Can only hope that this antagonises a few into pushing on a bit.
Premier League: Cristiano Ronaldo interview (Warning! It's another Messi V Ronaldo thread)
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THIS.
I like that they both agree that these players need to be called out. And I'm glad Ralf called Rashford out for only playing for the first 20 minutes in the last game.
Sod that. Watching their performances have been harsh and they've destroyed the fans in the process
It was very good interview, said the right things. He was spot on about having dignity too, looks like most of our players don't have that.
And as usual few on caf thinks player should be playing well to call out few things while they spout rubbish all day achieving (having achieved) feck all in professional sport.
And as usual few on caf thinks player should be playing well to call out few things while they spout rubbish all day achieving (having achieved) feck all in professional sport.
You keep repeating that as if it's a fact. They aren't playing worse than him. You're harping on about 6 open play goals while taking the second most shots in the league, while being the focal point of the team. Nobody else has the privilege of standing around waiting for the other 9 outfield players attempt to create for him. And nobody else works as as he does.
Even then, football is much more than goals, and you should understand that.
The "crap" players got 2nd spot without him, so why would they listen to someone who has done nothing but stink up the joint since he joined, which has led to the team falling to 7th?
Your paragraph about the team lacking leaders is laughable when Paul Pogba was a leading force in a Juventus side that dominated Seria A and for the world cup champions. Perhaps, Ronaldo should shut up and listen to Pogba.
Now, try to come up with a better rebuttal than simply repeating yourself for the sixth time.
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That's possible because Greenwood refuses to pass to Ronaldo in better situations. He feels that he lost his place to Ronaldo in the team.
But, Ronaldo could be refering to a number of them - Harry, Eric, Pogba, Fred, Sancho, Marcus, Martial etc.
Okay, let's be honest - the players who came 2nd last season wilted and fell away after being top of the league in January. The mentality issues Ronaldo is talking about were clearly there even last season.
Ronaldo isn't a CB and our inability to keep a clean sheet has nothing to do with him. Yes, you can talk about modern pressing approach not being a good fit for Ronaldo, but it's not like United were playing a Liverpool-esqe press last season either. It's just a massive drop off in defensive performance.
This team relied for 18 months on Bruno being exceptional. That form could not be sustained forever. Every top player has a dip. Our attacking performance has fallen off a cliff with Bruno's goal scoring drying up. So you can't use one player's exceptional patch as a basis for justifying the whole squads performance. Also, since Feb/Match last year, teams figured out we were one dimensional with Bruno being the focus of all our attacks. So he was marked out of games - which means others need to step up or do more. Which has not happened.
Easy to blame everything on Ronaldo - but let's be objective. It's not him that has taken this squad from 2nd to 7th.
Better rebuttal for you, eh?
(Don't think you'll agree anyway because you believe your POV 100%. Nothing can convince you otherwise).
Given that you're entire post is a strawman fallacy, no, it isn't s better rebuttal. Nobody is blaming everything on Ronaldo. Having said that, those eager to absolve him of blame and engage in mental gymnastics to explain why the entire team suddenly started performing at a worse level the moment he joined (as you just did), are hardly objective.
Going from 2nd to 7th is nothing to do with Ronaldo signing. Like it was nothing to do with Hughes when we resigned him in 88/89. Pathetic argument. Ronaldo has delivered for us this season. Is one of the greatest players to ever play the game…..and the rest of the squad haven’t/aren’t.
Absolutely! No link whatsoever. It's a complete coincidence.
You say nobody is blaming Ronaldo for everything. Then point out the entire team dropped the moment he joined.
Which one is it?
Ronaldo has caused a 50/50 divide in the United fan base.
Wonder if it's really that surprising if the squad has gotten like this too..
Wonder if it's really that surprising if the squad has gotten like this too..
You don't think that signing one of the games greatest ever players could have negatively affected the confidence in some of the less talented players in that squad?
I'm not talking about people not putting in the effort, I am talking about low confidence and only just (arguably) good enough to play for United. I love Ronnie but there are a lot of players that I can think of that have regressed since his arrival. Coincidence? Maybe. I'm not sure.
It's a team game ultimately and I would rather have 10 out field players playing at 7 out of 10 as opposed to 9 struggling (it seems it doesn't matter which 9) and 1 outfield player doing good.
