Manchester United Banter Archive November 17 2013

17 Nov 2013 14:46:22
Supporters come with different psychological profiles. Some, always think their team will disappoint them, others believe they will always win. Perhaps the pessimists are just protecting themselves from being let down. Since SAF started our successful run, United have been ultra successful but, in reality, most teams don't win anything come the end of the season, so a sense of proportion is not necessarily a bad thing.

But here's the deal - whether you voice your negativity, or approach the whole thing with indiscriminate optimism (a very American trait, if you ask me!), as long as you experience that unrelenting commitment to your club, you are entitled to be considered a supporter.

I just think no other team is standing out as clear runners. MU have had a very difficult start and we have just replaced our manager of 27 years. We had a poor preseason and didn't add the players we wanted. All this and we are still just a point behind Jose's Chelsea and we are ahead of money bags City. I do not see Arsenal as title contenders and when they play the decent teams that will become apparent. We could be in a better position, but we are still very well placed. We know how to win titles and if we finish above City then it will be ours again.

Peashooter

Nice post mate.

Albeit the team is picking up points recently I don't think we are good enough to win the title this year, and if we did that might disguise the weaknesses in the team. Sydney may be correct and the other front runners, Chelsea and City may blow up. Their recent results have been surprisingly poor. I'd be happy with a top 4 finish this season with Moyes embarking upon the major team rebuilding that has been needed for a while.

If all the teams in the EPL play to the best of there ability I don't believe united will win the league.
Hopefully some underperforming

17 Nov 2013 13:49:29
Guys realistically do you see us winning the league?

In my opinion there are four teams in the race, each with an equal chance of winning it. Those teams are us, Arsenal, Chelsea and city.

Arsenal have a very good starting 11, some young players on their way to reaching world class status and a couple of experienced players. They have a midfield to dominate any game. And most importantly they have stability and team cohesion, probably the best in the league.

They have their fair share of problems at the back: Sagna, while being very solid, lacks any sort of quality on the ball and he's not the fastest. Gibbs is injury prone and Monreal is average. Mertesaker and Koscielny have proved to be a solid partnership and complement each other nicely but they are very limited as individual defenders and will eventually be found out. They also lack wingers who can create width in a game, with Walcott wanting to play as a striker and not the most skilled of players. And Giroud, while very good, is nowhere near the quality of some others in the league.

Chelsea on the other hand have a deeper squad and more quality in certain areas. Unfortunately, they lack any sort of team cohesion and can not play well together. they are kind of like Real madrid in that department, each player is out to prove his own worth. They also need a good striker this January, along with a reliable central defender since Luis still lack the consistency needed in a title winning team, terry's best days are behind him and Ivanovic has something lacking, not sure what it is but the defense looks shaky every time he plays. Another player they might need to get is a holding playmaker to replace Lampard, a player like Gundogan to partner Ramires.

City. City have the best starting 11 in the country and a squad depth to rival most. But this is a team of multi million dollar stars who can't seem to consistently function as a team. They are inexperienced but they might, just might, have enough quality to win the league after all. They can do with a central defender, a left back, and a consistent keeper but overall, no team can come up against man City and have enough quality in the first 11 to rival them.

Now for us. A lot has been said but I do believe we still have the deepest squad in the league and we have more experience and know how than any other team. We do not have enough quality in our first eleven to rival Chelsea and City, but we're up there with Arsenal though we lack their team cohesion. We obviously need a central midfielder and a left back ( arguably a left winger ) but we seem to be gaining some consistency.

So all in all I believe each team has as much chance to win the league as the next one, and the transfer market will be a huge indication as to who will win the league.

Arsenal need cover. They need a central defender, full backs, a defensive midfielder, a winger and a striker. But even if they do manage to cover all these positions, they still lack any sort of experience and are more likely than not to fold under pressure. they have a young team and only one proven winner.

Chelsea, if they manage to have a good transfer market, will pull ahead of the pack. A good holding midfielder and a class striker will do them a world of good, and I'm quite worried of the idea of Mata, Hazard, Oscar and co providing chances to a player of Falcao's caliber. But, while such players would fill some gaps, they still lack in team cohesion and only time will solve that.

City's problems will not be solved so easily. While a central defender and a left back would plug the gaps in the starting 11, the team is inconsistent and the players can't be bothered to play together a team. Again, only time will give them the experience and cohesion to win the league.

