Manchester United Banter Archive January 01 2018

 

Use our rumours form to send us manchester united transfer rumours.


01 Jan 2018 22:09:13
Well Paul Scholes has been officially jose'd 😊 got to say I love the manager for this I'm sick and tired of former players sticking the knife in and twisting it fair play Mr manager .

Believable12 Unbelievable5

01 Jan 2018 22:15:07
I think scholes is well qualified to pass judgement on any United midfielder, maybe something the player needs to hear and say right I'll prove you wrong scholesy.

Agree9 Disagree4

01 Jan 2018 22:44:24
Although I think former players are sometimes over critical judging from their comfy armchairs, I do think that Scholes was valid in his criticism. He did call for pogba to be played further forward and lo and behold pogba had one of his most influential games there. I’m think pundits sometimes say things controversial to gain coverage but in this instance the criticism from Scholes was very valid. But it is nice to see Jose give a little bite as he has been lacking that recently.

Agree6 Disagree1

01 Jan 2018 22:44:56
Maybe so Leahy but Jose was fairly bang on with what he said.

I'm sure Paul pogba will be there now saying that he has to prove scholes wrong.

Agree1 Disagree1

01 Jan 2018 22:46:58
You know mate maybe if we supported the players we have half as much as the ones who used to play we would all be a bit happier .

Agree1 Disagree1

01 Jan 2018 23:18:47
Hopefully Pogba wanted to prove everyone with honest eyes wrong. He did well second half today, hopefully he will turn up over the next 5-6 games as he tends to play well then vanish for a month.

Agree2 Disagree3

02 Jan 2018 08:25:25
I think Scholes is the best English midfielder we've seen in the past 30 years. If you cut him in half, he's got United all over him. He's passionate and is very honest. This is not lineaker we're talking about.
Scholes is fully entitled to his opinion, which by the way, was totally correct and was vindicated as Pogba had a great game.
But Mourinho has an ego bigger than some continents and that's why he was upset. He could not stand the fact he was wrong and that's not a good character to have.
We've all been calling for 3 man midfield as we always play well in that formation. But Mourinho is stubborn and I wouldn't be surprised if he goes back to 2 in midfield as soon as lukaku is fit.

Agree3 Disagree1

02 Jan 2018 09:48:32
"But not every one of us has to be phenomenal like he was as a player" Jose

If pogba wants to be one of the best he does need to be phenomenal, lad has the talent, should maybe listen to scholes.

Agree2 Disagree2

02 Jan 2018 10:20:39
I thought the money part was classless, rest was fine though, the class of 92 guys seem to be far too eager to kick every utd manager when he is down because one of their own wasn't given the job.

Agree3 Disagree1

02 Jan 2018 11:59:01
Scholes had some good points. So did Jose. All Scholes does it criticise whoever is managing United just because they're not named Giggs. Just because the guts a club legend doesn't mean he's immune from getting some back. He's been giving it out the last 5 years.

Agree2 Disagree2

02 Jan 2018 12:16:06
And rightfully so in some instances. But just lately there is not really any need.

We have been 2nd for a while with a little poor spell but really you can't moan at that.

If we were 5th and had a poor spell then maybe so. But being 2nd and having a moan is poor from Scholes.

Agree2 Disagree0

01 Jan 2018 20:15:53
Ed 25 if your still about - Well that was much better especially in the second half. Pogba to the left of a midfield three was brilliant, Jesse scores another fantastic goal and the Jones/ Rojo partnership looked decent again! Martial gets a start up front and reminds us all what a talent he can be and surely he's the best finisher at the Club! I thought Mata was superb as well. Maybe not the bore fest we all expected it was obviously your more positive outlook that did the trick! 😂👍

I can watch MOTD again tonight!

Believable0 Unbelievable0

{Ed025's Note - i wont be watching it danny, everton were awful again but i dont want to take anything away from utd who were very good mate..

01 Jan 2018 22:30:23
Sorry Ed slow on the uptake I probably should know this but I didn't realise you were an Everton fan! My apologies I didn't mean to rub it in!

Agree0 Disagree0

{Ed025's Note - no problem danny, it should be our players apologizing to our fans mate..

01 Jan 2018 22:43:08
I thought Jones played RB. It would be a rojo/ lindelof partnership.

Agree0 Disagree0

01 Jan 2018 22:43:08
I thought Jones played RB. It would be a rojo/ lindelof partnership.

Agree0 Disagree1

01 Jan 2018 23:13:33
Ed 25 in all honesty how did you rate Utd performance did you think it was a case of Everton allowing Utd to do more or less what they pleased and that therefore Utd really were not great and were made to look better than they are or did you see a good team.

Agree0 Disagree0

{Ed025's Note - i seen a side who looked very good against poor opposition hendon, i seen players who produced good performances and looked like they gave a toss, this is not always the case though mate so we have to ask ourselves why?..

02 Jan 2018 08:17:45
Lindelof played right back.

Agree1 Disagree0

01 Jan 2018 21:59:47
As I mentioned yesterday, when we play a 3 man midfield this team is different. Jose has to now take notice.

