Sour.
Cristiano Ronaldo (I stay)
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik @Rood and Imran @Annihilate Now! start with the good news by celebrating Manchester United Women's emphatic FA Cup win over Spurs at Wembley and the future of manager Marc Skinner.
Then it's the bad news and the ever worsening form of our Men with losses to Arsenal and Palace.
Finally the main debate - ETH Out now or keep him until the end of the season - if not longer. Are you Team Nik or Team Imran?
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It kind is his ability too. More specifically the contrast between his fame and the expectations and all the baggage that come with it vs his ability. Simply put, he's not good enough to justify the former
He clearly is - the 24 goals he knocked in whilst in a terrible side with a clueless manager are ample proof he can move the needle. If he played a full year, he would've contributed 30 goals. If he played a full year this year, he would contribute at least 25, which would be right in line with the likes of Kane and Salah - which. for a 37/38 year old is pretty amazing.
Marseille actually makes a lot of sense. They are increasingly ambitious and signing high profile players. It’s the French (farmers) league so he’ll end up with 20 plus goals. Their current striker also looks like he’s leaving and they have Champions League football..Oh and the South of France is a lovely place to spend a year or two
He clearly isn't, and you basically said so yourself:
If he's not better than Kane or Salah, why should their teams want him?
Yup
Not sure I follow ? Spurs and Pool already have their attackers. The other clubs he's been linked with don't, but can't afford him and also wouldn't want to sign a 37 year old given that he has no historical connection to their clubs and would only stay for a year. That's clearly not the case at United, where there is a historical connection plus he's already here at a time when we lack consistent power in attack and the necessarily amount of goals to get us top 4.
Makes awful sense.
They're not guaranteed UCL football next season, likely a UCL Group Stage exit, paycut AND have to see PSG & Messi destroy the league he is in. Losing the league to Messi isn't ideal.
He spent a decade doing just that, it won't be new territory for him.
He’s not declining massively?
I look at this similarity to the Kevin Durant situation. He's class still...but older. So he's not going to be sought out by a club looking at now and the future. The bigger clubs don't want him, because they are already pretty much set and bringing him in will only cause squad turmoil that is not equal to his talent. And he won't go to the smaller club at this point in his career (just like Durant would't accept a trade to Detroit or a team like that).
So there's no option here...he could go to a CL team and play on the bench. But the only thing worse for his (massive) ego than coming off our bench is to actually be in the CL and not be starting. I actually think he's accepted his role at this point. He doesn't like it, but it is what it is. And I think ETH has handled it brilliantly. HE's insanely valuable as a sub, and if he gets his s**t together and starts buying into the system it could be a great season for him. But now he, and the others on the team, know if you don't buy into the system you aren't playing.
So both him and KD are basically stuck and its up to them how much they try to salvage their time...which in my mind is how it should be with these players that sign multi-year contracts. You need to adhere to the situations regardless of your own personal desires. You traded career flexibility for security in a longer term deal. I think the club and ETH have handled this situation (surprisingly) well.
So there's no option here...he could go to a CL team and play on the bench. But the only thing worse for his (massive) ego than coming off our bench is to actually be in the CL and not be starting. I actually think he's accepted his role at this point. He doesn't like it, but it is what it is. And I think ETH has handled it brilliantly. HE's insanely valuable as a sub, and if he gets his s**t together and starts buying into the system it could be a great season for him. But now he, and the others on the team, know if you don't buy into the system you aren't playing.
So both him and KD are basically stuck and its up to them how much they try to salvage their time...which in my mind is how it should be with these players that sign multi-year contracts. You need to adhere to the situations regardless of your own personal desires. You traded career flexibility for security in a longer term deal. I think the club and ETH have handled this situation (surprisingly) well.
I can't understand why Tottenham haven't been all over this. Is working with Ronaldo any worse for Conte than Lukaku, Vucinic, Boriello and Giroud? I think Tottenham should have bought/loaned Ronaldo instead of Richarlison and invested money in other areas of the team.
He made a mistake by returning to United. He could have soldiered it out at Juve, scored 30-odd goals and become the face of the Newcastle project on a free.
Not sure if you've heard of him, but Tottenham have a guy called Kane that probably stops them going for Ronaldo.
Yes but Kane is 9.5 and not a pure 9 ... did not stop Spurs from spending 50m (+high wages) on Richarlison who was partly to blame for Everton's poor performance in the last 3 years (their fans opinion not mine).
Of all the big clubs, the only ones who don't have a forward as good or better right now are Chelsea and Atletico Madrid. At a stretch you could include Milan, Juventus, Inter, BvB and Leipzig i guess
So those are the big clubs for whom Cristiano might be of interest. Of those:
- Juventus - had him, sold him, want nothing to do with him anymore. Signed Vlahovic and are big on him
- Atletico - their fans would burn their stadium to the ground. Then the training ground. Then go hunt Cerezo and the Gil family
- BvB - not their style
- Leipzig - ditto
- Inter - went for Lukaku
- Milan - too expensive. And if he weren't too expensive, too much of a risk anyways because their team is plenty good as is and throwing Cristiano in there might blow everything up. Simply not worth it
- Chelsea - actually can pay him. Tuchel doesn't want to deal with the baggage(media, tactical, etc) - because he's not as seen as good enough for it
If he were still good enough to justify the money and the circus that follows him, those considerations wouldn't happen(except for Atletico).
Hes unsellable unless we let him go on a free and he knocks his salary south of 200k, then lisbon might take a chnce
None of those you listed can afford him. Chelsea wouldn't be able to afford him either given that he makes far more than Chelsea's highest earner (Sterling).
