Manchester United Banter Archive April 11 2019

 

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11 Apr 2019 20:07:00
Pogba flashes of brilliance but doesn't do it often enough not playing with players that compliment his skills.
Fred. Done well in European games needs time to adjust to epl never going to be a great player for us.
Mctom maturing nicely has good potential.
Dalot like mctom has potential i'd like to see them play every game till seasons end
Matic on the wane 1 more session at United
Herrera finished at United
Mata lovely guy probably finished at United
Martial lazy the very odd flash. Our 3rd highest paid player. I don't think he will ever be a great player for United
Lukaku. Scores goals not sharp since injury
Rash great potential
Jessie solid enough
Sanchez been awful. In every way.

Believable5 Unbelievable3

11 Apr 2019 20:45:02
Again mostly agree. I think Fred's finding his feet, won't be great but can be good enough. I would move on Sanchez, lukaku, martial and pogba but again too much all in one go.

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11 Apr 2019 20:46:24
Lingard being considered solid while martial is a lazy Frenchman with very rare flashes of brilliance is exactly why English football is so poor. Running around like a headless chicken is not considered quality anywhere outside England.

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11 Apr 2019 21:39:22
When does he run around like a headless chicken? Even if he did at least he runs. Martial just slouches around 90% of the time and couldn't run if a tiger was chasing him.

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11 Apr 2019 21:54:44
Tbf to martial he has been injured and he's not been himself since he needs a run of games.

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11 Apr 2019 22:34:53
I'm a martial fan. Same amount of league goals as rashford in 500 less minutes but its all personal preferences at the end of the day I guess.

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11 Apr 2019 23:36:37
He frustrates me to be honest. Lots of fans really like him. He does divide opinion. I have always maintained he has really high talent levels. Particularly when running with the ball at pace
I agree he is a better natural finisher than rashford. Again lots of people want to see him play as a striker.
Id think its worth giving him a good run of games through the middle if he can play there like ole wants him to before i write him off. As a wide man in a 3 he is not good enough off the ball and makes too many bad decisions with his final ball.
If he grasps his chance through the middle and takes it and he and the team excel then i would have a change of opinion.
Im judging him on what i see not on what he might be if played elsewhere.
His sullen persona does not endear too many people either but that's a personal thing.

Shaw is a player that i would have been happy to sell. But he has had a great season and deserved and earned his place and new contract. He needs some Competition that we can rotate him with without dropping in quality. Full backs do a lot of running. He should get a spot back in the England squad if he maintains his form and improves his final ball.

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12 Apr 2019 05:44:23
Agree with you Ken. Lingard's off the ball running pulls his marker out of position creating space for others.
His link up play is good and presses tirelessly from the front.

Martial is a deadly finisher but he seriously needs to up his work rate and runs off the ball. I believe Ole will bring the best out of him.

Lukaku is a good option to keep. He is physical and can bully defenders. He too can get better when we have solid fullbacks who can cross. Shaw and Wan-Bissaka will provide pace and balance from both sides.

Dalot has huge potential. He can cross and has pace. He will make mistakes but we must have patience with him.

McTominay is a natural replacement for Herrera. Mata may not be suited to the pressing style. So instead we can promote Greenwood to replace him.

Smalling is a good third choice to have.

Fred showed his potential in the last game. Hopefully that is his turning point to kick start his United career.
I like Matic. Great attitide, powerful, with proper rotation he is a superb player to have in the squad.

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12 Apr 2019 07:40:45
I agree ken let's see what he has shown us rather than how good potentially he might be.

In his first season in PL he ended up with ll goals and 4 assists in the season, which was 175 mins per goal or assist, in comparison rooney's output was 172 mins per goal / assist, mata's 263 mins per, rashford had a terrific beginning to his career going 123 mins per goal or assist, Lingard went 327 minutes per goal/ assist.

In his second season which was martial's worst season at utd in terms of goals scored, martial's stats were 155 mins per goal/ assist in PL. In comparison Zlatan was 110 mins per g/ a, rooney's output was 154 mins per g/ a. Rashford and Lingard went 283 and 456 mins per g/ a respectively. Mata was 180 mins per.

