[MUnchies]

It is a dilemma indeed, as a commercial asset, ETH at some point will be forced to play him no matter what.

No one will care if we are winning games. Even now people don't care, he is no commercial asset because if that was the case he would have found a top club in the summer no matter his wages.

 

[Van Piorsing]

He will play him if no-one else is fit. Otherwise he will warm the bench if his form does not magically improve.

If everyone's fit and ETH decides Ronaldo won't smell the grass for majority season, I'll buy a hat just to take it off for a manager that finally is strict about his football.

I was hoping Ronaldo could still bang 15 league goals this season... polemic at the moment to say the least. I can understand at some point why people thought even Mitrović could do some difference.

 

[Van Piorsing]

No one will care if we are winning games. Even now people don't care, he is no commercial asset because if that was the case he would have found a top club in the summer no matter his wages.

If that was the case, think Glazers would already send him on a plane back to Portugal for good.

 

[MUnchies]

If that was the case, think Glazers would already send him on a plane back to Portugal for good.

You really think the Glazers are keeping him because he brings in money? So why are they keeping or kept players like Jones, DVB, Mata, Matic etc all for so long. They sure as hell are not commercial asset. The Glazers are just not football people, they keep extending contracts to "preserve the players value".

We have been known for hoarding players these past few years not because of commercial gain but because the board don't know what the feck they are doing.

 

[Van Piorsing]

You really think the Glazers are keeping him because he brings in money? So why are they keeping or kept players like Jones, DVB, Mata, Matic etc all for so long. They sure as hell are not commercial asset. The Glazers are just not football people, they keep extending contracts to "preserve the players value".

We have been known for hoarding players these past few years not because of commercial gain but because the board don't know what the feck they are doing.

Yes, I do think we keep him for commercial sake and all the glamour that comes with it. The truth about Ronaldo is he cannot find top club the moment he knew about leaving Juve. His main purpose becoming clear, especially now.

Jones, DVB, Mata, Matić and few others were and are here for so long because Glazers are not able to invest that much in needed changes. You'll see how we'll hesitate with selling other players such as Bissaka, Lindelof or even Maguire, because that will mean multiple quality investements needed while the cash cow is getting drained to the last drop.

Hoarding players for past years, I'm glad you mentioned that because now we see the effects of it as Murtough announcing he's turning off the tap for winter spending. The consequences finally strike us and Ronaldo so far is not here to score any serious amount of goals.

 

[Morty_]

He is better served just being a substitute for you guys this season, not starting games, his legs are gone.

 

[MUnchies]

Yes, I do think we keep him for commercial sake and all the glamour that comes with it. The truth about Ronaldo is he cannot find top club the moment he knew about leaving Juve. His main purpose becoming clear, especially now.

Jones, DVB, Mata, Matić and few others were and are here for so long because Glazers are not able to invest that much in needed changes. You'll see how we'll hesitate with selling other players such as Bissaka, Lindelof or even Maguire, because that will mean multiple quality investements needed while the cash cow is getting drained to the last drop.

Hoarding players for past years, I'm glad you mentioned that because now we see the effects of it as Murtough announcing he's turning off the tap for winter spending. The consequences finally strike us and Ronaldo so far is not here to score any serious amount of goals.

I see your point but either way I hope next season the Ronaldo drama is over and we get to replace him with a young quality striker.

 

[GinobiliTheGOAT]

Yes, I do think we keep him for commercial sake and all the glamour that comes with it. The truth about Ronaldo is he cannot find top club the moment he knew about leaving Juve. His main purpose becoming clear, especially now.

Jones, DVB, Mata, Matić and few others were and are here for so long because Glazers are not able to invest that much in needed changes. You'll see how we'll hesitate with selling other players such as Bissaka, Lindelof or even Maguire, because that will mean multiple quality investements needed while the cash cow is getting drained to the last drop.

Hoarding players for past years, I'm glad you mentioned that because now we see the effects of it as Murtough announcing he's turning off the tap for winter spending. The consequences finally strike us and Ronaldo so far is not here to score any serious amount of goals.

