Manchester United Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread 2016 - Mod Warning link in OP 20/3

jayo26

Watched lvgs dive another 3 times there and I still can't stop laughing at the face on gigs and hoenke or whatever his name is they were in bits.

Nice to see fergie doing a bit of a jig at the end too as glory glory man united was banging out.

Liam McPoyle

Sky Sports have a list on their site going through their PL debutant scorers and rating them as a hit or a miss.

Some good memories on it.

There is an interesting inclusion on the miss list.

Liam McPoyle

Headshot wrote: »

I should never be doubted, I called it well with Depay. Depay once again a great game

#welldoneheadshot

Not alot mentioned about him but Carrick had a top notch game today

Considering he's playing as a makeshift CB he still managed to pick out some great forward passes into the midfield

Anyway, night folks

Today was a good day, Ice Cube style

Cantona's Collars

jayo26 wrote: »

Watched lvgs dive another 3 times there and I still can't stop laughing at the face on gigs and hoenke or whatever his name is they were in bits.

Nice to see fergie doing a bit of a jig at the end too as glory glory man united was banging out.

Pro. F

Well that was fun.

Rashford just doing the business. Hopefully he never looks back from here.

It's great to watch the team playing with more directness and freedom. Arsenal's performance was a big help today, but it's good to enjoy this football while it lasts.

I don't think Memphis was as good today as a lot are saying. He held onto the ball better, maybe, but his end product was still lacking.

Verela continues to impress. He's turning into a great asset to the squad.

caviardreams

Business Cat wrote: »

Sky Sports have a list on their site going through their PL debutant scorers and rating them as a hit or a miss.

Some good memories on it.

There is an interesting inclusion on the miss list.

Welbeck? I think that's very harsh to be honest. No way he could be classed as a 'miss' in the same sense as macheda, eagles etc. But that's sky sports I guess :rolleyes:

Hococop

zerks wrote: »

I remember that jersey (probably still have it), didn't take long till the Vodafone logo started to break bit by bit ha

TheTownie

Awesome skill, awesome pic, everythings awesome

Liam McPoyle

Just watched the highlights of the game again there.

I tell ye something lads, the prospect of Martial and Rashford up front is positively mouth watering.

Hopefully they get a decent run together.

bangkok

I think I might be a bit drunk, but van gaal today just endered himself to everyone. He finally came alive to the old Trafford faithful. It was brilliant what he did. It lifted the crowd, the players fought for each other and we won the 3 points.

I think it was the first time this season he showed a bit of passion and I ****ing loved it!!!

The_Kew_Tour

Everybody is happy, get out the Positivity Train!!!!

StringerBell

Business Cat wrote: »

Just watched the highlights of the game again there.

I tell ye something lads, the prospect of Martial and Rashford up front is positively mouth watering.

Hopefully they get a decent run together.

In what way? How do you see the team lining up?

xtal191

Is the Watford match on TV?

Vic Vinegar

6 games in 18 days now. Quite the busy run.

Vic Vinegar

xtal191 wrote: »

Is the Watford match on TV?

Not on any English satellite channels.

StringerBell

Vic Vinegar wrote: »

6 games in 18 days now. Quite the busy run.

As I would say in FM, hard on the legs but great for building momentum!

Bret Hart

Baldy Conscience wrote: »

what is this bullshít?

Care too elaborate ?

Bret Hart

Forgetting the first 10 minutes,I thought Varela was excellent and nullified Sanchez for the rest of the game all the while being on a yellow for more then 80th plus minutes of the game.

I thought he was excellent going forward and he offers much more definitely then Darmian does offensively.

Quandary

What a beautiful, rainy Monday morning

Liam McPoyle

StringerBell wrote: »

In what way? How do you see the team lining up?

What I'd like to see based on current squad availability.

DDG

Varela, Mike, Blind, Rojo

Lingard, Ander, Morgan, Memphis

Martial

Rashford


Mike is in there as he is due back shortly.

Mitch Connor

Business Cat wrote: »

What I'd like to see based on current squad availability.

