The Mailbox has two main takeaways from PSG’s hilarious collapse: Lionel Messi is a big fat flop; and Man Utd must swerve Mauricio Pochettino.
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Messi has failed
Can a free transfer be regarded as a flop? Because Messi hasn’t really worked out at PSG, has it? He is the reverse Tom Brady and trots around the field looking disinterested with the best of them.
Meanwhile, Benzema has to go down as one of the most under-rated players of this era. Has a goalscoring record as good as anyone from any time period, yet it is sort of under-the-radar when compared with the likes of Lewa, Haaland, Mbappe and Salah, nevermind the two GOATS.
What next for Poch? I don’t think it showcases his credentials as the saviour of Man United. In fact, it’s the latest in a litany of failings when push comes to shove. When Spurs were in contention for the league that time, they completely lost their heads and discipline in Stamford Bridge. They also under-performed in the CL final despite having plenty of time to address the early set-back of the penalty. Blind panic and rash tackling came to the fore for PSG tonight. But hey-ho, he dresses stylishly and apparently has a philosophy.
Brian, Wexford
…Although I have no love for Real Madrid, watching PSG f**k it up will never not be hilarious. Just how disinterested does Messi look?!? He makes Paul Pogba look like Bobby Firmino. I thought he was “desperate” to win another Champions League? He’s been a worse transfer than perma-crock Sergio Ramos for them. At least you can be confident that if Ramos gets fit, he’ll care enough to get sent off. Messi just looks like a slowly deflating balloon.
Stewart, Chicago
…Can we all please share a moment for the end of the Messi and Ronaldo era.
It was a blast.
Paul
Top ten most creative players in the Premier League
Bottle jobs
Messi was brought in, probably, to bring the Champions League to Paris but he’s basically brought that weird bottle-y tendency over from Barcelona. Weirdly he didn’t look particularly fussed as it all unfolded around him.
Messi and Neymar, for all their posturing, and thinking they’re so special were totally outshone by Vinicius and Benzema. Benzema and Vinicius attacked with no ego; they worked so hard, dovetailed so well, pressed like their lives depended on it and showed what it took to win in modern football. The other two seemed to think they could stand around and wait for the game to come to them. They were both mostly anonymous or awful.
Neymar is so irrelevant. Doesn’t carry any influence in the biggest games and barely offers anything other than a few failed attempts at skill in tight spaces or shooting when teammates are in better positions. Whoever is stupid enough to pay his wages when he leaves PSG will be getting their pants pulled down. I hope it’s Man Utd.
I guess the Qatari Sovereign Investment Fund will have to continue waiting for that elusive Sportswashing award. At least they’re miles ahead in the French league.
Minty, LFC
…PSG have spent €1.3 billion on players since 2011 and somehow none of them have been capable of coping with losing a lead in Europe.
Dario (Seems Qatar can buy the World Cup, but not the Champions League)
United’s rebuild
Man Utd, please, please, I beg of you, don’t even consider Pochettino any more, if his name is on the board, cancel it out immediately! I beg of you. Ah! Ah! How can somebody show you the light and you are still heading into darkness? Forget what happened yesterday and look at their matches against Nice and Man City. Appointing Pochettino and ignoring Ten Hag for the crazy reason of he doesn’t know the league which could be levied against Klopp, Conte, Guardiola and Tuchel before they all came should be a crime against humanity. Have you not seen him in the champions league?
Anyway, what is even more important than the manager they appoint is to get a cohesive squad, I looked at the two in front of the CBs against man city and it was Fred and Mctominay. I thought, no progression down the centre then, what about the full backs, Telles and Wan bissaka. No, progression down the wide areas then.
Mctominay in particular killed us in that game, he was constantly following Silva but not marking him, meaning he was ball watching and not guarding the space, a most terrible combination for a defensive midfielder. City constantly dragged Mctominay out of position and attacked the space down the left. On closer analysis, you will realise Maguire is not solely to blame for any one goal, sometimes, I need you to ask why he is in such a position in the first place. They should sell,
– Ronaldo, Cristiano
– De gea, David
– Wan bissaka, Aaron
– Baily, Erik
– Jones, Phil
– Telles, Alex
– Matic, Nemanja
– Mctominay, Scott
– Mata, Juan
– Pogba, Paul (end of contract)
– Cavani, Edinson (end of contract)
– Rashford, Marcus
– Lingard, Jesse
For Ronaldo, he offers nothing in build up and on the ball outside his box and we are trying to reduce the age of the squad. De gea offers little on the ball and in build up.
