English Premier League Thread II

Sage said:

Conte

GOAT

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Jasper said:

Chelsea Calcio

Conte.

Is Luiz now a pwoppa defendah?

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Goodfella said:

No, he's a Bonucci.

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Jasper said:

molto creaty indeed ... where do the clean sheets originate? Kante?

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Jasper said:

molto creaty indeed ... where do the clean sheets originate? Kante?

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joyrider said:

660min clean sheet courtois.

And some people said that de gea was good.

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adit said:

wow Liverpool at the top of the table, they are surely on fire

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joyrider said:

660min clean sheet courtois.

And some people said that de gea was good.

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KujaIX said:

Who did they sign? Just Jannsen and Sissoko?

Sissoko is a runner and nothing else. You could have a torso on a string that would achieve as much as he does.

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Massaro94 said:

Both are good bro.

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The beginning

Louis Van Gaal was deeply unpopular with the players. Everything was a battle between them and him, they found him distant and aloof. It had got to the stage where players were deliberately not following tactical plans or orders laid out by the Dutchman. There were negative stories planted in the press about how certain players were nowhere near as good as they could be under his style of management. Certain players had begun bypassing him completely, taking their complaints straight to the board. Van Gaal was completely undermined.

Whilst it is easy to then feel sorry for Louis he does not deserve sympathy as he largely created his own problems. Placating and pandering to the likes of Wayne Rooney when the captain begun to imagine himself as the new Paul Scholes. Allowing Bastian Schweinsteiger to be a part time Manchester United player (this caused a LOT of resentment). The micro management of players on the pitch. Apparently no player was allowed to hit a ball first time, they had to take a touch then shoot. They had their heads filled with so much information that they felt unable to perform at all. Ander Herrera was often dropped from the team for consistently failing to do what was asked of him by the coaching staff. The Spaniards argument was that he should be allowed to play it as he saw it and be trusted to make his own decisions, within the general plan.

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The Signings

Quick question for you, who signed Luke Shaw and Herrera? Louis Van Gaal right? Wrong! Van Gaal had said that it would be his final job when managing the Dutch national team. He certainly wasn’t spending his time scouting players at Southampton, just in case a club job came up. The United job fell into his lap and due to commitments at the World Cup it meant that Louis wouldn’t be able to concentrate solely on United till very late in the summer. United had already scouted and prepared the deals for Luke Shaw and Ander Herrera. Van Gaal was told that the club lacked midfielders and and had no left back but that those two deals were ready to rectify that. He agreed. It’s fair to say that when he worked with both players he was completely underwhelmed. The first few months of his reign were taken up with criticism of Luke Shaw in particular. He did not fit the model of what Van Gaal expected from his full backs at all. To Shaw’s credit he worked hard on his fitness and all round game and its a minor tragedy that when he did begin to finally win over the manager he suffered such a terrible injury.

Herrera, as we already explained, was not to the managers liking at all. Time and again he was rebuked for chasing the ball and ending up ahead of the play. Behind the scenes Herrera likes a moan too. The Spanish contingent at United are a very tight bunch. Upset one and you upset them all. Its fair to say that the way Van Gaal dealt with the De Gea situation, accusing him of not being mentally right to play, upset them all.

Whilst on the subject of the Spaniards, we only found out last week that Juan Mata wasn’t a David Moyes signing either. Again that was one of Ed Woodwards. If you doubt this then you need to take it up with Ed because he was the one that briefed the press that it was the case.

Now whilst we are delighted that Ed wants to spend the Glazers ill gained cash on players then it has to be left to the manager at the time to decide incomings and outgoings. Or you end up with a situation, like we currently have, where the squad boasts enough ‘number 10’s’ to fill a minibus and yet barely enough full-backs to fill a motorcycle.

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The German

Bayern Munich realised that Bastian Schweinsteiger had become a much better captain than he was a footballer. Unable to command a place in the first choice Bayern midfield anymore, this presented a problem. A national icon and still important to Germany, the Bavarian club snapped United’s hand off. Bastian came to United distracted and unfit. He said all the right things, he is a good captain after all, but actions speak louder than words.

The United players were concerned. Schweinsteiger came with an injury and carrying a bit of weight. Instead of doing anything to rectify either of those situations the German seemed to spend an inordinate amount of time in Germany. Often flying back straight after games. When he was unable to play due to injury then he would spend weeks on end in his homeland.

