Didn’t someone get a 3 match ban for pulling Fellani’s Hair?

Worst possible result for me- I was hoping Man U got thrashed so Mr Ed might finally get rid of moaning Maureen. Ideally brining in Either Zidane or maybe Blanc as a stopgap with Rene Mulenstein brought in to coach the attacking players

They also badly need a Director of Football. Oh, and a few decent players!

Oh, and a few decent players!

They have plenty of talent, it is just moanio crippling them with poor tactics, criticism and fear. Whether he gets replaced or they just move on I have no doubt they will show what could have been. I have never rated Pogba as one of the worlds best, as he was proclaimed when he re-signed for united, but he is a dam sight better than the dreary performances moanio is getting out of him.

Oh, and a few decent players!

Yep sure there will be a clearout and prices slashed for all those crap players, most of which will be lining up to bang in a few goals on their return. I’m sure Pogba will enjoy playing at Old trafford with a change of clothes.

Yes I agree they have many good players and one world class player (DeGea). But not enough top players to challenge for the title, and that’s my point

Defence-

Shaw having a good season but will it last, Dalot looks a tremendous prospect but needs time. Rest are distinctly average, very inconsistent or both

Fosu-Mensa and Tuanzeba could both be awesome if they had a top coach prepared to develop them

Midfield

Pogba is a game changer but only when he wants to be, really not lived up to expectation. Fred looks good, Pierrera looks like he has potential, Matic’s legs have gone, Herrera is the new Nicky Butt, Fellaini isn’t a midfielder, McTominay looks the new Darren Fletcher. Lingard is good

Attack

great prospects being shackled. Rashford and Martial could both be world class given support and coaching. Lukaku is too lumbering but is very driven so if he lost 2stone could be effective. Sanchez has lost interest

What does Jose do to players? The Pogba in the summer looked powerful & dynamic, Lukaku also looked good… Whereas Sterling couldn’t finish anything he started & he’s flying now…

Cheeky article by the beeb…

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/46463178

RicB – slight correction but Mctominay is the new tom cleverly, too many short or sideways passes for me.

Matic is now too slow and predictable, would rather see Fred play as he is more dynamic. Can anyone tell me the last time united won in the premier league by 2 goals or more?

That BBC article is pretty spot on.

I think now theres just a weary resignation that we’ve a charmless manager who plays dull, unimaginative, dreary football and is just satisfied with taking a point, owners who are totally disengaged and don’t even care as long as the money keeps coming in, and half-decent players who’ll either toil under Monio’s lifeless ‘system’ and take the big bucks, or they’ll just leave. I can’t see any truly great players listing Manchester United as a favoured destination. We look like a mid-table side. Thats what we are. Because that seems to be the limit of our managers, owners and players ambition. Its been in the post for a decade, this.

Our only world class player – De Gea – will be gone soon. Why stay?

An interesting thing last night was the number of empty seats. Empty seats at a United v Arsenal midweek game under the lights? Can you imagine that before now? I think that tells you everything you need to know. Not even the Japanese tourists want to watch it.

The Arsenal fans made me laugh at full time with a rousing rendition of “Jose Mourinho – we want you to stay!” instead of the more obvious song an Arsenal win would have ushered in

I heard they’ve stopped announcing attendances at Old Trafford on match days.

That true? Not hard to guess why if so

74500 attendance last night so pretty much full. This i guess though could mean ticket sales rather than actual bums on seats

They always count season ticket holders as attending, whether they do or not. They never announce gate numbers. Important when negotiating deals with noodle partners

So Liverpool are top? For a few hours at least. Good to see someone giving City a run, even if it is the scousers 😉

Meanwhile, the comedy continues at OT. Jose has reinstated Lukaku in the starting line up. Obviously a must after his brilliant substitutes performances the other night. And loads of other changes, as usual. He appears to be picking the names for the starting line up out of a hat

And it sounds like he’s getting his excuses in early for the potential of another 0-0 draw

The boys are doing brilliantly.nim not directly can beat City overall, but damn it’s good to see!

