Manchester United Banter Archive December 24 2017

24 Dec 2017 13:25:16
OK lads, the game is over and we have all had a chance to reflect on everything in the game.

Yes some players were selfish and missed good opportunities to score and assist other team mates. let's hope they learn from it.

Yes defending for both goals was suspect.

People giving out about Smalling are an odd bunch. Its already known by most that Mourinho asks players to play through pain and injury when required. Had Smalling come off and Leicester scored anyway, Smalling would have been crucified by Mourinho.

OK fine if he is staying on the pitch get him forward to occupy some of their defenders and put Lukaku back to clear out aerial balls. This is not a decision
Smalling or any of the other defenders should have to make. Mourinho and his staff should be conveying tactical or positional adjustments to our players.

We were under a lot of pressure and everyone could see that yet management watched this happen without making a decision. let's hope all involved learn from this. It was massively frustrating to watch

We did create chances and Lukaku should have had a hatrick of assists which is very promising as his passing and link up play was immense, Shame Rashford and Martial were not on the same page as Romelu on this occasion. On a different day things would have been different.

The bigger picture is that we actually played some decent football yesterday.
Looks like City have it tied up but let's keep on their heels just in case they royally come to pieces a la Newcastle and Mr Keegan. let's move onto the Burnley game and hope we continue to see improvements.

24 Dec 2017 13:42:35
Is that the year keegan gave his "youll never win anything with kids" speech 😂.

24 Dec 2017 14:20:40
Hanson said that. Keegan said he would love it if they beat us. Love it.

24 Dec 2017 14:32:11
Ahhhhh yeh, i stand corrected RWWD. Brilliant tbough.

24 Dec 2017 17:28:27
Jambon. Why were we under pressure when we had a full compliment of our best players and playing vs 10 men. Should we not expect a United team to be more controlled and professional? It's pathetic.
As for being on City's heels, I think 13 points gap means we can't see them let alone stay on their heels.

24 Dec 2017 18:53:30
Jose was at fault for the tactics and the mindset of the players (otherwise what is a manager for? ) . I totally agree as the camera kept panning to Jose, it was clear things were getting very twitchy indeed with Leicester smelling blood and Smalling wailing around like a bleeding seal, the inactivity of Jose told me everything, he looked bamboozled and was probably thinking up things he could blame for the impending press conference if Leicester did equalise. (This will show Woody how many players we need, wouldn't have been too far from his thinking in my opinion) .

The commentator even said that Jones had told Lindelof to come inside, but then Herrera overuled Jones because he didn't want to go to RB (Don't know if this is true or not), but where was our captain in all of this? Where was the GK organising? Most importantly where was the management team?

For Smalling to be picking up the goalscorer was a fiasco of epic proportions. Bad stuff happens (like Rafael marking Drogba for corners), but every man and his dog could see where the game was going, missing good chances, dropping deeper and deeper, a cripple marking their best attacking threat from set-pieces - a coach more dormant than LVG at his dower best on the bench.

I'd love to have had a camera on that bench listening in to the confusion and lack of leadership as everything was deteriorating. What does he do exactly for his money, may as well hire a PR firm as all he does is bitch and whine in interviews trying to create a siege mentality, but we are unable to hold off a siege of peasants?

24 Dec 2017 19:14:03
Ah the Jose was at fault nonsense.

I suppose it was Jose who told them to fluff the chances.

This is anti Manager drivel, designed to whip up more followers for your Jose out argument. Jose has the pedigree, the medals, the history to show he knows how to win the medals, the leagues, the cups. For me he is moving us forward and I can see progress. But why let the facts get in the way of your anti Jose nonsense.

24 Dec 2017 19:51:43
All my posts seem to be 'nonsense or drivel' to you Red Man, those words are losing their power, I might start calling them "fake labels". LVG had the pedigree, in fact Jose had the pedigree at Chelsea as well, shortly before the gave him the chop - he is good but he is no longer as good as he was. I appreciate as you are getting older you don't like to think of things like skills deteriorating, but I know they do, we all experience it. Jose just isn't as good as he used to be, there will be many factors and he is by no means as far down the line as LVG was, but that 'Special' thing he had just isn't that 'Special' anymore.

