The Athletic: Man Utd - what the rest of football thinks about a club in crisis

[Champ]

That's exactly the point I'm not missing. And my point to that is that it seems to me irrelevant why The Athletic publish this article. Also, I think an assortment of views from professional competitors is actually one of the most useful things I've read on this issue. To call that "bile" and "trashy" is absurd.

Weird how we never saw any 'United are run really well' articles when we were actually doing well.

Almost like negative stories about United sell more isn't it?!

This story is the equivalent of going to Coleen Rooney's friends and asking their opinion on Rebekah Vardy.

 

[Teja]

Man Utd = clicks = revenue even at Our lowest We are still the biggest news

Yeah the athletic have been milking it. I wonder how many of their hot takes after two losses will be valid after the season's done.

I think they'll end up looking a bit silly, but I also don't really think people will have the long term memory to question articles they wrote for clicks at the beginning of the season.

I just wish someone smacks JJ in the face once we start putting together some results.

 

[justsomebloke]

Weird how we never saw any 'United are run really well' articles when we were actually doing well.

Almost like negative stories about United sell more isn't it?!

This story is the equivalent of going to Coleen Rooney's friends and asking their opinion on Rebekah Vardy.

Of course it isn't, what rot. In effect, you object to people agreeing with you, because they're the wrong people plus you imagine they have the wrong motives. Makes no sense. (I'm assuming you don't think United is a well-run club.)

 

[justsomebloke]

Yeah the athletic have been milking it. I wonder how many of their hot takes after two losses will be valid after the season's done.

I think they'll end up looking a bit silly, but I also don't really think people will have the long term memory to question articles they wrote for clicks at the beginning of the season.

I just wish someone smacks JJ in the face once we start putting together some results.

Except The Athletic is behind a paywall and don't earn money from clicks.

 

[decorativeed]

Manchester United in crisis gets the clicks in, so naturally the media perpetuates this as much as possible.

It is though. The whole organisation is substandard and way behind the times. There's a good reason they've not done one of the docuseries every other big club has done, and it's because it'd play out like a football club version of This is Spinal Tap. If you think the ridicule we get is purely uninformed speculation, wait till people outside see what it's actually like...

 

[Roario]

Win the next game and we are above Liverpool. Where is the doom and gloom for LFC in the media?

 

[Champ]

Of course it isn't, what rot. In effect, you object to people agreeing with you, because they're the wrong people plus you imagine they have the wrong motives. Makes no sense. (I'm assuming you don't think United is a well-run club.)

I never once said we are a well run club, my issue here is in the trashy way the Athletic, a so called high brow source of sports media, have gone about it.

Any of these club exercises get named? Any of the agents get named?
It's up there with 'club sources tell us' or indeed up there with Rebekah Vardy colluding with the Sun to plan a photo op.

I reiterate my point, any news is gold dust for the media, yet alone bad news which is 24 carat gold.
Why wasn't this article written three weeks ago before the season started? Nothing has changed since then, United are still run the same way, so the article could have been written with zero changes.
But United are bottom of the league, bad news sells, let's poor more fuel onto the crisis fire...

It's trashy and generally pretty low brow for a publication that tries to paint itself as sophisticated.

 

[Teja]

Except The Athletic is behind a paywall and don't earn money from clicks.

Subs, ads, it's all the same thing.

Increased engagement = good. Man Utd drives engagement.

Not to get political but it's the same shit with things like NYT etc. They've been shifting farther and farther left to cater to their subscribers' opinions.

 

[Champ]

Except The Athletic is behind a paywall and don't earn money from clicks.

They earn from subscriptions, they have a massive demographic in the sports world,

Those that like facts, figures and thought provoking articles, the kind you'd find in broadsheets.

Those that like easy to read articles that requires the reader to think little but may manifest a feeling such as, the ones you'd find in tabloids and redtops

They need stories that cater to both (and many in between) and so write both kinds.

The more people that click on their articles and hit the paywall, the more subscribers they'll get.

 

[justsomebloke]

I never once said we are a well run club, my issue here is in the trashy way the Athletic, a so called high brow source of sports media, have gone about it.

Any of these club exercises get named? Any of the agents get named?
It's up there with 'club sources tell us' or indeed up there with Rebekah Vardy colluding with the Sun to plan a photo op.

