Manchester United Banter Archive August 21 2012

 

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21 Aug 2012 21:24:43
Interesting that Rooney is getting stick on this site about his below performances! and is influencing games less and less!...Ive been watching wayne play since he was 8yrs , and believe me when I say, even then, he was years ahead of his time! I watched him devop in to a world class player! even before he joined united!, but it is noticable that he is over weight! he is not the athlete he once was! I can only put this down to an over exhuberant life style. Rooney comes from a very tough estate in liverpool! were the locals had to fight just to survive! This appies to wayne, always been a fighter and was able to take this streetwise aggression on to the pitch! unfortunatly wayne been liviing the good life to much lately, and its affecting him badly unless he changes now!..he could be on the scrap heap soon!..Hope not he really a great player!..jmc

Believable3 Unbelievable0

You're over-exagerating the Liverpool estate bit, it's not some poor country in the middle east

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There is now a type of measurement they take on a younger players wrist somewhere which shows a persons growth and wether they are likely to "peak" at there growth naturally or even possibly grow to quickly. It has been thought before that Rooney may have matured too quickly,(I hope not) Pogba was possibly considered like it. I know it sound like bs but someone else here or the Ed's might now of this measurement that clubs have now begun using routinely when assessing younger players?

Supasub

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We deliverd a wagon load of ale once to a social club in croxteth once, took a couple crates into the club, then when we came out, the wagon was being stripped bare, by old men, kids and women, then they asked us if we wanted to buy ale, but thats our wagon i said, ok they said we,ll give you a discount, cheeky sods! never went back its a sh*thole REDTED

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21 Aug 2012 21:18:52
Not a roumer. Just wanted feedback. I'm not to sure on what our best formation will be this year. As RVP played very much on his own for goonies last year. By doing this Rooney will be playing off him. But then where will kagawa play. As he looks very very good! Maybe a 4-3-2-1 with DDG rafa rio vid evra clev ando carrick kagawa roo RVP Don't think we will get anyone else in window but still feel we another cm.

Believable0 Unbelievable0

Don't usually name teams but I'll give it a go for our best current 11:
DDG
Raphael-Ferdinand-Vidic-Buttner
Carrick-Cleverly
Valencia-Kagawa-Van Persie
Rooney
De Gea has to be #1 he looks a different player from the star of last season. Raphael is a better RB than Valencia and Buttner couldn't be worse than Evra. Central Rio is still better than Smalling and Evans at the moment imo (not saying they can't surpass him this season). Carrick holding with Clevs playing the ball forward. Valenica hugging the Right touchline which creates space for the forwards to run into. I have RVP on the left because I believe his crossing is very good but they can all change when necessary with Kagawa and Rooney putting in a shift out wide. If we need a more attacking line up take off Carrick (or Cleverley and let Carrick hold) for Young and play a 4-4-2. Its not bad yes a better holding player would make this a really good lineup but that tam isn't bad at all.

Darren-Bermuda

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21 Aug 2012 20:25:20
Whoever has been sayin iazagurre from Celtic is good enough for us Is wrong fact looks average in a Scottish team
Superdecs

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21 Aug 2012 20:18:12
I think if people go and read the below article it might help

zonalmarking.net/2012/08/21/ferguson-showcases-a-4-2-1-3-against-everton/

Believable3 Unbelievable0

21 Aug 2012 20:43:02
Some of the negative posts on here are over the top today. Firstly we lost 1-0 away to 1 of the top 6 sides in the league. Everton have had their best closed season in years with a starting 11 that will give everyone in the division a tough game. Secondly we had two makeshift defenders and a left back suffering from the worst form of his career. Realistically Chelsea and City had fairly abject performances at the weekend and were fortunate to win their games against far weaker opposition than Everton.


My biggest criticism about last night was the personnel chosen. I think Fergie was too conservative in picking Carrick at centre back and the substitutions were strange. I feel that Scott Wooton despite his youth should have been picked at the back. He may lack experience but had a good tour and at least is comfortable there unlike Carrick. This would also allowed us to have Carrick in his most effective role next to Scholes or Cleverly. my preference would have been Cleverly to start with Carrick. On Valencia I think starting him at the back with Nani ahead was the right call but should have been altered in the 2nd half with Nani replaced by Rafael. The other substitutions were ok but I would prefer to have seen Anderson come on earlier and replace Scholes.

If another centre mid can be found before the window shuts and Fergie is willing to take some risks, like dropping Evra if his dismal form continues, then I think we will bounce back and be right in the mix with City and Chelsea. I understand the frustration after such a positive build up before last night but let's not be writing ourselves off after game 1. There's a long season ahead.

sorry about the long post. If you get to the end I would be interested in others opinions?

Red Rebel

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Agree with all of that mate. Good post.

DodgyBanter

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21 Aug 2012 20:40:25
Am I the only one who thought that Vidic looked like he had lost 2 stone. He looked ill to me and needs to put on a few pounds I am sure Anderson can give him advice on that. I AM KLOOT

Believable11 Unbelievable1

I'm sorry to say I think the same. He's lost his bulk and power. Looked cream crackered at one point so he pulled a player down. Doesn't look 100% fit. I'm worried he'll break down if not used cautiously.

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Yes we all noticed his weight loss

Pardoe

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21 Aug 2012 20:36:15
anyone think that mulumbu of west brom would be a good signing? strong, can tackle and runs all day

RedNdProud

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Couldn't agree more mate made that suggestion a few days ago he is so underrated too!

Caolán.

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21 Aug 2012 20:32:04
Just read 7 or 8 posts all slagging off our players and people are already saying we've lost the league, someone said we weren't getting into the top 4.

We were missing so many players from defence. That is why we lost the game, i'm not saying we don't need a hard tackling midfielder but we lost the game cos Fellaini was stronger then Carrick. Not Carrick's fault but Ferdinand or Smalling would have dealt with him.

Honestly, we were all dissapointed with yesterday's game but alot of the comments that i've read today are bordering on moronic.

ONE GAME!

Red Joe

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Agree completely. Once we get our centre halves back and Carrick back into midfield we'll be fine. We looked good in possession and once we get our solidity back in defence everything will hopefully fall into place. BTW, did anyone else notice that De Gea seems to have bulked up a bit. His shirt wasn't hanging off him like last year.

An Dun Red Devil

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We lost the game because we couldn't finish in the final third. We had no answers to Everton's defense. Like so many times last year we failed to create chances and take the few chances we did create.

Most of the blame should lie with Rooney-an average player who gets payed an astronomical amount to be average! I'm a Nani fan and only hope he will get better because on last nights performance he won't last long.

Again, it was not our midfield getting over run or our defence. It was our inability to create and take chances that lost us the game.

FredtheRed

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The injuries on defense prevented your healthy offence from scoring is what your saying then? Hm ok then
E

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21 Aug 2012 20:30:48
The team i would like to see against Fulham
---------------De Gea------------
Rafael-------Vidic-----Evra-----Buttner
---------------------------------------
---------Anderson---Rooney-----------
Valencia----------Kagawa---------Young
------------------RVP-----------------
This is my reasoning for this line-up.
Rafa - is our best RB
Vidic - is our only fit CB
Evra - can defend and if he was at CB would restrict him rampaging up the pitch. Obviously if we had another fit CB then he would be dropped.
Buttner - Did not expect a move to Man United and will be fired up to prove himself
Valencia - Is the only player in the side who can cross the ball and is wasted at RB
Anderson - Is our only CM with a physical presence. Was also the only midfielder who ran with the ball at the defence last night.
Rooney - Has not cut it as a striker for some time now but does have a physical presence. Will be able to run at the defence from deep and is still an excellent passer of the ball.
Young - Not a big fan but he is the best RW we have.
Kagawa - Was excellent last night and believe he can pull the strings for RVP.
RVP - All round great player.

Norn Iron

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Rooney-hasnt cut it as a striker for some time-the lad scored nearly 30 goals last season-if i wuz u id leave the gluebag alone

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Rooney has only scored in 38 games in his last 95 appearances in all competition for both club and country over the last 2 seasons. Hardly prolific.

Norn Iron

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21 Aug 2012 20:27:19
Every one needs to stop banging on about feilani. We'd be signing a lot of players if it's on the basis they have a standout game against us. A lot of players give it that extra effort to try and beat united it's the biggest game of the season for them.

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21 Aug 2012 20:24:29
Thank God! Henriquez gets a work permit. Top signing.

G.A.G.U.S

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21 Aug 2012 20:14:09
henriquez has been granted a work permit, his transfer will be confirmed tomorrow! all we need now is a decent dcm! everyone bangin on bout the mexican lad. has anyone seen the lad play? if so what he like? window so far has been good just need the cdm to make it best i can remember. joey

Believable1 Unbelievable0

21 Aug 2012 20:08:13
Glad to see Henriquez has been granted a work permit.

Believable2 Unbelievable0

21 Aug 2012 19:43:34
Been reading the site all day and wondering where all the Nani fans are, they are all very quiet.

There have been many people on here all Summer defending him and talking him up as a game changer but when we really need him to change a game he hasn't got it in the bag. He only really performs when United as a team are on form and playing against a team that looks vulnerable at the back. Yes he has a few tricks but is ineffective the majority of the the time and for someone who gets paid the amount he does, you would expect him to beat the first defender from a corner with every single kick

We should have sold him and replaced him with someone decent who can play on the left

Believable12 Unbelievable2

21 Aug 2012 19:36:11
I am sure everyone saw the G. Neville talk before the game. I never rated Gary Neville as intelligent football(not question his commitment and as one of better Rb). But even he understand it, that football is changing and now there is less roll for out and out winger but the need of player like Kagawa, Silva, Nasri, Mata and Isco etc who can play as winger but also drop inside and spark the final 3rd of opposition. And the need of a defensive midfielder who can cover defense with CBs and let the rb and lb to do the more attacking and crossing roll. With that Buttner is in the right direction.
So I can comfortably say and i want everyones opinion. For next 4 or 5 years. We only need 2 signings.
A Defensive midfielder
Someone rightly said if Manchester united have Yaya Toure, we would be the best team. Atleast player of his mould.

Ideally J Martinez(23, 6.3ft, the boy can pass so well, defend and play as a defender( obvisouly we all saw the need from Everton game). I know he has release clause and also Bayern seems to be closest to signing him.
Cheaper options
Victor Wanayama (21, 6.2 ft) even though he is cheaper that doesnt and cant take anything away from his ability. One of best young defensive midfielder, strong and run like Essien whole of 90 mins. I cant stress how good he is. Only down side is African cup.
Yann M'Vila (22, 6.0ft) Strong and powerful. 15m release clause. I am sure there is reason why Arsenal didnt sign him and Wenger knows what he is doing with french player( if it is money then we have more spending power than Arsenal)
Axel Witsel (23, 6.1ft) The boy is the hottest topic here. And somewhere around 20-25m, I think if we are interested we can get him.
Nuri Sahin (23, 5.10 ft) I know he was injured most part of the last year, but everyone has to understand before that. he and Kagawa in midfield would take on any german team the likes of Schweinsteiger or anyone. Has beautiful distribution skill and free kick. And his tackling is good. Have already great understand with Kagawa. Either loan or in region of 15m or less can be acquired. I have been watching Dortmund for past 3 years, I can stress how good he is.

Only one of any of above. Plus
Christian Erickson (20) at that age he is one of highest cap and mature player in Ajax. I know he said he would prefer Barca or any other team. Most player do say something else before they actually go to team.
Beautiful distribution and everyone saw him against us. I can honestly say he can replay Scholes( i know there is no one like Scholes, legend and god). The boy controls the tempo of the whole team.

So if we sign just these 2 and with likes of younger player coming up, we are sorted for next 4 to 5 years.
I am sure lots of supporter feel the same way, but it is time we start signing players less players but players with quality, if we ever want to get ride of the debt those Blood sucking Glazer has give us. I dont know why we sign Young at that age, neither is establish nor is he best winger. I feel it was a waste of 18m, it was more of panic signing. Rest of the player, were signed as potential and there are always risk with that, likes of Nani, Obertan, Anderson.
No value in market?? Alex Song for 15m( read what he said why sign for Barca) Mesut Ozil 12m. Khadira 10m, Jordi Alba 12m and they are so many.
Manchester united is one of biggest Club, with most fan in world.
Only downside is weather in manchester, well we cant do anything about that.
Wage wise we pay very less compare to clubs like Barca, Real Madrid, Man City, Chelsea, PSG, all those old rich club but having said that we play relative better then Arsenal and rest of the teams. So it is not bad.
Footballing wise, we do seems to still play the wing game that we have been playing. Obviously last year someone of the passes were beautiful and i want more of that. Saf constantly saying his 99 team which was play wing play. Saf is one of the best manager and the way manages player and motivate them is the best. But footballing wise we need someone way better than Mike Phelan. Gary Neville sounds more intelligent than him.
So after getting 2 player and change of Mike Phelan. We would be best team in the world and champions, where we rightly deserve.

Red Samurai {Ed007's Note - Good work there mate.}

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Thanks Ed007, cant believe they are that many typo but still, hopefully everyone understands what I am trying to say and I am looking forward to hearing their(including all the eds) opinion.

Red Samurai

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Great post mate!

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I would sell nani, berba, macheda and maybe ando and bring in muniain and witsel, then with petrucci lingard and tunnicliffe i think our midfield would be in great shape. tom17

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I think Wanyama is the best option for us tbh, the way he set up the equaliser for the goal against Ross County showed he's not just a destroyer. I can't see them selling with Ki leaving.

I think Witsel is more a Fergie signing. I'd rather leave Erikson until later though, he's got a few years of maturing to do before moving to a bigger club. No doubt of his talent though.

Great post, I don't think m'vila is 6ft though, that's all I can disagree with ;)

Sanshine

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21 Aug 2012 19:26:19
Nani a scapegoat I'm afraid not guys. He is poor makes the worst decisions at the worst times. Those of you saying he can win games on his own is that in reference to times he shoots when he should pass and it goes in? Even a blind squirrel can find a nut and even Bebe has scored a screamer or 2. If crosses are not getting in the box and instead are being turned into counters for the other team that is a problem. As for Evra really is there a comment needed when he gallops up from the back to have a cross blocked then not even care to get back. Fellaini will score plenty of headers this year against CBs so the goal against Carrick doesn't bother me that much. What about the fact that we don't look a threat from corners well delivery is a concern but even then it seemed comfortable for them. Those of you screaming we need a CM last night we needed someone to challenge him allowing him to control the ball on his chest and turn allowed him to run at our already shaky defense. Should have had someone challenge and mark the players he would head it on too. I say Nani out Valencia wide right Raphael RB and Buttner at LB honestly think you have to try to be worse than Evra and hopefully a CD will be fit for selection. Think a Carrick, Cleverly, and Kagawa midfield will be better with Carrick shielding and probably RVP and Rooney floating between LW and CF. Actually the front 3 of Rooney, RVP, and Kagawa can all play on the left so all 3 switching constantly would unsettle defences with Valencia always providing an outlet on the right. Just to clarify last night was not the first time I've seen Nani play like sh!t had lots of time to make up my mind about him don't think he should be a United player maybe a Newcastle United player but not a Manchester United player. Just my thoughts.

Darren-Bermuda

Believable9 Unbelievable0

21 Aug 2012 19:24:35
How can anyone look at our squad and think we will finish outside the top four?!

Even with no more ins and shedding Berba, Macheda, even Nani from our squad I cannot see us finishing outside the top four!

Yes, we lost to Everton, who played like underdogs, pressed us at 100mph for the whole game and hit long diagonal balls to Fellani (who mullered us). But there was enough intricate possession football and decent chances to think we will improve quickly.

DodgyBanter

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21 Aug 2012 19:19:28
although we lost yesterday why are so many people being so negative.

1st game AWAY at everton who arnt mugs and always give us a game.

We had players out of place, injurys, and a make shift defence.

Its the first game there are another 37 games left, sure were playing catch up, but if everton play like that all season i dount many people will take points away at goodison.

We had kagawa who for me along side dea gea was amazing, cleverly played well, vidic another 90 minutes completed, and we had our best player at rb(who was isolated all game due to him playing at the back)

Van persie played 20 minutes gaining his match fitness back.

And we didnt play our strongest 11.

Evra was poor again like the last 2 years and now buttner has been bought it might give him a kick up the back side.

Welbeck just proves he aint a striker, lacks movement, and doesnt have the football brain to imo become class.

Nani, well ive had enough of slating him, week in week out puts in a poor performance and i think has peacked at united. Theres nothing more he can do at what 25-26 to become a world class player.

Young, although he was only on for a while i just think again he doesnt have a footballing brain to become a legend, all he has is pace, so over rated imo.

We can all see that we need that cm that can bully players and isnt scared of putting there body in. My choice would be de jong but city wouldnt sell him, tiote is another player who is excellent.

All in all its one game not the end of the season, we lost more than one game last year so stop being mard and think positive.

WYTHENSHAWE RED

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I think every united now would agree that something should done about nani .Inconsisstent .

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Just a few things.

Welbeck wasn't playing as a striker so you can't say how badly he played as one when he was played out of position.

