Would United be better if Moyes had stayed?
Date published: Friday 4th November 2016 10:53
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Yup
Mailbox gon’ be good.
Stu, Southampton
All kinds of Manchester United conclusions
Like Simon yesterday I am sick and tired of the punditocracy making excuse after excuse for Mourinho, they just repeat each other. And then you get brainless fans also making excuses for him, repeating what they hear and read in the media. It’s football group speak.
It seems obvious to me that his aura has now gone. A lot of ordinary, neutral fans have lost a lot of respect for him since that unpleasant incident with the physio at the beginning of last year and I suspect that many players have also lost respect.
When Chelsea were playing badly he blamed the players and many mutton-head pundits agreed with him. Now United are playing badly and he’s saying the same thing. But it’s his job to motivate the players, for goodness’ sake! He obviously lost the dressing room at Chelsea, I just don’t understand why people couldn’t acknowledge that. Is he losing the dressing room at United now?
And Mourinho’s recent record in the transfer window is absolutely abysmal. He sold Lukaku to Everton who has been one of the best strikers in the league over the last few seasons, and then he brought in Falcao to Chelsea. If he thought Falcao was going to be a success (after scoring two goals for Man U the previous season) then he’s either the most arrogant man in the world or a complete idiot.
Bailly looks good, but why buy Mkitariyan for £25 million and then not play him? As for Pogba, you would expect a player for that amount of money to hit the ground running and dominate the league. Pogba is going to have to turn things around spectacularly or Mourinho is going to have egg on his face, yet again.
The argument that ‘Mourinho needs time to re-shape the squad’ is particularly disingenuous. With the £100 million he could have bought four very good players and re-shaped the squad that way, but he chose not to. If Mourinho really was a genius he would have seen the squad wasn’t good enough and done that instead.
To be honest, I’d love it if United finished mid-table this season and Mourinho got sacked. But even if that happened I’m sure the pundits would just come up with excuses for him, yet againn
Thomas Ewens
Hands up if you really think this will get any better. Thanks to Sarah for calling out the journalists who are now trying to absolve Jose of any blame in this mess, and pinning it on the same squad that they tipped to challenge for silverware, the same squad that Jose asessed for months and then upon his appointment asked the board for 4 specialists including a world record breaking signing, and got everything he asked for. Yet, all we’re getting is Chelsea 2015 v2.0…..
I’m one of those United fans who don’t like Jose, his over-inflated ego, his lack of class, his horrible antics, his negative football, his terrible baggage, his marginalisation of both young and flair players, his silly excuses and infinite blame-game etc. We all know he is never a United manager, Sir Bobby has even said it once, yet we were told he’s a serial winner and that’s what United desperately need and it was a marriage of convenience bla bla bla…and there was selective amnesia about the end of his Madrid tenure and then last year, all dismissed as a blip. Many fans didnt want him but we all have to support the manager as usual.
One of the things that made Fergie the greatest ever was his ability to turn around the bad times through diligence, patience, unwavering belief in his principles with a degree of flexibility which enabled him to move with the times, reinvent himself and the club and remain successful.
Jose has NEVER, EVER turned around a bad situation in his career, just like many of these good managers today( Pep included). They only had blips in a season with world class players and immense resources to spend, but periods where they had to rebuild and create another winning team as one fades? Nada. which is why they mostly have 3 year cycles. For Jose, from Porto to Chelsea to Inter to Madrid, they all mostly had a core of very good players with some world class ones already in place, he comes in, spends heavily on more big names, wins stuff and after 3 years, it all comes crashing down.
