The Football Thread 2018-19 - This is the end.

[Preezy]

Lingard had that good spell at the start of the year (was it?) but that's been shown to be the exception not the rule. He's not up to scratch, I don't care if he's an academy product, that shouldn't be enough to keep him in the team.

[Denster]

Lingard was superb last season and at the World Cup. He hasn’t had the game time this season. Stop chatting gooseberry fool.

[Preezy]

Lingard was superb last season and at the World Cup. He hasn’t had the game time this season. Stop chatting gooseberry fool.

In the Prem this season:

Appearances - 8 (5 starts)
Goals - 0
Assists - 0
Shots - 11
Shots on target - 3
Passes per match - 24.5
Crosses - 10
Crossing accuracy - 10%
Through balls - 0

[Luboluke]

Writing players off at this level is just daft, a new manager could come in and completely revitalise his career. Look at Barkley, just the most recent example of a phenomenon which happens all the time in football. Brendan Rodgers has done it several times over at Celtic.

I'm not a United fan, but the fact he's local should count for something imo, I see it all the time - fans saying academy products are not good enough, when in actual fact circumstances just haven't worked out for them yet. For some players they never do, that's football. It's just not true that you have to be an established first team player producing by the time you're 21 to become a great, or even an important player for the club. Fair enough if you think they have never shown any ability, but the examples of Rashford and Lingard I believe are talented players. Remember we're talking about Mourinho here, a legendary manager but has never been one to develop talent.

[Denster]

So less than 50% of starts in games. Like I said. Lingard, Rashford Martial and Now Fred are all victims of the fact that Mourinho doesn’t know his best 11 or how to utilise them.

Lingard brings an awful lot to our game and he’s the easy target (as is Rashford) when we don’t play well. Herrera being poor and he and Matic losing possession a lot cost us in Sunday. As did Mourinho utilising then as twin man markers. We had no link between midfield and the front three. That’s why Rashford and Lingard were ‘poor’ because they got strawberry float all quality ball played to them.
The issue of Rashford’s finishing is still a good point but he’s still very young at 21.

Both he and Lingard need a continued run in the team to build confidence and competence. Look what happened to Martial since he started playing regularly.
Until they’re utilised properly it is harsh to point at them as scapegoats.

It will continue though.

[Preezy]

They're not scapegoats if they're just 2 of a host of players that are underperforming.

De Gea - doing the best he can
Young - shite
Valencia- shite
Dalot - vanished
Smalling - shite
Jones - dead
Rojo - dead
Lindelof - getting better
Shaw - decent
Mctominay- vanished
Matic - shite
Pogba - mixed
Herrera- mixed
Fellaini - decent
Fred - free pass
Mata - hero
Lingard- shite
Martial - class
Sanchez - shite
Lukaku - shite
Rashford - shite
Anyone I've missed - probably shite

Just my opinion, of course. Perhaps I'm being too harsh, but I'm sick of the mediocrity.

[Return_of_the_STAR]

I’m absolutely convinced that a different manager could get something decent out of this united team.

[Preezy]

Moyes couldn't. LVG couldn't. Jose isn't.

[Tomous]

Moyes couldn't. LVG couldn't. Jose isn't.

Not exactly the same squad though is it, Jose has spent and added some big players.

[Preezy]

Let the sack race begin!

Fulham have sacked manager Slavisa Jokanovic and immediately replaced him with Claudio Ranieri.

https://www.football365.com/news/dilly-ding-dilly-dong-jokanovic-gone-welcome-ranieri

[Drumstick]

Inevitable.

[Tomous]

Out of all the teams struggling, Fulham seem to be the one easiest to turn around. They have goals in them, their defence is just all over the place. Stop them conceding so many and I think they'll have enough to stay up.

[Photek]

Moyes couldn't. LVG couldn't. Jose isn't.

Not exactly the same squad though is it, Jose has spent and added some big players.

Well, Manu supporters will keep pointing to the fact that each new manager has to bring in his own players thus the ludicrous sums of money spent on average players. This points to an inherent problem at the clubs set up. If Manu sack Jose, the next manager will want to bring in his own players and so on.

The club should have sacked Jose as soon as they decided to not go for his targets, sure, it wasn't guaranteed to work but leaving things in this odd middle ground in which he got half his targets has lead to whats happening. The worst thing about it all is that City and Liverpool have being doing the exact opposite, backing their managers as much as they can while believing in them and their systems.

Within this are monumental gaffes of course, Sanchez is the premier leagues highest paid player and he wouldn't get into any of the top 6 teams, not even close to them. Matic has ended up declining due to age and Lukaku isn't a striker at the same level as those around them bar maybe Chelsea. I honestly do feel though, that if Pogba and Martial were playing under Poch, Klopp or Pep they'd be playing better than they are currently.

