Manchester United Banter Archive November 02 2013

 

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02 Nov 2013 20:11:39
Our young Powell scored yet another goal for Wigan playing in his previously favored number 10 role.

A quality all round performance from what I've read. Now his record stands at 5 goals in 10 starts. Pretty impressive for a man groomed to become a deep lying playmaker.

I for one would hope we can ship him out to a mid/ bottom premier league club in need of creative spark. Norwich could do with a little creative spark, and they play relatively attractive football

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He's a number 10 for me all day long

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That's what's intriguing about the lad. His tackling and interceptions are top notch, so with a little bit of work on his passing, he'd be a great central midfielder.

And yet, he possesses the skills, close control and finishing to play as a number 10.

I see a bit of Ramsey in him. Hope he will come good

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I agree with Jred, Powell is a number ten. I think we will see Kagawa leave at the end of the season. I think Powell could rotate with Rooney if Rooney signs a new deal. Powell's shooting is sublime and he will score several long shots each season from that position.

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I personally think he will be a central midfielder like Gerrard who will break forward.

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02 Nov 2013 19:37:33
Great Result, played well in the first have and with 3 injuries at half time our overall team performance was always going to be different and our momentum was slowed.

Positives. Rvp and Rooney played well and Adnan had bright moments but is still young and learning. Kagawa got more game time which should help him regain some form. although he doesn't seem to be playing that well even when he does play. And the 3 points which will do our confidence a world of good. The partnerships at the back seemed strong with Vidic playing very well alongside Evans and Smalling.

Negatives. Fellaini seemed ineffective when brought on. Injuries to Rafael (Ankle), Evans (Back), Cleverly (Double-Vision), and Evra who seemed to struggle with an injury late on in the game. Jones seemed to hurt his ankle during the game but carried on and nothing has been said about him sustaining any injury. Hopefully these injuries clear up by midweek.

Happy with the 3 points and looking forward to the champions league in mid-week.
Jamax

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02 Nov 2013 19:18:12
So after watching Arsenal and United today what are your guys predictions for next sundays game and who do you think will feature?

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Fellanini

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02 Nov 2013 19:07:14
Well the performance today, imo at least, was magnificent.

We were like a wolf pack, attacking it's prey, weakening it and let it succumb to it's own own rather than risking dangerous wounds by going all in for the kill.

We started the match in brilliant fashion ( well bar the first 5 minutes ) and got our goals before 30 minutes. We had a couple of injuries after that, and the team took it slow to avoid further injuries that might take their toll in the coming week.

And after the break, we introduced 3 new players at once and the team didn't gel, which is completely normal, and it seemed like we were not going all in, more like killing off the match slowly, which we did to some success.

Now for the talking points.

For one, I am not Evra' s biggest fan and his actions in the world cup dishonored us. Add to that the fact that he is a defensive catastrophe waiting to happen and has been for 2 seasons doesn't really make him more likable, but the man is a sight to behold going forward. He reminded us of the magnificent high flying left back of 2008-2009. I do not believe he will be with us for long, but the man has done a lot for the club and should be treated as such.

The second point I wanted to talk about is the way Fellaini stood up to the Januzaj. Roy Keane for Neville against Viera anyone? We need that, and we have needed that for a while. Not only do we need a commander in the centre of the park in terms of football qualities, but we also need a beast.
Someone opposing teams would fear not only because of his skills, but also because of his fiery, no bull taken kind of personality.
We need an alpha dog that would affect the whole mentality of the team and drive them forward. Vidic is on his last legs and Jones is too Young, and Fellaini might just be what we need ( I always thought Strootman would be that " leader on the pitch ", but we'll have to do )

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Good Post! I totally agree with Fellaini bit, the only thing he need is to quicken the tempo and passing more quickly. He seem to a very quiet guy specially off the pitch. He needs to stamp his authority! Hopefully with more games that will happen. After all remember how we use to play with one touch football! We have quality players. just need to gel more and play one touch football specially at opposition. Regardless after today I do more positive. We have a game before we meet Arsenal! It will be interesting game!

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Great post Mick and it was really refreshing to see Fellaini back our young lad. This is what will make him a cult favourite in time, just like he was at Everton. His performances will improve the more he plays - to do what he did shows he must have confidence and fight, which must come across in the changing room. We need that steel more than most things at the minute, couldn't imagine Carrick being that advanced to even get involved to be fair.

