[captaincantona]

I don’t agree with you, I don’t think he was amazing, but he wasn’t our problem last night and think it’s odd people are rushing in here to slag him off. But I respect your opinion and don’t have the energy to debate this on this awful morning to be alive.

I think, when you see the content bullshit on social media about doing better and not good enough for this club and needing to get back to where we belong...from our players...and then you see them fuking freeze in that stadium and play like scared amateurs...not one player who started(maybe matic, Elanga and Telles showed some character) looked like they wanted to be there or belonged there...and this is just the knockout stages against fuking Athletico! Could you imagine them in the Nou Camp against a decent Barca side in the semis or stepping up to Bayern?

It was an embarrassment and everyone is gonna get it. Ronaldo and Varane were the one you expected to settle us down...they have been there and done that...but they we just as bad as the rest. I’m in despair here at how shell shocked we seemed.

As regards slagging off Ronaldo, as long as it’s the same stuff you would be saying to your mate down the pub, I don’t see the problem. It’s the life of a Utd fan these days.

 

[MrEleson]

The difference between Ronaldo at United and Ronaldo at Juve previously is that Juventus fans recognised the limitations of the team surrounding him most of the time while United fans believe he’s holding the team back when in actuality 80% of the players around him are complete and utter shite.

Guys like Rashford, Fred, Mctominay, Shaw, Dalot, AWB, Maguire, etc don’t really compete at the level people think they should.

 

[AngeloHenriquez]

He's clearly frustrated and out of form but his devotion, ability and history of scoring out of nothing means we need to play him through this. He was getting no service early on and then they went through a spell of over passing to Ronaldo for me and now they've sort of cut him out again, I think he plays much worse with Rashford on the pitch as opposed to Elanga/ Sancho as he dropped deep for the goal and pulled a few defenders with him. My main criticism of him of late is he isn't making the runs he normally would or if he does they are bursts when Lindelof has the ball and he wants it over the top but then gets frustrated and doesn't make those same runs when we are higher up the field in possession.

 

[captaincantona]

The difference between Ronaldo at United and Ronaldo at Juve previously is that Juventus fans recognised the limitations of the team surrounding him most of the time while United fans believe he’s holding the team back when in actuality 80% of the players around him are complete and utter shite.

Guys like Rashford, Fred, Mctominay, Shaw, Dalot, AWB, Maguire, etc don’t really compete at the level people think they should.

Or do some Utd fans want a striker that adds something to the team even when not scoring? Zlatan was more than just a goal threat, Cavani last season, Martial in his season playing at 9 - all recent examples. Lukaku was similarly shite in build up and hold up and getting the team up the pitch...he was hounded as well.

Maybe Utd fans don’t want a 9 who offers fuk all except goals.

 

[Gehrman]

The difference between Ronaldo at United and Ronaldo at Juve previously is that Juventus fans recognised the limitations of the team surrounding him most of the time while United fans believe he’s holding the team back when in actuality 80% of the players around him are complete and utter shite.

Guys like Rashford, Fred, Mctominay, Shaw, Dalot, AWB, Maguire, etc don’t really compete at the level people think they should.

Its never his fault. He's not that good anymore. He is not clinical anymore which means he is running out of attributes.

 

[Grande]

I thought he was quite good yesterday. He moved well, made a lot of good choices that prolonged our time on the ball at times we needed it, drew some freekicks to enable us to lift our play, and generally was the only player (bar Lindelöf, mostly) who didn’t look like a deer in the headlights that first half.

 

[Mickson]

Incredible that people are still defending him. He has like £400k a week and does one or two touches a game and people somehow think that is okay. He can't hold the ball up, he doesn't press, he does not include others into play, his touch is off, he loses duels and he doesn't score goals. I wonder what he brings to the team. Being a 'goat'?

 

[Gehrman]

I thought he was quite good yesterday. He moved well, made a lot of good choices that prolonged our time on the ball at times we needed it, drew some freekicks to enable us to lift our play, and generally was the only player (bar Lindelöf, mostly) who didn’t look like a deer in the headlights that first half.

