Has apathy already set in for you?

[BusbyMalone]

We’re five games into the season, and I must say I’m already feeling apathetic. Of course, I still want us to win and I’ll support the team for the rest of the season, but what I mean is, I feel pretty numb when we do lose. Basically, how I’ve felt for most of the last decade or so. With stuff off the field as well, it all feels a bit hopeless.

I get angry in the moment, but that dissipates very quickly. It’s probably the worst feeling as a fan.

 

[#07]

Yes. It's been setting in for years. I used to take it badly after we lost. Now it's so common I don't see the point in losing it.

Obviously, if have some humiliations like the ones we've had at Liverpool in recent years, that'll sting. But my expectations are so low that I no longer feel it much when we have routine losses.

Even if we had beaten Brighton, would we challenge for the title? No. So what's the excitement for? Yeah I would have been happy. But not like 10 years ago when I thought it might lead somewhere.

Our goal to get into the Champions League is a financial one. Everyone knows we are just making up numbers. We are not contenders to actually win it. So why get excited about 'top 4'?

 

[pacifictheme]

Until the glazers are gone we won't compete at the very top so it's not worth getting too annoyed about anything else regarding the club.

 

[Ayoba]

Yup. I know its going to be a shit show of a season, I know we'll be hammered quite a bit and lose a lot of games and I know there isn't a damn thing we can do about it. C'est la vie for man utd fans now.

 

[lex talionis]

I'm already thinking about making other plans for my weekends than having them revolve around United matches. If the players and club management couldn't give a fukk about anything other than firehosing cash into the bank accounts -- and I believe Erik does care, but I'm talking about management above him -- why should any of us?

 

[groovyalbert]

No, not at all. For the first time in 10 years we have the right profile coach who understands the modern game and has the attributes to succeed. It is vital we get rid of the scum owners bleeding this club dry and watching it literally crumble. The sooner ETH has the structure and backing in place, the sooner we start to compete.

 

[Utd heap]

I enjoy watching Utd games. Is this the right forum?

 

[Big Ben Foster]

As long as the Glazers are still here, it's hard to get excited because it's clear nothing will really change.

 

[BusbyMalone]

Yes. It's been setting in for years. I used to take it badly after we lost. Now it's so common I don't see the point in losing it.

Obviously, if have some humiliations like the ones we've had at Liverpool in recent years, that'll sting. But my expectations are so low that I no longer feel it much when we have routine losses.

Even if we had beaten Brighton, would we challenge for the title? No. So what's the excitement for? Yeah I would have been happy. But not like 10 years ago when I thought it might lead somewhere.

Our goal to get into the Champions League is a financial one. Everyone knows we are just making up numbers. We are not contenders to actually win it. So why get excited about 'top 4'?

Yeah, that's another thing. It's a bit of a taboo thing to admit as a fan, but the excitement I get from a win isn't the same either. It's not down to a lack of support, becuase I'll always support them. But it comes from years of false dawns and just a complete lack of direction. Not to mention the off-field problems we've had since those parasites took over, and this season with Greenwood, Antony, and now Sancho.

 

[BusbyMalone]

I enjoy watching Utd games. Is this the right forum?

Of course. I'm not dictating you do otherwise. Plenty of people will probably scoff at this notion of apathy towards the club, it's just a direction I'm heading in, that's all. I still watch and support them.

 

[Utd heap]

Of course. I'm not dictating you do otherwise. Plenty of people will probably scoff at this notion of apathy towards the club, it's just a direction I'm heading in, that's all. I still watch and support them.

You'll be alright when we win a few games. As will the whole forum. Rinse and repeat.

 

[buckooo1978]

I go into nearly every game thinking we can win.....

we were at a low ebb after Brentford last year and really reacted well.

Ten Hag has had so many challenges this year. Gotta trust he will sort it out in the long term.

 

[BusbyMalone]

You'll be alright when we win a few games. As will the whole forum. Rinse and repeat.

It's not a this-season issue, for me. I'm a fickle fan like most, but not that fickle!

This is a slow-burn effect. It's been building in me for some time. Got very little to do with the current crop of players or manager.

 

[Raoul]

We’re five games into the season, and I must say I’m already feeling apathetic. Of course, I still want us to win and I’ll support the team for the rest of the season, but what I mean is, I feel pretty numb when we do lose. Basically, how I’ve felt for most of the last decade or so. With stuff off the field as well, it all feels a bit hopeless.

