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Up next we have Manchester United. Having invested £250 million and keeping their best players they have really catapulted themselves back to the heights that they had gotten used to and glory nights of European football…. only kidding.
Well after last night’s shambles, we have a Manchester United team that may feel like the wounded animal this Sunday, and realise that they need to perform as their fearsome reputation is no longer there. This being the most optimistic time I have ever known to go there and get a result it shows how far we have gone forward and how far they have fallen.
Not many at the start of the season would have predicted us being a place above them in the league and arguably favourites for a quarter final cup tie against them in March, but then those people were being careful what they wished for….
Slav will hopefully put out a strong team and aim to win this one on the first attempt and, I personally, hope that he plays Randolph in goal and keeps that team spirit alive. But I would take another game under the lights at Upton Park if you offered it to me now…!
I pass you over to 2 man u fans. H is a guy from Manchester and a cousin of a poster on here and S is a female who comes from….. well you can read her answer.
I would like to thank everyone for the questions and the 2 fans for taking the time to answer.
What your views are of your season so far and how you think the rest of the season will go?
H - It has been a really disappointing year so far. Have not been impressed with the LVG tactics and settling for draws. It’s not the united way and not what we have been bred on. We need to make the champions league, nothing less will do. Sadly i am not sure we can as we need to put in a good run of games.
S - Worst team I have seen play, most of them don’t deserve to wear the shirt, had so many missed opportunities, we’re unrecognisable as a team and it’s not how we play… although we might just nick a trophy yet!
After spending over £250 million what are your thoughts of the squad you now have?
H - The problem is we spent 250 million and got rid of 250 million worth of talent for much less than its value. We should have kept more than we did. Rafael, di maria, evans and hernandez stick out. Combining those 4 with what we have would have given us a much better chance.
S - Not impressed with what we’ve spent, we have some quality but they don’t deliver consistently (if at all), but we have some decent youth team players coming through so that’s still our grass roots policy.
Does it upset you that you got rid of Di Maria, Hernandez, Van Persie, Janazi, and you now rely on a youth team player to try and save your season?
H – Very much so. Although we cleared a massive amount of the wage bill it strikes me that some of those players could have offered us a little something this season.
S - Letting Van Persie go was sheer madness, still haven’t got over that! Di Maria was a w*nker and glad we binned him off. Hernandez deserves to do well so although we didn’t want him to go, he deserves his success, and we don’t rely on our youth team to save our season, it’s called being strategic and we won plenty of trophies and titles with a bunch of kids!
After spending £250 million on upgrading your squad, do you feel that being 6th and 2 points behind West Ham, 3 behind City, 5 behind Arsenal, * behind Tottenham and 13 behind Leicester is a season where you have strengthened?
H - Taking the positives, we now have a very young nucleus. I think overall we have stayed at the same level. Money is not our issue. Adding a couple of world class players to this team and we are practically title challengers. It helps that league doesn’t have one stand out team so we are not that far behind any of them.
S - Come on, any season we are behind West Ham has to be a fucking disaster!
Is there any blame to be laid at Freguson's door for retiring leaving a very poor squad and then sitting in the stands, washing his hands and creating more friction? (i.want.that.one) -
H - I personally don’t think so. He left a title winning team that won the league comfortably. Moyes had different ideas and didn’t address the problem areas (central midfield) and LVG tore the team up and started again. I think in hindsight there was a happy medium combining old with new. I think what we have realised since is that Fergie had a way of getting the best from his players that maybe other managers lack. He should be applauded not blamed.
S - Are you mad? Ferguson is God. FACT. ….. Although granted the team he left was poor, I don’t believe some of our players at the time such as Vidic, Evra, Ferdinand etc would have left if Van Gaal had taken over instead of that muppet Moyes which would have allowed us a bit more time to rebuild properly.
The protests against the Glazer family ownership thing. Is this a lost cause now? (holyhandgrenade)
H - I was never in the anti glazer brigade. There was a lot of scare mongering at the start from fans who rightfully didn’t know what to expect. In reality they have always supported us with money and have never got in the way of a manager. We have gone from strength to strength commercially and are well set up to follow suit on the pitch as well.
