I don't think the OP is sourpussing - these are relevant questions. And similar questions are being asked in serious media outlets. I know we're all enjoying the ride and desperately want it to succeed, but it doesn't hurt to express a note of caution, in my view.
Unpopular opinion: Ronaldo will be a huge miss
- Thread starter Rajma
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Doubt Sancho even has one assist for a header in his career.
Couple of days back I copy-pasted few posts from 2009 when same things was repeated, like how Ronaldo was a problem, we will work more as a team, others will score more. I remember reading same thing from Madrid fans and then Juventus fans.
Unless we have a super system managers like Pep, having Ronaldo will always help the team, especially team like ours.
If he has a terrible season, do we let him go after one season or hang on for the second? also, how sure are we that he's better than Cavani? Cavani is a couple years younger and to me still looked in great shape last season.
Problem is the current Ronaldo is no longer the 2009 Ronaldo. Serie A is not the PL. Despite being a bit shit Juventus was largely able to dominate against those Serie A fodders. The PL is another story. The intensity and physical demands here is simply crazy. We don't have a good midfield. However I was skeptical when we signed Cavani, we all saw how that went. Hope it'd be the same with Ronaldo.
Surely he'll help us especially with scoring goals, he's one of the best goal scorers the world has ever seen. I simply do not agree with the idea of him being an undisputed starter or if he fails to deliver it's automatically entirely on Ole according to some here.
If you look at the amount of games they’ve missed in the last three years, you have an easy answer to the question who’s in better shape. And if you look at their goal records in Serie A, you’ll see that an older Ronaldo is more productive than a younger Cavani. What was exceptional for Cavani at his peak is just mildly impressive for Ronaldo coming to the end of his career.
Both of those things have always been the case until now. Assuming they’re going to flip suddenly, right now, is just unjustified pessimism about a new signing or the usual preference for something more familiar and recent.
We don’t know anything about the future, so it’s certainly possible that Cavani will be better. None of the available historical evidence suggests it’s the most likely outcome.
This is the weird double standards of the caf. Any criticism of what is our relatively inexperienced manager or his tactics is near heresy to some yet here we have threads questioning what is still one the greatest players out there.
I'm still not sure what a huge miss actually is?
Nvm googled it, apparently he will be a huge unmarried women
Nvm googled it, apparently he will be a huge unmarried women
Did you get mixed up with the words "miss" and "flop"?
This will be no miss or flop. On and off the pitch he will be a positive influence. Especially at training.
Caution is fine of course, but the OP is going on record saying he thinks Ronaldo will be a huge miss based on zero factual evidence. You can argue some of the points OP is making but they ignore what he will bring to the team as well. We need a clutch player, someone to break the deadlock against lower teams playing a packed defense or in a tight game against a big team and thats what he can do. Last night against Ireland he proved that he can turn a tie on its head no matter how both teams played for the previous 89 minutes, it was heartbreaking but also just reminded me exactly what we are bringing to the team.
Just looking back on most Martial performances when he's played up front for the past year and Ronaldo would have almost certainly offered more so there's little chance he doesn't improve us in some way.
Stopped breading after that. You clearly haven't seen Juventus or serie A for a while.
For a supposed shit league the likely top scorers for premier league this season will be former serie A players in Ronaldo and Lukaku
Not the same as Barcelona. Messi was earning in excess of €2m a week (roughly €2.3m, guaranteed) whereas Ronaldo is mooted to earn around £500-550K a week here ~ €580-650K.
Messi was earning about 4x as much than Ronaldo would earn here.
Secondly, not sure Raiola or anyone else when negotiating Pogba's contract have a leg to stand on considering it's Cristiano Ronaldo. We've apparently offered him 400K a week before Ronaldo even came about. Ronaldo's salary is quite reasonable. He's considerably more marketable than anyone else we've got on our hands.
Thirdly, on De Gea, he's earning about 300K+ (not sure what his base is). The decision to give him a considerably high salary was that they thought it would cost MORE to replace him than it would be to sign him on a bumper contract. Think 350K over 4 years vs £40m fee + £200K over 4 years for a different keeper. I didn't and still don't agree with De Gea's salary. They likely had it mind that Henderson would take over the reins by the time - 2023 - De Gea's contract ends.
