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Man Utd ‘looking worse’, INEOS risk ‘personal failure’ and ‘we need to talk’ about Rashford
By EditorF365,
6 hours ago
Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford.
The Mailbox reckons Manchester United are ‘looking worse’ than they did at the end of last season, while we ‘need to talk’ about Marcus Rashford…
Send your thoughts to theeditor@football365.com .
Man Utd optimism… I’m not sure why rival fans don’t get this but the reasons [there are TEN of them] United fans are optimistic is simply that the club seem to be well run and in safe hands for the first time in over a decade. For most of us it’s not about what happens on the pitch this season. This isn’t to say that no one cares about the results, just that coming, say, 6th under Sir Jim Ratcliffe ’s leadership would feel very different to even finishing 2nd or 3rd under the Glazers.
There’s a weird lack of solidarity among fans when it comes to football ownership – which affects fans of every club in some form or another – but when, say, a high profile Irish bookmaker used to be able to feast on memes about our CEO every single summer for 10 years, it’s nice just to know that the club is being run relatively sensibly, that things like the leaky roof (literally, but also figuratively) are being sorted in both the short and long term, that we’re not simply providing expensive pensions for players from the Ballon D’Or 2013 shortlist.
Is everything perfect at the club? No, not even close. But do we actually look forward to the future? 100%, more so than any summer since we signed Robin Van Persie. We’ll get embarrassed along the way of course (Omari Hutchinson will send Casemiro to another postcode and it will go very viral indeed. Arsenal will beat us 4-0 or something. We will go out of the Europa by losing at home to Dinamo Pisspoorians) but that doesn’t matter quite so much as before, when results were literally the only thing we could enjoy because the off field stuff was so bad.
I would wager Chelsea, Everton and possibly Forest (unclear on that one) fans might recognise this sentiment, and I wish for better owners for all those clubs (possibly via a regulator as the Premier League is evidently incapable of regulating itself) but City and Newcastle (amongst others) are also at the whims of some very complex geopolitical situations too. Unless you hit the Deadpool jackpot, your owners probably suck.
Anyway, enjoy the season everyone. If United’ s results are terrible, you can clap back at this message but as stated above, most of us won’t care as much as we used to. Jonny, MUFC. It’s the hope that gets you.
Pull your fingers out, INEOS… I wrote a fairly angry (and unpublished) mail in yesterday, bemoaning the recent lack of action on both incomings and outgoings. Yes, I know there’s still time and more deals may be struck (the promises remain as of now unfulfilled), but preseason is a valuable time to get a team to gel. And so, I ask again…
How in god’s burning concrete jungle do United go into the pointless curtain raiser with Eriksen, Pellestri, Bayindir on the bench and Maguire, Evans and Casemiro in the starting XI? Maguire, Evans and Casemiro as your defensive spine is not a good look. It wasn’t last season, it’s a poor way to start the next after a summer spent patiently waiting for the promised arrivals.
AWB might be off at last but we still have all of the wingers (currently 3/4 on the right and same on the left), all of the hapless defence from last season, and we’re playing an untested false 9 while we have a new striker and a guy who’s been playing that in preseason not starting. We have our young full back who has looked good, but not even on the bench? We have our young midfielder Collyer also not starting so Casemiro can continue to look wildly unsuited.
If it’s because they’re injured, take the goddamn note because after last season and this pre-season, there’s questions that need answering there.
The result doesn’t matter, the performance does. But while we wait for kick-off to prove otherwise, we somehow manage to enter the season looking worse than we did at the the end of last.
Pull your fingers out, Ineos. No number of knighthoods or finger pointing will cover your personal failures to get business done if you don’t. (I am) Badwolf(‘s seething fury)
A pot or not…? City fan here. If your team has never played in the Community Shield, or has, but lost the game, then it’s not a ‘real’ trophy. But if you win it, then it’s definitely a piece of actual silverware.
Strange that isn’t it?
On the other hand, and given some of the mails we’ve all read in the past week or so, I’m not sure United fans have much to worry about. From what I saw, I’d be backing those who are optimistic about the season ahead. That said, we need to talk about Rashford. Blimey. Mark (Watching your goalie score such an outstanding pen will never get boring). MCFC.
