United Hour Podcast - In Ole We Trust

Rood

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This episode Nik @Rood , Ashwin @AR87 and Mark @Stobzilla look back over the past few games where our winning run came to an end, but we are still unbeaten under Ole and progressed in the cup.
We run the rule over the youth team and then look ahead to a massive month of big games which kicks off with PSG next week.


Podomatic (stream or download): https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/redcastpod/episodes/2019-02-07T03_22_17-08_00
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iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/united-hour/id902792476?mt=2
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As always, a huge thank you to @mckenic for the great work on the edit this week
 

Bastian

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Great show people.

Agreed with the Sanchez-Pogba dilemma. Personally, think it's best to get rid of both Sanchez and Lukaku (decent on the right, but offers no protection for the right back) in the summer.

With regards to Lindelof-Bailly, of course they can still improve, but we have to have more aerial prowess in the backline. Like against Fulham on Saturday, there is no way they'll be the centre back pairing against Mitrovich. Expecting Smalling to come back into the team now.
 

Rood

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Great show people.

Agreed with the Sanchez-Pogba dilemma. Personally, think it's best to get rid of both Sanchez and Lukaku (decent on the right, but offers no protection for the right back) in the summer.

With regards to Lindelof-Bailly, of course they can still improve, but we have to have more aerial prowess in the backline. Like against Fulham on Saturday, there is no way they'll be the centre back pairing against Mitrovich. Expecting Smalling to come back into the team now.
Cheers mate - always appreciate the comments

Sanchez I'm not too bothered if he leaves but ,eventhough he's been poor this season, I'm not quite ready to get rid of Lukaku - although he might not be happy to be 2nd choice so may push for a move

I doubt Smalling will be ready to start on Saturday so will be interesting to see if he sticks with Bailly or Jones comes back
 

buckooo1978

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just had a listen ..

the quality of the analysis on the Pods are excellent these days

well done fellas

goosebumps at the end with the comments about Ole/Fergie
 

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Great pod, guys.

Sanchez has this half of the season to prove himself worthy of a starting spot, Lukaku a bit of the same. Think they both need to have a good look at themselves and try to find ways to be useful to the team rather than just doing things that clearly aren't making things work for us. Know it's not easy to reinvent yourself on the pitch, but getting into our team shouldn't be easy.

With regards to the youth academy I really enjoyed @Stobzilla's input on it. Looking forward to hearing more about it and maybe seeing some more of the youngsters at least try to make the step up!
 

Stobzilla

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just had a listen ..

the quality of the analysis on the Pods are excellent these days

well done fellas

goosebumps at the end with the comments about Ole/Fergie
Thanks man, glad you enjoyed it, tune in for me crying after it goes horribly wrong after my rousing PSG preview.
 

Stobzilla

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With regards to the youth academy I really enjoyed @Stobzilla's input on it. Looking forward to hearing more about it and maybe seeing some more of the youngsters at least try to make the step up!
I really enjoy talking about the youngsters, I haven't been as involved in the last couple of years, same with the pod, for a number of reasons, but I have kept up where possible but I am going too throw myself back into it. The MUTV app makes it a lot easier now.
 

Funky Futurista

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I really enjoy talking about the youngsters, I haven't been as involved in the last couple of years, same with the pod, for a number of reasons, but I have kept up where possible but I am going too throw myself back into it. The MUTV app makes it a lot easier now.
Yeah I'm a new listener and really enjoy these pods, so nice to hear someone talking about the youngsters. Quite interested in our youth myself, so always want to hear more about them. Loved to see the Goals of the month-video on youtube where you could see Chong's sublime freekick as well as McTominay's footwork and good finish to mention some of them.
 