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Fellaini, a cult figure? He is worse than useless.

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Nomidfield, your over-exaggerations never cease to amaze me. Not content just to put that you don't rate Fellaini, you state he is, 'worse than useless'.

He's a proven international, in a very strong team fancied to do well at the World Cup, and proven in the Premier League. He had Arsenal and Chelsea sniffing round him at various points.

But, in your opinion, 'he's worse than useless'. Not 'average', not 'decent', not 'mediocre'. 'Worse than useless'. I guess you must know more about football than the Belgian manager, Arsene Wenger and Moyes then.

And you wonder why some people struggle to take your opinions seriously, when you come out with hyperbolic soundbites like this.

Good to see you're giving a new player at Utd a chance though.

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No midfield, I always enjoyed your well balanced and very informative posts.

Great analysis on Fellaini's impact both at Everton and his long term lack of impact at United

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02 Nov 2013 17:56:43
Really top performance in the first half, disappointing second half but not too worried about it. What is particularly pleasing is how pleased everyone (especially RVP) is to play with Januzaj.

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02 Nov 2013 17:44:35
I think Cleverly was very good today. You get a feeling he is probably not showing/expressing the talent he has sometimes. I think presently with our midfield options he is as indispensable as Carrick is. Keeps us ticking, works the ball out of tight spots. We looked quite lost when he was replaced after halftime. Its a pity our midfield is not sorted, but wih whatever we have, let's hope Clevs delivers the goods consistently.

RVP played very well for the first time this season. He looked very happy and people who talk about a Rooney/RVP rift need to watch the game today. People who said Rooney is past it etc should hang their heads in shame. Unbeaten in 7 and not playing to the best of our potential. Well it can only mean onwards and upwards. Oh and we are 2 points of City and 3 of Chelsea, the bookies favorites to win the PL. May be the season is not over yet ;)

Deeps.

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Good post Deeps, we do need that busybody type in midfield. Two would be even better ;)

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2 quick creative cm in the middle is the way to go

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The more I watch Ramsey play the more I wish we had managed to nab him back when we could have. He and Cleverly in midfield would be awesome with a holder.

Thought Fellaini did ok when he cam on as well, some good signs. Kagawa was nowhere though unfortunately.

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I said we should buy Ramsey last season when things were not working out for him and all of the Gooners wanted him sold. He's a good player, not too flash, but hard working and likes a tackle or two too.

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Jred, two that also like to get a foot in too. Gundogan and Herrera for me.

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Syd and Jred

I completely agree with it. This entire hooplah around a "holding" midfielder is all good and sound in theory. Back here in the real world, the modern day midfielder has both the attributes. Two mobile and creative CMs who drive forward alternatively is the way forward.

Sween

I think Clevs would have been really good in an Arsenal set up. Conversely, yes a Ramsey-Clevs partnership would have been wonderful. As I speak Ramsey scores a belter. Liverpool have been battered so far, so much for football by death.

Deeps.

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Cabaye anyone

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Mcsween, what part of the game did fellaini play well. People ran past him at will. His reaction time is three times as long as everybody else's. He contributed nothing to the game.

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02 Nov 2013 17:22:49
Good display first half and could've been more. But I was extremely disappointed by the second half display. ok they came out and played a little better and we did have to make 3 changes in key areas, but we completely dropped off. we should have been trying to put 5 or 6 past them to help the goal difference, and u can't help but think some of the displays came from orders from Moyes.

Evra was terrible today, and must be replaced asap.
Fellaini is still not up to the task.

But glad we are winning and some attacking moves are excellent. Valencia is slowing coming back to his best as is RVP.

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02 Nov 2013 16:55:10
Good result but very cowardly tactics in the second half.

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As soon as we scored our 3rd that was it, we just stopped playing. Then you flick over to see how City are doing and it just keeps on increasing. A win is a win, but that could have been a real breakthrough today - goal difference as well. Instead we started to drift backwards again after 23 mins, frustrating in a way but good 3 points.

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What was cowardly about it we had 3 injuries ankle back and blurred vision ofc its not ideal to have to make 3 and its not like he wanted to

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They weren't cowardly tactics. Cleverley getting injured meant we had no energy in the middle and everything was too slow. Particularly with Fellaini.

