You're right about mercenaries. But I genuinely think Sanchez top level has dipped. I don't think it's a lack of motivation. He's finished.
How do you explain Alexis Sanchez?
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I’ll have a go:
He was offered a sh1t ton of money at a point where his career began to wane. Like most of us he took the contract. Don’t anybody tell me they would not do the same.
He tries hard but his leggies are not having it anymore.
He is probably nearly 40.
He was offered a sh1t ton of money at a point where his career began to wane. Like most of us he took the contract. Don’t anybody tell me they would not do the same.
He tries hard but his leggies are not having it anymore.
He is probably nearly 40.
He came for the money.
I actually wondered about something along the lines of your last comment!
More like how does Alexis Sanchez explain himself.
Whatever tune we can get out of him, it's never going to be worth the money and I'm not interested. If we can get a sucker to take him, we should snap their hands off.
Prior to us signing him I definitely wouldn't say he was finished but right now you are probably right. He's had an absolutely awful year and a half and I can't see him ever regaining his former form wherever he ends up.
Thats not true, he had to be trained in accordance with his injury status. Moyes ruined him in preseason
He was always going to flop and those who believed he wouldn't, were just deluding themselves. Just a terrible transfer from every perspective you look at it.
Too much mileage on the body. A la Rooney.
It was getting him when we did that threw it to our advantage on top of the higher wage offered.
City wouldn't have wanted to pay the 50m or so it'd have taken otherwise.
Arsenal pounced on our deal, as it allowed them to save face and get a decent (they thought) player in too.
The amount of captain hindsights on here 
To be fair to Sanchez we threw the money at him to get him to sign.
He was signed with no plan and no support from attacking fullbacks so guess what... he was easily marked out of games.
Our attacking play has been awful for years because we attack in 1s and 2s rather than swarming from all angles. Sanchez and Lukaku could have been better if they had more support but I think both were flawed signings.
In both we got involved in a peeing contest with City and Chelsea and were motivated more by getting one over them rather than checking team fit, fitness and form.
If I hear City are interested in a player we should stay clear... we should have a better relationship with City and establish if they are genuinely following a player. If not we should call this out as agent bullcrap.
It would be in both teams interest to do this and halt the ridiculous inflation of wages.
He was signed with no plan and no support from attacking fullbacks so guess what... he was easily marked out of games.
Our attacking play has been awful for years because we attack in 1s and 2s rather than swarming from all angles. Sanchez and Lukaku could have been better if they had more support but I think both were flawed signings.
In both we got involved in a peeing contest with City and Chelsea and were motivated more by getting one over them rather than checking team fit, fitness and form.
If I hear City are interested in a player we should stay clear... we should have a better relationship with City and establish if they are genuinely following a player. If not we should call this out as agent bullcrap.
It would be in both teams interest to do this and halt the ridiculous inflation of wages.
He's a physical player who relied on explosiveness, so he was done when he lost 10%. I see it like Roy Jones Jr in boxing. He was an unbelievable athlete, a fighter who would go from having his hands by his sides to knocking his opponent out in a split second. Once he lost 10% he became fairly mediocre very quickly. Sportsmen who aren't so reliant on that rare natural athleticism fade much more slowly.
Injuries + not really being the main man (Pogba) + dropping confidence = confidence spiral = form drop. IMO.
Yeah, suppose, how about Shit and shit.
All above is spot on pal, if your talking about the arsenal Sanchez, the one we've got strikes me as unfit and uninterested.
Yeah Sanchez is definitely not lazy. He's just done for as a player. He's trying but everything he does is crap.
As the stats show, it's fair to say Mkhitaryan has performed a lot better for Arsenal than Sanchez for United, and Mkhitaryan is by far the cheaper of the two.
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Get rid and use his wages to pay 1-2 players that will improve us.
Whenever you sign an elite player, like Sanchez, Mkhitaryan or Di Maria, there is the danger that the previous system they played in contributed significantly to their impressive performances. Sometimes the player will adapt to United's style of play, perhaps our players will make subtle changes to accommodate him.
Whenever you sign a player aged 29, especially a player that relies on his pace to get away from opponents, there is the risk that he is past his peak and his performances will decline rapidly when he is into his 30s. If you are lucky he will still perform at a high standard aged 30, possibly even 31. Sanchez had played a huge amount of football before he arrived at United, yet another warning sign we ignored.
It really shouldn't be a surprise that Sanchez has failed so spectacularly here. 50% of transfers aren't a success.