DDG

Varela, Mike, Blind, Rojo

Lingard, Ander, Morgan, Memphis

Martial

Rashford


Mike is in there as he is due back shortly.

If you were to look to keep rashford up top (and I wouldn't be arguing for it yet) I would simply look to either move Memhis right (where he has played for Holland) or drop him and play Martial from the left as we have done quite a bit.

caviardreams

After being bereft of full backs for a good while it seems we finally have very good options now in Darmian & Varela and Shaw & BJ which is great to see.

If we could bring in even one high quality CB in the summer (and hold onto De Gea ) I think we would have the defence pretty well sorted.

Mitch Connor

caviardreams wrote: »

After being bereft of full backs for a good while it seems we finally have very good options now in Darmian & Varela and Shaw & BJ which is great to see.

If we could bring in even one high quality CB in the summer (and hold onto De Gea ) I think we would have the defence pretty well sorted.

I hope LVG shows faith in Varela and has him as the backup at least - if he gets dropped behind Valencia it will be disappointing.

Sitting in the Canteen with the Liverpool / Arsenal lads like.....

bucketybuck

Mitch Connor wrote: »

If you were to look to keep rashford up top (and I wouldn't be arguing for it yet) I would simply look to either move Memhis right (where he has played for Holland) or drop him and play Martial from the left as we have done quite a bit.

It'll take a few games but some perspective is needed on Rashford, I'm delighted that he was thrown in and got his goals but he is still just a kid and not ready to lead the line for a top team, it remains to be seen if he is genuine quality or not. Hopefully he can take this chance and run with it, use the confidence to really push on as a player but its still far too early to proclaim him the next big thing.

More to the point, we should not be shuffling players around to make space for him. Personally I think it far more important to get Depay firing on all cylinders, so leave him where he is and let him get comfortable in his position again. Certainly don't be switching him here and there to accommodate anybody.

It will do Rashford no harm at all to step back from the limelight for a few games when Martial returns, we don't need to squeeze every last drop from him straight away. Let him have a breather and rotate him with Martial now and then, if he is the real deal he will still get those chances.

Liam McPoyle

While I see what you are saying re Rashford (I'm also by no means saying he should be thrown in at the deep end) we have whats arguably an easier game coming up on Wednesday, the boys confidence will be sky high and I think he and Martial would complement each other. Rashford has shown astuteness when it comes to positional play, Martial likes to attack from the wings and plays alot of ball into the box. There have been many occasions this season where Martial has done the donkey work but there was nobody there to link up with. Rooney is probably always going to play when available so when he is not then Id love to see the two lads play together, we have nothing to lose whatsoever imo.

StringerBell

Business Cat wrote: »

What I'd like to see based on current squad availability.

DDG

Varela, Mike, Blind, Rojo

Lingard, Ander, Morgan, Memphis

Martial

Rashford


Mike is in there as he is due back shortly.

Not sure he will take Mata out of the team for him myself, I think Martial comes back and goes up front, the rest of the support line as they were.

Rashford can play from wide also so I think he might get some game time between now and the end of the season alright but wouldn't expect any prolonged period in the team. I like him, but I do have to admit I am a little surprised at the impact he has made straight away, he didn't look ready yet so I'm taking these games and moments as a bonus and hopefully the experience will drive him on.

Mitch Connor

bucketybuck wrote: »

It'll take a few games but some perspective is needed on Rashford, I'm delighted that he was thrown in and got his goals but he is still just a kid and not ready to lead the line for a top team, it remains to be seen if he is genuine quality or not. Hopefully he can take this chance and run with it, use the confidence to really push on as a player but its still far too early to proclaim him the next big thing.

More to the point, we should not be shuffling players around to make space for him. Personally I think it far more important to get Depay firing on all cylinders, so leave him where he is and let him get comfortable in his position again. Certainly don't be switching him here and there to accommodate anybody.

It will do Rashford no harm at all to step back from the limelight for a few games when Martial returns, we don't need to squeeze every last drop from him straight away. Let him have a breather and rotate him with Martial now and then, if he is the real deal he will still get those chances.

