Manchester United Banter Archive May 12 2015

12 May 2015 13:40:36
Edd's, if I come across 'alittle' bit of pain to you guys I apologise! No sh-t, I have a brain injury, explains a lot I know! So, so much crap goes around in that brain, you wouldn't believe! But I am Manchester United mad and only ask questions to me maybe seem relevant? To you guys maybe not so much? If the questions don't seem relevant just let me know! I'm sure I'll get over it! Thanks for your understanding guys and keep up the excellent work you all do with the site - it's great! Some of the users however, as I'm sure you'd agree can be pains and difficult at times which I can be too, but don't give up on us! Cheers Edd's!

{Ed025's Note - i think you do just fine ronnie, keep up the good work mate..

12 May 2015 23:42:35
Ronnie post as mutch as you like kidder tht is what the site is for and hope you are doing alright mate

12 May 2015 23:49:26
Ronnie your like part of the furniture now mate.you bring a bit of humour to us,don't worry I don't think any of our brains work too good mate,keep posting Belgium Ron!

13 May 2015 06:09:23
It's what the sites for mate keep on posting ! 😁

13 May 2015 06:42:38
Said it before mate and I'll say it again, I enjoy your posts.

13 May 2015 08:49:55
Don't apologise fella, you are well within your rite to have man crushes on the belgian under 21 team if you want ;-) gives me a giggle every time.

13 May 2015 09:47:56
You keep rockin' Ronald!

13 May 2015 11:02:58
Cheers, to all of you, including the Edd's! And don't worry, any future talented Belgian 'footballers' that do crop up you guys will be the first to know!

{Ed001's Note - just make sure you keep them for United if they are like Mignolet....}

13 May 2015 19:08:23
Ronnie, you are my new Zee. I can give you no higher compliment.

13 May 2015 23:18:02
Stevie,

You keep stealing my posts at the moment, I was going to say the exact same thing.

14 May 2015 02:05:41
It's almost like we can finish each other's.

12 May 2015 20:55:32
great results for the lads.

WELL DONE.

come on get in there

12 May 2015 19:26:06
Reports suggesting Van Persie could be used in part-ex for Naingolain of Roma? But in opinion we should get Miralem Pjanic to replace Carrick? Pjanic plays very similar to Carrick in the 'makes things tick' box? And is 10 yrs younger than Carrick? Thoughts peeps?

{Ed004's Note - Pjanic is a good player but he isn't good enough defensively. Nainggolan looks far more likely anyways. Haven't gotten to see him play though}

12 May 2015 16:58:26
I can't at this time really interact on the posts due to long term illness which is thankfully lifting. Hopeful for less of my stand offish posts. but that's for next season.

one post for this season till then i wanted to write. probably not the consensus but i feel its fair.

I think it been a very satisfactory season (yes i really do and no i'm not certified insane) and the key word is considering. I don't think the full scale of change is fully appreciated. or the scale of what would become of us if we did not qualify. We only have to look at liverpool.

Imagine the immense pressure on this squad. An almost entirely young back line, the loss of genuine leaders, players who knew they had to prove themselves to a manager and are not oblivious to fan condemnations. in this day and age social media adds a fierce element. Cleverlys and youngs q and a anyone?

much respect to Ashley Fellaini .ect.

we constantly talk about mostly drab football. At least we got a hint of what they can do right? sunny side up and absolutely fair enough. We played excellent football for a good run of games including chelsea. We even put liverpool in thier place and told tottenham they dreaming and reminded man city who we are. magnificant for me.

We also undervalue our coach . sure he could fail but if it is his last job as manager i know i would make sure it counted. we have been crying out for a more technically astute influence such as right hand man Carlos Q
who we played some immense football in europe 433. i'm genuinely looking forward to the fruition of his plan.

I do not believe under the form of last year we could of continued as a 433. the challenge to the players of adopting new systems i strongly believe brought the best out of the doubted players and that the implementation of the 433 wasnt stumbled upon it was because lvg found the trust in the crop of players to utilise it. and fair enough becuase he had to do something.

one thing i really don't understand is the line ofthought that with that money spent we should be ect yet we have just about questioned the whole squad apart from de gea as being good enough. so i don't understand why you expected more. question the squad and yet say why they haven challenged for the title. that's crazy talk to me.

players hit the ground running when coming to a club mostly always when the team is already settled. What a genuine challenge signing for this club presented. I think mentally this was an incredible season for pressure which Falcao and di Maria have not risen too. and with one recovering from serious injury and the other a proven inconsistant and then thiers Rojo and Blind like em or not they've had thier impressive moments but would you envisige them as a catalyst for a title charge? no.

so what evidence was there to say they should be doing better? nearly every one of the players there was reason to doubt, a first team of bench warmers apart from De gea. it don't make sense to me to have expected more.

and that's the point. This season has been above my expectations. key word considering

have a good off season folks

12 May 2015 17:45:22
Welcome back Constantine.
:-)

12 May 2015 17:57:03
Always enjoy reading your posts, mate. Enjoy the summer, and hope you're on your way back to full fitness.

