The Mailbox likens a Martin Odegaard pass to Marilyn Monroe’s subway grate shot, while Marcus Rashford is warned that he needs Manchester United more than they need him…
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Rashford needs United
There is a concept in HR that is analogous to the Rashford situation. When we measure employee’s performance, we look at traits – that is, things that people are able to do. However, if we only looked at traits, then we may well have geniuses who just can’t be bothered and produce nothing.
Hence, we also need to consider behaviours, that it, what people actually end up doing. The analogy to football would be traits are skills, and behaviours are form. The problem with Rashford is that he scores very highly on traits (for example the ability to score an absolute cracker, and what a goal it was – something special when it goes off the woodwork), but low on behaviours.
It’s often said that a parting of the ways may be the best for all parties, and some in the mailbox have mentioned (pleaded) for it. However on closer inspection, that argument does not hold here. It would be great for United if he left – they will be able to reallocate the massive amounts of money, and get rid of someone whose inconsistency has epitomized United over the past few years to enable the much-needed overhaul of culture. But for Rashford, it would likely be a disaster.
Right now, his PR army benefits tremendously from his current state. He is almost guaranteed a starting spot in one of biggest clubs in the world, and a starting spot in a very competitive England set-up largely due to his traits.
This allows him to dial it in regularly (using another HR analogy – reward not being consistent with output and therefore no incentive to change) while doing lots of other things outside of the game. If he went to a new side, he would have to prove himself again without the benefit of massive amounts of goodwill earned over the years by his traits occasionally shining through.
It highlights the mistakes that folks like Pogba and Lingard made. Their overall success was a function of both their ability and the club that they belonged to. They overestimated their own ability, while simultaneously underestimating the power of belonging to a club like United. There is no way Rashford’s advisors haven’t learned from previous episodes, and it is likely why they felt the need to come forth with a letter that emphasized “Don’t you dare question my loyalty to United!”. If he leaves United, there is a great chance that the cash cow disappears.
Cheers
The Big P (Vancouver)
Giddy Gooner
Did anyone expect Arsenal to be in the title race in March after what happened in late 2023? I didn’t. I certainly didn’t expect the possibility of the title being in our hands by mid-March. Of course, if Arsenal fail to beat Brentford on Saturday then things can turn sour again.
But, holy cow! Arsenal are in with a shout! We can talk about how it’s not worth getting excited after beating the worst team in the league. You still have to beat them. You still have to beat the Sheffield Uniteds, the Forests, the Man Utds. Even if Arsenal fall short again this season there’s still plenty to be optimistic about. Our boys are good. And they’ll be good for the next few years. Now, watch Toney score a hat trick this weekend…
Simon, Norf London Gooner
Arsenal on fire
Arsenal’s recent run in the league:
5-0
2-1
3-1 (against Liverpool)
6-0 (away to West Ham)
5-0
4-1 (against Newcastle)
6-0
They’re on a run where they’ve averaging over 4 goals a game and conceding less than 0.5. If this was a Man City run we’d all be saying that’s the title over, this is the part of the season where they go on an bulldozing run of form. Yet according the bookies, they’re 3rd favourites for the title.
I know they have some tricky ties (City, Spurs, Wolves away) but they also have some gimees (Luton, Chelsea, Man United at home). Not going to lie, as a Liverpool fan, they’re making me nervous.
Mike, LFC, London
Blonde bombshell
Not much to add on last night’s game. Just that there was a 50 yard diagonal pass played by Martin Odegaard to Martinelli in the first half that was football’s equivalent to Marilyn Monroe standing over that subway air vent.
I try not to get carried away, but that was something else…
Rob, Bristol Gooner
(Could, and maybe even SHOULD, have been 9 or 10)
Odegaard’s a genius
Say what you want about how bad Sheffield united are (and the NW mafia in the press will focus on that for sure) – but a word about the Arsenal Captain.
I’ve been watching Arsenal for 45 years and that’s the most complete 45 minutes by one of our players I’ve ever seen. Brady, Henry, Dennis, Cesc, Sanchez and Ozil all had man many moments and games. But the skill, touch, orchestration and the energy. My goodness. The pressing. The harassing. Relentless and utter quality.
Saka and others get the flowers most weeks and are credited with being our “stars” but our skipper – his ability and attitude in leading from the front is what drives this club. Arteta saw it. Bought him and gave him the armband. The fans love this team. Love what they do and how they do it. It started with him.
