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11 Feb 2018 23:41:50
Smalling didn't win a single tackle in the whole game. I have no more to add on the matter.
12 Feb 2018 00:40:41
He’s dross Leahy. Has been since the day he set foot in the club. How he’s still there is beyond me.
11 Feb 2018 23:40:33
Why are there no questions being asked of Mourinho and the style of football that we are playing.
Manchester United and particularly Mourinho have spent a fortune on players and yet do not look like a team capable of staying in the top four! If Pep had spent the same money on our team we would have been a far better side by now!
Surely some questions are to be asked if we actually have the right manager, I personally have my doubts.
12 Feb 2018 11:25:10
Here we go again, Pep love in.
11 Feb 2018 23:23:24
{Ed's Note - scholes_18_18 has posted a new article entitled, Changes Manchester United should implement
11 Feb 2018 23:53:02
Bloody hell, hows this got here😬😬😂.
12 Feb 2018 00:57:29
Good read scholes.
I agree with most of what you wrote.
I believe the arrival of Sanchez could have “unsettled” some younger players who might feel being overshadowed particularly with likes of Pogba and Lingard. However it will take a few more games before they get used to each other’s style of play. You see Pogba seems “lost” and almost non existent in yesterday’s game. Lingard was in and off the game. On the contrary Lukaku seems to have linked well with Sanchez. So Jose needs to find the linkup for these boys. It is what it is and they need to gel and get on with it.
On the defense I think we need an almost “total revamp” and get rid of Smalling, Blind and Rojo (maybe) . I still think Jones can partner well with Baily, Lindelof and Shaw. Mind you Smalling is good but he is not the defender we are looking for. If we have to pay for a couple of string CB then we should. Young and Valencia should be phased out slowly by next season. They have served us well and it’s time they become backup instead. Shaw should be first choice and we should buy a quality RB.
I have confidence in our midfield and attacking and it’s a matter of game plan be it 4-4-2, 4-3-3, 3-4-3 or 3-3-2-1 whatever. I agree with most posters that we need to build the team to the strengths of those who we brought in ie Pogba, Matic, Sanchez, Martial and Lukaku. We still have the young potential ones so we have a good future. Structure and who plays also depends on who we are playing on game day.
Rebuilding a team like Man Utd is not easy after what Moyes and LVG has done and also since you may not always get who you want and when you want. I’m glad I’m not Jose as it’s a very tough and difficult challenge. I remain positive of us moving forward and challenging the Pl title next season. For now we need to seal the 2nd place and go as far as possible for the remaining CL and FA Cup. I do not like Jose before and still don’t like him 100% but he is now our manager so will still support him and the team all the way.
12 Feb 2018 02:20:55
Bang on the money scholes.
11 Feb 2018 23:02:47
{Ed's Note - punani gooner has posted a new article entitled, Arsenal Need a Revolutionary Head Coach
11 Feb 2018 21:33:04
Story in the bullsh*t papers that Jose isn't happy with Lukaku and wants to replace him with Kane in the summer. Absolute nonsence as usual, but i kind of wish it was true. Didn't want the signing in the summer, and nothing i've seen has changed my mind.
His goals so far.
West Ham 2, Swansea, Stoke, Basel, Everton, Southampton, CSKA 2, Palace, Newcastle, CSKA, Bournemouth, West Brom, Derby, Stoke, Yeovil, Huddersfield.
£75m and not one goal against City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Spurs or Arsenal. Not good enough in my eyes. Not our best performances/ tactics of the season, but for that money shouldn't we expect at least one moment of individual brilliance which ends with a goal, or am i just being harsh?
Just not a United player for me.
11 Feb 2018 21:54:42
I actually didn't want him in the begnining but i think he is getting better every game.
It is the service that is the isssue and we have too many similar players which doesn't help anyone.
11 Feb 2018 21:54:44
Agree Brendan - not too many important goals either even against the fodder.
He has looked better of late in fairness, he has improved other areas of his game but we are just not a team suitable for the way he plays. Stupid buy, like so many.
Kane needs chances to score as well, I'd wager he would have half the goals he has scored this season if he had been playing for us. Thankless task being a Utd striker.
