Ander Herrera: Football not always most important thing at United (Read translation for context)

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Who brought Fletcher or any other United legend into this ? :lol::lol:

We're replaying on this "represented everything wrong about United" nonsense.

You simply have nothing to say I guess.
I’ve said what I have to say on the topic. There’s a lot of rose tinted analysis of Herrera’s United career going on. The truth is that he was an inconsistent player in his time here. He’s not and has never been a top drawer player - certainly nowhere near the quality of proper United centre midfielders of days gone by. The fact that so many fans had / have a hard on for him is more indicative of how dire we now are, that they are pining after a 6/10 player.
 

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I’ve said what I have to say on the topic. There’s a lot of rose tinted analysis of Herrera’s United career going on. The truth is that he was an inconsistent player in his time here. He’s not and has never been a top drawer player - certainly nowhere near the quality of proper United centre midfielders of days gone by. The fact that so many fans had / have a hard on for him is more indicative of how dire we now are, that they are pining after a 6/10 player.
The real rose tinted look is underrating him that much because he decided to not renew and leave us to an actually better team with better squad and manager. The reality is he was a very good player with excellent mentality and good performance whenever he played despite being continuously benched by LVG earlier or Mourinho in his last days, kept his head down and putting a shift whenever he's called on.

If our players had half of his mentality I doubt we would have been that shite.
 

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The real rose tinted look is underrating him that much because he decided to not renew and leave us to an actually better team with better squad and manager. The reality is he was a very good player with excellent mentality and good performance whenever he played despite being continuously benched by LVG earlier or Mourinho in his last days, kept his head down and putting a shift whenever he's called on.

If our players had half of his mentality I doubt we would have been that shite.
If he was so good, with such a great mentality, why did consecutive coaches choose to bench him so frequently?

Not being a dick, genuine question.
 

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If he was so good, with such a great mentality, why did consecutive coaches choose to bench him so frequently?

Not being a dick, genuine question.
If he was that crap, very average player, why did he move to a far better team than us from almost every aspect, instead of going to a midtable club ?

Genuine question too.
 

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If he was that crap, very average player, why did he move to a far better team than us from almost every aspect, instead of going to a midtable club ?

Genuine question too.
I reckon PSG thought he was a bargain on a free transfer, even with wages, as a squad player. That’s his level.
 

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Herrera's a decent player but we could do a lot better, but for some reason OGS and the board did not address his departure and we're stuck where we are now. I'm happy we didn't cave in to the wage demands he wanted but feck me is it bad that he wasn't even replaced.

I'm still laying the blame at the doors of OGS and the board for that summer transfer window. The board for obvious reasons like penny-pinching and OGS for either not having the balls to push for a replacement or thinking a replacement wasn't needed.
 

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Herrera's a decent player but we could do a lot better, but for some reason OGS and the board did not address his departure and we're stuck where we are now. I'm happy we didn't cave in to the wage demands he wanted but feck me is it bad that he wasn't even replaced.
Exactly.

Herrera is in the same bucket as Lukaku and Fellaini as far as I’m concerned.

We miss them because we are dire, but they’re not the standard required if you want to be at the very top.
 

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I reckon PSG thought he was a bargain on a free transfer, even with wages, as a squad player. That’s his level.
The fact that he took an upward move in his career after leaving United proves he's not that "crap" of a player. Your argument doesn't make, sense. They wouldn't have thought of him to start with, and to be a squad player to the likes of Verrati is nothing to be ashamed of.

And it wasn't his problem LVG was out of his depth here. Next season when Mourinho played him as a main starter he was our best player in the season and won a POTY.

Next season we bought Matic and Mourinho shifted his lineup tactics to his regular 4-2-3-1 but he still delivered in second half of the season when we returned to 4-3-3.
 

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This backlash against Ander is really petty in my opinion. If you're critical of him then you damn well better be talking about Patrice Evra who just recently compared to training at United like a holiday compared to the work put in at Juventus.
Calling him an average player is a backlash against him? Ok mate. Btw these opinions were formed well before he made these comments, before he accepted PSG's offer. Many people were happy to see him go, though probably expected a suitable replacement and not just Fred.
 

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The fact that he took an upward move in his career after leaving United proves he's not that "crap" of a player. Your argument doesn't make, sense. They wouldn't have thought of him to start with, and to be a squad player to the likes of Verrati is nothing to be ashamed of.

And it wasn't his problem LVG was out of his depth here. Next season when Mourinho played him as a main starter he was our best player in the season and won a POTY.