He was deeply disliked amongst the other players. They saw him as abandoning ship at a difficult time. Worse, he was clearly a favourite son of Van Gaal and could have conveyed some of the squads concerns to the manager about some of the more unpopular practices. Instead he said and did nothing apart from clock up some frequent flyer airmiles following his now wife, the tennis player Ana Ivanovic, around the womens tennis tour! That Van Gaal allowed this, whilst ruling others with a rod of iron, helped seal his fate. Senior players went to the board and to the press and voiced how unhappy they were with Schweinsteiger.

When Jose Mourinho was appointed as United manager he inherited the Schweinsteiger problem. Here was a player that he apparently rated and wanted to work with but that was deeply unpopular with his colleagues. At that stage Mourinho was keen to get the squad on his side. Sidelining the German would be very popular with the other players. We believe it went further though, that the board had said we want him off the wage bill. This would explain the very unusual step of writing off Schweinsteiger’s value in the figures announced by the club

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The captain

Whilst Bayern Munich had correctly identified and moved on their captain when his ability on the football field waned, United persisted with theirs.

The sad fact is that Wayne Rooney’s best days are long behind him. This hasn’t been a sudden decline but a steady deterioration over a number of seasons. Maybe Fergie realised this when he tried to force Rooney out just before he himself left.

The thing that comes up most often when Rooney’s name is discussed is why, or how he has been indulged for so long? To put it simply ‘Wazza’ is hugely popular with the other players. He’s a good laugh, he sticks up for the other members of the squad when they have a gripe and he’s seen as a real leader. Despite criticism of his performances he never shirks an interview and is a focal point for stick from fans and the media. Players aren’t daft. They know that once Rooney goes then that attention he gets will focus more on some of their abject performances. Ever heard of turkeys voting for Christmas?

Again, Mourinho inherited this situation. He wanted to get Rooney and Michael Carrick on his side, they are the key to winning over the squad. Mourinho set about making training more fun, the key thing that the whole club lacked under Van Gaal. He awarded the players a set day off every week, a move that was hugely popular. So far so good. Very quickly though Mourinho realised that Rooney was now a better captain than he was a footballer. Matters reached a head after the game at Watford. Rooney and Rashford supposedly clashed over an interview the youngster gave saying he could play in the number 10 role, currently being occupied by Rooney. Then reports appeared in the papers saying the players were unhappy with the remarks Mourinho had made about Luke Shaw and that the Portuguese was never at training. This was the ultimate stab in the back for Mourinho, he’d bent over backwards to support the senior players at the start and now they were going behind his back to the press. Whereas Moyes and Van Gaal had persisted with Rooney, scared of his influence with the other players and the press, Mourinho is determined to get him out now. If a club can be fixed up for him he’ll be gone in January.

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China and confidence

Another inherited problem for Mourinho. The tour of China.

To put it politely the whole thing was a shambles. Training and playing arrangements were poor. Anyone would think it was organised by someone with no knowledge at all of what players require… hint, kerching, hint. It meant that United started the season completely unfit and unprepared for the tests ahead. Jose tried to address this the best that he could and, for a short while, his influence was enough to propel the squad forward. As soon as United were outplayed by Manchester City though the new found confidence completely collapsed. With the Europa League campaign kicking in at the same time it has left Mourinho with no free time to work on his players fitness or organisation. The schedule currently is play, recover, prepare for the next opponent, play, recover etc. Sadly many players have reverted to type and mentally gone missing. The manager was embarrassed and ashamed at the lack of fight displayed at Chelsea. He has been quick to point out since then that this is not his squad. Names have been taken and the first chance he gets then those scores will be settled.

He knows that he cannot say that United fans have to lower expectations etc. It was a killer for Moyes and Van Gaal, a sign that both were waving the white flag. Instead Mourinho talked of his isolation in Manchester and how this was not the life he wanted for himself. He was pleading to the United fans to stick with him because this is not yet the Mourinho they had been expecting. He knows that he cannot trust these players, they will not fight for him. At the moment he is rendered impotent by their incompetence and lack of desire. Even new additions like Mkhitaryan have shown an alarming soft centre. When the Armenian broke down and demanded a transfer after his substitution in the Manchester derby he was consigned to the scrapheap. How can you trust a player like that away at Chelsea or Liverpool?