11 Feb 2018 21:15:16
First time poster so go easy on me. I have supported United through thick and thin since the mid 70s and today was one of the most frustrating games I have watched. The players are getting paid a fortune and don't look interested with some imo not really trying we have spent a fortune on players and again imo have only 2 world class players in ddg and Sanchez. Since saf retired we have become boring to watch and I can't see it changing in the near future.
11 Feb 2018 21:38:53
ltr. Welcome and I agree.
11 Feb 2018 22:03:50
Totally agree - there is more to football than winning ugly and spending records amount of money doing so.
For the first time ever I am starting to see where those people I'd occasionally come across in a pub are coming from, the ones that would say "11 overpaid Premadonas running around kicking a ball, don't know why you bother watching it". I used to pity those clowns, but I am starting to come around to their way of thinking. Believe me for that to happen things have got to be pretty damn awful.
Most fans live for the day they can get to the position we find ourselves in with Utd now, that's probably why this waste is hurting so much. We should be loving the club spending big money, hiring world class managers, football on almost every day to watch - but it's just boring, almost meaningless! If you don't like the players, don't like the manager, don't like the owners, don't like the executive management - how much weight can history and personal reflection seriously take? It's like my best mate has started hanging with the wrong crowd, maybe time to cut him loose.
12 Feb 2018 11:33:24
Welcome to the site ltr :)
Got to say though, the last couple of years under SAF were no picnic either, what with Fletcher being the midfield pivot and cleverly was coming next so.
11 Feb 2018 20:52:57
I was watching Ole Gunnar Solskaer with my son on YouTube yesterday, the speed we played at then, no dwelling on the ball they won it passed it forward and created continually. We're has that United style gone?
11 Feb 2018 21:40:21
I agree I used to love playing you guys bbut cause regardless of score it was a good game and everyone out their all into it, now I can’t bare playing you’d José is too happy with the draw, give Sanchez a few games maybe it’ll change a bit atleast?
11 Feb 2018 18:13:08
Newcastle have had their problems, in a regulation battle, but the might tactical genius made them look like barcelona in their hay day. The players should be embarrassed but some of them will go home and have a dance and put it up in Snapchat or whatever stupid social media crap they go on to show off
Now it's time to question Jose and his coaches. wtf is going on we should be beating these teams 10 games out of ten
I just don't know. Liverpool will be ahead of us in the next few weeks.
11 Feb 2018 18:28:33
People have been saying Liverpool will be ahead of us soon from the start of the season to be fair .
Same Liverpool who have won 2 of there last 5 games?
11 Feb 2018 18:43:23
Come out of the fog jred.
11 Feb 2018 18:47:10
Liverpool have just lost their best player. We have just signed a better one. I think this is the only way we can stay ahead of teams like Liverpool, buy, buy, buy! If we can't buy then, deny, deny, deny.
Spurs and Liverpool seem to have a plan and look good most times I watch them, as for City - they are the benchmark and show us up for what we really are - the fact that most fans won't even reference City and if they do it's to excuse what we are doing, should tell us everything.
Why aren't we doing what City are doing to teams, it's not good enough to say they are breaking records? The rubbish we turn out each week is too much for me now. The fact we have just extended the life of this 'can' we keep booting down the road is too infuriating. I'm sick of the waste and BS excuses.
11 Feb 2018 18:54:19
Which fog Leahy? Been reading on here all season what a great team the scouse are .
Got beat of Swansea the other week knocked out fa cup by West Brom.
Behind us in the league still like they have been all season .
But hey great team.
11 Feb 2018 19:58:19
Not a great team jred. Not up to much at the back.
But if we played them the master technician would sit back and invite them on and they aren't bad going forward, and we seem to be going backwards.
11 Feb 2018 19:58:44
Like it or not the table doesn't lie, halfway through a season will only tell you how teams have played so far.
So at this point of the season regardless of how you might feel we have played we have been the second best side in the league. If that is where we finish this season the we will have proven ourselves a better side than all the teams who finish below us. End of.
Should we be happy with that? Of course not, we should never be happy unless we are top. That is the expectations we have for our club.
However, as much as I appreciate how Pochettino has got Spurs playing, or as much as I can see how Klopp has his team attacking unless they finish above us then they aren't a better team.
11 Feb 2018 20:15:00
Last 12 matches has us 5th in the form guide. Like the trajectory? This carries on until the end of the season that is where we will finish imo.
