MEN: Inside the worst Man Utd season in decades

[sullydnl]

Makes for grim reading.

 

[kouroux]

The bits that absolutely disgust me are the players being critical of their teammates, the players criticising the standard of the coaching sessions and the players criticising the manager's selections.

Who are these players to question anything? It really is disgusting, imagine walking into SAFs office, or Pep's or Klopp's and complaining about their tactics or team selections. That player would most likely be out of the door in about 30-seconds, particularly this lot who've won nothing and done nothing.

We supporters have got a really big role to play in all of this. I have no doubt that there will be hard times next season. I am sure we'll hear more leaks, more rumours about ETH and his staff, more questioning of their methods and their qualifications....we need to make sure it's clear to the Board and to all involved that we back the managers' decisions 110%....regardless of our own feelings about any particular player.

It's time some order was bought back to this club. The tail has been wagging the dog for a decade.

I would wager this happens at any club, successful or not. The rest however, is terrible

 

[Drizzle]

Thats not a great article, especially trying to downplay what Ole achieved with this squad.

If that's what you take from it, then I don't know what to say.

It does make clear, as it should, that Ole's empty promises to several players were a key reason (not the only one) for the dressing room going sour. But I don't think Ralf comes out of this article looking great either.

 

[justsomebloke]

Player power, facilitated by Woodward and co handing out mega contracts to second rate players without reference to performance, has been out of control since the latter part of Jose’s reign. The fact it was Jose (and an over the hill version at that) meant that his message about bad apples did not get taken seriously enough. Cue 3 years under a weak, unqualified manager who operated with a curious mix of indulgence of most players while seemingly making false promises to others, followed by a hopeless (in all senses of the word) caretaker stint under a DOF unable to inspire any trust or fear in what was by then a mutinous rabble.

This is a bigger mess than the one Fergie inherited in 1986. Good luck Erik!

I reckon that's about the size of it.

 

[justsomebloke]

Seems pretty agenda-peddling to put all of his successes down to BCD, as if motivation and tactics somehow becomes easier for one man and harder for everyone else in that environment.

I agree with that. But I also think on the whole that the judgment on OGS in the article is fair.

 

[VidaRed]

The manager never had a chance to succeed.

Come the listless defeat at Goodison Park in early April, a source close to one player said several players had 'mentally checked out'. Everton players were distinctly unimpressed by United in the reverse fixture six months earlier and rued drawing 1-1.

Rangnick started to cut loose in his press conferences and that was described as the 'filtered version' by a source. The majority of the United players were never having Rangnick's methods and his diagnosis the squad required 'open-heart surgery' went down badly with them. That is now an emergency operation, although you might need to check if some at United have a heart.

One player complained Rangnick 'talked to him like a child' and 'did not give a s---e' about Rangnick's advice. Another player was dubbed a 'teacher's pet'. One senior player spoke disparagingly of any competitor for his position. Some players found Anthony Elanga's playing time mind-boggling.

A reporter new on the Manchester beat wrote United suspected where the 'unsavoury leaks' had emerged from. Like in Murder on the Orient Express, more than one passenger stuck the knife in.

Towards the end of Solskjaer's tenure, United players were at the end of their tether with Solskjaer. He held a team meeting and asked the players if they still trusted him. A player noticed almost everyone was avoiding eye contact and 'looking at their shoes'.

 

[mitchmouse]

Post ole, whatever disaster befell United this year, is all on Rangnick. He encouraged the divisiveness in the dressing room, and made no attempt to unite the players.

so it's not on any of the players? this has been coming for a long time now. As Luckhurst points out, coming second had much to do with empty stadiums

 

[El Jefe]

Naturally the squad morale will improve once a lot of departures happen this summer.

Another thing I strongly believe is things will finally improve once Ronaldo goes. Just my opinion but I think he's shifted the dynamic of the dressing room in a massive way and that's a change it seems a lot are uncomfortable with. We never heard any backbiting among squad members last year, sure we heard stuff about the coaching stuff and Ole but never each other.

You can see the blame culture on the pitch from Ronaldo and Bruno's reaction to teammates. And if they are your best players doing that then it creates that sort of atmosphere.