In the 2017-18 season, martial went 113 mins per goal/ assist in PL. In comparision Lukaku's output was 124 mins per g/ a, rashford 150 mins per, lingard who had his best ever year 140 mins per g/ a. Mata went 241 mins per goal/ assist.

This season martial's nos in PL are 116 mins per goal/ assist, Lukaku's are 154 mins per g/ a, Rashford 118 mins per goal/ assist, lingard 234 mins per g/ a, mata 267 mins per g/ a and pogba 123 mins per g/ a.

Now i don't know what exactly you see but to me those are pretty solid nos, he has been one of our top 2 or nearly top 2 performers every season.

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12 Apr 2019 09:07:46
Martial will be fine, just needs to improve his play off the ball, pressing and running in behind. I am sure if ole wants to install an energetic high pressing system, martial will become suited to it.

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12 Apr 2019 11:08:08
Csm
And don't forget martial plays most of his football outwide the others mostly as a striker .
Just an other example of people drawing a line in the sand and looking for negatives . It was the same with shaw last year .

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12 Apr 2019 14:17:59
Martial is as good a finisher as I've seen amongst those currently playing in the EPL. He's a striker, not a wide man.

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12 Apr 2019 16:19:23
Wow noucamp. As good as kane aguero salah and the likes.
Why do you think jose or ole don't play him as a striker or deschamp?

He is a good finisher but he has a lot to prove to be merited as good as guys who hit 25 / 30 goals a season for 4 or 5 years in a row.

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12 Apr 2019 16:34:56
Csm nice stats
4th season with us as an attacker.
Europa league 10 games 1 goal
Champions league 21 games 4 goals
International champions cup 3 matches no goals
Community shield 1 match no goal
Epl 119 games 34 goals
League cup 9 games 4 goals
Wc qualifiers 3 games 0 goals
Euro qualifiers 2 games 0 goals
Total 168 games 43 goals.

Since ole came to united he has scored twice i think. Jose was getting more or of him.

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12 Apr 2019 16:44:05
Rash played more on the outside than up front in his appearances
Mata never played up front
Nor did jessie
Rooney played his last 2 seasons in midfield or on the bench
Not sure pogba has ever played up front
And lukaku here not even 2 seasons.

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12 Apr 2019 18:41:45
Ken, I think if he was played as a striker, he'd be hitting 20+. How many do you see him miss when he's playing centrally?

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12 Apr 2019 23:19:19
I hear ya Stevie its just none of his coaches see the same thing so far.

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11 Apr 2019 20:00:10
Squad assessment imo
Ddg. A top keeper. I think he will stay if we make top 4
Young. Has another year but imo should only play as a last resort. Like tony v finished at the top level.
Valencia. Finished
Darmian solid enough defender. Finished at United
Rojo finished at United
Shaw playing well needs competion.
Smalling solid cb but not good enough at the highest level ok 3rd choice squad player
Lindelof. Great improvement like shaw. Looks good.
Bailly finished st united
Jones. Solid pro decent 4th choice. But should only play in emergency.

Believable5 Unbelievable5

11 Apr 2019 20:43:48
Agree with all but young. He's finished as well but he'll stay on because its too much to do all at once. Centre back an full back very much needed.

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12 Apr 2019 05:47:16
Young gave the ball away "30 times" in the last game.
This is just not acceptable in this level especially against elite teams.
It puts unnecessary pressure on rest of the squad.
He offered nothing in attack as well.

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12 Apr 2019 09:29:25
Jones playing in emergency is probably about right Ken 😁.

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12 Apr 2019 11:11:11
I agree with most of this Ken but I still think there is more to come from Bailly. When he is on his game he is a beast but can be a bit rash at times. If he gets his head sorted I think his feet will follow.

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12 Apr 2019 15:28:37
Yeah, I'd be loathe to write Bailley off just yet.

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12 Apr 2019 16:59:12
I thought he was going to be very good and he did start well. But he is rarely played and has a decent resale value probably so i see an exit on the cards.
Lets be honest he has not played well for 2 years now.

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11 Apr 2019 11:51:10
Hi all,
Thanks to the Eds as always.
The speculation surrounding major ins and outs for the Summer are beginning to grow. Could the Eds please give their view on the following:
OUTS: Pogba, De Gea, Herrera, Valencia
INS: Sancho, Callum HO, Rice.