Genius.
Johnno.
Read more: Ranking the six Arsenal goals by how embarrassing they were for Sheffield United
Tough place to go
That linesman’s sandwiches must be tasting better every week.
Kudos to Odegaard for managing to keep a straight face while insisting that they know Bramall Lane is a tough place to come
Martin, Peckham
Disaster averted
I’ve been reading a few articles and predictions the last few days in regards the game between Sheffield Utd and Arsenal this Monday night.
There has been a lot of talk about Arsenal setting records for goals scored in consecutive away games, also about Sheffield Utd’s terrible recent form, as well as their leaky defence and basically no one giving them a snow balls chance in Hell.
This all leads me to believe that it will be a 1-0 win for the Blades!
They say there are no easy games in the Premiership, but I think that all depends on the attitude and personalism on which a team approaches the game and these are exactly the type of ones people take for a fore gone conclusion.
Here’s Hoping Arteta’s got his charges in the right frame of mind of the night ahead.
Donal J, Cork.
Have City lost their transfer touch?
Touched upon by Tom is the Mailbox is the idea that bar Phillips, City have been impeccable in the transfer market, but I’d have to disagree. Their team is still the best in Europe on their day, so it’s not been widely discussed, but their summer dealings have proved really poor.
Gvardiol cost a packet and has been bang average at best. Could well be one to file under “difficult first season working out Pep ball” but at the moment, he’s a failure.
Kovacic has been in and out and again, very average. Came to replace Gundogan and is a pale imitation.
Matheus Nunes has been broadly rubbish and contributed next to nothing. Contributing more than Kalvin Phillips is the lowest of bars to pass.
Jeremy Doku was really good and exciting in his first few games so everyone decided he’s really good. He’s not. He’s very fast but I feel like he’s been totally worked out by teams now. Did nothing on Sunday and it’s no surprise City won the game after he was subbed. As someone once remarked about Walcott, “all fart, no shit”.
That’s the thick end of £200m that replaced Gundogan, Laporte, Mahrez and Palmer. I know a couple of them were getting on, but I’d rather have the four that went out the door than the four that came in.
Lewis, Busby Way
Four f***’s sake
Let’s talk about shirt numbers (baby)!
Not in the sense of weirdly defensive Liverpool fans using the high shirt numbers of Klopp’s Carabao Cup Conquering Kids to prove some kind of point last week. I want to talk about cursed numbers!
Forget Manchester United’s cursed number 7. United’s number 4 is the new cursed number.
In truth, you could make a case for most Man United shirt numbers being cursed these days. But seeing the hapless and sluggish (and Tim Sutton bugbear) Sofyan Amrabat caught in possession for Haaland’s goal on Sunday, I couldn’t get the thought out of my head.
On a side note, what has happened to Tim Sutton? Seems to have vanished off the face of the Earth, but he’s been proven to be absolutely on the money about Amrabat. I thought Amrabat must’ve run over Tim’s cat, such was the peculiar near-vendetta he had against the Moroccan, but he’s been entirely vindicated by the poor showings this season from the on-loan Fiorentina man.
I digress. It’s all the number 4’s fault. Phil Jones was a rubber-faced walking meme, Owen Hargreaves was our most injury-prone Owen after Michael and we all know the travails of Juan Sebastian Veron.
Going way back, we’ve not had a properly good number 4 since Steve Bruce! Gabi Heinze was decent, but kind of blackened his name by demanding a move to Liverpool, which Fergie would not stand for. David May wasn’t bad either but he became a bit of a punchline because of his propensity for Arsenal-esque over-celebrations.
In conclusion, any future signings United make should avoid number 4 like the plague. And number 7, obviously. And number 5 after Maguire and Rojo. Come to think of it, number 6 too, now Martinez is crocked, following on from the Pogba disaster. Just pick a completely different number nobody else has ever worn and you should be grand!
Cheers,
Lee, a classic number 10
Pep’s a special one
Tom, LFC’s Monday afternoon Mailbox about Manchester City’s lack of humanity, soul and relatability was clearly bitter nonsense. It was especially jarring to see Tom claim that an AI-generated image of a football manager would look like Guardiola. This is a man who has been noted as an outlier, who has been bucking managerial trends since he entered the scene 15 years ago. The guy was (correctly) mocked for his weird combo hoodie cardigan jacket thing a few years ago. There have been plenty of other times he has been noted for looking or dressing weird. There is nothing archetypal about Pep Guardiola as a football manager.
