Manchester United Banter Archive November 02 2014

02 Nov 2014 22:23:07
Well the lads done very decent considering the position chrissy put the team in today, but unfortunately we lost.

In the last few years we have been taken apart by city but this team contains threats that the teams of last season and before have not. City looked genuinely worried for the last 25 mins and taking off Sergio for fernandiniho against a team with 10 men showed that, but bloody hell chrissy, how stupid can u be? The lad played excellent against Chelsea and today had the chance to cement his place in the team but through his own stupidity he has thrown his chance back in the balance.

Rooney is no CM he is to slow and predictable in his passing. He by no means had a bad game but in that role he becomes less effective. I see the anti rvp supporters are out again but tbh he was feeding off scraps, but we do expect more from him and his place in the team will come under threat once falcao is fit again.

Special mentions for fellani who I thought was brilliant again as was Shaw and DDG.

I felt reallly sorry for Adnan today and I hope smalling gives him a personal apology because he had clichy and Milner on toast today and with chrissy's moments of stupidity cost him his place. With him still on the pitch who knows how well city would of done down the left.

Now I no our points total is hardly flattering but I can see genuine improvements in the mentality and style now. Lvg is fast learning PL management and coming to terms with the league. 6 points out of our next two games is a must and I really feel we will get them too. After that I expect the gap from us and 3rd will be very close.

we have played the two best teams in the league now and performed very well in both games, some might even say we have been unlucky too.

I'm am 100% percent confident we will get 4th.

Unlucky against city, 3 clear pens dissalowed for the other team. Lucky haha, not unlucky

Perhaps unlucky because of Smalling's silly rashness. Surprised though that none of Januzaj's fouls attracted a yellow. Unfortunate injury to Rojo as well, but for a 10 against 11 with a makeshift defence of Valencia, Mcnair, Carrick and Shaw . I am proud of our TEAM!

03 Nov 2014 09:07:09
Most noise a Chelsea fan has made all weekend aron.

100% sure we will get 4th.
Have we turned in to arsenal

03 Nov 2014 14:04:40
Ok I'm not so sure we will get 1st!
Is that the more negative post u like to read jred?

Right now that is where we are, we have to suck it up this season aim for 4th and Take it From there!

Sheesh man, unless it's Rooney praise your a grump ain't ya 😊

Chris
Come on 150 mil spent .
I think we will get 4th but i don't think that's a good thing .
This is a good set of players imo 4th will be a bad season

03 Nov 2014 16:59:49
Jred,

Then your expectations are wrong. We are aiming for 4th this season, most fans are aware of that and have been for a long time. Spending money does not guarantee success, how much did city spend before they won the league, how many years did it take before they had a team settled enough to do so? It is not as simple as spend loads of money and win the league every year, surely you know that, and you need to lower your expectations this season because we are not good enough to finish top 2 just yet, simple.

03 Nov 2014 17:06:44
jred big money spent doesn't mean instant success the following season that's just naive, surely City and Spurs have shown you that in recent years?

Oswald

IMO Fergie would win the league with this team. 4th is not good enough IMO and 3rd is a minimum. Not winning at Burnely, Leicester, WBA, Sunderland and losing at home to swansea has nothing to do with instant success but under-performing.

Anyway got the big 2 out of the way and really can not make any more excuses and we need to put a winning run together with the occasional draw.

To finish top 3 you need to average 2.0 points per game and at the moment we are at 1.3, which basically translated to the fact that we need to take something like 26 points from the next 30 available so at midway point of the season we are somewhere on track.

8 wins and a couple of draws boys.

People expected us to get 4th last season .
this season we have a better squad and manager .
We are aiming for 4th.?
im not sure rvp, rooney or lvg will be aiming for 4 th .
im not sure di maria signed for 4th or falcao.
250 mill spent in just over 12 month not including falcao and more to come.
and you think we are aiming for 4th?y
im sticking with my op, 4th is the least we should get anything less and lvg will struggle to keep his job .

Since city started splashing the cash i'm not sure they where aiming for 4th

03 Nov 2014 18:57:08
But they finished 5th straight after they splashed the cash, I assure you that city's aim was to get in the champions league at first, so yes, their aim was 100% 4th place.

Gds
No it wasnt pal.
Your starting to sound like that bloke of dads army who runs round shouting "dont panic, don't panic "

United should be aiming higher than 4th, especially with this squad .

A united fan arguing our target is 4th .
Like i said in my OP who are we arsenal ?
this squad of players can do better than 4 .

04 Nov 2014 14:14:47
GCU,

Fergie probably could have won with this squad but that's completely irrelevant considering there's a transition happening, with a new manager coming in it's a completely different story.

