Rights holders can be so arrogant they focus only their own output when the MEN reported yesterday Ronaldo hadn’t trained and hadn’t travelled. Filming some online ‘influencer’ (that is one of the worst words in the world these days) ‘react’ to the news Ronaldo isn’t playing is content that should be put on Cbeebies, but even they would be principled enough not to give exposure to an attention-seeking irrelevance. Let’s get on with the game.
Today is perhaps the clearest indication of Ten Hag’s defensive pecking order. Malacia is the second-choice at right-back and Victor Lindelof is ahead of Harry Maguire in regards to the reserve centre-back selection.
There is a train of thought that Maguire is better suited to playing on the left, and is first reserve for Lisandro Martinez, but we might not ever see if that is even true.This is one of the purest grounds in the top flight apart from the clientele. Fulham’s is such a mild-mannered set there used to be a ‘neutral end’ in the Putney End and one of the stewards once chuckled at how impossible it is to have any form of banter with the home supporters.
Worse than that today is the broadcasters fawning over some online tweenie whose name they are desperate to ram down our throats. It’s lowest-common-denominator stuff and not a good example for kids, either.The Portuguese-speaking passing contingent is depleted today with Dalot suspended and Ronaldo unwell, so Martinez has joined in with Fred, Fernandes and Casemiro.
Ten Hag has widely abandoned the experiment of Fernandes on the right and a competition winner as the playmaker. Fernandes was much more effective when he returned to his natural habitat in midweek.
— Troll Football (@UKTrollFootball) November 13, 2022