Unlike some, I dont see this getting any better, the crashing and burning came way early, it just rolled on from Chelsea and we must really start to question if he has lost it. The job at United is a massive rebuilding job but with all the resources in place, whether money to spend, full support of fans and board and control; all it needs is a visionary builder not a serial winner losing the plot; which is why Klopp was always my first choice even ahead of Pep, who I honestly can tell how he’ll do in today’s United. Ed and the board have got sit down after Jose is done with his crashing and burning bit(of course we’ll give him time) and really have a plan, the Madrid/Chelsea model of spending big and hiring and firing managers wont work at Old Trafford, someone has to come in to build again, a hungry team with a winning mentality who always fights to the end.
Right now, I would only give the United rebuilding job to one man, Diego ‘El Cholo’ Simeone…
Mere Godled, MUFC, Nigeria (I really, really miss Fergie)
PS; Sorry this got too long, product of a soliloquy….
Well done, Winty. Good read.
It’s bleak. It’s really bleak.
Think this is the future. A change of manager every 12-18 months because looking at Mourinho, he looks broken and won’t be there for much longer.
Cheers,
Cormac, Galway
There are plenty of things you can blame a manager for when analysing a defeat; picking the wrong tactics, selecting the wrong players, not adjusting the gameplan mid-match etc. But it is overly harsh to blame Mourinho for the continued categorical failures of supposedly good players to get even the basics right. Zlatan suddenly forgetting how to shoot, or dropping very deep to pick up the ball when he should be leading the line. Rooney not being able to control the ball at all, misplacing the simplest of passes, and wandering around at literally walking pace instead of driving forward. Not one of our creative and wide players being able to accurately deliver a cross, free-kick or corner without hitting the first defender. Not marking opposition attackers properly at set pieces or on counter-attacks. These are failures that are down to repeated individual mistakes that are happening on the pitch; they are beyond the managers control and it is completely appropriate to criticise the players for these things.
What the manager can be blamed for are the inexplicable decisions that ours is making on a regular basis: the use of Fellaini at all; the marginalisation of Martial, Mkhitaryan, Schneiderlin and Schweinsteiger; the use of a DM in a three-man central midfield, no matter the opponents; the use of Rashford out wide (he clearly isn’t a winger so stop using him as one); the use of four full-backs (Rojo and Blind are as much centre backs as Zlatan is); the use of Rooney meaning other players have to move to accommodate him; the refusal to drop players in awful form in some desperate attempt to play them into it. These are his mistakes and he is repeating them over and over, yet expecting different results.
And just before his defenders start cawing: Rooney was abject tonight, yet again, despite the goal. One decent moment at the arse end of a game we’ve virtually already lost does not make up for the other 90+ minutes of utter turd he contributed. The only players I thought came out of the game with any semblance of credit were Shaw, Martial and Schneiderlin. The rest might as well not have bothered turning up.
I said after the Chelsea game that I didn’t believe we would win again in the league until Sunderland on Boxing Day and I stand by that now. Swansea will not be an easy game for us, and hasn’t been historically, especially not with us on their form. If Spurs are in crisis then we are in cataclysm. The manager and players are both to blame, for differing reasons, but they are going to have to start working together to get us out of this mess.
Ted, Manchester
Watching United labour to another disappointing result was as disheartening as it was predictable. It got me thinking (yet again) about what has changed since they last won the league a little over 3 years ago. I used to analyse the different tactics, personnel etc that we’ve used since our struggles began. But it seems like the more we bang our heads against the wall trying different things, the less anything changes. So I went back to the obvious but vague and seemingly meaningless answers like ‘Fergie’, ‘identity’ and ‘aura’; what do these really mean?
There’s more to these answers than I would have initially thought because for the umpteenth time over the last 3 seasons and change, we saw a United team in which almost every player 1. dithered on the ball just a little too long, 2. struggled to control it adequately, 3. over- or underhit or otherwise misplaced a pass, 4. pressed as individuals without cohesion, leaving spaces for the opposition to make easy passes to get out of pressure, 5. was woeful in the tackle and in 50-50 situations, and 6. failed to get past his man on the dribble.