Believable1 Unbelievable1

{Ed002's Note - Or you could try searching.}

11 Apr 2019 12:53:08
KG there's plenty to look at if you search, try typing in an Ed's name into the search bar.
Also a Sharkopod could be a couple of weeks away so a little patience and we could get come answers.

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11 Apr 2019 11:35:32
Pique didn't look slow tonight in his 2 races with rashford which surprised me a bit to be honest. He still has a few years left in him Super player still.
Its weird to watch them they look vulnerable but don't give up many chances.
Our set pieces both corners and free kicks were poor again. Its frustrating that we don't have any even semi consistent taker of free kicks and corners. Its another thing to add to a very long list of things ole has to work on.
Ole needs time to get his squad together i only hope he follows his instincts and that the club back those instincts.

We have seen what happens if players and coaches are at odds.
If a coach has a preferred style of play and the players at his disposal either can't or won't adapt to that style it all ends up going terribly wrong.
Jose wanted rid of some players who wouldn't or couldn't play the way he wanted and the club backed the players the same with lvg.
If ole says he wants players x y or z out and he wants x y or z player in then it has to happen if at all possible. No matter the short term cost because the longer term cost is not less.

If we finish outside of top 4 its my guess that pogba and ddg will try to force through a move away and that's a scenario that could well happen.
We have had a serious slump in results despite the obvious effort and desire to win. We do need our game changers to start turning it on again.

Martial rashford lukaku pogba and sanchez have all dropped off really through injury loss of form. Most of the rest are playing pretty solid without much inspiration but solid. So two or three from martial rash lukaku pogba or sanchez need to hit a rich vein of form in the last half dozen games. We know they can all go on a hot streak. Maybe a brooding martial will get his chance up front rash is not 100% he will be busting a gut you would hope if he plays on sat to show ole he should have started tonight.

This run in is going to be tight. We have the toughest fixture list so our game changers need to step up. Could sanchez make himself a hero what a story that would be.
Can lukaku go on a run or pogba carry his team over the line. There is talent there. So let.

Believable8 Unbelievable5

11 Apr 2019 11:51:54
Ken i think we will struggle to make top 4. Arsenal and tottenhan have more of a chance then us.

Rashford looks tired and don't know what type of martial and Lukaku we will get in the last few games and we can't simply rely and Sanchez as he has been poor fora a very long time.

I just don't know where the goals going to come from and that has been our problem for a a number of years.

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11 Apr 2019 12:55:56
Ken, I don't think Martial has ever bust a gut to do anything. He's so stereotypically French in his attitude towards work.

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11 Apr 2019 13:28:23
Careful wazza if he reads this him an pogba will have the hay bales out at Carrington.

Ken I wouldn't expect anything out of Sanchez, maybe he can do a nice end of season concert for the squad before they hit the beaches.

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11 Apr 2019 16:08:55
Why does pogba have to carry the team over the line? We have spent over 600m pounds.

Surely that could have afforded a competent teammate to play alongside him? Maybe he could have 10 teammates and they could carry us over the line as a team. That would be a novel idea.

Sanchez becoming a hero would involve him producing some actual quality on the pitch instead of running around like a headless chicken getting himself injured every 5 minutes.

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11 Apr 2019 19:37:38
Dsg. Messi carries his team Ronaldo his robson keane zidane gerard etcetc 1 man wrecking balls. Capable of lifting their team. team mates etc. Showing up 9 weeks out of 10 being the best player scoring assisting or defending better or more than anyone else. Its what the best world class players do 9 weeks out of 10. When the going gets tough they carry their teams they were go to men that delivered weekly to a very high level CONSISTENTLY.

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11 Apr 2019 20:21:34
Messi doesn't carry his team, he has one of the best holding midfielders to have ever do it in busquets. Suarez was the best player in the premier league when he left liverpool. Rakitic and arthur are technically superb and provide him with very good service. Alba and semedo are top quality full backs.

Thats not to mention the star studded cast he used to play with in puyol, xavi, iniesta, david villa etc.

Zidane played with raul, original ronaldo, beckham, figo etc.

For goodness sake cristiano ronaldo just played his last season at madrid with the winner of the ballon dor in luka modric.

