Manchester United banter 3

01 Nov 2025 22:55:00
Remember when Thomas Frank was getting all the praise earlier in the season and the media were asking how he could get Spurs playing but Amorim can't get Utd going. Anyway, it just crossed my mind.

02 Nov 2025 00:14:49
Exactly Banjoe, there was also much comment and criticism on here, last season, about how Vitor Pereira had achieved wonders at Wolves and yet the same had not happened to us.

Maybe it's not just about looking at instantism, but show a bit of patience. Transforming a juggernaut like United, especially given the overall situation at the club when RA arrived was never going to be achieved quickly, it is more like trying to manoeuvre a gigantic oil
tanker than changing course on a small yacht.

Altering the basic fundamentals is the most important thing to achieve, that will always take time.

01 Nov 2025 18:54:24
Last year we would definitely have lost that game. being down in a hostile environment and being able to fight back and score late to take a point shows more resilience and confidence in this group now. Would have preferred 3 obviously but not the worst result.

01 Nov 2025 21:43:38
Maybe Tim but we were not a good today. Very sluggish slow moving the ball. But good character shown. Too many average performers today.

01 Nov 2025 22:28:54
Totally Ken. We are a long way from where we want to be, but are a fair bit away from where we were. If that makes sense lol.

02 Nov 2025 04:20:51
We lacked that last pass or a sharp finish today. They sat in so its always harder. we were sloppy playing from the back and not sharp and allowed them to pressure the ball. some of the touches and time players were taking to move it hurried us into losing possession. what a hit by amad though.

02 Nov 2025 07:54:55
We lacked a top midfielder today, someone who could command from the middle and drive the team forward.

02 Nov 2025 10:10:47
Elliot Anderson?

02 Nov 2025 11:15:31
Fully agree Tim. Though it's painfully obvious we need a LWB. Dalot can't play there. Dorgu isn't ready to be a regular starter.

01 Nov 2025 14:10:06
This may or may not be an accurate report but I've heard today that the ex Prince Andrew made contact with Stephen Gerrard to see how he copes in life without a title!

31 Oct 2025 19:25:29
The Premier League have announced that we will be playing Newcastle at O. T. on Boxing Day and it will be the only game played on that day. Kick off at 8pm.

Big change in tradition, normally a full programme on that day. Seemingly it's due to the increase in European club competitions leading to a revision in our domestic calendar.

Can't say I am overly impressed with this change, a full day of fixtures and sitting in front of the telly box all afternoon was a good way of working off all that turkey!

31 Oct 2025 11:00:54
Football is really regressing back to the 70s, teams are now stopping this playing out from the back as much, simply because they can't and the well drilled press was creating mistakes and goals, but now everyone is going back to the big long ball unto the box, pulling, blocking and shoving. The big strong tall fast players are back in demand. We have come full circle.

VAR and refs don't know what to do, Arsenal have been getting away with these well worked fouls in the box for 2 season s now and every else is copying the plan because refs weren't strong enough to stop it last season. The beautiful game is now slow possession outside the box, look for a cheap free kick, corner or touch and pump the ball into the box.

31 Oct 2025 13:01:48
I don’t think football is regressing, I think it just continues to evolve in response to dominant trends — when one style becomes widespread, opponents adapt by exploiting its weaknesses. Because teams have adopted high pressing and possession-based systems, this has opened space behind defensive lines, making longer balls and direct transitions more effective again.

There maybe a time in the near future when we see 2 strikers up front again and out and out wingers. A right footer on the right and a left footer on the left.

31 Oct 2025 19:15:52
I agree ports. I do agree with some of redcons points also .
Put that great Barcelona team into the epl today and they would still walk away with it imo playing their style.
City had a similar style initially under pep not for 1 moment suggesting they were like his Barcelona team BTW.
Brazil won a world cup in 70 with that style.
The trouble with trying to emulate that style with inferior players is that they can't do it as well and get caught with a high press.


Imo its not gone back to the Jack Charlton or Wimbledon style or anything close to it. Maybe partly because the tackling and physicality allowed now is night and day from those times.
As ports says the game evolves continually. The laws also evolve so the coaches need to adapt all the time. i'm sure even the intro of VAR has made players think and act differently.

