MEN: Fred identifies Manchester United's biggest problem this season

Foxbatt

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I don't think Maguire is that kind of captain. I don't think Young was good enough even to play for us in recent times but one good thing about him is that he is in the referees face if our player gets fouled. I saw the last time Rashford captained too and he couldn't care less what happens to our players. The same thing with Maguire.
Too many individuals only thinking about themselves.
 

UnitedSofa

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Anything surprising? Isn't what the Ole out brigade has been saying since September? He lacks ideas, capability to coach a team and make it work. These player injury is a nonsense excuse put forward by Ole in brigade to buy more time. No one cares about results, show something on the pitch and we will back him.

This is a bunch of rookies trying to steer a ship in extreme seas.
Fred literally praises Ole here and this is what you get from it???
 

Charles Miller

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It's just a harmless term. He was being sarcastic because of all the people who infer Pogba is toxic. Also, not sure if you're trying to make a point by speaking in Portuguese? But it's really not the same. Since you're on an english forum where the rules are to post in english.
It was just a harmless expression in portuguese.
 

entropy

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So you think its a problem to publicly call out the players, but when Fred does it theres not problem?
Yeah, I think so. I don't see any managers do it and I don't blame them. It attracts unnecessary media pressure and makes their job even harder. Fred isn't the manager and is only talking about issues that he feels his teammates need to deal with.
 

iHicksy

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It was just a harmless expression in portuguese.
I know you're trying to be clever. But, you're on an english speaking forum where the rules are to post in english. It's like me going on a portuguese forum and speaking cockney.
 

Isotope

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"Solskjaer? He is a good person, a good coach. His work is new to us, he is still young as a coach, he has positives and negatives, but his job is growing and he will help us win titles"

He said Ole is getting better and can win titles. That's more believable then when a player says my manager is the greatest.
That's not a very encouraging statement, tbh. This is after Ole has been a manager for a year or so. A cryptic language on saying "Ole? He's a young novice manager, and still learning. God knows when he will win us a title, but obviously not in near future".
 
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VP89

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That's not a very encouraging statement, tbh. A cryptic language on saying "Ole? He's a young novice manager, and still learning. God knows when he will win us a title, but obviously not in near future".
He literally said he's a good coach.
 

Kostov

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This is not something you can fix overnight. However, I definitely feel there is a difference, regards work off the ball. I haven't got the stats, but the players on the pitch certainly seem to be working harder than previous years. Think they big problem is, some of them are actually not as good as they think they are, and because of that, we will struggle to reach this 'objective' Fred is talking about. We need better players. It's as simple as that!

So far, Ole has bought AWB, Maguire, James and now Bruno. All of these seem to work hard, and Ole will need more time to build a team that, not only works their socks off for the club, but also compliment each other.
You need way more than working hard to compete for the highest places in the PL. Go and take a look at the PL table, 8th with 35 points we are in February. No excuse that is absolutely pathetic for Manchester United. Yeah someone can say we run more, but what are the results?

Fred has been at times our best player and when you take a look at actually what he thrives? The answer is feck all. He excels in the chaos we are as a team. Zero midfield control, very easy to penetrate and vulnerable in defense and toothless in attack. Even Fred to have to audacity to speak about how certain players are willing to score the solo goal or what not, when he personally takes at least 2 absolutely shit shots per game, regularly, even his wife would tell him not to. He's part of the problem imo as well.

Ole needs to earn his time, if we are to give more time based on what he has shown so far, than feck me, we are looking in years before this shit show is over.
 

Isotope

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He literally said he's a good coach.
Well if you take one part literally and disregarding everything else, yes, you're right. But when you're interviewed about, for example, your boss at work. If you're impressed with him, are you gonna say "he's good. Still young and make mistakes. Still learning"??

Do you also take literally when he's saying "his work is new to us", when Ole has been his manager for more than a year?
 

el3mel

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Well if you take one part literally and disregarding everything else, yes, you're right. But when you're interviewed about, for example, your boss at work. If you're impressed with him, are you gonna say "he's good. Still young and make mistakes. Still learning"??