Obviously, DDG has been awesome so I'm not really talking about him here.
I have heard it said that Ronnie upset the balance and team ethic at Juve. Maybe, maybe not. It's almost too easy to point the finger at one person but I think we are starting to see it here.
The problem is, not all players are super elite and I'm not sure many of this lot can ever be dragged up to the levels that Ronaldo, and us expect. That's a recruitment problem.
Ronaldo hasn't caused a 50/50 divide. It's the Rashford fan boys trying to divert attention on how poor he has been.
Yes Ronaldo has been poor for a couple of games but he is not causing the problems.
Yes Ronaldo has been poor for a couple of games but he is not causing the problems.
If we start him against Atletico I don't think we'd get past them. Don't play him against any top team that's simply suicidal imo. You might get away playing 10 men against a weak team but against a decent opponent you're gonna get spanked badly. You'd absolutely need 11 men to have a chance.
Many pointed to his records against Atletico but they forgot those goals were long ago when he was in his prime at Madrid. He didn't score any goal against them at Juve if my memory serves me right. People forgot he's only a shadow of his old self now. Carrick benched him against Chelsea for a reason and imo that's a spot on decision.
He scored a hattrick
The bolded is exactly why it was the right decision to sell Van Nistelrooy even though neither Rooney nor Saha were as good. The team played better when he wasn't the focal point. Everyone flourished, and the collective became better without him. It doesn't make him a scrub, but that isn't the point. The impact that players have on teams is crucial. If a team finds itself losing its balance and struggling and regressing with the arrival of a certain player, we have to question whether it was the correct decision to bring him in.
My bad and my memory applogize
.Anyway I still think it'd be a bad idea to start him against Atletico given what he's been delivering lately.
We've been shit like this up and down for nearly a decade now and you think its got to do with the ONE guy that actually has standards and has been touted to have one of the best mentalities in sport of all time?
Listen to yourself.
The thing why I was against the Ronaldo signing was, the way he plays doesn’t really improve the performance of the team. What I mean by that is, the team has to play to Ronaldo’s strength to make it work.
The question now would be, what exactly is Ronaldo’s strength? Is is his hold up play? No. Is it him running behind the defence ? No. Is it him taking players on ? No. Is it his pressing and high energy levels ? No.
So his strengths are his movement in box to find space. This will only work if his team mates can find the timing and accuracy of the cross or pass. So basically Ronaldo is only great, if his team mates have a great game.
These sort of players are becoming very rare because teams have to almost carry them. Chicarito was a good example of this. The reason why it worked so well with him, was that he was a great squad player. If Ronaldo excepted that at his age, then it would be great for him and the team. But Ronaldo just can’t let go of his legacy , and still believes he is still the player he was a few years ago. It’s the equivalent of someone have a mid life crisis.
The question now would be, what exactly is Ronaldo’s strength? Is is his hold up play? No. Is it him running behind the defence ? No. Is it him taking players on ? No. Is it his pressing and high energy levels ? No.
So his strengths are his movement in box to find space. This will only work if his team mates can find the timing and accuracy of the cross or pass. So basically Ronaldo is only great, if his team mates have a great game.
These sort of players are becoming very rare because teams have to almost carry them. Chicarito was a good example of this. The reason why it worked so well with him, was that he was a great squad player. If Ronaldo excepted that at his age, then it would be great for him and the team. But Ronaldo just can’t let go of his legacy , and still believes he is still the player he was a few years ago. It’s the equivalent of someone have a mid life crisis.
What did Rangnick specifically say about Rashford?
Can't be arsed to listen to his interviews, just want him gone asap, together with half the sulking players in the team.
Its from the Mirror article. You should read the rest of the quotes for context, but he used Rashford as an example
“I think in the first 20 minutes against Aston Villa he was good, he was on fire, he was emotionally involved.
“Then, after the first 30 minutes, he got worse and he didn’t play on the same kind of energetic level he did in the first half an hour.
“But I don’t see any of the players who don't care about the club or who don’t want to perform to the best and highest possible level.
“If things don’t go the right way, you have to behave in a certain manner, and it’s about how you deal with those situations.”
Hope someone has told Ronaldo that Rashford has mental health issues and this isn't helping...
Is this (perhaps)the real reason CR returned?
