the chance of a job without having the managerial record to justify it. He, and the wretched, money-focused Glazers, must now give Solskjaer the chance to do the job properly, which requires a properly strengthened squad. That meant reinvesting the money from Romelu Lukaku’s sale. It would be an indication and indictment of modern football, if an honest, hard-working football man like Solskjaer was eased out, and money men like Woodward and the Glazers remained. The structure is wrong.

Sadly, the manager is invariably the expendable one, and Solskjaer certainly cannot afford Liverpool marching into Old Trafford on October 20, ripping his team apart, and the visiting fans crowing about being champions of Europe and moving closer to United’s record 20 league titles (Liverpool are currently on 18). Solskjaer also has to demonstrate that he and his staff can improve players at Carrington. So would shifting Solskjaer out, as some supporters and observers are demanding, actually solve anything? As Gary Neville pointed out on Sky, Solskjaer needs “three to four” transfer windows. If Solskjaer can land Rice, James Maddison and Jadon Sancho next summer, then that will be a significant upgrade. A front six of Rice, Paul Pogba and Maddison, Sancho, Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford looks a proper United midfield and attack.

Of course, West Ham, Leicester and Borussia Dortmund will rightly play hard-ball over Rice, Maddison and Sancho respectively, but United still have cache (and cash). It takes longer than six years of underwhelming performances to shred a reputation. The financial muscle is still there, as will doubtless be highlighted when United reveal their latest figures today. Old Trafford is still a desired destination for many players. For now, United need to deliver a swift and strong response to that withering experience in east London.

[.]

Sept 24, 2019 10:45:42 GMT Rustin Cohle said:

This one is worth the click IMO. I’m posting it here as it’s behind a paywall, but please, if you agree with me, take a moment to click on it so they know that this content produces interest.

www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/sport/how-to-fix-manchester-united-shift-focus-from-profit-to-football-vzbwk88l2

How to fix Manchester United: shift focus from profit to football – Henry Winter

SPOILER: Click to show

Make no mistake, Manchester United players were suffering yesterday. Their manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, was hurting. Sunday’s train journey back from London was understandably quiet, squad and staff lost in their thoughts after that deserved defeat by West Ham United. The pain, a bit like the rain, seeped into Manchester yesterday, as it should ...... SNIP.

Ole taking the job is basically Ned Stark taking over as King’s Hand, with Ed cast as Tywin Lannister. 3 or 4 windows and a DoF, sure Ned, I mean Ole.