Grrrr…. there's a culture of uncertainty at the club which stems from the top down, not just on the training field. You can't simply blame the managers when they are changed all too frequently and never backed. AVB was given players he didn't want. Tim has a short term contract which is just to cover the rest of the season, showing no real support at all. All decisions made above the manager's heads. So let's stop the managerial bashing for once and realise who really runs the club and causes the culture of uncertainty and unrest. Levy and the board. It's down to them. They hire, they fire so let's get to the root of the problem, not the symptoms!
you won't get rid of levy,and i think the fault lies with the dof,surely he should work with the Manager,not go and buy a player then say here's a player,fit him in
Managers are never backed? So spending £100M+ in the summer and hiring a DoF (which he wanted in it his first season) isn't backing a manager, no? Where's the proof AVB didn't want the players we signed? Is this just speculation because we know Andre wanted Moutinho and Hulk? Just like Ramos wanted Eto'o and Villa, realistically those players were either too expensive at the time or wouldn't have been interested in joining. Tim getting a short term deal is natural, he's unproven at management, offering him a long term deal would've been crazy and so far it's looking the right decision anyway. Someone posted a very good picture of some of Tim's quotes since he took over, I'll copy what was in the picture: Dec 2013: We'll crack on with what we've got, it ain't a bad team. Jan 2014: Daniel's always asking "Are you sure you don't need to strengthen in this area?". I'm saying "Look, I'm confident in the players we've got and I don't need any help to strengthen". March 2014: I knew it would be difficult, I'm working with what I've got. I've been dealt a hand. Doesn't seem like Levy hasn't offered to back him and now it looks like Tim just seems to be deflecting the blame. Our squad of players is ridiculously talented, if they're not performing well then that's not Levy's problem. You have to look at the manager and say "how on earth are you not getting these guys to perform?!". The players should take a hard look at themselves too but ultimately it's the manager that has to get them performing and motivated.
Good post SoS this argument is becoming less and less about reality and more about peoples prejudices, so it's good that you bring it back with a few facts. It's also worth pointing out that we are not anywhere in the league that we should not be. We have endured this season rather than enjoyed it but that's been the nature of the football played, or not played, and the poor performances against the top teams. The irony is that despite all that we are more or less where we should be ie 5th or 6th. We are in danger of becoming a place to reinforce each others prejudices mainly because we have a number of good but negative posters who tend to appear after a poor result to reinforce their negative views, only to disappear as soon as things go well.
My judgement on Timmy is not based on the seniors only, but also on the Academy. I am struggling to see where on-pitch he can specifically take credit. The kids played 4-3-3 throughout the last season, yet the seniors have not tried it once. If the Academy played a formation he had nothing to do with, then credit is not his. If he advocates 4-3-3 etc, but feels the current seniors cannot play it (ability, injuries etc) , then it would be nice to hear it. We know what an Arry team is set up as. And an AVB team. But a Timmy team ?? I could not tell you what his core setup is (like the others) . And that for me is the concern.
Personally, I don't want to appear unduly negative, but it's hard to be positive about the way things are going at the moment. Worse still, for those of us of a certain age, it's déjà vu all over again, as Yogi Berra once had it...
I agree but add to that our serial negative posters and we will all be needing razor blades soon. I am saying that we need perspective because the situation is not as bad as we are leading ourselves to believe.
"I am saying that we need perspective because the situation is not as bad as we are leading ourselves to believe." Times have changed when the depression over a season is not about finishing 5th, but how many pts behind the final CL slot that will be + the style of play.
If we're finding this painful, then imagine how Man Utd fans feel. We're all over the place and we're still above them, somehow. Teams are even getting decisions at Old Trafford. Must be quite a shock.
I agree. I've said it before, but I don't think there's anything wrong with the players we've bought and they were bought for the right individual reasons. Even though soldado might not have got many goals, I love what he brings to the team. some of his touches, positioning and his general workrate is fantastic. it'll come, but only when someone step in to restore the squad's shattered confidence. I could add more for all the other players, but I've said it before. We need an exciting coach who's a good man manager now*, as we have some excellent players IMO. (*please don't say we had one, we have to move forward)
I know all about it. My colleague who i sit on the desk next to moans all day long. Mondays are quite entertaining. Seriously, we should count ourselves lucky. for us, it's disappointing as we were so close. However, united appear to have capitulated, and many of their fans don't know what it's like to lose. everyone should make friends with a united fan right now. You'll feel a lot better about yourself!
"However, united appear to have capitulated, and many of their fans don't know what it's like to lose." They should be making friends with the Scousers. In addition to the 20 odd years since their empire ended, they have also had 4 consecutive seasons of submission to "small" clubs. Man Utd haven't even had one of the latter yet.
In defence of Man Utd fans, most of them stayed at Old Trafford til the bitter end and were very vocal with their support. I was quite pleasantly surprised, to be honest.
