Chumpsbechumps
Full Member
- Joined
- Aug 12, 2018
- Messages
- 3,417
I disagree.
That's just nonsense. Our fan base is extremely patient, perhaps too patient. We actually support the Manager through shite and only really turn when things get REALLY bad. Even then the home support is generally positive at the matches. Most of us if you look at pre season predictions/hopes didn't think we'd win the title, a natural progression of being in the title race was what most hoped for. While others were happy with a Top 4 place and challenging in the cups.
I wasn’t so much focus on the fanbase point as I was on the manager.
But since you brought it up, fans are fickle by our very nature. We ALL are, not just some of us, it’s just sometimes we are more fickle about certain things than others. I don’t necessarily think United fans are more fickle, but because we have such a massive fanbase we have a significant vocal amount of them. And the most vocal fans are usually ones complaining about something.
Personally, I feel there have been a ridiculous set of circumstances happen at United in the last 6 months (not just injuries) that really do explain a massive drop in levels. I’m not going through them again as people don’t engage on it, just brush it aside as an “excuse” so they aren’t interested in discussing its relevance.
If this was a fairly straightforward season and we were playing like this, I’d expect he would have been sacked when we were knocked out of CL. No matter how much people want to dismiss what’s happened to United , it’s been a huge problem, the only thing we cant say is the degree to which these issues explain how bad it’s been.
United are also in a state of change , potentially change that could have huge ramifications on the clubs direction. The new owner could already want ETH gone or maybe they are happy to get into the club and spend the next 6 months rigorously assessing everything.
Regardless, right now the club future is relatively more settled and there’s a lot of optimism about what SJR seems to be proposing. Players are coming back from injuries (and should be fresh when fully fit) and we don’t have a gruelling schedule the second half of season. I’m kind of excited to see if ETH can turn it around, I’d get nothing from a Caretaker manager because they would be getting a relatively fully fit squad and an improved/confident looking club by virtue of the sale sh*te being behind us.
By the summer , they would be in a much better position to make an informed choice on ETH and players. Even looking at if players react to the manager in these troubled times can tell us a lot about their character or if they haven’t the mentality and application we want going forward.
If things have gone bad, the new manager starts with low expectations. Allows the club to keep working on its infrastructure for the longer term good of the club. No stupid marquee signings, focusing on value , quality and longer term plans (not what does this manager need).