Manchester United Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread 2018 pt. 2

StringerBell

This is the latest in the mourinho Shaw ****e is it?

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/sport/football/man-utd-luke-shaw-mourinho-14438271

Andrew Beef

StringerBell wrote: »

Now, not that I have any specific reason to doubt you.....but do you honestly expect anybody to credit that?

I couldn’t care less to be honest. My two sons have a signed jersey and I have a memory to treasure.

pjohnson

secman wrote: »

I know you have been waiting for someone to ask the obvious question... hook
.line ... sinker... ... Who.. where.... when.... how...?

Daley Blind........Burger King......6.46pm.....bástard skipped me in the que.

yabadabado

Andrew Beef wrote: »

I had the pleasure of spending some time with a Manchester United player today. In his view, Mourinho is “90% great, but 10% horrendous”. He reckons the club are on the right track, and that the gap to City isn’t as big as it appears.

I was chatting to my mate Luke today and he reckons the complete opposite. 90% horrendous, I doubted it so text another lad who we used to be pals with who's over working in France now and was even harser. Memphis reckons he is a right prick

pjohnson

J. Marston wrote: »

We're setting up a women's team.

https://twitter.com/SkyKaveh/status/976585913504542723

Phil Neville to coach?

StringerBell

Andrew Beef wrote: »

I couldn’t care less to be honest. My two sons have a signed jersey and I have a memory to treasure.

I'm delighted for you and your two young sons.

mosstin

J. Marston wrote: »

We're setting up a women's team.

https://twitter.com/SkyKaveh/status/976585913504542723

It's in doubt now, apparently, after how they performed vs Sevilla.

StringerBell

Be good to have a women's team again, not even for any other reason other than a club of our size and stature should have a women's team and do it's bit to raise the profile of the game.

Mars Bar

J. Marston wrote: »

We're setting up a women's team.

https://twitter.com/SkyKaveh/status/976585913504542723

It's about time.

https://twitter.com/ManUtd/status/976587470916726784?s=19

adox

Andrew Beef wrote: »

I had the pleasure of spending some time with a Manchester United player today. In his view, Mourinho is “90% great, but 10% horrendous”. He reckons the club are on the right track, and that the gap to City isn’t as big as it appears.

deaddonkey15

StringerBell wrote: »

Can I ask why though?

For example, why would you consider poch to be any better/more impressive then say Rodgers during his time at Liverpool when they were genuine title challengers? What sets him apart even?

I'm not looking to change anybody's opinion for the record, it's practically impossible on the internet.

I've posted before about why I think Pochetinno is a good manager. Main reason being he seems to get the most from his players and has a system that seems to work for everyone at Spurs and that is producing results for them.

I actually thought Rodgers was a good manager and still do. I thought his Liverpool side was greater than the sum of its parts, Swansea too. Bottling the league will obviously go against him (as well as the amount of sh*te he talks), but I wouldn't really put all the blame on him for that. Doing well at Celtic too it seems although that isn't really much of an achievement. It does help show how silly the "never won trophy" argument is. Rodgers has won trophies and I doubt a United fan would want him anywhere near the club. I personally thought Celtic was a step down for him, although it was probably wise to move there and get some more experience whilst adding trophies to his CV. Taking over another PL side for the sake of it would probably have started him on a cycle similar to Pardew, Allardyce, Hughes etc. and I think he's level above them.

Richard Hillman

A blooming disgrace that it took so long for a women's team. You do have to wonder about how the club is run, it seems very outdated and old fashioned. They were even the last Premier League club to have a Twitter account FFS :pac:

They have gotten off very, very lightly over the last few years for not having a team

astradave

astradave wrote: »

Forget the music man, concentrate on the screenwriting

Aye...or something like that which keeps me from having to get out of bed in the early AM and doing an honest day's work

Andrew Beef wrote: »

I had the pleasure of spending some time with a Manchester United player today. In his view, Mourinho is “90% great, but 10% horrendous”. He reckons the club are on the right track, and that the gap to City isn’t as big as it appears.