…but it’s an interesting topic. Who IS the archetypal football manager, in terms of looks? (Do Mailbox contributors have any suggestions?)
Oliver Dziggel, Geneva Switzerland
PS: I’m pretty sure Kalvin Phillips’ weight target was carefully calculated and bespoke to him, rather than “dictated by the group’s statistical models”. Unless you think MCFC have won 3 consecutive league titles and a treble with whole squads of underfed/overfed footballers who were given arbitrary weight targets. Hmm.
Et Tu Nev
To massively misquote a famous phrase “I have not come to bury ETH but to praise him.” Perhaps not praise him exactly but to try and bring some balance to the current narrative, primarily fueled by the media, that ETH is on borrowed time. I am hoping the people that are now calling the shots look at things from a bigger perspective.
Track Record – According to various reports, ETH has done better after his first 100 games than every MUFC manager in recent history, including both Klopp and Arteta. In his first season, he won one trophy, got to the final of another, and achieved a much coveted Champions League spot, all in his first season. Last season, we also had one of the best defenses in the league.
Squad – I think I am correct in saying that he has yet to field his preferred starting XI and we are 3/4 of the way through the season. Against the best team in the League he started without a recognized left back, left-sided defender and center forward. Of the starting XI, he had only ONE of HIS signings on the field, yet is also blooding academy players. In reality, at least 5 or 6 of that starting XI probably shouldn’t be at the club, let alone on the bench. Again with the leaks. The players wanted a rest, the training is too hard, ETH doesn’t tell them bedtime stories and tuck them in at night. The situation is not going to change until a significant portion of this current squad is culled.
Signings – Of the signings, the sudden arrivals of Casemiro, Varane and Eriksen for no fee smacks of corporate panic buying. How much of a say did ETH have in these signings? I think it is telling that, even when fit, ETH does not start Mason Mount. I think we can all agree that Anthony should have cost about $25M and should have been introduced gradually, not thrown in at the deep end.
Playing Style – Of course we look like dog poo at the moment but that’s because half the current team are visible reminders of the disjointed approach from previous managers. Some players counter attack, others play possession and the defense is so far away from the midfield you could drive a bus through it. Then, as soon as things get tough, the Captain and our local lad down tools and sulk.
Perception – Probably every true MUFC fan would admit we are a mediocre team at the moment yet we are comfortably ahead of former media darlings Newcastle and Brighton, who have also struggled… because of injuries. It seems like the current media darlings are now Spurs and Villa and both deserve the recognition, yet we are still in touching distance of the both of them and possibly even a Champions League spot, which would be an absolute miracle. are ravaged with injuries, poor darlings.
We are currently in what I refer to as the “Biden Dilemma.” Who do they think will come in and do a better job? Zidane? Xaxi? Alonso wouldn’t touch us with a barge pole. The worst possible thing would be to scrap everything once again, 2 years into this project. It’s like Groundhog Day. How many times does this have to happen before someone realizes that it’s not the manager, it’s the players. If Newcastle, Brighton and Chelsea can stick with their managers, ETH also deserves the same consideration until he can field a team of players that match his vision.
Adidasmufc (It seems like a lot of what Ronaldo had to say was spot on)
What’s all the Forest fuss about?
I don’t really see the drama with the latest Tierney mistake at Forest. It didn’t directly lead to a goal or any consequential actions. It doesn’t seem to be any more egregious than calling a throw in wrong. It’s hardly wholesale cheating like say a systemic disregard of FFP is it?
Its clearly not equivalent to scoring a valid goal and VAR thinking its a valid goal but saying words that mean an offside is give then covering it up by not letting the referee in charge know, not releasing the images during the game and refusing to apologise for it. But everyone knows that. If the recourse from that was refereeing karma then isn’t this it?
Maybe whether referees are able to concentrate for 100+ minutes should have been factored into to decisions about adding on all this extra time to every single game.
It’s all distraction of course. Check out City’s next two league fixtures… might be able to cancel the TV subscription for the summer from the end of the month!
Alex, South London
Spurs’ stronger subs
I was delighted to see Jonson’s name come up in the winners section on Monday.
There was also mention of some mutterings of discontent, which, whilst true, I think we’re slightly misplaced.
