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Daily Manchester United - Episode 193 - Even 10 Years Ago We were Losing
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Niall is discussing 10 years ago and their Champions League Group Stage campaign
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Transcript
Disappointment Over Missing Champions League
00:00:14
Global Sports Podcast Network
Hello everyone and welcome back to another episode of the daily Manchester United podcast. I'm your host for this solo pod this evening, Niall Hannigan and it's Champions League week and the Champions League is back and United aren't in it and it's very, very depressing. I'm 10-15 minutes after watching the Atletico Madrid-Liverpool game there and also tuning in to the other scores around Europe this evening and And have to say it is gutting that we're not involved in it. I mean, it's bad enough when we're involved in Europa League.
00:00:48
Global Sports Podcast Network
um But when you're not involved in and any Europe or particularly the Champions League, it's a bitter pill to swallow. swallow It's a tough tough to take. So it is. And yeah, i was kind of watching those games and and the quality on show and just kind of thinking about how far off we are at the moment, um even competing, you know, in the top half of the of the table, nevermind getting into Champions League qualification and then ultimately competing in the top competition in Europe. And that is ah big reality check, really, when you think of how far we really need to go um in order to get up the table and then get in there and start competing. So um every time the Champions League rolls around, it it kind of,
00:01:32
Global Sports Podcast Network
brings you back to reality of of where we are at the moment and and how far we need
2015-16 Champions League Opener vs PSV
00:01:36
Global Sports Podcast Network
to go. But I thought to put some sort of ah United spin on this, I thought I'd go back to the 10 years ago, because we always do that kind of a whenever we're we're going back in time, do the 10 year classic and have a look at our first game in the Champions League during that season. So that would have been the 2015-2016 season.
00:01:58
Global Sports Podcast Network
twenty sixteen season Not going lie, not the most inspiring game and when i when I looked it up this evening, but a game nonetheless and a game in the Champions League. It was on the 21st of October 2015.
00:02:13
Global Sports Podcast Network
um and
00:02:19
Global Sports Podcast Network
ah just checking I actually had the wrong game up there but we're going back to match day one and it's even less inspiring than I thought it was I was looking at match day three um a draw one all draw with CSK Moscow but I found the right page now and it's even worse it is a a game that was played on in September on the 15th September against PSV Eindhoven away to PSV Eindhoven and it was 2-1 we lost 2-1 and it's funny kind of looking back because at the time you know we're in Champions League football Van Gaal's the manager
00:02:57
Global Sports Podcast Network
United haven't done that well over the last few seasons since since Ferguson's left. And you're thinking, oh, like, you you know, United are nowhere near this in terms of where we want to be. And then you look at now and it's just, you know, you'd die to get back into that position of of where they were. But if we if we dive in a bit deeper into this match, so the game was 2-1.
00:03:17
Global Sports Podcast Network
Hector Moreno scored for PSV and Narsingh as well scored for PSV. and But we actually opened the scoring with Memphis Depay. I mean, what a throwback.
00:03:31
Global Sports Podcast Network
He's been mentioned a few times in our episodes with the top 10 Dutch players that would have played for United. Don't think he was ranking too high in that. um Has had an interesting career.
00:03:42
Global Sports Podcast Network
But was it was a big kind of move for us at the time and i'm hoping that it kind of pay off. But it never really happened for us. But ah yeah, it's an interesting one. I mean, starting off the campaign 2-1 wasn't ideal. um It's also interesting in looking back at at the squad we had back then.
00:04:02
Global Sports Podcast Network
And similar to what I was saying earlier, you know, if if we were looking at... during the time it would be like, you know, the the team has completely fallen off here, but, you know, you'd be cutting someone's arm off to be in this position now.
Squad Reflection: Key Players of 2015-16
00:04:15
Global Sports Podcast Network
So looking at the team, um let's just go through from the goalkeeper into the the whole way through the squad. So David Hay and Nets, I mean... He was kind of in his pomp back then.
00:04:27
Global Sports Podcast Network
um To be fair, he was he was growing into his prime and kind of in his prime as well, to be honest. Really, really good goalkeeper. um Then we had the whole ah similar with kind of going for a back three slash ball playing defenders, um bringing in a few Dutch players as well. We had Daley Blind, Mr. kind of Ajax Academy.
00:04:50
Global Sports Podcast Network
So he was playing left back. We had um Chris Smalling. We had ah Marcus Rojo and we had Matteo Darmian.
00:05:02
Global Sports Podcast Network
I mean, that back line is not filling you with confidence. um So it's sad it's pretty rough. um In midfield, then we have Juan Mata, Ander Herrera and Bastien Feinsteiger.
