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26 Dec 2014 21:55:21
Glad to see everyone seems to be laying off Mata for a change. Everyone's been on his back unfairly in my view and I've always stood up for him. He starts every game for me without fail. His goal and assist record are fantastic.
Mata is good when we play at Old Trafford and goes missing whenever we play away.
Still too slow imo
26 Dec 2014 20:35:57
What has struck me recently is how weak some of out centre backs are. I think Jones, Evans and McNair should hit the gym as they get bullied by strikers far too often and it's not just the big strikers that do it to them.
The one defender that really could make our defense better is Chielleni is strong in every way and fairly fast and has played in a back three
26 Dec 2014 17:27:28
Really good performance by the guys and I thought the goals were class. I also think Evans had his best game of the season to date and looks like he is finding his feet and some confidence and young Mcnair was also quite good and in general defensively we were better.
Shame about the pen at the end and not sure it was one but then again you could argue they could have had one in the first half.
Big game agaist spurs away next and they are getting away with Murder at the moment. A win would be huge as that effectively put them too far out from us but a draw will not be a disaster either.
Finally, watched chelsea who looked very good and the top 2 do not seem like they will be dropping pouts very easily.
Evans did have a good game but wasn't overly tested. He still remain a disaster waiting to happen and I am happier when I don't see his name on the team sheet.
Good win though and a solid 3 points at home. Mata and Rooney were sublime, I really don't get the Mata critics. If he doesn't make the assistant he is the one that is the assist of the assister.
Fresh mate, you need to give it a rest with Evans. He had a good game, we won easily, the team played well. There's no need for a dig. He deserves more after the last 2 years, look how Young has rediscovered some form, I'm sure Evans will do the same.
{Ed007's Note - Ashley Young never had any form to lose never mind rediscover it!!}
26 Dec 2014 21:21:03
Think Falcao was fantastic tonight.
If we can beat spurs day after tomm, i might become a believer in what we are doing. I think we need to shore up our defending as better teams with better players will score against us. I do agree Evans gets pushed off too easily. Smalling and jones are physically stronger and i would say their decision making is what gets us into trouble.
But very pleased with our performance today.
A bit harsh Bond. I'm not his biggest fan but he's contributing a great deal now, he looks hungry and eager which has to be down to LVG.
I've not been Rooney's biggest fan either but he was immense today, I hope he can click into a consistent run and keep it going.
1 other point. Everyone is giving the defence a hard time but only 3 teams have conceded fewer goals than us. Just saying
AJH
Stats are a bit deceiving deg met be worth 6 to 7 goals this year. We seem so susceptible to giving a goal away which is not what you get when you watch chelsea and city and that is the difference.
LVG has said he wants 442 when the fullbacks are healthy and I think if we can stay healthy and play that, we will be a lot tighter.
26 Dec 2014 22:57:09
I think we are generally too harsh about certain players e.g. Evans, Young etc. Obviously they are not great players but can be valuable members of a 25 man squad. We probably don't need to slag them off so often but, hey, each to their own.
Glad we got the 3 points.
{Ed007's Note - Utd fans don't slag him enough, not even slag him, laugh at him, you should be mortified he's a Man Utd squad never mind a 'valuable member'. of it.
If Ashley Young wasn't at Utd would you be on here saying he should be signed as he'd be a valuable member of the squad? He's honking, anyone who's watched him can see it, he's up there as one of Fergie's worst signings and if he had signed for Liverpool you'd have been laughing at them and giving them pelters, especially if he was there for four years.
Liverpool got rid of C*****e Adam yet Ashley Young's still at Utd. At least it gives kids hope, if Ashley Young can play for Man Utd then ANYONE can, that's how far the standards have slipped in recent years.}
27 Dec 2014 03:07:38
So let's get this straight bond, you don't rate Ashley Young? 😆
Tbh I don't disagree with much of your assessment but we can't deny that he has been a valuable squad member while Shaw was out injured. I don't rate him highly and would not be against selling him if he was replaced, I just don't get into the slagging off of our players, especially when they have shown able to help the cause in recent weeks.