Believable2 Unbelievable0

02 Jan 2018 08:28:13
You're right. But he won't. He did this out of necessity as lukaku is injured.

Agree0 Disagree0

01 Jan 2018 21:32:48
I was very surprised at what some United fans were chanting at Rooney today,
Surely we have to show him some respect.
At the start it was applause
All time top goalscorer, won a nice few medals. I thought it was out of order.

Believable5 Unbelievable1

01 Jan 2018 21:51:23
Very much so. I don't think they can be classed as real fans at all. Very very backward.

Agree2 Disagree2

01 Jan 2018 22:06:43
If you're talking about him being referred to as a scouse b******, then i think/ hope it was toungue in cheek.

Agree1 Disagree1

01 Jan 2018 22:13:11
Remember Becks was booed when he returned- every touch if I recall.

Agree0 Disagree1

01 Jan 2018 22:33:14
It was tongue in cheek, sorry but the fans that go to the away games are certainly our real fans.

They shouted his name when he was subbed, class from our fans.

Agree9 Disagree1

01 Jan 2018 22:48:01
Tongue in cheek GDS? bang out of order I say. Have a bit of class is what they should be doing not shouting that garbage. I don't care if they go away everywhere, anyone that is classless enough to shout that at him isn't a real fan.

Top goalscorer in the history of our club, have a bit more respect.

Agree2 Disagree3

01 Jan 2018 22:59:03
Weren’t they just singing ‘you scouse b? ’ Fairly standard chant, I’m sure he took it in the humour it was intended.

Agree2 Disagree1

01 Jan 2018 23:17:19
They weren't lying either 😁.

Agree0 Disagree1

02 Jan 2018 08:21:06
He plays for Everton so applaud him before and after the game but during it he should be given just as hard a time as any other opposition player.
He was trying to score against us so for 90 mins all previous loyalties should be totally forgotten as they were for him.

Agree1 Disagree0

{Ed025's Note - i agree ken, wayne is big enough and ugly enough to look after himself and not be bothered by such triviality mate..

02 Jan 2018 08:31:54
All this PC stuff does my head in. He's a professional footballer. He's a Scouser and the Scouse B has been shouted at many before. I can't believe this, but I'm in agreement with GDS.

Agree3 Disagree0

02 Jan 2018 10:08:27
But boys he isn't just any other player, he is United's top scorer and has won a lot with Us, so he deserves a bit more respect than just any other player, I see he still brings his kids to United matches when Everton aren't playing.
And Ken called him that every week when he was with us.

Agree0 Disagree0

02 Jan 2018 12:28:11
Haha Schmid,

Even a stopped clock is right twice a day pal.

Agree0 Disagree0

02 Jan 2018 16:14:34
Leahy he plays for Everton against us so screw him. Was he trying to score against us? you can bet your life he was.
He is like all ex players which is just an ex player. A former employee. He was a good former employee but that's all he is to me and many others.

Agree0 Disagree0

01 Jan 2018 20:55:03
Sir Alex Ferguson, it would seem, knew all along.

“Jesse Lingard is going to be some player, ” he said three years ago.

“He is 19, came through our youth system and is built like Jean Tigana was for France.

“But he never got into the limelight there until he was about 24, and I think that will be the same with Lingard.

“He will become a player when he’s 22 or so. As an attacking midfielder he has got a really good talent. I think he will be a player we have high hopes for, definitely. ”.

Believable9 Unbelievable0

01 Jan 2018 21:05:14
Fergie class. Knew how to spot a player.

Agree5 Disagree0

01 Jan 2018 20:52:34
I've been critical of Jose's tactics but hats off to him today he got it spot on. I think it's the most effective I have seen Pogba, the movement of both Jesse and Tony also caused all sorts of problems.
Even at 0-0 we showed better movement, caused Everton problems and it did look it was a case of when we would score.
Great stuff from José and the team, more please.

Believable2 Unbelievable0

01 Jan 2018 21:20:55
The extra man in the middle suits pogba.

Agree5 Disagree0

01 Jan 2018 22:13:17
Reminded me a little bit of the days of Rooney / ronaldo/ tevez/ berba / nani - no out and out centre forward as we know them in the conventional sense but a group of attack minded skilful players who were comfortable across the pitch.

Of course they were better players and were surrounded by better players but even so very fluid and dangerous, a bit like current liverpool forwards now they've ditched sturridge.

Agree3 Disagree0

01 Jan 2018 20:31:16
Right boys! Delighted to say I’m going to my first game against West Brom on April 14th! Would like a bit of advice on where the best place to stay is and which pubs before and after the game is best to go to? Any advice welcome. Cheers!

Believable2 Unbelievable0

01 Jan 2018 21:39:05
Some good bars on salford keys, I always go to the quadrant in Stratford before games. Maybe avoid the louder pubs.

