Did Pogba look like a hundred million quid? Or even 20 million? Baby steps.
Did Pogba look like a hundred million quid? Or even 20 million? Baby steps.
He got three very good assists.
That was enjoyable. Keep it up.
I see strong nose scored his goal.
The Virgil Van Dijk song is boss.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/46662963
"What's really important is to get the Manchester United culture back and the identity back.
"I would like to see someone who has played there and can bring some of that Sir Alex mentality back to the whole of the football club.
The delusion in these people.
Sean Dyche crying is top top content.
It is incredible.
If it was that easy to recreate the Ferguson magic then we'd have 20+ managers who played under him ripping it up the world over. Instead, they've all been bang average at best.
It all flows from the total and utter myth of the Anfield 'boot room' of course. The cosy nonsense of the boot room actually laid the foundations for 25 years of failure at Anfield rather than being the cause of anything good. It's like the football version of Brexiteers wanting blue passports.
You have to look outside the firmament and freshen it up.
Who has been the best over their career, Steve Bruce? There is a study to be done into those mentored by the likes of Ferguson, Brian Clough, Bobby Robson, etc. using all of the historical belief systems/strategic cultures literature. Is there a tier of immortals above the common Proper Football Men? Maybe just 'Football Men', whose properness is so obvious that it need not be qualified.
If Solksjaer does well over the next six months I genuinely think he should be given a proper crack at the job. He seems like he actually has a bit about him.
I'll be honest that I don't know much detail about Pep before he took the Barca job, but his situation then is not a million miles from Solkjaers right? He's done alright.
Schmeichel as DoF is mong-talk though
You need three things from the people running a football team:
1. Directing the strategy & recruitment
2. Managing the players (emotionally)
3. Setting the team up tactically and adapting in-game
To win stuff you need to be brilliant at two of these and can be ok at one. Most 'modern' setups have the club doing 1 and a very dispensable coach doing 2 and 3.
Mourinho, in his prime, was amazing at 2 and 3, always quite ropey at 1. Now he seems to have completely lost 2, and even 3 is under question.
Ferguson was brilliant at 1 and 2, and ok at 3. Since he left United have completely neglected 1, or had Ed Woodward playing at doing it, which is even worse.
If they move to the typical model then Solskjaer I would back to do 2 pretty well. 3 time will tell, and then they need to sort 1 out upstairs.
Yeah I'd go with that.
Despite the approach being a disaster, I don't actually think that at this point the outcome of our recruitment is all that bad. There's a load of shite bloating the squad but the bones of a very good team are there, many of them young too.
I think they need to avoid the temptation to make him the permanent manager however well he does.
There is definitely a difference between being a breath of fresh air ('Glad that the beatings have stopped', as David Haig said in that thing) and having the vision to replicate that over multiple seasons.
This is why Chelsea sack their managers year after year, it's much easier to inject yourself with a short term hit than attempt to be perennially successful.
Of course, but if not given the chance you can't know.
Appointing the caretaker never goes well.
It smells of 'King Kenny' coming back.
Very clinical from Villa. Think we can score though.
Well anyway, this is a conversation for 4 months time, not after one game. Let's wait and see.
Holy shit.
You either believe in a manager's ability to do a job, or you don't. You can't wait and see, as half a season, or whatever it is, with the bus already having been largely crashed, isn't going to tell you anything - in many ways it's a worst-case scenario a la Dalglish at Liverpool (ie he does well and you have to give him the job despite it not really being your original plan). That said, I very much think the Glazers would hope he does well enough to justify a longer go as it gets pressure away from them and is a cheap option (why he has been appointed in the first place). Is Solskjaer a manager/coach of sufficient ability to take the team forward? Creating a positive atmosphere and 'letting the players play' isn't going to cut it in the long term and I, personally, don't think he is (you can fantasize about him being Pep all you like, where are Xavi, Iniesta and Messi?).
The problem is United want mutually exclusive things from their next manager. To get them back to where they belong to be instantly, and to undertake the necessary wholesale changes that actually requires. Will whoever is the manager next season keep his job if they finish 5th/don't qualify for the Champions League? If the answer is no then Pochettino is the best option, as he both improves United, and cripples a rival, and even then, Chelsea and Arsenal will be a year further into their rejuvenation processes.
He was appointed because he is the biggest fan favourite who is a) qualified on a coaching badge level; and b) not a gobshite with his own agenda.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/46630511
Johansson says technically he could be cloned, but a section of the DNA is removed to prevent "illicit or illegal behaviour".
"It is not 100% me; it is 99%. That 1% is very important for my own sake and protects my copyright to the DNA," says the former Bayern Munich, Blackburn and Leicester defender.
Pickford and Zouma
Cracking finish by Son too, I thought he had put it wide.
That was all on Pickford, his decision making really is atrocious.
Yeah, thought it was more of a joint effort live but it was clearly all Pickford.
Fuck knows what he was doing the mong.
He should have done better with the second too although the third is all on his defenders being on their heels.
That Everton goal woke them up apparently.
He had a free shot at Alli just then with the flag up as well, horrible little shit is Pickford. So reminiscent of the young Joe Hart in many ways.
I’m looking forward to Dominic Calvert-Lewin exploding with rage in the 2nd half
That was a cracking shot by Eriksen.
Such control.
Not even goal of the week, unlucky bru.
How did Lloris not save that?
Spurs are bang in the title race. Best side in the country over the last 6-8 weeks.
No one named 'Oliver Skipp' can make it as a professional footballer.
Sissoko will end up at a top club soon, surely? At this point he is Kante-for-Leicester levels of importance.
I'm a twit
He's crap, it's just when you don't have to play Eric Dier you look a bit more dynamic.
Sissoko is absolutely enormous. Far better than Winks is in that midfield, especially when you’re playing Everton away who aren’t that good but play full blitz anyway
That's quality.
Hasselbaink would have put it in the top corner. Not impressed.
Reminds me of the penalties you'd have to take during the 5-a-side tournaments they'd have in then summer.
Keeper almost had that. I wouldn't risk that ever again.
Nice to see Wolves not bothering to give Fulham a dicking.
At least Ranieri has managed to organise them a bit, but Fulham have so many duds on the pitch. Andre Schurrle looks like he's never played football before and Denis Odoi is having an actual laugh at this level.
Stuck a tenner on Wolves just before kick-off so of course this is how it's going.
My boy Sess.
EDIT: hold on boyd!
I'm a twit
Manchester United Starting XI vs Huddersfield: De Gea, Dalot, Jones, Lindelof, Shaw, Fred, Matic, Pogba, Mata, Rashford, Lingard
Martial out with food poisoning. Gomes on the bench