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Thread: Champions League Thread

  1. #701
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cewsh View Post
    I still don't remember what his original screenname was!
    Yeah change us back to Chris Scott please mate.

  2. #702
    Simon
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    Yeah that name is rubbish.

  3. #703
    World Champion Murphy's Avatar
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    yugoslavia
    5.55 kick-off for Inter/Spurs tonight. Was a little irritating until I realised it meant I could also watch Liverpool/PSG at 8.

    No Toby or Trippier tonight. Dele and Lloris still out. Kane not looking himself at all since the Colombia game. But Inter have been poor too, appaz, so no idea what will happen tonight. Must avoid defeat.

  4. #704
    Donde esta la biblioteca Pablo Diablo's Avatar
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    canada
    Sucks having to be at work during champions league doesn't it.

  5. #705
    X Ringo's Avatar
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    brazil
    Very much looking forward to tonight's Champions League DOUBLE BILL. Two tasty looking games back to back.

  6. #706
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    Why is this game on early?

  7. #707
    KIKI MUTEMBE BBF's Avatar
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    They are putting a couple on 5.55 and then the rest at 8pm. Because....UEFA

  8. #708
    World Champion Murphy's Avatar
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    yugoslavia
    Well, that was what it was.

  9. #709
    Window Licker MikeHunt's Avatar
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    croatia
    Eric Dier is a joke footballer.

  10. #710
    Simon
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    Dier was alright today? Awful on Saturday though.

    Shit result but there were at least positive signs today, we were really good in the second half and really unlucky to lose.

  11. #711
    World Champion Murphy's Avatar
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    Embarrassing from Tottenham tonight. They were stroking it around like it was a friendly at 2-1. Got what they deserved.

  12. #712
    Donde esta la biblioteca Pablo Diablo's Avatar
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    Imagine if Neymar and/or Cavani were healthy. United's continued struggles at the back exposed already.

  13. #713
    What'cha gonna do? RFF Champ's Avatar
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    canada
    and now they can focus on getting an actual manager in.

  14. #714
    Ironclad Contract RuneEdge's Avatar
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    Any talk of a permanent manager is premature. We dont even know if we'll be in the Champion's League next season, so securing that is the main thing. Then decide on a manager and back him in the transfer window.

    PSG had three big players out and Verratti just back from an injury, and they gave us a reality check on how average this team really is and how thin the squad is. We had an outside chance considering the circumstance at the start of the game, but the moment we had to take off both wingers, PSG's whole team push up the pitch and smothered us in the second half.
    As good as PSG are (and deserved winners), two changes from us shouldn't have had such a drastic change in our team like that. And that was down to having a thin squad and no plan B. For all the stick he got, it would've made sense to bring Fellaini on in the second half. I was all for selling him last month, as he didnt suit the style of play we wanted to use. But in hindsight it was stupid to let him go without knowing what we'd do without him.

  15. #715
    What'cha gonna do? RFF Champ's Avatar
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    That's stupid. Just get a manager in that's Manchester United calibre. Stop messing around with a no-hoper that put ketchup back in the canteen and let the lads leave training early.

  16. #716
    Ironclad Contract RuneEdge's Avatar
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    You say that like there's a line of "United calibre" managers just waiting to pick up the phone right now. Most wouldn't consider taking the job midway through the season.
    Plus the new manager needs a fresh start. Bringing one in now means that if he doesnt get the results, he's going to blame the previous manager for messing up the start of the campaign.

  17. #717
    Simon
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    Mourinho would have probably got a 0-0 out of that.

  18. #718
    Ironclad Contract RuneEdge's Avatar
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    Probably. I mean, he did beat Juve away.
    But I highly doubt he would've won the 10 games Ole won leading up to this match.

  19. #719
    What'cha gonna do? RFF Champ's Avatar
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    He'd have come close as most teams have been shite. Man Utd haven't looked that good under him, Spurs battered them.

  20. #720
    Simon
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    Suspect we might be on for a similar hiding tonight. I'd take a draw to be honest, in the hope that Kane and Alli are back for the second leg in Germany.

  21. #721
    Ironclad Contract RuneEdge's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Alex View Post
    He'd have come close as most teams have been shite. Man Utd haven't looked that good under him, Spurs battered them.
    Close is not good enough. Get results or GTFO.

  22. #722
    Donde esta la biblioteca Pablo Diablo's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Simon View Post
    Suspect we might be on for a similar hiding tonight. I'd take a draw to be honest, in the hope that Kane and Alli are back for the second leg in Germany.
    Think you lot are looking OK.

  23. #723
    Simon
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    Never doubted us for a second.

  24. #724
    World Champion Murphy's Avatar
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    yugoslavia
    Well that was a good night.


  25. #725
    Cirque du Soleil Chris's Avatar
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    Was following the first half on the BBC text commentary. Expected Dortmund to get a goal in the second half when it seemed like Spurs couldn’t break them down. Couldn’t believe the score by the end. They’ve coped amazingly well without Kane and it sounds like he’s not too far away from a return.

  26. #726
    Simon
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    All the hype will go to Son and Vertonghen and rightly so, but it cannot be said enough just how bloody good Winks is now. He's learning to really control games and dictate the tempo. Possibly still not quite good enough at everything else to really stand out against top sides where we don't dominate the game, but when we're the better side and have most of the ball (ie. 80% of games) he's such an important player, getting the ball forward quickly but intelligently and keeping the tempo high.

  27. #727
    Donde esta la biblioteca Pablo Diablo's Avatar
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    VAR gets it right and gets it wrong in the same game.

    *edit* At least they get a goal eventually.
    Last edited by Pablo Diablo; February 20th, 2019 at 5:40 PM.

  28. #728
    Main Eventer _me's Avatar
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    Holy shit. Never doubt Ole time

  29. #729
    Donde esta la biblioteca Pablo Diablo's Avatar
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    Always loved VAR. Always gets things right.