Agree1 Disagree0

02 Jan 2018 05:51:59
Stretford.

Agree0 Disagree0

01 Jan 2018 20:03:53
Hi lads, looking for a bit of advice if you've got the time, I'm going the derby match on Friday, first time I've been able to go for years so I'm just wondering what the best way of travel is, I'm travelling from Warrington so the train to Piccadilly and then the tram looks a good shout, or I can park at my mates in fallowfield and grab a taxi or something from there but I'm not sure how hard it would be to get one before/ after the game.
Cheers in advance lads, looking forward to seeing the great messi lingard in the flesh.

Believable0 Unbelievable0

01 Jan 2018 20:51:03
Metrolink is decent but can be very busy on a matchday.

Personally I park near media city on Broadway in one of industrial parks. There is also street parking round there too. But it’s 25 min walk over.

Lowry car park isn't too bad either if you are thinking of driving.

Agree1 Disagree0

01 Jan 2018 20:52:32
Tram from Piccadilly into exchange quay works fine and then follow the crowds up to the stadium. Might be busy going back later on but should be plenty of trains on a Friday night.

Agree1 Disagree0

01 Jan 2018 22:19:42
Cheers boys much appreciated.

Agree0 Disagree0

01 Jan 2018 20:01:19
Today did show that both Pogba and Matic benefited from the extra midfielder, I thought Hererra was good today and it worked. Playing the false 9 with all the movement was very good. But will Jose use it again?

Believable4 Unbelievable0

01 Jan 2018 21:20:03
Spot on Redcon. We've all been saying we need more in midfield, so why has it taken so long for mourinho to see it?

Agree0 Disagree0

01 Jan 2018 19:55:13
Credit where its due, that 2nd half really lifted the spirits after the last few performances.

Pogba playing further forward made a huge difference, lingard looking sharp and Martial looking dangerous

Clean sheet too. Shame lindelof offfers nothing going forward but can't grumble too much today.

Only hope Martial tones down his crazy wild celebrations when he scores. don't want him getting booked .

Believable2 Unbelievable1

{Ed0333's Note - are you seriouly worried about martials goal celebrations or are you being ironic?

01 Jan 2018 20:26:51
my attempt at irony. obviously not a good one.

Agree0 Disagree0

01 Jan 2018 20:30:42
I loved seeing the passion from martial! Too many players are robots and I thought it was great to see. Would rather he celebrated wildly then not at all like Lukaku has been recently.

Agree0 Disagree1

01 Jan 2018 19:45:51
Ah that's better 😁.

Believable3 Unbelievable0

01 Jan 2018 19:58:33
Unbeaten over the festive period lads 😉.

Agree1 Disagree0

01 Jan 2018 20:09:36
Much better.

Agree0 Disagree0

01 Jan 2018 19:44:27
Much better performance and result today from the lads! Two brilliant goals and Jesse Lingard has really gone up a few levels this year. I will admit I was a doubter but fair play to the lad he has been sensational with 6 goals already in December. The biggest positive was how effective pogba was today further up the pitch. He had a base of matic and Herrera to protect him and give him free licence to go forward. He is immensely talented and wasted deep so I hope Jose sticks with this formation. Quick mention to Herrera who started shaken but stepped up second half. His energy gives us something different in midfield and hopefully a run in the tea ca help him to regain hi form from last year. Solid again from young shaw who looks fit and threatening.

Believable2 Unbelievable0

01 Jan 2018 19:34:05
Is every1 happy no after the last 3 games shown willingness team together.

Believable1 Unbelievable0

01 Jan 2018 19:33:07
Great start to 2018. Hopefully more to come.

Believable0 Unbelievable0

01 Jan 2018 19:32:45
Well that was a lot better, a lot more freedom in our play.

Believable0 Unbelievable0

01 Jan 2018 19:25:09
That was just what we've been all asking for👌👌👌.

Believable1 Unbelievable0

01 Jan 2018 19:31:25
Very good second half, good to see some of our attacking players working well and Pogba being a class above. Lukaku won't be missed by me whilst he is out, we have more movement and creativity with him gone. Took a half to get used to it, but we looked sharper in the end.

Agree2 Disagree0

01 Jan 2018 19:47:04
I’d like to see martial get run of games up front, much more dynamic when he’s up top.

Agree0 Disagree0

01 Jan 2018 20:09:27
And dare i say it - martial looked happy!

Agree0 Disagree0

01 Jan 2018 21:10:55
EZRS, Martial and Beast 👍.

Agree0 Disagree0

01 Jan 2018 17:22:33
It's going to be very tough today but l really want to see a man utd team compete, close the opposition down and if we score keep pushing for more, hopefully that will yield a victory. These players need reminding who they play for and that's part of Jose's job!

Believable0 Unbelievable0

01 Jan 2018 19:29:14
I think that's what you got in the second half red. 4 3 3 gets the best out of Pogba and we looked tougher to break down centrally. Shaw continues to improve and Rojo was solid again. Also everyone talks about deli alli but lingard looks twice the player at the moment.

Agree0 Disagree0

{Ed0333's Note - loving the Jesé is playing at the moment. Looks like he’s gonnna score every game.

01 Jan 2018 20:47:19
Messi lingardinho is playing out of his skin the lad is killing it and I couldn't be happier for him a true united lad 😁.

