[diawl_coch]

Please leave...leave soon.

We will remember the noughties Ronaldo. You are not Premier League standard, a brutal, brutal place to play

 

[Gehrman]

Which games this season has Ronaldo had where he's actually had good overall game? Arsenal I guess. Newcastle the one where we won.

 

[ForeverRed1]

He’s still a big player and can be important for us but he isn’t the Ronaldo he used to be and can’t be the focal point of the team anymore.
Everything can’t go through him like it used to and that should be ok. He can still have a impact. He just shouldn’t be playing 90 minutes every game. We can’t let him be a detriment to the team.

 

[Jim Beam]

Top scorer so far for us this season and the only one who looks to give a feck when the chips are down…but yes let’s talk about how much of a cancer he is to the squad

The decision to bring him back is exactly what is wrong with this club.

 

[Amar__]

Gotta say I am surprised he didn't solve our all problems when we signed him in the summer, like majority here thought he will.

Once we signed him everyone was over the moon, forgetting about our all other problems, and criticising everyone who didn't like the idea of Ronaldo being our saviour and the man who will lead us to the title. It was very weird reaction from the fans at the time, I don't quite understand how can people like and have so much respect for a guy past his best, and who nearly signed for our biggest rivals just day before he signed for us, but as @Brwned implied, he probably liked our terms better, and City are not that stupid as United are these days.

Gloating about it doesn't feel right as I thought it will be though.

 

[spiriticon]

I can deal with this nonsense for 2 years for nostalgia's sake as well as him still being a decent goalscorer, but no more than that please. No renewals, just testimonials thank you.

 

[VanDeBank]

Gotta say I am surprised he didn't solve our all problems when we signed him in the summer, like majority here thought he will.

Once we signed him everyone was over the moon, forgetting about our all other problems, and criticising everyone who didn't like the idea of Ronaldo being our saviour and the man who will lead us to the title. It was very weird reaction from the fans at the time, I don't quite understand how can people like and have so much respect for a guy past his best, and who nearly signed for our biggest rivals these days just one day before he signed for us, but as @Brwned implied, he probably liked our terms better, and City are not that stupid as United are these days.

Gloating about it doesn't feel right as I thought it will be though.

Nice strawman to portray everyone who wasn't critical of the signing as thinking he was the "saviour".

Good player when used right, which is a fox in the box/poacher for a dominant team. There's a reason City wanted him to replace Aguero.

He does feck all outside of the box, he had a good dribble once this season and that's it. Everyone who payed attention to the last few years of his career knew this.

 

[Ixion]

Top scorer so far for us this season

I'm just saying in general your striker that plays every single game, never gets subbed and takes penalties is likely to be your top scorer

 

[lex talionis]

Ronaldo obviously can't save this sinking ship, but he did get into decent scoring positions tonight. Balls sent his way were well over his head though. What's he's lost above all else is the ability to create a scoring chance all by himself. He poaches well and he takes half chances well, but he can't beat a defender on the dribble any longer. We need Ronaldo for now, but we also need to develop his successor at CF. Maybe that's Greenwood but I'm not sure he's the man for the job.

 

[AndyMUFC]

He's not helped by the players around him by any means but he definitely isn't the right player for this side for me.

He can still be one of the greatest of all-time but past it at the same time. Happens to everyone.

 

[KeanoMagicHat]

Arguably the worst thing about Ronaldo signing is that he’s holding us back like Sanchez did but not in such an obvious way that he maintains such strong fandom and support that he could possibly continue to hold us back for 2 years and have everyone else at the club blamed except him.

That Instagram post ‘despite my 47 goals scored in all competitions’ sums it up in a year where Juventus barely got top 4, Portugal had a pretty bad Euros then failed to qualify for the World Cup automatically, then United turned into a mid-table team. ‘Despite his 47 goals though’. It was of course, everyone else but him.

 

[shabadu84]

He has enough to offer to warrant a regular place in the side but he's clearly not the type of player we can just put in the XI and expect him to improve everyone else. The physical limitations are glaringly obvious so why are we relying on him for his 3rd start in a week? And that with Cavani and Matic also putting in back-to-back starts. It was obvious we were shoehorning him in more than needed under Ole but now, under a new manager with a specific system, it makes even less sense.

 

[Bobski]

We aren't going to win anything so what is the point of building around him?

Make the hard decision, realize it was a mistake to bring him back and give him the chance to go and get his stats elsewhere and start the necessary rebuild. I don't see any benefit in Ronaldo at Utd for either party right now.