Johnson, despite his huge fee, I don’t think was supposed to be playing so often from the start of matches. The raft of unavailable players for Spurs thrust him into the starting XI where he’s impact hasn’t been as keenly felt. That could well be due to a confidence issue, and were he to start more often now he’s really finding his feet, the results would be more positive.
But it leads me to something else; our subs this season had been ineffective but that is due again to the significant drop in standard of players on the bench. On Saturday we brought on Sarr, Johnson and Hojbjerg whilst Dragusin remained on the bench. With Richarlison to come back, our options off the bench have suddenly improved, and not by a little margin either.
Probably foolish to say it but I would anticipate Spurs being one of the teams who will thrive in the final twenty minutes, not unlike those teams above us currently.
Tim
Come-and-get-me plea
United have tried everything.
Fergie’s choice, David Moyes. The job is too big…
The big club manager, Van Gaal. Too dull.
The superstar ego Mourinho. Past it.
The old player, Solskjaer. Too nice.
That other bloke. Who was he?
Ten Hag, the Dutch success.
Nothing works. So I have an idea.
The totally random person, who has no real football management experience, but could do the simple things well, like getting a winger to cross the ball.
Me.
Tim
Biscuit bantz
In response to “Aidan, LFC” & his assessment of which biscuits could be used to replace Andre Onana’s hands, I must strongly disagree…
‘Pink Wafers’ are absolute quality, & I won’t have anyone saying otherwise.
You need to take stock of your life, & start making better choices.
Garry, SRFC
Andre Onana is excellent in the Premier League
Snakes and City
Thought I would share my reply to my Manchester City supporting brother-in-law upon his gloating e-mail.
United really needed a second goal which I believe would have staved off the inevitable but unfortunately, Rashford fluffed his lines after that thunderb*stard. Garnacho would just be getting occasional minutes for City but we have to play this, not fully physically developed, player all the time and he was basically just shoved off the ball throughout the game. I could be churlish and say that there are 115 reasons + 19 years of Glazer neglect that was on show on Sunday but the fact is that City now have the best squad (not team!) ever assembled possibly in the history of football whereas our current squad contains what looks like 50% of youth players + 50% also-rans…it’s going to be a long way back for us. Is Erik the man? I think he is a good coach but can’t help thinking about Napoleon’s quote about not wanting good generals but lucky ones. Anyway, enjoy Pep’s somnambulist destruction of football as we used to know it. Watching City is about as exciting as watching a python sloooowly choking its prey to death.
Gary (ex Pat United fan in Pennsylvania) B
Read more: Man Utd being predictably rotten at Man City suits Sky Sports
Predictable Prem?
I don’t quite know where to begin with John Nic’s article about ManUtd being predictably rotten at Man City.
He asserts that broadcasters want predictable results. He makes no argument to support this assertion whatsoever. He doesn’t take any time to explain why people want to watch a predictable football match. He doesn’t acknowledge that fans want to watch their teams win, and that there are far more Utd fans than City fans. He doesn’t discuss the point that neutral fans are far more likely to watch unpredictable games than predictable ones. He doesn’t mention that winning fans stick around and watch post-match analysis (and adverts) while losing fans go home immediately.
He tries to make a point about casual football fans, sorry but casual Utd supporters did not watch that match wanting to see City win. They either watched hoping for an upset, or they did not tune in at all.
Is it even THAT predictable for Utd to lose? It was noted by various buildup articles that United have won various Manchester derbies during Pep’s time at the club, against expectations. Based on JN’s claims, these upsets were the last thing Sky Sports would have wanted?
Moreover, let’s pretend Sky Sports does want predictable football results. So what? Sky Sports has little-to-no say over the results of football matches. Utd did not perform badly on Sunday because of what Sky Sports said or wanted (although Calvino may insist otherwise). The two things are independent of each other.
JN is right that football’s wealth is predicated on telly. He’s right that what telly wants is very important. Broadcasters want sports matches to take a predictable amount of time – they don’t want 15 minutes of added time affecting their scheduled advertising. They don’t want to have variable programming depending on cups going to ET or penalties. Broadcasters want other nonsense like post-match (or even mid-match) interviews. They often get what they want. But not everything in football can be attributed to Broadcasters’ whims.
JN claims that the PL is the only predictable league. This is why Aston Villa are 4th. Everyone saw that coming, clearly. It all checks out!
Oliver Dziggel, Geneva Switzerland