No problem with saying Young will never be a legend but he is still a better option then Welbeck on the left side.

Finally Nani was terrible yesterday, worse then both players hardly put a pass right in the second half.

But apart from that I agreed with most of the points and it was generally a really good post.

Red Joe

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21 Aug 2012 19:14:12
If we don't buy a couple of strong box to box midfielder I can not see us winning anything. We were out classed in the middle, Flenini completely ran the game.

I really don't see us buying a midfielder within the next 10days. It's going to be a funny season

PBMUFC

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Flenini hhah thats hilarious!

Cban

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We lost because Carrick was playing CB Ferdinand or Smalling would of been able to deal with him.

Red Joe

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21 Aug 2012 19:07:01
Lots of reports that Adam Johnson is on his way out of City. Do you think they'd take Nani as an exchange?

(Just wishful thinking)

Andrew B

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That would be going downhill!

-JakeW

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Adam Johnson is cack.

Sydney!

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Please no. He might be good for Sunderland.

DodgyBanter

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21 Aug 2012 18:37:24
Eds who do you rate higher fellani or witsel two great players and great site

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Witsel because he can actually play the football we play not just hit and hope.

Caolán.

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21 Aug 2012 18:29:39
Van Stijn, who leads the Old Trafford outfit's recruitment in Netherlands, has revealed that Buttner is not the full-back whom he rated most highly.

"Every season [United] ask all European scouts for a list of players," the Dutchman told Algemeen Dagblad.

"They ask you to create a top five of the best players in the league for every position. I had Buttner at number three or four on my list."

Believable0 Unbelievable0

21 Aug 2012 17:42:43
Hi eds. I just heard about George Soros taking 1.9% stake of Manchester united. is it possible for Mr Soros to fund some of his money into the football club ie for further transfers? Or does he need to have more stake in the club to do so? Thanks. T45

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No chance. The money is mostly going to the owners. Soros is taking a chunk of the club at the value price not to make money now (as can be seen by the stock price) but in a year or two when the glazers sell for closer to the valuation of the club than what the stock is showing now. It means he's confident that the glazers will sell relatively soon as the stock has no dividend or voting rights and he's not someone who invests in sports teams for a thrill or entertainment. -KG

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George Soros, bought 7.85% stake in Class A shares. These shares give him no payout with regards dividends and are not as important as Class B shares.
They also don't give him any voting rights with regards shareholder issues with the club......so in a sentence...NO he can't give he's money to buy extra players. You want that, then you have to go to the Glazers for players. Regardless of a stake in the club he can't have any decision making with the club. he's needs 51% for that.......and that isn't going to happen. He doesn't want Manchester United.....just wants a financial investment in them.

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21 Aug 2012 18:58:02
Anyone else think Buttner looks like he could be Tom Cleverley's brother?

Andrew B

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I've been told by a few lads at work today that I look like him!

DB-Red

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Seriously took a picture of my lil lad there the other day an when I looked through them he is wearin the new away kit an is the livin image of cleverly ....... My missus has some explaining to do ...... Oh an if any one has any suggestion on Wat name should be on the back please feel free ......

CAIN

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21 Aug 2012 18:37:44
Adebayor city to spurs ,jovetic fiorentina to city,berb united to fiorentina

just a guess but maybe
jred

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Unlikely Jred mate, salary is a major issue.

Sydney!

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Syd
whos salary
jred

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Berbatov's salary is well above what Fiorentina would pay.

Sydney!

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21 Aug 2012 17:22:39
hi , i was wondering what is nick powells position in the club reserve player or heading out on loan. edds or anyone know anything thanks

Believable0 Unbelievable0

21 Aug 2012 18:22:57
i think that witsel is the sort of player we need a CM that is box-to-box and can put their foot on the ball, saying that though we could have signed Song from arsenal instead of RVP as hes that player and he has premier league experience. that is the main singing we need to make but second is a tactically astute Assistant not that monkey Phelan, we need Quivoz back.

Believable3 Unbelievable0

I presume you mean Queroz , the genius who sent us Bebbe.
Raffa

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Barcelona wanted Song, so no there is no way we could of signed him.

Red Joe

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21 Aug 2012 18:14:23
I know this may seem a bit extreme, but I assure you it is the best thing for us and I have been thinking it for a while. The major problem with our team is Wayne Rooney (I'm not just talking about last night as obviously DM is a major issue as well, but this issue is deeper and doesnt stand out as blatantly as Fellaini destroying our midfield). Can anybody remember the last time he had a really great game for club or country?

Not a game where he has grabbed a couple of goals against Bolton or someone, (I hate it how MOM is given to a striker just because he manages to get a couple of tap ins and it masks an otherwise awful performance), a game where Rooney dominated and caused havoc, I seriously am struggling and that is what the "KEY" attacking player for a team should be doing. Not just one off games either, continuously playing above average, it just doesnt happen and if he has a run of scoring in 5 or 6 games on the trot it is followed by below par or mediocre performances for a long time. The goals have been covering for him and most half decent strikers would convert more or the same as him playing for Utd, penalties also help deceive his stats.

He may be Mr Skillful in training, but how often is that truly required in a game? It is all about pass and move quickly, using intelligence and quick decision making. His distribution is getting worse and worse, he gives the ball away more than even Nani does. The worst part is that whenever he misses a few games either through injury or whatever reason he takes an age to get sharp and he seems to always be carrying a knock.

Nani, Young and Rooney need to go. We will see a marked improvement in our attacking play even without going back to the market, I wish we had sold him to City when they were bidding crazy money.

I used to get really excited about watching him play, looking for him and Ronaldo on the team sheet was great, but since the season after Ronnie left he has been overrated and under performed far too frequently. Somehting has to be done and frankly I see RVP as a replacement for Rooney before Welbeck and the South Americans get up to speed over the next few seasons - I hope Fergie is growing tired of below par Rooney and that is why he has spent the cash most people think should have gone on Witsel.

He is on this pedastal undeserved in my opinion and I love Utd, but we need to make a big change.

Believable10 Unbelievable5

I certainly wouldn't get rid of Rooney but he is overrated. If he wasn't english and played abroad, people would think he is an average player. Yes he has gotten goals but thats due to him always being first choice and good service from the other lads.
MU93

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Mate leave your name because you have NO IDEA what you are talking about.

1. He scored 35 goals for us last season, you don't score that many in a season without playing above average on a very regular basis.

2. He doesn't play well for England we all know that, as he is a slow starter which is why he is bad at international competitions and why he didn't play brilliantly yesterday.

3. Do you watch full games? Cos if you do, watch his movement and range of passing, especially his ability to spread the ball. He is one of the best in the world.

4. His work rate is fantastic, tracking back and harying players all season long.

5. Apart from goal-scoring, creativity and work rate was else do you want in a centre forward.

6. HOW CAN YOU SAY ROONEY NEEDS TO GO HE HAS DRAGGED US THROUGH THE PAST 3 or 4 seasons since Ronaldo left.

Red Joe

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I don't think we should get rid of him, but I do think he has dropped a little in terms of performance's. I mean he is great at passing defending and shooting obviously. but I remember seeing clips of him when he was 19/20 and using skill and pace and beating players, even for england! when we played france many years ago (Zidane was in their team). I just think that he feels the need to track back due to our awful midfield! if we had a CDM or even just a good tackler there he would excel again. Our midfield gets ran and passed through far to easy!

1993

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21 Aug 2012 17:31:44
Can I just say, after watching the opening weekend,I think we badly (and its more obvious now than ever) need to sign some midfield players, Chelsea and City(even throw in Newcastle) were so dominant through midfield.
I dont think Carrick back in position will help us, Scholes wont last the full season and although I do rate Cleverly I dont think he's ever gonna touch off the likes of Nasri,Toure,Hazard,Lampard,Oscar,Ben Arfa,Tiote but to name a few, Nani (I'm sorry) is dirt the most unreliable player who cant pass the first defender when crossing and barely ever completes a run,Anderson is a fat waste of a jersey why he's still around I'll never understand.Kagawa is class one of our shining lights but the fact he made his debut in a new 'tougher' league and made a show of the rest of the team highlights what I'm saying.
I get the impression a pre-season touring aroung playing rubbishe teams has done us no favours as Rooney and Welbeck just did'nt look in the races(wheres Welbecks pace gone?) and Everton were so much sharper.I'm sorry I do totally trust Fergie but sometimes like against Everton I need to vent when I see how things are going, early days I know but we need to buck up big style and I think 2 more midfield signings are needed and world class ones at that.
Ed's please tell me theres some news on some midfield signings what about Gaitan or Witsel? Whats this jazz about Kaka? Is there anything that looks it might pick up pace?

REDKEN

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21 Aug 2012 17:12:00
We won't win the league this year guys, City and chelsea look far too strong. Fingers crossed we will still get CL but unless we get another 3/4 players in i predict another trophyless season. Let me know your opinions as we're all in the same sinking boat :(

Stretford End Clint

Believable8 Unbelievable4

Really, i didnt think either looked particularly strong.

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Totally agree mate, we look like we've gone backwards, city's team will have a stronger understanding so i think they will be clear winners unfortunately, think the 2 derbies will be our cup finals

Agree3 Disagree0

21 Aug 2012 17:49:12
Do you think we should do more for our medical staff? We are losing players on muscle injuries. Ferdy's injury needs to be prevented..

Believable2 Unbelievable1

And how are you going to prevent them? Its a sport and injuries happen in sport, we have just been unlucky in the last few years in that we have had lots. Other seasons other teams will have the injury problems we have had and we will be fine. There is nothing the medical staff can do about it.

Welsh Dragon

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21 Aug 2012 17:34:54
We need to sell nani and buy a consistent winger.He may have the skills but he doesnt performs in every game,he would have one good game then fails to perform in the next ten.I think we should sign witsel or m'villa and replace nani with gaitan.And if we have more money to spend i would really like to see manunited sign eriksen and then sell ando.
gaitan,eriksen and m'villa or witsel would our to the next level.I know its a long shot but one can hope .

ins:
witsel or m'villa
eriksen
gaitan

___its me!

Believable7 Unbelievable5

21 Aug 2012 17:34:08
seen the post from tel before .... absolutely insane what he said. Everton against United tend to always be good games, an from a neutral point of view i personally love watching them. Fergie is clearly not finished. still got a couple of years left in him yet. Goodison is a tough place to go always and you were up against a Everton side who played close to there best. I'm sure United will have a solid season as will Everton. Think you might be piped at the title my city again mainly for the fact they have better cm's e.g yaya toure. Poor start for both of us nice to see someone has joined us an totenham :) haha. However I think the purchase of Van Persie may be a final roll of the dice by fergie to try and retire on some glory. I think he would love to end his career on a title winning team. cheers

Danny LFC

Believable4 Unbelievable2

21 Aug 2012 17:29:11
With our central defender problems. Dawson at 5 million is not bad cover to have he would be wasted at qpr. What do you think?

Believable6 Unbelievable4

Don't think he will join just to be back up. And once the others return from injury, we will have a bench full of central defenders.
MU93

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21 Aug 2012 17:28:26
pogba


"The coach [Ferguson] trusted me, but he didn't play me, he said I was too young. He told me 'Your time will come', but it didn't come. Despite the fact that he is the boss, my goal was to play.

"He said I disrespected him. I do not know why he said that. A 19-year-old who says no [to him], maybe he was stuck. But for me, it will not change anything. This is not to say that I will speak ill of Manchester. I love this club.

Believable1 Unbelievable0

21 Aug 2012 17:10:02
The most worrying aspect for me isn't the fact we didn't score, it's the fact we have to play our best winger at RB! Oh and I know Nani is the usual scape goat for us United fans, but last night he was as poor as i've ever seen him.

Hoppy

Believable7 Unbelievable0

He is not a scape goat, he is a weak link.

G.A.G.U.S

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I wouldn't say Nani is a weak link. I think he's just never been able to settle in one position at the club and that shows. His confidence has taken a knock and I think he needs a fresh start at another club. I think we need to sell him now, because next summer he wont be as valuable.

Andy!

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21 Aug 2012 16:54:08
Looking at Nani and Young both can be inconsistant and fail to beat their man and whip in a 1st time cross. We have lost that quickness from the wings. Our counter attack would be better if we ran at the defenders and whipped our crosses in first time before the defence get a chance to settle. Id personally love a proper left winger and a DM.

Injuries have affected us for two seasons now. Wootton should play sat instead of Carrick at CB. WE need to have him ready in case we suffer anymore injuries in defence.

Also Fergie needs to play players in there correct position.

Mad Hatter

Believable7 Unbelievable0

21 Aug 2012 15:16:22
does the arrival of buttner means the end of our signings ??
but since buttner was cheap so we can assume that SAF is saving major funds for a beast in the midfield
Your thoughts ED? PLZZZZZ

Believable3 Unbelievable1

21 Aug 2012 16:48:09
Midfield quick fix and cheap, tom huddlestone?

Believable6 Unbelievable7

And always injured.

Sydney!

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Would rather Tiote

DodgyBanter

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21 Aug 2012 16:28:54
Just wanna say that I seen a few.positives last night,
Vidid played 90 mins
Kagawa played great and made at least 3 defens splitting through balls
Also it looms like Anderson can shoot all of a sudden lol

Jay-c

Believable6 Unbelievable1

21 Aug 2012 15:58:12
sydney
i thought you may be able to give your views on this on the radio about an hour ago a financial expert was on describing the utd share float as junk bonds and talking about the people that have lost millions since buying them.he said that they are based on the valuation of the club which in his opinion is over valued,he also said because there are no dividends and the annual 50m dept repayments plus no voting rights make them junk.he says the annual dept repayments declared by utd of 30-35m have been massaged and are infact 50m.he also said that if utd where to drop out of the top 4 it could be regarded as relegation and a catastophy for utd.just thought you may be intersted sydney seeing as you seem to be manchesters answer to carrol vorderman when it comes to this stuff and it would be interesting to see what spin you can put on it lol
trev the gooner

Believable6 Unbelievable2

Syd will just spin it the way he sees it . rose tinted glasses when it comes to the glazers . mr no name

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They cannot be THAT junk if George Soros - one of the worlds greatest investors buys over 3 million shares. He is just not that stupid to "waste" that much money. I am a Stockbroker and a Utd fan.

CAW

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What do you want me to say? The people buying the shares are persons. I wouldn't buy them. Interest last season was £45m, but United get VAT back on around £10m-£12m of that. So overall it's around £33m-£35m. This will be lowered slightly again by around £4m when the Glazers pay some of the debt off.

If we dropped out of the top four it would mean we would be buying no players for that season and possibly the season after. The Glazers would just add the difference onto the debt that is already outstanding. We would not face catastrophe and relegation. Very over dramatic. Arsenal would be in an equal amount of trouble and Arsenal have much more chance of finishing outside the top four than we do.

We will not drop out of the top four. We will finish at least 20 points above 5th place.

Sydney!

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Caw
check it out,he mentioned george soros has lost almost 3million and no-one in the know can understand why he purchased them as there are no voting rights as i mentioned check it out for yourself
trev the gooner

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You don't get vat back on intrest to pay off a loan.you only get vat back on a loan if the product has vat oin ity when sold

Agree1 Disagree0

21 Aug 2012 15:52:28
I've seen all the guys on here laugh about it but I was watching last nights game and my brother said that we should sign James McCarthy from Wigan. The more we spoke about it the more it made sense. Thanks btw great site. {Ed007's Note - Who was laughing about it? You can get banned for that!!!! He's a fantastic player he would bring some much needed energy and urgency to the Utd midfield, has PL experience and has played with Cleverley. I'll shut up now.}

Believable2 Unbelievable4

Ed007, why do you love James McCarthy so much? Just curious.
MU93 {Ed007's Note - {Ed007's Note - I've watched him play since he was 14/15 mate. I just think he is going to be a fantastic player and don't want Utd to miss out. As I said, he has played/trained with Cleverley. He is still only 21 and has about 80 EPL games under his belt and over 90 games up here in Scotland. Which young midfielder at Utd at 21 has that kind of experience? His style of play and energy could bring something to the team that is badly missing and he is young enough to be coached in the Utd way of playing. He could become similar to Keano. Wigan were/are looking for £20 million for him though.}

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BOND is happy now.....The mere mention of the name James Mccarthy brings a smile on his face:).But he would fit in well at united alongside cleverley,i would say.But the big question is Can he improve our midfield??

RED DEVIL FOR LIFE

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21 Aug 2012 15:49:40
I feel unhappy when See people solely blaming Nani and Evra for our defeat or inability to score goals.
Are there not eleven players on the pitch?what about Roney?was he good enough to play for 90 mins?what about Scholes and Cleverey?were they passing the ball directly to the strikers?
We need to accept the fact that our team need a creative midfielder and good ball passer.Secondly,Roney should be asked to improve his play.Witsel must be bought as quickly as possible.because teams like everton are still out there: stoke and others.

Believable2 Unbelievable2

Kagawa is our creative spark!

Welsh Red

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21 Aug 2012 15:45:54
Everton fan here in peace. I've not come to gloat, I've come to shed light on last night's game.

