Alexis Sánchez Inquest

[Dave]

So, let's open up the debate.

Why has he been so poor for Manchester United?

[Stan]

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Not caring

[Cicero]

Same reason why Salah didn't do well for us nor KDB. Their ability is restricted under the manager. 

[6666]

He only does well when he's given a totally free role. He doesn't stick to whatever system the team is playing and usually just wants to do his own thing. Said it when Man Utd got him that he's probably the most un-Mourinho player that they could've signed. Sanchez's form is a factor as well though, it's not just been a case of him not fitting into how Mourinho wants to play because his passing/shooting has been all over the place as well. It's a fail all round. 

[SirBalon]

For me there’s something more in depth and psychological going on with Alexis. He had already lost his mojo at Arsenal and was struggling to recapture that tremendous form that had people talking about him being in the top five players in the world at one point. 

He had a few injuries in a shortish spell and then found himself in this situation. Everyone said it was down to him wanting to leave Arsenal but he’s carried it through to Man Utd. 

[Stan]

3 minutes ago, SirBalon said:

For me there’s something more in depth and psychological going on with Alexis. He had already lost his mojo at Arsenal and was struggling to recapture that tremendous form that had people talking about him being in the top five players in the world at one point. 

He had a few injuries in a shortish spell and then found himself in this situation. Everyone said it was down to him wanting to leave Arsenal but he’s carried it through to Man Utd. 

if this is the case, it's typical of the phrase, 'grass isn't always greener on the other side'.

[Spike]

'Friday is pay day, gaffa.'

*£500,000 submitted into bank account*

[The Artful Dodger]

Being at a big club effects some players, he's used to being in a small club (world terms) where he was looked at adoringly by the gimps who support Arsenal. He's taken a step up and isn't quite good enough, it's why Barcelona got rid of him.

[Marc]

It's a weird one. He seems to have done a Torres to me. He's just suddenly got old and shit overnight. From world class to average in a very short period of time,  he just looks rubbish, not just his finishing, he gives the ball away so often.

[Panna King]

He lost interest in football when he knew he wouldnt play in another World Cup again.  Plus he has put on weight and doesn't look as fit as he once did.   

[Dr. Gonzo]

1 hour ago, Marc said:

It's a weird one. He seems to have done a Torres to me. He's just suddenly got old and shit overnight. From world class to average in a very short period of time,  he just looks rubbish, not just his finishing, he gives the ball away so often.

Torres wasn't suddenly shit overnight, in the window before we sold him he wasn't in great form all season and some of his pace had already left him. That coupled with no longer having a team built around him & not having the same ridiculous change of pace was the beginning of the end of Torres.

With Sanchez, I think it's a matter of work ethic. He plays well in a free role, he's not good enough or hard working enough to justify a free role. Mourinho likes hardworking players who are good - Alexis is good, he's not hard working. Especially not enough to be given a free role in a Mourinho side.

[Cicero]

I've had the impression Sanchez was a hard worker. I think the issue is Sanchez isn't given a free role. No one ever does under Mourinho. Sanchez looks to have more defensive responsibilities and completely forgot how to attack given the tedious training i'm sure Mourinho implements. 

[RandoEFC+]

It is a strange one and I'm sure it's a mixture of a lot of the things that have already been stated. I think he's lost the hunger he had 2-3 years ago, and I think he, probably subconsciously, revels being the big fish in a small pond where he knows he's the one who can change the game more than the rest of the team.

[6666]

The whole argument of "He can't handle being at Man Utd" is a ridiculous one as it doesn't make any sort of sense. He joined a Man Utd side that isn't that great and one where they are paying him a lot to be the main man. Him failing to do it doesn't change that, they definitely don't see him as just another player in the squad. And he made the jump from Arsenal to Man Utd, not from a nothing club like Hull City to Man Utd. And Man Utd being a big club isn't something that's going to constantly be on your mind after playing a few times and affect your ability to do basic things especially against teams that Man Utd are quite obviously better than like Brighton or Wolves.

It's bullshit football logic to suggest "the shirt is too heavy".

[Asura]

Those who say bad things about Sanchez after joining Utd havent seen enough of him at Arsenal. He used to give away the ball a lot even at Arsenal, its nothing new. 

He has his moments in every match, he can turn around a match on his own and he is a fighter. But he equally gives away the ball by trying too hard all by himself sometimes. He is currently under a shite manager who cant develop a player or get to play his team good free flowing attaching football, so its hard to judge Sanchez. Its not like United are firing on all cylinders except Sanchez. 

 

[Smiley Culture]

It's partly he's been shit and partly he's joined a club in disarray.

[Harry]

9 hours ago, Cicero said:

Same reason why Salah didn't do well for us nor KDB. Their ability is restricted under the manager. 

With a dash of Torres for you... felt wrong fit when it happened, and was proved wrong in how it panned out. 

[Harry]

8 hours ago, SirBalon said:

For me there’s something more in depth and psychological going on with Alexis. He had already lost his mojo at Arsenal and was struggling to recapture that tremendous form that had people talking about him being in the top five players in the world at one point. 

He had a few injuries in a shortish spell and then found himself in this situation. Everyone said it was down to him wanting to leave Arsenal but he’s carried it through to Man Utd. 

 this is exactly where I'm coming from with my Torres analogy. 

[Harry]

8 hours ago, Stan said:

if this is the case, it's typical of the phrase, 'grass isn't always greener on the other side'.

I think its that you could see the player needed to be reinvigorated with a move away. But not every club they could go to would deliver the jump start required to break them out of their funk. City and Guardiola football probably could have done it for him in a way a jose mourinho led united couldn't....

[SirBalon]

1 hour ago, Harry said:

 this is exactly where I'm coming from with my Torres analogy. 

Well it's a very similar story with that of Fernando Torres.  Although with Torres it's obvious that something physical occurred to his ability to give out his total output and his turn of pace suddenly disappeared.  Very rarely was that ever seen again. With Alexis I definitely think it's a mental issue.

[Harry]

6 hours ago, SirBalon said:

Well it's a very similar story with that of Fernando Torres.  Although with Torres it's obvious that something physical occurred to his ability to give out his total output and his turn of pace suddenly disappeared.  Very rarely was that ever seen again. With Alexis I definitely think it's a mental issue.

For me it was that for both players their heart wasn't in it. 

I definitely felt Torres lost a lot more than his pace. His confidence and his hunger seemed to desert him first. 

[Panna King]

Sanchez was way off form for Arsenal before at Man Utd,  he just has these runs of being brilliant and then he can just be awful for a months. 

[Cicero]

I still remember when we got Torres in January. From then to the rest of the season, he was incredibly unlucky. 

He only scored one goal, but I remember how brilliant he was. He showed all the signs of quality, but nothing, and I mean nothing, went his way. That save from VDS in the quarterfinal summed up that season for him. Just incredibly unlucky. 

It was somewhere around 2011/12 where he lost all pace completely. 

[Lucas]

It's his own fault. Chose to be a greedy prick and take more money than go where his heart truly wanted all those months before, at Man City, to work with Pep again.

He should have stuck to his guns and gone to the club that genuinely wanted him more. It was obvious Alexis wanted City from day dot. And City wanted him equally when they got the right indication from his side.

United panicked because they were struggling and went for him because they had the funds available and equally, wanted to send a message to Man City IMO. You cannot tell me they had a long term plan to bring Alexis into that side.

Now they are lumbered with a player that doesn't really fit into the system or the way the manager plays. Expensive player to keep rotating.

[Cicero]

Wasn't he rumored to City before his move to Barca?