**Official** English Football Season 2024/25

[GIMH]

Joe Thompson dead aged 36. Cruel fkn world.

RIP

 

[anil1405]

From one of the best half Shearer has seen Newcastle play to one of their worst half in the very next game.

 

[Tangles]

De Ligt, Hojlund, Mount, Onana, Antony, Ugarte, Lisandro; if you want to go back another window you can add Sancho and Varane.

While not established global stars like Di Maria, Falcao, Ibra etc most those guys above were well known names in Europe and their price tags reflected it.

I've said for a while now they should be going for proven prem mid tier players like Mbuemo and Livramento. The problem is that sort of signing won't appease the fans and they don't seem clued into the bargain deals/release clauses.

Sancho and Casemiro and Ronaldo the most recent examples. They were better in the last window under Ratcliff but have been on a drunken spree since Alex retired. The Glazers are chiefly behind this. They wanted a US franchise driven approach to transfers where proven names can sell shirts. That’s why they kept buying guys at the end of careers like Casemiro and offering long contracts for stupid money with extra year clauses. It was likened to a Galactico light approach at one point.

Mount is a perfect example. An English player to wear the 7 and sell shirts like Beckham is the idea. Allegedly the manager asked for a defensive mid and got Mount.

They compounded this by having Woodward watching his balance sheet on sales. They would trigger an extra year on a player on high wages rather than let them leave. They also seemed to think that players are assets and if you pay X you get X later. Which is not recognizing you get what the market is willing to pay.

I have seen some younger fans who think this is a video game where you can magically buy and sell a whole squad. I don’t think that’s just a United thing though.

 

[Niall]

Sancho and Casemiro and Ronaldo the most recent examples. They were better in the last window under Ratcliff but have been on a drunken spree since Alex retired. The Glazers are chiefly behind this. They wanted a US franchise driven approach to transfers where proven names can sell shirts. That’s why they kept buying guys at the end of careers like Casemiro and offering long contracts for stupid money with extra year clauses. It was likened to a Galactico light approach at one point.

Mount is a perfect example. An English player to wear the 7 and sell shirts like Beckham is the idea. Allegedly the manager asked for a defensive mid and got Mount.

They compounded this by having Woodward watching his balance sheet on sales. They would trigger an extra year on a player on high wages rather than let them leave. They also seemed to think that players are assets and if you pay X you get X later. Which is not recognizing you get what the market is willing to pay.

I have seen some younger fans who think this is a video game where you can magically buy and sell a whole squad. I don’t think that’s just a United thing though.

Casemiro is a weird one, he's obviously on the decline , but he was decent season one, and was asked to do to much last season. I think even peak Kante would have struggled tbf.

This season Ruud showed if you stick a dog like Ugarte beside him he's ok , worryingly it took Ruben a while to figure this out.

Mount was once a gun player and a lot of managers loved him, Klopp supposedly was unhappy he lost out on him a few years, clearly Liverpool dodged a bullet.

On today, I've seen enough, yeah its a poor side and he does not get enough service but Rasmus is piss.

One note on Ruben, I do wonder was Dorgu really worth it when it seems Amass looks a serious player.

 

[Tangles]

Casemiro was unfit and poor last year. He has put in the work to get fit so credit there. He can’t play a box to box role anymore. But he’s a good passer and can get forward and score. He can be a useful 3rd mid but he absolutely needs a workhorse next to him. It can’t be him.

I read that up to 10 players will leave. I will believe it when it happens. Evan’s retiring and Ericksen walking are the easy 2. Sancho, Rashford and Antony need to go for $ to fund other buys. It’s buy to sell which means they won’t do the work early and might panic if it’s late.

Amass looks good and better defensively than during the summer tour when he was a liability. Heaven and the other young CB today look good.

Hojlund needs to be a 2nd striker that doesn’t play every game. He has shown glimpses but gets frustrated by service. Today he got some service he wasn’t ready for because he’s used to Garnacho not passing.

 

[Skipper Pup]

Casemiro lost his legs. Madrid saw it early. He still had flashes of brilliance at United but when you're fractionally slow at that level you get exposed.

Same thing happened to Fabinho and to a lesser extent, Fernandinho.