Fergie could have achieved a much higher finish than 7th last season with that squad but that's because he was the focal point of the club, he ran everything and everyone was used to it being set in the way it was. This change is obviously a little more complex challenging than most people thought.

Jred,

City's aim may have been to finish 1st the season they first started spending big but they knew realistically it'd be extremely difficult especially with us and Chelsea still being very competitive financially and on the pitch. If they were so certain that 1st was a realistic, achievable target then tell me why Roberto Mancini wasn't fired after finishing 5th in his first season, followed by 3rd the next season?

02 Nov 2014 20:18:25
I expect to see a lot of criticism of Smalling on this page but I hope nobody begins to write him off as a useless player as that seems to happen quite often on here ie: Evans, Fellaini, Mata, etc.

His first yellow card was incredibly stupid and as soon as he received it I was furious and worried that he would get sent off later. Sure enough he did before half time and United were very fortunate not to concede at least a couple penalties but somehow we were level at the break.

When Aguero scored and Rojo was subbed off I expected the floodgates to open and for City to pile on the misery. But the makeshift backline featuring Carrick and McNair were very resilient and I honestly thought United outplayed them in the second half! Rooney had his mazy run to set up Di Maria who should have scored if not for a great save by Hart. Di Maria was our most dangerous player on the counter but I was appalled by how poor his delivery from corners were in the last moments of the game.

Also thought that for Rooney's first game back he was outstanding.

Obviously getting the three points is the most important thing but I'm very proud of the way the team fought in the second half and it bodes well for the future.

02 Nov 2014 18:48:21
I would like to reflect on two aspects of the team at the moment. Firstly I was highly impressed with Luke Shaw, we have a real player, a left back who will be important for us and for England for years to come.

Secondly is LvG's Achilles Heel and that appears to be RVP. He doesn't hold the ball up nor does he break past the defence and he lacks pace. If Falcao is fit next week he has to play in front of RVP, if not LvG wil be making a major miscalculation. If Falcao isn't fit Wilson would be my choice ahead of RVP because he has pace.

02 Nov 2014 19:21:23
RVP just doesn't pass in the box either, he is too greedy.

Agree Red Man would like Wilson to start next week aswell and Falcao would also like Mcnair to start put a team up on the teams page if you want a look

RVP dosent hold the ball up? really, have u ever seen him play? far to critical on here these days, just have a little think about 2 years ago and how he inspired us to winning our 20th league title, all strikers have dips in form, he's a class act and would walk in most sides across europe.

The problem is LVG will think RVP just needs a run of games to gather his form, Crystal Palace at home would be seen as ideal for RVP to sharpen up. Wilson needs to start for me.

I agree he has been a passenger for too long and we need to introduce some movement and aggression upfront. He didn't hold the ball up at all, or move much in the box. Great piece of skill at one point, but you need more from your spearhead.

02 Nov 2014 19:57:02
Fully agree, can't wait to get Falcao back 100% fit because he will start. RvP looked half decent in the Chelsea game but you can tell his age and fitness is getting the better of him. Good to see that LVG has given Wilson a few chances though and in big games too.

Stretfordender

I have indeed seen RVP play, close up and I was there all through the league winning season two years ago. You can see the difference from two years ago to now. What I have seen of Falcao so far has shown he holds the ball up far better and is more active trying to get beyond the defence. RVP can't live on past glories, it is about what he does this season and so far it hasn't been good. The equaliser last week fine but his contribution during the game was not of the standard we need. I believe it is time to rest him. If Falcao is fit what is the point in paying the loan fee with an agreement to pay £40m next summer if RVP is deemed better. We need pace with ability to hold the ball and RVP doesn't give any and like Mata that is a problem.

02 Nov 2014 16:04:55
I hope the manager reverts to the diamond next week. I feel we are much more incisive in the final third when we play that system, plus Di Maria plays more centrally and has more of an impact on the game.

We are definitely improving as a team; and it is a matter of time before we start to put a run together.

Agreed. Falcao and Rooney up top with Di Maria in the hole and Fellaini, Herrera and Blind in midfield would be devastating.

That is indeed mouth watering. I would love to see that line up next week.
Putting Di Maria in the hole would work well IMO. He would have a license to roam and find space in the final third of the pitch.

This wide man lark plays into the oppositions hands, we are too spread and lack the legs in midfield to support the lone striker, especially when Rooney is playing his diagonals, 20% hit rate.

Diamond all the way and agree with you boys.

I would also put Carrick at CB.
He looked so composed back there.
And his passing range is just brilliant.

