Are United fans really falling for Jose’s nonsense?

Are United fans really falling for Jose’s nonsense?

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Quite
Well that was boring.
Douglas

Are you really falling for this nonsense again?
Man United fans, please PLEASE tell me you’re not falling for this nonsense? You have watched him do this at every other club and there’s no way you don’t all remember, just no way. I’m not saying don’t support him, I’m just pleading with you all, don’t dare start writing in reiterating his conspiracies when we all know full well this is the ‘us against the world’ blag that he pulls all the time.

In other clubs it may have had the opportunity to work but no chance at England biggest and richest club! No way are we buying this, Sky need United to be successful, BT now also, hell the Premier League would prefer it!
So, there is absolutely zero chance of this being in anyway a possibility.

The only enemy you need worry about in my opinion is the man who thinks he’s bigger than your club, bigger than developing young players, bigger than your reputation for playing attacking football (Cause you’re not, it’s a fallacy aided by the dross last year) and quite recently bigger than having a shave.

Glad we’re all clear on this.

Happy St Patrick’s Day
Dotz ( I used to catch bees in jars, now summers are boring )

Assorted United thoughts
There was something about our recent form and the issues like injuries and fights between Jose and his staff that told me this would be difficult .

* kudos must be given to rostov their plan to park the bus and nick it late on almost worked.

* Pogba actually played well for 45 mins ‎ .Fellani shocked me when he came on some of his back control looked like he had been taking lessons from Ibra overall I thought a lot of players did themselves justice.

* you mentioned romero in your best 5 sub keepers and today’s performance reinforced that .He came up trumps when rostov finally started to attack and that save at the death was the most dramatic aspect of the game.

*so at one point we had all 4 cb’s on the field at the same time. Is someone preparing us for pulis to takeover. What does England’s Luke shaw have to do to get a game,because I don’t think my nerves can take Jones or Rojo in that position ever again (He’ll just play Darmian won’t he).

* randomly kept an eye on the other games Lyon-Roma was definitely this tournament’s version of city vs monaco, Bessiktas is the answer to wear Ricardo Quaresma and Babel ended up when they lost their hair and seeing Justin Kluivert (son of one of the youngest members of that great ajax team from the 90’s ) come onto the field for Ajax made me feel ancient. I also saw Kim Clijsters in the crowd for Genk vs Gent…..

* haven’t been this far in this tournament since the 80’s the final is close now so I expect utd to use the best players going out of the fa cup will make life slighty easier .

*we weren’t clinical and ‎that will need to improve but hopefully all the injured players will be back after the international break.

At this stage there are no easy opponents , However the furthest journey is to Turkey (so there should be less whining about that) we have to play the same amount of games as a champions league to win it and we are the biggest team in the hat which is the exact opposite of Leicester’s situation (good luck to them).

Fingers crossed
Timi
Mufc‎

I am United supporter and live in Russia. That makes this tie a special one.

Everyone around (they don’t give a damn about Rostov at least here in St. Petersburg usually) suddenly started to cheer for them due to underdogs status. For me it was the chance to look at what Jose has created during his time at United.

Premiership is marketed as toughest league in Europe (not that City failure against Monaco kids will help to build up to this reputation) and draws against likes of Bournemouth and Stoke (twice!) can be written off on opponents strength.

So here comes Europa league, generally considered useless, but giving United easiest way to enter Champions League this season. We should treat this seriously, Jose needs to win it, no doubt about it.

United play Rostov, last season Russian league Leicester (no happy ending though for them), struggling with depleted budget, losing couple of key players, first time European run. Were great last year with fast counterattacks and putting buses in Russian league, but definitely limited quality. Perfect chance for Mourinnho to show its class and what he has improved here. Right? Right?

Instead we have lacklustre first leg (ok, that pitch was a joke) and EVEN WORSE second game. We should dominate and crash that kind of opposition by half time. Instead we have kind of heart attack watching substitute Bukharov (considered no longer part of top football just a year ago and unable to make first squad even in Rostov) occasionally humiliating our defense for a second game in a row. And even more of that with stoppage time free kick save, which should not matter if United played any better.

