Granit "The Hacker" Xhaka | Likes his reds
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik and Imran hold a long overdue conversation about United's awful league form with 1 win in 7. They discuss a disappointing draw at Bournemouth, a not so disappointing draw against Liverpool and a crushing defeat at Chelsea - Is time nearly over for Erik Ten Hag?
Then in a special second half of the pod, Nik welcomes Natalie ( https://twitter.com/natalie_17) to discuss the fortunes of Manchester United Women as they booked a place in the FA Cup Final after a historic first ever win vs. Chelsea.
It's madness for me that players vote for something like this. The manager should show more balls.Which says it all.
Emery doesn't help himself with his baffling decisions.
He should not have been captain in the first place, the bloke should not even be playing for us, I know emery wanted him as captain but he put it to the players and they basically picked their mate, just another example of poor leadership from emery
A lot of overreaction to this, no?
In the AFTV video’s I agree with Robbie, ridiculous for fans to be cheering a player for getting subbed, really fecked me off when our fans did it to Lingard. Cant blame Xhaka for reacting the way he did imo.
When did that happen?
Amazed he's been at Arsenal for so long and this could be the final straw rather than his awful performances.
Arsenal fans create such a poisonous atmosphere that at some point a player is going to retaliate.
The same thing happened with Adebayor, gave him stick and then when he chucks it back they get upset.
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I agree. Disgraceful for fans to be doing that to him despite how he’s performing or him walking off the pitch. I don’t think he’s a good player but feel sorry for him.
I doubt his reaction had anything to do with those things tbf, seemed to me he was annoyed at being taken off and the fans jeering made him completely lose his head.
Was it the second time Emery pulled him off at the 60th min?
If you’ve ever been in a situation where a lot of negativity has built up then the minute something triggers another piece of negativity it all floods you and you snap. That’s what happened today.
What a plonker! 
This is called an Amygdala Hi-jack, and is pure brain science. The amygdala is your brains fight or flight mechanism, and in a high stress situation, reactions really can go one way or the other and in Xhaka's case, his automatic response was anger and frustration. The trouble with being in this "hi-jacked" state of mind is that - unless you do work on managing the severity of them - there really isn't much you can control and it takes on average 90 seconds before your brain enters back into it's more rational state. I can say with a fair degree of certainty that Xhaka realized how irrational he was pretty soon after the event, but his brain and the way he manages situations like that just wouldn't let him respond any other way.
Cant remember the game exactly but also happened to Young in pre season if I remember rightly.
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We love you Gräni we do. feck off arsenal
What happens in the dressing room stays in the dressing room!
Wait what happened
The real problem is that he doesn't have the performance level to bring it back.
Normal people dont get paid 100 000 pounds a week. Hell give me 100 000 pounds a week for people to yell abuse at me, I will sit and sip my craft beer, then after the insults drive off in my audi to my million dollar mansion. Paying customers have a right to voice their opinion with what's on show imo. I don't think booing accomplishes anything, im a more get behind the team kind of guy. But I respect that these people paid out good money and should be able to voice their opinions.
What I do not agree with is the hassling of his girlfriend The clowns that do this need to get a clue. At the end of the day it is just football.
This is one of the biggest misconceptions regarding footballers and is a reason why depression is hidden amongst them. Humans, whether they earn 1 mil or 1 pound, are still humans and will react to abuse. Xhaka is a footballer who plays football for a living, and loves football. If you are doing something you love but have people constantly berating you, abusing you and your family because of it, then why the feck would you want to continue doing it?
The mental strength required to be a footballer is something I value more than skill. There are tons of people with more skill than the average footballer but what they will lack is the mental strength to make it to the top level, that strength comes from concentration but also being able to stand to pressure and criticism.
Saying stuff like 'oh I would let people abuse me for 100k a week', that's typical armchair fan talk far from the reality of being a footballer.
How do you know he loves football, some/lots just do it as a job. Infact I watched a q and a with rashford and pereira the other day and they couldn’t name 6 premier league managers. They don’t live or love football like a fan, it’s a job.
Also, humans do not always react to abuse, money or not, some professions get abuse hurled at them for peanuts but have to keep their cool. That could be abuse directly to their face.
A footballer may here a few boos or bad word from a distance, being human is no excuse to losing your cool
Arsenal misdirecting the blame like as if Xhaka picks himself
Get em Granit, fans who boo their own players deserve no respect. Get the feck out of here.
I feel for the guy, you can see that it's been building up for a while. I've always hated fans who boo their own players, ours booing Fellaini springs to mind, but a whole stadium of home fans must be a whole new level. The guy's only human, this stuff gets to you. I wouldn't be surprised if he never wants to play for Arsenal again. I think the anger was misplaced really, Xhaka should never have been the one to feel the full force of it.
Captain casually walking off the pitch when you're drawing at home doesn't do him any favours.