I reiterate my point, any news is gold dust for the media, yet alone bad news which is 24 carat gold.
Why wasn't this article written three weeks ago before the season started? Nothing has changed since then, United are still run the same way, so the article could have been written with zero changes.
But United are bottom of the league, bad news sells, let's poor more fuel onto the crisis fire...

It's trashy and generally pretty low brow for a publication that tries to paint itself as sophisticated.

Okay. You don't want to hear what people in the business think about United, even though they seem to think more or less the same things that you do. Suit yourself. But it IS ridiculous.

 

[fallengt]

The 'confusing structure' raise an interesting point.
Last season we had players done Tiktok clips. What the feck was that? Was it Woodward or Fletcher ' idea ?

 

[Champ]

Okay. You don't want to hear what people in the business think about United, even though they seem to think more or less the same things that you do. Suit yourself. But it IS ridiculous.

Are you even reading what I'm writing

I have issues with the article, mainly the way it's written, the ways it's presented, the way it's advertised and the timing of it.

It's trashy and low brow, designed to rile up the people who like to knee jerk when reading simple articles, of which it seems to have worked judging by some of the posts in here.

If it was in the Sun, no one would bat an eyelid.

 

[Big Ben Foster]

Hey Arnold!

 

[amolbhatia50k]

They don't need to be sophisticated when the problems that began 10 years ago still do not change.

They do if they want to be considered as such. If mediocrity is their goal they'll keep churning out the same drivel they've been.

 

[horsechoker]

This article will age like milk if we get some good players in now, which seems likely. There’s definitely some truth in United loving the coverage, it’s probably our biggest our come stream right now

Cocks out!

 

[Zen86]

It is though. The whole organisation is substandard and way behind the times. There's a good reason they've not done one of the docuseries every other big club has done, and it's because it'd play out like a football club version of This is Spinal Tap. If you think the ridicule we get is purely uninformed speculation, wait till people outside see what it's actually like...

We’re a mess, but the media obviously capitalise on that and state every little rumour or hearsay from their “sources” as gospel.

 

[tomaldinho1]

Cocks out!

Haha I have no idea how autocorrect got that but I’m at full mast

 

[decorativeed]

We’re a mess, but the media obviously capitalise on that and state every little rumour or hearsay from their “sources” as gospel.

Having worked for the club and knowing many more who do, the hearsay seems more than feasible to me. I don't even think it scratches the surface.

 

[Wednesday at Stoke]

They do if they want to be considered as such. If mediocrity is their goal they'll keep churning out the same drivel they've been.

So you think everything in terms of football operations is fine at the club? Why don’t you post what parts of the article you think are false or that you disagree with, rather than a blanket statement attacking the messenger instead of the message? I thought it was a very good article canvassing opinions across the football world.

 

[tomaldinho1]

Having worked for the club and knowing many more who do, the hearsay seems more than feasible to me. I don't even think it scratches the surface.

You shouldn’t be on the forum Ole, you won’t like what you see.

 

[Hammondo]

Weird how we never saw any 'United are run really well' articles when we were actually doing well.

Almost like negative stories about United sell more isn't it?!

This story is the equivalent of going to Coleen Rooney's friends and asking their opinion on Rebekah Vardy.

Were we well run though? Was more just that we had SAF.

 

[Champ]

Were we well run though? Was more just that we had SAF.

That's kinda my point though,

These articles are always timed to stir up emotions, they could have released this article at any time over the past ten years, they could have also released an article like this on Arsenal up to a year ago, or Liverpool up to the got Klopp,

 

[b82REZ]

Hey Arnold!

Hire some more football heads

 

[red thru&thru]

This article emphasises the reason we need to get rid of the Glazers.

 

[Basa1987]

There are points in this article that i agree with and some i do not.

The bits i agree with were the fact we are seemingly ceding all the power for transfers to the manager.

Odd they picked Man City signing an unheralded full back as way to beat United up with when United also signed an unheralded full back for similar money

And we have tried these unheralded signings in the very recent past - Diallo and Pellistri for example. Granted, we did not develop them properly but this is downright silliness to claim that we only go after established stars.