Agree0 Disagree0

01 Jan 2018 12:59:22
Happy new year to all.

Ed001 if you were the manager of manchester united, which players would you sign to make us challenge for the EPL and CL next season?

Thanks in advance.

Believable1 Unbelievable0

{Ed001's Note - Alex Sandro or Ghoulam, Fabinho and Guedes. You are not short of forwards really, just need to give Martial and Rashford more minutes as strikers.}

01 Jan 2018 13:51:28
would you have fabinho play in midfield or at right back ed?

Agree0 Disagree0

{Ed001's Note - right back, I don't like him in midfield, but he would provide cover there too.}

01 Jan 2018 14:16:38
ED001 I agree with about giving Martial and Rashford more minutes as strikers. I think both up top together would terrify defences.

Agree0 Disagree0

{Ed001's Note - and me. I don't like Martial out wide, his best attribute is his finishing so put him where he can use it.}

01 Jan 2018 14:27:17
Agree on Ghoulam and Guedes. Would like to see Pereira get more minutes next year. Then we don't need Perisic and William. Don't think we will ever play Martial or Rashford as strikes though. So we going to need another striker to back up Lukaku.

Agree0 Disagree1

01 Jan 2018 14:34:15
Would love to see martial get a run at CF.

Agree0 Disagree0

01 Jan 2018 19:40:51
Its strange you haven't mentioned Milinkovic-Savic or any other CM Ed001, do you think our current midfield is good enough to compete?

Agree0 Disagree0

{Ed001's Note - to compete yes, not to win though but I wasn't asked that. The main reason is that I think you need to make only 2-3 changes at a time, imo, as too many incomings disrupts things, so I was limiting it to that. If Milinkovic-Savic was added that would make a huge difference though.}

01 Jan 2018 19:48:36
Add Milinkovic Savic in there Ed and I’m happy 😃.

Agree0 Disagree0

{Ed001's Note - I certainly would sign him if possible, but fullbacks have to be the priority and a winger to allow Martial and Rashford to play centrally more often.}

01 Jan 2018 20:18:16
Agreed Ed. Would love to sign him after sorting out the fullbacks. Problem is that most teams want him so I suppose it’s who can offer him the best package. And where he wants to go too! Dream signing though!

Agree0 Disagree0

{Ed001's Note - he would be the ideal mid for Jose that is for sure.}

01 Jan 2018 13:00:58
Jred asked a good question the other day. ' where is the pogba we saw at Nugent is? '

Well at juve the team shape was different. He had 3 cb's behind him and 2 experienced and brilliant midfielders alongside him and 2 brilliant wing backs alongside him
Currently he is playing with 2 cbs behind him and 1 midfielder alongside him, and a right back that turns backwards 8 times out of 10 and a variety of left backs that don't push on enough. so he is altering his natural game.

Pogba is still young and learning he never dictated games at juve pirlo did that.
To my mind a playmaker to partner matic and pogba in the mould of kroos / veratti would be the ideal type of player to get the best out of pogba and matic.
Both of those guys can dictate the tempo great range of passing and are the closest players out there to the xavi / scholes / pirlo midfielder around.
Pogba may well develop into that type of player when he has all the know how at 28 or 29 but for the moment he is not that type of player. Xavi and scholes or pirlo didn't start excelling at that until they were 28 or 29.

I would like to see a squad built around
Ddg lindelof bailly pogba jesdie matic lukaku rash martial Perriera tfm tuanzabe mc tominay. Supported by experienced players like young valencia Jones romero .
5 or 6 new players are required to compliment those 2 full backs 1 cb 1 cm and 1 winger.

The difficulty I have or one if the difficulties I have is that I have no idea what jose is trying to achieve or what our preferred pattern or shape is.
It appears to me that he is short a couple of key players to set up and play as he would like so he is switching and changing shapes and personnel every other game just muddling through because he doesn't have faith or the tolerance in the players to play like he wants.

At city pep approached it differently. Imo. Last season he set up his team as he wanted them to play. He left them at it for a full season and was prepared to win nothing. It showed up the players who either could not or did not do it for him and he got rid of them all. He set his stall out and said this is the way we are playing. He identified after a year he needed 2 new full backs to start so he bought 3. He needed a new keeper despite a 20m spend and having the England keeper on the books the previous year. So got a new one. He needed a new striker despite having aguero so bought 1. He needed an option to push sterling and sane he bought 1.

Pep exposed his players and put up with them not winning anything until it was obvious to him and the club that they couldn't do it peps way so they were sold.

But I'm not sure what way jose really wants to play i'd rather he set his stall out and said this is the way we play we are coming to beat you no matter what and you will have to adapt to us. It then exposes the players that can't do what he wants then the club have to either back him or sack him. But imo he is not doing that as he knows we would end up in an even worse position.

Believable4 Unbelievable0

01 Jan 2018 13:22:07
Hi ken, I agree and made a similar point about the co it Hal changing of both formation and personnel. I’m yet to be convinced about Lindelof but the rest I agree with. The only other point I would add (yet again) is that Jose should be getting more out of the players he has.

