Greenlizard0 Premier League Football Thread ** spoilers ** [18th - 20th January 2025]

Robbo said:
The funny thing is, Brighton have a better squad than we do, so why is the loss even a surprise? We don't have a divine right to win due to the size of the club. Looking at the table and other teams, I think 10th-12th is probably the best we can do, a damning indictment of the past few years.

I think in an ideal world we'd get rid of Rashford and possibly also Garnacho, and start investing in players who are superior and also better understand Amorim's system. And we're barely even being linked to any signings? The club need to start backing Amorim, and they need to do it now. Maybe Ratcliffe will just decide Amorim is rubbish and sack him along with the CEO who appointed him?

These discussions are going to happen after most games for the rest of the season...
Click to expand...

Really? We have international players who have won trophies on the world stage. Brighton had Danny Welbeck and Lewis Dunk playing yesterday.

I disagree that Brighton have a better squad than us.
 
adam cool dude said:
Really? We have international players who have won trophies on the world stage. Brighton had Danny Welbeck and Lewis Dunk playing yesterday.

I disagree that Brighton have a better squad than us.
Click to expand...

Casemiro is our most decorated player and his legs have gone.

Bruno is a great player but ultimately he's inconsistent.

Amad is the only player on current form who would be of interest to the top clubs. Mainoo is good but he's struggled a bit lately.

International caps is quite obviously a meaningless stat, or the last few years would have been very different!
 
Robbo said:
Casemiro is our most decorated player and his legs have gone.

Bruno is a great player but ultimately he's inconsistent.

Amad is the only player on current form who would be of interest to the top clubs. Mainoo is good but he's struggled a bit lately.

International caps is quite obviously a meaningless stat, or the last few years would have been very different!
Click to expand...

Regardless our squad is better than Brighton, Southampton, Wolves and Bournemouth who all battered us.
 
adam cool dude said:
Regardless our squad is better than Brighton, Southampton, Wolves and Bournemouth who all battered us.
Click to expand...

Southampton and Wolves, yes, Brighton and Bournemouth I wouldn't agree.

The squad is capable of more than it's currently showing though, yes. It really is a shambles.
 
adam cool dude said:
Really? We have international players who have won trophies on the world stage. Brighton had Danny Welbeck and Lewis Dunk playing yesterday.

I disagree that Brighton have a better squad than us.
Click to expand...

Wayne Rooney is an international player who has won trophies on the world stage. He wouldn't get in the Brighton squad and to be honest most of the current Man Utd squad wouldn't either.

Casemiro was a good player, he isn't any more. Unfortunately the Man Utd squad is full of has beens and coulda beens.
 
spudbynight said:
Wayne Rooney is an international player who has won trophies on the world stage. He wouldn't get in the Brighton squad and to be honest most of the current Man Utd squad wouldn't either.

Casemiro was a good player, he isn't any more. Unfortunately the Man Utd squad is full of has beens and coulda beens.
Click to expand...

That squad of players finished above Brighton last season and also won an FA Cup. Even if you want to argue that Brighton have a better squad how do Wolves and Bournemouth have a better squad than us?

They don't because this team of players are seriously underperforming.
 
adam cool dude said:
That squad of players finished above Brighton last season and also won an FA Cup. Even if you want to argue that Brighton have a better squad how do Wolves and Bournemouth have a better squad than us?

They don't because this team of players are seriously underperforming.
Click to expand...

That squad of players is worse this season than it was last season. An argument could be made that the squad overperformed last season.

I think that both Wolves and Bournemouth have possibly got better squads but not necessarily better players. I don't believe those are the same thing. A squad with 25 of the top goalkeepers in the world has 25 great players in it. It wouldn't be a good squad though. The Man Utd squad at the moment is awful it also has a load of awful players in it. There are some players who are talented but underperforming. This all comes down to opinion, and in my opinion the current squad that Man Utd is at its level in the league. It isn't underperforming.
 
The thing that annoyed me a tad was v Arsenal / Liverpool United were running round like men possessed. VS Brighton they plodded around in defence and when we had the ball the team just looked static. Throw in Onana lols and Jesus H.

Only AMAD put a shift in.

I know it's down to the manager to get the most out of the players. But there is only so much you can do. So much dead wood.

Oddly for me this all started when Pogba returned. A player with so much talent but he only played when he wanted. And for me it seems that the attitude at the club hasn't changed much.

So yeh, like Souness. I blame Pogba ;)
 
Nate75 said:
The thing that annoyed me a tad was v Arsenal / Liverpool United were running round like men possessed. VS Brighton they plodded around in defence and when we had the ball the team just looked static. Throw in Onana lols and Jesus H.

Only AMAD put a shift in.