Completely agree - personally I would be looking at maintaining the same front 6 but with Martial in for Rashford. Keep Memphis, Lingard and Mata where they are doing damage at the moment.

My fear is that a fully fit United side would again see Rooney up top, with Martial and Mata wide.

On Rashford - as you say yourself, delighted he has done so well, but it is very early days. He could be an amazing talent/prospect and be a key play like Martial next season. Or he could be a decent player with things going right for him. His record and performances at youth levels aren't screaming "next messi", for example. Wilson and Keane would have looked, to me, far better bets at being United strikers based on goals and performances.

All said and done though - the kid was given a chance, and he his performances are leading people to ask questions - he couldn't have done more himself, so fair play.

StringerBell

The real big thing he has going for him is that he is an unknown quantity for defenders and keepers right now, that will change and we will see then how he progresses, but important not to expect too much of him right now and just take these performances as a bonus.

bucketybuck

Business Cat wrote: »

While I see what you are saying re Rashford (I'm also by no means saying he should be thrown in at the deep end) we have whats arguably an easier game coming up on Wednesday

I actually wouldn't bring Martial back Wednesday, even if passed fit. He's just a kid as well and has been used too much all season, give him another few days and make sure he is over the injury.

Polo_Mint

I would like to see both Martial & Rashford up front on Wednesday,

Even for the first 45min

Just to quench my curiosity

Kerrydude1981

StringerBell wrote: »

The real big thing he has going for him is that he is an unknown quantity for defenders and keepers right now, that will change and we will see then how he progresses, but important not to expect too much of him right now and just take these performances as a bonus.

If LVG keeps him in reserve and brings him on as a sub then defenders wont like to see him coming with his pace late in a game,

Great start but lets him fresh and let Martial lead the line when he comes back

Rossi IRL

Couldnt resist.

paulbok

Rossi IRL wrote: »

Couldnt resist.

Thought that was Stevie G in the last one for a second :-D

dave_o_brien

It now looks like there's three options as line leaders: Rooney, Martial or Rashford

"Wider" forwards: Martial, Memphis, Lingaard, Januzaj

In-the-hole forwards: Mata, Rooney

I think the squad is developing nicely.

Maximus Alexander

The last one is pure gold.

jayo26

Maximus Alexander wrote: »

The last one is pure gold.

Yep best I've seen.

Lord TSC

Ah, knew this would drop sometime today.

Jose has signed a pre-contract with United, according to Spansih Newspaper El Pais.

Relevant quotes:

Spanish newspaper El Pais have an article on Monday saying that there's murmurings at Real Madrid over Zinedine Zidane. Already. It's apparently not thought the Frenchman is ready for the job he's currently in, and Real Madrid wanted someone else instead.

That someone else is stated as being Jose Mourinho, and El Pais say Real Madrid negotiated throughout January with Jorge Mendes, over Mourinho sensationally returning to Madrid. However, El Pais says the calls stopped and Madrid's Jose Angel Sanchez found out Mourinho had signed a pre-contract agreement with, wait for it, you're never going to guess... Manchester United.

There's a penalty clause if either side pull out of the agreement, say El Pais, and in the 'presidential entourage' (Florentino Perez's mates) it's thought that Real Madrid were used by the Mourinho camp to pressure Manchester United.

[...]

It would be no surprise if (assuming the claims are true for this line of thought) Manchester United have asked/ordered Mourinho to wait, be patient, and keep his mouth shut, as part of some kind of test. We're not sure he can do that until the summer, without exploding into huge hints that he knows something everyone else doesn't know.

jayo26

Everytime united have a good win something always seem to come from the jose camp.......

v3ttel

Just back after being over at the match.

Things are so much better when players aren't shoehorned into positions. Herrera as part of a 2 in CM is really important as he has the ability to get forward, Mata at #10 is great when he has runners around him, Memphis is starting to look like the player we signed. Rashford and Varela were fantastic.