Next season we bought Matic and Mourinho shifted his lineup tactics to his regular 4-2-3-1 but he still delivered in second half of the season when we returned to 4-3-3.
I’m not going to argue any further on this. He’s an average, middling player, which is why he is back up at PSG. He talks a good game but was part of some of the worst squads I’ve ever seen at United. Don’t respect his opinion in the slightest. At least when Evra talks publicly it’s from the position of a player who has done everything at the club.
 

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I’m not going to argue any further on this. He’s an average, middling player, which is why he is back up at PSG. He talks a good game but was part of some of the worst squads I’ve ever seen at United. Don’t respect his opinion in the slightest. At least when Evra talks publicly it’s from the position of a player who has done everything at the club.
Just because he was surrounded with trash doesn't make himself one. He did his job pretty well and that's what's he supposed to do. Maybe one of the very few players we had that was actually doing his job.

Anyway you're free to have your opinion.
 

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I’m not going to argue any further on this. He’s an average, middling player, which is why he is back up at PSG. He talks a good game but was part of some of the worst squads I’ve ever seen at United. Don’t respect his opinion in the slightest. At least when Evra talks publicly it’s from the position of a player who has done everything at the club.
Even if they're basically saying the same thing when it comes to training ? That's some special bitterness if true
 

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Even if they're basically saying the same thing when it comes to training ? That's some special bitterness if true
I’m not bitter towards Herrera.

Simply saying that his opinion doesn’t even register for me personally because he achieved sod all of importance for the club.

He was part of a few of our worst sides in the past 30 years.

A mediocre player amongst a sea of mediocre players.
 

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I’m not bitter towards Herrera.

Simply saying that his opinion doesn’t even register for me personally because he achieved sod all of importance for the club.

He was part of a few of our worst sides in the past 30 years.

A mediocre player amongst a sea of mediocre players.
I know what you said, the logic of it though, I don't get it.
 

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I know what you said, the logic of it though, I don't get it.
Is there not a part of you that thinks when Herrera questions the club’s professionalism that he was here and also culpable - especially if you look at it is a collective sport. It’s easy to stand and point now he’s left, but he was at the club and part of the problem so far as I see it. Some of the analysis of his United career borders on delusional. He was occasionally brilliant, sometimes woeful and mostly average - a complete mixed bag, but he talked a good game and so people thought he had some sort of special leadership qualities.
 

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Is there not a part of you that thinks when Herrera questions the club’s professionalism that he was here and also culpable - especially if you look at it is a collective sport. It’s easy to stand and point now he’s left, but he was at the club and part of the problem so far as I see it. Some of the analysis of his United career borders on delusional. He was occasionally brilliant, sometimes woeful and mostly average - a complete mixed bag, but he talked a good game and so people thought he had some sort of special leadership qualities.
The way I look at things is simple, I can listen to what he says, agree or disagree with it, without having my personal judgement of him as a player affect me. What he said is close to what Evra said, close to what Lukaku also said. All those players rank differently in our hearts and minds but if what they say on a certain matter isn't different from one another, I think the view of the least liked of them has some validity.
 

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I’m not bitter towards Herrera.

Simply saying that his opinion doesn’t even register for me personally because he achieved sod all of importance for the club.

He was part of a few of our worst sides in the past 30 years.

A mediocre player amongst a sea of mediocre players.
When Ole says everything is fine do you believe him?
 

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The way I look at things is simple, I can listen to what he says, agree or disagree with it, without having my personal judgement of him as a player affect me. What he said is close to what Evra said, close to what Lukaku also said. All those players rank differently in our hearts and minds but if what they say on a certain matter isn't different from one another, I think the view of the least liked of them has some validity.
Evra has the right to talk because he backed it up on the pitch

Herrera was part of the problem - he didn’t perform consistently well enough, so it’s a bit rich of him to talk about our ills as a club. He was part of the problem, like so much of the existing trash is

I think there’s a quite clear distinction between the two

Lukaku is another one. An absolutely lazy prick with a dire attitude. His opinion carries no validity in my mind
 

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When Ole says everything is fine do you believe him?
No, he’s a yes man

I look at the situation with my own eyes

Our existing manager is a fraud

Herrera is an average player and he’s not of the standard required for us to be at the top
 

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Evra has the right to talk because he backed it up on the pitch

Herrera was part of the problem - he didn’t perform consistently well enough, so it’s a bit rich of him to talk about our ills as a club. He was part of the problem, like so much of the existing trash is

I think there’s a quite clear distinction between the two

Lukaku is another one. An absolutely lazy prick with a dire attitude. His opinion carries no validity in my mind
That's the logic I don't get. The truth is the truth, no matter who says it. Besides this id something we have all suspected anyway
 

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That's the logic I don't get. The truth is the truth, no matter who says it. Besides this id something we have all suspected anyway
I don’t see it as a truth from Herrera.

