Man Utd not being helped by Sir Alex Ferguson or Marcus Rashford
The Mailbox questions whether Fergie’s continued influence at Manchester United is doing more harm than good. Also: Marcus Rashford; Brennan Johnson; mitigation for Eddie Howe; and what Liverpool are doing differently…
Get your views in to theeditor@football365.com…
Fergie isn’t helping
I am delighted that the Telegraph called it right in Late November when they said that Sir Jim Ratcliffe is going to lean on the wisdom of Sir Alex Ferguson to help sort out the footballing side of the club when he gets his 25% of Manchester United.
When Jurgen joined Liverpool, he stated that the club was walking round with the weight of history on their back. I can’t imagine how the Man U players and managers feel when they are constantly being compared to the previous great teams?
So, I must ask, how does ETH feel when he has the spectre of his new boss whispering with the apparent “King Maker”. That scene from the Irishman comes to mind When Hoffer is eating dinner and sees all the boss looking at him and talking in hushed tones.
Sir Alex deserves the highest level of respect. his stand, a statue, and the lifelong right to go to the club. However, should he be a constant presence with the shadow of his achievements always looming the current incumbent, the TV cutting to him when they concede a goal and his scowling face a Memes dream. When the legendary Bill Shankly left Liverpool, after a period of time his presence around the club was seen as more of a hinderance than a help.
When will club realized they have “jumped the shark” with this level of deference? Man U were great, without question the best run club for well over a decade, and Sir Alex was an undoubted genius. Both he and David Gill were the figure heads that lead Man U in an unparalleled period of success. However, things change. Ideas get old, practices change, and what was once, will not always be.
It may seem harsh but for the long-term viability of Man U, should the club fully cut ties where their most successful manager?
However, as a Liverpool fan, I for one am delighted. For over a decade Man U have sycophantically tried to replicate Sir Alex with no success. Long may this continue
Ian H
Let’s talk about Marcus
Yesterday, I watched the United v Spurs game with my life-long red brother. Being a City fan, there will undoubtedly be an element of ‘well, he would say that wouldn’t he?’ but this is a genuine question. What does Marcus Rashford actually bring to the team?
Obviously, I don’t watch him week in and week out, but his main activity seems to me to be scampering down the left, before cutting in and shooting with his right foot. Which, of course, is in no way entirely predictable. Other than that? Does he press? Does he track back? Does he routinely help the defence?
I wasn’t that much surprised to learn that his goal yesterday was his first for United, at OT, this season. Really? One goal from your No 10 in half a season? What’s going on with him, particularly when you compare that to his performance last season?
Oh, and Newcastle v City was an excellent game with great goals from both sides. But take a bow Messrs B Silva and O Bobb.
Mark (That pass from De Bruyne though. Have you ever seen the like?). MCFC.
Read more: 16 Conclusions on Manchester United 2-2 Tottenham: Bentancur, Hojlund to Rashford, Werner, Ten Hag
Waiting for Brennan
As with every team, there is always a player who divides opinion amongst the fans. With Spurs right now, it’s Brennan Johnson.
“He’s only young!”, his supporters scream, seemingly forgetting that he’s more than a year older than Pape Matar Sarr and Destiny Udogie.
“Give him time – he’s just moved down to London!” they yell, while they watch Micky van de Ven, who is just five weeks older than Johnson, excel in his second new country and language of his young career.
Every Spurs fan wants Brennan Johnson to succeed and Angeball cries out for wingers who hug the touchline and attack full backs. I can only hope he’s carrying an injury because the system should suit him perfectly, yet if everyone is fit then on form I think he’d be lucky to make the bench.
In fact from what I’ve seen so far, he is the most disappointing right winger in my life since his namesake Boris.
Harlow Globetrotter, THFC, Vienna.
…If Spurs had Utd’s wingers that would have been a cricket score.
Also, I remember a discussion last year about who was better – Bruno, Odegaard or De Bruyne. Not sure Bruno is playing the same sport as the other two at the moment…
Andrew, Banbury
What Liverpool are doing differently
Looooong time reader (back to the days of the famous old F365 forum) first time writer here.
Anyway, it seems to me that Klopp and Liverpool are doing something slightly different to most of the other teams I’ve seen this season, something that I’ve not seen commented on elsewhere.
Since the move to five subs last year I think they are very consciously playing a squad game rather than a team game. I don’t think Klopp has a “first 11” or an expectation that key players should be playing 90+ minutes week in week out, instead he’s rotating starters, maximising the use of subs, changing approaches throughout the game and trying as far as is possible not to over-extend players. I don’t think any Liverpool fan can really say who (Virgil, Trent and Salah aside) our outfield ten “should” be every week. Or who “has to” play the full 90 every game. And I don’t think Klopp can either, and nor is he seeking to. Instead, in response to the rule change he’s consciously building a first 18 or so and using them all to strategically manage a whole season, to minimise overuse injuries and maintain maximum in game flexibility.
Now I’m not claiming Liverpool were necessarily they first or the only ones approaching the game this way (I just see their games more than anyone else), and obviously being one of the wealthiest clubs in the world and Klopp having been in the job a number of years helps here, but it does seem to me that there is a strategically different approach going on here.
What do you think? Is it a thing, or did I dream it?
Martin, LFC
Howe safe for now
When I saw our bench before Saturday’s match, I foresaw a late loss for Newcastle. I spent every minute we weren’t behind with a knot in my gut that had nothing to do with our performance, which was excellent in the first half, then dipped from fatigue continuously until Bobb’s goal, which I must pause to appreciate. If De Bruyne laid that ball in for Bobb a thousand more times, they couldn’t replicate it – though they’d score a fair few goals anyway. Utterly jaw-dropping.
As 16 Conclusions noted, it’s hard to hold it against Howe, and the same is true for most (but not all) of our sh*t patch. The squad is thin even when healthy, as its frequent reliance on players like Jacob Murphy and Jamaal Lascelles attests. To wit: Lewis Miley is 17 years old, and he’s played a thousand senior minutes already this season. Those are Wayne Rooney numbers, but the lad is in no way Wayne Rooney. Nor yet, Gazza. You really have to admire the courage and professionalism Miley’s displaying at such a tender age.
This season has f*cked us, without a doubt. Tonali’s suspension – and I can’t help noticing that his performances seemed to dip as his outing approached – was a deep blow. Harvey Barnes barely even got started. Both Murphy and Nick Pope dislocated their shoulders (more than once, in Murphy’s case). Willock’s been out for yonks, and so has Elliott Anderson. We’ve seldom had two healthy strikers, and thus happily faced little controversy about which one to pick. Our best defender took a medium-term injury and may only now be really getting his feet under him. I could go on, but who wants to hear a Newcastle supporter whine? I am literally knocking wood as I type this, but it feels like if anything could go wrong, it has.
That’s the main reason I don’t think Howe is in any particular danger. The other is that when our squad was complete and we had access to five Barclays-suitable subs, Howe proved capable of beating almost any opposition but Liverpool, often by notable margins. The club won’t be making a quick decision to dismiss Howe, and I doubt they’re even considering it yet. If nothing else, they know the financial constraints they’re under and will remain under even with a new manager.
Given the realities of growing the club’s commercial and prize income in the struggle towards profit, Newcastle require a manager that can make the most of what he’s got, because squad turnover is the means to that end. Newcastle absolutely must sell players, and our best ones are the only ones in demand. At Bournemouth, Howe seemed to prove that he could succeed at that sort of mission, but I’d respectfully suggest that at Bournemouth, targets and expectations were surely much more forgiving. When the squad is something like healthy, I think that’s when Howe will start to be judged. For my part, I find I have faith in him to keep us where we need to be, play attractive football, and make players better, thus increasing their value.
Also, I thought Everton’s a remarkably resolute performance. Emery’s Villa are so very dangerous, and the Toffees coped so very well. More significantly, I experienced an utterly new thing today when I found myself wanting to see a Manchester United winner near the end. I’m honestly a little ashamed that I could hate Richarlison’s guts that much, the diving little so-and-so.
