Manchester United Makes Me Question Reality

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Manchester United are in a bit of a state at the moment. But it’s not all doom and gloom. What’s going on?

Transcript and sources: https://footballiconic.com/manchester-united-makes-me-question-reality/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheOfficial_FI
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00:00 – Introduction
02:21 – The State Of Manchester United
07:00 – Thoughts on Manchester United players
16:39 – What about Eric Ten Hag?
20:11 – Sir Jim Ratcliffe?

Background music:
@pinkxo (Prod Pink)

Producer: Tinashe Chipako
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Champions League winner, this year, this is the clippable bit, Manchester United. Guys, I can’t believe Cristiano Ronaldo did this. It’s been years. Oh, so many years. More than 10 at this point. And yet, I still do not understand Manchester United.

This club remains as one of the most confusing games, not just in Europe. But on the entire planet, the biggest club in England, historically, yes, a massive dedicated fan base too. So it should come as no surprise that every season, the fans of this club feel like something big can happen.

Like these boys can pull themselves out of the drought and win the Premier League, the Champions League maybe? 17 games into the season, I’m celebrating like a madman after 0 0 to Liverpool. Every time things start to seem better and they go on to have a season that

You would think would be the perfect springboard to build up some momentum. There is a collapse and calls for a rebuild. This season seems to be shaping up to be that. We are living in a time loop. Although perhaps this is more an issue of unrealistic expectations than anything else.

These words might come back to bite me, but I do think Ten Hag needs to stay. That’s not to say I’m a huge fan, but I just don’t think he deserves all the hate he gets. There is clear instability at the club due to injury, suspension and ongoing

Change in leadership and much more. At the end of the day, I find it hard to decide what to make of this club at the moment and I know I’m not alone. Yo what is going on everyone, hope you’re all doing well. I’m Tinashe, welcome back to the channel.

It’s been a while since I’ve made a Manchester United centred video, which might seem a little odd to some because, surprise surprise, I I am a Manchester United fan, this shirt is a little bit tattered and old, I’m sorry about that. That’s just because I’ve been playing football in it since 2007.

Also, this channel is called Football Iconic, it’s a football channel. You know, I talk about all football. Also, I kind of value my sanity over YouTube views. Also, quick one before we get started. Happy to announce that the channel has partnered up with SofaScore for all team statistics, news, match information, and odds.

If you need a football app, I highly recommend giving them a download. Link’s in the description. It’s a great way to support the channel, it’s free, and it’s a great product. I actually use it. Wouldn’t be endorsing it otherwise. Last time we spoke about United in a dedicated video We were five games

In with three games lost and two won. Things weren’t exactly going great And I’m not gonna lie to you. There hasn’t been much evidence to suggest that things have gotten better We’ve crashed out of the entirety of European competition, like all of it,

Rock bottom in the group Not the first time As this did happen back in 2006, and on that note I’d like to remind everyone that this was one year before we went on to win three Premier Leagues in a row. Listen, I’m not trying to say anything, but all you should

Know is you heard it here first. Against Bayern, there was no fight at all. Against Bournemouth, there was zero accountability in the midfield. I can’t tell you how many times I saw a misplaced pass or just a general unwillingness to run into space and help a teammate out.

Against Newcastle, The Magpies were playing against 11 training codes. Chelsea truly are a shambles of a club at the moment, because United were looking like a top team against them. And in most games that United have actually won, I wouldn’t say they’ve been all too impressive.

Scrappy wins like those against Luton, Fulham and Wolves seem to be the only ways that these guys can bag three points. And that’s just in the league. Heaven forbid I start talking about Copenhagen and Galatasaray. Being complacent and allowing teams to come back in matches that seem

Settled was the theme of Group A. For Man United, at least. This was supposed to be an easy group. Second to Bayern seemed pretty obvious and nailed on, but the rest of it was supposed to be a formality. And that, my friends, is the definition.