How can someone who was part of the problem come out and diagnose it with any credibility?
 

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I don’t see it as a truth from Herrera.

How can someone who was part of the problem come out and diagnose it with any credibility?
Let's see this, Evra said this a while ago now and we have gotten worse as a team since he said those things. The likelihood of it all to be true is high. Obviously this is also a bit of a PR by Herrera when it comes to PSG and its fans
 

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Calling him an average player is a backlash against him? Ok mate. Btw these opinions were formed well before he made these comments, before he accepted PSG's offer. Many people were happy to see him go, though probably expected a suitable replacement and not just Fred.
Ander makes comments about the clubs focus on non-football matters.

Caftards retort that Ander wasn't a good player and should sod off.

That reaction is unrelated to what Ander is talking about. It comes from pettiness, saltiness or whatever you want to call it and is exactly as I've called it. How good he was as a United player is completely irrelevant to the topic at hand.

It's as if I started to speak out against these very disruptive advertisements on Redcafe mobile that take up my entire screen and keep me from being active on here for a few seconds. And then you lot said, "your opinion doesn't matter because you're not poster of the year". Actually the Herrera situation is even more petty.
 

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Let's see this, Evra said this a while ago now and we have gotten worse as a team since he said those things. The likelihood of it all to be true is high. Obviously this is also a bit of a PR by Herrera when it comes to PSG and its fans
Bingo. Because, as I said, he talks a good game.
 

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Ander makes comments about the clubs focus on non-football matters.

Caftards retort that Ander wasn't a good player and should sod off.

That reaction is unrelated to what Ander is talking about. It comes from pettiness, saltiness or whatever you want to call it and is exactly as I've called it. How good he was as a United player is completely irrelevant to the topic at hand.

It's as if I started to speak out against these very disruptive advertisements on Redcafe mobile that take up my entire screen and keep me from being active on here for a few seconds. And then you lot said, "your opinion doesn't matter because you're not poster of the year". Actually the Herrera situation is even more petty.
Well most aren't disagreeing, they are just suggesting that its a bit rich coming from someone who knew how to talk the talk, but didnt always show up when we needed it the most. It's like as if di Maria started coming out and criticizing the team for their lack of bravery and hiding on the pitch being the biggest reason we failed under LVG.
 

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Well most aren't disagreeing, they are just suggesting that its a bit rich coming from someone who knew how to talk the talk, but didnt always show up when we needed it the most. It's like as if di Maria started coming out and criticizing the team for their lack of bravery and hiding on the pitch being the biggest reason we failed under LVG.
It's not the same. Herrera isn't saying the team should have played better. He's talking about the organization priorities, whether management or other, the focus. His performances are unrelated so we don't even need to go back and forth about our opinions of him as a player.

If Di Maria said the same thing I would defend the backlash in the same way.

To me, what's rich is the fans here. Why is it so fundamentally difficult to accept our club is not being run the correct way? It's just defensiveness left and right.
 

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“And I say it sincerely, huh, because sometimes, seen from the outside, PSG can have a glamorous side that can irritate some. But here, we sweat, we train, we work!

“When I arrive at the training centre, the physios, podiatrist and physical trainer are already at work… Football, football, football… Leonardo is there every day.”
Shims like a dig at Pogba.
 

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Exactly.

Herrera is in the same bucket as Lukaku and Fellaini as far as I’m concerned.

We miss them because we are dire, but they’re not the standard required if you want to be at the very top.
We're nowhere near a top team, buddy.
We're a mid table team and at best a top 6 team. Herrera IS our level and him leaving has dropped our midfield quality. The proof of this is in our league position - currently 14th with a game in hand.
There are fans on here who are still living in the SAF era and refuse to move on.
 

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If he was so good, with such a great mentality, why did consecutive coaches choose to bench him so frequently?

