Robbie Savage defends Jose

JohnnyKills

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If Rashford was in City, he would have been playing in a midtable club like Iheanacho now.

Pep had showed loads of times he's not interested in developing any young talents.
Not sure that's entirely fair. He gave minutes to the likes of Bojan and Thiago at Barca. But he invariably ends up buying a bigger name and shipping off the kids.
 

Stan Jefferson

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Jason Burt is a prat, just like the vast majority of pundits and journalists these days. The fact that he sounded so incredulous when savage said Mourinho knows more about the situation than either of them and he refused to accept that to be the case says it all. Stealing a living.
 

Red Primus

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If I'm not mistaken, I remember when we first got Ronaldo, SAF was saying that he would not use him too much and play him only when it's appropriate because very young players on the world stage burn out quickly when not managed well. They needed constant close attention and fine adjustments. Ferguson was very cognizant of that and made it known publicly. However, Ronaldo being of a different level ended up playing a whole lot more than SAF expected because Ronaldo could not only handle it but thrived on it.

So why are these pundits suddenly so sure what is best for Rashford when they clearly have no clue or are even in the proximity of any relevant information that only the coaches and the manager would be privy to? Surely they would know how complex managing young talented players would be, especially ones who are gifted - which makes this all the more shamefully insidious, because they're purposely misrepresenting the situation to the public.
 

Giant Midget

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You can argue about the merits of not playing a young player versus playing them, but the actual fecking fact here is that Rashford has played the most games under Mourinho since the beginning of last season.

How the actual feck you can criticise Mourinho for not playing Rashford when the facts are completely different is beyond me. Do some research before you open your mouth.
 

VeevaVee

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I've never minded Savage as much as others, since he stopped playing anyway. Funny that it's him and Carragher that seem to have spoken the most sense lately though.
 

El Jefe

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This narrative that Rashford should be in the team every week is insane. The first time I heard it, I took it with a pinch of salt but on nearly every media outlet including motd that was a major talking point.

Firstly, did they watch him in November and December? It was easily one of the poorest runs of form from any of our players this season.

The second point is Rashford is only 20, he is no where near good enough to command a starting 11 place at a club like United especially when his competition is Sanchez, Lingard, Martial and Lukaku. Asensio, Isco, Bale, Dembele, Son, Willian, Bernardo Silva, Martial, Di Maria are all players at top clubs who play off the bench regularly so how the hell is it a travesty for Rashford but not these players.

The anti-Mourinho agenda is just blatant at this stage.
 

Maagge

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The official Facebook page just made a post about number of games under Mourinho. So it seems like we're trying to change the narrative a bit.
 

DomesticTadpole

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This narrative that Rashford should be in the team every week is insane. The first time I heard it, I took it with a pinch of salt but on nearly every media outlet including motd that was a major talking point.

Firstly, did they watch him in November and December? It was easily one of the poorest runs of form from any of our players this season.


The second point is Rashford is only 20, he is no where near good enough to command a starting 11 place at a club like United especially when his competition is Sanchez, Lingard, Martial and Lukaku. Asensio, Isco, Bale, Dembele, Son, Willian, Bernardo Silva, Martial, Di Maria are all players at top clubs who play off the bench regularly so how the hell is it a travesty for Rashford but not these players.

The anti-Mourinho agenda is just blatant at this stage.
People were going crazy about how he was playing then? Jose has handled him just right. Funny enough if it was another young player at another club, the same media culprits would be saying he should be taken out of the firing line for a while. He's 20, he still has a lot to learn.
 

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People were going crazy about how he was playing then? Jose has handled him just right. Funny enough if it was another young player at another club, the same media culprits would be saying he should be taken out of the firing line for a while. He's 20, he still has a lot to learn.
I fear he may soon suffer the same fate as Beckham and Rooney. As in he'll be shouldered with England's World Cup hopes squarely on his shoulders, as the other 2 did, despite the fact that England have talented players other than him.
 

DomesticTadpole

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I fear he may soon suffer the same fate as Beckham and Rooney. As in he'll be shouldered with England's World Cup hopes squarely on his shoulders, as the other 2 did, despite the fact that England have talented players other than him.
He is lucky that Kane and Alli are about, so they might just get the blame this time.
 

FlawlessThaw

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Mark Chapman talked more sense about physical development of Rashford which completely shut Jason Burt up.
 

Adisa

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Jason Burt couldn't even admit he knew less about the player than Jose. :lol:
So you're telling me Marcus would be playing ahead of Sane,Sterling, Aguero and Jesus...feck off!
 

ghagua

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Rashford was rightfully dropped, so not going blame Mourinho for that. He was playing selfish football which was not coming off for him. Hopefully he has learn't his lesson and will play team football and still get his stats.
 