I get angry in the moment, but that dissipates very quickly. It’s probably the worst feeling as a fan.

Its easy to be apathetic, but given how he turned a poor start around last year, I'm hopeful we can see something similar. Will be hard if we can't score goals though.

 

[Irishman]

Our clubs once magical almost mystical place in football slowly fading away. All that hard work by Busby, Ferguson and all those who worked tirelessly down the years to bring us to the top of world football undone completely by greed.

How Ferguson can sit there and watch us going up in flames is truly remarkable.

 

[Utd heap]

Our clubs once magical almost mystical place in football slowly fading away. All that hard work by Busby, Ferguson and all those who worked tirelessly down the years to bring us to the top of world football undone completely by greed.

How Ferguson can sit there and watch us going up in flames is truly remarkable.

We came 3rd, won a cup and lost a final last season.

We play Bayern Munich this week.

Going up in flames

 

[Raoul]

Our clubs once magical almost mystical place in football slowly fading away. All that hard work by Busby, Ferguson and all those who worked tirelessly down the years to bring us to the top of world football undone completely by greed.

How Ferguson can sit there and watch us going up in flames is truly remarkable.

We could always enlist Fergie to recommend a new manager.

 

[TsuWave]

club gets taken the piss out of regularly these days:

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[Laurencio]

No. I'm not all that bothered about Munich, because we don't have the players to win that one, but I am looking forward to more matches in the prem. We're due a win and we need to be a lot better for Ten Hag not to be sacked this season. Bring on Burnley.

 

[Plant0x84]

Our clubs once magical almost mystical place in football slowly fading away. All that hard work by Busby, Ferguson and all those who worked tirelessly down the years to bring us to the top of world football undone completely by greed.

How Ferguson can sit there and watch us going up in flames is truly remarkable.

What’s the sudden obsession with SAF on here?
It’s been 10 miserable years. Move the feck on people. He is the past, he is gone, he is a retired octogenarian. Leave the man in peace for goodness sake.

 

[redshaw]

Yes, it set in before a ball was kicked as we've been poor in the later half of last season, Case looked defeated. The team and momentum that gave Barca a game last season is well gone in my eyes.

Signing players that are injured, a change how we should play according to ETH looking back at past sides. Failure to move players on for money to make smart buys. It looked like we're months away from seeing any semblance of football and we now have even more injuries and off the pitch problems.

Too much spending on indulging the manager with no clue or direction. So many players still looking unfit, faces full of anguish and grimace trying to do this football thing, tired of seeing this for ten years now. It honestly feels like sabotage by a long term employee at the club, like their on performance de-enhancing drugs. Players of the past have come in fresh, have a few good games then look unfit and depressed. Lacking goals, and 5 dogshit performances so far, 3 losses and 2 lucky wins.

Last season we looked like a 35-45 mins team. Sadly this season we look like a 10-20 mins team, similar to 2-3 years ago without the goals. 12 mins of huff and puff for Brighton then we jog around for 80 while they pick us off.

It's a wait and see in dec-feb perhaps ETH can stumble on a midfield including Amrabat Case Bruno, Hojlund settled and utilizing some younger players so we're not fatigued. Who am I kidding though. Hojlund will be out for six months with a back injury and we'll be looking for Weghorst.

 

[el3mel]

I have been apathetic about the club for years now. I won't hide the fact my enthusiasm for United matches have went downhill during Ole's reign and Ten Hag failed to revive it. Previously I used to move heaven and earth to watch United games. Now I have zero regret skipping games just to go to sleep.

 

[Physiocrat]

I don't care if it has, or if it hasn't.

 

[Dannn411]

Yeah pretty much. Anytime we go a run of bad form, I just become numb to everything because my mind just tells me "here we go again".
The last time we played good football consistently was 10+ years ago. Think about that. It's very very difficult not to become apathetic after that.

 

[fergiewherearethou]

The apathy has set in for a couple of years now, the highest point probably being during Rangnick's tenure, when there was basically no hope. LVG's era wasn't far either.
There were some ups during Ole era and last season but I'm slowly reaching the low points once again.
Not challenging for major trophies for such a long time is really sad but having no hope of doing it in the near future is truly distressing.

 

[Leftback99]

Despite finishing 3rd last season (which flattered us), before the season started I felt like we were further away than ever to challenging. Signings were underwhelming for a squad with huge flaws.

Losses to ANY side in the league just aren't a surprise anymore. Away games are terrible.