Depends on the expectations are, but I also think that he looked fairly energetic, won lots of fouls, did a bit of defending. Never got a clear cut chance on goal. Elanga scoring almost immediatly after coming on might point towards to Ronaldo lacking something though.

 

[Gehrman]

Incredible that people are still defending him. He has like £400k a week and does one or two touches a game and people somehow think that is okay. He can't hold the ball up, he doesn't press, he does not include others into play, his touch is off, he loses duels and he doesn't score goals. I wonder what he brings to the team. Being a 'goat'?

I agree, when you take his salary into account his contributions are awful.

 

[Grande]

Depends on the expectations are, but I also think that he looked fairly energetic, won lots of fouls, did a bit of defending. Never got a clear cut chance on goal. Elanga scoring almost immediatly after coming on might point towards to Ronaldo lacking something though.

He certainly lacks stuff now in comparison with Elanga, and all the others. What he had yesterday, that Elanga doesn’t have, was a general composure (not talking about finishing composure here) and strategical thinking in his play, that the team as a whole lacked. We could have been butchered in the first half if he was exchanged for an eager but inexperienced and sometimes rash Elanga at that point, the way Atletico played.

We got ourselves more of a handle on the game during second half, lacking mostly penetration, so that was a perfect time for Elanga to come on. (Mind you, I’d have Elanga as a starter ahead of Rashford yesterday anyway).

 

[Herman Toothrot]

The difference between Ronaldo at United and Ronaldo at Juve previously is that Juventus fans recognised the limitations of the team surrounding him most of the time while United fans believe he’s holding the team back when in actuality 80% of the players around him are complete and utter shite.

Guys like Rashford, Fred, Mctominay, Shaw, Dalot, AWB, Maguire, etc don’t really compete at the level people think they should.

Except they all performed much better without him.

 

[Gehrman]

He certainly lacks stuff now in comparison with Elanga, and all the others. What he had yesterday, that Elanga doesn’t have, was a general composure (not talking about finishing composure here) and strategical thinking in his play, that the team as a whole lacked. We could have been butchered in the first half if he was exchanged for an eager but inexperienced and sometimes rash Elanga at that point, the way Atletico played.

We got ourselves more of a handle on the game during second half, lacking mostly penetration, so that was a perfect time for Elanga to come on. (Mind you, I’d have Elanga as a starter ahead of Rashford yesterday anyway).

We were butchered in the first half. Luckily Athletico were shit in the attack.

 

[Grande]

We were butchered in the first half. Luckily Athletico were shit in the attack.

Well then you probably agree that if we had been butchered even more, it would have been quite ugly … my point is that part of the reason we were butchered, playing wise, was that ten of of the eleven players hardly ever took cool, smart and deliberate choices to win time and prolong our time on the ball and help us lift play (due to uncertainty, likely, and Atletico being really aggressive and disciplined). That led to loads of break-downs, disorder in our ranks, and we just barely escaped keeping their chances tally down to three chances or something. If thare had been eleven of eleven, we would have been flooded all the way into the five yard box continually, I imagine.

 

[Matt851]

Incredible that people are still defending him. He has like £400k a week and does one or two touches a game and people somehow think that is okay. He can't hold the ball up, he doesn't press, he does not include others into play, his touch is off, he loses duels and he doesn't score goals. I wonder what he brings to the team. Being a 'goat'?

Exactly, those people are judging him on reputation or desperately hoping he can regain his former abilities

 

[KeanoMagicHat]

The difference between Ronaldo at United and Ronaldo at Juve previously is that Juventus fans recognised the limitations of the team surrounding him most of the time while United fans believe he’s holding the team back when in actuality 80% of the players around him are complete and utter shite.

Guys like Rashford, Fred, Mctominay, Shaw, Dalot, AWB, Maguire, etc don’t really compete at the level people think they should.

