Manchester United managed to scrape a 3-2 win against Norwich City yesterday afternoon with the help of Cristiano Ronaldo and David De Gea.
Journalist Jonathan Shrager suggested after the match that without the two players the Red Devils would be struggling against relegation this season but fans on Twitter were very much divided on whether that is true:
And yet fans want to lose both players lol.
— Moe99 (@moe99oilers) April 16, 2022
We did better without Ronaldo last season tho
— Michaelynn Bastienne (@BastienneC) April 16, 2022
The two most criticised players! The disrespect
— ♛Lapioche𓃵 ➐ (@xciiiivii) April 17, 2022
Both bringing United down many of the games
— Derek K (@dkaz) April 17, 2022
True two best players at the club
— andrew hibbert (@andy19850) April 17, 2022
Nonsense. Both are detrimental to us overall
— Sam (@UtdSamm) April 16, 2022
United would have been 16th rn.
— Uncle Wilson™ (@iam_wilsons) April 16, 2022
I don’t think that’s how it works. We added good players this window but the team got worse. Inversely, removing good players doesnt have to mean results would be worse over the entire season.
— ‘Famous Seamus’ (@XLoaferY) April 16, 2022
It’s an interesting remark from Shrager. Ronaldo has certainly contributed his fair share of goals, while De Gea has made countless saves, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they will be key players going forward.
Prospective new manager Erik ten Hag has his own style of play that requires players with certain characteristics. There are question marks over whether Ronaldo, in particular, will fit in, with the 37-year-old unable to press the ball. In De Gea’s case, his unwillingness to come off his line and play as a sweeper-keeper may also make him ill-suited for ten Hag. We shall have to wait and see whether the pair feature in the Dutchman’s plans