Association Football / Soccer 2019-2020 Season

[JackDaw]

Manchester 1, West Brom 0 (For the Man U comic fan in cyberspace)

Manchester United beating a relegation team, playing like a relegation team, West Brom were robbed a penalty shot, the game should have been a draw.

Player Ratings, (Superb, Great, Good, Average, Fair, Poor)

GK - De Gea (Good) Good kickout of the ball with his foot.
CB - Lindelof (Fair/Average) Was caught out of position a few times
CB - Maguire (Good) He was really good going forward to the net, and passing...defensively not so much.
RB - Wan- Bissaka (Average/Fair)
LB - ALex Tellus (Average)
MF - Matic (Average) - I felt he really controlled the ball play, just looks like he needs more game time to get fit
MF - Fred (Average)
MF - Fernandez (Good) but he did a stupid tackle behind the goal line that almost cost the game, he's very, very lucky.
LW -Rashford (Good/average) Playing with a shoulder injury, I thought he was the best of the three going forward
RW - Mata (Very Poor) - The worst match I've seen from a United forward in a long time, useless, time to pack up for the MLS
CF- Martial (Fair) - He just doesn't have the natural talent to be a number 9, Cavani would have buried his shot. He's great off the left wing, but Rashford is better, so sell him while he's got good market value.

I'll reserve comment on Oli, because Chelsea backed their inexperienced manager and they are now sitting in 2nd. Manchester United did not, and that is why they are sitting in 9th.


Nothing will change at United until the Glazer's are gone, because they have a net worth less than the owners of Wolves, Villa, and Arsenal. They couldn't even afford to buy Sancho this summer, but Abramovich, well he could afford to buy the entire United team.

De Gea after a couple of indifferent years by his standards seems close to his best again...he has maybe been re-energised by thought that Henderson (brought back from Sheff U after a couple of years on loan there) might replace him as Man U’s keeper.

I am not sure what is ailing Man U..I’m not convinced the problems are as simple as the Glazers not spending enough money. Their spend on acquiring players has been stupendous, and they pay incredible salaries to their players...I would bet, for example, that 7 or 8 of their top paid players get more than Mo Salah at Liverpool for example.

No deep down I think problem is not underspend, but just unwise spending.

[The no face guy]

De Gea after a couple of indifferent years by his standards seems close to his best again...he has maybe been re-energised by thought that Henderson (brought back from Sheff U after a couple of years on loan there) might replace him as Man UÂ’s keeper.

I am not sure what is ailing Man U..IÂ’m not convinced the problems are as simple as the Glazers not spending enough money. Their spend on acquiring players has been stupendous, and they pay incredible salaries to their players...I would bet, for example, that 7 or 8 of their top paid players get more than Mo Salah at Liverpool for example.

No deep down I think problem is not underspend, but just unwise spending.

De Gea been in fine form this year, it could be the threat of Henderson on the bench, as he was looking a bit shaky before his arrival. Personally, I would like to see Henderson out on loan getting some game time in...maybe Sheffield will bit in January, now that they are in the regulation zone.



I think your right, the biggest problem has been the team building, as opposed to the spending, and this of course all boils down to Ed Woodward being incompetent at his job.

He has no football experience, so he signs players to long term lucrative contracts so you can't move them out of the club to raise revenue, and brings players into the club United do not need.

There is a spending component to this to though, in that the Glazer's don't back their managers. Mourinho took United to second, but didn't get the players he desired to build the team he wanted during his tenure, I hear it was the same story for Van Gaal. Oli had a shortlist of 5 players he wanted, and he didn't get one of them...instead he got Van De Beek and Cavani, which United don't really need. (Though Van De Beek is needed because I'm convinced Pogba will leave)

Fans have been demanding a sporting director for a few years now, but the Glazer's don't seem to want to spend the money on one, and are happy to let Woodward run things into the ground, as long as the share prices keep going up, so for me the Glazer's nd Woodward go hand in hand. Your correct though, if they fire Woodward we could see a positive change, but I think new owners would be a better option alltogether.

Tottenham highlights posted for you. With Liverpool riddled with injuries I imagine this will be the game of the week, and next week to, as I see they are set to play Chelsea. That will be an exciting match up.

[JackDaw]

De Gea been in fine form this year, it could be the threat of Henderson on the bench, as he was looking a bit shaky before his arrival. Personally, I would like to see Henderson out on loan getting some game time in...maybe Sheffield will bit in January, now that they are in the regulation zone.



I think your right, the biggest problem has been the team building, as opposed to the spending, and this of course all boils down to Ed Woodward being incompetent at his job.