 

[Rojow]

The problem is everything that surrounds Ronaldo. That includes his entire PR team and Mendes. Maybe what kind of contract he have. Sure he has to play X amount of games and minutes. Mendes was not going to let it be a player who appears from the bench. Unfortunately, Ronaldo has too much ego and honestly, that always has been more important than the team where he plays.

 

[Jim Beam]

Seriously, where would we be without Ronaldo this season?

 

[bdecuc]

We should have gone with the young players. I think that's pretty obvious.

 

[Rajma]

100% has guarantees in his contract around playing time when fit, there’s no other explanation for what we’re seeing. Coaches at the top level are rarely this blind to the obvious for the above to be false. He’s not even being subbed, it seems that Carrick could drop him simply because he knew he’s here for two days only and won’t have to deal with the implications. Ralf has given assurances to the board about Ronaldo looks the likeliest scenario with each passing day, which would be a big shame from everyone involved.

 

[Marwood]

He's a pen box player now. Outside the box you're getting next to nothing. Not his fault, he's 37.

 

[Redlyn]

He's not the problem, because it would be deranged to watch this side play and think we only have one core problem. Especially given a lot of those issues were there before Ronaldo ever arrived.

He is a problem though. And why wouldn't he be? He's a 36 year old past-his-best poacher in a poor side that wants to rebuild into a more intense team. At best his weaknesses are something the team has to work around, where you'd want someone who plays as much as he does to actually fit what you're trying to do.

Well said

 

[Pogue Mahone]

How about that attempted back pass header, by the way? On a day of some absolutely execrable individual moments by almost every player in red that very nearly took the biscuit. Not one but two Wolves players between him and DDG. Remarkable.

 

[Adisa]

How about that attempted back pass header, by the way? On a day of some absolutely execrable individual moments by almost every player in red that very nearly took the biscuit. Not one but two Wolves players between him and DDG. Remarkable.

In real time I was certain it was a Wolves player. Couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the replay.

 

[AndersB]

Some months ago I was absolutely slaughtered on here for making my first thread, stating that I did not wish us to re-sign Ronaldo before the fact. Not even mainly met with disagreement; it was as if making the point was itself criminal.

Now, however, those worries seem to realize themselves more and more. Ronaldo scores important goals still, and he's certainly not been among the worst performers this season, but he generally offers so little in general play, does not really press, has games where is disappears completely, and tends to sulk too when things aren't working out. And jeez, it feels like I have seen Ronaldo fall over in the opponent's box trying to shoot for like four games straight now, with the opposition crowd cheering. Not that it matters the most, but it hurts to see.

Even more now with Rangnick he seems an awkward fit, especially with an ageing Cavani there too. There's simply a significant opportunity cost involved in getting the benefits Ronaldo offers right now imo. I don't whether Bruno's regression is related to Ronaldo, but he at least doesn't seem to be thriving. I'm not sure what's right, but to me it's at least not obvious it's worth it to an extent where Ronaldo starts every game and a very lively Greenwood gets subbed over him (or Cavani) like tonight.

Just for the record again, I love Ronaldo for what he's done for us, but that doesn't mean stuff like this can't be discussed.

 

[UnofficialDevil]

How about that attempted back pass header, by the way? On a day of some absolutely execrable individual moments by almost every player in red that very nearly took the biscuit. Not one but two Wolves players between him and DDG. Remarkable.

That was bizarre. If they had scored from that.. oh my.

 

[KetilOwren88]

I do get that the man is nearly 37, but why is he looking so stiff? I have seen lots of old players but they didn’t look like this, not even Ibrahimović who is a tall man too. I also get that he changed his playing style to score more goals and become a more effective player, but why has he thrown away every other aspect that made him so great and funny to watch? When you reach his age, it’s not natural to take on players like he used to do for fun, but why isn’t he using his skillset more? Ibra did plenty of entertaining stuff the time he was here, but Ronaldo just looks like a machine on autopilot and a quite boring one as well. It isn’t surprising at all since he have been like this for many years now, but I just don’t get it. It’s not that he scores loads of goals anyway right now.

 

[Rajma]

How about that attempted back pass header, by the way? On a day of some absolutely execrable individual moments by almost every player in red that very nearly took the biscuit. Not one but two Wolves players between him and DDG. Remarkable.

It’s football, things can happen for me the worst about that episode was AWB. He’s just totally switched off from the game and not following, raising his hand for offside and not even attempting to defend the situation not even realizing that it was Ronaldo who passed it back despite being in a good position to see this. These players are just cruising, total lack of focus and concentration.

