Ronaldo

Last time that happened it was the summer of 2008 when she asked Keegan about the club’s transfer business and got a surly, telling response.

This is a brilliant post.

To be fair Shearer’s words are as bad as anything on here. I understand people expressing that something feels a bit off. It doesn’t help that a vacuum seems to have opened up again between ownership and management.

So do you agree or disagree? I’m not sure what that graphic points to.

Indeed. Someone has questions to answer when Murphy is still starting games with everyone fit. Massive transfer failure.

Top be fair, he was bought because he’s solid and average and will make decent backup.

Agree. Yes it’s just one game, but… we played a flat 4 in defence (at first) and a flat 3 in midfield with the team sitting quite deep and the 3 up top starved of the supply (and the quality, Isak aside - in patches) required to scare them and as the grew in confidence they outplayed us. Away from home we’re tactically second best far more often than not and completely reliant on nicking a goal to get a foothold in the game. In that context taking advantage of set pieces is paramount and ours are just shit. Our wide players are predictable and seldom create that half chance you need, compounded with the flat midfield getting in each other’s way and being incapable of killing the game for 10 minutes, and the issues at the back due to absence… I saw a starting Xl today who either didn’t know what they were meant to be doing or had no confidence in it. As others have said we need fresh blood and to evolve away from favouritism towards average players who graft. It baffles me that we have probably the weakest options in the top half at RW and it hasn’t been addressed, 3 years post takeover.

Midfield roles and set pieces are really poor coached, whoever is responsible for both.

A week away from September and Jacob Murphy still starting for us with nearly everyone fit and available.

Any idea what those tactics were anyone? Kick it forward when possible, to no one in particular.

In 2010 he certainly was tbh.

Souness hit the nail on the head with this earlier.

Am I the only one failing to see the ‘great potential’ in Anderson? I just never saw anything special there.

Longstaff hugging him at full time made me sick, mind. As much as he was OK today that sort of sums up why he’ll never cut it as a top level midfielder, lack of ability with the ball aside.

How can officiating be this bad with VAR? How?

Missed you mate.

The source is very solid in terms of their integrity. I’m just not sure how they’d know. Connections to the club sure but I just thought it would be flying around everywhere by now if true (I’m not on any social media).

Anyone else heard this rumour flying around about us definitely moving?

Who is saying that?

I get what you’re saying but surely 7th means the project has significantly stalled / gone backwards? The owner said 12 months ago he expected us to be in the top 4.

There’s nothing to argue. I just said he was probably the fourth best striker in the league at that point. There’s nothing to support him getting into any line up and certainly not Man U’s because the only interest came from Liverpool a season later - Bobby was willing to sell and the chairman said no.

And the season he turned 32 he was 6th on the scorers list with 17. I still think he was probably the fourth best striker in the league at that point but walking into any line up? That’s fanboy stuff.

Sheringham didn’t play as a striker. Certainly not in Shearer’s sense. He certainly doesn’t start ahead of RvN from 2001/02 onwards. He was still a very formidable striker but a long way past his Blackburn best.

Really not sure how that’s a valid comparison as you’d struggle to find two more different forwards. There were simply much better strikers out there than Shearer at that point in his career and they carried no one.

Potentially, yeah. He had a very good deal with us post 30 though. Excellent supply lines, a partner doing his running, played every minute when fit and obviously a very shrewd manager focused on getting the best out of his twilight years - till Souness came along when he was 34, at least.