11 Feb 2018 20:38:51
Luckily beast the league is decided over the course of an entire season, not a select number if games that support your negativity. Last year we were in 6th for most of the season. This time we have been 2nd for most if the season. That beast is called progress.
Am I happy in second? No never. But I'm happy we actually have a chance of finishing there considering in recent years we can no longer be considered a top 4 side.
11 Feb 2018 20:55:04
I'm worried too Beast especially with the form of Spurs recently. I didn't expect us to thrash them today but I fully expected the 3 points. The performance is almost as worrying as the result coming off the back of the Spurs game when we were equally as bad!
11 Feb 2018 21:07:44
Trajectory is important. Using your mindset against you, we are now 'progressing' back to 6th place!
City look better this year than they did last year when compared with us - I call that regression!
We didn't win the EFL cup this year - regression!
We look just as bad on the eye as last year despite spending hundreds of million on new players that look like strangers still - regression
The fact that so many of our fans cling to "we are 2nd" as though it were footballing oxygen is scary to me, using a false 2nd to justify the dross we see is embarrassing, especially when we may as well be 22nd compared to what City (our main rival) is doing to this league.
Spurs and Liverpool look far better equipped to take 2nd than us despite our head start any neutral would say that. Any neutral would say our play is not a true reflection of where we are in the league. This 2nd place thing will soon be 3rd, then 4th, then maybe people might start worrying when it's dicey for a CL spot.
What's happened to us, we have gone from 'Maverick' to 'Goose' in record time and very few people seem too bothered.
11 Feb 2018 22:19:47
Beast there is no other way fans will ever agree upon other than the league position to gage a teams ability and standing . I agree with u on lots of things we have been boring for years now and our football that of a team with ideas from ten years ago retreat and defend 30 yards from goal instead of newer coaches pressing the ball winning it bk and dominating even high up the pitch . Our defense takes the blame every loss regardless of forwards drawing blanks . But until we drop in the league we are 2 Nd best team although it's like saying we are the 2nd best fizzy wine after champagne.
11 Feb 2018 23:04:19
Fair enough mate and good point.
I suppose 'deserving' and 'being' are two different things and deserving is debatable.
Got a feeling about the 'Hare and the Tortoise' with this season the way the form table is looking, we are slowly being swamped. Almost like watching a guy hit the number on the first spin of roulette and then re-visiting the table a few hours later to see him drunk as a skunk with his car keys and phone being handed over to cover his next bet!
12 Feb 2018 06:32:15
Beast, before yesterday’s game the last 4games form guide had us second so it ebbs and flows mate.
11 Feb 2018 17:16:45
Here we go again. Players coming on saying it's poor, not good enough, started too slow, we have to kick on, not good enough. Our manager tells the players that the title is gone. It is annoying in the extreme to listen to this utter tripe.
Why are we not starting well?
Why are we not fighting for 90mins?
Why do our strikers turn to Sunday league players in front of goal?
Why do we get so sloppy when teams attack us?
Why can't £250m of strikers not finish easy chances?
Why does mourinho insist on playing a 2 man midfield?
Why is our game devoid of passion and desire and intensity?
Why is so much time spent on tactics and not enough spent on clinical finishing?
It is getting boring and embarrassing for players to come on telling us all the above crap. The manager and coaches have to take responsibility. They have to identify weaknesses and sort them out. Our shooting and finishing is worse than a league2 side. Our passing under pressure is non existent. What is mourinho and his coaches doing about it? Not a lot.
11 Feb 2018 17:45:09
I feel your pain, glad I'm not the only one fed up with the after match interviews repeating the same thing over and over and then proceeding to make the same mistakes again the very next match. Love Man Utd don't like this team.
11 Feb 2018 18:23:03
Unless you are born with a genuine 'win at all costs' mindset, which most players aren't now. The money kills them and we see it with us.
"Sorry gaffer, didn't play well today I'll improve next week (chuckling as they look at Pogba's latest advert on their I-phone) . By the way, do you like this Lamborghini or this Ferrari for this weeks' purchase? Can't decide so I might buy both and use the rest of my weekly wage packet to buy a 2 bedroom flat in the City for my nights out. Anyway, see you at training, is it the usual: videos, Michelin star lunch, 30 mins working on goal celebrations for when we eventually score and then joining you at your hotel for a game of poker and watching Brewsters Millions on repeat? "
Jose - "Yes, same as always, you forgot your 2 hours massage and you need to change your social media face to grumpy because we lost, never forget social media".
