09 Feb 2020 14:34:27
We're not going to finish in the top 4, so I'll take finishing in the bottom half of the league if it's offset by winning the Europa Cup. That would give us a platform to build on, a reason for a top manager to want to take over the club, and for top players to join us. Is this squad, with the addition of Bruno and the return of Rashford, Pogba and McTominay capable of winning the Europa? Why not?
09 Feb 2020 15:33:44
You are asking our genius coach to use a bit of common sense, given the precarious position of the squad because of the injuries he thought it was a great idea for us to go cup chasing playing full strength vs tranmere and city 2nd leg even after tie was decided in the 1st game.
09 Feb 2020 16:58:09
You keep saying this csm, but we were 1 goal away from going through against city. And the red card kind of killed the chance of us getting that goal.
The tranmeer game the. Club was on the ropes and needed the win. Not Ole. The club.
Injuries are part of the game and there are many contributing factors. With a winter break coming Ole and the team clearly thought rash could recover then. Who knows what is going on with PP.
09 Feb 2020 17:10:42
Dodgy but we did not win did we, before the game no one expected us to win. Ole is just too pig headed and selfish. Before tranmere there were the 2 wolves game, we don't have a squad to play on 3 fronts yet he keeps putting his best team every game.
The injuries have been as much ole's fault as they have been luck. Pogba got injured playing 90 mins vs rochdale when he wasn't fully fit, same with rashford. He risked matic and maguire in similar inconsequential games we just got a bit of injury luck going our way in those.
People can keep spouting conspiracy theories but fact remains he is injured because our manager is stupid.
09 Feb 2020 20:14:05
We'll have to agree to disagree on this one csm. You are saying Ole is too pig headed when we were just 2 goals down. Good job you weren't a motivational speaker in our dressing room through the 90's and 00's or we might have won nothing.
09 Feb 2020 21:29:39
Dodgy, oles the motivational speaker in the dressing room now though and that's not working out too well.
09 Feb 2020 21:30:24
dodgy we were not 1 goal from going through. we needed 2 or penalties.
10 Feb 2020 04:58:27
All of the sudden games are inconsequential because players got injured. If we lost those games, I can only imagine the chaos in here. I want a better manager to but the double standards in here is too much. It's like some people want us to lose just to continue the ole out campaign. Change will be made when the higher-ups deem it necessary. Just support the club no matter how inconsequential a game might seem to some.
10 Feb 2020 07:11:27
SLRD some games are inconsequential because we don't have a squad to compete in so many competitions, we had no business going full tilt in any of the cup competitions except europa. Many won't like it but if your team has 2 forwards and 1 creative midfielder as your attacking options for most of the season that is the sensible choice to writeoff the cup competitions, sadly the selfish manager incharge thinks winning a league cup or fa cup would be more important for the club than finishing in top 4 or winning europa league.
If your thinking is change will be made when the people incharge want to make changes and until then we should just act like everything is great, I would like to understand the logic of registering on a fansite?
Dodgy we needed to win by 3 goal margin, did you really believe we had an actual chance of winning by that margin at etihad especially given our injuries. There is a thing called picking your battles, sadly the manager was too far up his own a$$ dreaming about another fluke à la PSG to see sense, which cost us on the weekend as we had to then play periera in mf instead of matic, which hurt us in the top 4 race.
10 Feb 2020 08:36:50
Utd should be aiming to win every game. Picking and choosing matches is for teams fighting relegation. Dodgy's right. Ole would have been shot to pieces on here for throwing out a weakened side against City and giving it up before a ball was kicked. By the same people who are now saying he should have.
10 Feb 2020 09:06:11
CSM, So your saying that if Ole had sent out a team of kids against City and they got spanked 3 or 4 nil you'd have been fine with that?
You're saying that we don't have the squad to compete in every game, and your're probably right. But with all the injuries we have and the lack of depth if Ole didn't send out the team he did he would have had to send one out with the likes of Chong, Gomes, Garner, Levitt, Laird etc.
You're suggesting we should have sent a team out like that away to City while already 3-1 down.
Do you really think a thrashing of young players by our city rivals would have been more beneficial than winning the game?
10 Feb 2020 11:33:49
Nou the manager who won the CL last season and is 22 points clear at the top seems to not mind losing in cup competitions playing kids in that competition. Is he fighting relegation as well? I get understand defending the manager but seriously how many fans do you think expected the team we had fit to go to etihad and win by 3 goals that were required to win the tie, that should answer your question about criticism the successful interim manager would have received for fielding a weakened team.
10 Feb 2020 11:26:37
Shappy did winning 1-0 help? Matic might have made some difference in the wolves game. If he sends out the kiddies and we lose even by 4-5 would it really be a concern for most fans, anyone who isn't just using every chance to bash ole would see that there wasn't much of a choice there.
Us winning vs city was detrimental to our top 4 chances, no one likes to lose but the fact remains everyone unless they are lucky or unbelievably brilliant does. I would prefer us losing to city in a tie that is already lost than drop points vs wolves.
10 Feb 2020 12:28:55
CSM, I call horse s**t, you and every other poster who often find something to bash the manager for even when we win games would have been all over him had he sent out the kids and lost.
