Manchester United Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread - Mod Note in OP, 13/8

FortuneChip

Yeah, Herrera looks capable of breaking up opposition play. Not bad with the ball either, although he (and Fletcher) sprayed a couple of lazy passes tonight.

Nice shot of the younger lads there, hoping to emulate a certain class?

Kylo Ren

In all seriousness, we were poor for most of that 90. When Tyler Blackett looks the most composed CB, something is wrong. A CB and CM is badly needed. And that is with no players leaving.

How Soon Is Now

J. Marston wrote: »

Still good though. They controlled us for 55 minutes.

Anyway, the last 40 or so minutes were very good. Much improved from the dreadful first half.

Fletcher isn't the answer either.

Once the pressing from them stopped sterling was the only one who looked like could do something other than that we controlled the second half.

jimmytwotimes 2013

Strange game to win, Liverpool had the best of it until the Rooney goal.

LVG will have to buy three players (2CBs and a CM) that are good enuf to start this season or I can see us in a serious battle to get fourth.

Here's hoping, most people said united would need 5-odd players this summer to get back to where we should be. Two down, three more will have to come in

Son Of A Vidic

Earlier: As the boss and his assistant collected the silverware........

Keno wrote: »

I know I'm not the only one going to be celebrating the cup win tonight...

You got that right......

Jules.Winnfield

On a side note... Rooney wore the armband tonight and gave a captains performance. If he is given it for the forthcoming season he's gotta keep that up and not just for the show so he can secure it. Played well for most of the match, though a little one dimensional and predictable in the first half when the whole team were playing badly.

GSPfan

Things we now know....

Nani is a gonner.
Hernandez and Kagawa are not essential.
Rafael has some work to do to get in this team.
We need a top class centre back.
Fletcher and Cleverley are not the answer for big games.
Give the youth a chance this year.

ElChe32

And with that...good night.

KombuchaMshroom

Nolars wrote: »

Think LVG realised fletch and clev cant handle high pressure games. herrea is a class ahead of them both

Little things that will go un-noticed, but Clev played important passes to Shaw for 2nd goal and Young for the third, and did a decent bit of hassling in the middle winning the ball back a couple of times.

Not saying he is all of a sudden a changed man or anything, but as a squad player I think he could still be ok for the team.

RobertKK

Nani will be sold.

Blackett and Lingard to be promoted this season to the first team.

Shaw and Young to be the wing backs.

Rafael???

RobertKK

KombuchaMshroom wrote: »

Little things that will go un-noticed, but Clev played important passes to Shaw for 2nd goal and Young for the third, and did a decent bit of hassling in the middle winning the ball back a couple of times.

Not saying he is all of a sudden a changed man or anything, but as a squad player I think he could still be ok for the team.

Yeah he is safe. The new tactics and system of play suits him much better than last season.

GSPfan

If anyone has changed their mind on Ashley Young you need to think again.

This is classic pre-transfer window up surge in effort which will not be sustained. He'll be back to diving and picking up shoulder injuries in no time. Hopefully his performances will convince a decent club to bid for him. LVG wont sell him now but I bet he is as useless as ever come October.

bedrock#1

Been very impressed with Danny Higginbothom's analysis on MUTV during the tour. He called perfectly what United should do second half to nullify Liverpool's pressing and high line, quick balls from midfield out wide. All of our goals came from this type of play, really good reading of the game and unusually articulate for a pundit!

RobertKK

GSPfan wrote: »

If anyone has changed their mind on Ashley Young you need to think again.

This is classic pre-transfer window up surge in effort which will not be sustained. He'll be back to diving and picking up shoulder injuries in no time. Hopefully his performances will convince a decent club to bid for him. LVG wont sell him now but I bet he is as useless as ever come October.

All we can do is wait and see, but you wouldn't sell him after his performances on tour.
I think the wing back role suits him much much better than out and out winger as he gets more space on the wing.