I am not looking for 'followers' I am looking for reasoned debate and honest opinions. Not blinkered denial. Should the manager not have been organising things from the bench? Should the captain not be chipping in and sorting things out? Why are two random players in the team allowed to contradict one another and add to the confusion? Everything seemed to be left to the lap of the Gods, that isn't good enough at this level.

Missing chances happens and those players will of course be chastised. Why can't the manager be chastised for a dereliction of his duty? Or does a manager exist just to pick his team and to sit and watch, no matter what happens just LVG did?

You can disagree with my view, but to constantly call it 'nonsense or drivel' if something is said that you don't agree with is a bit sad and pointless - especially as these are opinions and observations. I might buy you a dictionary for Xmas Red Man, so you can look up what "Nonsense" means, my posts make very good sense, you may not agree with them but I grow less bothered about that the more you choose to simply dismiss anything you don't 100% agree with. Merry Christmas.

24 Dec 2017 20:04:20
Beast

Your posts indicate the fault is always the manager, always Jose, doesn’t seem you can see beyond that.

LvG didn’t have the pedigree in recent years, Jose won the premier league not that long ago, there is a big difference.

My opinion is substantially different to yours

In the season of goodwill, Merry Christmas Beast, let’s leave it until Boxing Day!

24 Dec 2017 10:57:12
Game management, that was one thing missing, highlighted in the City, Bristol City and Leicester games. At home against City they got the ball in the corner and kept it there, killed the game. In the last two games we didn't learn and manage the game, near the end were were immature, giving the ball away at the end.

Why? As well as the inability to manage the game, we lack on pitch leadership. Jose used the word childish and it's not too far wrong but it is a sign of a lack of leadership in the team itself. There are good players but I don't see leaders or even a leader, although Pogba has potential. In defence we had no one who led or commanded. Jose hasn't got a John Terry in that defence, a Steve Bruce, Rio or Vidic. Looking at the last couple of games that lack of leadership stood out, nice footballers but soft.

24 Dec 2017 11:31:29
Phil Jones told Herrera to go RB and lindelof CB and was overruled .
The big question from last night is why was smalling playing cb when he was clearly injured?

24 Dec 2017 11:35:24
We had countless attacks where players were to selfish and went for glory themselves.

All we had to do was look up and pass the ball to lukaku who on countless occations would have had an open goal to aim at.

Poor decisions cost us and now we are further behind.

24 Dec 2017 12:28:28
Agree with most of the above apart from pogba being captain or leader. He hasn't got it in him. We're talking about a player who is more interested in hair cuts than turning up for a warm down session at the club the morning after we lost to Bristol city. The club had to send officials to escort him to the club. It's pathetic and highly disconcerting if this sort of behaviour is going on. Three senior players have already voiced their concerns.
We don't seem to have the intensity in our game. We also lack maturity and responsibility. And a bit of hard work and tracking back and closing down the opposition won't go amiss.
All said, we wasted 5 golden chances and ddg could and should've cut the cross out. We need to up the level and concentration and only the manager and players can do that.

24 Dec 2017 13:21:27
It was also very clear the players where caught in 2 minds, should we see the game out or go for it .

24 Dec 2017 15:59:24
Couldn't disagree more red man. We started thinking about game management with 60 mins left to play, crazy.

Just go a score a third goal!

Stop over thinking about safety and score to put the opposition out of sight. We are losing these games because we stop pushing for goals when we have a narrow lead.

24 Dec 2017 16:48:44
Dodgy

We were trying to score a third goal, we should have scored a third, fourth or even fifth but they missed the chances. However, when it gets to injury time and it’s tight you have to manage the game.

We drew not lost by the way.

24 Dec 2017 18:34:34
Touché, I meant points. Lol.

24 Dec 2017 08:31:46
What do you guys think about appointing Zidane as the manager in the event that Jose leaves? I think what Zidane is doing past seasons almost mirrors Guardiola and Zidane's days as Real manager could be numbered.

