Club Sale | It’s done!

Status
Not open for further replies.
Rojofiam said:
https://theathletic.com/5151315/2023/12/22/manchester-united-fotball-news-transfers

Pretty infuriating read. Hopefully a big change is coming, because it's needed. Arnold and Murtough were acting like headless chickens, to no one's surprise. The worst part of the article for me is that we ditched the plans for both Kane and Rice because of Casemiro. :lol:
Click to expand...
Quite a comical read. We didn't really want a DoF (2.5 year "search") until Murtough told Woodward and Joel Glazer that he'd be leaving (to go work with his mate in Miami) unless they gave him the job :lol:
 
My eyes are wide reading this article is it any wonder it’s a clown show stumbling over one another at United.

One thing you can guarantee under INEOS is we’ll have a slick operation , it may not be the richest or the most glamorous but it will certainly be methodical and organised.

I’m sickened by the incompetence at United absolutely shocking.

First point of business - Murtough out , this piece is almost pushing him out , could be strategic to have him hand in his notice. Either way he has to be binned. No operation can be successful under him.

I’d be amazed if he worked in the football industry again. That Inter Miami offer , absolute bullshit not a chance Beckham would have him there. He’s well aware. Purely made up by Murtough to pressure Glazers into giving him the job (Arnold).
 
Adnan said:
The article sheds light on the internal politics at the club which begin at board room level and involve not only Joel Glazer but also Baty and Stewart. And the article quite clearly mentions the aforementioned getting involved when United lost the opening two games of the season and a deal for Antony was pushed through due to the pressure put on Joel Glazer. There's the problem that needs eradicating and this is the problem that won't allow the club to work towards a set strategy.
Click to expand...

I read it as Murtough and those involved in recruitment at the club spent the time before ETH's appointment sitting on their hands rather than drawing up a list of potential targets, so that when we initially walked away from the Antony deal we had nowhere to go, which lead to a stick or twist decision at the board level. So a failure of football operations to do their job leaves them with literally only one option to strengthen the attack.

Happened with Mount as well, player in the last year of his contract and we need a striker, but we panic because Chelsea might sell him to one of our rivals and we have no plan B so we over pay for Mount and don't fix our other issues. A well run club would have left that deal till the absolute last minute and put Chelsea over a barrel. Think about how different Mount would be percieved as a bonus signing for £40 million.

The whole article paints Murtough as some kind of political savant, ingratiating himself with all the right people so he can literally only fail upwards. The fact he could mug off SAF, feck up the Bellingham deal and still be trusted to run things... I just can't.
 
Champ said:
:lol:
You tell me I'm wrong then go on to explain why I'm right!

Gotta love the caf.
Click to expand...
You've mostly been wrong on this forum and are constantly corrected by many on this forum. The beat down you got in the Kobbie Mainoo thread when attempting to defend McTominay was particularly amusing.

And no, it's not obvious that we need to be better at defending when attacking as you put it. But rather we need to be better at defending when defending, especially when defending large spaces.
 
Adnan said:
You've mostly been wrong on this forum and are constantly corrected by many on this forum. The beat down you got in the Kobbie Mainoo thread when attempting to defend McTominay was particularly amusing.

And no, it's not obvious that we need to be better at defending when attacking as you put it. But rather we need to be better at defending when defending, especially when defending large spaces.
Click to expand...
:lol: you sure do make some stuff up at times.

Going to quote a website which I'm sure you're familiar with: TFA,
Rest defence tactics usually involve a couple of players that will stay behind the attacking line and snuff out all and any attempts at counterattacking and transitional play. Usually, we will see midfielders positioned deeper and just ahead of the defensive line

Being better at defending when attacking falls into being better at defending full stop, it comes into structure and positional play.
It's not rocket science, nor does it need to be overcomplicated.
 
GiveItToGi...nowait said:
I read it as Murtough and those involved in recruitment at the club spent the time before ETH's appointment sitting on their hands rather than drawing up a list of potential targets, so that when we initially walked away from the Antony deal we had nowhere to go, which lead to a stick or twist decision at the board level. So a failure of football operations to do their job leaves them with literally only one option to strengthen the attack.

Happened with Mount as well, player in the last year of his contract and we need a striker, but we panic because Chelsea might sell him to one of our rivals and we have no plan B so we over pay for Mount and don't fix our other issues. A well run club would have left that deal till the absolute last minute and put Chelsea over a barrel. Think about how different Mount would be percieved as a bonus signing for £40 million.

The whole article paints Murtough as some kind of political savant, ingratiating himself with all the right people so he can literally only fail upwards. The fact he could mug off SAF, feck up the Bellingham deal and still be trusted to run things... I just can't.
Click to expand...
Exactly this, Murtough needs to go day one of INEOS. And frankly Fletcher too as noone knows what he does. And I suspect ETH not long after,
 
Champ said:
:lol: you sure do make some stuff up at times.

