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Last season was built on graft, industry and a siege mentality, borne out of being a newly promoted side in a league full of people who saw us as easy targets. Despite it all, we finished tenth and, once more, there was minimal outlay. Now, the lack of quality still exists but you can't rely on the previously mentioned qualities because they're completely unique to a newly promoted side. As a player, it's impossible to have an underdog mentality when you finished in the top half of the Premier League. You expect progression, you expect more quality, you expect depth and more importantly, you expect all of those things to alleviate the massive pressure you were under last season. Those things didn't arrive and you absolutely cannot expect these players to do that again. The pressure on Ritchie, Shelvey, Lascelles and Kenedy remains huge and it would take truly great players to succeed in this current situation, especially when the players around them, God bless them, are trying, but remain not good enough. Today was awful and, right now, Rafa Benitez is largely irrelevant. If Pardew was the manager of these players, I'd sympathise with him as well. They gave everything to the cause last season and it's ridiculous to expect the same again. They see through the ownership's bullshit and there's only so far that the respect Rafa creates can take you. We're fucked.

Here put your glasses on

From what I've read though the £400 million would buy you the bare bones then you'd have to upgrade the players clean up SJP & sort out the training facilities. Add it all together & you could be looking at nearer £600 or £700 million in reality, they're just guess's at values. What I'm trying to say is your probably looking at investing a lot more than £400 million to buy the club.

I hope they never change.

Late comments inviting rebuttals. JOSELU: nothing to add, it's all been said, continues to prove he's useless. PEREZ: this game was his poorest display this season. YEDLIN: a poor performance, expect more gusto from him. DIAME: missed a header that should have been in, and became anonymous. ATSU: worked hard but didn't accomplish most of what he tried. RITCHIE: was doing alright, surprised he was yanked. SHELVEY: with Southgate in attendance, thought Shelvey would have been at his best to impress, but he was far from it. LASCELLS: steady as usual. but he should have been all over Maguire and not allow him to score. CLARK: not too bad, but he too should have smothered Maguire. DUBRAVKA: had a fairly quiet game, and had no chance on either goal but did go the right way for the penalty. KENEDY: surprisingly didn't do too badly filling in for Dummett, but is prone to making mistakes. MUTU: looks lively and competent when he comes on, can't understand why Benetez doesn't give him a starting position. MURPHY: I don't think he has the quality to be a 15 minute super-sub, he probably needs more playing time than he gets. MANQUILLO: doesn't belong in the Premier league, but at the moment who else have we got.

Shut up you daft twat get on with your colouring in, the grown ups are talking

Think we’ve been over this before but the advertising he receives for nowt would’ve cost fuck all compared to what he’s sunk into the club. Alright, the club pays for itself more often than not per season (at a guess) but that’s completely wiped out by the cost of relegation (twice) and, I would imagine, when he’s had to spend a lot in January to get us out of trouble. The tv money increases but all that seems to happen off the back of that is that players and agents get more money. As for it being an asset that continues to appreciate - how much more is it worth than it was when he bought it? Who’s showed their willing to give him what he wants for it? Etc., etc. For someone with his wealth and considering how much it’s cost him over the ten years it seems like an abysmal investment unless I’m missing something. That coupled with him seemingly having no long term strategy and the only thing that makes sense is he’s fucking clueless and winging it hoping for some positive outcome where someone offers him way over the odds

Man Utd pretty much the only thing in the professional game giving me any pleasure atm

For a young chap, navigating the stormy waters of early adolescence, in search of the remotest chance of seeing some fleeting glimpse of late-night tv titties, any film of Wor Ingrid’s was an absolute home-banker. ( that’s banker…). Unless it was Where Eagles Dare… but I’m almost positive I probably tore the neck off it when she showed up in that anyway

Someone's been on one slice of toast a day.

As if you would know one.