Manchester United Banter Archive March 04 2015

 

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04 Mar 2015 23:40:59
I can't believe some of the negativity on here. Alright I'm on the sauce this evening but a clean sheet, probably the best half I've seen us play this season competetively (first half and we should have scored due to our pressure ), tough ground to go to and a typical united win near the end. I honestly think that is one if the best performances this season against a Newcastle team who thought they could influence the referee and bully us. We kept possession well and endured a few moments that we would expect with a typical united performance. I've not posted much over the last 6 months or so as I can't believe some if the comments on here when I visit onCe or twice a day. Someone even posted a comment about asking for left footed wingers to play left and right footed wingers to play riGht ffs. The best few club teams play opposing footed players to naturally hold the ball up/cut inside. This keeps the natural lesser teams from counter attacking as when you have your wingers carrying the ball/retention/cutting inside, this pushes the most of the opposing teams back. Young left, adm right wa absolutely the right decision. Robben, Ribery. Neymar, Messi & bale/Ronaldo are generally played to cut inside / carry the ball. Some people and not all need to have a quiet word with themselves. It's simple. Results game, if we qualify for cl then maybe lvg survives and if we don't he is gone. Let's get the points as some people have suguested and we can talk about the pretty stuff afterwards.

Believable5 Unbelievable4

04 Mar 2015 23:28:00
Interesting to see Falcao not in the team tonight on the same day L'equipe claimed United have told Monaco that they will not be signing him.

Even if he is not here next season, I still feel he could have a huge part to play over the next handful of games.

Believable5 Unbelievable1

05 Mar 2015 00:58:38
i think its a little late for him, i like him but the price being quoted is too over priced, especially when he has hardly gave us anything positive.

unless the fee was reduced to half of what their asking i would pass, but hopefully he proves everyone wrong and gets some goals.

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04 Mar 2015 22:31:42
We were fortunate to come out of this one with 3 points. Plenty of possession but few chances again. (Dull, dull, enough said) Newcastle had just as many and should have had a PK to boot.

Rooney's main weakness is his lack of pace. He simply can't outrun his marker. But his great strength is his persistence, which tonight led to our late goal. At this stage in his career I think he is much more suited to #10 rather than #9. I would love to see Rooney and Falcao working together for a few consecutive games.

The line up for the next few tough games is going to be interesting. Should we be going back to a back 3?

Believable2 Unbelievable4

04 Mar 2015 22:53:50
Not being funny but I don't know what game you were watching. We had a host of good chances and dominated them from start to finish.

A good performance from the team and a massive result.

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05 Mar 2015 01:00:17
so rooney has no pace and falcao who has less pace should be up top? pace isn't everything, plently of players lack pace but are better.

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04 Mar 2015 22:26:16
Sheesh people, Liverpool and Spurs won at home, we won away (which is unusual). That's a good result really, it's all about the points now, the drama queens need to chill.

Believable4 Unbelievable1

04 Mar 2015 22:49:57
To be fair there's not that many negative comments tonight.

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04 Mar 2015 22:52:45
Come on Tony we didn't smash a decent team away from home 6-0 what do u expect? Personally anything less than 4 is poor!
God I wish we could be like Liverpool or arsenal or even Southampton.

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04 Mar 2015 23:30:51
Realistically Chris with the players at our disposal smashing Newcastle the way City did is far from impossible but I feel we needed these three points tonight badly so I can take the performance on the chin. David De Gea was too notch again.

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05 Mar 2015 00:17:52
The same DDG that just wants to concentrate on his performance until the end of the season. because all those stories About LVG were lies???

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05 Mar 2015 02:51:16
Sorry Bgolgo what do you mean?

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04 Mar 2015 21:55:59
2 big positives tonight:

1 - We won, another 3 points which puts us well on course for top 4.

2 - LVG got off his a$$ and on the touchline, about time.

Believable3 Unbelievable1

05 Mar 2015 00:45:35
Yes! I was so glad to see Van Gaal actually get up and give instructions to players. Maybe the penny has dropped.

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05 Mar 2015 10:33:27
Penny dropping and pressure. Good to see, he should be doing more of it.

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04 Mar 2015 21:54:16
A springboard, a win after playing our Ashley Young get out of jail card. That is the Ashley Young who for me deserved the man of the match more than DeGea, well as DDG did.

Overall the performance was controlled possession, almost a game of chess, it has to be said we are not conceding or losing by big margins but there was a lack of urgency particularly when it looked like we may only get a draw. SAF would have taken a chance earlier and thrown more at the opposition but now we have a more calculated approach. Build from the back, don't lose first then pick off goals. The thing is that we look anxious around the penalty area when we used to be assured, if you watch the players I believe you can see there is a touch of anxiousness about them all round the pitch, the pressure has been telling on them. Still we keep picking up results and I wonder if that tonight just gave us a touch more confidence even if the performance was not great.
We are awkward to play against so I do think some teams coming up against us will realise we could be a tough nut to crack.

Believable3 Unbelievable5

04 Mar 2015 22:07:31
Credit to Wayne Rooney who nearly willed it to happen with his relentless effort till the ball landed at Young's feet. There will be a lot of talking points coming up:
1. Di Maria subbed off early again
2. Falcao zero minutes
3. Van Gaal's reaction to the goal
4. Fellaini not the answer up front, for me anyway
5. Still top four, up 2 on Liverpool for now

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04 Mar 2015 21:57:48
To conclude uniteds in for a hammering at anfield

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04 Mar 2015 22:30:55
Not to mention about 10 goals goal diff always a good thing to have

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04 Mar 2015 22:55:57
LOL at big Al.

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04 Mar 2015 23:18:37
Well I'm sure we will struggle if the worldclass lallana plays AL ;)

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05 Mar 2015 00:15:17
Haha ctr. That will never get old because you claimed it. As always an excellent player

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05 Mar 2015 01:02:09
i was wondering when the liverppol fans would climb out of their caves

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05 Mar 2015 11:54:46
Struggling to think why somebody disagreed that a 10 goal advantage isn't a good thing to have hahaha

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04 Mar 2015 21:39:20
That's how to win games, bore the hell out of Krul hoping his concentration slips and he gives the ball away to Young who scores in the dying seconds. Bring on Arsenal.