So yes I suppose it has to a point. But I wouldn't be posting here if I didn't care.

 

[Alex B]

I was discussing this with a United mate this morning at work and with the best will in the world I'm really struggling with supporting the team right now. I have a monumentally stressful life and going through some personal challenges, United should be an escape for me and bring some joy but the last 6 months with the failed sale, the potential state ownership, Greenwood, Sancho, Antony, Maguire, the transfer window, the burnt out players continuing to play at 50 per cent the back end of last season, City's plastic treble, the pathetic pre season, the lack of effort and desire by the players so far since. I'm sick of the media narrative surrounding us and I informed The Athletic so when I unsubscribed last week. I'm sick of the circus of football. I'm sick of the wages and the differential that brings with some players and fans. I'm sick of City getting away with cheating, I'm sick of Barcelona and all their failings. So my apathy goes beyond United too. The fact we had a few months of an 'up' with the league cup, Maguire dropped and Ronaldo gone then the sudden downer makes me feel worse, I don't know.
And ultimately that has been felt on the caf beyond myself I feel, which I (despite being a very long term newbie) have frequented pretty much daily since the late noughties.
Many people seem to feel similar and it makes this place miserable, which contributes to making me miserable.
We were spoilt for so many years under Fergie we really were, and maybe these feelings would be different if we were a Villa or a Spurs.
But I've got some serious thinking to do over the coming days regarding associating with United and giving up something that has been such a big part of my life, as well as this place which has always been full of so many great fans, debates and a lot of laughs

 

[BusbyMalone]

The apathy has set in for a couple of years now, the highest point probably being during Rangnick's tenure, when there was basically no hope. LVG's era wasn't far either.
There were some ups during Ole era and last season but I'm slowly reaching the low points once again.
Not challenging for major trophies for such a long time is really sad but having no hope of doing it in the near future is truly distressing.

Mourinho really did a number on me. He's not the sole reason for my apathy or anything like that, but I hated the man before he came, hated him even more when he was here, and after watching that European final last season, realized I still hate him.

Probably the most miserable time to be a United fan for me.

 

[Rightnr]

It's that familiar feeling of the last five or so years, with a small break for a couple of months last year (before the Liverpool mauling).

It won't go away until the Glazers piss off.

 

[Yagami]

I kinda accepted this season would be a disappointment as soon as I heard we were legitimately interested in Mount.

I said last season - after two poor windows - that this summers window was make or break. We needed to buy the right players. Players who were press resistant. Bar potentially Amrabat, we didn't do that and, as I predicted, it is going to land ten Hag in deep water.

 

[Artimities]

It's our owners...

They legit are not good for my mental health.

 

[Solius]

It’s honestly been like one gut punch per day since the season started. It’s certainly made me quite apathetic already. Hard not to be really.

 

[Irishman]

I was discussing this with a United mate this morning at work and with the best will in the world I'm really struggling with supporting the team right now. I have a monumentally stressful life and going through some personal challenges, United should be an escape for me and bring some joy but the last 6 months with the failed sale, the potential state ownership, Greenwood, Sancho, Antony, Maguire, the transfer window, the burnt out players continuing to play at 50 per cent the back end of last season, City's plastic treble, the pathetic pre season, the lack of effort and desire by the players so far since. I'm sick of the media narrative surrounding us and I informed The Athletic so when I unsubscribed last week. I'm sick of the circus of football. I'm sick of the wages and the differential that brings with some players and fans. I'm sick of City getting away with cheating, I'm sick of Barcelona and all their failings. So my apathy goes beyond United too. The fact we had a few months of an 'up' with the league cup, Maguire dropped and Ronaldo gone then the sudden downer makes me feel worse, I don't know.
And ultimately that has been felt on the caf beyond myself I feel, which I (despite being a very long term newbie) have frequented pretty much daily since the late noughties.
Many people seem to feel similar and it makes this place miserable, which contributes to making me miserable.
We were spoilt for so many years under Fergie we really were, and maybe these feelings would be different if we were a Villa or a Spurs.
But I've got some serious thinking to do over the coming days regarding associating with United and giving up something that has been such a big part of my life, as well as this place which has always been full of so many great fans, debates and a lot of laughs

Wow, could not have said it any better. I've been a Utd fan for over 45 years and I've never felt as detached to the club as I do now. Sad thing about all this is that the Premier League would have probably rejected any other Glazer take over of any other Premier league club. However because we are despised so much they were happy to put our club under these parasites.