12 losses already across the board, and the only game we’ve won by more than one goal in both the Champions League and the Premier League was against Everton. To be fair, Garnaccio’s goal would’ve actually counted for at least 3 goals if the match turned out differently.

Don’t check the rulebook, just trust me bro. I know one or two of you are glancing over at the table and seeing United with a negative three goal difference and having a laugh. Fair enough. So let’s put the past few weeks into context, shall we?

Last year, after 17 games, United were in 4th with 35 points. This year, same amount of games played, 7th with 28. Things aren’t exactly going well, you know, but at least there was a little bit of positivity recently. Everybody was expecting a bloodbath against Liverpool and I’m not gonna lie to you.

So was I. No Captain Bruno Fernandes, no Harry Maguire, no Casemiro, also missing, you know, a million other players through injury and various other things. United haven’t won an away game at Liverpool since 2016. Their biggest rivals, mind you. Plus, the aggregate score over the last five head to head games in the

Premier League before this match. Sits on 20 goals to 3. I’m sitting here typing this out and all of this came back to me like it was new information. I genuinely think my mind wiped these memories from existence. A few weeks ago when United were playing well, I was thinking

About doing maybe like a watch along type thing for this match. You know, just have a little fun, interact with people a little bit more, see what that’s like. But after United crashed out of the Champions League. I kinda chickened out, but maybe we’ll do it again in the

Future, who knows, let’s see. You know what? I was pleasantly surprised from this match. We came for a draw, and we got a draw. That’s good enough for me, and I’m not gonna talk too much about this match, because truth be told, there isn’t that much to talk about.

Liverpool forgot their shooting boots at home with 34 shots and an XG of 2. 38. Zero goals. Fans were not happy. But give credit where credit is due, this was a fantastic defensive display by United. Seeing Jonny Evans in a United lineup against Salah, Nunez and Diaz

Was Giving me heart palpitations initially, but he was great. Major props. Go to Diogo Dlot, who isn’t always the most consistent defensively. His timing on some of those tackles was immense though after his display against Bournemouth, which was borderline criminal. He really needed to have a good one here.

And what was his reward becoming the first player in the history of maybe ever? To get two yellow cards in the space of about five seconds for one showing of descent. It was the most shocking thing that happened all match. It happened at the very end.

I guess Michael Oliver saw that not much had happened and knew that headlines needed to be written, so took matters into his own hands. I don’t know guys, what do you think? Also, what do you think Diogo Dalot said there? Okay, so we’re about to dive deep into some thoughts I

Have on the actual players. The good, the bad, and the ugly. We have the entire spectrum here, so this might take a while. Apologies if it starts sounding like a rant. Actually, I’m not that sorry. It is a rant. Marcus Rashford, mate.

This man has his most loyal fans fighting for their lives in every comment section across the internet. It’s very difficult to defend him at the moment. He’s just signed what’s rumored to be a mega deal that puts him on par with Kevin De Bruyne and Mohamed Salah in terms of earning.

These are the two best players in the Premier League, in my opinion. I’m talking overall, not necessarily form. Mostly because De Bruyne has been injured the whole season. They are light years ahead of this guy. And in a team that requires a hard press, he doesn’t press.

And he scored the same amount of goals as centre back Pau Torres. He just seems to give up on the press or loose balls far too easily, far too frequently. Which, for someone like me, who is a big Rashford fan, is extremely frustrating, because things didn’t always used to be like this.

He used to be one of the most aggressive pressers on the team. And this wasn’t even too long ago, I’m talking like, two years ago ish? And I understand that people slow down with age. But he is 26, only 2 years younger than Anthony Martial, the master of playing for the contract.

Somehow, Anthony Martial has managed to stay at Manchester United for almost a decade and is also one of the highest paid players in the entire Premier League. He wears the 9, but he has yet to score more than 6 goals in a Premier League season since lockdown.