From the outside it is easy to say that Mourinho should be getting more from these players. The truth is that nobody, not even Sir Alex Ferguson could. These are players that have found that they can extend their stay at Old Trafford by forcing out managers. They have become professionals in passing the blame, scoring points in the press and shooting at the guy in the dugout.

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Jose Mourinho has not ‘treated the German disgracefully’ nor has he ‘backed down’ or been ‘forced’ to take Bastian back into the fold.

It is in fact a sign that Mourinho is winning the inner battles at Old Trafford with the players and the board.

When the Portuguese took over as United manager he was briefed, very firmly, that Schweinsteiger was ‘persona non grata’. After joining United at the beginning of the season the German midfielder had quickly upset his colleagues and the hierarchy at Old Trafford.

Although he was signed for a relatively small fee, Bastian is on very good wages. He arrived not fit and did very little to change that situation. In fact, every opportunity he got he disappeared back to Germany and spent much more time following his wife around the tennis tour than he did concentrating on his own day job. The feeling amongst many at Old Trafford was that Schweinsteiger saw United as very lucrative retirement home. He displayed none of the leadership qualities that had made him captain of Bayern Munich and the German national team. The players found him very difficult to get along with, hardly surprising given that he spent much of his downtime in a different country. Senior players used their line of communication to the board to complain about Schweinsteiger’s behaviour and lack of commitment. Bizarrely, that line of communication was used in the main to complain about Louis Van Gaal and here they were, also complaining about a signing of an old friend of Van Gaal’s that was showing a complete lack of respect towards him.

The board took the decision, before Mourinho’s official unveiling that Schweinsteiger was to be moved on. They wanted his wages off of the balance sheet and it was a popular decision amongst the rest of the squad.

What appears to have changed is that the rest of football are unwilling to spend their money on a player that spends his Saturday afternoons tweeting his support to United. Very good player yes, fit and match ready no. There is a much better chance of the player being moved on in January if he can be seen to be playing to a decent level instead of composing tweets. Schweinsteiger’s contract with United runs until June 2018.

It is our belief though that Mourinho will actually give the German a go at supporting Paul Pogba in the United midfield. There were rumours in the foreign press that Mourinho had said he rated Schweinsteiger very highly during his time in isolation. Bastian would, on paper, look to provide the perfect balance of sitting deep and anchoring whilst Pogba was allowed to go and get involved further up the field.

This is also a sign that Mourinho is no longer placing as much value on the input of Wayne Rooney and Michael Carrick. They were very much the mouthpiece of the squad and would certainly have played a part in suggesting that Schweinsteiger be binned. There were supportive messages on other players social media about the 32 year olds return so Mourinho must have certainly discussed it with them beforehand.

We think Mourinho should be applauded for being strong enough to say that this is a player he feels he can get something out of so he should be given a chance to work with him, despite what others may think or say.

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Lost to Watford on Sunday 18th September. It is fair to say that both players had contrasting afternoons. Rashford, making one of his first starts of the season, scored the United equaliser. Rooney was widely derided for a poor performance. Some fans even went as far as to make a mini blooper reel of all his bad touches and misplaced passes.

On the 19th September Rashford gives an interview to the press in which he says he would like to play in the number ten position behind a striker. The role that was currently occupied by Rooney and allegedly the captain feels it is disrespectful that Rashford would openly talk about taking his place. Rooney finds out on either the same day, or when the papers come out on the 20th of September. He then pins Rashford up against a wall and threatens him. This is apparently witnessed by other players.

Now the interesting thing here is that the rumour simply refuses to go away. Rashford has stayed tight lipped on it, when a simple denial would have put the matter to bed. Rooney has gone as far as seeking out his new best buddy, Neil Custis of The Sun, to bring the matter up and say it never took place. Rooney hasn’t been considered a first team starter since then. Again, is this for footballing reasons or is there more to it?

One thing we do know that has bemused the management at United is the way Rooney has sought to stand out from the rest of the squad since he was dropped. When the team warm up and wear white tops, Rooney wears red. If the team wear red then Rooney wears white. Granted, its hardly the most extreme protest but the message seems to be clear that he wants to stand out.

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Az. said:

Would be awesome if Liverpool somehow won the league

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