sglowrider
Thinks the caf is 'wokeish'.
He was the best -- helped improve my sleep health by leaps & bounds.LvG was the absolute worst.
Bring LVG back!!
He was the best -- helped improve my sleep health by leaps & bounds.LvG was the absolute worst.
This is true, however most real state in London is owned by russians,chinese,americans and oil barons...sooner or later english clubs would have been bought anyway, especially if there's no 50+1 to prevent the cheatcode of a foreign billionaire buying a midtable club to make it big (Chelsea and City).Disagree. If the PL had the same model as the BL, limiting control of outside investors, Utd would probably still be dominating the PL up to this day in a similar way that Bayern does. I doubt 9 or 10 in a row, but certainly every other title going our way. Any comparison between Bayern and Utd at this time is pointless. The BL model protects the status quo, the PL model uplifts anybody willing to add endless pits of money to the game. Even being managed fantastically from top to bottom would not give Utd the amount of success that Bayern has.
United‘s problems didn‘t start with mismanagement, they started with real competition. Competition, fair or not, was the only thing that was able to break the supremacy.
I found him totally detestable aside from a few drunk uncle moments which only underscored his bizarre mix of idiocy and self-absorption really.LvG was the absolute worst.
It won't be long before someone changes this to, "Hoeness is footballing man, so he knows what formations to play. Woodward is a banker, he knows feck all"
True..It won't be long before someone changes this to, "Hoeness is footballing man, so he knows what formations to play. Woodward is a banker, he knows feck all"
Yes, I‘m not blaming Bayern or any other club or football association. This is purely self-inflicted by the English FA. It‘s never about what‘s best for the game, only about what‘s in it for them.This is true, however most real state in London is owned by russians,chinese,americans and oil barons...sooner or later english clubs would have been bought anyway, especially if there's no 50+1 to prevent the cheatcode of a foreign billionaire buying a midtable club to make it big (Chelsea and City).
You can't blame Bayern for problems that can be traced back to english officials and government decades ago.
This is on english officials for not doing their job, they even lobbied for Saudi Arabia to take over Newcastle.
What will happen this summer?All these years later and he is still spot on. This isn't a football club, but a financial and marketing agency. This summer will prove it once and for all.
Very little to do with football, I imagine. Appoint Poch, then buy Kane and Rice for a total of 200M. Throw in Benzema somewhere in there as well in the final days of the window on 400k/week. Offer Rashford a new contract 350k/week.What will happen this summer?
Like the club bought Shaw, Fernandes, Sancho, Fred etc?Very little to do with football, I imagine. Appoint Poch, then buy Kane and Rice for a total of 200M. Throw in Benzema somewhere in there as well in the final days of the window on 400k/week. Offer Rashford a new contract 350k/week.
The “is” in that first sentence is categorically wrong. Even ignoring the abject football he presided over at United he’s achieved absolutely feck all in the five seasons since to prove we were wrong to sack him.LvG is brilliant. He arrived at Bayern having guided bloody AZ Alkmaar to the dutch league title, their second in their entire history. Like guiding Everton to the title. The very next season newly appointed Koeman lost 7 of the first 16 games before getting the sack. During LvGs tutelage AZ only lost 4 games during the previous season.
Back during Bayerns dark ages LvG arrived and turned the whole team upside down which was much needed. More than a manager he was a "football teacher", a proper coach who taught football mechanics and fundamentals. Bayern are still reaping the rewards of van Gaals foundations to this day.
As for his flaws they are well documented. He is terrible at handling divas which is particularly bad when the player is Rivaldo at Barcelona or Ribéry at Bayern, he clashes with them because it's his way or no way. As bad as he is at man managing divas he is equally adept promoting youth. Without a shadow of a doubt the man that boasts the best XI + bench of all time when it comes to those he promoted. The players owe him and we as a public owe him because several of those who became all time greats would never have made it with a normal manager in charge, they would have been shipped off. For example Thomas Müller who was to be shipped off to Hoffenheim and never be heard from again had LvG not intervened.