Believable3 Unbelievable3

04 Mar 2015 22:58:45
I must be watching another game. I was sure the Krul I watched pull off a a number of good saves.

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05 Mar 2015 07:22:40
It was just a joke Sam, considering our away form this was a good result, as we all know points mean prizes.

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04 Mar 2015 21:48:38
Ecstatic to get the points. Like Beast said there is no need to criticise the perfomamces anymore, we know we are going to be served up dross week in week out but we have no choice but to endure it and hope we sneak a goal.

This result keeps us in with a shout.

Believable6 Unbelievable2

04 Mar 2015 22:12:27
You agreeing with beast despite both banging on all season about the performance, well I never.

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04 Mar 2015 23:33:05
What do you want me to say GDS? I wish that we had lost?

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04 Mar 2015 23:42:17
Just didn't know beast was the pied piper

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04 Mar 2015 23:52:03
Behave yourselves, it don't matter who's dad's bigger.

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05 Mar 2015 02:53:50
What are you taking about 'pied pipers' for GDS? It's little comments like this that do you no favours mate.

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05 Mar 2015 08:29:52
Do me no favours with who? Posting banter on a banter page, I would have thought that's what the page was for. Just made me laugh how it's been all about the performance but as soon as beast said its not anymore you agreed with him that's all, you seem to take things way too seriously.

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05 Mar 2015 10:50:19
Okay mate if that's your view. I think posts such as yours are why folk like Chris feels there is some sort of 'following or favouritism developing'.

Not so much taking things seriously but it's hard to see if you are being sarcastic or just having a dig mate. The last time folk had digs at you, you decided to give us a speech about how didn't want to post anymore.

As usual mate we will agree to disagree.

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05 Mar 2015 12:02:36
I stopped posting for a little while because the site was becoming so depressing that I wasn't enjoying posting on here anymore. It has recently got back a little more of its fun and banter that I enjoy. You seem to be quite sad about that, whereas I am enjoying it, if you can't work out if I am being sarcastic then maybe just don't reply?

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04 Mar 2015 21:39:36
Great, we won that's 3 points in the bag, on to the next game ;-)

Believable5 Unbelievable1

04 Mar 2015 22:09:22
Beat me to it mate. Very good.

Enjoy your Cornflakes. :)

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04 Mar 2015 22:17:07
Ditto my last comment to NouCamp. Same comment, but further down the page. I am think Brendan just got in first!!

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04 Mar 2015 22:28:39
Hahaha brilliant fellas :D

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05 Mar 2015 01:11:50
2 flippin' minutes, Brendan! About the same time, tho, when you factor in the time difference between N.Ireland and the mainland :)

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04 Mar 2015 21:37:34
Whinge all you want. Poor tactics, poor selecgion, boring play, ' blah blah blah.

This is United, this is what we are about, last minute goals, stealing the spoils. Incredible work by Rooney and a class finish. by Young. Enjoy it and avoid whining everybody.

Like GDS I am looking forward to the big games; time for us to step us and deliver. I suspect we may well do that (dodgy selections aside obviously).

Believable4 Unbelievable1

04 Mar 2015 23:34:30
Three points are the most important thing at this stage AJH and although the big games worry me I am too looking forward to them as you are.

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05 Mar 2015 00:23:44
Did you say you were looking forward to it before JMB? Or is that the realist in you speaking???

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05 Mar 2015 03:04:20
In reality Bgolgo I think all supporters even the neutrals look forward to the big games, especially derbys.

The optimist in me says "we will go out and take the points from those games". The realist on the otherhand says "City are tough, Mourinho will want to beat us, Spurs have found some top form, Goodison isn't our happiest hunting ground, Arsenal pounded us for 90mins but we just escaped with a win earlier in the season and Liverpool have huge momentum.

The optimist says we will get sixteen points from these games but the realist thinks we'll be lucky to get eight. Like everyone else I pray the optimist is right.

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04 Mar 2015 21:26:39
Hi Guys

No urgency.no tempo and no penetration.United teams of old will be thrashing this Newcastle side and just to make things worse all the teams around us are winning.

Believable2 Unbelievable2

04 Mar 2015 21:36:42
Posted too soon bazza??

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04 Mar 2015 22:00:07
I'm glad we won GDS2 but the points I made still stand.Timing never was my strong point lol

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04 Mar 2015 22:20:31
GDS, I am glad that you have "seen the error of your ways" today.

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04 Mar 2015 23:00:34
We could have scored 4 tonight if we had the run of the green.

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04 Mar 2015 23:34:58
Yes Betty that makes plenty of sense. .

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05 Mar 2015 06:30:10
JMB, why is that difficult to understand?

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05 Mar 2015 09:38:03
Betty,

Stop confusing the poor lad.

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05 Mar 2015 10:53:11
We obviously have a different grasp of the English language.

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04 Mar 2015 21:22:34
This game has been negative from the start. 1 man up top against a very average Newcastle team is a farce! Look at that team tonight and where are the goal scorers? there aren't any other than Rooney.

Believable1 Unbelievable3

04 Mar 2015 21:36:58
Young?

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04 Mar 2015 21:44:27
Herrera?

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04 Mar 2015 21:08:08
football aside. great to see Gutiérrez playing again.

Believable5 Unbelievable1

04 Mar 2015 20:35:45
Well what can we say about that half of football - safe, negative, boring, slow, predictable same as every game recently this really isn't good enough we have so much possession but do nothing with it and one last thing i would like to see just once us play a right footer on the right and left on the left this would help our wingers actually attack their fullback rather then constantly cutting inside.

Believable3 Unbelievable0

04 Mar 2015 20:42:26
LVG got out his seat and shouted at a few players though, progress.

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04 Mar 2015 18:05:24
Imagine we won tonight and everybody just said "great, we won that's 3 points in the bag. on to the next game"

that would be nice

Believable6 Unbelievable0

04 Mar 2015 18:52:44
Then we would wake up and have our cornflakes fella. will never happen on here unfortunately.

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04 Mar 2015 19:18:15
I'm getting to the point where performance is not as important now. It was important but the points eclipse it now it is that serious.

3 points and the usual crap will suit me just fine tonight.