There is zero glamour with current Ronaldo. He is one of the most overpaid players in the EPL this season.

 

[Ishdalar]

There is zero glamour with current Ronaldo. He is one of the most overpaid players in the EPL this season.

Ronaldo would bring more value to the team if UCL football was still on the table, field him on 4 group matches, he scores 3 or 4 goals and he rakes in articles and viewership to the games, then off to KO stage and see what happens.

Same way in two polar opposites at domestic level, if United were fighting for the league title (which is unexpected currently), even if he scored lower than in past seasons he would bring attention to the form of the team. This also applies if he scores 15 goals and United are struggling to make top 4, but this would be bad news for the club.

All in all, he needs to greatly improve his form to be a net positive to the team in most games (which contradicts what should be expected, to keep playing worse as he gets older), or embrace a full impact player role by becoming what Ibra has been to Milan for the past couple years, a figure that plays when the coach deems appropiate but expends most of his effort on improving squad morale.

So far it doesn't seem that Ronaldo considers himself in a point of his career where he shouldn't be starting games and focusing on other players instead of himself, so the only option for him to keep bringing his wage's worth is to improve his level and numbers drastically.

 

[Van Piorsing]

I see your point but either way I hope next season the Ronaldo drama is over and we get to replace him with a young quality striker.

We have to or protests will turn into something vile vs the current commercial establishment.

I don't think this time United supporters will let go another manager bite the dust for the sake of cynical financial operation which involves countless money exportation off the club.

There is zero glamour with current Ronaldo. He is one of the most overpaid players in the EPL this season.

Months after we signed him shirt sales were satisfyingly good and it looked attractive on paper having a big name in the squad in with only De Gea, Varane and Sancho representing somewhat serious football value.

Right now, I agree with you, no needed football value to catapult the team into CL football again, just a famous name looking only good perhaps in a video game.

 

[André Dominguez]

His biggest asset was scoring goals. He's not scoring them, hence he's completely obsolete. He will score a few goals this season, hopefully important ones, but I don't see how can he step up.
He even used to take good decisions, but as we've seen against Spain he was anticipated for countless times, that made him a liability even for his NT.

 

[Chesterlestreet]

I don't know exactly how it works, but I'm sure it is profitable in one way or another to have a hugely popular player with a massive SM presence on your books. Sponsors dig it, I'm sure.

Then again, if that player becomes more and more known for sitting on the bench (because he's clearly not that good anymore), I'd imagine those sponsors would consider this aspect too. The fact that he's the most followed person in the world on Instagram can't outweigh (presumably) any concerns about how he actually performs (and how he's actually perceived by all those who are not members of his fan club).

To put it in extreme terms, if the majority of football fans think he's washed-up and overpaid, the fact that he still has more Instagram followers than Haaland and Mbappé surely becomes less important (to sponsors).

 

[clarkydaz]

He is better served just being a substitute for you guys this season, not starting games, his legs are gone.

Tell him that. If he is poor at the WC he will likely blame it on united

 

[Bebestation]

The reason I was pissed at us signing Ronaldo last season was because we went from a full counter attacking team to a team that produced only for Ronaldo.

This season I don’t believe he has aged considerably more than last season - it’s just that Ten Hag is focusing on playing to a full team tactic again (arguably still in the tactics of counterattacking, maybe with some possesion added on) - whilst Ronaldo gets no favoritism towards providing him all our attacking chances that he got last year.

This doesn’t just effect the quantity of chances Ronaldo gets but also the quality of chances he gets.

Ten Hag should arguably use Ronaldo as our plan B and only our plan B- use him when only needed and let the whole team focus on creating chances for him - say in the last 15 mins of a match.

Otherwise watching him play arguably the fastest level of possession/countering football I have ever seen in such a tough league is just shooting out selves in the foot with arguably playing 10 men.

 

[Gehrman]

I blame Jordan Petersons meat diet for this seasons decline.

