I wouldn't say it's cynical at all... it makes good business sense.
Park Ji Sung
- Thread starter The Azzurri
- Start date
What do you think ambassadors are there for if not revenue related? All of them are there for that, even if the direct role is more 'brand' related, the in-direct point is still revenue.As much as I like Ji as a man and would always welcome him back at United in any non-playing capacity, it's a very cynical and obviously revenue related move if we're bringing him back as an ambassador.
Having him at United instantly raised our profile in South Korea, it was the first time they had a major star playing at a top club. Don't get me wrong, he was a great player and well worth his place in the squad at the time. Bringing him back here in an ambassadorial role is surely aimed at generating cash in the East.
...and that Tweet, regarding exciting news; again, I think it's cynical - there are already people in Asia speculating all over Twitter that Park is coming out of retirment to play for us- but that's exactly what United wanted when they made the Tweet, to start an erroneous rumour that would get us more publicity overseas.
PARK to return as a centre-back? Henrik Larsson MK II
Fitness coach. 
He's only 33??!! Thought a player as fit as he is would have a longer korea
I loved Park, couldn't say a bad word about him. Top professional, and a top class player on his day as a starter and a sub. Always knew his role, never complained and gave his all.
He'd fully deserve a role back at the club.
He'd fully deserve a role back at the club.
After getting rid of Kagawa - we had to please the Far East market somehow.
What is it you find cynical about this? We would be nuts not to leverage on his popularity in Asia. He is still a fan favourite.
I see what you did there
You can't teach what he did. The man practically ran quadruple marathons each time he played.Fitness coach.
Awful
Great player for us. Up until his last season where he was quite poor, to me he was what you hoped for in a squad player. In the last few years, we've had players who we justified keeping because they "put in a shift". With Park, putting in a shift was a worst case scenario and he influenced games for us and usually made a valuable contribution when he was called upon. Good to see him recognized at the club he did so well for and of course smart move by the club from a marketing standpoint.
People like park are always "debatable" if it was any good or not.
You can say "he was so helpful to the team because of his hard work and mentality". On the other hand you can look at it like this "Well instead of a hard worker we could also have a guy who would score 8 goals a season, have 20+ assists and decide games".
I never like working type players, because 90% of the time they unfortunately lack every attribute to be useful on the pitch without running around like a dog after a bone. Rooney is kind of unique in this area, but even him lacks major football skills compared to world class midfielders. A true world class team never has a "work dog" on the pitch. Because they play out of their own strengths. Only teams that break down matches in order to win do.
You can say "he was so helpful to the team because of his hard work and mentality". On the other hand you can look at it like this "Well instead of a hard worker we could also have a guy who would score 8 goals a season, have 20+ assists and decide games".
I never like working type players, because 90% of the time they unfortunately lack every attribute to be useful on the pitch without running around like a dog after a bone. Rooney is kind of unique in this area, but even him lacks major football skills compared to world class midfielders. A true world class team never has a "work dog" on the pitch. Because they play out of their own strengths. Only teams that break down matches in order to win do.
Would make a decent full back....
Park was more than just a work horse. His intensity was always his biggest strength, but he was a pretty capable footballer besides that.
He was definitely quicker than the average player, and he could also carry the ball fairly well. You could usually trust him to make the right decision as well, as he was deceptively creative. He was also a decent goal threat, especially on the counter. You could always count on him making lung-busting runs into the box, pulling defenders here and there on every attack. But maybe most of all, he had a knack for showing up when it mattered the most, more often than not in the BIG games, which is a unique quality that only top players have.
He's a club legend in my eyes. Easily one of my all time favorites, despite not being nearly as good as the likes of Scholes and Ronaldo.
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He was much more agile in his first years though. 2005-07 at least. I think we did bulk him up and, which made him lose that agility.
Every time an ambassadorial role is mentioned I take a look at David Beckham and wonder why, if we haven't already, tried to get him on board in some Zidane-like ambassadorial role. Bringing in Park in a similar sort of role isn't a bad idea at all.
Reports that the club want to stage high profile, money spinning friendlies around the world to compensate for no Champions League football.
Park as an ambassador with an Asian tour mid season?
Park as an ambassador with an Asian tour mid season?
They'll have a bloody hard job putting a team together for league games never mind overseas friendlies. Sort the injuries out first before committing to fluff like this.
Love Park
Fletcher, Park...who knows we may even recall Gaz. He will be a nice addition to those three
That's actually really scary, I'm not even joking if you show a small child that they'll start crying.
Fantastic news about Ji, one of my all time favourite utd players. It'll be great to have him around again though shame Evra isn't here still he'd love this news.
Don't think the Glazers were too happy with him when he wore the green and gold scarf when playing for Milan.
He's probably fair bit expensive as well.
Not that I know, but Zidane's always appeared to me to be serious and intelligent, whereas I see Becks more as a happy go lucky kind of guy. Less suited to that type of role, though of course he's mega famous, loved by all, and on that note, I changed my mind. He should be a United ambassador.
That might be true, but in my opinion, Park's best period was from 2008 to the middle of 2011. When the 2011-2012 season started he was a completely different player. It was clear as day that he was past it at top level. It was sad to watch, not only because I consider him a club legend, but also because it happened so fast. In the span of roughly 1 year he went from playing an intrumental part in winning United's historical 19th top division trophy to actually being a burden for a QPR side that eventually got relegated.
I'd imagine our club has already approached Beckham with an ambassadorial role, he's probably too busy in other ventures to accept the offer.
Scariest thing I've ever seenProbably scored more important goals than Nani ever did.
27 in 205.
Nani - 40 in 228.
Notably starting his own football club. Rumor is he's unofficially involved with that Salford deal too.
Delighted about having Park involved with the club again, love the guy.
The Evra, Tevez and Park friendship trio was the best thing ever. United was also the best team in the world at that time.
Has the club announced anything yet?
Important being the key word there.