Agree0 Disagree0

01 Jan 2018 13:38:52
For me the only person that can make pogba better is pogba .
If he wants to get to the level he says he does HE has to step up and do more .

Agree1 Disagree0

01 Jan 2018 14:11:05
AJH

I believe I answered the point about Jose getting more out of the players he has, in an answer further down. Not going to copy it here.

Ken
There is a problem with your point. Pep had some better players to start with, but when it comes to changing the players he got all he asked for. Jose asked for at least one more key player that we are certain about and didn’t get it. We don’t know if there was another but I suspect there might have been. The owners at City are committed to giving Pep the tools but Uniteds owners let Jose down. Could Jose afford to take the chance of doing what you suggest? Especially given the criticism he is taking, not just from the media, the pundits but from some of our own fans. I suspect he wouldn’t be given the time as can already be seen by the lynch mob.

In terms of back or sack, chances are they are sharpening the knives because he has exposed the owners and questions are being asked of them. Easier to bring in the next manager, he might be more timid and not ask for such backing. Then in 18 months we go through all this again because the underlying issue was never resolved.

Agree1 Disagree5

01 Jan 2018 14:12:00
I agree with most of that Ken but in relation to Pep I think maybe he was thinking more of playing 3 at the back until Mendy got injured that way he could also fit Jesus and Aguero into the same team up front.

I think if he's totally honest the form of Sterling and Sane to a lesser extent may have come as a bit of a surprise. Whilst both are good players Sterlings form has been up there with the best in the league and he's scored a lot of very important goals changing draws into wins! Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think either of them started the season as first choice probably until the injury to Mendy. Maybe he got a little lucky in that respect but credit to Pep for sticking with them and recognising this!

Agree0 Disagree0

01 Jan 2018 14:30:13
A lot has been made of us not signing perisic but is it not a bit of an excuse .
I always think that players that don't play never have a bad game .

Is pep doing an amazing job? 100% yes
Is Jose? Probably not at the moment .

We can make excuses all day long but the truth is at the moment both Jose and the players are underperforming .
We are having a bad run and it is down to Jose and the players to turn it round .

Agree1 Disagree0

01 Jan 2018 18:18:03
Redman they has 3 better players than us when both started out, city had aguero, Silva and kdb while we only had ddg. But if you look at the signings both teams have made you see why 1 is succeeding while other struggling right now.

Right now we have a midfield that is much better than theirs, their defense is not any better than ours but we have a better keeper. Only area where they have much better players is the 2 no 10's they have. But we are 15 points behind them having scored less and conceded more, can't always blame Glazers for mourinho's bad spending.

Mkhi was a bundesliga star while Jesus was a kid from Brazil in a new country and a much more difficult league, one is shining while the other barely looks like a footballer. It is more important to get the right players with money spent than it is to just spend money.


Lukaku and mkhi are not mourinho players, lindelof has been very disappointing. Ibra was as suited to counterattacking football as Donald Trump is to be a president and we have seen the improvement in martial and rashford just due to fact that our striker isn't a 36 year old snail. Not buying a lb in summer or even attempting to buy one, his alternative to griezmann was perisic, in what world does a guy who came 3rd in Balon d'or race be replaced by perisic. Glazers did not make those decisions, mourinho did.

Agree0 Disagree1

01 Jan 2018 12:18:42
Hi, happy new year and all that. Though being a regular poster over the last few years, I have been reluctant to post for a while now, mainly for two reasons. The first being how fed up I am watching this United side play, and the second not wanting to bash Jose.

At the end of last season I thought we had made decent progress and had the right man in the job. Having seen the first half of this season I've pretty much lost faith. This is not the same José Mourinho we saw at Porto, Chelsea and Inter, make no mistake about it. I feel that football has moved on in the last 5 years or so, and with that Jose has failed to do so. If you look at the trophies he has won over his managerial career, first first half of his career has been much more successful than the second.

When at Chelsea his players would literally run through brick walls for him. You just don't see that now. He would always deflect blame from his players and protect them, now it's anyone but himself, be it the ref, invidual players, whoever.

When you watch City under Pep, or even Liverpool or Spurs, they press high up the pitch, and when the lose the ball, especially city, they hunt for it in packs. If you watch they very often win the ball back within 4-5 seconds, still in the oppositions half. Teams can't get out their own half, thus limiting danger to their own goal. We on the other hand drop deeper and deeper, sit off and allow the opposition onto us, we play in our own 18 yard box. We have players in Rashford, martial, Lingard who are capable of this. I saw a star a few weeks back we have ran the last distance as a team in the whole league. Just pathetic really.

Martial has been our best attacker this season but finds himself on the bench more often than not. How did Miki get a start over him against Soton? Even when Lukaku came off Jose opted for Rashford. Martial is the better player between himself and Rashford. The team selection over this Christmas period has baffled me at times.