First off, some of you say Fellaini is world-class and some say he isn't actually that good. Trust me he is unbelievably classic at his job. Some say he doesn't do it against City, Chelsea, Arsenal, etc. Trust me, he does. Videos on YouTube prove it. There's no team in the world (apart from the world's best XI possibly) that he wouldn't get into. And on the last point or so about Felli, some say he wouldn't be good at United as it's long ball after long ball. It isn't. Yes, we play long balls up to him (60% are from goal kicks) - and that's why he brings balls down on his chest so often. But we play a lot of one touch football and that includes Felli. Lastly, in his first season he was a magnet for yellow - sometimes red - cards. Now he has cut down a lot, and I mean a lot. Overall summary of Felli:
Strong.
Wins almost every ball in the air.
Tackles a lot better (more tackles than any other PL player last season. And that's w/ out fouling)
Scores fair share of goals.
Young.

If United make a move for him, now or in 2 or 3 years, then you've got one of the best midfielders that are currently gracing this sport.

Next. De Gea is one of, if not the best goalkeeper (in terms of saving shots) in the World. Yesterday was a perfect start for him. First game of the season and he's shown he's back at his best with 5-10 world class saves. The only low point is crosses - he doesn't know what to do when they come near him.

Your defence: Yesterday, you had all of your CBs missing apart from Vidic. Yes you was poor but when Felli (and the likes of Jela, Pienaar, etc) come up against your midfielders having to fill in at CB then you're going to be. Even Wigan's attack would have caused problems for your defence yesterday. Don't worry though, Ferdinand, Jones, Smalling, etc, will soon patch that problem. And Evra. I don't what he's meant to be. He's not a LB. I see that as your only weakness (with a fully fit sqaud) in defence (and possibly Rafael, too). Baines is perfect for you, but you have Buttner now.

Your midfield: Widemen are brilliant. Young and Nani (although Nani might need to be replaced soon), plus Valencia have pace, skill, etc. Trust me, a team like Barca would be scared of those wingers. Scholes just cannot tackle to save his life and Cleverley needs more experience. All you need is someone like Felli (who can tackle and secure your midfield area) and your midfield will be pure class.

And attack: RVP. Rooney. Welbeck. Hernandez. Need I say more? Fergie left RVP on the bench 'cause of match fitness. Rooney has stalled in his talent a bit but him and R.V.P (who I can't stress enough, needs time to settle in) - Finally, Welbeck isn't a natural goalscorer and I think he'd do a great job in the CM/CAM midfield role if he gets given a chance. And Hernandez needs experience. Apart from that I'd have him in my dream team anyday (he can finish with head or foot brilliantly, young and knows how to read the game).

United's biggest problem is getting a midfielder like Felli (basically another Scholes but younger, taller and who can tackle), a stronger CB to combat players like Felli, and giving RVP time.

You may have a few more days like yesterday in the next month or so, but after that City will be quacking like mad because RVP and Rooney will be unbelievable if RVP reproduces his Arsenal form and a you'll have an experienced, with youth, midfield that's capable of stopping lots of teams.

Turst me, in a month or so, when RVP's been given much needed time to settle in and when your defence is back from injury (and maybe a new signing who's stronger) you'll be winning games like you used to do - and you'll be looking back at yesterday laughing at how you thought you have no chance of returning to the old United.

All the best for the upcoming season, especially when you play the RS at An(al)field in a few weeks. I believe you'll be holding that BPL trophy in May. Just remember, patience is a virtue.

Good luck and sorry for the mammoth of a post.

Keith EFC.

Believable16 Unbelievable1

Thanks, good luck to your team too!

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21 Aug 2012 15:43:27
i know it might be throwing him in at the deep end but if evans isnt back on saturday id put buttner at left back and move evra into central defence,im sure hes played there before and he seems to have a habit of drifting into the centre of defence anyway,surely it would make more sence than playing carrick there again or we could have the same problems with dembelle as we did with fellaini.thoughts?

phil

Believable1 Unbelievable3

21 Aug 2012 15:38:22
Hi guys buttner is plays like jordi alba, he is fast good going forward and definitively, good signing also he take a mean penalty and is a good finisher!

Caoln.

Believable2 Unbelievable0

Is he tall enough to beat Fellaini in the air at corners ?

CAW

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You make it sound like we brought him just to deal with Fellaini.
MU93

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21 Aug 2012 15:35:40
just a couple of points from last night , firstly fellaini had a great game so credit where its due , he dropped into the hole and bullied scholes and clevs bringing the ball down and dropping it off. It wasnt just carrick he beat at the back he got the better of vidic a good few times.
Everton would play like this with drunken duncon and what you had to do was win the second ball not let him take it down and spread it round the pitch like a superstar

The excuses of injuries seems to be coming up again but thats a none starter for me ,would ferdy or evans off done any better last night well no one knows but i think anyone would of struggled with fellaini last night.

secondly fellaini performance seems to of masked some important points , after having a back 4 that struggled with injuries all last year we start this season with a back 4 decimated by injuries still question marks over evra (although i thought he done ok last night) and a RW at RB.

midfield is more of an issue scholes is great to watch but missing a bit of drive, nani continues to get on my t1ts people talk about using nani to play free flowing football but he keeps hold of the ball far to long instead of taking the easy option.
still crying out for a box to box player.
what exactly are the tactics we are trying to play, it seems to be pass the ball to death then get it out wide which is counter productive.

if your going to play from the wings get it out wide quick, dont put 20 passes together first so the other team can get 10 men behind the ball and your crossing in to a crowded box.
if we're going to play possession football keep moving the ball around the last third looking for space and find the right pass, watch barce they dont even cross it from a corner .

every time we get beat it seems "the other team got their tactics right and we got ours wrong" , there might be something in that statement.
jred

Believable5 Unbelievable4

A lot of what you have said I agree with, but when Everton have eleven players behind the ball on their little cramped pitch it was always going to be hard to make openings. Another thing that bothered me was how slow the passing was. It was only Cleverley and Kagawa who were zipping it around, others were taking far too long to decide what to do.

We will improve for Fulham and hopefully we will have Evans back.

Sydney!

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So injuries is a non-starter for you? So we wouldn't have done better with Smalling, Ferdinand, Vidic & Evra at the back and Carrick or/and Jones in the midfield?

LOL.

Sydney!

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Syd
i dont like making excuses its a squad game , everton played well there back 4 had a great game .
we looked far to slow and predictable in midfield and up front rooney still doesnt look like the player he was.
would ferdy and smalling of made a difference maybe maybe not, but i think fellaini would off had a very good day yesterday no matter who he played against.
Fellaini played very well against us last season i dont think ferdy done that well against him that day so whats to say he would off made a difference last night.

last time the excuse was we never had vidic this time its we never had ferdy.
maybe the truth is when in the mood and given the right service fellaini is very difficult to play against.

would 2 players of made that much of a difference , i think thats a bit unfair on everton
jred

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Sydney, yes if we didnt have injuries at the back we might not have conceded, however our attacking was poor, therefore it would not of made too much of a difference.

Agree3 Disagree4

No name, our attacking was poor due to players worrying about Fellaini's impact on our makeshift defence. Then once they had scored they put eleven men behind the ball. With a settled back four we would have had more confidence from midfield and the attack could have relaxed and played their own game.

Sydney!

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Jred, Jones in midfield man marking him with Smalling, Ferdinand & Vidic in defence is more than TWO players. We had no tough midfielders and one CB. Three CB's in defence and Jones and Carrick in midfield with Valencia with license to get forward would have made a massive difference.

Sydney!

Agree4 Disagree4

Syd
jones and carrick in midfield
so would you have dropped scholes and clevs.
also to be honest how many great games have you seen jones play in cm.

its easy to say such and such would off had a good game but the truth is we dont know , jones or ferdy might of had a stinker for all you know.

any team can make an excuse when they get beat but for me everton played well got there tactics right and deserved the win ,end off
jred

Agree1 Disagree3

Sydney

We didn't score because our midfield passed the ball across the park and backwards, they didn't find Kagawa and build together in threes. Scholes just isn't up to that and we have become conditioned as a team to draw teams to one side then switch it to the other wing. Kagawa offers something different but we didn't use him, I said a few weeks ago we need the CM and a Nani replacement to work better with Kagawa or waste him. I worry we will change Kagawa as he just can't get be effective when midfield can't support him and a hopeless Nani just gives all the hard work away. We didn't create because of that but we and Scholes in particular, because he has now slowed, don't move the ball quickly enough. We don't seem willing or capable to play short balls and support Kagawa , we just look to work it wide.

Tactically we fell short, perhaps some thought like playing Wootton man to man on Felliani and look for us to be round to win the knockdowns but that would mean Phelan actually thinking about the game differently.

Red Man

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Sydney did everton have more chances after scoring yes felli noddin one straight at the keeper for eg. and coleman fluffed a couple and got pulled back by vidic who should have been booked and sent off for 2nd offence. so dont blame others for your shortcomings old lad. everton fully deserved it and should have won by more

Agree1 Disagree3

How is missing Jones, Smalling, Ferdinand & Evans from our defence and our only two 'tough' midfield options an excuse? It happened Jred. We were struggling defensively because we had a weak defence due to INJURY.

I am not taking away anything from Everton, but we were depleted at the back and it effected our game. It's not rocket science Jred, take away Kompany, Lescott, Zabaleta, Richards, Yaya & De Jong and see how they get on against Everton away.

My line-up against Everton would have been simple.

___________D.D.G
Small___Ferdy___Vidic___Evra
___Carrick__Jones__Scholes
Valencia___V.Persie___Rooney

Sydney!

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Red Man, Cleverley and Scholes couldn't commit forward due to fear of leaving Fellaini. If we had a fully fit squad Smalling, Ferdinand & Vidic could have dealt with Fellaini and Jelavic while our midfielders could have taken chances to get forward. We were down to the bare bones last night, having a depleted defence didn't just effect our defence, it effected our whole game.

Totally agree about a CM and swapping Nani, but the manager has certainly tried in regard to Nani. And we have bid for Witsel.

Sydney!

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No name, Everton played very well and fully deserved their win, I have made that very clear so not sure I understand your post.

Sydney!

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Sydney

Scholes is 38 he cannot cut it anymore. We also should have replaced Nani, not with Gaitan but with Muniain.

Tactically useless playing Scholes and Cleverley, we should have looked at other options , like I said perhaps Wooton and man marked Felliani at least competed and then played our game. Those tactics last night were amateur.

Your teams keep including Scholes going forward , they shoudnt, it is time for a change.

Red Man

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Syd
dont think my last post was sent so i will try again
i think we were only missing smalling and ferdy from lastnight so to say its the same as city missing 6 is a bit ott.

every player who played last night was a first team player and international.
its a squad game and we pride ourselves on having a strong squad (untill we get beat).
you can make an excuses up every time we get beat, if we had played carrick jones and scholes and got beat your excuse would of been we never played kags and clevs.
everton got there tactics right played well and deserved the win

just a little food for though
" Rio, Evans, Scholes & Carrick repeatedly let Fellaini have the ball without attempting to out-jump him or beat him to the ball. That is where it went wrong all game."
that was your assessment of the 4-4 draw so maybe ferdy and co wouldnt of made a difference
jred

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Jred, we were missing Jones and Carrick as our only two 'tough' midfielders and we were missing Jones, Evans, Smalling & Ferdinand as CB's. It's four players missing, but with Carrick being in defence we missed him as a midfielder. Jones can play as a midfielder or CB so we missed him for two positions. Six City players is a little over the top I admit.

We have a very good squad whether we win or lose, but last night we were massively depleted in defence and that cost us big time. If you cannot see what difference Ferdinand, Smalling, Jones, Evans & Carrick in midfield could have made last night then you are clueless. I am not saying we would have won with these players, but we would have dealt with Fellaini better and with a better defence the midfield would have been less inclined to stay back and defend and the whole team would have had more confidence as a unit. Goals would have come.

I stand by my quote from back then, although it was in midfield that the players were allowing Fellaini to bring the ball down, not in the box. Smalling, Ferdinand & Vidic would have dealt with Fellaini & Jelavic in the box, Jones would have stuck to him in midfield whilst Carrick tidied up after him.

If we had a full strength squad the manager would have used all of Smalling, Jones, Ferdinand, Vidic & Carrick in that game. He regretted not bringing Smalling & Jones on in the 4.4 draw. So if the manager was without 4/5 CB's and 2/2 tough midfielders, how you can say that missing these players is a non starter as an excuse is completely bonkers.

Sydney!

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21 Aug 2012 15:26:53
I am an Everton fan and i have to give you lot some credit your not saying you didn't deserve to lose! because if you had a different defense it would have changed the game a lot but why oh why did you let Carrick mark Fellaini but you just weren't up for it. Kagawa looked good to be honest his movement was very good but you should definitely get rid of Nani he can not cross a ball.
Oh and one last thing sign Axel Witsel i watch him play for Benfica sometimes and i always watch the Belgium games because of Fellaini he is awesome but not as good as Fellaini as he is not as tall!

Believable5 Unbelievable0

Witsel is much better technically than Fellaini, Fellaini is physically bigger and more dominating but Witsel is faster. Courses for horses.

Also, I don't want to sound bitter by saying that, but yeah you're defence was top notchlast night along with your attack that got their tatics spot on. Fully deserved victory, see you at the end of the season :)

Sanshine

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21 Aug 2012 15:25:30
if we ever get a penalty and buttner is on the field he has to take it!

JK92

Believable2 Unbelievable0

21 Aug 2012 15:22:30
I think a 3-5-2 with these players would be very strong.

De Gea

Ferdinand
Vidic
Evans

Valencia
Cleverley
Witsel
Kagawa
Young

Rooney
Van Persie

Linders / Rafael / Smalling / Jones / Scholes / Welbeck / Hernandez

Sydney!
------------------

i agree syd, but id prefer smalling, evans is getting better but he always has a mistake in him.
also if we don't buy another player then id play jones/carrick in the middle instead of witsel.

PS, i don't think we will change our style until phelan/SAF is gone.
when SAF does leave (which i don't want him to but he wont last forever) i think pep would get the best from that squad.

JK92

Believable2 Unbelievable0

It seems the manager wants to play with wing-backs, but it seems he wants to be slightly too risky and play with two CB's. Usually you can only do that when you have a defensive midfielder.

We do not currently have one.

Sydney!

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If we want play RVP and Roo up front and Kag in the hole ! 3 at the back is a must!
-------------DDG --------------
------Smalls--Vid--Rio -----------
-Toni ----------------Evra/Buttner
-------Witsel--Carrick ------------
-----------Kag-----------------
-------RVP -----Roo ------------

not just last night , but very often over the last few years our midfield as been overrun ! Does anyone think this work ?

fozzy58

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___________D.D.G
______Ferdy______Vidic
Tony_______Witsel________Butt
____Clevers_______Scholes
___________Kagawa
____Rooney________V.Persie

This is what I think the manager has in mind.

Sydney!

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If we can't get Witsel, I'd love to see Tiote in there... High energy, will settle easy and be up to speed with Prem straight away. Witsel might cost upto 30m, maybe we could get Tiote for 20 ish?

Would certainly give our forward players and wingbacks alot of cover to go and hurt opposition.

DodgyBanter

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21 Aug 2012 15:18:28
Makes me laugh, so many of the posts on these sites. We must sign Martinez, Wietsel, Hummels, at any costs......

Even if we had infinite cash......what if any of the above players don't want to play for Manchester United? Just because we're Manchester United, it doesn't mean players want to come to us....that's either pure arrogance or naivety on the fans wish lists ideas.

Seem's so many fans believe that unless the player is "world class" we shouldn't buy them.......wish these people would stick to their FIFA12's and Championship Managers.
Personally I just want a box to box midfielder of similar quality to Fletcher....someone who will chase the ball and disrupt attacks on our defence.

Believable2 Unbelievable2

21 Aug 2012 15:09:58
I would be interested in the general opinions of our fans and assume I would get a beter response by asking for a polled response. Using the agree and disagree buttons, click agree if you think we will make more signings before the close of the window or disagree if you think we are done with our major transfer activity.

I don't mean signings based upon future potential. i am talking about names who would go straight into the squad.

I will be interested to see what people think. I think we may be done, but I really hope I am wrong.

MDJ

Believable9 Unbelievable4

21 Aug 2012 14:54:54
I had to chuckle when I read that it was injuries that lost us the game last night, what a poor excuse. Yes we had to play Carrick at CB, but the fact was we had nearly 70% YES nearly 70% of possesion and what did we do with it. Well we went sideways and backwards and very very slowly forwards, allowing Everton to get players behind the ball and defend in numbers.
Was it our injuries that made Nani make so many poor decisions and not be able to beat the first man when crossing the ball. Was it injuries that made Evra carry on with his form from last season.
Now if we had Rio or Evans at CB what makes anyone think that we wouldn't have conceded the goal. Both of these players played in the 4-4 draw and were bullied by Fellani that day with people on here criticising them, saying things would have been different had Vidic played.
Everton away was always going to be difficult and we weren't helped by playing Carrick at CB, but to blame the defeat solely on injuries is laughable, especially when we had nearly 70% of possesion with no end product.

