[Luke1995]

Which is sort of a problem for a team. He will score, but the goals from other players dry out. Bruno barely even shots anymore and same goes for anyone else not called Greenwood who plays in his own tune giving zero fecks about his teammates. Aside from that, our counters fully went to shit.

Ole is clearly out of his depth, but Ronaldo being a focal point of our attack is also kind of an issue.

So his signing has seriously unbalanced the team ? Well, it sort of worked out with Zlatan. And Ronaldo is like a better version of him.

But obviously the team does not have a pattern of play and apparently Ronaldo''s presence makes the players feel less free to try things on their own (except Greenwood)

And when you add the fact that Fred, Mctominay and Matic are too inconsistent with their performances... it's likely we are not going to beat the top teams often and are going to suffer against the smaller ones.

 

[Brwned]

In the modern game, you can't carry pure poachers at the top level. That is now what Ronaldo is. He is therefore not good enough for what you need from a forward. What's more, it was painstakingly obvious from the beginning. I, not being a United fan, was not blinded by the euphoria of the Prodigal Son coming home.

That’s not a new thing. Back in 2006 we kicked out Ruud because he was a poacher that was limiting our play and on a different wavelength to Ronaldo.

Right now we’ve got Ronaldo and Greenwood following the same path. But then Ronaldo’s only been here a couple of months, our best attacker has just come back from injury, and our big signing has struggled to fit in. The makeup of the team shifts fundamentally with Sancho and Rashford on form, but we’re not quite sure what that looks like yet.

 

[Sultan]

A previously great player is now a shadow of himself. He's going to be a problem for any coach because he still thinks he's the GOAT when's clearly lost his explosiveness and strength.

 

[caid]

Hes not the problem. Fitting him, Greenwood, Rashford, Bruno and Pogba in a team together is a problem. Some of them need to drop to the bench, like at least half of them. More rounded players who'll contribute in every phase of play and aren't trying to win the match single handed every time they touch the ball are needed around the 2 or 3 you start.

 

[littleman]

A previously great player is now a shadow of himself. He's going to be a problem for any coach because he still thinks he's the GOAT when's clearly lost his explosiveness and strength.

Until he gets benched and acts poorly, this isn't really a fair accusation.

I think we have a bigger problem with Ole being unable to rest players rather than players being unable to accept being rested. See Bruno, Maguire, Rashford being pushed to their limits last season.

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

He's looked leggy lately.

I thought he looked spry vs West Ham.

 

[CloneMC16]

Didn't think he looked great, but I find it hard to blame one of the best players ever for this shite. This guy has been good for 15/16 years straight. He joins us and he's shit now? We're not creating chances and that's what he feeds off. Our team is not functioning. We're not creating high quality chances and he's needs that to succeed. If he was missing sitters and couldn't control a ball, I'd be concerned. If we we needed him to be more than a poacher, it would baffle me why he was signed. Everybody knows what type of player he is now.

 

[tentan]

Will leave in the summer.

 

[WR10]

Will leave in the summer.

He's leaving in the winter mate

 

[SonyaCross493]

No wonder he's really frustrated. He's the number 9 striker yet he's getting no service from the wingers who are meant to assist him. Strikers especially older strikers rely on service. Look at Harry Kane for example, Kane is still a great player but you rely on the team to create chances. Same for Ronny

When Greenwood (who is playing as a winger don't forget) is having more shots/chances than Ronaldo (the striker) in the team you know you have a disciplinary/ego problem at the club and players not knowing their place and not respecting the hierarchy. Ole has no authority and lost/losing the dressing room.

