Manchester United Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread 2017

Rayne Wooney

Pogba has been pretty much the same since he arrived, honestly I don't know if he is playing at his level and the Italian league flattered him or if there is more to come. 1 or 2 nice passes a game isn't enough. You could replace him and Ander with two average midfielders and I don't think our league position would change.

Rashford and Mikki offered nothing, Rooney too. Zlatan probably didn't get enough service to say he was bad.

deaddonkey15

adox wrote: »

Yet he played from the left mostly last season.

He played regularly, and played plenty of times up top. He's a composed clinical finisher with bags of pace and an ability to beat a man. We have no one else like that in the squad.

bucketybuck

deaddonkey15 wrote: »

Like Rashford, Mkhitaryan, Mata, Pogba..

If you like.

Had Martial played instead of Rashford then people would be on here saying that Jose made a mistake not playing Rashford.

People keep calling for Martial to play but truth is, he hasn't earned it, he has been poor far more than he has been good and he isn't the answer to our current problems.

bangkok

Rayne Wooney wrote: »

Pogba has been pretty much the same since he arrived, honestly I don't know if he is playing at his level and the Italian league flattered him or if there is more to come. 1 or 2 nice passes a game isn't enough. You could replace him and Ander with two average midfielders and I don't think our league position would change.

Rashford and Mikki offered nothing, Rooney too. Zlatan probably didn't get enough service to say he was bad.

pogba is 23, still adjusting to premier league, has shown plenty of games already where he has been fantastic, 7 goals scored already and hot the post about 5 times, could easily be on 12 or 13 goals. his best years are well ahead of him. super player and a super signing for us

Utopia Parkway

bangkok wrote: »

3 premier league wins in a row and we will be in top 4. liverpool will fade away and arsenal will bottle top 4 this year

Well United need those points now while the fixture list is still kind to them because they have a very difficult run in.

deaddonkey15

bucketybuck wrote: »

If you like.

Had Martial played instead of Rashford then people would be on here saying that Jose made a mistake not playing Rashford.

I don't think so but I understand your point and agree with it to extent. However, as disappointing as Martial has been this season, Rashford has been even more of a disappointment in my opinion.

KH25

Too many players not doing their job. Pogba is so wasteful and the one chance he had he missed. He really needs to step up his game.

Rooney coming on made no difference. Carrick staying on would have been better. Mata was decent but martial or even young would have been better as someone to run at hull.

It pains me to watch so much of our play go down the right to Valencia. His delivery is just consistently bad and he kills off so many attacks by either stopping or dithering about trying to get on to his right foot. He's a backup at best.

adox

I'll say it again. I don't care how much he cost or how good he may be in a year or two, Pogba needs to be benched. Doubt he even broke a sweat tonight. You can't afford to carry performances like that in the middle of the field, with the hope that he may produce a bit of magic.

I'm really beginning to doubt the wisdom of the purchase of him.

fatherted1969

Was expecting a **** performance tonight, signs have been there for weeks now. We're gone very predictable and easy to play against. Not sure what Rooney offers to the team anymore.

wanderer100

bangkok wrote: »

today is Feb 1st, we are 5 points off 2nd, 4 points off top 4. lads saying top 4 chances are gone tonight need to take a look at themselves!!! loads of football left to be played. we will probably go and hammer leicester now at the weekend and everyone will be saying about top 4 again. fickle

We've been stuck in 6th place for fcuking ever and this whole time we've only been 3-8 points off from top 4. Our fixture list was as good as it was ever going to get in the last 2 months yet we've still dropped points at crucial moments and are still stuck in 6th.

Its only going to get harder from here and I haven't seen anything to suggest we can go a winning run and 'catch up' to the teams above us. Note 'catch up.' That's what we'll be doing for the rest of the season.

J. Marston

bangkok wrote: »

3 premier league wins in a row and we will be in top 4. liverpool will fade away and arsenal will bottle top 4 this year

How long do we have to be stuck in 6th for this false bravado to fade away?

adox

J. Marston wrote: »

How long do we have to be stuck in 6th for this false bravado to fade away?

"Yeah but like if we win loads of games and our rivals fade away.." seems to be the logic.

adox

Anyway I know I'm probably ranting because I'm annoyed but I really do feel tonight was the night. Make or break and we failed spectacularly. I think tonight sealed our fate for the season. No top 4.

I just don't understand why Jose didn't bring in a midfielder.

