Where would you honestly rank our team?

MisterLupus said:

I already said the Chelsea result was flattering - but we've already established that you can't read so no worries mate. Nobody's perfect. We were still the better team overall though - we deserved to win even if not by four goals. Same with Arsenal - the better team was us and here even the stats prove it. The assistant gifted them that goal by calling for an offside that was never even close to being one - and this put our players off their game. You could even see them reacting to it awaiting the whistle rather than keeping their shape - acting confused (De Gea in particular). When you raise the flag you also draw the awareness of the outfield players - for a few brief seconds they were distracted and that's all it took. And that was never even close to being an offside so why that flag was raised is beyond everyone I think. And yeah we were also denied a clear penalty - that hands was of the obvious kind.

But even if we don't agree which team was better in those games - certainly you agree we were on par with them - which would negate your whole "we're obviously the worst of the top six" hysteria of yours? Or would you say we were totally outplayed in those games?

Click to expand...

MisterLupus said:

Yet the squad outplayed both Arsenal and Chelsea and also beat Tottenham during our tour (friendlies doesn't mean much but it happened). We're also on equal terms with both Arsenal and Chelsea as far as goal difference is concerned - having played them both - and as for points we've also been unlucky there's no denying that. No it's not as "easy" as you claim it to be - but hey if simplicity works for you then go ahead by all means stay simple. As for worst manager people keep saying we look clueless with no identity whatsoever but truth is we've been the better team in almost every game we've played - parroting a "no clear style" over and over again doesn't make it true. We lack quality up front - should have reinforced during the summer - but that's all separating us from being a decent side right now we've improved on everything else over the summer. CEO... I have no clue what's going on behind closed doors - but neither do you or anyone else most likely. It's pointless for us to discuss - big institutions usually hide their hand in all matters and also - CEOs doing a shit job usually gets the boot especially when there's billions at stake.

For feck's sake you have people moaning we're in danger of relegation and throwing about them superlatives with no root in reality whatsoever. I stand by my assessment - it's hysteria - you're all bonkers. Good luck with that if it makes you happy but personally I don't understand why people choose to pile on the misery it's bad enough as it is without exaggerating

Click to expand...

el3mel said:

I wonder what the next post will be with this rate.

Click to expand...

MisterLupus said:

I won't keep you waiting: You're a moron. That was the dumbest reply I've had in days - a new low and baffling at that. Those aren't contradictory - not when you read the rest of the text. Which you were dumb enough to include so that everyone can see it for themselves even Oh well this was yet another pointless exercise - reason is wasted on you I get that now. Take care mate

Click to expand...

el3mel said:

A post that shows more about you than me.

Click to expand...

MisterLupus said:

I won't keep you waiting: You're a moron. That was the dumbest reply I've had in days - a new low and baffling at that. Those aren't contradictory - not when you read the rest of the text where I elaborate (which you were dumb enough to include even so that everyone can see it for themselves) Oh well this was yet another pointless exercise - reason is wasted on you I get that now. Take care mate

Click to expand...

Amerifan said:

I’m surprised you think the manager actually sells players, sets the budget, and negotiates transfer fees. He does not. We have people for that.

Click to expand...

OverratedOpinion said:

I don't mean this to be moaning thread, I am just honestly curious after watching the first half against West Ham where you would rate our squad in the league if you broke it down player for player.

I think it is obvious that we are behind City, Liverpool, Spurs and Arsenal.

Other than that, do we have better players than Chelsea now Hazard has left? Do Wolves have better players than us?

I think we are probably 6th best in the league but want to know opinions.

Click to expand...

VP89 said:

He's consulted heavily on it. I'm surprised you think any different.

Click to expand...

Amerifan said:

He’s not even consulted lightly. What do you think a manager does? He literally has nothing to do with setting the transfer date of player to be sold, the amounts of the transfer fees, the timing of the arrival of players, or the overall transfer budget available. Players are investments, assets of the business. Contracts are handled by the business side of the corporation.

Click to expand...

VP89 said:

You clearly are unaware how the club, or other clubs work.

Managers have their own say on which players they want to keep and which they want sold. They base their decisions in part on consulting with the DoF or equivalent as to who they can and cannot bring in to replace. This suggestion that Ole wanted Lukaku sold and thought hed have his target player coming in, and he was failed by the club is absolute bull. He mis-evaluated his own squad horribly and thought he'd be fine with what he has. Ole said he had a say on the rebuild and transfers before he even became official as permanent if I'm not mistaken.

Click to expand...

Amerifan said:

You’re moving the goal posts. I never said Ole didn’t provide a list of candidates to recruit or trade. Or ask his opinion when players are offered to the club. Back at the start of this discussion you criticized Ole for letting Lukaku go before he had a replacement in hand. I’m saying Ole had nothing to do with the timing of those events. That’s on the business team. Whatever. Just a few hours to game time and we’ll have something more interesting to talk about.

Click to expand...

VP89 said:

What the feck? You think a manager sells his players blindly, and is completely oblivious as to the likelihood of the club getting someone in to replace him? Have a word.

Click to expand...

Amerifan said:

Are you having a laugh? The players aren’t on eBay (though that would be awesome). Deals take weeks, months, even years. Ole said he wanted Lukaku sold. The club worked on a deal until it got done. Ole said he wanted a replacement. The club probably wasn’t willing to spend big money on a striker until Lukaku was sold. The Lukaku deal took too long and by then it was too late to get a replacement over the line during the window. Simple as that.

Click to expand...

VP89 said:

I never even suggested it was as easy as buying off e-bay.

My point is, the manager is aware of the likelihood of his DoF/equivalent being able to bring in the replacement from his shortlist. They don't decide the amount, or the timing in the window but they are kept in the loop, which is fecking obvious.

If it was too late in the window to bring in a replacement for Lukaku, he should not have been sold. It's that simple. Ole sold him not because he thought he'd have a replacement, but because he genuinely thought he can depend on Rashford/Martial/Greenwood which is the daftest evaluation I've come across in a long while. We weren't even reported to be linked with any strikers outside of Mandukic an a sweetener for Dybala/Lukaku. It's evident Ole didn't even have a striker target let alone a timeline of when to bring him in.

Click to expand...

Amerifan said:

I have no inside knowledge of what Ole is thinking. Based on what he’s said, it sounded like he thought Lukaku so disruptive he wanted him gone. Period. The problem was the club wouldn’t risk having two expensive strikers on the books this season, so Lukaku had to be sold first. The club has said we identified striker replacement candidates. Some we pulled the plug on for attitude. Others we couldn’t get over the line before the window closed. The poor decision of waiting for Lukaku to sell has crippled the side since the day Martial got injured.

Click to expand...

red4ever 79 said:

6th to 8th

Click to expand...

Snow said:

I'm not being reactive when I rank us 6th. That was my prediction before the season. I also said it wouldn't be a huge surprise if we would finish 8th because of Leicester, West Ham, Wolves but Wolves haven't been very good so far.

Click to expand...

sunama said:

Predicted 8th and I still stand by that.
Not sure why you think we will finish 6th, given that we are currently in 10th and showing no sign of improvement and arguably getting worse.
We shall revisit this thread at the end of the season to see

Click to expand...

UnofficialDevil said:

What are you on about gone in 9 words.. He doesn't control the budget but new what the budget was and spent it all on defense.. He also let 3 midfielders and our only striker leave knowing he isnt going to replace any of them. He is completely lost and so way out of his depth.

Click to expand...