Well I didn’t expect it to be going this shade of blue!! Phil Foden for a hatrick?

Is Salah still a one season wonder?

I think it depends who you support….

Just seeing that for the first time a team has had 3 bookings in a game for ‘simulation’, but let’s call it what it is… diving

Arsenal, obviously. I commented on it having watched the game on Wednesday. It was absolutely shameless! Blatant! They were doing it left, right and centre, but the referee was hopeless so they got away with it!

It’s clear that that is now a strategy for them. Throw yourself at the floor when anyone comes near you. Trying to out-Neymar Neymar

You’re better than that, surely? Because nothing pisses everyone off more than watching people blatantly diving? Another one of the reason everyone hates PSG.

Arsenal are presently in the same league.

Retrospective punishment would soon eradicate most of it.

So what do we make of Sterlings comments, bang to rights IMO on the two stories he highlighted and the different representation of two pretty identical scenarios.

With Sterling himself, I think a lot of the initial criticism he got was due to some rather bitter ex liverpool players come pundits declaring open day on him because he dared to want to move to city. But even long after that the criticism he gets is ridiculous.

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For sale? City centre sports club, some work needed…..

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Well home from a chilly evening at St Jamse’s Park, little it of an awesome moment as what looked like the big flag of old was passed across the top of us in the east stand, only problem was with a few too many empty seats it was making tough progress!!

As for the game it was a tough one, Wolves had a full compliment of away fans up the top and with talks of the boycott it was a bit of a quiet start. Even quieter when we went one behind but right on cue Perez got called useless and scored 😉
Awaiting MOTD2 for my verdict on the sending off and the elbow but we worked for a point there at least.
Going to be a tough season until/unless the ownership changes, the mood was very grim at times.

sending off probably correct, it was a clear chance for a shot and even if the defender had got across then it would have left another attacker clear for the ball rolled across.

Elbow – not correct; at the time I thought it was an honest clash, on replay it was quite nasty. Penalty and red card IMHO. We need VAR

Be interesting, just seen they had 5 bookings, lots of niggly stuff, we were just waiting for him to forget he had already booked one of them and show a second yellow.

Agree with you MSP re Sterling. Not sure a white player would have got so much flak for the transfer to City. Liverpool were dire at the time, he left the season after the near miss – why wouldn’t you want to go there? They’re all stinking rich anyway and I do believe it was more about ambition than cash. I guess it did drag out for a long time, possibly explaining some of the bitterness.

Agree with you MSP re Sterling. Not sure a white player would have got so much flak for the transfer to City

Couldn’t disagree more. Sterling wasn’t given stick because he was black, he was given stick because he was an ungrateful sod. It was the way he did it, not the fact he did it…

Sterling was given flack because Liverpool, their supporters and the many many pundits can’t stand it when players leave for a better club. They still believe that Liverpool are the biggest club in England, but prior to Klopp’s arrival they would be a top 4 side at best. He left when after finishing 2nd the previous year and losing Suarez they then finished outside the top 4.
If he was there now I doubt very much he’d leave no matter how much money City offered him. Yet because he had the cheek to leave to want to win trophies he was labelled greedy.

They still believe that Liverpool are the biggest club in England

Not exactly… but fans do believe they’re a massive club and respect is deserved. I can’t comprehend why he left for city though, Madrid, Barca, etc of course…

I can’t comprehend why he left for city though

Really?
Do you think the next step up from Liverpool is Barca or Real Madrid? At the time the next step was City, Chelsea, Man U or even Arsenal (at least then they were consistently in the top 4). Liverpool at the time very rarely made it into the top 4 and other than the season they finished 2nd weren’t ever close to challenging for the league.

Do you think the next step up from Liverpool is Barca or Real Madrid

Yes, 100% in my mind. I only see them 2, plus possibly Bayern (usually, not this year possibly) as ‘bigger’ and a step up. I was equally bemused when Torres left for Chelsea, despite the fact he won trophies there so could be argued he was proved right.

