[steffyr2]

Which is a possibility...but I personally don't believe that.

We have problems - again - but it strikes me as very unlikely that we have consistently targeted (and promoted) players who are inherently lazy, entitled, useless, etc.

Some of them may be - probably are - but not most of them.

To include the obligatory "what Fergie would've done" part, he would have steered clear of certain players - and put a much heavier emphasis on personality/mentality when okaying certain purchases. He wouldn't have sanctioned the likes of Di Maria and Sanchez in a million years - but other players, including several who are currently on our books, he would've "simply" managed better. Meaning - there isn't necessarily anything horribly wrong with their attitudes (as modern-day players), they're just part of a dysfunctional setup.

It is hard to believe, just because with basic random chance they'd have to come up with some hardworking, even=tempered players. I'm afraid that what we seen is that Utd, because of their lack of planning and bad management, take players and ruin them. Don't play them, play them in the wrong position, hang them out to dry in the media.

Kind of like Thomas Tuchel at the moment, if I think about it. His attackers are all defenders first, so if the team wins, it's because of Tuchel's plan. If they lose, it's because the attackers didn't work to the plan. No one ever says (no matter what people say here!), "Timo Werner hasn't scored in weeks, but wow! just look at his stats for pressing.".

 

[Chesterlestreet]

I don’t know what purpose it serves to answer the question in the way that he did.

Indeed - that's just it.

It shows that Rangnick is willing to give youngsters a chance ahead of superstar names.

I don't doubt that Ralf is willing to do just that. But the sub itself had nothing to do with this - Ronaldo was subbed off for purely tactical reasons, it had nothing to do with his age or his performance.

The question is why Ralf said what he (apparently) said here - why he felt the need to go into details. To me it sounded odd - unnecessary.

It probably isn't worth bothering about at all - but there you go. It just struck me as a bit odd.

 

[steffyr2]

Indeed - that's just it.



I don't doubt that Ralf is willing to do just that. But the sub itself had nothing to do with this - Ronaldo was subbed off for purely tactical reasons, it had nothing to do with his age or his performance.

The question is why Ralf said what he (apparently) said here - why he felt the need to go into details. To me it sounded odd - unnecessary.

It probably isn't worth bothering about at all - but there you go. It just struck me as a bit odd.

I presume he wants to be BMOC. Whether that's a good long-term strategy remains to be seen.

 

[Idxomer]

Why is Ronaldo the only player that needs to have it full of asterisks?
Only goals from open play. And only if he makes assists. And only if it's with the left foot. And only if it's not raining. Other players never need all these requirements to "prove" they are doing it well.
Of course he didn't score in many games, he scored 8 in 17, he would have missed at least 9 games if he distributed his goals, that's just math
And Antonio is definitively having a great season just like Dennis, how does this prove he is a flop

I said before he is really underperforming and is lacking in several parameters this season, still he's far from having a bad season in absolute terms.
Like I said before too, in this same forum he is rated as the best Man Utd forward this season (6.0), the questions shouldn't be why everyone is bad and why are others worse than this old guy?

What you call asterisks, others call context. Goals from open is a stat like any other and it shows his ranking among the scorers in the league this season. I mean you are referencing the redcafe ratings as some evidence more than once. His league performance and output aren't good enough for Manchester United. Mediocre players who aren't even strikers are outscoring and outperforming him.

IMO, he hasn't been the 2nd best performer in the team even when most of the squad are also underperforming massively.

 

[Tom Van Persie]

 

[Dempsey19]

A neck injury from sulking. That's a new one.

 

[UncleBob]

It’s says a lot about the guy that we are even having this conversation.

It’s very clear that Cavani was appreciated in the camp last season and a huge effort was made to keep him and make the most of the impact he was having in and off the pitch. All reports were that Greenwood in particular was benefiting. However, the lack of joined up thinking from the board and club in general really put the guy in such a difficult spot. Ronaldo’s introduction has arguably had the biggest detrimental effect on Cavanis season. It’s a mark of the man that he has just gotten on with it.

Yes, fecking Ronaldo has made Cavani look completely knackered and he keeps injuring him

 

[United in sin]

Wow he literally said it's because they're better than you Ronaldo

Man is freaking tough and bold I must say. And smart af as well. He came to babysit the crying toddler so the press can't make a fuss out of that. The next day he fecking tell everyone and especially Ronaldo "you got subbed because the younger players are better than you"

You gotta love it. He handled that very well

 

[Mr PG]

Ronaldo is a problem for our team because we aren't strong enough defensively to handle a no.9 who doesn't contribute much in that department. Would have lost at Villa with him as we needed 11 players pushing and pulling and a 36 yr old isn't able to offer the same energy . We can get away with it against smaller teams but will struggle against the better teams...unless we bench him like Carrick did.

