I think we should question JM. And he is far from infallible. He has made mistakes, in his judgement of players, in his tactics and in many areas. Lukaku is far from perfect. His first touch is not that good. And he does miss many chances. My point was that the calling for Lukaku to be dropped because he wasn't scoring enough for a front man is simply looking at the scoring of one individual instead of the whole team. It is like having Salah at the RS this season (and Zlatan last season) scoring hatfuls but the team drawing record number of matches. Which would we prefer? As long as we are winning games with Lukaku in the team, I wouldn't mind if he didn't score a single goal till the end of the season. He is obviously contributing to the win. Would we want him to score but the team then draws or loses? As to give the youngsters a chance, of course if they are talented enough to play. United are not the RS or Southampton who use the first team to put them in the shop window to be sold. Or buy potential young players for those who come good to be sold to Barcelona or Madrid for a tidy profit. Rashford and Lingard are youngsters being given their chance. But Rashford is not that reliable and does not deserve to start regularly . Martial has been scoring and taking his chances. If there was a Giggs or Beckham coming through, JM could give them a chance but are they?
I think if there was a Giggs or Beckham coming through we'd never know because Jose would have sold or loaned them in favour of buying another multi million pound finished model. The token gesture of giving Rashford some minutes doesn't hide the fact that Jose began the decimation of youth coming through soon as he arrived... McNair, Borthwick-Jackson, Love, Blackett, Varela, Mitchell, Fosu-Mensah, Tuanzebe, Januzaj, Pereira, Powell, Harrop, Wilson, Will Keane, Gomes. I'm not saying all were good enough for the first team or ever will be, but we'll never know how they might have developed working alongside top players. I'm sure all would have been given more opportunity under Ferguson.
These 8 are still with the club so just maybe we will know someday eh The ones who have gone McNair, had lots of opportunity's and just wasn't good enough (now bottom of the Championship with Sunderland Love, maybe should have had a few more chances (now bottom of the Championship with Sunderland and struggles to get games) Januzaj, had loads of chances not good enough (now gets sub time for Sociadad) Powell, never going to be a first team player for us regardless of manager (now looks quite good again at Wigan) Harrop, should have been given more time and chances Varela, would have liked him to have more chances Keane, unfortunate that he got 2 long term injuries that set him back years and seemed to kill his pace. hope he fulfils his original potential away from the club with less pressure on him.
Yeah but out on loan, except Gomes who doesn't get any game time even in the Carabao. I can't see Jose giving any of them a fair crack, he's just not a player developer.
You do know we have young players out on loan every year and always have done (even under Fergie). I believe Keane sent players out on loan at Sunderland, imagine that, Keane not giving them a chance
What an absolute crock. Love, Blacket, Varela, Januzaj, Powell, Wilson and Will Keane all had chances to prove themselves under Moyes and LVG, and were all sent out on loan by them. Will Keane is 25 for ****'s sake, hardly a youth player. None of them were good enough under any manager, including SAF. Fosu-Mensah and Tuanzebe have had chances under Mourinho, although given the performance of our current CBs I do agree sending them both out on loan at the moment is not a great call. But they are far from being 'decimated'. But to say Jose has decimated our youth and academy graduates is just BS. He has played Rashford in nearly every big game this season, despite him not having a great year. Lingard has been transformed after a summer when many fans wanted him sold for a multi million pound 'finished model'. He has made Gomes the youngest first team player for us since Duncan Edwards. And he's given McTominay more first team games than SAF gave to Pogba, Shawcross and Drinkwater combined. I understand you don't like Mourinho, fair enough, I'm not a particular fan of him either. But you don't have to make up nonsense like this just to try and justify your innate dislike.
Yeah Fergie sold and loaned youngsters but he kept a healthy number around the first team squad too. Keane also sold and bought youngsters but promoted thirteen players from the youth academy into the first team squad over three seasons at Sunderland, including a player his influence helped shape into a future Liverpool and England captain. These longterm strategies of involving youngsters around the first team are not Jose's style - by his own admittance he prefers to work with a small squad of players.
It's not though - there are less young players around the first team squad than there have been for a long time. From the horse's mouth: - “It is important but this club is very demanding. It is a club where it is not easy to play football. The level of demand is high. The pressure is big. It is not the same to play in a club where people just accept a so-so performance, or a so-so result or people accept that you finish fifth, sixth, seventh or eighth. This is not the best habitat for a young player to be developed. It is not the best one.” ~Jose on youth players at Chelsea A club with big expectations (god only knows what he thinks of the expectations at United) is not the best place for young players. Can you imagine Fergie ever coming out with that? A club like United is not the best place for young players? You will be telling me Jose likes entertaining football next
Can't you see the difference between Chelsea and United? one demands instant success and sacks managers that have just won the league, the other is a real football club. I have no idea which news paper articles you have been reading about Jose and his fear of youth or his bus parking but I suggest you watch some United games and observe who is in the team, on the bench etc. It may give you a new insight into reality.
If you can't tell the difference between Chelsea, "a club where it is not easy to play football" and the manager is only ever two or three defeats away from the sack, and Utd, where the heritage is always more important than the short term, then god help you...
That's the thing, with Mourinho and Woodhead in charge of the first team and transfers, United do and will continue to look more and more like his Chelsea.
