[KeanoMagicHat]

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.

He is a central factor in this season’s failings, he’s our number 1 reputation player, he’s the best paid player, the team is built around him, he gets the headlines when we win so deserves criticism when we lose as the team is in his image, and he has the third most outfield minutes in the league for United despite being 37.

He has the worst xG to goals in the league, he’s got in Bruno’s way (Bruno has more goals than games without Ronaldo), he wasn’t needed and took the limelight away from Sancho at the start and probably didn’t help his poor start, he doesn’t press at all, leaving Bruno to cover and exposing our midfield making for some of the worst result in recent history (and got Ole the sack), he can’t hold the ball up, he refuses to be substituted without making a fuss, the team is divided since he arrived (he’s looking to be captain, called out the team, threatened to leave), he took away minutes from other players as he has been almost guaranteed to play every game leading to a more squad divisions.

Apart from that he’s been good for us.. I guess.

 

[Marwood]

He is a central factor in this season’s failings, he’s our number 1 reputation player, he’s the best paid player, the team is built around him, he gets the headlines when we win so deserves criticism when we lose as the team is in his image, and he has the third most outfield minutes in the league for United despite being 37.

He has the worst xG to goals in the league, he’s got in Bruno’s way (Bruno has more goals than games without Ronaldo), he wasn’t needed and took the limelight away from Sancho at the start and probably didn’t help his poor start, he doesn’t press at all, leaving Bruno to cover and exposing our midfield making for some of the worst result in recent history (and got Ole the sack), he can’t hold the ball up, he refuses to be substituted without making a fuss, the team is divided since he arrived (he’s looking to be captain, called out the team, threatened to leave), he took away minutes from other players as he has been almost guaranteed to play every game leading to a more squad divisions.

Apart from that he’s been good for us.. I guess.

Who plays upfront instead of Ronaldo?

 

[DWelbz19]

Agree it's not a fairytale, the team needed to be in a much better position to make that happen.

If the team was in a much better position, we’d have had the sense to steer clear.

 

[Marwood]

If the team was in a much better position, we’d have had the sense to steer clear.

Yeah agree with that. If Martial for instance hadn't bombed last season I don't see us signing Ronaldo or maybe we do sign him but he has a squad role.

But Martial did bomb, Cavani is always injured, Rashford has been terrible for over 12 month, Greenwood situation has happened. Bruno has been struggling for consistency and goals since Jan 2021.

So let's pretend for a second we didn't sign Ronaldo this summer.

How does that make us better considering the above?

 

[JB7]

Who plays upfront instead of Ronaldo?

Honestly don't bother trying to apply logic to this.

The fact that we literally have no other centre forwards available is irrelevant. The fact we're expecting a 37 year old to carry the attack and play 4 games in 10/11 days is irrelevant. The fact that players don't listen to his instructions on the pitch is irrelevant. The fact that the service to him by and large has been utter shite is irrelevant. The fact that when he pulls out wide nobody goes central for him to play off as you'd normally expect in a functioning team is irrelevant. The fact that he actually wants to play for us unlike clowns like Cavani, Martial, Greenwood (different reasons obviously but still a dickhead) is irrelevant. The fact that he singlehandedly got us through the group stage of the Champions League is irrelevant. The fact that he's scored goals to put us ahead in the match 8 times in the league & 4 times in the Champions League this season is irrelevant.

It's all irrelevant. He's useless.

 

[Roux]

Honestly don't bother trying to apply logic to this.

The fact that we literally have no other centre forwards available is irrelevant. The fact we're expecting a 37 year old to carry the attack and play 4 games in 10/11 days is irrelevant. The fact that players don't listen to his instructions on the pitch is irrelevant. The fact that the service to him by and large has been utter shite is irrelevant. The fact that when he pulls out wide nobody goes central for him to play off as you'd normally expect in a functioning team is irrelevant. The fact that he actually wants to play for us unlike clowns like Cavani, Martial, Greenwood (different reasons obviously but still a dickhead) is irrelevant. The fact that he singlehandedly got us through the group stage of the Champions League is irrelevant. The fact that he's scored goals to put us ahead in the match 8 times in the league & 4 times in the Champions League this season is irrelevant.