Keanooh

Believable8 Unbelievable0

It wasn't the sole reason we lost the game, but played a massive part in it. We didn't just have a lack of defenders, we didn't have Carrick in midfield and the midfield couldn't commit forward due to having to play too defensive. We had to play Welbeck on the left and RVP was on the right. Due to our lack of CB's the tactics were a mess.

If we had a settled defence the midfield and attack would have been stronger.

Sydney!

Agree1 Disagree4

Utter rubbish. The midfield were not defending at all, Everton were able to play through them like no one was even there. And how do the lack of defenders affect where Welbeck and RVP were playing? That was just poor decision making from SAF.
MU93

Agree5 Disagree0

21 Aug 2012 14:44:32
Valencia is not a right back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Believable5 Unbelievable1

Agreed, he's wasted there IMO....
HERBIE

Agree3 Disagree0

I've seen him at RB before but that was a different story. There was no reason to put him at RB when our defense was already weak w/o Fergy.

Agree2 Disagree0

I think someone needs to tell SAF that. Also tell him Carrick isnt a defender.
MU93

Agree3 Disagree0

He may well be a wing-back once we have our defence back, then we will see him attacking from the right and Buttner from the left. But we still need a fit defence and that quick, tough tackling box2box midfielder in order to play this way. Last night Valencia didn't have the license to get forward due to our defensive issues, although that didn't stop Ev getting forward and wasting opportunities. Valencia will get forward more against different opposition and the right personnel around him.

Sydney!

Agree0 Disagree3

21 Aug 2012 14:35:28
Well, our next match is Fulham. My biggest concern is our defensive four. I rather see Raphael return as RB and Vidic obviously will be back. Idk but maybe we should start Buttner or Michael Keane because Evra is not improving at all.

Believable2 Unbelievable1

I thought Evra played quite well, we need a proper centre back to play along side Vidic - even if it's Wooton who is inexperienced.

DodgyBanter

Agree3 Disagree2

The turtle? Probably be better playing him left back than evra to be fair!

GDS

Agree3 Disagree0

21 Aug 2012 14:28:59
Long time reader (since the days when it was just one page) but first time poster. After watching last nights game and the repeats today I have to say that I was happy with a lot of our football. I believe our only problem was the lack of a fully fit centre half. If we had Smalling / Ferdinand etc that would have released Carrick into midfield and would have nullified Fellaini. I'm still confident for the new season. The Evra / Nani axis is still a problem tho.

An Dun Red Devil {Ed007's Note - Welcome to the site buddy.}

Believable3 Unbelievable0

21 Aug 2012 13:29:17
I watched the game again today to get more objective about the whole thing. The debate about is it a big defensive central midfielder that is the missing link or is it just something else. When you look at Barcelona their midfield is also what someone described our midfield a bunch of midgets, But they are quick and very skillful and great passers and what you can't catch you can't tackle.

Seeing how quick Kagawa is and our best signing of the summer in my opinion, I believe the missing link is not necessarily a bruiser of a midfielder but a skillful midfielder who can run at defenses and make a telling pass and occasionally score from outside the box. The guy who fits the bill best is someone like Muniain.

Believable3 Unbelievable0

I'm sick to sh**t of people jumping to the Barca defence whenever it becomes blatantly obvious that we need a physically powerful player in the centre of the park.

The main thing that people seem to miss in all this is that Barcelona play in la liga, whereas United play in the English Premier League. We play in a physical league and often when we come up against a physical team we are bullied out of the game. La Liga is a far different league where strong arming the opposition is not tolerated (is this not part of the reason why the EPL is far more fun to watch?).

Last night emphasised what we lack. At one point Fellaini pushed through Scholes as if he was a toddler. He got a free against him, but it showed that they could out muscle us at anytime they wanted. Above all our defence didn't get any protection. To say we need a powerful leader in the centre of the park is not a knee jerk reaction, we have needed one for years now. Our midfield is not good enough and all the "but Barca" comments in the world don't change that.

Danny Pughnited

Agree4 Disagree1

Danny

absolutely agree - but only posting to highlight your current position in the fantasy football :) Don't worry, I'll be letting GAGUS know too :)

StevieK

Agree1 Disagree0

Spot on last night Danny and spot on today, we NEED a Witsel type player for the big games. That isn't a matter of opinion, that's fact.

Sydney!

Agree0 Disagree0

See that's what I get for putting my faith in Agger and City conceeding 2 goals cost me big time. The Aguero injury has runied me for the next few weeks too. Just wait until Gylfi starts banging in the goals though, I'll be numero uno in no time.

Danny Pughnited

Agree1 Disagree0

Witsel is not that special, Martinez is another story. It does not matter how physical a midfield is barca still destroys them. The only team that gave them a run in the euros eas Portugal and their midfield is technically and pace wise gifted. we need someone like silva or of that mould.

Agree0 Disagree0

Hey I finished second in the euros..... DO NOT count me out.

G.A.G.U.S

Agree1 Disagree0

I'll settle for mid-table mediocrity in my debut season :) Any word on Aguero and how long he's expected to be out for? I have him as well, and I'd hate to depend on Carlton Cole for too long :)


StevieK

Agree0 Disagree0

21 Aug 2012 13:22:54
I have to laugh as the minority on here criticising Cleverley. He along with Kags and DDG were the best players on the pitch for United. We were just missing a defence and a bit of steel in midfield.

I believe this will be our toughest game this season, against City we will raise our game. This was a good one to get out of the way which is why a draw would have been a good result.

Sydney!

Believable7 Unbelievable1

Couldn't agree more Syd! People using a lot of excuses, but we simply lost because we had defensive issues, unlucky for us. By Saturday night everyone opinions will change!

-JakeW

Agree0 Disagree1

Totally disagree with you Syd about Clevs. He did absolutely nothing to influence the game and i thought he ran around in circles like a headless chicken.
I do agree about Kagawa and De Gea, i thought they both looked really good but Kagawa needed to be playing deeper to infuence the game more, he was playing just behing Rooney at the start of the game.
For me Fergie got it wrong playing Valencia at full back, Kagawa too far forward and what the hell was Welbeck doing on the left??

Simmo


Simmo

Agree4 Disagree1

Completely agree Syd, Clevs looked very good IMO, but is too similar to Scholes to play along side him against Everton in their own back yard.

DodgyBanter

Agree1 Disagree0

It is pretty clear the problem is not Cleverley, DDG or Kagawa but Nani and the Scholes area as has been obvious for a while now

Red Man

Agree2 Disagree0

Simmo

Welbeck was playing FROM the left, and had two slotted through runs which could have been pens or goals on another day... Hardly a strategic error!

DodgyBanter

Agree0 Disagree0

Simmo, Cleverley will be a revelation this season. Trust me on that one. Give him three more games and your opinion will change. What he does he does well. It looks like he is doing nothing, but he is creating space and is always ready to receive the ball. He was a little CAREFUL yesterday as he had big defensive duties too, but when he is given the freedom with a better defence behind him he will dominate the tempo of games.

I value everyone's opinion on here, well except the no name cretinous posts, but give him a month and tell me if you still feel the same way mate.

Sydney!

Agree1 Disagree1

21 Aug 2012 13:07:20
I think there was an under lying problem with our performance last night. Yes, we had players out of position and admittedly the squad we started with hadn't played a game together so that was unfortunate (in contrast to the Everton squad who have played that same XI since roughly 1901!). The thing I picked up on that I don't think has been said on here yet is the lack of a leader on the pitch. Evertons tactics were obvious to say the least, the long ball to Fellaini into the gap between the CBs and our CMs. There was no one on that pitch that seemed to be saying, ''right lads, get the finger out...this is what they're doing and this is how we're going to stop it''. SAF can only do so much from the touchline and at half time. He needs someone on the pitch who can enforce his orders. Vidic, as captain, should of been the man to do that but I thought he was remarkably quiet throughout the game. Scholes should of been the next man, given his experience but at times I felt he looked like he didn't want to be there! On a few occasions he shied away from a having a pop at goal from the edge of the box...looked like he had no confidence at all. Valencia looked similar, no confidence to take on his man and we know he can do that. Rooney the same, looked very quiet and a bit subdued. There was no one on that team to instill some confidence in them, a few words to give them all a boost. Everton picked up on this and capitalized on it...they played with confidence in both defense and attack and lets be honest, they only have 2 or maybe 3 players that could be considered top class. We need people to step up, and not just when they're on the ball, but off it too.

Some other points to note, more positive ones too! Kagawa was excellent, I can see him linking up with RVP in particular very well, both have such a delicate touch. Cleverly had a great game too, some good passes and he held the ball very well. I think he and Kagawa need to link more, but that will come with some experience, that was only his 17th appearance with the first team after all. De Gea played a stormer, needs to be a bit more assertive when it come to set pieces but other than that I couldn't fault him. Welbeck had a good game, some nice movement and I could see a front 3 of himself, Rooney and RVP working quiet well against some lesser teams. I thought Nani did ok, especially considering he was up against Baines (who played a stormer). I still wouldn't be adverse to selling him though, considering we've seen Welbeck can play quite well on the left and Valencia will be first choice RW when Rafael comes back (probably next week).

The negatives i've already mentioned really. Lack of a leader, no confidence, not much communication. Honestly wouldn't have though Evra was playing until the commentator said his name, he was non existent in the first half so the sooner Buttner comes in the better. The game summed up that we need someone in midfield who can really boss the game and break up attacks. Sahin would be perfect IMO, but it's not likely. Witsel, who knows? We bid for him, we haven't bid for him...hard to tell what's going on. I still think Dembele is a great choice, and probably the most likely but the timing of the Fulham game doesn't help. Can't see them signing before hand and if he plays well his price will go up dramatically afterwards. We'll see what happens I guess, but I do think we'll bring in one more player. Thanks for reading guys, sorry it was a long post!

Andy!

Believable2 Unbelievable0

21 Aug 2012 13:42:34
Really disappointed after last night. I was looking forward to this season after SAF had spent some money and shown a huge desire to reclaim the premiership from pre-season interviews.
Carrick at center-back doesn't work. SAF obviously does not trust Wooten, even though he praised his pre-season performances. People ask why Carrick marked Fellani - because Fellani was told to stay with Carrick as he was a weak point in the defense. SAF obviously instructed Vidic to mark Jelavic for the corners.
Evra is so, so poor. SAF needs to be held responsible for letting this situation continue for so long. Evra has been abysmal since the world cup and should have been replaced last year. His inability to get in a cross in the last 30 minutes of the game last night was scandalous!
Our center midfield pairing did not work. Scholes is too old. Cleverly needs to be shielded by a more naturally defensive minded player. Kagawa played as a #10, not as an attacking midfielder. We did not play 433 as some people have said. We played our old, outdated 442. Nani, as everyone rightly said was terrible. However, it is not Nani's fault that Utd do not get past the first man at corners - it is SAF who instructs him to take the corner. I'm sorry, but a manager coaching an U10 team will pick someone who can kick it into the box, it is utterly unbelievable that SAF does not change this. Nani had no end product last night - when he moved to the left wing, it was farcical how often both he and Evra failed to get any cross into the box.
There was a huge gap between our central midfielders and 2 attackers until we conceded the goal. WHY does SAF persist with 442. For us to be restricted by 2 ex players who were deemed not good enough for a place on our team speaks volumes. Darren Gibson was woeful last night, which means only Neville was holding our midfield at bay. This is unacceptable. We looked much better when we conceded the goal and Kagawa started coming deeper, but then SAF left our right side empty, and with Valencia too scared to attack it only left Evra, Nani (and then young) on the left, and as I said already they were incapable of getting past Hibbert and getting in a cross.
I really don't understand how a man who used to have steel in the centre of the park with Robbo, Keane, Ince, etc can leave us so frail in this position for so long. If, as some people say, we are not playing a 442, the SAF does not understand that the concept of 433 requires a defensive midfielder to operate correctly. This DM is the anchor to hold everything else in place, and allow the 2 more attack-minded midfielders the freedom to play.
Also, Wellbeck is not a left-sided midfielder. Valencia is not a full-back (why did he not get forward down the wing??)
Rooney has a disgraceful first touch for such a good player. He really needs to work on this, and also to try and find some sense of pride in his play when things are not going right. For me he does not look interested a lot of the time. I do however think that he is an intelligent footballer and sees that the team and manager can be very naive tactically and he does get frustrated with this.
Kagawa does look like he is going to be a great asset. RVP will be great but can SAF accomodate him, Kagawa and Rooney effectively.
Everton are terrible to watch. They are everything that is bad in the game. A long punt up to a target man. (Why do people keep saying Fellani played midfield - he played as a striker) They completely shut up shop after the goal - they had no interest whatsover in trying to play football. Terrible to watch, but they were very diciplined, they had their homework done on us and deserved to win the game.

J Bones.

Believable2 Unbelievable4

A bit of sour grapes here I think.

United were terrible up front and too predictable in midfield. I would be bored stiff watching that every week.

Ferguson has lost the plot and the team is getting weaker by the season.

United would take Fellaini tomorrow, and probably Baines and Jagielka..oh, and probably Pienaar..at the very least!

Agree3 Disagree1

Spot on mate, tho I think you're a little harsh on Everton. They play with drive, passion and directness, something we used to do too...


StevieK

Agree1 Disagree0

21 Aug 2012 13:58:57
If SAF is such a good manager, why hasn't he sorted out our technical/medical staff (far too many injuries before the season has even started), why hasn't he strengthened our midfield, why didn't t he try something different once it was obvious Felini was causing us SO much trouble? The answer I'm afraid is that, as great as he once was, he's past his sell by date. For those that think he can do no wrong and should be allowed to carry on for however long he wants, is he REALLY the best judge? What Utd lack is somebody with the guts to tell him enough is enough. Pep Gaurdiola for 2013/14 anyone?

Believable9 Unbelievable1

Probably the most stupid thing I've ever read.

you say lets bring in Pep yet he didn't EVER have a back up plan, look at the games that Barcelona were stopped and you'll see a manager who panics.

I don't think SAF is invincible, at times he's made mistakes but he's taken our club from the occassional cup team sitting mid table to the greatest force in British Football history.

I think you've been playing to many FM games in all fairness mate. We've got a brilliant set up from our youth set up onwards.

The Moon.

Agree3 Disagree5

Absolutely agree with this; insightful and correct.

The Frenchman

Agree4 Disagree1

Agreed mate.... have been saying it since Barca did us at Wembley again.... Unfortunately we have the old man syndrome... very dogmatic and he knows best.... the guy is 70... i love him to bits for what he as done fur us...but his tactics and decision making is appalling... and Phelans coaching is old school now... need frsh blood ... personally Mourinho for me...stockport red.

Agree6 Disagree0

Mourinho would only want to spend and more or less dismantle our youth system

Agree2 Disagree1

If our youth policy is so good, as the moon suggests, why is everybody flooding this site with names of players we should be buying?! Surely our team would be full of homegrown talent?

Agree1 Disagree0

21 Aug 2012 13:50:53
Kaka?

Wow some people are well deluded. We are not after kaka I promise you all this.

United Till I Die 1987

Believable1 Unbelievable3

Not saying we are after Kaka, because I believe we aren't, but a week back you were adamant RVP wouldn't be anything close to a MUFC player, so why should people listen (read) to you?

MPez

Agree1 Disagree0

Several supposed ITK men (Guillerme Balague amongst them) have already said that Kaka will NOT be coming to United, so this is hardly .

TK-Red

Agree2 Disagree0

UTID

You are not ITK. It's obvious we're not in for Kaka. You don't need to claim this as your own .

G.A.G.U.S

Agree1 Disagree0

21 Aug 2012 13:49:42
Hello eds and fellow reds.
Yesterday's match was fustrating to watch,nani had a shocker,really poor and wasn't playing for the team.
Evra was his usual poor self,can't attack,can't defend.
Welbeck was lost and ran like a pregnant woman.
Rooney was rusty,but he played some nice passes with kagawa.
Valencia was out of depth.
Kagawa and degea stood out.
Its just the first game and the team will up their game.
I think its time fergie stops playing players out of position,wooton was avaliable and would have performed better than carrick,thats what happened to pogba,he wasn't given game time by fergie,imagine how he felt seeing rafeal play mid field?until fergie stops this attitude of playing players out of position then we should be ready to see an unhappy young players.
To our midfield issue,hope we sign witsel,people saying we should sign felleni should watch the match again,he could barely pass,and relies on long balls.
Thanks everyone.
Jude.

Believable4 Unbelievable0

21 Aug 2012 13:47:37
Warning this is not doom mongering

Like I said during the Sneijder Saga, a midfield enforcer is what we lack not an attacking minded one. Yesterdays game against Everton proved that yet again. Will United go after a DM? Most probably not. Oh and also we still need a new LB Evra is well passed his sell by date.

United Till I Die 1987

Believable4 Unbelievable0

21 Aug 2012 13:36:32
Honest Assessment.

As we all know Everton is a tough ground to come away with three points at the best of times. But with a back four consisting of only two recognized defenders it was always going to be a challenge. Fair play to Everton for exploiting our weakness and using Fellani to his full advantage. He was a hand full, however I question the marking of the players around him and the team selection.