All of our problems would be solved with 2 players. If we somehow manage to get Gundogan and Coentrao, we will win the league. Gundogan will get the best out of Fellaini and we'd have balance between the brute force of the Belgian and the class of the German. Herrera would give us similar benefits, but with less quality and certainty. The German league is much more similar to the premier league than La Liga, and Gundogan has played in a midfield two while herrera is unproven in this position. As for coentrao, he would offer us Evra's quality on the ball and class going forward, dribbling past player and crossing, therefore releasing the winger to come inside, and offer us more defensive stability. A left winger might be useful to us, but with Kagawa slowly but surely finding his feet and coentrao able to complement him, that's not a necessity. And on the right we have the excellent Valencia, who along with Rafael, offer plenty going forward and in defense. Januzaj and Nani are wild cards, neither completely qualified for a starting slot for different reasons, but both equally capable of being the x factor in any given game.

Now if all 4 teams manage to get the players they need in the transfer window, I believe Chelsea and us will be the favourites. City and Arsenal need more than players, with experience, team cohesion and squad depth well known problems, while Chelsea and us only need a couple of quality players to complete our respective jigsaws

@Mick1

I wrote a similar reply down the page. Its very open this year and a very even title race.

I don't think Chelsea's issues are "just a couple" of players though, neither are ours. Chelsea don't seem to be able to change their gameplan according to the opposition, you know how they are going to play, lineup etc. Also its almost as if they have a ferrari and Jose seems to want to drive it like a bulldozer.

With United we need more than just two players, we need a winger and center back just as much as a central midfielder and left back. All the issues are corelated and once we have all of that it will suddenly start looking up. City NEED Aguero fit and on form every single game, pretty much like us with Rooney.

Arsenal are the biggest contenders imo.

For now, I think we should sort out, or rather patch up the defense and buy a central midfielder only if a quality one can be bought, no point spending like Liverpool did for Carrol for eg.

Garay, Coentrao, Konoplyanka would represent a good January for me. IF Koke/Gundogan/Herrera can be bought then of course, but I don't see either moving in January. Perhaps a loan deal for somebody, although can't think of anybody who would be good and available.

RF, I disagree with that. I do not believe we need a new center back. Evans atm is our best defender imo and should not be dropped. Vidic is still a fantastic defender and if he gets injured, Jones and Smalling are great deputies. By the time Vidic leaves Evans would be 27 and ready to take the mantle as the defensive organizer.

I think in a year's time Evans and Jones will be our first choice center backs and make a magnificent partnership. Smalling and Keane as third and fourth choice are also great.

Now for the left wing, while I do believe a Draxler or a Reus would be a quality addition, we still have Kagawa who is getting better at this role, Januzaj who is a world class talent, and Lingard.

Now for the left back and central midfield, we need additions asap.

Carrick is getting older and can't play as many games as he used to. Fellaini has yet to find his feet and is not suited to partner Carrick. Jones is a central defender and Cleverley and Anderson are yet to prove they can be anything more than squad players with the later more likely to leave than not. Therefore we need a central midfielder as soon as possible.

For the left back spot, we have Evra. Buttner is not good enough and there's a reason Fabio doesn't get a game. If Evra gets injured we have no one, and in games where we need defensive stability, Evra is not our guy.

So for this window, we need a left back and a central midfielder, and the issues of central defense and left wing can wait till the summer.

17 Nov 2013 10:58:06
He may not be everyones favourite player but let's wish Nani a happy 27th Birthday for today. The 17th of November is a great day to be born, I should know I was born on the same day. Lol. {Ed002's Note - Happy birthday Shappy.}

Happy birthday pal

Happy Birthday Shappy! Cannot believe Nani is 27 though, his career is passing him by.

Happy Birthday Shappy!

I see what you did there! Happy birthday Shappy

Btw does anyone know what happened to Percy?

Percy managed to glue his hand on to a poster of Nani. God knows what he was doing.

17 Nov 2013 18:28:26
Cheers guys.

I sent Nani a very special present. He had 25 free corners to try to beat the 1st defender. wonder how he got on?

17 Nov 2013 07:36:19
It's a funny old game. A couple of weeks ago we had people suggesting we wouldn't finish in the top 4, someone even suggested we would be battling relegation. Now, after a good win over Arsenal we have people saying we will win the league. Not sure either view is right tbh. I think we will compete but to win the league this year I believe we desperately need to strengthen across the middle in January. Still, there's nowt as fickle as football fans eh?