31 Oct 2025 19:24:06
Soon it may regress to the point you can actually tackle a player again and not penalised for breathing on them.

31 Oct 2025 21:09:07
That’s the thing for me, Keefy. There’s a big difference between long balls/ long throws/ sneaky fouls in the box, and the war zone of 70s football. The sheer amount of physicality allowed up until the EPL era makes it completely different to today.

You see Haaland bullying defenders, back in the 70s he would battered and the refs wouldn’t say a word. I don’t ever see the game going back to that, more that teams have started to realise that playing in a more direct way can actually be more effective than trying to play out from the back against a high press.

01 Nov 2025 02:34:22
Watched a classic 90s game of utd away at Wimbledon a while back. They were assaulting us at every opportunity. It is wild to watch even 90s era back now.

01 Nov 2025 09:57:19
Football goes in cycles, Pep brought a very possession dominant style of play that suffocate the opposition, to counter that we saw teams deploying a box midfield to crowd out the middle and teams looking to press higher to avoid being under pressure on the edge of their box, to counter that teams started playing over the press, Arsenal have moved to a very defensive compact style with an emphasis on set pieces to avoid those balls over the top.

Football keeps changing, no point trying to fight it, just adapt with it so you can remain successful.

31 Oct 2025 07:39:03
{Ed's Note - LFC-S MANGO has posted a new article entitled, Slot's Excuses Are An Embarrassment To Liverpool FC

31 Oct 2025 10:24:06
Surely not not letting slot walk alone mango.

31 Oct 2025 17:07:13
Mango

One thing missing in your assessment. Imagine the players who won the league in summer, bet they felt not good enough because suddenly it wasn’t a tweak here or there, it was £400m worth of shiny new superstar players. Suspect existing players may be thinking, Slot just thinks I am here to run around for the “important” superstar” players, so, go on you are the £120m player, win the game you don’t need me, I won’t be playing next week. It’s the danger of doing such a big window.

29 Oct 2025 22:55:56
Also if arsenal don't do it this year i'm done hoping they do, this is their opportunity if not now iv no hope for them, its either city or the gooners going to do it i hope its not city please God.

29 Oct 2025 23:52:18
United are winning it this year .

30 Oct 2025 07:15:44
Too early to say, let’s see who is in the mix comes Christmas, then it’s all about consistency.

30 Oct 2025 12:34:45
They're the best team but my god they are hard work to watch. And their gamesmanship is also a pain to witness.

30 Oct 2025 15:21:07
I like their set plays but not the antics. Great defence very well drilled bit like a George Graham side.

30 Oct 2025 15:28:52
Just a bit too dull for me ken. They're clearly a very good team but I really don't enjoy their games.

30 Oct 2025 15:29:48
I’m sticking with my pre-season prediction. We will win the league this year.

30 Oct 2025 21:38:37
Oliver Holt made a good point, today. For years we all laughed at Arsenal for being all pretty football and no steel. Now, they're getting slagged off for fixing that and bringing some steel into their team ?.

30 Oct 2025 21:48:13
I admire it. Their defence is fantastic. I don't like the antics but I respect what they are doing. They don't have much flare but there is more than one way to win. .

29 Oct 2025 22:50:36
Im not one for kicking clubs when they are down, but i hope liverpool fans remember that success is not guaranteed. As we know with all our success over the years and liverpool of course, its great to be at the top again but its not nice been kicked when u are down.

30 Oct 2025 00:26:57
It's all part of banter for me. We gave it to you lot when you were down and it's our turn to be on the receiving end for now. As long as it doesn't turn nasty or malicious ;)

On the bright side for us though, even though we are in poor form at the moment, I still think we have a solid group of players who can perform much better than what they're currently showing now. So I feel it is an issue that can be easily turned around for us.

30 Oct 2025 07:18:48
Liverpool always bought players that fitted Klopp’s system, now they seem to have bought a lot of big name places and are trying to find a system that suits them.

30 Oct 2025 09:11:07
Feels that way Grim. Kind of believed their own hype a bit and moved away from their excellent scouting system they had in place, and personally feel they needed to strengthen at the back and midfield over buying Wirtz.

That being said who are we to talk. Until this season (Bruno excepted), we’ve recruited incorrectly for a decade.