Honestly if Conte/Zidane/Pep asked Greenwood to do a job as a winger and he was selfish like that he would be on the bench. But the proof will be in the pudding if/when Ole gets the sack to see if the next manager who isn't about United DNA and playing Academy players (like Ole is) actually fancies Greenwood

If Greenwood was playing as the striker it would be acceptable to be that selfish but he's not

Ronaldo is still a great player as he proves with Portugal who actually play to his strengths. We don't even create headed chances for him one of his best attributes we don't utilise. You can't blame him he's 36 he needs service and a team to adapt to his strengths. I lost count at how many shots United took from outside the box instead of patiently waiting for the opening with Ronny's movement

Maybe Ronaldo won't work out here. Sad to see him not able to win trophies in his last years. He deserves better it's not his fault we was shite before he came and still shite. And we will be shite after he's left too.

Sometimes things are not meant to be and maybe Ronaldo will decide next summer to leave. Ronaldo can still have a fantastic end to his career winning trophies somewhere else, maybe go to the MLS or go back to Sporting Lisbon.

 

[Member 109952]

No wonder he's really frustrated. He's the number 9 striker yet he's getting no service from the wingers are who are meant to assist him.

When Greenwood (who is playing as a winger don't forget) is having more shots/chances than Ronaldo in the team you know you have a disciplinary/ego problem

Honestly if Conte/Zidane/Pep asked Greenwood to do a job as a winger and he was selfish like that he would be on the bench. But the proof will be in the pudding if/when Ole gets the sack.

If Greenwood was playing as the striker it would be acceptable to be that selfish but he's not

Ronaldo is still a great player as he proves with Portugal who actually play to his strengths. We don't even create headed chances for him. You can't blame him he's 36 he needs service and a team to adapt to his strengths.

Maybe Ronaldo won't work out here. Sad to see him not able to win trophies in his last years. He deserves better it's not his fault we was shite before he came and still shite. And we will be shite after he's left too.

That's a bit ironic given Greenwood's playing exactly like how Ronaldo used to play on the wings for Madrid.

And he looked pretty bad for Portugal in the Euros. A hattrick against Luxembourg doesn't change that. The fact is his touch has severely regressed, he offers nothing in the build up. It's not fully fair to say why doesn't the rest of the team give him goals in a plate, the top strikers have to themselves contribute to creating goals too.

That said I do get your point, but it is somewhat expected when our 2 best wide players are converted strikers in Rashford and Greenwood whose natural instinct has never been to dribble a man and get a ball into the box. Somewhat amusingly Ronaldo is now a wide forward converted into a striker. Our team is full of imbalances like that.

 

[lex talionis]

The possibility that CR7 was a panic, ill-advised acquisition can no longer be ruled out.

 

[SonyaCross493]

That's a bit ironic given Greenwood's playing exactly like how Ronaldo used to play on the wings for Madrid.

And he looked pretty bad for Portugal in the Euros. A hattrick against Luxembourg doesn't change that. The fact is his touch has severely regressed, he offers nothing in the build up. It's not fully fair to say why doesn't the rest of the team give him goals in a plate, the top strikers have to themselves contribute to creating goals too.

That said I do get your point, but it is somewhat expected when our 2 best wide players are converted strikers in Rashford and Greenwood whose natural instinct has never been to dribble a man and get a ball into the box. Somewhat amusingly Ronaldo is now a wide forward converted into a striker. Our team is full of imbalances like that.

Harry Kane is the same at Spurs, he's still a great player but strikers rely on service. Ronaldo isn't going to dribble past players and score anymore. Martial has looked shite upfront for United last season and so did Cavani. United never create enough chances for the striker

Ronaldo was actually the most unselfish attacking player against Leicester. Which is the problem maybe Ronaldo is too unselfish and dropping deep too much a bit like Kane recently. Sancho put in a cross today and nobody was in the box because Ronaldo dropped too deep.

United can still do more to get the best out of Ronaldo with the players they have. I'm sure Conte or Zidane would. Like play Sancho on the right so he can cross first time with his right foot. And play Lingard who is more unselfish than Greenwood and links up better with Ronaldo and tracks back/presses better than Greenwood. Also Bruno plays deeper for Portugal at times he was more advance than Ronaldo against Leicester. I'm not sure if that's ill-discipline from Bruno or tactical from Ole but it needs to stop now.

