Could our pre-season have been any worse?

[Josep Dowling]

Our pre-season has been nothing short of a disaster. Yes I know all clubs have had their pre-season cut short but we have had everything go wrong.

Transfers coming in at the last minute has caused a negative storm amongst the fans and media. This has rubbed off on the players. Even Shaw commented we needed players in to strengthen. Of course the lack of signings will affect the players. The one signing we did get early doesn’t even start a Premier League showing he’s not a player we required to strengthen the first 11.

Our club captain gets arrested in Greece.

Our young prodigy gets sent home from England trying to break self isolation rules in another country.

Wan Bissaka goes to a country which required 2 week self isolation on return so he missed the slim preseason training we had.

Pogba got COVID. Whether this can be blamed for his diabolical performance so far I don’t know but he should have been dropped already after the Brighton game.

Bar Pogba catching COVID all of this could have been resolved by the club. These are high value assets doing what they want in a time where COVID is causing entire countries to sit at home. Where is the leadership at the club telling these guys what they should and shouldn’t be doing?

Is it any wonder we have started so badly this season. I expect it to continue as well. If anyone expects a mercenary like Cavani to change anything you are wrong. Once he realises no one can cross the ball he will waiting to leave.

 

[Abhinav]

I think this is one area where Ole definitely needs criticism. The players obviously have the primary responsibility to behave professionally. In the event they don’t, they need to know there will be consequences. Ole seems to be too much of a nice guy to really act as an authoritarian. We need someone in the coaching team to play the bad guy and get these players into line.

 

[Ralph1386]

I was going to start a thread about the psychological impact for our players when they start the season with no decent recruitment from the board while they look at all the teams around them who started strengthening as soon as the transfer window opened.

Gary Neville even mentioned on Sky that these transfers have a psychological impact on players.

Ole and the players dragged us to third place after the confinement, and this is how the club thanks them. No wonder morale is so low right now.

When our rivals were strengthening at the beginning of the window, Woodward was lying on a beach somewhere, and now he’s heading to deadline day trying to play poker with Dortmund Jadon Sancho.

 

[Web of Bissaka]

It could, thankfully someone push the deal to bring in DvdB.

Negatives
1. Captain Greece
2. Pogba virus
3. Messing Greenwood
4. Feck-it Bissaka
5. Diabolical transfer dealings (both in and out, almost all of it)
6. Lack of fitness preparations. Late lazy start.

What happened afterwards to each of those?
1. Remain as captain.
3. Drop for 45 mins (first game).
4. Drop (first game) then immediately play the next game.
5. Ole defending the club.
6. Make a small excuse of fitness problem because of the fixture and some other bs.

Bar the Pogba case (although maybe he got this by getting a holiday in risked countries or populated locations and didn't practice social distancing nor "safe direct contacts", so that's also on him), all of those are feck-ups done by unprofessional and incompetent individuals. Embarrassing for a top club like Manchester United.

Positives
1. Iceman Vigilante
2. Rashford the Activist
3. The Don

 

[TMDaines]

Trying to bed Telles and Cavani in when they and their teammates are away for the next two weeks, followed by this run of games is going to be bleak:

Newcastle away
PSG away
Chelsea home
Leipzig home
Arsenal home
Istanbul away
Everton away

 

[oreon]

I hope the players don't adopt this attitude because they are looking like they are. Everyone had a shortened preseason. There should be no excuse for bad performances. I don't want to see Luke Shaw out there demanding his replacement. He should be thinking he's good enough and trying to prove it on the pitch.
The transfers is between the manager and the board. No doubt the managers has been failed by the board. But that has nothing to do with the current players performance. They simply need to stop making mistakes and play better. There's too many weak minded players at UTD. I miss the old days where players would show up on the pitch with one leg. Stop excusing them and demand better. Ole needs to demand better.

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

Probably worse than 2018 which was another disaster.

 

[Reynoldo]

I was going to start a thread about the psychological impact for our players when they start the season with no decent recruitment from the board while they look at all the teams around them who started strengthening as soon as the transfer window opened.

Gary Neville even mentioned on Sky that these transfers have a psychological impact on players.

Ole and the players dragged us to third place after the confinement, and this is how the club thanks them. No wonder morale is so low right now.

When our rivals were strengthening at the beginning of the window, Woodward was lying on a beach somewhere, and now he’s heading to deadline day trying to play poker with Dortmund Jadon Sancho.

It does need its own thread in my opinion as it’s absolutely crucial. We completely crippled our management and team by our actions (or lack thereof) in early part of the transfer window. We worked so hard to get that 3rd spot and just when it was looking like the club was finally going in the right direction another shitshow of a window just sucking the life out of everyone connected with the club. The higher ups should be able to read where this team is at, it’s mental fragility and again the need to actually deliver for once and not leave so much doubt in the squad this far into the season.

it’s not some crazy sliding doors to think what could have been if we got Sancho in early, kept and built on the good mood in the club and you know actually started the season properly

 

[Name Changed]

Yes..of course.

 

[Hansa]

I was going to start a thread about the psychological impact for our players when they start the season with no decent recruitment from the board while they look at all the teams around them who started strengthening as soon as the transfer window opened.

Another psychological thing to consider, is that with the start we've had, the only feedback they will get from the fans (maybe throughout the entire season) is online abuse. No encouragement whatsoever.

 

[RedDevilCanuck]

Rooney and Gibson show up hungover then our star player gets dropped for a huge boxing day game in which we dropped points.

Fergie didn't feck around.

What slab head and AWB did was far worse.

 

[TrustInJanuzaj]

No but people don't care about context, not in football, not in society.