This is the best week to be a United fan in a long time

I agreed.

1. Good result against top 4 opponent
2. A great come back win
3. Our youngsters all looks great
4. New ownership, sort of, but I only want 100%
 
A team of Manchester raised players supported by Manchester citizens might seem to improve the purity of the club!
I have supported United for 60+ years. If I lived in or near Manchester I would have a season ticket and wouldn't miss a match. However, I have alweays lived far away and have only been to OT 5 times - twice as a "pilgrim", twice to watch live games and once for the Munich remembrance ceremony.
So I am not a Mancunian but fully support Manchester United.
 
SAFMUTD said:
False equivalence there, having a good academy is a resemblance of a successful club. Having a local owner has nothing to do with it.

Also are the "local lads" better coming from the academy than foreign youngsters? Is Garnacho less valuable than a "local lad"?

It's an international club, what makes the premier league so successful and big is that it's watched all around the world. All that cheap nationalism is bullshit.
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Yes the people, culture and rivalries had nothing at all to do with the success of the premier league. Might as well just be a collection of colour coded teams from nowhere.
 
Stadjer said:
Manchester United might be someone their local club but Manchester United is an international brand and not a local club.
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Manchester United is a local club that has become an international brand. Most of the matches are played in Manchester and are predominately attended by residents of the greater Manchester area, and it's been like that since its inception. It's straightforward and uncontroversial.
 
noodlehair said:
Point 2 is dumb.

Before the takeover Newcastle were owned by a "local man"...he turned their iconic stadium into a giant advert for sports direct. He literally changed its name to Sports Direct. He also almost led the club to complete ruin and constantly shone negative publicity onto the club due to valuing his own wealth over basic human decency.

A club losing its soul has a lot more to do with the above than whether the owners are foreign or not. Unless you're a raging Brexit xenophobe.

Half of this forum wanting to cut off nose to spite face just because of City's success also doesn't change this I'm afraid.

I doubt many Newcastle fans think having owners who want the club to be successful over Mike fecking Ashley is "not worth it" . They are just upset that they lost to Nottingham Forest and still play like garbage 50% of the time.
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Yup.

But that's the brand in the vogue for every RW loser from the East to the West and from the North to the South . So, cheers to the "local lad".
 
I love it when we have our young players playing but I think this is mainly due to injuries and the fact that we are so slow to move in the transfer market that Erik never got what he wanted in the summer.
It will be interesting to see what happens to the youngsters once the highly paid players are fit again and there is much more money in the kitty to spend.
 
Insanity said:
Yup.

But that's the brand in the vogue for every RW loser from the East to the West and from the North to the South . So, cheers to the "local lad".
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You called me a racist the other day in a similar way and got a warning about it.

Utterly bizarre to carry it on.
 
Wumminator said:
You called me a racist the other day in a similar way and got a warning about it.

Utterly bizarre to carry it on.
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I was agreeing to Noodles' point:

A club losing its soul has a lot more to do with the above than whether the owners are foreign or not. Unless you're a raging Brexit xenophobe.
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Are you a "raging Brexit Xenophone"? If not, why would it bother you or why would you want to make it about yourself? Are you on here looking for attention?

Bizarre!

Will getting me a ban help you in any way or make your life better? If yes, go ahead and make yourself happy. I like Redcafe as it is a one stop source for United news and to sometimes rant against the club ownership and management. The first I can do without logging in and the second one is not that important, just a release as seeing my club fail makes me mad. This is not my life.
 
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Best thing about this season for me is seeing all the young players, at various stages of development, play football.
Even if at times it's not good, I will always think it's better to develop a kid than play an older player who has zero room for improvement
 
I think some of you are falling into the same trap that's befallen so many before. The Villa result was excellent, the second half brilliant. But it was 45 minutes. If we continue that in the next 3/4 games then it might be evidence we've turned a corner.
 
RedSky said:
I think some of you are falling into the same trap that's befallen so many before. The Villa result was excellent, the second half brilliant. But it was 45 minutes. If we continue that in the next 3/4 games then it might be evidence we've turned a corner.
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We’ve been down this road before… lost a game won a game and played alright and then lost the following. I wouldn’t read to much into it. We’ve turned a corner if we can string a row of wins together. Until then it’s just false hope. Forest won’t be an easy game.
 