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GAGUS, spot on. Cleverley for me is still our most important midfielder until we find that similar but better player.

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Pardoe, we still had Rooney, Rvp, Kagawa and Januzaj on the field. all attacking players being told to defend and waste time.

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I agree with Gagus. A midfield lacking in technical ability and passing will not be able to challenge. We need a pace setter, a midfield playmaker.

We need one of Fellaini / Jones next to one of Cleverley / Carrick.

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JK92, the issue was the midfield failing to find the attacking players and not backing them up when going forward as a group. Herrera or Gundogan would be great IMO. Both (highly unlikely I know) would be amazing.

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Mick1, for me Carrick is too slow, but he is a better option than both Jones or Fellaini. Oddly I still believe Carrick and Cleverley is our best midfield pairing.

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Syd I disagree on that. I think a midfield should have a healthy balance of technicality and physicality ( see Scholes and Keane ).

So on paper, Carrick and Fellaini are a perfect partnership. And yet neither is mobile enough and should be partnered with more pacy midfielders to complement them.

Carrick needs a physical box to box destroyer next to him, to be able to run around tackling and pressing people, which would allow Carrrick enough time to get in a position to intercept a pass. And when he receives the ball, he needs his partner to drive forward, drag defenders and create space for him. Jones is exactly that.

Fellaini plays in the same position as Carrick, and yet he possesses different attributes, therefore he needs a mobile passer next to him, a central playmaker, to reach his potential ( see Leon Osman ).

Therefore, in theory, the partnerships that would work the most are Jones- Carrick and Fellaini- Cleverley. I say we should let them battle it out this season and see what becomes available next summer, unless we manage to bring a decent midfielder during the january transfer window

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Carrick and fellaini are an awful partnership.
Kean was far more than a physical player, he was box to box especially in the early part of his career, his short game was excellent rarely given the ball away but also it was kean who set the tempo

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02 Nov 2013 15:35:43
Great game so far! Can't wait feom more from the lads today.

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02 Nov 2013 14:30:30
£27.5m and he's fourth choice in cm, behind a 21 year old defender. Why wasn't Fellaini allowed have his wrist surgery? He could have taken care of his injury and had a few months to let the pressure dwindle a bit, but instead Moyes has him sitting on the bench with his confidence taking a massive battering. Way to go Davie.

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I think in a perfect world Moyes would have liked to give Fellaini his op now, but we are still very short on midfielders. I cannot believe we are still talking about our midfield after this amount of time. Only Cleverley and Carrick are the trusted midfielders at the moment. And prefers Jones to Fellaini. I'm flabbergasted. £30m on a player that is behind Cleverley and Jones in the pecking order. How can a manager pass up the opportunity to sign Thiago? HOW? {Ed002's Note - THe situation with Tiago was explained at the time Syd.}

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Ed002, you were on strike at the time so I may have missed it. I do remember you saying that he will leave Barca and probably to MU, then something changed and BM were the front runners. We are led to believe at that point, Moyes decided against a move for him so he signed for BM. Is that not the case? To be honest I hope it's not the case. {Ed002's Note - Manchester United made a couple of offers two years ago and an offer from Manchester United this summer was of no interest until the player was able to see what other options were going to be on the table. It was clear that they were awaiting an offer from elsewhere - notably Bayern Munich which was what the player wanted - or possibly Manchester City to see what the personal terms would Be. It was also not out of the question that he could have signed a new deal with Barcelona. Barcelona also looked to include Thiago part of an offer for another player from England. Once the offer was on the table from Bayern Munich, there was no other option the player would have considered.}

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Thanks for confirming that Ed. To be fair I am glad I was wrong as I was bemused that Moyes could have passed up the opportunity to sign a player of Thiago's quality. It wouldn't have been a great start for the manager. Thanks.

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Cheers Ed002. Now Sydney! can finally sleep in peace.

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RF, you are right mate. It was something I couldn't get my head around. I'm glad it wasn't Moyes' decision. It wouldn't have been the best start.

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02 Nov 2013 13:54:12
I don't know about anybody else, but I have some serious reservations about David Moyes and especially his transfer dealings, more importantly the players he dismissed.