Apart from the issue of pressing, these are things that United’s players, most of whom are high quality, are more than capable of avoiding on their own regardless of the tactical system we’re employing. The main reason I can think of for them doing all these things is that they are distracted by the pressure they’re under and just don’t believe in themselves. These issues are more or less the byproduct of being absolutely shot of confidence.
Mourinho has undoubtedly underperformed, but these problems are larger than him. These players have been wilting under the pressure since long before him (think losing 4-2 to West Ham and 3-2 to Wolfsburg in our most important matches last year). Mata, wonderful player that he is, has rarely played for us with the invention and purpose he had in spades in his best seasons at Chelsea. This manifests in split second decisions, and using exactly the right technique and amount of time (not a millisecond more or less) to execute those decisions. To that end I’ve come to realise just how crucial it is for a player to play with supreme confidence in order to be effective at the highest level, and how fine the margins between majestic and miserable are at this level. It’s that confidence United are so sorely lacking that’s causing them to underperform so glaringly.
In Fergie’s last few seasons, there was an assurance and calm that made it easier for the players to just play their game without thinking too much. Fergie himself has stated several times how important that consistency was, of players knowing Fergie’s methods, what was going to happen in pre-season, training, at breakfast, lunch and dinner, year in and year out. And the fact that he was the most decorated manager in the English game had a part to play in settling everyone down and trusting in his authority. These things allowed good players to go out and play to the best of their abilities, feeling secure about their greatness.
Now, every indictment of the team in the last few years carries the implication of “this is how far they’ve fallen”; it’s the reason why our mediocre last few seasons are considered a dumpster fire instead of simply ‘pretty bad for a big team’. This is multiplied even further by the fact that United are simply a media monster. F365 has mentioned a few times that United-related stories get by far the most clicks. When every failure gets publicly dissected and disparaged at an unprecedented level, how does someone solve the issue of low player confidence?
Unsurprisingly, this issue has snowballed; almost everytime the team steps out, it’s like they’re even more weighed down by all the failures and frustrations that have come before.
I guess what I’m saying is that I’m seeing more reason in the ‘post-Fergie slump’ theory these days. Yes, Mourinho hasn’t been good enough so far, but it doesn’t necessarily mean we’d be doing much better if we had Guardiola, Klopp, Conte, Pochettino or anyone else instead. And I genuinely don’t know how we’re going to solve this problem anytime soon.
Karthik S, MUFC
Sarah makes an excellent point in her last paragraph – which leads me to my desperate question to the footballing world – “What exactly is wrong with United and how do you fix it?”
First it was the squad so Moyes spent money to get Mata and Fellaini. Then it was the manager so out went Moyes. Then it was the players so in came Falcao and Di Maria with a new manager to be on the safe side. Then again it was the manager so in came Jose. Now it might be the players again.
Something surely is wrong with both sets. But while the players can be forgiven trying to rid themselves of 2 years of playing it safe and slow – Jose clearly seems to have lost his fire and ego. He looks like a manager burdened by the albatross of his reputation and career in this country. He can’t seem to instill any sort of leadership or passion in the team. Not even a reaction to a timid defeat.
Ironically perhaps the one voice that might muster any sort of leadership or passion has just been asked to train with the reserves again on “human grounds”. Give him a chance Jose. Whaddya got to lose?
Budhaditya
What if Moyes had never been sacked?
Seeing as it’s Friday, may I be allowed to pose a hypothetical question for your readers to consider?
What if……… David Moyes had never been sacked as manager of Man Utd? What if he’d been allowed to carry on and given the amounts of money that Van Gaal and Mourinho have been given?
Where do readers think Man Utd would be? Better or worse off than they are now?
Steve J
Who is to blame for Manchester United’s problems?