Old Trafford was absolutely bouncing, a brilliant atmosphere. We may only be fighting for 4th but Rashford's goals felt massively important. People can talk sh*te about United all they want, and it may be a poor season with dour football for months......but on days like yesterday, it is a club like no other.

Mitch Connor

v3ttel wrote: »

Just back after being over at the match.

Things are so much better when players aren't shoehorned into positions. Herrera as part of a 2 in CM is really important as he has the ability to get forward, Mata at #10 is great when he has runners around him, Memphis is starting to look like the player we signed. Rashford and Varela were fantastic.

Old Trafford was absolutely bouncing, a brilliant atmosphere. We may only be fighting for 4th but Rashford's goals felt massively important. People can talk sh*te about United all they want, and it may be a poor season with dour football for months......but on days like yesterday, it is a club like no other.

I'm a big fan of herrera but on more than a few occassions I can remember him being a fairly big liability at CM in a 2 man midfield. He is good on the ball and good going forward but defensive positioning can be suspect.

Had another Look at Morgans performance yesterday, maybe I was a bit too harsh on him.
Although he was still at fault for the first Arsenal goal, I didn't' give him credit for the job he did on Ozil. Kept him very quite.

The_Kew_Tour

v3ttel wrote: »

Old Trafford was absolutely bouncing, a brilliant atmosphere. We may only be fighting for 4th but Rashford's goals felt massively important. People can talk sh*te about United all they want, and it may be a poor season with dour football for months......but on days like yesterday, it is a club like no other.

Agree very much with this.

They're something about OT when we are the underdogs that I just love.

kstand

Great atmosphere there yesterday, as v3ttel said that ground was bouncing, a very far cry from the Sheff Utd game I went to after Christmas. Compare the confidence and slick passing we saw yesterday with the laboured rubbish served up over December and January with Feillaini in the middle slowing everything down. He has to persist with that central mid partnership and Varela at full back. Memphis has finally woken up and started playing, there was a buzz at times when he got the ball, so good at holding men off now and getting past his marker, looks a totally different player to the one a few months back. You just got the feeling there that things had changed and that the club is on the up again, esp after walking round under the north Stand and the fans signing and everyone with a smile on their faces. Even Van Gaals name was sung in the Stret when he came charging down the steps, we havent seen that before from him.
Feel myself that we will win something this season. The hunger is there, but so is the desire, esp from the younger players. Van Gaals hand has been forced into this through injuries - and literally within a week those he has brought in have made a name for themselves and turned the season on its head. Great few weeks coming now, esp with the 2 games with Liverpool. Not one bit afraid of playing them or anyone in the country now.

FutureGuy

The transformation in Memphis has been staggering.

He has gone from "I'm terrified to do anything because I am going to fcuk it up" to "I am going to get the ball and when I do, I am going to Fcuk you up"

He looks faster and he looks hungrier. Even they way he runs with the ball reminds me of Giggsy at times.

Discodog

It would be insanity to drop Rashford. He is buzzing with sky high confidence. I want to see him get at least 30 mins per game.

The last thing you do with an inform striker is drop them.

StringerBell

I wouldn't drop him from the match day squad obviously, but when Martial is fit he comes back in ahead of him for me. He can then be taken off and we have a viable option from the bench to replace him and keep that threat and pace, Rashford will have a lot of focus on him now and he will need to be protected.

Son Of A Vidic

It's been months since I've posted in the thread, but seeing a young kid like Rashford come through the ranks and having such a big impact on the first team, has put the spring back in my step. I then look at the money wasted on Falcao last year and realise, throwing money at a problem isn't always the solution. I would now love to see Rashford cement a first team place and go from strength to strength.

Rayne Wooney

Memphis' performance yesterday wasn't amazing, it's the least I expect from a United player against Arsenal. He's set the bar so low since his arrival that any sort of decent game looks ten times better than it is. He needs to do it more, he needs to get that ruthless mentality into him, he should be making a show of full backs week in week out with the skill he possesses so it's all in his head.

I'd start Rashford against Watford, he deserves it, play Martial off the right or left if he's fit