 

[Greck]

Ronaldo is a problem for our team because we aren't strong enough defensively to handle a no.9 who doesn't contribute much in that department. Would have lost at Villa with him as we needed 11 players pushing and pulling and a 36 yr old isn't able to offer the same energy . We can get away with it against smaller teams but will struggle against the better teams...unless we bench him like Carrick did.

Ronaldo being a horse for course shouldn't actually be a problem if he didn't expect to be above rotation when the situation calls for it. This is actually the problem people had with the little strop, because we know that expectation is going to hinder us when the team needs to go in a different direction. Current Ronaldo is still a good striker but it's not like he's a good allround striker. None of our options are and that's why the manager should be free to utilize their various strengths as the situation calls for.

Many modern systems don't even use pure goalscorers up top anymore, the modern striker has to be involved in the buildup even at the cost of personal stats. It's not just running off the last man and being marked out by 2 CBs while the other attackers are looking for pass and move options to work a shot. People talk modernizing our play, attacking patterns, high lines, pressing but want nothing to do with the sacrifices it will take to get there, not when it comes to their favourites anyway. A lot of our starters are actually an awkward fit for it.

 

[Highfather_24]

The alternative viewpoint is that:

• He completely unbalanced the team when he joined and although he may have scored important goals in the cl - he was a big reason why the performances were awful (both in the cl and in the league)
• He is the senior leader in the dressing room and sets a bad example
• Bruno performs much worse when playing with him, which is important because bruno is a much better player these days
• He is a striker who can't perform well up front on his own, leading to us playing two up top more often resulting in the midfield getting overrun
• Greenwood was playing well on his own up front earlier in the season

And the alternative viewpoint to that is :

• Once again, if you cannot utilise your players correctly, and then blame the players for "unbalancing" the team, its not on the players. Its on the manager. Play Pirlo as a box to box midfielder, and then complain that he is unbalancing the team doesnt make sense.
• He is literally among the greatest of all times, and has always been hailed as an examplary teammate by other winners alongside him. Seems to me our team is full of whiners and bad apples, who always go the press at the slightest inconvenience and wilt under pressure. As seen in previous seasons as well.
• Bruno has played well alongside him as well, and his performances dropped at the end of last season. Are Maguire, Shaw and AWB also become shit because of Ronaldo? Does Fred misplace passes because of Ronaldo? Do Greenwood and Rashford choose to be selfish because of Ronaldo? Is global warming because of Ronaldo?
• Yes he struggles as a lone striker. True. Zidane made it work though.
• No, Greenwood struggles from similar things to Ronaldo up top. His workrate is poor, he cant hold up the ball, he doesnt win headers up front, he is not much of a presence in the box. He is much more dangerous on the right. That much has been clear in the last couple of seasons. Cavani was amazing last season, but his performances have dropped massively this season, making Ronaldo our only viable option as CF.

Listen, I aint a Ronaldo fanboy. For me Messi is the superior player, I never wanted Ronaldo back at United, nor do I worship him. But I can see the issues at United run far far deeper than Ronaldo. And Ronaldo is also proving me wrong, as I'm seeing more desire and hunger from him under Ralf than many others like Cavani, Rashford etc. He is being a bit overplayed, and his minutes need to be managed. But I think we can fit him into a 4-3-3, just we need to tweak the balance and tactics a little. We cannot have all shooters in the front 3(Greenwood, Rashford, Ronaldo, Elanga), we need some creators as well(Bruno/Pogba, Sancho, Amad, Mata).

 

[SonyaCross493]

Two very big important factors why Ronaldo is struggling in this team tactically currently that nobody hardly mentions here or in the media are;

he is our number 9 and main striker and gets NO service from the wingers. It doesn't matter who you put in this team they'd struggle to score goals with no service.. put prime Ruud Van Nistelrooy or Harry Kane in this team and they'd be the same as frustrated as Ronaldo is now. Graveyard shift.