Even United vs Juventus time though isn’t a fair comparison because Ronaldo joined Real Madrid at age 33, immediately after winning the Champions League. Ronaldo is now 37, there’s been a clear and pronounced physical decline that was showing at Juventus in his last season and has picked up considerable pace as the season has gone on.

Juventus picked up a top quality car with high mileage and drove the remaining life mostly into the ground, we picked up a car that’s almost ready for the scrap heap.

 

[Gehrman]

Well then you probably agree that if we had been butchered even more, it would have been quite ugly … my point is that part of the reason we were butchered, playing wise, was that ten of of the eleven players hardly ever took cool, smart and deliberate choices to win time and prolong our time on the ball and help us lift play (due to uncertainty, likely, and Atletico being really aggressive and disciplined). That led to loads of break-downs, disorder in our ranks, and we just barely escaped keeping their chances tally down to three chances or something. If thare had been eleven of eleven, we would have been flooded all the way into the five yard box continually, I imagine.

Main problem in the first half was that they were superb in pressing and making interceptions. I think Ronaldo did well in winning fouls and did a bit of defending as well, but I don't feel he had a great game. Somewhat decent, but not much more.

 

[Skyhightrees]

Dropped deep and got involved in play, offered at outlet for out midfield who couldn't hit a barn door for 75 minutes, won a few fks, won the big header into Fred at the touchline for the goal.

He was the best of the front 6, without being anything overly special himself mind you.

All facts. People here don't know their football. United was shocking today, especially first half.

What I see with Ronaldo is play based on motivation. This is a guy that won everything, it seems like in games like this he is much sharper than say… a random league game.

The opinions here are biased to be honest, how did he not offer link up play? He dropped back a lot of times and kept possession each and any time, compared to any other attacking player on the team he was great.

Bruno was feeling the pressure early on and gave the ball away like 5 times consecutive. Pogba was getting triple marked, Fred was too weak as the pivot. Sancho was isolated like Ronaldo, Rashford was the worst performer.

Ronaldo had composure, every touch was tidy, had smart headers, and on a counter attack he found Rashford which couldn’t find the ball.

People here think we are hearing the games on the radio… I watched it and it’s the same old story from Juve. Ronaldo is shit in the league and gathers haters, come the games that matter, the rest of the team absolutely shits the bed and Ronaldo is the only one that looks anything up for it.

The bias is too strong and it’s clouding your limited understanding of the game.

As a player he did well, maybe as a strong number 9 he lacked physicality but that’s never been Ronaldo, know your players.

 

[crossy1686]

I feel like Ronaldo channeled my inner rage regarding De Gea last night when he told him he needs to come off his line and claim the corners Atleti were putting in.

 

[Moonwalker]

His ego and experience helped him not get intimidated by the atmosphere. He looked quite lively and purposeful, compared to his usual league performances. He was also made too look better by how awful almost everyone else was, but that is the sum total of positive stuff you could say, and a good performance that does not make.

 

[Zlatan Ibrahomovic]

His ego and experience helped him not get intimidated by the atmosphere. He looked quite lively and purposeful, compared to his usual league performances. He was also made too look better by how awful almost everyone else was, but that is the sum total of positive stuff you could say, and a good performance that does not make.

Great post, on point.

 

[VanDeBank]

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[Hughes35]

Feel sorry for him. We give him absolutely nothing to feed off. He's still a great goalscorer and is the least of our problems.

You can see him shouting and waving all game trying to get the rest of the team to attack / create / push higher up the pitch.

That video in the post above sums it up.

 

[UnofficialDevil]

Feel sorry for him. We give him absolutely nothing to feed off. He's still a great goalscorer and is the least of our problems.

You can see him shouting and waving all game trying to get the rest of the team to attack / create / push higher up the pitch.

That video in the post above sums it up.

I agree, he gets zero service. Not a single proper cross or any kind pass to him. How is he supposed to score when the ball never reaches the opposition’s box.

 

[UnofficialDevil]

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Incredible

 

[VanDeBank]

Incredible

Not sure how many people saw it during the game. But he was counting the shit crosses on his hand and the team didn't notice because they were already walking back.