12 May 2015 18:01:05
Very good post Constantine. You put a very good counter-argument to my constant criticism.

I just suppose getting a taste isn't good enough for me and why did it come so late and why are we seemingly back to square one?

You could watch the first 3 games of the season, then watch the last 3 games and not have any idea which order they came in. That is a fundamental problem, if you ask has there been progress from last season? I suppose a slight yes in that we are harder to break down and keep the ball better, obviously we finished higher in the league. Progress throughout this season? Definite no for me, we look just as pedestrian, uncomfortable, scared as we did first game, the players are like strangers.

Most other clubs with a £150m injection would have better individuals and better performances to show across the board. That money doesn't count the Mata or Fellaini acquisitions which have come since the season we won the league. A lot of money and far too many of our better players contributing very little.

I said it a long time ago, but if LVG was the manager of Everton, Spurs, maybe even Swansea or Stoke he would have gotten them playing the same way and getting very similar results - he is too cautious for what I expect a manager of Man Utd to be like.

I also think the stark decline in our opponents form and the exceptional form of DDG have covered over a lot of the cracks. We were not too far from finishing on a similar points tally to last season, without CL and Cup runs to worry about.

So sub-par for me overall. 3/10. But good post mate and I hope you post more often.

12 May 2015 18:14:19
Nicely put. Put into perspective we have achieved our goals set out for this season with little fanfare. However there is a clear cohesion taking place and l think we all need to be a little patient that's all.

12 May 2015 18:17:10
Best wishes pal glad to hear things are looking to be on the up.

I can see both sides of the argument and I think Redfaith did a good balanced post on the subject the other day. I certainly agree that some posters have underestimated the size of the challenge we faced this season. However I also understand and share the worries over our lack of fluidity and chance creation, having had the best part of the season to work on this.

My overriding feeling is that we have achieved our goal this season, without overachieving, and that LvG deserves the chance to take us onto the next level.

12 May 2015 19:50:49
Herbie/Noucamps nice one. looking good mate was a real worry for a while so i'm very much in a grateful to be alive moment and its incredible the sense for life that gives. Alls good cheers. some of my posts reflected the stress so i'm glad i didn't alienate everyone

Beast much Respect mate. For all your cynicism you will consider the coin has another side. so many times wanted to say hey beast hang on Man haha but your not all incorrect for me. i'd agree with HOney badger it was fair to be concerned . but at a risk of sounding like a cheer leader at a war zone i'm actually enjoying this stage of our current prediciment in the sense i was very young supporter when Sir Alex struggled so its been a challenge to adjust but glad it hasn't weakened my support. Longsightred hit the nail on the head for me. Reasons for concern yes but for sure Reasons to be patient.

Plus nice to see lvg has the biguns,literally apparently, to move on players, have faith in the tryers doesn't pander to big money signings and that leads me to my next point. is that progress for me is we have a manager that has the dressing room. has respect, has players willing to try for him and has already made a genuinely exciting signing. Icould go on but if we are fair MOyes was a bigger worry as much as i like him he was making it very hard for himself.

we are getting the results despite the bad playing. even if our point tally doesn't measure up, which is all relative for me. Beast geninely look forward to flipping that coin with you, see you next season bro will look to give your points a more deserved reply. progress for me 6/10

till next season

12 May 2015 19:57:10
"My overriding feeling is that we have achieved our goal this season, without overachieving, and that LvG deserves the chance to take us onto the next level."

yep i'd agree with that as for best part of the season it had concerned me but less now since the tottenham game, if this crop doesn't have what it takes to be consistant then you can only adress that in signings i guess. HB thanks for the best wishes

12 May 2015 20:12:36
All this depends on whether you think we actually have top players in our squad.

The evidence suggests that most of them would not get into our top rivals first XIs (de Gea is an obvious exception). I mean would you pick Rooney or RVP over Aguero or Costa, let along Neymar, Ronaldo, Messi, Muller etc? Then you look at the lack of midfield depth and the inexperience in the back line, and Constantine is right. What would you expect with all these obvious deficiencies?

Since the two big signings, Falcao and ADM, have not made the hoped for impact, 4th place is nothing to sneeze at, as disappointing as it might be compared to our high expectations, the past, and in regard to the lack of style for most of the season.