I guess I'm just a bit more laid back about these things 😊
{Ed007's Note - I've always been wary of guys called Ashley, in Scotland it's a girl's name and ufortunately I found that out after arranging to meet 'Ashley' through internet dating!}
27 Dec 2014 03:40:51
You may have been p****d off at the time bond but now that you and Ashley have settled down and lived happily ever after, it all worked out well in the end 😆
{Ed007's Note - (yes)
26 Dec 2014 15:20:59
Can we start a petition to get nomidfield's name changed to nodefence?
26 Dec 2014 17:44:42
I think with blind, herrera, Fellaini, di Maria and januzaj out nomidfield will do fine.
Supposedly Di Maria has some pelvic injury or something like that. It sounds odd and does anyone know anything about this sort of injury?
Nodefence for now. Hopefully it will change. While midfield needs pogba and then we can go to norightback!
Great win.
26 Dec 2014 14:36:47
Di Maria Injured again in training. I am really curious to know what we actually do with these guys to constantly get injured whilst training. Either we have a very bad bunch and injury prone or our training really sucks.
26 Dec 2014 17:41:29
Yeah our training really sucks .
Just look at the effect it's having on Rooney , Young , Valencia , RVP , Mata and Carrick
26 Dec 2014 23:30:32
That's a good shout bilko, there may be something in this but I think we tend to over analyse things because people need someone to blame.
HD
With all due respect Carrick is the same old carrick, rooney has been in good form even last year under moyes and valencia is still the same valencia mate.
If anything RVP has been quite poor for most of the season and i think the world cup had an effect on his early season form.
So not sure what bilko is trying to say. We do get more injuries than other teams from our training which is odd, juts do the research and compare it to other top teams.
26 Dec 2014 14:35:44
Ed001,
Another injury today!
What is your opinion regarding our injuries and is it related to overtraining? I know Raymond Verheijen has been critical of LVG's methods.
{Ed001's Note - I am in agreement, LVG's methods leave a lot to be desired and a number of people I know within the coaching fraternity are highly critical of him. Luke Shaw's injuries have been put totally at the door of his training, as have a number of other injuries. He forgets that the players in English football are working at a much higher pace than they do in Holland, Spain and even Germany, so need less training between games once the season starts.}
Thanks Ed.
Do you think he's too stubborn to realise his methods are flawed?
{Ed001's Note - I think he believes that his methods have brought him success, so why change them? This is the problem with someone entering the league with no experience and little knowledge about it. They take time to find out what makes it different, by then it is often too late. He needed an experienced number 2, someone to guide him as he gets used to it. Instead he got a learner in Ryan Giggs. Giggs should be coaching lower down and getting experience in dealing with players, not assisting a new man at one of the biggest clubs in the world. It is a similar error to the ones when Moyes was appointed, when you also had the Equaliser new to his role and it left the club struggling to adjust. Still, this season at least the results have been coming, so that gives time for everyone to settle in and maybe, just maybe, LVG might re-examine his methods in an attempt to curb the injuries, if given the time.}
26 Dec 2014 14:33:26
HMM
Does anyone know what is going on with Dimaria, Fellaini and Herrera. They did not even make the bench. We look like we will leak goals a the back again and the subs don't really inspire me full of confidence.
Di maria injured during training .
What is wrong with Herrera and Fellaini?
does anyone know as they also seem to have picked up stuff during training as i do not remember them picking it up whilst playing the last time out?
26 Dec 2014 19:32:48
Illness supposedly.
What type of illness to make them miss almost 3 weeks.
Fellaini and Januzaj have flu
Di Maria a pelvic injury done in a warm up
26 Dec 2014 11:05:11
The big two Mats Hummels and Kevin Strootman, i'm going to go on record and say I don't want them. I can almkst hear the gasps of horror from some readers, so I'll explain.
Both will cost a huge premium in both transfer fee and wages. Now I don't have a problem paying top dollar for players, but you should only pay the top money if they player you are buying is the perfect fit. And I don't think they are.
Mats Hummels is good in the air, a great reader of the game and probably the best passing centre back in world football. But he is painfully slow especially over short distances, and he has a dangerous tendency to switch off during games.
