That's what power, money and prestige gets you. I doubt he'll come here anyways. It will be pure resignation if he does in my opinion because it's clearly obvious he wants to finish on a high at the highest level
7
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 38
- Goals
- 24
- Assists
- 3
- Yellow cards
- 9
- Status
That's what power, money and prestige gets you. I doubt he'll come here anyways. It will be pure resignation if he does in my opinion because it's clearly obvious he wants to finish on a high at the highest level
I saw The Athletic posted he hasn’t scored a free kick in 607 days. Why does he still take them 
Since the start of the 17/18 season he’s taken 72 direct freekicks in league gamesI saw The Athletic posted he hasn’t scored a free kick in 607 days. Why does he still take them
1 goal (1,4%)
I think we have 20 players in our squad that would have a better goalratio from freekicks.
Most posters on this forum would have a better conversionrate than him for crying out loud.
How he is allowed to take them is a mystery.
In 5 years, he's taken 72 free kicks? Oh the horror! How many games has he played in those years?
I noticed that other players took the free kicks in the last game and we scored from none of them.
On one hand I obviously want him to come alive and take us through the CL (until we crash out) and up the league until top 4 is nailed but on the other hand you can’t help but feel we will then just kick the can down the road into next season relying on ronadlo. He shouldn’t be relied upon anywhere close to this extent in this league at this stage of his career. He makes us a worse, lower workrate, one dimensional attack all too often.. The people who made this decision need to feel the consequences of constantly looking for these short term fixes instead of having a proper plan. We’ve gotten away with it over and over but surely the leagues best paid player having his most underwhelming season should get the message across loud and clear.
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That’s just in league games.
On average 6% of direct freekicks are converted to goals. Good freekick-takers have a convertionrate of 10+%
You are right though, we haven’t had any really good freekick takers here for a long time. Since the start of the 17/18 season we have only scored 5 direct freekick goals from 127 freekicks in the PL. Still a lot better than CR though.
He's definitely not the same player, but far from finished.
Goals will come. Believe!
Goals will come. Believe!
Why are you complaining about Ronaldo taking free kicks, then, if you think we have ZERO good free kick takers?
As he said even with poor FK takers, we have a better record than he does in the same period.I’d rather score 1 in 25 than 1 in 72… is that a good enough answer for you?
I refuse to believe we have many players in our squad that would miss 71 out of 72 freekicks, really.
I think that Bruno, Telles, Sancho, Fred, Pogba, Rashford and Cavani all should be in front of him in the line … Cavani actually scored 3 from his last 23 freekicks.
Ward-Prowse has 11 goals in 71 freekicks in the PL in the same period….
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You don't really understand how statistics work do you
More tasty Ronaldo stats. Worst goals to xg ratio in the league actually
https://www.football365.com/news/ronaldo-leads-worst-10-pl-finishers-owned-xg-ronaldo
https://www.football365.com/news/ronaldo-leads-worst-10-pl-finishers-owned-xg-ronaldo
This is the huge issue, I believe it’s mostly really young or sentimental fans though. Most people over 30 realise that sharpness, co-ordination and reactions slow down a lot which is permanent and has nothing to do with form or confidence.
What makes you think that he could hack it in the MLS or Premeria Liga? Curious as I see this idea floated a lot. The MLS/Premeria Liga are very competitive and athletic just like any other top league. I am sure he would grab the occasional goal as he does now but football is a young man’s game at every level. I agree he would probably rather quit than play for the sake of it. I truly think it’s over for him at the end of the season though, retirement is waiting for him.
Another comparison that makes you think:
Ronaldo: 1 freekick goal in 72 direct freekicks (1,4%) in league games since the start of the 17/18 season
Juninho: 44 freekick goals in 100 direct freekicks (44%) for Lyon.......
I would fancy Harry Maguire to score 1 in 72 (or better) if he got the chance (especially as he can take a good blasted penalty). He'd probably belt it at the keeper's side and he'd let it in at some point. The problem is Ronaldo's technique is far too unreliable and it seems like he's too intimidating and stubborn for anyone to tell him what he needs to hear... it doesn't work.
I fancy most amateurs to score at least 1 in 72. 44 of those freekicks hit the wall and only 12 on goal....... unbelievable really
He's played 147 league games since the start of 17/18.
Your 2nd sentence there is... something.
Just shows how ludicrous it was to assume that it doesn’t matter if his all round play is nonexistent because “he’s a lethal poacher who will take every chance that comes his way” That’s literally the exact opposite of what’s happened.
Endless complaining.
I don't care if he's way past his best or not the right fit for us.
Just having him back in a red shirt for a season has been brilliant. To have one of the greatest of all time, after his history with us, return for a season, is such a rare and amazing thing.
Not everything in football has to be about efficiency and calculated decision making.
Just enjoy the experience of having him here. It may be a long time before we ever see a player of his stature, with this kind of club connection, play for us again.
I don't care if he's way past his best or not the right fit for us.
Just having him back in a red shirt for a season has been brilliant. To have one of the greatest of all time, after his history with us, return for a season, is such a rare and amazing thing.
Not everything in football has to be about efficiency and calculated decision making.
Just enjoy the experience of having him here. It may be a long time before we ever see a player of his stature, with this kind of club connection, play for us again.
By your rationale we might as well have had sir bobby lacing up his boots
If we are going to sign players for the memories, we should at least try to avoid paying them 500k a week
Some might say you've taken my rationale to an extreme.
Stats?
fyp
Couldn't agree more.
He deserves credit as well for always making himself available when the likes of Cavani can't be arsed.