Rood

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Yeah I'm a new listener and really enjoy these pods, so nice to hear someone talking about the youngsters. Quite interested in our youth myself, so always want to hear more about them. Loved to see the Goals of the month-video on youtube where you could see Chong's sublime freekick as well as McTominay's footwork and good finish to mention some of them.
watch out on our Twitter for coverage of the youth games from @Stobzilla - now that Ive posted it here he has to do it whether he likes it or not ;)
 

#07

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Good post. Glad to see @Stobzilla back. Agree with everything he said about Van Gaal. Mourinho mightily f'd it up at the end but the real damage was done by the way Van Gaal dismantled our squad. We binned off Rafael and still don't have a right back better than him. We binned off Nani and still don't have a right winger better than him...

Slightly surprised by @Rood's spirited defence of Pochettino. I think @AR87 is right the way he talks about trophies feeds into Spurs' Spursy-ness. Its a ready made excuse when Spurs slip up. Maybe Levy is telling him stuff in private. I'm sure the Glazers told Fergie stuff in private. However, it was much better for Sir Alex to say there's no value in the market and Phil Jones could be Duncan Edwards reborn, rather than give the squad excuses for not winning. Pochettino gives Spurs cover not to kick on and that's my main doubt about him as a big club coach. Give it Ole.
 

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I think @AR87 is right the way he talks about trophies feeds into Spurs' Spursy-ness. Its a ready made excuse when Spurs slip up. Maybe Levy is telling him stuff in private. I'm sure the Glazers told Fergie stuff in private. However, it was much better for Sir Alex to say there's no value in the market and Phil Jones could be Duncan Edwards reborn, rather than give the squad excuses for not winning. Pochettino gives Spurs cover not to kick on and that's my main doubt about him as a big club coach. Give it Ole.
I agree, mate. I know they don't have the strongest squad, he didn't get backed this summer, and he still has them in with a shout for the league, but if they don't win the league he'll come out with something about how they're not at that level yet and right now top-4 is what's most important for Spurs. This is what he does when Spurs get knocked out of any of the cup competitions as well. At Spurs he can get away with that, and even be lauded for it because he has the right priorities or something, but I don't think it sends the right message to the squad.

Everybody with a clue knows top-4 is what's most important. That doesn't mean you should diminish the importance of other cups or the ability of your players to achieve success in a competition like the CL. I also think it's rich that in the 2 years when Spurs finished behind Leicester and Chelsea, the consensus was they had the best XI in the league, yet not winning the league was fine because they were Spurs.

To me he gets to have every excuse in the book when they come up short with little or no criticism and when they win he gets all the praise, even if they're not actually winning titles or trophies. It's a bit much for me and when you contrast it with how Ole has talked since becoming an interim manager at United I don't care for it at all. Even if Ole's not the one I'm not of the belief Poch definitely is, certainly not with the mindset he's demonstrated.
 

Rood

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Good post. Glad to see @Stobzilla back. Agree with everything he said about Van Gaal. Mourinho mightily f'd it up at the end but the real damage was done by the way Van Gaal dismantled our squad. We binned off Rafael and still don't have a right back better than him. We binned off Nani and still don't have a right winger better than him...

Slightly surprised by @Rood's spirited defence of Pochettino. I think @AR87 is right the way he talks about trophies feeds into Spurs' Spursy-ness. Its a ready made excuse when Spurs slip up. Maybe Levy is telling him stuff in private. I'm sure the Glazers told Fergie stuff in private. However, it was much better for Sir Alex to say there's no value in the market and Phil Jones could be Duncan Edwards reborn, rather than give the squad excuses for not winning. Pochettino gives Spurs cover not to kick on and that's my main doubt about him as a big club coach. Give it Ole.
Firstly I dont agree with much that @Stobzilla said about LvG (especially not that he did more damage than Moyes!), didnt want to get into it on this episode as we had enough to cover already but we might do on a future one. F.WIW I think you have a point on Nani, but Rafael not so much - the ones I was actually most disappointed at getting rid of were Chicharito and Welbeck.