11 Feb 2018 19:15:20
Georgie. It is the same old storey but we never change. More worrying is the amount of times we're outfought, start slowly and the other BS.
Why are our strikers not finishing easy chances. Even Raheem Sterling who had two left feet when it came to shooting, has been taught how to put away chances. So how are martial, Rashford, lukaku and co missing all these chances? Practice makes perfect but mourinho is doing 40 hours a week on tactics and how to stop opposition and not enough on scoring and putting the opposition under pressure.
12 Feb 2018 00:35:11
I know SAF has retired but boy after today he would have been fuming and he would have let the media and the players know his feelings. I miss the post match interviews he gave in which after a particular galling display he would promise to do something about the "unacceptable" performance he had just witnessed. Jose might just make some fans happy if instead of praising the poor displays the players are guilty of he takes measures to improve the poor quality we are currently witnessing.
11 Feb 2018 17:13:48
The Magpies made more sprints (553 to their opponents' 490), ran further (115km to 105km), and in DeAndre Yedlin and Ritchie had the game's fastest and most industrious players.
Pretty damning statistics.
11 Feb 2018 17:58:12
Story if every game AJH. We might not always play well but we should always be seen to give 100%. The majority of the group of these players have been like this for many seasons.
11 Feb 2018 18:07:52
Does the team with the ball not tend to do a bit less than the team chasing it?
11 Feb 2018 18:11:09
There is an argument that we don't work hard enough as a team, yet surprisingly more often than not those teams in the bottom half of the league are the top ten teams in terms of distance covered and sprints.
So doing a lot of running isn't a good barometer to measure if a team has played well.
I'm not defending our poor performance today, but you have to appreciate that we missed two clear cut chances that on any other day would have been certain goals. Also Newcastle made two last ditch tackles and cleared three balls off the goal line.
It could easily be said that luck was not on our side.
However, I believe you make your own luck. It is no coincidence that the ones who really give it a go and try are the ones "luck" seems to favour.
Our issue today was the same it has been under Mourinho, we lack a midfielder with the ability to move the ball around quickly and thus pull a tight deep sitting defence out of shape to create the space for our attackers to exploit.
I'm a little annoyed that Jose has moved our most inform forward from his favoured position to accommodate Sanchez. Martial has more than twice as many goals and assists as Sanchez does this season in around half as many minutes. He has just had a real purple patch and for most of January his goals and assists have dragged results out of the bag for us. So moving him for a player who will be trying to settle in to a side and isn't guaranteed to click with his teammates immediately isn't ideal.
Smalling needs to be moved on. The only thing he's good for is deflecting away crosses, but in all honesty I've seen trees do a better job in the local park. Positionally he is terrible, he pulls players back all the time because he allows them to get goal side of him and he has these bone head moments like today diving in a stupid area and giving away the free kick that they score the winner from. He's big, strong and quick, but can't defend to save his life, and that's without taking his passing out from the back into consideration, I'm sure his boots are hexagonal. Seriously when he goes to kick a ball it really could go anywhere.
We need that ball playing midfielder, and until we get one we will continue to struggle against sides that sit deep.
11 Feb 2018 18:20:07
AJH, you called me bitter, well pal you couldn't have been further from the truth, maureen is taking you nowhere. You will never catch citeh, with him as your manager spending fortunes on gorillas, playing caveman football. I know our problems, yours are polar opposite.
11 Feb 2018 18:43:25
I normally agree with all your posts Shappy but I can't agree about Martial. I like him, he's a talented player but for me he doesn't work anywhere near well enough off the ball either defensively or offensively. At this moment in time he's not in the same league as Sanchez and I'm surprised Jose has shifted him to the right especially away from home. It simply hasn't worked and we've lacked balance.
For me the answer is obvious, in the big games and away from home Herrera has to come in and play in a midfield 3 with Pogba and Matic. Whilst I agree we lack that player to make us really tick Matic is decent on the ball and with Carrick now fit again he is more than capable of performing that role with Pogba and Herrera alongside him. Herrera is probably one of the only players in our team that is actually capable of winning the ball back. Whilst he may not be a long term solution he's ok until the summer.
Sanchez should play from the left with Lukaku up top and Mata or Lingard from the right in my opinion.
I agree Smalling has been nothing short of dreadful in our last two away games!