Wan bissaka is the greatest indictment of man utd’s recruitment, we need a RB, so get the guy with the most tackles and we are fine. Poor crossing and a lack of progressive passing is his problem. Baily offers little on the ball and can be too aggressive. Jones, just end his misery. Telles has great crossing but nothing else, not good enough defensively, a complete lack of ability to carry, and can only pass back if he can’t cross making him very one-dimensional. Matic is the best and only DM at the club but lacks the ability to play 90 minutes anymore. Mctominay may work hard, or he may look like he is working hard but you need more than that for a PL midfielder, a lack of spatial awareness, progressive passing, and creativity gets him on this list. Mata, see Matic. Pogba is a very good player and I would really like him to stay, but the club should focus on correcting their wage structure. Cavani, eternally injured. Rashford has lost form and doesn’t track back, loses the ball a lot, they could wait for him to return to form or they could cash in on the only player who could fetch them 60 million in the market. I chose the 60 million. A squad of,
Gk: Dean Henderson
A new recruit
CB: Harry Maguire
Raphael Varane
Victor Lindelof
A new recruit
LB: Luke Shaw
Alvaro Fernandez
RB: Diogo Dalot
A new recruit
DM: Joao Palhinha
Edson Alvarez
CM: Fred
James Garner
AM: Bruno Fernandes
Donny Van de Beek
RW: Antony
Facundo Pellistri
LW: Jadon Sancho
Anthony Elanga
CF: Anthony Martial
A new recruit
should be able to achieve top 4 depending on who fills those new recruit spaces. The only question mark is CM, am I overrating James Garner? Fred has always looked good when he had Matic to his right and was told to make late runs into the box. With defensive midfielders, I expect to see the Fred of Brazil. I am not too concerned about the club’s structure moving forward, as long as they listen to Rangnick.
Sa’ad
Charity masked Rashford’s form
Thought I’d finally wade in and try and have my two pence worth on Marcus Rashford seeing as he’s frequently talked about in the mailbox and views on him are shifting.
Issues such as a dip in form, playing injured etc have been variously mentioned and, while true, aren’t really the crux of the matter.
The fundamental reason opinions on Rashford have changed for the worse recently is that he’s finally run out of surrounding narrative and is now being judged more objectively as a footballer.
First it was the same over-rating and over egging that all breakthrough young English players benefit from. Even genuine talents like Foden and Bellingham get this too.
In addition, it was the nature of his breakthrough – an injury crisis propelled him from unknown sixth choice striker to starter in a week. When he made a good – if very raw – start this became a lovely story.
One people refused to let go of for a long time.
And just when this might have worn off Rashford did a lot of work to help feed children. Quite rightly he is praised for this but, quite wrongly, it affects how his on-pitch performance is rated.
It seems all this has now ended, so what are we left with?
Well, a player who has a bit worse than one in three scoring record for Manchester United and slightly better than one in four for England (hold my hands up, from Wikipedia).
This is from an out and out attacker. While he doesn’t always play centrally, he’s not really a winger either as someone tried to suggest, rather a wide forward.
He plays for a team that has, during his time, always finished between 2nd and 5th – so by definition better than most of the teams they have played.
Country-wise, England also tend to be better than the opposition more often than not – given qualifying rounds and tournament group games.
So, even taking into account some appearances will be as a substitute, this is not a good record.
Really it’s a record that reflects the player he is. Someone who can run very fast and smack the ball really hard.
But, relative to the fact he plays for a largely top four side (until this season), someone who has limited technique and a lack of intelligence and subtlety to his game.
However great it looks when one of his blasts flies into the net.
I just think people didn’t realise this earlier because of all the other stuff.
Ronnie Buzzard, Manchester
…So Marcus Rashford and Man Utd are better off together?
Really? One of the biggest clubs in the history of the game is better off with a player that struggles to control the ball better than your average 11 year old?
Did I read that correct? Manchester United, a team that aims (though misses) for League and European titles should settle for a player who at his very best is probably still not to the standard of a decent Champions League Team.
Am I getting this right? Am I drunk? A lad getting paid 200k a week for being absolutely atrocious is what Man Utd need?
Yeah he’s a top bloke.
No he’s not a top footballer.
He demanded 200k a week a few years back. He needs to pull his socks up or go join Spurs…
Shz
…Dion, Arsenal sure got heated about Rashford for someone that “hates United”. I was published previously in a critical manner in regards to Rashford, but I’m unsure how any reader may have interpreted that as “hatred” or calling him sh*t. I don’t, I didn’t. I wouldn’t sell him. I’m not a Utd fan. Sit down and relax.