Do you also take literally when he's saying "his work is new to us", when Ole has been his manager for more than a year?
Yeah it's obvious he's choosing his words carefully here. He's saying he's having positives and negatives, didn't go full credit and praising like any other player to their current coach.

Great interview overall.
 

Isotope

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He's not wrong and it's something I suspected, it makes me go crazy when I see our players accepting nonsensical calls from the refs or not stepping up for their teammates when they're are getting bullied by the opposition. Imo team/players are normally the mirror of their manager, and our manager just lacks aggressiveness and is all too nice and passive.
I forgot which game. When DDG was fouled for their goal, our players were just so passive. It's just no leader in this team.
 

Bebestation

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The vanity thing is just an expression of a team that plays as individuals as times rather than a team - absolutely nothing about a players personality individually or independently.

The thing is - Ole's attacking tactic is to provide an attacking freedom to let the players do as they please & alot of the time the players are picking and choosing what to do by themselves rather than being told to do by their boss.

You see it everywhere - CB's avoiding a pass because they are worried the receiving player may lose possession or can't dribble. The CAM takes shots than pass in important positions, the wingers cross than pull back when no one's in the box etc etc - there is no team dynamic, there is just a pure attacking freedom which leads to a lack of consistency in the way we play.
 

jem

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I can't believe he would say all that publicly. How is throwing your teammates under the bus going to help team unity?
Maybe it's the kick up the back-side some of these players need. Something is clearly very wrong with this team, and I have no issues with Fred pointing that out, especially since he is one of the few to have actually played consistently well this season.
 

jem

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No one says people should be patted on the back for playing badly!! But why does Fred have to go to the media to say these things? He sees these people every day! He's got their numbers! He's probably on a whatsapp group with them! Do you think his colleagues are going to appreciate this?

Coming from a player who only recently found his footing?
I mean do you think it will actually make things worse? Or do you actually care that people's feelings are being hurt? If it's the former, then fair enough (although I don't see how it can get much worse.) If it's the latter, then I struggle to see why we, as fans, should give a flying one.
 

VP89

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Well if you take one part literally and disregarding everything else, yes, you're right. But when you're interviewed about, for example, your boss at work. If you're impressed with him, are you gonna say "he's good. Still young and make mistakes. Still learning"??

Do you also take literally when he's saying "his work is new to us", when Ole has been his manager for more than a year?
I'm not disregarding anything. Fred didn't say Ole makes mistakes. He said he has positives and negatives (as would most coaches), went out of his way to say he's a good coach and even said he's going to help us win titles.

It's not a glowing review like how Liverpool players would talk of Klopp, but it's not unencouraging.
 

UmbroDays

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Because Lloris was made captain a long time ago before these players became leaders in the team. Varane and Matuidi are his deputies.
Excuse me, for some random thought I had imaged Pogba was captain!
 

Sandikan

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Fred - "yeah the midfield doesn't provide enough creativity, or anything really"
Reporter - "aren't you a 50m buy for that midfield?"
Fred - "next question"
 

OL29

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Doesn't sound too convinced of Solskjaer. Bit of a weird thing to say. Also, anybody that thinks what he's says proves anything about his mate Pogba is just daft.
Maybe in isolation, but in reality it’s yet another positive assessment of Pogba from someone who’s worked with him on a day to day basis. It’s pretty telling, given that the vast majority of negative comments seem to come from people who barely know him, bar Mourinho who falls out with everyone.
 

JPRouve

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Maybe in isolation, but in reality it’s yet another positive assessment of Pogba from someone who’s worked with him on a day to day basis. It’s pretty telling, given that the vast majority of negative comments seem to come from people who barely know him, bar Mourinho who falls out with everyone.
Not even Mourinho questioned that aspect of Pogba, he has said the same thing that everyone says, his other coaches Deschamps and Conte but also all his teammates.