McGrath? Irwin? May? G'wan...spill the beans.

Richard Hillman wrote: »

A blooming disgrace that it took so long for a women's team. You do have to wonder about how the club is run, it seems very outdated and old fashioned. They were even the last Premier League club to have a Twitter account FFS :pac:

They have gotten off very, very lightly over the last few years for not having a team

Sure weren't the club on the verge of launching a women's team for Summer 2016. Word is that Jose nixed the whole project when he came in. The best he could do though was get it put back a few years.

StringerBell

We did have a women's team that went away when the Glazer's took over deeming it not part of the "core" business.

Was all the more strange considering the youth team was kept from what I know.

Southampton didn't have one either not sure if they set one up in the last season or two, just know we were the last two in the premier league to be without a professional women's team.

Cantona's Collars

Maddest story so far. The Express: United planning a deal to bring back Ronaldo with Alexis Sanchez set to leave.
Go home journalist, you're drunk.

Minderbinder

Do these professional women’s teams turn a profit? Or is it all just pandering and patronising?

Richard Hillman

Minderbinder wrote: »

Do these professional women’s teams turn a profit? Or is it all just pandering and patronising?

Is United a business or football club?

I can understand when a club is on a tight budget but this is Man Utd. If United were to bid 50m on a player and the other club wanted 10m more theyd pay it without batting an eyelid.

Considering United already have the facilities, all they would have to do is pay very modest wages and transport to get to games. It's not as if it was a massive undertaking that may effect the first team.

Mitch Connor

Minderbinder wrote: »

Do these professional women’s teams turn a profit? Or is it all just pandering and patronising?

5m a year loss is projected, apparently.

Adamocovic

Minderbinder wrote: »

Do these professional women’s teams turn a profit? Or is it all just pandering and patronising?

I wouldn't use words like pandering or patronising at all. There is a demand for womens football, more so international level, and having professional teams gives girls playing football a dream to pursue. I'd say most of us here dreamt of playing for United as a kid. I'm sure the audiences for women's football will increase with more coverage.

Now in terms of finances I can't give a proper answer. While the average attendances of the Womens League in the UK aren't the greatest, they are similar to league 2 averages, but I wager slightly less. However the players get paid extremely less, something people are looking to change. The womens FA Cup does draw in a big crowd of 30'000+, something which has risen incredibly. So I imagine there is income possibilities that have not been perfected yet. And knowing the marketing of Man United they will bring the womens game to a new level.

I think the UK will look to try replicate the success in promoting the sport in the US has done. The most popular team in the North America/Canada league gets average attendances of 15'000+, and I'm sure we've all heard how much more successful the national team in America has been financially in comparison to the mens team. The UK league has a way to go yet but is on the right track.

Anyway, I won't be getting caught up on the finances surrounding this, and if that is the main concern someone has they may need to re-evaluate their thinking. When one of the top female players in England is only earning £70'000 a year I would be more concerned about us blowing upwards of £200million a week on players who aren't performing than setting up a womens football team. We have plenty of money to pursue this.

jayo26

I have been a massive fan of women's football league in America for few years it's a great spectacle.

Liam McPoyle

3 years ago today, one of the funnest days as a United fan occured.

First there was this.



Then there was this.



Then this.




And finally this.

StringerBell

@deaddonkey, I guess your opinion of Rodgers probably explains your opinion of Poch to me so. Cheers

Anybody else?

jayo26

Business Cat wrote: »

3 years ago today, one of the funnest days as a United fan occured.

First there was this.



Then there was this.



Then this.




And finally this.

Happier times? He'll no!! but that game was as glorious as it got after fergie for quiet some time.