City largely dominated, without much penetration. United had the best chances. Went ahead and should have held on, but the ric flair of football got them level. United should have ended the shootout but I’ll allow the Sancho miss, more pressure than I can imagine…no not a charity shield pressure but if you missed your last one in the same stadium for England that’s pressure.
Ultimately well done city. I applied for tickets and didn’t get them…but 12000 didn’t turn up… irrelevant, it is a free hit and the curse says city won’t win the league… go on Ipswich Anthony, Dublin
📣 TO THE COMMENTS! Who will win the Premier League this season and will Manchester United flop? Join the debate here
Pipe down, Man Utd fans… Has it ever occurred to United fans that non-United fans talk about United a lot because 1. the media has been obsessed since Best/Busby 2. your fanbase has fed off this and exacerbated the issue by thinking you’re the most special club ever and won’t shut the f*** up about it?
What are we supposed to do? Just let you run rampant with your delusional United opinions and not say a word? Literally a SINGLE mail was published criticizing United fans and 5-6 people responded with increasingly bats**** logic justifying whatever is United fans feel they need to say to keep their club in the discussion.
I was more than happy to send a mail talking about rule changes but, no, This Is Manchester United Football Club We’re Talking About.
Anyway, on those rule changes, I’m sure I’ll get slayed for this by a certain contingent but I honestly think the game can benefit by borrowing from basketball (yes, how American of me blah blah blah).
In basketball, there are a certain amount of fouls per half that are allowed to be committed before any foul results in free throws. I honestly think setting a similar limit which then results in a free kick that can be placed anywhere along the 18-yard box would easily deter the tactical fouling we all hate to see. MAW, LA Gooner
Seven Stages Red Army Looking at the United fans on here – well, a good chunk of them, anyway – it occurred to me that what has happened to them in the last 12 years or so is very similar to the seven stages of grieving. And as a Liverpool, fan, they are very familiar to me, because I think we went through a similar process (and perhaps are on the cusp of starting it again).
Shock and denial is the first stage, and I think this one lasted a long time, and with some United fans is still ongoing. Then we have pain and guilt. There should be some guilt I think, because despite denials to the contrary this week, the fans threw David Moyes under the bus, and obviously there has been a lot of pain. A lot. It’s been just lovely. Then anger and bargaining, and obviously the former still looms large amongst many, and I think that the Solksjaer period was the bargaining phase, where United fans tried to convince themselves that whilst he obviously wasn’t a great choice, he at least stopped the ship sinking entirely. Then we have depression – Ragnick, obviously – followed by the upward turn (3rd and a cup under Ten Hag), which is followed by reconstruction and working through – sounds very Ten Hag, dunnit?
And finally, we have acceptance, and judging by the mailbox this week, United fans are here, by and large, writing off the season and just hoping for some forward momentum, which is, to be fair, exactly what they should be doing, and it looks like the penny has finally dropped.
Took your time getting there chaps. Mat (acutely aware that Liverpool might be entering a transition period at best)
Three ways to improve penalty rules… I read his email pointing out that penalties often feel like too much of a prize, I agree.
I can’t remember who was playing ( I watch a lot of football) but last season a penalty was awarded after a defender took out an attacker at the byline inside the box. Seemed a bit unfair.
So here’s three changes I’d like to see to penalties which would make them a bit more fair.
1. No more stuttering runs. Really? The odds are already massively stacked in favour of the striker and some are still stuttering their runs? I find it very unsportsmanlike, get rid of it … OR allow the goalie to come off his line when the player starts his run, that way the player gains less of an advantage by prancing like a raver on ketamine.
2. You take the penalty from wherever the foul was committed. Taken out while running to corner flag? That’s where your pen is from. This will also prob cut down on all the diving at the byline since it won’t really be an advantage anymore.
3. The player fouled takes the pen. This is a smaller thing but I just think teams that have a diver and a regular penalty taker often dive to give their penalty taker and easy goal.
I think all those things would make penalties more fair and might actually help solve the handball problem as well since the penalty would be less valuable in the event of one of those stupid pinball handball scenarios.
I’m gonna finish on ‘blue cards’ I actually do think the refs need something in-between yellow and red for those situations that are worse than a yellow but not quite a red. Right now the punishments are too binary and needs some wiggle room. Lee
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