Giggsy11

GSPfan wrote: »

If anyone has changed their mind on Ashley Young you need to think again.

This is classic pre-transfer window up surge in effort which will not be sustained. He'll be back to diving and picking up shoulder injuries in no time. Hopefully his performances will convince a decent club to bid for him. LVG wont sell him now but I bet he is as useless as ever come October.

So what exactly is the point of giving everyone chance under LVG? Like Van Gaal said playing under Moyes instruction is different from Van Gaal's instructions.

Whatever his performances as winger, his role as Wing back is excellent and he did well in every game.

Pro. F

My take:

Young is so good on the ball these days. He's like a constant out-ball for everybody infield and he almost never gave it away tonight, no matter how bad the situation was when he received it. I'm still not sure about him defensively.

Rooney's finish was class. He had a good game until he gassed. Chicharito played all right, he struggles with the hold up play and pulling wide but his movement in the box was very good.

The defensive set up just didn't work. Pool ran out of steam in the second half, but all game they had too much space to pick out balls into the box, either through balls or crosses. People will blame the CBs, but for me they were facing their own goal far too much because of the balls being played in.

Fletcher had a poor game, but he's played a lot recently tbf. Hererra did some very good stuff and some poor stuff, he's a lot of fun to watch. Cleverley did okay, some decent passing and good harrying when needed.

The three CBs were shíte on the ball in the first half. Blackett did very well, both in possession and defending when he came on.

DDG gave a master class in distribution.

KombuchaMshroom

I'm not gonna get over excited by a player's pre season performances and claim that it means they are certain to go on and have a great year, but Young has been fantastic this summer and there is no harm in praising him for it.

Yes it is only friendly matches but these have been against pool madrid inter and roma not bloody shanghai XI and the sorts, so there is no reason to suggest the Young can't kick on from here and have a good season for the club.

You get the impression that some people are just set in their opinions of certain players, and even if they went on to be named in the pfa team of the year some would be calling it a fluke and still writing them off.

Giggsy11

Rob Dawson ‏@RobDawsonMEN 4m

Van Gaal asked about players coming in. "I can not talk about players in the media. The price goes up."

Hopefully

jimmytwotimes 2013

steoin wrote: »

What, Smalling ok but Evans not, on the basis of passing?
Eh, right so Ted.

Smalling, Young and Rooney selected as the three man of the match candidates by MUTV. Rooney won by landslide according to mufc Twitter.

Dougal???

Giggsy11

Pro. F wrote: »

My take:

Young is so good on the ball these days. He's like a constant out-ball for everybody infield and he almost never gave it away tonight, no matter how bad the situation was when he received it. I'm still not sure about him defensively.
.

I thought he was very good defensively against Sterling today. He was beaten once or twice but overall he was good. He had the pace to keep up with Sterling.

jimmytwotimes 2013

Giggsy11 wrote: »

I thought he was very good defensively against Sterling today. He was beaten once or twice but overall he was good. He had the pace to keep up with Sterling.

Would you pick him over a fully fit Rafael? I'd still probably side with Rafael. Young has done his chances no harm tho this preseason. As others have said he looked likely to get the door before it all started, his crossing is dangerous from the right for sure.

Oranage2

United desperately need a centreback, I wonder why lvg didn't go for Lovren when he knew he was available?

J. Marston

Giggsy11

jimmytwotimes 2013 wrote: »

Would you pick him over a fully fit Rafael? I'd still probably side with Rafael. Young has done his chances no harm tho this preseason. As others have said he looked likely to get the door before it all started, his crossing is dangerous from the right for sure.

I'm a big fan of Rafael and rate him very highly. He should be our first choice RWB.

