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Come On You Irons 12:26 Mon Mar 13
The Rice situation

For me, Rice is part of the problem this season. He comes across as far too immature to lead a struggling team on the pitch and doesn't have natural leadership qualities. His body language is way off, it comes across as he doesn't want to be at the club any longer (which is no doubt true) and his form is seriously in decline.

He was very lucky not to give away a penalty yesterday with his casual dawdling on the ball in his team's own penalty area. Basic schoolboy level mistakes that a professional international footballer should not be making.

I think Roy Keane was correct in his assessment of Rice the other week when he says he doesn't do enough to justify the hype.

The more the season goes on, the more it looks like it was a mistake by the club to let Rice run down his contract and contribute to a toxic environment this season. In hindsight, we should have sold him last summer when he still had a premium value.

icwhs 12:37 Mon Mar 13
Re: The Rice situation

Rice is 100% part of the problem, without knowing it himself. Should have been sold in the summer.
Not great captain material.
His interview at the WC was totally out of order, he could have thrown the reporter a curveball by answering he’s on England duty blah blah.
He didn’t, he chose to say he wanted away.
Fuck him.
Sooner he fucks off the better for all parties.

Willtell 12:39 Mon Mar 13
Re: The Rice situation

Obviously you've never worked in a toxic atmosphere where the boss constantly makes bad choices and is a control freak. Moyes destroys everything creative around him. It's just how he is and he obviously has a kindred spirit in Sullivan.

Working in that environment kills everyone and it's no surprise that youngsters and 1st teamers are all desperate to get out of WHU...

Manuel 12:45 Mon Mar 13
Re: The Rice situation

Oh ffs, no need to dress it up you just want to rip into another of our players with your look at me nonsense, you could have put this on the match thread you twat.

But yes, crap captain, overrated by many, not all, WH fans, rated by hardly anyone else elsewhere, can't score, can't assist, very avarage passer. Good at breaking up play and going on the odd forging run, nut usually ending with his final ball letting him down.

Let's get our 60 odd mil in the summer and move on from the cunt.

Come On You Irons 12:52 Mon Mar 13
Re: The Rice situation

Fuck off Manuel, you bald, fat, ladyboy loving ex-pat CUNT.

ATBOG 12:53 Mon Mar 13
Re: The Rice situation

didn't do too badly last year when the squad were being flogged to death by Moyes.

stepney hammer 12:57 Mon Mar 13
Re: The Rice situation

I do agree that his form has dipped and he shouldn't be captain.

I didn't agree with Keane's criticism about not getting enough goals and assists. I don't see the likes of Rodri or Fabinho getting that criticism. Even Casemiro who's had a really good season has the same amount of league goals as Rice this season.

But yeah he knows he's going end of the season and probably gives less of a fuck every passing week.

As someone else said it does seem a shit environment to work in. In some ways I don't even blame Moyes completely. He's been asked to do something that isn't in his skillset. If you want to spend big money and build a side that will be more possession based and progressive then you bring in a manager who can actually deliver that. Moyes has never done that anywhere in his entire managerial career. He's basically just having his weaknesses exposed by being given a remit he can't deliver on.

I dare say he's just happy collecting his pay cheque for now and waiting for his pay off when he eventually gets the boot. Probably after we've been relegated. It's why he doesn't give a fuck about making digs at the fans or freezing out players he doesn't want to use.

Takashi Miike 12:59 Mon Mar 13
Re: The Rice situation

the twat in charge and his four foot boss have created the toxic atmosphere. keane is clearly talking through his flag, and hasn't watched us much as rice has been our most consistent player for the last three seasons. it has fuck all to do with hype. I do agree though that he should be moved on if he isn't happy, but who is happy playing under the current cunt? it's no surprise mitty the attention seeking fantasist is digging out yet another player

Pentonville 1:02 Mon Mar 13
Re: The Rice situation

Said it at beginning of season and all the way through and stand by it despite all the flak. You cannot have a captain who isn't part of the clubs future especially when integrating new players into a project. He doesn't have rhe gravitas as a man that noble had to command respect and heavily relied on noble last year. He doesn't take games by scruff of neck and I can't wait until the Irish Chelsea boy is gone.

zico 1:03 Mon Mar 13
Re: The Rice situation

Not sure if I remember this rightly but I am sure a few years ago Roy Keane said that at that point in time Declan was better than Keane himself was at that age. I suspect his recent criticism is that he hasn't improved as much as maybe expected with regard to dominating matches, but it's hard to dominate matches in a poor team who doesn't have much of the ball. Keane played for Forest and United, two teams who would always have a lion share of possession, well certainly that Forest side that dismantled us so well at Villa Park! I certainly don't think Rice is a Captain, but that's more to o with the fact that he shows his emotions on the pitch and if you are frustrated that rubs off on the team. That said it must be hard behind the scenes with unhappy players and the shit that is currently going on.