Its also very easy to blame players but if you have weak leadership these sorts of things can happen. Ole was too weak and Ralf has been a masterclass in how not to man manage a squad. A strong manager and captain will never let things escalate to this level. Let's hope ETH has these qualities and also removes Maguire as captain.

 

[LARulz]

I cannot wait for most of this lot to get told to feck off. They are stupid if they think fans will now back them over any manager

 

[Adnan]

I'm not sure about the Ronaldo stuff, he's a born-winner and one of the hardest workers off the pitch to maintain his physique. Conte is a serial winner too, so it surprises me that Ronaldo would not want to work with him.

Ten Hag is also known to work his players very hard in training and even had some players in the past complain about how gruelling his training sessions can be.

 

[Robbie Boy]

Grimm. Ole's reign set us back years. What an utter shitshow it was.

 

[arthurka]

No one knows what's true and what's not but the evidence was laid bare every game these clowns were on the pitch together.

 

[Born2Lose]

Some close to the players were startled by their performances. The word was Lingard and Rashford received 'no instructions, no game plan, no position plan'. "They didn't have a f-----g clue what they were doing," a source said. Carrington sources felt Armas was out of his depth.

Pretty obvious where this guy's getting his leaks from, suspect it's the same as all the other journalists. To be fair though I've watched Rashford and Lingard all season and never had a f-----g clue what they're doing either.

A sign of the times that a hack like Luckhurst can have so many reading his words and taking it as gospel.

 

[romufc]

Its clearly players who feel they are bigger than the club. We have seen these group of players accusing Bruno, Maguire, Ronaldo and the manager. The players who have been out of form in Rashford and Lingard got "they weren't told what to do" or more like didn't want to do what they were told.

 

[Cloud7]

Man what I would give to just burn this squad to the ground somehow. Just get rid of every single one of them and start over completely new.

 

[crossy1686]

The people blaming the manager have gone very quiet in the last couple of days. It would be quicker for the club to reset this by releasing anyone who has a problem with Ten Hag and just give him 3 windows to buy new players instead.

 

[KeanoMagicHat]

Ronaldo blocked Conte? That’s shocking.

 

[VidaRed]

So the leaker finds Elanga’s playing time mind-boggling and the whole team found Jesse’s lack of playing time baffling in an earlier leak

It’s almost as if a likely candidate is someone who is being kept out of the side by Elanga and is close to Lingard.

I’m baffled and mind-boggled as to who that could possibly be.

Thats racist.

 

[Leftback99]

Such a mess on and off the pitch. It's difficult to have much hope for next season. Reading about our squad should put any player off joining us.

 

[JPRouve]

So the leaker finds Elanga’s playing time mind-boggling and the whole team found Jesse’s lack of playing time baffling in an earlier leak

It’s almost as if a likely candidate is someone who is being kept out of the side by Elanga and is close to Lingard.

I’m baffled and mind-boggled as to who that could possibly be.

It could be literally anyone. It could be a member of the team that doesn't believe that Elanga's presence can help them win games and that could be someone playing any position. It could also be made up.

 

[Real Name]

Naturally the squad morale will improve once a lot of departures happen this summer.

Another thing I strongly believe is things will finally improve once Ronaldo goes. Just my opinion but I think he's shifted the dynamic of the dressing room in a massive way and that's a change it seems a lot are uncomfortable with. We never heard any backbiting among squad members last year, sure we heard stuff about the coaching stuff and Ole but never each other.

You can see the blame culture on the pitch from Ronaldo and Bruno's reaction to teammates. And if they are your best players doing that then it creates that sort of atmosphere.

Its also very easy to blame players but if you have weak leadership these sorts of things can happen. Ole was too weak and Ralf has been a masterclass in how not to man manage a squad. A strong manager and captain will never let things escalate to this level. Let's hope ETH has these qualities and also removes Maguire as captain.

Or it was happening last year but its now coming all out. Its too easy to blame it on Ronaldo.