There is a few tweaks that would make it easier to get the best out of Ronaldo. It's about the balance of the side. And sometimes playing the best players like Greenwood doesn't work and isn't best for the balance of the team as a whole. Like Sir Alex Ferguson did when he sacrificed players to get the best out of Ronaldo because he seen the bigger picture it was best for the teams chances of winning trophies.

 

[GMoore23]

I wonder how big a part Sir Alex played in bringing him back. I know Ronaldo was his boy but this is a totally different player to the one that he coached.
This Ronaldo reminds me so much of Van Nisterooy in his final season for us. A player Ferguson dropped for a cup final and then ultimately got rid of as he knew that style of player wasn't going to take us forward to where we needed to be.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Until he gets benched and acts poorly, this isn't really a fair accusation.

I think we have a bigger problem with Ole being unable to rest players rather than players being unable to accept being rested. See Bruno, Maguire, Rashford being pushed to their limits last season.

Weird complaint considering Ole rested Ronaldo in his most recent PL game. A decision be got a ton of shit for.

 

[M Bison]

Would be interested to see his stats from yesterday, KM’s run etc, just seemed to coast through the game

 

[therealtboy]

Ultimately, Ronaldo isn't the problem, the problem is signing a clinical poacher and not feeding him and playing around his strengths. CR& is who he is at this stage and we knew it but didn't the coaching staff know this? To play Cristiano means you need to build the surrounding support to mitigate for what you lose when he plays and maximise his qualities. I'm not surprised Ole is out of his depth but I'm shocked Phelan, McKenna and Carrick can't advise him accordingly, I'm sure it's a case of it's Ole's final word as he's the manager but surely those three know better than this.

 

[Bebestation]

I would rather have a CF that can supply Raahford and Greenwood ( anyone remember Bruno Fernandes the false 9 player ) than Rashford and Greenwood supplying Ronaldo.

 

[Bobski]

These are pretty much the exact same conversations Juve fans were having.

Or to move it past Ronaldo, the type of conversations that Chelsea fans are beginning to have about Lukaku. I keep saying it, but individual goal numbers are one of the most overrated things in the game.

 

[MalaysianRed7]

I refuse to believe that Cristiano is hindering us, contrary to some opinions on the press and on here recently.

Sure, he doesn’t press, but his pressing stats were among the lowest when he was at Madrid and Juventus as well. That never stopped him from scoring 50 goals a season, every season, and winning everything there is to win countless times over. It feels lazy to suddenly call him out on it now when it’s never been a problem in the last 20 years.

The problem is tactics and coaching. Is it right that Cristiano has suddenly coincidentally scored at a much lower rate since joining? He is 36, but what’s the difference between 35 and 36 when he still scored 40+ goals last season? Let’s not forget that he is one of the fittest people in the world as well. We are simply not getting the best out of him. Top managers like Fergie and Pep always say ‘we can’t carry anyone’, but I believe you can if a player is too good, and they evidently did as well or Ronaldo and Messi would have been sold. For me, the best setup would be to build around him like this:

Matic
Bruno VdB
Sancho Rashford Ronaldo

A floating left winger, with hardworking creators behind him and runners next to him, enabling him to do minimal work, and simply focus on cutting in or attacking the back post and scoring. Needless to say, we have to get more crosses into him as well. I do not understand why we are not utilising the crossing ability of Shaw, Bruno and Sancho, to a guy who can jump twice the height of defenders.

With this sort of set up around him, I firmly believe he’ll be scoring at least 35 goals a season over his 2 years here again.

 

[LoneStar]

Its not surprising to see him not contribute much in the buildup. We all knew that this version of Ronaldo was an elite poacher, but not someone who could create tons of chances on his own. He needs someone like Benzema to play off of I feel.

What was suprising yesterday was that he was well off when it came to finishing chances and some half chances. Should have at least tested the keeper in some of those moments.

 

[Ladron de redcafe]

I refuse to believe that Cristiano is hindering us, contrary to some opinions on the press and on here recently.