Grumpster 1:06 Mon Mar 13
Re: The Rice situation

A lot of our fans who don't rate him are gonna look very silly when he isn't playing next to one of the worst midfielders in the league and under such a fucking atrocious manager.

Been pretty apparent for a long time though that a large number of our fans are clueless cunts!!

Russ of the BML 1:09 Mon Mar 13
Re: The Rice situation

I disagree.

Like the fans, Rice has been Moyes'd.

Pedro 1:16 Mon Mar 13
Re: The Rice situation

Captains on the field don’t really have a huge impact nowadays. We need leaders all across the pitch.

It might the bits he has to do off the field that take getting used to and taking up more effort than expected.

He also perhaps falls into tying too hard / trying to do everything category.

Taking corners reminds me of when Kane took them for England.
I would hope that is a Moyes decision but why have one of our best headers of the ball by the corner flag? His delivery is also not great.

El Scorchio 1:26 Mon Mar 13
Re: The Rice situation

Pedro

'He also perhaps falls into tying too hard / trying to do everything category.'

Exactly this. He clearly cares deeply and is absolutely frustrated with how things are going. It's plain to see from his actions and words on and off the pitch. He's fed up with the manager and some of his team mates. Typified by when it was he who had to run about 40 yards to their cunt goalkeeper to close him down and get him to stop timewasting, because no-one else in front of him thought to do it.

He might want away, but he's not switched off and he's still trying.

And yes we'll miss him when he's gone, and yes he will be a top player in a top team.

Lee Trundle 1:32 Mon Mar 13
Re: The Rice situation

Who else would you have chosen last summer?

Personally, I wouldn't have a player who planned his transfer ahead as someone who is captain but there was little to choose from to replace Noble.

The 2 "elders", in Ogbonna and Cresswell, barely play.

ted fenton 1:34 Mon Mar 13
Re: The Rice situation

I really think the problem here is Moyes he seems to have lost the dressing room Paqueta being taken off yesterday and walking straight down the tunnel yes he came back but walked off again at the final whistle.....As for Scamacca Moyes says the £35.5m striker's 'physical data' is falling short of his standards ! well who's fault is that ?

Rice seems to have had a belly full of Moyes and his attitude shows that he can't wait to move on.

Any other club would have sacked Moyes by now but the dwarf looking Russian wishes to keep his hands in his pockets.

El Scorchio 1:44 Mon Mar 13
Re: The Rice situation

Lee Trundle 1:32

he was already the captain on the pitch for at least a full season, only giving the band to Noble as 'club captain' on the rare occasions he came on as a sub or started a game.

Clearly gave him the armband long ago to try and demonstrate we wanted him to stay. Taking it away from him at the start of this season wouldn't have helped anyone.

You're right though, such is the state of our squad that the obvious candidates rarely play and of those that are guaranteed a regular start.... Soucek? Zouma? Fabianski is the only other I can think of, but goalie as a captain is pointless. Rice really was the only option regardless.

New Jersey 1:48 Mon Mar 13
Re: The Rice situation

We will see how much he's over-rated when the top clubs come in for him this summer, most likely be Arsenal who look like they are going to win the Premiership. Keane is just a bitter cunt because Rice turned Eire down. Let's see Declan who do you want to play for next year, David Moyes or Mikel Arteta? Trouble is we won't reinvest the money wisely like Brighton do!

Lee Trundle 1:51 Mon Mar 13
Re: The Rice situation

Exactly, El Scorch. If there was a stand out candidate, then it might we worth discussing, but there isn't.

And as you said, he was captain on the pitch last season, so there would have been some discontent had that been taken away from him.

El Scorchio 1:56 Mon Mar 13
Re: The Rice situation

LT- completely agree. There is/was no-one else.

Jaan Kenbrovin 1:57 Mon Mar 13
Re: The Rice situation

Imagine what Moyes would have done with the money if we sold Rice in the summer.

Without Rice we’d be comfortably bottom and cut adrift, with 300m worth of new players scratching their heads, wondering how they ended up sitting on the bench so much at such a pony run club.

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