Manchester United Banter Archive December 08 2014

 

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08 Dec 2014 22:20:26
It is hard to see how we did that. Robbery really. The only thing to say is that we have been utter garbage yet are in third place. If we actually start playing then we have a chance of top four.
Surprisingly we seemed to lack confidence after winning four games in a row. For me we looked like we were scared of losing the ball by passing it forward so passed it backwards to try to retain it, we looked pressured when they pressed us high. I do wonder if LvG pressurises them to retain the ball and under a press some of those players aren't good enough and panic in fear. I wasn't sure Rooney was fit and it was hard to see why Herrera was dropped.
Ok I criticised RVP recently but credit to him, he played well tonight.
Tonight I couldn't see the philosophy yet our battling attitude got us through. Just beat the Scousers on Sunday and maybe they will believe but we have to improve on that.

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08 Dec 2014 23:19:56
With the amount of backwards passes in the first half I wondered if some of our players thought we were playing in the other direction. Rooney at times was hitting through balls back past a number of Southampton players towards our goal. It must be LvG orders but we need some more of the Carrick type composure back there for it to work effectively and not to risk multiple heart attacks every game for the fans. To be fair its working in terms of results at the moment and that's the main thing.

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I will take the points but that was a hard watch.
for me things don't look right at all .

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What annoyed me is the rest of the team could see the defence was struggling, yet kept passing it back to them, even when there were passes ahead of them. It's like the midfield was afraid to pass forward or go forward with the ball. Herrera made a difference when he came on, but I think it was never going to improve much after the first half hour with so many playing so poorly. Rooney looked like he was playing with an injury. He will improve in time for the Scousers. Fellaini gave the ball away frequently too, he could be a massive liability next weekend and could easily get a red. There was no speed in the passing, no players looking for space to run into. Naturally we will improve against Liverpool, but I think ADM is a big miss for us as he is our only counter attacking option.

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09 Dec 2014 10:09:26
We got away with playing without Di Maria in the Stoke game because at home we do not play on the counter as much and can keep possession and build play without having to use his pace to get past players.

Last night Southampton had a lot of the ball and the way we set up in away games is to soak up the pressure and hit on the break (which I have no problem with as it is a great tactic if done correctly) but because we didn't have Di Maria we were too slow to break, meaning we were very easy to close down and made it difficult for ourselves to keep possession.

LVG didn't help the way we set up by leaving Herrera out and I think he quite quickly realised this was a mistake and rectified it. We looked better once Herrera came on but it seemed like all the other players had lost all confidence by then and it took until midway through the 2nd half for any of it to return.

It did remind me of Fergie's last season, we play badly and RVP gets us out of the sh*t. Fortunately this isn't what is happening every week and last night felt like more of a blip rather than how we are going to play every week.

As people have said on here for weeks Southampton are a top top side and they showed that last night with the way they closed us down and stopped us being able to play, so to steal 3 points and start again Sunday was amazing in the circumstances.

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We lack pace going forward, we could do with adm getting fit again

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I thought Southampton would become a better team once they played well against us.

i don't think we have played well all season one or two good periods but i still think our play and team look dis jointed .

i don't really see this lvg effect people talk about, last night that was close to a moyes 11 and it was close to a moyes performance.

i think we have bought well and with shaw herrera and di maria we will look a better team and of course falcao but we just don't look organised and it looks like the only solution is to spend an other 100 mil.

Cant argue with 5 wins but for me i'm still not sure lvg is the right man.
i honestly hope he proves me wrong

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09 Dec 2014 16:49:37
jred,

Read my last paragraph as a little tongue in cheek and you might crack a smile pal.

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Jred

I was talking to an Arsenal fan today and he still suffers pain from us winning the league back in 2003 when we were disjointed and unconvincing yet still won the league, SAF achievd it again two seasons ago when we were far from convincing yet won it by 11 points. Do I think LvG is the long term answer, no, but it is funny that he can extricate a win whilst playing badly a trait Moyes couldn't master in sufficient quantities at any time in his managerial career.

