Man Utd flop Alexis Sanchez was deeply insular ? nothing was ever his fault and Mourinho and Solskjaer struggled to connect
Neil Ashton
The Sun , UK
JOSE MOURINHO saw what everybody saw when Alexis Sanchez wore the colours of Arsenal.
He was fast, aggressive, agile, creative ? and boy could he finish.
It is why Manchester United famously hijacked Manchester City?s move for him back in January 2018.
What United could not see, when they agreed to offer him a an eye-watering pay packet to lure him from Arsenal, was a deeply troubled, insular individual.
He retreated, withdrawing into his shell and isolating himself from the United dressing room when it all started to go wrong.
Nothing was ever his fault.
Two United managers ? Mourinho and then Ole Gunnar Solskjaer ? tried and failed to motivate him.
The Special One would prod him, antagonising the forward by digging him in the ribs.
Solskjaer, who quickly made the call on Sanchez, pretty much ignored him.
The loan move to Inter Milan, where he will play for the demanding head coach Antonio Conte, is his chance to make a fresh start.
Sanchez could do with a break. It is easy to throw the money at him, the ?505,000-a-week United agreed to pay over his 4?-year contract: ?71,945 a day, ?2,997 an hour, ?50 a minute.
We are all guilty of that.
It evokes memories of John Gregory to Stan Collymore, when the former Aston Villa manager told his forward, ??300 working 60 hours a week are the people who should be depressed?.
Nobody is suggesting it ever got that bad for Sanchez at United.
The reality is that he did not come good for Mourinho, or Solskjaer.
Mourinho, the manager who fought so hard to sign him from Arsenal, pinpoints only two games when Sanchez made a significant impact.
Sanchez?s goal against Newcastle, when he came off the bench to score a last-minute winner to save the manager?s job last October, was one of them.
The finish against Tottenham in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley in April 2018 is the other.
Of course, United were entitled to expect more from the biggest financial investment in the club?s history.
His familiar emotions ? gesticulating, complaining, sulking ? followed the same pattern as his Arsenal career.
It was at the Emirates where he knew how to whip up the crowd, to get them on side by giving the eyes to anyone who dared misplace a pass.
Under Mourinho, every body movement and every dressing- room exchange was exaggerated.
Whenever Sanchez missed a shot, he would blame the quality of the pass from the likes of Marcus Rashford, Jesse Lingard or Anthony Martial.
He claimed his movement was superior, that he could see storylines unfold on the pitch far quicker than any of his United team-mates.
Mourinho tried a softer approach with him, calling him into the manager?s office to try to break down his behaviour.
Nobody could get through to him.
Many felt that he could not cope with the demands of playing for a truly big club.
With Udinese and with Arsenal, he was always seen to be striving to take his team of underdogs to the very top.
When he got his move to Barcelona in 2011, he struggled to adapt to the intensity of playing for a world superpower.
Pulling on the shirts of Barca and United creates different expectations.
The groans from the crowd bounce off the stands, amplified by the expectation, the history and the demands of playing for an elite club.
Sanchez has just joined another, with Inter Milan the latest stop on his puzzling career path.
Sadly, Italian football is welcome to him.
UNITED'S EUROPA LEAGUE FIXTURES
Thursday September 19 - Manchester United v Astana
Thursday October 3 - AZ Alkmaar v Manchester United
Thursday October 24 - Partizan Belgrade v Manchester United
Thursday November 7 - Manchester United vs Partizan Belgrade
Thursday November 28 - Astana v Manchester United
Thursday December 12 - Manchester United vs AZ Alkmaar
Roma confirm loan signing of Manchester United defender Chris Smalling until the end of season
Really unlucky to be in the current position!!
Had all the chances to win all of those games but not taking chances and some poor individual mistakes costing us
xG always better than the opposition in all 4 games
Should've been atleast 3 to 5 pts further up!!
Sent from my POCO F1 using Tapatalk
Last edited by perumal; 09-01-2019 at 09:54 PM.
Sent from my POCO F1 using Tapatalk
Nalla oru team aayi ithu vare muttiyittilla ( may be Wolves to an extent ) , Chelsea win was a fluke ( I mean the The Margin)Originally Posted by perumal
Really unlucky to be in the current position!!
Had all the chances to win all of those games but not taking chances and some poor individual mistakes costing us
xG always better than the opposition in all 4 games
Should've been atleast 3 to 5 pts further up!!
Sent from my POCO F1 using Tapatalk
...the performances were well below par .....but can't complain ....new faces all over ...will take time to gel...patience is needed
The problem is midfield ( anghine onnundo)
Pereira was anonymous against The Saints ( only can be used as a backup , never a regular starter ) , horror show
Luke Shaw's injury forced Ashley Young to play , too many bad deliveries ( Ashley
Rashford also had also had a bad game on Saturday
Against The Saints Instead of going for that killer second we backed-off with only having a goal lead , which allowed them to come back to the game
de Gea partially responsible for the goal conceded against The Saints and for the Crystal Palace winner
Daniel James , Wan Bissaka and Mason Greenwood
Last edited by Giggs; 09-02-2019 at 01:56 AM.