  30. #730
    Main Eventer _me's Avatar
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    I think it was a penalty no doubt. Kimpembe clearly looked right at the ball and put his arm in the way.

  31. #731
    Ironclad Contract RuneEdge's Avatar
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    Considering the players we had missing, I couldn't care less about how we got through. What a result. Fuckin hell.

  32. #732
    Donde esta la biblioteca Pablo Diablo's Avatar
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    I mean if you're going to call a handball on that defenders are going to have to slice off their arms or have them permanently taped to their sides.

  33. #733
    Football manager? Peter Griffin's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Pablo Diablo View Post
    I mean if you're going to call a handball on that defenders are going to have to slice off their arms or have them permanently taped to their sides.




    ?

  34. #734
    Simon
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    That was absolutely bonkers last night. The penalty was a scandal and United were lucky with the first goal but they defended heroically all night. Solskjaer has brought so much to United - even a blagged, defensive win like yesterday had an element of magic to it that I haven't seen from United in a long time - the tendency is to say since Ferguson left but I'd say it dates back further than that, probably to the Ronaldo/Rooney/Tevez side of a few years earlier. I've said in the past that growing up United were sort of a second side to me, because my stepdad is a born and bred United fan and because they played such exciting football (plus Spurs were shit, so it didn't seem an issue to have a favourite big club as well), but I'd pretty much completely forgotten that I ever had any liking for them in recent years. Obviously now that Spurs are brilliant I won't ever be that bothered whether United do well or not, but it's great to actually look forward to their games again.

    Oh side issue: I'd seen a lot of United fans criticise McTominay, questioning what exactly he is good at, but I thought he was sensational last night. So many interceptions, bullied the PSG midfielders at times and helped get the ball out quickly on the break. Thought Shaw, Smalling, Young and Lukaku were fantastic too.

  35. #735
    World Champion Murphy's Avatar
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    I had a soft spot for Utd in the late 90s/early 00s because of their rivalry with Arsenal and, like you say, Spurs being rather shite.

    If it wasn't his already, that's surely the job for Solskjaer then. And properly deserved it will be too. Would have been hard to envisage this when he was getting sacked by Cardiff a few years ago.

  36. #736
    Simon
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    As brilliantly as Solskjaer is doing, I do think the job really begins when he gets it permanently - short of being the worst manager in the entire world he was almost guaranteed to improve United simply by virtue of not being Mourinho, and there has been zero pressure from the media or the fans so far, he's essentially had a free pass for a full five months of this season and he's done a great job...but once he's the permanent manager expectations will be there, and the pressure will be on.

    The fans and to an extent the media will give him more leeway than most because he's a United legend and clearly a decent bloke (and he has this phenomenal caretaker period to point to) but the expectation next season will be top four at a minimum, and there should be another five teams competing for those spots next season. He's done a fantastic job at rebuilding the club since the end of last year, but from June onwards the job will be to get them back to where they belong, which means not only competing for the title but challenging their two biggest rivals in the process. Again I'm sure he will be given time, but once the honeymoon is over and a new season starts. I don't think it would take *too* much for questions to be asked about bigger name managers if United weren't at least in the top four.

    I know that seems like I'm pissing on his chips a bit, I'm just trying to be realistic. He's done a phenomenal job so far, but it needs to be remembered that it's in a very specific context where his status as a club legend is more important than his managerial skill or experience. That ease of motivating his players won't last forever, and then the real business of being a proper football manager begins. Hopefully he does well.

  37. #737
    What'cha gonna do? RFF Champ's Avatar
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    OGS will fail when given it full time but they've backed themselves into needing him to fail before getting an actual manager in.

    It's going to set them back another year really.

  38. #738
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    I was there at Anfield when we battered United in mid December and now I cant get my head around how things have turnaround for us both.

  39. #739
    Donde esta la biblioteca Pablo Diablo's Avatar
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    Alex is a secret Bayern fan and that's why he hates Ole so much.

  40. #740
    What'cha gonna do? RFF Champ's Avatar
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    He's better than Zidane would be tbf.

  41. #741
    Ironclad Contract RuneEdge's Avatar
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    I guess it shouldn't surprise me that some people didn't think it was a penalty, but I don't get how people look at it like it was some scandalous decision (and this isn't just aimed at Simon). If the ref had made the call in real time without the aid of VAR, the decision wouldn't have looked as bad. The fact that its a questionable decision, the ref having to view the footage for a good while, and the consequence of the decision in the dying minutes of the tie, all make it seem like PSG got robbed.
    The real problem we have is that its open to interpretation. The rule isnt black and white. VAR can't be perfect until the rules themselves are perfect.

    UEFA themselves put this statement out earlier.


    Even though it sounds biased coming from me, that's a good enough justification IMO.

    Quote Originally Posted by Simon View Post
    Oh side issue: I'd seen a lot of United fans criticise McTominay, questioning what exactly he is good at, but I thought he was sensational last night. So many interceptions, bullied the PSG midfielders at times and helped get the ball out quickly on the break. Thought Shaw, Smalling, Young and Lukaku were fantastic too.
    That was actually one of McTominay's good performances. He's not always that good. But to be fair, most of the criticisms come from the Mourinho days. And back then, even guys like Smalling, Lukaku, etc were complete shite.

    Quote Originally Posted by Simon View Post
    As brilliantly as Solskjaer is doing, I do think the job really begins when he gets it permanently - short of being the worst manager in the entire world he was almost guaranteed to improve United simply by virtue of not being Mourinho, and there has been zero pressure from the media or the fans so far, he's essentially had a free pass for a full five months of this season and he's done a great job...but once he's the permanent manager expectations will be there, and the pressure will be on.

