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So I guess it's started with Chelsea naming Frank Lampard as manager - how long do we think he'll be in the job?
I'm definitely having a fiver on him being the first Premiership manager to get the boot next season. Gone by Christmas, I reckon
He will get a bit of grace being a local hero and the fact is a transfer embargo.
However, if he isn't top 6 at Christmas he will probably go.
The problem they have is with the transfer embargo, who would want to manage there?
Better odds for Ole surely?
🙂
Nah... we're resigned to being a mid-table side by now 😉
At Chelski you can win the Champions League and still get sacked
It will be a good race - which club legend will get sacked first -
Ole or Frank?
Ole.
Ole or Frank?
Having the same conversation in the office. I think it is an absurd appointment - not nearly enough experience to manage a top club.
I agree with John Doh. He should have had at least another season at Derby.
I read somewhere Jody Morris is coming over too ,as assistant - who'd have thought he would be in line for the temp managers job.
I think Frank might actually do ok. Given the transfer ban he could not be joining at a better time in terms of being given some leeway by the owner. He is an intelligent guy and Morris has a great record at youth team level. I think that getting top 4 would be enough to keep him in the job.
I would back them to finish above United so if they can finish above Arsenal or Spurs then job done.
The battle between City and Liverpool will be fascinating. I think City will miss Kompany plus Silva and Fernandinho are not getting any younger. If KDB stays fit for the season then I think they will make it three in a row but I would not put any money on it at the current odds.
Frank is probably a bit too soon, but as above top 4 and into the knockout phase of the CL (I think Roman likes to rub shoulders with the big boys of European football) should keep him his job.
Frank will do just fine I think. Ole will struggle if Pogba throws his rattle out, which he probably will, plus his defence is average and he has no 20 plus a season striker. Liverpool need to remain injury free as do spurs. Whoever the toon employ will be the first to go, followed by the blades manager and the hammers manager when he gets an offer from China.
Macguire to Utd could be good for them if it goes through, I reckon. 70 mil seems like LOL money for a centre half who is evidently not a world class talent, but there are a lot of intangibles at that position. Tony Adams and Vincent Kompany were miles off world class ability but the first names on the team sheet, Steve Bruce as well going back a bit - bloke couldn't run ten yards. Macguire is good at a minimum and could step up and run the show.
Rumour mill says Maguire wants champions league football, and is very unsure about united being able to deliver. But he signed a new contract without a reasonable release clause, so may have priced himself out of a move to any other club, Leicester may be a better prospect for him to stay another year.
Rodri is a good signing for city, and is perhaps a lesson in not overpaying, if they had allowed themselves to get in a bidding war for Fred 18 months ago or Jorgino last year, and won they probably wouldn't have been in the market any more for someone who looks a much better player than those 2. I think they will take the same position on Maguire, 70 mill is too much, never mind going beyond that, he's a decent player, but even with current player inflation he isn't worth anything like the figures being bandied around.
I also think Frank will probably do OK at Chelsea, he always came across as being a bit smarter than the average player, and the timing is right to probably get a bit of leeway. They have a lot of quality young players there, I think they could surprise some, it's about getting the team ethics right, maybe dumping some of the old hands and blooding the youth, even if enforced, could really raise the team.
We won't get fooled again ..hah ..not much we won't..
Rafa's gone and as usual the masses are taken in by the fact that Ashley actually wants to sell the club ( what a fkn joke) ..
Perez at £30m is great business ..if it was re-invested ..but the fat lad will just trouser that..
Relegation ..here we come !
Season starts tonight, transfer window is clo9sed so no one is strengthening now, but some still might lose a player or 2 until other windows close.
Time for predictions
1 City
2 Liverpool
3 Spurs
4 Arsenal
Top 3 are kind of easy to predict really, Liverpool could win it, but I think city are more likely and by a bigger margin than last year probably by 6 or more points.
The race for fourth could be interesting, united, Chelsea and the gooners might get their acts together or could fail miserably, there is a real chance for Leicester wolves and Everton to further disrupt the status qua.
Well it’s be a typically mismanaged transfer window by Man U. Overpaid for a CB and did so too late for him to have a pre-season with them, good purchase at RB and then a punt with Dan James.
They’ve managed to get rid of their second best midfielder (Herrera), Fellani, Lukaku and not replaced them.
I read today the Glazers have taken a cumulative £1bn out of the club.