It's all irrelevant. He's useless.

Im lost as to why this is even an argument. The attacking players around him have been horrendous - i think people are heavily overlooking this point.

 

[Marwood]

Honestly don't bother trying to apply logic to this.

The fact that we literally have no other centre forwards available is irrelevant. The fact we're expecting a 37 year old to carry the attack and play 4 games in 10/11 days is irrelevant. The fact that players don't listen to his instructions on the pitch is irrelevant. The fact that the service to him by and large has been utter shite is irrelevant. The fact that when he pulls out wide nobody goes central for him to play off as you'd normally expect in a functioning team is irrelevant. The fact that he actually wants to play for us unlike clowns like Cavani, Martial, Greenwood (different reasons obviously but still a dickhead) is irrelevant. The fact that he singlehandedly got us through the group stage of the Champions League is irrelevant. The fact that he's scored goals to put us ahead in the match 8 times in the league & 4 times in the Champions League this season is irrelevant.

It's all irrelevant. He's useless.

Agree with you.

I really would get the moaning if this was like the last season of RvN and Rooney. Where better alternatives are at the club, so picking that player is holding us back.

I complained at the time about them still playing.

But this is so different. Like you say, literally the only striker we have available most of the time.

How anybody thinks we'd be in a better situation without Ronaldo this season is baffling.

 

[Borys]

Yeah agree with that. If Martial for instance hadn't bombed last season I don't see us signing Ronaldo or maybe we do sign him but he has a squad role.

But Martial did bomb, Cavani is always injured, Rashford has been terrible for over 12 month, Greenwood situation has happened. Bruno has been struggling for consistency and goals since Jan 2021.

So let's pretend for a second we didn't sign Ronaldo this summer.

How does that make us better considering the above?

That is a good question indeed. I guess it wouldn't make us "better" in any way, but at least we could look for a solution, which we can't now as Ronaldo has to play every minute every game.

We could react somehow in the winter transfer window - a loan would still be a better option than having Ronaldo here imo.

 

[FriedClams]

Honestly don't bother trying to apply logic to this.

The fact that we literally have no other centre forwards available is irrelevant. The fact we're expecting a 37 year old to carry the attack and play 4 games in 10/11 days is irrelevant. The fact that players don't listen to his instructions on the pitch is irrelevant. The fact that the service to him by and large has been utter shite is irrelevant. The fact that when he pulls out wide nobody goes central for him to play off as you'd normally expect in a functioning team is irrelevant. The fact that he actually wants to play for us unlike clowns like Cavani, Martial, Greenwood (different reasons obviously but still a dickhead) is irrelevant. The fact that he singlehandedly got us through the group stage of the Champions League is irrelevant. The fact that he's scored goals to put us ahead in the match 8 times in the league & 4 times in the Champions League this season is irrelevant.

It's all irrelevant. He's useless.

his instructions don’t seem to be positive, mostly see him looking frustrated.

 

[Marwood]

That is a good question indeed. I guess it wouldn't make us "better" in any way, but at least we could look for a solution, which we can't now as Ronaldo has to play every minute every game.

We could react somehow in the winter transfer window - a loan would still be a better option than having Ronaldo here imo.

Loan who though?

 

[Matt851]

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.

Can't argue with the fact we don't have any alternatives this season. However he is very much a former great and I personally haven't derived much pleasure from watching him this season. I could understand all the hero worship a bit more if he was more likeable and a good influence on the rest of the squad but he really isn't. His attitude on the pitch is embarrassing and has contributed to an even more fragmented dressing room

If we hadn't have signed him we would have been more likely to sign a centre mid in the summer and would have had to sign a striker over Christmas

Ultimately its another signing which makes us look more nostalgia based money machine than serious football club

 

[Matt851]

Im lost as to why this is even an argument. The attacking players around him have been horrendous - i think people are heavily overlooking this point.