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04 Mar 2015 19:36:23
Its been a good while since I went in to away games like this, with the confidence I used to have. And I don't just mean from the start of this season.

Like Beast says, the time for hoping for great football has passed. It's all about the points now. I'd bite your arm off for three of them tonight.

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04 Mar 2015 21:23:47
This is woeful

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04 Mar 2015 21:24:12
This is so poor!

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04 Mar 2015 21:39:30
Well I'm not going to complain as we got the 3 points and they were vital tonight with the others winning. Same old performance.

LVG out on the touchline as well, nice to see!

Falcao?

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04 Mar 2015 21:41:11
Great, we won that's 3 points in the bag. On to the next game.

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04 Mar 2015 22:05:52
agree, we had to get those points and glad we got them. It would have been nicer had QPR turned arsenal over:) or burnley gotten a result against the scousers. Spurs next and that should be a real good contest.

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04 Mar 2015 22:35:10
I was starting to wonder what an arm would taste like.

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04 Mar 2015 22:50:40
Apparently, it tastes like chicken. Just saying!

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05 Mar 2015 00:26:06
Is Beast coming round to the "LVG Gangs" way of thinking haha

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04 Mar 2015 17:26:12
I think everyone's view on LVG are very clear by now and we seem to be regurgitating the same views again and again. Its a bit risky me posting this before the game, it could so easily backfire, but I've had a few drinks and suddenly feeling more positive about our chances. ;)

I want to look at what lies ahead of us. In a few hours we will face Newcastle, a must win game for us and has been a bit of a bread and butter fixture for us in the past to be honest. I will take any sort of a win tonight, points and results are important now, no matter how they come. We can assess the performances at the end of the season. A win tonight keeps us right in the top 4, with confidence up. A win tonight is extremely important for us psychologically going into an extremely difficult run of fixtures. Dropped points and it will suddenly look like an uphill task.

LVG's tactics and decision making has been bizarre at times, Di Maria has been below par for various reasons and Falcao hasn't sparkled at all. But it can all change so quickly. Criticism of LVG and the performances has been labelled as negativity by GDS2, so here is a bit of positivity for you mate.

I am looking at the difficult run of fixtures, as not something to be scared of, but as an opportunity. A trademark counter attack by Di Maria against Arsenal could mean progress in the cup and him getting his confidence back. A signature turn and finish from Falcao at Anfield could well mean a famous away win and us cementing our place in the top 4. City are just a couple of losses away from falling into the top 4 battle with the rest of the teams, and LVG could set his team up well to inflict more misery on the noisy neighbors who have shown time and again they are vulnerable.

We may as well see some fighting spirit against spurs in one of those roller coaster games which always seem to happen between the two of us. By the time we face Chelsea, they may well have the league in the bag and take their foot off the pedal a bit. The game against Arsenal at home later in the league could be crucial, we have always gotten the points against them when it mattered, and I am confident we can do that again.

This is what Manchester United is about. Big games. We will see the mettle and gravitas of the manager in these. I believe the squad has more than enough quality to get through this period in shining colors. One of the arguments against Moyes was that he didn't win the big games, which was fair I think. Its down to LVG now to show us why he is so highly renowned and why Manchester United trusted him.

I'm certain one Wayne Rooney (love him or hate him) will be relishing these games, he always shows up and fights in the big games and I'm hoping to see the rest of our big players earn their money and put in top performances and drive us to a top 4 finish. We are still in 4th and in with just as much of a chance as anyone else, its time to kick on.

Believable5 Unbelievable1

04 Mar 2015 19:02:10
i think lvg comments about to many back passes and tempo might be a sign of what we may see tonight, maybe a higher tempo/ attacking game.

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04 Mar 2015 20:39:09
After watching the 1st half i guess not if LvG played Rafael instead of Valencia that would cut out half of the backwards passes!!

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04 Mar 2015 21:26:18
And us giggs stuck to his seat with a pull cord stuck out of his chest so when LVG pulls it he says yes boss good idea.

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04 Mar 2015 21:40:24
Rooney was brilliant tonight. Work rate top nothc all game and was flagged offside wrongly 3 times when he would have been clean through. How we've missed him upfront all season!

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04 Mar 2015 18:25:20
Haven't been on today until now. But I've had the feeling all day today that someone's watching me. Now I know why.

I've got my eye on you young man!!!

Spooky :)

Believable1 Unbelievable1

04 Mar 2015 16:32:43
Just a thought on our home/away form, we have the second best home form in the league, just a point off Chelsea although they have a game in hand on that front, however away we have been shocking, with 3 wins 3 losses and 7 draws and I feel this is down to lvg's negative set up going into away games trying above all not to lose them. Does anyone else think that if we went into the away games with a similar attitude and set up to our home games we would be sitting much prettier in the league?

Believable2 Unbelievable0

04 Mar 2015 16:50:17
I think it was the other way round last year did we not have one of the best away records in the league

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04 Mar 2015 16:58:37
The home/away side of things irritates me. Take off your football punditry hats for a minute and just think about it logically.

Both home and away the game is played with a round ball on a flat pitch covered with grass. The goals are the same size, you wear your clubs kit and you have a certain percentage of the fans behind you.

What is the difference of playing home and away? I know fans can make a place hostile, but as a professional you should be able to block this out and get on with your job. Football is football, it's not as complicated as the TV makes it.

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04 Mar 2015 17:00:00
Actually its quite the opposite Andy.

LVG's tactics away from home, for me have been far too adventurous. Playing with two strikers and Mata in behind them away from home with a 3 at the back system is always going to backfire in the premier league and leave us having to perform rescue acts with the "lump it up to Fellaini" tactic in the last 10 mins. Away from home you need to slow the game, let the home team attack, win the ball back in defense and counter attack with pace and in numbers.

LVG should have setup defensively away from home, with Rooney playing lone striker with a view to counter attack with the pace of Di Maria and Januzaj from out wide and Mata and Carrick starting off counter attacks with their vision. This would have utilized the width on the counter attack and stretched teams. Instead we got into playing through the center with painfully slow ball possession and two similar strikers, Rooney in midfield and Mata in the whole with little movement and pace in and around him. This also invited pressure on the center backs.