Sure, he doesn’t press, but his pressing stats were among the lowest when he was at Madrid and Juventus as well. That never stopped him from scoring 50 goals a season, every season, and winning everything there is to win countless times over. It feels lazy to suddenly call him out on it now when it’s never been a problem in the last 20 years.

The problem is tactics and coaching. Is it right that Cristiano has suddenly coincidentally scored at a much lower rate since joining? He is 36, but what’s the difference between 35 and 36 when he still scored 40+ goals last season? Let’s not forget that he is one of the fittest people in the world as well. We are simply not getting the best out of him. Top managers like Fergie and Pep always say ‘we can’t carry anyone’, but I believe you can if a player is too good, and they evidently did as well or Ronaldo and Messi would have been sold. For me, the best setup would be to build around him like this:

Matic
Bruno VdB
Sancho Rashford Ronaldo

A floating left winger, with hardworking creators behind him and runners next to him, enabling him to do minimal work, and simply focus on cutting in or attacking the back post and scoring. Needless to say, we have to get more crosses into him as well. I do not understand why we are not utilising the crossing ability of Shaw, Bruno and Sancho, to a guy who can jump twice the height of defenders.

With this sort of set up around him, I firmly believe he’ll be scoring at least 35 goals a season over his 2 years here again.

He didn't score 40+ last season. The last time he was good enough to score 40 goals in a season was in his Real Madrid days.

 

[The Substitute]

You have to be blind if you don't accept that Ronaldo's weaknesses is not affecting the team big time.

We don't win the ball except in the defence! we can't have any passengers off the ball, and a number 9 should be the focal point of our offensive press. Its him who should dictate when we put pressure on the ball at their half.

Without any threat of losing the ball, no breaks in favourable positions, what do you expect?

Yes Ronaldo is undoubtedly a problem, legend or not, he is now a luxury player, and claiming that he scored in Juventus doesn't change the fact that Juventus were a MUCH worse team after his arrival.

 

[dmst]

Definitely a bad game for him, especially in terms of work rate and link up play.

I was actually pleasantly surprised by his movement and passing in his first few matches after joining. He needs to get back to that.

 

[SonyaCross493]

Would Ronaldo benefit from a formation or positional change? I think for Portugal he played on the right of a 4-3-3?

There must be more we can do to get the best out of one of if not the best players of all time.

If we can't get the best out of Ronaldo maybe he will take a retirement to the MLS or Sporting Lisbon next summer. Win a few trophies there, be captain, take the penalties and generally get the adulation he wants.

But I'm sure a new manager would get the best out of Ronaldo if Ole can't.

 

[FrankDrebin]

He's a luxury.

 

[littleman]

Weird complaint considering Ole rested Ronaldo in his most recent PL game. A decision be got a ton of shit for.

I don't know if we're all struggling to keep arguments clear in our heads.

It is very strange for anyone to believe that an exception proves a trait false. If someone likes to nap and she doesn't nap for a day, it doesn't somehow mean she's not a person who likes to nap. It is incredibly dishonest and honestly, stupid, to say otherwise.

 

[bakalhau]

He didn't score 40+ last season. The last time he was good enough to score 40 goals in a season was in his Real Madrid days.

It's incredible that he scored 35 goals in each of his last 2 seaons at Juventus. That was truly the worst and most boring top team I have ever seen play (haven't seen them all of course). Manchester can play some proper attacking football (as shown vs Newcastle), so I believe he could definitely score 40 or more with United. I appreciate more those 2 35 goal seasons than some of the seasons he scored 55 at Real Madrid. I have no idea how he scored so much with so little service.

He needs to know his teammates better and vice versa. That chemistry will improve with time.

 

[el3mel]

It's incredible that he scored 35 goals in each of his last 2 seaons at Juventus. That was truly the worst and most boring top team I have ever seen play (haven't seen them all of course). Manchester can play some proper attacking football (as shown vs Newcastle), so I believe he could definitely score 40 or more with United. I appreciate more those 2 35 goal seasons than some of the seasons he scored 55 at Real Madrid. I have no idea how he scored so much with so little service.