We are definitely not winning Euro League if we play like this, and we will have hard time finishing top four.
Alexander
St. Petersburg, Russia

So unsurprisingly United did the bare minimum needed to get through. Mourinho decided to play safe as given the hectic schedule he must be well aware of how tired the players were. Sadly it didn’t help and we still ended up with injuries.

When I checked the comments section of the United Rostov game, it was flooded with non United fans complaining about the game, which meant at least some of them watched the game, so a thought occurred to me. If United continue to progress in this competition and get into say the Semi-finals or Finals (not a given), I wonder the United games in Europa League (semis & finals) will do better viewership numbers of the than the semi & finals of the Champions League.

Before you think I am crazy, the United vs Pool game even when both teams were not in the title picture was doing better numbers than El-Classico (700M vs 400-500M in 2015). So given the massive global United fan base and of course the ABUs who follow United with more passion than their own teams tuning in, its definitely possible.  What do you guys think.
JB, MUFC

A different Europa League match
I had the ‘pleasure’ of watching Besiktas vs Olympiakos last night as my Greek diehard Olympiakos fan girlfriend studied for her accounting exam. The gulf in class between the two teams was immense, with Besiktas scoring two goals whilst down to 10 men (idiotic headbutt with Mr Oliver refereeing).

The game itself was not a classic but it certainly shifted my view on Olympiakos, a team that has beaten Man Utd and Arsenal (as well as Man City in friendlies) in recent years. They took almost 30 minutes to get into the game, suffering an onslaught beneath the baying Besiktas crowd, hoisting a massive pre-match banner proclaiming “Fight for Us” referencing the team’s desire to reach the Stockholm final. Desperately missing Brown Ideye since his January move to China (strange thing to type), Olympiakos seemed bereft of ideas up front, something that reflects their league form where their massive lead has been cut down considerably. Plenty of wayward passes, despite Esteban Cambiasso’s best efforts. Besiktas on the other hand were more clinical and direct, spurred on by Ricardo Quaresma and aided by some calamitous goalkeeping, that despite the second half belonging to Olympiakos due to the man over, they rarely looked like threatening.

I was quite disappointed in the end with the result, mainly as I expected a better turnout from the almost perennial champions of Greece, and not from any sex-related bias, but it really did open my eyes to how ‘giants’ of the game (see also Milan, both Inter and AC) can fall, especially as the struggled against Osmanlispor in the previous round. I expect Olympiakos to win the league, but I won’t be expecting magic from them soon in Europe.

As an aside, to weigh into the whole football on TV issue, I’m paying £29 a month for a hell of a lot of sports channels including all Sky Sports in HD, all BT Sports, all BEINSports, as well as Eurosport. If you want any sport all year round at a decent price including the rest of the channels, move to Gib. The TV package also includes high speed internet and phone line.
James, MCFC, Gibraltar

 

Missing the point
Shame you had so many people supposedly missing my point. I wasn’t talking about scorelines I was talking about the exhaustive referral to the Arsenal exit!

I would be just as annoyed, if not more, if my team threw away an advantage on two occasions to qualify. Arsenal were dead and buried, City were not!

Thanks all for your concern and help though, much appreciated!
Chris, Croydon xxx

 

Big Weekend‘s little brother
Bournemouth – Swansea City. The Swans are in the middle of a run of winnable games, and are doing well enough, winning home to Burnley and pre-Shakespeare Leicester, and losing at Hull. Their defence remains suspect, though, having conceded in all but one of their games with Paul Clement at the helm. So which way do they roll against a Cherries side that doesn’t do clean sheets either? They can play conservatively, letting Luciano Narsingh or Wayne Routledge loose on the counter, or can press hard to disrupt Bournemouth’s midfield. Depends whether they’re thinking one point or three. Eddie Howe has started with Jack Wilshere on the bench the last two matches, and may be tempted to do so again: he’ll have seen how a second striker disrupted Swansea’s centre-halves against Hull, and so might use Benik Afobé in a withdrawn role, as against West Ham.

Stat: Bournemouth have been awarded nine penalty kicks, most in the league. They’ve been taken by four different players, also most in the league.