In reference to Rashford being a forward; I disagree. I think he is a forward, starting from a wide position. I wouldn’t call him a left winger. Generally, clubs playing a 433/451 formation have an interchangeable front 3, such as Liverpool or Man City. Often the central player isn’t expected to score more than a wide forward. Often the wide forwards score more than the central forward. That’s the system. We’re not talking about a 442 here, with a centre forward versus a wide midfielder (e.g. Beckham vs Cole in the Man U 442 days).
I stand by my appraisal of Rashford. I don’t put him in the elite bracket as a wide forward, or a central forward, for the reasons given. He’s good. His stats for the last 3 seasons are quite good. That doesn’t mean I hate him.
But there’s more to it than that, right Dion? You mention Saka. I’d rate him higher than Rashford as a wide forward. Selective stats aside, Saka looks much more natural performing that role – he has tactical discipline, positional awareness, defensive capabilities. These aren’t stats Dion, they are my observations, and my opinion.
I hope you don’t get angry about these words and interpret it as hatred, Dion. It’s just one person’s opinion. You can have an opposing view without revising my opinion to polarise your retort. Let’s all be civil and reasonable, this isn’t Facebook.
Mark | Football Fan
Rashford should join West Ham
Some points in reply to Ian King’s piece on Rashford and United:
– Your article title is “Marcus Rashford & Man Utd are better together” but it just says why Rashford should stay at Man Utd for his own benefit while there doesn’t seem to be any benefit for Man Utd to keep Rashford.
– top class players respond to competition by improving themselves but Rashford has responded by sulking & not making efforts on the pitch. He literally walks or jogs leisurely when tracking back. (Purchase of Ronaldo & emergence of Elanga).
– you mention that Man City & Liverpool are out of the equation, Chelsea won’t be interested, Arsenal won’t consider and also there’s no guarantee Rashford will start at Juventus, Real Madrid & Barcelona. So why Man Utd should keep a player who is not elite level at £200k per week for continued abysmal performances?
– you mention Ronaldo, Cavani, Elanga are blocking Rashford’s way in the team. No no & no. Your place is the team is won by your own performances being better than other players at the club. Now if he can’t displace a 35 & 37 year old players who according to some are past their best, it’s the fault of others not him? If the 19 year old boy is performing much better, then it’s Elanga’s fault, he should not perform to this level to allow Rashford to start? At what point Rashford takes responsibility that he’s been abysmal & needs to win back his place by focusing on football? In other areas of life you can do a lot of talking & no action & still get away but your performances on the football pitch don’t lie.
– from the leaked news, it seems that Rashford just thinks that playing football would get him into the England set up. That does not work like that. With the performances he’s been putting on since more than 1 year now, he ain’t making the starting XI of a bottom premier league side & he thinks he should be with England? For all the common sense he has off the field, when it comes to football stuff he’s deluded or simply got very poor decision making.
A transfer should benefit all 3 main parties involved. The current club, the player & the next club. In this case, the best move would be to West Ham as all 3 parties will be winners:
(a) Man Utd will get some decent money for offloading a player who’s been out of sorts for a long time.
(b) West Ham will get to improve their image especially after the Zouma incident by signing a player who as you said has been cultivating his image. And also they’ll get a decent player to replace the likely departure of Bowen sooner or later to a bigger club.
(c) Rashford gets to play more regularly at his level & also will have less scrutiny there than at Man Utd. Also if he sorts himself out he might earn himself a move back to a big club or alternatively if he keeps his current trend he might be moved on to a bottom half team in the premier league. All over to him to decide what are his priorities & how much he wants to sacrifice to be a top footballer, because for a long while now he’s been moving along the path to become an average player who can sometimes be good but most of the times flatter to deceive.
Cheers
Ashwin – Man Utd fan
A good defeat
Whilst Liverpool’s performance last night looked every inch the typical ‘stick or twist’ performance that a 2-0 lead from the first leg away from home gives you, I’m actually not too bothered that Liverpool lost the game. In fact I’m actually glad they did. We have been poor for a few games now, since thumping Leeds 6-0 to be honest. Forwards have been missing chances, and the defensive line being slightly off on occasions has made our last few games quite borderline on if we are good enough to win them.