Calls of not trying to win games, of selling the kids down the river, how it might be detrimental to their development etc etc.
It's much easier for Klopp to prioritise certain competitions as his side are defending UCL champions, and have a chance for the first time in 30 years of winning the league.
We were in a semi final of a competition, we have no chance of the league, while both the FA cup and EL are long shots.
He'd have been silly to have thrown away a genuine chance of making to a final where we would be playing against a side we would be favourites to beat.
At this point I think Ole could save a little old lady and would still be slated by some on here. "should be more focused on the club" "why wasn't he working at the training ground" etc etc.
Matic picked up a suspension, it happens. We went to the Emptyhad and won 1-0 with 10 men. Had Matic not been sent off then maybe we would have got the second goal to take it to penalties. Maybe if we were 2-0 up then Pep might have got his players to push higher up the pitch and maybe we would have grabbed a third on the counter, or maybe we'd have won the shoot out.
Fact is the team put in a good performance and won a tough game. That will have boosted the players confidence.
The fact that we drew against a very good Wolves side a few days later is unfortunate. But its pure speculation as to whether Matic would have made the difference. And to be honest the fact that you think Matic might have been a difference maker highlights the real problem at our club.
10 Feb 2020 12:46:52
Shappy you call my argument horse rubbish and then proceed to tell me that matic starting in mf 2 instead of periera would not have made a difference, Irony might just have jumped off the biggest cliff it could find and then shot itself in the head mid air just to be sure.
10 Feb 2020 12:59:35
CSM, this is the same Matic that most people feel is past his best, not good enough for the starting 11 when everyone is fit and has been looking to move to Inter Milan for most of the season? That Matic?
The one who does okay when given time on the ball, but lacks mobility to deal with high pressing teams and teams that have mobile midfield runners. Just like let's say Wolves.
Wolves are exactly the kind of team that Matic has struggled against and why most people feel he is finished at the top end of the EPL.
Yes, he might have made a difference, but considering him as a player there is no certainty that he would have done.
Of course this all totally misses the point. Matic didn't play against Wolves not because he picked up an injury against City in the cup. But because he got sent off for two bookable offences, and to be honest he committed 5 fouls in the game. He didn't play against Wolves not because of the incompetence of his manager but because Matic himself made poor decisions in the game which lead to him being sent off.
At some point the players have to be accountable for their performances. Tactical set up, poor motivation, or unfocused training will play a part. But hauling down players because either you don't have the legs anymore or because you found yourself in the wrong position IS the players fault.
So if you want to blame someone for Matic not playing against Wolves then you need to look at the player himself.
10 Feb 2020 14:25:07
Shappy at what point will you hold the imbecile accountable?
10 Feb 2020 14:48:38
Shappy matic isn't a world class player I agree but you are now trying to argue that he isn't better than periera, this ole worship is getting into deification territory.
10 Feb 2020 16:42:06
Shan I do hold Matic accountable. He was on a yellow, had made two more fouls since that yellow and was told he was on his last warning. He then continued to foul another player. You're right that is very imbecilic, and Matic should be held accountable for his own actions.
CSM, I'm not arguing that Matic isn't a better player than Andreas Pereira. That would be insane.
I'm challenging your ABSOLUTE belief that had Matic played against Wolves we would have won the game. Which is a little far fetched.
We drew 0-0 with Wolves, Matic is a defensive midfielder who mainly breaks up play. We didn't draw with Wolves because we couldn't defend well enough. We got a clean sheet after all.
We drew with Wolves because we couldn't score goals or create enough good goal scoring chances.
Are you suggesting Matic would have be a more likely player to play a clever defence splitting pass? or score the game winning goal.
In 72 games for us he has 2 goals and 3 assists. Why do you believe that he would have made a difference in us scoring against Wolves?
10 Feb 2020 17:52:19
Interesting that Matic was the player who scored at City in the game before Wolves, no other scorers. The manager sold the goal scoring centre forward, decided not to replace him, put his trust in two players who couldn’t do it. That ultimately has been a major issue, amateur. Matic may not have scored two games in a row we will never know but the managers team selections and tactics have been poor all season. If the Matic situation was obvious to you Shappy, why did our managerial genius not see it and take him off before he was sent off? We drew with Wolves and it was more a surprise Wolves didn’t win, they were the team more likely to when you watched the game. That isn’t a surprise now we have the nodding donkey management team.
11 Feb 2020 03:20:41
Hahaha don't know if you are being funny or stupid Shappy. Ole is the imbecile that i am referring to and not Matic. For you everything can be wrong but not Ole.
11 Feb 2020 04:55:28
Shappy, some have decided to bash Ole regardless of what he does.
11 Feb 2020 19:01:51
Shan I was being funny, attempting to at least.
I have criticised Ole and there are things I feel he has done wrong. Tactically naive, poor team selection at times, failure to get the most out of our squad, too few players have actually progressed and improved, and those that have tend to be young players who have improved mostly by playing games rather than working on the training ground.
There is plenty Ole has done wrong and he can be lambasted for. But some people take it too far and blame him for things outside of his control. Which is just plain silly and ignorant.
{Ed001's Note - should have gone and got him a long time ago if you ask me.}