It was always going to fail away from home.

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04 Mar 2015 18:05:43
Fresh,

That post is extremely naive, of course there is a difference, why do yoo think almost every team has a better record at home than away every year? It's not just a coincidence.

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04 Mar 2015 13:51:57
So what's everyone's thoughts on the LVG back pass comments?

Scholes always went out of his way to make room and look for the ball because we had him as an outlet we very rarely had to play backward. I'd be interested to see have we played less back passes since we started playing Herrera?

Are we doing it because of the ability of our defenders not being composed enough to pick a pass? Or Is it down to the movement of our Midfielders?

Personally our defenders lack confidence don't want to lose the ball and be caught out of position and be responsible for conceding. Better movement from our midfield will open up better gaps. Which is why I think a Blind Herrera and Mata midfield would help.

It seems more psychological than ability They seemed to cop on when the crowd booed for the backpass

Believable2 Unbelievable0

04 Mar 2015 15:00:45
Complete sense from lvg. But I think it is down to formation. With 3 cbs the "spare man" will naturally be in the centre of defence if not the wingbacks. Where as a different formation such as a (not trying to get bogged down by formations) 433 or a 4231 the "spare man/player" would be in a fullback position or in the centre of midfield or even one of the wingers which would possibly make those formations better for moving the ball forward quickly but hey I'm no expert. Just my opinion.

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04 Mar 2015 16:40:22
I totally agree that in order to keep the ball sometimes you have to play it back and build again.

In my eyes LVG is trying to place a Barcelona style philosophy on us where possession is important and goals are made either through incisive passes or we break teams down and score later in games as we always have the ball which tires the opposition out.

I see no problem with using the goalkeeper, but in the previous game against Sunderland it was annoying when we took a corner, it was cleared with everyone still forward and the ball came to Evans who instead of lumping it into the box he passed it back to De Gea and the attack was over.

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04 Mar 2015 12:42:59
Apparently, Arsenal are interested in youri tielemans, who I know I have gone on about for AGES! We must not wenger get hold on of this guy and act NOW! LVG, get on the phone to Anderlecht ASAP!

Believable1 Unbelievable1

04 Mar 2015 13:54:46
Edd's, do you have contacts within OT? If so, speak with them!

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{Ed002's Note - Tielemans has attracted interest from Chelsea, Arsenal, Juventus, Napoli and Marseille. Chelsea have actively been speaking with his club very recently but would need to send him on loan for I imagine two years or more.}

04 Mar 2015 18:56:32
Think someone has a little man crush, cute!

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04 Mar 2015 12:11:01
Imagine if Moyes had been our manager up until now, we get rid of him today and bring in LVG to save CL football next season. I would hold my hands up and say he has done a wonderful job getting us in the CL if he accomplishes it from now, considering the way we have played, the games we have left, the confidence of key players and the performances of our rivals (of late).

That is very worrying for our hopes of getting a CL place because I think the vast majority of people would say the same thing, would you not? From this position LVG will have done extremely well to get us CL football.

So as we are not getting a new manager today and it is extremely likely LVG will see out the rest of the season at least, it makes the odds slimmer of us getting it in my view because he won't change enough in such a short amount of time. He will do phenomenally well to get us there considering the virtual calamity of the first 2/3rd's of the season - most of which his making. I'll be the first to praise him if he accomplishes it and if he does it playing better football then I will probably say he is worth taking a punt on for next season.

I hope LVG shows his worth over the next couple of months and repays a lot of the faith many supporters and the board have shown in him. I would have sacked him after the first 3 months, so I am not one of them he technically owes for standing by him, but as a supporter of Utd I still feel he owes me! So I hope he now realises what a massive opportunity he has, he moved the pieces of the jigsaw around and it still resembles a poor Picasso painting of the Moyes era, so let's hope he has solved it now and turns out a masterpiece by getting us CL football and has the team playing with a bit of confidence!

Believable1 Unbelievable4

04 Mar 2015 12:40:44
I stand by Theory that the attacking has been hampered by the need to contain and protect our weak back line, if I was to use it in an analogy it would be this. (If you enter into a battle with swords and shields, and lose your shield, your sword then has to be your shield as well meaning your attacking then becomes limited)

There is also no evidence that playing any other way would have us in a better position and I also feel people are overrating our squad

I'm satisfied with the work done by LVG he has shown consistency and always been open and honest. Next season I think will be the decisive one.

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04 Mar 2015 12:40:52
Beast,

Do you really think the first 2/3 of the season have been a virtual calamity? I think fans of other teams would laugh at that assessment and say you don't know you are born. We are in the top 4 and have been for a while, we beat Liverpool 3-0, drew with Chelsea and won at Arsenal, there are things that have not been great, but calamity is a little over the top surely, there have been some good things this season you have to admit that surely?

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04 Mar 2015 12:47:22
Agree one hundred per cent Beast. I posted the other day that I would take my hat off to LVG if he gets us top four from this moment forward given the form of our rivals and our performances so far this season.

At this current moment I am firmly in the club's corner. Results must start coming tonight, anymore slip ups and I can't forsee our hopes becoming reality.

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04 Mar 2015 12:57:12
If we MAINTAIN not get top 4 this season its because of the WHOLE season

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04 Mar 2015 13:02:54
I said the other day rather than a team performance it may be an individual who drags us over the line.
a bit like cantona did a few years back when we caught newcastle

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04 Mar 2015 13:07:59
JMB

Results must start coming tonight?? what are you talking about we've lost 5 games all season!! you're talking like we've been on a baron run.

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04 Mar 2015 13:08:28
rzomcr - it just depends on your own opinion, the only evidence we have is what we watch each week, we all would change bits here and there, but ultimately what I have witnessed collectively has been a team devoid of attacking motivation or ability. Arguably our weak defence is a key issue/reason but it could be argued LVG has opted for safety first, which frankly is not what I like or expect from a team with the attacking talent we possess. You don't play football to not get beat if you are Man Utd, you play to win.