Trigger

That snippet is not enough, bask in the glory of Juanfield!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnd4X1YgCfo

Cantona's Collars

Speaking of Juanfield..
Emre Can has seen through the delusion. There's only so many times the promise of "next year" can be listened to. :)

https://twitter.com/Coral/status/976760133601648640

Emre Can says he wants to play for "a very big club" next season, insisting "that any potential suitor must be capable of challenging for the biggest prizes".

Cantona's Collars

Marca claiming that Jose Mourinho will allow Juan Mata and Ander Herrera to make a decision on their futures this summer. Apparently, the Manchester United manager will tell the Spanish midfielders that he is happy for them to stay but their opportunities will be limited; alternatively, he will not stand in their way if they want to leave.

Discodog

astradave wrote: »

Yep.. bilaterally, went deaf suddenly as a teenager in one ear and then the other ear started going down over the years, it’s pretty bad these days, I got Cochlear implant surgery there about a month or so ago. So I’m in the process of rehabbing. You basically need to teach your brain to hear again.. it’s tough going. I try not to let it effect my everyday life.. most people say to me that they wouldn’t even know, I’m a excellent lip reader so can follow conversation very well.

Now you tell us

We expect a report after every match.

bangkok

Discodog wrote: »

Now you tell us

We expect a report after every match.

Why do yoi think all the players cover their mouths now when they talk

Trigger

Discodog wrote: »

Now you tell us

We expect a report after every match.

Why dya think the feckers cover their mouths nowadays

That’s one of the first things I said when Klopp went mad on the sideline against us.. the ref asked the assistant 2/3 times “is he annoyed at me” :pac:

Edit: fück you Bangkok

Lord TSC

Pique seems to have been doing some talking about his time with us. Some highlights.

========
on Roy Keane

So we’re sitting there waiting for the gaffer to come in and speak to us, and I’m literally sitting right next to Roy Keane. The dressing room is so small that our legs are almost touching. There’s no space at all.

It’s dead quiet. All of a sudden, you could hear this little vibration. Very soft.

Bzzzzzz ……

………….. Bzzzzzzz.

Roy is looking around the room.

Bzzzzzzz …..

Oh, ****.

I realize it’s me. It’s my cell phone. I left it on vibrate, and it’s in the pocket of my pants, stuffed in the clothes bag that’s hanging right behind Roy’s head.

Roy can’t find where the noise is coming from. Now he’s looking around the room like a maniac. His eyes are darting everywhere, and he’s trying to figure it out. You know the famous scene with Jack Nicholson in The Shining, when he bursts through the door? That’s what he looked like.

He screams out to everybody, “Whose phone is that?!”

Silence.

He asks again.

Silence.

He asks a third time.

“Whose. Bloody. F*****g. Phone. Is. That?!”

Finally, I spoke up, like a little boy. Very softly, I said, “I’m so sorry. It’s mine.”

Roy put his arm around me, and he laughed, and he told me not to worry about it.

….

…. No, come on, of course I’m joking! Roy lost his mind! He went nuts in front of everybody! It was incredible. I almost **** myself. But it was a good lesson.

===========

Pique on his United time and how Sir Alex was a big influence :

"It wasn’t just the football that was difficult. It was the language and the culture and the loneliness. The isolation was the worst part. Being away from your family at 17, and being surrounded by grown men, by legends, by a manager like Sir Alex … it was very complicated. When people wonder why talented young footballers don’t make it abroad, I can assure you it usually doesn’t have anything to do with their technical quality. There’s always a lot more going on that you don’t see. The first two years I was in England, there were so many nights when I would come home from training and in Manchester it would already be dark outside at four in the afternoon, and I would be in my flat all alone. It was depressing. Then, of course, my mother would call me, and I’d lie and say, “Oh no, it’s going great, Mum. Everything is great.”

But it wasn’t going great. It was ****. I wanted to quit and come home to Spain. I remember during that time, my father always said something to me that was extremely important.

I’d complain to him, “I don’t know, Dad. The manager doesn’t trust me. These guys are so strong. I’m miserable.”