The idea that these players single handedly carry their teams is laughable.

Football has always been a team game.

Gerrard is the perfect example, when he was expected to carry liverpool on his own and do one man army band roy of the rovers heroics they were an awful team. But pair him with quality such as xabi alonso, mascherano, torres or suarez and sturridge and liverpool were a very good team capable of winning the league.

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11 Apr 2019 20:40:41
Messi and Ronaldo carry their team pretty much most games DSG, Madrid without Ronaldo are awful and same goes for Barcelona when Messi doesn't play.

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11 Apr 2019 20:50:08
Think Ed1 would disagree with your assessment of Busquets.

Thing is your both right. Pogba can't do it all on his own. But Pogba needs to do more. He's looking like a flat track bully. Great against Cardiff and Huddersfield but anonymous against the big teams.

Personally I would sell because all we're going to get for 75-90% of the season is the constant media circus of him and Madrid. Selling him could fund the overhaul.

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11 Apr 2019 23:54:34
Dsg. Of course football is a team game. Nobody suggested these players i mentions do anything single handily. But 90% of the time they deliver. They either assist or score or drove their team to victory. They did it or still do it just about every week. They are the go to men who change games. I've seen pogba do that in the big games for United maybe twice in 3 seasons. i'm talking the big games where he has been the major factor we won.
Talismen that delivery consistently.
Pogba you could argue did that to a degree for France in the world cup. In the 6 games he really shone in 3 but impacted all 6 .
I argue its the the quality he is playing with is the problem on the pitch. He shone at juve and has done for france but he plays with better players there alongside him behind him and ahead of him than he does with united. That's the reality of the situation. Players who compliment him. Make intelligent runs that are prepared to work to cover his indulgent style.
No kante here no mbappe or greizman no pirlo no varane or chillini.
No experienced leader to bollock him when he needs it.

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12 Apr 2019 02:03:14
Arsenal are terrible away from home and play Watford, wolves and Leicester away in 3 of their next 4 games, if we finish below them I’ll be very surprised.

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11 Apr 2019 11:34:38
I think we can hold our heads high after that second half performance. I thought young was horrific today. How can someone be so terrible at crossing? I am convinced if Dalot was playing there at least one or two would have found a man. Mctominay and Fred were brilliant today. Fred ran the game. From where I was sitting he was spraying balls left right and centre. I believe he can replace Herrera. I really was not impressed with barca. Think if city or Liverpool come up against them then they will dispatch them.

Just wanted to mention something I saw tonight in the stretford end. A fella sitting 3 rows in front of me called Lukaku a ‘lazy black c***’ today’. I was absolutely appalled and actually shocked that one of our own fans would abuse our own player like that. The guy next to him to his credit turned round and pulled him up on it. Then they started pushing each other until eventually the perpetrator was dragged away by friends to calm down. The guy returned for the second half and all game these two were at eachother’s Throats. It was terrible to so and so embarrassing. I really do think racism has increased hugely. Although British born, I am of Iranian and Indian decent. At times I did feel a tad uncomfortable at hearing some of these comments. I know it’s the minority that ruin it but racism is very real in our game at the moment. Kudos to the fella who pulled up that dickhead.

Anyway, I think we made a good showing of ourselves. Final ball lacking again. It’s clear we need to invest but I thought we showed good fight and spirit. Barcelona ain’t all that. Let’s do em at the nou camp.

Believable14 Unbelievable0

11 Apr 2019 12:59:54
Well played to the man who stood up and said something. I'd like to think I would do the same in that situation but you never really know which way it will go, you might end up in a lot of bother so I commend his bravery. There really is no room for it, it's disgusting and I wish to see the back of it as soon as possible. We need stricter punishments.

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11 Apr 2019 13:30:14
Shocking. Lukaku can be lazy but no need to bring that into. Credit to the other fella.

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11 Apr 2019 14:06:32
Unfortunately Park3lung, football stadia are splattered with some of the worst of society, the hatred and vitriol seen and heard from the stands is what stopped me taking my boys. Wider society has all the same problems but football can bring out the worst. No player should have to put up with abuse of any sort.

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11 Apr 2019 10:46:20
Banter please Ed.

So our darling pogba today is reported to be slowly falling out with ole now he wants to move. True or false?