I honestly believe that 4-2-3-1 will be the death of us especially in the big games and after today I'd even say we need to ditch it altogether especially away from OT.
I honestly fear for the rest of our season if he can't solve this problem.
11 Feb 2018 18:55:55
Danny
We didn't play 4231 today?
If people are still complaing about a system we didn't even play what does that say?
People gave made there mind up before a ball is kicked.
11 Feb 2018 18:59:22
Danny how did you think pogba played today?
Matic sat lingers and pogba in front of him.
11 Feb 2018 19:21:31
Jred - My post has gone of the others page about the formation today! I have no idea what Pogba and Lingard were supposed to be doing today I thought they were both dreadful mate.
I know you like 4-2-3-1 but I honestly believe that is our problem especially in the big games and away from home. If he continues with that team today, especially in the big games we've got coming up against our rivals for top 4 and in Europe I honestly fear for us pal.
This team has to built around Pogba and Sanchez in my opinion.
11 Feb 2018 19:30:14
Danny but we didn't play 4231 to day pal .
Pogba was dreadful . What was he doing for there goal?
Sanchez is our new star man creative force pogba has been dropped and subbed twice since we signed him .
Never mind formation he needs to do more .
Not sure brand pogba is happy . Hope he responds well.
11 Feb 2018 20:07:32
Danny, Martial may lack a bit of work rate, but what we missed today was goals.
Dress it up how you like but this season Martial has scored and assisted twice as many goals as Sanchez has in half the amount of time.
An argument could be made that if he played more minutes this season and was able to keep up his form then he may well be on 30 goals/ assists so far this season. Personally I think that would be unlikely, but I am sure he'd have more than he has already, which as pointed out is more than Sanchez has managed in twice the time.
This isn't about which players I like or not, it's a cold hard decision based on who has been more productive as an offensive player this season. And so far that is Martial.
11 Feb 2018 20:26:50
Shappy, he missed all our best chances today. Not surebi understand your point.
11 Feb 2018 22:33:36
Worst game Pogba has had for us today hope it never happens again. We definitely need another CDM to sit with Matic . 😆😆.
11 Feb 2018 17:10:12
There’s something not quite right at our club. We are second and that’s a big improvement on last year but we do look disjointed and are now struggling against “lesser” clubs. The players we had today are more than good enough to see off Newcastle but so many of them didn’t play well and haven’t been for some time.
I don’t understand why Shaw isn’t playing and if ever a player needed a rest then it’s Matic, he looks knackered and has played in almost every game.
Rom looks sharp but isn’t getting service and Sanchez is clearly a step up but too many are not delivering at the moment,
Pogba looked ill or injured today but as I mentioned last week, when do we start to talk about his lack of influence? He needs to get his head down and show us the player we all hope he can be.
I exp ct Rashford will get a recall, hopefully Shaw, possibly Rojo and right now I’d play Carrick to give a Matic a rest.
Not sure what’s wrong, perhaps it’s just things aren’t clicking but the feel good factor has definitely faded recently. If we don’t get a grip then I think the Scousers will overtake us, although I still think we will stay above the others.
11 Feb 2018 17:25:14
Today was poor. Pogba shouldn't have been playing if he wasn't 100%. Rotating Shaw and Young is silly. Smalling is an absolute liability, could have been done for a penalty, and his stupid dive led to the goal. Not sure why Lindihop or Rojo aren't given the nod ahead of him.
Biggest issue is not being clinical enough. Final pass today was very poor, and on the few occasions we did get through the finishing wasn't good enough. With Sanchez we should be kicking on and trying to get close to City, but in current form I'm not convinced we will stay ahead of Spurs and City. Something doesn't seem right, and we have gone backwards since the start of the season.
11 Feb 2018 18:15:47
From the players we have available (fit) then surely a first choice defence at the mo would have been:
Shaw - Rojos - Lindelof - Valencia
Jones is a squad player.
Smalling is a Scouse spy and has been for 8 years!
Young has been a great servant but again is squad player only now.
11 Feb 2018 18:21:26
In my view the problem is we are a collection of individuals and not a team. We lack balance and desire. Too many players are collecting well above average wages for well below average performances. We have brought in a gem of a player in Sanchez, but it has thrown our team out of kilter, forcing our form player prior to Sanchez coming in (martial) to move position.