Especially the marking of Fellani on the corner, why was Vidic not marking him, and also the basic corning of sticking two people on the posts. There was no one covering the post on the side which the goal went in. Its a simple mistake which could have been prevented.

However, I do feel the team line up was not the correct one. I felt we should have had a back for of Rafeal, Vidic Wootton and Evra. People debating between youth and experience, but with a game as physical as this Wootton would have played well alongside Vidic.

This would have allowed for a midfield of Cleverley Carrick, Valencia, Young, Kagawa and then striker would have been Rooney. This would have allowed for a midfield which could have protected the defence more, since Valencia and Young track back more and can protect Evra's dodgy positioning.

However there were some positives in that David De Gea was showing his worth, Vidic proved once again how badly we missed him and Kagawa was a bright spark in midfield.

I really think Nani needs a wake up call, he was abysmal last night and not showing the signs of what he is capable of.

Overall I would off have liked Manchester United to come away with a point at least but the formation and player choice did not provide enough protection to the back four. However, it is only the first game of season and there will be promising signs to come if Fergie can utilize his attacking options coupled with having our injured defence back. I would like to see Anderson given a chance in midfield with Cleverley again, but not until we have a solid back four.

I can see another midfielder being signed to protect the back four, as all the top teams seem to have someone and it is an important and effective position. However not until a few familiar faces are sold first ( Berbatov, Macheda, possibly Nani.)

Thanks for reading

Nani's Crossing Coach

Believable3 Unbelievable0

21 Aug 2012 13:35:43
Clear to see on here that the majority are of the opinion that.
1 Nani is crap and too inconsistent
2 We need a midfield enforcer.
I totally agree but also believe Rooney is struggling to find space and needs to sit further back.

Believable2 Unbelievable2

21 Aug 2012 12:58:49
What is the news on Neven Subotic, Eds? We were interested in him, IIRC.

Is he going anywhere anytime soon? Are we still interested? Does anyone think that with Rio's injury record and Vidic just coming back from a serious knee injury, we need any strong CB? I understand that we have cover in Smalling, Evans and Jones. But does anyone think that we should add another CB?

Amit-Bombay {Ed002's Note - There is no interest in Subotic right now.}

Believable0 Unbelievable0

21 Aug 2012 12:58:01
I'm an Everton fan, and I am proud the way your fans give Everton credit, I have always got on with united fans as you are always fair in your opinions. Not like the deluded Liverpool fans I have to put up with, when they lose they always have a reason like the other day they lost because the referee was awful. They conceded two very good well worked goals and they can't take it! Anyway, I thought kagawa looked very promising for you and probably the best player, I was at the match and every time he got the ball he was in a good position and used the players around him well, when the players around him pick up form I.e. nani it will be deadly... Good luck for this season.............

TC

Believable9 Unbelievable1

Luck can only get you so far... would it be ok for us to borrow Baines & Fellaini please ..lol

the better team on the day won congrats.. just hope you play that well against city and chelsea...

good luck too

oxred

Agree6 Disagree0

TC, Fellaini played a blinder last night and Moyes got his tactics spot on. Kick the ball long and aim for Fellaini, then Fellaini brings it down and finds Osman or Jelavic. Jags was very impressive too. I have already said that last night's game will be our toughest of the season. Would have loved to have had some fit defenders and would have preferred to have played you in the middle of the season, but we were very unlucky in that respect. I have no doubts that Fellaini will keep you above Liverpool this season. Well done.

Sydney!

Agree3 Disagree1

Everton are due a good season this year, looking solid and now you've actually got solid strikers as well in Mirallas and Jelavic....and big Marouane when called upon!

Good luck for the season, no beef with Everton at all, hope you trounce the this season home and away!

RED_SKY

Agree4 Disagree0

21 Aug 2012 12:51:08
Well I hate to be the one to say it but Scholes is at times more of a liability than a help.His challenges are terrible for someone with so much experience.How he has not learned that the Nobby Stiles type of tackling is bad for a team in 2012 I will never know.Maybe Rio should be coaching him to stay on his feet.All referees know what he is like and as soon as he dives in are waiting for player contact.Once he is on a card we all watch each tackle from him with a sense of impending doom.Come on Paul do it for the fans and your team STAY ON YOUR FEET .

Believable4 Unbelievable0

21 Aug 2012 12:39:31
Sack fergie now ............ Ha ha leave it out we will sign one more player an if not tat was the first game we didn't get a chance to settle ..... Everton had a really good game plan..... We expect better but give them a chance

CAIN

Believable1 Unbelievable3

21 Aug 2012 12:28:31
Kagawa was a real let down for me. First time I've seen him for 90 minutes. All he did was pass 5 yards then run away. He's nothing compared to giggs, ronaldo - even Park was more effective. Should have got carzola. Buying on the cheap gets you monkeys. Why is everyone so in love with him? RVP didn't get a kick either. Tell it like it is go f sake.

Gman
------------------------

guessing this person is an arsenal fan? carzola isn't even good..

Believable5 Unbelievable5

I think you will find Gman, that that is now how football is being played. How often do you see, Xavi, Iniesta, Messi pass more than 5-10 yards. You dont. Football is now an intricate game of pass and move. People say Barca have set the standard, its now for everyone else to match it. Kagawa is able to do it.

Sambo

Agree1 Disagree0

21 Aug 2012 12:20:25
Fellaini is not what we need.
When do we ever lump the ball up like that?

He did very well against a player inexperienced at playing as a Centre Half. Michael Carrick is not a physical player at the very best of times.

Cleverley looked out of his depth yesterday, as if he didn't really have a clearly defined role in the team. He struggled physically against some of the stronger Players in the Centre and looked outmatched.

Very happy with what I saw from Kagawa though. He looked more comfortable on the ball than any of our other players and I think considering that was his debut in the BPL, it was a very promising performance.

Just need a bit of steel in the centre now.
Tiote would do nicely.

Believable4 Unbelievable1

Sorry but we were pumping crosses in left, right and centre so on that basis Fellaini would work very well in those circumstances.

Of course we are looking to play better football but as an out ball he showed perfectly last night how he can link play and hold the ball up when needed.

I would prefer witsel but wouldnt complain if we were to go for Fellaini.

By the way I don't see SAF signing any CMer as everyone will be questioning him over no CM signing again and he will dig his heels in and take a stance against taking anyone on board IMO.

Jono

Agree3 Disagree0

Jono, his stubbornness could be a problem, I have said that many times.

Sydney!

Agree4 Disagree0

Sadly Jono, I agree. The closer we get to the window, the less I expect us to sign a CM. Which would be suicidal on last night's and the last 2years' evidence.

SAF is simply too stubborn and seems like he's gonna refuse to buy there again. We'll reap what we sow.

RED_SKY

Agree3 Disagree0

21 Aug 2012 11:14:20
Right, we're not always going to get bossed like we did last night but it will send a message to other teams that we dont like it up us.
I think SAF was a being a bit disingenous when he said all Everton had was the long ball. Fellaini is more than Fashanu Mk2. The way he kept drifting between the lines was superb.
Now our midfield is okay but even Barca have a play to do the dirty work (Busquets) and thryve bought Song to back him up. Who have we got?
Please dont say Anderson as thats not his natural game but i have a feeling thats where he'll be deployed

Believable7 Unbelievable0

21 Aug 2012 12:09:04
I've been using this site for a long time but some of the ludicrous statements I read after one loss STILL never cease to stun me.

APC

Believable3 Unbelievable1

21 Aug 2012 12:07:28
There really need not be a knee-jerk reaction. What did you all expect? I did say that we could be in trouble and we were. Everton are one of the best teams in the country, Carrick and Valencia were making up the right hand side of defence and Fellaini knew that Carrick would be hopeless against him in the air. Fellaini was clever and put himself up against some of the weaker players in the air (everyone but Vidic). We also forced RVP outwide too much...no idea why. Nani was shocking, but will improve. Cleverly and Kagawa performed well but Scholes looked off the pace and passed the ball around very negatively.

In all honesty the game would of been different if we had Evans or Ferdinand alongside Vidic with Carrick in midfield. We would of controlled the ball quite a lot better. But it was a make shift job at the back. What puzzles me is SAF's unwillingness to try certain youth players, if Wooton isn't ready now then he never will be. He is a natural centre back and should of been played there in my opinion. That way we could of got Kagawa, Cleverly, Carrick and Scholes controlling possesion more.

Nevertheless, we still need that Fellaini type player...but not so we can toss balls up to him. Witsel would give us strength in midfield, it was the fact that Fellaini could trap the ball that was his best attribute and most telling contribution to the game. Thats what Yaya Toure does for City, he holds the ball and either moves it on when others arrive or he takes a driving run. We are still missing that player despite having good technical players.

Over the season I expect that RVP, Rooney, Vidic, De Gea, Cleverly and Kagawa will all become undropable as they I feel are our best players. Carrick will get loads of games, but hopefully Witsel could replace him in the starting line up.

Overall, I'm hoping that this will soon become our strongest line up by the end of the transfer window:

_____________De Gea
Rafael__Ferdinand__Vidic__Evra
____Cleverly___Witsel___Kagawa
_Valencia______RVP_____Rooney

RedDevil19

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The answer to your question is his attitude.


They say that fortune favours the brave, and Fergie in 95 was very brave. After a summer when several senior figures were shown the door, Fergie replaced them with a group of kids and many questioned his motives. After that initial 3-1 loss to Villa we then had the famous Hansen quote “You will never win anything with kids”…. WELL WE ALL KNOW WHAT HAPPENED NEXT.
Fast forward to 2011 and again you could ask why several senior figures were not shown the door and replaced from within, with Kids that would then blossom into world class footballers.
Had Fergie released scholes, giggs and evra and replaced them with Fabio, Pogba and Petrucci then we could have started this season with a new LB and 2 CMs and all 3 would have a year under their belts. BUT he failed to do so and again last night when it was crying out for a natural cb with strength he played a senior player out of position.

Pogba told the French press that he left as he wanted game time and fergie told him to wait as he was only 19. This would have not even crossed fergies mind back in 95. Pogba would have been in there as he was good enough and he was what we needed.

I just hope he does not make the same mistakes again as it is costing us points and potentially world class footballers.

Oxred

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21 Aug 2012 12:05:52
I was raging at Nani (as one of his supporters) totally played for himself last night. Gets ball from Kagawa, Kagawa runs into good position and instead of making the easy pass to to him, Nani tries to take on his man and next thing Toffiees are on the brake...All night with different players. I'm not saying don't take on players but if the easy pass is there and after a player has worked to get into that position, then make that pass. Just because it's an easy pass doesn't make it bad one. Still think he's alot better than last night thou. Everton where great to watch last night. Gibson, class in the first half, Fellaini, immense!. Man of the match for me was Distin. Guys 35 in Dec and he was like a whippet.

Tommy

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Completly agree mate.. I was observing the same thing. When easy passes were available.. Not only nani butmost passers were opting for otherwise. Kagawa never got return balls in final third
Rodio17

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Weirdly i disagree i thought every1 was making basic passes all night an getting nowhere he had a poor game but atleast he was trying somthing different.

marlow

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21 Aug 2012 12:00:28
On a plus note from last night Degea was awesome, he saved us from a hiding, kagawa looks good and the arrival of Van Persie is really encouraging but again why has the issue of a non existent midfield being tolerated. Its great having this attack force but if we cant control or get the ball its pointless. Why can't Fergie the master not see we need a quality midfielder and keep putting up with the likes of Nani who only plays 5/6 good games a season.

Fingers crossed they are addressing this.

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21 Aug 2012 11:53:44
did i not say that we shud sign fellani and i was told by a few pwoplw that he is a poor mans carrick and not good enough for us, i knew he was bril told you he was
THE HEMMINATOR

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21 Aug 2012 11:48:30
watching the game last night a few things stood out to me i thought we lost the match not because evra was poor or we were defensively bad but we jus wernt effective in possession we didn't move the ball well, players off the ball didnt make themselves useful n our 1 touch passing was very predictable an sloppy the reason for this is the dynamic of the team has changed and players will need time to adapt, everton basically
parked the bus so we had very few opportunities to get in an behind their defence so all our play was infont of them also we really need a cm with pace n power as in these kind of matches we tend to get bullied bit but its early days so nothing to be worried about also does anyone else notice that rooney looks a bit podgy, needs to lose a few pounds imo

marlow

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21 Aug 2012 11:31:29
George Soros....Now owns a piece of your club. You have now become a toy in some rich businessman's game of monopoly who could not care less about the game, club or the fans {Ed004's Note - How? He has no influence over the running of the club?}

Believable1 Unbelievable1

21 Aug 2012 11:23:04
i think we should change our style and not use wingers, we sould go for attacking fullbacks and attacking mids.

maybe something like this:

__________degea___________
______small_vidic_ferdy______
ToniV______Witsel_____Patrice
___Kagawa______Cleverlay___
_______rooney_VPersie_______

have witsel sitting back and protecting the back four, have evra and valencia providing the width with cleverley carrick and kagawa keeping possession..

if we are going to play with wingers then i don't see the use for attacking fullbacks, one or the other IMO.

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Swap Evra with Young and I really like that formation. Can't see SAF going for it though!

Andy!

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I think a 3-5-2 with these players would be very strong.

De Gea

Ferdinand
Vidic
Evans

Valencia
Cleverley
Witsel
Kagawa
Young

Rooney
Van Persie

Linders / Rafael / Smalling / Jones / Scholes / Welbeck / Hernandez

Sydney!

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21 Aug 2012 11:14:13
I am ok with last night. Lots of positives.
1.DDG
2. kagawa
3. Cleverley
4. Vidic

Everton did well. It was like they had won a cup final at the end and that may be the peak of their season perhaps! They did deserve the win to be fair.

If City were without Kompany, Lescott, Toure, Savic then how would they fair in the Alnd of the Giants? same for Chelski without terry, Luiz, Cahill and Ivanavic ? With a makeshift CD and with 4 to come back there what would be the point in buying someone for that position?

We do ned an enforcer in CM and surely a loan for a special person like Kaka would cover the forward/creative options.

Witsel does seem to fit the bill perfectly - check out his breaking an opponents leg in 2009 by stamping on it (not to be endorsed obviously) for which he served an 8 match ban. Now that would be an interesting match up against Toure/Fellaini! It would be like having Keano back v Vierra !

Cheers

CAW

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CAW...It wasn't a Cup Final buddy...it was simply winning the first match of the season...being tagged late starters etc...RVP headline news ...UTD not giving City any slack ...and the rest of the build up to the match...

After all that and then Everton play so well...

Cold light of day maybe we took you by surprise the hype from the pundits... kinda put UTD off their guard ...who knows ??

Blue247

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Sorry mate but i thought Cleverley was awful. Ran around like a headless chicken and had no infuence on the game whatsoever!

Simmo

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21 Aug 2012 11:07:56
Kagawa is going to be a superstar, he is always looking for the ball and seems to never give it away, great buy by SAF

Mighty Manc Mike

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21 Aug 2012 11:05:27
The players we have our formation should be
4-3-1-2 and it goes like this and trust me
This is the best out there:
----------------De Gea--------------
Smalling--Ferdinand-Vidic----Evra
----Valencia--Carrick--Scholes----
---------------Kagawa--------------
-----------Rooney---RVP-----------

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21 Aug 2012 10:56:49
I am ok with last night. ots of positives
1

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21 Aug 2012 10:54:59
People are saying we havn't replaced Scoles, but I think Clevs is showing he is a ready made replacement. Problem is the two of them playing in a midfield 2 against a physical side like Everton.

Rafael should have played right back.
Wooton should have played.
Carrick and Clevs midfield.

I still think there were some positive signs last night. Welbeck could easily have won two pens if he'd stepped across the line of the ball to shield it better - but both from positive runs in behind.

Kags looks awesome, but it will take time for players to learn how to play together in these tight spaces.

Nani has to improve his crossing, it hurt us last night losing numerous attacking chances where he didn't even give people a chance to compete.

We will improve, keep the faith.

DodgyBanter

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21 Aug 2012 10:32:44
alright guys

one point that i would just like to make......

what the hell is up with rooney? i taught he was awful last nit.. he couldnt hold up the ball passes goin astray very bad miss with that header in the first half....
for a supposedly world class player surely these parts of his game should be on the button every time but there not and havent been for a while now...

dont get me wrong love rooney to bits but its gettin beyond a joke at this stage....take the penos away last season and his stats wouldnt look as good...

cheers {Ed004's Note - He still would have 20+ goals a season and he still would have been the player that rallied our team on when we needed him to}

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Where was the rallying last night? He is on ridiculous wages and it's these players that should be producing week in, week out. Rooney was the worst player on the pitch last night, closely followed by Nani. Rooney has 6-7 good games a season and people think he is the saviour of English football. Give me a break!

He is payed Messi and Ronaldo wages but is not fit to lace their boots!

