Liverpool have 2nd sewn up - EPL 2018/19

There were a couple of early performances from Lukaku (admittedly on a US tour) where he looked quick and strong on the shoulder of the last man and it looked like he was going to develop into something. He's since had the life sucked out of him by the general gloom over Utd.

It does seem to be structural. Like, the same sluggish, sludgy football whoever the manager, the sense of fear on the pitch, the lack of direction in the boardroom. This is a stretch but it's either a) someone needs to come in and exorcise the ghost up in the stands (it's Hamlet's dad, essentially) or ii) it's a bit like Paul Gilroy's concept of post-colonial melancholia. They need a war.

well, the optimism lasted almost an entire work day

its managerial, completely and utterly

There doesn't seem to be anyone above the level of the manager who knows anything about football, so they've had three dour negative appointments in a row, even though it's the last thing the fans want. The overall level of squad-building is incoherent, they have like six very good wide forwards, they've made one super-expensive marquee signing a year with minimal attention to less glamorous positions on the pitch. I think that stuff precedes Mourinho but he's made the absolute worst of a bad job. Maybe Fergie just ran the club from top to bottom and no one else has a clue, but there isn't really a reason why a better manager with a different philosophy couldn't be getting a lot more from even the existing squad.

yup to all that

lol to phelan and ole. wtf. fc united fans would prob raise eyebrows at that.

?

i just mean it would be a p underwhelming appointment even as caretakers.

Phelan is pretty much the definition of underwhelming, I’d agree. I’d be fairly happy with Solskjaer, though, as a temporary thing. There’s not really much to lose at this point: finishing top four would be a miracle and there’s next to no chance of getting relegated.

i guess even compared to carrick it seems a risk

maybe not i suppose - i dunno, the whole idea of end of season caretaker is odd in itself.

out of season caretaker obv a risky bet also

some truly brutal pens in the Carabao

bring back stands

amused that in some circles Solskjaer is seen as a less risible possibility than Bruce or Hughes

aye, Hughes would let the sunshine in again alright

i can barely remember if Solksjaer has a managerial style. i'm obv not saying Hughes or Bruce are remotely likely, but it's not like their managerial chops are any more questionable than Solskjaer's

yeah but they're both cunts

I'm not turning cartwheels about this appointment but I would have been happy enough with Carrick and McKenna til the end of the season tbh (considering it's almost a total write-off at this point). Getting in a dour PL journeyman would be a horrible move. At least this is somewhat left field. I mean, fuck it

nah i agree with all that, i was just listening to former professionals laughing at the notion of Bruce/Hughes (obviously correctly) but then getting all up in Solskjaer's rear

at least Carrick/McKenna would have some logic of potential continuity to it, this is like a post-shark jump sitcom bringing in a very special guest who turns out to be not so very special

baby faced shark jumping do do do do do do

Hey Manchester United, I’m available

— Alan Curbishley (@AlansAvailable) December 18, 2018

I presume the thinking here is that it would essentially be impossible for the Utd fans to turn on wee Ole

let's find out

yeah i agree with nv. i think there's a hint of politics about this - real pragmatism would have been carrick who is already working there. this feels like hunting some cheap soft power.

xpost that's definitely it, which to me coming from woodward and co seems cynical.

trying to think of any united players that went on to become decent managers, help me out here

Phil Neville seems to be doing ok

George Graham won some titles.

Blanc is definitely the most successful to have played under Fergie, although he barely counts

oh, good shouts! robson had a couple of great seasons at boro i guess but a bit iffy after that

Robson one of the worst managers in my lifetime at that level

Mind you I didn't much care for him as a player so

apart from his highlights: winning the Skol Skol Bloodaxe league a couple of times years ago and being much more useless than Warnock at Cardiff, Solksjaer seems like another ex-player stealing a living to me. I wouldn't fucking wish him on Bradford City tbh!

ended up in an ex-man u player google hole but... is it just me who had never heard this?

Philip Patrick Stephen Mulryne, OP (born 1 January 1978) is a Northern Irish Dominican friar and priest in the Roman Catholic Church, and retired professional footballer. Born in Belfast, he started his career at Manchester United before playing more than 150 games for Norwich City and was a Northern Ireland international.

Steve Coppell?

SOLSKJAER/PHELAN CONFIRMED

KEANO IN AT CENTRE MID

Philip Mulryne refuses to rule out mass for new duo!

"I know what age he is, Ole, but did you even watch the Pally DVD"

PHELAN RULES OUT LONGER SHORTS

not ruling out h/t oranges with a cup of tea though!

I know Twitter is not the best barometer but the United fans appear to be absolutely lapping this shit up

might as well put on brave face on when everyone is laughing at you. God, some of those entitled dickheads on 5live yesterday talking all that Utd way bollox yesterday reminded why I fucking despise this club.

in a way hating the whole club makes you the truest manchester united fan of all

that's could almost be a grave insult, but obv contains some truth as well! But don't forget fans of every other club in the football league don't have quite have that preternatural desire to see pretty football and see their club winning games like utd fans do. Because that's the Utd way.

Do Burnley fans want to see pretty football?

not since the Stan Ternent days when they signed Gazza!

i think wanting to watch decent football is completely fair, not wanting to watch Moyesball or Mouball is more than fair

that's the united way when they're losing but if mou had them one nilling their way to a title nobody would give a shit. it's not as if there were never seasons like that under fergie.

xpost

god knows i have PTSD from a lot of our pre-Nuno years