Tottenham have strengthened well so should be nailed on for third. Arsenal will have their usual blip so it’s them or Chelsea for 4th and Utd 5th or 6th
As above, Wolves are going to be interesting to watch. Everton could have pushed for top 4 if they’d managed to buy Zaha but they’re still a strong team
Change of mind since I posted a month ago ..
I really think we have had a good transfer window and might well surprise a few teams ..no way will we go down!
I'm not saying that we are going to be a top six side or anything daft like that..but we ( on paper at least ) have improved the squad ..with a lot of pace up front ..
I went up to Edinburgh to see the pre-season friendly against Hibs and was well impressed with Joelinton & Almiron up front and we've added Saint Maximin since then ...and of course Big Andy has come back home and Im over the moon that he has ..if ( and it might be a big if ) we can get him fit and keep him fit he could well turn out to be the bargain of the season ..
Sean Longstaff is pure class ..but long term I reckon his younger brother Matty will be the better of the two ..
Still feel the same about Ashley ..but he has gone a little way towards repairing things in this window ..
Rafa's gone ..and I'm actually warming to Steve Bruce
Howay The Lads ..
I’m looking forward to fighting it out for 6th or 7th
Once again our delightful owners and that * Woodward continue in their clueless, scattergun approach to transfers, while sucking hundreds of millions out of the club
They’re Mike Ashley with financial Tourette’s. Spaffing ludicrous sums on last minute desperate transfers
I pity Ole trying to polish this turd.
It’s going to be *ing embarrassing when Everton, Leicester and Wolves finish above us
Good business (for the Glazers) in getting £75m for Lukaka. Not so clever when it means Sanchez may need to play more!
@Binners..that made me laugh too😂.
Obviously re-signing Andy is a gamble ..but from what's been written he is on a pay as you play kind of deal and if this ankle surgery finally cures his injury woes we have nowt to lose and everything to gain ..
Realistically I don't think anyone is expecting him to play every week ..but fk.me even if he doesn't play a single game he is an upgrade already on that donkey Joselu ..😉
BBC on their annual ****fest over Liverpool again the last few days 🙄
When we had a quiet transfer window last year it was because we were in money trouble and manager/chairman disagreement, Liverpool do the same and according to BBC it's a smart thing to save money and keep the team together.
I'm going to try and stay away from news media as much as possible this season, social is nearly as bad with negativity from fans being the loudest voice.
Getting ready now to go to WHL later with my grandson to actually enjoy some footie.
COYS!
Just reading an interview with Ole and apparently Sanchez is nowhere near match fit. He must have tripped over the wheelbarrow his wages were delivered in.
Not that it’ll make any odds anyway. I’d have got rid of him before any other player. He’s absolutely hopeless! But we can’t, because who’d have him? So he’ll carry on draining the best part of half a mil a week out of the club. A great bit of business, that
I’m also half-expecting the icing on the cake being Pogba leaving before the European transfer window shuts
As you can tell, I’m really confident about this season
There’s only 2 teams in it again this season. I think city will edge it again. Spurs are nailed on for third.
Fourth? Arsenal, I reckon. Just because of the goals Aubamayang and Lacazette have got in them. That’s a quality strike force
After that it’s going to be a mix of us, Chelski, Everton, Wolves and Leicester, who could finish in any order
statements of intent from City and Liverpool, can anyone else put a marker down?
I was a bit amused by the var offside decision, they are using thinner lines than they used to, if they had used the old graphics, that would have been onside 🙂
Had a bet on city putting 3+ past West Haaaaaaaaam so I was most disgruntled by the VAR decision
Be interesting to see if Spurs batter Villa by a similar amount
I hate Villa! There’s no rational reason for this. I just remember the years of them loitering around at the bottom of premiership like a bad smell, while somehow just escaping being relegated. Time after time.
Under Paul Lambert they’d set out to grind our a nil nil draw every single game. Last game on MOTD every single week. A sort of non-football football. 11 men camped around their own box. I cheered when they finally went down, hopefully never to return.
And now John Terry is there...
Still hate them! I hope they go straight back down again
An interesting point raised by one of my United supporting mates...
He reckons that Liverpool are ****ed with VAR because they’ve always relied on getting so many referee decisions at Anfield.
I pointed out that as a United fan we might be on pretty thin ice here, but he’s got a point
I can see VAR being a big thing this season in who wins it
I can see VAR being a big thing this season in who wins it
What will be interesting is the difference in points between the top and bottom of the table and how that compares with previous seasons.
An interesting point raised by one of my United supporting mates…
He reckons that Liverpool are ****ed with VAR because they’ve always relied on getting so many referee decisions at Anfield.
