Do you still harbor resentment towards the players for last season?

[BarryWinks]

Okay, I will preface this by saying, like everyone else I am just an armchair fan and by no means knowledgeable about group psychology to infer anything noteworthy from the events of last season.

I have personally never subscribed to the 'blame someone for our malaise' thinking. Whether it be Woodie, Mou, Ole, RR or the players. I believe what we saw last season was the culmination of several layers and years of mismanagement from top to bottom. So I apportion some blame to everyone associated with the club up to that point in time.

For instance, I refuse to believe our players collectively downed tools because they hated Ole. More likely it was the fact that Ole was out of his depth (much as it hurts to say that about a genuine Legend of this club) and the players could see through it over time, which inevitably reflected in our results early last season.

We can't also rule out the importance of confidence (and a bit of luck of course) in sports. We have seen it with teams like Leicester. I believe the back-to-back losses to City and Pool really took the sting out of the group, and might have killed off morale, which made Ole's position untenable. In such cases, firing a manager is totally understandable, not because the manager is bad, but to freshen things up, offer a different perspective or just bring in different vibes. We see it every year with teams fighting relegation, new manager comes in, team/club gets a bit of a lift, which might inevitably be the difference between staying up or going down, and we saw it briefly with Carrick in those three games as well.

Where I believe the players get most of the blame was after RR's appointment. Usually you'd expect a squad with some mental strength to pull together, work hard and try to end the season on a high as much as possible. Unfortunately, they did the opposite, practically packing it in from the second game of the new manager. Now, I'm not sure why, and there are several reasons why that might be the case, from them not being professionals to RR being a further toxic influence on the group.

Lastly, as much as we love to lump them all together, it is important to make a distinction between those who didn't put in as much effort (or chickened out when the going got tough) e.g. Rashford, Martial, Pogba; and those who were never good enough in the first place, and who's bad form just exacerbated their deficiencies like Maguire, AWB, Donny, Lindelof, McTom.

All in all it was a poor season, but I am open to fresh starts for everyone.

 

[Cypriot]

You’ve got to pump those numbers up

what?

 

[tenpoless]

Yes but only one. Lingard for disrespecting Ole even after keeping him in the squad, leaking stuffs out and generally being an immature child with no sense of responsibility.

 

[SER19]

Yes, hugely. Weve gotten rid of two of the most infuriating and embarrassing players to ever play for the club so that's a good start - but it really doesnt matter who the managers were, ive seen relegation fighting teams offer way way more in terms of attitude. The supposed in-fighting, the nicknames for our managers and coaches, the leaks - it was like spoilt schoolboys at a private school. They disgraced the club on a near weekly basis and very few emerged from last season with any credibility.

There is a difference here of course when a player might be a good guy but just not good enough for united.

I genuinely expected one of the most consequential transfer windows in years, and we've so far fallen so incredibly short, that with last season in mind, and the resentment I still hold, I have very little faith in this squad delivering anything other than the ruin of Ten Hag's reputation. Some good signings can change that, and so far martinez and eriksen seem like positive characters to have around.

 

[arthurka]

It's not just last season, this bunch of cowards is absolutely to blame and it is telling how few of this group are actually liked by fans. They downed tools last season and should be fully blamed for this.

 

[Isotope]

I've been disliking Martial for years of showing disinterest on the field. But if he's back to his best and showing desire again this season, I'll be cheering for him.

I refuse to be emotionally invest deeply on these bunch of players. There are too much disappointment since SAF retired.

 

[MrSingh2002]

Yes, they were a disgrace. After we got knocked out of the Champions League their performances were pathetic.

 

[Oranges038]

There is no evidence of this. In fact it often appeared he was doing the opposite. There's a reason memes like "Vibes FC" exisited.

It was widely reported at the time, by almost every media outlet. It fell away in no time.

It's the very epitome of what made Vibes FC.

 

[Jippy]

Only really have resentment again RR.

People on here were saying we had the best squad in the league and Ole was the only thing stopping us from success. But there is evidence only to the contrary - he got more out of the squad than RR after him

I don't think anyone on earth thought that last season.

 

[McGrathsipan]

.. or do you blame it all on the managers?

So, I think we're all looking forward to the new season, even if I doubt anybody expects us to challenge for the title this time around. And though I generally try not to be a negative dude or hold any grudges, I still can't seem to completely forget or forgive the embarrassing clusterfeck that was last season. Finishing sixth is one thing, but being embarrassed to the extent that we were against Liverpool and City twice... (as well as numerous other stinkers, obviously), well, I do find that somewhat hard to forgive. I mean, City and Liverpool never allowed themselves to be embarrassed like this by us when we were on top and dominating English football for 20 years - regardless of how shitty their teams/managers were.

Thoughts?

Let it go its over.

Saying that its not to be forgotten. So resentment and anger absolutely not but for me I'm of the opinion that most these lads proved they don't have what it takes to bring United back to the top so they should be moved on.

The nature of the game means its not feasible to replace them all at once so some of them will get a chance at redemption even though they don't deserve it.