FredtheRed

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I think he needs to lose a bit of weight personaly ive noticed his games changed he seems to have lost pace hes far less nimble and he rarely tries to beat a man anymore ive noticed it for a while hes still class but needs to trimm down.

marlow

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21 Aug 2012 10:25:26
Please, please, let's not panic. We had a poor defensive line up because of injuries, Jones would've been a good match up against Fellaini, Rio and Smalling would've stop the threat from above.
To those who want us to rush out and get Fellaini should stop and think, we would have to change our whole way of playing to take full advantage of his strengths, and I for one don't want that.
Toni V is a winger who helps out the right back not a right back who helps out a winger, Carrick the same, I admit S.A.F's hands were tied with selection last night and Carrick is probably 5th/6th choice centre back, so no blame apportioned there.
We do though need someone with a hair style like Fellaini, it adds height to the midfield........That man with that hair style is WITSEL, THE MISSING LINK.
flyhalf(Mitch)

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21 Aug 2012 10:17:18
Have to laugh a bit, gutted we lost last night but we were outperformed by an everton team playing to their strengths. Lot of people saying Fellani isn't good enough for united, last night he showed he was better than many people think! D'oh! I hope this is a kick up the arse for fergie and shows that despite possession, you still need a player to break up attacks! I know we had one centre back, one full back but against the top teams and European teams we will struggle!

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I have to hold my hands up and say i was one of them but last night showed me otherwise - its been a long time that i have watched united be dominated by a single player - what annoyed me was we didnt change tactics or the play to counter it.

Although fellaini was great last night, where would he fit into our team? we wouldnt play him up front and revert to being a long ball team, is he good enough to play centre mid? his link up play was excellent but is he good enough starting the play from deep?

I don't think attacking is our problem, we have the tools to score, with everton playing well defensively and our attack not quite clicking was the problem last night offensively.

Our problem is in the Midfield , Scholes and cleverly are not strong enough , Scholes still has the passing skill and football brain and Cleverly is decent tidy player but that is all, we need a roy keane type brute that does nothing but break up the play, Keane played in front of the D and rarely crossed the half way line.

I don't know anything about Witsel but people seem to rate him , Toite would be ideal imo, i hope fergie considers this position as i believe it was a major concern last season

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21 Aug 2012 10:13:17
Can it be possible to have a profile on Alexander Buttner?

ProgrammerFan {Ed004's Note - Will pass it on...}

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21 Aug 2012 10:10:19
Not a great way to start the season but Fellaini was excellent. He has been a thorn in our sides in recent games but IMO this does not mean we should buy him.

Everton hit i long looking for Fellaini to chest it, bring it down and move it on. We would not play that way and I would be gutted if we started to. He plays well agains us but in some Everton games he doesnt do much. I think he could be a goodsquad player but do not think he suits the Man United way.

I agree with the post below that sh***Y and others will find it hard against Everton.

Lets not react to badly, when the team settles and we get players back I think we will be fine.

RedMarc

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21 Aug 2012 10:07:23
Fergie is finished, and that is not a knee jerk reaction!

He picked the wrong formation and got thumped. He appears to have no tactical awareness any more ? He didnt even have the grace to admit that united were beaten by a better side, he just used excuses like, the crowd affected the ref ( and they dont at OT?), everton used long ball tactics, they only had 7 shots on goal ( despite fact United only had 4!)....

get a grip Fergie...and show some class for a change

You were beaten, get over it and move on

ps as i predicted this time last year (and you can check my posts if you dont believe me) I still dont think United will win anything AGAIN this year...that will be 2 years without silverware....oh dear, then what ??

pps for those of you who thought i was in a senile home for the aged....IM BACK !!

Tel 1949 {Ed004's Note - Yes conveniently you are back the day Manchester United lose and no where to be seen when Liverpool lose. Let me guess you will be one of the first to turn on Brendan Rodgers. Everton is a far harder place to go than West Brom}

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Go away.

Bored.

Pathetic.

GDS

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How any Liverpool fan has the nerve to come on this site after their performance at the weekend is beyond me.

RMD

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It speaks volumes that Tel hasn't been anywhere near this site for months.

Liverpool have had NOTHING to shout/talk about in the summer transfer window; they had NOTHING to shout about on day one against West Brom.

Funny isn't that the first talking point Tel1949 actually has since April/May, is United losing our first game.

Sums up the state of Liverpool in general - biggest slice of glory they can get these days is another team's failures.

RED_SKY

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I am an everton fan i think the reason we won was down to one man scholes he was slowing the game down when you usually speed up counter attacks also not playing van percy who as a great record against us you have shown your not all bitter and twisted like a certain team i know

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21 Aug 2012 09:55:49
Not going to talk that much about the match as I'm sure it's already been said. Just two points:

1. Why didn't Vidic mark Fellaini at the corner he scored?

2. Nani still hasn't learnt to take a corner. I would happily take £25M if we could reinvest it in someone like Munain.

Rudderpost

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Music to my ears

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21 Aug 2012 09:54:32
It doesn't matter how u start.....it only matters how u end.....

Redman

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For clarity
This is not me!

Red Man

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21 Aug 2012 09:50:43
Just some thoughts on last night.
The first point is Fellaini was very clever last night, he constantly moved away from Vidic over to Carrick's side to put him under pressure because he is not a center back and Carrick couldn't cope with him because he is so physical. Not blaming Carrick he did everything he could to try and tame Fellaini.
My second point is why didn't did Valencia play at full back. People may not agree with me here but Valencia has to play on the wing not full back. Rafael should of played full back and Nani should of been dropped or moved over to the left where Danny Welbeck was playing. This was something else that baffled me, why play Welbeck out on the left when you have either Young or Nani playing there.
The center midfield area again looked weak. Against better teams we are going to get completely overun. I love Scholes but i have been saying it for 2 years now we need a world class central midfielder. Tom Cleverley isn't the answer and i think everybody knows my stance of Anderson.
On a brighter note i thought Kagawa looked superb and should of played in the medfield area. He was to far forward and couldn't get involved enough in the first half. As soon as RVP came on and Kagawa dropped deeper he was pulling the strings. Looks like a great buy!
Not being negative just some thoughts.

Simmo

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21 Aug 2012 09:46:17
Disappointing result and performance, but credit to everton and Fellaini Who played well. Let's see if he plays as well against everyone else that'll prove if he really is all that!
We can only improve and it's only the first game, the left hand side was awful tonight but kagawa impressed me and was great to see vidic back! Perhaps it sowed we need a midfield enforcer to drag us through those tough games but that could be a knee jerk reaction! Roll on fulham on Saturday and hopefully 3 points!

Del boy!

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21 Aug 2012 09:45:05
It doesn't matter how u start....it only matters how u end

devilasif

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21 Aug 2012 09:41:29
Anyone else notice how much Fellaini got away with? So many cynical fouls and he didnt even get a yellow. Reff was far too inconsistent

Fagan

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I thought the foul on De Gea was pretty obvious.

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Did anyone realise how Paul Scholes stayed on the pitch last night after 2 reckless cardworthy challenges, only receiving one yellow?

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21 Aug 2012 09:35:46
I think today showed that teams, especially us, with two CB's rather than a DM as CB. To me, if we had Rio at CB and Carrick in midfield the game would be completely different as the defense would be stronger and it would have far more cover than Cleverley and Scholes can give as they are both AM's. This would mean we would win far more balls in the middle so we don't have to pass it out from the back every time which would naturally give us more attackive options. We wouldn't be as fragile during set pieces either. It shows that we need someone big like Witsel, who can boss the midfield either instead of Carrick or with him.

Aside from that I thought that I thought that Nani was very poor compared to what he can play like. I am very defensive of him and can put up with his inconsistencies but he needs to improve on that performance. I thought Kagawa and De Gea were excellent, some of Kagawa's pass and moves were great.

Welsh Dragon

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21 Aug 2012 09:30:00
Source NY Times:

Soros Acquires Stake in Manchester United

Manchester United, the English soccer team, began its season on Monday with a 1-0 loss to Everton. But Manchester United, the newly public company, has received a big thumbs up from one of the world’s most famous investors.
George Soros, the hedge fund billionaire, has taken a 7.85 percent stake in the team, acquiring 3.1 million of the Class A shares, according to a securities filing on Monday. The investment is a passive stake, held without the purpose of trying to change the company.
The soccer team, champions of England, 19 times in its 134-year history, went public on the New York Stock Exchange on Aug. 10 at $14. On Monday, the shares closed at $13.06.
Regardless of who owns the Class A shares, control of Manchester United is firmly in the hands of Malcolm Glazer and his family, who also own the National Football League team the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The American Glazer family holds Class B shares of Manchester United, which have 10 votes apiece, compared with Class A’s one vote apiece.
This is not the first dalliance with professional soccer for Mr. Soros, 82, whorecently announced his engagement to Tamiko Bolton. The financier, whose net worth has been estimated by Forbes magazine at $14.5 billion, had owned DC United, the Washington franchise of Major League Soccer, for several years after the league began in 1996. And in 2008, he had also reportedly been in talks to acquire the Italian club A.S. Roma before pulling out

Believable0 Unbelievable0

21 Aug 2012 09:26:22
Witsel this Witsel that, people write on here as if we have him, Witsel would not have made a difference last night against Fellaini, nobody would, he had a great game, just get on with it, I don't fink we need anybody else, yh Witsel is good but until we get him, people need to stop acting like we lost because he wasn't playing

Big Mac

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21 Aug 2012 09:25:39
The billionaire investor George Soros has bought a stake in Manchester United, a US regulatory filing showed.
Mr Soros' investment fund bought about 3.1 million Class A shares in the club, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

If he's buying that many 'worthless' shares he must be pretty interested in us. He's worth $20 billion.

Believable0 Unbelievable0

21 Aug 2012 09:00:04
I think there was an under lying problem with our performance last night. Yes, we had players out of position and admittedly the squad we started with hadn't played a game together so that was unfortunate (in contrast to the Everton squad who have played that same XI since roughly 1901!). The thing I picked up on that I don't think has been said on here yet is the lack of a leader on the pitch. Evertons tactics were obvious to say the least, the long ball to Fellaini into the gap between the CBs and our CMs. There was no one on that pitch that seemed to be saying, ''right lads, get the finger out...this is what they're doing and this is how we're going to stop it''. SAF can only do so much from the touchline and at half time. He needs someone on the pitch who can enforce his orders. Vidic, as captain, should of been the man to do that but I thought he was remarkably quiet throughout the game. Scholes should of been the next man, given his experience but at times I felt he looked like he didn't want to be there! On a few occasions he shied away from a having a pop at goal from the edge of the box...looked like he had no confidence at all. Valencia looked similar, no confidence to take on his man and we know he can do that. Rooney the same, looked very quiet and a bit subdued. There was no one on that team to instill some confidence in them, a few words to give them all a boost. Everton picked up on this and capitalized on it...they played with confidence in both defense and attack and lets be honest, they only have 2 or maybe 3 players that could be considered top class. We need people to step up, and not just when they're on the ball, but off it too.

Some other points to note, more positive ones too! Kagawa was excellent, I can see him linking up with RVP in particular very well, both have such a delicate touch. Cleverly had a great game too, some good passes and he held the ball very well. I think he and Kagawa need to link more, but that will come with some experience, that was only his 17th appearance with the first team after all. De Gea played a stormer, needs to be a bit more assertive when it come to set pieces but other than that I couldn't fault him. Welbeck had a good game, some nice movement and I could see a front 3 of himself, Rooney and RVP working quiet well against some lesser teams. I thought Nani did ok, especially considering he was up against Baines (who played a stormer). I still wouldn't be adverse to selling him though, considering we've seen Welbeck can play quite well on the left and Valencia will be first choice RW when Rafael comes back (probably next week).

The negatives i've already mentioned really. Lack of a leader, no confidence, not much communication. Honestly wouldn't have though Evra was playing until the commentator said his name, he was non existent in the first half so the sooner Buttner comes in the better. The game summed up that we need someone in midfield who can really boss the game and break up attacks. Sahin would be perfect IMO, but it's not likely. Witsel, who knows? We bid for him, we haven't bid for him...hard to tell what's going on. I still think Dembele is a great choice, and probably the most likely but the timing of the Fulham game doesn't help. Can't see them signing before hand and if he plays well his price will go up dramatically afterwards. We'll see what happens I guess, but I do think we'll bring in one more player. Thanks for reading guys, sorry it was a long post!

Andy!

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21 Aug 2012 08:54:25
OK so we are all disappointed, buy fellani... some say ..

Think it's obvious we need a bit of steal in our midfield.. but who ...


also woul be interested to know fellow fans opinon on 2 things ..

1 Selling Nani..

2 do you thihnk Rooney is over rated .. Ever since we caved in to his money demands he doesnt seem the player he was..

Would love to hear fellow fans opinion

Also to the Ed's been lurking in the background for a while now reading think this site is great , so thanks for the work you guys put in ..

And to the rest of the fans .. We'll be back on track soon ....

xXJediXx

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1. If we sold Nani i think fergie would be interested in replacing him with someone of lesser quality on the cheap. Fergie likes to have 4 wide men in the 1st team squad.
2. Rooney doesnt seem to be as interested as he used to be but i have wondered would our team have played better with someone to stay upfront and hold up the ball like berba, rather then dropping deep to collect the ball and do nothing with it, as Rooney did last night.
James.

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21 Aug 2012 08:51:57
The reason i think why we lose last night was because of injuries to for CBs at once, which is unbeleivable, and losing carrick in midfield and having him at defense as well as valencia should have been in midfield didn't helped. This playing people out of position to accommodate every one won't do well . Have to say though Everton played to their strength well and they mostly win against city too, hope they do it this season too to cancel this result
NSN

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21 Aug 2012 08:49:57
My assessment of last night's match, Everton were worthy winners and if it wasn't for the super saves by De Gea the margin of defeat would have been sickening. I know it is our first game and players are still to settle, De Gea was exceptional and Kagawa was good on the ball as well as touches but it will take some time for Rooney and Company to catch on to his touches and leaves. Everton could be with the best at the top this season.

As I have said a few times before our vulnerability in the air in our own box was once again exposed by Fellaini, the one man that bullied our entire midfield and defense, after our last match against Everton I thought we would have come up with some strategy against the big man but no, like the last time he was allowed to over run our final third with ease. Even in the opposition box we were no better, we were ineffective with every cross or set piece even though we had Vida. If we do not solve this problem we will have some tough days ahead dealing with the likes of Fellaini, Kompany, Toure or even Dembele. I have said it before and am saying it again Dede from Vasco de Gama could be the lasting solution, he is superb in the air both offensively as well as defensively, has a good clean tackle, is quick in retreat, has a stinger of a shot and equally good at set pieces, a total asset, will be pricy no doubt but still very young at 24, considering both Vida and Ferdinand are 30 plus and nearing their end, he would be a very good investment. We also badly need a box to box midfielder. It looks like injuries have started all over again to affect our performances.

Another point I want to make is, for Kagawa to be more effective we would need someone with more pace than Welbeck or Rooney upfront, I believe we have an ideal candidate in Agnelo Henriquez with pace and guile and should give him a try with the lesser teams to start with if he is already a RED. Like every RED, I expect a much better performance in the next match from the Reds. Fred

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Your thoughts on kagawa are spot on, he needs players with better touch and pace in front. I actually think as the season goes on Hernandez and RVP will be better options than Rooney and Welback.

Finally, I hope the Berbatov saga is sorted. It is quite discouraging and truthfully I feel bad for the guy. why have him on the bench if you have no plans on using him

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21 Aug 2012 08:49:10
Pretty disappointed with last night. Got to give credit where it's due, everton had a stormer of a game but we were poor. As with others who have posted, my main issues are with evra and Nani. Really think it would be an idea to play young and buttner against fulham at OT on the weekend!

Believable1 Unbelievable0

21 Aug 2012 08:46:47
fellaini won't leave everton hes only just said he loves everton and wants to stay they just signed a Belgian to keep him more happy, i think everton will do better than newcastle and liverpool if they can keep that up, i dont mind everton to be honest but we didnt play too bad we just had problems in the back 4 with 2 midfielders in there

Believable0 Unbelievable0

21 Aug 2012 08:34:31
I have to say we were deservedly beaten last night. Same old story of passing the ball to death! Kagawa looked class as did de Gea but for me that should be nani's last game for united he was once again absolutely awful and has been for a long while! No wonder Fergie has been looking for a new wide man. As for Evra I now see what everyone else does he's out of his depth positionally as a defender. Lots of positives but still need that penetration that kagawa im sure will provide.

Welsh Red

Believable1 Unbelievable0

21 Aug 2012 08:32:49
Tbh I don't think last night was down to the midfield, they were bypassed by hoof after hoof to Fellaini, and let's be honest, not many are going to beat him in the air are they? Evra and Nani were both awful, it felt like we were playing with 9 men at times, I hope Buttner is good enough to get into the 1st team because I can't cope with Evra playing LB all season.

Also, what is it with us and injuries? I mean jesus christ 4 of our 5 centre backs are injured. We can't have our most consitent player covering at centre back, and the best winger in the league if not world playin at right back, its ludacris!

On the flip side however, I though Dea Gea was outstanding, Cleverley looked very good and Kagawa looked very impressive and it was nice to have Vidic back. Onwards and upwards anyway and let's look forward to Fulham at the weekend, hopefully the team got a rocket from Fergie and they come out firing on Saturday.