The argument isn't whether one person will react or not, it's the notion that if you're paid a ton of money you shouldn't react and just be happy eventhough you're being hurled abuse at.
And let's not compare other professions. I don't you'll find other professions where you can be hurled abuse it from 60000 people for whom you are actually playing for and trying to help win.
Doctors take plenty of stick as well but that's generally frawned upon, but because you're a footballer it's okay?
I didn’t say the abuse was ok, I disagree with the abuse. I disagree with booing your own players, However I don’t think reacting to that abuse is the right thing to do.
And yes, I think the money should help in not reacting, he’s earning a great living, people put up with a lot more more abuse for a lot less money because it’s their job and they fear/can’t afford to lose it. This is his job too.
So asking a player to walk off a field without reacting is not too much to ask in my opinion, and certainly shouldn’t be excused because he’s ‘human’. I think him being captain is even more reason not to react.
(@hasanejaz88 sorry I didn’t quote)
And yes, I think the money should help in not reacting, he’s earning a great living, people put up with a lot more more abuse for a lot less money because it’s their job and they fear/can’t afford to lose it. This is his job too.
So asking a player to walk off a field without reacting is not too much to ask in my opinion, and certainly shouldn’t be excused because he’s ‘human’. I think him being captain is even more reason not to react.
(@hasanejaz88 sorry I didn’t quote)
Not the same in the slightest. You'd be fully aware that you're getting that money for letting people hurl abuse at you. Xhaka is getting that money for doing his job, a job he's dedicated his entire life to become good enough at to do professionally, and thousands of people keep shouting that he's shit at that job every single week. Add to that, Xhaka's going to get paid handsomely no matter where he plays because he has a certain market value, so getting fed up and wanting to leave is an understandable reaction. No doubt in my mind, I'd choose the job where I was happy over the job that maybe paid slightly more, but had a crowd of people telling me I was shite all the time. No amount of money makes that abuse easy to deal with for anyone, considering it's coming from the club's own fans.
There was a massive ironic cheer when the substitution was announced. He was clearly pissed off at that and acted the tit walking off slowly. Then the fans started booing and he got more and more petulant.
I'd normally say your own fans booing you off is pretty horrid thing to experience as a player, but then Xhaka is unique in how aggressively terrible he is.
The way he hid from the ball yesterday was just so gutless and pathetic. The way he slouched off the pitch while his team were losing was also.
The way he hid from the ball yesterday was just so gutless and pathetic. The way he slouched off the pitch while his team were losing was also.
One of the most coherent posts I ever read on this forum.
A professional football match is not a kindergarten violin recital, where people are expected to clap regardless of how it goes.
Bad performances have been booed ever since the dawn of time, and, at the end of the day, footballers are, indeed, performers on a show.
Even if you don't believe booing accomplishing anything, kudos for defending the right the fans have to vent their frustration in this fashion.
When it comes to Granit Xhaka, they have to put up with this mockery of a player earning a fortune to stink up their team for years. At some point they have to convey their wish to see him out of the team in a way they know they'll be heard.
You don't want that kind of pressure on you, don't play professional football. Even in your work Sunday league team you are bashed if your performance is shit.
Exactly. That's precisely why fans have the right to boo.
Nobody gives a shit about what the average fan thinks, until they do it in numbers during a match. Then the club has to give a shit.
Otherwise they can always pretend it's all ribbons and unicorns.
I remember seeing them rip up their season tickets after a narrow loss on the first game of the season while Wenger was there. Worst fans in the PL imo.
I disagree, I have friends that work in call centres, people abuse them pretty regularly and they get paid below average wages. Im sure they would happily let people throw abuse at them for 100 000 pounds/week. They are getting abused for 50 000 bucks a year already in job they took because the economy is in the tank. They work two whole years to earn what Xhaka makes in 1 week. Paying customers have a right to voice their displeasure, just as in any entertainment industry. From stand up comics to UFC.
He is a professional footballer, it comes with the territory, I do agree you need a certain mental fortitude to be successful as a professional footballer. And a lot of self belief because even in Sunday leagues people will be yelling from the sideline. I 100% do not agree with people bringing his family into it, those clowns need to be fired into space on a Musk rocket.
Take a look in the mirror
I'd do the same. It's not like in my current, much lower paying job I don't get abuse. Actresses, actors, footballers, binman, pizza delivery man, whoever in the world all have struggles at some point in their life and They all have a chance to be depressed.
Just because you're a rich footballer doesn't mean people should be protecting you from depression. Like wtf, seriously? Your average Joes get abuse at their workplaces in all sort of forms and They don't get to bang hot models while staying in their comfy mansion and drive a car that is at least twice as expensive as the average house prices.
Low risk low return, high risk high return. Besides, if you have never acted like a tit people generally like you anyway. Unless if you're shite at the job that They paid you to do. Getting boos is hard? try receiving death threats when you send wrong Pizzas. Hostility isn't good but guess what? everyone and their mothers went through it.