Secondly on Pochettino - not sure what exactly you are getting at with Glazers and Fergie? But to clarify my point on instructions from Levy, I am pretty certain that Poch had been told that the cup was not important and to focus on the league, especially this year with the new stadium - did you see the team he put out against Palace? it was virtually a reserve team.
Obviously lack of trophies is the big black mark against Poch but he's still overachieving given the budget he has just by finishing top4 so I dont have much of an issue with his comments. It's just about realistic expectations and obviously it would be a completely different scenario regarding budgets and expectations at United, Real etc.
Im not saying I want Poch though, Id happily give it to Ole at this point but I just dont think some of the criticism is fair - especially given their recent run of results in the league with the likes of Kane and Alli out.
 
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Darkhorsez

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Cheers mate - always appreciate the comments

Sanchez I'm not too bothered if he leaves but ,eventhough he's been poor this season, I'm not quite ready to get rid of Lukaku - although he might not be happy to be 2nd choice so may push for a move

I doubt Smalling will be ready to start on Saturday so will be interesting to see if he sticks with Bailly or Jones comes back
First, thanks for the podcast. Agree with your take on Lukaku - I think he will come good for us. It’s totally disturbing his regression though.
 

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Secondly on Pochettino - not sure what exactly you are getting at with Glazers and Fergie? But to clarify my point on instructions from Levy, I am pretty certain that Poch had been told that the cup was not important and to focus on the league, especially this year with the new stadium - did you see the team he put out against Palace? it was virtually a reserve team.
I think what he's getting at is that this isn't the first time he's been out in a cup comp, and many of the times before it isn't because he put out a weakened side.
 

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Firstly I dont agree with much that @Stobzilla said about LvG (especially not that he did more damage than Moyes!), didnt want to get into it on this episode as we had enough to cover already but we might do on a future one. F.WIW I think you have a point on Nani, but Rafael not so much - the ones I was actually most disappointed at getting rid of were Chicharito and Welbeck.

Secondly on Pochettino - not sure what exactly you are getting at with Glazers and Fergie? But to clarify my point on instructions from Levy, I am pretty certain that Poch had been told that the cup was not important and to focus on the league, especially this year with the new stadium - did you see the team he put out against Palace? it was virtually a reserve team.
Obviously lack of trophies is the big black mark against Poch but he's still overachieving given the budget he has just by finishing top4 so I dont have much of an issue with his comments. It's just about realistic expectations and obviously it would be a completely different scenario regarding budgets and expectations at United, Real etc.
Im not saying I want Poch though, Id happily give it to Ole at this point but I just dont think some of the criticism is fair - especially given their recent run of results in the league with the likes of Kane and Alli out.
What I meant was that, while nobody can say for certain, I'm pretty sure Glazernomics was the reason we tried to replace Ronaldo with Michael Owen and Gabriel Obertan. While the fans were crying out for reinforcements Fergie kept telling us there was 'no value in the market.' With all the stories and leaks about us refusing to meet agent's fees e.g. over Hazard it was clear that Fergie was operating under restrictions. However, he never let it affect his expectations of the first team. Never did he go into a press conference and say something to the affect of when I can spend £X million you can expect trophies. Something that Pochettino has done this season.

Pochettino's constant expectation management is something that reminds me of what we've had from Moyes, Van Gaal and Mourinho. What he said about being knocked out of the FA Cup reminded me of Mourinho after Sevilla. Just covering his own back, making excuses. IMO that trickles down to the players. Spurs needed to draw 0-0 against an out of form Chelsea to be in the League Cup final. Instead Pochettino throws in the backup goalie and when they lose starts making excuses. Its all too easy for the players to behave like they're not expected to win and not to be too bothered by it. Yeah he's getting very good results without his star players at present. Part of me wonders though if Spurs were second, and there was that bit more pressure to stay in the title race, whether Pochettino's excuse making would've acted as a cushion for them to fall away already. Always very good when there's not too much riding on it are Spurs.
 

Rood

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I think what he's getting at is that this isn't the first time he's been out in a cup comp, and many of the times before it isn't because he put out a weakened side.
I think if you look back a lot of the times it was, as you noted yourself a couple of weeks ago, they simply dont have the squad depth to be fighting on several fronts - but of course he could and probably should have done better on certain occasions (case in point is the FA Cup semi loss to us last year when they bottled it even after after having 'home' advantage) so I do agree that is still an area of worry with him.