And he would say, “Well, you know what? Maybe today was bad. But the sun will always rise again tomorrow.”

I don’t know why, but it made me feel better. It kept me going. And I was very lucky, because, as naive as I was, and as raw as I was, Sir Alex was phenomenal to me from the very first day. The best managers all have this quality — even when they’re not playing you, and even when they’re hard on you — they make you believe that they really care about you. Sir Alex was like a second father to me. He made me earn it, but eventually he gave me my chance.

In 2007, after two years in England, he told me that I was going to play about 25 games that season. Everything started well. I was getting to play a bit alongside Rio. And then, in November, we went to play in Bolton.

**** …

I can still picture the ball floating in the air.

It was a set piece. I was supposed to be marking Nicolas Anelka. Bolton chipped the ball into the box, and I thought, I’m going to be aggressive. I jumped up to head the ball away, and I completely missed it. It was like something out of a nightmare. The ball just … kept floating. It was that yellow and purple Premier League ball. Remember that one? It floated right over my head like a balloon.

I landed and turned around in horror. Anelka controlled the ball and scored easily. We ended up losing 1-0, and it was my fault. As a young defender, when you make a mistake like that, the manager simply cannot trust you anymore. Even if he wants to trust you, he can’t. I could tell, literally at the moment that Anelka controlled the ball, that I had lost the faith of Sir Alex, and probably the faith of most United fans."

Sir Alex promised me 25 games that season, and I ended up getting 12. It was an extremely difficult time. That mistake felt like the end of my career. It ended up being the beginning of it, but only because of what Sir Alex Ferguson did for me. You see, toward the end of that season, my agent told me that Barcelona were interested in bringing me back. Truthfully, I could not believe it. My exact words to him were, “That doesn’t make sense. I’m not playing at United, so why would they want me?”

And he said, “Well, they know you. They believe in you.”

Of course, I was thrilled. I wanted to go home. But I knew that I had to have a very difficult conversation with Sir Alex. There was no buyout clause in my contract, and United could set whatever price they wanted, so I had to convince him to let me go. It was one of the hardest conversations of my life, because he took such great care of me. But I walked into his office, and I was honest with him. I said, “Listen, I feel like I’ve lost your trust. Barcelona is my home. I want to go back. I hope you will let me go.”

We had a long conversation, and he decided that I was sincere, and he agreed to let me leave at the end of the season.

But that’s not the end of our story. Football can be very complicated. At the end of that season, guess who we had to face in the semi finals of the Champions League? Of course, it was Barcelona. I had no real chance of playing. I was the third-choice centre back. But right before the first leg at the Camp Nou, Nemanja Vidić came down with an injury. All of a sudden, I was going to have to step up and play in front of 90,000 people, against my boyhood club.

I was excited, nervous, shocked … everything.

Before the match, we had our usual two-hour siesta at the hotel. Of course, I couldn’t sleep. All of a sudden, there’s a knock at the door, and I look out the little hole …

It’s not the maid. It’s Sir Alex.

I knew something was going on, because he never came to see players before the match. I opened the door and he said, “Gerard, I regret to inform you that I can’t play you today. The deal is almost done. If I play you, and you have a bad game, they’ll say it’s because you’re headed to Barcelona. So I can’t put you in. I just want you to know why.”

The truth is, I was pretty devastated. Even though I wanted to go home, I was ready to give everything for United and Sir Alex in that match. It was my dream to play at the Camp Nou in the Champions League. It hurt very badly. But in the end, Sir Alex made the right decision. Everything worked out for the best for everyone. We got a 0-0 draw at the Camp Nou, and then we eliminated Barca at Old Trafford. We went on to win both the Champions League and the Premier League, and I was able to go home under very good circumstances.

Because of Sir Alex, I experienced one of the rarest things in football. I left in the best way possible. It didn’t feel like it at the time, but that mistake against Bolton was the best thing to happen in my life."

bangkok

Lord TSC wrote: »

Pique seems to have been doing some talking about his time with us. Some highlights.