    The fans and to an extent the media will give him more leeway than most because he's a United legend and clearly a decent bloke (and he has this phenomenal caretaker period to point to) but the expectation next season will be top four at a minimum, and there should be another five teams competing for those spots next season. He's done a fantastic job at rebuilding the club since the end of last year, but from June onwards the job will be to get them back to where they belong, which means not only competing for the title but challenging their two biggest rivals in the process. Again I'm sure he will be given time, but once the honeymoon is over and a new season starts. I don't think it would take *too* much for questions to be asked about bigger name managers if United weren't at least in the top four.

    I know that seems like I'm pissing on his chips a bit, I'm just trying to be realistic. He's done a phenomenal job so far, but it needs to be remembered that it's in a very specific context where his status as a club legend is more important than his managerial skill or experience. That ease of motivating his players won't last forever, and then the real business of being a proper football manager begins. Hopefully he does well.
    What you're saying is fair. But I don't think people "on the outside" get the whole picture because it's not Ole's presence alone that's turned the club around.
    I think people forget or don't even realise that Ole used to be our youth team coach many years ago while Sir Alex was still the main man at Old Trafford, and he was there while guys like Pogba, Lingard, etc were coming through the ranks. He knows this team, and the team knows him, better than most people realise. When Moyes came in, he insisted on removing the previous backroom staff and implementing his own group of people, which is something Van Gaal did, and Mourinho did also. What's funny looking back is how all three managers also kept one ex-United player like some kind of token gesture (Phil Neville, Ryan Giggs, and then Michael Carrick) to win over the fans. Ole on the other hand has gone and brought back as much of the old team from Sir Alex's days as he could. Mike Phelan coming back has helped a great deal. As a matter of fact, Sir Alex himself now shows up to training sessions and has a talk with the players every now and then (something that didn't happen under the previous three managers). The team is now being coached and trained in the same way as they did up until about 6 years ago. So when put into context, it shouldn't surprise people that we're playing like the team did 6 years ago.
    Regarding his managerial skills, I think his tactics need to be given some well deserved credit. I get this impression that for some reason people think he's just stood there and done nothing over the 15-17 or so games he's managed so far. He's switched Rashford from a left winger to a striker, and emphasised a high pressing game, with a more balanced attack (rather than focusing everything down one flank). He's actually played at least 3 or 4 different starting formations in his line ups, in the short time that he's been here. He's switch from a man marking style to zonal defending, which has actually seen our defending improve immensely. And I think most importantly, there's more emphasis on our own play, rather than focusing out shutting down the opposition, which is something Van Gaal and Mourinho were known for.
    Then there's the use of substitutes that Ole's changes to. No longer do we go 1-0 up and then bring on a holding midfielder to close the game out. We lost far too many points because of this over the last few years, and Ole's almost made it a thing to try and only make positive subs. Assuming that the positive vibe to the players is all he brings, is very naive.

    As for the expectations on Ole, I think we'll all agree that things will change once he becomes the permanent manager. But rather than inheriting these expectation with the job (which every United manager would), Ole's actually earnt these expectations with how well he's done so far.
    People had been asking questions since day one. When he won the first 5 games, people were saying they were easy, and how Mourinho would've won them too. Then they said Spurs would be the real test, then it was Arsenal, then it was league leaders Liverpool, then there was PSG. There's not a whole lot more Ole can do between now and the end of the season to put the questions to bed.
    And what's also impressive is how he's been in charge of United for about a third of the league season, and the table since his appointment looks like this:


    I think as long as the players continue to play for him, I can't see why this won't continue. And you can tell the players love him when they're singing his name in the locker room after games, which Moyes, Van Gaal or Jose never got to experience.

  42. #742
    What'cha gonna do? RFF Champ's Avatar
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    Summarise that for us in two lines.

  43. #743
    Ironclad Contract RuneEdge's Avatar
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    No.

  44. #744
    Defiance is a four letter
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    He's almost taking the piss at this point. To be an Athletico fan right now.

  45. #745
    Donde esta la biblioteca Pablo Diablo's Avatar
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    Champions League Ronaldo is the best player of all-time.

  46. #746
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    What a fucking guy. Absolutely worth the money.

  47. #747
    RFF WORLDWIDE WESTERN CON son_of_foley's Avatar
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    I know Schalke are a bit shit but jesus City were good last night. I bloody love Aguero. Best out and out striker on the planet right now.

  48. #748
    Simon
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    Bit fucking sick of City and their relentless cutback tap-in goals. Guardiola isn't a tactical genius, he just played a shitload of Pro Evo in the mid 2000s.

  49. #749
    Defiance is a four letter
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    Quote Originally Posted by Simon View Post
    Bit fucking sick of City and their relentless cutback tap-in goals. Guardiola isn't a tactical genius, he just played a shitload of Pro Evo in the mid 2000s.
    Oh my God, thank you. Every time I watch them play it's like I'm triggered from a deluge of online FIFA cunt goals.

  50. #750
    Furry, Filthy and Fun Badger's Avatar
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    That and he has a bucketload of cash.

  51. #751
    Football manager? Peter Griffin's Avatar
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    One Day Phil Thompson is going to have a heart attack live on air


  52. #752
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    Lewandowski what’s happened to him? The 2 legs all he did was fall over and whinge especially last night.

    Hasn't scored in his last 7 CL knockout games and has been quiet at Poland's last two tournaments. That move to the likes of Madrid he wanted for so long probably won't happen. Serie A or China likely beckons for him now,

  53. #753
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    That was a really poor game of football, it seems mad but I thought Liverpool were pretty shit despite the win.

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    First half we was but 2nd we improved as game went on but still not getting better than ok.

  55. #755
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    Oh. Ok. Barca. Great.