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http://www.transfermarkt.com/manchester-united/leistungsdaten/verein/985

In terms of minutes this season, Mourinho has done a much better job of sharing the playing time and I think we're seeing the benefit week-to-week now with what feels like new people always rising to the occasion. Lukaku, Lingard, Matic, McTominay, Young, and Rashford have all been heroes. Rashford has the 8th most minutes at 2,128, with 4 of the players ahead of him in the backline (DDG, Smalling, Valencia, and Young) and Lukaku (1st), Matic (2nd), and Mata (7th) as the rest. He'd still be 8th if you combined Mkhi+Sanchez minutes (2,123).

Rashford - at age 20 with 12 goals and 8 assists with 25% of the season left - is in a prime position to help a great club surrounded by many top players. This idea that he needs to play 90mins in every match is ridiculous and completely flies in the face of modern football. Some poor work from certain media members trying to create a story where there is none.
 

Cliche Guevara

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If Rashford was in City, he would have been playing in a midtable club like Iheanacho now.

Pep had showed loads of times he's not interested in developing any young talents.
This is what annoys me the most. Do these people actually look at what goes on at City. The media coverage of United since Jose took over is actually startling.

A narrative has been constructed which people are blindly following in the face of all evidence to the contrary.
 

adexkola

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Rashford was rightfully dropped, so not going blame Mourinho for that. He was playing selfish football which was not coming off for him. Hopefully he has learn't his lesson and will play team football and still get his stats.
Nothing wrong with that at all. Guardiola dropped Stones who was going through a rough patch of form. Don't think either manager deserves criticism for using sense to remove underperforming young players here and there.
 

ti vu

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He is lucky that Kane and Alli are about, so they might just get the blame this time.
And they both picked up injury prior to WC. History repeat itself. Surprised that there is no Poch runs Kane to the ground sound yet
 

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Not sure that's entirely fair. He gave minutes to the likes of Bojan and Thiago at Barca. But he invariably ends up buying a bigger name and shipping off the kids.
Different situation at Barcelona where the academy was more in tune with the style he likes to play. Pep didn't do much to promote youth at Bayern either. Plus the level of talent at La Masia then was better than at City now, and he has near unlimited money to buy ready-made players in any position he wants. Rashford at City would have been shipped off like Iheanacho.
 

londonredmaniac

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Rashford was going through a stage where his form dipped, but more so he looked to be developing an overly selfish streak.

A bit of time on the bench will have done him no harm.
 

Cliche Guevara

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Nothing wrong with that at all. Guardiola dropped Stones who was going through a rough patch of form. Don't think either manager deserves criticism for using sense to remove underperforming young players here and there.
They don’t, and yet one is universally criticised for it and the other never mentioned.

In fact, somehow held up as the example of how it should be done.
 

adexkola

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Different situation at Barcelona where the academy was more in tune with the style he likes to play. Pep didn't do much to promote youth at Bayern either. Plus the level of talent at La Masia then was better than at City now, and he has near unlimited money to buy ready-made players in any position he wants. Rashford at City would have been shipped off like Iheanacho.
That's nonsense, unless you're suggesting Iheanacho and Rashford are at the same level. I'd have Rashford closer to Sterling, who Pep kept and elevated.
 

ti vu

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That's nonsense, unless you're suggesting Iheanacho and Rashford are at the same level. I'd have Rashford closer to Sterling, who Pep kept and elevated.
Do you know what Pep thinks? Hindsight is a beautiful thing. Iheanacho was always compared to Rashford. Even before Pep decided to let him go, people were going on about how Pep would do with Iheanacho.
 

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The whole premise of 5live is that both "pundits" take polar opposite (sometimes extreme) opinions to spark call in discussions. It's a pretty meaningless format to base a discussion on.
 

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Yeah, I heard the 606 podcast and was very impressed with Savage pointing this out in no uncertain terms. We have definitely been a subject of a massive with-hunt by the media where Mourinho and the club simply cannot win.

Last year, we had great progress and this year we started strong and have managed to retain the second place on the table for the entirety of the campaign, yet we are the ones having to defend against accusations like we don't play young players, and play boring/reactive football.

Savage called it out accurately. How are Spurs 5 points behind us having scores lesser goals being not put under the same or more intense scrutiny? Just shows the relative bias of the current climate.

For example, had we lost the match against Liverpool, the whole world would have discussed and debated the every singular detail or our manager, players, the club, CEO etc. and how all of that culminated into us losing the tie.
 

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That's nonsense, unless you're suggesting Iheanacho and Rashford are at the same level. I'd have Rashford closer to Sterling, who Pep kept and elevated.
Rashford was nowhere near Sterling's level when Mourinho came to United. You're comparing a kid who'd just finished his debut season with one who had been sold for £50m after being a key player in a title race.

Also, if you read the thread we had comparing the two on the Caf, it was the opinion of most posters that they were comparable talents, with some giving the edge to Iheanacho. It's only after Iheanacho was dumped unceremoniously that the media narrative changed and instead of being the next great thing Pep was going to nurture he was now never good enough.
 

