₦airaland Forum

I remember saying here that De Gea is the least of the problem we had. We had other areas we needed to strengthen. A CF, Winger, CM and DM and a CB but ETH went for a keeper instead when a CB was more of a pressing concern. Bar Martinez and Varane the rest are not good enough to consistently start games...

We are not even seeing the benefit of a ball playing goalie because they're still gapping holes in the team. In two seasons, ETH has failed to fix the RW problem and midfield problem. The jury is still out on the CF ish...We are in trouble...

CrystalTiger:
Just imagine the two teams ffs..Na DOF make this Newcastle team come beat us like thieves for OT?

ETH's 5 signings started for him and Eddie had 4 of his signings..How exactly did we not trouble that backline at all?

It is why I am not buying the excuse of injuries. Look at the both teams and tell me who should have dominated and won the match.

Newcastle are without Isak, Tonali, Barnes, Murphy, Andersen, Botman etc but we are not hearing excuses. Because of Shaw and Martinez we should excuse whatever poor performance we are being served.

Na wa for some people o!

AdisaOwala:
Bros, I would only fault the board for one reason : they have been hiring the wrong managers....

The only manager I expected so much from, was actually LVG due to his experience and his current form (as at the time he was hired)...

For whatever reasons, it didn't work out..

As for our manager, he is looking more and more like a bald Andres Villas Boas - no be all managers fit replicate small club successes at bigger clubs.

I agree 100% we always go for a manager renowned for a particular pattern of player to a manager with different footballing ideology meaning the new manager has to start the rebuild process again.

I really had high hopes on ETH, I thought he will come in and set an established pattern of play but nothing of sort is on the offing. This is where I support the idea of a DoF, someone who will come in and decide how the club should play and only hire managers that fits in with such pattern. That way, even the players we go after will be defined by the established pattern.

At the moment, I can not draw up excuses for ETH because he has been backed 100%. At least play good football and win games.

afrodoc2:
Stylistically we are playing worse football than any team in the Top 12.

It’s a penkelemes.

If you who has been on the board's case long before others realised what was happening can blame the manager for our poor performances, then I really don't know what is wrong with some of us here.

One thing we can not argue against is the fact that we have a squad of players at the moment who should be playing much much better than we are currently doing. If this is agreed, who should we blame for the drab football we are playing if not the coach?

It is as simple as ABC but then, it appears ABC is not so simple.

A team battling relegation and a manager came in and moved them to 13th, who in his right senses will sack such manager?

I don't see the extraordinary things the guys at Newcastle have done, they just do the basics, get the coach the players he wants and the coach does his job from there. Talking about discipline, the board has backed ETH 100% and that's why Sancho has since been dropped.

Klopp finished 8th in his first season, but it was glaring what was coming except that he didn't have the right personnel and that alone is enough encouragement.

Last season, everyone knew what happened to Liverpool on the injury front and it was evident towards the end of the season when their players returned that they would have finished top 4 comfortably (Their strong push for a top 4 finish is a pointer).

When Pep joined City, I could see from the get-go that team as coached by Pep. One of his very first game in charge if not the first was a friendly match against Arsenal, go and search for it on YouTube and you'll easily see that from his first game he went about implementing his ideas. That's a coach that deserves time and should be backed.

There's nothing wrong with our medical department, Newcatle have more first team players out injured at the moment, should we also blame their owners?

Chelsea too have a lot of players out injured as do Barcelona, it has little to do with the medics at the club in most cases. Injuries do happen.

Ronaldo saying nothing changed at the club is an exaggeration, I remember that the club had to make changes to the training facilities when Van Persie joined to ensure he stayed fit and it worked.

Casemiro was not signed as an alternative to FDJ, the alternative was Eriksen who was also the choice of ETH. Who is even to blame for the FDJ saga? The coach kept on insisting he is the player he wants and we agreed a fee with Barca only for the players to opt against the move, how is that the fault of the board again?