Jules.Winnfield

J. Marston wrote: »

Where's Ashley Cole? :-P

In all seriousness I'm going to use my optimistic pants today and say 3 things,

We will have a strong season under LVG top 4 finish,
Some youngsters will come on leaps this season which will give them strong grounding for a busier season 15/16,

And we will make more signings this transfer window with a few more planks of deadwood out the door too. (Also means the end of Hernandez Nani and perhaps Kagawa. )

Brien

Good mornin guys! I'm pretty tired so could be remembering it wrong, but it felt like Young was way more often on the ball then Shaw. Maybe he used the space better, not that Shaw played badly, or coz pool gave it to him. Will it be Raphael and Shaw as the first choice WB's with Young the go-to guy when we have a weaker opponent (ie more attacking chances)? I think we need Raph for the trickier games defensively unless we replace Jones.
I don't like how Jones has developed and start thinking he's not going to get better. Too much time at RB and CM and it's a pity because he has a massive will and energy about him. And a funny face.
I really trust LVG thanks to the attitude and tactics shown already. With the somewhat easy opening games, I expect him to start well. Also Nani is gone if any bids at all come in. His face was a picture at the end of the game.

Lovely Bloke

Why is someone wearing an AOn top in that picture?

Woodward out.

glued

A top four finish should be a minimum expectation. I still think we need to buy another central midfielder and a composed, experienced centre half to really push on. I'm quietly confident we'll get a couple of deals done.

hufpc8w3adnk65

Baldy Conscience wrote: »

Why is someone wearing an AOn top in that picture?

Woodward out.

They sponser our training gear

KH25

Didn't see the game. How did Hererra play? Liverpool supporter I know tweeted that Coutinho made him look dreadful and that all he did was foul.

NTMK

KH25 wrote: »

Didn't see the game. How did Hererra play? Liverpool supporter I know tweeted that Coutinho made him look dreadful and that all he did was foul.

played quite well but needs to reign himself in a bit, fouled quite a lot
,
wouldnt agree with the coutinho bit at all

Leftist

KH25 wrote: »

Liverpool supporter I know tweeted that Coutinho made him look dreadful and that all he did was foul.

Lord TSC

Herrera did commit a few fouls, but felt it showed passion and managed to break up Pool's play, stopping their midfield from doing much at times.

Leroy42

Massive game for LvG last night and was glad he and the team came through it.

Without the Charity Shield, this was LvG's only chance to keep up with Moyes achievements. At least now that he has managed to equal the number of trophies Moyes had at this stage of the season he can settle into the job a bit more.

Pressure off I'd say.

KH25

Leftist wrote: »

I know. I didn't believe him to be honest. Just had to ask to make sure :P

Lads, just thinking, whats the story with Henriquez? Is there a reason he wasn't on tour?

Antibac

Leroy42 wrote: »

Massive game for LvG last night and was glad he and the team came through it.

Without the Charity Shield, this was LvG's only chance to keep up with Moyes achievements. At least now that he has managed to equal the number of trophies Moyes had at this stage of the season he can settle into the job a bit more.

Pressure off I'd say.

Is this not the second "trophy" he won? The first game against Galaxy was for the Chevrolet cup? And now this one. 2 in 5 games is some achievement!

Leroy42

Antibac wrote: »

Is this not the second "trophy" he won? The first game against Galaxy was for the Chevrolet cup? And now this one. 2 in 5 games is some achievement!

Oh yeah, you're right.

In your face Moyes!

If he can win the Coca-Cola we would get the treble!

DrPhilG

Was glad to see LVG in the post game interview unhappy.

So refreshing compared to last year when Moyes would always come out after a shocking performance and claim that we were unlucky...

Let the transfer business begin.

Giggsy11

Adam Crafton @AdamCrafton_
Follow

LvG played Spain, Chile, Oz, Mexico, C Rica, Argentina, Galaxy, Roma, Inter, Real, Liverpool this summer. Agg score: 28-8 (1 loss on pens)

That's very impressive record. If we exclude Galaxy game then agg score of 21-8.

Maximus Alexander

So are with allowed to be pleased about the victory last night?

DrPhilG

Giggsy11 wrote: »

Adam Crafton @AdamCrafton_
Follow

That's very impressive record. If we exclude Galaxy game then agg score of 21-8.