[Denster]

They're not scapegoats if they're just 2 of a host of players that are underperforming.

De Gea - doing the best he can
Young - shite
Valencia- shite
Dalot - vanished
Smalling - shite
Jones - dead
Rojo - dead
Lindelof - getting better
Shaw - decent
Mctominay- vanished
Matic - shite
Pogba - mixed
Herrera- mixed
Fellaini - decent
Fred - free pass
Mata - hero
Lingard- shite
Martial - class
Sanchez - shite
Lukaku - shite
Rashford - shite
Anyone I've missed - probably shite

Just my opinion, of course. Perhaps I'm being too harsh, but I'm sick of the mediocrity.

I think the last paragraph is telling. I do think that is the case. I share your nausea if it helps. If I don’t share all your opinions.

[7256930752]

Moyes couldn't. LVG couldn't. Jose isn't.

Not exactly the same squad though is it, Jose has spent and added some big players.

Well, Manu supporters will keep pointing to the fact that each new manager has to bring in his own players thus the ludicrous sums of money spent on average players. This points to an inherent problem at the clubs set up. If Manu sack Jose, the next manager will want to bring in his own players and so on.

The club should have sacked Jose as soon as they decided to not go for his targets, sure, it wasn't guaranteed to work but leaving things in this odd middle ground in which he got half his targets has lead to whats happening. The worst thing about it all is that City and Liverpool have being doing the exact opposite, backing their managers as much as they can while believing in them and their systems.

Within this are monumental gaffes of course, Sanchez is the premier leagues highest paid player and he wouldn't get into any of the top 6 teams, not even close to them. Matic has ended up declining due to age and Lukaku isn't a striker at the same level as those around them bar maybe Chelsea. I honestly do feel though, that if Pogba and Martial were playing under Poch, Klopp or Pep they'd be playing better than they are currently.

If Sanchez came back he might perform at the level he was playing at before he left

[Benzin]

Was kinda hoping Fulham would hold fire a little bit longer there, Ranieri could be the right sort of change needed...

[Denster]

Photek showing amazing 20/20 tinted hindsight vision there.

But a valid point is in there somewhere.

[Moggy]

Let the sack race begin!

Fulham have sacked manager Slavisa Jokanovic and immediately replaced him with Claudio Ranieri.

https://www.football365.com/news/dilly-ding-dilly-dong-jokanovic-gone-welcome-ranieri

twitter.com/garylineker/status/1062646047632166913

[PES Fan]

Lingard was superb last season and at the World Cup. He hasn’t had the game time this season. Stop chatting gooseberry fool.

In the Prem this season:

Appearances - 8 (5 starts)
Goals - 0
Assists - 0
Shots - 11
Shots on target - 3
Passes per match - 24.5
Crosses - 10
Crossing accuracy - 10%
Through balls - 0

He has not scored in around 20 games too, which is shocking.

Besides Panama he wasn’t that great at the World Cup. Englands attack besides set pieces was ordinary at the World Cup. Sterling at times had his moments. Kane just didn’t look 100%.

Lingard is just a poor player overall. He offers very little threat going forward. His pace is awful, whenever he’s through I expect him to be caught. Running around a lot doesn’t mean you should start. Park ran around a lot too but was miles better than Lingard in every aspect. For all this talk of hardworking he barely helps the fullback anyway. Nani on his worst day offered more attacking output than Lingard. Watching a winger just pass it sideward constantly and refuse to take on his man 99% of the time is infuriating.

A new manager would get more out of Lukaku, Pogba, Sanchez and Martial. But he’s not going to turn Smalling into Rio or Jones into Vidic.

The alarming fact is Mourinho wants to offer Young and Valencia new contracts which the club seem happy to do. I been saying since 2012 that these two clowns should have been shown the door. Them along with Jones and Smalling signalled the beginning of our mediocrity.

As for Rashford, we seen it before where young players have a good start to their career and then disappear. Mourinho is not responsible for his lack of first touch or hold up play when he plays as a striker. Or him running the ball out of play when he’s wide. This is basic stuff. His finishing is awful. The more annoying aspect is when he hogs the ball or just stands still with it before doing his kick and run technique. There’s time where the ball hogging cost us like Brighton last season where he could have squared to Martial easily.

If he was at City he could have easily followed the route of Iheanacho. Solanke under Klopp has hardly been impressive. I just don’t see it with Rashford. With Martial you can see the difference when he’s up front or out wide. He has better close control of the ball and can actually hold the ball up. A more attacking manager would improve Martial by getting him to run without the ball and into more dangerous positions.

I wouldn’t start Rashford or Lukaku up front until they show signs that they actually look threatening. I would try Sanchez or Martial up top.

[Denster]

Agree with a good bit of that. Young and Valencia shouldn’t be offered any more deals now.
Jesus.