"80 Million Pounds of Inspiration"

KGBhoy said:

I am surprised this is not getting more attention. This is a big one for me. Take the Birmingham game for example. We were easily outplaying a solid team in their backyard for 35 minutes. Then we concede a goal. After that we didn't look interested and basically fell apart until we scored the equalizer. And at that point we didn't even deserve it. Our heads just dropped too easily and I couldn't see the spark from anyone.

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But who does this now? No one can boss a midfield like those two and only one in a blue moon do we have a player who can lead like that. Can't think of another at this moment, playing anywhere that drives a team forward like Keane at Juve.

Cana can do the work but doesn't lead. Same with Liverpool's Argentine. Heck, even Viera can't do it anymore!

You'd think, of all people, Fletcher would but he has not stepped himself up. We have no real winners out there. Rooney comes closest but recently even his spell has dried.

davisjw said:

But who does this now? No one can boss a midfield like those two and only one in a blue moon do we have a player who can lead like that. Can't think of another at this moment, playing anywhere that drives a team forward like Keane at Juve.

Cana can do the work but doesn't lead. Same with Liverpool's Argentine. Heck, even Viera can't do it anymore!

You'd think, of all people, Fletcher would but he has not stepped himself up. We have no real winners out there. Rooney comes closest but recently even his spell has dried.

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I don't know who does this now. Fletcher is not even a captain. I think if he was, it might work. Rooney doesn't cut it. He's too inconsistent. But I think the leadership has been a problem for a while - even last year - and it needs to be addressed by the staff. We probably need a captain that plays every week instead of Gaz or Giggs who don't even start these days.

KGBhoy said:

Oh, and add one more thing to the list - football brain. I swear, this is the stupidest bunch of midfielders/forwards we've had for a while. Nani, Park, Valencia, Obertan - all are too predictable and seemingly have no idea when to release the ball. Rooney is suffering from playing too many games and his passing/shooting has been horrible.

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Agreed.

Rams said:

It seems to have escaped you attention that the vast majority of this AVERAGE squad have at least 3 Premier league and 1 Champions League medal.

How do you replace Ronaldo? Impossible, even if you had 800M to spend.

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To me, the 3 Premier League and 1 CL title are there thanks to pillars of the team: Giggs, Scholes, Ronaldo, Tevez, Carrick, Ferdinand, VDS, Vidic, Evra, Hargreaves, Rooney, Fletcher. This year, only Rooney, Fletcher, and Evra have been there and in 3 Premierships-winning form. The rest of them are gone, one way or another.

So it's not just the loss of Ronaldo, we've lost 5 players through selling/old age, and one through bad form (Carrick), and 3 more through injuries. That's 9 players who were there and featured heavily during most of those 3 seasons that you listed. It's not just Ronaldo.