00:05:19
Global Sports Podcast Network
I mean, once again, Schweinsteiger, you know, we were mentioning him on the pod last night, actually, in terms of him being a really expensive shirt to to get printed out. But I was a big fan of Schweinsteiger, but just not at United. mean, we got him when he was pretty much at the end of his career.
00:05:37
Global Sports Podcast Network
um He was able to put in a bit of a shift and and was a good good technically, but yeah, it was was not the long long-term kind of transfer that we needed at the time. And Herrera, I think, was quite underrated.
Midfield and Forward Analysis
00:05:51
Global Sports Podcast Network
um for us and probably could have hung about at the club a bit longer um had a good career went on and then Juan Mata was actually quite good for us as well um but once again probably had his strongest years at ah Chelsea before joining Man United um and then in the front line i mean obviously with the goal scorer Memphis Depay with the goal there but Ballon d'Or Claus Anthony Martial is playing probably down the middle here, Memphis Depay off the left.
00:06:23
Global Sports Podcast Network
Um, and then we have Ashley Young playing as well. Um, for any of you listening, in Ashley Young and our fantasy football kind cross over here as well. Ashley Young was, was always a staple in my fantasy football teams, especially as he went back into that fullback position because he was on every set piece going and, uh, we kind of looked, looked upon forward, but 10 years ago, Ashley Young was a flying win-at-w winger, um, had a decent career at United,
00:06:50
Global Sports Podcast Network
obviously being signed from Aston Villa, a very flashy winger and and did quite well for us. um But yeah, just really interesting looking back at that team. I mean, even you go back to Matteo Darmian, I mean, Darmian was still playing away for Inter in Champions League finals just last season.
00:07:07
Global Sports Podcast Network
um Luke Shaw still was coming on to that team as well. um You know, a player that's still around the club. um suffer with a lot of injuries of course but yeah just a really interesting in time and a really interesting squad to look back on I mean Chris Smalling went to Italy played there for years um and then you kind of look at the substitutes so substitutes that came on We had Marwan Fellaini, the David Moyes panic signing um the year after Fergie. We had Antonio Valencia coming on for Ashley Young in that game as well.
Player Career Recaps
00:07:42
Global Sports Podcast Network
Valencia is an interesting one. Started off as a winger, then... kind of was was was effective but but maybe wasn't the most technically gifted as as other wingers that we would have had and then kind of went back into more of a fullback role and was pretty effective there, you know, a strong, powerful runner um and had good energy up and down the right-hand side there.
00:08:03
Global Sports Podcast Network
But when you look at the other defenders, Morgan Schneiderlin, what a throwback that is I mean signed need to check this now but I think he was signed from Southampton and then it went on to play for um for Everton But I need to double check that now because I don't want to make a mistake on it.
00:08:27
Global Sports Podcast Network
But yes, he did come from Southampton. 231 appearances for Southampton, 14 goals. Then came to United 2015 to 2017. So he just would have signed that season. 32 appearances, one goal. And then went to Everton in 2017 for three seasons. Played 73 times. Scored one goal. So, you know, a decent midfielder. Probably needed to bolster up a bit there.
00:08:48
Global Sports Podcast Network
Um... as we had Michael Carrick on the bench as well. He was coming towards the the end of his career. Sergio Romero got a big shout out last night on on the episode, on our special Argentina episode, if you're interested in in tuning into that.
00:09:02
Global Sports Podcast Network
And then we had Paddy McNair, um who yeah who had come through the academy at United. He was kind of a young player at the time. So, Yeah, it's ah I thought I would kind of go back just to see, you know, what were we like 10 years ago? And ah I think if you were to ask United fans back there, you'd say we're in you know we're in the dark ages. We're in um we struggling here. Obviously, there was probably a couple of injuries. I think Rooney obviously wasn't available for this game.
00:09:30
Global Sports Podcast Network
But it's concerning when, you know, we were saying we were in, you know, really, really struggling and nearly in our banter era, as other clubs would say, back in 2015. And if we were in our banter era back then, what are we now? you know,
00:09:45
Global Sports Podcast Network
um But yeah, it's ah it's an interesting one. Things weren't too bad after that. I mean, I say that back in 2015. We had 2-1 loss Eindhoven.
00:09:59
Global Sports Podcast Network
Then we had, ah two weeks later, had a win 2-1 against Wolfsburg. and Within that game, we actually had Juan Mata getting a penalty. And we had Chris Smalling getting on the score sheet as well.
00:10:12
Global Sports Podcast Network
and Then we had the game that I was going to start with that I completely got wrong, which was the CSKA Moscow away 1-1. um We had Martial grab a goal there and Dumbia scored for CSKA Moscow for any of the FIFA fans.
00:10:26
Global Sports Podcast Network
he was ah He was a bit of a cult hero when it comes to that. um Then in the turn fixture, we we beat CSKA Moscow 1-0 and we then drew with PSV.