GDS2 - As a whole I would say it has been mate. We are not further along performance wise, what has he learnt really? Maybe he knows what formations don't work, or which players aren't good enough, but what has he learnt for the positive? Its about time we saw it on the field, because he does talk a good game and he is normally accurate with his post game comments, he just fails to implement change effectively, probably because his heart is not in change. Our position isn't justified by our performances in my view, 3rd place should be wrapped up, we look like 6th is more likely at the moment because of the way our season has gone thus far.

JMB - Exactly I think once we take away all the analysis, criticisms/praise we all want the same thing in the end. I hope as our players gain confidence it helps fans like me gain more confidence in expecting a better performance when I watch us. Fingers crossed the tide is turning because up to now it hasn't been good enough.

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04 Mar 2015 13:22:01
First off its ridiculous to say you would have sacked him after 3 months.

Secondly since when have united gone about things in the easy way? I bet you would have been a nightmare to stand by in camp nou.

How about we stop getting ahead of ourselves and trying to predict games six weeks down the line and focus on the game at hand. Its an old cliche but let's take one game at a time.

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04 Mar 2015 13:39:26
I posted a squad analysis on the Team tab before if anyone cares to add input i'm sure there will be split opinions on most, keep in mind my rooney assessment is based on if we could bring in a sharper reinforcement up front and a couple who have been marked as potential is merely on previous form

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04 Mar 2015 13:44:59
Beast, got to hand it to you, light the fuse and watch everyone go into meltdown. Class!!
Only thing I'll say, our season will not end if we draw or lose tonight, just like it won't end for Liverpool, Arsenal, Southampton or Spurs lose or draw tonight.
We have to take every game as it comes and try our hardest to win as many games as we can.
Young, Fellaini, Smalling playing better this year and he's given some of the younger generation a chance. So it is not a total calamity as you say.

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04 Mar 2015 13:55:15
I really don't understand you Beast, I think you are obsessed with LVG. He is not playing on FIFA you know? It takes time to build a team, he has already identified targets to come and those that have no place left at OT, it simply isn't possible to rebuild a team in 6 - 12 months. He needs his 3 years and I would bet that when he leaves when his contract is up he will leave a far better squad behind than SAF did.

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04 Mar 2015 13:59:36
No mid
You will be pleased to see fellaini playing well and given a chance up top

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04 Mar 2015 14:12:59
Tot66 - I'm not obsessed with LVG, maybe I'm obsessed with Man Utd and the most important person has to be LVG as he is the manager, so naturally I refer to him more often than not.

There will of course be some small positives to take from this season no matter what happens, but on the whole I can't shake the feeling of being let down. Cast your minds back to transfer deadline day and what you thought at that point, I guarantee very few of you expected the performances or the fight we have on our hands to get top 4.

It has been a rollercosater year, but it's been one of those Gypsy rollercoasters, one where the buzz is whether you will survive not actually enjoy the ride. We paid for Alton Towers and we got Gypsy Geoff's!

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04 Mar 2015 15:07:16
The only thing I didn't expect after Deadline day was how poor Falcao and Di maria have been. Total anti climax

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04 Mar 2015 18:09:58
Nomidfield,

If that's what he was doing, lighting a fuse and watching the meltdown then fair play but I don't actually think he is, that's the worrying thing.

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04 Mar 2015 20:06:05
Jred I would love any of our players to play well. And that includes wig.
GDS, I think beast has got a bit of a playful streak in him. So while I think he might not like lvg, I'm hoping that some of the posts are a bit of a piss take. But only Beast can shed some light on this.
For everyone's sake, I hope we play well and win tonight. We're due a good performance. So here's hoping for 3 points. No back passes. No long balls. No unusual substitutions. And the rest will take care of itself and everyone will be happy! I hope!

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04 Mar 2015 11:51:53
Following on from the post below relating to signing potential, isn't that what our history was built on getting young players with potential and nurturing them into great players? There are a few I think with the right tutoring and guidance could become fantastic players. The time to sign them is when they are young so they buy into the culture and direction the manager wants to go.

Right wing: Felipe Anderson - quick tricky winger, two footed who can score and create.

Left wing: Memphis Depay - Quick, direct, powerful tricky. Can score and create.

Forward: Paulo Dybala. Quick, great at dribbling, great at holding up the ball and also very good at passing.

Excellent 18 year olds: GONCALO GUEDES - left wing & GUIDO VADALÁ - Forward/right wing.

Long term sustained success comes from both your youth system and the transfer market. Our brightest periods over the last century have always involved very talented young players who had been nurtured by the club. The strive for instant success and some poor decisions by the club have resulted in us having an ageing squad that is the most highly paid in football, and yet the price doesn't match the performance. The issues with the back line, midfield, non scoring forwards and manager are well debated but at least a large influx of young, hungry player that are quick and have high levels of potential capability would offer hope and excitement to the team.

Believable2 Unbelievable0

04 Mar 2015 12:21:23
Exactly right Rewz, unfortunately some of the posters only like to quote "The UTD Way" when it can back up their own theories.

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04 Mar 2015 12:23:22
Rewz - You are right mate, it was what we were all about and I would like us to maintain an element of that, but we can't rely on that and we need to change the percentages. The game has moved on so quickly with the TV money and Sponsorship, if we want to be winning in Europe and domestically the vast majority of our squad need to be readymade because clubs like Bayern, Real, Barcelona, City, PSG, Chelsea will simply buy them and improve immediately, whilst we wait for talent to "hopefully" come good, suffering as we go.

It is very rare for a young player to come in and be doing it consistently for a long time - whilst we should have 2 or 3 of those prospects. Our rivals have 7 or 8 World class players starting every game. We can't afford to risk grooming 2-3 players each week because we have 3 or 4 world class players and the rest are squad players that wouldn't get near our major rivals starting 11.

We need to invest heavily in proven talent, then start the cycle of introducing 2 youngsters to the starting 11 so they learn and it doesn't hurt the team, as the older players retire the young ones are ready and the cycle continues - but you have to start from a position of power now otherwise it breaks down like it has with us.

At the moment we are doing neither effectively, we are not playing youth enough because we lack the quality to cover for it and we have too many squad players playing because we lack world class players.

We have a lot of catching up to do. Our next investment should be on world class readymade players or we will be forever playing catch up.

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04 Mar 2015 12:38:44
I don't think anyone is against signing young players and developing them. I for one would welcome them at the right price of course but we need to add experience along with youth. Would I rather Bale or Depay? Bale of course but if we got Depay as well then marvellous.