I pointed out that as a United fan we might be on pretty thin ice here, but he’s got a point
I can see VAR being a big thing this season in who wins it
interesting that Anfeild and Old Trafford are the only grounds that won't be showing a clip demonstrating the reason for the var decision, it is as if they know they get a lot of decisions, and want to keep the crowd hostile to the referee.
for city i think it will be a good thing, over the past few years we have had a lot of offside decisions go against us, where actually the run was good. but the thing with the rules now, where they are told to let the play go on and check later, I can see it appearing to be a negative experience with some goals being disallowed for var checks, with many fans not realising we will get more goals that are just quickly checked and verified. having said that, we still got flagged for offside yesterday, when we shouldn't have been and it was a clear goal scoring opportunity.
City and Liverpool will end up miles ahead, maybe Spurs, Man U, Chelsea following 15 points behind, then a massive gap to everyone else. I think it's only a matter of time until the PL splinters and there is a pan European league. The situation is unsustainable.
The PL is no longer competitive - what's the point in turning up at your local club to see your side spanked 5.0 before half-time?
interesting that Anfeild and Old Trafford are the only grounds that won’t be showing a clip demonstrating the reason for the var decision, it is as if they know they get a lot of decisions, and want to keep the crowd hostile to the referee.
It could be that Liverpool don't have a screen?
The PL is no longer competitive
No longer????
During the fergie years no European domestic league was dominated as much as the epl by united. The notion that it has now become uncompetitive is frankly ludicrous,
we have had just 2 years of exceptional football by city (the year before guardiola was labelled as a flop), and 1 year by Liverpool, we might get it for a couple more years, but it will change.
Liverpool don’t have a screen. Neither do United.
I’m with MSP on the competitive thing. It comes in cycles.
It’s not long back that there was a period where it was all United or Arsenal. No-one else in it. That’s ancient history now. Now that’s City and Liverpool and the best United and Arsenal can hope for us fourth.
How many times did Chelski win it?
Did you miss the bit where Leicester won it, only a couple of seasons ago? 😉
It’s the most competitive league in the world, with the possible exception of the Championship, which is mental!
Teams like Wolves, Leicester and Everton are going to be mixing it up and taking points off the big boys this season
I’m enjoying this rather more than I thought I would 😃
Frank at the wheel!! Gone before bonfire night.
I’ve not been watching the game but the stats are odd for a 4-0 humping - Chelsea have more possession, shots and shots on target. 4-0 is 4-0 though!
Does Old Trafford still have the dugouts that look like they were built by a reliable but unimaginative Brickie in the 1990s?
Chelski’s defence were all over the shop in the second half.
4 nil flatters is, but we kept a clean sheet (not too many of those last season) and the new signings have hit the ground running
I’m not getting too exited just yet - we’re still way off Liverpool and City - but it’s a great start!
Loved all the united fans singing ‘Jose Mourhino’ at the end because they knew he was in the Sky pundits box 😂
Maguire doesn't look quite as expensive as he did this morning,it's a lot of money,but it's worth it not to have to watch Smalling etc.
A well deserved man of the match.
There’s not been many united defenders running the risk of that for quite a while
Doh!
Disappointed that Chelsea didn't put up more of a fight against Utd. They've let Utd go above us for the first time this season. We still look pretty nailed on to keep that 4th place though.
Someone just sent me this. It made me laugh so I thought I’d share...
A man finds an old lamp and gives it a rub. Out pops the genie and tells him that he will grant the man one wish.
"I want eternal life", says the man.
The genie explains that he can't fulfil that particular wish.
The man says, "OK then, I want to be there when Liverpool win the Premier league".
"You crafty bastard", says the genie.
😂
Think Ole might need to get them practicing penalties. Well... add that to the long list of stuff that needs sorting out
Looks like Arsenal might well be on for their traditional annual Anfield arse-kicking
Lols at the genie.
Norwich are good ,aren’t they?
Bobby Firmino is very impressive and my new man crush.
👍
Norwich seem to have taken the same approach as Wolves last season. Which can only ever be a good thing. They don’t care who you are, they’re going to go at you from the off
Brilliant game today. Had Chelski properly rattled in the first half. They'll do ok this season with that attitude
Binners - Ole needs to grow some balls on a few accounts. He needs to tell Lingard he is dropped, tell Mctominay to go to another club and learn to play football and then he needs to tell himself that having the above 2 players and Young in your team equals bang average. Having all that pace up front means we have become so predictable, no creativity behind it so play on the break. Sadly when the opposing team sit back we are screwed which explains why we had so many shots off target because we couldnt fashion anything clear cut.