I was equally bemused when Torres left for Chelsea, despite the fact he won trophies there so could be argued he was proved right.

So I guess Stirling has proved you wrong too? As said above at the time he left it was easily a step up and has really helped him achieve his potential. I’d also suggest taking a listen to the Peter crouch podcast on transfers.

In terms of ‘big clubs’ I’d agree weeksy, but players are hardly gonna admit they’re chasing money are they?.

So I guess Stirling has proved you wrong too?

In the context of winning trophies, players could have left for Leicester and done better 🙂
did Sterling prove me right… well, i still personally don’t believe City are a bigger club. However, since they’ve now got Guardiola they are without doubt a footballing force to be rekon’d with. Does that make them ‘bigger’ Hmmm not IMO. They’re still behind Liverpool, Arsenal and Utd in that book if you ask me, they’re level with Chelsea and Spurs, maybe just edging them.

Come back to me in 5 years and they’ve won a Champions League or 2, then the answer will be different. But at the moment, they’re still Tier2 in the big club context in my book.

The world of course is changing massively in this scenario though as with most countries, there’s the up and down. Utd are in decline (maybe short term, maybe long, who knows) and Spurs are doing really well generally… but doesn’t necessarily change their place in the grand scheme of things.

Of course, in this discussion i do have a massive Liverpool bias…. so take all of this how you like 🙂

Liverpool might like to think it’s a big club but they differ from both Manchester clubs, Arsenal, Chelski, and even Leicester and Blackburn in one quite significant way…

😉

At the time Sterling was at Liverpool they finished 8th, 7th, 2nd and 6th. Where as Man City has finished 1st, 2nd, 1st , 2nd. Yes Liverpool have a fantastic history, but then you couldn’t compare them to Man City, who were signing some of the best players in the world where Liverpool had just sold their best player in Suarez and replaced him with Ricky Lambert and Mario Ballotelli. So if Man City come in for you and you are ambitious why wouldn’t you go and make a load of extra cash too.

Oh look, there’s binners using a row about racism to wash some sand out of his fanny regarding Liverpool. Not for the first time either.

Ok, taking the discussion away from Sterling himself, how about his comments on media representation, his example seem pretty solid

MSP, do you mean the part about the 2 players who’ve bought houses for load of cash ? i’ve never heard of Adarabioyo but i’ve heard of Foden (only once though) but i have no idea if they’re black or white…. Nor do i think it changes the context of the discussion on them buying £2m houses.

Reading the 2 headlines i can’t see how it’s wrong, Foden is thought of and regarded of as a Star in the making, of that it’s been spoken about by Guardiola… so he gets that associated to him. The other kid, i don’t know… but that’s kinda the point, if he’s not regarded as a star, why would he be referred to as one ? I certainly don’t think it’s because he’s black ! It’s ridiclous to me that anyone would take that away from them 2 headlines/articles.

this young black kid is looked at in a bad light, which helps fuel racism and aggressive behaviour

Does it really ? Honestly ? In what world ? That’s completely bananas IMO.

2 kids with bright futures but houses for their mums, are reported very differently, the white kids done good for his mum, the black kid is “splashing the cash”. Can you really not see that?

IMO the only thing is the example representative or not.

How does the reader know which is black and which is white ? I don’t know if Foden is a black kid… It would be a reasonable assumption to know the other kid is though due to his spelling. Lets assume for a second the first kid was still black but called bobby naysmith, would it still have the same spin on it that you think it has ?

I reading the ‘headlines’ time and time again and keep going back to it… but i’m honestly not seeing what (and him) are seeing.

It is interesting how our biases work. Last night I was on a train, 6 white kids, possibly students, little bit pissed and boisterous, I was thinking if they get any louder I will have a word. If they were black I doubt I would have been thinking of telling them to quite down.

It doesn’t matter if you know if they are black or white, the writer knows and has written different stories for the same event.