why would we need a caretaker manager?
Patrice Evra | Off to Marseille
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik @Rood and Imran @Annihilate Now! start with the good news by celebrating Manchester United Women's emphatic FA Cup win over Spurs at Wembley and the future of manager Marc Skinner.
Then it's the bad news and the ever worsening form of our Men with losses to Arsenal and Palace.
Finally the main debate - ETH Out now or keep him until the end of the season - if not longer. Are you Team Nik or Team Imran?
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He's no longer good enough to be a starter, but I would love to see him back!
That entire transfer saga and United fans thanking him on Twitter afterwards. Good times
I'm coming home... and I love this game! 
On purpose?
I find this rumour to be quite bizarre. And therefore most unlikely.
If Jose wants Evra that means he hasn't given up on Luke Shaw yet which is a positive I suppose but I hope Evra can cope with the demands of English football at 35. Juventus doing smarter business again by signing Kolasinac who's out of contract in the summer.
Mou did the same with Drogba for a season. He may want to have a 'legend' in his dressing room in order to get more stability in it.
I would be for his returns, only for a sentimental reason.
We would have 3 left backs in Shaw, Evra and Blind. 4 center backs in Rojo, Jones, Smalling and Bailly, and 2 right backs in Valencia and Darmian.
Knowing that Blind can switch to center back too, I guess that the numbers are too high here, especially since Jones is not injured, Smalling too and Rojo very good atm.
Evra would be a surplus for sure and won't be an upgrade to Shaw/Blind in terms of football.
In terms of leadership, of course he would
I would be for his returns, only for a sentimental reason.
We would have 3 left backs in Shaw, Evra and Blind. 4 center backs in Rojo, Jones, Smalling and Bailly, and 2 right backs in Valencia and Darmian.
Knowing that Blind can switch to center back too, I guess that the numbers are too high here, especially since Jones is not injured, Smalling too and Rojo very good atm.
Evra would be a surplus for sure and won't be an upgrade to Shaw/Blind in terms of football.
In terms of leadership, of course he would
If it means raising the standard of winning mentality in the dressing room, I am all for this! He may be physically in decline but his experience is really valuable especially his experience playing under SAF among other aspects in the game, on field or off of it.
Di marzio says its on, then its on! Personally, wouldnt have him back as a starter but as an influence in the dressing room or as a bit part player is ok.
Same here. It makes sense to add more leadership. Look at the effect losing him (and others) had in the first place.
He shouldn't be playing many games but if he wants to become a coach then why not start off here? He's a good pro and an infectious personality
Does anyone remember why Evra left in the first place? IIRC we wanted him to extend his contract and he left citing personal reasons. He left in the best possible way coz there was absolutely no animosity from a single fan. Now he wants back? seems like he wanted to leave a sinking ship under LvG and now that we are in much better shape, he changed his mind.
I wouldn't blame him at all though if that was the case. It must be terrible being managed by David Moyes and probably didn't want to endure the whole ordeal again under LvG
I wouldn't blame him at all though if that was the case. It must be terrible being managed by David Moyes and probably didn't want to endure the whole ordeal again under LvG
He's finished. We'll end up with another Bastian in our ranks
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I think it'd taint his legend slightly. He's a really, really bad defender these days and he'd inevitably be at fault for a few goals and get criticised endlessly.
I actually think thid could happen if it's now in Jan because of exactly this reason. Another huge personality and leader in our dressing room & someone who absolutely loves the club.
He still starts for France and I'll play him ahead of Darmian for sure.
I would love for Evra to come back, even if it's just for the rest of the season. If they find a buyer for Darmian in January it's a no brainer for squad cover.
Even if he doesn't play a minute it will be money well spent. His influence in the dressing room and hopefully his influence on Pogba to develop into a leader within the squad could be invaluable.
Aye, this is lost on some people. Just having him around training with the squad could be worth so so much. I'm sure he'd absolutely love to finish his career with 1.5 seasons as a cover player at United.
I hope not myself, we should never have let him go but he's far too long in the tooth to bring back now.
If he's struggling for game time in the slow paced Italian league, he's going to struggle in the Premier league.
If he's struggling for game time in the slow paced Italian league, he's going to struggle in the Premier league.
So you want him to become a team mascot?
That ship has saild. We should get a better LB but Evra is not the answer.
Having said that- hes a legend and an awsome man.
I don't think Fred the Red trains with the team, or has massive respect or leadership and nor can he actually play some minutes if needed.
In that case get Gaz, Robson, Cantona or Keane out of retirement while at it.
I thought this was just a joke.
bring him back. let him retire as a red
ffs.. How is that the same @devilish?
Evra is still starting games at left back for France, do Gaz, Robson, Cantona or Keane still start for their national teams?
It's nowhere near the same
Bring him for the giggles. I'm assuming he's free and will get a low wage.
Dunno would he go for free but surely only a nominal fee since we sold him for 1.5 million in the first place.
Anyone actually think the above comment is from Patrice himself?...I'm coming home... and I love this game!
I kind of do.
He's been pretty much hit with United transfers for the last couple of seasons.
This all seems very strange to me. To be fair there is a doubt that he can still deliver on the pitch to the standard we are probably all expecting.
