Wout of order – Manchester United fans leap to defence of stop-gap striker

The moaning of Manchester United fans about Wout Weghorst has prompted a flurry of defenders; why don’t we trust Ten Hag?

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Manchester United making the best of a cheap job
An alternative view of why Manchester United are proper again, as I find Vasanthan’s email in today’s morning mailbox inaccurate on many many levels. Summary – IMO we are making the best out of the players and limited budget we have (including injuries/suspensions).

So many mistakes from AWB, but he tries so hard IMO.

Same for Fred, I find my head in my hands every match he plays, his touch, passing, intelligence are so bad, but he tries very hard, case in point final quarter of the game, he was better when Barca players started fading, got Gavi suspended for 2nd leg.

Weghorst is bad? He is a defensive attacker IMO, he runs, presses, impressive mentality, holds up play, limited player but I love that United are doing well on a budget, not throwing money at *stars* who will *never* do that kind of a job match after match, do check how much pressing Rashford did and if that is the right use of Rashford in anyone’s opinion.

Sancho is rediscovering form, is being phased in by 10Hag, keep watching him improve till the end of this season, 10Hag took some time to improve Rashford, be patient.

Garnacho being sent late on is good as opposition players get tired, he can create more of a difference with his speed and agility.

Exceptional work so far from 10Hag, United’s fitness was better despite a more rigorous schedule in the immediate timeframe, UTD coped very well without Sabitzer, Eriksen, Lisandro, Antony. Loved his composure in the face of referee error (it was a red card for challenge on Rashford IMO)

Bruno’s technical ability is so bad (passing, crossing, shooting technique), wish we could swap him for KDB or give Fred’s engine to Eriksen, Bruno’s leadership is not too good.

Casemiro’s error punished by Raphinha, but Casa is a god overall, the bite in his challenge, the lack of hesitation and the in-game intelligence is stellar.

Miss Eriksen. Lots of hopes from Sabitzer and Antony.

Final Summary – Happy to see good attacking football, hold your head high United regardless of the result, trophies/wins will come naturally in time.
Abhinav, India (United since 2005)

…I thought I’d write a little bit of a defence for Weghorst after the panning he is getting after the Barcelona game.

Whilst he certainly isn’t the best at finishing, assisting and other things you want from attacking players, Ten Hag has brought him in for what he provides to the team away from that.

Last season he had the highest pressures per 90 in the league. As a forward!

Those who are criticising him are missing the point about what he brings to the structure of the team.

Ten Hag is very clear – he wants us to press from the front. And hard. And with Weghorst he totally does that. He sets a tone and an example for the other players in that sense.

After the first 20 minutes we dominated the rest of that half, and that was because we kept winning the ball back high up the pitch over and over again.

Would that have happened with Ronaldo? Never. Maybe with Cavani yes.

In the long term he will leave a legacy for United because the rest of the team will have seen the example for what Erik expects in pressing high up the pitch.

He isn’t our long-term centre-forward, but he has been brought in to do a certain job, not a million miles different from that done by Ji-Sung Park back in the 2000’s.

Erik doesn’t look at football the way us laymen fans do. He thinks how can I get this TEAM to operate and win. Not have the best individuals all over the pitch. Maybe if England had him as manager in the 2000’s we might have won something.
Nishul Saperia (worried though that Sancho won’t make it. Not sure what he has to be a successful winger)

…Yes, it was an entertaining match, both sides could have scored more but it is not a sign either club are back to their best. The reason it was so entertaining was that there were so many errors losing possession in dangerous areas. Against a club like Bayern both clubs would have been severely punished like Barca were to get into this cup in the first place. Personally, I’d expect the 2nd leg to be more cagey as both managers look to cut out those errors. Utd having Martinez back will likely stabilise us a fair amount.

Then, to those criticising Wout. I’d agree that he’s not the 30 goal a season striker we all want, he is just a temporary stop gap and represents an upgrade on Anthony Martial. Martial doesn’t score many, doesn’t track back and seems to be injured half the time too. Wout is doing a job for now, if he can just chip in with a few goals that would be even better.

Sancho also had a bad game but he’s had his issues and been out fir a while. Give him a break and trust E10H to get him back to his best.

Criticism of AWB is also a little short sighted. He’s been great of late, had some good tackles as usual, made some good forward runs and no defender other than Varane came out of that game looking particularly impressive.

It will be good to have Martinez back for the second leg with Shaw moving out to the left. And with Anthony back too we’d be a noticeably stronger starting XI and also have Sancho and Garnacho ready from the bench to freshen up in the last 20 if we need them. Similarly, we’d also have stronger defensive cover off the bench should we need to protect a lead.