S - No, they have bled the club dry and it was glossed over whilst we were winning champion leagues and titles. Plus it gives us all a chance to use it against them when things aren’t going our way on the pitch
Why is it that for a European night at Old Trafford recently you could only sell about 75% of the tickets and had to close a whole stand?
H - Firstly, 75% of old Trafford is till more than Upton park and most other stadiums. Secondly i salute anyone that turns up to watch midgettland after the season we have had and the style of play we have adopted. Its hardly entertaining at the moment. It was weird though not having a full old trafford, it usually is. Tell us how it feels next year please when the olympic stadium is half empty. Maybe you should have ground shared with spurs. Then you could fill it when you play each other.
S - Haaaha! A Thursday night against a Danish team in the Europa league, yet we still had more than at any City game, who couldn’t fill their stadium when they played the league leaders at the weekend! Obviously it was poor by our standards, but would be classed as outstanding at City and Liverpool! And beyond a dream for your lot. P.s it was actually a tier of a stand that was closed, not the entire stand xx
Do you know the three turbans who always appear on MOTD ? (Rossai)
H - Lol. No i don’t.
S – Aren’t they City fans now?
If it was a matter of life or death, do you put on a liverpool or city shirt? ( Laindon Hammer16)
H - No chance. I don’t fly Etihad, I don’t buy crown paints. I divorced my wife when she thought a sky blue t shirt was my colour.
S- Death every time, City at a push, but then I would kill myself
Do you remember the season Manchester United were relegated to the Second Division. ?
H – I am sorry Andrew i am not that old. We were in the second division? Stop it.
S – No I am not that old
Your self-proclaimed Theatre Of Dreams is becoming a theatre of nightmares. Agree? (Geoff Pikey)
H - It will become the Theatre of Dreams again. I am sure of this. Even if it takes another 250 million. How much for payet? Didn’t he sign a new contract recently? New contracts generally mean release clauses.
S - Is it fuck! You wish! How many head starts do we have to give all you clubs every season?? We even took a fucking season off to allow others to catch up! At least our Theatre of Dreams is still standing. Your about to uproot yours and cart it half way round the other side of London! Your own Chairman has said 'We are very lucky that this (Olympic Stadium) was being built in our borough. We are actually coming back to our borough. This is West Ham. We play in East Ham at the moment. 'That kind of thing is important.' Hahahahaahaaa! No shit! From your own Chairman! And you have the affront to question our Theatre of Dreams.
Do you really believe any progress is being made under Van Gaal, or are you barely treading water in the hope that you can reclaim your place amongst the country's elite with a better manager?
H - I am certain that LVG wont last long. I truly believe we are a good transfer window away from being a championship contender. Lets not forget that Arsenal and city are not much better and they are the benchmark at the moment. Spurs are pretty mediocre and hats of to leicester, theybhave had a great year.
S - Firstly, we are the Elite so don’t you worry your little head about that one. Secondly Van Gaal did start off looking as though he knew what he was doing, but he’s obviously been given the keys to Fergies wine cabinet so he’s losing it a tad. He will be gone soon, but he has redeemed himself slightly with his recent comedy dive and press conferences
Do you think that had you persisted with Moyes you would be either better or worse off than you are now? (,)
H - I feel we may have been slightly better off but it is marginal. On the flip side would we have tony marshall now? We can build a team around that boy.
S - If we had persisted with Moyes I wouldn’t be here typing this response. Death would have been swift. Moysie was out of his depth and it was as embarrassing as much for him as us.
Paul Scholes - speaker of truth, or asthmatic ginger turncoat? (Worse Case Ontario)
H - Speaker of truth. He says it how it is. I don’t disagree with anything he says
S - ha ha! Speaker of truth and legend, but as he will be Ryan Giggs second in command once Giggs becomes Manager, he can say what the fuck he wants thank you
Do you think Ryan ”sister in law fucker and family wrecker” Giggs has what it takes to be a Man U manager? (Darlo Debs) and (Chigwell)
H - I am not sure he has the character. He has a wealth of experience and no doubt has a Ferguson winning mentality. If we are choosing someone from the class of 92 it has to be Gaz Nev. Has won me over on sky and has the right sort if personality.