European teams have never struggled to deal with the intensity of PL teams…nor the English national teams’ intensity from players supposedly used to it. Moreover they complain of fatigue when put to the sword. It’s a lot of nonsense in reality when used against a player as capable as him me thinks…
Fair enough, I agree the conclusion is taking it a bit far and that the issue could have been framed differently.
Because he's not the player he was 2-3 years ago, let alone 5 years ago. He's not the best player in the world now, he's nowhere close to it. He could probably be the best player in the MLS, or the best player at Sporting. But he's not even in the top 10 players in the Premier League, hell - I'm not even sure he's one of the best 5 forwards at Utd.
Obviously he was a great player, one of the all time greats, and he's still a good goal scorer. But he offers literally nothing else on the pitch. His work rate is appalling, he doesn't link up play well, he's not creative, he won't close down or harry defenders. He'll try and score at every opportunity - and will want and expect our attacking play to be set up in order to provide him with goalscoring opportunities. Because he hasn't got the ability or the legs to make goals out of nothing
I'm not a fan of Serie A but as far as I know they're still a force there. I watched them a few times last season. Not as strong as they once were but not as bad as some has made here. They're still able to dominate against those small teams in the serie A.
And may I ask based on what you're so sure that Ronaldo and Lukaku would be the top scorer in the PL this season?
I don't know why people waste their time worrying about hypothetical bad things they decide to imagine. If he turns out to be a flop, worry about it then. There is literally no benefit to being concerned about it now.
Gonna be honest probably by that point of the thread I'd stopped reading the replies I was getting so many most just saying something along the lines of "its Ronaldo age doesn’t matter". I'd be quite interested to see the stats though. As from the naked eye, Lukaku definitely works harder on the ball. And I in no way mean this against you as I don't know your posts, but regularly on this forum when someone says the stats say this and don’t show the stats it could mean anything. So I’d be interested in seeing the stats.
Also saying "Apart from a couple of posts (maybe add 2-3 more), I didn't see any posts mocking or dismissive." doesn’t really make sense its basically saying like saying 50% of the time it works 100% of the time.
And yes I did say I know I'm going to get shafted for this, which is true, you read through this thread and any others that involve Ronaldo and anyone who says anything other than a shore fire hit then it triggers many posters. I’ve seen loads of posts where people are expecting 25 goals minimum and less than that would be a failure.
Ronaldo is one of best players of all time, but he is now 36 the oldest member of our team, 2 years older then Cavani. I think he is the 2nd oldest out fielder in the premier league next season and we just made him our highest earner and agree to pay him past his 38th birthday. Yet very few people are acting like this is anything other then a sure-fire home run and any one who suggest other wise gets swamped with posts.
Ok, I'm out. I hope you cry every time he scores.
The fact Ole will be able to rotate CR and Cavani to suit the opposition being faced or to give some respite to two (say it quietly) ageing players in leading the line, is a good thing and will enhance our capabilities. With the additions of Sancho and Varane the whole squad is enhanced and should give us more options on the pitch. Ole likes to rely on his top players to win matches, with these three additions his hand is strengthened.
Ronald is + ten years older but he looks fitter than he has ever been, he needs a challenge to see out his latter days and if he can return to United and help us win the PL, his status as Lord of OT is assured... only his present managers winning goal in the CL in the treble winning year will come close.
Its a gamble, of course it is, all the naysayers muttering about 'never go back' etc. all the ABU's waiting for a chance to pounce. However we can all sing, with gusto, about " ...going down the Warwick Road to see United's Aces" once more... cant wait!
Ronald is + ten years older but he looks fitter than he has ever been, he needs a challenge to see out his latter days and if he can return to United and help us win the PL, his status as Lord of OT is assured... only his present managers winning goal in the CL in the treble winning year will come close.
Its a gamble, of course it is, all the naysayers muttering about 'never go back' etc. all the ABU's waiting for a chance to pounce. However we can all sing, with gusto, about " ...going down the Warwick Road to see United's Aces" once more... cant wait!
My biggest worry is that he loses the ball - a lot - by trying to shoot or trying tricks. Couple that with Bruno's propensity to lose literally the ball literally 1 in 4 times he touches it and then add that our midfield has Pogba and Fred in it...