He needs to know his teammates better and vice versa. That chemistry will improve with time.

There's no way in hell this version of Ronaldo can score 40 goals in England.

 

[PlayerOne]

I don't understand why Ole brought him back if he isn't going to play to his strengths. We can't play the same way we did last season with players like Ronaldo and Sancho in the team.

I still believe Ronaldo would be banging in goals for fun at City, we are not a good fit for this version of Ronaldo.

 

[Sayros]

Well this is pretty much playing out exactly as some thought it would. CR7 is a great player, but comes with a lot of issues as well, and the good things about him gets lessened and the bad gets compounded every year he's getting older. Now United have made their choice of bringing him back, nice story for the first couple of weeks and everything, but it's done now so United have to make the most of it by finding the best way to use him. As others have mentioned, he's basically a poacher at this point and while it's not ideal for how United is set up, it's up to the team to adapt to that fact because that's what happens with CR7, you adapt to him and not the other way around, and sometimes it will make your team worse and take away from your other players (See Juve/Madrid), but everybody knew that already. This is why some of us thought it might not be the best move for United, who did need a back up to Cavani, but a back up...not an aging superstar who will demand to always start, take the FKs/PKs, etc.

The thing is, you can never count out CR7, and Sancho has been pretty poor too but he's been a slow-starter the past two seasons, and he's got to adapt to a new(ish) league. I think Sancho is the key to unlocking CR7's role at the team and make something out of this situation.

 

[Amir]

Ultimately, Ronaldo isn't the problem, the problem is signing a clinical poacher and not feeding him and playing around his strengths. CR& is who he is at this stage and we knew it but didn't the coaching staff know this? To play Cristiano means you need to build the surrounding support to mitigate for what you lose when he plays and maximise his qualities. I'm not surprised Ole is out of his depth but I'm shocked Phelan, McKenna and Carrick can't advise him accordingly, I'm sure it's a case of it's Ole's final word as he's the manager but surely those three know better than this.

Thing is, we never built the team or squad - even for this season - while thinking of Ronaldo. He came out of the blue in the last moments of the transfer window. Our management team aren't exactly great tactically, so I'm not surprised having to fit Ronaldo in without notice is a struggle for them.

 

[copen1945]

It is an odd sight to see Ronaldo drop into the midfield. Zidane put in a cross after a cross aimed at his head during Ronaldo's last years at Real Madrid. It has been said already, that Moyes would get more out of Ronaldo. Solskjaer is a legend and has done a lot to right the ship, but it is more practical to adapt United's tactics to Ronaldo's current attributes.

 

[Noot]

No wonder he's really frustrated. He's the number 9 striker yet he's getting no service from the wingers who are meant to assist him.

But surely he knew this would be a problem before he joined you? It's hardly fair of him to act surprised that the service isn't great when nobody held a gun to his head and told him to force a move back to United.

I don't think he has any right to cut a frustrated figure when it was easy to predict that a man who thrives off service wouldn't have it easy in a team that thrives off individual brilliance. Genuinely think you were set up well with Cavani, Greenwood and Martial as your striker options- now the former isn't playing much and the latter is out wide, all to accommodate a signing you didn't plan on making until late in the window. Feels very strange.

 

[RedRonaldo]

He didn't score 40+ last season. The last time he was good enough to score 40 goals in a season was in his Real Madrid days.

He hasn’t hit 40+ per season in past 3 years, that is because he is playing less games and under more defensive setup. He is still getting 36-37 goals per season for his previous club though.

And if we count his goals in all competitions (clubs and country):

19-20: 48 goals in 52 games
20-21: 46 goals in 59 games
21-22: 11 goals in 11 games

(Yeh he did scored 5 goals for us and 6 for Portugal over past 1-2 month of this season…)

Which proves he still score a lot over higher number of games played. Sure you may say goals for country shouldn’t count here. But they are still games he played and scored over recent years, and it proves he still scores alot if he plays more, that’s what I am trying to say here.