- Jose Mourinho
- Louis van Gaal
- David Moyes
- Wayne Rooney
- Marcos Rojo
- You
Maybe if he was called Davide Moyesiniho he’s still be the manager of Man U. Justice for Dave, Allyerdici was right all along. (I jest of course)
I sent a mail in when Jose was appointed (unpublished – probably because it was sh*t) asking what Man U would do if their Faustian pact with Mourinho was to go tit’s up? They have appointed a manager who is the antithesis of what they claim to stand for. A manager with whom all clubs make a pact to sacrifice short term gain for medium term instability. A manager who, you know, will drag your clubs name through the mud. So United fans, my question is this… if Mourinho doesn’t turn this round, what next?
Matt, AFC
Was Guy (kind of) right?
I think the main problem at the minute is a lack of leadership on the pitch, which is a similar theme to the one people in the press are peddling. I know it’s not fashionable to agree with tabloid opinions on this website, but I think the team does lack “winners”. I don’t mean in the pedantic sense that Mediawatch chose to run with: I am aware that there are plenty of medals in the squad, but how many of those players dragged their teams to those victories and how many were dragged? Was Utd’s last title triumph down to Smalling and Young, or were they dragged along by the likes of Van Persie, Vidic and Ferdinand? Zlatan is an obvious exception, but there’s only so much leadership you can show while you’re standing at the far post waiting for a floated cross.
There is undoubted talent in the team, but Football365 is right to say that they are playing at a level less than the sum of their parts. The good news is that the is leadership in the squad, if Jose is willing to swallow his pride and turn to it.
This is where Jose has made his mistake, and GuyS has almost been onto something with his defense of Rooney. Guy has suggested that Rooney should be in the team because of his leadership qualities and the way he helps the rest of the players play better. I think the second part is nonsense and that Rooney actually being on the pitch from the start would be too much of a downgrade from anyone else who can play his positions. My suggestion is the return of Schweinsteiger. Utd are desperately short of his sort of experience and I think playing him in a midfield 3 with Pogba and Herrera (Schneiderlin when Herrera is suspended) improves the team and the shape, whereas using Rooney for the same intangibles hurts the team. It would take some work to repair the relationship, but if Jose can make Schweinsteiger his on-field lieutenant, like Terry, Lampard and Droba used to be, then I think the team will be a lot more consistent and resilient.
So, my conclusion is that Guy was right about Utd needing an aging player long past his best to get Utd firing… he’s just wrong about which one.
Kirk, MUFC
The man himself…
That moment where you’re out sprinted by a goal keeper when you have a yard on him… poor old Juan!
Anyway, the same problems continue to haunt us (and they still aren’t Rooney), but if you lose to two goals like that you can’t be too upset.
Thing is, we can usually point at obvious things to make us feel better: Rooney’s bad touch (absent today), Smalling or Blind’s latest brain fart or a dysfunctional midfield but today it kind of just seemed deeper. A lack of confidence or willingness to try something risky. Martial for example seemed shot of last years confidence, where he would have taken anyone on and beaten them before at least getting a shot away.
I don’t know really. Incidentally, it’s all very well not to be mobile as a forward as long as you win the ball in the air and generally. Not much use if you don’t or fail to get much in the way of shots off. Give me pace and mobility, and through balls over long balls any day.
Maybe that’s what it is, a general lack of pace, a lack of driving width and running. Think back to Giggs and Cole and Yorke. It was fast, it was breathless. It was wonderful. God I miss it.
At least we had tidy goal to remind us ‘he’ can still do it (though he probably shot someone as well and I missed it and he’ll be up on charges for war crimes by Saturday). Good times.
Guy S
Patience is key
I thankfully missed last nights performance due to meetings in London and traveling back on the 5pm train so this is not a comment on the game in particular but a wider view of the current state of affairs.
There is a decent team sat within that squad and I am sure of it. I think we have suffered badly by accommodating Rooney well past his sell by date and he should of been moved on with a real, European/World world class striker secured. I also think LVG made an error in his last summer transfer by not securing a top quality CB. Bailly looks a good buy but he should be playing alongside somebody who will take on the responsibility in games. Not Chris Smalling, Rojo or god forbid Phil Jones.