And since Rangnick took over Ronaldo is dropping very deep into the CDM position and also out wide. I'd love to see Ronaldo's average touch heat map since Rangnick took over but of course the biased Sky (Gary Neville), Match of the Day, BT Sports, The Sun or Athletic will never have a proper football debate like that because it doesn't suit the narrative or agenda as Ronaldo the scapegoat and Ronaldo the problem they have built up.. Ronaldo is not a number 10 or link up player he's a pure goal-scorer now at this stage of his career so needs to be as close to the goal as possible.. I give Ole credit that he atleast understood that you only get the best out of a 37 year old Ronaldo if you play him in the most dangerous areas closest to the oppositions goal.

Obviously Rangnick is asking Ronaldo to do things tactically which are completely alien to him at 37 years old he needs to be asked to stay upfront to conserve his energy for the counter-attacks etc. And it's harming his energy and goal-output as when we are breaking on the counter-attack he has too much ground to make up because he's too far away from the goal (at 37 years old it's physically impossible to make up that sort of ground all game and not get gassed out so you don't have the energy for when you might get a chance). But of course he tries his best to follow what Rangnick tells him to do as he's a professional.

it was different when it was Harry Kane doing it at the start of the season for Tottenham and he wasn't scoring goals. They was banging on about it all the time about how tactically Harry Kane isn't playing in his strongest areas as an excuse for him. The British media don't treat Ronaldo the same because the British media is biased towards British players.

honestly if you are asking Ronaldo to drop deep into midfield, go on the wings etc and the wingers are not supply any service to him you might as well not play him at all as of course he won't be good doing them things, he never was.

stick Ronaldo upfront, tell him to stay the width of the oppositions box.. get crosses and service into him and he will still score loads of goals as you never lose that special goal-scoring finishing ability Ronaldo has it doesn't decline with age as the first yards are in his head anyway.. It's not rocket science.

if you are gassing him out by asking him to drop deep to link the play, track back and go on the wings etc you might aswell not play him at all.. that's my argument.

Ronaldo will still score loads of goals and win matches to be effective in the right system and team. Whether that's at Manchester United or whoever he joins afterwards.. We scouted him and purchased him and you don't play to his strengths when you knew what you was buying.. it's bizarre really.

so yeah if the team and Rangnick don't play to Ronaldo's strengths we shouldn't play him just to shoehorn him into the team. It's pointless as the same things will keep happening game after game. And ultimately it will hurt the team in terms of getting results. You can't have a halfway house it won't work. It's either all or nothing. You play Ronaldo and play to Ronaldo's strengths or you don't play him at all. Simple as that.

 

[Matt851]

And the alternative viewpoint to that is :

• Once again, if you cannot utilise your players correctly, and then blame the players for "unbalancing" the team, its not on the players. Its on the manager. Play Pirlo as a box to box midfielder, and then complain that he is unbalancing the team doesnt make sense.
• He is literally among the greatest of all times, and has always been hailed as an examplary teammate by other winners alongside him. Seems to me our team is full of whiners and bad apples, who always go the press at the slightest inconvenience and wilt under pressure. As seen in previous seasons as well.
• Bruno has played well alongside him as well, and his performances dropped at the end of last season. Are Maguire, Shaw and AWB also become shit because of Ronaldo? Does Fred misplace passes because of Ronaldo? Do Greenwood and Rashford choose to be selfish because of Ronaldo? Is global warming because of Ronaldo?
• Yes he struggles as a lone striker. True. Zidane made it work though.
• No, Greenwood struggles from similar things to Ronaldo up top. His workrate is poor, he cant hold up the ball, he doesnt win headers up front, he is not much of a presence in the box. He is much more dangerous on the right. That much has been clear in the last couple of seasons. Cavani was amazing last season, but his performances have dropped massively this season, making Ronaldo our only viable option as CF.

Listen, I aint a Ronaldo fanboy. For me Messi is the superior player, I never wanted Ronaldo back at United, nor do I worship him. But I can see the issues at United run far far deeper than Ronaldo. And Ronaldo is also proving me wrong, as I'm seeing more desire and hunger from him under Ralf than many others like Cavani, Rashford etc. He is being a bit overplayed, and his minutes need to be managed. But I think we can fit him into a 4-3-3, just we need to tweak the balance and tactics a little. We cannot have all shooters in the front 3(Greenwood, Rashford, Ronaldo, Elanga), we need some creators as well(Bruno/Pogba, Sancho, Amad, Mata).