========
on Roy Keane

So we’re sitting there waiting for the gaffer to come in and speak to us, and I’m literally sitting right next to Roy Keane. The dressing room is so small that our legs are almost touching. There’s no space at all.

It’s dead quiet. All of a sudden, you could hear this little vibration. Very soft.

Bzzzzzz ……

………….. Bzzzzzzz.

Roy is looking around the room.

Bzzzzzzz …..

Oh, ****.

I realize it’s me. It’s my cell phone. I left it on vibrate, and it’s in the pocket of my pants, stuffed in the clothes bag that’s hanging right behind Roy’s head.

Roy can’t find where the noise is coming from. Now he’s looking around the room like a maniac. His eyes are darting everywhere, and he’s trying to figure it out. You know the famous scene with Jack Nicholson in The Shining, when he bursts through the door? That’s what he looked like.

He screams out to everybody, “Whose phone is that?!”

Silence.

He asks again.

Silence.

He asks a third time.

“Whose. Bloody. F*****g. Phone. Is. That?!”

Finally, I spoke up, like a little boy. Very softly, I said, “I’m so sorry. It’s mine.”

Roy put his arm around me, and he laughed, and he told me not to worry about it.

….

…. No, come on, of course I’m joking! Roy lost his mind! He went nuts in front of everybody! It was incredible. I almost **** myself. But it was a good lesson.

===========

Pique on his United time and how Sir Alex was a big influence :

"It wasn’t just the football that was difficult. It was the language and the culture and the loneliness. The isolation was the worst part. Being away from your family at 17, and being surrounded by grown men, by legends, by a manager like Sir Alex … it was very complicated. When people wonder why talented young footballers don’t make it abroad, I can assure you it usually doesn’t have anything to do with their technical quality. There’s always a lot more going on that you don’t see. The first two years I was in England, there were so many nights when I would come home from training and in Manchester it would already be dark outside at four in the afternoon, and I would be in my flat all alone. It was depressing. Then, of course, my mother would call me, and I’d lie and say, “Oh no, it’s going great, Mum. Everything is great.”

But it wasn’t going great. It was ****. I wanted to quit and come home to Spain. I remember during that time, my father always said something to me that was extremely important.

I’d complain to him, “I don’t know, Dad. The manager doesn’t trust me. These guys are so strong. I’m miserable.”

And he would say, “Well, you know what? Maybe today was bad. But the sun will always rise again tomorrow.”

I don’t know why, but it made me feel better. It kept me going. And I was very lucky, because, as naive as I was, and as raw as I was, Sir Alex was phenomenal to me from the very first day. The best managers all have this quality — even when they’re not playing you, and even when they’re hard on you — they make you believe that they really care about you. Sir Alex was like a second father to me. He made me earn it, but eventually he gave me my chance.

In 2007, after two years in England, he told me that I was going to play about 25 games that season. Everything started well. I was getting to play a bit alongside Rio. And then, in November, we went to play in Bolton.

**** …

I can still picture the ball floating in the air.

It was a set piece. I was supposed to be marking Nicolas Anelka. Bolton chipped the ball into the box, and I thought, I’m going to be aggressive. I jumped up to head the ball away, and I completely missed it. It was like something out of a nightmare. The ball just … kept floating. It was that yellow and purple Premier League ball. Remember that one? It floated right over my head like a balloon.

I landed and turned around in horror. Anelka controlled the ball and scored easily. We ended up losing 1-0, and it was my fault. As a young defender, when you make a mistake like that, the manager simply cannot trust you anymore. Even if he wants to trust you, he can’t. I could tell, literally at the moment that Anelka controlled the ball, that I had lost the faith of Sir Alex, and probably the faith of most United fans."