As for us, we actually want him here because we need his goals. So if Manchester United want Cristiano Ronaldo (having gone out of our way to sign him a year ago) then that's a pretty good indication that he's more than good enough, which was reinforced and proven last season by his goal contribution during an otherwise dire year.
Keeping him is a bad idea. I think he can still contribute on the pitch, but he will simply not play week in week out like before, which will definitely sour his mood. Having someone like him sulk around is not good. Him staying would be even worse if Gakpo's signing falls through solely because of that.
It is unfortunate he has to go, but it is necessary. There has to be someone who wants him and he is willing to go to. Has to.
It is unfortunate he has to go, but it is necessary. There has to be someone who wants him and he is willing to go to. Has to.
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Didn't you score like 20 goals more in the season before hs arrival? His goals have come at very high opportunity costs, on and off the pitch, and that is the reason why nobody is interested in him.
Bruno had 28. But that's never going to happen again, just like Salah won't be knocking in 44 again.
Ronaldo has averaged 30 goals a year in his past two seasons, during which he didn't play in all fixtures. That's light years beyond what are present list of attackers can contribute.
Martial and Rashford have had 20+ seasons recently. Bruno has had a 28 goal season. This idea that only Ronaldo can score goals is absolute fanboi nonsense. He scores goals to the detriment to the rest of the team.
While Monday was a glorious hope for the future, we shouldn't forget that it was a against a team who leave acres of space for the running lads to operate in.
Let's at least see one game against the (hate this phrase) "low block" team before we write Ronaldo off as totally redundant.
Let's at least see one game against the (hate this phrase) "low block" team before we write Ronaldo off as totally redundant.
We have literally won multiple leagues and a CL off the back of his goals so that is obviously nonsense. Even at his current age, he would be able contribute more goals than any other player. Rashford has barely cracked 20 in his career and Martial has cracked 20 once in his 7 years here, which is just not good enough. Even if Ronaldo left, we would still need to buy a proper striker who can contribute the necessary amount of goals to win the league, which would be closer to what Salah and Kane contribute.
Lot of interesting players at Marseille.
Alexis Sanchez, Strootman, Payet, Milik, Veretout, Guendouzi, Kolasinac.
Alexis Sanchez, Strootman, Payet, Milik, Veretout, Guendouzi, Kolasinac.
14 years ago... He's 37/38. Ronaldo currently is a detriment to the team. He shoots from dumb angles all the time and demands to be on free kicks even though he is horrible at them. He takes up shit positions that get in the way of others or don't provide the right option. He just doesn't mesh with Rashford, Sancho, or Bruno at all, and it's night and day having Martial up there for us. We'll 100% score more goals with Martial than we would with Ronaldo, as a team.
Everton fans loved him.
And still you looked so much more cohesive on Monday. It's a team sport after all, and so what matters is the team output, not that of an individual player. 24 goals over all competitions is surely a good number. Good, not stellar. Good enough to justify all the sacrifices the team has to make when he's deployed on the pitch? I don't think so, and your manager doesn't seem to either.
He has 60 goals in the past two seasons. Until we have someone who can contribute similar numbers, all arguments that he is ineffective hit a brick wall.
We’ve won multiple leagues and a CL over a decade ago (nearly 15 years ago ffs). How can this the basis of your argument? Why stop at Ronaldo, let’s see if Rooney still has some football boots? Ronaldo was a totally different type of player in his early 20s than he is now. The way he plays now, no progressive team that wants to press and have fast transitions will do well with him in the team.
That's quite a drop for the GOAT, even though United aren't playing in the champions league. Lots of people are going to be happy and tell him to feck off but it seems a bit sad from every angle really. Would it really have been so hard to knuckle down at United for one more year? Did you have to act like a brat in the summer? It's all a bit disappointing.
Marseille would be perfect. He'll help them finish high enough in the league to qualify for the CL, which would trigger the obligation for them to buy Bailly. Win win
As you said, it is a team sport. Our resolve to win was a collective effort. Likewise, we were terrible the previous two weeks. That has nothing to do with Ronaldo and everything to do with ETH galvanizing our players to punch above their collective weight.
Didn't think Marseille would have that kind of money?
Not at all. You can just compare United before and after his arrival. Compare the team goals for and against (defending starts right from the front). Compare Rashford and Bruno before and after his arrival. Look at Ten Hags preferences. Look at the squad harmony before and after he joined/rejoined the pre season. Ronaldo has his uses - but the best way to use them is as an impact sub. Which he'd never be willing to do. As a team we are just much better without him in it. He wastes so many chances by taking a shit shot from a dumb position, because once in a while it'll go in. Well guess what... We'd score more if he played the smarter pass instead of his dumb shots.
The pro/con balance of having Ronaldo up front stopped being a positive a few years ago. You lose a lot more by having him in these days. 20 goals from him isn't good enough for the problems he provides. You essentially need a goal per game out of him at the bare minimum to make him worth it - and he can't do that anymore.
So, why did he not play him on monday? In *that* game of the year?
He's not wanted because he can't be afforded, not because he would be ineffective. Most clubs he's been linked to recently would bite United's hand off if he was offered to them for 200k a week because they wouldn't have to break their wage structures.
It’s an open secret that Ronaldo has said he would reduce his wage drastically should the right club come in for him. The fact that we’re less than a week from the end of the window and the most noise is around Marseille says it all. No progressive footballing side will touch him with a barge pole. We only did because we’re nostalgia / throwback / sentimental FC.
It’s the other way around, mate. Conte was up for the United job and Ronaldo was vehemently vetoing it because he didn’t want a manager who holds players accountable and forces them to work hard.
Blimey, Mendes really is scraping the bottom of the barrel isn’t he?
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