This all sounds very Ronaldo fanboy like

He is literally the worst of the moaners and sets a terrible example, he also very much seems to have been involved in the leaks. Personally, I don't care how good he once was because he isn't that good anymore. In terms of greenwood not running very much, he still runs and presses way more than Ronaldo

Personally, I would rather his minutes go to Greenwood to play up front because that might help his development and help us understand if he is good enough. I don't see the point in having an expensive short term fix up front who is barely good enough to be in the team

 

[Gordon Godot]

Two very big important factor that nobody hardly mentions here or in the media are;

he is our number 9 and main striker and gets NO service from the wingers

And since Rangnick took over he is dropping very deep into the CDM position and also out wide. I'd love to see Ronaldo's average touch heat map since Rangnick took over but of course the biased Sky, Match of the Day, BT Sports, The Sun or Athletic will never have a proper debate like that. Ronaldo is not a number 10 or link up player he's a goal-scorer. Obviously Rangnick is asking him to do things tactically which are completely alien to him. And it's harming his energy and goal-output.

it was different when it was Harry Kane doing it at the start of the season for Tottenham and he wasn't scoring goals. They was banging on about it all the time about how tactically Harry Kane isn't playing in his strongest areas as an excuse for him. The British media don't treat Ronaldo the same because the British media is biased towards British players.

Couple of things. We dont have any traditional wingers who get to the byline or swing in dangerous crosses, in fact few top teams now do or rely on full backs to deliver occassinally. Maybe we should have thought about that before we signed him given he no longer has the pace to create opportunities or beat players on his own?

 

[the_cliff]

And the alternative viewpoint to that is :

• Once again, if you cannot utilise your players correctly, and then blame the players for "unbalancing" the team, its not on the players. Its on the manager. Play Pirlo as a box to box midfielder, and then complain that he is unbalancing the team doesnt make sense.
• He is literally among the greatest of all times, and has always been hailed as an examplary teammate by other winners alongside him. Seems to me our team is full of whiners and bad apples, who always go the press at the slightest inconvenience and wilt under pressure. As seen in previous seasons as well.
• Bruno has played well alongside him as well, and his performances dropped at the end of last season. Are Maguire, Shaw and AWB also become shit because of Ronaldo? Does Fred misplace passes because of Ronaldo? Do Greenwood and Rashford choose to be selfish because of Ronaldo? Is global warming because of Ronaldo?
• Yes he struggles as a lone striker. True. Zidane made it work though.
• No, Greenwood struggles from similar things to Ronaldo up top. His workrate is poor, he cant hold up the ball, he doesnt win headers up front, he is not much of a presence in the box. He is much more dangerous on the right. That much has been clear in the last couple of seasons. Cavani was amazing last season, but his performances have dropped massively this season, making Ronaldo our only viable option as CF.

Listen, I aint a Ronaldo fanboy. For me Messi is the superior player, I never wanted Ronaldo back at United, nor do I worship him. But I can see the issues at United run far far deeper than Ronaldo. And Ronaldo is also proving me wrong, as I'm seeing more desire and hunger from him under Ralf than many others like Cavani, Rashford etc. He is being a bit overplayed, and his minutes need to be managed. But I think we can fit him into a 4-3-3, just we need to tweak the balance and tactics a little. We cannot have all shooters in the front 3(Greenwood, Rashford, Ronaldo, Elanga), we need some creators as well(Bruno/Pogba, Sancho, Amad, Mata).

People still assume this Ronaldo is the same player as the one in Madrid. That's a big disservice to Ronaldo and how good he was in his prime. The current Ronaldo is a shadow of that player and is quite simply no longer good enough to start and lead the line for a top club.

If Ronaldo decides to leave in the summer, how many top teams do you think will be after him ?

 

[Gehrman]

Two very big important factor that nobody hardly mentions here or in the media are;

he is our number 9 and main striker and gets NO service from the wingers. It doesn't matter who you put in this team they'd struggle.. put prime Van Nistelrooy or Harry Kane in this team and they'd be the same as Ronaldo is now. Graveyard shift.