So with how LvG wants to set his team up I really don't feel Hummels is the right choice. LvG will want to play a possession based game with a high defensive line. Now that will horribly expose Hummels main weaknesses. His lack of work as a defender during a game due to his team having a high level of possession will make it easier for him to fall into one of his many lapse of concentration. Add to that a high defensive line and his lack of pace he will have no chance to make a recovery tackle as he'll never catch up with the play. He could prove to be a very expensive flop, he might also prove me wrong and be a top player. But imo if we wanted an centre back who is good in the air and a great passer but has concentration issues and has no pace then shouldn't we have just kept Rio Ferdinand? That is why I don't want us to spend the 40m+ it will take to bring Hummels to our club. I don't think he would be the perfect fit and for that money whoever we bring in has to be perfect.
Then we have Kevin Strootman, he is one of those rare players who can do everything and do it well. He reads the game so well and breaks up the oppositions plays with ease, he then strides forward and plays a killer through ball and hits a 30 yarder into the top corner. His passing is near perfect nearly always finding the right pass at the right time. But he too has a couple of big flaws, and first one is his lack of pace, in most top flight leagues that isn't such an issue for a midfielder but in the premier league a lack of pace in central areas can heavily restrict a team. Think how our team has struggled with Carrick and Fellaini, think how much more fluid we look when Di Maria or Herrera play in the centre. Strootman is Carrick and Fellaini rolled into one player, he can be very useful but you have to have him play with certain kind of players to get the most out of him and I question whether we have those at our club atm. Imagin if Di Maria and Herrera are out injured and we are left with Carrick, Fellaini, Blind and Strootman as midfield options, not very dynamic is it. Then we have the main issue with Strootman his injury was so bad that he isn't likely to fully get back to top form for another year if at all, can we risk signing a player for 40m if he may never return to the form that made him worth 40m? And is it a good idea to get a player who is trying to return to form and make him have to adapt to a new league, new team mates, new playing style and new culture? That is a dangerous move. I wouldn't be against sign Strootman totally but only after he has proven himself to be back to his best form, and only if we signed another more dynamic midfielder to play along side him while moving one of Fellaini or Carrick on.
So with both player having injury issues(Hummels only being able to play 22 bundsliga games this calander year) and the huge price tags attached to each player along with the potentially vital flaws in each players games then I hope we don't sign them as I truely feel there are better more suited players available for much less who will give us a much better return on our investment. let's avoid the flash names and look beyond that to the actual content and truely find what we need.
Hummels is a top player but the money being talked about seems high.
He lacks a bit of pace but like all top cbs he reads the game well .
Germany play a high line and they look a much better team when he plays .
he might not be the quickest but that's not what his game is based on and even with out pace he is one of the top cbs in the world.
strootman is average imo really don't know what all the fuss is about
{Ed004's Note - Didn't get to reply to the previous post as another Ed dealt with it. I agree to a certain extent. I feel Hummels has his weak spots that would need addressing however in LvG do we have the right manager to address them? I would say yes. Although it all depends on the fee. If it is anything over 30 million I would move for Laporte or Godin instead. Either way I would try to sign a cb used to playing on the left hand side of defence as I think our best defender is Smalling. Who is improving quite a lot on the ball under LvG. Partnering Smalling with Hummels would help with covering for his pace issues and shaw is no slouch either. May also benefit smalling as he will have a leader beside him and probably one of the best centre backs at distributing the ball.
Strootman is again 50/50. Anything under 30 million and I think he would be a good signing. However, only if it allows us to play a midfield 3 of Strootman, Herrera and Di Maria. I trust LvG judgement and if he feels Strootman is fit enough and quick enough for premiership then he could be a top signing. He would offer a physical presence Carrick and Herrera can not. I think he's a better passer than Blind and vs top teams away we play him with Fellaini/Carrick/Blind to make us more secure. I don't know who else is available to sign to gradually replace Carrick as I'm not sure Blind will ever be good enough to. Maybe Verratti though he seems a bit dodgy defensively, Carvalho who isn't as good on the ball or Vidal who is a box to box not a dm. Haven't seen enough of Kramer or Bender (Lars) but they both seem box to box midfielders.
