Richard Arnold’s comments on Man City that left staff ‘baffled’ sum up old Man Utd regime.
Richard Arnold’s comments on Man City that left staff ‘baffled’ sum up old Man Utd regime.
Richard Arnold stressed to Manchester United staff members back in September that the club were making progress in their attempts to “chase down” Manchester City
Richard Arnold left Man United earlier this year
Former Manchester United chief executive Richard Arnold is said to have left staff bemused after claiming they were “chasing down” their neighbours, Manchester City, prior to his departure from the club.
Arnold, 53, became the first person to depart in the Sir Jim Ratcliffe-Ineos era when it was announced back in November that he was standing down from his role. He officially left Old Trafford just weeks later after 16 years of services across numerous roles.
Ratcliffe and his team have already implemented significant changes since acquiring a controlling stake in the club. Ineos poached the highly-regarded Omar Berrada from City to replace Arnold as CEO and have made other astute appointments.
The previous regime at United, including part-owners the Glazer family, have been heavily criticised by fans and pundits alike as a result of the club’s decline over recent years.
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Erik ten Hag handed Man Utd lifeline as Sir Jim Ratcliffe left ‘unimpressed by alternatives’
During that same period, Manchester City have evolved into the Premier League’s most dominant outfit. However, a fresh report has outlined that Arnold felt United were closing the gap on their neighbours – something that left several staff members ‘baffled and exasperated’.
Those comments, as relayed by The Athletic, were made in September, just months after City had won the treble. United, by contrast, won the Carabao Cup last season and finished third under Erik ten Hag. The Dutchman has struggled this year and the club will miss out on qualification for the Champions League as a result of their disastrous league campaign.
Shortly after taking charge of football operations at Old Trafford, Ratcliffe has expressed a desire to bring in a number of “best in class” personnel behind the scenes in a bid to drive an improvement in United’s on-field performance. He’s also admitted that recent years had been “difficult” as a fan of the club.
Join the debate! What have you made of the changes Ratcliffe has made at Man Utd? Let us know here.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe has already shaken things up since becoming a part-owner of Manchester United ( Image: Getty Images)
He said in an interview with the BBC: “It has clearly been a difficult 11 years since Alex Ferguson and David Gill retired. It’s not switching a light switch, not just about a new coach or a simple short-term fix. We have to walk to the right solution not run to the wrong one. Short term issue is we want to get into the Champions League for FFP. Real challenge is it’s a two-to-three season challenge to get the organisation and environment right to get the performances on the field right and winning football matches. That involves the organisation, the design and structure of the organisation being correct.
“At the moment the coach reports to the CEO – that doesn’t make any sense. You need to populate the organisation, you need to invest in class. It will be a very exciting challenge and it will attract the best people in the world in my view.
“We have to find the best people in the world, ensure they have right character and personality to work positively in the structure – we don’t want disruptors or egos. And then create the right environment for elite sportspeople to be successful, all we’re doing here is trying to drive performance on the pitch.”
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Pep Guardiola said to be missing İlkay Gündoğan
The German international has left a hole at Manchester City.
By Luis Mazariegos@luism8989 May 2, 2024, 5:18am CEST 0 Comments / 0 New
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Pep Guardiola has reportedly noted the hole left in their squad by the absence of İlkay Gündoğan, who now plays for FC Barcelona.
Mateo Kovačić and Matheus Nunes have been used in his absence but neither has quite measured up to the German international.
Gündoğan was Guardiola’s first signings when he arrived at Manchester City, and one of the captains of the team. Guardiola has always been an admirer of his, but he was eventually allowed to leave on a free transfer.
There are some who say that Gündoğan would have changed the fortunes of the English club this season if he were available to play against Real Madrid. Regardless, City were eliminated from the UEFA Champions League on penalties.
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Jack Grealish reveals the ‘simple’ tip Pep Guardiola gave him that transformed his game
Jack Grealish made a simple alteration to his game after being told to do so by Pep Guardiola.
Josh Lawless
Updated 12:08 10 Jan 2024 GMT
Published 12:06 10 Jan 2024 GMT
Jack Grealish has revealed the simple tweak to his game he made following a conversation with Pep Guardiola.
Grealish signed for City from Aston Villa in a £100 million switch and has won two Premier League titles, as well as the Champions League, FA Cup, UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup.
It’s clear that he is a completely different player to the one we saw at Villa, where he was allowed the freedom to roam.
At City Grealish is instructed to stay high and wide and not to give the ball away.
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The emphasis on ball retention means he takes less risks on the wing but in a new interview, Grealish has shared the advice Guardiola gave him which has helped him on the pitch.