 

[Chesterlestreet]

Ten Hag should arguably use Ronaldo as our plan B and only our plan B- use him when only needed and let the whole team focus on creating chances for him - say in the last 15 mins of a match.

I've said before that this - or something like this - could make some sense.

In a match scenario where we can realistically attack relentlessly without being too badly exposed at the back, then yes - it could make sense to gamble on Ronaldo grabbing a goal.

A header, most likely. Bombard the box with crosses and play to the strengths he still has. Something like that.

 

[Irwin99]

I expect him to really go into these upcoming fixtures with real determination to get up to full speed for both us and Portugal. Time is running out for the guy if he wants to get to the World cup in his best form.

 

[sincher]

Watched him in the Spain match.

He was genuinely dreadful. Most touches went wrong. He looked way off it.

 

[flappyjay]

Unless he has an injury a player of his age can't afford to miss pre season. He is reaping the results of his absence. I definitely expect to see him get into form as we get closer to the world Cup.

 

[Devil81]

At some point in the season it's going to register in his head the best place he can be now for his career is United as anywhere else would be a massive downgrade and he's going to push for United to action the one year option in his contract.

If the club do it then we all know we're an even bigger joke than we currently think we are as it's clear to all football fans now he's completely finished.

 

[GifLord]

Unless he has an injury a player of his age can't afford to miss pre season. He is reaping the results of his absence. I definitely expect to see him get into form as we get closer to the world Cup.

So is this going to be the excuse people will peddle with for this season when he's absolute shit? What difference would it have even made? He didn't even want to stay here.
Ronaldo has already played 558minutes this season - Club & NT included and should be at least match fit at this point.

 

[Devil81]

So is this going to be the excuse people will peddle with for this season when he's absolute shit? What difference would it have even made? He didn't even want to stay here.
Ronaldo has already played 558minutes this season - Club & NT included and should be at least match fit at this point.

100% he should be match fit.

People need to just accept he's finished and stop making excuses for him. There was a time where players retired with grace and admitted they weren't up to it anymore. Player power now keeps players like Ronaldo on a pedestal, he still believes he should start every week.

 

[RkkMan]

At some point in the season it's going to register in his head the best place he can be now for his career is United as anywhere else would be a massive downgrade and he's going to push for United to action the one year option in his contract.

If the club do it then we all know we're an even bigger joke than we currently think we are as it's clear to all football fans now he's completely finished.

Don't think his age will allow him to produce performances worth triggering the extra year because we simply can't play as a team with him
Also don't think it gets triggered because of his wages. Utd's current financial situation will make them want to trim the wage bill more

 

[Adisa]

His international matches were not encouraging at all.
He genuinely looks physically shot.

 

[Devil81]

His international matches were not encouraging at all.
He genuinely looks physically shot.

That's going to be the next big Ronaldo story, Portugal fans aren't going to want him to start at the World cup and I suspect if the manager has any balls he will be looking at the situation and thinking he needs to drop him.

 

[Adisa]

That's going to be the next big Ronaldo story, Portugal fans aren't going to want him to start at the World cup and I suspect if the manager has any balls he will be looking at the situation and thinking he needs to drop him.

Apparently a section of their fans are already calling for him to be dropped which has triggered his number one fan, his sister.

 

[Devil81]

Apparently a section of their fans are already calling for him to be dropped which has triggered his number one fan, his sister.

And you've got Ex players like Cassano now coming out and saying you can see he's finished and he should retire as his powers have gone.

 

[bosnian_red]

So is this going to be the excuse people will peddle with for this season when he's absolute shit? What difference would it have even made? He didn't even want to stay here.
Ronaldo has already played 558minutes this season - Club & NT included and should be at least match fit at this point.

It's nonsense. He came back at the end of July. He's had steady games and training for 2 full months, he is as fit as he is ever going to be at this point. It's not a fitness issue, it's a lack of sharpness due to age issue, and that's not really reversible.