 

[Mickson]

Some months ago I was absolutely slaughtered on here for making my first thread, stating that I did not wish us to re-sign Ronaldo before the fact. Not even mainly met with disagreement; it was as if making the point was itself criminal.

Now, however, those worries seem to realize themselves more and more. Ronaldo scores important goals still, and he's certainly not been among the worst performers this season, but he generally offers so little in general play, does not really press, has games where is disappears completely, and tends to sulk too when things aren't working out. And jeez, it feels like I have seen Ronaldo fall over in the opponent's box trying to shoot for like four games straight now, with the opposition crowd cheering. Not that it matters the most, but it hurts to see.

Even more now with Rangnick he seems an awkward fit, especially with an ageing Cavani there too. There's simply a significant opportunity cost involved in getting the benefits Ronaldo offers right now imo. I don't whether Bruno's regression is related to Ronaldo, but he at least doesn't seem to be thriving. I'm not sure what's right, but to me it's at least not obvious it's worth it to an extent where Ronaldo starts every game and a very lively Greenwood gets subbed over him (or Cavani) like tonight.

Just for the record again, I love Ronaldo for what he's done for us, but that doesn't mean stuff like this can't be discussed.

I did the same. Got called 'troll'. I had to ignore the thread, I got so many mentions. Jonathan Wilson got slaughtered too, despite him being right all long. Ronaldo is a great goalscorer, even right now, but he's not the right fit for this team. He's one of the worst footballers we have in the squad. And I mean actual footballers, he's not contributing at all if he isn't scoring. He does nothing for our general play. I saw some comparison with Ruud, but Ruud was a lot better. He could be a target man, he ran more, better technical ability and timing. I don't think we have had one good game with Ronaldo in the team so far this season. I hate seeing him play, I hate seeing him in our team. I want free fluid football, with pace, with players exchanging positions. Won't ever get that with him. Shit signing.

 

[Chief123]

He really has become the modern day Fillipo inzaghi for us. Does absolutely nothing in the whole game except score from time to time. Often important goals. But when he doesn’t score, he’s a passenger. I love Ronaldo and always have, but he’s beginning to annoy me now. His body language towards the other players is terrible.

 

[Oly Francis]

I do get that the man is nearly 37, but why is he looking so stiff? I have seen lots of old players but they didn’t look like this, not even Ibrahimović who is a tall man too. I also get that he changed his playing style to score more goals and become a more effective player, but why has he thrown away every other aspect that made him so great and funny to watch? When you reach his age, it’s not natural to take on players like he used to do for fun, but why isn’t he using his skillset more? Ibra did plenty of entertaining stuff the time he was here, but Ronaldo just looks like a machine on autopilot and a quite boring one as well. It isn’t surprising at all since he have been like this for many years now, but I just don’t get it. It’s not that he scores loads of goals anyway right now.

It's been gradually worse since he left Real Madrid, it was already noticeable at Juventus. My guess would be that he tried to compensate his age by working out a lot in a way that doesn't allow much flexibility. He can still jump very high but he lost a lot of his abilities to quickly change direction. He moves on the pitch like Robocop nowadays.

 

[Idxomer]

I do get that the man is nearly 37, but why is he looking so stiff? I have seen lots of old players but they didn’t look like this, not even Ibrahimović who is a tall man too. I also get that he changed his playing style to score more goals and become a more effective player, but why has he thrown away every other aspect that made him so great and funny to watch? When you reach his age, it’s not natural to take on players like he used to do for fun, but why isn’t he using his skillset more? Ibra did plenty of entertaining stuff the time he was here, but Ronaldo just looks like a machine on autopilot and a quite boring one as well. It isn’t surprising at all since he have been like this for many years now, but I just don’t get it. It’s not that he scores loads of goals anyway right now.

More mileage than them maybe. Ronaldo has already played more football than the likes of Giggs and Ibra in their whole career.

 

[KetilOwren88]

It's been gradually worse since he left Real Madrid, it was already noticeable at Juventus. My guess would be that he tried to compensate his age by working out a lot in a way that doesn't allow much flexibility. He can still jump very high but he lost a lot of his abilities to quickly change direction. He moves on the pitch like Robocop nowadays.

You said it. He looks like a robot and he is not flexible at all. He used to be so smooth to watch, but even simple things looks difficult for him now due to his stiff movement. I have one exception that springs to mind and that is the beautiful assist to Cavani against Spurs.