I understand that injuries and illness have been ever present for him, which hinders a lot of things, but every time he actually does step on the pitch. We’re all met with the exact same story. Laziness. My guy does what he needs to secure the contract, then logs off.

Jadon Sancho is one of the most bizarre player stories to hit Manchester United in the past few years, and that really is saying something. This man has no reported injury, he’s not out due to suspension, he cost 73 million pounds, he’s only 23 years old, was regarded as one of the most

Exciting young football prospects on the planet, And is one of the highest paid football players on the planet. Yet, he’s playing Ultimate Team on match days. Back in September, Erik Ten Hag said that Jadon Sancho was a poor trainer, saying that he wasn’t giving enough effort to the team.

And, listen, we watch these games every weekend. I don’t see any lies there. He publicly called Erik Ten Hag out on Twitter and left the post up for over a week. When told that an apology would grant him a second chance. He has been residing in the Shadow Realm ever since.

The last time he even stepped foot on a pitch was the 26th of August. Ever since then, he’s been spotted at various parties around England. This is him at a 21 Savage party in London in early December. Coincidentally, it’s also the number of minutes he’s played this season.

I mean, he might as well embrace the celebrity life in his downtime, I guess. All of this has led people to bring up some pretty interesting facts about Jalen Sancho’s history in the footballing industry. It’s a well known fact that he plays FIFA a lot, you know, goes to sleep

Very late and often shows up to training and matches late to join the team. This is a Telegraph article from Before United even signed him, it was believed that Borussia Dortmund used to have people go around to his place and wake him up for training and matches regularly.

If this information is readily available to a bum like me, how did the Man United execs miss this? I’m at a loss for words, and even before this whole Ten Hag situation, he wasn’t exactly a first choice. Solskjaer fought so hard to sign him, but never played him. Ranić, never played him.

Ten Hag, now doesn’t play him. I guess if everyone else is the issue, you kind of have to start looking inwards, right? Andre Onana made a very good point the other day. You want to tell me in six months, the best goalkeeper of

The Champions League last season, he become the worst in the world? He’s not wrong. He was great last year with Inter, and I think he will come right. Even still, some of the mistakes that he’s made early on in his United career have been shocking.

In his first ever Premier League match, he was very lucky to get away with a borderline body slam, and the worst of his mistakes, in my eyes at least, came against Galatasaray. Not one, but two relatively routine free kicks by Hakim Ziyech sneaked past him.

And all of this isn’t an isolated incident, don’t get me wrong. Andre Onana is a definite step up when it comes to ball control and distributing with his feet, but he’s a definite step down when it comes to safety in the danger areas. His parries in particular are extremely dangerous.

I can’t tell you how many times this guy parries the ball straight into an attacker’s path. Something needs to be done about that. Harry Maguire I’m not gonna sit here and act like I haven’t been guilty of badmouthing Maguire in the past, for good reason too.

It’s easy to forget the past and focus on the right now, but let’s all remember that about two years ago, there was a moment when this man was barely a championship level defender, let alone a Manchester United captain. He was deserving of some criticism.

And yes, he was only playing this season because he was filling in for people who were injured at center back. But I really must say that the fight that he’s shown over the past two months really is commendable. Not only back into the starting lineup and playing well, but also

Being named the Premier League Player of the Month for November. Dominance in the box and defense, a good forward or diagonal ball every now and then, good recoveries for a bigger guy. Hats off to him, seriously. Speedy recovery as well. Luke Shaw is very flippy floppy.

One second he is immense, filling in at center back when needed and making forward runs, other times he’s gassing out early, misreading the game and losing his temper. I do think that he’s a great left back in general though. And when he’s good, he’s good.

And I also don’t want to discount the fact that injuries have been a massive bane to his development. And I’ll tell you why I’m saying this in a moment. Between 2015 and 2018, he only played 27 Premier League matches. That’s about 23 percent of the matches available.