Whatever happens he needs to be sold try get a profit on him and let him dance his way to the white handkerchiefs.

Believable4 Unbelievable3

11 Apr 2019 10:57:45
Yes sell our best player and the only outfield player last night who looked to have the quality befitting such an occasion last night.

Great strategy. I am sure he will be replaced by someone who runs around a lot and barges people and screams at his teammates as that is the type of player that people seem to be fond of.

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11 Apr 2019 11:09:06
if pogba wants to leave then sell him.

no time for whiny pretenders who turn up for a hand full of games.

there are plenty of players out there who we can replace pogba with.

although on his day he is fantastic and we are a different team when he is playing well he doesn't do that enough

he is not world class.

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11 Apr 2019 11:45:00
Funny you say that DSG because everyone else i have spoken to or seen has said the complete opposite. When you look at good players on the night look at Scott MaccyT and Fred was half decent.

Pogba was anonymous. But that's not his fault right its the setup its the manager, its the other players. He isn't a world class player, world class players are the likes of Ronaldo, Messi, Suarez. Guys that play for the badge of the club not the money.

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11 Apr 2019 11:48:41
Not the end of the world get rid of him and he isn't our best player.

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11 Apr 2019 12:26:00
In Pogba's defence, he mostly has the lazy Lukaku and Martial upfront who rarely make runs behind the defence.
The other midfielders do not pass early to him or are not capable of producing those forward passes.
At the end of the day, goals win games.
Pogba has 11 league goals and plenty of assists from midfield this season.
Very few in the world can match that tally considering the serious lack of quality in our squad.

If Pogba wants to leave, there is no point keeping him. But, if he is happy to stay with the change in management, I would be happy to see a team built around him and Rashford.
Every player in the squad has deficiencies, but it's Pogba who gets slated everytime.

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11 Apr 2019 13:00:34
DSG we must have watched different games last night. Pogba was our 3rd best central midfielder.

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11 Apr 2019 13:21:10
Too many excuses for Pogba.

He didn’t have a bad game last night but he also wasn’t Utd best player. McTominay and Fred were better in midfield than Pogba.

Why does he try to go between 3 Barcelona players on the edge of their box when the better option is to put the ball out wide and then get into the box. He has everything but apart from a football brain and a slight lack of desire. If he is the best CM in the world then why didn’t he run the midfield yesterday.

If he wants out then get rid as I am sick of the circus that surrounds him. Ronaldo and Messi don’t have all the circus they just deliver time after time.

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11 Apr 2019 13:37:20
I see so real madrid are going to be putting in bids for fred and mctominay lol.

There may be a reason some of the top clubs in europe want to sign pogba because he's pretty good at this football lark.

Ronaldo messi neymar mbappe are not expected to do one man army band roy of the rovers heroics every week. They have quality team mates who facilitate and enbale them to be the best version of themselves.

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11 Apr 2019 14:25:11
Nobody said that, DSG, but they did perform better than Pogba last night. I'd rather have those players doing their thing to the very best of their ability, even if they're not considered top class, than a supposed world class player, not playing anywhere near to the best of his. That's criminal. But then again, maybe he is more hype than substance.

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11 Apr 2019 15:16:38
DSG, last i heard we were looking to offload Pogba and no club wanted him at the price. So which are these big clubs wanting Pogba.

TrueRed, out of those 11, how many are penalties, 7? Take those out and resulting number is the actual Pogba we have seen.

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11 Apr 2019 17:14:29
Dsg you are obviously a big pogna fan this blinds you to his short comings there were a couple of rooney supporters like that even at the end when he was useless for the club.
Pogba is a good in fact a very good player when he is surrounded by the right players which he is not at United. So in mite than 50% of games he is not showing his best.

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11 Apr 2019 17:28:04
Beat me to it ken.

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11 Apr 2019 19:06:08
U addict. Good post. let's see who offers the big money.
If its the right deal for all concerned then it will happen. If not then it wont.

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11 Apr 2019 22:58:49
was pogba playing i did not notice him.

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11 Apr 2019 10:08:50
I'm astounded by the negativity on here.
Not many teams can pin Barcelona back like we did.
The first 15 minutes is so they were by far the better team.
Our heads didn't drop when they scored.