And since Rangnick took over Ronaldo is dropping very deep into the CDM position and also out wide. I'd love to see Ronaldo's average touch heat map since Rangnick took over but of course the biased Sky (Gary Neville), Match of the Day, BT Sports, The Sun or Athletic will never have a proper debate like that. Ronaldo is not a number 10 or link up player he's a goal-scorer. Obviously Rangnick is asking him to do things tactically which are completely alien to him at 37 years old he needs to be asked to stay upfront to conserve his energy for the counter-attacks etc. And it's harming his energy and goal-output as when we are breaking on the counter-attack he has too much ground to make up because he's too far away from the goal. But of course he tries his best to follow what Rangnick wants.

it was different when it was Harry Kane doing it at the start of the season for Tottenham and he wasn't scoring goals. They was banging on about it all the time about how tactically Harry Kane isn't playing in his strongest areas as an excuse for him. The British media don't treat Ronaldo the same because the British media is biased towards British players.

According to the stats he gets the 2nd most service in the league as hard as tjat is to believe.

 

[the_cliff]

According to the stats he gets the 2nd most service in the league as hard as tjat is to believe.

It's actually not that hard to believe considering pretty much all our chances fall to Ronaldo when we play with him. While other teams chances created will all be more evenly distributed. Like City for example have 4 players above 6xG. We have Ronaldo and then there's a big gap between him and the others. Probably due to the fact that when Ronaldo plays we always look for him to score and supply him whenever we get into an attacking position.

 

[Marwood]

According to the stats he gets the 2nd most service in the league as hard as tjat is to believe.

That can't be true. I'm sure there's a stat that tries to conclude that but it's no true of the football we play in real life.

He's been starved of chances lately.

 

[Gordon Godot]

People still assume this Ronaldo is the same player as the one in Madrid. That's a big disservice to Ronaldo and how good he was in his prime. The current Ronaldo is a shadow of that player and is quite simply no longer good enough to start and lead the line for a top club.

If Ronaldo decides to leave in the summer, how many top teams do you think will be after him ?

Spot on. He's a shadow of the player he was. Great finisher still but should be impact sub. Nothing more

 

[Gehrman]

That can't be true. I'm sure there's a stat that tries to conclude that but it's no true of the football we play in real life.

He's been starved of chances lately.

Its @troylocker who's posted the stats on this.

 

[captaincantona]

Once again, if you cannot utilise your players correctly, and then blame the players for "unbalancing" the team, its not on the players. Its on the manager. Play Pirlo as a box to box midfielder, and then complain that he is unbalancing the team doesnt make sense.

What a pile of rubbish. Listen to Oles interviews just before and after signing Sancho. We were heading toward a fluid front 3...Rashford, Martial, Greenwood, Sancho all interchanging. Each forward player capable of playing in more than one role...giving us alternative ways of lining up and attacking. In theory, that’s exciting. Ole didn’t have the ability or in all fairness the opportunity to develop that potential front line and in truth, he was not the man to do it anyway. But we assembled that frontline with a way of playing in mind...Once Ronaldo comes in that is gone...he has to start...he has to be allowed to drift left and he has to be fed. It’s a completely different way of playing and it wasn’t as straight forward as dropping him into the team. His goals have not been worth missing the opportunity to develop that alternative frontline I just mentioned. Any other club in the world would kill for that potential...we fuk it in the bin to get all nostalgic about a player that in all fairness...is not half as connected to the club as a lot of his Instagram fans claim he is.

Thanks for the memories but as a club...we need to get our shit together...we need to do it now...and accommodating this mans ego and pursuit of personal accolades only creates headlines and distracts from the job at hand. Turn to youth, work hard again as a basic principle and let’s see where this uncle Klopp guy can take us.

 

[Chicharo]

I think we have to move both Cavani and Ronaldo at the end of this season. Build the attack around Greenwood/Rashford/Sancho. That can not happen with Ronaldo up top waiting to be served, he holds back the development of the team while not making us better in the moment. Yesterday illustrated the impossibility of keeping him in a lesser role, put him on the bench and it will be just constant disruption and a media frenzy.

Best for both parties and an added joy is all the Ronaldo fan boys following him to his new team.

Yes, but that's not enough. We need a proper CF (neither Greenwood, nor Rashford has shown they are capable of scoring on regular basis). Even if Greenwood steps up, we still need a proper substitute, that's why I think it would be wrong to let Ronaldo go.

We’re potentially looking at a forward line of Elanga, Rashford, Greenwood and Sancho should Ronaldo go but that really isn’t enough you would think so he has to stay. Unless Greenwood turns into to some form of monster next season we will need the goals.

Exactly, what I meant.

