The pressure and weight of expectation being placed upon Ugarte as some kind of saviour figure

Fortitude

TV/Monitor Expert
Staff
Joined
Jul 10, 2004
Messages
25,671
Location
Inside right
Is bonkers.

You'd think we'd signed a prime Keane or Robson from the way Ugarte is being spoken about as a lone figure who will change our fortunes. The last midfielder I recall with this level of expectation heaped upon them before even kicking a ball for us was Pogba.

Whether Ugarte can match what seem to be irrational levels of expectation (to me) remains to be seen, but the pressure emanating for him to be a one-man army really does appear to be OTT.

If he does match the bar being set, he's going to become an instant fan favourite, I think, but I really hope those of you think he's the second coming will give him time to settle should he not hit his groove in his first few games.

Talk about a baptism of fire!
 
We are just excited about having a midfielder, that's all.

Years of hearing how midfield is the problem but not actually signing midfielders has led to this.
 
Expectation as high as this always ends with one conclusion - disappointment.
 
A midfielder who can run, of course he will make a difference compared to bloody Casemiro.
 
I honestly think if he takes time to settle (which is very likely to be fair to him) then ETH will cop it before he can get targeted.

Most people know we need another CM addition it's not his fault he wasn't signed alongside another one.

The press will get sidetracked by ETH I think and leave him relatively alone.
 
Is bonkers.

You'd think we'd signed a prime Keane or Robson from the way Ugarte is being spoken about as a lone figure who will change our fortunes. The last midfielder I recall with this level of expectation heaped upon them before even kicking a ball for us was Pogba.

Whether Ugarte can match what seem to be irrational levels of expectation (to me) remains to be seen, but the pressure emanating for him to be a one-man army really does appear to be OTT.

If he does match the bar being set, he's going to become an instant fan favourite, I think, but I really hope those of you think he's the second coming will give him time to settle should he not hit his groove in his first few games.

Talk about a baptism of fire!
If he's not average 30 tackles per game with a 90 percentage success rate, 100 passes, 97 percentage accuracy with 50 percentage being progressive passes into the final third, then I'm sorry but he's an absolute failure.
 
Is bonkers.

You'd think we'd signed a prime Keane or Robson from the way Ugarte is being spoken about as a lone figure who will change our fortunes. The last midfielder I recall with this level of expectation heaped upon them before even kicking a ball for us was Pogba.

Whether Ugarte can match what seem to be irrational levels of expectation (to me) remains to be seen, but the pressure emanating for him to be a one-man army really does appear to be OTT.

If he does match the bar being set, he's going to become an instant fan favourite, I think, but I really hope those of you think he's the second coming will give him time to settle should he not hit his groove in his first few games.

Talk about a baptism of fire!

I think the only people heaping this kind of expectation on Ugarte are the people who somehow think ETH is going to turn things around and is just missing the right players for his master plan to come to fruition.

I am quite excited about the addition of Ugarte to the team, as I think he is a profile of player that we desperately need, but I am not expecting to see much impressive stuff out of him while we are still attempting to play clownball.
 
We are just excited about having a midfielder, that's all.

Years of hearing how midfield is the problem but not actually signing midfielders has led to this.

I swear United have neglected the CM position for decades, even during Fergie's later years. Always happy when we make a promising signing in that position.
 
I swear United have neglected the CM position for decades, even during Fergie's later years. Always happy when we make a promising signing in that position.
Exactly. I’ve followed the club since 2010 and we haven’t had a functioning midfield in any of those years.
 
If he's not average 30 tackles per game with a 90 percentage success rate, 100 passes, 97 percentage accuracy with 50 percentage being progressive passes into the final third, then I'm sorry but he's an absolute failure.
That would be about what I expect in his first season, but he'd need to up his numbers if he's to be a success here
 
The manager needs to improve the team shape for Ugarte to be successful, if we leave him alone in the middle it will be the same problem.

One issue that's been going under the radar is Mainoo's positions, is he supposed to be next to the DM or an attacker?

He's always near the opposition box when we are out of possession and he doesn't have the speed to get back as quickly as required
 
After 2 full seasons, ETH has started his 3rd season in charge with 2 home games and 1 away game.
We have won one and lost two.
Two against new managers to the league.
To place any kind of hope on one new player is ridiculous.
Ten Hag needs to hit a run of wins or be sacked. It’s as simple as that.
He’s been the manager under a massive spending spree, yet United are still playing poorly in most matches in his leadership.
No more excuses.
I’d even sack him yesterday, never mind if we lose against Southampton next game
 
We need to manage our expectations, it’s a massive task for just a single player to change things around. ETH will be under the spotlight more so now he has spent a shed load of money.
 
You dont rely on individual. You rely on teams to create a greater sums

You need megastars to win the EPL, but stop telling me you need 600m and "whoever is the next midfielder bought" to play functioning football
 
I remember the exact same types of posts were made last August about Amrabat before his signing was completed.
 
I swear United have neglected the CM position for decades, even during Fergie's later years. Always happy when we make a promising signing in that position.
Oh yes.

It was like after Hargreaves failed miserably, Fergie just gave up on the position.

Every summer it was the same - new contracts for an ever ageing Giggs and Scholes, and continued reliance on Carrick and Fletcher (when fit).

We were always linked with wingers and strikers - almost never midfielders.

I love the great man, but those were some frustrating years to say the least.
 
We are desperate really. If he was not good, we have no one else to play DM. Essentially means our season is gone. ETH is not going to change his tactics drastically because we are already in his 3rd season. Hence, we better pray that he will be prime Keane.
 
I think most of the fan base should have adjusted their expectations after what happened with Amrabat. The expectation on Amrabat in August/early September last year was the most bizarre thing I’ve seen on here other than the Rangnick worship.