30 Oct 2025 09:44:05
Ihavetime you were very happy to kick Amorim when he was down so let's not forget that and he is our manager. You wanted him fired a few weeks ago.
Let's remember success is not guaranteed it has to be earned and it it will take a couple of years to get a decent foundation to build from.
Eth left behind a broken squad full of broken players. Confidence at an all time low so it was never going to be an easy bounce back and we are still not there at all.
Some players have done well since getting out of united that's happened imo not because they are away from Amorim like the press pundits and sensationalists would have you believe but because they escaped the toxicity at the club.


Again imo players like rashford and sancho and latterly garnacho were responsible for creating some of the toxic culture but rasmus and a couple of others fell victim to it.
Let's hope we can keep improving but I doubt it will be plain sailing for a bit yet.

30 Oct 2025 11:19:57
I think Liverpool are in a weird position. Last season, Slot did well when operating within the limitations of the squad he inherited. He worked with what he had. For instance, having Szoboszlai cover the right flank defensively to compensate for Salah and Trent’s weaknesses.

I’m surprised with some of the signings this summer. Frimpong particularly sticks out. He’s not a Trent replacement, or a Salah successor. Would be perfect for us.

Wirtz, I get. He’s a phenomenal talent, but I think he could have been given an easier start by playing out wide. Very hard for a young player from a different league to be expected to be the creative fulcrum at a new club, and hit the ground running.

Kirkez is struggling with the pressure of playing for a bigger club. He was excellent last season, but needs to calm down and focus on the basics. Doesn’t help that the rest of the defensive is shaky too.

I feel sorry for Ekitike. It felt like Liverpool signed him as an FU to Newcastle. He stared really well, only for Liverpool to break the transfer record for Isak. I think he’s a quality player, and Slot needs to find a way to get him into the first eleven.

Isak is the one that I think fecked their momentum. He’s one of the best strikers in the world, when fit. I get why they wanted him. But I think they could have taken a more pragmatic approach with Newcastle. Perhaps, offering to step away from Ekitike as an olive branch. In the end, Liverpool had encouraged Isak to agitate for a move and had to sign him in the end. But this cost them by limiting their ability to bring in quality defensive replacements.

All in all I think Liverpool are stuck between a rebuild (and all the teething problems that comes with) and the fact that they’re the champions. Both Salah and VVD have seen a big drop off in form. Is the it easing off after getting their contracts, or age catching up with them? This has been compounded by the loss of form and fitness in midfield. It often feels like the pragmatic winning approach of last season is battling against the new team that Slot wants to build. In some ways, winning last season complicated things. Because if they finished 3rd or 4th fans would be far more patient with the rebuild. Although I’m not sure if some of their new signings would have come if they hadn’t won.

30 Oct 2025 18:10:57
I also think Slot might look like a better manager than he is. He had a blueprint from Klopp with nearly the exact same squad so they had only one way to play. Now he’s having to actually do some managing and he’s sinking. Long may he sink.

31 Oct 2025 10:25:45
One thing to consider is how poor the league was last season.

Arsenal have stepped up and have become the team to beat. City have improved from last season. Spurs are playing better this season.
It is safe to say that the league is by far more competitive this year.

Ironically Liverpool had a nice long summer to recharge their batteries, but have since suffered injuries and lost Trent, who was more key to them than they perhaps knew or were willing to admit.

I certainly wouldn't be surprised to see Liverpool back to their winning ways soon.

29 Oct 2025 20:14:43
Having 2 workhorses in Cunha and Mbuemo has started to bear fruit and long may it last. These players work ethos has allowed Cas to hold himself back and not have to cover as much ground which he is reaping the rewards also. Cas is 33 now and in decline but their are a few exceptions Scholes, Keane and a few more who lost a yard of pace but gained a lot of experience of how to manage their conditioning during games to last the 90mins.

On another topic a 33 yrs old Salah has went from king to villian and i see many comparisons to Rashford except Salah has old age to argue with. Maybe its the GWCC ( Greedy wingers contract curse ) that Rashford got when he signed and become turd.

Anyway GGMU hopefully RA starts making correct subs ONLY WHEN NEEDED. and we enjoy a winning streak.

29 Oct 2025 20:11:07
Congratulations to the GW8 winner of the FOOTBALL RUMOURS FPL league:

49Gers