Not being a dick, genuine question.
The same reason martial and Rashford were benched. Lingard back then was a regular starter does this make him great
 

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We're nowhere near a top team, buddy.
We're a mid table team and at best a top 6 team. Herrera IS our level and him leaving has dropped our midfield quality. The proof of this is in our league position - currently 14th with a game in hand.
There are fans on here who are still living in the SAF era and refuse to move on.
We’ve spent absolute fortunes though so there’s no real excuse for our mediocrity.

We were right not to offer Herrera a new deal.

But we completely botched it by recruiting Fred as his replacement.

I’m totally realistic about our predicament but 14th is unacceptable.

Teams like Leicester and Chelsea have catapulted themselves into title contention in a quarter of a season.

Why can they do it so quickly but it takes us seven plus years of painful but apparently necessary rebuilding?

It makes me so angry that mediocrity is accepted.

It was bizarre that we appointed a manager of the Moyes ilk and we have repeated the same mistake with an even worse no-mark.
 

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The same reason martial and Rashford were benched. Lingard back then was a regular starter does this make him great
I’ll tell you why Martial and Rashford were regularly benched - it’s because they’re bluffers.

Abraham has already exceeded Rashford’s best ever scoring season.

We will achieve nothing of note with mugs like that leading the line.
 

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We’ve spent absolute fortunes though so there’s no real excuse for our mediocrity.

We were right not to offer Herrera a new deal.

But we completely botched it by recruiting Fred as his replacement.

I’m totally realistic about our predicament but 14th is unacceptable.

Teams like Leicester and Chelsea have catapulted themselves into title contention in a quarter of a season.

Why can they do it so quickly but it takes us seven plus years of painful but apparently necessary rebuilding?

It makes me so angry that mediocrity is accepted.

It was bizarre that we appointed a manager of the Moyes ilk and we have repeated the same mistake with an even worse no-mark.
Have to agree with this.
 

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Shims like a dig at Pogba.
Nah.. During Anders time here players were all over doing noodles commercials and what not, that comment from Van Gal that he wanted the team to not have pre season tournaments too far away from home but we did it anyway for commercial reasons probably, the ridiculous player reveals we did which thankfully never caught on. Theres plenty of valid points that showed that football was second fiddle to us being commercial giants.

Pogba and lingards off field ventures might be related to his comments but its a small dot compared to how the whole club was ran during his time here.
 

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I don't mind him saying football hasn't always been the focus for Man Utd, because it's what most of us have suspected for a long time, and the more people point this out, the better.
 

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As a PSG fan, herrera is largely viewed as a squad player who gives more options for the coach and whose behaviour can inspire. Nobody expects him to be part of the starting eleven if he is fit.

2 international caps at the age of 29 is a summary of his career. Nice career but he will be instantly forgotten by everybody when he will retire.

Regarding his interview, I would say he mainly criticizes your current staff and the lack of an active sporting director who monitors the coach and players on a daily basis.

In some way, he suggests that the staff is not hard-working, this is the best translation imo because after all his only main quality these days is its strong desire and commitment.

Nothing controversial but nothing interesting too
 
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Nah.. During Anders time here players were all over doing noodles commercials and what not, that comment from Van Gal that he wanted the team to not have pre season tournaments too far away from home but we did it anyway for commercial reasons probably, the ridiculous player reveals we did which thankfully never caught on. Theres plenty of valid points that showed that football was second fiddle to us being commercial giants.

Pogba and lingards off field ventures might be related to his comments but its a small dot compared to how the whole club was ran during his time here.
How do you know that?

Herrera doesn't mention anything about United's business dealings. But he does talk about 'sweating', ie. work done on the pitch.

The criticism appears to be about the players rather than upper management.
 

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How do you know that?

Herrera doesn't mention anything about United's business dealings. But he does talk about 'sweating', ie. work done on the pitch.

The criticism appears to be about the players rather than upper management.
It's specifically about the staff and we can assume about the players too. He used PSG's staff as a reference.
 

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How do you know that?

Herrera doesn't mention anything about United's business dealings. But he does talk about 'sweating', ie. work done on the pitch.

The criticism appears to be about the players rather than upper management.
From the full article
“That does not come out of my mouth. I don’t know, but football was not the most important thing in Manchester. I do not want to compare, all I know is that here, I feel like I’m breathing football on all sides. And I like it,” the former United midfielder added.

Herrera’s comments could also come across a dig at United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward, who has been criticised over the years by a large section of fans for prioritising commercial aspects over football.


I agree he does seem to imply it to the players but when you say "breathing from all sides" implies to the club as a whole. Seems unfitting to put it that way if he was only referring to the players being just one side of the club. It was atleast how i see what he meant.