Manchester United Banter Archive February 17 2020
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17 Feb 2020 23:27:52
Bailly instead of lindelof what do we think?
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18 Feb 2020 00:44:24
Bailly is the best defender at the club if he can stay fit and concentrate.
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18 Feb 2020 00:45:36
Excellent game probably a shout for m. o. t. m to me. Hope he can keep it up as his first season he was quality.
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18 Feb 2020 04:11:33
His positioning is questionable, like many CBs these days. But he has good recovery pace and strength to recover most of the time.
His Achilles heal is his injury record and being rash in tackles: Stepping out poorly and causing chaos. But, if he can stay concentrated and disciplined he is potentially first choice at right CB. I also like Axel for that position. Not sure Lindelof has that locked down.
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18 Feb 2020 06:15:09
Given he's back after a long term injury
I want ole and the management to be smart and not play him twice a week for sometime.
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18 Feb 2020 08:39:18
He’s ideal in a back 3 IMO.
Just like Maguire is.
Imagine Koulibaly playing in the middle of those two next season with Axel and Lindelof deputising.
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18 Feb 2020 09:47:00
agree with all those points, IF bailly can stay fit he's a better option curently than lindelof. hopefully we see more of him between now and the end of the season.
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18 Feb 2020 12:31:07
I really want to see Axel get a run, i think that lad could be really special if he stays fit and gets a proper run in the side.
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18 Feb 2020 14:28:07
Shame he got injured this season Simmo. He would have had his chance already if not I feel.
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17 Feb 2020 19:14:27
Tonight provides us with a good opportunity to move up to 7th in the table.
With 5th place possibly getting cl football its a big game.
I have to say i'm shocked at the selection but let's hope ole had it right.
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17 Feb 2020 20:07:35
It's an interesting selection. I can see why a back three might be useful, generally we have picked up good results with it. I'd imagine the midfield shape will have Fernandes playing ahead of Matic and Fred. With Hopefully James and Martial running through the inside channels.
Hopefully it works.
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17 Feb 2020 21:56:11
Well it did work. Great result. At last we got a few good bounces of the ball.
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17 Feb 2020 22:09:39
Ken
Yes, VAR in our favour, but the Maguire decision was very fortunate.
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17 Feb 2020 22:19:47
I agree but we were due a little bit of luck.
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17 Feb 2020 22:27:30
Lampard got a hattrick. Well, sort of. Three times VAR kicked him in the knackers.
Maguire should have been sent off, not quite sure how he wasn't.
Personally I don't think there was quite enough in it to rule out Chelsea's first "goal". I certainly would have kicked off had we had a goal ruled out in similar circumstances.
Chelsea's second "goal" while technically offside I disagree with the current interpretation of the law. And certainly the use of VAR in such marginal offside.
We were lucky, but luck evens itself out over a season.
Now let's hope we can kick on.
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17 Feb 2020 22:39:47
I think momentum and not wanting Batsuayi to fall on him was the case in Maguire.
It was different to son who's was a clear kick out.
The slow Mo made Maguire's look far worse. I think it was 50/ 50 couldve gone either way.
He even explained it himself he was protecting himself.
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17 Feb 2020 22:44:40
Shappy I'm with you on the offside rule.
I think that if a player scores with a body part not offside the goal should count. So Girouds for me in future should count.
He doesn't have advantage by his big toe being offside and his head of which he scored with being onside.
I also think it was poor between Bailly and Maguire organisation and communication wise TBF but we deserve some luck.
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17 Feb 2020 23:14:40
Great win, not a fan of back 3 but worked out for us today. Wilbur seriously? He was protecting himself by kicking another player in the nuts?
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17 Feb 2020 23:40:35
It doesn’t matter what the offside rule is, surely it’s only whether it is offside or not? The call was bang right for me.
As for the push, it’s one of those where it would be a foul in the middle of the pitch but not one we want to see being given as a penalty to avoid the infamously inevitable ‘non-contact sport’ scenario. Happy for the decision to go our way but a soft one.
And if you think Maguire’s was anything short of a red card, you are either blinded by faith or have never fallen on your arse before.
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18 Feb 2020 00:42:22
CMS think slow motion makes it look worse. I don't think he intentionally meant to hit him in the nuts I think he thought he was going to fall or tread on him so he stuck his leg up to protect himself.
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18 Feb 2020 00:44:29
Alty jim. I've played football and been in a quite similar situation to maguire.
Depends on what angle you look at it or which side.
Completely different scenario to Son for me.
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18 Feb 2020 00:45:29
Whatever happens, winning 2-0 at Chelsea makes me feel good. Was a great match to be at tonight. Enjoyed it massively.
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18 Feb 2020 04:25:22
Yeah Eric.
Can we play Chelsea every week :)
Ighalo almost scored from his first involvement. Would have been the icing on the cake.