Agreed. When Young is still making the starting line up, that tells you everything you need to know.
We still look like we did under Maureen. All the possession and zero creativity in Midfield apart from the odd inch perfect long ball from Pogba, which he seems to produce once every four games.
You watch Liverpool or City and every player is constantly looking for attacking options to tear into defences
The worst thing about Man U is the bench. Not a single game changing player to call on.
Wel, obviously the worst thing is the parasitic owners and inept management. Who did well this year at flogging Lukaku on deadline day, just in time to not be able to spend the cash on a replacement. They’ll give half the funds to Ole in jan and expect him to be grateful.
What have Man Utd and a three-pin plug got in common?
A: They're both of bugger-all use in Europe.
Brilliant result from the lads today ..straight out of the Rafa book of tactics ..
We need to build on that now ..but a 100% improvement on the game at Norwich last week ..
Pleased for Brucey ..
Well its a pretty sad day today around this neck of the woods. Bury FC is no more. Its difficult to see how a man who nonchelantly made the following statement to Five Live
“I never went to Bury...so for me to walk away from Bury and never go back is a very easy thing to do...I didn’t even know there was a football team called Bury. I’m not a football fan.”
to be deemed a 'fit and proper person' to run a football club by the EFL absolutely beggers belief, particularly when they've a string of failed businesses behind them and a reputation as an asset stripper.
Its going to be interesting to see what comes out about the clubs finances now. To say that the financing of the club that Dale put in place was dubious seems like something of an understaement. The guys who looked to buy it said they'd never seen 'financial structures' anything like it, but it was clearly not economically viable. It seems like the ground is now owned by some sort of opaque offshore trust
And Bolton is nearly gone too. A club that was in the Premiership and Europe not too long back, with another dodgy and shameless owner. Mrs Binners is a lifelong Bolton fan and I think, like most, seems to be resigned to them going the same way as Bury.
It all puts our Premiership-level whinging in perspective, but then the club I support is also owned by a bunch of chancers who don't give a toss about it as long as the money keep rolling in. When you've got the same principles appliesd to the lower league clubs I suspect there will be more potential expulsions in the offing
Champions League draw. Pretty good draw for the Premier League sides, esp City and Liverpool:
Group B: Bayern Munich, Tottenham, Olympiakos, Red Star Belgrade
Group C: Manchester City, Shakhtar Donetsk, Dinamo Zagreb, Atalanta
Group E: Liverpool, Napoli, Salzburg, Genk
Group H: Chelsea, Ajax, Valencia, Lille
Leicester fan here,
Noticed old slab head still likes getting caught miles out of position even when wearing a red t-shirt 🙂
A lovely bit of business all round
I think you’re right scandal42. He’s decent but the price! English player mark up? Promising young squad you’ve got, unless they get poached by the top 4.
Come on then all you home counties Utd fans, prediction for the weekend 🙂
I’m not from the Home Counties, but...
I've said right from the off that I think Leicester could well finish above us. Vardy seems to have hit his 2016 form again under Rodgers, whereas it’s difficult to see where our goals are going to come from, we’re so lacking up front
I can see Leicester getting a win on Saturday. What worries me is that it might be a quite comfortable one
Man city 5 up in 20 mins, that is quite a reaction.
Yep, having one fit centre half isn’t an issue when you can attack like that! Sterling was on the bench too!
On the strength of that performance, I think United need to be seriously worried about Rochdale in the league cup on Wednesday.
Absolutely woeful!
You look at the starting line up and wonder where the creativity is. A few players are out injured who would always start, Pogba, Shaw, maybe Martial, but the squad is thin.
Great eh?!
😉 👍
Kante is wasted at Chelsea.
The united squad isn't half as bad as made out, but playing for united is destroying the players. The years of success under Fergie has become so overblown and mythologised that it is being used to crush the life out of the current players by the fans, media and especially the ex players. I feel sorry for the current players, it is impossible for them to live up to the false utopia of the past.
It’d help if they actually turned up.
We know we’re a million miles off City and Liverpool, but that performance today wasn’t even worth describing as half-arsed. It was dire! Roy Keane summed it up perfectly
https://twitter.com/mufcscoop/status/1175787714391814144?s=21
And then he let rip about the recruitment policy, with Maureen sat next to him, which was quite amusing
The whole culture of the club is rotten to the core. We got rid of two strikers and didn’t replace them, leaving us now without a fit centre forward because it made sense for the balance sheet. That’s all that matters to the parasites running the club. They’re just Mike Ashley at a bigger club, with more money to leach
Have a think about that for a minute. Manchester United don’t have a single centre forward fit enough to start a game. How the hell does a club that size end up in that situation? It’s a ****ing joke!