The England international likes to come inside off the left flank but has been instructed to use his left foot for his first touch as that takes him forward.
Image: Getty
“It’s something I only actually learned in the last couple of years. Pep actually told me about this,” he said in a coaching session with Ellevate.
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“If I’m getting the ball off you and I’m receiving the ball with my right foot – the right footed touch is a good touch because I’m right footed but it automatically takes me back.
“The defender can just jump onto me and I’m going back. Even though I’m not left footed, if I can go on my left it automatically takes me forward.
“It’s so simple and something you don’t really notice and when someone like Pep Guardiola tells you about it you take it onboard.”
Image: Getty
Grealish has scored three times in 22 this season but the arrival of Jeremy Doku, who loves dribbling past defenders, means he is not a guaranteed starter unlike he was large spells last season.
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And speaking after Doku registered four assists against Bournemouth, Guardiola sent a message to his No.10.
“I want Jack angry and I want him to play good. And then Doku – be angry that he hasn’t played the past two games,”Guardiola told BBC Sport.
“This is the way to maintain the consistency at that level. We need everyone. The way Jack played at Old Trafford to give us more composure was decisive for us.”
Featured Image Credit: Getty & Ellevate
Topics: Jack Grealish, Manchester City, Pep Guardiola
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Declan Rice of Arsenal celebrates at full time during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Arsenal FC at Etihad Stadium on March 31…Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images
Declan Rice says 19-year-old Man City player was so tough to play against
Wed 1 May 2024 17:00
James Thompson
Declan Rice has named one Manchester City player as being particularly hard to play against.
After making his £105m move to Arsenal from West Ham United during the previous summer transfer window, the midfielder has played against City in both of the two Premier League meetings between Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta’s sides this season.
With both clubs vying to win the Premier League title with only a handful of games left to play, the Gunners record signing has been reminiscing over his first league meeting with the Blues as an Arsenal player and highlighted one player in the City team he found it tricky to face off against.
Rice says one Man City player was so hard to play against
Rico Lewis of Manchester City grabs the Premier League badge in front of Arsenal fans following their sides defeat in the Premier League match betw…
Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images
READ MORE: Who is Rico Lewis? The Man City prodigy who is one of the best Pep Guardiola has ever trained
In a recent interview with The Atheltic where he reflected on Arsenal’s 1-0 win over City back in October at the Emirates, Rice had this to say about Rico Lewis in one particular moment of the game.
He said: “I’m hoping that Rico Lewis is going to jump (to Raya), so that I can then make a move. It’s kind of like a game of chess.
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“Lewis is actually in a good position there because he’s defending two of us (Gabriel and Rice). When I move off him, he’s got a problem obviously with Jorgi going the other way.
“We work on that a lot – our midfielders working on different lines and working in relation to one another.
“So if one moves one way, the other moves the other way and mostly diagonally. And, as you can see in that clip, that’s what happened.
“But I remember this game, it was hard to play out because Rico Lewis was taking up some really tough positions where he’s almost doing two roles.”
Rico Lewis showed his intelligence against Arsenal
Looking back over this game, Lewis had 36 touches of the ball across the 68 minutes he was on the pitch for and was able to accurately complete 29 of the 32 passes he attempted.
The 19-year-old also won three of the four ground duels he was involved in.
However, with Rice highlighting how hard Lewis made it to play for Arsenal in terms of the positions he took up on the pitch, this shows just how intelligent the youngster is and how much he’s learned from Guardiola.
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TRANSFERSOscar Bobb transfer window plans revealed following Manchester City’s Cole Palmer decision in 2023Published: 14:00 on May 1st 2024 | Last Updated: 12:55 on May 1st 2024By Freddie Pye
Oscar Bobb of Manchester City warms up on the pitch prior to the Premier League match between Brighton & Hove Albion and Manchester City at the Amex Stadium, Brighton, England. Tuesday 25th April 2024. (Photo by Isaac Parkin/Manchester City FC)
Image: Manchester City FC Official Photography Library. Source: SmartFrame.
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Manchester City’s summer transfer window plans surrounding highly-rated forward talent Oscar Bobb have been detailed in a new report this week.
The Premier League champions have often seen great worth in sending out their finest young talents elsewhere for much-needed top-level game time and experiences, but it appears as though that rule or approach will not be applied to Oscar Bobb.
The last few summer transfer windows have seen Manchester City sanction a number of deals of such nature, with James McAtee re-joining Sheffield United for this season’s Premier League campaign, whilst Issa Kabore also moved elsewhere in the top-flight
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