...are we ever going to have the ball against decent teams?
...are we ever going to have the ball against decent teams?
Based on their careers and goal scoring records. Some of the defenders Ronaldo bullies in serie A are no worse then prem defenders.
And no Juventus isn't or at least wasn't some force under Pirlo.
Another post based on zero facts.
Hasn't got the legs to make goals yet put a ball on the plate for B.silva who missed.
Go on name the 10 players better than him in the premier league
Their minutes per goal numbers are very similar from last season and once Cavani really got going he was pretty much scoring every game. Add to that his incredible work rate I'm not to sure on this upgrade. Ronaldo at this looks the worst player on the pitch when not scoring and that isn't the case for Cavani.
Ok. I’m going to try again today. It’s good there is a place for fans who have doubts to chat about it. I tried to chat about it the day he signed but it wasn’t the time for it. On one hand I totally understand the love in for Ronaldo. He’s a freak and has been one of the best players ever.
But…
Say for example we are playing Liverpool or Chelsea. Ronnie simply doesn’t get those 2 easy chances at the death he got last night. He’s being kicked and closed down, maybe even taken off by then, the crosser is being pressed and the ball doesn’t arrive. In recent years we’ve seen it’s becoming progressively easier to stop teams with him in the later stages of the CL and the Euros. A good solid defence can deal with him because they know he’s going to shoot or try to get a shot off and the rest of the team look toothless as the opposition pack the box to neutralise Ronaldo. He scores a lot of headers, we are noticeably terrible at crossing. Recently Bruno is our best player. They play pretty poorly together for the national team. We had problems with the low block and static low aggression strikers for the last few years and finally remedy it with Cavani, who saved our bacon on numerous occasions last season. The pressing and movement made a huge difference to our overall threat. Ronaldo is going to stay up a lot more. Rashford Ronaldo Greenwood Bruno doesn’t feel that balanced to me.
I took some abuse last night and rightly so as he scored two goals right after I pressed “post reply” it’s fair enough. I just don’t think Ronaldo is going to be scoring those late goals that bring a 5/10 up to a 7/10 performance quite as often as people hope in the PL and I feel like we could end up deviating to our detriment when we were on a pretty solid path with Cavani once he got fit again. If Ronaldo had never played here before I feel like we wouldn’t have signed him. Then do we really need both Ronaldo and Cavani? A lot of Juves fans aren’t particularly bothered about him leaving and are looking forward to starting again with younger players and that’s the path we were on, now we have Ronaldo for two years.
I think it’s fair to say when it comes to Utd after the last few years I’m a worrier. I’m just not sure going back is the right way to go forward but I hope I’m dead wrong. The heart says yes but the head says no.
But…
Say for example we are playing Liverpool or Chelsea. Ronnie simply doesn’t get those 2 easy chances at the death he got last night. He’s being kicked and closed down, maybe even taken off by then, the crosser is being pressed and the ball doesn’t arrive. In recent years we’ve seen it’s becoming progressively easier to stop teams with him in the later stages of the CL and the Euros. A good solid defence can deal with him because they know he’s going to shoot or try to get a shot off and the rest of the team look toothless as the opposition pack the box to neutralise Ronaldo. He scores a lot of headers, we are noticeably terrible at crossing. Recently Bruno is our best player. They play pretty poorly together for the national team. We had problems with the low block and static low aggression strikers for the last few years and finally remedy it with Cavani, who saved our bacon on numerous occasions last season. The pressing and movement made a huge difference to our overall threat. Ronaldo is going to stay up a lot more. Rashford Ronaldo Greenwood Bruno doesn’t feel that balanced to me.
I took some abuse last night and rightly so as he scored two goals right after I pressed “post reply” it’s fair enough. I just don’t think Ronaldo is going to be scoring those late goals that bring a 5/10 up to a 7/10 performance quite as often as people hope in the PL and I feel like we could end up deviating to our detriment when we were on a pretty solid path with Cavani once he got fit again. If Ronaldo had never played here before I feel like we wouldn’t have signed him. Then do we really need both Ronaldo and Cavani? A lot of Juves fans aren’t particularly bothered about him leaving and are looking forward to starting again with younger players and that’s the path we were on, now we have Ronaldo for two years.