DB-Red

Believable1 Unbelievable0

21 Aug 2012 08:31:14
Come on Sir Alex get in for Moutinho
We need someone to boss the game

Believable0 Unbelievable0

21 Aug 2012 08:10:17
Cleverly is a tube ! Its time to take a few quid on him and move him on ..woeful !! Hes 22 now and shows no sign of improving ..its world class players we need not journey men types

Bilko

Believable1 Unbelievable5

This is one of the worst knee-jerk posts I've read on here since the game, and I've read a fair few.

APC

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21 Aug 2012 08:01:19
"Michael Carricks not used to playing as a centre-back but he did all right, he did fine. He applied himself well tonight - they all did."

WTF ??? I hope this statement was just for the press and in the dressing room he gave him and the rest of them a right rollicking..

Believable2 Unbelievable0

21 Aug 2012 07:56:36
sell Rooney been awfull for the last 2 years, nani sell him as well and sell evra. Must be nearly £70m there for Fergie to get amidfield!

Believable3 Unbelievable2

21 Aug 2012 07:54:22
A couple of points. 1. We need to teach our midfield to carry the ball forward, not just look for passes or throw the ball sideways. 2. We cannot afford to be bullied by other teams. What we saw last night we also saw last season. 3. Buying all the forwards in the world won't help if we don't create more. 4. I'll get pelters for this but I don't think that Scholes can run the show for 90 minutes and I (unlike many on this site) wasn't impressed by Cleverley. It has been clear for some years that we need new blood in midfield.

Pip

P.S. From what little I've seen of him Lingard looks like a player who will carry the ball and not just pass it.

Believable0 Unbelievable0

21 Aug 2012 07:40:19
Kagawa was a real let down for me. First time I've seen him for 90 minutes. All he did was pass 5 yards then run away. He's nothing compared to giggs, ronaldo - even Park was more effective. Should have got carzola. Buying on the cheap gets you monkeys. Why is everyone so in love with him? RVP didn't get a kick either. Tell it like it is go f sake.

Gman

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Are you serious. You must have been watching a completely different game to everyone. He was the only decent player on the pitch apart from De Gea.
I would suggest stronger specs my friend.

Simmo

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21 Aug 2012 07:39:32
The problem last night was that Fellaini was dropping into that gap between defense and midfield. You can not blame Vidic or Carrick. It is a defenders nightmare. Your not sure whether to go with or stick in your position. Especially Carrick, who is not a defender by trade.
In fact, I beleive if Carrick was playing midfield that we would not have lost last night. He would have stuck on Fellani and would have made it more difficult.
Saying that, Everton totally deserved their win and played us off the park. Fellaini was immense and their c.b's were brilliant. Kawaga was the only positive,reminds me alot of David Silva. Wellbeck didnt track back enough and left Evra open again. This has to be Evra's last season. Looked sluggish and is giving me nigtmares already.

But lets not jump to conclusions. We had alot of our defense out injured. Our best winger playing rb and we are trying to blend in a couple of new players.

Oh and if some one offers 25 mill or over for Nani, I would rip their arm off. People on here call him world class, yet he cant take a corner that can beat the first man to save his life. Inconsistant, infuriating and I will just come out and say it - overrataed.

Jamesmack8

Believable1 Unbelievable0

21 Aug 2012 07:33:41
without fail and delay lets bid 32million for Everton pair of Jagielka(12million) and Fellaini (20million) and boost our midfield as well as stabilise our defence.....

Believable0 Unbelievable2

21 Aug 2012 07:24:05
Time to put a positive spin on last nite. Everton were excellent. We didn't play too bad, not many teams will come away from there with 3 points if they play like that. De gea and kagawa were very good. We've got a great link up player their. So it's not all doom m gloom. We will still have number 20 come may.

Believable1 Unbelievable0

21 Aug 2012 07:23:57
I don't know why people come on here saying that Fellini is brilliant or a superstar and we shud buy him.oh yes he's a tree trunk of a man,very strong but not one utd player was interested in man marking him or trying to give him a hard time,tackle him and take him out of the game.he was always left in acres of space to take the ball down and use it!we made him look good!if roy Keane was out there Feleini would have never of had that much time and space.there was no ball winners out there for utd,it's as simple as that!vidic should of marked felini for the goal aswell.Carrick is a blouse.he is not the answer at cb,he doesn't have great strength.his defensive abilities are non existent and he ain't no tough tackler.I know we were short in cb but you might aswel have put Hernandez or nani at cb.use the young defenders we have!ive said it time and time again!we need a tough tackling midfielder,a ball winner!some who's gonna shake things up and get stuck in!Cleverly,Carrick,scholes,Giggs,Anderson,kagawa just don't do that!its a joke!we need a defensive midfielder fast.or we will struggle this season.

Believable1 Unbelievable1

21 Aug 2012 07:22:50
Right I have let the dust settle now on last night's defeat. Well done Everton u deserved the win but and its a big but has SAF learnt nothing from last season,Valencia is our best winger & is played at right back, Nani was pants again as was Evra. Carrick tried but against Fellaini was not up to it. De Gea,VIdic,Cleverly all had good games but for the rest they were either not quite up to speed yet or played out of position, Fergies always trying to fit square pegs in round holes when it clearly doesn't work. MIDDLETON RED

Believable3 Unbelievable0

21 Aug 2012 07:00:35
The transfer window slams shut next week yet the two positions we have desperately needed to fill lay vacant. SAF has looked at Moura and Hazard yet we still have Nani. The wide position for someone with pace has been a must since Ronaldo left but despite spending we still don't have anyone, Nani was not the answer before last night let alone after it. Central midfield, the key position we have lacked since Keane left, then exposed by more than Barcelona, even the scousers exposed us there, but SAF knew this two years ago. Ten days left to buy the two key positions. I want to know why we are left in this position, why with all our planning and SAF knowledge this is now right up against the closing of yet another window?

Red Man

Believable2 Unbelievable0

Red Man, I think last night's game may just be a blessing in disguise. The manager can now see what we need. We need a bit of steel and the manager needs to replace Nani like he was planning to do. Nani doesn't seem to be happy and that shown last night IMO. Perhaps he knows he is off?

Sydney!

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21 Aug 2012 06:46:09
utd lost last nite...evra dd not play wel fo me he cost us th game no crosses no defensive wrk its as if therevwas no1 there...also nw tht we hv r.v.p united shud change their type of play bcoz twas once centralised on waynne rooney to cum pik up th ball frm midfield n pass t to the wingers to cross the ball i hv neva seen r.v.p scorin witth his head too many tyms so fergie for me th squad is fyn n shud start with anderson cleverly is nt productive at all passin th ball sideways n no thru balls..fo us to win against fulham united shud start like
----- de gea-:--
rafael-----vidic----carrick----evra----valencia-----anderson---------scholes-----

-------kagawa-----rooney------
-------r.v.p-------

Believable2 Unbelievable2

Flat back 7. Interesting.

Agree2 Disagree0

21 Aug 2012 05:52:15
yup completely agreed we played some good football at times just lacked a bit of sharpness which will come as the season progresses and fully expect this team to compete on all fronts. don't be too down lads still a long season too go we will do just fine
G-Rav

Believable3 Unbelievable1

21 Aug 2012 05:45:48
yeah there were some positives in the game for sure and once our defensive injury are gone i'm confident in this team to win many trophies to come!

Believable1 Unbelievable1

21 Aug 2012 05:10:06
I think the we need to replace these players ASAP...

Players out:
Nani - Far too inconsistent, too selfish to pose a threat, irritating weak attitude, ineffective crosses. Gary Neville was just pointing out yesterday how the number of goals via crosses has significantly decreased in EPL.
Scholes (retire) - Great player but now need to call it a day. Slows the game down...too many side passes...no forward movement...play anderson who looked more creative and energetic yesterday in his short spell.
Giggs (retire)- Not a CM. Everytime i see his name on the sheet, i get a bad feeling...should call it a day...but im sure he wants to win number 20.
Evans (NOW) - The guy was clowning around yesterday...making a fool of this club...every time i see him in a crossing position/edge of the box , i see no fruitful outcome to the move...poor defending ...poor marking...and just useless...sell him now and play that new boy Alexander immediately!

Players in:

Witsel
Kaka
Alexander (PLAY HIM)

MGoa

Believable4 Unbelievable5

Poor Jonny Evans. He doesnt even have to play a game to get slated these days. Whats a guy to do? ;)

TK-Red

Agree3 Disagree0

Hahah...sorry that was supposed to be EVRA...not Evans

MGoa

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21 Aug 2012 03:54:39
20 Aug 2012 22:59:01
For the past 2 years on this site I have been saying we should buy Fellaini and tonight he proved why. How many times did he hold the ball up when none of our players could. That midfield is simply not good enough. We knew that 2 years ago after the champions league final and this won't be the only game that highlights it. Rooney won't have troubled the kit man today as he didn't sweat or get dirty as I dont think he touched the ball. It really was a very poor performance and the look on Fergie's face near the end said more than a 1000 words. I AM KLOOT""""
dear mr I am kloot
mr almighty highness mr rft...
ngiak is just guessing but at least 99% of the posters here have been calling for a defensive mid for at least 3 to 4 seasons
and it's a fellaini like player
kudos to you to finally pick it up
and kudos to everton to show us our weaknesses at the start
one of the toughest games of the season out of the way
and with time to rectify the problems
good game!
gan

Believable3 Unbelievable2

Yeah sure lets buy him, play him in a deeper role, and then complain when he isnt half as effective.

TK-Red

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21 Aug 2012 03:16:18
I was disappointed today. All we did with the ball was pass sideways, backwards and then lose it. When Everton got the ball they started running into space and played some neat one touch passes. We looked like we were new to the prem.Kagawa was one of the few United players that tried to make some good forward runs, making some neat flicks and lay offs...tho they were wasted because no one knew how to take advantage of them. Kagawa needs help in the middle, Rooney should start with RVP up to on saturday and Wooten should get a run if Evans isnt ready. Also, tired of seeing Valencia at RB.

Bernidre

Believable13 Unbelievable2

Totally agree with you. Wootton needs to play CB. He had a great pre-season. But whether Fergie gives him a chance is another thing.

Mad Hatter

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21 Aug 2012 02:53:12
Thought we were way too top heavy against Everton. 2 midfielders in defence, 2 wingers and a second forward in midfield(clev isn't exactly defensive either) and 2 forwards. Felt away at Everton maybe something like that would have been more appropriate.
De Gea
Rafael Carrick Vidic Evra
Scholes Cleverley
Valencia Kagawa Nani
Rooney
I can't see SAF making the same mistake again, I just hope it isn't Kagawa that loses his place to accomodate RVP who I suspect might play the best part of an hour in the next game.

Believable0 Unbelievable5

First man out Saturday must be Nani I said last night he would not have been in my team and he showed exactly why
ARB

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Wow. You should be the manager.gman

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21 Aug 2012 01:06:09
Oh dear ;)

Everton are stronger than last season.

Disney!

IBIMO

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Everton i salute you and you are definitly the best team on merseyside, welldone to your team and welldone to your fans who were brilliant.

Agree3 Disagree1

21 Aug 2012 01:34:32
On top of all the Fellaini posts I would like to say that Jags had one hell of a game. Outstanding reading of the game, brave heading and more importantly superb tackles.

Now I'm not saying sign him up but merely pointing out how well he played.

Jono

Believable8 Unbelievable1

21 Aug 2012 01:29:24
Jono, we have no Witsel or even a Carrick for the midfield mate. The manager's hands are tied for this match, injuries have cost us this game.

Sydney!


No Syd! Injuries did not cost us this game. Had we played as we did for the first 20 mins just to assess the sittu we could easily have seen the only tactic everton had to a goal was through Fellaini. Now are you trying to tell me that after all your posts and know how of football that if you know a player has the physical attributes to beat a player on your team to the advantage of the opposition then that's ok to keep with that strategy (Carrick marking him) for the rest of the game?

I would say get in his face, get Vidic pressing against him, let vida chase him all over the centre of the defense then allowing him to poke off sideways to less affect.

Overall though we seen another type of fergie stubbornness tonight and stuck with what we were trying. We know he is not tactically aware but by god do we need someone who can say 'enough is enough, let's try this!'.

Jono

Believable11 Unbelievable5

To be honest there were certain people on here that stated that if carrick played cb fellaini would destroy him. AND HE DID.

we could all see this before it happened but fergie and his coaching staff either could not, or have too much confidence in carrick....

Jono is correct... after 20 mins vidic should have been asked to pick up fellaini.

either that or no-one.......... make him flick the ball on and pick up the pieces..... do not let him bring it down on his chest and DO NOT let him turn with the ball.....

we still have 2 really important signings to make....

A DM/CM and a number 2.

Oxred

Agree1 Disagree0

Jono, I completely agree that it would have been different had Vidic marked Fellaini, but that was why Fellaini targeted Carrick. When you have just one defender in the back four you cannot have him chasing a player around. Especially as Fellaini could go into midfield to collect the ball and Vidic cannot follow him then. We didn't have the personnel available to deal with this threat. Do you think we would have struggled with Witsel instead of Scholes, Smalling instead of Carrick and Jones instead of Valencia at RB with Valencia replacing Nani at RW?

Valencia, Evra & Carrick are not defenders and we didn't have a single battler in midfield last night. I knew we would be lucky to get a draw.

Sydney!

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Jono,

Do you not think Fergie realised that Carrick couldn't do it but the only other option was a player who hasn't played a full competitive match since November?

In an ideal world Vidic would be coming back slowly, Smalling and Ferdinand would be playing at the back and Vidic would be coming back gradually. But he is having to play full games and maybe Fergie felt trying to mark Fellaini last night would have been a step too far?

So we can blame injuries for last night, and a very very clever and good Everton performance.

GDS

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Carrick....r u having a laugh. Not a midfielder & definitely not a defender. Cannot tackle...full stop.Vidic played more advanced than Carsick!! He is not United quality...time to get rid.

Bullseye50

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Of course defensive injuries cost us . But didn't Fellaini score from a corner? Smalling, Evans, Rio could have prevented the goal. Getting" in Felaini's face" in open play was irrelevent. However, Raph at rb, Toni rw surely would have been better? Nani - the bad outways the good I'm afraid.
Steve

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Hold on a minute people - I seem to remember Vidic also losing out in a fair few aerial challenges with Fellaini. Who's to say if he had been marking the big fella at the corner, the outcome would have been any different.

Fellaini would have been a handful for anyone in the world last night, not just Carrick.

StevieK

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21 Aug 2012 00:50:17
To the people who are already saying after ONE game we need this guy and we need to replace this guy, and this guy is not good enough, blah blah blah.
Man u are renowned for slow starts, and last season we played worst in our first game against west brom even though we won, than we did tonight.
And I hope Lord Fergie went out of that game and said 'someone get my chequebook and get that big afro fella

Believable3 Unbelievable6

Please don't call us man u, it's a direpectful term used by other fans to have a poke at the Munich Disaster.
A lot of United fans use it not knowing it's content so i'm not going to lecture everyone. I just hate its use, it paints a picture in my mind every time i see it.
thanks, Flyhalf(mitch)

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21 Aug 2012 01:13:42
I don't really understand why Nani keeps taking corners, he obviously cannot beat the first man. Otherwise, I thought he made positive runs and made some good forays into the box. And all this animosity towards him, is uncalled for..its the first game of the season for crying out loud. I'm certain we will get better.

2Taze

Believable8 Unbelievable8

From the stands he was far and away the worst player on the pitch!
de Gea wa easily the best!

Coombesy

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21 Aug 2012 01:11:48
OMFG! Depair and disbelief two words sum that depressing match up, we looked like a team barely capable of challenging for the title in league 2, plain and simple.

De Gea and Kagawa were our best players believe it or not with VIDIC and Scholesy close behind, our midfield was tore apart and every player in midfield bar scholes have another assh""le to defecate from

Our worst performance bar none, and clearly SAF needs to get that cheque book open and sign a class midfield player before its too late, this team can no longer and I repeat NO LONGER rely on Scholesy to carry us. FFS Paul is too old to carry us for 90 minutes and have every other player not give it there all, I am totally disgusted with how united performed tonight and how our players were positioned! Rooney was well below par and both him and wellbeck were defending at LB cause Evra was AWOL

LBH unless we sign a Midfield Maestro we won't challenge for anything plain and simple

Nani - Shocking, loss the ball and not with it
Carrick - Fellani ripped him a new AH
Valencia - Dismall, did not want the ball
Evra - Caught ball watching time and again
Cleverly - looked for Scholesy help to much
Scholes - What more could he do to win A+
Kagawa - Terrific both on and off the ball
VIDIC - Lead from the start, looked isolated
Wellbeck - one trick too many, lacked heart
Rooney - Defended great looked lost up top
De Gea - Went from Zero to Hero tonight

I can't condemn the subs - 20 mins does not count for overall score albeit that Everton shut up shop after scoring.

