17 Aug 2014 01:01:52
Well, that did not go as planned.

This may be the 1st defeat of the season but its not a new one. This is the same defeat as Everton, WBA, Newcastle and even Swansea in the cup last season. In these games, the same game plan has been used to similar effects from our opponents. They sit back contain us because we seem to lack any pace from midfield to penetrate them and we allow them to get a position and stay there and with every broken down attack the opportunity of a counter is there.

Now most times we will survive Jones will make a last ditch tackle or Smalling will read the play and cut it out (or Vidic and another last season would do the same) but if u keep knocking at the door you will get through and before you know it we get sucker punched and the nerves set in.
All of a sudden the slow but somewhat confident build up play turns to rushed over play and the cycle continues, We get our goal, the leveler then bang! We resort to the same plan that got us into that mess to start with.

Its now become quite clear we dnt have the personal within the squad either there or ready to step up to the plate. We have a rot within our squad, a staleness that needs addressing, the lads are good lads they ain't going out to lose but they need help fast. How can we expect Jones or Smalling to learn without a older head there to guide them through games, for example look how much Evans improved when he was playing nearly every week next to one of Rio or Vidic.
Now I know Smalling and Jones have been there for a while now but really how much have they played next to a Rio or Vidic for a long amount of time in THEIR proper position? Not much really, so its no surprise they have stalled it was bound to happen.

Young has his limitations as does Valencia etc but they should not thrown on the scrap heap as some suggest. If we had a better balanced squad they would always have a place and a role to play, we have won many trophies this way and it was one of Fergies many great strengths in being able to have these players and keep them happy while players such as Giggs or Ronaldo are running the show.
They got there games and played important roles for the team and under Fergie were happy to do so, No player is happy to not play, but there are really some out there that understand how lucky they are to be at a club like Man Utd and accept in order to stay at the top level that is their role.

The problem comes when, what happens if these useful squad players become your starters, well tbh this. U get 'OK' performances, sometimes you get better than OK but normally you get a 6.5/10 and that is not enough to be a consistent winning premier league team. We need a few more Anders and Shaw's in our team. Hungry players with the ability to shine and take us forward.

Lack of pace is another major problem, if we are going to be slow in our build up we need a pacey wide man(even if we are not slow in build up tbf).
Why do you think Wellbeck played a lot under Fergie and Moyes? It wasn't for his finishing ability, it was for pace simple as that and there we have another that has seen his progression stall because of it.
He was the only player we really had that was direct and quick attacking wise, Fergie knew this and deployed Wellbeck (much to his annoyance) in that role of pacey wide man there to stretch and pull the opponents about. But again this was merely papering over cracks that were there and would remain.

So now we have to buy its as simple as that, the manager knows this and i'm sure the club does too I have no idea what's holding up the moves but i'm sure there is a lot of talking going on.
I see many say we don't have the money, yes we do we have spent over 100m in the last 12 months but have brought the same, in Mata we brought a VERY good player but for all his great points his weakness is his speed, we buy Fellani a direct player that again lacks speed, our really only pacey transfer improvement is out for up to 4 weeks and is a LB.

Our midfield is looking better with Herrera already but he is not enough on his own to compete against the best and here we need another top class player too.

In the next weeks i'd be very surprised if a top experienced CB, a top class CM and pacey wide player is not signed and if they are you will see a great improvement and who knows a consistent team again, if not, well a top half scrap is on the cards again.

But just remember our lads are a good bunch there not arses they are trying there best but unfortunately the ability or experience is not not there atm but with help it will get better, LVG knows this as did Moyes but now is time to deliver the improvements needed.

Keep the faith. until Sept the 1st and, if nothing, we can all lose our Sh** together :)

1.) 17 Aug 2014
Best thing I have read on here for months. I agree with everything. Well thought out and well put together Chris.

2.) 17 Aug 2014
Great post mate.

Really enjoyed reading that .!

3.) 17 Aug 2014
Good post Chris.

The more I think about and watch Mata I can't see how he features moving forward. He is too slow and we lose more effective players if he starts ahead of them. I would rather Janujaz in the hole as he can run at defenders and opens up space for Rooney & RVP. Mata needs to have pacey wingers and pacey strikers to play the link balls, we don't have either.

4.) 17 Aug 2014
Beast

I posted something similar yesterday and believe Mata might lose more and more minutes because of adnan especially if we sort out our wings. The boy is too good to sit on the bench and maybe best behind the strikers in 3412 formation, if that is the way we are going or 352 which is the same anyway.