Sunderland – Burnley. OK Davey, it’s last call. After last week’s performance against Manchester City, you said the team would stay up if they continued to play that well. But although you’ll be mathematically in the race no matter the result here, everyone knows you have to win this one. It won’t be easy, either. Burnley’s results may not have been improving, but their performances have, and they’ll come at you with a vigorous press and an aerial bombardment. First question: does Papy Djilobodji, who suffered meltdown in the reverse fixture but is still your most aggressive aerial defender, come back in the lineup? Second question: do you press, like you did against Manchester City, against a side that’s going to play a lot of long ball anyway? Third and fourth questions: is Jan Kirchhoff finally ready to play, and if so, can he flourish in this sort of physical battle?

Stat: Sunderland are last in the league in +/- shots on target, at 3.6 per game. They’re also the only team in the league without a headed goal.

West Bromwich Albion – Arsenal. The Gunners have won only one of their six away league matches against Tony Pulis teams, seven years ago. Is there any reason to think they can do it again? The list of teams Arsenal have beaten since late January: Hull City, Sutton United, Lincoln City, two of those at home. On the other hand, the Baggies’ current form is poor, and in his weekly awards column Daniel Storey unearthed a great stat showing how ineffective Pulis teams have been after reaching 40 points. If Matt Phillips were in the lineup, my money would be on West Brom, but he’s still battling a hamstring injury, and they can’t replace his quality on the counterattack. James Morrison should return to the starting lineup after his surprise absence was felt against Everton. Olivier Giroud headed the winner in the reverse fixture while marked by Gareth McAuley, and their battle will be worth watching.

Stat: Arsenal lead the league in away goals scored from open play, with 23.
Peter G, Pennsylvania, USA

 

The England squad
There’s something that always bugs me about news of England squads being announced.

The stories always list all the players in the squad. OK. They might say something about the odd surprise choice like Defoe or Livermore. OK. Then they’ll talk about players missing through injury like Rooney, Rose, Sturridge. I assume Henderson’s injured too. OK.

But the news I’m interested in is who’s been left out but isn’t injured. In these days of bloated 26-30 man squads, it’s big news when that happens to someone. But it’s never mentioned.

FYI, the big omissions this time round are Jagielka, Wilshere, Drinkwater, Walcott, Townsend, Welbeck. Arguably Carroll. They’re bigger stories for me as they tell me more about what our 2018 World Cup squad might look like than the recall of Defoe.
Steve

Fair play to Gareth Southgate. That has to be the most refreshing England squad I have seen in a while.

Out with jobbing oldies and underperformers (although I suspect both Rooney and Henderson would be in there if fit), in with youngsters and in-formers.

I might even watch them outside of a tournament for the first time in 5 years. Let’s hope he can make them play.
Mark Danger Endicott, MUFC

 

Deeeeeeney
Great article on Football’s Small Pleasures: Last-minute Breakaway Goals.  For me, there is no greater moment in football than Troy Deeney’s goal against Leicester.  I don’t even support Watford but still hear the word “Deeeeeeeney” whenever I hear his name mentioned.  And whenever I need a lift, I simply wat the YouTube clip.  It is what football is all about: despair, agony, ecstasy.

Brilliant
Rob Smith

 

The Champions League draw
Time for the annual stitch up that is the Champions League Quarter Final Draw and I was musing on what UEFA would be looking for.

They will obviously keep the four seeds apart so Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Juventus will not meet each other. This leaves UEFA with the tricky business of how to ensure the semi-finals they are after (and ultimately the Barcelona v Real Madrid final).

Atletico Madrid are always troublesome around this stage, especially after knocking out Barcelona last year. I see UEFA putting them up against Bayern Munich- take it out of Spain and give them a good kicking. Monaco are very free-scoring and attack minded so I feel they will send them to Juventus to nullify their threat.

This leaves Borussia Dortmund and Leicester City. Leicester are very dangerous for UEFA (great story but not as much global reach). I feel they will put them with Barcelona to ensure they go, with the first leg certainly at the King Power. This means Real Madrid have to take out Borussia Dortmund. This could be where it all falls down, especially with Aubameyang pledged to Real for next season. I see this being where UEFA has to wait yet another year for the final they are after.