 

[troylocker]

Yes, but that's not enough. We need a proper CF (neither Greenwood, nor Rashford has shown they are capable of scoring on regular basis). Even if Greenwood steps up, we still need a proper substitute, that's why I think it would be wrong to let Ronaldo go.



Exactly, what I meant.

It’s kind of a no brainer that if you let 3 forwards go in one season (Ronaldo, Cavani and Martial) it leaves a hole in the squad that needs to be filled.

 

[Marwood]

What a pile of rubbish. Listen to Oles interviews just before and after signing Sancho. We were heading toward a fluid front 3...Rashford, Martial, Greenwood, Sancho all interchanging. Each forward player capable of playing in more than one role...giving us alternative ways of lining up and attacking. In theory, that’s exciting. Ole didn’t have the ability or in all fairness the opportunity to develop that potential front line and in truth, he was not the man to do it anyway. But we assembled that frontline with a way of playing in mind...Once Ronaldo comes in that is gone...he has to start...he has to be allowed to drift left and he has to be fed. It’s a completely different way of playing and it wasn’t as straight forward as dropping him into the team. His goals have not been worth missing the opportunity to develop that alternative frontline I just mentioned. Any other club in the world would kill for that potential...we fuk it in the bin to get all nostalgic about a player that in all fairness...is not half as connected to the club as a lot of his Instagram fans claim he is.

Thanks for the memories but as a club...we need to get our shit together...we need to do it now...and accommodating this mans ego and pursuit of personal accolades only creates headlines and distracts from the job at hand. Turn to youth, work hard again as a basic principle and let’s see where this uncle Klopp guy can take us.

Why leave out Cavani, who Ole signed, rated massively and picked as first choice when fit? Is it because it goes against your "fluid" front three idea?

The best attacks aren't fluid. It's a myth this idea of forwards rotating a over the place. The best players, the best teams, the best attacks all have a set way of playing. Each player having a defined role. When do you see Salah on the left or Lewandowski playing right wing?

Ronaldo might not be good enough amymore but he doesn't stop the team from playing any particular style.

 

[Nordmore]

Ronaldo might not be good enough amymore but he doesn't stop the team from playing any particular style.

High pressing? #9 with some basic skills to hold the ball or win a header and link up?

Infact it's more he's so bad now that he forces us to play with no fecking style at all. It's simply impossible to find a name that can define our style with him up front. If we actually have any. Or you'd call "find Ronaldo" is a particular style.

 

[crossy1686]

Can’t imagine Ronaldo is too happy with Ralf’s latest comments but then again, you act like that and get called out on it you can’t really complain.

 

[crossy1686]

High pressing? #9 with some basic skills to hold the ball or win a header and link up?

Infact it's more he's so bad now that he forces us to play with no fecking style at all. It's simply impossible to find a name that can define our style with him up front. If we actually have any. Or you'd call "find Ronaldo" is a particular style.

But do you want Firmino or Ronaldo in your team? Our wide forwards aren’t clinical enough to sacrifice the central position for someone who runs more.

 

[captaincantona]

Why leave out Cavani, who Ole signed, rated massively and picked as first choice when fit? Is it because it goes against your "fluid" front three idea?

The best attacks aren't fluid. It's a myth this idea of forwards rotating a over the place. The best players, the best teams, the best attacks all have a set way of playing. Each player having a defined role. When do you see Salah on the left or Lewandowski playing right wing?

Ronaldo might not be good enough amymore but he doesn't stop the team from playing any particular style.

Exactly. Cavani, a 34 year old injury prone ultimate professional with amazing experience and character was brought in as a plan B. Wouldn’t mind coming off the bench when we needed a bit of guile or to be more direct and could teach the young lads a thing or two at the same time. It was a great idea...again in theory. Instead, Ronny comes in and we start juggling and chopping to accommodate him. It is the epitome of unbalanced.

in addition, by fluid I mean the ability to cut inside or stay wide or to cover each other when injuries kick in...not in the sense that these players change positions excessively during a single game. When Ronaldo plays your wingers or full backs need to-be high and wide to deliver crosses and wide forwards cutting inside to shoot is seen as being “selfish” and unwillingness to feed the GOAT. Like it or not, he dominates our attacking approach when he plays...which is quite easy to nullify when you consider his ability on the ball has waned significantly in recent years.

