Manchester United vs Rangers (Sat 20th July, 16:00 UK time)

Sancho worked hard for a change. Amad obviously class and I hope Mount gets into the groove
 
didz said:
Pretty good game for a friendly. The first half especially had some very good performers.

Wheatley looks an intelligent and abrasive presser up front and obviously could've had a goal. Collyer was tidy enough after the opening 15, once the ref stopped calling everything he did a foul. Didn't mind Sancho in his first 45 in a United shirt for almost a year either. Some good passes around the penalty area, but probably more important was him working hard the other way.

Obvious standout performer was Amad, but Yoro was also fantastic given he's been in the door about 15 seconds. The miscommunication with Evans aside, he didn't put a foot wrong, and seemed as comfortable raking passes to the left as the right which was encouraging. I thought Mount played very well too and gave us a taste of what he can finally bring to the team once he maintains fitness.

Cracker of a finish from Hugill too, whether he was going for that or not.
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i think he reminded me of Wout up top....just a big body who isn't very mobile
 
Thought Mount looked very lively again
 
doubleohseven said:
If Celtic and Rangers had access to Premier League money, they certainly would be competitive.

Celtic are able to sell 50 thousand tickets for games against Ross County.
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Ye they may be able to sell the tickets but none of them would come close to City, Arsenal or any of the other top 4. They’ll probably be in and around Europa/conference positions.
 
Wing Attack Plan R said:
Near total cruise control. 2nd half was 10 youth team plus Onana and Rangers barely got a sniff. I was actually surprised to see Sancho play and he doesn't look any better than when he was shipped out. Amad, Amass, Collyer, Fish, Fletcher, Hugill, Mount, Murray, Oyedele, Wheatley, Leroy Yolo = all looked absolutely comfortable to the point it would be easy to overrate the performance (as I usually do with youth teamers). I still have really high hopes for these young players.
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Sancho was our best player after Mainoo last pre season pretty much. He’s going to be good this year if he gets off his hole and the manager gives him a fair crack. He might still be sold. Who knows? I do think hes good for more than 5 goals and assists in the league at the very least if he’s properly involved.
 
Dazzmondo said:
Talking about the 2nd half xi. Those players probably won't get any major mins this season and still managed to win the 2nd half 1-0 against a mostly 1st choice Rangers team.
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You’re correct. Only saw starting lineup and judged based on that.
 
Amad, Amass, Yoro and Mount the standouts for me. Glad Mount is back to fitness, he’s got some engine which we really need for a 60 match season to rest Bruno.
 
Solius said:
Forgot how much MUTV annoys me. I get that they basically have to be super biased but it grates for me. Also rubbish presenters.
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Moment of the day was interview with fan wearing that 3rd kit which hasn't been officially launched
 
DJ_21 said:
Ye they may be able to sell the tickets but none of them would come close to City, Arsenal or any of the other top 4. They’ll probably be in and around Europa/conference positions.
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So, errr...like us?
 
@MyOnlySolskjaer, do we even have a Joe Hugill 2024/2025 performance thread?

I've been trying to find it, but I don't think he has one. I think he deserves one after tonight's goal.
 
DJ_21 said:
Ye they may be able to sell the tickets but none of them would come close to City, Arsenal or any of the other top 4. They’ll probably be in and around Europa/conference positions.
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Aye, to begin with. Play it right they'd be top four soon enough: Celtic especially.
 
doubleohseven said:
Aye, to begin with. Play it right they'd be top four soon enough: Celtic especially.
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Maybe. 3rd and 4th is anyone’s spot to be honest. Top 2s pretty much guaranteed unless they have a big fall off.
 
El Jefe said:
Casemiro needs to be fired into the sun. He is cooked.
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100% didn’t think it was possible to look even slower than last season. Dived into his usual ridiculous tackle and gave away a free kick on the edge of the box within first ten minutes.
 
DJ_21 said:
Ye they may be able to sell the tickets but none of them would come close to City, Arsenal or any of the other top 4. They’ll probably be in and around Europa/conference positions.
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No they wouldn't. They would battle against relegation over 38 games.
 
Surprisingly little chatter about Oyedele after that assist. I noticed him in the game before as well but not as much because we were under the cosh a bit. Looks like a classy dribbler.
 
DJ_21 said:
True. Still think it’s funny though that Celtic and Rangers thought they could compete in the prem. remember when that debate came about.
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If they had access to Premier league money then I’m sure they would. Far bigger clubs than most of what’s in the league and one of them was in a European final only a couple of years ago.
 
Joel Miller said:
If they had access to Premier league money then I’m sure they would. Far bigger clubs than most of what’s in the league and one of them was in a European final only a couple of years ago.
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They have a lower starting level than any of the current top 8 and if you think it’s difficult to get world class players to England see what it takes to get them to Scotland. Manchester is considered the end of the earth, Glasgow would feel like the arctic circle to them
 
A week of training with Ruud and the forward line were flying! It’s pretty clear what the roles are. Ruud is on the forward play, Hake is on the defensive transitions and Fletch is the apprentice. McLaren is there overseeing it. Amad played a big role combining with Wheatley and Mount. Not to mention Yoro’s impetus from the back.

I like this coaching setup. Very NFL like. ETH puts the grand plan together.

There was a huge difference in just a week. Most notably the breakaway Rangers had from a corner had the entire midfield and defence flying back to defend.