Hound Dog said:
Given that United academy have produced a grand total of one home grown key player in the last 30 years, I was hoping that this pipedream of relying on the academy would have disappeared by now
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That’s wrong for a start.

You also don’t have a clue what having a successful academy looks like or why it is important.
 
kouroux said:
Best thing about this season for me is seeing all the young players, at various stages of development, play football.
Even if at times it's not good, I will always think it's better to develop a kid than play an older player who has zero room for improvement
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100%. Players like Garnacho who are now first team have come on loads this season. :)
 
So many people having a go about point 2, and not one has contested that @Wumminator only cares if it's a local man :rolleyes:

Seriously though, great post and I agree with the OP. We've had a gloomy season and will probably have more doom and gloom to nourish the negatrons before the season is out. It's nice to have a bit of positivity.
 
Hound Dog said:
Given that United academy have produced a grand total of one home grown key player in the last 30 years, I was hoping that this pipedream of relying on the academy would have disappeared by now
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I really do wonder why you would support Utd with this attitude. Just makes zero sense to me when this is a massive and fundamental part of the club.
 
Completely agree with the OP. The road ahead is going to be a rocky one but I can’t help but feeling hopeful about where we’re headed with the new ownership and the academy producing a new generation of promising youngsters.

Also, the Villa game was one of the rare occasions in the past couple of years where I’ve actually enjoyed watching us - mainly due to the pressing. I just hope they keep it up!
 
Dr. Dwayne said:
That's not likely the reason. Staff cuts can be a quick win to get a company that has recently posted a loss back in the black, though.
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I really doubt he will be looking at anything beyond executive roles and the playing squad as a result of that. All of those people have been earning a seriously large amount of money for a long time and will be fine financially.

If anything I would expect us to recruit in certain areas like player recruitment, data and scouting as that department doesn't seem to exist.
 
RedSky said:
I think some of you are falling into the same trap that's befallen so many before. The Villa result was excellent, the second half brilliant. But it was 45 minutes. If we continue that in the next 3/4 games then it might be evidence we've turned a corner.
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The shitty goals conceded actually masked a decent first half performance too. The goals had us reeling for a 10-15 minute spell but we were very good for the rest of the first half.

But yeah, one swallow does not make a summer. And we’ve been here before.
 
Hound Dog said:
Given that United academy have produced a grand total of one home grown key player in the last 30 years, I was hoping that this pipedream of relying on the academy would have disappeared by now
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Hang on what? The last 30 years includes the class of 92 as most didn't make the first team until the 94 season and beyond. Not to mention those who came later like brown, O'Shea, Evans, cleverly, fletcher, mctominay, pogba, lingard, rashford and greenwood. They were all important players at one time or another and all home grown I believe.
 
Hound Dog said:
Given that United academy have produced a grand total of one home grown key player in the last 30 years, I was hoping that this pipedream of relying on the academy would have disappeared by now
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Literally one of the most mental posts I’ve ever read,

One key player?!
 
Exactly, football fans are tribal
Stadjer said:
Manchester United might be someone their local club but Manchester United is an international brand and not a local club.
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You could say the same for every team in the premier league seeing as it is televised around the entire world. The premier league is a brand and so are all of the clubs within it.

However, every club is a local club to somewhere, every club has a history and a home that is located somewhere and the hint is in the name of the club. Manchester United is a local club to Manchester/Salford, Liverpool are local to Liverpool, Everton refers to an area of Liverpool, Aston refers to an area in Birmingham, Newcastle is local to Newcastle upon Tyne, Tottenham to an area of London, Chelsea to area of London.....etc.....the point is Manchester United is an international brand AND a local club. If you go to an area of greater Manchester most people support Manchester Utd or Manchester City, if you go to Merseyside most people support Liverpool or Everton (there are other local clubs within these areas that people support instead but you get the point?).
 
Hound Dog said:
Given that United academy have produced a grand total of one home grown key player in the last 30 years, I was hoping that this pipedream of relying on the academy would have disappeared by now
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Do you understand football clubs and their relationship with local communities.

If you look down the league all the way to non league, Football clubs are part of the community NOT to just buy players from anywhere and win.

Football clubs go to local schools to promote football.

Football clubs develop local young players.

Football clubs have initiatives for the local communities that are not always just about football.

Now you can argue that the higher up the league you go the less localised it gets e.g. Prem clubs develop players from all over not just local)

However the same principles apply e.g. Man Utd scout allover the world howwver my kids have someone from Manchester United come and do Football in PE with them once a week and this is a primary school in the greater Manchester area.