 

[R'hllor]

This squad can be purged to the bone, problem is people think only way of purging is to either sell or loan them, we can also just drop them into reserves. fecking cant stand this bunch, they cant be in or around first team, drop them in reserves make them train at least 8h away from first team and sign some young hungry bunch on low wages, dont care about quality, we can be 6th with feckers on <50k per week wages instead of this lot that are on 100k minimum and give feck all in return, value for money my ass.

 

[SparkedIntoLife]

Laurie Whitwell’s article was pretty much a Phelan leak I reckon. This one is an assortment of various sources.

The one whose entourage called Ralf ‘specs’ seems to be Luke Shaw, based on the wanting a new contract dig. I felt Shaw passive aggressively questioned Rangnick’s instructions in his interview after the Wolves match.

When there’s a toxic atmosphere somewhere that’s so pervasive, it brings out the worst in people. It’s human nature, unfortunately. If we cleared out everyone who had underperformed or been unprofessional at times, we’d be lucky to have 2 or 3 players remaining.

If I were Ten Hag, I’d schedule one to one meetings with all the players with either van der Gaag or McClaren over the next 2 days. Anyone who just sits there blaming others can go. Anyone who takes some personal responsibility can stay (unless they are genuinely blameless, as per Phelan and Rangnick’s testimony… but that will be a very small number).

 

[justsomebloke]

The people blaming the manager have gone very quiet in the last couple of days. It would be quicker for the club to reset this by releasing anyone who has a problem with Ten Hag and just give him 3 windows to buy new players instead.

Surely it's fairly obvious by now that the managers and the players were both part of the problem? No one would have it easy with this group of players, but what OGS and RR delivered was plainly subpar. Clearly, neither of them were up to it.

 

[choccy77]

Does anybody know what is the normal procedure at the end of season after last game and before the players head off on holidays.
Do the have exit meeting with each individual player? A chance for players to get and give feedback with a member or members of the coaching staff? I know this is what happens here(Australia)in the AFL.
In addition after a poor season the clubs also holds an internal review of all aspects of the football department, which is basically all players and every member of staff being interviewed where anything they say remains confidential.
Seems like it would be good time for us to have such a review so that we don’t repeat the mistakes of this year.

Usually They are on social media complaining about a flight delay

 

[Corridor of Uncertainty]

Those close to one player referred to Rangnick as 'specs' behind his back, craven playground bully behaviour that should be rooted out, not rewarded with a new contract. The squad's disillusionment was a source of fascination to Ferguson, who used backchannels to gauge the mood.

Bruno? Or maybe Rashford.

 

[Teja]

Ronaldo blocked Conte? That’s shocking.

Yeah I haven't heard that before and I think that's bogus. Blocking Conte because he has to work hard at 37 vs accepting Rangnick who is well known for his pressing. Doesn't really make sense.

Those close to one player referred to Rangnick as 'specs' behind his back, craven playground bully behaviour that should be rooted out, not rewarded with a new contract. The squad's disillusionment was a source of fascination to Ferguson, who used backchannels to gauge the mood.

Bruno? Or maybe Rashford.

Has to be one of those. Judging by the fact Rashford got frozen out I'd say it's him.

 

[ash_86]

Felt like reading a ghost novel. It's way worse than i expected.

 

[devips]

I’m not defending how badly we have played but ask yourself...what would have happened if RR didn’t come in? A team of clearly over paid prima donnas on huge contracts that negate the power of any manager (Mourinho is evidence of this) who as soon as their ability or application is questioned, down tools and start moaning on social media or on international duty or via the press. Worst of all...they just stopped playing.

It’s a fuking mess...and the true benefit of RR was that he didn’t just massage egos to scrape another top 4 finish...he called out Pogba straight away and said if he wants to leave then play well to put himself in the shop window - he benched players that weren’t cutting it and called out the rest when they didn’t want to play for whatever reason or didn’t follow instructions. He is a clean pair of eyes that immediately saw this “marketing business” for what it is and that is exactly what was needed after years of Ole being best mates with everyone and Ed and Judge giving fringe players like Lngard, Bailey, Mata etc. Ludicrous extensions.

RR was a necessary evil and I for one couldn’t give a fuk about this season if it means I actually start liking Utd players again and enjoy watching us play.

