11 Feb 2018 17:06:29
This '2nd in the league so we are second best' is a trap. Watching us play we look 5-6th best on a consistent basis imo. There is no way any honest Utd fan can say we have been the second best team in the league this season, we have got the second best set of results, but they paint a different picture to our actual play.

We look no better now than we did at this time last season (despite immense investment) and most fans acknowledging we muddled through last season and this year would be the one where we see Jose's Utd.

There are more issues than the manager of course, but the buck stops with him and we haven't been good enough. We look bewildered and lack any sort of plan if Plan A fails. Fortunately our rivals have been hit and miss aside from City, but I can see what Spurs and Liverpool are trying to do, not too sure I see the plan for us and how we progress with this mindset - spend £200m every summer and hope to get CL football, we are better than that surely!

We had a lot of luck at the start of the season, that luck is turning now as we don't deserve to lose some of these games. But it cuts both ways and fundamentally we have been saying "it's the result that matters" almost after every victory this season, that is dangerous talk and my fear that victories being based on taking one chance or not is hardly conducive to long term success.

There is certainly something not right about the club - I remain speechless about why a poor overall run and a few easy 3 points justifies a contract extension, it sends completely the wrong message, it's stability of course, but mediocre stability considering the resources and talent available. Genuinely worried about the Sevilla game and that should be relatively straightforward.

No progress for me, just more of the same virtually every week. 5/ 6 players still needed to compete, how is that even possible? Maybe one manager change would mean we compete with what we have, we can't surely continue this program of attempting to buy our way out of mediocrity, there has to be a better plan that that?

A team is meant to be better than the sum of it's parts, for the past 5-6 years we have seen the manager handicap the team with their ideas on football. We are certainly not playing like a team with several hundred millions £ worth of talent being added every 12 months.


1.) 11 Feb 2018
11 Feb 2018 17:18:04
Fair post Beast, I’ve just made a similar point ao It something feeling not quite right. It can be fine lines though, I was hoping Sanchez might have made the difference but the balance is still not right. The main point you made that i agree with is that I can’t really see a plan.


2.) 11 Feb 2018
11 Feb 2018 17:18:08
League doesn't lie.


3.) 11 Feb 2018
11 Feb 2018 17:32:43
It misleads Jred. We last won the league because of SAF most would say, so one man made a major difference. We were not good at all most games that season.

We are not good most games this season, we won't win the league and we have invested more than the £30m RVP cost!

There is a problem, I think I know where it lies - but there seems to be a lack of balls at the club (fans living in denial doesn't help) . Even if we play well next game, the following one will more likely be bad.

Good post AJH.


4.) 11 Feb 2018
11 Feb 2018 17:35:55
Beast
Opinions do but the fact is the league doesn't lie . even if not what you think.


5.) 11 Feb 2018
11 Feb 2018 17:54:55
The league does lie. It is far from a perfect indicator, for example playing Chelsea at the moment is easier than playing Chelsea a few months ago one would argue? If a manager is about to be sacked (happened just before our big wins for the most part this season), it shows that the team we are playing are in turmoil. Maybe a few star players of opponents are injured when we play them and fit when our rivals play them, or the weather is a leveler on a particular day. Maybe fixture congestion has had effects, distance traveled/ rest - it is never exactly the same for every team - so it is not a truly fair rule for saying we are the 2nd best team. We were at one point maybe, but not now, other are stronger and catching us quickly.

The league obviously says which team got collectively the best results, but it doesn't explain the circumstances. It is a good indicator but it's being used as a crutch this season, in any case I think that crutch is about to be kicked away as we are about to be swamped and deserve to be. 4-5 games we have played well this season in the league or as well as I expect us to.


6.) 11 Feb 2018
11 Feb 2018 18:08:38
Best team wins the league .


7.) 11 Feb 2018
11 Feb 2018 18:30:33
We are second in the league. Have improved since last year. A year in which we won a European and Domestic trophy.
Are we anywhere near City? No.
Do they play great attacking football that we would like to see at OT? Yes.
Is Jose capable of producing that attacking expansive style? Yes if you take his Real Madrid and Chelsea form into account.

In terms of a settled team we are still a number of quality recruits shy.
There is still deadwood to clear.

I wanted Jose for the job when Fergie left and I still want him now. We have no God given right to win stuff just because we are Man United!


8.) 11 Feb 2018
11 Feb 2018 18:44:03
Normally - But if two teams are tied at the top, with one game to go. One team is playing bottom of the league and draws because they have 5 players call in sick with a virus before kick off. The other team is playing 3rd in the league and smashes them because that team had two men sent off for fighting each other in the first minute.

Has the best team won the league, or has luck had something to do with it?

The best team doesn't win every game, so that leads to the best team doesn't always win the league. Furthermore it certainly means that the order the league ends up in is not the actual true order of how good each team is. It's the best system we have, but it's not perfect. We are benefiting from it's imperfection if you think being 2nd is fine despite how we have played. I think it is hurting us because we are tricked into thinking this is maintainable or good enough to renew a contract for an under performing manager.


9.) 11 Feb 2018
11 Feb 2018 18:57:56
The league doesn't lie .
What teams are better than us so far this season?
All had up and downs . only city have been better which is why they have more points.


10.) 11 Feb 2018
11 Feb 2018 19:26:03
I know what you are saying, but you are wrong.

I have just explained at length how the league can lie (anybody want to argue those points, doubt it) - there are many variables involved in how a team accumulates points, sometimes they deserve them, sometimes they don't, sometimes it's the opponent being different at different stages - therefore the league is not entirely accurate at depicting the teams in the order of how good they are. It's a measurement, but not accurate all of the time.

There will probably be 4 points separating 2nd-5th tomorrow. We have lost several times this season despite being better than the team we lost to - that alone should tell you how a points tally is not accurate for this purpose.


11.) 11 Feb 2018
11 Feb 2018 20:45:59
The league doesn't lie it a stupid argument if anyone says otherwise. Form alters things but a league is not judged on form. It is judged in consistency across a season and nothing else. The side that consistently gets the most points from games will win the league and therefore are the best team in the league. They may not have the best attack defence goalkeeper or midfield but they will be the best team.


12.) 11 Feb 2018
11 Feb 2018 21:11:38
Where has that brick wall gone?!


13.) 12 Feb 2018
12 Feb 2018 05:37:01
I think the point here is that the league doesn't lie. at the end of the season. It's what happens between now and then we should be concerned about.