For instance say Madrid sign Muller, Bayern sign Benzema, Chelsea sign Reus, Liverpool sign Isco, Arsenal sign Cavani, City sign Suarez and we sign Depay. Would everyone be pleased with that?

No one is saying we don't want players like Depay we just want experience along with them but given the choice between one or the other we would rather take the latter at the moment.

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04 Mar 2015 13:11:41
4 of your 6 there are strikers not wingers, that is obviously a different department that needs addressing Depay would not fit into that category

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04 Mar 2015 13:47:34
Have Chelsea, City, Liverpool or Arsenal got 7-8 world class players starting every game? No chance. Barca and Real and Bayern might have but no team in our league has 7-8 world class players starting every game.

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04 Mar 2015 14:50:02
Juan, I would be happy to take £20m Depay who has scored or assisted every 90mins, that's far better than £100m Bale has achieved this season. Depay is also far younger and hungrier than Bale. It's a risk yes BUT he's an international starter with a couple of seasons of sustained levels of achievement so technically fairly low risk.

Would you sign Ronaldo or the kid matching/surpassing the level he was at as a teenager? It depends on if you want the short term benefit of Ronaldo or the potential long term benefit of having a lad who could be a similar level to him.

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05 Mar 2015 03:08:30
Rewz are you trying to tell me you would rather sign Depay than Ronaldo or Bale at the moment? If so I cannot even begin to comprehend that.

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04 Mar 2015 11:31:36
Must win game tonight folks. We need to mathematically stay in there. It will be a hard ask with the games coming up in April if we are the ones chasing 4th place and need to go looking for wins at Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool and against city at home.

Unfortunately city has had our number for a few years now even when we play them at home.

Spurs and Arsenal at OT will be no picnic and can go either way.

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04 Mar 2015 11:49:39
GCU we by far have the most difficult fixtures and given our form and the form of our rivals it is going to be very very difficult.

I hope LvG has a trick or two up his sleeve.

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04 Mar 2015 11:54:51
3.1 tonight for me di maria and falcao to get goals.

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04 Mar 2015 13:50:56
CGU, difficult fixture list, but I don't think Arsenal and Spurs will be looking forward to playing us at OT. We played Spurs off the pitch for 45 mins and should have been 3 goals up at half time. We play well against Arsenal and they haven't beaten us in 8 seasons.
The Liverpool match away is going to be very tough as will the Chelsea match, but why can't we go there and put on a good performance and get a draw? It is not impossible.

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04 Mar 2015 09:06:43
Just reading the papers etc., over the past 2 weeks, there has been a lot of articles linking us to Varane. Any basis for these stories?

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04 Mar 2015 10:10:49
All down to whether madrid can get their replacement in *. If not I can't see him leaving, especially to us, I think he'll probably end up at Chelsea replacing Terry and then partnering Zouma when he steps up.

*Laporte

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04 Mar 2015 10:50:37
I'd go for both Varane and Hummels to be honest and keep Smalling, Rojo and McNair/Blackett as back up. Jones isn't realistically going to make it and Evans isn't good enough.

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04 Mar 2015 10:56:06
Exactly what I would do Fresh.

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04 Mar 2015 11:00:55
Agree with Anon, Mourinho loves the lad and seemed to have a good relationship with him at Madrid who he brought there. I see him and Zouma being Chelsea's long term future center back pairing.

I don't see why Madrid would sell him though. He is believed to be behind Pepe in the starting line up and Pepe is getting on so I see him (Varane) getting more game time in the near future.

Id love to have him in our squad but if he does leave Madrid I see Chelsea being his desired Option.

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04 Mar 2015 11:11:19
Fresh, who we'd go for and who utd can get are two different things all together, the intersection is usually very few.

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mbd              

04 Mar 2015 11:18:44
I would love Varane but I cannot see Madrid letting him go. Such a big reputation at such a young age brings with it a massive fee. £40million or thereabouts I reckon.

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04 Mar 2015 11:26:35
Jones' fall from grace has been spectacular, from comparisons to Duncan Edwards, then to John O'shea and now people don't even see him as a squad/utility player.

Personally I still like the guy, he's young, had lots of injuries and I still think he can do well at our club. Only 2 years ago Fergie said he'd be the next England captain, you don't get that sort of praise for nowt'

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04 Mar 2015 08:43:14
With the title race heading into the final furlong over these next few months it's fair to say every point we pick up is essential to getting a coveted place in the CL next year. This must start tonight in Newcastle and anything less than three points is a disaster.

If we have 99 per cent possession, 45 shots on target and 2 men sent off I still won't entertain any excuses. Newcastle are poor defensively and up top, they are coached by a guy with no experience in the top flight and are ravished by injuries and suspensions.

Man City mauled them a few weeks back, the same City that folk on here said 'made Liverpool look good' last weekend and we should be winning by a similar margin. As we all are aware our run in is a tough one and this game is vital.

If we don't take the points back to Old Trafford and other results go against us then our chances, in my opinion, are slim to none of getting a place in the CL next season.

Believable9 Unbelievable0

04 Mar 2015 09:41:06
So if we don't win tonight you are going to give up on Champions League for next season, despite a lot of important games coming up. Thank God you aren't the manager, am I the only one who is looking forward to the 'big games' we have coming up? We are Manchester United not Leicester (no offence) where a day out at one of the bigger clubs is just for a bit of fun. I fully expect our big players to stand up in the important games, we have got ourselves into a decent position, nothing more than that at this stage, and it is the big games where the top players we have will step up and kick on.

Remember Arsenal, City and Spurs are at home, they are tough games for them as well as for us, no club is wanting to come to Old Trafford, some of the things I read on here are like people are expecting us to lose all 3 of these home games as well as away at Chelsea, Everton and Liverpool. So 6 defeats in 11 games when we have only lost 5 in 27. Sorry for being an 'eternal optimist' but I have a bit more faith in my team than you seem to have. I hope we win tonight but if we don't then we have plenty of time to recover.

