layzie

If it happened, the only experience I can draw on would be when we lost Woewodin to the filth and this would be that x 100.

We've got our man. Welcome Andrew!

I was definitely expecting a wise crack response so that was refreshingly surprising 😆

These are all good responses to my points. As mentioned, it's purely an outside bozo on the street view of it. Overpaying for players is probably a good way to look at it because it puts the magnifying glass on more. Having a really good sporting director is just so important these days. Varane has missed a lot of time with injury so I'd put him in the Thiago Alcantara category of someone you'd just love to have out there more consistently. As for Casemiro, you're right he was excellent last year. Maybe one of the signings of the season, but as it stands early in this campaign he hasn't looked right. The midfield mix is definitely not helping him (or anyone) but I don't quite buy into these guys being better at Real because they were surrounded by quality. There's enough quality at Man Utd to get more out of him in this early stage so I'm expecting to see a turnaround as he's no doubt a world class player. Lukaku I agree on. Much like Diego Forlan wasn't an indictment on Fergie. While there good cases for these players not being total flops, they are not at the standard that a club like this requires. As a former president said, they don't give United shirts out in Wheeties boxes. I can't believe I find myself here championing the Man Utd cause! A lot of the problems are systemic and will only change once owners who care about club success are brought in. Do you think Rashford cops a bit too much criticism?

The 'last man' is the most misinformed phrase in my time of watching/playing Soccer. Definitely going to check out that Twitter page.

There's a lot not right at United at the moment and without being as close to it as you I just see a team that is difficult to see what they are trying to accomplish. The background noise hasn't been helpful at all and it is likely the big change they need won't come until there is new ownership. On the pitch it's hard to get clarity around it. They can play some really good football one second and then just totally lose the plot the next. The injuries and selections haven't helped build cohesion as you mentioned. There is one thing that totally baffles me when it comes to United, when things aren't going their way they seem to be bereft of good leadership and guys who can re-set the tone. But how can this be the case when you have Champions League winners like Varane and Casamiro in the side? I didn't love the choice of Bruno as captain but I thought he did a decent job in the role last year, how can leadership just evaporate? I grew up watching the Fergie 90s and 00s sides, they had leaders all over the park so seeing this is unheard of to me. Speaking of Varane and Casamiro, they seem to be part of an ongoing trend of players that have regressed at the club like Lukaku, Pogba, Mcguire, Sancho etc. How many times has a player come to United in recent times and improved? Bruno? Wan-Bissaka maybe? You'd know better than me Roy but it doesn't look like a good trend from the outside. It's a hard slog but one thing I wouldn't be doing is replacing the manager yet. October to December will be crucial.

Think it's just the first thing Adelaide would ask for if we had the nerve to enquire about Thilthorpe.

Certainly did. Brought them a small forward who would become the Norm Smith medalist, a Brownlow medalist to fill a glaring need in the middle and a few handy role players. They smashed it.

In terms of a pure 'in and under bottom of every pack feed it out' type of extractor I agree. There's few teams that have more than one of these, you have to drill down into the role a bit more as there are a heap of great contested ball midfielders in the game that aren't playing a 100% extractor role because of the need to hold width/shape. It's almost like they are the second link in the chain after extractor but before ball user.

202cm, 103kg, marks well, can play ruck, surprisingly good at ground level and reasonably accurate. Safe to say he might fit the mould of what we need.

How much is riding on the bet?

Specialist coach in this position @drysdale demon not head coach. My bad.

Leppitch is definitely someone who I think would be a heap better in his second shot at head coaching.

There's only ever been one song I think of when it comes to the Collingwood Football Club. My most hated team by a long, long way..

If that's the case then he should fire his management because they're useless.

I won't get started on that debacle but the LFC and Klopp handled this in the absolute best way possible. I would like to see our club meet certain decisions and issues with a bit more resistance. I was so proud of the way we fought the JVR charge however there have been moments this year where I felt we just copped our whack and didn't respond. For most of the second half of the year at games I would watch Gawn for an extended period of time, I needed to see for myself if the treatment off the ball he received was as bad as people had been saying. If anything it was worse, there were the knees in the back and rib ticklers but the number of times Max's head was targeted left me a little queasy. The time has come for us to ask the AFL for a please explain on this because seeing the big American with a medal round his neck is giving me a real Dean Wallis feeling. There was also the Maynard and Brayshaw tribunal ruling. I don't know what grounds we had to pipe up about it but I would like to have seen some kind of pressure put on the AFL to appeal this decision. The fact that the defence's argument that Brayshaw's deviated running line basically caused the concussion was unchallenged or even questioned is frankly abhorrent as a look and I say this as a neutral football fan who loves the richness of the game but cares about the future of it with regards to head safety and health. It's not even over yet, if the AFL over extend with North's assistance package will we make a sound? I doubt it. I know North have been down longer but that opens up the integrity debate for another post.

The last two numbers are 24 which is the year next year. A surefire sign that we'll win the flag..

I guess not all list positions are created equal. I've got no doubt the benefit of having Jake around the place will be much better than not having him there. Could help with a transition into a coaching role. I don't know how the list rules would work, whether he'd be a rookie spot or mature age supplemental dodad position but I do see the benefit and doing this before the trade period.

Only if his elbow gets deformed again! 😁

If you smell what the Brock is cooking.

I would also prefer the wishing people ill not be a thing but thankfully it doesn't happen regularly.

We'll see how it goes. Glad he's playing on he deserves it but let's hope we improve the much needed areas in tje forward line.

Of course they will change the rule. Only way they can hedge their bets both ways! The feel good story was great, Bruz got his flag but now we'll do something about it so we can appease everyone.

It's a dangerous tackle for sure but there does seem to be confusion in the media and pundits over whether contact with the ball first and slipping momentum is a red card or not and I myself have to say I don't know the current ruling 100% myself. If it's a red card to the letter of the law so be it but what I have a major problem with was the way the VAR was used in that moment. You can't be looking at a freeze frame and not in real time. I nearly quoted you in this post Macca because it's times like this when we need to check our attitudes watching as fans. Let's say for arguments sake that Jones was a 'terrible' decision, did he really need to go studs up into that tackle at that time? Did he need to put a foot in at all? These are the decisions that can increase or decrease the risk of a big decision going against you. Same thing with Jota as you said, the first yellow might have been dicey but don't do silly things after that. There's always things players can control in games and I'm happy to admit that Liverpool were on the undisciplined side in this one. But as much as this went against Liverpool it also annoys me that the real story of Spurs' great win is buried. They came out well at the start and I'm not convinced that we would have won this game with 11 men. Ange has got the balance right with this team and we should be talking about that. Not officiating, not VAR. Very proud of the Liverpool rearguard who defended out of their skins with 25 mins left and 9 men. The fatigue would have set in so hard that the Matip own goal didn't really surprise.

Well said Titan. There are plenty of great positives and the standard of play and competition is very high. Can't disagree with much there to be honest. I would like to see some improvements in the areas mentioned, it doesn't need to be perfect just not regressing. A new year will bring new excitement, I'll be ready for 24.