{Ed002's Note - Zero chance.}

24 Dec 2017 09:18:12
Ed002 please can you tell us managers the club would consider if Mourinho doesn't stay beyond this season?

{Ed002's Note - It is not something o be discussed right nw.}

24 Dec 2017 10:01:52
Ok, thank you.

24 Dec 2017 00:10:10
Hey guys, first of all merry christmas to all you red devils.
Recently I mentioned on the tail end of a post lauding the posiive stats around Pogbas influence on yer side. I must say that while he is clearly a talented player he is an absolute liability at times, what is his actual role in the team?
Also did you know that you concede more goals with him in the team than out? And this has usually been against 'weaker' sides.
Clearly he is an important player in an attacking sense, but he is so weak defensively and tactically and plays purely for himself.
Interested as to what Man Utd supporters honest opinion on him is.

24 Dec 2017 00:28:59
Concede more maybe but we score/ win more with him. in the side.

There is a pundit (i forget who) that has pojnted out UTD concede more when he's in our squad and went on to say he is useless.

But even danny mills and shearer (ca t stand either of them) have said he is blind and biased and pogba makes our team tick. And for me, him and matc together are pur winning formula.

24 Dec 2017 00:47:08
We paid 90 million for a midfielder.
Someone to boss games, for that I thought we were getting a leader someone to control games.
He looks more interested in his hair, music and dancing. a clown.

24 Dec 2017 01:07:00
He's 24. I mean, how many centre mids "dominated" games at that age?

24 Dec 2017 01:20:32
Leahy as this has been mentioned amd proven before.

Pogba is miles ahead of scholes at 24! And scholes was tbe best MF in the wrld in the end IMO.

24 Dec 2017 03:49:26
Don't agree with that.

24 Dec 2017 10:52:27
How many other 24 yr olds cost that money though? why expect the same output from pogba as another 24yr old who cost 20mil?
Your side concede more with him in he team as he lacks defensive awareness and tactical knowledge.
His goals are against-whu, swansea and newcastle
His assists-swansea, stoke, newcastle, (2) arsenal, cska
He is the equivalent of lukaku in midfield, a flat rack bully who really lacks the quality to apply himself consistently and at the highest level. Your side looks so much more balanced with fellaini in midfield.

24 Dec 2017 10:58:01
If you go back to scholes, Keane giggs Neville etc. Then boys cared about United, they would lose a night sleep over losing, pogba and lingard would go home and play a game of fuseball and have a dance.
I read last week United staff had to ring pogba to get him in to training.

24 Dec 2017 11:15:36
Leahy,

You read that did you? Must be true then haha. Pogba in on a different level to the rest of the team, he is so good to watch, I honestly can’t understand anyone who watches him play and doesn’t see it but I guess Football is about opinions.

24 Dec 2017 11:21:05
Could not agree more GDS2!

24 Dec 2017 12:08:25
He has proven nothing for me, great against the lesser Teams, doesn't have the desire or attitude to grab a game by the scruff of thr neck.
Trotting around like a showpony.

24 Dec 2017 15:55:37
Saying pogba doesn't need to perform as a record signing because he's only 24 and scholes wasnt great at 24 is ridiculous, Roy Keane signed at 24 for a record fee and immediately displaced the Robson/ Ince partnership and went on to dominate midfield for years, Pogba has to be surrounded with players to do all the defensive work and tracking back for him. A glorified show pony who performs against relegation fodder and is anonymous in big games, even at Juve he was surrounded by people doing the donkey work for him while he pranced around dancing and putting funny colours in his hair, doesn't even show up to a session after losing to bristol, and swans around with the armband. Crazy situation.

24 Dec 2017 16:12:30
Back whoever you are u agree 100%.

24 Dec 2017 16:33:41
Im not a United fan Leahy, but I am a football fan who remembers a very different united not 10 years ago, this version of pogba would never have got near a fergie team.

24 Dec 2017 17:45:55
Sorry but i disagree.

24 Dec 2017 23:26:13
Any reasons or just because scholes?