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View From The Opposition - Manchester United
After a superb performance and result against Liverpool last week West Ham go into this game at Old Trafford with some confidence.
The confidence has mainly come from the erratic form of a once consistent Manchester United team whose dominance in English football appears to be coming to a end although the big money signings of some world class players might turn this around eventually.
Finding supporters of Manchester United for this article isn't difficult as there are so many of them but like Liverpool I find it difficult to find a connection with these fans despite supporting a team who play in the same league.
Their opinion on football and things outside getting into the Champions League I cannot relate to and I don't tend to enjoy the View From The Opposition when these type of clubs come up (Arsenal will be another one).
This week though we have two Manchester United fans who have answered the questions which have all been put forward by members of WHO.
We have Neil Mackintosh and Billy Wright answering the questions. Many thanks to both for their answers.
What was your reaction when Leicester got their 5th?
Neil: About the same as when they got their third and fourth. Poor defending and bad concentration. Just like England v Uruguay.
Billy: I just couldn't believe it, there weren't many words to describe it, apart from "Fuck It, it is what it is, fair play." You kind of become accustomed to it as a United fan over the past year. I went into that game not 100% confident as Man United never do things the easy way.
I always felt that Manchester United, in general, were quick to criticise Chelsea and Manchester City for "buying" the league. That being the case how do you feel about all the money you have spent this season in pursuit of success?
Neil: United have always been willing to pay full whack for decent players. Rooney got it right three years ago though when he said the United squad wasn’t good enough. Now look what’s happened – all of those players have been shipped out. Of course I’d prefer it if United developed their own talent but these days no-one has any patience for team building. I thought it was a poor decision to sell Welbeck though and it sent a bad message to young English players trying to make it up through the system.
Billy: I'm not fussed by it to be honest, the difference between us and the likes of City and Chelsea is that the money spent is our money and not sugar daddies money buying the players. Saying that, the Glazers have always said the money is there to spend, but Fergie never bought. Lets face it, he never needed to, he always got 110% out of the players. I hope LVG can do that with this group of players. I always said growing up supporting Man United that we never had a team filled with world stars, only 1 or 2 world stars surrounded by good players. Thats different now with Di Maria, RVP, Rooney, Falcao and the like. But we need to compete and the only way to do that now, unfortunately, is to spend money.
How long are you prepared to wait for Manchester United to win a title before you switch your allegiance to Man City or Chelsea?
Neil: I’ll support West Ham before I support those two.
Billy: Haha! I will never switch allegiance. Stick by your team through thick and thin! I wanted to finish 7th last season, there was no way 6th place would've been any better, if anything it would be worse, Thursday night games and all that.
What means more to you, keeping your pride or buying your way back into the Champions League?
Neil: United need to be in the Champions League every year.
Billy: Thats a difficult one, because our pride, some would argue, would be competing in the UCL, however if it means buying a load of players to get back im against it, I do not want to turn into a City or a Chelsea where there are hardly any English players in our starting line up. That would be disgusting and we are getting dangerously close to that.
How do you feel about the Glazers making your club pay off the debts they incurred for taking over the club? Have they any interest in 'soccer' at all?
Neil: The Glazers stink and I’m sure 99% of United fans want them out. They have no interest in “soccer”. Like many foreign owners they see the top teams in England as a cash machine.
Billy: I feel as though they have the clubs interest at heart and are trying to get as much money into the club as possible, they are buisness people at the end of the day and leave the football up to the football people, i.e. The directors. I wouldn't want an owner who interferes too much in the footballing side of things a la Cardiff and to a degree Chelsea. It seems to have worked, the debts are slowly reducing.
Is there a more disgusting waste of 300k a week in the world than Wayne Rooney?
Neil: You’ll miss him when he’s gone. He’s England’s best player by a distance and a genuine team player. I don’t really care how much he’s paid if someone is willing to pay that much then good luck to him. If someone offers me that much I’ll take up football.
