Your opinions about the future of the Manchester United attacker, Tony Mowbray’s dismissal, and our chances against QPR are welcome in the RR mailbox today! Got som
Dear Roker Report,
Once more, this week’s collective meltdown among our fans was caused by reading too much into a recent social media post by Amad—or rather, the absence of a recent social media post by Amad.
Sunderland fan pages posted compilation videos of him playing for us within an hour of his social media accounts seemingly being deactivated. The captions implied that this cryptic online behavior clearly meant he wanted out of Manchester United and that he was desperate to return to Sunderland.
There are several reasons why this is totally illogical, but I’ll come onto that later.
It turns out that he had removed his social media accounts during Ramadan for religious reasons. He seemed irritated to have to defend his actions in his explanation post, probably in response to the fervent Sunderland supporters who were harassing him.
In the aftermath of this post, I’ve even seen several of our fans claiming that it isn’t really him in the photo.
The theory that someone hacked his account to reveal details of a social media hiatus centered on spirituality seems more plausible to some people than the theory that he is not quite as eager to leave the biggest football team in the world to sign with a team that is currently twelfth in the Championship.
This is utterly ridiculous, and the kind of thing I would expect from Year Nines after their first breakup, not from responsible adults acting like this toward a player we borrowed for a few months.
Not too long ago, Manchester United paid astronomical sums of money for him. Because our fans are obsessed with him on social media and because he seems to like it here, they will not sell him to a championship team for a steep discount.
Top division teams in France, Italy, Spain, England, and France would be interested in him and could offer us enormous wage packages and transfer fees. If United felt the need to sell him, which they have not indicated at any time thus far, that is.
Some would ask, “What about another loan deal?” as they continue to cling to thin air. Rather than sending him to a level where he has already proven himself, what does his parent club stand to gain by letting him play out the remaining year of his contract?
That is the reason you never fall in love with a player on loan.
We often hear the adage that “no player is bigger than the club,” so maybe we should start behaving like it. Amad is gone and he isn’t coming back. Our fans should have started accepting it a long time ago.
Dear Roker Report,
Sorry, but it was not a bad idea to fire Tony Mowbray.
It was one of many, in my opinion, completely absurd and unbelievable decisions made by Kristjaan Speakman and Kyril Louis-Dreyfus.
My father, who spent almost his entire career working in the pit, used to tell me that a team should consist of both young and experienced players to balance out the experience and youth. He also implied that Mowbray should be fired for his apparent attempt to enforce this rule.
Dear Roker Report,
We will definitely be nervous for our upcoming home game after six straight losses.
Although nothing is guaranteed, it would be comforting if we could defeat QPR and earn three points.
Considering those six games, I am sure we anticipated winning the first two, but following those defeats and Michael Beale’s dismissal, our confidence in winning the remaining four games was greatly diminished.
But our negative attitude throughout all four games—especially in the first half—was what really caught my attention. Mike Dodds must take responsibility for that and make the necessary corrections going forward.
It was important that the crowd really got behind the team against Leicester, as evidenced by the incredible noise and support from the terraces when we made the substitutions and went at them.
On Saturday, we have to establish that vibe right away, and Dodds must choose the right players and play at the appropriate tempo for that to happen.
Though I believe we will be fine if Dodds and the players maintain their composure, we can not just wait until the sixty-minute mark to start playing positively.
Regarding the upcoming campaign, we are counting on Kyril Louis-Dreyfus and Kristjaan Speakman to select the best head coach and bring in some players who can greatly strengthen our team, ideally including a goal scorer.
Dear Roker Report,
Yes, with their ridiculous sunglasses on indoors, those two clowns are really ruining our club.
That is why the team and club are in such disarray. Never mind the team—you can not pick their noses. They must sell the club to someone who can turn it around because it is in freefall.
We are dropping games left and right, so it is a good thing we are higher up the league instead of Sheffield Wednesday, who would have been our opponents in League One.
Dear Roker Report,
Not only was the decision to fire Tony Mowbray one of the worst decisions we have ever made, but we also sold our most inventive player to the person we fired.
We are currently paying for such a careless action. We will be fortunate to win one more game this season as relegation is now a real possibility.
I hope the owner is very happy, as is his sidekick.