What I meant was that, while nobody can say for certain, I'm pretty sure Glazernomics was the reason we tried to replace Ronaldo with Michael Owen and Gabriel Obertan. While the fans were crying out for reinforcements Fergie kept telling us there was 'no value in the market.' With all the stories and leaks about us refusing to meet agent's fees e.g. over Hazard it was clear that Fergie was operating under restrictions. However, he never let it affect his expectations of the first team. Never did he go into a press conference and say something to the affect of when I can spend £X million you can expect trophies. Something that Pochettino has done this season.

Pochettino's constant expectation management is something that reminds me of what we've had from Moyes, Van Gaal and Mourinho. What he said about being knocked out of the FA Cup reminded me of Mourinho after Sevilla. Just covering his own back, making excuses. IMO that trickles down to the players. Spurs needed to draw 0-0 against an out of form Chelsea to be in the League Cup final. Instead Pochettino throws in the backup goalie and when they lose starts making excuses. Its all too easy for the players to behave like they're not expected to win and not to be too bothered by it. Yeah he's getting very good results without his star players at present. Part of me wonders though if Spurs were second, and there was that bit more pressure to stay in the title race, whether Pochettino's excuse making would've acted as a cushion for them to fall away already. Always very good when there's not too much riding on it are Spurs.
Well as to your first bit, I actually have a completely different POV and dont believe Fergie was ever operating under any major financial restrictions - I debated all that in ridiculous detail at the time on this very forum!

Pochettino meanwhile clearly is so I dont have that much issue with his expectation management - its just reality. Contrast Moyes, LvG and Jose who were working with some of the biggest budgets in world football so I agree just making excuses. Obviously we have no idea how Pochettino would manage if he had a top club budget and the level of expectation that goes with it, but Im pretty sure he will get the chance sooner or later whether it is with us or someone else because ultimately he has outperformed in the last 3 seasons with Spurs.
 

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Halfway through, been on point so far.

I think Ashvin talked about teams pressing us higher after they'd figure out Ole's tactics. Could have been my thoughts word for word. Not sure which game it was but I had like a wtf moment when I realised the lower table oppo had like 4 players pressing our backline.
 

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Halfway through, been on point so far.

I think Ashvin talked about teams pressing us higher after they'd figure out Ole's tactics. Could have been my thoughts word for word. Not sure which game it was but I had like a wtf moment when I realised the lower table oppo had like 4 players pressing our backline.
It was me. I first noticed it against Brighton, and both Burnley and Leicester did similarly as well. Definitely something to keep an eye on.
 

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It was me. I first noticed it against Brighton, and both Burnley and Leicester did similarly as well. Definitely something to keep an eye on.
Yeah I think the game I had in mind was the Brighton one.
 

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It was me. I first noticed it against Brighton, and both Burnley and Leicester did similarly as well. Definitely something to keep an eye on.
Excellent point and well made. One interesting knock-on effect of this is it gives us more space in behind, so when teams like Burnley start to press, we can switch the play quicker and destroy them with the added space. Nice job again guys, I also liked the increasing focus on the youth team as the under 18s in particular look to have a fantastic group right now.
 

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Excellent point and well made. One interesting knock-on effect of this is it gives us more space in behind, so when teams like Burnley start to press, we can switch the play quicker and destroy them with the added space. Nice job again guys, I also liked the increasing focus on the youth team as the under 18s in particular look to have a fantastic group right now.
cheers mate and thanks for the PM, do let me know how you can help us out on the marketing all that as we are generally crap at all the social media stuff!
 
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VanGaalyTime

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cheers mate and thanks for the PM, do let me know how you can help us out on the marketing all that as we are generally crap at all the social media stuff!
Certainly will. I'll be sending you a PM later this week with some ideas that I have for the Pod. Lots of potential for growth in the current market and think you boys have a strong foundation.