 

[ilrm]

If I were Ronaldo, I'd reach out to Pele to figure out how Pele transformed himself before the 1970 WC where he won the Golden Ball. Prior to the WC, all but the Brazilian military government (who needed him for propaganda purposes) were calling for Pele to be dropped - slow, injured, old, selfish - then the military government gave the reluctant manager and selectors a call - the rest is history.

 

[Isotope]

His international matches were not encouraging at all.
He genuinely looks physically shot.

Physically shot can be tackled by managing his playing time properly. What is more worrying, his finishing just becomes garbage.

 

[Rojow]

If I were Ronaldo, I'd reach out to Pele to figure out how Pele transformed himself before the 1970 WC where he won the Golden Ball. Prior to the WC, all but the Brazilian military government (who needed him for propaganda purposes) were calling for Pele to be dropped - slow, injured, old, selfish - then the military government gave the reluctant manager and selectors a call - the rest is history.

You can't be serious. Pelé was 30 at WC 1970 and played in a team stacked with talent. Possibly the best ever NT.

Ronaldo is 37, almost 38. He isn't finished, but he isn't a starter as he think he should be.

 

[ilrm]

You can't be serious. Pelé was 30 at WC 1970 and played in a team stacked with talent. Possibly the best ever NT.

Pele won the Golden Ball so his own performance was not really dependent on the team’s talent. He played well enough himself to stand out in a stacked team.

Ronaldo is 37, almost 38. He isn't finished, but he isn't a starter as he think he should be.

Thanks to sports science, today someone in their late 30s can be about as fit as someone in their early 30s from 50 years ago.

 

[themanguydude]

Thanks to sports science, today someone in their late 30s can be about as fit as someone in their early 30s from 50 years ago.

Could be.

Doesn't matter, he doesn't have the fitness to play at that intensity anymore.

 

[Pexbo]

Apparently a section of their fans are already calling for him to be dropped which has triggered his number one fan, his sister.

I imagine he looks after his close family very well and in return they worship him. You can’t blame his sister for unconditional support.

 

[FrankFoot]

If I were Ronaldo, I'd reach out to Pele to figure out how Pele transformed himself before the 1970 WC where he won the Golden Ball. Prior to the WC, all but the Brazilian military government (who needed him for propaganda purposes) were calling for Pele to be dropped - slow, injured, old, selfish - then the military government gave the reluctant manager and selectors a call - the rest is history.

Ronaldo never had good games in World Cup knock out stages, not even when he was young...he is 37 now, and Portugal isn't Brazil, they aren't winning the WC anytime soon, they might not even get out of group stage.

 

[Chesterlestreet]

You can’t blame his sister for unconditional support.

True.

The unconditional support he gets from people he wouldn't piss on if they were on fire is somewhat more puzzling (not to say disturbing), though.

Not least since a lot of them aren't even kids, they're (technically, at least) adults.

 

[TenHagsEmpire]

He is just finished. And yes he comes the comparison...
The difference with Messi is that when Messi declined physically, he reivented himself and became more as a playmaker; he did it so well, like the best playmaker in the world. His talent, technical flexibility and game intelligence allow him to do that.
But for Ronaldo it's impossible. He is only a finisher; and can't excell at other roles. He isn't good at playing in tight spaces or at playmaking. His finishing and off-the-ball movement declined immensely too. Actually, he should be seen as a problem for United (and Portugal) especially with his egocentric mentality and his only focus on his own stats above the collective play and the team's interest.
This strong squad of Portugal is under-achieving and they clearly deserve better as a team; when you see the names.

 

[SAF is the GOAT]

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[RedRonaldo]

Pele won the Golden Ball so his own performance was not really dependent on the team’s talent. He played well enough himself to stand out in a stacked team.

Thanks to sports science, today someone in their late 30s can be about as fit as someone in their early 30s from 50 years ago.

Yeh the likes of Rooney and Sanchez must be very thankful to sports science during their early 30s too.

 

[phelans shorts]

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What an excellent doctor he is spouting off a patients details to the entire world.