We went toe-to-toe with Madrid for Camavinga but Madrid won the race thanks to Zidane so, it is only rational that we move one to other targets. Amrabat had a fantastic world cup, everyone here wanted him and now he is here but all of a sudden, he doesn't look the player we saw before now. I put it down to poor coaching. We have 2 of the top 10 DMs in the league yet ETH has not been able to fashion out a system that will prevent us from conceding loads of goals and you want to blame the owners? OMG!

Last season, it was obvious Eriksen was the most important player in our midfield and his absence was always felt yet in a bid to bring in a younger player to take up that role, ETH went for Mount of all the midfielders in the world but somehow you want to blame the board.

Yes, Mourinho wanted Maguire but the board did override his decision which at the time was the right thing to do. Mourinho had gotten Bailly and Lindelof a season before and wanted to bin them almost immediately for Maguire. No owner will be happy with that. Is not like Lindelof and Bailly were cheap purchases either. Pep can't just wake up and say he doesn't want Gvardiol and Grealish after the club forked out so much to bring them in.

You deride the board for not signing Maguire and and other players Mourinho wanted as well as letting go the ones he wanted out but now the board is doing what the manager wants, you still want to crucify them. It doesn't work that way, pick a struggle...

Leyqute and co.

ugaby:
Riff.-raffs are those idiots who think that they are making sense but ended up exposing their ignorance

You are a good example of one. You definitely know yourself...

ChristoBam:
Lmao if I call you a clown, you'll ramble on and on about not insulting anyone. It's happened before with you. Just respect yourself and stick to the main point of discussion.

You're jumping from one thing to another and somehow still dragging the discussion back to the starting point. Which is the fact that we need a sporting director to help with recruitment and total direction of the club.

Btw, why did we get Casemiro only after the FDJ deal was totally bust? We didn't go after him till almost the end of the window. There are pages after pages of arguments about his best position here and how Dejong isn't a CDM. Don't start abeg. We went after Eriksen cuz he was a free transfer. We negotiated all summer for him.

When Ten Hag went for Dejong. There were some attributes of the player he was interested in. Just like how he wanted a left footed winger when he went for Antony. At what point did Murtough go for replacements when the deals became unfeasible or illogical?

Check the post I quoted so you have a clue why I wasn't civil in my reply.

A DoF doesn't go after replacements for the sake of it, the manager has a say. Pep have asked City to pull out of deals before when he saw the price was not right. It has always been his call and not the other way around.

Murtough is there to get the players the manger wants just so he has no reason to complain and he has done just that. ETH insisted on FDJ for almost the entirety of the window and only went for Eriksen when it seemed highly unlikely.

If the board overrides the manager, fans will complain so, at least let's say this method has proven counter productive. Going forward, I hope we will support the board if they override a manager?

metodman:
I'm not absolving ETH in all these, Patrick. However, the current structure of the club doesn't in any way help any manager. I'm not a Prophet of doom but based on the events of the past years, I don't think the next manager will succeed if the structure isn't changed prior to him being appointed. I just think we have been trying same things for years, it's time we do things differently.

Madrid, Chelsea, Bayern and the likes have hired and fired in the past. They did so until they found the right coach.

metodman:
They are bidding their time. They are still gonna spend. Our players are not good enough. Dalot, AWB, Maguire, Lindelof, Mount, Mcsauce, Rashford, Anthony, Martial and many others are either not good enough or very very inconsistent.

The ones that MIGHT be good are not ready yet. Only a team like United will buy a 20year old player to spearhead their attack when their other striker (Martial) is useless.

Who are the prolific strikers at Newcastle? Name them please...

Who are the world class CBs they parade?

Bar Trippier, do they have fullbacks that are better than ours or have a much higher ceiling?

Is Longstaff all of a sudden so good?

Is it the failed CF Joelington who had to be moved to midfield?
Their star signing in midfield, Tonali has been suspended for 10 months yet no excuses.

We are badly coached whether you accept it or not.