For me one of the most disjointed dislikable team we've had in a very long time.

The likes of Pogba and Lingard leaving is a good start of shedding the rot...

 

[Scarecrow]

I don’t care about last season

 

[King7Eric]

In a word, yes.

Hopefully they can turn things around this season, but somehow I doubt it.

 

[Ali Dia]

always willing to give players a eighth chance

This.

I think if they start acting up again this season they won’t get much or any leeway from our fans and rightly so. This is a huge season for so many of these players. They are on their umpteenth last chance in fighting for their place at the club. Some of them are on their 5th manager ffs. When is enough enough?

 

[Nickelodeon]

No point in harbouring resentment against the players who just aren’t good enough e.g. McTominay, Fred, Maguire or Rashford. It is the other monuments of failures like Pogba, Lingard and now sadly Ronaldo who contributed to the failure yet acted like it’s the club failing them who boil my blood. They have tarnished their link with the fans forever.

 

[Abraxas]

Not really. You'd have a tough old time following football if you start holding onto every bad season. Christ, we've had enough of them recently. You'd be in a permanent state of misery. I think as a fan you have to find that optimism at the start of the season to find some kind of enjoyment, otherwise what is the point in it all?

It doesn't mean that everything these guys did is wiped clean, though. Some of them are quite clearly at the very end of fans patience. Maybe they've even gone past it. But they're tied to huge contracts and we have to work within the real world so they get a chance past that point.

 

[JB7]

Bit weird harbouring resentment towards players for being rubbish. They had a bad year and the more they tried to put it right, the worse it got. No point hanging on to it. New manager, new ideas, see what happens.

 

[Red Royal]

Come Sunday when we kick off at OT it will be a clean slate from me and just want 100% attitude from them all.

 

[Dr. Dwayne]

the more they tried

Hmmm.

 

[Bilbo]

I'd need to know the full circumstances if I was going to hold a grudge. Clearly there was a toxic atmosphere at the club last season, but we'll have to wait for the autobiographies and even then it'll be one side of a story

 

[Zippycup]

Yes.

I will always accept a defeat if I know the players gave 100% on the pitch.
What I can never accept is players downing tools and only turning up to play to ensure they get paid that week. Lack of effort is one thing but they lack of accountability was astonishing.
Not only did they down tools for the manager, they downed tools for the fans as well.
That's unforgiveable.

 

[RedDevil@84]

Out of sight, out of mind and all that. Once the season starts and you see some players move around like headless chickens making schoolboy mistakes over and over, the resentment will start again.
Hope we dont come to that and players will give it their all, visibly.

 

[AndySmith1990]

The worst offenders have gone so I'm willing to forget about last season. No point dwelling on it otherwise football just becomes a miserable experience. Once Ronaldo is gone I'll be feeling really positive about the group of players being managed by ETH, I think they will get their head down and really give it their best

 

[JB7]

Hmmm.

Figure of speech, but you know what I mean. For example Maguire, I never felt he wasn't trying or that he wanted to be poor, he was just getting worse the more he tried to put things right, he was making irrational decisions on the pitch through knowing he was playing poorly and wanting to make a positive impact rather than keeping his head. Similar with Bruno, the more he tried to drop deep to force something to happen, the less actually happened.

 

[Dannn411]

There's never been a more unlikeable team in the club's history. I'd have sold every single player this summer if an offer came in. However, there's no way it was all their fault. Not even close. They were led by Solskjaer, as clueless as they come, and the snake oil salesman Rangnick who only took the job for his profile and made the team even worse when I didn't think it was possible.

 

[Red the Bear]

There's never been a more unlikeable team in the club's history. I'd have sold every single player this summer if an offer came in. However, there's no way it was all their fault. Not even close. They were led by Solskjaer, as clueless as they come, and the snake oil salesman Rangnick who only took the job for his profile and made the team even worse when I didn't think it was possible.

Funny how different the sentiment was just a season ago.
Life hits you fast.

 

[AltiUn]

100%, doubt I'll ever like most of them the same again.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Figure of speech, but you know what I mean. For example Maguire, I never felt he wasn't trying or that he wanted to be poor, he was just getting worse the more he tried to put things right, he was making irrational decisions on the pitch through knowing he was playing poorly and wanting to make a positive impact rather than keeping his head. Similar with Bruno, the more he tried to drop deep to force something to happen, the less actually happened.

Yeah, this is how I see it too. The complete capitulation against City/Liverpool were all part of the same pattern too. Complete psychological meltdown. Playing for a poor team at a massive club must be brutal for your confidence and self-belief. This will apply most of all to the players who’ve struggled through several poor seasons.

 

[clarkydaz]

If you had asked me 3 months ago then Rashford and Maguire. Egotistical off the pitch and undroppable on the pitch.