Wolves - missed penalty cost us a win and a worldie from Neves snatched a draw for themNalla oru team aayi ithu vare muttiyittilla ( may be Wolves to an extent ) , Chelsea win was a fluke ( I mean the The Margin)
...the performances were well below par .....but can't complain ....new faces all over ...will take time to gel...patience is needed
The problem is midfield ( anghine onnundo
Pereira was anonymous against The Saints ( only can be used as a backup , never a regular starter ) , horror show
Luke Shaw's injury forced Ashley Young to play , too many bad deliveries ( Ashley
Rashford also had also had a bad game on Saturday
Against The Saints Instead of going for that killer second we backed-off with only having a goal lead , which allowed them to come back to the game
de Gea partially responsible for the goal conceded against The Saints and for the Crystal Palace winner
Daniel James , Wan Bissaka and Mason Greenwood
Palace - another missed penalty which cost us atleast a draw and two poor errors from Lindelof and De Gea
That's atleast 3 points lost
Saints goal ,why de Gea??? Look at the defense!! How he managed to score from this
Last edited by perumal; 09-02-2019 at 08:54 AM.
Penalty 'taking' dilemma arise in Wolves game and Pogba's penalty was a poor one ...all negative things started from there ...all these talks of who should take the penalties ...which put added pressure on Rashford and he misses against Palace ...prior to kick-off ...at the training grounds it should be decided who will be your penalty taker irrespective of who won itWolves - missed penalty cost us a win and a worldie from Neves snatched a draw for them
Palace - another missed penalty which cost us atleast a draw and two poor errors from Lindelof and De Gea
That's atleast 3 points lost
Nothing he can do with that header , it was a great headerSaints goal ,why de Gea??? Look at the defense!! How he managed to score from this
I mean de Gea's save prior to the goal , it was catchable
Man United could get a lot worse before they get better thanks to bad transfer business and indecisiong
Mark Ogden
Senior Writer, ESPN FC
There is good news and bad news for Manchester United supporters right now, even though Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's team go into the international break having posted the club's worst start to a season since 1992-93.
The good news: having identified the need to weed out under-performing (and in some cases, non-performing) players, things will eventually get better at Old Trafford. The bad news: there is a real danger of things actually getting worse before light appears at the end of a long, dark tunnel for the most successful club of the Premier League era.
An uninspiring draw against Wolves and another at Southampton, either side of the 2-1 defeat at home to Crystal Palace, are more reflective of where United are at right now than the 4-0 opening-weekend victory against Chelsea. And with an impressive Leicester City next up at Old Trafford on Sept. 14 after the international break, the pressure is already beginning to build on Solskjaer and his players, who face an almighty battle to secure a top-four finish this season.
There is a strong argument to suggest that this current United team (and squad) is the weakest seen at Old Trafford in 30 years. For all the positive spin applied to recent performances by Solskjaer, it would be na?ve to suggest that a start of one win, two draws and a defeat from their opening four games is nothing more than a blip.
Back in 1992-93, when United began the inaugural Premier League campaign with two defeats, one draw and a win, they were able to climb off the canvas to go on and win the title, the club's first since 1967. But not even the most optimistic United supporter, player or coach would claim that the Class of 2019 has the ability to emulate Sir Alex Ferguson's team of 27 years ago.
Some might contest the suggestion that this is the weakest United team in three decades by pointing to the side that finished seventh under David Moyes in 2013-14, but that team had the likes of Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Patrice Evra, Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney to call upon. Solskjaer's team boasts no such depth of experience or quality, and that is mainly due to the hapless, and at times disastrous, recruitment of players since the turn of the decade.
Make no mistake, the problems facing United now can be traced back to before Ferguson retired in 2013, with the exits of Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez in 2009 proving to be the start of the slide, when star players were repeatedly replaced with inferior signings. But this summer's transfer business has left the United squad looking as though it has been hollowed out and, while admirable and sensible as a long-term strategy, the decision to clear out the deadwood and give youth a chance is also a dangerous one in a competition as demanding and unforgiving as the Premier League.
Since January, Solskjaer has sanctioned the departures of Marouane Fellaini, Antonio Valencia, Ander Herrera, Romelu Lukaku, Alexis Sanchez, Chris Smalling and Matteo Darmian, with only Harry Maguire, Daniel James and Aaron Wan-Bissaka being added to the squad. Mason Greenwood, 17, has been promoted to the first team, with Tahith Chong, 19, also given an opportunity to prove himself by Solskjaer.