If we look at the squad, we have some good players. We have a couple of top players, mainly De Gea and Pogba. Then the likes of Martial, Matic and Baily. All very good players. But there's also a hell of a lot of bang average players still in this squad, £600m later since Fergie left. Blind, Rojo, Smalling, Young, Darmian, Fellaini, Zlatan, these players just aren't up to standard. I'm not convinced there would be many mid table teams looking to buy these players if they're available. We haven't had proper decent fullbacks since Evra and Neville. We haven't had decent wingers for years. City have Sterling and Sane, Liverpool Mane and Salah, we have to push Mata, a creative genius but with zero pace out wide. When we attack and make the final third it's just totally clueless. Lukaku at £75m is obsurd. I'd rather have chucked a big pay packet at Diego Costa, works his socks off for 90 mins and scores goals. Alexis another.

In terms of player improvement, just look at Stirling, De Bruyne, even Stones and Otamendi, under Pep. All have improved massively. Has Martial, Rashford, Shaw or anyone else for that matter improved? Nope is the answer.

I'm fed up watching pragmatic, defensive, football, I'd rather see us go hell for leather even if we got beat more often. At the start of the year in AJH prediction comp, I had City to win the league and Liverpool second, and a lot slammed me for it. I'm still very confident of that.

Jose is layin the foundations already, blaming his players, the refs, the money spent etc, he's not settled in two years here, the writings on the wall. I personally hate changing manager, but I think Jose is the third mistake in a row. If we don't get it right sooner rather than later we won't win a league for 20 years. We're turning into Liverpool and it makes me sick.

What am I expecting today? A bore fest, maybe scrape a draw. Can't wait.

Believable6 Unbelievable1

01 Jan 2018 12:48:15
Good post stand. I'm going with the 1-1 draw, something has to change at United and fast.

Agree3 Disagree0

01 Jan 2018 13:00:57
an excellent summary Stand-united. i'm hoping JM can show us the JM we all hoped for when he arrived, he has only shown glimpses of the charismatic guy and enthusiastic clever coach he can be. His team is an image of him at the moment . dour and uninspiring.

Agree1 Disagree0

01 Jan 2018 15:20:45
A lot I agree with in stands post.

Agree1 Disagree0

01 Jan 2018 17:01:11
Figuratively run through brick walls for him. Sorry.

Agree0 Disagree0

01 Jan 2018 11:21:26
Everton fan here wondering what man utd predictions are for today? am going to start it off with 1-1 snooze fest. Mata first goal, Rooney equaliser late on.

Believable0 Unbelievable0

01 Jan 2018 12:09:44
I think you’ll do well, since that bore draw against us (Liverpool) you’ve down well against the top 4. I remember fat Sam again Mourinho a few years back when he got a draw against something like 38 shots? It’ll be a boring but interesting game in a sense.

Agree0 Disagree1

01 Jan 2018 12:19:07
You won’t be far off mate.

Agree0 Disagree1

01 Jan 2018 17:01:52
0-3 United. You heard it here first.

Agree0 Disagree0

01 Jan 2018 11:10:08
Our football is so defensive that DDG is our most attacking player ;)

Believable0 Unbelievable3

01 Jan 2018 02:59:15
Mourinho is getting the best this season I hope we stick with him Guardiola will bottle it before Jose will and Jose knows United will never be second best he needs time.

Believable5 Unbelievable6

01 Jan 2018 09:23:20
Guadiola will bottle it? Does it look like it? 15 points ahead of us?

Agree4 Disagree0

01 Jan 2018 09:53:46
Happy New Year everybody.

Let's just forget about City and concentrate on getting our own house in order. Any team that can string 18 straight wins together would find themselves in an almost unassailable lead in any league in the world. I'm sick of hearing about Pep it's about time we brought some new year joy and cheer back to Old Trafford.

Looking forward to the game this afternoon. It's presents Jose with the opportunity to play Martial, Rashford, Lingard and Pogba together from the start for possibly the first time this season. Some won't agree but in those 4 we have movement, pace and power in abundance. In my opinion they are the future of out Club and should have stated more games together more often.

I'd play a 4-1-4-1 with Matic holding and Pogba playing alongside Lingard in midfield with Martial left, Mata right with Rashford up top!

Hopefully we can at least play on the front foot with some intensity and fluidity to our game. Let's get Rashford, Lingard and Pogba pressing them high up the pitch and putting some pressure on them rather than this passive, sitting deep rubbish we've been seeing in recent weeks.

Come on Utd let's start 2018 as we mean to go on! Let's be brave, take risks, play forward but most importantly work hard and show some passion. Everybody is writing us off let's show the world we can play some good football of our own. The season is only half way through, still loads to play for. Let's shake off this self pity garbage which seems to have encapsulated the Club in recent weeks and shown some fight! We're the biggest Club in the world so let's start acting like it!

Agree3 Disagree0

{Ed025's Note - today will be a borefest danny between 2 teams set up not to lose rather than win mate..

01 Jan 2018 10:04:56
Joey, I’m assuming you had a heavy New Years Eve, how on Earth you can think that after the half season we have seen is beyond me. I don’t think Jose is getting the best out of the players we have, I think that is the major issue at the moment.