I have to agree with those who believe LVG has earned another year.

12 May 2015 21:06:04
Good man Constantine.

12 May 2015 12:16:05
I know this is complete and utter nonsense but.

Dietmar Hamann has sadi in a newspaper that Gotze should leave Bayern, and that Di Maria is a Bayern type of player.

So, for a bit of fun, would you guys do the swap?

Personally i'd bite Pep's hand off for Gotze and would take him if it meant Di Maria going the other way. Gotze is younger, smarter and plays more for the team.

12 May 2015 12:30:12
i really like gotze is he a bit like mata tho

12 May 2015 13:14:19
Good player but seems pretty inconsistent. He has time on his side and Di Maria has, well, floundered so it would be Gotze for me.

12 May 2015 13:14:35
jred I think Gotze is a lot quicker than Mata but lacks Mata's passing range.

However I would make the swap between ADM and Gotze if the opportunity presented itself.

12 May 2015 13:57:07
Gotze is versatile, he can play att mid and L/R wing, yea I'd do the swap.
Taxi for Di Maria simply because I believe he does'nt want to be here.

12 May 2015 14:05:19
Plus we could all see Gotze Misses in the newspaper when the team go to Wings ;)

12 May 2015 14:39:46
Swap ADM for J Martinez we don't need Gotze because Bale is on his way to OT after the Champions League Final. oh yes i think so. PUMPKINS

12 May 2015 14:50:19
Goetz and Mata are both very similar for me, both of them are not physical enough for my liking (pace or bulk), go missing far too often for such a key playmaking role.

12 May 2015 14:51:31
Bfro
We have just secured depay for next season so I can't see Bale coming now.
Hope your right though, would be nice.

12 May 2015 16:04:49
A good player? Lmao
He's a brilliant player and he would be uniteds best player by a mile at your club of de gea leaves.
Doubt you have watched him or the German league atall

12 May 2015 16:15:15
Gotze has done nothing impressive since leave Dortmund. Di Maria was beating his man left right and centre earlier this season as well as making a large number of assists, I don't think Gotze would have. But purely for the fact that it doesn't look like ADM wants to be here I'd get rid of him.

We need to give ADM until next January though before flogging him UNLESS we can get all money back for him otherwise it's embarrassing. Especially with Falcao's expensive loan and Zaha being sold back to palace for £3m. Bad pattern emerging there.

12 May 2015 16:35:02
Who's this 'stickie' fella that's gracing our page with his bon mots, and sparkling repartee?

12 May 2015 18:14:47
nothing impressive ozwald, like scoring the winning goal in the World Cup final, not impressive at all.

12 May 2015 09:42:50
Right with the season virtually over we turn to the summer and the things which will happen off the pitch with anticipation. This is what I want to talk about.

We had a spell against Spurs Liverpool and City where we looked like we really clicked, but for me the thing which worked so well for us during those games was Fellaini. The team we played against came at us and left space for Fellaini enabling us to use a quick ball over the top to open them up. But when we played against Chelsea, Everton and West Brom we came up against sides who sat deep and made sure they had a player man mark Fellaini limiting his influence on the game.

Now against all the teams we have played this year we have dominated possession, at times finishing games with 75% possession. And if you look at our heat maps for those games you see we spend most of the time in the opposition half just outside their penalty box, but have very little possession in their penalty box.

When most of our games will be played out in this fashion we need a player who is more mobile and can play through teams to replace Fellaini in the starting line up. When teams sit deep Fellaini isn't a great player to have in your team. Imo he should be used in certain games and should be a plan B from the bench.

People have mentioned the loss of Carrick as having a big impact on us, and he is a loss. But it is the lack of ball playing ability near the opposition penalty box which is the biggest issue and not the lack of ability to pass the ball from deep.

To replace Carrick I would look for a stronger quicker defensive player to help shield the back four. If we are going to be a possession based team then we could be suspect on the counter attack, We need a player who can cover that situation. But in doing that we will need a much more creative player further forward.

I would look at De Bruyne, He has shown he can play those through balls and find a way to open up the opposition. The sheer number of assists and goals he has scored this season shows how good he is. We need the creative players closer to the oppositions box if we are going to play on the edge of it. A midfield three of Carvalho, Herrera and De Bruyne would have a good balance between creative influence and defensive acumen.

12 May 2015 10:06:37
if players like mata , herrera and rooney even di maria can't find a through ball we may have a bigger issue .
buying players isn't always the answer

12 May 2015 10:07:58
I like both De Bruyne and Carvalho as options but to sign them both would be costly, maybe even around the £75/80million mark, so that would be unrealistic for me. Carvalho possibly but I think De Bruyne will stay where he is for the time being.