Asked how Pogba reacted to being excluded, Mourinho said: “Paul had a very professional behaviour. The week was not different to what Paul is every week. He works well, he’s a good professional, he likes to train. I’ve never had a single problem with him.
 
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Bastian

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Most interesting things are the lack of unity and mentioning some players are playing for themselves. Impossible to determine what he says about Ole as positive or negative given his position and it's pretty vague.
 

OL29

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Not even Mourinho questioned that aspect of Pogba, he has said the same thing that everyone says his other coaches Deschamps and Conte but also all his teammates.
It makes the question of his professionalism even more baffling.
 

esmufc07

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Disgraceful from Fred. Keane was sacked for doing the same, let’s see if Ole has the bottle to do the same with Fred. Won’t hold my breath.
 

The Original

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I mean do you think it will actually make things worse? Or do you actually care that people's feelings are being hurt? If it's the former, then fair enough (although I don't see how it can get much worse.) If it's the latter, then I struggle to see why we, as fans, should give a flying one.
1. The players are going to know who exactly who he is making references to. If the squad is truly disunited, those players and their friends are going to be upset with him. Fred's group of friends will likely take sides with him. The disunity will grow wider.

A counter argument could be made that this could serve as a wake up call but really, if players have been disinterested, unresponsive to coaching, and unresponsive to the poor state of the club, they aren't very likely to change solely because Fred said some things to the media.

2. By pointing out what needs to be done, Fred is saying Ole doesn't know what to do. Ole either responds by ignoring this and continuing what he is doing which would mean:

(a) fans will respond by calling him stubborn and inept and then asking for his head; and

(b) Fred's comments would not lead to any positive change.

In this case the comments were better not made.

I struggle to see any winners here. Didn't work out well for Roy Keane when he did it and Fred isn't anywhere near the stature Keane had at the time.
 
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JPRouve

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It makes the question of his professionalism even more baffling.
That question has never made sense particularly when Pogba has played for managers and with players that have no issue speaking their minds. The funny thing is that people are now using Zlatan as some sort of stick against Pogba, the same Zlatan who said these things.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/zlatan-ibrahimovic-reveals-what-paul-13627657

"I didn't know him as a person but we had the same management [agent Mino Raiola] and when I got to know Pogba in that moment I found a fantastic person, fantastic football player but at the same time one that needed to be guided.

"Small things but in the right way and he is a professional guy that works every day.

"Never missed a training, never missed a game if he can play he will play and he works very hard.

"And I found a young guy that was a good guy that wanted it so much and he will get it because he is working hard for it."
 

Ekeke

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Yeah, I think so. I don't see any managers do it and I don't blame them. It attracts unnecessary media pressure and makes their job even harder. Fred isn't the manager and is only talking about issues that he feels his teammates need to deal with.
Something that he needs to say to them, and work on himself (creativity from midfield) not call people out publicly. This is what got Keane moved on after all
 

Pav1878

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Not a fan of Fred, but all fair comments - aimed at Martial? Vanity. Think so.

the amount of change over the past 3-4 years is going to create a lack of team unity, that’s obvious, and anyone can see it. See nothing wrong with a player saying something every fan can see.
Each to their own and all that, but I'm surprised that any United fan cannot be a fan of Fred? In my humble opinion he has been out best player the past couple of months. Loving Fred right now.
 

Manny

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Well said, Fred.

What he is saying is evident with the lack of chemistry between players on the pitch

I kind of expect his and Bruno's careers here to go the same way as Pogba though... being expected to perform miracles all on their own whilst the darlings continue to get protected despite being unable to step up consistently.
 

mu4c_20le

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Something that he needs to say to them, and work on himself (creativity from midfield) not call people out publicly. This is what got Keane moved on after all
He didn't call anyone out specifically though, he was just being honest. I suppose Keane was too, but he also went on an unhinged rant that made his position in the dressing room untenable.