Greenwood and Chong may develop into world-beaters, but neither is yet ready to shoulder the burden of playing for Manchester United, and the pressure could prove incredibly heavy for Greenwood should either of the club's two senior forwards, Marcus Rashford or Anthony Martial, be sidelined at any time this season.
In midfield, there is nobody to cover for Paul Pogba should he be injured or suspended, while a defence which had seven centre-backs prior to Smalling's loan move to Roma still relies on converted winger Ashley Young, now 34, to fill in for full-backs Wan-Bissaka and Luke Shaw.
United clearly need to reshape and rebuild their squad, but by allowing so many players to leave -- particularly after the window for signing new ones has closed -- is a huge risk and possibly even negligent. Solskjaer's squad is an injury away from a crisis in every area of the pitch, but they must somehow safely navigate the team through to the January transfer window without suffering the kind of injury and form setbacks that afflict every side.
Had United been able to appoint a technical director -- they have now been actively looking for one for over nine months -- the gaping holes that have appeared in the squad may have been filled before they appeared, but perhaps that is wishful thinking at a club where, according to ESPN FC sources, Martial was retained because he is the favourite player of co-chairman Joel Glazer, and Marcos Rojo, who made just three starts last season, had a move blocked to Everton because the owners did not agree with the sale.
Solskjaer, meanwhile, is on board with the plan to reshape the squad, but he also admitted during preseason that he would need a replacement up front if Lukaku was sold. No replacement arrived, however, and Sanchez also left; rather than having one in and one out, United had two out and none in up front. They have also allowed two experienced midfielders to leave without replacements and sold two right-backs with just one coming in.
United believe it could take as many as four transfer windows before their squad is competitive again, but they seem to have done all of the cutting this summer without realising the need for depth. It is a bold strategy, but with an inexperienced manager at the helm and too many youngsters in key positions, the short-term pain could stifle the intended long-term gain.
'I'm delighted he has left... I won't be happy until every one of them who think they are bigger than the club are gone': Gary Neville launches scathing attack on Romelu Lukaku while talking to Manchester United fans on Twitter
Gary Neville is 'delighted' that Romelu Lukaku has left Manchester United and wants more players to leave the club.
Neville said on Twitter: 'I?m hearing you. I?m delighted he?s left. I won?t be happy till everyone single one of them that think they are better and bigger than the club and don?t want to be here are gone!
'Nothing at all about his nationality or him not being a good player. He will always score goals.'
Neville was then asked by a fan on Twitter: 'What would you rather have Gary, a player who will score you 25 goals a year or a player that scores 10 max and taps the badge when he scores?'
He responded: 'I don?t care about 25/10/5 at the moment . We just need players that want to play for the club. Strip it back to that and then build a team ... That?s what I want.
'It will take some time to do though so patience will be needed . Twitter has loads of patience so we are good.'
Lukaku previously told Neville not to 'question his professionalism after the former Manchester United defender criticized the striker.
The 26-year-old was called 'overweight' by Neville on Twitter earlier this month shortly after he joined Serie A side Inter Milan on a five-year deal in a ?74million move.
But Lukaku took exception to Neville's comments in an interview on Friday.
'Don't question my professionalism,' Lukaku told the BBC. 'I live for this game. I am at home all the time. I try to do everything to improve.'
Lukaku added: 'He (Neville) can talk about my fitness but he should never say anything about my professionalism, that I don't work hard enough. That is something he cannot say. All the coaches I have had say the same thing about me.
'What did Ole Gunnar Solskjaer say when I was on the training ground? What did he say? That I always work hard and always do my best to try and improve myself. Same with Jose Mourinho and Roberto Martinez. Now Antonio Conte will say it.
'Last year was just a bad year. It happens in football. You just have to move on. I am not going to sit here and react in a negative way.
'We are grown men. He is a pundit. He gets paid to say this kind of stuff. I am paid to play football. I just want to do my best for Inter Milan. That is it.'
Lukaku has now lost half a stone in weight after sticking to a strict nutrition regime under Inter boss Antonio Conte.
The forward was accused of being overweight towards the end of his time at Manchester United and reportedly tipped the scales 104kg upon joining Inter.
However, Sportsmail revealed on Thursday Lukaku has adopted a new diet under Conte, who is passionate about his players following a specific 'Bresaola diet'.
As part of the Belgian's diet, fried food, mozzarella and alcohol are firmly off the menu, though Lukaku has had no problem with the latter having always been teetotal.
In their place, a Mediterranean menu of vegetables and protein-rich white meats such as turkey and chicken have helped him to shed the pounds.
Lukaku appears to be reaping the benefits of his weight loss on the pitch, after scoring on his Inter debut in their 4-0 Serie A win over Lecce and alos againt Cagliari in their 2-1 win.
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