Valdes
Melchiot Puyol Badstuber Alaba
Seedorf Davids Xavi
Müller Kluivert Iniesta
Rashford
Gabri
Landzaat
Lens
McNair
Musampa
Kraft
Thats always in the eye of the beholder right?All these years later and he is still spot on. This isn't a football club, but a financial and marketing agency. This summer will prove it once and for all.
If only people thought before coming to with rubbish, isn't it.Thats always in the eye of the beholder right?
Besides how else do you propose for United to compete or attempt to compete against the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool or even City? Rely on the history and charms?
How will they pay the salaries of the players when competing against the likes of RM, Barca or even Bayern if they don't have a strong commercial arm?
I think people are living in pre-EPL days/past -- where playing for United in from of 80,000 fans meant something.
Without a strong commercial arm, United would have been a Nottingham Forrest post-Fergie's retirement. History but that's about it. Roman's entry into the league changed everything.
Can you explain why we aren't football but marketing agency only?All these years later and he is still spot on. This isn't a football club, but a financial and marketing agency. This summer will prove it once and for all.
Very disjointed point altogether.Thats always in the eye of the beholder right?
Besides how else do you propose for United to compete or attempt to compete against the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool or even City? Rely on the history and charms?
How will they pay the salaries of the players when competing against the likes of RM, Barca or even Bayern if they don't have a strong commercial arm?
I think people are living in pre-EPL days/past -- where playing for United in from of 80,000 fans meant something.
Without a strong commercial arm, United would have been a Nottingham Forrest post-Fergie's retirement. History but that's about it. Roman's entry into the league changed everything.
For the last 10 years there hasn't been a footballing side to this club. Only commercial. You can and should have both, but we don't. No one in this club has a vision or even a semblance of a plan what footballing ideology we want to represent or what style of play we aspire to. The managerial appointments and the haphazard buying of players is a testament to this. The reason for this is that competitive football takes a backseat to marketability and finance. Wrong priorities with a severe lack of vision has left this club in a state of permanent confusion. Which is what brings us to today - a bunch of players bought by different managers over the span of 10 years trying to fit together under yet another different manager with a very different style of play.Thats always in the eye of the beholder right?
Besides how else do you propose for United to compete or attempt to compete against the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool or even City? Rely on the history and charms?
How will they pay the salaries of the players when competing against the likes of RM, Barca or even Bayern if they don't have a strong commercial arm?
I think people are living in pre-EPL days/past -- where playing for United in from of 80,000 fans meant something.
Without a strong commercial arm, United would have been a Nottingham Forrest post-Fergie's retirement. History but that's about it. Roman's entry into the league changed everything.
Its only seen as a commercial club because of the lack of success. I bet if we had success, people will be lauding Woodward as some CEO genius.For the last 10 years there hasn't been a footballing side to this club. Only commercial. You can and should have both, but we don't. No one in this club has a vision or even a semblance of a plan what footballing ideology we want to represent or what style of play we aspire to. The managerial appointments and the haphazard buying of players is a testament to this. The reason for this is that competitive football takes a backseat to marketability and finance. Wrong priorities with a severe lack of vision has left this club in a state of permanent confusion. Which is what brings us to today - a bunch of players bought by different managers over the span of 10 years trying to fit together under yet another different manager with a very different style of play.
You are right, we can't compete with the oil clubs. We don't have the luxury to ignore fans and have someone pump money from the outside. And the club can't rely on 80 000 fans. Football is a global sport now. You can find Manchester United fans everywhere. Non-local fans usually become such when they are children and are exposed to a club. But exposure happens by competitive success, not by a brilliant marketing strategy. Brilliant marketing strategy doesn't get you plastered all over the TV on the other side of the world. Playing good football and winning silverware does. I imagine there aren't many Wolverhampton fans in South Africa, for example. This is why you need to succeed competitively, so you can attract new generation of fans globally and keep the brand in the spotlight. But the club has been irrelevant in this regard for a decade. There are teenagers today that don't really know Manchester United, but they know City, Liverpool and such. Revenues have plateaued and the other clubs are gaining on us, which would have been unthinkable sometime ago.
