It was a fantastic goal, marvelous, We are top of the League and it’s where you want to be. The players’ CHARACTER is helping, you saw that today.
Ferguson on Ruud van Nistelrooy’s solo goal against Fulham, March 2003
It’s Spring 2003, exactly a week after St Patrick’s day, Fresh from watching van Nistelrooy bamboozle Saha & co at Old Trafford, the day i became a Red. Sir Alex Ferguson made that statement in the Post game Interview & one particular word stroke me as I looked back – CHARACTER – Manutd players had it in abundance those days, but this current crop are totally Oppugnant of what we were once familiar with.
As a kid, playing football with the lads in school was fun if you were a Red, we had the luxury of trying to copy the swagger of David Beckham or the tenacity of Roy Keane. Kids these days get to see Jesse Lingard play weekly, make of that what you will.
Growing up, it was almost impossible not to see a back four of Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic & Patrice Evra. Nowadays, we have heated debates on if Luke Shaw is a better left back than Ashley Young. A large Majority of 90’s kids have their best night as Manutd fans to be the Moscow 2008 UEFA Champions League Final. Imagine watching the game with lads who were all wishing Wayne Rooney broke his legs in the Pre-game warm up? That was how much we were hated, we were the best in the land. I remember the dexterity Owen Hargreaves had on the ball in that game, can you ever forget the Wes Brown cross to Cristiano Ronaldo, as he kept Petr Cech’s boots stuck on Russian Soil? Nowadays, I look forward to Marcus Rashford hitting disabled Fans at Stretford End with his Free kicks.
Just before the start of the current season, you may have seen keywords like “#GlazersOut” or “Five key Questions” trending, that’s because good Reds are fed up of how their club is managed. Thanks to an Article by Michael Tunstall (@TFwriter) on Twitter. I got to actually confirm that the bulk of the 2008 European Cup winning team were signed Pre-Glazer. The likes of Cristiano Ronaldo. Gabriel Heinze, Wayne Rooney, Mikael Silvestre, Louis Saha & Gerard Pique all arrived before Malcom thought of any other Franchise to run to the ground other than the Tampa Bay Bucaneers. The Sheikh Mansour Family have invested more than a billion pounds into Manchester City since 2008, while records show the Glazer family have done virtually the opposite.
May 2013, the month Romelu Lukaku scored a hat-trick at the Hawthorns against us, a 5-5 draw with West Brom. Sir Alex said he’s gonna draw the kitchen curtains to a close at season’s end. We did not see it at the time, but David Gill joining him was a much more underestimated loss. With both of them leaving, there was a power vacancy at Old Trafford. You would have seen a guy on suit at the 2013 Title celebration photos standing next to erstwhile assistant coach, Rene Meulesteen, that person is Ed Woodward. Would you allow your kid walk down a dangerous alley filled with wild animals? That’s what happened when Ed Woodward was made CEO & given total control of Manchester United football Club. His first summer at the helm was a sexy disaster. Marouane Fellaini was deemed the spark David Moyes needed to deliver number 21. Ridiculous yeah? Ultimately Moyes was given the boot with his contract expiring finally in June this year. A quote on social media had Ed saying this in 2015…
When supporters see the name, Bastian Schweinsteiger on the team sheet, that should send shivers down their spine.
A signing three years too late, ignoring the fact that he was a player in steep decline, no longer capable of performing at a world class level. Ed Woodward has overseen the transfer outlay of over £850 Million spent (not from the glazers’ pockets mind you) overpaying for flops or big names who don’t fit the Manager’s Identity or Average players who are only interested in the Silver spoons abundant in the kitchens of Carrington. I find it strange that we’ve just replaced Rafael da Silva in big 2019.
Jose Mourinho may have been an unpopular appointment, but he is still the most successful manager we’ve had since Sir Alex called it a day. He made it clear on BeIN sports that finishing 2nd with a team that had Two failed wingers at full back & Jesse Lingard at right wing may be his greatest ever achievement.
Ole made it clear after the defeat to Everton, that many of the current crop of players won’t be part of the squad this season. So far Lukaku, Herrera, Alexis, Darmian, Valencia & Smalling have all left Old Trafford for pastures new. The only downside is not all of them have been replaced. Yes, Maguire is an excellent signing for us, he’ll certainly improve a Defense that’s been shaky at best for a while, However we cant help but wonder why Woodward paid over £80 million for him when he was available for almost half the price a summer ago. Thus costing the club an extra £30 million. Since then a £20 million pay off to Jose and his staff along with losses of around £50 million for failing to reach top 4. In total, the incompetence of woodward has cost the club a staggering 100 million GBP. The £65 million + sale of Lukaku to Inter now seems like an attempt to balance the books, a recovery plan.
Since the turn of the new season, Manchester United have dropped 10 points with losses to West ham & Crystal palace, We have just 5 wins in our last 21 games.
Just after 30 minutes at the Olympic stadium, Marcus Rashford looked knackered & was taken off in the 2nd half. In came Jesse Lingard. At that point, it defined the Woodward era. A CEO that has overseen almost a billion on Transfers in 6years since 2013 sat at the Executive box & watched Jesse in the False Nine role. You cannot help but wonder how it came to this, the people at the top have to take a look at themselves & say “Hey, we have made a mess of ourselves haven’t we?” Every one of them is culpable, from Joel Glazer to Ed Woodward’s Personal Assistant.
Why is it that we’re always 3 injuries short of becoming Prime Blackpool. Ander Herrera joined PSG in the summer it was sad but it wasn’t a disaster. The problem came in two forms, A player we signed for over 25 million Euros left for free & he wasn’t replaced. If we add the Fellaini sale to China, it means Two midfielders left us & none was signed. We’re a Paul Pogba injury away from Relegation form, doesn’t matter if you like the guy or not, it was evident that a midfield of Mctominay, Matic & Mata were short of ideas against a very average West Ham team.
The big question is where do we go from here? You may not care about the Glazers bleeding the club dry, but aren’t you tired of doing permutations on who should win the league between Mancity & Liverpool? The #GlazersOut movement is a noble cause. Its the start of how we regain our honor. We are Manchester United, we have to be Hated, Adored, Feared & Never ignored.
I’m Ebohon Desmond & this is the state of the biggest club in the land.
Dezreport 