    Full draw

    Ajax vs Juventus

    Liverpool vs FC Porto

    Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester City

    Manchester United vs FC Barcelona

    With the semi's being

    Tottenham Hotspur OR Manchester City vs Ajax OR Juventus

    Manchester United OR FC Barcelona vs Liverpool OR FC Porto

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    Had a feeling we'd get an English team. Meh.

    Early money must be on a City/Juventus Vs. Barca final.

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    I’d gladly take a “anyone but Liverpool” final.

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    Ajax vs Juventus brings memories of the first CL final I ever watched and the first time I became aware of and became a fan of Ravanelli. Little did I know he would nearly bankrupt Derby some 8 years later

  59. #759
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    City vs Juve and Liverpool vs Barca in the semis, City vs Barca final I reckon. Genuinely think Ajax can give Juve a game though from what I've seen.

  60. #760
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    It doesn't matter how good Ajax are, Ronaldo will score however many goals they do +1.
    Last edited by wardy; March 19th, 2019 at 2:42 PM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by RuneEdge View Post
    I’d gladly take a “anyone but Liverpool” final.
    So you would want City in the final ahead of Liverpool

  62. #762
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chris Scott View Post
    So you would want City in the final ahead of Liverpool
    100% for me. Liverpool fans really seem to underestimate how much people hate them. Even United fans seem to prefer a City win.

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    Totally agree. Sorry Chris, but Liverpool fans can be insufferable. I would much rather City win the league and CL than Liverpool

  64. #764
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    Yeah nothing personal against you Chris as you are one of the few that aren't infuriating, but it's the fans that make everyone hate Liverpool. Not much to hate about the team, Klopp is mostly ok although it's annoying that he gets a free reign from the media but can be just as much of a charmless arsehole as Mourinho when things don't go his way...but the fans are, as Romford says, insufferable.

    All teams have their fair share of wanker fans but Liverpool fans are so much worse, constantly convinced that everyone is trying to screw them over and utterly convinced that their team is superior despite a total lack of evidence. It says it all IMO that the average neutral would prefer to see Man City win the league despite their blatant financial doping and the fact that their empire is build on the blood of a million Arabs.

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    Ironclad Contract RuneEdge's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Simon View Post
    100% for me. Liverpool fans really seem to underestimate how much people hate them. Even United fans seem to prefer a City win.
    While most fans hate them for being insufferable, its only half of the reason for United fans. At least for my generation.
    I grew up on the Liverpool/United rivalry. I was actually 4-5 years old when Liverpool won their last league title. So I grew up hearing all the banter about how they're the most successful team in the country. And I saw Sir Alex tear that down one trophy at a time. For many of us, this was the foundation of our support for the club. I imagine for a previous generation it might have been the Munich Air Disaster. But for me and people my age, it was "knocking them off their fuckin' perch".
    There's no way seeing City winning anything could be worse than seeing Liverpool doing the same. City still feel like a team that got lucky with oil money, so any sense of victory for me would come with an asterisk. Chelsea did it before them, PSG are doing it now. And I can see City eventually fading away (especially once Pep leaves).
    But with Liverpool, it pains me to admit that they're doing it "the right way". They're not funded by oil money, they play attacking football, there doesnt seem to be any corruption involved in what they're doing. It's disgusting. They must be stopped.

  66. #766
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    Quote Originally Posted by Simon View Post
    100% for me. Liverpool fans really seem to underestimate how much people hate them. Even United fans seem to prefer a City win.
    Quote Originally Posted by Romford Pele View Post
    Totally agree. Sorry Chris, but Liverpool fans can be insufferable. I would much rather City win the league and CL than Liverpool
    Yeah no hard feelings and I know alot of neturals hate us/more so the fans. But acctually last few months i've seen more none United/Everton/Chelsea fans actually say they prefare us to win the league ahead of City.

  67. #767
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    Quote Originally Posted by RuneEdge View Post
    While most fans hate them for being insufferable, its only half of the reason for United fans. At least for my generation.
    I grew up on the Liverpool/United rivalry. I was actually 4-5 years old when Liverpool won their last league title. So I grew up hearing all the banter about how they're the most successful team in the country. And I saw Sir Alex tear that down one trophy at a time. For many of us, this was the foundation of our support for the club. I imagine for a previous generation it might have been the Munich Air Disaster. But for me and people my age, it was "knocking them off their fuckin' perch".
    There's no way seeing City winning anything could be worse than seeing Liverpool doing the same. City still feel like a team that got lucky with oil money, so any sense of victory for me would come with an asterisk. Chelsea did it before them, PSG are doing it now. And I can see City eventually fading away (especially once Pep leaves).
    But with Liverpool, it pains me to admit that they're doing it "the right way". They're not funded by oil money, they play attacking football, there doesnt seem to be any corruption involved in what they're doing. It's disgusting. They must be stopped.
    Yeah my point was cos you was a United fan and I get the big rivalry with us and you but if Everton were the City of the league, me personal wouldn't ever want either to be in a final. I grew up hating both equal.

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    You have to put it into context though. Imagine if United had won 5 European Cups, and were in a final for a potential 6th. Would you rather see United win the 6th UCL, or Everton win the league?
    I'd imagine you'd rather see Everton win the league, because it doesnt undermine your own success.

    In the grand scheme of things, Man City winning another trophy doesn't say much IMO. But another league title for Liverpool edges them closer to once again being able to say they're the most successful team in the country.

  69. #769
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    Honestly 1995 FA Cup final Everton vs United. Even though you won most FA cups I still didn’t want Everton to win even as a 16 year old. Or even when you played them in the 2009 and 2016 FA Cup semi finals, I still never wanted them to win.

  70. #770
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    I think if Arsenal played Chelsea nowadays I'd probably want Arsenal to win. I hate Arsenal because I'm Tottenham, but I hate Chelsea because I'm human.