You are also heavily overlooking he has the worst goals to xg in the league so he has had plenty enough service . He is a poacher centre forward whose only outstanding attribute these days was meant to be his finishing and that has been shit. Can't hold the ball up, or play on his own

You Ronaldo fanboys are embarrassing

Every neutral knows the Ronaldo signing was a bad idea but there is a slightly tragic section of our fanbase that seems stuck in the past

 

[Roux]

You are also heavily overlooking he has the worst goals to xg in the league so he has had plenty enough service . He is a poacher centre forward whose only outstanding attribute these days was meant to be his finishing and that has been shit. Can't hold the ball up, or play on his own

You Ronaldo fanboys are embarrassing

Every neutral knows the Ronaldo signing was a bad idea but there is a slightly tragic section of our fanbase that seems stuck in the past

He has 15 goals in 30 games. How have the other attacking players done genius? When he's not of form other players have to carry the can... and they just haven't done that this season - all of them.

 

[JB7]

his instructions don’t seem to be positive, mostly see him looking frustrated.

Because that's what the camera shows to build their narrative, they don't appear to catch the 20 times a game he talks to players or puts his arm round players or points to where people need to be. No player talks as much as him on the pitch, even when he's having a shocker he's giving advice in both offensive and defensive situations.

 

[Borys]

Loan who though?

I don't know mate, I barely watch United and I don't pay attention to transfer gossip. But I don't think it's a particularly difficult job, Ronaldo misses a lot of chances these days and when he doesn't score, is actually is the definition of "useless". So I believe we could've found a better fit for current United side than Ronaldo.

I fully understand this high risk high reward tactic with getting Ronaldo, but in the hindsight... I believe we would've done better without him.

 

[King29]

Because that's what the camera shows to build their narrative, they don't appear to catch the 20 times a game he talks to players or puts his arm round players or points to where people need to be. No player talks as much as him on the pitch, even when he's having a shocker he's giving advice in both offensive and defensive situations.

Nah he's definitely just frustrated and whinging most of the time.

He does occasionally direct players to press and how he wants the ball played, but that's not much value add especially when most of performances of late have been shockers.

 

[United in sin]

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.

Great post!!

 

[Brwned]

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.

Sure, but your argument is also that people complaining about Ronaldo are not recognising you can have both: you’re reducing their assessment to a binary choice and determining that they’re on the wrong side of it.

The people complaining about Ronaldo are perfectly capable of appreciating things other than trophies. A great atmosphere, great football, a shared experience, all that jazz. And their point is that, in their perspective, Ronaldo isn’t providing that. It’s difficult to enjoy any nostalgia when it’s matched up with what he’s providing on the pitch. You might disagree but reducing that to “there’s more to trophies, you know” isn’t reasonable. They are taking emotion into account, too. They just have different emotions.

I don’t think we have a good alternative for Ronaldo right now. That doesn’t change the fact that he is a problem, it just means we don’t have a solution for it. Not having someone on the bench doesn’t make it any easier to watch what he’s putting out there, it doesn’t make it any easier to enjoy seeing in that shirt, if ultimately what you’re looking at is what the team is producing and what role he is playing in that. That isn’t about being unilaterally focused on trophies.

I find the way you frame the argument a bit strange, anyway. And given you’ve said you’re inclined to embrace the Ronaldo nostalgia, it seems like you’ve constructed the argument to enable that; it’s an overly generous argument on his behalf. Which is fine. Like you say, football is about emotions too. But you can’t expect people to take that argument at face value.

Of course if we weren’t paying Ronaldo a small fortune we would have an alternative, either having invested that money elsewhere in the pitch to help us have a more balanced team, or by investing it in a striker that contributed more. Taking him out of the team and not replacing him with an alternative investment is just an entirely false premise.