I know it's down to the manager to get the most out of the players. But there is only so much you can do. So much dead wood.

Oddly for me this all started when Pogba returned. A player with so much talent but he only played when he wanted. And for me it seems that the attitude at the club hasn't changed much.

So yeh, like Souness. I blame Pogba ;)
Click to expand...

The players do well against Liverpool and City (I exclude Arsenal because the vast majority was against 10 men.) which you would put down to the low block in both games. Yet look at the stats and it was close to 50:50 possession with pretty equal shots and shots on target. Hardly an example of the team sitting back.

Yet we get torn apart by teams in the lower half of the table.

Yes our players could be over rated but they are still quality enough to be playing in and around the top 6.
 
I think individually the players could certainly do more, but as a team they aren't a top 6 side. That much is clear now.

Anyway, I think these performances will continue over the next few weeks, every game looks tricky when you're playing like we are... I think this is going to get a lot worse. Ratcliffe's nerve will be tested, he doesn't seem a patient man.

The focus should be finishing above 15th and trying to win the Europa League, that would be a huge fluke and mean CL football. Stranger things have happened!
 
Robbo said:
I think individually the players could certainly do more, but as a team they aren't a top 6 side. That much is clear now.

Anyway, I think these performances will continue over the next few weeks, every game looks tricky when you're playing like we are... I think this is going to get a lot worse. Ratcliffe's nerve will be tested, he doesn't seem a patient man.

The focus should be finishing above 15th and trying to win the Europa League, that would be a huge fluke and mean CL football. Stranger things have happened!
Click to expand...

If we manage to bring in some wingbacks then maybe we might have a chance at the Europa. Especially as now none of the Champions League teams drop into it.
 
Robbo said:
They will have to. I'm sure this was clearly established before he joined, he was pretty clear that he will only play 'his' system and will need players to do so.

Any manager would need players though, the players aren't good enough no matter what formation you put them in. Too much focus is on the formation and not individual mistakes and player ability.
Click to expand...
oh i absolutely agree that they have to back him and i think they will - if they don't then as you say, what was the point in hiring him. the question was more a 'quit moaning'/rhetorical type question to the naysayers that are already seemingly sharpening the knives for Amorim.
 
If the league was ALL about quality then we could probably all predict the outcome of a lot of games..

What it comes down to ulitmately is effort.. At ManU you have a team that just looks like they can't be bothered to put in the effort, (unless it's against a reasonable team, oo lookit us drawing with liverpool.. we're obviously as good as them!! ) and they are not dropped when they don't show the required effort.

If you take a Brighton in this case.. they have decent players, but not of the same quality as ManU.. but the Brighton players know that if the effort is not there they will not be playing next week.. and that very much comes from the manager..

What I find surprising, given ManU are certainly not going down... is why one of the managers hasn't just dropped those that show no effort.. bring in the kids if you need to.. show the senior players the stats.. as we all know they have them.. sprinting % etc...

And maybe @Nate75 is right... maybe it did start with Pogba, who clearly thought he was above the club, and could only be bothered putting the effort in when it suited him....

This is all from an outsiders point of view.. i'm not a ManU fan.. or a ManU hater.. and also I think the above comments about effort could be applied to a few clubs

edit: SP
 
Last edited:
SimonRigga said:
ah yes because he is/was the only one not trying.. and that's changed everything?!?!?

is that a serious comment?!?!
Click to expand...
So who isn't trying then? I'm confused, you said he isn't dropping people who aren't putting in the effort and then I give you an example of someone who he dropped because he isn't putting in the effort and you're not happy :confused:

He also dropped Garnacho because he wasn't working hard enough in training.
 
Shamikebab said:
So who isn't trying then? I'm confused, you said he isn't dropping people who aren't putting in the effort and then I give you an example of someone who he dropped because he isn't putting in the effort and you're not happy :confused:

He also dropped Garnacho because he wasn't working hard enough in training.
Click to expand...

Wasn't saying i'm not happy.. and 100% agree he should have been dropped..

but since then... if you have a different 11 players, some of which during various matches are not putting in the effort, and you don't drop them, shurely that tells others that are trying .. why bother..

I don't watch ManU as i'm not a fan of them, but from highlights on MOTD etc.. it's obvious when players don't run back and leave players un-marked.. and there is no running without the ball.. Can you not see this? or do you think its actually a quality issue, where the players you have purchased, (sorry I say you, but I don't know if you're a ManU fan or not) are just not good enough?

and if that's the case, how come ManU can actually turn up good results when it looks (from highlights) that the players are bothered, running back, running without the ball, basically putting in the effort.

Personally i'm not bothered either way.. if you think that they are all trying their absolute best, all the time, but the quality is not there.. then fair enough.. it just doesn't look that way to me personally..
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom