Pogba is to Solskjaer what Ronaldinho was to Pep…

Ian Watson

Send your thoughts to theeditor@football365.com…

Get rid, Ole
There is someone in the Man Utd dressing room that is causing havoc. There is someone that is more focused on other things than football.

There is someone that is creating a toxic atmosphere and it is rubbing off on everyone else. I am going to do a G Nev and not name names. You know who it is.

When Pep took over Barca he insisted that Ronaldinho was moved on. He wasn’t healthy for the rest of the playing squad. A huge decision but a necessary step to take.

It has to be done. Pull the trigger even if “Real don’t stump up the required cash” sell him to someone else for a sizeable loss. It must happen.
Gough, LFC, Dublin (Kante was the star of the World Cup for France)

 

Lack of leaders
Hi everyone. Sorry, it is yet another mail about Man Utd, but you don’t get to laugh at us and also not let us rant about our misery! After the umpteenth “1 step forward 2 gazillion steps backward” from the team, there is talk (again) of rebuilding and solutions to our latest surrenders. Some fans (and F365) have mentioned the stark lack of leaders in the team. So, where are we going to find one of those?
There are 2 ways to find a leader. You either nurture one, through experience and successes, or you buy a big shiny one. City bought Kompany when he was already starting to become a leader while experience has nurtured the likes of David Silva into wise old heads that young players will look up to. Liverpool have Henderson who has blossomed into an outstanding captain, Milner who’s the experienced guy and Van Dijk who was an inspired buy as he seems to ooze leadership. So who can Utd actually nurture into a captain? This is likely to take a long time (maybe McTominay, but we don’t even know if he will be good enough to last at Utd yet). We might have tried with Smalling and Jones but you can’t be a good leader if you are not a decent player. Herrera could have been the leader we seek but if he’s tempted to abandon this sinking ship (Who can blame him?) then there is no-one else. And I did think about Pogba for about a nanosecond.
Given the lack of options currently at the club, it seems like Utd will have to do what they do best at the moment, i.e. throw money at the problem! So who can we actually buy? I literally can’t think of anyone. None of the players the papers link us to seem to be ready-made leadership material (Rice is an outstanding player but he’s also about 12). The only solution, to me, seems to be the purchase of outstanding youngsters, out of whom, one day, will maybe emerge an experienced leader. Which means there’s a lot of responsibility on Solksjaer’s shoulders to be that leader in the meantime. That’s kind of grim, isn’t it?
Monty (I have always fought Pogba’s corner, but no more. Not sad, just disappointed.), MUFC

 

… Why have United suddenly gone to sh*t?

Very simple

It’s called motivation.

As soon as Solskjaer got the job, it was reported that several members of the squad were not in his plans and the effects of this has spread to the whole squad.

In football there seems to be a lack of the fundamentals of management.

Great leaders motivate and bring out the best.

Kind regards
Paul

 

AWB could break Van Dijk’s record
Ken, Cork says the following players wouldn’t cost the earth; Wan Bissaka, Maguire, Madison, Brooks, Zaha.

I’ve been telling anyone that’ll listen that Wan Bisakka is going to break the record fee paid for a full back and maybe even eclipse Virgil’s fee. Depends on interest of course but I suspect Man Utd and Man City will be looking at this man. Arsenal and Liverpool should be but purse strings and strength already in that area will probably have them look elsewhere. Chelsea would surely also be interested as will top clubs in Europe. One thing I’m certain of…..this man will not come cheap. Palace had previously put an 80 million pound price tag on Zaha I believe. Maguire, Madison & Brooks all come with the English premium loading. I reckon all in if ya came out with change from 300million for all of them you’d be doing well. I’m not sure on most of their contract situations but I assume Madison, Brooks and Wan are all locked down on medium to long term deals…..it’s gonna cost a pretty penny and that’s even before you start talking about their quality and deciding if they are ready for the step up.
Gough, LFC, Dublin

 

What if Solskjaer was from Slough?
Do accents help disguise the fact that some foreign managers aren’t really all that intelligent? Like a reverse PFM effect. Americans always say anyone with a British accent sounds intelligent to them and I think the same can apply to Europeans.

The prime example I can think of if Thierry Henry, who has an air of French sophistication despite having never said anything remotely approaching intelligent and being one of the worst pundits (and seemingly managers) around.

Which brings me to my real point… people have been suggesting that Solskjaer might be United’s Souness but that’s not who he sounds like to me. Everything he says could come straight from the mouth of Brendan Rodgers and be mocked for its pompous, motivational, head of telesales tone, but somehow with a scandinavian accent it doesn’t sound quite so ridiculous.
David, Dublin (All eggs in the Burnley and Leicester baskets)

 

Random allegiances
After reading John Nicholson’s latest article, I thought it might be fun to think about some of the teams for which I have random allegiances and why. I always look out for their results and in most circumstances (e.g. not playing Spurs) want to see them win and do well:

– Carlisle: my best mate used to go there for a holiday every summer when we were kids
– Norwich: the only subbuteo team I had other than Spurs
– Burnley: I bought one of their shirts in a sale for £5 in small sports shop in Winchester. I mean, what the heck was a Burnley shirt doing on sale in Winchester? They were a league 1 team at the time!
– Burton: always liked Nigel Clough as a player and for some reason hoped he would emulate his dad as a manager, Burton gave him his first manager’s job
– Derby: they employed Nigel for his second managerial role, pretty much just because he was Brian’s son

Anyone else got any similar random attachments to teams?
Tom, (original football hipster) Melbourne

 

Don’t fall for it, Rafa
My favourite line from Moneyball is when Billy Beane shoots down a cocky David Justice with “nah, I ain’t paying you 7 million. The Yankees are paying half your salary David. The New York Yankees are paying you 3 and a half million dollars a year to play against them. That’s what the Yankees think of YOU”.

I know for a fact Rafa reads this mailbox – Rafa, do feel free to use this line on Alexis or Gareth or Mesut in July when they’ve rocked up for their heavily subsidised loan deal and getting a bit mouthy. You’re welcome.
Aussie Red

 

Winners and Losers extra
Spurs: two losses in a week and inexplicably in better shape than we started it. Home loss for Arsenal was a particular bonus (bottle jobs etc); United are clearly not going to be a threat for top four; particularly shocked that Chelsea didn’t obliterate Burnley, but what a bonus.

If ever there were a weekend to put pressure on us, an away game vs City would be the one, and all three utterly failed to do so. Win at Brighton tonight and the rest of the season becomes substantially less concerning, particularly with their fixtures being much less straightforward than ours.

Happy days.
Alex G, THFC

 

Answers for Dan
He (Dan, Herts) asked, so I think it only fair he got some answers. It may be that OGS is suffering from the same dilemma’s so this may help him as well!

How would Martial or Rashford perform under Klopp? Martial wouldn’t get near the team and Rashford would have been allowed to develop a bit more before becoming the next “great”.

How would Alexis or Lukaku perform under Pep? Lukaku wouldn’t get near the team, Sanchez would play something like he did for Arsenal and get a run in the team to enable this.

How would Poch manage Pogba? He wouldn’t, doesn’t (wouldn’t) work hard enough.

Is Milner better than Herrera or McTominay? No and really? He’s had a couple of good games and then only in comparison to those around him, is he the next “great” (see Rashford)

Is Henderson a better leader than Jones or Smalling? Hell yes! Unfair question as I don’t consider Jones or Smalling as leaders and if Dan or OGS do!!!

Are Mane and Son more talented than Martial? Probably not, but talent alone is not enough (see Pogba)

Is Dier a better DM than Matic? Hell yes! Maybe not at his best but that was a while ago now.

Does Shaw have any less potential than Robertson? Yes

Does anybody have more natural ability than Pogba? Arguably no, but see above.

Why was Sanchez so productive for Arsenal? Because he had a Manager who trusted him and fans who loved him.

The fact that Dan can raise so many questions about his teams players and performances shows just how poorly the club has been managed (note: club not team) for the last few years and the blind optimism most fans have about their players. This is a team that finished second last year, then spent £75m, had one of the most successful Managers of the last 15/20 years and yet will finish the season at least 12 points worse off, their performances have fluctuated from dismal to “the ManUway” and to rancid. Until someone takes a very hard long look at themselves and the mindset changes dramatically, MUFC will soon be signing their own versions of Torben Piechnik, Jimmy Carter and , wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy, Paul Konchesky, or maybe you already have and paid a lot more for them, you just can’t see it.
Howard (fearful that even at their best they won’t/can’t hold City) Jones

 

Dan Herts raised a few questions which can be easily answered;

how would Martial and Rashford perform under Klopp at Liverpool? – wouldn’t get into the team

How would Alexis and Lukaku perform under Pep at City? – wouldn’t get into the team

How would Poch manage Pogba? – sell him and get a team player

Is Milner any better than Herrera/McTominay? – yes

Is Henderson any more a leader than Jones/Smalling? – yes

Is Mane/Son any more talented than Martial? – yes

Is Dier a better holding midfielder than Matic? -yes

Does Shaw have any less potential than Robertson? Robertson is in a team that has lost one league game all season and conceded 20 goals. He’s also 5th in the assists table. He’s proven.