  71. #771
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    You cant hate Frank Lampard though right? I now consider him to be a friend.

  72. #772
    Ironclad Contract RuneEdge's Avatar
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    But he's not there any more. So you can still hate Chelsea if you want.

  73. #773
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    Quote Originally Posted by Simon View Post
    I think if Arsenal played Chelsea nowadays I'd probably want Arsenal to win. I hate Arsenal because I'm Tottenham, but I hate Chelsea because I'm human.
    I just can’t do it me. I just want no one to win and ignore the game is getting played.

  74. #774
    World Champion Murphy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Simon View Post
    I think if Arsenal played Chelsea nowadays I'd probably want Arsenal to win. I hate Arsenal because I'm Tottenham, but I hate Chelsea because I'm human.
    Yup, I've felt this way for a few years now.

  75. #775
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    Ditto, swapping Arsenal for Spurs there. I hate the fact Spurs are quite good now, and really don't like some of their players (Alli and Rose for example) but Chelsea are just horrendous on every level

    I would then say Liverpool, followed by United. I don't mind City

    Funny how things change, that 10 year or so period when it was Arsenal v United at the top, I had never hated a team more than them.

    Partly down to Ferguson, partly some players (Keane, Van Nistelroy, Sojksaer, Neville brothers), part the plastic fans but probably mostly as they were our biggest rivals at the time.

  76. #776
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    I've never understood why opposition fans have it in for Rose, he gets booed everywhere he goes and as far as I can tell never deserves it. He isn't a cheat, he isn't a diver, he isn't a moaner, he's competitive but not really dirty. Really odd, there must be a reason because it happens everywhere he goes, but I've no idea why.

    I completely get why opposition fans don't like Alli (arrogant, snidey), Lamela (a gloriously dirty bastard), Aurier (seems to be a real arsehole off the pitch), I even understand if people don't like Kane because, for all his qualities, he's a massive diver and doesn't really get called out on it as he should do. But Rose...I don't get it.

    To me he's exactly the sort of player people should respect regardless of their team - in fact the sort of player that people usually DO respect regardless of their team, because they see that he is hard-working, dedicated and honest, and doesn't bullshit in interviews (I can kind of understand why Tottenham fans turned on him for his comments at the start of last season, but personally I don't have a problem with people speaking honestly and from the heart even if it doesn't reflect well on my team). Not to mention he's been unusually outspoken about mental health in sport, and increasingly about racism too.

    I just can't explain it - in terms of personality and character, to me he's in the same ballpark as Milner, who seems to be universally respected as a 'good honest pro'. Yet people hate him.

  77. #777
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    Rose likes to spout off in the press about other sides (Arsenal in particular), and he is quite dirty.

  78. #778
    Football manager? Peter Griffin's Avatar
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    Is he dirty? Never seen it myself.

  79. #779
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    Yeah he is. He should have been sent off in the last derby and he has previous

  80. #780
    Simon
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    Difficult CL quiz if anyone is interested, name every starting player for the CL winners in each season since 1992. I got 162 out of 297, vast swathes I had no idea on though.

    https://www.sporcle.com/games/pbysr/..._U45i98z8xXX5Q

  81. #781
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    236. Got to about 2010 and was running out of time so I just started typing in random Real Madrid players of the past few years.

    This is probably my specialist subject, would've got most of them with a bit more time.
    Last edited by wardy; March 27th, 2019 at 8:31 AM.

  82. #782
    Ironclad Contract RuneEdge's Avatar
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    I got 177. I felt like the challenge with two thirds of the list was more about trying to remember everyone, rather than testing your knowledge on the teams. I missed a ton of easy/obvious ones. Neymar, Suarez, Rakitic, Lahm, Carrick, Maicon, Xabi Alonso.
    I got like 4 players between the first 6 teams. Then after that it was about trying to recall as many players from the PES days as possible.

  83. #783
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    I basically skipped 2012 and 2013 so missed most of the Chelsea and Bayern players.

    Raging I didn't get Hargreaves. I must've typed in every possible combination and spelling of Park Ji-Sung's name trying to get Man Utd's last midfielder.
    Last edited by wardy; March 27th, 2019 at 10:51 AM.

  84. #784
    Ironclad Contract RuneEdge's Avatar
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    Yaya Toure being listed as a defender, threw me off. And I typed in Denis Irwin, which didnt register for some reason. I missed quite a few of the Liverpool, Chelsea and Bayern ones for some reason as well.

  85. #785
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    Quote Originally Posted by Simon View Post
    As brilliantly as Solskjaer is doing, I do think the job really begins when he gets it permanently - short of being the worst manager in the entire world he was almost guaranteed to improve United simply by virtue of not being Mourinho, and there has been zero pressure from the media or the fans so far, he's essentially had a free pass for a full five months of this season and he's done a great job...but once he's the permanent manager expectations will be there, and the pressure will be on.

    The fans and to an extent the media will give him more leeway than most because he's a United legend and clearly a decent bloke (and he has this phenomenal caretaker period to point to) but the expectation next season will be top four at a minimum, and there should be another five teams competing for those spots next season. He's done a fantastic job at rebuilding the club since the end of last year, but from June onwards the job will be to get them back to where they belong, which means not only competing for the title but challenging their two biggest rivals in the process. Again I'm sure he will be given time, but once the honeymoon is over and a new season starts. I don't think it would take *too* much for questions to be asked about bigger name managers if United weren't at least in the top four.

    I know that seems like I'm pissing on his chips a bit, I'm just trying to be realistic. He's done a phenomenal job so far, but it needs to be remembered that it's in a very specific context where his status as a club legend is more important than his managerial skill or experience. That ease of motivating his players won't last forever, and then the real business of being a proper football manager begins. Hopefully he does well.



  86. #786
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    You post that like it was a series of easy games that we bottled. Not sure what your point actually is.