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04 Mar 2015 10:03:53
I think we need 3 points tonight

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04 Mar 2015 10:14:41
GDS - who said anything about giving up on the CL? All I said is that Newcastle is three points we should be taking comfortably and that they are vital to us achieving CL this year.

Why has that suddenly turned into 'so your giving up on CL, thank god your not the manager'?

I am stating a fact saying that if we fail to secure points and our rivals keep getting results that we are making life difficult for ourselves. Three points against Newcastle, a team languishing in 10th spot with nothing to play for should be a given.

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04 Mar 2015 10:33:42
Annoying isn't it when people take your words and change them so it seems like you are saying something you aren't.

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04 Mar 2015 10:36:18
jred,

Me too mate, would be disappointing if we don't get the 3 points, our away form massively needs to improve. I think some people might spontaneously combust if we don't get the 3 points as well so fingers crossed we do.

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04 Mar 2015 10:39:04
Not annoying GDS just pretty childish if that was your aim.

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04 Mar 2015 10:48:18
After reading your post below where you called yourself a 'realist' and saying you will be keeping an eye on a few posters over the next few months I just couldn't resist. What is it to you what other posters opinions are, who are you to judge?

Some of your posts sound like you think you are right and anybody who thinks differently is wrong, it doesn't really work like that. I respect everyone's opinion as a United fan and I like reading the site, it seems all too often other people's opinions are shot down because certain people don't agree with them.

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04 Mar 2015 10:52:14
GD2, everyone reckoned we would get mullered by Man City and Chelsea at the beginning of the season and look what happened, we gave a pretty good account of ourselves, in fact I fancy our chances against City considering their patchy form and we are due to beat them at some point. That said tonight's game should be the pivotal point of our season, a win tonight, as we have done over the last few seasons, turn over Arsenal in the FA Cup, Spurs at home no problem, then Liverpool away, suddenly momentum is building and 2nd place looks a possibility.

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04 Mar 2015 11:03:20
Crucial game, but they all are now. I am looking forward to facing up against the big guns soon, but in fairness to LVG he has us looking no worse against the better teams. Tonight will look just as difficult as Chelsea away as we are playing. The result could be similar as well, one goal in it either way for me.

That is LVG's strength, but I maintain we need more than that. It's ok to get beaten now and again if you have a cavalier approach, but it's horrible getting beaten if you set-up not to get beaten against inferior teams and even some similarly strong teams.

I think/hope the penny may finally have dropped with him though. I'm excited about the next few games.

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04 Mar 2015 11:06:39
we still can't take Newcastle lightly although they are 10th and not a great team, teams just seem to give that extra against us. we need to control the game, play quick and take our chances.

an early goal would help i'm going to say falcao first goal in around the 8th minute :).

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04 Mar 2015 11:21:34
Not at all GDS. Actually I would go as far as to say you are the one who must always be right. It seems like your way or the highway when it comes to certain topics.

Anyway three points is a must tonight I "think" we agree on that but then again with all your sarcasm it's hard to tell.

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04 Mar 2015 11:22:59
Stoat,

I know, it is not that difficult to think that we won't actually do that badly against the top sides like we didn't last time around, but whisper it as people are keeping an eye on your posts in case you are wrong ;)

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03 Mar 2015 23:30:54
Reading through some posts and its striking to see that as soon as a realist is not an over the top optimist then he/she is branded a pessimist by certain folk on here. I guarantee that if we don't get into the CL this year these folk will be the same people who post things like 'We finished 5th/6th so it's much better than last season' or 'we got the FA cup it's not too bad of a year'. For me that's unacceptable given the circumstances.

It will be interesting come the end of the season as to who will humbly eat their words and those who will not. As a realist if we get the CL spot I will say 'Thank you very much LVG, I didn't think you could do it but you've proved me wrong'. I do wonder who will change their tune come the end of the season and who will continue to play their cordless violin.

There will most definitely be a few posters I will be keeping an eye on during these coming months.

Believable9 Unbelievable2

04 Mar 2015 07:03:55
that is not the case at all. This is really starting to do my head in now, no one is coming hard down on the 'realist' it's opinions mate. I don't think u will find one person over the moon with how we have performed this season. Likewise there has not been many posts praising lvg as some sort of demigod.
Some are willing to give it a season and then make a judgement and some are not.
Yet all these comments like 'the lvg lovers' and such when posting a negative post are just remarks without substance.
The abuse people like gds and redman gets for willing to see how it goes is totally wrong.

I've said it before there now seems a popularity contest on here to gain a following. If people have there opinion they should voice it but not use abuse or false remarks to get it heard.

This is not directed at u by the way buddy.

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04 Mar 2015 07:41:19
JMB, not sure aht them uprise of your post is other than to dig a few people in the ribs. The vast majority of people are reasonable balanced, even those with dpstrident views generally accept if they were wrong. there are few absolutes in sport, we all have opinions but ultimately we all want success for our team.

Keeping an eye on some people is a little creepy

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04 Mar 2015 08:25:41
Lots of typos, I'd like to apologise for my fot fungers

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04 Mar 2015 08:30:37
On the contrary Chris I think there are many posters who are very much buckled up on board the LVG express. What about the constant digs folk like Beast and GCU get on a daily basis for having an opinion? Red man (no offence) was the most negative poster on the site last year.

I fail to understand what you mean in regards to a 'popularity contest' or 'following'? But to say that someone is any less of a supporter because he/she can have an unbiased overview is poor (not that you have but it has been implied by other one here).

AJH - I agree we all want success and we all have different opinions but surely there comes a point that if your wrong then you put your hands up and say you were wrong. All I'm saying is come the end of the season (whatever the outcome) I wonder how many folk will be willing to do that.

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04 Mar 2015 08:55:39
I'll knock this on the head, too. I'm neither particularly negative or positive. I got behind Moyes last year, even though he wasn't my choice, because I sensed a man who needed all the help he could get in stepping into SAF's shoes.

LVG wasn't my first choice either, not by a long way, but like last season, I know it's a big job he's got on his hands, so I would never dream of calling for his head before a season has even finished.

The reason I'm questioning some of his decisions, is because some of his decisions have been wrong, IMO. This does not make me negative. This makes me a fan with thoughts and eyes. LVG has no lack of self-belief, and never tires of telling us that he's a brilliant manager. In that case, he needs to be held up to higher scrutiny, as he's put himself up there above the parapet.