 

[tomaldinho1]

Were we well run though? Was more just that we had SAF.

Gill was pretty phenomenal wasn’t he?

 

[Boondog]

It's more the fact they think we care what others do?

Why do I want to hear what the brighton CEO thinks of the club. We all know it's poor.

It feels to me like just another way to kick us while we are down. "lets take a look at why and how United are just that shit, in a fancy reporter way"

no thanks.

This. We have shit owners. Murtough probably will end up needing to be replaced too. But this is my team and I'm not going to sit through smug asswipes enjoying their demise. No matter how angry the owners make me the reason I'm a fan is to root for this team to win and bleed these colors.

I can't watch the ESPN FC feed it's so bad. So I have zero desire to read a hit piece that kicks my team when they're down. For those who do, enjoy that shit. But it straight pisses me off.

 

[Adam-Utd]

This. We have shit owners. Murtough probably will end up needing to be replaced too. But this is my team and I'm not going to sit through smug asswipes enjoying their demise. No matter how angry the owners make me the reason I'm a fan is to root for this team to win and bleed these colors.

I can't watch the ESPN FC feed it's so bad. So I have zero desire to read a hit piece that kicks my team when they're down. For those who do, enjoy that shit. But it straight pisses me off.

ESPN are the worst. Literally click bait wanna be "troll football" page. Have to post something kicking United just to stay relevant.

Worst of the lot.

 

[Get In Scholesy]

Time to fix up and use some “us against the world mentality”.

Although fixing our mess comes first

 

[Hammondo]

Gill was pretty phenomenal wasn’t he?

Was he?

 

[tomaldinho1]

Was he?

Yeah I thought that was the general consensus. His image got marred a bit from memory after he was against the Glazers but once they were in he changed his tune. Might be wrong but always remember him being credited with positive things through his tenure.

 

[RoyH1]

I never once said we are a well run club, my issue here is in the trashy way the Athletic, a so called high brow source of sports media, have gone about it.

Any of these club exercises get named? Any of the agents get named?
It's up there with 'club sources tell us' or indeed up there with Rebekah Vardy colluding with the Sun to plan a photo op.

I reiterate my point, any news is gold dust for the media, yet alone bad news which is 24 carat gold.
Why wasn't this article written three weeks ago before the season started? Nothing has changed since then, United are still run the same way, so the article could have been written with zero changes.
But United are bottom of the league, bad news sells, let's poor more fuel onto the crisis fire...

It's trashy and generally pretty low brow for a publication that tries to paint itself as sophisticated.

The Athletic is not as good as some paint out to be. It's very biased in some of it's football coverage and many of it's writers don't see the forest for the trees in their pieces. There's too many fanboys who only recently got into football who idolize it, but there's a lot of quality other places.
Their coverage of American sports is much better imo.

 

[Red00012]

Need a win a trophy this season the longer it goes on the more rubbish journalists can write about us.

 

[Hammondo]

Yeah I thought that was the general consensus. His image got marred a bit from memory after he was against the Glazers but once they were in he changed his tune. Might be wrong but always remember him being credited with positive things through his tenure.

What kind of things? I'm not saying you are wrong, just interested.

 

[tomaldinho1]

What kind of things? I'm not saying you are wrong, just interested.

https://www.goal.com/en-au/news/401...-a-hypocrite-david-gills-legacy-at-manchester

Quite a balanced overview.

 

[Hammondo]

https://www.goal.com/en-au/news/401...-a-hypocrite-david-gills-legacy-at-manchester

Quite a balanced overview.

This just shows he only focused on money, which has been the biggest criticism of United since the glazers took over.

 

[Tyrion]

It’s easy when two defeats equals a crisis too.

Liverpool were the "best team in Europe" last year, they've had two draws and some in the media and talking about them like they're in crisis.

 

[Gazautd18]

This is Manchester United.

 

[tomaldinho1]

This just shows he only focused on money, which has been the biggest criticism of United since the glazers took over.

Your question was if the club was well run? That’s his job.

 

[Hammondo]

Your question was if the club was well run? That’s his job.

That's part of his job, he's the CEO, every part of the company is his job and he failed in other places.

I'm sure as the article says that he was a great example for some financial parts of running a club, but the football side he was crap. We have been out of date for a long time.