  87. #787
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    Just that his excellent run has stalled right around the time he got made permanent manager. Already talks of Pogba wanting out again as well. The honeymoon period is over now and it at least *looks* like I was right that without that initial "the witch is dead" buzz around the place, they're being exposed as quite an average team with, possibly, not the great manager people thought he was based on that excellent start. The last five games they've lost four and been outplayed in all five.

    I still think they jumped the gun on making him permanent manager to be honest - there was no downside to just waiting until the summer, and they've lost the upside of getting a few more games under his belt to see how good he really is. If United's form continues as it has done recently, hiring him could already look like a mistake before the season is over.

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    Ironclad Contract RuneEdge's Avatar
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    The excellent run stalled because the games got hard. There's nothing else to it. Pogba wants to leave (if you believe it to be true. Ole doesnt think so.) because we dont look like a team that might be in the Champion's League next season, and our team is looking like its going to get weaker as Herrera joins PSG, Mata runs his contract down, and De Gea possibly being sold, and also because he wants to be paid as much as Sanchez gets. It's got nothing to do with Ole being made the permanent manager. Any effects of that wont really be seen until next season as everyone going to give him a pass in this campaign for having to pick up where Mourinho left off.

    I mean, I can post this here...


    ...and make up some random reasoning like "Pochettino's mind was elsewhere while rumours of him taking the United job were out". But the truth is, some of those were tough games.

  89. #789
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    That run of Tottenham's isn't explainable as just tough games, it was a shit run of form including two defeats against teams fighting against relegation. The difference is, Pochettino has a long career of relative success to let us assume it was just a bump in the road, whereas there is still the suspicion that United's excellent run was a case of lightning in a bottle as Solskjaer was the nice guy coming in to make the players feel good again after Mourinho left. Now that effect has worn off, United are suddenly losing games they shouldn't be losing, barely laying a finger on the decent teams they come up against and getting outplayed even in the games they win. So it's not really a workable comparison.

    The United team of the first couple of months of Solskjaer's reign weren't getting outplayed by midtable sides like Wolves and Watford, nor were they getting beaten handsomely by rivals like Arsenal. It seems fairly logical to me that now that the new manager bounce has worn off, we're seeing the 'real' United side with all its weaknesses, and there's still a shitload to do - and more to the point there's reason to believe Solskjaer isn't the man to do it.

    Not saying he won't, but the signs aren't good based on the last month or so, and it seems an increasingly bad idea to have jumped the gun on giving him a permanent contract when they could have just waited. Now they're sort of stuck with him even if he has them playing shit the rest of the season, and they'll most probably have to bankroll a load of signings for a manager that might not be up to the job.
    Last edited by Simon; April 11th, 2019 at 11:52 AM.

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    I'm not convinced by Ole to be honest. What has he actually done aside from a shit job at Cardiff?

  91. #791
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    That's a dumb and illogical assessment of the situation. You're just looking for shit to scrutinise and criticise, and to be able to say "I told you so" without as real basis for why you're right. And you say these things, followed by "I'm not saying its definitely gonna turn out that way, I'm just saying..." to cover yourself in the case of where you might get proven wrong. Yet the moment you find anything to celebrate, you'll be here again trying to throw that in my face.

    You can try and spin it how you want but the facts are we lost some tough games. There's nothing more to it besides what you want to make of it. Wolves aren't just a "mid table team". They're the best team outside the top 6 and have one of the best head to head records against the top sides this season. Arsenal have one of the best home records in the league. Watford (who we beat) are a decent side on their day, as proven by the fact that they're in the FA Cup final. And then there's a loss to Barcelona, which doesn't need elaborating on.
    What's funny is when Ole won his first game 5 games or so, people were saying they were easy fixtures and how Mourinho would've won them too. And now we're losing the tough games and its like "You were supposed to be good, look how far you've fallen".

    Your side just got a big result against City in the UCL and this is the shit you decided to bump the thread with? Kinda sad.

    Quote Originally Posted by Romford Pele View Post
    I'm not convinced by Ole to be honest. What has he actually done aside from a shit job at Cardiff?
    But if you're the board that's looking at possibly hiring him, what are you looking for in a manager and what are your alternative options?
    He's not great, but he's handled the job well enough that you might as well give him the job over a big name manager that will cost you so much more.
    Last edited by RuneEdge; April 11th, 2019 at 12:36 PM.

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    Go for Poch in the summer.

    They didn't need to make him permanent, not as if he was going to walk out was it?

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    There was only really 2 other options for United. Zidane and Poch. Zidane never looked interested, and him going back to Madrid suggest it was it was unlikely we would've changed his mind. With Poch, there was first the issue with having to pay Spurs to release him from his contract. That was never going to be easy when dealing with Levy. But also, Spurs' results took a bit of a dip for a few weeks, and Poch was seemingly starting to crack under a bit of pressure. Then you look at the performances under Ole, and you have to wonder if its worth looking elsewhere and pay more money to bring the big name manager in.

    We've tried the sentimental appointment with Moyes. We tried getting a tactician who promotes youth with Van Gaal. We then tried the "serial winner" with the personality with Jose.
    You ask anyone for the best argument for hiring Pochettino, and you're usually told something along the lines of "well Ole's done fuck all himself", or "Ole was shit with Cardiff". That's fine, but I don't really know what Poch himself brings to the table though. It's certainly not a history of winning any trophies.

    Plus another thing you have to take into account is that we don't have top four secured. Imagine telling Ole that he's going to have to go back to Molde at the end of the season, we lost UCL football next season, then Poch rejects us. Ole wasn't ever going to turn this job down, under any circumstances.

  94. #794
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    Quote Originally Posted by RuneEdge View Post
    You post that like it was a series of easy games that we bottled. Not sure what your point actually is.
    His point is, United were playing badly and getting good results. Now they're playing badly and getting bad results.