 

[copen1945]

Exactly. Cavani, a 34 year old injury prone ultimate professional with amazing experience and character was brought in as a plan B. Wouldn’t mind coming off the bench when we needed a bit of guile or to be more direct and could teach the young lads a thing or two at the same time. It was a great idea...again in theory. Instead, Ronny comes in and we start juggling and chopping to accommodate him. It is the epitome of unbalanced.

in addition, by fluid I mean the ability to cut inside or stay wide or to cover each other when injuries kick in...not in the sense that these players change positions excessively during a single game. When Ronaldo plays your wingers or full backs need to-be high and wide to deliver crosses and wide forwards cutting inside to shoot is seen as being “selfish” and unwillingness to feed the GOAT.

This Ronaldo saga has made me re-evaluate how Bale has done at Real Madrid and whether the catcalls he used to get from the gallery might not have been justified.

 

[Nordmore]

But do you want Firmino or Ronaldo in your team? Our wide forwards aren’t clinical enough to sacrifice the central position for someone who runs more.

It's actually a myth that Ronaldo is more clinical than our younger forwards. Please pay attention to the G-xG column.

https://fbref.com/en/squads/19538871/Manchester-United-Stats

Firmino hasn't played much this season and I've no idea how he's now so no not Firmino. But I'd happily take the guy who played forward for Brentford over Ronaldo.

 

[KeanoMagicHat]

We’re potentially looking at a forward line of Elanga, Rashford, Greenwood and Sancho should Ronaldo go but that really isn’t enough you would think so he has to stay. Unless Greenwood turns into to some form of monster next season we will need the goals.

We score fewer goals with Ronaldo than we did last season without him. Bruno has 5 goals in 4 games without Ronaldo and scored 28 goals last season, so he can take on the load, as can other players.

 

[Josh 76]

High pressing? #9 with some basic skills to hold the ball or win a header and link up?

Infact it's more he's so bad now that he forces us to play with no fecking style at all. It's simply impossible to find a name that can define our style with him up front. If we actually have any. Or you'd call "find Ronaldo" is a particular style.

Good post

 

[SonyaCross493]

Ronaldo is dropping too deep. Which basically makes him ineffective. It's like a cat without claws.

it must be a tactical message from the manager but it's not working. I hope in the next game he plays he can stop dropping deep and just stay upfront.

 

[KeanoMagicHat]

High pressing? #9 with some basic skills to hold the ball or win a header and link up?

Infact it's more he's so bad now that he forces us to play with no fecking style at all. It's simply impossible to find a name that can define our style with him up front. If we actually have any. Or you'd call "find Ronaldo" is a particular style.

For key passes in the PL, Ronaldo 10 years ago was the equivalent of Salah, today he is the equivalent of Aaron Wan-Bissaka. For dribbling, Ronaldo 10 years ago was the equivalent of Raphinha, today he is the equivalent of Max Kilman. For being fouled, Ronaldo 10 years ago was the equivalent of Jack Grealish, today he is the equivalent of Joel Ward.

That's just the statistical equivalents.

 

[Red Rash]

I'm surprised how some people have reacted to his reaction when getting taken off against Brentford.

Okay we know it was a bit of a temper tantrum but it's driven by the fact that he wants to play and score goals.

At least he shows the kind of desire we have largely been lacking over the past few years and I think he was as annoyed with himself as with Rangnick for subbing him.

I have also been pleasantly surprised by his workrate and don't think our biggest issue is him not pressing from the front. We know given his age he won't be a pressing machine and to get the best out of him we really need to be creating more chances for him.

Our biggest issue in my opinion is we don't have enough creativity to create those chances. Our CM without Pogba is largely devoid of real true quality to be creative and when Greenwood or Rashford play on the wing we know their instinct is to cut inside and shoot.

 

[Marwood]

High pressing? #9 with some basic skills to hold the ball or win a header and link up?

Infact it's more he's so bad now that he forces us to play with no fecking style at all. It's simply impossible to find a name that can define our style with him up front. If we actually have any. Or you'd call "find Ronaldo" is a particular style.

What was our style the second half of last season?

 

[bakalhau]

I like Ralf. Cool headed guy. It's a non-issue, and he knows that. He's great at putting the message across the media. I subscribe word by word to what he said. "Case" over and let's move on to other more presing matters.

 

[Escobar]

Still a mistake to bring him back imo

 

[Rojow]

I'm really enjoying his attacking skills.. on FIFA22.

 

[troylocker]

Worked hard for 90 minutes both ways tonight…..and made a visual effort to project a positive bodylanguage. Nice involvement in the goal as well.