ChristoBam:
Madrid go after the best. You don't need a special DOF to decide to go after Bellingham, Mbappe, Tchoameni and the likes. These ones came to snatch Hazard when they thought he had unlocked a new goat level in his game.

As for your second paragraph, you're not even making sense. Who would blame the club for going after other targets when a player emphatically says he doesn't want to join the club?

Btw, we didn't get him and then went for Casemiro. A totally opposite profile of midfielder.

Did Murtough have a replacement that fit the profile lined up? Who are we kidding?

You are a clown. ETH got Eriksen to play the role of FDJ. To show how stupid ETH is, after realizing ETH can go a whole season, guess who he signed to replace him? Mason Mount...

You are a troll at this point.

ChristoBam:
Emery's obviously not a miracle worker. He failed at Arsenal. Imagine Emery never managed at Arsenal, you'd be so convinced he'll succeed here under the same system.

Jokes aside, you can keep listing managers all day. They'll fail here. I can already imagine Psotecoglou looking like a retired grandpa after a while here.

Until someone comes in and does well I guess you will cling on to this excuse.

ugaby:
For your mind you are making sense abi?

I don't entertain riff-raffs.

ChristoBam:
Why would I compare Bruno with Ceballos. Was Ceballos brought in to solve a midfield problem? Man was a Malacia-like signing.

When Madrid want to solve a problem, they go for the best. They needed midfielders and went for the best young midfielders available in Europe. We all could just watch.

They wanted a striker and are trying to get probably the best footballer in the world rn to fill the role.


Also, let's pretend Pep and Klopp work under the same structure as United. Is it the likes of Murtough helping with player recruitments?
Y'all won't get it cuz it's about sacking the manager rn.

Who is the director of football at Madrid?

Your MCM requested for and got his preferred choices for the midfield bar FDJ was refused to join and not because the board opted against his signing yet you still blame Murtough. I am 100% you would've led the crusade against the board of they had opted for other players.

When Man Utd is involved, you start hearing talk of miracle worker.

Is Eddie Howe a miracle worker?

Is Emery a miracle worker?

Is Postecoglou a miracle worker?

That's how you guys will be asking which good player is in the market whilst our rivals will be signing quality players.

metodman:
So who is this miracle worker that can do that

We are in a bad situation and there's no way this team can be overhauled in 3years with Glazers still being around. Very Very Very few managers can perform magic with this team...in fact I don't think they are up to 5. We need to be very strategic this time around. Admittedly, ETH has added more mumu players who will be difficult to move on... not to talk about the ones we have always had.

Bros, you believe say Newcastle go dey do well like them dey do now?

Even with new owners, no be say them done spend money pass us o!

ChristoBam:
And then start all over again with a manager that's not as good as Ten Hag? If you believe the system is faulty and we need a sporting director, you'll look beyond this shitty season. And when you look beyond this shit, you'll realize Ten Hag is better than the other options in terms of what we need.

Believe it or not, we sack Ten Hag and Emery is the best we're getting.

Do you honestly think we have a bad squad at the moment?

Do you honestly believe we have an inferior squad to Spurs, Newcastle, Villa and the likes?

ChristoBam:
Please don't start today. You know what started the whole Convo.

You talked about Madrid continuously sacking managers till they get they win things. I told you it's because they sign the best. Na there you begin dey compare Amrabat signing to Bellingham.

Liverpool, City and co built long term projects. They buy players to fit into a system and style of play. They don't sack manager after manager like you were alluding to.

Why are you not comparing Bellingham to the players who have come in and done well?

Why not compare Bruno with Ceballos?

I told you yesterday that City and Liverpool could afford to stick with Pep and Klopp because their respective teams showed signs of what was to come. Can you say the same about the current Utd?

See how Pep brought in players that suits his style...Klopp did the same and even when he lost lost the core of his team, check out how he was intentional about fixing his midfield with players fit for propose.

A realist should know by now that a DoF can't nothing...

If the season just ended, I'd supported the call for a DoF knowing he will influence our operations in the summer market but now? It makes no sense.