The money we pay, the stature he’s afforded and the type of football we play are heavily dictated by his very presence. You can imagine all sorts of different scenarios for what the alternative would be, with no way of knowing how they would work out, but we know for sure that simply taking him out and having that Ronaldo-sized void would never have applied. You can’t just ignore the amount of money he’s getting.

 

[KeanoMagicHat]

He has 15 goals in 30 games. How have the other attacking players done genius? When he's not of form other players have to carry the can... and they just haven't done that this season - all of them.

Bruno has 5 goals in 4 games that Ronaldo hasn't played this season, and even with his role of having to service Ronaldo, he has the same number of league goals, despite playing deeper and being taken off penalties. With Martial up front for example, drifting out of the box and leaving space for Fernandes's late runs, winning penalties with his dribbling and being able to hold the ball up much better and play a quicker tempo, I could see Fernandes having 14-15 league goals easily this season.

It's not the first time where Ronaldo has arrived at a club and the numbers of everyone else have gone down, Rooney, Dybala and Benzema know that well. The difference in the Rooney and Benzema days was he took away from others but he scored a goal a game himself, so it was justified. These days he takes away the same but he can't do it himself either.

 

[MrEleson]

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.

What kind of hyperbolic tripe is this? You have players that are more than finished from European leagues like Higuain, Chicarito and Matuidi, etc more than holding their own in the MLS yet somehow you think Ronaldo wouldn’t hack it there? The same guy that is our topscorer this season in every competition and has almost a goal per game in the CL, sure. You really have a warped view of reality. If he wouldn’t hack it there then 80% of our players wouldn’t either.

 

[FriedClams]

Because that's what the camera shows to build their narrative, they don't appear to catch the 20 times a game he talks to players or puts his arm round players or points to where people need to be. No player talks as much as him on the pitch, even when he's having a shocker he's giving advice in both offensive and defensive situations.

I am all about respecting different opinions, so I assume that you must be a match going fan if you are seeing things that the cameras don’t?

I’m not sure if the team should listen to him giving defensive instructions, for the same reason I wouldn’t expect inzaghi to have listened to attacking instructions from Maldini.

 

[Marwood]

Can't argue with the fact we don't have any alternatives this season. However he is very much a former great and I personally haven't derived much pleasure from watching him this season. I could understand all the hero worship a bit more if he was more likeable and a good influence on the rest of the squad but he really isn't. His attitude on the pitch is embarrassing and has contributed to an even more fragmented dressing room

If we hadn't have signed him we would have been more likely to sign a centre mid in the summer and would have had to sign a striker over Christmas

Ultimately its another signing which makes us look more nostalgia based money machine than serious football club

It's not hero worship. Trust me I'm way too old and cynical for that.

It's just about enjoying the opportunity to see one of the all time greats, even if they're not what they were. How many more opportunities like this do you think you'll get?

And as I've said, no matter how bad he plays, he is at least an option. There is no alternative right now. Without him we literally wouldn't have a striker.

 

[MrEleson]

Bruno has 5 goals in 4 games that Ronaldo hasn't played this season, and even with his role of having to service Ronaldo, he has the same number of league goals, despite playing deeper and being taken off penalties. With Martial up front for example, drifting out of the box and leaving space for Fernandes's late runs, winning penalties with his dribbling and being able to hold the ball up much better and play a quicker tempo, I could see Fernandes having 14-15 league goals easily this season.

It's not the first time where Ronaldo has arrived at a club and the numbers of everyone else have gone down, Rooney, Dybala and Benzema know that well. The difference in the Rooney and Benzema days was he took away from others but he scored a goal a game himself, so it was justified. These days he takes away the same but he can't do it himself either.

Everything you wrote here is either pure conjecture or revisonism to suit an agenda. Bruno doesn’t play with the sole purpose to service Ronaldo. If he did, he would have squared to Ronaldo just last game when he missed that sitter. Ronaldo was wide open to his right.
Bruno scoring 5 in 4 without him doesn’t prove anything. I could also point that United have failed to win any games Ronaldo hasn’t featured in this season, yet most here would tell you that he’s the principal problem in the team.