There is a lack of movement from our attacking players. They only run in straight lines if they run at all. Poor lukaku had to come deep for the ball too often. Seem to be the same complaints as two years ago. What is going on?
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.
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.
11 Feb 2018 17:18:08
League doesn't lie.
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.
11 Feb 2018 17:35:55
Beast
Opinions do but the fact is the league doesn't lie . even if not what you think.
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.
11 Feb 2018 18:08:38
Best team wins the league .
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!
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.
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.
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 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.
11 Feb 2018 21:11:38
Where has that brick wall gone?!
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.
11 Feb 2018 16:47:09
Hate to have a go at individual players but Smalling is terrible, he's slow rash and clumsy not just when we lose but constantly. Always out of position and his ability to recover position is shocking he can head the ball that's it, not over reacting after a bad result even after the stoke game at ot I'd of been happy if he didn't get another game for us. I felt sorry for lukaku and Sanchez today they were a level above. To top it off we were that bad that Shelvey looked class! Embarrassing really. Although I would say it's annoying how certain teams manage to raise there game against us.
But to summarise Smalling is s**t.
11 Feb 2018 17:13:57
I know Pogba as been struggling the last few games but also Matic doesn't look himself, I think one of the main reasons is that he's sitting too deep, just in front of our Centre Halves, he's trying to cover a weakness but also creating another by leaving us light in Midfield, As most on here have been saying, we need to play 3 in Midfield, Need a Top Quality Midfielder in the summer to Compliment our side, just going to be less game time for the younger boys up front.
11 Feb 2018 17:22:44
Yet is wasn’t Smalling that missed all the chances to score was it? I’m not his biggest fan but today wasn’t down to him.
11 Feb 2018 20:04:13
Smalling was shocking get off your high horse with your smarmy reply acting like we had chance after chance. As I said I'm not one to get on the players backs but the standard he's at is laughable.
12 Feb 2018 15:27:35
Well said GD, completely agree about Smalling yesterday, he was an accident waiting to happen, he looked clueless at times but so did some other players.
12 Feb 2018 15:33:42
Yes other players yesterday to. But it's every game he plays, win or lose doesn't look assured. Baillys a huge miss for us.
11 Feb 2018 16:46:11
Well that was poo.
The 4 2 3 1 just doest work for us. We need to change up if we want to challenge. Carrick mct or herrara to come in for lingard and free Pogba up and get him closer to the opposition goal.
11 Feb 2018 17:03:20
Played 3 in cm today . G Neville picked up on it . Linders played next to pogba today with matic just behind them .
Martial lukaku Sanchez a front 3.
11 Feb 2018 17:18:48
Disagree jred. If we're going to play 3 in midfield then matic and Herrera behind Pogba.
11 Feb 2018 18:09:25
But we did play 3 in midfield .
11 Feb 2018 20:47:00
Lingard isn't disaplined (like Pogba) to play that role. He's a ten or a wide player.
11 Feb 2018 16:21:18
Our cm should be the heart beat of the team but it's just not working .
Matic has gone of the ball for a while now not that surprised we are looking jorginho. He Is a playmaker that sits in front of the midfield and we are missing that .
What is going on with pogba? Has Sanchez put his nose out of joint .
Sanchez the main man now both on and off the pitch .
Need to sort cm out, be interesting to see the team next week could be a surprise or 2 .
11 Feb 2018 16:25:26
Agree jred, the pogba sanchez thing is a good point.
11 Feb 2018 16:49:29
Pogba is just getting subbed for poor play now, rather than being left on in the past (like Rooney once LVG left) . Pogba gets more praise when he isn't playing than when he is. Only a couple of months ago loads of fans were saying missing Pogba was the difference against City, BS then and stinky BS now.
Granted he has had a handful of stand good games this season, but I literally mean 4-5 tops. The rest he has been a waste of space. Formation or not, he doesn't turn up often enough and I imagine Jose has lost some faith in him.
We look disjointed, are not in a rich run of form if you go back over 12 games or so as I pointed out recently. Beating poor Stoke, Everton, Burnley is not a great feat!
11 Feb 2018 17:24:03
Matic has not gone off the boil but is tired.
Watch how he covers every blade of the grass on both wings and center of the park in every game.
We played a midfield 3 of BS. Why not play Herrera, Matic and Pogba with Pogba on the left?
