Old Trafford Lounge

On the same hysterical, pantomime fan-scale of judgement that also deems 53 year old father of two, and sometime professional football manager Jose Mourinho a "huge prick" too? Yes. Unquestionably.

Considering none of us know the sum-total of bum about any of them anyway, and that the comparative hugeness of their pricks is merely an overwrought argument about "the silliest shit they've done in football", I can't even imagine an argument for the humungous "prick" status that Jose enjoys, that would somehow, also, simultaneously absolve that trilogy of greats from the same swinging prick of judgement... Can you?

I mean, as iconic (and lets be honest, hilarious) it is now, I don't think you've quite registered how utterly ridiculous it was for reigning PFA Player of The Year Eric Cantona, to jump feet first into a stadium crowd, to kick a real life, mostly human opposition fan! Yeah, Mourinho once childishly prodded someone in the eye and then ran away, like Richard Hammond in a Top Gear ruck, but Eric Cantona JUMPED INTO THE CROWD AND HIT A FAN!! He almost took an old woman's head off too!

Then of course you've got Keano, who tried to end someone's career over a bizarre 4 year grudge that originally stemmed from an injury he got whilst TRYING TO FOUL SOMEONE!! .... And that's without dipping into the long, stamp-heavy, disciplinary record of both players, on and off the field.

Fergie, meanwhile, kicked a boot at his own player's head, sold his best defender for a ghost written anecdote about a petrol station, sued his own shareholders over a literal gifthorse, which ultimately contributed toward the Glazer Takeover, goaded a fellow manager into a public breakdown by going on a "disrespectful" rant about another fellow manager, banned scores of critical journos and slammed tonnes of referees, all the while refusing to speak to the BBC for seven years after one show said his son was dodgy, even though United's board at the time basically confirmed it by blacklisting him as an agent soon after!....
Mourinho was admittedly a dick to the only famous club doctor in the league (nay world!) but unless he did it whilst on the triple-prick-score square in Cuntopoly, I'm a bit lost at how he makes up the ground?

I've seen you say in other threads that you "don't get" the love for Mourinho. Well, the same bafflement you get from fans embracing a former rival (like, say Alan Smith, or RVP?) I get from the consistent and stubborn unwillingness to notice (or at least admit) that Jose is, and has always been, the most ball-tazering, lemon buggeringly obvious representation of a modern, Fergie-type manager. In almost every possible respect. The mind games, the calculated provocations, the siege mentality, cult of personalities, deep rooted loyalty followed by explosive media bust ups...Right down to the preferred fast counterattacking style, but the occasional reliance on bland pragmacy in the harder games, no manager shares nearly as many traits with Fergie as Jose does. Not by a country mile.

But of all the traits they share. The best one. The one that really gets me excited about this whole thing, is the trait they both have of being a huge, belligerent, confrontational, arrogant, talented, winning... prick.

New deals for CBJ and Rashford!

Daily Mirror are saying Giggs has decided to leave the club.

Bye bye. *waves*

How come you don't like him Sam? I know some actions in his personal life leave a lot to be desired, but he's one of the best players you've ever had and has been there for decades?

How come you don't like him Sam? I know some actions in his personal life leave a lot to be desired, but he's one of the best players you've ever had and has been there for decades?

He is one of the best though.

Incredibly overrated player. As Roy Keane said, a lot of trophies doesn't necessarily mean you were a great player.

Eh. Its a little bit like the ongoing debate in cricket at the minute with regards to Alistair Cook and Jimmy Anderson. Where they're two fine players, but their records, largely, are so good because of their injury records and length of time in the game.

Giggs might never have been the best player in a side, but he was a key contributor for the best part of 20 years in a variety of positions in one of the most successful club sides of all time, you can't really argue against that.

"I’ve been extremely fortunate in having two great managerial mentors; first in Sir Alex, who I’ve spent the majority of my life working with and learning from and who I believe will remain as football’s greatest-ever manager and in more recent times, Louis van Gaal, whose CV speaks for itself. The knowledge I have gleaned from them has been invaluable.

Be interesting to see who leaves this summer. Mata seems obvious, but who else? Jones? Rojo? Darmian? Young? Fellaini?

Zlatan said "I chose the number 9" as well. Phenomenal way to piss off quite possibly one of the best strikers in 5 years time because of some egocentric 36 year old bellend