The majority of us realise we are a bit shit at the moment, and morale seems to be at rock bottom, but it could be a lot worse. Maybe in a few years, we will be good again, or not, hardly the end of the world.
On tipping points, I think mine was just my age. I still watch pretty much all of United’s games, but since around 2015 I’ve stopped taking it to heart and getting so frustrated by it. We might never be the same team as when Fergie was manager and we might always be a bit shite, just look at how Leeds have turned out…
Rob G, I suspect that football changed at a different time for everybody depending on how old you are
I was delighted to see Jones play the www.paydayloansohio.net/cities/blanchester/ other night. Harshly treated in the media and hope he does well for the rest of his career. Always great to see a Preston lad doing well!Kieran, Scotland
Tipping pointsRob G, for me it felt like football changed around 2006 or 2007
Klopp, Pep would take Rashford As a football fan who’s not supporting Manchester United, it’s obviously very entertaining to watch all the mud-slinging going on between the club’s fans (And if rumors are to be believed, between the players as well). Meanwhile, it does grind my gears to see that Marcus Rashford has now become one of the favorite scapegoats for some of the so-called fans. To me, there’s no doubt that he’s an outstanding young man, with high values, as also pointed out by many other mailbox contributors. I would also venture that if coached and managed optimally (and not forced to play through injuries), he’s one of the biggest talents in the English game. It’s not his fault that the club (aided by pressure from large parts of the fan base) stuck with a totally inept manager for three years.
Ask yourself this hypothetical question: If Pep, Tuchel, Klopp, Arteta or Conte were told that they could pick two players from the current Man Utd squad for 50M – any two players – I’m fairly certain that Rashford would be one of the two in each case. (Greenwood would probably be the other)Tom K (I think we can safely rule out Maguire and AWB being picked by anyone – great Ole buys, as also lauded by the fans at the time…)
That was when the money from the sale of the Premier League’s TV broadcasting rights (domestic and international) jumped from around 1.3 billion previously to 2.7 billion pretty much in one fell swoop.
Players, wages, stadium, facilities, the lot. I remember Sunderland paying 6 million for Kenwyne Jones and feeling utterly shocked at the price, especially for a player of his calibre and quality. Andy Cole, a player who’s many magnitudes better than Jones, moved for 8 million just a few years before for comparison.
From then on there was just no way back, and the money kept growing and rolling in. And here we are today.Ben
For me, it was vaguely around 2012 when xG was introduced, social media really took off and all clubs and players became brands, and financial disparities widened to such a degree that the top leagues in Europe, even the Champions League, became basically foregone conclusions with lesser teams having next to no shot of success, never mind sustained success, barring financial doping. Coincidentally, I was also entering the humdrum world of work and coming to the realization that I probably wasn’t going to make it as a pro player.