This has happened to Liverpool quite regularly, we go on long winning and unbeaten streaks, then the performances dip for a couple of games until we draw or lose a game. So I am glad this defeat came in a game it didn’t matter as we went through, and not say at the weekend away at Brighton where dropped points would really hurt us. When Liverpool do lose, and the f365 article yesterday talks about, they feel deeply annoyed by it. What usually happens is they go on another long winning run and seem invigorated by a defeat. Hopefully this happens again after last nights defeat which apart from pride, was meaningless.
Guess we will find out on Saturday lunchtime, but I certainly hope last nights defeat turns out to be the spark that lifts us back to our best for the last couple of months of the season.
Kevin
Don’t blame VVD
I have seen quite a bit online (that bastion of intelligence) about Virgil defending poorly for Martinez goal. Am I right in thinking this is just plain wrong. If he got any closer, then it would have opened up an opportunity for Martinez to get past him and be one-on-one with the goalkeeper. Which of course is a much better position to be in. How often does a player from that distance have the ability to bang it perfectly into the top corner past a keeper of Alisons quality. It’s just one of those things.
Matip was the one that made the mistake, giving the ball away in a dangerous area.
I am right aren’t I? Right? It’s a hill I am prepared to die on!
Rob, LFC
Spursy
Dave, I couldn’t have put it better myself. Get the Oxford bunch on the phone.
As an aside I asked my fiancé how old she thought Kulusevski was. She didn’t guess 21.
Jon (United 3-0 on Saturday), Lincoln
Treble chance
For all the preposterous talk of Liverpool doing an unprecedented quad this season, I have seen literally zero reference to the (far more realistic) possibility of Man City emulating their once-great neighbours by doing the almost unprecedented treble
Liverpool fans have always heard how there is only one real treble, and City are on course to do it this year….
Why are we not hearing about that?
Dom
Quadruple is on
That’s it, after the Inter game I’ve seen enough. I’m calling it. Liverpool are going to win the quadruple. The only thing between Klopp and Salah joining Gerrard, Dalglish, and Origi in the Parthenon of Liverpool immortals is 19 games. Win 19 games and football is well and truly coming home. And half of those games aren’t even going to be hard – no offense to Forest and Man U. Honestly, even Minamino could probably bag a hatrick against Maguire at the moment.
I should probably add something interesting and insightful so that this Mail isn’t thrown straight in the bin by the grammar nerds at F365 Towers… So erm, well that Mbappe kid looks pretty good.
Oliver, London
Midfield combos
In reply to Dan, Brighton’s question in the mail on midfield pairings, the first that comes to mind was that of Gattuso and Pirlo at AC Milan/Italy. What a pair! Gattuso’s aggression and untiring harrying of opponents and Pirlo’s silky distribution. Another amazing, but ultimately less successful combo, albeit with similar abilities, imo, was that of Xabi Alonso and Javier Mascherano at Liverpool. I’d have loved to see them play together longer in the PL. I could add Xavi and Busquets, but the latter while positionally brilliant, is not what one immediately thinks of when imagining an ‘enforcer’, as he relies much less on aggression than on intelligence, positioning, close control and tactical fouling (cue Pep’s influences). I would love to include Makelele and either Figo/Zidane at Real Madrid – what a team that was before they idiotically broke it by getting rid of Makelele – but, as both Figo and Zidane operated more in the wider areas, it would be cheating, wouldn’t it.
Rob, AFC
Justice for Bielsa
Something that has irked me on Twitter lately is that there’s this idea that the Bielsa hate is vindicated because they’ve finally done badly. I’ve seen many suggest Karen Carney was right in her assessment about them falling off… She was as wrong as you could possibly be. There’s some narrative that Leeds were found out in the second half of last season and it’s carried on into this season. They lost ONE of their last 11 games. They drew three of them (vs Chelsea, Liverpool and Spurs) and won 7, including a heroic win against City at the Etihad. This isn’t an attack on Carney as I think she’s very good and well measured. It’s just weird that people are running with this narrative despite it being far from the truth.
Leeds may be doing badly because they’re just not good enough as opposed to Bielsa running them to the ground and being tactically inept? Their team really overachieved when you look at it on paper. It reminds me of Liverpool fans flooding the mailbox last season casting doubt on Klopp and had the same notions that he isn’t suitable to manage a team long term and he tires the players. If Leeds ever began to do bad, whether it was this season or next, people were always going to point the finger at Bielsa and say he tires his players. It was said in the Championship too. He’s the sole reason they’re in the position they are. Without him, it literally wouldn’t have happened.
Dion, Arsenal.