Rooney and Benzema sacrificing themselves for Ronaldo is some of the biggest myths going. Benzema had his best statistical seasons in his career playing alongside Ronaldo (11/12 & 15/16). Ronaldo was just by far the better player so naturally Benzema would be in his shadow. It doesn’t mean Ronaldo impeded his game or held him back. He likely wouldn’t have won 4 CLs if he didn’t play with Ronaldo so there’s that.
Same for Rooney. When they both came back from the 2006 WC, it was the former who was being tipped and groomed to be United’s talisman after the departure of RVN. However, Ronaldo just happened to surpass him in every way imaginable. On the pitch, Ronaldo actually assisted Rooney more times than vice versa when the two played together. As for Dybala, he won Serie A MVP playing next to Ronaldo so explain how Ronaldo hindered him. How good is he doing this season after Ronaldo’s departure?

 

[Marwood]

Sure, but your argument is also that people complaining about Ronaldo are not recognising you can have both: you’re reducing their assessment to a binary choice and determining that they’re on the wrong side of it.

The people complaining about Ronaldo are perfectly capable of appreciating things other than trophies. A great atmosphere, great football, a shared experience, all that jazz. And their point is that, in their perspective, Ronaldo isn’t providing that. It’s difficult to enjoy any nostalgia when it’s matched up with what he’s providing on the pitch. You might disagree but reducing that to “there’s more to trophies, you know” isn’t reasonable. They are taking emotion into account, too. They just have different emotions.

I don’t think we have a good alternative for Ronaldo right now. That doesn’t change the fact that he is a problem, it just means we don’t have a solution for it. Not having someone on the bench doesn’t make it any easier to watch what he’s putting out there, it doesn’t make it any easier to enjoy seeing in that shirt, if ultimately what you’re looking at is what the team is producing and what role he is playing in that. That isn’t about being unilaterally focused on trophies.

I find the way you frame the argument a bit strange, anyway. And given you’ve said you’re inclined to embrace the Ronaldo nostalgia, it seems like you’ve constructed the argument to enable that; it’s an overly generous argument on his behalf. Which is fine. Like you say, football is about emotions too. But you can’t expect people to take that argument at face value.

Of course if we weren’t paying Ronaldo a small fortune we would have an alternative, either having invested that money elsewhere in the pitch to help us have a more balanced team, or by investing it in a striker that contributed more. Taking him out of the team and not replacing him with an alternative investment is just an entirely false premise.

The money we pay, the stature he’s afforded and the type of football we play are heavily dictated by his very presence. You can imagine all sorts of different scenarios for what the alternative would be, with no way of knowing how they would work out, but we know for sure that simply taking him out and having that Ronaldo-sized void would never have applied. You can’t just ignore the amount of money he’s getting.

You believe us getting Ronaldo held us back from investing elsewhere last summer? Other alternatives were being looked at until he became available?

Can you name any of these options Ronaldo prevented us from getting?

I've seen nothing to suggest that was the case and I think you'd find yourself in a minority with that stance.

The summer business, as far as we know, was done before Ronaldo became available.

This squad, minus Ronaldo, was the plan for this season. So thank god we got him becuase we absolutely would now be facing a season without any striker.

Aside from that you're massively overcomplicating this.

All I'm saying is try to enjoy it a bit more because it's rare as fans you get to witness a player of this stature.

All this talk of his wages affecting performances, him dictating our style, it's nonsense. We're playing exactly the same disjointed stuff we did for the latter half of last season. Nothing's changed since he arrived except for Shaw, Maguire and AWB struggling.

 

[Brwned]

You believe us getting Ronaldo held us back from investing elsewhere last summer? Other alternatives were being looked at until he became available?

I've seen nothing to suggest that was the case and I think you'd find yourself in a minority with that stance.

The summer business, as far as we know, was done before Ronaldo became available.