02 Nov 2014 15:48:45
I think some people on here need to remove the red tinted glasses for a second. We were pretty poor for large parts today. Fellaini was good but when it really mattered in their area he missed two great opportunities.

As for Shaw he was out of position so often and hasn't got the pace to get up and down.

Valencia is not a right back so won't call him out. Rvp was not fully at the races again.
For me i'd have swapped Di Maria and Januzaj early on as it wasn't working.

I am glad rojo and smalling are out as they have been a disaster waiting to happen.

Main positive was Rooney was back and played ok, but the calming influence of carrick is going to be a massive boost in the weeks to follow.

United are 2 CB's and a quick DM away from contesting.

I still think we will get top 4.

I'm sorry, but couldn't be more wrong about Luke Shaw.

You're also happy Rojo is injured? Very nice indeed.

02 Nov 2014 16:04:52
You are glad smalling and rojo are out? Grow up man. You know we had 10 men for most of the game?

We were pretty good for long periods too, and Shaw? can't remember a United left back cutting out so many crosses. Not faultless, but pretty good. Fellaini is getting there but I do agree about Smalling. The last 15 minutes was there for us and with 11 players we might just have got something, so thanks Chris, you muppet. Rojo needs to adjust but Itill think he's a good player. RvP is well off the pace and Rooney gave the ball away too often. Great run but should have shot. There was a lot of goal to aim at.
Someone said we are no better than we were with Moyes. Seriously? Under Moyes we would have been buried today. At least we have a threat even if we don't use it properly!! Under Moyes we offered nothing!!

I think we should admire the fact that we had 10 men for 60 min and kept the best attacking team in the country at bay .
also Luke Shaw was fantastic today I sometimes wonder if people post without even seeing the game!!

A good centre half and a dynamic b2b mid and we have one of the best first 11's in the world.
people seem to forget that city have destroyed us the last few I think we did ok

02 Nov 2014 15:39:21
We saw off the expected City thrusts early on and barring a couple of efforts had an element of control. We all saw what the problem was, a first stupid booking followed by what can only be described as one of the most stupid tackles I have ever seen. From then we were always up against it and no matter what people say LvG cannot do anything about someone who doesn't listen. LvG made it very clear prior to the game that it was very important to keep 11 on the pitch.
In similar circumstances several years ago when Evans was sent off we lost heavily by being naive, this time I was pleased with our composure under the increasing problems especially when Rojo went off.
We had a period in the second half where we could and should have scored, we showed real spirit in the circumstances and that is positive. We actually had City worried enough to go defensive with their substitutions.
For me today should signal a change in defence, Jones too often injured, Evans too often injured and makes mistakes too often, then there is Smalling.
Credit to the ten men but that should be Smallings last game for us. We are home next week and it must be a win, no excuses.

Agree completely.

Nothing Van Gaal can do about that and time to move on from the 3 defenders who are just not good enough. McNair looks so much better than Smalling ever did. I'd rather start with him than the other 3. Carrick was superb today, it really says a lot about the quality of our center backs when Carrick in the second half is our best center back performance of the season.

Always maintained Carrick is a a good player but people slag him because he is not fast. He is so underrated and would do so well in some of the other leagues in Europe.

Smalling is a silly boy and we never had a chance after that sending off but credit to rooney and the team they busted a gut and stayed competitive.

This is a good squad and capable of going on a winning run but needs some luck with injuries which seems to be getting worse.

I wonder what combination we will have at CB next week, Looks like rojo is out for a few months if it is a dislocated shoulder.

02 Nov 2014 20:06:08
Enjoyed watching Carrick, was a nice blast from the past to see some experience on the ball in the back line, always knew his options, didn't panic and always found a pass.

02 Nov 2014 15:34:54
If we have 11 men on the pitch for 90 minutes, we get something from that game. Losing Smalling meant we had to sacrifice a body in midfield, losing the control we had for the early part of the match.

Despite the defeat, the progress is there for all to see.

Today, I thought De Gea, Shaw, Carrick, Fellaini, Rooney and RVP were all excellent. Rojo did okay for the majority too. The fight and determination to get back in the game was great to see.

Agree on DDG, Fellaini, Carrick and Shaw; but I thought Rooney was in and out of the game and gave the ball away and apart from one bit of magic from a throw in I didn't feel RVP really contributed anything.

02 Nov 2014 20:09:37
Sorry redseven but Rooney did well today. Rarely gave the ball away except for a couple of times towards the end of the match when his fitness was going, no surprise after his suspension. Other than that he was involved in a lot of attacks and got back to defend when the team needed it. Good captains performance.