Fred and Mctominay put in their best performances for Utd.
If Smalling had been switched in at the end, he would have gone down from Vidals high flying tackle.
When the final whistle blew, the look on the Barcelonas players faces said it all. They knew they had been in a game if football.


We stopped Barcelona from dictating the tempo and their tikka taka football.

We didn't register a shot on target.
Dalot should have scored from his chance, at least got in in target.

Rashford, lingard Martial have all been out injured. Herrera was out injured as well.

We know how OGS wants us to play.

Roll on next Tuesday.

Believable8 Unbelievable4

11 Apr 2019 10:26:55
mad hatter are you crazy.

how dare you talk sense.

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11 Apr 2019 19:50:42
Mad hater agree on mctom and fred both were well a move average.
Was rasford above average last night? Lukaku? Martial? Pogba? Young? Jessie? None were above average for me
Shaw had a good solid game for the most part
Lindelof smalling dalot likewise probably above average
Not 1 shot on target. Rash should have dalot should have but they didn't.
I am not being negative about the effort the manager or the endeavour that was there in abundance.
But quality was not evident in 90% of our play.
Trying hard is a prerequisite but at that level its not always enough quality combined with effort will win out. We just don't have the quality in our team on a consistent basis. When was the last time we challenged for the top 2 trophies?
Average players produce average results and we have an abundance of average players that is the reality of the situation.

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Top 10 Overrated Players

11 Apr 2019 10:06:12
{Ed's Note - Ed001 has posted a new article entitled, Top 10 Overrated Players

Believable1 Unbelievable0

11 Apr 2019 10:46:49
Next a top 10 underrated players list, that’s just John O’Shea playing in different positions.

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{Ed001's Note - now even I can tell that is a joke! Though you are actually spot on that the next top 10 is underrated players.}

11 Apr 2019 10:58:13
Not a joke,

We all dream of a team of John O’Sheas, a team of John O’Sheas, a team of John O’Sheas.

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11 Apr 2019 12:55:28
The handful of times I've seen Casemiro play he has not looked anything special. Not sure why people have called for him as a Matic replacement.

After last night's performance, I hope we see more of McTominay potentially in that holding role.

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11 Apr 2019 18:04:02
To be honest ed1 players tend to get a bit overrated when they play for Barcelona and Real Madrid. I think people assume all of them are to quality players which isn't always the case. Two names I thought who might be in with a shout were Pique and more so Marcelo. Marcelo is widely regarded as the best lb by the media which I personally don't agree with.
On a side note who do you think is the best lb in the world ed1?

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{Ed001's Note - Pique is no longer rated in Spain, most Spanish think he is crap judging by the ones I spoke to while out there and the coverage I have read in recent months while putting together articles.

As for Marcelo, I completely forgot about him, he is monstrously overrated I agree. The best I think would be Gaya, Alaba was but he has not performed that well this season when I saw him.}

Liverpool v Porto - A Liverpool Perspective

11 Apr 2019 10:05:25
{Ed's Note - Ed001 has posted a new article entitled, Liverpool v Porto - A Liverpool Perspective

Believable0 Unbelievable1

11 Apr 2019 08:35:49
Great to see fred and Scott playing so well, anyone else think they should be kept in the starting 11 they have bags of energy.

Believable9 Unbelievable0

11 Apr 2019 09:22:47
I agree, they did well in Paris and were dropped, right now they bring energy and as you say, they both played well. Let’s give Matic such well earned rest.

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11 Apr 2019 10:47:29
Even I’ll admit that that was Fred’s best game for us.

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Review Of The Day 11th April 2019

11 Apr 2019 07:29:01
{Ed's Note - Ed001 has posted a new article entitled, Review Of The Day 11th April 2019

Believable2 Unbelievable0

11 Apr 2019 09:48:18
If only what is being done with Milan can be done to some other high spending clubs in Europe.

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{Ed002's Note - It is.}

mbd              

11 Apr 2019 10:50:07
Thanks Ed 02 for the info.
Surely then that means some smart people are exploiting some loopholes.? .