I like Beasts arguments, even if I disagree with the vast majority of them. I like GDS's enthusiasm, even if I don't feel the same way sometimes.

What I don't like is having to listen to people tell me and others to support the manager, when the very same people offered none of that support last season. At the end of the day, I just don't like hypocrisy. I'll be hoping this manager gets it right. Because the club is the main thing.

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04 Mar 2015 09:19:12
I for one did not expect top 4 last season. I don't expect (hope for yes) top 4 this year though I expect us to challenge, and we are.

I honestly think most of us fans underestimated the rebuild task we need, though more are seeing it now, its massive. I posted, over 2 years ago now, we needed 7 or 8 new first team players and to be fair we have signed that many players BUT mostly not in the right areas. We need consistency in vision and strategy = giving whatever manager time.

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04 Mar 2015 09:19:59
JMB,
I understand that mate and totally get that beast gets a lot too which I don't agree with either but if someone has a difference of opinion to say for example beast that does not necessarily make them a lvg lover.

Stevie I'm very much in the same camp as u buddy.

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04 Mar 2015 09:24:48
JMB,

So in your opinion there are 2 boats, 'realist' and 'over the top optimist'? So either we have your opinion which makes us a realist, or if we disagree with you we are an over the top optimist. And you wonder why I have stopped posting as much about the team and giving any of my own realistic optimistic views.

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04 Mar 2015 10:10:37
Not at all GDS. You are twisting what I have said. I am saying that being a realist at the moment means we are being branded as pessimistic. How many people have posted that they don't think LVG has done a great job but will still give him credit when credit is due? That's a realist.

If you want to see an optimist reprimand a realist at its best GDS look at your comment on the above post. I said 'that if we don't beat Newcastle tonight that our chances of getting CL will be slim if results don't to our way'. You have replied saying 'so if we don't beat Newcastle you are giving up on CL next season, thank god you aren't the manager'.

My point exactly.

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04 Mar 2015 10:39:34
My post above was deliberately overly optimistic mate, obviously you were going to argue about it and use it in other arguments. Once again, just because it is YOUR opinion it does not mean you are being a 'realist'. Everybody has different opinions, football is about opinions, some of us are naturally positive and some people are negative, not one of us has a more 'real' opinion than anyone else.

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04 Mar 2015 10:41:46
I think some people just think if they are positive about the teams performances, they will come good on the pitch! Sadly that's not the case! The bottom line is we shouldn't be worrying about scrapping fourth place with the players we have and a world class manager. If there was signs that we were improving, that would be a glimmer of hope, but we don't even have that! There are still a lot of big teams to play so we should of made it easier for ourselves by this point! But who knows, we might win most of our remaining games and it will change a lot of opinions!

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04 Mar 2015 10:43:45
I think you've just seen the error of your ways in your above comment GDS and now your back tracking to be honest mate.

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04 Mar 2015 11:15:44
Out of interest if we win all of our remaining games and finish 2nd will it be praise for LVG or slating of our rivals for underperforming that graces these boards???

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04 Mar 2015 11:20:55
JMB,

Give it a break pal.

Anotherwiganred,

Fingers crossed we do win a lot of the remaining games, it is certainly possible, I disagree that we are not seeing any signs of improvement, the last 2 and a half games have been pretty good, much more attacking threat and possession that has actually meant something. The result against Swansea wasn't great obviously, but as some have said on here, they want the performances to get better, and it was a much better performance than a lot of the wins this season.

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04 Mar 2015 11:29:49
Jmb

I was negative last year based on my experience of transition when Busby retired. Look back a long way prior to Moyes appointment and I was warning about exactly what happened. I saw what I felt at the time was a massive monumental error by the club in their whole methodology not just the appointee.

StevieK
I am no LvG fan, but I merely wish to give him time until summer because I saw the mess which was compounded by last year and he has got more about him than the initial replacement for SAF even if he is not the long term option, which I don't believe he is. I don't believe I have told anyone to support LvG, only that we need to review in summer and that I believe his plans will be key to the owners judgement on his future whether we make top four or not. Remember I wanted Klopp.

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04 Mar 2015 12:07:58
The way I see it, both this season and last season anyone who was critical of how we were performing or how the team was progressing were either accused of moaning, accused of being spoiled plastic fans, or told that it was unreasonable to judge the manager until they have had at least a season and a half in charge. What is particularly interesting is that many of the same people who were at the receiving end of these criticisms are now saying the exact same things: if you don't want to be perceived as a whinging glory hunter, get behind van Gaal until he has enough time to implement his changes.

I don't see myself as a realist, I'm just a supporter who, like every other supporter, wants to see his club doing as well as they possibly can. Last season I didn't think that Moyes was the right man for the job and I said that (repeatedly and increasingly irritating ways). But I was open (and hoping) to the possibility that he would prove me wrong. I argued that he should be given a season to show that he was capable of getting the team to move in the right direction, and like a manager in any other industry, his position would be reviewed at the end of the year on the basis of his performance.

I feel the exact same way about van Gaal. This is a manager who claims that they will get this team competing for and winning the biggest trophies. He argues that he needs substantial resources, and sweeping changes within the club and its philosophy from the ground up. In other words, van Gaal is arguing that he will radically transform the club so that we can compete at the very top level again. The problem I have is that if van Gaal wants me to buy into his vision, he needs to demonstrate that his methods work: that the team is moving in the right direction and the is improving under his leadership. At the moment I just don't see any major improvement, and this is the basis upon which van Gaal should be judged at the end of the season: only if he demonstrates real improvement in league position and performance, should he be assured of his job. I don't see why football managers should be exempt from the general rules and standards of performance monitoring that exist in every other profession (including the players under van Gaal who are dropped if they don't perform).

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04 Mar 2015 12:34:41
Danny,

I pretty much agree with everything you said there mate, LVG needs to demonstrate that what he is doing works and at the moment that is on a knife edge. I don't think LVG has been fantastic so far, I also don't think he has been anywhere near as bad as some would have you believe, but the proof will be in the pudding over the next couple of months.

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04 Mar 2015 12:52:09
Spot on Danny mate.

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