 

[siw2007]

There is a feeling of ‘here we go again’ already this season. We were in a great position to make a step forward this season but it seems we’ve taken a step back….again. Now we might turn it around but I’m not that optimistic at the moment, the circus is back in town.

It isn’t going to change unless the club show an appetite to do so. The only way that happens is with a change of ownership. Otherwise, this is the way it is and probably will be for the foreseeable future.

 

[Berbasbullet]

club gets taken the piss out of regularly these days:

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Brighton tweeted something about loving playing at OT too. Knobs.

 

[Trequarista10]

No reason to be down, its only 11 months till the start of next season.

Next summer we'll finally get rid of all of our deadwood, sign a few more players and our promising youngsters will have had a year more experience. Of course, the summer after, 2 or 3 of our regular starters will be getting on a bit, so we'll have to replace them too then. And if we're lucky 50% of our new signings will be a success, so we'll only have to replace the 50% who haven't been a success. But hopefully, it we can avoid any of our other players having a dramatic downturn in form, an injury that prevents them from reaching their potential, or an unfortunate domestic scandal that prevents them being selected, then in 3 years time we'll be right in the mix. Of course by then we'll have given our promising youngsters plenty of opportunity to establish themselves, which is notoriously difficult, so realistically only 1 in 4 will reach the required level, so we'll have to buy a few more players then. But give them a few years, and by 2030 I think we'll be in a position to compete with City. Hopefully Pep will have moved on by then too.

So, see, no reason for pessimism. Things are looking up!

 

[BusbyMalone]

No reason to be down, its only 11 months till the start of next season.

Next summer we'll finally get rid of all of our deadwood, sign a few more players and our promising youngsters will have had a year more experience. Of course, the summer after, 2 or 3 of our regular starters will be getting on a bit, so we'll have to replace them too then. And if we're lucky 50% of our new signings will be a success, so we'll only have to replace the 50% who haven't been a success. But hopefully, it we can avoid any of our other players having a dramatic downturn in form, an injury that prevents them from reaching their potential, or an unfortunate domestic scandal that prevents them being selected, then in 3 years time we'll be right in the mix. Of course by then we'll have given our promising youngsters plenty of opportunity to establish themselves, which is notoriously difficult, so realistically only 1 in 4 will reach the required level, so we'll have to buy a few more players then. But give them a few years, and by 2030 I think we'll be in a position to compete with City. Hopefully Pep will have moved on by then too.

So, see, no reason for pessimism. Things are looking up!

And the Glazers will definitely be gone next summer. No doubt about that at all...

 

[NotoriousISSY]

Football as a sport is much less likeable than it was even 5 years ago...but when I looked back 10-15 years I remember being completely obsessed with every game possible.

We're becoming exposed to technology having a poor impact on the viewership of the game, footballers are regularly being outed for being utter knobs, United are in the headlines for something negative daily, it's near enough impossible to simply go to games at times and to top it off, the effort to watch a 3pm kickoff in 2023 is probably worse than it was 5 years ago.

For those reasons alone, I'm nowhere near as emotionally attached to football or United. I 'care' but I also really don't care anymore. The game only cares if I have 3 paid subscriptions limiting me to viewing occasional Friday night games, possibly 2 Saturday games, 2 Sunday games and the occasional Monday game.

I've found myself collecting random shirts off Vinted recently, a lot more time on YouTube watching the likes of Inter Milan 2010, us in 2007, even Bradford City's run to the league cup final in 2013. Feel a lot more comfortable taking all that in.

 

[TsuWave]

Brighton tweeted something about loving playing at OT too. Knobs.

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Their whole twitter feed is just a piss-take

Spoiler

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[bosnian_red]

I kinda accepted this season would be a disappointment as soon as I heard we were legitimately interested in Mount.

I said last season - after two poor windows - that this summers window was make or break. We needed to buy the right players. Players who were press resistant. Bar potentially Amrabat, we didn't do that and, as I predicted, it is going to land ten Hag in deep water.

TBF we haven't been killed by a press at all this season. Been different issues such as not being able to properly use the new players, off the pitch distractions, injuries and absences, or just a shit system this weekend which was the main problem. Also Mount for all his issues and critics is probably our most press resistant midfielder... well until we see Amrabat here.

Give them time. Amrabat and Mount will make a big difference to our midfield in terms of balance. As will Hojlund of course compared to last season. Things take time though and we need to get our overall mood up.