Two of our alleged main transfer targets that he dismissed were Kevin strootman and mehdi Benatia, birth of whom we're signed by As Roma. The form team in Italy 10 wins out of 10. Both we're bought for roughly the same amount we paid for fellani. I have doubts about his ability to spot a decent player and to conclude the deal.

Fingers crossed he proves me wrong in January. Always happy to be proved wrong if it means the team is playing well and winning.

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Eh Thiago? I would say he was the main SAF target that we have missed the most. Garay, Strootman and Thiago were all SAF targets and we had an interest in Di Maria. David Gill flew to Madrid to discuss a move for Di Maria. They all would have been useful this season. Strootman is slow, but he is lightening compared to Carrick and Fellaini. He is also a better passer and loves to drive forward. Garay who is comfortable on the ball and when in possession is like an extra midfielder. Somthing we have missed due to Rio's decline a few years ago. Di Maria would have improved us a lot. Far better than Nani and Young. Thiago, well we all know how good he is. I hope Moyes doesn't dither this winter and next summer. He has had plenty of time to assess now. I hope he spends our dosh better than he has done thus far.

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I specifically focused on those two players as they are playing exceptionally well for a team that is dominating their league. They have made a real difference to a team that was average last season.

I know we were linked to lots of other players who would only have improved on our distinctly average squad.

I echo you hope Sydney that moyes spends wisely in jan.

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Fair play Huggy, I wasn't aware that Benatia moved to Roma. I missed that one mate. I am happy with our performance today. But we went to sh1t when Cleverley went off. We need a busybody in the middle of the park.

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I'm not a big fan of strootman doing ok for Roma but Italian league is a lot slower

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02 Nov 2013 12:46:38
Good to see Blackett go on loan to Blackpool, good opportunity. Hopefully get a few others out too.

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02 Nov 2013 12:10:04
Great interview from Becks on FF. Still an absolute legend for me.

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02 Nov 2013 11:14:44
anybody no anymore good sites I can watch todays game apart from wiziwig thanks

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Here we go again:

Ronaldo7.net offers plenty of options, adding the streaming network.

Usa goals offer more options ( over 40 links a game ) and you will be sure to find a stream that suits your internet speed.

If you have a fast connection, ronaldo7 is the way to go. Slow connection, Usa goals would suit you better

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02 Nov 2013 06:52:14
So will today be the today we make a statement? We've had a better run, some players seem to be finding form, and we are playing Fulham who have been struggling. My only hope is that we go for it - let's attack and go for the jugular. If Carrick is injured let's play Fellaini as the holding midfielder and then select creativity ahead of him.

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I'm confident we will take the game to them. Carrick being injured is ideal for me as it will be good to see how fluid we are without him in the team, even if we have Fellaini in, he will add some aerial ability against their beasts from set-pieces as well.

I'm saying 3-0. Hope Janujaz starts.

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If Fellaini does play today in place of the injured Carrick we may see a better performance, when they both play in midfield they both end up doing the same thing and drop back too deep and it puts our defence under too much pressure. Think most of it is because carrick has been asked to do the job that fellaini has been brought in for for many years now, hoping for a better performance from fellaini if he plays and also from the team as a whole.

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MUminion is spot on really, i'm hoping Fellaini takes Carrick's place in the team if he is injured. He looked good for Everton in the holding role because at the time he was the only one playing it. Every time he's played i'm fairly sure Carrick has been on the pitch at the same time. let's hope he can put in a good performance today.

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02 Nov 2013 06:48:10
We've obviously been having a torrid time in the league so far but statistically speaking we don't seem that bad and I thought some positive stats would be welcomed.

We have the second highest average possession in the attacking third in the league with 30 % of an overall 57 % average possession, only bettered by Tottenham with a 31 % attacking third possession of an overall 60 %.

We have the lowest average percentage of possession in the defensive third in the league, with 23 %.

This clearly indicates our ability to camp in the opposing team's half and dominate the proceedings. All we lack is a bit of cutting edge ( which I'm positive our front four will be able to create once they " click " ) and defenders whose average age exceeds 33.

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Mick - Good stats, the highest average in attacking third one with Tottenham is interesting as they have been guilty of the exact same thing we have - creating minimal chances. We have the Strikers, they have the midfield and yet we both look very average so far when it comes to creating chances for our strikers.

Fingers crossed it clicks for us before it does them.

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