This squad, minus Ronaldo, was the plan for this season. So thank god we got him becuase we absolutely would now be facing a season without any striker.

Aside from that you're massively overcomplicating this.

All I'm saying is try to enjoy it a bit more because it's rare as fans you get to witness a player of this stature.

All this talk of his wages affecting performances, him dictating our style, it's nonsense. We're playing exactly the same disjointed stuff we did for the latter half of last season. Nothings changed since he arrived.

I understand your point. I respect it. I’m just saying it’s not irrational that fans are finding it hard to enjoy watching him when he’s at a low point in his career and we’re going backwards. Some fans don’t separate the team from the individual, or the reputation from the performances, so cleanly. That’s not a flaw in how they appreciate Ronaldo and his greatness, that they need your advice on. It’s a different perspective.

 

[Marwood]

I understand your point. I respect it. I’m just saying it’s not irrational that fans are finding it hard to enjoy watching him when he’s at a low point in his career and we’re going backwards. Some fans don’t separate the team from the individual, or the reputation from the performances, so cleanly. That’s not a flaw in how they appreciate Ronaldo and his greatness, that they need your advice on. It’s a different perspective.

It's just an opinion, not so much advice.

I like to think if I'd had the chance to see Pele or Maradona for a season at the end of their careers I'd have loved it rather than complained about their xG.

I think quite a lot of fans, in a few years, will wish they'd soaked it up a bit more instead of looking at his pressing stats.

 

[Chesterlestreet]

It's just an opinion, not so much advice.

I like to think if I'd had the chance to see Pele or Maradona for a season at the end of their careers I'd have loved it rather than complained about their xG.

I think quite a lot of fans, in a few years, will wish they'd soaked it up a bit more instead of looking at his pressing stats.

Well, if he'd been a player making a cameo here and there as a last hurrah - I'd agree very much that complaining about his xG would've been petty (and missing the point of having someone like him around).

That isn't the reality, though. He plays all the time (third most minutes this season, I believe) - he is, in fact, for all intents and purposes a key player for us.

Of course people are going to scrutinize him to a great extent - he isn't a legendary player on some kind of farewell tour, he's a default starter for a team with high ambitions.

 

[KeanoMagicHat]

It's just an opinion, not so much advice.

I like to think if I'd had the chance to see Pele or Maradona for a season at the end of their careers I'd have loved it rather than complained about their xG.

I think quite a lot of fans, in a few years, will wish they'd soaked it up a bit more instead of looking at his pressing stats.

Nobody really wants to see team built around over the hill players though, even if they’re legends, everybody wanted Rooney to leave when he did despite being record goalscorer. There wasn’t much fun to the other Ronaldo, Rivaldo or Ronaldinho at Milan, or Kaka’s second time there when they were past their best.

 

[Marwood]

Nobody really wants to see team built around over the hill players though, even if they’re legends, everybody wanted Rooney to leave when he did despite being record goalscorer. There wasn’t much fun to the other Ronaldo, Rivaldo or Ronaldinho at Milan, or Kaka’s second time there when they were past their best.

We haven't built a team around him.

It's the same team as last year with same problems.

Everybody knows he's here short term.

 

[Roux]

Bruno has 5 goals in 4 games that Ronaldo hasn't played this season, and even with his role of having to service Ronaldo, he has the same number of league goals, despite playing deeper and being taken off penalties. With Martial up front for example, drifting out of the box and leaving space for Fernandes's late runs, winning penalties with his dribbling and being able to hold the ball up much better and play a quicker tempo, I could see Fernandes having 14-15 league goals easily this season.

It's not the first time where Ronaldo has arrived at a club and the numbers of everyone else have gone down, Rooney, Dybala and Benzema know that well. The difference in the Rooney and Benzema days was he took away from others but he scored a goal a game himself, so it was justified. These days he takes away the same but he can't do it himself either.