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{Ed002's Note - No. I have no idea what you are referring to.}

mbd              

11 Apr 2019 11:31:14
Referring to the likes of PSG and City maybe even utd avoiding sanctions from the FFP regulations.

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{Ed002's Note - No they haven't.}

mbd              

11 Apr 2019 12:40:30
Thank you Ed002.

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mbd              

12 Apr 2019 15:07:29
Milan appealed and got off their firs. t ban, chances are they will do the same this time around too. Toothless tigers.

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11 Apr 2019 06:39:20
We had 10 shots without getting 1 on target which is poor but the negativity on here is staggering. Apart from the first 15 minutes we were on top in that game, there were some great performances but the finishing was dire. Rashford may have been passed fit but he was poor last night and Dalot had the best chance with a relatively straight forward header.

The midfield was excellent. Pogba turned up, Fred impressed again and McTominay was MOTM, he needs to given a run. So many have been dismissive of him saying he’s a squad player at best but his development recently is very promising.

Our home form hasn’t been great, we are playing better and getting more points away from home so I’m looking forward to next week.

I popped into the live chat and quickly realised why I stopped gong on there, how anyone can enjoy the game whilst slagging off the players is beyond me. Each to their own I guess.

Believable14 Unbelievable0

11 Apr 2019 07:15:40
Spot on Tony. We also need to appreciate that although this isn't a vintage Barcelona side such as Xavi side of a few years ago, this is still a Barcelona side that contains Messi, plus other top quality players. A side that are top of their league to such an extent they can afford to focus far more on the UCL. Whereas, this is a million miles away from a vintage United side, a side which many people will say only has one maybe two world class stars with a rather poor supporting cast of players who most wouldn't be too worried if any one of them left. So for where these two teams are currently to still be in the tie going into the next leg is a great achievement. Fred and McTominay seem to be keeping their best form for the UCL. In fact based on McTominay's last two UCL performances it is baffling why Matic would start ahead of him for any reason other than McTominay being injured or suspended.

Several players were also coming back from injury. Which is a problem that seems to have plagued Ole over the last 6 weeks. I'm fairly sure this has happened due to the higher intensity Ole wants the team playing at. I think after a proper summer off and a well planned and structured pre-season which will allow Ole to condition the players and focus on the way he wants them to play the team will perform much better next season then they have over the whole of this season and that is before you consider potential sales and purchases hopefully improving the overall quality of the squad.

I'm looking forward to the next leg. We are still well in this tie, and ultimately if we are to go out of the UCL at this stage I would rather do it fighting against a top team than with a whimper against a mediocre team.

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11 Apr 2019 07:18:19
Agree with everything there AJH. I actually enjoyed it for the most part and was impressed with how well we pressed from minutes 10-70 and we won the ball back constantly. We were the better team for the majority of the game, but that highlights the quality we lack in the final third.

I love Rashford but we rely too heavily on him. Sanchez and Lukaku have come in for mega money and need to take a look at themselves in the mirror. I hope we strengthen up top or Martial pulls his pants up and starts to get on board.

McTominay what can I say he was fantastic. So composed. Best player on the pitch.

Also Mike Smalling left his mark on Messi and he wasn’t interested after that.

Lots to take from it despite the defeat.

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11 Apr 2019 07:38:08
I thought we did really well and have a good chance of going through still. PSG looked a better more dynamic side than Barcelona and look how that ended.

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11 Apr 2019 07:45:49
Played well last night, got stuck in to Barcelona. Finishing was poor that's what let us down apart from that a good performance .
I think a few have drawn a line in the sand and would of liked to seen us get stuffed . Then they can say all the players are crap and I'm justified with all the abuse .
But we pressed well last night closed them down and rattled them .
Smalling in particular got in amongst them, mctom was excellent and fred done well . tight game really with the difference being a bit of magic from messi and bit of luck from Suarez. Shame dalot couldn't do the same.

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11 Apr 2019 07:54:07
Sorry couldn’t disagree more. Thought we were poor bar Mctominay and Dalot and Fred. Barca were there for the taking. Barring Messi they are average. To be honest I was bored. can't blame the manager as there the same shower that Mourinho had. Can only be judged once he has bought in the transfer window. Young and Rashford were shocking.

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11 Apr 2019 08:07:08
So Barcelona are average now? Seemed to be a good team yesterday, 11 points clear in la liga .

