21 Sep 2018 00:29:51
What a difference a few weeks and a run of wins makes for the fans, players and manager alike. I will be honest I thought Jose was staring down the barrel after the spurs defeat. It had the makings for a really toxic and turbulent few months where it seemed that Jose would burn every bride he has at the club and the players completely turn on him. But credit to him and the players because they have responded in a very professional and strong manner to ride out the media storm that has been nothing short of comical and disgraceful at times. The agenda is strong at the moment and the most important thing is that we all stick together, United, with an is against them mentality that we haven’t seen since the sir alex days.

I would like to touch on the positives I have seen so far this season. The most exciting and surprising one has got to be the form of Luke shaw. I am very surprised at how well he has played this season. He has offered us a great option on the left and seems to be improving and gaining more confidence with every passing game. I will admit I was a shaw out individual in the summer. I have always Been a fan and knew there was a very talented player in there somewhere, but never though we would see it. Credit to both the manager and the player and long may it continue. I really liked the look of Dalot as well. Strong, tall, powerful and has a cross on him. Hallelujah to that! I think we will see him displacing Valencia by the end of the season. Fellaini deserves a shout out too as well as pogba. I may be in the minority but I think Sanchez has looked much sharper and effective this season. Not at peak Sanchez, but making some great runs and creating a lot of chances, the most I think out of all our players. Needs to built that understanding better with Lukaku and pogba. But definite improvement for me.

Secondly, the team spirit seems very good in the squad. Despite what the media want to insinuate, there is a great camaraderie amongst the players and they do seem to be buying into the manager, for the moment (a lot can change in the space of a few weeks) . There is some serious talent but that alone doesn’t translate to success on the pitch. Mental fortitude is a huge part of any success, we seem to be building that.

Thirdly, I feel we may be starting to see the influence of McKenna and Carrick on both Jose and the team. We seem to have much more of an attacking intent and apertite as shown in the last few games. Even in the spurs game we totally outplayed them in the first half but unfortunately we made far too many defensive mistakes. There seems to be an acknowledgment of our weakness at cb, so 2 defensive holding midfielders have been deployed to protect them. Pushing pogba further forward is starting to reap some benefits, and full backs of shaw and Dalot has the makings of a very talented and exciting pairing. They offer us width and a threat from crosses that we have not had since the days of rafael (miss him! ) and Evra.

Finally, I want to touch on Jose quickly. Not everyone’s cup of tea, you either hate him or love him, but there is no denying he has done well in bouncing back after a poor start. The football is not sparkling or as expansive and some rivals, but there are improvements. The way the fans have got behind him has been great to see. And him finally reciprocating some love back is something we as fans have been craving for 3 years. He most probably has an agenda but I would rather he engaged with the fans then ignored them. Would still like to see us play at a higher tempo and really impose ourselves on the opposition more dominantly. But we are moving in the right direction and I believe we can compete on most fronts. It’s well known I do like Jose but I will happily point out when he has been a bit of a tit.

A few negatives/ concerns. Playing style still can be improved. Let the final three express themselves a bit more and give them the confidence to try things. I think the shackles have been release a bit but with the talent in the forward areas we should be blowing some teams away with ease. Perhaps the lack of trust in the cbs is a hinderance to this but I feel we need to take the initiative more. Increase the tempo and decrease the number of touches/ labouring on the ball and we will score a fair few.

Secondly, it has to be fred. I actually like the look of him. He’s tenacious, quick footed and has a decent passing range and vision. However, he seems to be stuck in no mans land at the moment. Is he a defensive midfielder or attacking? Is he there to break up play or create? What I like is he is always looking forward and looking to release the likes of Lukaku. However, too many people are fighting him off early. He needs time to settle and adjust to the pace of the premier league. Get used to those playing around him as well. I don’t tjink it’s a case to be concerned but I hope we see a bit more discipline and improvement from him, especially positionally.

Then final things I want to touch on are bailly and rashford. Bailly for me is our best cb. But he has had a poor start to the season and has looked error prone. I feel our strongest pairing at the back his him and smalling. Lindelof looks composed on the ball but still has the occasional wobble. I hope he puts his head down and fights for that spot back. Now we can see why Jose was so desperate for Alderweireld. Wouldn’t mind a cheeky bid for him in January. Rashford is another marmite player. Some rate him and others see Danny Welbeck 2.0. I personally thinks he’s talented but not as good as we perhaps initially thought he could be. He’s not close to mbappe or ousmane dembele for me. He has some great attributes but the composure is a bit off. It may come with age, but I would like him to knuckle down and improve the consistency. He needs to make that rw position his own. I hope he proves me wrong as I still think he can contribute a huge amount this season.

Overall I give us a 6.5/ 10 for the start. Started poorly, but showed great character the last few weeks. The manager seems to have found a system and a some what balances side. Pogba has stepped up and Lukaku is scoring, albeit still doesn’t look anywhere near top gear. We have so many extra levels we can climb with this side. There are weaknesses but we should be challenging imo. Anything other than that and that is unacceptable. Can’t wait till the game on Saturday and I hope to see a bit more positivity on this page! Not all is wrong and hopefully we have turned a corner because if there is one thing I don’t want to see, it’s liverpool winning the league. That should be a big enough incentive for these boys. Fight for that badge on your chest, leave your all on the pitch, and entertain the fans, and that’s all we can ask for.

1.) 21 Sep 2018
21 Sep 2018 01:46:23
Excellent post park. Agree with all of that.

My thoughts on fred are maybe he's a box to box midfielder but at the mo he's not being utilised as that specifically. I like him though.