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18 Feb 2020 05:25:07
A back 3 looks good if the outside fullbacks spend most of the game pushing up high to make it a 3412. If they are pushed back into a 5212 it starts to look quite defensive. Especially if your two strikers can't hold the ball up.
Much of the first half AM and James were bullied off the ball and could not retain posession.
These big games are decided with big moments. The cross, movement and header for the first goal were excellent. As ever, a striker can be awful 9 times out of 10, but get it right once and the game is changed. This is how AM works. He frustrates out of me, but if he keeps scoring important goals then that is his main role.
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17 Feb 2020 14:40:32
Out of all the rumours who would you love to sign? If I had to pick three I would go for, Grealish, Edouard and Koulibaly. They would transform our team and would be a massive statement of intent. Just interested to see what the general thought was for what type of players and what areas people would strengthen if they could pick.
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17 Feb 2020 15:02:20
Maddison, Raul Jimenez and Zakaria.
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17 Feb 2020 15:13:24
Saul, Lewandowski (dont know if we were linked) or Cavani and Sancho.
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17 Feb 2020 15:16:32
Saul, Maddison and either Ruben Dias or Sancho.
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17 Feb 2020 15:21:36
Jimenez is a great shout, has proved he can play At this level. I’ve not seen Zakaria play yet. I would like another CB tho.
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17 Feb 2020 15:25:05
Koulibaly, Milinkovic-Savic and Sancho.
Reality, Ighalo will sign on a permanent, Smalling back from loan and Longstaff.
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17 Feb 2020 15:48:20
I hope that’s not the reality! It’s time for Ed to stand up and be counted.
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17 Feb 2020 17:08:43
Timo Werner, Saul Niguez, Sancho.
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17 Feb 2020 17:58:35
Koulibaly, Fabian Ruiz and Raul Jiminez
Or
Reuben Dias, SMS and Jovic.
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17 Feb 2020 18:04:08
I think we need minimum 5 players in the summer tbh.
But if Solskjaer stays on.
I honestly think Smalling will come back and start with Maguire.
We will give Lingard a 4 year deal.
Pogba Will leave sign Grealish and possible bid for Rice if they go down.
And probably give Ighalo a one year extension with option of another.
I think our biggest 3 signings should be.
New Owners
New manager
DoF.
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17 Feb 2020 21:07:52
Koulibaly
Saul
Sancho
Dembele
Bye to Pogba.
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17 Feb 2020 23:51:25
Have to say for me it would be Grealish, Sancho and Jimenez
More creativity added to Fernandes and a bit of a presence up front
That said if Sancho or Grealish don’t want to come I’d love a player like ndidi or maybe someone young enough maybe Camavinga, Soumare or Tonali they all look like great players that will develop.
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17 Feb 2020 13:41:16
Would just like to say rest in peace Harry Gregg, a legend, a hero and a true gentleman.
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17 Feb 2020 22:48:03
Sad to hear about the passing of Harry Greg a true hero a genthem an and an old Trafford legend. I think George best said that what Harry did at Munich wasn't just about bra very it was about goodness. I think that describes Harry Greg perfectly.
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17 Feb 2020 12:27:31
RIP Harry Gregg.
A truly amazing man. Without Harry Gregg, this club is not the same. What he did was heroic, the turmoil he suffered in his life and to carry on, he is an inspiration.
He will be sorely missed.
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17 Feb 2020 13:21:20
Well said Angel.
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17 Feb 2020 09:21:55
Signing Pogba hasn't really worked out as many people expected it to. He was not the type of signing we needed at that moment but was probably done by the club to appease the fans as he was considered "one of our own" and also the commercial rewards the club could gain in return.
With the fee that we paid for him, we could have probably got 2 quality players to resolve our midfield issues. Who would you probably have liked the club to sign during that time instead of Pogba?
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17 Feb 2020 09:58:58
We will see soon enough in the summer when he leaves and we bumble around trying to replace him.
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17 Feb 2020 10:18:45
Eric79, that's the real worry. We should have done away with Pogba a long time ago and brought in replacements by last summer atleast. Hope we have a plan in place for the summer.
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17 Feb 2020 10:29:49
As Ed said, Jack Grealish is a clear midfield target for us.
We can probably expect a midfield 3 of Grealish, Bruno and McT.
However my personal favourites would be Maddison and Saul Niguez.
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17 Feb 2020 18:23:55
I think If we sell Pogba, a player like Saul would be spot on.
I personally like Fabian Ruiz from Napoli and could slot alongside Mctominay or Fred with Fernandez more advanced.
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17 Feb 2020 09:09:37
"Chris Smalling Has Become a MONSTER! " - that's the title of a Youtube video I got across today. If the title was not outrageous then the comment section was something else - some even calling him 'World Class'.
I understand that Smalling had been our most reliable and best defender in the past few seasons, but 'World Class' he never was. If anything he looks good in a lesser league.