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Red man
Lvg isn't fergy
Im not really concerned about moyes more about our form under lvg at this present moment in time

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Jred

You brought Moyes into it in your post.

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Redman
It was as poor as some of our play last year that's all.
sorry did i make a negative point about lvg ?

Lvg is much better than moyes in every way .
is that better

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Redman i hope this is better.

I thought Southampton would become a better team once they played well against us.

i don't think we have played well all season one or two good periods but i still think our play and team look dis jointed .

i don't really see this lvg effect people talk about, last night was close to last seasons 11 and it was similar to the performances we saw last season

i think we have bought well and with shaw herrera and di maria we will look a better team and of course falcao but we just don't look organised and it looks like the only solution is to spend an other 100 mil.

Cant argue with 5 wins but for me i'm still not sure lvg is the right man.
i honestly hope he proves me wrong

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08 Dec 2014 22:13:17
While most of you have slagged off RVP all season, I've been the one who has stuck up for him, and wanted to stick by him. Yes he had a bad season last year, just remind me apart from DDG who didn't? And he's been late getting going this year missing pre season etc, but the bottom line is he's still our deadliest, classiest forward and need to play. Yes james Wilson is a huge talent and I hope he gets game time, also obviously Falcao is world class, but rvp still has that touch of class to get goals from little as shown again tonight. Would wilson of scored them two? I doubt it.

Form is temporary, class is permanent!

Hope our fans can lay off him and maybe get behind him a bit now!

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09 Dec 2014 15:25:41
Not many people were doubting his skill or class it was more of a case of him not doing much all game and looking disinterested. Yesterday was the first game in a long time he actually looked like he cared more about the result for the team than his own performance.

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08 Dec 2014 22:01:47
Fantastic result, dreadful performance. I will take the 3 points all day long, but I really did not enjoy watching that.

In my view we take too long to get the ball forward. We need to mix it up a bit more and play the ball to feet, moving it forwards a little quicker.

By the way will we ever see Falcao get a chance to show what he is capable of. Let's hope so.

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I don't think I've screamed at my TV set quite so often as I did during this game. How many times did we give the ball away in dangerous situations? Against a team like Southampton you have to match their energy levels, which in the first half in particular we did not, instead we looked slow and lethargic. Lack of movement = lack of space = players under pressure = give the ball away.

Van Gaal did well to take out McNair so early on in the game - the youngster really looked at sea today. We were better after that. We didn't really deserve the win, but then we didn't really deserve the title 2 years ago. In the end winning is everything.

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It seems to me as though nobody ever wants the ball - and as a result the player on the ball is forced to hoof the ball up the pitch. We're terrible in the air (RVP was the only player who won anything in the air tonight) and that leads to us giving the ball away and finding ourselves on the back foot.

Playing five at the back makes us look incredibly shaky at the back (odd - given that we effectively have an extra player in there) and also takes a player out of the midfield which leads to us being overrun.

Carrick having to drop back into the defense took out the one player who can actually link up midfield and defense. I've been critical of him in the past but watching him in the early stages of the game showed just how important he is to our team at the moment.

I don't understand why we didn't play a back four of Valencia, Smalling, Evans and Rojo tonight with Carrick, Herrera, Fellaini and Mata in front of them. Playing 3/5 at the back does not work for us and we're incredibly lucky to come out of the game with anything (let alone three points). Fantastic result - but abysmal performance.

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08 Dec 2014 23:03:01
Not sure the back 3 suited us tonight, we looked very ponderous almost confused at the back and lacking numbers in midfield. I think we missed Herrera's energy from the start with Mata and Fellaini lacking the mobility needed to link Carrick with the forwards.

We need to improve our performance but a quality result and the table makes for good reading.

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08 Dec 2014 23:04:32
Thought we had reasonable controll of the game untill Smalling got injured. Mcnair had his first bad game, but still havnt lost points with him on the field. Another lucky win, but the winingstreak will do nothing else but good. Nice to see RvP today, MOTM in my eyes.