I think it’s fair to say when it comes to Utd after the last few years I’m a worrier. I’m just not sure going back is the right way to go forward but I hope I’m dead wrong. The heart says yes but the head says no.
Lukaku's pressrues per 90 mins - 8.31.
Ronaldo's pressure per 90 mins - 6.69
Apart from goals, assist, even if we go by general play (using percentile from fbref) how is that Ronaldo is limited or his general play is not that good while others contribute so much?
Also you said you get around 30 notification and every reply was mocking, that's obviously wrong. There were so many posts explaining why your post might be wrong or lets say they challenged your opinion with their point of view.
If you're worried about this due to yesterday then understandable but don't be: yesterday his first half was genuinely not good and for Portugal he has to come very deep to be a playmaker. Neither will be an issue at united
That said Bruno needs to play like a midfielder or at least a 10 now and not a trequertista
You'd think people would have the brains to realise the OP is suggesting a quite possible scenario. Doesn't mean he's right or wrong. But we've had our fare share of geriatric marketing based reputation purchases in the Glazer years and they're not all been great. It's a gamble.
Mate, I loved Ronnie when he joined us with his shit spaghetti hair. From a nostalgia perspective, I'm delighted he's come back. But I'm baffled that so many fans seem to think he's still the elite player he was 5 years ago at Madrid.
The man's 36, he's not the player he was - he's still a legend for what he's achieved and the levels he reached. And,he can still offer us something and could be a great flat track bully this season. But if we're lining up against Chelsea, I'd much rather see him on the bench than in the starting line-up.
Yeah, I rate Cavani highly, the man is clearly a top 10 striker of his generation etc. But… this is fecking Ronaldo, you know? He’s old as balls now, but he is genuinely showing zero signs of slowing down
I know I'm annoying some with my negativity, so will just add; I want nothing more than to be wrong. I would love Ronnie to roll back the years and finish the season with the golden boot, lead us to a trophy (or more). Honestly, that would be just... unthinkably wonderful. The fact that I don't think that'll happen doesn't mean I don't want it to happen.
Well that's fair enough but how about we all just relax a bit and see how things unfold for all we know Ronaldo could prove to be a catalyst for us or else his short contract length means he might even move next season if things don't workout as expected.
easy chances? very few strikers past or present could hang in the air like that. The only one who played for us I can think of was the LAWMAN
That's exactly it. Feels like we're going to stink the place out a lot this season, and when Ronaldo does score to convert an unimpressive draw into a win, say, then the twitter mob will be out in force with the goat memes. And frankly I'll be there with them, in part.
But it just doesn't feel right. We've been quite deliberate about our rebuild over the past 2-3 years. This is based on pure emotion and probably brand value. It could work, and if it does it'll be glorious. But I just don't know...
But that's simply not true, is it? Yes he looks in great shape and is still a great goalscorer. But he's clearly lost acceleration and his feet aren't as quick as they were. Watching him at the Euros and last night, against quite modest defenders, and it was notable how often he'd lose the ball in one-on-ones.
Yes experience will mitigate some of that, eg in knowing when to conserve energy and where to be on the pitch etc. But he is slowing down now, and that's a fact. I'm pretty sure defenders would prefer to face 2021 Ronaldo rather than say 2014 Ronaldo.
Ronaldo won’t be a huge miss, but he certainly won’t be the one man army, drag us to the title cheat code some people seem to think he will be. He’s still a great finisher and his instincts are second to none, but he looks very leggy these days.
Cavani was good for us, but the numbers Ronaldo puts even in an underwhelming Juve are great.
He scored 33 (24 without penalties) against Cavani's 16 for us.
Anyway it's a nice problem to have.
This sounds more like you are unconvinced without a better solution. It's not like we rejected Haaland to sign him. And news flash...unless we have an amazing season, we ain't getting Haaland next year either.
Pirlo is a bad manager but they were not that bad against those small teams. Some here makes me think they're talking about the current Arsenal.
If your opinion is based on their records alone then tbh it's not valid at all. It's like saying Sanchez must have hit the same numbers at United as he did at Arsenal, based on his career and records. Lot of things must be taken into consideration here. Football is not that simple. Wait at least till mid season and we're more likely to have an idea.
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