It isn't only about playing a midfield 3 but also, the players selected and how they are set up.
Mourinho is a stubborn person and will only end up digging his grave.
BTW, like I've always said, our entire back line is a disgrace. Regardless of what people say or think, not a single player in our back line today should be a Manchester United regular. With Lindelof, Rojo and Shaw all available I have no idea what's wrong with Mourinho.
We have more balance in our squad now to play 3-5-2 or 3-4-3 which he insisted on playing last season despite limitation in personnel. So why isn't he playing it now especially against "weaker" teams?
On a final note, I'd pick Tuanzebe a million times before giving Smalling a glance.
11 Feb 2018 18:11:05
Herrera has been getting dogs abuse but today he didn't play so it's back to him being a great player .
Linders pogba matic in midfield today shelvey was the best player in there .
11 Feb 2018 21:04:31
I'm not saying he's a great player but he's definitely a better CM than Lingard.
& if Pogba had been playing further upfield, Shelvey wouldn't have had the freedom to look world class.
BTW, I didn't necessarily mean it has to be Herrera but it could have been Carrick or McTominay.
11 Feb 2018 16:01:27
Wow, we should not be struggling against a Newcastle team that has been starved of resources. A very poor performance in my view. I know we had a few chances and that their keeper has been brilliant, but it should have been no contest in our favour. Plus if the ref had been on his game Newcastle should have had a penalty.
I hope we play better against Sevilla. We just look so disjointed and we definitely have a soft centre.
11 Feb 2018 16:15:26
Half of the players aren’t good enough pure and simple plus no passion and desire. Poor all round bar Sanchez and Lukaku.
11 Feb 2018 16:19:34
This is a very very bad result . Beginning to question if Jose is the tactical genius that is claimed!
11 Feb 2018 16:22:07
All them players are good enough to beat Newcastle.
It's a big reason we are second in the league.
11 Feb 2018 15:50:22
Manchester United doing the impossible and making Newcastle United look like a football team and Jonjo Shelvey world class.
11 Feb 2018 15:13:38
How many times does Jose need hear and see Pogba needs 2 with him the midfield. It is so frustrating watching we cannot control a game and are giving up too many opportunities each week.
11 Feb 2018 15:49:46
The Paul Pogba we bought from Juve looked a world class talent on the left of a 433. It really isn't rocket science. He is a great player given licence to roam forward from the left, use his immense passing range and excellent athleticism. But there are just too many games now where he has looked a passenger in a midfield 2. I appreciate he looked injured today but if that's the case why the hell is he playing! Bad management today to play him. And poor judgement to keep pushing a system that is not working for the star signing!
11 Feb 2018 16:16:37
We played 3 in cm today.
11 Feb 2018 16:17:05
He had two good games in a row a few weeks ago, that is it for February. It's normally 1 in 5.
11 Feb 2018 17:23:27
We didn't play 3 in midfield. We played one holding midfielder and pogba and Lingard. We need to play hererra and matic as they ARE midfielders and pogba in front. Mourinho got it wrong again. And if he keeps being stubborn and refusing to recognize this, then we better part company now.
11 Feb 2018 13:50:41
Hi eds and all friends, hope you all are fine, I have a question for you, Recently I have been reading a lot of Praise for Kimmich, I know he's one of the best Young Player in the world, I have watched him on few occasions but mostly as a RB, Shappy and some other poster Lauding him as one of the best young CM around the world, I would like to know that what kind of CM he is, is he a b2b, deep lying play maker or a dm?
{Ed002's Note - This is the MU Page - you need to try the European pages.}
11 Feb 2018 13:42:22
{Ed's Note - shawthing has posted a new article entitled, Complications with a European Super Champions League
11 Feb 2018 15:08:41
Good post Shaw. I'd love to see a European Super League but I'm just not sure in practice how this would work and the effect it might have on those not involved?
Would it be of benefit to the whole game or just the big clubs involved.
If there was no promotion or relegation it might become pretty stale after a while?
11 Feb 2018 12:56:15
Hi United fans.
Would you be up for a European League at the expense of no Premier League foot ball?
So it's one or the other. Play Juventus, Madrid etc every week but lose the local English games as such.
Would love to hear what fans from other clubs think to see if there is a General consensus one way or the other. Cheers.