I was referring to this
Also he was already becoming a bit of a liability during SAF's reign by forgetting about the defence and therefore putting unnecessary stress on the defense.
In fairness, Keane probably is still good enough to get in the Ireland team.
I haven't seen enough of Evra at Juve to comment on his current level but by the end of his United career he was completely burned out. He played almost every game season after season in the most physically demanding position in the team.
The point in my previous post was that his on-field performance is of less importance than his influence off the pitch. The current United squad has great camaraderie but really lacks leaders. The 3 "captains" have limited leadership qualities.
Adding a former captain who has won multiple trophies with the club would add a genuine leader to the dressing room. The fact that he is extremely close with the poster boy and likely future captain of the club makes him an ideal mentor.
He's old and the EPL is not the ideal league for an old player whose already showing clear signs of wear and tear to retire into.
Regarding leadership, that's something I can't really understand. We've got Smalling whose 27 years old, we've got Carrick whose been here for so many years and is, in my opinion, the most intelligent English player around. We've also got Bastian whose former captain of Germany and Bayern Munich, Rooney whose England's captain, Young who was Aston Villa's captain (I think), we've got Mata who played for Chelsea and Ibra who had played (and won) in 4-5 different leagues.Not to forget that most of the players we've got are hardly 18 year olds either. Jones, DDG, Pogba, Lingard, Valencia, Fellaini etc have caps with their national team. Some even won the CL or at least the EPL title.If these people cant turn things around and provide leadership then wtf they are doing at OT?
Don't forget that Leaders aren't born they are usually made. Cantona was a trouble maker who hopped from one club to another causing all sort of trouble. Gaz was an over zealous defender who used to give some nasty tackles inside/near the box which sometimes costed us big time. Keane was (and still is) a bruiser. They became leaders, they weren't born so.
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Disagree with that. Keane was absolutely a natural leader due to his incredible will to win. He had future captain written all over him when he was signed. Neville wasn't a great captain. He was the best fit at the time because he's intelligent for a footballer and had great love for the club. I didn't think he commanded anywhere near the respect that Robson, Cantona, Keane or Vidic did.
Leadership is something you can develop but I don't think anyone can just learn to be a leader. Rooney, Carrick and Smalling just aren't that type of character. Ibra and Schweinsteiger yes but not at United. It sounds wanky but you want your leaders to keep "the United way" within the club and pass it on to the next generation of leaders.
Of the current group Herrera, Pogba and De Gea show strong leadership qualities. It's just in their make up. If they stay at the club long term they will be leaders of the team.
I disagree. Keane was quite a quiet guy (in a Hannibal Lecter sort of way) prior to become captain. He wasn't the type you dick around with but he was very vocal as he was in his later years. Which is fair enough considering that he was surrounded by people (Hughes, Bruce, Schmeichel, Pally, Cantona and Ince) who would probably give him a battering if he dared messing with. I've met Incey in his prime and I assure you, you wouldn't want to mess with that guy.
I am not a big fan of Gaz but he was a great captain and he was far better then Keane on that. Robson was a world class talent a sort of Clark Kent of football, Keane was a bully who instilled fear in the team while Cantona (whom in my opinion was our best captain) had that Ibrahimovicesque aura that made people follow him blindly. Gaz had nothing of that sort. He wasn't a great player talent wise, he lacked Cantona's va va voom aura and he wasn't a psycho. Yet he still lead this club quite admirably, which is quite amazing considering that on his left he had the best defender of his generation, he spent most of his youth playing with the best attacking midfielder of his generation and in front of him he had the best player United had throughout the entire SAF's reign. That would scare the shit out of people but not Gaz. To put things into concept its like having a street painter keeping Michelangelo Merisi, the Donatello and Leonardo Da Vinci in line
I wouldn't mind signing an old player if we had a young squad but it simply not the case. We've got a quite experienced squad with players who should be stepping up and be counted. A washed up left back won't sort this issue. A change of staff will.
Keane was easily the best captain in my time watching United. The difference in winning mentality of the side when Keane was on the pitch vs when he wasn't was stark. He was Fergie's mouthpiece on the pitch. There was such a good relationship there that it's a shame how things have soured since.
I don't know how anyone who watched United through the rivalry with Arsenal could doubt Keane's ability as a leader. His battles with Vieira generally decided the games and often the title. After the Highbury tunnel incident I also don't know how anyone could rate Gary Neville a better leader than Keane.
As for Evra, I agree with you in a way that United has older players but they are not leaders who are representative of the club. Rooney and Schweinsteiger would be out if the club could get someone to take them. Carrick, Smalling and Valencia are very quiet passive characters. Ibra just joined in the summer. The squad management post Fergie has been dreadful and Evra was one that should never have been allowed to leave. Losing Vidic and Evra in the same summer left a huge leadership gap.
We won't agree on this. Football is all about opinions so fair play. Yours are as valid as anyone else's even if they are wrong!
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Stay off the meds man.
Evra wanted to leave. He won't stick around as not being first choice at that point and he was not reliable to be still the first choice for us anyway. Shaw was signed and was always going to be the first choice at that point.
So, there is not much the club could do.
Reuniting with Nanners. Nice.
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