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08 Dec 2014 21:59:02
Really nervy game that had me at the edge of my seat the entire time. Southampton were the better team for large portions of the game but United showed good determination and spirit throughout. Along with many on this site, I've seen RVP as one of if not the biggest under-performer this season, but without him we would not have won this game.

He capitalized on an absolute gift from Fonte, and while we looked very shaky in defense throughout the match, his hold-up play took pressure off us. RVP grew into the game and his work rate was second to none. For someone who has had such a poor season he looked incredibly confident and hungry.

Thought Rooney was average and become poorer the more frustrated he got. Fellaini was the worst player on the pitch for me, which was a shame considering how well he's played in recently matches. His touch was heavy and he gave the ball away in dangerous positions, but that could be said about quite a few of our players to be honest. It's not easy to beat Southampton and while I'm not convinced by the performance, the result was priceless and helps build more momentum and confidence.

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Happy with the result, but yes, so frustrating to watch. I found myself most frustrated with Van Gaal for playing that three back system. One extra man in the back meant one less option forward.

But the win is fantastic to see us up to third now. Van Persie was fantastic, great effort and hold up play along with his two well taken goals.

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08 Dec 2014 23:06:10
I agree that both Rooney and Fellaini were poor tonight. Hopefully just getting it out the way before Liverpool on Sunday!

We miss Herrera's mobility when he's not in there as many of our players lack a burst of pace.

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08 Dec 2014 21:58:16
How many times under ferguson did we play awful but still manage to win? We used to hear so often how it was a sign of a good team that we can pick up 3 points consistently without playing that well, and that's what we've done recently. Despite the performance 3 points away at Southampton is a brilliant result. Really think Herrera needs to start every game, the way he breaks the game up and his link up play are brilliant. Also a special mention for van Persie, I've slated him the last few weeks but he was our best player tonight and worked his socks off.

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08 Dec 2014 21:57:50
I am extremely pleased to see Van Persie's performance today, fought really hard and gave it everything he had. 2 goals, but the performance was his best this season. I think he is probably the only one to take something away from today's show. It's been ridiculous looking at the Welbeck/Persie comparisons. Class is permanent and even when Robin has been having his poorest season, he will deliver the goods, more so than Danny.

Deeps.

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08 Dec 2014 23:10:28
Yep real glad for him, and for us because we needed those goals desperately!

Apart from RvP I thought Young did ok at times and Herrera improved us when he came on. Ddg was solid as usual. The rest just need to chalk that one down to experience in afraid 😊

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08 Dec 2014 19:42:16
Accrington or Yeovil in the FA cup, Nice one, Hopefully the young lads on the cusp of the first team get a run out

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Watching this, both teams will quite fancy there chances

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Realy after tonights performance and being extremley lucky remember mk dons me thinks we had better play our strongest side

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08 Dec 2014 16:00:32
Hi all, just a bit of fun if you had to bring in 2 players and release 2 players in the Jan window who would they be & why
Please try to be realistic the players should be attainable and not the likes of messi ronaldo etc,
Mine are
1) Schneirdlin, who i see as a top class continuity player and is very good at breaking up the play. an expert in his position with good EPL experience behind him a great long term successor to Carrick
2) Varane, he will only improve but its a real long shot.
Release/sell
1)Young, i don't doubt his recent improved effort and form but his days at a top call club are numbered
2) Jones too delicate and we could still command a decent fee, he will improve but I think his united days are numbered too.
I did not consider ando who will go on a free clev chich or nani due to loans

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08 Dec 2014 17:34:20
Id bring in varane as I think he's going to be the best in the world in his position. I'm torn between going for a central mid, someone like pogba but I can't turn down the chance to add an attacking player so would say depay. Handled right he can go a long way.

Id probably agree with young, just never seemed to impress I think the the clubs been too big for him but he does seem to have gained a new lease of life. There's a few good contenders amongst Valencia, smalling, Evans and jones. I think smalling earns a reprieve, Valencia is versatile. One player i'd definitely bin because of frustration at the sheer waste of potential and lack of professionalism is Anderson.