Just a bunch of excuses to be honest. I really see no difference to Bruno's role in the team compared to last season - except he's massively underperformed, and people think Ronaldo has caused this. Bruno has missed some absolute sitters and cost his team goals - none of this is Ronaldo's fault. Rashford, Greenwood, Cavani, Sancho, Martial have struggled to get even 5 goals this season - that is shocking... these guys have to contribute soo much more than they have this season.

Everything you wrote here is either pure conjecture or revisonism to suit an agenda. Bruno doesn’t play with the sole purpose to service Ronaldo. If he did, he would have squared to Ronaldo just last game when he missed that sitter. Ronaldo was wide open to his right.
Bruno scoring 5 in 4 without him doesn’t prove anything. I could also point that United have failed to win any games Ronaldo hasn’t featured in this season, yet most here would tell you that he’s the principal problem in the team.

Excellent retort - and really quite telling how poor our other attackers have been.

 

[JB7]

I am all about respecting different opinions, so I assume that you must be a match going fan if you are seeing things that the cameras don’t?

I’m not sure if the team should listen to him giving defensive instructions, for the same reason I wouldn’t expect inzaghi to have listened to attacking instructions from Maldini.

Yeah I am. Look while I take the point but given he’s the most likely person to win a header in our own penalty area I think there’s a logic to it. Hes the only player in the team with any idea of how to press as a team too but they just don’t listen to him most of the time. Also he’s one of the few players to have the bollocks to tell De Gea to get off his line too.

 

[JB7]

Nah he's definitely just frustrated and whinging most of the time.

He does occasionally direct players to press and how he wants the ball played, but that's not much value add especially when most of performances of late have been shockers.

Doesn’t spend half as much time lying around or whinging as Bruno & people want him to be captain. Tell me who on the pitch talks others through the game anywhere near as much as Ronaldo does.

 

[ManchesterManchester]

What kind of hyperbolic tripe is this? You have players that are more than finished from European leagues like Higuain, Chicarito and Matuidi, etc more than holding their own in the MLS yet somehow you think Ronaldo wouldn’t hack it there? The same guy that is our topscorer this season in every competition and has almost a goal per game in the CL, sure. You really have a warped view of reality. If he wouldn’t hack it there then 80% of our players wouldn’t either.

Sorry my friend but it’s you who is not in reality.

Higuain - age 34
Chicarito - age 33
Matuidi - age 34

There is a huge difference between 34 and 37 in football. There are barely any outfield players at 37 years old, Ronaldo is the 2nd oldest player in the premier league second to only Thiago Silva who is like a month older. Ronaldo is possibly the GOAT, he’s had an amazing career, just accept it’s over.

 

[Matt851]

Ronaldos signing was us doubling down on a galactico type transfer strategy which has worked out so well for the club over the last 10 years.

References to him being our only option up front ignore that this is only the case since masons suspension. If we didn't have Ronaldo pretty sure we would have looked to get another striker in.

If you focus on the player he is now rather than what he was, its very hard to come to the conclusion he was what the team needed. A sort of roving goal merchant who no longer has the legs to play out wide but doesn't have the physicality or pace to run in behind.

A lot of the discussions around his performances seem similar to those had during his time at juve except his output has now declined a fair bit especially in open play.

All in all it just smacks of us being more nostalgia based commercial entity than serious football club

 

[Mickson]

It will be interesting to see if he's dropped or not tomorrow. He should be, obviously, but I'm not sure. If he starts we'll lose, that much I know.

 

[Drygon]

Everything you wrote here is either pure conjecture or revisonism to suit an agenda. Bruno doesn’t play with the sole purpose to service Ronaldo. If he did, he would have squared to Ronaldo just last game when he missed that sitter. Ronaldo was wide open to his right.
Bruno scoring 5 in 4 without him doesn’t prove anything. I could also point that United have failed to win any games Ronaldo hasn’t featured in this season, yet most here would tell you that he’s the principal problem in the team.