A signing like Lindelof or Dalot can have a difficult first season without a huge amount of drama. With Sanchez he had to start fast, demonstrate his value early on. Be a massive success before the inevitable physical decline impacted his performance level.
In his case, both managers appeared to lose faith in him. Mourinho went from starting him almost every game he was available last season, to roughly half this season. Under Solskjaer Sanchez started one third of matches he was fit. The best paid player at the club is in reality a squad player, a sub when everyone is fit, starts when there are a few injuries; an embarrassing situation for all concerned.
I'm against buying any out-field player aged 28 or older, simply because successes are rare, while failures are common. I'm also not enthusiastic about paying incoming transfers higher salaries than United's best player; we've seen a lot of that in recent years.
Whenever you sign a player aged 29, especially a player that relies on his pace to get away from opponents, there is the risk that he is past his peak and his performances will decline rapidly when he is into his 30s. If you are lucky he will still perform at a high standard aged 30, possibly even 31. Sanchez had played a huge amount of football before he arrived at United, yet another warning sign we ignored.
It really shouldn't be a surprise that Sanchez has failed so spectacularly here. 50% of transfers aren't a success.
A signing like Lindelof or Dalot can have a difficult first season without a huge amount of drama. With Sanchez he had to start fast, demonstrate his value early on. Be a massive success before the inevitable physical decline impacted his performance level.
In his case, both managers appeared to lose faith in him. Mourinho went from starting him almost every game he was available last season, to roughly half this season. Under Solskjaer Sanchez started one third of matches he was fit. The best paid player at the club is in reality a squad player, a sub when everyone is fit, starts when there are a few injuries; an embarrassing situation for all concerned.
I'm against buying any out-field player aged 28 or older, simply because successes are rare, while failures are common. I'm also not enthusiastic about paying incoming transfers higher salaries than United's best player; we've seen a lot of that in recent years.
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The Alexis Sanchez experiment has been an unmitigated disaster. The very best thing United can do now is to turn the page and move on. Is it possible that Ole could get a tune out of Sanchez? Who knows and frankly who cares? However, we have gone well beyond that now. I believe ridding United of Sanchez actually does more for Solksjaer's reputation than keeping him and making an attempt to turn him round. The need to rein in the financial excess at United is, for me, an overriding priority. It has created a domino effect that has cost us Ander Herrera and may yet cost us De Gea and even Pogba. We are in a hole and the quickest way out is to stop digging.
Personally, I do not even believe that Sanchez has it within him to deliver at the level that would even come close to justifying the truly enormous sums he is being paid. The player has clearly become comfortable sitting on the bench and I cannot see him wanting to rouse himself to perform at a level that he has been clearing unwilling to perform at over the past 18 months. The very presence of the man in the United dressing room is akin to a grotesque eyesore and a monument to boardroom incompetence. How anyone can even countenance allowing Sanchez to remain at United is beyond me.
To the extent that such a thing is possible, Sanchez ihas become symptomatic of all that has gone wrong at United, over the past six years. United has lost its way and will not find it again whilst Alexis Sanchez remains a United player.
Personally, I do not even believe that Sanchez has it within him to deliver at the level that would even come close to justifying the truly enormous sums he is being paid. The player has clearly become comfortable sitting on the bench and I cannot see him wanting to rouse himself to perform at a level that he has been clearing unwilling to perform at over the past 18 months. The very presence of the man in the United dressing room is akin to a grotesque eyesore and a monument to boardroom incompetence. How anyone can even countenance allowing Sanchez to remain at United is beyond me.
To the extent that such a thing is possible, Sanchez ihas become symptomatic of all that has gone wrong at United, over the past six years. United has lost its way and will not find it again whilst Alexis Sanchez remains a United player.
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> We didn’t need a LW, Martial was playing at the best level he’s had since joining us
> Mourinho didn’t want/prioritize Alexis, our team had far bigger issues
> Ed ignored Mourinho’s demands
> When Woodward saw Alexis was available, he threw the bank at him for pure marketing purposes even though Alexis was already past his prime and made the media team hype him as if he was prime RVP
...and as well all know, in reality it was a huge pile of steaming shit. The fact Ed and the board went against Mourinho/the teams needs says it all and got someone we didn’t need in a position at the time.
> Mourinho didn’t want/prioritize Alexis, our team had far bigger issues
> Ed ignored Mourinho’s demands
> When Woodward saw Alexis was available, he threw the bank at him for pure marketing purposes even though Alexis was already past his prime and made the media team hype him as if he was prime RVP
...and as well all know, in reality it was a huge pile of steaming shit. The fact Ed and the board went against Mourinho/the teams needs says it all and got someone we didn’t need in a position at the time.