S - So a “sister in law fucker and family wrecker” is a nice bloke then? Interesting……. Yes. Even though Giggs appears to look constantly startled, he may surprise everyone just like he did when he was found to be er playing away from home so to speak. No one saw that in him, so he may well give everyone another shock as a Manager. With Nicky Butt now in charge of the youth team, Giggs will soon be Manager, Scholes will be his assistant, Gary Neville will be brought in as Chief Scouse Eliminator, Phil will be brought in occasionally for them to take the piss out of and Beckham might fly in every now and then just to make the tea. #Dream Management team
What are your thoughts on Gary Neville returning to manage you after Valencia? (bell)
H - He is my choice. He has that experience and has also Coached England. He is developing a good CV
S - Giggs may give him a role, but Scholes will make sure Neville toes the line beneath him #karma
Any danger of you facing up to that and not living in the past like you are always accusing Liverpool fans of doing? (Sven Roeder)
H - We last won the prem 3 years ago. That is not too far in the past. If in 3 years we are still shit then you can accuse us of this. I will say that certain united fans are blinkered beyond belief and haven’t got a clue. That could be said about most fans though like city fans that think they are little old city when they get knocked out of the champions league at group stage. After spending a billion over 10 years you’re not little old city anymore.
S - yawn…its only been 3 years. Come back and ask me again if it gets to 10.
How annoying is it that Chelsea have turned to shit just when you could have switched to them from mediocre Man U and saved all those travel costs? (Gph)
H - We are a global phenomenon. We have more fans in china than you have altogether. We have fans everywhere. Get over it. I am from old trafford by the way. Born and bred.
S - I don’t find it annoying that Chelsea have turned to shit, more annoying is that they have avoided relegation.
Particularly in light of you not going to qualify for it. What are your thoughts on a breakaway European super league for the top five premier league to participate in?
H - Not sure of that was a thinly veiled dig or not. I am going to treat it like a serious question. Isn’t that the purpose of the champions league. I am not down with a break away league.
S - Seeing as we have the biggest fan club in the entire world, they wouldn’t even contemplate a breakaway league without the biggest money spinner being part of it, so it’s a load of old shite.
Do you find it ironic that Manchester United, who at one time were ‘too busy’ to take part in the FA Cup, would now see winning it as a significant achievement? (Stranded)
H - For the record it was the FA that asked us not to take part. A decision not many Players agreed with at the time. Another united non truth.
S - Not at all. We don’t see it as a significant achievement, it is just part of an overall strategy of winning trophies….ahem
Guildford? Is it really a total shithole? (BRANDED)
H - Dont know what you are on about. I imagine it is nicer than east london.
S - no. It’s quite posh. In fact I am officially posh and northern, surely every mans dream woman?
How do you feel about the handful of annoying Northerners who support your team, and what steps do you think should be taken to get rid of them? (gph)
H - Global phenomenon.. See my answer to earlier question.
S - I think you should ease up on the wacky baccy mate
Does it get on your nerves how fans say you don't have any fans that actually live in Manchester?
H - This is another united non truth. There are more united fans in Manchester than city fans. We cant help that fans all over the world want to be associated with us. We have an endless list of fans and celebrity fans. Not just alf garnett.
S - Yes you twat
Where do you live? (Mr Polite)
H - Old trafford, manchester. Moving to stretford in 2 weeks. Ha.
S - Coronation Street.
How big do you think Manchester City will be when they hire Guardiola ? And you hire Giggs ? (hub hub hub hub) –
H - Well they are not great now having spent a billion. It will take that shit team at least 3 years to play the pep way. In that time we will have claimed at least two titles. Our forward line of payet, vardy and mahrez will be unstoppable.
