Re: Football Chat Thread PART II : Thu Jan 23, 2014 7:54 pm  

Mata is a good player, but he is a luxury player, and United do not need a luxury player, at least not while they still have Rooney and Van Persie (and a quickly developing Januzaj).

United are crying out for a midfield leader - Personally, I reckon they'd have been better advised to buy Cabaye from Newcastle - He's equally as classy and offers a lot more of what United actually need right now.

Re: Football Chat Thread PART II : Thu Jan 23, 2014 10:21 pm  

Dita's Slot Meter wrote:

Mata is a good player, but he is a luxury player, and United do not need a luxury player, at least not while they still have Rooney and Van Persie (and a quickly developing Januzaj).

United are crying out for a midfield leader - Personally, I reckon they'd have been better advised to buy Cabaye from Newcastle - He's equally as classy and offers a lot more of what United actually need right now.

Totally agree. A wide man who cuts in will not solve their problems, not saying he's a bad player but spending the £37m on a £25m Cabaye and a £12m centre back would have been wiser IMO

Re: Football Chat Thread PART II : Sat Jan 25, 2014 8:56 pm  

David Moyes performance as united manager is laughable (to the rest of the footballing world) and abymal (to united fans).

It's hilarious to see their empire crumbling. Failure to secure CL football this season will only be the beginning. What's most brilliant of all is that it's their own self righteous proclamations of sticking by their man that will be their ultimate undoing.

Moyes is a dour, clueless scot. He's nowhere near good enough. Martinez is now showing the true meaning of good football management and quality football over at everton. He's making moyes look like a turd covered in bird hair.

And the ever watchful ferguson sit's in the shadows, high in the stands at old trafford. Watching.....waiting, ominously casting a cloud of doom over moyes' obliterated facial structure, emaciated from the overwhelming pressures of keeping the empire afloat.

The british empire once ruled the world, but has now been reduced to little more than a scabby island being financially and morally raped by the rest of europe with crimes being comitted againts it's own citizens by illegitimate immigrants who would be described as doing nothing more than stealing oxygen from good humans.

I hope, nay pray, we see the same collapse in the once powerful manchester united empire.

Re: Football Chat Thread PART II : Sun Jan 26, 2014 12:40 am  

FlexWheeler wrote:

David Moyes performance as united manager is laughable (to the rest of the footballing world) and abymal (to united fans).

It's hilarious to see their empire crumbling. Failure to secure CL football this season will only be the beginning. What's most brilliant of all is that it's their own self righteous proclamations of sticking by their man that will be their ultimate undoing.

Moyes is a dour, clueless scot. He's nowhere near good enough. Martinez is now showing the true meaning of good football management and quality football over at everton. He's making moyes look like a turd covered in bird hair.

And the ever watchful ferguson sit's in the shadows, high in the stands at old trafford. Watching.....waiting, ominously casting a cloud of doom over moyes' obliterated facial structure, emaciated from the overwhelming pressures of keeping the empire afloat.

The british empire once ruled the world, but has now been reduced to little more than a scabby island being financially and morally raped by the rest of europe with crimes being comitted againts it's own citizens by illegitimate immigrants who would be described as doing nothing more than stealing oxygen from good humans.

I hope, nay pray, we see the same collapse in the once powerful manchester united empire.

Moyes isn't a bad manager. He will get United winning trophies if they give him enough time. Whoever followed Ferguson was onto a loser, it was completely a poisoned chalice. The reason United aren't great now is because the squad Ferguson left really isn't that good. Would they have been better under Ferguson this season? Of course. But not because of Ferguson being a genius, more because he was there.

When he left, the other teams thought 'Why not have a go at them?'. The castle walls were down and other teams pillaged. Teams going to Old Trafford in the past went there to lose, they prepared to lose and planned their gameplan around making things as hard as possible in order to minimise the scoreline, thus preventing themselves from scoring or taking control of the game. Now Ferguson has left, teams going to OT are having a go, getting men forward and playing at a much higher tempo than they would previously. It's a psychological thing, teams don't see United as an unbeatable force anymore. If you had put any other manager, no matter how good they were, into that job, this dip would have happened. It was inevitable.