You may not give a fuk about this season, but we, United fans, did. We needed at least top 4, and frustratingly it was within our reach until Rangnick the fraud came along.

What Rangnick did was to encourage the division in the dressing room. Never gave confidence to players, tried to reunite them as a team. He did not have the intelligence for it. A truely mediocre coach.

 

[Elcabron]

The bits that absolutely disgust me are the players being critical of their teammates, the players criticising the standard of the coaching sessions and the players criticising the manager's selections.

Who are these players to question anything? It really is disgusting, imagine walking into SAFs office, or Pep's or Klopp's and complaining about their tactics or team selections. That player would most likely be out of the door in about 30-seconds, particularly this lot who've won nothing and done nothing.

We supporters have got a really big role to play in all of this. I have no doubt that there will be hard times next season. I am sure we'll hear more leaks, more rumours about ETH and his staff, more questioning of their methods and their qualifications....we need to make sure it's clear to the Board and to all involved that we back the managers' decisions 110%....regardless of our own feelings about any particular player.

It's time some order was bought back to this club. The tail has been wagging the dog for a decade.

Thats pretty much what happened with Keane when he did that commentary on MUTV, he complained and was gone in no time. That's the level of control a manager needs to exercise.

 

[crossy1686]

Surely it's fairly obvious by now that the managers and the players were both part of the problem? No one would have it easy with this group of players, but what OGS and RR delivered was plainly subpar. Clearly, neither of them were up to it.

Of course, and that's what I've been saying since the start, but for some reason there's a section of people on here who believe replacing the manager and signing 3 players makes us title challengers.

 

[VidaRed]

Of course, and that's what I've been saying since the start, but for some reason there's a section of people on here who believe replacing the manager and signing 3 players makes us title challengers.

They are deluded.

 

[DWelbz19]

I'm not sure about the Ronaldo stuff, he's a born-winner and one of the hardest workers off the pitch to maintain his physique. Conte is a serial winner too, so it surprises me that Ronaldo would not want to work with him.

Off the pitch, yeah. On the pitch he tends to conserve his energy where possible to maximise goals.

I wonder if his dismissal of Conte comes from playing at Juventus and hearing anecdotes from some of the other players first hand?

 

[devips]

so it's not on any of the players? this has been coming for a long time now. As Luckhurst points out, coming second had much to do with empty stadiums

Like, other teams did not have empty stadiums to contend with?

 

[DWelbz19]

Those close to one player referred to Rangnick as 'specs' behind his back, craven playground bully behaviour that should be rooted out, not rewarded with a new contract. The squad's disillusionment was a source of fascination to Ferguson, who used backchannels to gauge the mood.

Bruno? Or maybe Rashford.

Has to be one of those. Judging by the fact Rashford got frozen out I'd say it's him.

Could be Shaw or De Gea (unlikely). Both of those are in contract talks too

 

[Red_toad]

Joy yet another ‘story’ from MEN uncovering ‘alleged’ things that happened within the club.

Enjoy the summer clear out guys, it’ll show who’s not up to following Ten Hags instructions. Feck giving clicks to all that crap by MEN

 

[VidaRed]

Like, other teams did not have empty stadiums to contend with?

Empty stadiums helps mentally fragile players and which we have plenty.

 

[DWelbz19]

Like, other teams did not have empty stadiums to contend with?

More that our side is/was full of gifted players who can play at their best to a 2nd place standard in empty stadiums (I.E. when it’s just solely based on getting on with football in empty stadiums) but can’t really do it under the flashing lights and the expectation back on them.

 

[Salus Populi Suprema Lex]

Worst United season would have been the Moyes one. This one is bad, but it's not like we were champions the previous season.

I think this is far worse; we are at rock bottom. We have reached the point where even the players don't care. I never thought we would see this; the whole culture is poisoned and there is a long, hard road to recover from the present situation. Ten Hag will need time.

 

[crossy1686]

Could be Shaw or De Gea (unlikely). Both of those are in contract talks too

I think any of the shit talking has been done by players who were promised stuff by Ole and didn't get it or by players who Ralf froze out. It doesn't make sense for those starting often and Ralf praising to be within the group of people talking shit