2.) 21 Sep 2018
21 Sep 2018 02:22:24
Good post Park. There is definitely a growing sense of togetherness and positivity around the club. Make no mistake though, we need to keep the winning going. The first sign of weakness again and the vultures will be circling.

3.) 21 Sep 2018
21 Sep 2018 05:48:37
Yes absolutely dodgyB.

Wolves will be a test for our back line so a good performance there is much needed for our defence.

4.) 21 Sep 2018
21 Sep 2018 09:22:24
The media make more out of a situation that it actually is. There a disease.


Not seen anything about how spurs have lost there last 3 since beating us or how city are the first English team to lose 4 CL games in a row. 3 in a row at home.

Makes you laugh. all they care about is how bad United are.

5.) 21 Sep 2018
21 Sep 2018 09:24:26
Good man Park. Saved me reading a book on my flight this morning.

6.) 21 Sep 2018
21 Sep 2018 09:36:21
Park,

Extremely good, well thought of post, nice to see some positivity and as you say, a few wins and the whole mood has changed.

I agree on you about Sanchez too, he has been so much better the last few games, some really good runs and good crosses. I saw a post down the page saying their issue is no matter how he plays he starts, well that isn't true as he didn't start on Wednesday and never even came on. Jose seems to be using the squad well, I think we just need to keep winning and who knows what will happen.

7.) 21 Sep 2018
21 Sep 2018 10:37:34
Fair assessment and well reasoned post Park I can't argue with any of that.

I agree it's been a good reaction to a poor start.

I think we've seen from the early defeats that our defence is vulnerable and we need to find the correct balance between defence and attack.

A lot of people won't like this but maybe the key to our season might just be Fellaini. Playing two defensive midfielders allows Pogba the freedom to dictate the play and get forward. Not as a traditional No 10 but being afforded a fee role to roam the pitch and influence the game from back to front. It's also allowed our full backs to push forward providing some natural width with Sanchez and Lingard playing closer to Lukaku.

Football is a team game and whilst Fellaini polarises opinion we can't argue that he's not been effective. If he provides the team with stability and allows others to function at a higher level then maybe we should climb down from our soapbox and see how it goes?!

Of course I'm concerned that Matic and Fellaini lack mobility which may cause issues against the better teams but if they provide the platform for our full backs to play higher, Pogba to get forward and we get better and quicker support for Lukaku then maybe this might just provide the balance we need to be more effective in both defence and attack.

Time will tell and I expect Wolves to pose a significant test tomorrow. They will defend deep with numbers and try to break quickly. They have pace and players that are comfortable in possession. We will have to defend and attack well in order to secure all three points. We'll face our toughest examination since the Spurs defeat and this fixture will provide a useful barometer on how far we have really progressed over the last few games.

8.) 21 Sep 2018
21 Sep 2018 11:16:40
Thanks lads. Ken I re read it this morning and I did shock myself at how long that post was! 😂 I apologise it’s been a while and I’ve Waited to post since the beginning of the season as it takes a bit of time for the team to get going. Any loss was always going to spark unrest so I wanted to see how we reacted.

GDS I read something similar down the page on Sanchez. I agree he is not scoring enough but I actually think he is starting to show some nice touches and movement that the likes of pogba and matic need to pick up on. I don’t think martial or rashford have done enough to displace him from the left wing. What is good to see is that both of them had a decent game on Wednesday so the more competition the better. We need our wide players to have the fight and desire to compete for starting spots. Not sulking when they aren’t played. Competition within a squad pushes performance levels up, that’s what title winning squads have. Personally I would actually be happy to see rash and martial retain their spots for tomorrow. Think their pace and width could trouble the wolves defence. But I would understand if Sanchez and Lingard were retained.

Dlib that’s a good response mate and agree with all of that. Fellaini isn’t the most glamorous or aesthetically pleasing player. But he is effective. I think he can really help the back 4. But there will be games against Liverpool and city where he may not be the right player to counter their style of play. Matic and him could be a disaster in terms of mobility. But then I would push fellaini further forward and use his ability higher up the pitch. The purists would like to see pereira or Fred instead and allow us to fight fire with fire (I’m on this category) . But I can also appreciate perhaps we aren’t as good in this aspect. We have to play to our strengths as well as not playing into Liverpool or city’s hands. Pogba is so key to our chances. When we are direct, move the ball quickly and counter at speed we are so devastating. We need to improve on the ball with our retention and build up play needing to be more accurate and at a higher tempo.

Quickly on matic, I’ve seen some criticisms. I actually think he’s been decent and has looked better further up the pitch. I’m a big fan of his and think he brings a calmness and a good range of passing ability from midfield. He won’t play tomorrow so I hope we go more attacking with Fred or pereira. But matic is still key for me.

9.) 21 Sep 2018
21 Sep 2018 11:29:56
Park very good post!

10.) 21 Sep 2018
21 Sep 2018 12:12:06
Park - I agree re Matic pal I think he'll be a big loss tomorrow.

11.) 21 Sep 2018
21 Sep 2018 12:37:17
I needed 3 lungs to read all that.

12.) 21 Sep 2018
21 Sep 2018 12:43:21
Park - agree regarding matic, but fellaini has been a bonus in the dm role slotting into the cb role plugging gaps when the 2 cb are pulled apart. He really seems to have been given a role that suits him, the team and offers an aerial threat on set pieces. Never thought I'd say it tbh but he has been the difference in the league of late.
wouldn't under estimate Wolves but a quick start press, power and speed should see us through this match, hopefully.

13.) 21 Sep 2018
21 Sep 2018 12:56:33
Love it FZZ.

14.) 21 Sep 2018
21 Sep 2018 16:43:42
Great posts Park. Only teasing mate😁.