I don’t see this happen as much as it used to, but it definitely does still happen from time to time. You can kind of see him shy away from going into contact that a lot of people would deem to be necessary.

I can only imagine because he’s trying to avoid getting injured, which makes sense. It doesn’t fully explain the flippy floppiness, but I don’t know. I just thought I had to mention it. It’s a bit of an observation of mine.

You ask me what Scott McTominay’s best position is and I’m not gonna lie to you. I wouldn’t be able to answer. He is aggressive and does a lot of running, which has endeared him to a lot of the fans, myself included, but he lacks real quality to progress the ball

Meaningfully in the midfield and Also can’t really predict where the ball is going to go next when it’s in that area. He also gets beaten far too easily in 1v1 situations for somebody that’s played in the pivot role as much as he has.

He arrives in the box really well and honestly might have the best attacking positioning that a Manchester United player has to offer at the moment. There’s a reason the ball keeps falling to him in the danger areas. But he does not have the killer instinct or refined finishing that a true attacker has.

All of this comes as a consequence of being played as a 6, an 8, a 10, and a 9 under a 4. Different managers now at this point. I really do like Scott McTominay. Just, I don’t really know if when United are at full strength. where I would put him.

If I would put him in the starting lineup at all. Antony, Regillon, Lindelof, and Amrobat, I’m gonna place them in the same general bucket. I wouldn’t say they’ve done anything impressive nor dreadful, they’ve just been okay, you know.

Antony is someone that a lot of people have been frustrated with, he kind of has One move, cutting inside, and his decision making up front is questionable at times. But in my eyes, he kind of more than makes up for it with his industry. That man tracks back like a monster.

Raphael Varane is quality, we all know this, but even he has been somewhat questionable at times for United. I have no clue what’s been happening between Raphael Varane and Erik Ten Hag lately, because before Liverpool, he hadn’t played for about 4 matches.

I believe he was available for all of them, bar one of them. Who knows? Nonetheless, he was fantastic against Liverpool and he needs to start. Bruno is still very much our best player. He loses the ball a lot, but that is the price of creativity.

He complains a lot, but as long as he does that in a Man United shirt and not in a shirt opposing Man United, I’m not complaining. The younger players in the team aren’t free from criticism, but They do deserve a bit of slack. I honestly believe that Rasmus Hoyland is the real deal.

He is a strong runner and from the goals that he’s already scored, you can see that he’s got that composure in him. The problem here is ultimately one of service. The guy just doesn’t get the ball. Against Liverpool, he had four touches in the entire first half.

He had one touch in the box in the entire first half. You know, just give him some time. Also, reminder that he is 20 years old. Ganacho is just like any other younger winger, bites off a bit more than he can chew at times, wasteful at times, naive at times, but so were

All the greats when they were 19. He is undoubtedly the most positive attacking player we have at the moment, just the way he faces up to the opposition and drives to the line. I want more. Give me more. Also, give Kobe Meinu more minutes. I demand it.

We don’t often see an 18 year old play with such composure in an area of the pitch where most teams put their most experienced players. Tyrell Malacia, Christian Eriksson, Lassandro Martinez, Mason Mount, Casemiro, uh, probably even more. They’re all out injured, so we can’t really comment too much

About them, uh, you know, based on recent form and recent results. At least Donnie Van de Beek, rumored to be going on loan? He’s been at United this whole time. And Johnny Evans No real complaints from me, given Manchester United’s circumstances, needing a centre back, given Johnny Evans circumstances, needing a club.

I mean, I think he’s done very well, given the circumstances. And finally In the intro, I said that I don’t think firing Erik Ten Hag is the way to go. And I don’t. I truly don’t. Because, what’s gonna happen? They’re gonna fire Ten Hag.