You can have a great academy without relying on it for the first team. City is a prime example. They have a fantastic academy but they sell a lot of the players once they are developed (they are still cheats though).
 
Not only are we reliant on academy players, but we've seen an amazing performance at the right wing position for the first time since Mason Greenwoods departure. I hope Garnacho will play there full time and that he is able to remain consistent. Very happy with Mainoo as well, nothing beats seeing your own talented guys prosper.

I'm still not too enthousiastic and/or optimistic about the future though, I'll wait until Ratcliffe makes some front office moves before I can get my hopes up. I don't know what a realistic timetable would look like but I hope they get it completely sorted before the summer.
 
NICanRed said:
A team of Manchester raised players supported by Manchester citizens might seem to improve the purity of the club!
I have supported United for 60+ years. If I lived in or near Manchester I would have a season ticket and wouldn't miss a match. However, I have alweays lived far away and have only been to OT 5 times - twice as a "pilgrim", twice to watch live games and once for the Munich remembrance ceremony.
So I am not a Mancunian but fully support Manchester United.
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This is very similar to my position.
I too have been in a fan of and have supported Manchester United since Munich Disaster and live in Bristol.
But that hasn't stopped me from being a passionate supporter of the club.

One win doesn't mean much in the grand scheme of things.
But I am hopeful that the SJR running of the football side of the business will make a significant difference.
 
RedRonaldo said:
I agreed.

1. Good result against top 4 opponent
2. A great come back win
3. Our youngsters all looks great
4. New ownership, sort of, but I only want 100%
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Yeh, there’s alot I’d be positive about.

SJR a proven businessman, the glazer spawns inherited everything they have from daddy.
 
Dr. Dwayne said:
That's not likely the reason. Staff cuts can be a quick win to get a company that has recently posted a loss back in the black, though.
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Ahh right okay - I thought we were talking about footballing operations such as Murtough. Thats a bit shit then.
 
Bondi77 said:
I love it when we have our young players playing but I think this is mainly due to injuries and the fact that we are so slow to move in the transfer market that Erik never got what he wanted in the summer.
It will be interesting to see what happens to the youngsters once the highly paid players are fit again and there is much more money in the kitty to spend.
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Exactly, a manager who had the reputation at Ajax of not rotating the squad and didn't do much in his breakout season last year, it's clear that the youth having chances is majorly impacted by injuries. Mount wouldn't have been acquired if Mainoo was the sole intention for the midfield this season.

I think it's good to have a positive anticipation with regard to hierarchical changes but it can only be assessed when there's evidence of it being successful.
 
Look, who’s to know what’s going to happen in footbal.. It could all blow up in your face at the end of the day. But, can you forget moments like this?
 
I am quite hopeful, for the first time in a while. 25% less glazership is a step in the right direction.

Anyone who's been paying attention over the years knows that the problems with transfers comes entirely from the glazers. They had the final say but, more importantly, held the purse strings. While they could usually be pursuaded to part with more (club) money and have apparently told successive managers that they can have the players they want, the limits were clearly badly defined, making planning and reacting quickly to changing transfer markets far more difficult than it needs to be.
 
Wumminator said:
All of football is based around the idea that “my city is the best city ever”. It doesn’t reflect anything about someone’s personality but that’s literally what football is. Obviously a local academy product is more exciting than someone who is not,
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I guess that's why all of us foreigner fans love so much Manchester United, we all think Manchester is the greatest city ever surely.
 
Good opening post Wums. Nice to have a bit of feel good factor abut the place. Let’s hope it’s not another false dawn. I’ve said in other posts, sometimes going forward it looks like
We’re not too far away. It seems United play best at high tempo. Ok, it was Villa at home. One game, I know. But that second half United were really good. Other teams won’t play a high line so United need to work out high to unlock those defensive teams.
 
I appreciate the effort of the thread in highlighting some of the positives that are apparent even when so many thing are going wrong. The main thing we need now is consistency and hopefully with players coming back and most importantly staying fit we should progress.

Would still like an experienced striker but hopefully funds become available. If our top 6/7 players find form we could gain some momentum. Any team who can win a run of games could move up the league rapidly.
 
Too bad we couldn't convert our "Best week eva" into the "Best month eva" under the Local Lad, and that too with him present in his very self. :(
 
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