Whilst we have invested a lot in the squad in the past 2 to 3 seasons it still feels unbalanced and padded out with expensive but average players and it did need a major overhaul after Ferguson free wheeled through his last few seasons.
Patience is the key word here. Sign a striker and a CB, trim the squad of the dead wood and see where Mourinho takes us, however I fear it will get worse before it gets better!
Plato – MUFC
They say its never that serious in anything you do in life.I started supporting Manchester United since I was 10. 16 years down the line the loyalty has been tested several times, especially that drought from 2004-2006. It was during that period that i as a fan felt the gut wrenching feeling of not winning much. The drought has come back this time and it seems like this one won’t be ending any time soon. Nevertheless, at this point in time we are at a juncture in history where the Einsteins of the football world have so much influence on the train of thought among the younger generation of supporters(me included) that we end up forgetting the most important virtue as a a loyal fan, PATIENCE. Well i have come to terms with the fact that it will take time to rebuild our team and find a sustainable path to success. We already have many of the tools necessary to implement this but PATIENCE is key. I love this club so much that every time i lose a game i feel sickly and almost nauseous, but its part and parcel of what it means to be a loyal supporter. United Till I Die!!
Salford Red in Nairobi (that Rooney thunderbolt took me back to the yesteryear’s)
The purge
Given I’ve already accepted that Mourinho will be around for the next two years at least (the hierarchy can’t afford to admit yet another mistake in recruitment, if indeed that’s what this is), I thought I’d focus instead on which players might still be around in two years’ time. The idea being that if it’s a short list then Mourinho deserves more patience given the relative dross he’s working with, if not then I can jump on the Mourinho Out bandwagon early.
So…
GK: DDG (wishful thinking perhaps)
Defenders: Bailly, Shaw, Smalling (I hope nope, literally cannot pass), TFM, CBJ
Midfield: Blind (yes, he’s a midfielder), Herrera, Pogba, Mata, Mhki, Schneiderlin (probably not, right?)
Forwards: Martial, Rashford
Inconclusive then. That’s only half a squad there, but what a half, if a little top-loaded. Given that Mourinho loves buying defenders maybe all is not lost. That presupposes the staff at the Lowry don’t discover a bereft Jose writing ‘specialist in failure’ in his own blood and faeces on the walls and have him committed before then.
Adam (Mr Glass Half-Full) MUFC
Southampton conclusions
On the way back from the game against an admittedly awful Inter side. Here’s some conclusions after a big result for us:
– Saints fans have long since accepted that Van Dijk is going to end up at one of the big boys. Performing at a similar level to what Toby did for us. Can’t hide from the fact he would be a perfect signing for City or Chelsea next summer.
– The biggest compliment I can pay Sam McQueen is that we haven’t missed Bertrand one bit. As a converted winger, he is very powerful bombing forward from full back. Last season he was on loan at Southend. In the past month he has been one of the better players on the pitch against both City and Inter.
– Inter were a shadow of their former selves (not so sure Maya Yoshida would have marked Christian Vieri out of the game). Offered nothing going forward and no composure at the back. Candreva (I think?) scuffing up the penalty spot prior to Tadic’s pen was disgusting.
– Ward-Prowse’s best performance for the club. Hope he can kick on as merely being good at set pieces is not enough to demand a centre mid place in a Premier League team.
– Credit to Romeu for stepping up this season to fill Wanyama’s void.
– Pains me to say it but it feels as though Rodriguez’s days in the top flight are coming to an end. Once again massively off the pace. Bringing Austin on for him changed the game.
– As a final note. They haven’t had much mention but Dundalk’s Europa campaign has been extremely impressive. Sure their fans are enjoying the ride as much as we are.