People can moap about his finishing and as the stats show it hasn't been good, but it can't be easy to be sharp in front of goal when he only gets service one in three games.

 

[UnofficialDevil]

Not sure how many people saw it during the game. But he was counting the shit crosses on his hand and the team didn't notice because they were already walking back.

People can moap about his finishing and as the stats show it hasn't been good, but it can't be easy to be sharp in front of goal when he only gets service one in three games.

Terrible way to end the career of the Champions league top scorer of all time, sad.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Not sure how many people saw it during the game. But he was counting the shit crosses on his hand and the team didn't notice because they were already walking back.

People can moap about his finishing and as the stats show it hasn't been good, but it can't be easy to be sharp in front of goal when he only gets service one in three games.

Good.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

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The second fecking stupid video posted from Twitter today. The issue there isn’t the poor service, it’s Ronaldo being surrounded by five defenders. Prime David Beckham couldn’t pick him out in that scenario. This wasn’t Ronaldo’s fault though. We need more bodies in the box if we’re going to have any hope of ever scoring from a cross.

 

[steffyr2]

Looking at his workrates I would leave him where he is, in a ST position.

Anyway Ronaldo can't be criticized for last night's performance as all of our starters were terrible. He had his bad games for us but not against Atletico.
He barely gets any service against teams like Aston Villa or Brighton, it was obvious it was going to be difficult for him to play a decent game against a good opponent.
There were some attempted crosses in the last few minutes of the first half against Atletico where the ball flew 5 m about his head about 3-4 times.

Yes he's selfish and seems to care only about his personal records and not if the team wins, but that's what we bought and we knew that from the moment we've signed him.

To summarize, the rest of the team was bad, but I just know know know he's selfish.

Looked to me he was very much playing for the team yesterday, and people complain about that as well.

 

[captaincantona]

To summarize, the rest of the team was bad, but I just know know know he's selfish.

Looked to me he was very much playing for the team yesterday, and people complain about that as well.

No. People are complaining that he was shite. Offered nothing. This is the key problem with playing with a striker who offers nothing but finishing- if we can service him...he can’t do the one thing he is in the team for. That doesn’t absolve him for being shit. That means he shouldn’t even be on the pitch. We would be more effective with a forward who can at least hold the ball up or offer something out of possession. Forget his name is Ronaldo- Martial or Rashford would be slaughtered for offering that little as a 9.

He was shit. Nothing more, nothing less...and does not deserve to be the only player absolved because he is Ronaldo. If anything, him, Varane, Pogba should all carry more responsibility to perform as they are the ones with the experience of such atmospheres.

 

[steffyr2]

No. People are complaining that he was shite. Offered nothing. This is the key problem with playing with a striker who offers nothing but finishing- if we can service him...he can’t do the one thing he is in the team for. That doesn’t absolve him for being shit. That means he shouldn’t even be on the pitch. He was shit. Nothing more, nothing less...and does not deserve to be the only player absolved because he is Ronaldo. If anything, him, Varane, Pogba should all carry more responsibility to perform as they are the ones with the experience of such atmospheres.

You can stop with, "People are complaining." No more. No less.

Ronaldo was careful and playing for the team yesterday. The team was collapsing -- Rashford for one, and why can't our players cross to the box instead of 30 yards beyond it?

The players forum is silly, apparently sucks in lots of 12 year olds. And me. Oops.

 

[VanDeBank]

The second fecking stupid video posted from Twitter today. The issue there isn’t the poor service, it’s Ronaldo being surrounded by five defenders. Prime David Beckham couldn’t pick him out in that scenario. This wasn’t Ronaldo’s fault though. We need more bodies in the box if we’re going to have any hope of ever scoring from a cross.

False on both accounts

 

[Nobby style]

Credit to Ronaldo on our goal for the fantastic effort in heading the ball to Fred who then got it to Bruno. Underrated teamwork on that goal.

 

[captaincantona]

You can stop with, "People are complaining." No more. No less.