Quite quickly it was proved that we were still shit with Amrabat and he couldn’t transform thing on his own the way some tacticos predicted.

I think people have been a bit more measured with Ugarte. I’m seeing loads of posters still mention that our midfield still isn’t great. We need three players in CM ideally but at least two of starting quality to really make a significant change.
 
Last edited:
I think most of the fan base should have adjusted their expectations after what happened with Amrabat. The expectation on Amrabat in August/early September last year was the most bizarre thing I’ve seen on here other than the Rangnick worship.

Quite quickly it was proved that we were still shit with Amrabat and he couldn’t transform thing on his own the way some tacticos predicted.

I think people have been a bit more measured with Ugarte. I’m seeing loads of posters still mention that our midfield still isn’t great. We need three players in CM ideally but at least two of starting quality to really make a significant change.

Definitely more measured. I'm one of the people who hoped all summer that we'd land Ugarte, not because he's prime Roy Keane, but because what he brings should complement the other qualities in our midfielders. I've never seen him as some kind of saviour or any similar nonsense, and the ongoing debate in the Ugarte threads show that fans have disagreed on his potential impact and overall been more measured, as you say. If anything, there's been more negativity thrown at him than not (he can't pass, he's poor on the ball, he doesn't advance the play, etc.).
 
There isn't a single player on this planet that will move a team from average to very good. There might be players who will make a very good team, great because they plug a specific gap or are the last piece of the puzzle like Van Dijk was for Liverpool but there is only one way to build a very good team and that's through a system where players know their part and are put in a place whereby their strength are maximized and limitations not exposed.
 
He’s going to be one of our best players if he gets the proper help from the manager. He has genuine top PL potential and I think he will go on to become the best physical midfielder in the league. It’s not enough to make us look brilliant but he will make us a lot harder to play against. I think the defence will be meaner too once they get settled.
 
There's always excitement around new signings. We've been leaking goals left and right for a while now, so I think the hope is that if he's solid enough it might help.
 
Is bonkers.

You'd think we'd signed a prime Keane or Robson from the way Ugarte is being spoken about as a lone figure who will change our fortunes. The last midfielder I recall with this level of expectation heaped upon them before even kicking a ball for us was Pogba.

Whether Ugarte can match what seem to be irrational levels of expectation (to me) remains to be seen, but the pressure emanating for him to be a one-man army really does appear to be OTT.

If he does match the bar being set, he's going to become an instant fan favourite, I think, but I really hope those of you think he's the second coming will give him time to settle should he not hit his groove in his first few games.

Talk about a baptism of fire!

It is and it's because our manager is asking far too much out of his 2 CMs. If our forwards can't score goals then they should face the music. We choose to commit 6 players upfront to aid them out on the expense of CM and defence
 
Which new player has genuinely prospered under ETH? My expectations are low for this signing.
 
First game in and they'd all be saying "Ugartobe kidding me" really loudly while waving their arms around like a maniac.
 
The bare minimum one can expect from a United player is someone that wears the jersey with pride and is not afraid to put his body on the line to block a shot or get in a challenge on an advancing attacker. During SAF's years we had players like these in the squad. That gives the full 90 and leaves it out on the pitch.

That's the bare minimum we'll get with this guy according to his playstyle and character and that's enough for me.
 
I think all new signings have this pressure on them, which is so tough because we as a team are not really functioning.

Out tactics appear off, our midfield balance is not correct, and we need multiple changes to fix it.
 
To be honest it’s more the media doing that hoping he’ll fail rather than fans. Most just hope he’s a strong addition to the team and system.
 
I am not expecting that much....he only has to do a better defensive job than what we have at the moment and that really isn't hard to do.
 
Isn’t this what happens to most United players? They get so hyped, so much attention on them that ultimately they struggle as they can’t enjoy their football and have too much pressure.


These days you genuinely have to be a real mentality monster to be top here.
 
I said this when we were wrapping up the signing and people we talking like he was going to come in and be some sort of missing piece that would finally make our bullshit football work.

I saw a stat in his thread that said he hasn't made a mistake that led to a goal in 5 years or something, that will change in our system within a matter of weeks.
 
Most folks in this forum reckon what our midfield needs is a pure ball winner/DM, and apparently Ugarte is elite at that.

So if that is indeed true, he should elevate our midfield and play in general, once he gets to full fitness.

Shouldnt be difficult to be an upgrade on past it Casemiro.
 
I don’t think there’s massive amount of hype except from people who are heavily rooted in ETH camp and pretend this is the one signing he needed to make his genius plan work. And it’s a win win for them as if he fails to transform the team, they will just blame the club for letting the manager down and signing him the wrong player (especially as there are many reports that he had been reluctant to this signing).
 
Do you think he's better than bloody Casemiro at every aspect of the game?

No, why would anybody think that? Casemiro is washed at Premier League level though, Ugarte will be a clear upgrade.
 
Is bonkers.

You'd think we'd signed a prime Keane or Robson from the way Ugarte is being spoken about as a lone figure who will change our fortunes. The last midfielder I recall with this level of expectation heaped upon them before even kicking a ball for us was Pogba.

Whether Ugarte can match what seem to be irrational levels of expectation (to me) remains to be seen, but the pressure emanating for him to be a one-man army really does appear to be OTT.

If he does match the bar being set, he's going to become an instant fan favourite, I think, but I really hope those of you think he's the second coming will give him time to settle should he not hit his groove in his first few games.

Talk about a baptism of fire!
Who thinks Ugarte is a saviour? I've probably seen more opinions about how he's not a single fix than anything to the contrary.