 

[RedRonaldo]

He's a luxury.

Even if we sign Haaland or Lewandoski, they will be luxury if there is no service/supply for them. At least Ronaldo still scored us some winning or crucial goals last month, afterall he was player of the month.

 

[jem]

Weird complaint considering Ole rested Ronaldo in his most recent PL game. A decision be got a ton of shit for.

Of all the terrible calls Ole has made, his resting Ronaldo wasn't one of them, in my opinion. What was a mistake was being wishy-washy about it and bringing him on as a 50th minute sub, something Ole never usually does, a move which did nothing to help the team and likely pissed off Cavani. It reminded me a bit of when Ole benched Pogba following Raiola's comments before the CL game, but then brought him on, in the second half, a move that reeked of desperation and undermined the seemingly strong stance he had taken, a stance that could've shown that no player is bigger than the club but ultimately didn't do so due to Ole's weakness.

I have no doubt that if you asked all the great managers/coaches across all sports, they would have no shortage of anecdotes to point to to demonstrate how they became what they became, anecdotes that might seem trivial in isolation but, when viewed in the bigger picture of their success, serve to illustrate the fabric of greatness. I won't take up space with it here, but there's a fantastic story about Jimmy Johnson, the old coach of the Dallas Cowboys and how he made a ruthless example of a player in an otherwise meaningless game. The Cowboys went on to win the Super Bowl after that. If interested, Google: Jimmy Johnson; Curvin Richards.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Of all the terrible calls Ole has made, his resting Ronaldo wasn't one of them, in my opinion. What was a mistake was being wishy-washy about it and bringing him on as a 50th minute sub, something Ole never usually does, a move which did nothing to help the team and likely pissed off Cavani. It reminded me a bit of when Ole benched Pogba following Raiola's comments before the CL game, but then brought him on, in the second half, a move that reeked of desperation and undermined the seemingly strong stance he had taken, a stance that could've shown that no player is bigger than the club but ultimately didn't do so due to Ole's weakness.

I have no doubt that if you asked all the great managers/coaches across all sports, they would have no shortage of anecdotes to point to to demonstrate how they became what they became, anecdotes that might seem trivial in isolation but, when viewed in the bigger picture of their success, serve to illustrate the fabric of greatness. I won't take up space with it here, but there's a fantastic story about Jimmy Johnson, the old coach of the Dallas Cowboys and how he made a ruthless example of a player in an otherwise meaningless game. The Cowboys went on to win the Super Bowl after that. If interested, Google: Jimmy Johnson; Curvin Richards.

That’s a great point about the 50th minute sub being completely out of character. That hadn’t occurred to me before but reflects very badly on Ole.

 

[EyeToldYou]

I'd have respected this club far more if they'd taken the difficult and controversial decision to not bring Ronaldo back and let him go to City. It would have taken bottle to stand by our principles, to draw a line in the sand and not get sucked into this romantic notion that he's coming back on unfinished business.

I'm sure there would have been tremendous uproar from the fans, but the club could have quelled it with a statement that whilst acknowledging that Ronaldo is/was a great player, and a club legend, the club is now moving forward in a different direction. I don't think many fans would have had a problem with that or could disagree.

But it's a move that is indicative of not only Ole's inability to show proper planning in building a squad, but also an easy (and successful) commercial cash-grab from the Glazers.

Sure, he'll have moments this season where he scores, but is it for the all-around betterment of the team?

A short-sighted transfer from every angle.

 

[jem]

That’s a great point about the 50th minute sub being completely out of character. That hadn’t occurred to me before but reflects very badly on Ole.

It really does because it shows him to have no courage in his convictions, particularly when dealing with big personalities. Don't get me wrong: I don't miss the intentionally antagonistic days of Mourinho, but sometimes a coach has to take a tough decision and deal with a discontented player (see Klopp with Mane last season.)