Rashford's PR is next level, and the amount of excuses, fingerpointing at anyone else is horrific. Walking round Etihad then first thing next morning 'the phone hasnt stopped ringing and Liverpool are interested'. The fact they have the neck to do this is extremely offputting for me, and disappointment how weak the club is. For a bunch of players so mediocre

 

[Irwin99]

Some of them, yes, and for a lot longer than last season. I wouldn't blame players for being out of form or possibly just not being good enough (e.g., Maguire, Fred, McTom) or being injured (Jones) but there were times when you heard a snide remark in the press (Shaw, Lingard), or saw a blatant lack of effort in running and tackling (Rashford, Martial early season, Lindelof towards the end of the season) that it's kind of hard to forgive and forget sometimes. And some of these players have history of similar incidents.

Anyway, onward and upwards ...hopefully

 

[wolvored]

Its all in the past and irrelevant. What you can bank on is if they dont perform for TH he wont stand for it and they will be gone ifvit keeps happening.

 

[Pickle85]

Last season's group of players was probably my least favorite I've ever known at United. I'm sure they'll be absolutely DESPERATE to crawl back into my good graces but let me tell you they have a LONG way to go.

 

[Josep Dowling]

100% yes.

 

[Greck]

Do you hate on the sky when it rains? I don't hate players for being shite. It's the club that needs to do better. If anything I harbor admiration for tricking everyone the season prior. This season it's not McFred's fault that the club wants them to form the base of a midfield for yet another season.

 

[Chairman Woodie]

I didn't harbour any resentment to start with, never mind now. That's not to say I wasn't disappointed. I was.

Right now I am looking forward to the new season ahead under ETH.

 

[Hawks2008]

100%. Outside of maybe 3 or 4 I am ambivalent towards I pretty much despise this group of players. They are nothing more than overpaid losers who think they're winners. Their attitudes have been disgusting for years, constantly letting the fans their managers, and their teammates down. It's so blatantly clear that none of them care about the club, only themselves.

The worst part is we've had so many managers that they are constantly getting the 'clean slate' when the new boss comes in, even though they've routinely thrown managers under the bus to get them out when it suits them.

I'm at the point where I don't want this group to come good, I just want them all gone in the coming rebuild. I think ETH will be a massive success here in time, but I don't want any of these losers to be a part of it. They don't deserve it.

 

[OrcaFat]

I blame the owners and the board. We didn’t recruit what we needed last summer and I blame the board for that. (I blame them for interfering as far back as LVG).

Signing Ronaldo was a mistake. A beautiful one but it wrecked the team. The team would have scored more goals and conceded fewer if we never bought him.

The players went to pieces early on and never recovered. Ole and RR have to take the blame there. Some players’ attitude was lacking but a lot of it was confidence and motivation, both down to the coaches.

I’ll forgive all the players who are still here if they start playing how they can.

 

[Azhar88]

There's never been a more unlikeable team in the club's history. I'd have sold every single player this summer if an offer came in. However, there's no way it was all their fault. Not even close. They were led by Solskjaer, as clueless as they come, and the snake oil salesman Rangnick who only took the job for his profile and made the team even worse when I didn't think it was possible.

I feel some sympathy for Ralph Rangnik - he was very much the 'supply teacher' and we all gave them a hard time when we were at school, didn't we? Even worse, whereas a supply teacher on a long-contract might be able to blag it and get the class to think he/she might be employed full-time (to continue the educational metaphor) RR had the title 'interim manager' from the start so he was never going to trick the players into believing he was anything other than a short-term 'boss'. He was dealt a dodgy hand by the governing body. I suppose we could look at Europe, even S. America and ask how he compared to other 'interim managers' a top club has tried to make work, but I think that to the best of my knowledge, he is the first (and probably the last!) Manchester United tried something brand new. He did try to stamp his authority, I remember he wanted a change in body language on the pitch (code for attitude) but the players rejected him and his new ideas - it was a risk and it didn't work out, as many on here predicted.

Furthermore, was he not in the past one of the originators of the modern pressing game that is employed successfully by Klopp/Pep and others. So it was not a bad idea to bring him onboard - I have even argued on another thread that despite what happened results wise, perhaps his consultancy role should have still gone ahead (he could have easily combined it with the Austria job). I think this new plan: bringing back Robson alongside Ferguson and Gill might not be a better solution.

Finally, I'm sure RR had identified bad characters within the staff causing trouble and leaks & I'm certain he told the board big money needed to be spent this summer (which is probably why he's gone!). I'm also convinced that he highlighted that the fitness levels at Utd. were not of the required standard to implement the pressing system, which is something ETH is having to deal with right now: banning mid-week drinks/more fish and vegetables etc etc.

Ralf Rangnick will always be considered a massive flop at United, but if you dig beneath the surface I think he deserves some credit. He was brought in to identify problems and start to deal with them and he was doing that. Oh and Pogba's gone!!!

 

[Gator Nate]

I don't have an issue with the remaining players.

 

[Valencia Shin Crosses]

No, it’s clean slate time. But also because I finally believe we are heading in the right direction with the structure and manager in place that finally won’t put up with overpaid garbage anymore

 

[Relevated]

Dislike this squad apart from a few.