11 Feb 2018 13:21:24
I'd prefer to keep the EPL as it is, but the reality is that a breakaway league will happen sooner or later. There's too much money to be made from a euro super league, and trying to stop it, over the long term, is like trying to hold back the tide with a fishing net.
11 Feb 2018 13:34:02
I would rather not but I think it's coming.
11 Feb 2018 13:49:33
Prefer to leave the league as it is. And uefa should find some balls and stamp ut out before it happens.
{Ed002's Note - How would UEFA do that?}
11 Feb 2018 13:51:30
Hey Rover. My answer would be no for a number of reasons.
I like the structure of our League, I love relegation and promotion and that every team has a chance to get to the top division. Look at Huddersfield, Bournemouth, and previously Wigan. They may not be glamorous names but so what? I can’t imagine England not having a League of its top clubs.
The game nowadays is all about making the rich clubs richer, that’s where the Champions’ League format came from; more teams in and a League approach meaning the top teams are more likely to stay in longer. They even keep clubs from the same league apart for as long as they can, it is simply a money making exercise.
I suspect the English League would continue without the top teams if they chose to break away and form a European League but where’s the sense in that? It would become a complete mess, it hasn’t been thought through, it’s yet another “let’s make more money” idea.
Money is the God and greed is there for all to see. The Champions League is now horribly predictable with only a handful of clubs having a chance of winning it. I’m not sure. European League would fare much differently.
11 Feb 2018 14:08:12
I'd personally like to see it but I'm not sure how it would work.
11 Feb 2018 12:46:22
Hey guys, I was watching the season 08 review and I was amazed by the number of 5-x wins by us.
If i remember we have not scored 5 for years now, would love to change it today at Newcastle. A 5-0 win will give a great boost to the team and with now Alexis in, we can always hope.
11 Feb 2018 17:24:18
We'll be bottom of the league.
11 Feb 2018 17:28:58
It would have to be 5-1 mate!
11 Feb 2018 11:38:26
{Ed's Note - LFCTexas has posted a new article entitled, I would be a massive proponent of a legitimate Champions League
11 Feb 2018 13:58:21
Whilst I love the idea of a European Super League and as a selfish Utd fan I'd like nothing better than to see us play the likes of Real, Barca, Juventus and Bayern on a more regular basis the practicalities of such a league would surely be complicated and complex.
I afforded myself a wry smile reading your post because what makes you think Liverpool would automatically be part of a European Super League or even Utd for that matter. I think Liverpool has only finished inside the top 4 once since 2010 and Utd have obviously finished outside the top 4 on three separate occasions since Fergi retired in 2013. Whilst I still view Utd as one of the biggest Clubs in the World our recent results don't belie that fact. Certainly in terms of performances on the pitch anyway.
I agree it would seem ludicrous that Englands two most successful Clubs wouldn't be part of a European Super League but do our recent results and performances really deserve a place at Europe's top table?
How would the sides be chosen? Would there be any promotion or relegation? What would happen to all the teams not competing in the Super League?
Maybe if we look without our red tinted glasses the current format is adequate enough for now and perhaps the fairest way of deciding Europes best.
I remember reading an excellent post by Ed 2 on the subject several months ago when he explained how any proposed European Super League might work. Unfortunately I can't seem to find it now.
As a football fan I'd love to see Europe's best playing each other every week. Maybe that will be the next evolution of the game but at what cost to everybody else?
11 Feb 2018 11:11:40
Great posts recently from Shappy and then Danny Lancs to fire up some new debates. Thanks very much for taking the time, they are a pleasure to read.
{Eds Note - if you missed it, MancMan wrote an article entitled Revamping the Manchester United midfield.
11 Feb 2018 08:01:27
Please Mourinho, play matic hwrerra and pogba in midfield and martial Sanchez and Rashford in attack. This team will tear Newcastle apart.
11 Feb 2018 10:25:29
Just talked to him, said he's going to play 5 man defence Maccy Tommy, Matic and Jessi in mid, with Lukaku and Ibra up top. Young in goal.
11 Feb 2018 06:00:26
{Ed's Note - Tris Burke has posted a new article entitled, Review Of The Day 11th February 2018
11 Feb 2018 02:17:17
{Ed's Note - Tris Burke has posted a new article entitled, Premier League Match Preview Sunday 11th February 2018
11 Feb 2018 07:25:47
Interesting preview 👍.
{Ed001's Note - cheers mate.}