We need some that will come in and make the most of the players we have. That person is a coach and not a DoF.

ChristoBam:
Wait, don't you understand that in all of these, while we were shouting Woodward out, what we were screaming for was a competent DOF/Sporting director?

Why were we excited about Rangnick? Because of his coaching abilities?

What's with the Amnaesia?

Why are you people talking about everyone complaining about getting the manager targets while totally ignoring the fact we all wanted a sporting director that'd be in charge of all these things.


Would you trust Murtough to be in charge of player's recruitments?

We get a DoF now and there's little he can do until the summer (end of the season).

We get a new manager and we can salvage the season.

Choose...

metodman:
I'm not absolving ETH in all these, Patrick. However, the current structure of the club doesn't in any way help any manager. I'm not a Prophet of doom but based on the events of the past years, I don't think the next manager will succeed if the structure isn't changed prior to him being appointed. I just think we have been trying same things for years, it's time we do things differently.

At this stage of the season, the only way forward is bringing in a new manager.

You can't get in a new DoF right now because January window does not present an opportunity to overhaul the squad so, should we endure until the end of the season even when we have the chance to salvage the season? Talk to me bro...

ChristoBam:
Lmao, I'm just seeing this.

Are you even joking rn?

How are Madrid signings different from ours? You're really saying this?

Madrid select the best among the bunch and leave us dueling for the rest. We wanted Bellingham, Tchoameni and Camavinga. That's literally their midfield. We wanted those 3 and we couldn't even get close.

Asking how Amrabat and co are different from Madrid signings.

Don't start saying funny things because it's all out on Ten Hag for you.

You are just impossible...

Are those players the only ones in the world? Are they the best?

They're a lot of good players out there. Camavinga, Tchoameni and Bellingham were not signed by City, Liverpool, Inter, Bayern, Arsenal, Barca and the likes but they're still doing very well so, spare me with talk of "best among the bunch"...

As much as I despise the PDP especially when they held sway in hat state, I think we should critically examine the allegation they have brought forth.

We can still applaud Otti whilst ensuring he doesn't go off track...

nani667:
#TrashfordOUT
#TrashHagOUT
#SackTheFrauds
#KillTheBasterds

Ma Niqqa...Kill em all...

metodman:
I do not have a problem with sacking ETH.... But Arnold and Moutough must go first. Let a new DOF decide on our next manager. They can't try to absolve themselves by appointing another who they are still gonna sack. ETH might be a problem currently but he's not the main problem.

What's happening with the process of identifying talents, for example. I am 100% sure some of the players we bought were because of the media, fans etc. Most people were desperately putting out posts about Anthony, Onana, Amrabat etc. I think the only player most didn't agree on was Mount. The club wanted Poch but went for ETH cos of the media and fans. All these show me that we do not have football people running the club. It's so obvious that they do not really know what they are doing. They are simply learning on the job but without direction.

It was always gonna be difficult for ETH to perform here. He was always working in well-structured clubs and was always surrounded by people that would even say no to his requests, by going out for better players. When he arrived, he was allowed to do whatever he liked cos they wanted him to automatically bring his achievements here without considering the context. That's why we can not absolve him from the faults too. However. I know he will get a well-run club and will perform well. Currently he's like a fish outside it's natural habitat (water)... our water is complex and unnatural.


We need a change from the top!

If they had said no to his stupid request and somehow we still find our way to this point, y'all would've been slamming them for not getting the players he requested for.

When the board refused to get Mou his CB target in his last season at the club citing how he signed Lindelof and Bailly a year or two earlier, some Mou fans ripped the board apart. Now, you are saying that the board should have said no to ETH...

What exactly will they do to please some of you?

ETH takes the blame.

Ebukacute:
I lost my mom to the cold hands of death yesterday morning.... Omo I just can't get over this experience. Kai! Since yesterday night I have seen another side of life that I haven't experienced before.

My condolences bro...