I think Mount would have been a success at Liverpool under Klopp. He wouldn't have got away with his behaviour or attitude around Milner, Henderson, Van Dijk, Mane, Robbo etc. He'd have been the perfect 10 in this Slot system too.

At this point so many recent careers have died there we just have to accept United is the problem

 

[Uppercut]

The strikers are the biggest problem, the no-service excuse for Hojlund is total horseshit. There’s not much you can do to create chances for a striker that’s slow, weak, awful in the air, technically mediocre, and has poor movement. We even created chances for Mainoo and Maguire when they played up front. They’re not even strikers, they just have 1 (one) element of football each that they’re good at, and it gives creative players something to work with. Hojlund is bad at everything.

 

[govinda indian fan]

We are one match away from title hurry!

 

[govinda indian fan]

We have really doged a bullet by not appointing amriom. With our squad and his system we would have been close to relegation. It helps slot is kinda mini klopp in tactics

 

[andruid]

We have really doged a bullet by not appointing amriom. With our squad and his system we would have been close to relegation. It helps slot is kinda mini klopp in tactics

Amorim is just a terrible fit for the present Manure squad. Yet another in the litany of round pegs in square holes, up and down the team.

 

[sledger]

The Hojlund transfer was bonkers from the begining. £70m+ for a striker who'd managed less than 20 career goals playing in worse leagues/teams was madness.

 

[govinda indian fan]

Amorim is just a terrible fit for the present Manure squad. Yet another in the litany of round pegs in square holes, up and down the team.

His biggest mistake was to come in middle of season instead of Waiting till summer. Dude thought he is pep gardioula

 

[govinda indian fan]

The Hojlund transfer was bonkers from the begining. £70m+ for a striker who'd managed less than 20 career goals playing in worse leagues/teams was madness.

Hojilund is decent but down on confidence

 

[andruid]

I predict a riot, I predict a riot!!

 

[Molehill]

I predict a riot, I predict a riot!!

Congrats - good luck trying to stay up next season.

Meanwhile, at the other end my lot have stayed up. The S Coast Derby is back on again next season and I quite fancy our chances....

 

[sledger]

Received a work related email today from some prof in Australia about a paper he had written. The email included a throwaway football-related line at the end. In my reply I responded to this comment.

The chap has since replied with a long email about how Ange is for the chop, and a detailed analysis of the important role played by central midfielders in all of Pep Guardiola's sides. It was great. Much more fun talking about this stuff than doing actual work.

 

[govinda indian fan]

Race for champions league is getting extremely close Liverpool and arsenal all but confirmed. Next three spots are up for grabs with forest, city, Newcastle, Chelsea and villa competing

 

[HeathDavisSpeed]

The chap has since replied with a long email about how Ange is for the chop, and a detailed analysis of the important role played by central midfielders in all of Pep Guardiola's sides. It was great. Much more fun talking about this stuff than doing actual work.

Ange is for the chop regardless of whether he wins the Europa League.

Anyway, congrats to Bodø/Glimt for being the first Norwegian team in a European final.

EDIT: Aren't Bodø @Magrat Garlick 's team? Seems long ago in the mists of time, but I'm not sure why I'd particularly recognise the name otherwise. I vaguely recall Mags celebrating them beating Rosenborg or Viking Stavanger for the first time in ages. Or something.

 

[Skipper Pup]

Received a work related email today from some prof in Australia about a paper he had written. The email included a throwaway football-related line at the end. In my reply I responded to this comment.

The chap has since replied with a long email about how Ange is for the chop, and a detailed analysis of the important role played by central midfielders in all of Pep Guardiola's sides. It was great. Much more fun talking about this stuff than doing actual work.

It would be ironic for Ange to win them their first trophy in decades just to then ride off into the sunset.

He obviously deserves to go and the situation is dire now but if he can get over the line in Europa I think history will be very kind to him.

Very interested to see where he ends up next. Still very highly rated in Asia and parts of Europe

 

[andruid]

It would be ironic for Ange to win them their first trophy in decades just to then ride off into the sunset.

He obviously deserves to go and the situation is dire now but if he can get over the line in Europa I think history will be very kind to him.

Very interested to see where he ends up next. Still very highly rated in Asia and parts of Europe

Would also be be bizarre for some team playing relegation fight standard football to back their way into next year's UEFA Champions League through the Europa League.