He has no football experience, so he signs players to long term lucrative contracts so you can't move them out of the club to raise revenue, and brings players into the club United do not need.

There is a spending component to this to though, in that the Glazer's don't back their managers. Mourinho took United to second, but didn't get the players he desired to build the team he wanted during his tenure, I hear it was the same story for Van Gaal. Oli had a shortlist of 5 players he wanted, and he didn't get one of them...instead he got Van De Beek and Cavani, which United don't really need. (Though Van De Beek is needed because I'm convinced Pogba will leave)

Fans have been demanding a sporting director for a few years now, but the Glazer's don't seem to want to spend the money on one, and are happy to let Woodward run things into the ground, as long as the share prices keep going up, so for me the Glazer's nd Woodward go hand in hand. Your correct though, if they fire Woodward we could see a positive change, but I think new owners would be a better option alltogether.

Tottenham highlights posted for you. With Liverpool riddled with injuries I imagine this will be the game of the week, and next week to, as I see they are set to play Chelsea. That will be an exciting match up.

Can’t watch the video, coded so it can’t be viewed in UK. I suppose I could find a way round it...my best friend is a borderline Liverpool fanatic subscribes to Sky and BT sports to follow them but also occasionally uses what he calls “the dodgy link” to watch the few LFC games that aren’t on Sky or BT.

I suppose new stupendously rich owners would be an improvement for Man U....it’s what most fans dream of for their teams..but jeez a part of me thinks Man U of all clubs should be able t self generate enough income to be ultra competitive.

And..of course..not that sorry that Man U aren’t denominating English game like they did for decades...and, of course..my LFC buddy relishes state Man U are in.

[The no face guy]

Can’t watch the video, coded so it can’t be viewed in UK. I suppose I could find a way round it...my best friend is a borderline Liverpool fanatic subscribes to Sky and BT sports to follow them but also occasionally uses what he calls “the dodgy link” to watch the few LFC games that aren’t on Sky or BT.

I suppose new stupendously rich owners would be an improvement for Man U....it’s what most fans dream of for their teams..but jeez a part of me thinks Man U of all clubs should be able t self generate enough income to be ultra competitive.

And..of course..not that sorry that Man U aren’t denominating English game like they did for decades...and, of course..my LFC buddy relishes state Man U are in.

I'm sorry to hear that you can't watch the highlights, since most people going to this thread are from England I find that disappointing to hear. They sure are stringent about that stuff.

As a Canadian, I'm a bit divorced from the whole Man U/Liverpool rivalry, all my relatives are from the south east to be honest, the only reason I became a Man U fan was because they were on the rise to power while I was out playing games, so it would be hard for me to find another team now that I am so attached to them.

Speaking of Liverpool, they played well today, I came home and was surprised to see them up 2-0 against Leicester, Klopp is the new Ferguson.

[MiddleMan]

I'm sorry to hear that you can't watch the highlights, since most people going to this thread are from England I find that disappointing to hear. They sure are stringent about that stuff.

As a Canadian, I'm a bit divorced from the whole Man U/Liverpool rivalry, all my relatives are from the south east to be honest, the only reason I became a Man U fan was because they were on the rise to power while I was out playing games, so it would be hard for me to find another team now that I am so attached to them.

Speaking of Liverpool, they played well today, I came home and was surprised to see them up 2-0 against Leicester, Klopp is the new Ferguson.

I wouldnt go that far

I love Klopp and all and he's been great for the team I love, but he's doing it with nowhere near the flexibility and bankroll that Fergie had

[The no face guy]

I wouldnt go that far

I love Klopp and all and he's been great for the team I love, but he's doing it with nowhere near the flexibility and bankroll that Fergie had

This is true, and it is why I respect Liverpool and enjoy watching their success. Klopp built the team from the ground up the way it should be done....Chelsea kind of just buys there's team in one transfer market. Hard to respect that.

[JackDaw]

I wouldnt go that far

I love Klopp and all and he's been great for the team I love, but he's doing it with nowhere near the flexibility and bankroll that Fergie had

I agree that as brilliant as Klopp is he’s got a long way to go before he matches Fergie’s achievements.

I also think you’re probably right to say Fergie effectively had advantage of bigger bankroll for most of his career at United (though of course he won things in Scotland with Aberdeen when they were outspent massively by Rangers and Celtic.)

There are arguments against that..if you look at actual fees they are dwarfed by modern day fees, he brought a lot of players through United’s own youth system (Giggs, Beckham, Scholes, the Nevilles for instance) and I actually think he retired when he did because the Glazers starved him of funds.

But the reason why I agree with you about the money dominance is that for most of his United career he had enough money to take the best players from other English clubs.