And I just love the argument that "the Glazers have spent XXX amount of money and bought XXX player, so they must have a plan". The Glazers didn't buy anything. This is all the club's money. What they have done is drain 1 billion off the club, while using the rest to buy big names to pacify the fans and pretend they have a plan. You can buy all the big names in the world and spend a bajillion pounds, but without any plan or vision you end up like us and PSG. Only, PSG have infinite money and can afford infinite mistakes. And they will eventually get it right. We can't afford a brute force approach.
This is why I am exceedingly pessimistic about the summer. You don't become competent over a fortnight.
Probably. But probably this would also mean that he had made good footballing decisions, so this would be justified.Its only seen as a commercial club because of the lack of success. I bet if we had success, people will be lauding Woodward as some CEO genius.
For sure. People in the Caf would like to see everything very binary when the reality is far from that. He wouldn't have lasted 7-8 years if he was as bad as the Caf thinks he is. But saying that he has wasted tremendous amounts of $$. But you blame the board for that -- zero succession planning and that's partly due to the lack of a DOF which Fergie was one too. But you cannot let both Fergie and Gill go the same time. That's 35+yrs of institutional knowledge gone in a day.Probably. But probably this would also mean that he had made good footballing decisions, so this would be justified.
????Its only seen as a commercial club because of the lack of success. I bet if we had success, people will be lauding Woodward as some CEO genius.
It failed because it was the cumulative issues of -- the lack of investment (due to speculative reasons) during the later Fergie years (but including poor buys like a Bebe, Djembax2 etc), the emergence of the oil clubs and poor succession plan.
As early as 2010 LvG, then 60, spoke about retirement. He had promised his wife Truus that they would no longer move around after his München adventure came to an end.The “is” in that first sentence is categorically wrong. Even ignoring the abject football he presided over at United he’s achieved absolutely feck all in the five seasons since to prove we were wrong to sack him.
He should have retired before taking the United job. That would have saved everyone a lot of time and money. He certainly didn’t do “rather well” while he was at the club and his “mission” seemed to be repurposing football into a cure for insomnia.As early as 2010 LvG, then 60, spoke about retirement. He had promised his wife Truus that they would no longer move around after his München adventure came to an end.
Then he produced magic with a weak NT, begged Truus to allow him a crack at the premier league going back on his promise. And he did rather well at United but got sacked before he could fulfil his mission. Retirement at 65 followed.
Then during the "Five fec all seasons" he was retired before returning to NT 6 months ago so not sure what you wanted him to do whilst retired.
Nail on the head. Under the succession plan umbrella you can include poor managerial appointments, had we appointed Klopp straight after Fergie no one would be complaining about lack of success etc, just like they didn't under Fergie.Its only seen as a commercial club because of the lack of success. I bet if we had success, people will be lauding Woodward as some CEO genius.
It failed because it was the cumulative issues of -- the lack of investment (due to speculative reasons) during the later Fergie years (but including poor buys like a Bebe, Djembax2 etc), the emergence of the oil clubs and poor succession plan.
if we are giving out contracts without a manager to Bruno, Rashford and Shaw who have been dreadful this season then not much has actually changed.He’s correct by all means but Woodward is gone and the club is a lot more structured on the football side of things than it was when he was here.
So here’s hoping.
Exactly. What good is a large transfer budget when the people deciding how it’s spent are looking for big name stars and not the best players for the team?This is exactly why Klopp didn't come. All the wooden tops who bang on about the Glazers' transfer budget need to understand this is primarily what has been wrong with the club throughout the Glazer era. If we don't change it won't matter who the manager is.
Not really, no.He’s correct by all means but Woodward is gone and the club is a lot more structured on the football side of things than it was when he was here.
So here’s hoping.