The same way you explain Torres.
What seemed like a dip in form prior to his transfer has proven over time to has been a sign of a permanent decline. All players have the point when this happens, or everyone would be playing until 50+.
What seemed like a dip in form prior to his transfer has proven over time to has been a sign of a permanent decline. All players have the point when this happens, or everyone would be playing until 50+.
We dont really play in a way that brings out the best in the midfielders or defense either.
Football leaks happened to Sanchez. He has been playing with his weekly salary in his pockets. Minus what he already has invested in a scapegoat costume. And a trumpet.
He doesnt even play at the level of a midtier footballer for us. Even if he was playing for half his salary I wouldnt want him here.
We bought a dud, lets just sell him and buy a bit smarter next time.
He was tailing off at Arsenal as well. I think we felt as if it was just a form issue but it’s more than that.
It's really not that difficult. Some attacking players rely far more on physical attributes than technical ones. Sanchez is in this category. Even in his prime at Arsenal he lost the ball all the time. Now his legs have gone and all we have is the technically avg winger on huge wages.
Torres was the same, relied massively on speed/explosiveness which meant his performances fell off a cliff after they went.
Torres was the same, relied massively on speed/explosiveness which meant his performances fell off a cliff after they went.
I think every one would like that. But it's going to be tough. We'll certainly have to pay a fair part of it
I’m going for a few beers when this guy leaves and I will enjoy them.
He never really wanted to sign for us. He wanted City and he was probably forced here by his agent to get a bumper pay day. He’s had the wrong attitude since the beginning and he just isn’t fit enough, nor working on getting fit particularly hard.
He played 90min just once this season, and that was on the opening day.
He played 90min just once this season, and that was on the opening day.
He had gone into decline towards the end of his time at Arsenal, Woodward saw a big name and wanted to grab him away from City, but he is IMO the worst signing by United ever. They have signed duds before, I am old enough to remember Ted MacDougall and Ian Ure, also Garry Birtles, but none of these were on £300k plus a week.
I could have told you that asking a piano player to play left wing in the football team was unlikely to bring positive results.
The way Arsenal set up suit him way more than people realised. He was the focal point of the attack and not even positionally but more in terms of how often the ball got to him. Additionally players like Cazorla , Ozil and even Xhaka could find him with quick early precise balls which allowed him to exploit one on one situations.
I don't know if there are any arsenal fans here that could comment, but there's a chance he isn't that different a player. My friends who is the arsenal fan said when we signed him that he has to be main man and he will give the ball away an incredible amount. Maybe in a possession system if you can get him the ball a lot of times he will make something happen enough of the time, even though he is historically fast someone who gives the ball away a high % of the time isn't really an ideal counter attacking player ala mourinho and ole
Always knew he'd be shit for us, ever since he played for Udinese I knew.
More seriously, his mobility is shot; he looks and plays like an old man. I'm sure he'll be alright in Serie A where the pace is slower.
More seriously, his mobility is shot; he looks and plays like an old man. I'm sure he'll be alright in Serie A where the pace is slower.
Simple one really...'street' style footballers like Rooney and Sanchez are bound to see their form start dropping off when they start to decline physically
The speed the game is played at at the top level is something most of us can't even comprehend. In their prime, Rooney and Sanchez where incredibly explosive, strong, fast footballers with a low centre of gravity and quick feet. Soon as they lose that 10%, their whole game suddenly becomes far less effective.
The speed the game is played at at the top level is something most of us can't even comprehend. In their prime, Rooney and Sanchez where incredibly explosive, strong, fast footballers with a low centre of gravity and quick feet. Soon as they lose that 10%, their whole game suddenly becomes far less effective.
He plays like he is 35-36 years old, he never adapted his game to a slower pace.
Team doesn’t play to his strengths. He was declining prior to United signing him. He should have been played on the right from the onset, but looks like his contract gave him a lot of privileges within the team, things that he’s never actually earned.
He's lost his physical edge.
That's resulted in him losing faith in himself entirely.
It's somewhat like Rooney but he's not as good as the Englishmen and probably weaker mentally as well, which means that he offers next to nothing whereas Rooney despite his decline had the all round skillset and mentality to ensure he delivered decent end product.
That's resulted in him losing faith in himself entirely.
It's somewhat like Rooney but he's not as good as the Englishmen and probably weaker mentally as well, which means that he offers next to nothing whereas Rooney despite his decline had the all round skillset and mentality to ensure he delivered decent end product.