I would have kept him at the club ahead of Jones/ Rojo, especially with how Lindelof has struggled this season. Could have worked out with pairing him with Maguire, but everyone was expecting Lindelof to grow even more this season and probably Smalling wanted to be first-choice and the decision was made to loan him out.
I wouldn't mind Smalling coming back, but only as backup along with Tuanzebe. We need to strengthen the CB position in the summer irrespective.
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{Ed047's Note - I think you’ve topped all those initial comments by ending with a beauty yourself, “I wouldn’t mind Smalling coming back”
Nice one LPU 😉
17 Feb 2020 09:24:54
Well Ed047, as a backup option I don't mind. He's better backup option than both Jones/ Bailly who spent most of the time on the treatment table.
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{Ed047's Note - which doesn’t say a lot fella
17 Feb 2020 11:43:36
LPU
Snalling has some talot of the time on the inquest table aswell.
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17 Feb 2020 12:32:58
Ahh ok, so the Serie A is a lesser league (speaking of a defender) . The league that has had some of the best of all time like Maldini, Nesta, Chiellini, Bonucci, Canavaro, Cafu, etc. OK. wouldn't it be better to call it a more technical league if you want to say that its a slower league.
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17 Feb 2020 13:54:06
Smalling shouldn't even be compared in the same bracket as Tuanzebe. Tuanzebe has done nothing of note in his career as of yet aswell as being injured pretty much all season. A lesser league? there's only been one stand out team in the premier league this year and the rest of the so called top sides have massively under achieved. Don't think we can go calling Serie A a lesser league. Very disrespectful to say the least.
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17 Feb 2020 13:56:06
It's an interesting point. Serie A is considered a slower paced league, a league based more around technical quality rather than physical ability.
What makes this interesting is Smalling has always done well from a physical point of view, he is strong, quick and has a good leap making him good in the air. Yet, the weaknesses in his game that have often been flagged up come from a technical view point. He positions himself badly often leading to him pulling players back, his passing isn't expansive enough. His touch can be heavy at times. Most of these weaknesses are supposed to stem from his non-league background rather than coming up through an academy.
So it's odd that a defender who has always been good physically, but lacking technically should go to a much less physical while more technical league and thrive.
When looking around at the players available at CB this coming summer and who we might be able to get I do wonder the previously unthinkable that maybe we would be better off with Smalling back in the side.
With a better full back in AWB alongside him he would be less exposed than before. While his pace could cover for Maguire. His limited passing would be less of an issue with Harry along side him. While the issue of Lindelof being targeted aerially when along side Maguire would be lessened if Smalling was there instead. Plus he is one of our most experienced players, at his peak and someone who remembers what it is like to be part of a winning Manchester United squad.
Most people agree that despite his flaws he was our best CB before Maguire was signed. So would it make sense to sell him when we have other less able players on the books. Plus there is a good chance that his season in Italy might have taught him a few things about defending.
I would strongly consider bringing him back to compete with Maguire, Lindelof and Tuanzebe for next season.
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17 Feb 2020 09:05:38
Rest in Peace Harry Gregg, legend for Club and Country. Manchester United and Northern Ireland has lost a true great. GAWA GGMU ❤️❤️.
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16 Feb 2020 21:27:30
Ed 02. You seem more well informed than most of us about football in general. Do you believe City's ban will be upheld by the CAS?
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{Ed002's Note - I really have no idea.}
17 Feb 2020 07:39:01
{Ed's Note - Ed001 has posted a new article entitled, Review Of The Day 17th February 2020
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17 Feb 2020 06:43:01
RIP Harry Gregg.
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17 Feb 2020 06:19:24
Why is Solskjaer going on about missing cl qualification will not impact on transfers, it's such a negative statement. He should be geeing up the players, not giving them an excuse to fail. Its pathetic. If that's the standard we're trying to achieve, then we're screwed.
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17 Feb 2020 07:00:45
AAA
This is a good season for Solskjaer, looks like he has managed to avoid relegation.
It shows a negative mindset, already thinking we won’t qualify.
The longer he stays the worse our position will be.
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17 Feb 2020 15:41:46
It's so pathetic. And now, we have Shaw telling us that the press are harsh and comparing us to Arsenal.
Fred came out recently and said there's an ego problem, and Solskjaer shot him down in flames.
I think all the above show exactly why Solskjaer is so out of his depth. For gods sake, relieve him of his post before avoiding relegation becomes the new standard we aspire to.
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16 Feb 2020 22:36:20
So lads, would ye still take Saudi owners? 🤔.
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17 Feb 2020 06:22:49
Yes, why not? I said ages ago that City owners weren't the squeaky clean people were claiming, and I got laughed off. Truth is PSG, Real, Barca, Chelsea and some others flaunt the rules.
Saudis will invest in the club, players and structure, while the Glazers are just using the club as a cash cow.
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