Billy: I feel there is some unjust criticism of Wayne, especially when he isnt actually on 300K its £250K + Bonuses, still a lot of money, but thats a discussion for another day, he is a sublime footballer, will (if he stays injury free) be the country's most capped outfield player and is looking likely to break the scoring record for England & Man United. A player that puts 110% into the club and country shouldn't be slated as much as he does. Everyone slates him, but when he puts in a 25yard chip and either hits the crossbar or scores everyone is cheering his name. The guy just cannot win.
I don't feel as though he is an out and out striker like Sturridge and he works better behind the striker, but then he scores more as a striker, its an odd one because no one knows where Waynes best position is. I reckon he'd move into a CM role because of his passing range. But the guy is worth the money. We cant do without him in my opinion.
What happened to the chosen one banner?
Neil: Probably in the cupboard under the stairs.
Billy: Moyes took that home as a souvenir.
Do Man Utd's poor records last season and this season (so far) reflect well on Ferguson or badly?
Neil: It’s a fact of sporting life that when dynasties break up it can take a long time to build the next one. Look at the West Indies and Australian cricket teams of the 70s to 2000’s. Both teams were unbeatable for 15 years but players were allowed to retire when the felt like it and there was nothing coming through to replace them. Same with Fergie.
Billy: A bit of both to be honest, it firstly showed how much of a motivator that Fergie was and how he was able to get the playing so well, the team we had during pre-season was the team that beat Arsenal 8-2 for fuck sake! But it also showed that Fergie knew that the team needed re-investment and he just left it to Moyes and said here you fix it. So Moyes was on the back foot to start with, and he just made it worse for LVG to pick up the pieces, there is improvements happening it's going to be a slow process and we will see what happens later on in the season.
Everything is working a part from our defence and I'm sure LVG wanted a defender or two, but the ones he wanted weren't available and it looks like he isn't the type of manager to just buy for the sake of it.
After posting a loss due to the failure of not reaching the Champions league and the likelihood that you will not make it again this season. Do you think you will suffer the same fate as Leeds?
Neil: No. Leeds were mismanaged by Ridsdale and made a big gamble on the Champions League that they couldn’t afford. United have a 75000 stadium and a huge fanbase.
Billy: Haha! Likelihood of not reaching top 4 again. The seasons just begun! I am still confident that we will still reach top 4, anything can happen as shown by last weeks result!
I told my 7 year old son that Louis van Gaal was an alien, pointing out his odd shaped head & hairline & peculiarly shiny skin as evidence. My boy believed me. Do you think I was right?
Neil: He’s Dutch. They all look like that.
Billy: Nah, sorry, I cant see it myself.
Given the incredible amounts Man Utd gets through its sponsorship deals - how are clubs like West Ham supposed to compete under financial fair play?
Neil: With great difficulty. I’m afraid it’s the top 6 versus the rest.
Billy: I think like most things it will take time for teams to get bigger, just look at Everton as an example they are slowly getting nearer and nearer the top 4. I think that personally teams like West Ham should aim for consistent top 10 finishes and once that occurs aim for top 6 then top 4 or just get lots of smaller sponsorship deals, I'm not sure but everyone was a small team to start with. So its a matter of scouting the best players (you run the danger of them being nicked by the bigger teams) but its where you get a bunch of players that are good and try to convince them to stay (it kind of worked with Saints but they all left now so its a non-argument) its a difficult question that we probably wont be able to answer and we will just have to see what happens.
Your favourite crisp
Neil: Barbecue flavour Hula Hoops
Billy: Prawn Cocktail,
Prediction for the game
Neil: 2-0 to United. If it was at WH then maybe the other way round!
Billy: I am not confident with Man United at the moment but I'll go for a 1-0 win or a 1-1 draw.
Thanks to Neil and Billy for their answers.
Email: vinnywhufc@hotmail.com
Twitter: @vinnywhufc
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