So, in summary, save yourself the bother, this will be the draw;

Juventus v Monaco

Bayern Munich v Atletico Madrid

Leicester City v Barcelona

Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid
Micki Attridge

 

The Flying Demebeles
Anyone else reading the gossip and hoping that one of the obscenely rich owners out there wakes up one morning and decides to accumulate as many Dembélés  as possible? I imagine Abramovich reading the gossip columns too and seeing who Chelsea or other big clubs are linked with, and then day-dreaming about a Real Madrid-style galactico-esque unveiling of Karamoko Dembélé, Mousa Dembélé, Moussa Dembélé, Ousmane Dembélé, declaring that “the future’s bright, the future’s Dembélé.” ……The end of the summer window rolls round and Chelsea are hit with a defensive crisis, leading them to take a punt on Bira Dembélé, eventually agreeing to the loan of 10 youth players to Barnet plus 10 mill cash in order to finally get their man.…….

Fans across the land rejoice each weekend as the Blues break forward to form the Flying Dembélé, Bira winning possession and feeding Mousa, he succeeds in spreading play wide to Karamoko, who literally waves bye as he blasts past an ageing Phil Jones. He reaches the byline before cutting back for Ousmane, he dummies letting the ball zip between his legs and continue towards the penalty spot where Moussa is waiting to smash home off the underside of the bar! Both sets of fans look on in awe, while the commentator screams “Dembélégooooooooooooooooooooallllllllllllllll”…

(Top marks for anyone who actually visualized that in their head)…

As an aside, there have been 8 Traorés selected in recent squads for Mali, the dream of a Traoré XI is a distinct possibility!

As an aside to that aside, would love to see Blackburn sign Jean-Daniel Akpa-Akpro from Toulouse, so that they can partner him with Hope Akpam to create a Akpa-Akpro-Akpam partnership in the middle.

Yep, it’s definitely FRIDAY!
Jon (genuinely had no idea Cleverley was at Watford!) NUFC, Guangzhou, China

P.S Also forgot that both Sagna and Clichy were still at City, not good enough for a team with City’s ambitions.

th

Will the bubble ever burst?
Eamonn, I had the exact same thought after yesterday’s mediawatch. The thinly veiled racism is just so obvious, and yet people do indeed seem to buy it without notice. Is it really that much easier to create faux outrage about black people than it is with white?

How many white players get articles written about them that serve for nothing other to rile people up? I don’t remember seeing anything about Hazard driving a car proportionate to his income last season. Mark Noble smiling in a restaurant? Outrageous. you just lost. You’re not at work anymore, but you should be hiding at home, for shame. On the flip side Stones was practically revered for the way he angled for his move to City.

I‘ve written in before at length about the state of the media and my love/despair relationship with Mediawatch, it’s definitely going more towards the despair end of the spectrum at the minute. It’s easy to go after the worst aspects of journalism but it does have to be noted that there are some truly excellent professionals out there going about their business the right way. Pieces like this must anger them more than anyone.

As with far more significant goings on in the world than football, the bubble surely has to burst at some point, right? How bad do the levels of flagrant misquoting, blatantly b*llshit transfer rumours and just outright hate campaigns have to get before people get sick of it all and stop reading? Or is this kind of reporting actually believed by some as gospel? The S*n is the country’s best selling rag after all.

It might just be because I’m an Arsenal fan but I haven’t paid a moment of notice to transfer gossip in years… What’s the point? Are there hoards of United fans that genuinely believe Ronnie is coming home, year after year? January’s explosive Costa to China story must have generated an obscene amount of clicks, that quickly evaporated into thin air. I remember seeing a site one year that added up all of United’s transfer rumours for that window… it totalled over a billion pounds in quoted fees.

I could go on endlessly [fun at parties] about the sh*te the media serves up, it’s the profit before authenticity attitude and the tapping into societies issues to fuel agendas that I find most galling, and sadly the signs are that standards are only going to get worse before they get better. But hey, at least we’ve got this place!
Joe, AFC, Manchester [I’m still showing that old mail about Sterling’s mum and the old folks home to anyone that’ll listen]