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Yeah, I heard the 606 podcast and was very impressed with Savage pointing this out in no uncertain terms. We have definitely been a subject of a massive with-hunt by the media where Mourinho and the club simply cannot win.

Last year, we had great progress and this year we started strong and have managed to retain the second place on the table for the entirety of the campaign, yet we are the ones having to defend against accusations like we don't play young players, and play boring/reactive football.

Savage called it out accurately. How are Spurs 5 points behind us having scores lesser goals being not put under the same or more intense scrutiny? Just shows the relative bias of the current climate.

For example, had we lost the match against Liverpool, the whole world would have discussed and debated the every singular detail or our manager, players, the club, CEO etc. and how all of that culminated into us losing the tie.
Savage is not the best man to say that given he tipped them to finish 6th.
 

adexkola

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Rashford was nowhere near Sterling's level when Mourinho came to United. You're comparing a kid who'd just finished his debut season with one who had been sold for £50m after being a key player in a title race.

Also, if you read the thread we had comparing the two on the Caf, it was the opinion of most posters that they were comparable talents, with some giving the edge to Iheanacho. It's only after Iheanacho was dumped unceremoniously that the media narrative changed and instead of being the next great thing Pep was going to nurture he was now never good enough.
Even Sturridge looked great that season at Liverpool. There was an adjustment period when Sterling arrived at City, with many posters on here calling him a flop. I don't think the distance was as huge as you're making it.

Iheanacho struggling to break through at Leicester City is proof enough of where he actually was at, at City, despite his few goals (which drove the comparison by the way, between him and Rashford). Even last season, Rashford had more to his locker.
 

JohnnyKills

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Different situation at Barcelona where the academy was more in tune with the style he likes to play. Pep didn't do much to promote youth at Bayern either. Plus the level of talent at La Masia then was better than at City now, and he has near unlimited money to buy ready-made players in any position he wants. Rashford at City would have been shipped off like Iheanacho.
Not sure about Rashford but anyway, no need for another Pep/City thread. The appointment thing is that Robbie Savage has finally spoken some sense.
 

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Even Sturridge looked great that season at Liverpool. There was an adjustment period when Sterling arrived at City, with many posters on here calling him a flop. I don't think the distance was as huge as you're making it.

Iheanacho struggling to break through at Leicester City is proof enough of where he actually was at, at City, despite his few goals (which drove the comparison by the way, between him and Rashford). Even last season, Rashford had more to his locker.
Sturridge is a good striker though, his problems are his constant injury woes which prevent him from building up any kind of form.

You're saying an 18 year old who'd only made 18 senior team appearances was comparable to a 21 year old who'd won the Golden Boy award, made over 120 first team appearances, and was the subject of a £50m transfer saga. It's ridiculous.

You may have personally rated Rashford higher than Iheanacho, but both many fans on here (United, City, and neutral) plus the media rated the two as very comparable. Not to mention their records and experience bear far greater resemblance than Rashford's to Sterling's.
 

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Remember last season when everyone thought Jose had dropped Rashford because he didn't rate him and was planning to sell? Then it turned out Rashford had terrible growing pains for a big part of the season.

Savage is right, for once. Only Mourinho knows why he's picking who he's picking and sitting on the bench for a few games doesn't mean he doesn't rate you or that you'll never play again.
 

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Savage is generally alright and almost always supports United, however, there is always a hint of that underlying bitterness that he wasn't quite good enough to make it as a pro at United and didn't win everything like the Class of 92 boys.
 

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Savage is generally alright and almost always supports United, however, there is always a hint of that underlying bitterness that he wasn't quite good enough to make it as a pro at United and didn't win everything like the Class of 92 boys.
I think that's to be expected though surely? He had a good career anyway but it will have been tough to watch guys I'm sure he was friends with go on to win what they all did. It would be normal to be a little jealous.

I agree though, I think he's alright most of the time as a pundit. He plays up to the clown persona sometimes but i've seen him defend Utd a lot in the last few years.

Jason Burt sounding incredulous at the suggestion Jose Mourinho knows more about Rashford than him was hilarious. The fecking ego on him. You can tell he's lost his cool when he tells Savage us winning two trophies last year was lucky.
 
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Jason Burt actually thinks he knows more than Mourinho :lol:
 

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The criticism Mourinho gets for Rashford's game time is simply laughable.

He plays him, when fit, every bloody week. That first start since Boxing Day stat conveniently ignored the injury that kept him out, and since his return he has, once again, been involved in every single game. He will be involved tonight, too.

He's a 20 year old kid at Manchester United. He isn't good enough to start every week yet so why the rush? If anything, Mourinho has taken a liking to him more than I thought he would.

Of all the criticism levelled at Mourinho it's this one that has the least merit, because age is not a stumbling block for games.