With games likely coming 2 per week for the rest of the season, the squad is going to be severely tested and E10H is going to have to give game time to all the benchwarmers. I’m interested to see how they’ll develop and hopefully one or two can stake a claim for being in the starting XI for next season as Garnacho is doing.

We’re in better shape for top 4 than anyone could have expected at the start of the season, in a final and still in the 2 other cups. There’s lots to be happy about.
Jon, Cape Town

…I don’t often say this, or maybe I do, but either way this grief for Sancho is incredibly dumb. Let alone the rewriting of history to proclaim him as never any good. Obviously, that’s nonsense.

Sancho needs to rediscover his form, but he’s only just back on the field, and the manager – who I think most would agree is doing an ok job – trusts him. Maybe have a little faith eh?

The kind of person saying we should get rid of him were the same “people” that said Rashford should be sold last summer. Wind it in.

The lad I undoubted quality, we were unlucky not to win in an excellent game of football, and indeed were robbed of a likely red against Barca for the blatant foul on Rashford. The home game is to come with some other key players back, and the opponents without some of theirs. Maybe, just maybe, look at the glass as at least half full?

As for Weghorst, ok he’s not a world beater but he’s doing a decent job (in a new league and team, might I add) and keeping defenders on their toes.

Basically, it’s working. So shut the f*** up.
Badwolf

…Professor (Dr) David Achanfuo Yeboah – that the stop-gap emergency loan striker we signed from Burnley via Turkey in exchange for a bag of magic beans isn’t a world beater isn’t exactly shocking, is it?

He’s the best United could do in the circumstances and with the money available and United are lucky to have him.

I agree he can’t finish, but I think he’s contributing a fair amount and his style of play compliments Rashford.
Andy (MUFC)

GET RID OF IT
Since I’ve been back watching football again following the World Cup, I’ve only got one criticism of United: they f*ck around at the back too much.

Sometimes I am made to look stupid when screaming “GET RID OF IT” at the TV like a proper football man and they play some Barca 2010 football, but most of the time I am right. You can see it coming a mile away. The pressing forward is just that little bit too close for comfort, and you just know a mistake is coming.

That happened last night with the Barca equaliser. Shaw should have pinged it, instead it comes back and they try to play a fancy 1-2 and suddenly it’s in the back of the net. You can’t fault a 2-2 draw at the Nou Camp but we should have won, it was such an unavoidable mistake.
Silvio (why do people say ‘zero’ so much nowadays instead of ‘no’? I have zero knowledge of why) Dante

Actually, the rivalry IS toxic
Just seen the Mediawatch article on Newcastle’s ‘nascent’ toxic relations with Liverpool.

It really is a thing, and I say that as a mild-mannered middle-aged (mentally stable) dad of two daughters who supports Newcastle and likes cuddling things. Things don’t really blow me off course into a world of irrational hatred.

My p*ss is still simmering from the game at Anfield -in fact it’s not simmering, it’s literally hotter than the surface of the sun to the extent that it is instantly vaporised. I am willing to provide text evidence and subpoena friends and acquaintances to give verbal testimony to F365 about how strongly I feel about the game on Saturday night.

I would genuinely take 5 losses in a row against Sunderland for a victory on Saturday. I would take a season of two 17 place finishes or an early sale of Bruno to Real Madrid to beat Liverpool.

I am fully reconciled in the eyes of god in saying this truthfully, I wouldn’t carry a single gram of disappointment if we lose the League Cup final, as long as we trounce Liverpool.

I have absolutely no explanation as to why the game at Liverpool this season has proved to be my metaphorical; Spanish splinter, banging my head on a beam, or having an unfortunate accident with a zipper near a urinal.

Maybe it was the 8 mins of added time, the second disallowed goal, the scousers at full time, or that really s*tty fist pump celebration that Klopp did.

Please. Please. Please can we win on Saturday.
Bridgetjonny
(The above is based on true events and is not made up or exaggerated – please send a therapist)

The big book of Arsenal excuses
Predictable excuses? Yup, the Arsenal annual shitshow collapse is on track just as the daffodils bloom! I won’t pore over the litany of hilarious excuse-making nonsense but just a few.

“Oh Nketiah is only our second choice”
So what? Does that mean your backup striker is supposed to miss not one, but two sitters in a key match? And fail to have the basic vision and awareness to play in a completely free Martinelli with a simple two-yard pass?

Citeh’s young back-up striker cost them just £20m. If you think Alvarez would have missed all of Nketiah’s sitters or failed to find a simple pass, then I want what you’re smoking. Nketiah is on bigger reported wages than Alvarez – stop the excuses. Even as back-up, Nketiah is way inferior to various mid-table PL strikers.