Android17:
Mourinho the malignant cancer? Mourinho was one month away from dragging SAF before he was sacked. It seems you have forgotten how shameless he was.

If Mourinho was the one that had a fallout with Ronaldo and Sancho, we wouldn't hear the end of it.

Android17:
He could still get it. No matter how bad your form is, you are only out of the Carabao cup like City and now Arsenal. The league still has over 26 games to go for most clubs. Time still dey.

If we wanted someone that will get us results whilst playing horrible football then we could as well have kept Mourinho.

Android17:
He is making mistakes. No doubt. But even this current City that won a treble play almost nothing like Pep's Barca of 2008/09. The reason? The players are different.

Eric is overwhelmed because he is caught in-between winning anything anyway or taking his time to build the squad in a more organic way that could win or at least compete for a while. Would you have kept him if United played like BHA but finished at the same spot rather than third? Be honest.

The difference is that at United he is given money to spend, a lot of money.

If Brighton gives De Zerbi £400m over 3 windows, they'd demand for more. In our case, we are not really after trophies right now, a top four finish whilst improving the playing personnel and performances on the pitch is all we are after.

Android17:
You don't want to have the reputation of a football club that sacks its managers willy nilly. The stats back me in concluding that, a majority of those who are categorized as top performers in their RnRs will testify that, their achievements were corollary to gaining cognate experience on-their-job. That means learning from failure or is it failing forward they call it - will fall under that group - because there will always be downtime. That is how the bell curve goes.

My point is, don't sack Ten Hag during his bad patch. Other good managers will take note to avoid you because they know that a 2016/17 for Pep, 2022/23 for Klopp or his final season with Dortmund and so on can and will happen to any and every manager. It is part of continuous improvement. City gave Pep that chance and see how he is rewarding the club. Word is, he is going to extend his contract to stay beyond 10 years with the club. But I digress.

Suffer with Ten Hag and show him that he earned your trust because of last season. There is a good manager in there. We saw it with Ajax FC and with United just this past season. Otherwise, you will hire another manager of a lower quality unwittingly and repeat the vicious cycle.

We saw what Pep was building, it was recognizable from the very start, the same with Klopp...Can you say the same about ETH? Watch that Ajax team and Man Utd under ETH, do you see any similarities?

Why is it looking impossible for him to implement his ideas here even after supervising 3 transfer windows and spending over £400m?

As a coach, you don't command respect by being tough and all that, you earn respect by delivering results on the pitch. I think this was what Ronaldo was on about, for him, he is a proven winner everywhere he had gone so, it was funny to see a coach that has not achieved as much as he did demand respect from him rather than earn it.

Ronaldo won't do same to Pep.

I dare say that the day Pep will stop winning is the day a lot of players will begin to question his decisions openly. See how Cancelo questioned him and he axed him and showed he was right by winning the treble afterwards. Now, tell me why any player in that squad won't fall in line? When a manager that is delivering the goods each season talks, you just have to listen.

It took years for Ferguson to get to the level where he could take absolute charge of the dressing room, he got the results and every other thing followed.

ChristoBam:
Madrid sign the unarguably the best players in the world and expect instant results from that.

Definitely not the same at Man Utd.

See how you sneaked in "unarguably" just so you can trash our own signings when someone counters.

Let me check the best players they sign so we can test your logic, Mendy, Militao, Rudiger, Joselu, Bellingham, Modric, Camavinga, Tchoumeni etc.

How is it different from; Hojllund, Amad, Bruno, Onana, Martial, Amrabat, Di Maria, Sancho, Lisandro Martinez etc? I don't even want to add Mount and Antony who were requested by ETH himself...

Madrid are executing the season without a world class CF and are still dependent on Modric in midfield whilst their defence is injury ravaged but we don't hear a lot about it because they have a coach that knows what he is doing.

We have not even started. Go and check how many managers Madrid hired and fired even when they were challenging for the Spanish La Liga...They wanted the UCL and did not settle for less (La Liga) and it has paid off, you don't think so?