Mark, London
Small weekend
West Ham–Stoke City. The most unpredictable game of the weekend. The Potters have won three straight, but against weak opposition: Sunderland, Hull, Swansea. The Hammers – who knows? Stoke’s weak spot is Phil Bardsley at right back, but West Ham don’t have a natural left winger. West Ham’s weak spot is central midfield, where Joe Allen should find some space. But Mark Hughes is usually cautious when playing away, and with Geoff Cameron likely returning to midfield to help counter Dimitri Payet’s sallies into the middle, will Stoke commit enough men forward? The most interesting matchup should be Ramadan Sobhi attacking Cheikhou Kouyate. It certainly looks like there should be goals in this game, but last year’s fixture finished 0-0.
Stat: West Ham lead the league in interceptions by a large margin, with 22.1 per game. Stoke are 18th with 10.1 per game.
Chelsea-Everton. Tactically fascinating, because Ronald Koeman has any number of options. If it’s the usual 4-2-3-1, Yannick Bolasie and Seamus Coleman will attack Chelsea’s left, their weaker side defensively. But he might also go 4-3-3 or even 4-3-1-2, so the three central midfielders would offer a stronger challenge to N’Golo Kanté and Nemanja Matic, and also to Eden Hazard coming inside. Three at the back is another possibility, to give Bryan Oviedo some protection against a rampaging Victor Moses. Remember that superstar Thibaut Courtois? The latest goalkeeper save ratings, based on difficulty of shots faced, have him third from bottom in the league. Bargain basement transfer Maarten Stekelenburg is third from top.
Stat: Gareth Barry’s pass completion percentage has steadily declined from 2013-14 to 2016-17: 86.7, 84.6, 81.9, 79.9.
Swansea City-Manchester United. If United fail to score here, they’ll have gone goalless four straight league games for the first time in 27 years. But it won’t happen. The Swans are very weak at the back: Neil Taylor is passable, but the new partnership of Mike van der Hoorn and Alfie Mawson are still learning, and the side has no Premier League standard right back. Before Bob Bradley arrived, Swansea were gambling with a high press at home against superior opposition. With United wounded and vulnerable, would Bradley roll the dice, especially after the struggle at Stoke last weekend? Aside from Juan Mata at number ten, your guess is as good as mine how United will line up. But a mobile Marcus Rashford at striker would give the hosts considerable trouble.
Stat: Swansea are the most right-sided attacking team in the league, with 43% of their attacks on the right and 29% on the left.
Peter
A touch of Leicesteritis
You mentioned yesterday in your winners and losers about the Bundesliga being a winner. Considering the reasonably upside-down looking nature of the table (except for Bayern sitting up on their perch piddling down on their fellow competitors) could there be an interesting season ahead in Germany? or will the natural order of things restore itself once the initial flux of the quarter season has passed.
Bayern sit on top, currently 2 points ahead of the recently promoted and despised Rasenballsport Leipzig, or RB Leipzig, as those crafty club owners Redbull intend them to be known. Promoted through 5 divisions in 7 years, they currently sit pretty in 2nd after 9 games, thanks to significant investment, a controversial side stepping of the 50+1 club ownership rule and meticulous planning as regards club structure and recruitment of young players. Could this embryonic team, so early in their development, overturn the mighty Bayern in the same fashion that the promoted FC Kaiserslautern did in 97/98?
This stage last year Bayern were 7 points clear of their nearest rivals Dortmund, 8 points ahead of 3rd placed Schalke and 12 points ahead of 4th placed Wolfsberg. This year the chasing pack is occupied by the usual lower to mid table dwellers (and as a result, have no European football to contend with) of RB Liepzig, Hoffenheim, Cologne and Hertha Berlin who are 2,4,5 and 6 points behind respectively. The faltering Dortmund being 8 points behind in 6th. While the usual contenders of Bayer Leverkusen, Monchengladbach, Schalke and Wolfsburg sit in the lower half. Bayer Leverkusen’s position being a surprise. The other teams having experienced a turnover of managers or players to stymie their usual progress.