Ronaldo was careful and playing for the team yesterday. The team was collapsing -- Rashford for one, and why can't our players cross to the box instead of 30 yards beyond it?

The players forum is silly, apparently sucks in lots of 12 year olds. And me. Oops.

I’m not doubting he was playing for the team. At all...I’m saying...he is useless at playing for the team. Any player could do what he did yesterday. Even an academy player. Dropping deep into unchallenged space where he isn’t effecting the game to link pointless passes...heading on lost cause balls. His only positive attributes are his movement and finishing...and we can’t maximise that is seems...so I would rather have someone else in there giving more than the limited contributions he makes outside of offering a goal threat.

 

[arnie_ni]

Not sure how many people saw it during the game. But he was counting the shit crosses on his hand and the team didn't notice because they were already walking back.

People can moap about his finishing and as the stats show it hasn't been good, but it can't be easy to be sharp in front of goal when he only gets service one in three games.

He had 1 finger up, as you're crossing it in to 1 person when he had 4 or 5 defenders around him

 

[KeanoMagicHat]

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There's such an active campaign to defend everything he does to absolve him of all blame, I mean there were several poor passages of play from the whole team, including Ronaldo that you could edit into a video to suit whatever agenda you feel like.

Ronaldo has got service, he didn't get much here. But he has in plenty of other games and had 10 shots in the Middlesbrough game and has the most shots in the league behind Salah.

In this sort of game, Atletico away, even if we were playing really well he's only going to get 1-2 good chances maximum the way they were set up. But that's not representative of the average game in the last few months.

 

[Morty_]

The difference between Ronaldo at United and Ronaldo at Juve previously is that Juventus fans recognised the limitations of the team surrounding him most of the time while United fans believe he’s holding the team back when in actuality 80% of the players around him are complete and utter shite.

Guys like Rashford, Fred, Mctominay, Shaw, Dalot, AWB, Maguire, etc don’t really compete at the level people think they should.

No, Ronaldo performed well at Juventus, and had a decent first half of the season at United, sometimes the blame is on the player itself, as much as you can blame a player for aging(and playing 1100 games), i guess the decline came rather suddenly, it can be like that in football.

 

[lex talionis]

Atleti we’re extremely physical last night. It’s fair to take shots at Ronaldo’s performance last night, but the hostility he faced last night on the pitch and in the crowd definitely impacted him.

 

[Godfather]

The second fecking stupid video posted from Twitter today. The issue there isn’t the poor service, it’s Ronaldo being surrounded by five defenders. Prime David Beckham couldn’t pick him out in that scenario. This wasn’t Ronaldo’s fault though. We need more bodies in the box if we’re going to have any hope of ever scoring from a cross.

Yep and Ronaldo himself pointed it out during the game too. Held one finger up to show he's the only one in the freaking box against 5 or 6 defenders. It's infuriating stuff and it's been an issue for years.

 

[Herman Toothrot]

All facts. People here don't know their football. United was shocking today, especially first half.

What I see with Ronaldo is play based on motivation. This is a guy that won everything, it seems like in games like this he is much sharper than say… a random league game.

The opinions here are biased to be honest, how did he not offer link up play? He dropped back a lot of times and kept possession each and any time, compared to any other attacking player on the team he was great.

Bruno was feeling the pressure early on and gave the ball away like 5 times consecutive. Pogba was getting triple marked, Fred was too weak as the pivot. Sancho was isolated like Ronaldo, Rashford was the worst performer.

Ronaldo had composure, every touch was tidy, had smart headers, and on a counter attack he found Rashford which couldn’t find the ball.

People here think we are hearing the games on the radio… I watched it and it’s the same old story from Juve. Ronaldo is shit in the league and gathers haters, come the games that matter, the rest of the team absolutely shits the bed and Ronaldo is the only one that looks anything up for it.

The bias is too strong and it’s clouding your limited understanding of the game.

As a player he did well, maybe as a strong number 9 he lacked physicality but that’s never been Ronaldo, know your players.

This is the game from last night, yeah?