02 Nov 2014 15:33:24
What was Smalling thinking? Very lucky to not concede penalties or be down to 9.

Great fighting spirit though. In the last 20 minutes we absolutely dominated them with 10 men. Special mention to Michael Carrick who looked as though he had been playing center back all his life and has had a consistent run in the side.

But, for me, Luke Shaw is already showing us why we spent so much on him. At least 4 world class tackles and countless amount of crosses blocked.

P.s.Di Maria is being haunted by the ghost of Nani while taking corners.

02 Nov 2014 14:59:04
How can a manager do a decent job with players like Smalling doing stupid things like that?!? On another note I thin we play much better in the diamond formation and Di Maria gets more involved that way too. Out wide he looks isolated at times and doesn't get enough of the ball to cause a threat.

It was hardly a threat. Poor decision. It could well be Smalling's last game in United colours.

Absolutely loved the spirit shown today.
Would play our centre backs in this order: Jones, Carrick, Evans, Mcnair.
Blackett, Smalling and Rojo have all been so poor.

We really need a centre-half. Effectively 2. Shawcross or Kjaer or Miranda or anyone who could play regularly.
Jones Smalling and Evans are really un-dependable. Always injured. Like Ledley King.

If only we had a player as good as Ledley King. Evans, Jones and Smalling are nowhere near that level. Smalling showed a real lack of intelligence and experience. The occasion definitely got to him. We do need two centre backs. And a right back.
I thought Shaw had a pretty solid game. Good to see Carrick back. And Fellaini continues to impress.
He looks like he has found his feet. I've never really rated him. But he fully deserves some credit.

02 Nov 2014 14:28:20
Well, as I've said all along, smalling, Evans, Jones are all a waste of space. Smalling just got himself a stupid booking, then went and got himself sent off. You can be the best manager in the world, but you can't legislate for persons like Smalling doing that.
Shame as we had played well in the match, but now, there is only one way this match will go. Let's hope we don't get a drubbing.
Sell Evans, smalling, Jones as they're neither fit, nor good enough, nor intelligent enough to play for United.

02 Nov 2014 14:59:15
Can see two of the three gone very shortly depending on replacements

I would be happy to see McNair play between now and January. If he makes mistakes he can learn from them something I am starting to think Smalling and Jones are incapable of.
Unsure on Rojo so a radical McNair and Blackett could not do any worse for me
LVG needs to come up with some answers quickly

Totally agree Smalling, Evans and Jones are nowhere near utd quality

02 Nov 2014 15:20:05
I agree, Jones is a good player but is never ever fit to play. The other 2 aren't good enough for me.

I think our cb's wages work out about 200k a game given we only get 15 games max a year out of the 3 lol, unbelievable.

They would be good players but just too injury prone aka micah richards. 2 will go this summer if we get decent offers for them, pretty sure of that.

We need a right winger, Valencia has zero final ball and just smashes everything at the defenders and so right footed that it is so easy to defend.

02 Nov 2014 14:22:39
What is going on with us defensively? The number of penalties and sendings off over the past 18 months is shocking. That's not even including the number we've gotten away with (3 penaltys and another sending off in the past 135 minutes alone!).

02 Nov 2014 12:36:32
I'm starting to think that LVG has the players training for the zombie apocalypse rather than football. Rafael picked up an injury in training on Thursday. Valencia will play right back. Can't help but feel that will cost us the game.

We need cover badly. Valencia is not a suitable replacement.

LvG in the interview pre game used the word "again" referring to Rafael being injured. LvG may not be too impressed with Rafael.

02 Nov 2014 14:31:24
If we had more cb's you would also have Jones and smalling to cover rb.

02 Nov 2014 10:53:06
Hi Eds

How are the ads at the top of the page generated?

I keep getting an advert asking if I want a sugar momma, as I'm 45 a sugar momma for me would be old and probably very wrinkly.

{Ed001's Note - you must be getting the ads set up to appeal to Ed007 then, if it hasn't crusted over, then it is too young for him......}

Haha

If that's what does it for him fair play.

Carloto,

Clear your history.

;)

When I come on this page after doing some online shopping all I see is ads related to online shopping!! So someone is clearly on the milf pages 😁

02 Nov 2014 00:32:04
Big match against city, Are we too nice on the field now, we need to get a mean streak going, the likes of Rooney need to drill it in to falco di Maria and the rest of the new players to get stuck in.just like keane vidic, Bruce, smichael, scholes would have, I don't like this shaking hands in the tunnel before a game, or swapping jerseys at half time, let's get stuck in to them, put in a few good early tackles, come on united!

Don't tell Rooney or Rafael to get stuck in they are likely to get sent off Fellani too really think he could man mark Toure just like Song did for West Ham