00:10:37
Global Sports Podcast Network
psv And then we carried on and we lost to Wolfsburg 3-2, which was was quite quite horrific, actually. um But yeah, interesting to look at this game and and look at the lineup in this game. We had Jesse Lingard playing.
00:10:53
Global Sports Podcast Network
We had Nick Powell coming on. We had Varela playing. We had Borthwick Jackson playing.
00:11:00
Global Sports Podcast Network
you know, these were tough times for United fans and we were in Champions League and we were kind of obviously not doing well in the Champions League, but we were still kind of been able to to compete in and around that top tier of of the Premier League at least, and which is just deeply concerning. But anyway, I thought it would be interesting to kind of take a look back at 10 years ago of our own Champions League campaign because like I mentioned at the top of the show,
00:11:30
Global Sports Podcast Network
looking at the standard of football in that, in that league, in that Champions League at the moment is just really tough to take when, uh, it's just so clear that that we're very, very far off it. Um, you know, if Chelsea are losing three, one to, to Bayern Munich tonight and Chelsea are one of the best teams in the Premier League and,
00:11:47
Global Sports Podcast Network
We're going there at the weekend. I mean, let's see what happens, but um it doesn't augur well. It doesn't augur well anyway, but we'll take a quick break here and be back with a small bit more of this Champions League special, which United are not in.
00:13:09
Global Sports Podcast Network
Just looking into a bit more detail on that ah pretty horrific Champions League run, that group stage that we had back in 2015-16 season. um Times were tough. I mean, we were already looking at bringing Rooney back into more of a a deep line midfield role.
00:13:25
Global Sports Podcast Network
In the the drawn game against PSV at home at Old Trafford, he's lining up in midfield with Schweinsteiger and Schneiderlin. So, you know, it kind of playing within that number 10 position, but but very much in the midfield also and looking to kind of have some creativity within there.
00:13:44
Global Sports Podcast Network
um Still going with, you know, Memphis Depay and Jesse Lingard and Anthony Martial as well. I mean, it really is a pity with Martial. um You know, he scored a couple of times within that within that campaign that season and was such a promising player. I mean, we had those goals against Liverpool on his debut at Old Trafford.
00:14:04
Global Sports Podcast Network
um We had the, I joked at the Ballon d'Or clause within his contract as well, but Super technically gifted. um Had so much potential. Just absolutely marred with injuries. And yeah, it's a tough one. I mean, it it ended quite... i kind of went out on a limp at United getting his move last season.
00:14:27
Global Sports Podcast Network
um And it just never really working out for him, which was disappointing. But um yeah, at the time, I mean, back in 2015-16, he was lauded as our kind of saviour at the time and and just kind of putting all our hopes in that basket until kind of Rashford came around a couple of years later. So yeah.
Post-Ferguson Struggles
00:14:45
Global Sports Podcast Network
Yeah, I basically wanted to you know cheer myself up this evening after after watching the Champions League and watching the other English teams and competing within that. um But then when you go back 10 years and you look at the United team
00:15:02
Global Sports Podcast Network
it's the same issues as now, you know, you're looking at them going, I don't really any faith in that team. um And it kind of emphasizes that this struggle since Fergie has been going on for a long, long time.
00:15:14
Global Sports Podcast Network
um And it's well over a decade now when when you're kind of looking back, you're going, oh, surely the good days were still within the decade, but that they're not. And things aren't looking to get any better at the moment. You know, there's been a lot of talk of,
00:15:28
Global Sports Podcast Network
if Almoran has a few games left, you know, what are some of the managers that that are going to come in? And I'm i'm sure in one of the episodes, well we'll kind of talk through some of those options and um what they might look like. But in terms of us getting back to the top and and getting into even Champions League, you know, league format now whatever, they're they not group stages anymore.
00:15:48
Global Sports Podcast Network
But being able to get in there and actually compete, you know, we're a long way away from it. um And yeah, I think if I'm trying to bring any positivity to United fans at the moment, it's a tough job. It's a tough job. I'm sorry I can't provide it for you, but um I thought I was going to cheer myself up with these results and it looked like we didn't actually get through the group stages in 2015. But here we are. we keep moving.
00:16:12
Global Sports Podcast Network
But anyway, thank you very much for listening. We're going to have a couple of episodes coming up towards the Chelsea game. We're going to have a preview of the Chelsea game. Let's just hope Garnatio doesn't score and we'll go from there. But we have to keep moving and we have to keep the faith because there's nothing else we can do. So thank you very much for
Engagement and Social Media
00:16:33
Global Sports Podcast Network
listening. and If you're interested, tune into the social media channels that we have, GSPN Man United, and start some debates and conversation in the comments section as always.
00:16:44
Global Sports Podcast Network
Thank you very much and we'll see you in the next one.