Let’s hope this continues and we show the same vs Arsenal.
 
whitbyviking said:
They have a lower starting level than any of the current top 8 and if you think it’s difficult to get world class players to England see what it takes to get them to Scotland. Manchester is considered the end of the earth, Glasgow would feel like the arctic circle to them
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I'm imagining Celtic becoming the club for top Scandinavian talent. Erling Haaland up front being fed by McGregor and Forrest would be wonderfully surreal.
 
whitbyviking said:
They have a lower starting level than any of the current top 8 and if you think it’s difficult to get world class players to England see what it takes to get them to Scotland. Manchester is considered the end of the earth, Glasgow would feel like the arctic circle to them
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Interesting point
 
whitbyviking said:
They have a lower starting level than any of the current top 8 and if you think it’s difficult to get world class players to England see what it takes to get them to Scotland. Manchester is considered the end of the earth, Glasgow would feel like the arctic circle to them
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Money talks. Just look at the players that have essentially decided to sacrifice some of their prime years to go and live in Saudi. There’s not much difference between Manchester/Liverpool and Glasgow.
 
Joel Miller said:
If they had access to Premier league money then I’m sure they would. Far bigger clubs than most of what’s in the league and one of them was in a European final only a couple of years ago.
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whitbyviking said:
They have a lower starting level than any of the current top 8 and if you think it’s difficult to get world class players to England see what it takes to get them to Scotland. Manchester is considered the end of the earth, Glasgow would feel like the arctic circle to them
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In the 90's and early 2000's, Rangers managed to sign the likes of Gattuso, Gascoigne, Flo, Arteta, Van Bronckhorst, Barry Ferguson, Amoruso, Kanchelskis, Ronald De Boer.

Celtic managed to sign the likes of Sutton, Hartson, Berkovic and Viduka.

You really think clubs with the history and prestige of Celtic and Rangers with the money of PL clubs, would struggle to sign top players?

They have great infrastructure and huge fan bases, give them PL money and they would be a pretty strong force.
 
Celtic with prem money and exposure would have been a top 4 team in the mid 00s probably could have overtaken Liverpool or arsenal during their down period
 
Murder on Zidanes Floor said:
They'd be top 8 quality in The Championship, no way if those two came down here they wouldn't get relegated.
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If the question is: where would the current Rangers and Celtic teams finish if they played this coming season in the Premier League. you could argue they'd be relegated (though I think there's worse teams in the PL).

If you're officially putting Rangers and Celtic in the Premier League, however, then it's a completely different question. You'd be giving two clubs of a huge stature, that already have big stadiums, a huge financial shot in the arm. They'd automatically become a more appealing destination for players than most PL clubs (excluding the obvious ones, of course). They'd also be more appealing to investors and sponsors.

Celtic and Rangers know just how transformative the PL appeal and money would be, which is why there's always whispers about them wanting to join.
 
Joe Hugill had a hell of a speed. Top top acceleration and determination with the goal.

If United's CF had that top explosiveness and acceleration. Hugill looked like Osihmen from Napoli. They would be really dangerous.


And a message to United goalkeeper Onana : Don't dwell on the ball too long. Let the ball works and deliver the pass quicker.
Last season and yesterday. Onana could easily pass the ball a lot quicker. It is like his defenders and teammates : " are you passing the ball or not? It can make your teammates really insecure. Like "When will he pass the ball?"

Leny Yoro was use to a play with a quicker ball tempo and passes. Onana is good and precise with the ball. But a lot lot of time. He is killing the ball tempo and slow the tempo down. It is ok when you lead 1- 0 with few minutes left.
But it looks like habit of Onana. Stop the ball, look around. Left, right, left...many seconds. Before he deliver the ball.

If i was him teammate. I think i would be really annoy. I have never in my life. Seen a goalkeeper than is spending so much time on the ball. And the score is 0 - 0

For me. Buy a deep lying cm playmaker like Adam Wharton. Let the a outfield player start most of the team building and attack.

It is a positive when your goalkeeper is good and precise with the ball. But it can be a negative if your goalkeeper start most of your team build up attack. That is the job of deep lying cm playmaker/nr.6. The controlling and playmaker nr.6.
United don't have a deep lying playmaker nr.6. So some time it is so annoying watching Onana. The main playmaker of a team.
A sign of weakness. When you rely so much on your goalkeeper. Then outfield players get lesser use to play from the back and build up the attack.

A reason why United shall get and buy Adam Wharton. United shall get a natural and properly deep lying CM playmaker nr.6. Against parking bus team and tight defenders. Wharton ball abilities is more important than Onana.
Onana long ball is most useful against team with high lines or pass/long ball over the first press of opponent teams.

But against. It is a weakness when your goalkeeper is the best playmaker and start most of the team attack and build up. It mean the outfield players are worse with the ball on theirs feets than Onana.

And let the ball works Onana..quicker.
 
Globule said:
If the question is: where would the current Rangers and Celtic teams finish if they played this coming season in the Premier League. you could argue they'd be relegated (though I think there's worse teams in the PL).

If you're officially putting Rangers and Celtic in the Premier League, however, then it's a completely different question. You'd be giving two clubs of a huge stature, that already have big stadiums, a huge financial shot in the arm. They'd automatically become a more appealing destination for players than most PL clubs (excluding the obvious ones, of course). They'd also be more appealing to investors and sponsors.

Celtic and Rangers know just how transformative the PL appeal and money would be, which is why there's always whispers about them wanting to join.
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More appealling for players? Not sure about that.

I get the idea with the PL money would help any club, but if you dropped them in this season, they're getting relegated.
 
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