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In; any two of Clyne, Vidal and Hummels.

Out; Anderson and Young. Valencia if we signed Clyne.

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Talking realistically pretty much rules out the likes of Vidal and probably Hummels as well.

For me the two players that need to go would be Fletcher as I don't think he offers anything anymore. Anderson and Cleverley clearly. But the second would be Young as well, he has the odd good game but never does anything fantastic to be honest - he never has been good enough for us apart from in a few games in his first season.

Coming in I would like to see Varane also, and I'd see Khedira or Strootman as they are the guys we need.

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Big Wage earners for me, If the likes of Nani, Anderson, Cleverly and Hernandez are not to be included I would get rid of RVP as he doesn't seem to be happy and is getting, we have a few youngsters who look good, namely Henriquez and Wilson.

The other would be Young. I feel we have sufficient cover at LB with Rojo, Shaw, Blind and Evans all able to play there if necessary. If his reported 120k pw wage is to believed he is a must go.

I would bring in Clyne to aid defense and Wanyama or Gundogen to play the deepest role in midfield.
Gundgen in terms of passing ability and vision, Wanyama for his physicality and ability to do the dirty work as well as chip in when going forward.

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In: Badstuber(if fit) and Veratti.
Out: Anderson and Fletcher.

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In
Varane/Wanyama
Varane is going to be a beast of a player.
Wamyama is already a beast.

Out
Jones/Anderson
Jones is such a delicate little princess, remember when we used to call him beast :-)
Anderson - enough said, I hear KFC are taking on.

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08 Dec 2014 09:23:42
Looking forward to the game tonight. Should be a good game with 2 teams playing reasonably well.
Southampton have proved they are a good side and deserve to be where they are, not surprising that they have hit a rough patch but am convinced they will come through and be in the top 8 challenging for europe at the end of the season. potentially top 4 if other teams continue to struggle.
Of all the players I am intrigued to watch Clyne and Wanyama. really thought we should have brought these previously (wanyama last year for Moyes, clyne when he went to Southampton).
Hoping Schneiderlin does not play as he makes them a much better team

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Think I saw somewhere Clyne turned United down because he wanted first team football in an interview he did

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Yes I saw that too, fair play to the lad - he is turning into a really good player at Southampton.

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08 Dec 2014 11:02:30
Brad,

I agree on Schneiderlin, they do have plenty of other threats in that midfield though. Hopefully their confidence will have taken a bit of a hit over the last couple of weeks and we can take advantage of that. I agree that they will finish top 8, possibly slightly higher, but think they will struggle for top 4.

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08 Dec 2014 11:37:18
Agree on Clyne, there are so many players who could be a lot better had they spent the age where they improve most playing top level football instead of stagnating on a bench and playing for the under 21s. United are guilty of it ourselves and massive kudos to Clyne for not taking the option of sitting on the bench in the champions league to play every week for a 'lower' team and improve his game.

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08 Dec 2014 05:59:38
Lingard is back in training and will feature in games in few weeks. But am i the only one that thinks Periera deserves a chance ahead of lingard?

Is he any better than Powell, Periera,
Harrop, pearson???

Was really surprised when Lingard started the season opener.

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I don't really see the hype with perreira, we have mata who is the same kind of player and has the experience. Lingard is a good player he will show it when he gets the chance. Btw I don't understand why Joe Rothwell doesn't get a chance, from the youth players I've seen he's the best imo, he's got good dribbling, passing range, work rate, composure on the ball, reads the play well and joins attacks, kind of reminds me of Gundogan from Dortmund, I think he needs a chance.

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08 Dec 2014 09:14:47
Rothwell has been training with the first team, hopefully if we get an easy draw in the FA cup he will be given a run out.

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08 Dec 2014 16:21:02
Lingard? played very well in the pre season. He looked pretty good in the full back role before getting injured although he's a bit light weight. Smart footballer though.

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