Only in the last day or 2 Borussia Dortmund sporting director, Watzke, lamented Dortmunds slow start as they come to terms with life without Hummels, Gundogan and Mkhitaryan and injuries to a number of players, including Reus who has been out for the entirety of the season so far (and Dortmund having to contend with a potential in-house spat/saga with Aubemayang?). He claims that Bayern are not the same machine under Ancellotti, as they were under Guardiola and Jupp Heynkes. There have been accusations that Bayerns football hasn’t been quite as crisp, intimidating or aggressive as it has been in recent years. Also, will Bayern have the hunger to go for 5 in a row or will they become complacent and have their focus turn to the Champions league which has alluded them in recent years? Does Ancellotti’s record suggest that he is more of a cup specialist rather than someone who can keep his players focussed on a domestic campaign over a long season? Back a few weeks ago Bayern had a brief rocky patch, which is now sensationally referred to as a “crisis” within the footballing vernacular. Cologne drew with them in Munich, last years relegation candidates Frankfurt also managed a draw with them and Bayern required an 88th minute goal to beat Hamburg, who are currently rooted to the bottom of the table. The crisis passed, world peace was restored, and Bayern got back to winning ways.
So can Bayern be toppled this year? The bookies definitely don’t think so as Bayern’s odds are at 1/20. with RB Liepzig (40/1) Hoffenheim (1500/1) Cologne (500/1) Hertha Berlin (1000/1) and Dortmund (14/1) trailing behind them (*best odds selected from various bookies). It’s hardly likely that Bayern will be taken, with their vast array of talent and strength in depth, and Bayern will obviously have to be well below par, and the rest would have to be punching well above their weight. But could the unbeaten RB Leipzig money project compete for the Bundesliga ahead of schedule? Could Hoffenheim’s young and highly regarded 29 year old Julian Nagelsmann who steered the club from certain relegation last year, and also unbeaten in the current campaign, cause a surprise? Could Cologne cause an unlikely upset as they boast one of the meanest defences and have the bundeliga’s current top scorer, Anthony Modeste, on 11 goals (when has a mean defence and an unlikely goal scorer on form won a league before?) Could Hertha Berlin, with this years most prolific strike partnership of Ibisevic and Kramaric (9 goals and 8 assists) be the dark horse? Or can the Perennial Bayern Chasers, Dortmund, turn their form around to close the gap?
Of course Bayern currently sit top of the table, with the highest goals scored and lowest goals conceded, and no doubt my current curiosity that Bayern could be susceptible to getting rattled this season, will be vaporised by christmas. But I’ll watch with interest over the coming weeks. In the next 3 gameweeks of the 8 remaining till the half season stage, they play Hoffenheim, Dortmund, and the capable Bayer Leverkusen, Whilst they meet RB Liepzig in the last game before the Christmas break. 3 games that could set Bayern up for either their usual inevitable gallop toward the title, or a more considered uncertain stumble throughout the season. I’m hoping for the sake of football and entertainment that it’s the latter. However, if I’m hoping for an unlikely fairytale this year, maybe I’m best keeping my attention on Nice and Mario Ballotelli.
Eoghan, LFC
Chants
At a Liverpool – Wolves game back in 03/04 at a quiet Anfield
Wolves fans: Go on, go on sing us a song…
Pool fans: Going down, going down …
Wolves fans: Going nowhere, going nowhere…
It was true at the time. Fortunately Sami hyypia scored in the last minute to get 1-0 victory!
Paul, Seoul
Heard a great one down at my local club Forest Green Rovers last week, when Daggers keeper Elliot Justham was subjected to 90 minutes of
“Sh*t Tesco sandwich! You’re just a sh*t Tesco sandwich!”
Alex (We can’t read and we can’t write but that don’t really matter. We all come from Gloucestershire and we all drive a tractor)
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