On a different note, for a team that supposedly can't press, we didn't half press well last night .

Agree6 Disagree1

11 Apr 2019 08:10:36
Agree with Shappy.
Physical endurance cannot be built all of a sudden. I believe we will improve our style during next season when players adapt to high intensity play.
Moreover, we need to get the recruitment done early so that players can develop cohesion and understanding quickly.

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11 Apr 2019 08:26:01
“Barcelona were there for the taking, barring Messi they are average, ”. I accept they are not the team they were but that doesn’t make them average. Ole got it right last night, solid midfield with a high press and 2 up top. Sadly, finishing was dreadful which is which is why we are where we are.

If that is how he wants to play, we get our players fitter and strengthen, then I am confident we are in an upward trajectory.

Agree7 Disagree1

11 Apr 2019 09:13:21
It was interesting to see how the management team want us to play going forwards. I liked having a player in front of the defenders whose main instinct was to play forwards and play it quickly.

I thought the level headedness of McTominay was impressive as it was reassuring - given the lack of agreement with Herrera.

I though we lacked a bit of guile at times but I honestly thought we may never see the ball and lose by 3 and yet we sought to put our imprint on the game. So yeah, good performance.

Interesting to see that Rojo is now selected ahead of Bailly to make the squad too.

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11 Apr 2019 09:27:44
a hard working decent performance last nite, I agree. Good to see fred, mctominay have a good game but thought pogba went missing a bit. lindlhof looked a bit nervy but settled but the standout performance was Mike- attacked the ball and let messi know who he was up against. Finishing and forward play weren't that great and when rashford went off we lost a goal threat tbh. don't think he is 100% but he chases down and puts players on the back foot with potential for playing loose/ hurried football.
Not based on last nites game alone, and excuse that he's coming back from a layoff, but Martial is the most frustrating, whether its on the left, the right. through the middle or the chip van he just doesn't deliver 40% of his potential and his seemingly lacklustre attitude/ personna does nothing to breed confidence. People blast pogba, myself included for 1 in 5 performances or whatever but got to say martial delivers equally as little.
Back to a more positive not, I really think we can get a result over their place as we did control vast parts of the game.

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11 Apr 2019 09:58:47
Suarez is average now, this site never fails to shock / amuse me! This Barcelona team are walking La Liga and we were better than them for large parts of the game, glad we are still in it and the players will feel confident we can get something next week now.

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11 Apr 2019 11:35:37
It was really a good game to watch. After first goal, we lifted tempo, showed a little courage and willingness to drive forward, with only lacking was proper last delivery and desire of attackers to give that little extra. Rashford was wasteful, I always have a question on his natural ability as a out and out striker. He should have been subbed of first instead of Lukaku, who was giving little difficult time to langlett. Young also gave away ball many times and his aweful crossing didn't do any good.
Overall tectics were spot on. so it's very positive to see what OGS would do after full transfer window. Once he gets his players, than we can sit on a sofa and speak (easiest thing to do) .

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12 Apr 2019 15:17:05
But wait. Ole doesn’t do tactics?

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11 Apr 2019 05:27:03
I think yesterday we saw a glimpse of the football Ole wants to implement going forward. At times, the pressing was immense and we forced Barcelona into making mistakes. Not many teams in the world can do this to them. Fred sloppy at times, but he recovered a lot of balls and always passed forward.
He does suit our system. Maybe he is taking time to settle down similar to Lindelof.
Mctominay, the local boy playing between the 90 milion and 50 million man was full of energy.

The main difference between the 2 teams obviously was the quality. We don't have a genuine world class forward who can produce something out of nothing.
We defended as a team and I was really surprised that Barcelona did not have many genuine chances.

If we strenghten the squad wisely and implement the high energy football, we will definitely be a dangerous team.

Believable8 Unbelievable2

11 Apr 2019 09:51:07
Agree with everything in this post!

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11 Apr 2019 09:59:30
I suppose Scotland isn't that far away from Manchester!

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11 Apr 2019 10:50:46
Great post mate.

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11 Apr 2019 11:36:04
Surely, Once OGS gets his players rather makeshift players, our performance will be batter. I still have questions over his substitutions and favourism towards Rashford and Lingaard. Need to see after 1 window.

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