Agree0 Disagree0

{Ed025's Note - very much so AJH..

01 Jan 2018 09:34:36
Given the fact that guardiola's team is 15 points clear of us and have come to OT and beaten us while we have managed to get a huge 3 points from possible 9 against bottom and mid table clubs, how exactly is he getting the best, whatever that means, this season?

Also as the actual facts show mourinho has already bottled it with his tactics and selections against likes of city and Liverpool. And we are not 2nd best but rather 3rd now.

Agree2 Disagree1

01 Jan 2018 10:33:55
Come on Ed I was trying to put some New Years spin on it! I fear your right but we can only hope! All the best for 2018 and keep up the good work great site! 👍.

Agree0 Disagree0

{Ed025's Note - ok danny, it will be a magnificent game between 2 teams who are very entertaining and will have us all on the edge of our seats, 2 mangers who are all about attack and have great personalities serving us a feast never seen before on these shores...hows that mate?...happy new year mate.. :)

01 Jan 2018 11:13:38
Much better Ed thank you 😂.

Agree1 Disagree0

01 Jan 2018 11:25:20
I agree jose is overt achieving with this bunch. Poor players a bunch of average Joe's most of whom have never done as well as 3rd in the epl so most are doing Better tham they have every done before.
Why people think they should be doing Better is odd this bunch habe never done any better all their lives.
Manchester United.
Forget price tags these players have failed to put a consistent run of league games together for 3 diffetent managers over 3/ 4/ 5 years.
What do people expect from them?

Yes jose can be an arse and his tactics are shocking at times but a lot these players are so far below the required standard that to have them 2nd / 3rd is a huge over achievement.

Personally i'd rather lose trying to attack with kids in the squad but there are 10 or so players should be bombed out of the club.

The question of style and entertainment is a different one.
On that I whole heartedly agree the manager is at fault. But the players are just poor and until they are gone results won't improve consistently. Darmian blind smalling shaw fellaini mata miki herrera ibra and rojo should all be sold in the summer or before imo.

Agree3 Disagree9

01 Jan 2018 12:10:32
It’s new year not April fools!

Agree2 Disagree2

01 Jan 2018 12:16:02
I must admit Ken I tend to agree with you! Rashford and Martial are both still young and learning the game so we can forgive their inconsistency. I think Herrera is vastly overrated by a lot of Utd fans and has consistently failed to deliver under two different managers. He's a useful squad man and decent player but I think he has to play in a midfield 3 to get the best out of him. Jose didn't particularly rate Mata and sold him at Chelsea and doesn't give him what he wants. I think Miki had a standout season with Dortmund just before we bought him but before that he was a mixed bag by all accounts and dropped under Klopp.

As for Smalling he's ok but he's not progressed and has been plagued by injuries. The same can be said for Jones who has the potential to be a very good CB but just can't stay fit. Rojo had a decent spell at CB last year before he got injured but a 10-15 game run doesn't make him a good player and apart from that he's been underwhelming at best and an outright liability in some games.

Darmian the least said the better and as for Shaw two different mangers have both questioned his desire and professionalism I still don't think we really know what kind of player he can be!

I think the manger is better than the players at present. He's the one with the winning mentality and pedigree. Most like you've quite rightly pointed out haven't done much in their careers to date.

My suspicion is Jose wants to change things to quickly. I think he needs to show some patience and realise it's going to take a bit longer than expected. He needs to support his players a bit more instead of criticising them in public. If their not working hard enough then so be it but a lack of quality isn't really their fault. I think he could get more out of some players in particular Pogba and I think the key to our season should be getting him in a position where he is able to influence games more. Maybe returning to a 3 man midfield might help in this regard until we are able to inject more quality into the side.

I agree with others that's the football has been boring and over defensive at times but I'm not entirely convinced that this is solely down to Jose. I've seen Miki not working hard enough and making the effort to close players down and get up the pitch in support of Lukaku and I think the same can be said of Martial at times. Our final ball and finishing has been poor at times which again isn't really Jose's fault.

I think he needs to stop moaning and get the best out of what he's got and look to build a team rather than having all the ingredients already at his disposal like he's been accustomed in the past.

This is a 5 year project but will he stick around enough to see it through?!

Agree2 Disagree0

01 Jan 2018 12:34:45
Ddg, Valencia, blind, young smalling, Jones, rojo, matic, ibra, pogba, Mata, lindelof, Miki .
Just some of our players that have won league titles . Lol
I actually thought Joey was on the fish.

Agree2 Disagree0

01 Jan 2018 13:35:51
Better sack the manger then Jred!

Rojo won one Argentinian title back in 2010 I'd hardly call him a serial winner. He made 18 appearances probably as a young player just breaking through.

Mata hasn't won a league title (how ever I must concede has good experience and was a squad player in an excellent Spanish team) . I

Ibra well past his best and speaks for itself. His winning mentality and personality no longer matches his talent.

Lindelof has won titles but in a vastly inferior league the same can be said of Blind (Ajax) and Miki (Shaktar, he didn't win one in Germany) .