I think another issue needing addressed is whether Clyne or Coleman are good enough to sign for the rb position as I think it is one that will be addressed shortly (players we will be linked to). Cuadrado could be a possibility but I think he would struggle to adapt to the rb position in the premiership as it is a new position in a foreign league which is a lot more physical than Italy. He is also quite old and relies a lot on pace. Clyne I think is over hyped by the media currently. He can be pretty poor defensively but then maybe LvG can help him with that. Regardless it is going to cost 20+ million and I am not sure he is worth that. Coleman also isn't threat defensively. He is better than Clyne in this aspect but just. Neither are scrutinised as much as Rafael who I think when fit (that's why he needs replaced) is a better player. No surprise our best football came with him and Shaw fit. Didn't mean this 5 at the back we have played recently}
Shappy
I have long said that we should not be signing Strootman. I watched him in a game prior to the serious injury and someone left him standing in the middle of the park, almost embarrassing to watch him struggle with the lack of pace.
Hummels is interesting, as Terry has shown even in the modern game you can get away with a lack of pace at the back. However, the difference for me is how high a line you play. If we play high and leave space behind, pace will cause him issues, Chelsea seem to sit a little deeper not exposing Terry's lack of pace.
I wouldn't disagree with you but one important factor we need at the back is a dominant character and in midfield some pace and dynamism, let's see what options there are.
{Ed004's Note - What suitable alternatives are there for midfield? I can't really think of any of the top of my head}
26 Dec 2014 12:29:36
With Hummels a lack of pace can be dealt with by sitting deeper, but its his lapses in concentration that really worry me along with his injury history. Rio used to regualry switch off during games but had the pace to recover the situation. But Hummels hasn't had an injury free season in his entire proffessional career, he has always missed 6-12 games at least during a season through injury, then depending on the injury it takes time to get back upto form. With our injury prone CBs is signing another one even one as good as Hummels a good idea. How well will he lead the defence from the treatment table?
As for alternatives we could go for Varane, Laporte or Otamendi.
As for midfield I wouldn't look much beyond Schneiderlin, he is proven in the prem and when he plays for Southampton they look capable of beating anyone, when he's not playing they look beatabe. He is the driving point behind their good form this season.
{Ed004's Note - I just think Hummels is still young enough (for a cb) to lose those errors. However, his fitness is a concern. Have you seen any of Laporte games by any chance. Haven't gotten round to watching him enough to see if he is worth the investment. Varane is the best young cb in the world and Otamendi doesn't seem an option.
Forgot about Schneiderlin. He is a very good player and I would be happy if we signed him. However, is he capable of becoming a world class midfielder who can compete against the likes of Madrid and Bayern etc and he also plays with a dm at Southampton (Wanyama)}
Schneiderlin is a better player than strootman imo
Hummels appearances over the last 4 seasons are 34, 42, 46, 42 i don't think that's to bad
Shappy
Strootman is never half the things you are describing mate and it must be the christmas punch :) If i did not know any better i would think I was reading about Ronaldinho
I might be wrong but modern greats like Xavi Puyol Pirlo Schoels were never fast Carrcik is not fast and neither if Fellani so why would this stop us from buying Strootman who would be our best midfielder if bought
Hummels isn't my favorite defender but wouldn't complain if either player was bought would anyone
26 Dec 2014 17:51:32
Mata's Beard, that's fine if there's pace around him, or we have Messi. Unfortunately, we have neither.
Verratti would be good but not really a hard man. what about one of the bender twins, not sure who is better. there's always blaise matuidi for a cb i'm a fan of ginter but he has just moved. how is badstuber playing would he be worth it.
Mentioned by the Ed (Wanyama) this guys a beast, strong as an ox, breaks up play and not to shabby on the ball, I would rather have him than Strootman.
Varane would be my first choice CB, still young and will be the best in the world one day. Laporte will also be a class CB in a year or 2.
Matas
LOL, He is not even close to the quality of the players you are mentioning. I have no idea why we are even wasting our time talking about this guy, never ever good enough to make it with us in the PL.
Have you actually watched this guy and if anyone comments please be honest and say how many times you have watched this guy, not U tube but games start to finish.
BTW he is not getting any game tie at roma after supposedly being back for a few weeks now and TBH they have not missed him one bit.
Ed04
i would look at Khedira before Strootman and much cheaper. Then there is the one that got away, Pogba.
I am not convinced McNair will hack it at centre back, however I would be interested in seeing him as a central defensive midfield player to see if he can make it there.
{Ed004's Note - Problem is both Pogba and Khedira are box to box players. I reckon Strootman would be signed to play dm in the long term. However would love to sign Pogba he is a top player}