How’s it going, good people? Back into the swing of things?
Hope the year is starting off well… I’m not here to piss on anyone’s parade, but we have to take a quick look at what’s going on at Manchester United, or should I say, what’s not going on?
It was quite startling to hear one of the main contenders for ‘most expensive flop in history’ Harry Maguire, saying he wants to “repeat” what “the likes of Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic” achieved at Old Trafford.
And then mentioning his deluded dream: “I came here to win titles. I could have signed elsewhere, but I wanted to be at United and help get them back to the winning ways that the club had in the Sir Alex (Ferguson) era.”
The timing I guess is what bugged me a bit. Ok, so he’s captain and of course he needs to portray positivity. But on the back of his ongoing poor performances and the bang-average football United are playing, surely the heady days of Fergie, Rooney and the likes are stretching the imagination a stretch too far.
Right now, United simply need to differentiate themselves from the Brightons, Brentfords and Crystal Palaces of this world.
Ok, three wins, a draw and a loss out of Ralf Rangnick’s first five matches in charge ain’t that bad, but it’s the lack of imagination, style and commitment that has raised eyebrows in the football world and got the blood pressure boiling at board and fan level at Old Trafford.
For me, personally, they look worse now than they did under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer! Of course it’s unfair to judge a man after five results, but you know that vibe when a new coach comes in (think Thomas Tuchel at Chelsea) you expect a reaction from the players, revived energy, a ‘new’ look and feel. I see none of that.
In fact, what’s really disturbing is the continued reports of unrest in the changing room, in particular Cristiano Ronaldo who’s apparently in “crisis talks” with his agent Jorge Mendes.
It could all be bullsh!t, but bad performances indicate problems behind the scenes, right?
As we all know, signing the Portuguese demigod was always great for the plastic fan, you know, the ones who went straight out and bought a No.7 shirt, but not addressing problems like the Fred/ Nemanja Matic issue, or defensive frailties, was bound to halt any REAL forward movement.
The loss against Wolves was possibly the most embarrassing defeat I’ve seen in decades (ok, Liverpool aside).
United were absolutely played off the park and could have lost three or four nil. Wolves looked like Barcelona as they pinged the ball around what looked like a conference League side.
This was Manchester United at Old Trafford! It’s a tough one… I believe the players let Ole down and are now taking it a step further making Ralf look even worse.
F*****g spoilt little kids, I’d be livid if I supported them.
Talking about Conference (amateur) sides. It was great to seeing Chesterfield fans having a party at Stamford Bridge. The score really didn’t matter, but scoring a goal did. That was worth every penny for the 6 000 that made their way to London. A goal against the Champions of Europe!
It was beautiful to see them celebrate. Earlier in the day, Chelsea invited Chesterfields 240 youth players for games against their Chelsea counterparts at the world renowned ‘Cobham’ training centre plus sessions with senior staff. Lovely gesture.
All in all putting a bit of my faith back in the game! That’s the wonderful thing about the FA Cup. While ‘giant killings’ become rarer (barring Cambridge at Newcastle and Nottingham Forest against Arsenal) there are still moments that twang a bit of romanticism.
United will be back one day, there’s too much at stake (business-wise) for the bad form to continue. Hold tight boys and girls…
Keep the faith! Chat next week.