The only thing Moyes/the board did wrong was not signing anyone in the summer. It was amazingly obvious that they needed strengthening in midfield and could have done with 2 or 3, yet they only managed to get one, and criminally overpaid.

Re: Football Chat Thread PART II : Sun Jan 26, 2014 9:28 am  

United generate too much money for any decline to be more than temporary. The scale of the rebuilding that they're planning does create a risk that the new players don't gell. But if they get it wrong the first time they'll eventually get it right.

It does amuse me when people like Gary Neville insist that Moyes' job is safe because United give their managers time. The last time United had to make that decision was in 1989. Not sure that the Glazers were involved in the decision to give Fergie more time.

More relevant perhaps would be the Glazers recent record with the Tampa Bay Bucs. They've just appointed their 4th Head Coach since 2008.

Re: Football Chat Thread PART II : Sun Jan 26, 2014 2:09 pm  

Whilst I agree, United have been poor and even I didn't expect this. However, I really don't believe, after January, things will be as bad as people expect/hope. Liverpool really aren't that strong, when everybody is fit we can compete with any of the big teams in a game, but our strength in depth is poor and I can't see us finishing strongly unless we pull off a miracle in the market. We're essentially solely reliant upon Suarez/Sturridge scoring, if they aren't firing it's hard to see where the attack will come from. Even worse, we don't have a solid defence to rely upon, Rodgers hasn't looked convinced by any of our four centre halves and the full backs have been abysmal. Lucas remains a 7/10 player and he's injured, making our midfield look even weaker.

We need to sign a left back, a defensive mid and a versatile forward. Funnily enough, I said similar in the summer and we ended up with Aspas, Cissokho and Luis Alberto. Alberto has potential, but the other two haven't been great. I feel slightly sorry for Cissokho because he has lacked support and often looked isolated, but Aspas just isn't of the required quality.

With United strengthening so much in January (assuming they have another signing or two up their sleeve) and us looking weaker every time somebody hobbles off, I'm expecting United to step up at least another gear or two, whilst I can't see us getting much better.

Re: Football Chat Thread PART II : Sun Jan 26, 2014 8:39 pm  

This thread is certainly quieter since M.U aren't winning all the time mind!

Re: Football Chat Thread PART II : Tue Jan 28, 2014 11:17 am  

duke street 10 wrote:

This thread is certainly quieter since M.U aren't winning all the time mind!

guilty, but i've been busy, honest.

not convinced by Moyes at all, was underwhelmed at the time of appointment, and that's no improved.

particularly earlier in the season he made a number of substitutions of a cautious nature when United were in winning (if not secure) positions, and they ended up dropping points after he appeared to be closing the game out.

some finger pointing from him last night at the players which is fair enough, but he's had some shockers himself, not least not addressing the midfield situation properly, and consequently play Jones in there, I like Jones but he's not a midfielder.

Delighted to get Mata, agree Cabaye would be a cracking signing too, but sounds like he's PSG bound.

As someone who sat through the (relative) glory days of Docherty, the dourness of Sexton, the roller coaster of Big Ron and the early, not so successful days of fergie, I've seen worse situations.

Ferguson's last couple of seasons, running City so close, then winning the PL again last year were amongst his finest achievements imo, and it was a real illustration of the sum of the parts being greater than the whole.

That said I also don't think United are many acquisitions away from having a very good squad, but a few positions need work.

Re: Football Chat Thread PART II : Wed Jan 29, 2014 3:33 pm  

duke street 10 wrote:

This thread is certainly quieter since M.U aren't winning all the time mind!

And Liverpool doing ok is also having an effect.

Saddened has been quiet today, has he spontaneously combusted or something?

Re: Football Chat Thread PART II : Wed Jan 29, 2014 11:18 pm  

Pretty sure i'd hide away after that 'n' all