500k a week is cheap, he probably earns the club millions a week just by being at the club. You are talking about finances, he is huge value for money in terms of commercial revenue. Be under no illusions United are making a fortune thanks to Ronaldo being back, he is more than covering the cots of his wages. You can't exactly say the same about Cavani on 250k a week, Rashford on 200k a week, Martial on 250k a week, Maguire on 185k a week etc.
Not everyone cares about Ronaldon as much as you do, the second he pissed off to Madrid he stopped mattering to me, and his signing has been no more or less important than that of Cavani or Falcao.
He is just another underperforming player nothing else for me personally.
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It’s not his fault but the Glazers should have stopped being tight arses and bought him when he left Madrid. I think it’s been very badly timed him coming back at this age and with the state of our team. Of course though I agree it’s great he’s back, I love cheering when he scores
but it’s just so damn depressing to see such a shadow of a great player It’s not his fault but the Glazers should have stopped being tight arses and bought him when he left Madrid. I think it’s been very badly timed him coming back at this age and with the state of our team. Of course though I agree it’s great he’s back, I love cheering when he scores
Yeah it would have been better had we been performing well thus allowing him a bit of slack here or there. Instead of every game and every minute being crucial.
But the decline isn't depressing to me. It's inevitable. There are far worse things than somebody not being all that good at football anymore.
I had to google that and it only made me more confused.
Anyway.. I'm very well aware that it's a fact that no one scored a free kick in our last game, I'm just amazed that you think it means something in regards to this discussion.
I think it makes for a great story in the beginning but it's hardly making for a great experience. In the end we're watching him struggle to come to terms with his own inadequacies, and he's been a key member of a team that's taken a step backwards, further from success than when he joined. It's not about efficiency or calculated decision making. The grand narrative isn't much of a fairytale if you consider not just Ronaldo, but Ronaldo and United. For me, the story was better when he left on a high, rather than it now being about when he helped United reach another low while reaching his own lowest point.
I value us winning an FA cup more than enjoying our experiencing him whatever that is. It won't be a long time till we have better performing players than him (already do) and we'll hopefully win stuff with them as well unlike right now.
You enjoy hero worship while others are busy supporting their football club. I can't comprehend people who support their club not caring whether one of their highest paid stars is past his best or not the right fit but just happy to see him play.
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Yep, it’s a weird notion.
He's 37It’s not his fault but the Glazers should have stopped being tight arses and bought him when he left Madrid. I think it’s been very badly timed him coming back at this age and with the state of our team. Of course though I agree it’s great he’s back, I love cheering when he scores
It was already too late back then aswell. Serie A completely masked his regression. Seems some of you just can't seem to realize he's only human.It’s not his fault but the Glazers should have stopped being tight arses and bought him when he left Madrid. I think it’s been very badly timed him coming back at this age and with the state of our team. Of course though I agree it’s great he’s back, I love cheering when he scores
It's not about caring. It's about enjoying it while you can. I think it's kind of sad and missing the point of football a bit if you have no more a connection to Ronaldo than you do Falcao.
Agree it's not a fairytale, the team needed to be in a much better position to make that happen.
But it's still been great to see him back, those first few games, first few goals.
Not always, but sometimes, football should be about moments. Not just winning cups.
It's not about hero worship or not supporting the club. That's a cheap shot.
It's about allowing a little emotion back in to being a fan. Realsing what you're witnessing.
Nobody goes to a Stones concert and comes out complaining Keith Richards isn't the same.
You can just soak it up because very soon it'll be over.
And remember, it's not like Ronaldo is the one thing holding us back. There was no other CF coming in this summer. He hasn't stopped us signing anyone, he isn't holding back a young player, he isn't holding back a better player.
This isn't equivalent to the latter days of RvN, where better suited players are ready to take his spot and elevate us.
Ronaldo could dissapear now and we'd be no better.
I think for most people, football is about in-the-moment experiences. The best versions of those leave lasting memories and winning cups is naturally right up there. Seeing iconic players have iconic moments falls into a similar category. This binary choice between "it's all about winning things" and "it's all about experiences" is a false dichotomy for that reason, and the implication that people focusing on Ronaldo's performances are simply looking at it from trophies in a cabinet or points on the board perspective is similarly false.
For me, Ronaldo's 2nd debut will be a standout memory, the buzz was brilliant. But for a lot of people, that memory will have a bitter taste because of most things that have come afterwards.
He hasn't lived up to the hype built up on that day, he's been central to a lot of very painful in-the-moment experiences thereafter, and right now as is, when you're watching Ronaldo on the pitch you can't just enjoy the moment in the absence of everything else, fundamentally you're watching the game now with the hope of watching great football, watching him put on great displays, and watching us win games. That's a normal mindset to take into a game. And quite regularly we're failing to see all three, so it's entirely reasonable that people can't just enjoy seeing Ronaldo in that shirt, because ignoring all the rest of it would mean ignoring all of the typical things about supporting a club, rather than a player.
Don't believe I've presented it as a binary choice. My argument is that you can have a bit of both. Yeah it's about winning stuff but in certain circumstances you can allow a bit of nostalgia, a bit of emotion, to creep in. One of the greatest ever, having a rich history with us, returning for a season should be one of those circumstances. Fans are behaving like they'll always get the chance to see all time greats playing at OT. You won't guys so enjoy it while you can.
I could understand the complaining if he was as you say central to this seasons failings. But he isn't. He's literally the only striker we've had for the last couple of months.
There isn't some kind of winning alternative to Ronaldo this season. Take him out and nothing changes.
Poor planning and Greenwood have seen to that.
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