[The no face guy]

Manchester United won, but only because of Cavani, no Cavani, no goals.

I am boggled as to why Ole did not start him from the beginning. If your going to play 4 -4 - 2 than you need a quality striker like a Vardy or Ings. (you can't have Rashford/ Martial, or Rashford, and a 19 year old whose still developing, because so far they haven't shown that they are natural finishers in that role)

If Cavani still has it, and it looks like he does, than you have play him regularly if you are using the above formation. He is the only real number 9 United has available. Otherwise happy ending to the game.

[DebkoX]

Delighted for Marine. Should be a fun game.

[The no face guy]

Manchester United lose 3 - 1 to PSG (For the comic United fan in cyberspace)

Problem number 1

Ole: I have been loathed to criticize Ollie while Ed Woodward still has a job, but I thought when United hired him they would fully back him financially like Frank Lampard, both who I do not thing are really good managers without the funding.

Fred should have never have been out there after half time. I thought he'd pull him after 60 seconds at the most, but he kept him on even while PSG re energized their midfielders with subs.

This is the problem with Ole, he hangs on to players, he doesn't make changes and he wears them out to the point that last year some of them were becoming injury prone.

Problem 2

Fred & McTominay together: Because neither of them are naturally talented at making creative passes, all the opposition has to do is smother Bruno to dry up the service to the forwards. He should be playing Van De Beek, who unlike Pogba has shown not to be a defensive liability. McTominay should be a sub.

Problem 3

Anthony Martial: I don't feel comfortable having Martial as the number 9 once Cavani leaves, he should of buried that goal (See 5:34) it reminded me off rookie Tahif Chong's gaff a while back. He's just not naturally consistent.

[The no face guy]

Manchester United beat West Ham 3-1

The irony of this win of course, is that Ole won by benching the two players after half time that Ed Woodward brought in to improve the team, but were not the players Oli wanted.

Purely coincidental, but, it just goes to show that United require a sporting director....very, very, badly.

[JackDaw]

Manchester United beat West Ham 3-1

The irony of this win of course, is that Ole won by benching the two players after half time that Ed Woodward brought in to improve the team, but were not the players Oli wanted.

Purely coincidental, but, it just goes to show that United require a sporting director....very, very, badly.

Their record in buying players has been really, really hit and miss (probably more miss) in the years since Fergie left.

Half the time I’ve not even been convinced they were trying to buy players in the right position...they seem obsessed with buying forwards, in spite of having clear defensive problems. (My gut feeling is that they haven’t had an outstanding centre half since Rio Ferdinand retired.)

[The no face guy]

Their record in buying players has been really, really hit and miss (probably more miss) in the years since Fergie left.

Half the time I’ve not even been convinced they were trying to buy players in the right position...they seem obsessed with buying forwards, in spite of having clear defensive problems. (My gut feeling is that they haven’t had an outstanding centre half since Rio Ferdinand retired.)

I think your right on Rio...believe it or not, Harry Maguire was supposed to be their big spend on a defensive superstar, which begs another question.

Why did they pay $80 million on an overpriced British football player, when they could have scouted a better, cheaper options in Europe? (I like Maguire, but he's not worth $80)

United are a weird club under the Glazers, they are almost run like an insular family business, as opposed to a top of the line corporation like Man City.



Watched the Tottenham/Arsenal highlights, looks like the players have bought into Mourinho's system. Son and Kane are on fire...too bad Christian Erikson left, they would be an unstoppable force with him in the mix.

[JackDaw]

I think your right on Rio...believe it or not, Harry Maguire was supposed to be their big spend on a defensive superstar, which begs another question.

Why did they pay $80 million on an overpriced British football player, when they could have scouted a better, cheaper options in Europe? (I like Maguire, but he's not worth $80)

United are a weird club under the Glazers, they are almost run like an insular family business, as opposed to a top of the line corporation like Man City.



Watched the Tottenham/Arsenal highlights, looks like the players have bought into Mourinho's system. Son and Kane are on fire...too bad Christian Erikson left, they would be an unstoppable force with him in the mix.

I was sorry to see Christian go...and very surprised to see that he appears to be out of favour at Inter Milan. I would not be astonished to see him back at Spurs...surprised certainly (because players seldom come back to clubs they leave)...but not astonished, because Mourinho is deeply pragmatic.

[The no face guy]

Hopefully at least everyone in North America can see these highlights (Outside of Canada) I know the UK can't, it such rubbish that the EPL is so stringent with highlight footage on you tube.

Son and Kane have to be the most lethal combo in the league right now. They feed off each other so well. The curve on Son's shot...amazing!