Going to quote a website which I'm sure you're familiar with: TFA,
Rest defence tactics usually involve a couple of players that will stay behind the attacking line and snuff out all and any attempts at counterattacking and transitional play. Usually, we will see midfielders positioned deeper and just ahead of the defensive line

Being better at defending when attacking falls into being better at defending full stop, it comes into structure and positional play.
It's not rocket science, nor does it need to be overcomplicated.
Click to expand...
Not sure what you're going on about.

There's being better at defending and being better at defending in large spaces when you're defending from the front. And when you're defending from the front and your first line of pressure is breached it opens up a battle between the resting defense and the resting offense, who are players occupying spaces to take advantage in transition. 1
 
Rojofiam said:
https://theathletic.com/5151315/2023/12/22/manchester-united-fotball-news-transfers

Pretty infuriating read. Hopefully a big change is coming, because it's needed. Arnold and Murtough were acting like headless chickens, to no one's surprise. The worst part of the article for me is that we ditched the plans for both Kane and Rice because of Casemiro. :lol:
Click to expand...

It's shocking to me that the picture painted by this article is something the Caf has actually managed to put together, more or less. The bizarre pivot from De Jong to Casemiro, the Antony debacle, the bargain bin loans. Everything screams rife incompetence, people that have no business being in the positions they are, massive amount of thumb twiddling, cumbersome structure, no vision, and no plan. It's just the most basic mismanagement case.

I mean, look at this:

One source with knowledge of the process — who, like others in this article, is speaking on condition of anonymity to protect their position — believes a year’s work was crammed into three months in Ten Hag’s first summer. Rather than starting conversations on signings in September 2021, after the previous window had closed, United began that work in May 2022, the justification being that a new manager — with Ten Hag replacing interim manager Ralf Rangnick — meant new plans. Action sped up even further as the summer transfer deadline approached, with Ten Hag anxious for a stronger midfield.
Click to expand...

This is just not serious. Beginning the transfer conversations 1 month before the window opens? What!? Deciding on the profile of players, and managers, should be done more or less in accordance with club philosophy. Which is something decided above the manager's station.

The entire structure of the club needs to be eviscerated top to bottom. Murtough, in particular, needs to be excised as a matter of immediate urgency. Almost everyone on the Caf had sniffed him out as well. I think Ratcliffe is making a mistake by keeping him on.
 
Last edited:
GiveItToGi...nowait said:
I read it as Murtough and those involved in recruitment at the club spent the time before ETH's appointment sitting on their hands rather than drawing up a list of potential targets, so that when we initially walked away from the Antony deal we had nowhere to go, which lead to a stick or twist decision at the board level. So a failure of football operations to do their job leaves them with literally only one option to strengthen the attack.

Happened with Mount as well, player in the last year of his contract and we need a striker, but we panic because Chelsea might sell him to one of our rivals and we have no plan B so we over pay for Mount and don't fix our other issues. A well run club would have left that deal till the absolute last minute and put Chelsea over a barrel. Think about how different Mount would be percieved as a bonus signing for £40 million.

The whole article paints Murtough as some kind of political savant, ingratiating himself with all the right people so he can literally only fail upwards. The fact he could mug off SAF, feck up the Bellingham deal and still be trusted to run things... I just can't.
Click to expand...

Yeah that snake needs to go. Having read that Whitwell piece, it’s actually a glorious stroke of luck that these clowns haven’t yet got us relegated and I now understand what Jose meant when he said getting 2nd place was his greatest career accomplishment.
 
Many won’t like this one but Th United Stand say the announcement is expected today.
 
The Athletic article is quite incredible. You have the Bellingham stuff, the Antony stuff, the Højlund stuff, so many bits on Murtough, but the Amad thing is unreal.

Ole supported his signing as an academy prospect, only for Murtough to fly off to Bergamo to agree a fee for him for £37m with the expectation he would soon be in the first team. feck me.

… and people wonder how Atalanta had our pants back down for the Højlund fee too.
 
@Berbaclass did you get anything on discord about a Ratcliff announcement at Xmas before any of the public news said it?
 
TrebleChamp99 said:
Many won’t like this one but Th United Stand say the announcement is expected today.
Click to expand...

He said when discussing Ben Jacobs' Tweet "we can also confirm they're not writing today off" and "I think it will get announced this afternoon". He genuinely knows feck all but loves playing the game to make it sound like he does.
 
Rojofiam said:
https://theathletic.com/5151315/2023/12/22/manchester-united-fotball-news-transfers

Pretty infuriating read. Hopefully a big change is coming, because it's needed. Arnold and Murtough were acting like headless chickens, to no one's surprise. The worst part of the article for me is that we ditched the plans for both Kane and Rice because of Casemiro. :lol:
Click to expand...
Reassures to me though that as soon as they get people who can do the job, it won’t take much to get united as a top team again.