3rd place playoff against Brazil?

RobertKK

L'Équipe has Ashley Young on their cover along with Lewandowski and Bale as they have a feature on the three biggest clubs in Europe...

https://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/blogs/early-doors/l-equipe-apparently-rates-ashley-young-very-highly-080957737.html

The_Kew_Tour

It might only seem like friendly but to me it was a confidence boost all at club needed.

not getting carried away but this might help us for start of season.

Every little bit helps.

advertsfox

Three Amigos!

homerjay2005

i along with many others were very critical of Ashley Young for last 2 years, but if he keeps up this form he can be a really important player for us this season - he has been excellent. the emergence of Blackett is also fantastic and if we are not going to sign any defenders, then he will get his chance.

other highlight is the return of our high pressing game, intensity and speed of attack.

it really is amazing what a difference a manager makes.

FutureGuy

This tour has been everything I hoped it would be.

Firstly, the team has taken to LVG, his beliefs and his system. They are happy.

He has not splurged XX millions before assessing exactly what he has at his disposal right now. NOW he know's who is who. NOW he can sign players. It may not be this week or this transfer window, but at the start of next season, I can see a phenomenal side in our brand-spanking new Adidas kit.

Certain players have shown what they can do despite being believed to be done at United. Young and Fletcher have had superb tours and I think both will probably start the season (unless we sign a midfielder).

We are unbeaten against the likes of Inter, Real, Roma and Liverpool (who were almost at full strength and went a goal ahead). We were cwertainly the better team in every game.

The swagger, arrogance and pomp is back. Last year, Moyes celebrated an equaliser against Fulham at OT as if it was a great accomplishment. Now Van Gaal shows his disappointment at how we played even though we soundly beat a team that destroyed us twice last year, won a cup and pocketed a million.

I cannot wait for Swansea.

Pro. F

Pro. F wrote: »

My take:

Young is so good on the ball these days. He's like a constant out-ball for everybody infield and he almost never gave it away tonight, no matter how bad the situation was when he received it. I'm still not sure about him defensively.

Rooney's finish was class. He had a good game until he gassed. Chicharito played all right, he struggles with the hold up play and pulling wide but his movement in the box was very good.

The defensive set up just didn't work. Pool ran out of steam in the second half, but all game they had too much space to pick out balls into the box, either through balls or crosses. People will blame the CBs, but for me they were facing their own goal far too much because of the balls being played in.

Fletcher had a poor game, but he's played a lot recently tbf. Hererra did some very good stuff and some poor stuff, he's a lot of fun to watch. Cleverley did okay, some decent passing and good harrying when needed.

The three CBs were shíte on the ball in the first half. Blackett did very well, both in possession and defending when he came on.

DDG gave a master class in distribution.

I can't get over his performance last night, I kept rubbing my eyes to check to see if it was him. But I fear that if he's kept how many of these good performances should we expect to see from young this coming season. I would be very sceptical. Or just lvg is so good at getting the best out of his players.

Larry Wildman

I suspected that some of the dross might emerge under Van Gaal (and posted as much a couple of months ago).

It would be great if Ashley Young is the first of that cohort.

Leftist

Delighted with young. I had written him off.

I felt when he started great in 2011, it was because he was playing on pure adrenaline and excitement. In that arsenal game he was absolutely everywhere but once that wore off and the enthusiasm around the club bottomed out after the 1-6, he fell into himself and just kept getting worse.

I hope this is more than just a short term spurt.

Maximus Alexander

Leftist wrote: »

Delighted with young. I had written him off.

I hope this is more than just a short term spurt.

I hope so too, but I'm reminded of Cleverley in the 11/12 pre-season and Anderson in a couple of pre-seasons, for example. Every year there seems to be a couple of players who shine in preseason and then return to form once the league kicks off.

Hopefully this is different, Young has looked like a man reborn.