Young, Smalling and Jones have obviously won titles with Utd but as bit part players. For clarity Jones won the league in 2013, he made 17 appearances. The second lowest in his Utd career to date. Chris Smalling made 15 appearances that season and Ashley Young 19 (he didn't score a league goal by the way)! Smalling has one more title in 2011 where he only made 16 appearances. I'd hardly call any of them serial winners despite all of them being at the Club well over 5 years.

DDG, Valencia, Matic and Pogba are all very good players. I've already said we should be looking to build the team around Pogba.

The simply truth is whilst you can argue that Jose may have underperformed slightly, despite having won two major trophies and currently has us third in the league a lot of the more experienced players probably lack the quality to compete for the major titles and our younger ones the experience and consistency.

I'd say Jose was about par although I admit the football could be better at times. We've had a dip in form but at the moment still on track for top 4 and a decent run in the Champs Leagues which represents progress from previous seasons. Without City's record breaking start we'd probably be in a decent position to challenge for the title moving into 2018!

Agree1 Disagree0

01 Jan 2018 14:09:32
That sounds just about right danny.

Agree1 Disagree0

01 Jan 2018 14:42:50
Danny the current run of 9 points out of 18 is poor we are a far better team than that .
We have been 2nd most of the season had the best start to a season after 10 games of any United team .
Before this poor run we where doing really well .
Obscured a bit because city were out of this world .
And we won 2 trophies last season
And guess what we done all that with this squad . That still probably wasn't playing to the it's full level .

"Without City's record breaking start we'd probably be in a decent position to challenge for the title moving into 2018!"

And yet your arguing the players aren't good enough?

Ps what has Kane won? Said it before what a player has won is a strange way to judge a player.

Agree0 Disagree0

01 Jan 2018 14:54:55
Danny good post tho you could maybe do the same to the serial winners in the city team?
Ederson walker stones otamendi delph sane Jesus .
KDB is a magnificent player but before he won the title with city he had only won a title in Belgium so obviously just another aver Joe.

Or as Ken puts it "Poor players a bunch of average Joe's most of whom have never done as well as 3rd in the epl so most are doing Better tham they have every done before.  
Why people think they should be doing Better is odd this bunch habe never done any better all their lives"

Agree0 Disagree0

01 Jan 2018 15:14:28
Jred - I think we're both kind of saying the same thing maybe just from different angles. I think a lot of our players are good, we have potential but some simply can't perform to a high level on a consistent enough basis and that's why we've dropped away and seen a run of poor form. In my opinion we still lack 2-3 players to make us real contenders.

You argue that Jose has underperformed and in terms of style and attractiveness I agree but results until recently have been better. I agree he could maybe get more out of certain players including Pogba and Martial but would that be enough to compete with City I'm not sure.

I think we just need to be patient and let Jose build the side he wants. He has his weaknesses I agree but I honestly believe he is still one of the best mangers in world football and I'm not convinced anybody else could come in and do a better job.

Yes it not been particularly entertaining or easy on the eye, yes his demeanour and personality has been grumpy and sullen but the blokes a winner and he's not getting what he wants. Be it from the players, the board, the referee's, the press and even sections of his own fans. The bloke is incapable of being happy unless he's winning. Trust me if we were 15 points clear at the top of the table and the board had given him everything he'd asked for we'd see a completely different side of him!

I think it's that kind of obsession with winning that we need at our Club and despite all the bad stuff that comes with it that's why I respect and rate him so much!

Agree0 Disagree0

01 Jan 2018 15:21:12
Ps - I agree about Kane he's been fantastic but let's just see how he performs when/ if he joins a big Club when the expectation is totally different where each missed chance, every misplaced pass and bad performance is scrutinised in minute detail. A place where your expected to win and perform in every game. No exceptions, no excuses. The game becomes a different animal. The weight of expectation can weigh heavily on some players shoulders. Maybe Lukaku is a victim of this kind of expectation and scrutiny at the moment and I think it's something Luke Shaw has definitely been unable to come to terms with.

Agree0 Disagree0

01 Jan 2018 15:34:55
Jred - I take your point mate. Maybe the difference is players like KDB, Sterling, Sane, Jesus etc are still relatively young and at the start of their careers.

Players such as Rojo, Miki, Mata, Young, Smalling and Jones are more experienced.

I just don't think we quite have the quality yet and it's maybe more of a problem with the players this time rather that the manager. I agree he could play better football and maybe be a bit more out of some but I think he's doing ok with the players he has to work with around par like I said earlier!

Good new year debate though pal 👍.

Agree0 Disagree0

01 Jan 2018 15:57:56
Danny
You won't see any sack the manager post from me
Be interesting to see how average and poor this squad was if pogba matic bailly Shaw martial lukaku rash Mata etc etc where playing to the top of there game a bit like delph sterling stones otamendi sane etc etc

I do think it's daft to judge a player by what his won tho .
Good debate tho pal nice to have a decent crack on here .
Have a good day pal.

Agree1 Disagree0