Theyre capable of signing the top players and making a top squad. It’s just always individual morons who hold us back
 
Adnan said:
Not sure what you're going on about.

There's being better at defending and being better at defending in large spaces when you're defending from the front. And when you're defending from the front and your first line of pressure is breached it opens up a battle between the resting defense and the resting offense, who are players occupying spaces to take advantage in transition. 1
Click to expand...
I understand the concept, it's pretty simple to comprehend, also pretty simple to adhere to, as it basically is all about structure.
You are trying to over complicate a very simple function.
But anyhow, this is probably not the thread for this sort of discussion.
 
None of this should surprise anyone (assuming it's all true). We all know how badly run the club has been, it's been obvious with the awful transfer business for the last decade.

It's also why some of us want the club to completely start over. Go through the entire club structure and smash it to pieces. Nobody should be safe, along with players and Manager. Literally everyone should be assessed and the fans should give complete backing to our new overlords.

I have no problem if we have a season or two of bad results if at least there's clear indication we're rebuilding for the long term. As long as we see evidence of that then fantastic. I just want the club to be run properly again, is that too much to ask so close to Christmas?

Side note, this should be in a new thread.
 
TMDaines said:
The Athletic article is quite incredible. You have the Bellingham stuff, the Antony stuff, the Højlund stuff, so many bits on Murtough, but the Amad thing is unreal.

Ole supported his signing as an academy prospect, only for Murtough to fly off to Bergamo to agree a fee for him for £37m with the expectation he would soon be in the first team. feck me.

… and people wonder how Atalanta had our pants back down for the Højlund fee too.
Click to expand...
It's staggering how badly run we are. If we didn't have as much money as we do we'd get relegated in no time at all.
 
Let me guess... new year new club?
An improvement over new year new me I suppose.
 
Champ said:
I understand the concept, it's pretty simple to comprehend, also pretty simple to adhere to, as it basically is all about structure.
You are trying to over complicate a very simple function.
But anyhow, this is probably not the thread for this sort of discussion.
Click to expand...
It's not all about structure, but also about the profile of players within that structure, that allows one to structure and execute a play style that sacrifices defensive stability for goals.
 
TMDaines said:
The Athletic article is quite incredible. You have the Bellingham stuff, the Antony stuff, the Højlund stuff, so many bits on Murtough, but the Amad thing is unreal.

Ole supported his signing as an academy prospect, only for Murtough to fly off to Bergamo to agree a fee for him for £37m with the expectation he would soon be in the first team. feck me.

… and people wonder how Atalanta had our pants back down for the Højlund fee too.
Click to expand...

On the plus side, it should be very easy to improve on this gross incompetence.
 
Please just get this done and bring in a competent DOF so Manchester United can start to resemble a football club again.
 
LawCharltonBest said:
Reassures to me though that as soon as they get people who can do the job, it won’t take much to get united as a top team again.

Theyre capable of signing the top players and making a top squad. It’s just always individual morons who hold us back
Click to expand...

I'm with you on this, and I also feel like ETH and every single one of our past managers could've done significantly better if it wasn't such a shitshow.
 
Reading some of this stuff is staggering. We all knew it was bad but the sheer incompetence of the higher ups at Manchester united is unbelievable.

How much money has this club wasted on incompetence. Hopefully ineos get a grip of this clown show.
 
Adnan said:
It's not all about structure, but also about the profile of players within that structure, that allows one to structure and execute a play style that sacrifices defensive stability for goals.
Click to expand...
Again, that's obvious, you are still trying to over complicate a very simple thing.
Cruyff said it best:
'If you have the ball you must make the field as big as possible. If you don’t have it, you must make it as small as possible.'
No need to use terms like rest defence, just understated simplicity.
 
Not much new in that article, I think we had kinda pieced the puzzle together. Murtough is a disgrace, would be absolutely terrible if he is kept under any capacity. He has been much more damaging than any manager or player we have had.
 
Champ said:
Again, that's obvious, you are still trying to over complicate a very simple thing.
Cruyff said it best:
'If you have the ball you must make the field as big as possible. If you don’t have it, you must make it as small as possible.'
No need to use terms like rest defence, just understated simplicity.
Click to expand...
Again you have no idea what you're talking about and your Cruyff quote has nothing to do with what I'm talking about.

So what Cruyff is saying is that when you have the ball you make the pitch as big as possible within the positional play principles. And if you don't have the ball you make it as small as possible by dropping deeper and not pressing high.
 
There is a reason why Klopp rejected us and joined Liverpool at a time when Liverpool was a joke. We were/are the bigger clown.
 
I have not read the complete article as I haven't subscribed to the athletic. But just the snippets make my blood boil.

Even the Greenwood case was awfully managed. Plans to bring him back then a small media group cry and he is loaned to Getafe.

It's like the media was driving our operations or management
 
Status
Not open for further replies.