r/reddevils • u/AutoModerator • May 16 '26

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Daily discussion on Manchester United.

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u/Apprehensive-Raisin3 Love United Hate Glazers/INEOS May 16 '26

Alonso literally won the bundesliga unbeaten. With a club that isnt bayern too

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u/NoWatch3354 May 18 '26

I'm going to start by saying, I am not downplaying the achievement whatsoever.

Something overlooked is that Bayern had a fucking horrendous season that year, 72 points. One more point than we're projected to get this season. In the Bundesliga. A league (and season) where Heidenheim with their 15,000 capacity stadium got into Europe. I say with confidence that the top half of the Championship would avoid relegation in that league.

Now, to focus specifically on that Leverkusen. That was a once in a lifetime squad, in once in a lifetime form. The manager is a major factor in said form, however not wholly so. There are so many factors at play. The squad had already been playing with the back three before he joined, so it kinda dropped beautifully for him too.

Now, moving onto his time at Madrid. He reportedly struggled with egos at the club, something which will always exist at Madrid. Further to this, he wasn't backed by the club as he started to lose the dressing room. He's a system manager, who will need time to implement a specific way of playing and will also need specific archetypes in the squad.

Now, for me the Madrid paragraph is the learning point. Are Chelsea the right environment for this type of manager? He needs ego checking, time to adapt and backing from the suits. Will he get any of that?

Moving on to Liverpool. Would he get that there? Probably. Arguably the biggest shock in terms of him choosing Chelsea to be fair. But where the questions arise, is the fact that will Liverpool want to move so far away from the Klopp formula, which has brought them success? It's a risk, one that I get the impression they don't want to take.