 

[Sara125]

The decision to bring him back is exactly what is wrong with this club.

Elaborate

 

[sugar_kane]

Elaborate

I'm guessing they mean putting marketing and PR before football and they would be bang on.

 

[The Irish Connection]

It’s genuinely ridiculous the amount of stick Ronaldo is getting. It’s mind boggling (like a lot of things with this club I suppose)
Cavani was far worse than him. Sancho, Mctominay and Rashford also.
If Ronaldo had been in the position Cavani was and didn’t pass to Greenwood, there would be burning effigies. Sancho should have played him in on goal in the first half.
I’m far from a Ronaldo fan boy but he is not the problem.

 

[ForeverRed1]

If he picks up any injuries over the course of the season it would interesting so see if there is a difference on the pitch ...

 

[Brwned]

It’s genuinely ridiculous the amount of stick Ronaldo is getting. It’s mind boggling (like a lot of things with this club I suppose)
Cavani was far worse than him. Sancho, Mctominay and Rashford also.
If Ronaldo had been in the position Cavani was and didn’t pass to Greenwood, there would be burning effigies. Sancho should have played him in on goal in the first half.
I’m far from a Ronaldo fan boy but he is not the problem.

Clearly none of those players influenced the squad chemistry in the way that Ronaldo has, and the reason people talk about Ronaldo is about the knock-on effects he has on the team, which stack on top of his individual contributions. It's a team game so it's right that people pay more attention to a player's wider influence beyond his individual contributions. There's a lot of subjectivity, reading between the lines, etc. in assessing those more indirect contributions but you can't seriously be suggesting his role is comparable to e.g. Cavani.

Cavani had to work for his place, even against a desperately out of form Martial, and he worked hard to build up the young players' confidence. Ronaldo strolled into the team and shredded their confidence, questioned their work ethic, demanded to be centre stage, and was perfectly comfortable knowing that stealing the limelight from Bruno and co. might harm their individual contributions, it didn't matter because his eyes were firmly set on his own "47 goals". The fact those 47 goals came in a year where both of his teams drastically underperformed bothered him, but mostly because he can't add another medal to his own cabinet.

There's no-one else in the team that puts himself above the club so obviously, and so unapologetically. It's pretty obvious why that can hurt more than it helps in certain situations.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

The decision to bring him back is exactly what is wrong with this club.

Absolutely. Complete lack of foresight and vision, and a longing for headlines and sentiment.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

Elaborate

It's evident. Instead of having a vision of the football we want to play we typically jump at the chance of signing a big name and that too one that has a connection with us, which is the perfect cocktail for our 'make a splash' midset. Screw building a team that has a certain ethic and system and carries that out to the tee, let's sign a star instead. So yeah, typical of us.

 

[clarkydaz]

I'm guessing they mean putting marketing and PR before football and they would be bang on.

isnt it amazing we usually drag a signing out all summer, but can sign Ronaldo in 24 hours

 

[steffyr2]

Clearly none of those players influenced the squad chemistry in the way that Ronaldo has, and the reason people talk about Ronaldo is about the knock-on effects he has on the team, which stack on top of his individual contributions. It's a team game so it's right that people pay more attention to a player's wider influence beyond his individual contributions. There's a lot of subjectivity, reading between the lines, etc. in assessing those more indirect contributions but you can't seriously be suggesting his role is comparable to e.g. Cavani.

Cavani had to work for his place, even against a desperately out of form Martial, and he worked hard to build up the young players' confidence. Ronaldo strolled into the team and shredded their confidence, questioned their work ethic, demanded to be centre stage, and was perfectly comfortable knowing that stealing the limelight from Bruno and co. might harm their individual contributions, it didn't matter because his eyes were firmly set on his own "47 goals". The fact those 47 goals came in a year where both of his teams drastically underperformed bothered him, but mostly because he can't add another medal to his own cabinet.

There's no-one else in the team that puts himself above the club so obviously, and so unapologetically. It's pretty obvious why that can hurt more than it helps in certain situations.

Cavani is the person who didn't pass to Greenwood today, and who only plays a game every 8 weeks or so.

Everyone questions the team work ethic! Because it sucks. I guess you thought Roy Keane was a meanie too.

Maybe Bruno should play better and not worry about where the limelight is located.

Varane is probably responsible for the defense playing so badly, since he's won so much and has caused them to feel bad about themselves. Should we get rid of him too?

 

[Martial]

He has 6 open play goals in 16 appearances in the league so far this season.

Not sure the output is worth all the trade-offs.