Sir Alex promised me 25 games that season, and I ended up getting 12. It was an extremely difficult time. That mistake felt like the end of my career. It ended up being the beginning of it, but only because of what Sir Alex Ferguson did for me. You see, toward the end of that season, my agent told me that Barcelona were interested in bringing me back. Truthfully, I could not believe it. My exact words to him were, “That doesn’t make sense. I’m not playing at United, so why would they want me?”

And he said, “Well, they know you. They believe in you.”

Of course, I was thrilled. I wanted to go home. But I knew that I had to have a very difficult conversation with Sir Alex. There was no buyout clause in my contract, and United could set whatever price they wanted, so I had to convince him to let me go. It was one of the hardest conversations of my life, because he took such great care of me. But I walked into his office, and I was honest with him. I said, “Listen, I feel like I’ve lost your trust. Barcelona is my home. I want to go back. I hope you will let me go.”

We had a long conversation, and he decided that I was sincere, and he agreed to let me leave at the end of the season.

But that’s not the end of our story. Football can be very complicated. At the end of that season, guess who we had to face in the semi finals of the Champions League? Of course, it was Barcelona. I had no real chance of playing. I was the third-choice centre back. But right before the first leg at the Camp Nou, Nemanja Vidić came down with an injury. All of a sudden, I was going to have to step up and play in front of 90,000 people, against my boyhood club.

I was excited, nervous, shocked … everything.

Before the match, we had our usual two-hour siesta at the hotel. Of course, I couldn’t sleep. All of a sudden, there’s a knock at the door, and I look out the little hole …

It’s not the maid. It’s Sir Alex.

I knew something was going on, because he never came to see players before the match. I opened the door and he said, “Gerard, I regret to inform you that I can’t play you today. The deal is almost done. If I play you, and you have a bad game, they’ll say it’s because you’re headed to Barcelona. So I can’t put you in. I just want you to know why.”

The truth is, I was pretty devastated. Even though I wanted to go home, I was ready to give everything for United and Sir Alex in that match. It was my dream to play at the Camp Nou in the Champions League. It hurt very badly. But in the end, Sir Alex made the right decision. Everything worked out for the best for everyone. We got a 0-0 draw at the Camp Nou, and then we eliminated Barca at Old Trafford. We went on to win both the Champions League and the Premier League, and I was able to go home under very good circumstances.

Because of Sir Alex, I experienced one of the rarest things in football. I left in the best way possible. It didn’t feel like it at the time, but that mistake against Bolton was the best thing to happen in my life."

I really miss fergie. What a legend

jayo26

bangkok wrote: »

I really miss fergie. What a legend

Me too I loved her in The Black Eyed Peas

Trigger

bangkok wrote: »

I really miss fergie. What a legend

Did you really need to quote the whole thing for a one line reply

But yes I agree, there will never be anyone like him again

Lord TSC

https://twitter.com/ManUtd/status/976797472344375296?s=19

Herrera all cleared again.

StringerBell

Lord TSC wrote: »

https://twitter.com/ManUtd/status/976797472344375296?s=19

Herrera all cleared again.

Good, now hopefully he can get his mind back on football!

Trigger

“Give it ta giggseh!”

bangkok

Zlatan is close to utd exit... looks like he off to l galaxy

Drumpot

http://www.skysports.com/football/news/15115/11298831/measuring-manchester-uniteds-progress-under-jose-mourinho

Suppose it confirms what everybody knows. The problem is the style of football which will become less of an issue as Jose continues the upward curve and they become more efficient.

Lord TSC

bangkok wrote: »

Zlatan is close to utd exit... looks like he off to l galaxy

BBC sayinghe is to leave "immenantly".

Very sorry his time with us ended the way it did and he didn't recover this season at all. But will always be very grateful for how great he was last season.