    It was always going to catch up with them, which is why it was a foolish appointment.

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    That's down to the players, not the manager. Someone else won't come in and suddenly start playing better with the current group of players. And that's because simply put, the team is average. There are way too many players in the United squad that wouldn't make it into any of the other top 5 teams. Players like Jones, Smalling, Young, arguably Perreira, Fred, Mata would struggle to get games elsewhere. You could also argue none of the top 5 teams would take Lukaku as their first choice striker over what they already have. And how many of those teams would trade their wingers for the ones we use (Lingard and Martial)? We're 6th because we have a team that's made up of half decent players and not enough top world class ones to carry us any further.

    We could've either got someone like Poch in, paid a ton of money to get him, and still be in this position, or we get the same with Ole but a lot cheaper and the added sentimental value that comes with him. People are right in saying that the decision on the appointment should've been made at the end of the season. But the truth is, if these results had played out exactly as they have, Ole probably still would get the job at the end of the season because Zidane's gone to Madrid, and Poch is probably better off at Spurs right now anyway. Who else were we going to turn to?

    One way of looking at it is that if Ole had done really well till the end of the season, he would've justified his appointment. And if he had failed miserably and missed out on top 4, no one else would want to manage us without UCL football next year, meaning Ole would be the only available candidate left anyway.

  96. #796
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    Quote Originally Posted by RuneEdge View Post
    That's a dumb and illogical assessment of the situation. You're just looking for shit to scrutinise and criticise, and to be able to say "I told you so" without as real basis for why you're right. And you say these things, followed by "I'm not saying its definitely gonna turn out that way, I'm just saying..." to cover yourself in the case of where you might get proven wrong. Yet the moment you find anything to celebrate, you'll be here again trying to throw that in my face.

    You can try and spin it how you want but the facts are we lost some tough games. There's nothing more to it besides what you want to make of it. Wolves aren't just a "mid table team". They're the best team outside the top 6 and have one of the best head to head records against the top sides this season. Arsenal have one of the best home records in the league. Watford (who we beat) are a decent side on their day, as proven by the fact that they're in the FA Cup final. And then there's a loss to Barcelona, which doesn't need elaborating on.
    What's funny is when Ole won his first game 5 games or so, people were saying they were easy fixtures and how Mourinho would've won them too. And now we're losing the tough games and its like "You were supposed to be good, look how far you've fallen".

    Your side just got a big result against City in the UCL and this is the shit you decided to bump the thread with? Kinda sad.


    But if you're the board that's looking at possibly hiring him, what are you looking for in a manager and what are your alternative options?
    He's not great, but he's handled the job well enough that you might as well give him the job over a big name manager that will cost you so much more.
    You're taking this all as a personal attack on you when it isn't. I'm just pointing out that it has gone the way I suspected it would, the way quite a few people expected it would. I'm not mocking United at all, I've always had a soft spot for United for family reasons, and happily said on here how good it was to get excited about watching United games again after so many years of that not being the case when Solskjaer first took over. That's literally all the first post was - an acknowledgement that my theory that Solskjaer might find it difficult once he got the job full time has been supported by the performances and results so far.

    Pochettino isn't the perfect manager and there are question marks over him - no major trophies, hasn't quite managed to fully shift the worry that we will always fold when the pressure is on - but he was probably the best option available, and given the success he's had at Tottenham despite not competing on a level footing with rivals financially I think he would almost certainly have been a success at United if they gave him the job. Certainly in the long term I'd be a lot more confident of him doing a good job at United than Solskjaer.

    To reiterate, my post wasn't a dig at you, it wasn't even really a dig at United - it was just pointing out that I suspected they might have jumped the gun in appointing Solskjaer on a permanent basis so early, when the amazing start he had was undoubtedly at least partly attributable to a unique set of circumstances that wouldn't continue long term. So far that has been borne out by them running into a very poor run of form - whatever you want to say about it being a tough run of games, United are not expected to lose four games out of five regardless of the opposition, and certainly not when two of them are against a team like Wolves. And Wolves are a midtable team - 8th in the league, as many points from the relegation zone as they are from third. They are by definition a midtable team - they have a good record against the better clubs, but this is offset by a bad record against the rest. That's why they are midtable.

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    United aren't playing average though, they're playing badly.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Simon View Post
    You're taking this all as a personal attack on you when it isn't. I'm just pointing out that it has gone the way I suspected it would, the way quite a few people expected it would. I'm not mocking United at all, I've always had a soft spot for United for family reasons, and happily said on here how good it was to get excited about watching United games again after so many years of that not being the case when Solskjaer first took over. That's literally all the first post was - an acknowledgement that my theory that Solskjaer might find it difficult once he got the job full time has been supported by the performances and results so far.

    Pochettino isn't the perfect manager and there are question marks over him - no major trophies, hasn't quite managed to fully shift the worry that we will always fold when the pressure is on - but he was probably the best option available, and given the success he's had at Tottenham despite not competing on a level footing with rivals financially I think he would almost certainly have been a success at United if they gave him the job. Certainly in the long term I'd be a lot more confident of him doing a good job at United than Solskjaer.

    To reiterate, my post wasn't a dig at you, it wasn't even really a dig at United - it was just pointing out that I suspected they might have jumped the gun in appointing Solskjaer on a permanent basis so early, when the amazing start he had was undoubtedly at least partly attributable to a unique set of circumstances that wouldn't continue long term. So far that has been borne out by them running into a very poor run of form - whatever you want to say about it being a tough run of games, United are not expected to lose four games out of five regardless of the opposition, and certainly not when two of them are against a team like Wolves. And Wolves are a midtable team - 8th in the league, as many points from the relegation zone as they are from third. They are by definition a midtable team - they have a good record against the better clubs, but this is offset by a bad record against the rest. That's why they are midtable.
    I ain't taking this as a personal attack. What I'm saying is that you basically make a prediction of some sort, you then give your reasons for why you think so and so will happen, and then it happens but for entirely different reasons, and you do the whole "I told you so" routine. Which is basically what my gripe was with the whole "Jose is a failure" thing you kept brining up previously. You called him a failure at a time when he hadn't actually failed, and then later down the line when he did fail, you're like "I told you so".