Slate me and hate me but SAF got it wrong, mids in defence just did not work and Rooney was lacklustre. RVP should have started at kick off and Rooney on for wellbeck in the second half
I WOULD LIKE YOUR OPINIONS ON THIS

REDDEVILFAN

Believable6 Unbelievable6

Couldn't agree more, Everton wanted it more than Utd; how depressing is that admission?

Agree1 Disagree0

De Gea was never a 'zero'.

But yes, if we don't sign a combative, physical midfielder we're having another trophyless season. All the slick attacking in the world means nothing if our midfield is bullied and over-run on a weekly basis.

RED_SKY

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21 Aug 2012 01:03:30
Mate, since his ankle injury in Munich? That was 2 years ago and Rooney scored 35 goals last season.

TK-Red
-------------------
35 goals, yes. But he hasn't been the same. His touch hasn't been as good, and his passing is poor. You remember 09-10 and how devastating Rooney was. Are you telling me he has played as well as that since?

G.A.G.U.S

Believable8 Unbelievable5

No but, while I understand the point you're making, lets look at it another way; How many seasons has Rooney had like 09/10? Its not like he was that player for 5 years, got his ankle injury and has never been the same. I see Rooney as the same player he was pre 09/10 and that IMO is because he is all over the place. His touch has never been world class but in 09/10 the only touch he needed was the finishing touch. Since then he has gone back to being the player that drops deep and shows up all over the pitch. IMO until Rooney goes back to playing right up top, the form of that season will always be a one off.

TK-Red

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21 Aug 2012 00:40:32
If Fellani and Osman tore our midfield a new one, I would hate to think what Yaya Toure and Co. would do to us, It is all but Imperative that SAF now realise that we need to fix/boost our midfield/drive chain.

It is absolutely quite clear that Utd have not I repeat have not replaced the tallisman Roy Keane, and failed to replace our Maestro Scholesy.

What cant he see, Cant he see time for our midfield maestro,s have long past their prime, Giggsy and Scholes won't score any more goals and Keane defied odds when he was pushed out the door, for his quote of Prawn Sambos we read and misunderstood,

midfielders don't play with their feet unless there is green, Show we have the money and that we are not mean. Im Keen for Uniteds future so Glaziers wheres the line. Fergie get the pen out and sign sign sign

Reddevilfan

Believable9 Unbelievable5

I come in peace as an Everton supporter.To be honest, I thought we deserved to win tonight, but I am far from happy with opur performance.

I thought our midfield (Osman, Neville, Gibson & Pienaar was very poor) and Jelavic even worse. I know we can play a lot better.

United had lots of possession but no penetration. Scholes has been a great player but no longer - he never threatened our defence. Obviously, at 1-0 up, I was very nervous but, with 20 minutes to go, I never felt you were going to score - lots of very predictable sideways passing, with Rooney dropping deeper and deeper as the game went on.

I wish you well for the season but think you need to seriously improve your midfield - but sorry to say, Fellani will not be one of them.

Agree10 Disagree0

Wrong , yes they are big very athletic players , but we have to play are own way, the Manchester United way.

Agree0 Disagree3

21 Aug 2012 00:18:22
Did anyone else notice how Kagawa got into postions and always wanted the ball? Yet 4/5 times nobody actually gave it to him. I think the only player who actually gave it right to his feet whenever he asked for it was Cleverley. That was appalling, but anyhow a dissapointment of a first game imo. Just wish Rio is back soon, Carrick just gets destroyed as soon as there is an aerial threat.

Anyway, Kagawa and Cleverley played brilliantly today. So did De Gea - I believe we've got a young Casillas in our hands.

- MUFC3

Believable11 Unbelievable4

1000000% agree he was in brilliant positions, nani and evra especially ignored him and it was kinda annoying for me to see that cause they arent really encouraging him, but its 1 of 3 encouraging things for us out of that match vida back and de gea having a great game being the other two.

Aaronaldo7

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20 Aug 2012 23:51:44
nani needs to go now. If that russian club were serious i'd bite their arms off. On that showing though the fee just went down. I think we'd be lucky to get a multipack of quavers and a can of lilt. Does he not practise corners? I know one thing he would be under jimmy.

Believable11 Unbelievable3

Nani wasn't the reason we lost tonight !! Its the cent

we constantly get overrun ! A new Dymamic midfielder is what we need!!

fozzy58

Agree6 Disagree1

20 Aug 2012 23:51:17
So many foolish people on here tonight, Fellaini didn't boss the midfield, he bossed the defenders. He wasn't playing in central midfield, he was playing behind the striker. He was a target man like Crouch and Carroll, just better. Wise up people, he would not fit our style of football. We do not oof the ball long. Fellaini plays this role well, but in central midfield he is nowhere near as effective. Manc-boy

Believable11 Unbelievable3

That is what great players are made! Its was a bullying lesson that we had! He's amazing, as you say, at least he always beat us up!

Agree5 Disagree1

Manc, that is exactly correct. Fellaini didn't play as a central defensive midfielder last night, he was an out-ball for the long ball game. That is not how Manchester United will ever play. I can see this, you can see this and TK can see this, others do struggle to see this.

Sydney!

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Manc-boy

Crouch or Carroll? I think you do Fellaini a big disservice. You make him sound like a big clumsy donkey.

He's not too shoddy with the ball at his feet either, as he showed with his close control in the move where he hit the post.

The guy would be an asset to any team in the world.

StevieK

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20 Aug 2012 23:44:14
Look ok we lost but at the end of the day Everton are an excellent side and were well up for the game. In Fellaini they have a world class midfielder something we lack. Plenty of positives as well and lay off rooneys back the man carried us through the past season so to say he has been poor is quite frankly laughable, Get behind the team Kawaga and De gea two world class players in the making!

Believable4 Unbelievable0

Rooney was rubbish and the truth sometimes hurts, he looks out of shape and lame. Btw he gets paid a kings ransom to stay in shape and perform.

Agree10 Disagree1

20 Aug 2012 23:43:04
Ok where's the we need to buy Fellaini Posts
LoL.

Believable2 Unbelievable2

20 Aug 2012 23:42:24
Apperantly fellaini has 100% tackle success rate his last 8prem matches :o

Believable6 Unbelievable1

Hes probably made about 2 tackles LOL

Agree0 Disagree0

20 Aug 2012 23:41:39
People are going to hate this but Cazorla and Sahin would have been dream signings given tonights performance. Instead we wasted 2 months on 2 prats that eventually went somewhere else.

Believable8 Unbelievable2

20 Aug 2012 23:40:08
Never felt more like singing the blues. City win,United lose, oh City, you got me singing the blues!

Playing catch up already haha

Jack

Believable7 Unbelievable7

20 Aug 2012 23:37:08
If Fergie is playing Nani as a way of selling him for more he should stop immediately. I can only see his value going down if he keeps this up. I believe Raphael at RB and Valencia RW would have made a difference. Nani shouldn't be allowed to sit on the bus let alone play actual games. If you all noticed Evra was at fault for the corner that led to the goal. He was poor at both ends and hopefully this Buttner lad works his ass off in training and impresses Fergie. Fact is we all knew we would get dominated by Fellaini but that shouldn't have mattered we should have played possesion football and kept them on the backfoot. If he is in his own half defending how can they keep pumping it long to him? Yes they parked the bus but with the players we have we should have created more. Just my thoughts guys opinions anyone?

Darren-Bermuda

Believable8 Unbelievable1

Could not agree more Nani was a pile of tripe and get that Evra fella out now He is never in defence never in position he should just go and sit on the box line and do jumping jacks a disgrace to the team

Reddevilfan

Agree7 Disagree2

As usual Nani is the scapegoat. Open your eyes, only Kagawa and Dea Gea got pass marks last night but the same old faces put it all on Nani's sholders again! Why am I even surprised?
The reason we lost the game was due to the pedestrian middfield, same old story as last year, too slow in the build up, letting Everton get organised in defence (whick fair play they did well).

Agree1 Disagree0

20 Aug 2012 23:36:43
dissapointed about the match tonight, i think scott wooton should of been in cb and rafeal in rb even tough i dont think hes good its better to have valencia on the right instead of nani. We played with 3 midgets in the midfeild with scholes kagawa and clevery which really didnt work i think we need to get nani and berba out and martinez or erikson in

Believable1 Unbelievable2

20 Aug 2012 23:36:19
Utd were poor today , we have no chance of winning the league like this , kagawa was very good , evra has no pace anymore and should be replaced quickly , fellaine literally terrorized our midfield and defenders , i knew that one of the corners would result in a goal , simple things that defenders need to do is stand at the goalpost but no they didnt , we need a defensive mid quickly , scholes and clev arnt those players , look how much a differance yaya toure does for city , we need witsel , strootman , martinez or i woudnt mind fellaini

Believable5 Unbelievable2

20 Aug 2012 23:32:19
i think we should change our style and not use wingers, we sould go for attacking fullbacks and attacking mids.

maybe something like this:

__________de gea__________
valencia__vidic_smalling__evra
___________witsel__________
___kagawa_carrick_cleverlay__
_______rooney_VPersie______

have witsel sitting back and protecting the back four, have evra and valencia providing the width with cleverley carrick and kagawa keeping possession..

if we are going to play with wingers then i don't see the use for attacking fullbacks, one or the other IMO.

Believable5 Unbelievable1

I agree mate - always loved Utd playing with wingers. From Coppell and Hill, to Giggs and Kanchelskis/Ronaldo.

However, no point in playing with wingers when the wingers we have, simply aren't good enough.

Nani and Young are occasionally very good, but more frequently, wasteful and ineffective. They can hurt and bully smaller teams, but get found out against decent opposition.

I'd lose them both in a heartbeat.


StevieK

Agree1 Disagree0

20 Aug 2012 23:32:13
Utd were poor today , did not look like scoring a goal , kagawa was great , far superior over the rest , evra was shocking hasnt got any pace anymore , fellaine bullied

Believable3 Unbelievable0

20 Aug 2012 23:20:14
I did warn there could be an anti-climax!

I thought this, because for all the enthusiasm over our new signings, I still worried we would still have the same old problems.

Namely: Scholes - if we want to play a fast, fluid, high pressing game, then Scholes has to call it a day. He slows the play down far too much. Start of last season, the midfield was bursting with energy. Now, it's walking pace at best. Berbatov is constantly singled out as having the same effect up front, but Scholes is equally culpable in the middle of the park. Clevs and Kagawa at least tried to raise the tempo, but weren't given the ball nearly enough, especially Kagawa.

My other main gripe is our supposed top players, not being able to do the basics properly.

Nani - I don't expect you to put a 40 yard pass on a sixpence every time, but I do expect you to properly weigh a 6 or 7 yard pass. I also expect you, just once, to beat the first man when you put a cross in.

Rooney - I don't expect you to be as good as Messi or Ronaldo, but I do expect you, now and then, to control the ball properly with your first touch, rather than let it run 5 yards away from you. I also expect you not to dally on the ball, as if you have all the time in the world, when a defender is nipping at your heels. I really don't think you're as good a player as you think you are son. RVP showed more control and good touches in 20 minutes than you did in the whole game.

Wellbeck - I'd love to see a local lad make it at Utd, but I simply don't think you are good enough. You're not an instinctive striker, you're ineffective out wide, Jagielka can outsprint you in a one on one situation. You're a likeable lad, with some talent, but I think you're out of your depth at a club as big as Utd.

There were positives - De Gea was excellent, Kagawa looked bright, but was under-used, Clevs looked tidy and energetic, and Vidic was solid.

But there are fundamental problems that need to be sorted regarding the pace and style of our play, and our inability to keep hold of the ball - we made the England international team look like ball-hoggers!

Hopefully, the improvement will come, but some big decisions need to be made, namely regarding Scholes and Nani.


Hopefully that's the only rant I need to do this season :)


StevieK


ps - That Fellaini boy just isn't Utd quality.....yeah, right.

Believable10 Unbelievable0

Do you think perhaps a change in the coaching staff might help? I seem to remember our play when quieroz was number 2 being much better. The fluidity and pace of our play was stunning at times, granted we had ronaldo then, but i still believe that is where the problem lies

Agree7 Disagree0

Couldn't agree more StevieK......Scholesey is not high intensity enough. Players like Clevs and Kagawa have moved the pace on and last year Anderson and Clevs linked really well in the first few games.
If we aren't going to invest in someone like Witsel then I would focus on getting Carrick or Jones to screen the back four whilst Anderson, Clevs and Kagawa can link up with each other with quick interchangeable passing.
Nani and Young IMO are not consistent enough to be regular starters and as much as I like Valencia at RM I would change our formation to 4-1-3-2

De Gea

Rafael Rio Vidic Evra

Jones/ Carrick

Clevs Anderson Kagawa

Rooney van Persie

Not thrilled with Evra's input yesterday either but hopefully just a bad day at the office for the first game.

Ianskip

Agree2 Disagree0

I do mate, but to be honest, the coach of my wee lad's U11 team shows more tactical acumen and inventiveness, than our current personnel. Fergie has never claimed to be a master tactician - he needs help.

StevieK

Agree1 Disagree0

20 Aug 2012 23:19:12
i know everyone is disappointed and so am i. Looking at things objectively it is clear we struggle against teams that play big in the middle of the park and fellaini owned us for most of the night.

From an objective point of view carrick,valencia are not defenders and it was makeshift lineup and i don't blame them for a lousy performance.

We definitely missed the likes of evans,jones,smelling,Ferdinand and having this makeshift back four unsettles the whole chemistry of the team.

I was very impressed with Kagawa and De Gea. Delighted that Vidic is back and got 90 minutes and Cleverly will be great for us this season.

Unfortunately the biggest disappointments were rooney, welback, evra and nani. They looked so poor in every asset of the game that it was scary. We could have had four players from the lower tier of the league and would have gotten more out of them tonight that these guys offered.

We are in dire need of a Javi Martinez type player, 190 cm central midfielder who can pass, hold up the ball and can still go at defenders and put in a crunching tackle when needed.

Van Persie and young came on too late to change the tempo of the game and hence did not feature much but i expect a lot more from them in the season.

Any thought would be welcomed.

Shahram

Believable1 Unbelievable1

20 Aug 2012 23:14:45
United has needed a serious midfield investment for years. RVP can play in the no.10 spot but what's needed is a Joe Allen type.

- Logic

Believable5 Unbelievable7

Scouse.

G.A.G.U.S

Agree5 Disagree5

20 Aug 2012 23:13:30
Everyone is saying that our players played bad but hasn't it come to anyones mind that Everton played well and at goodison they can beat anyone (ie. chelsea, city and the 4-4 draw last season). They are a top team challenging for the top 4.
Red Steph

Believable5 Unbelievable6

20 Aug 2012 23:08:07
This isn't a knee jerk.

Fergie picked Carrick cause he has experience.
Yeah, he has experience as a flipping CM player.
Why don't we play CBs in CB positions?
It the square pegs round holes reason why we lost Pogba to Juventus. Park & Rafael CM pair against Blackburn.

Another one that got away Zeki Fryers. He probably would of played in that game.

Fergie is always rabbitin on about 93' and how good our youth are. PLAY THEM THEN.

M.Keane, Thorpe, Wootton pick one and play them alongside
Vidic.

Plus is it me or does Vidic look skinny. He's lost his bulk & strength somehow. He's not 100% fit I know. He doesn't look powerful anymore.

Also why was Berbatov on the bench? Spare CB maybe?
He was never gonna come on even if Rooney, Welbeck & van Persie went off injured.

And for my final rant..... Anderson looked a fatty bum bum.

Sod Kaka, get Varrane on loan from Madrid.

We got Fulham next.. Another team full of tall mofo's.

Believable6 Unbelievable0

It's so annoying. If he wants height at RB he picks Valencia over Rafael. Smalling is this man normally. So why not M.Keane 6th 2 and still growing.

Carrick at CB, he can't tackle & I don't think I've ever seen him win a 50/50. Don't get me started on ariel challenges.
Wootton should play if Evans isn't fit.

I've got a bad feeling Vidic might breakdown if he's not used cautiously.

Also all my buddies are either Liverpool or City fans. (you can't help who you grow up with) they all think Ando is a waist of time. I've defended him for 5 seasons and I can't anymore. He's out of shape, turns like a bus and can't shoot. Often hits his through balls to hard.

I highly rate Lingard & Cole. Though I think Petrucci should be picked ahead of fatty bum bum now. Good passer & a great shot on him. He proved this in his games in pre-season.

Tom Tucker

Agree0 Disagree0

I'm sick of Berbatov being a United player. Why on earth is he still around? Seriously, take WHATEVER is offered because there is no point in the man rotting on the bench and taking up a place for someone who could potentially get game-time.

RED_SKY

Agree0 Disagree0

20 Aug 2012 23:07:15
Not too bothered bout the result as we'll get better. We do seem to be missing something but I don't know what.

I feel the midfield did oryt under the circumstances and kept possession well and Kagawa was brilliant but didn't play balls behind the defence enough and that's why Rooney shouldn't be played as a lone striker he gets too isolated. Defence was average as expected and Nani was his frustrating self.

However I am optimistic for the season and would love one more big signing as well as looking forward to see this new left back

dec

Believable0 Unbelievable1