They’re gonna bring in a caretaker manager that’s gonna take care of the team until the end of the season. It’s another throwaway season. They bring in another manager. This guy brings his own coaching style, his own playing style. And yeah, you know, some outcasted members of the team might, you

Know, thrive and find some joy, like Jed and Sancho, for example. But then what about the ones that clash with this guy’s personality, or his playing style, or whatever, and we’re back to square one. Rinse and repeat. It’s a toxic cycle that shows little signs of slowing down.

Again, I want to clarify that this does not equate to me saying that I wholeheartedly support Eric Tinhardt. I just think right now is a bad moment, but he does still deserve a bit more time to change people’s opinions. Three years, in my opinion, is enough time for a manager to get acquainted

With a new league, if that’s the case. Get to know the existing players, bring in their own new players to form their own identity and also do a bit of trial and error. His grace period was last year and he finished third, which is fantastic, but this was definitely an overachievement.

Which a lot of people might see as unfair, but I don’t think it is. Last year, teams like Liverpool were trash and underperforming, but now that everyone is better, or at least back to their base level, it doesn’t seem like Manchester United has chosen to follow the trend.

And as long as Erik Ten Hag is playing a midfield three where two players both believe they are eights. and the one left behind is losing all of his battles, we will continue to get run over. Just a little bit more on Tinhag, he’s heralded as a professional,

No nonsense coach that was meant to bring order and discipline to a club that was ill disciplined. And you know what, he certainly looks the part at times. When he talks in the media, he talks with a stern voice, his words are impactful.

However, A year and a half into his tenure, his club, and the players in his club, frequently lack discipline. His captain is getting himself banned from a match against our biggest rivals because of dissent. His players are making mistakes you wouldn’t see in an academy matchup.

It might seem like I’m being a little bit harsh when I talk about Tien Hag and individual errors. I’m aware of this, I mean I have spent most of the video talking about individuals and how they play after all. But I’m still of the opinion that a team is a reflection of a

Manager’s philosophies and ideas. When you screw up at work in front of the clients, yes, you will take some blame, however your boss or greater organization will be the one that we look to for answers. Right now, Man United are 6 points off of Manchester City and I know

A lot of fans are encouraged by this fact, as they should be. This city side is a club that every club in world football that considers themselves elite should be comparing themselves to. But let’s also not forget that they have won one match and they’re

Part 6 in the premier league and their best player is out injured. City themselves Are five points off the top. That being said, they will undoubtedly recover. Will Manchester United look at all the teams above seventh right now? How many of them can you actually say are worse than United now?

When Man United, our full strength again, will they be competing? I’m not gonna lie to you. I don’t think that I’ve seen anything from when they were full strength at the beginning of the season. That indicates that I really don’t know, man.

I’m hoping to come back to this video in a couple of months and laugh at how wrong I was. So I wanted this video to focus on the team and only the team because that’s all that we can really comment about. I mean, we watched them play week in, week out.

When it comes to the ownership, what can we really say? The story is still the same as it has been for a few months now. Sir Jim Ratcliffe is set to take a 25 percent stake in the club in a 1. 25 billion deal and will take control of footballing matters.

I’m sure his ultimate plan is to do a complete takeover, but I imagine that will take time. Obviously I’m speaking with a lot of authority, me and uh, Jimmy, billionaires, fellow billionaires. I don’t see a world where the Glazers will relinquish a cash cow like this anytime soon.

With Ratcliffe, it certainly helps that he is an actual Manchester United fan apparently. He’s already indicated that he will be putting a quarter of a billion pounds of his own money into facility upgrades. How this new direction will benefit the club, who knows. It’s a step in the right direction.

It’s a step in a direction that will please a lot of people, or at least give a bit of hope. Until then, we wait. And there we have it. A long overdue discussion on Manchester United and their current state.

I think we’re going to wait a couple of months to do the next one. There are other clubs to talk about in the meantime. Chelsea. Um, hope you guys enjoyed. Feel free to follow all the socials. Feel free to subscribe. That’s all for me today. Hope you guys enjoyed.

Hope you’re having a great day. Cheers, and I will catch you in the next one.