Rooney and Benzema sacrificing themselves for Ronaldo is some of the biggest myths going. Benzema had his best statistical seasons in his career playing alongside Ronaldo (11/12 & 15/16). Ronaldo was just by far the better player so naturally Benzema would be in his shadow. It doesn’t mean Ronaldo impeded his game or held him back. He likely wouldn’t have won 4 CLs if he didn’t play with Ronaldo so there’s that.

Cristiano likely wouldn't won 4 UCLs without Benzema either. It goes both ways.

And yes, Benzema was absolutely held back due to Cristiano. Just look how Benzema instantly became a top 5 player in the world by scoring around 30 goals every season once Cristiano left Real Madrid. Benzema is even talked about as better than Robert Lewandowski & now recently Erling Haaland. There's no period during CR7-era where Benzema made 20 league goals or more in consecutive seasons. Benzema is 1 goal away from doing it for 4 straight seasons.

Benzema would 100% be viewed as a meme player if CR7 still played for RM.

 

[Glorio]

It's just an opinion, not so much advice.

I like to think if I'd had the chance to see Pele or Maradona for a season at the end of their careers I'd have loved it rather than complained about their xG.

I think quite a lot of fans, in a few years, will wish they'd soaked it up a bit more instead of looking at his pressing stats.

Surely you'd actually like to see these folks play well? We're supporters of Man United, and I'll choose them winning with a decent, productive, unknown CF any day to soaking in the experience of someone who admittedly has a claim to being the GOAT in his heyday stinking up the place today. He simply isn't helping out situation now. His performances have actually been really terrible, so what on earth are we wanting to soak in?

I for one think Rashford (yes - he can at least stretch defences) or Elanga will offer more in the CF position. Ideally I'd rather those two keep to the wide areas and Ronaldo finds some form (both in the build up, and in concerting the chances he gets, like you would any CF) as he and a barely present Cavani are our only recognised CFs, but I'm not very hopeful from what I've see.

 

[ManchesterManchester]

Ronaldos signing was us doubling down on a galactico type transfer strategy which has worked out so well for the club over the last 10 years.

References to him being our only option up front ignore that this is only the case since masons suspension. If we didn't have Ronaldo pretty sure we would have looked to get another striker in.

If you focus on the player he is now rather than what he was, its very hard to come to the conclusion he was what the team needed. A sort of roving goal merchant who no longer has the legs to play out wide but doesn't have the physicality or pace to run in behind.

A lot of the discussions around his performances seem similar to those had during his time at juve except his output has now declined a fair bit especially in open play.

All in all it just smacks of us being more nostalgia based commercial entity than serious football club

Great post and nailed it with the nostalgia. The Glazers sanctioned buying Ronaldo because they saw the $$$ of nostalgia for the brand. They didn’t care if it is the correct signing.

Just a quick look at our YouTube highlights tells us all we need to know. I don’t have the stats but most of our match highlight videos now get millions of views, they definitely didn’t before apart from the odd one.

Yes Ole sanctioned the move but there’s no way him or the scouts suddenly woke up one day and think we need to get 37 year old Ronaldo. He was offered Ronaldo or nothing so obviously took him. I personally don’t believe any of the we had to stop him signing for City rumours. If he wanted to go to our rivals and betray us then let him. The cut price transfer fee was just too good to turn down for the Glazers.

 

[lex talionis]

Sorry my friend but it’s you who is not in reality.

Higuain - age 34
Chicarito - age 33
Matuidi - age 34

There is a huge difference between 34 and 37 in football. There are barely any outfield players at 37 years old, Ronaldo is the 2nd oldest player in the premier league second to only Thiago Silva who is like a month older. Ronaldo is possibly the GOAT, he’s had an amazing career, just accept it’s over.

It might be over for Ronaldo in the PL -- might be, that is -- but Ronaldo is several levels superior to Chicharito today and would tear it up in MLS.

 

[Skyhightrees]

The cluelessness is too much over here. Your discussions are worse than the kids at Reddit.

Mls - “he couldn’t hack it there” haahhaha american people and soccer