“Jesus is out injured”.
Jesus might be an excellent player but even when fit, he is a profligate striker – he literally has one of the worst XG in the division. He isn’t clinical (which is one reason why Pep ditched him). We rightly talk about VAR ineptitude but Jesus missing a sitter away at a struggling Southampton is another 2 points chucked away by Arsenal as a result of his profligacy. But yes “with a fit Jesus” 🙄🙄

“Citeh are do difficult to beat”
A mediocre Spuds team, with injuries, literally schooled Citeh just over a week ago! Seriously guys, this is getting silly.

“The future is bright”
LOL. That nugget got its first PR airing in 2006! Remember the infamous “British core”? RVP etc? At what point does this magic, intangible future of Sunlit Arsenal uplands, actually become reality? At this point I would even back the farce that is Brexit to produce a benefit before an Arsenal title win! 😂🙄

The simple fact is, for the 15th year in a row, Arsenal have been incompetent with their recruitment. A Partey dual option should have been signed ages ago, never was. Arsenal needed a clinical attacker to take chances in the big fixtures – still don’t have one. Trossard is decent but he’s not going to worry any big team.

There’s also the fact that tactically, Arteta completely fluffed his brief. Continually trying to play out the back against the best team in Europe? Christ. Arsenal are very good but no, they aren’t on Citeh level. It was obvious every time they closed down Gabriel that Arsenal needed to trouble Citeh by trying long diagonal balls over the top, and exploit the pace of Saka/Martinelli in behind. Did that ever happen? Did it f****! Not once. That is simply poor tactics.

Still. I’m just waiting for the big book of excuses to revert to “we cannot compete with oil money” (the all-time classic!)
Stewie Griffin

The only way is ethics
News of the imminent Qatari takeover of Manchester United got me thinking about ethics. I seriously question the sports washing of any club, the ethical implications of this state owning an English club and using it in this way…

I also question the recent comment from Micah Richards that he spends £30k plus a year on hair cuts (cos his loves a twice weekly haircut innit), as it “makes him feel good” – think of the kids lives around the world he could save with this money (obviously wont bring the warm fuzzy feeling that a new haircut does); while Thierry Henry and Jamie Carragher sit in the studio looking aghast at such a gross over spending on something so trivial before getting in their chauffeur driven super car of choice on the way home to their mansions and gold plated taps, not seeing the irony of the thousands of kids they could be saving/bringing out of poverty/human rights issues they could support if they just had the 2 Ferraris rather than the 4.

I also question the links of Ronaldo, Messi, Neymar, Mbappe, Beckham etc. etc. to this kind of “dirty money”. The most venerated footballers of our time, absolutely linked forever with this kind of ownership/paycheck – doesn’t stop 100’s of millions of loyal fans following their every move on social media, “liking” their next horrendous showing of wealth – we must be ethical though right – not support links to tyranny in any way? (think of the kids that could be saved on Ronaldo’s eyebrow sculpting budget alone).

But then I also question ethics of everyone, I’m off to Spain for a week in the sun whilst the world burns (we love a bit of sun innit – bit hot today though babe), filling up our oversized cars (not considering where the petrol came from of course – nothing to see here), heading to the shops (it’s easier that way innit) and I don’t have to pass the homeless guy by the bus stop Eating our bacon sandwiches from the recently gas-chambered pig (we love “our” meat innit), lets place a bet on my phone (no ethical questions about how my phone was made surely – nothing to see here) before watching the World Cup, spending 5 (maybe 6) seconds concerned about the deaths of the workers involved in this “spectacle” before the real concern of out team’s progression to the next stage (got to get my priorities right innit).

You see no one is ethical, we all live in a cognitive dissonance led cultural bubble where we ignore the starving kid because we really want that new car/tv/holiday and that clearly means more to us than their lives.

So join me in the banter towards the Manchester United supports, revel as they squirm at the awkward LGBTQ+ related questions but don’t ever kid yourself that you are ethical; you’re just Micah Richards on a budget – pass me another burger, the Merc is warmed up and I’m off to play golf.

Ethics? It’s a funny old game
James Sinclair

The Premier League is dead
It’s been over a decade of reading F365, first time I’m writing in with my big issue with Football (a game that I grew up playing and love dearly). The Premier League and club football are broken – ManCity and their likes have helped break it. The FT of all papers have put it better than anyone else today – 22 players chase the ball and after 90mins, the team with the highest wage bill wins. The richest clubs are guilty of not just breaking the rules, but also committing fraud and using their cash to work the legal system to their advantage. The beautiful game has been ruined, and is only so in World Cups. That’s why every 4 years, we are shocked by the “pureness” (to use a golfing term) of watching countries play each other. Why can’t we do this every year and scrap this fake monopoly money, league football?
Raul, London