    As I've said so many times already, the games we had were tough. There's a good chance that United would've played out the same results if Ole was currently still the interim manager. Him becoming the permanent manager hasn't made any difference to us. As Alex said, we were quite average even when we were winning, the difference now is that we arent getting the results either. The real indication of your theory would be if we went into next season and started losing the same fixtures that Ole won this season. You can't base your theory on the difference in results between Cardiff, Bournemouth, Huddersfield, Newcastle vs Barcelona, Arsenal, Liverpool and Wolves. Judge it after more comparable fixtures. If he's still losing, then you may have a point.

    BTW, Wolves are 8th with a game in hand. They're expected to go up to 7th again. And also, this from a couple of months ago:


    Wolves aint a team to be taken lightly.

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    Quote Originally Posted by RuneEdge View Post
    I ain't taking this as a personal attack. What I'm saying is that you basically make a prediction of some sort, you then give your reasons for why you think so and so will happen, and then it happens but for entirely different reasons, and you do the whole "I told you so" routine.
    You seem like you're taking it as a personal attack, if you're not then good because there's no need. I don't think it is happening for different reasons as you say, I think United's form has fallen away because the fun and excitement of not having Mourinho around any more has worn off. I might be wrong, but I think that's a lot more reasonable a point to make then just saying United are victims of the fixture list - they're losing the sort of games they were winning early in Solskjaer's reign (1-0 win at Leicester vs two defeats at Wolves, 1-0 win at Tottenham vs 2-0 defeat at Arsenal), and performances have gone over a cliff. Do you not think the United of the first couple of months of Solskjaer would have got better results, and played better, during this run? Because I definitely do.

    Which is basically what my gripe was with the whole "Jose is a failure" thing you kept brining up previously. You called him a failure at a time when he hadn't actually failed, and then later down the line when he did fail, you're like "I told you so".
    I can't be bothered to get into this one again, clearly we're never going to agree.

    As I've said so many times already, the games we had were tough. There's a good chance that United would've played out the same results if Ole was currently still the interim manager. Him becoming the permanent manager hasn't made any difference to us. As Alex said, we were quite average even when we were winning, the difference now is that we arent getting the results either. The real indication of your theory would be if we went into next season and started losing the same fixtures that Ole won this season. You can't base your theory on the difference in results between Cardiff, Bournemouth, Huddersfield, Newcastle vs Barcelona, Arsenal, Liverpool and Wolves. Judge it after more comparable fixtures. If he's still losing, then you may have a point.
    Well that's more or less what I've been saying, it's just speculation from both of us. I think they've hit a bad run of form because the buzz of the new manager has worn off, you think it's just because they've had a tough run of fixtures. Neither of us can claim to be objectively right, but why can't we discuss it?

    BTW, Wolves are 8th with a game in hand. They're expected to go up to 7th again. And also, this from a couple of months ago:


    Wolves aint a team to be taken lightly.
    In that graphic Wolves have taken nine points from seven games...against United since Solskjaer took over they've taken six points from two (obviously one of them was a cup game but you get my point). I take your point that they're not an easy team to play against, but a resurgent United would not expect to lose both of those games.
    Last edited by Simon; April 12th, 2019 at 10:13 AM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Simon View Post
    You seem like you're taking it as a personal attack, if you're not then good because there's no need. I don't think it is happening for different reasons as you say, I think United's form has fallen away because the fun and excitement of not having Mourinho around any more has worn off. I might be wrong, but I think that's a lot more reasonable a point to make then just saying United are victims of the fixture list - they're losing the sort of games they were winning early in Solskjaer's reign (1-0 win at Leicester vs two defeats at Wolves, 1-0 win at Tottenham vs 2-0 defeat at Arsenal), and performances have gone over a cliff. Do you not think the United of the first couple of months of Solskjaer would have got better results, and played better, during this run? Because I definitely do.
    No, that point isn't reasonable at all. You've seen the outcome and just picked a random reasoning out of thin air, without showing any actual correlation between the two. You're basically saying "Ole got the job right around when the results went bad, so both of those must be connected. It can't possibly be a coincidence."
    We're not losing the sort of games we were winning earlier, because they're not the same sort of games FFS. They're tougher games now. And you're ignoring how we were never really that good under Ole to begin with. When we won the first 5 games under him, are we forgetting how most people were saying Mourinho would've won those same games as well? When we beat Spurs, are we forgetting that Spurs were by far the more dominant team and we got the only goal from a counter attack? Or how about being outclassed by PSG over two legs but got three lucky away goals to get through (1st was a back pass to the keeper being intercepted, their keeper fumbles a shot for the 2nd, and the 3rd was a controversial penalty. Calling it a freak occurrence would be an understatement)? Didn't someone here just say "United were playing badly and getting good results. Now they're playing badly and getting bad results."?
    We were always average and just barely getting by. Then the tough fixtures came and our luck ran out. That's a much more logical analysis of what's played out than to see us lose and just assume it because the manager was made permanent. I mean, did you actually sit through all those games in full? I did. We're not actually playing any better or worse now, than we did a couple of months ago. And the fixtures from the good results and the bad results are not comparable, so you cant make a credible claim about United's performances having changed (for better or worse) in that time period.

    Also, you keep downplaying how tough Wolves are but don't consider the thought that Ole probably could've lost to them as interim manager as well, which makes it besides the point.

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