S - They will be the 2nd largest team in Stockport
What are your thoughts on West Ham and our fans?
H - I have been impressed by west ham this year and more so by Slaven Bilic. They seems to have developed a spine and are good to watch. Any fans that have had to watch horse shit for years and still turn up have my upmost respect.
S - To be fair, you’ve never really caused us any real reason to notice you, although your sense of humour is the closest thing we can get to a northern one in the south, still not as funny as up North. (please note, that excludes anyone from Yorkshire as they have no sense of humour at all) Your fans have great banter, and fantastic sense of humour, so have a decent respect for you as you know how to sing and go mental, so no one can take that away from you. I have found it amazing over the years having known some West Ham fans and the fact that you allegedly all come from the East End, that you have set such low standards for your club in the past, and think ending the season mid table is an achievement and acceptable. It’s great to see how much Bilic has done for you and given you and the team a belief that has been missing from your club. United (the real one) have believed in our club and players so much, that it was the fans that won the treble for the club, as we believed so much in our club and players. You are now beginning to understand that kind of belief and club/team spirit, especially with Payet, so I genuinely believe West Ham have the perfect opportunity to make their mark and seize their chance to become a real player in Europe and as a top London Club
What Player do you have that would make our first 11 and what west ham player, apart from Payet, would you like to see?
H - I like cresswell, would be good back up for luke shaw. Also winston reid would be good back up for smalling and blind. Need to keep them on there toes. I have always been a fan of mark noble although i am not sure he would get in our fully fit team. We could do with a battering ram like sakho and valencia up front as well. Antonio is turning into some player as well, maybe a good chance of making the euros. Apart from that you can keep the rest.
S - De Gea and is that second part a serious question??
What are your favourite crisps?
H - This is my favourite subject. At the moment i have been mostly eating french fries. Having said that chipsticks, nice and spicy nik naks and mccoys would all be in my top ten.
S - Pickled Onion Monster Munch, my inner 10 year old shines brightly
Would you rather 4th in the Premiership or to win the FA Cup?
H - Finish 4th. It’s all about the champions league.
S - A trophy every time
Up next we have Chelsea, what question would you like us to ask their fan?
H - I have been puzzled by this for years but have never met a Chelsea fan to ask them this question. Even though he is obviously a wanker, do you actually like John Terry??
S - When United rejected Falcao and you took him on, how bitter are you now that we were right?
And finally your prediction for the game?
H - As long as Ed Woodward taps up payet and we make the champions league you can have the win. Realistically you are in form and i am not sure we are, it will be tough. I fear we may be out muscled. 1-1 and then we beat you in the replay. I don’t know. Anything could happen knowing how we have played this year.
S - The way you are playing at the moment I would say 3-1 to West Ham, although I do want Chelsea to beat you
S then had some questions for us West Ham fans, here they are below.
1. Is there are truth in the rumour that a Samaritans line has been set up especially for your last home game of the season?
2. How can you hurl abuse at supporters who may live slightly further away from Manchester, when you all come from Essex, which is nowhere near your club??
3. How embarrassing on a scale of 1-10 is your own Chairman on a daily basis?
4. How do you all cope with the fact that your own Chairman has said West Ham fans don’t live in reality?
5. Is it true that the Bobby Moore statue is also circling the M25 as we speak waiting to find out whether your true home is East Ham? West Ham or Stratford?
6. Are West Ham actually Nomads?
7. How does it feel to not have a true identity?
8. How do you expect to fill the Olympic Stadium with real West Ham supporters?
9. How easy is it to rip up all your history and relocate to another part of the Country?
10. As you are happy to relocate and are looking at ways of saving money, why haven’t you moved to Scotland?
11. Karen Brady has said your aim to get into the top 6. Is this laughable or something you aspire to?
12. Does club History mean anything to you, seeing as you so easily upped roots?
13. If so why are you happy to move to the Olympic Stadium?
14. What is it with that bubble machine at your home game? Hardly ICF is it?
15. How is your altitude sickness?
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