Did the OT hierarchy say "We need someone who has been there (and here) done that, bought umpteen 'T' shirts, to come to (back) to the club, to make a personal commitment and to call out our wannabe players,...so who better than the best player in the World and a club legend to boot"?
Did the OT hierarchy say "We need someone who has been there (and here) done that, bought umpteen 'T' shirts, to come to (back) to the club, to make a personal commitment and to call out our wannabe players,...so who better than the best player in the World and a club legend to boot"?
Have you read your posts?
I think Ronaldos interview shows how far standards have fallen at the club since he was last here.
Whats worse is that we have young players, Greenwood, Sancho, Rashford etc who think they are johnny big bollocks and too good to do dirty defensive work, like tracking back or closing down.
Ronaldo is setting the bar and they are refusing to meet it, "nah, im good", not part of my game to do defensive work etc.
Ronaldo has said how the smallest details matter, not only in tactics but preparation as a team and as a individual, but those players have had it easy and dont want to do the hard work for the marginal gains that make the difference at elite level.
Its utterly baffling. One of the all time GOATs is at the club, learn, copy, absorb what he teaches you. How he conducts himself, how he prepares himself etc. He is the bar to be a true elite player you need to reach. But no, rather not bother.
Baffling.
Whats worse is that we have young players, Greenwood, Sancho, Rashford etc who think they are johnny big bollocks and too good to do dirty defensive work, like tracking back or closing down.
Ronaldo is setting the bar and they are refusing to meet it, "nah, im good", not part of my game to do defensive work etc.
Ronaldo has said how the smallest details matter, not only in tactics but preparation as a team and as a individual, but those players have had it easy and dont want to do the hard work for the marginal gains that make the difference at elite level.
Its utterly baffling. One of the all time GOATs is at the club, learn, copy, absorb what he teaches you. How he conducts himself, how he prepares himself etc. He is the bar to be a true elite player you need to reach. But no, rather not bother.
Baffling.
What bar is he setting with his piss poor performances and no effort on the pitch?
The bit about the other players deciding that they won't follow Ronaldo's instructions to do "defensive work" is hillarious. Ronaldo does leads defensive work than anyone in the entire team.
Lastly, the bar is higher than to aim for 3rd place. As Rashford said, United aim leagues, not second or third spot. So Ronaldo better raise his standards and follow suit.
We were 2nd spot just last year. We are now 7th.
Tell me more about the amazing "mentality" of a primadona who throws tantrums and waves his arms unless he gets a 1 on 1 handed to him on a plate. Go ahead.
My bad and my memory applogize
Anyway I still think it'd be a bad idea to start him against Atletico given what he's been delivering lately.
Who has delivered better?
All the other forwards? He's been the worst player among the regular forward lately.
What have the other forwards delivered? Only Cavani has scored. All the others have been straight rubbish. Anyway one spot of bad form is silly. Compare to the rest of the season. Who has done better?
How many goals has Ronaldo scored this season? And who else has scored more than him?
Looking at the problem with young players - why haven't we won the Youth Cup since 2011? One win in almost 20 years. Something isn't right with our mentality running right through the club for years. We've bragged about our youth system for years, but really is it good enough?
I suppose the real question is how many has the team scored? and if we didn't re-sign him, would we, as a team have scored more goals without him? Who knows.
I said lately, precisely about the last 4-5 matches. This has been debated to death in the Ronaldo performance thread both based on the eye test & stats and tbh I don't see the need to start anew here. We can continue this there if you'd like to.
I can remember reading Ronaldo's first book and he said how he'd stay behind after training to practice his free kicks, didn't Sir Alex say recently how he had to tell him to come in as it was raining and there was a game the next day, so he went and worked indoors instead?
Yet this current bunch get upset because they are finishing in the dark..... wonder if any of them stay behind practicing....
Our "captain" is probably the furthest you could get from a captain at Manchester United
Trouble is a huge percentage of them are paid far too much money, too early on, without having done much (eg winning trophies) to justify it
Yet this current bunch get upset because they are finishing in the dark..... wonder if any of them stay behind practicing....
Our "captain" is probably the furthest you could get from a captain at Manchester United
Trouble is a huge percentage of them are paid far too much money, too early on, without having done much (eg winning trophies) to justify it