Chris C, Toon Army DC
Go down, Diaby
Just watched the Everton Villa game there was a great example of why players do go to ground after slight contact in the area. Diaby, in the Everton box cuts the ball back away from Mykolenko who then clips Diaby’s foot. If Diaby goes to ground it’s clearly going to be a pen – because, as has been seen time and time again, those are given these days. Diaby stays up, so nothing given, and VAR does not see fit to intervene. Technically it’s right because the contact was not sufficient contact to impede Diaby or trip him over. Yet if he goes to ground, that’s given, all day long, either by the ref or VAR. At least if they are applying any kind of consistency in (!) interpretations. Diaby is “too honest” or not “clever enough”. Either way Villa lose out on a penalty which could have seen them gain an additional 2 points and go level at the top of the table.
That’s bad enough, but the real travesty is the next action. Diaby is then “challenged” by Tarkowski who goes steaming in, wins the ball but follows though with such force, and in a scissor action, that was all too reminiscent of the Ben Mee challenge that ended Wesley’s top level career three years ago – incidentally also in a Shaun Dyche team. Which makes one wonder if such challenges are something Dyche encourages his defenders to dish out. That one also went criminally unpunished. Diaby was very lucky to come out of that unscathed.
Law 12 Point 3 stipulates that Serious Foul play is a sending off offence, and serious foul play is defined thus:
Serious foul play A tackle or challenge that endangers the safety of an opponent or uses excessive force or brutality must be sanctioned as serious foul play. Any player who lunges at an opponent in challenging for the ball from the front, from the side or from behind using one or both legs, with excessive force or endangers the safety of an opponent is guilty of serious foul play
Note there is no mention of whether the ball is played first or not.
If Tarkowski’s challenge was not clearly made with excessive force, and did not clearly endanger Diaby, then it’s alarming to imagine what kind of grisly, agricultural, existence-threatening hack of a challenge would have to be administered in order meet those criteria. Yet no red card, not even a yellow, not even a foul.
Tarkowski went on to be given a yellow for a later two footed out of control lunge on Moreno. Moreno was fortunately able to jump out of the way and avoid getting wiped out but the lunge was still a lunge and still a red card offence, although refs do too often seem to interpret challenges based on consequences rather than the act itself.
I can only conclude that David Coote either does not know the laws of the game or else he has bottled applying them. Since he was not helped out by VAR, the same goes for whoever that was. Whatever, PGMOL continues to cover itself in glory.
Kevin Villa (Every time you think the refs can’t get any worse, they somehow find a way)
Is Lewandowski all that?
Reading yet again an email going on about top players “and then of course Lewandowski who should have won the Ballon d’or in 2020”
Well, no. I have nothing against the bloke, but can we look at the actual football player Lewandowski? He scored a tonload while at Bayern (who doesn’t? Even Harry Kane does it) in a league where Bayern play 2 other decent teams every year. But he’s been bang average for Poland. The Poles used to be famous for coming 3rd at major tournaments but they’ve never achieved that with Lewa in the team.
And then he hasn’t exactly set the Spanish league alight now has he. He’s been alright at Barca but nothing more. Just got thrashed 4-1 by Real. He’s got 8 goals in the league, not too bad, but outscored by Bellingham, Morata and Griezmann amongst others.
I don’t get the Lewa-love. The guy is a decent striker for sure, but giving him the Ballon d’Or because of his Bayern scoring exploits is a bit silly.
Mike (I’d have him at the Bridge tho – he’d be half-decent in the EPL), CFC
Down with KDB
He may ruin Liverpool’s league hopes, but you have to appreciate one of the best we’ve ever seen so quickly return to form.
Aidan, Lfc (maybe City’s secret is having so many good players they can rest the injured until fit)
Double act
Tell you what, that Toon Citeh match was absolutely excellent but I have to say that the commentary team of Darren Fletcher and Ally McCoist made it so much more entertaining. They were brilliant! Should provide a bit of a lesson for Carragher, Neville and co on how to do it without the po-faced seriousness you often get with Sky commentary teams.
Just a shame not too many will have seen the match as it was tucked away on TNT.
Bladey Mick (McCoist for Prime Minister, Fletcher as Deputy)
Gravenberch’s ego
Sparky – great observation about Gravenberch’s perhaps too-full-of-himself thing. But remember Curtis Jones had that going on, too, and Klopp got him straightened out. Now he works for the team while still flourishing technically. Hopefully Klopp can put some selflessness (and steel) into Ryan’s play because his gifts are clearly enormous.
Scott, LFC Toronto