Kerrydude1981

Got a notification from the Fotmob app,a story about Sanchez saying that Ibra has been great helping him settle in

Turns on SSN, Ibra is leaving

beno619

Drumpot wrote: »

http://www.skysports.com/football/news/15115/11298831/measuring-manchester-uniteds-progress-under-jose-mourinho

Suppose it confirms what everybody knows. The problem is the style of football which will become less of an issue as Jose continues the upward curve and they become more efficient.

I came in to post this but assumed Bangkok would have gotten there first.

StringerBell

beno619 wrote: »

I came in to post this but assumed Bangkok would have gotten their first.

Very strange alright :pac:

TheDoc

Lord TSC wrote: »

BBC sayinghe is to leave "immenantly".

Very sorry his time with us ended the way it did and he didn't recover this season at all. But will always be very grateful for how great he was last season.

Definitely saddened by his injury and inability to continue what he did lst year.

But like Schweinsteiger before him, will feel privileged and delighted to know a player I loved played for the club and I got to watch. Was just a bonus for me he scored a ****load of goals

bangkok

beno619 wrote: »

I came in to post this but assumed Bangkok would have gotten there first.

Comparing stats to van gaals utd not really showing much. The improvement is minimal considering money spent

TheDoc

bangkok wrote: »

Comparing stats to van gaals utd not really showing much. The improvement is minimal considering money spent

Those comparisons are also just a bit rubbish.

It never factors in the variables of the league and the strengths of other teams and the likes.

While it can be interesting reading or maybe for a laugh or a poke, those things are utterly pointless. Nevermind even different squads or money spent or anything like that, its literally just a case you can only judge a teams performance in the present and the environment of the league around them.

GSPfan

I love that Pique looks back on a moment that at the time was seemingly devastating to him but actually contributed to his eventual success. I have my own such event that in isolation was horrible but contributed to the best things to ever happen me. I like that he has that outlook on things.

Drumpot

TheDoc wrote: »

Those comparisons are also just a bit rubbish.

It never factors in the variables of the league and the strengths of other teams and the likes.

While it can be interesting reading or maybe for a laugh or a poke, those things are utterly pointless. Nevermind even different squads or money spent or anything like that, its literally just a case you can only judge a teams performance in the present and the environment of the league around them.

It’s not perfect , but it’s a vastly better indicator of where the club is in comparison to people judging Jose on the style of football which isn’t necessarily a reflection of team progress.

It’s interesting That if we factor in inflation , Jose prob hasn’t spent much more then LVG. It’s also interesting that players bought under Jose certainly look more important. Particularly the spine of Bailly, Matic and Lukaku.

beno619

TheDoc wrote: »

Those comparisons are also just a bit rubbish.

It never factors in the variables of the league and the strengths of other teams and the likes.

While it can be interesting reading or maybe for a laugh or a poke, those things are utterly pointless. Nevermind even different squads or money spent or anything like that, its literally just a case you can only judge a teams performance in the present and the environment of the league around them.

Agreed, but its enough to back up all the other statistics and my opinion that weve made progress on the LVG era and that the football has been better.

Drumpot

GSPfan wrote: »

I love that Pique looks back on a moment that at the time was seemingly devastating to him but actually contributed to his eventual success. I have my own such event that in isolation was horrible but contributed to the best things to ever happen me. I like that he has that outlook on things.

Also interesting that he says SAF was tough on him. We don’t know exactly what this entailed but I wonder if it was the kind of “bullying” that Jose is using to get Shaw to raise his performances.

Adamocovic

I don't think anyone has really said there has been no progress at all under José, looking at results proves this.

What I think people have a problem with regarding the style of football is the fact that despite the talent added and successful manager by their side the football has not lived up to expectations. People can compare the improvements to the team under LVG all they want but can they say they've truly enjoyed watching us this season?

My annoyance is we have so many talented, creative players, at our disposal but we've been poor to watch. After the promising start the performances dropped a level. Still getting the job done in terms of finishing top 4 but that doesn't mean fans should sit quietly and not voice concerns about the style of our football. Feels like a lot of talent is being wasted by both the players and the manager.