Utd are starting to resemble City. City in 1996, that is. Without Shaun Goater.
It happens Binners, Liverpool did similar many times back in the day with buying and selling, us as fans just sat there shaking our heads at the decision.
Weeksy - we’re in exactly the same boat as you were when you had Stadler and Waldorf as owners. Until we’re shut of the Glazers and Woodward, we’re ****ed!
I said last season that we haven’t a hope of top four this year and that instead we’d be looking at teams like Leicester finishing above us
Aye, I hear ya mate. I think about some of them days, the players we bought and just shake my head in despair.
What I can never understand is, if the fans see it, the pundits see it, everyone sees it, then how can the manager not!
Whilst your lot may not have been in love with Lukaku, he was better than no option at all. I don't get it.
I don’t imagine Ole has any more say in the decisions taken at United than I do.
What manager would start a season with a squad so light? A couple of injuries away from having to play a mediocre midfielder as a centre forward? Having to bring a 17 year old on, when you’re trying to rescue a point, in the 80th minute, 2 goals down at West Ham. Seriously?
The people in charge, like Woodward, have no knowledge of football, and no interest. It’s just business. They might as well be selling washing machines.
As long as the money keeps rolling in, they couldn’t care less. As long as they continue, the club will be in terminal decline. We’ll be lucky to finish mid table.
On a more positive note they do look like getting a solid back 4 sorted in Shaw, Lindelof, Maguire and Wan Bissaka (although he’s a pretty defensive full back for the modern game). Added to de Gea that’s a good foundation. Just need a few hundred million for a creative midfielder and a couple of forwards and Pogba to sort his shit out.
Big game tonight! A titanic battle to see if either the 9th or 11th placed teams in the premiership can raise their game and challenge for the lofty, much-coveted last of the Europa League places, and the chance to fly to Uzbekistan on a Thursday evening?
Sky yesterday trying to build it up into the kind of match it used to be - with the footage of the Keane and Vierra day’s - just makes the lowly reality even more real
I am no lover of Man U, trust me, but...
It’s sad to see them in this state though. They have slipped into the second tier of teams despite spending massive amounts of money, old trafford now looks tired and dated, the infrastructure that served them so well is not fit for purpose anymore. And worst of all, the name no longer carries the weight that it used to.
They ought to be a European giant. They currently hold less allure than Leicester. It speaks volumes that I was rooting for my team (Oxford) to be drawn against them in the next round of the league cup. Not for the payday, more for the very real chance of turning them over on a cold, rainy night in Oxfordshire.
I'll tell you how bad it's got. Last week I put a bet on that Rochdale would be level with us after 90 minutes. The 20 quid I won when that actually happened wasn't much consolation for the pitiful performance I had to endure. Against Rochdale! At Home! And it's not like he put 'the kids' out. That's our first team!
I've been saying for ages we're a million miles off City and Liverpool, but I watched Leicester yesterday and we're some considerable way off them too. I predicted this would happen this season, that we'd have squads like Leicester would comfortably finish above us. Right now we'll be lucky to finish above Burnley. They've got a better squad. They're certainly more entertaining to watch
We'll get absolutely battered tonight. Arsenal's defense is almost as ropey as ours nowadays, but they're two awesome strikers. We'll probably be starting with a mediocre midfielder as a center-forward as that's our only available option
Talk about comedy management.
Hey Binners. You'll be able to compare your lot against Leicester when you play Newcastle United next weekend. I don' think you'll get five but we'll certainly get nil 🙁
I might have a bet on that finishing 0-0 then. And I watched the match yesterday and saw how absolutely woeful you were, but right now thats the level we're at too.
Its got 'last game on Match of the Day' written all over it
not wishing to pile it on but more here (Yossarian appears to have read it as well)
Yeah, I’d read that. It’s bang on! It’s what we’ve all been saying since the Glazers took over. It was inevitable we’d end up in this state. The club has effectively been asset-stripped by them.
Fergie papered over the cracks for a while, but once he’d gone it’s just been steady, rudderless decline on the pitch
And as long as the money keeps rolling in, the owners couldn’t care less.
They’re just the same as Mike Ashley, just playing around with larger amounts of cash