Is there anyone in the league with more natural ability than Pogba? – Kevin de Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, sigurosson, Salah, hazard, Moutinho etc,

Why was Alexis so productive for Arsenal? He was hungry for success now he’s just trying to get as rich as possible before retiring.

You’re welcome,
Marc Herts.

 

Arsenal to the rescue
I must admit I do tune into the YouTube fan channels to get my fill of fuming fans venting over who should have played their last game for their respective clubs.

The more popular recent suggestions are Shkodran Mustakey of Arsenal and Young, Jones and Smalling for United.

But while both clubs would do well to rid themselves of these players – who the hell is going to sign them?

For me, Arsenal should have moved Mustafi on at the end of last season. Now we are stuck with him as we have lost the one advantage we retained before Emery took charge. That was that maybe just maybe Wenger wasn’t getting the best out of our German defender and perhaps another coach could improve his performances.

The fact is that Mustafi just isn’t very good – so who in their right mind will be thinking – I’ve got to get me some of that.

The same could be said of Jones and Smalling – I’ve always thought that these two are rubbish and Messi coming up against them was just laughable.

Ashley Young may yet still have a career if he can reinvent himself in another position that doesn’t require him to run up and down the wings but these others are done and I can’t see anyone taking them on.

Expect to see these three marching out on the pitch pre-season in their brand new adidas kits stinking up the place for another season – what joy!
Graham Simons, Gooner, Norf London

 

Dirty Burnley
I genuinely can’t remember the last time I enjoyed watching Chelsea in a second half (even Cardiff was painful).

Not much you can do with teams setting up like Burnley did second half. People will say we did the same the other week against Liverpool – sorry, but that was nothing compared to the anti-football on show here.

Goalkeeper booked for time wasting on half an hour, Pedro clotheslined when through on goal – nothing, Barnes just a general disgrace. I saw him win a flicked header, 15yards inside is own half off a throw in and Dyche celebrated like he’d won the world cup.

Huddersfield did the same to us last year, and I remember saying “I’ll have little sympathy if they go down next year”, so fingers crossed for Burnley.
Adam (does anyone want to be in the Top 4?), Birmingham
P.S Barnes stood a mile offside from the fk for the first goal. The kick was aimed back post but his positioning must have affected the defenders thinking?

Palace musings
Crystal Palace won and Grantham Town lost twice over Easter weekend, but both have avoided relegation. Swings and roundabouts, really.

*On 14 April, Palace gave Manchester City a bit of a scare late on but ultimately lost to a better side, with the result only sealed because we were pushing for an equaliser, so fans would have been forgiven for expecting similar this weekend. The main difference was that last weekend people were commenting that the Eagles could give City a scare, whereas this weekend the talk was of the Arsenal’s home form; we’re always better out of the spotlight.

*In many ways Palace did everything they could to help the Arsenal: they started with their third and fourth choice centre-backs, a right-back at left-back, four central midfielders, and Christian Benteke up front. That said, the home side’s defence did not scream “solidarity”.

*That was a bit harsh on Benteke, who does a lot of things right in his centre-forward play, and played well this time. Earlier this season, against Hotspur in the FA Cup, he won more aerial duels in 20 minutes than any other player had done in 90. If used correctly, he can still contribute to the team, but still needs a run of goals to prove his worth for next season – or, the cynic in me suggests, to convince another team to take him on.

*The story about Wilfried Zaha wanting Champions League football reminded me a lot of a moment during Roy Hodgson’s England tenure, just before the 2014 World Cup, when a journalist asked him whether he would bet on England to win the World Cup were someone to give him £20. In that situation, every answer is a story: either the papers go mad with World Cup fever because our manager says we can win it, or he comes across as defeatist, so what’s the point of even going to the bloody thing?

It’s the same with Zaha: say the obvious thing, that every player wants to play in the Champions League, and the rumour mill goes into overdrive; say he doesn’t and he’s straight away written off as being too content to be a big fish in a small pond, even though his settled life outside football is a huge contributing factor to his on-field form.

*While it’s great that we have finally mathematically avoided relegation, it does give us a little bit of soul searching about what might have been. There have been plenty of frustrating moments in amongst the beautiful ones, and it isn’t clear where we go from here. There are clearly good players and an astute manager, but it hasn’t properly clicked often enough this season. There is enough potential there for the players whose heads may be turned to be convinced to stay around, but it would be understandable if they pointed to the inability to push on over the past couple of seasons – combined with a manager coming to the end of his working life, never mind his contract – as a reason to seek a new challenge.
Ed Quoththeraven

 

Banter!
You can’t imagine the horror I felt when I saw the quasi-number 1 defender being Jones. Good banter Matt Stead, good one.
Kashim (Spat my coffee out, you owe me laundry bill), Abuja.