Felliani I agree with you he should be the plan B rather than the plan A which he has been all season but as I have said before I cannot see LVG dropping him next season. Time will tell.

12 May 2015 10:26:29
As always Shappy, a refreshing read! What do you think of a midfield 3 of ADM, Carvahlo and Herrera? Assuming we play the 4-3-3, who will play Attacking Right Wing?
Depay - Rooney - ????

12 May 2015 11:21:14
Jred, I think the problem we have is a mixture of out of form players and players not quite working in their current position.

Something seems out of place with Di Maria, Confidence is an issue but he seems disinterested with playing football atm. Herrera is doing well but needs to play further forward and not in the holding role. Mata is a very talented player and should be played more central, he has limited impact on the wing, he needs to be the guy playing the through ball to the winger not the guy trying to get on the end of the pass. Rooney is the biggest conundrum when played as a striker he can become bored and drops deep for the ball meaning there is no one to play the through ball to, when played deeper his touch seems to abandon him at key moments meaning the move is slowed down.

We could do without signing someone like De Bruyne this summer and play either Rooney or Mata in that midfield role. For a season but my gut says that it won't work long term as Mata is easily brushed off the ball and Rooney isn't as well suited to that role as some would have you believe.

Juan, I disagree about Fellaini. I think he will be an important squad player and will play many games next season, but LvG will look for a better ball playing midfielder to play that role long term.

mbd, I think Di Maria is better suited to the right wing role with either Rooney, Mata or in an ideal world De Bruyne playing as the most advanced midfielder. Januzaj and Young could also play the wide right role or maybe LvG will stick with Mata.

12 May 2015 11:21:29
But in a spell of 5 games including the ones you mentioned we did look incisive with strong running off the ball. Its the same players who are struggling. Mata looks brilliant in 1 game and then anonymous a couple of weeks later. Rooney's best position may be at CF but he has been labouring lately. The issue is not having a Plan B other than lumping it up the big man.

12 May 2015 11:26:06
I agree with Jred. The issue in midfield is that we aren't moving the ball quickly enough. Herrera and Carrick can do it, but players like Blind, Fellaini and Rooney take too much time, allowing the opposition to cover us. We need to replace Carrick, but we also need to give Mata a proper shot at playing in midfield behind the main striker. Him and Herrera have proven that they can work well together, and with some genuine pace down the wings, we could really stretch opposition defences. The issue at the moment is that we have Mata dropping deep and cutting inside from the right, so all our width is coming from the left (unless you include Valencia who isn't able to write the letter t because he can't cross it).

12 May 2015 11:42:32
whats the point of buying a creative player that is no better than say mata for example .
whats the point of buying a winger that is no better than di maria.

its the same with the strikers people want to buy cavani i honestly don't think he would score 20 league goals in this set up . and i'm a fan of cavani.

truth is we can field a very good first 11 yet we are struggling to score goals with players like rvp, falcao , di maria, mata , rooney , hererra .

12 May 2015 11:55:07
Its all about the system and instructions the players are given.

12 May 2015 11:59:24
De Bruyne is a fantastic player, but he needs space to be at his best. I don't know if he'd be the one opening up defenses for you when they sit deep. He's a very good counter attacking player though.

12 May 2015 12:02:59
The Point about Rooney Shappy made is spot on.
Lately he's just been dropping too deep for the ball which leaves us with no option in front of us for the attack, but then again so has Falcao and RVP has a habit of doing it too.

The games against City and Liverpool are prime examples of how devastating our attack can be Rooney when Just holds his position up top and keeps the 2 central defenders busy. He made some nice runs and dragged the defence out position.

12 May 2015 12:35:47
im a massive fan of falcao but i have made the point before i'm surprised at how much he coming deep .
maybe he has decided to change his game or maybe in an effort to keep the ball the striker is being asked to be more involved with the build up.

one thing i would say is if a player wasn't doing what he was told and playing and sticking to his role , which seems to be important to lvg , the manager would have something to say about it

12 May 2015 16:56:45
Is our problem completely based on the midfield not being able to put the ball through to our strikers. Is there a counter argument that our strikers do not do enough to either create the space for the pass or take advantage of the through balls that get played.
Rooney for all his effort works hard at helping the team but is less effective at pulling the defence around and creating space!
Maybe we need someone with a bit more guile up front or has a bit more pace.

12 May 2015 08:49:23
Nepal really getting it at the minute. Hope they are all ok, including our fellow reds.

12 May 2015 09:33:29
yeah,felt the tremors here in bhopal as well.

12 May 2015 13:01:21
Delhi was trembling. Literally with fear. God help the souls in Nepal