Hococop

adox wrote: »

Anyway I know I'm probably ranting because I'm annoyed but I really do feel tonight was the night. Make or break and we failed spectacularly. I think tonight sealed our fate for the season. No top 4.

I just don't understand why Jose didn't bring in a midfielder.

Jones injury cost us a sub

adox

Hococop wrote: »

Jones injury cost us a sub

I meant in the transfer window, not tonight.

tastyt

Dont like being too critical of him because it wasnt his fault he cost 100 million bit pogba looks to be a show pony luxury player.

The social media nonsense and stupid haircuts I think shows an immaturity and neediness that great midfielders never had. Can you imagine any of the real greats posing and looking for so much attention.

He excelled at juve, but playing for juve under conte was like playing for bayern in germany or even celtic in Scotland. He could go out and do what he wanted and pirlo and the rest would control the game. Pogba looks like he doesnt want or cant handle real responsibility and seems to have a soft centre mentally.

If united put world class players around him in midfield hel produce moments of magic no doubt, but fergie obviously didnt rate him too highly for a reason.

And all this he is only 23 talk?? 23 is by no means young in footballing terms, its time for pogba to grow up off and on the field.

I really hope he does because he has unreal ability

secman

Rayne Wooney wrote: »

Pogba has been pretty much the same since he arrived, honestly I don't know if he is playing at his level and the Italian league flattered him or if there is more to come. 1 or 2 nice passes a game isn't enough. You could replace him and Ander with two average midfielders and I don't think our league position would change.

Rashford and Mikki offered nothing, Rooney too. Zlatan probably didn't get enough service to say he was bad.

One word Pirlo.....that guy had so much class,

Apart from the keeper's excellent save for Mata's chance, the rest were ones you'd be expecting a PL keeper to make. Pogba did him a favour with his placement in that chance at the end of the first half, for example.

Failure to take advantage of some favourable results last night is stinging right now, and I'm sure we'll start to talk about the 'why?' once the dust settles. But that's 4 performances starting with the Liverpool game where it seems our chances are drying up.

A few weeks ago we were most frustrated at the low rate of chance conversion, but at least we were creating several good chances per game. It's worrying as of late to see the chances going scarce. That's a step back.

Also, for a run of games Jose was making effective substitutes if his initial line-up wasn't doing the trick. That seems to have taken a step back also, with the substitute of Rooney being a strange one, and his reluctance to introduce Martial.

Watching the match, I thought it odd to bring Rooney on. There was already one player slowing down our attack and ineffectively holding up play in Zlatan, why introduce another? With Mkhi having a poor game, the match was calling out for someone who could attack at pace like Martial or even Lingard, rather than Rooney.

However, maybe Jose intended to introduce Martial at some point but for having to use up a substitution to replace the injured Jones. Rooney at halftime was a thinker. Jose obviously wanted to take Michael Carrick off, but didn't have Fellaini or Schweinsteiger on the bench to bring on a natural CM.

I'm all for rotation and having squad players and for Jose having time to find his best 11, but the way some players are disappearing in and out of the match-day squads never mind the starting 11 is starting to draw my attention.

Despite being fully fit and having a good showing in their last outing, a player might not even make the bench in the following game. I'm not just talking about a player on the fringes of the fringe like Schweini, or Martial getting benched. What about Shaw and Fellaini? Mata was doing well in the team while getting a starting run. He went missing, and now in his recent appearances is clearly showing signs of rust.

Fúck that performance and result tonight, but I have to go beyond that and wonder why it has been this way for at least 4 games now. Also, there are players out there who need to step up overall. Pogba for one, Rashford not making the most of the opportunities afforded to him, Ibra showing how ineffective he can be when not scoring and having a tough time on the ball.

The team is now in a blip going into a very important month for the club's season. Marcus Rojo had a good game, that's about it.

limnam

adox wrote: »

but I really do feel tonight was the night.

You could have said that half a dozen times this season and it's only gone Feb.

We'e blown many chances to put in a serious chance for top 4.

Everton,arsenal,liverpool,Burnley, stoke..I could be here all night :pac:

Shane St.

Sigh. Really disappointed loss. Chance to really put the squeeze on spurs, arsenal n pool. Performances have dipped since the liverpool game

Lord TSC

Bashing a young player for posting a social media video of some friends messing round annoys me.

Like...there's plenty to actually bash him about. Do people expect him to sit at home between training sessions staring at a wall?

Yes, Pogba has been poor for a few games now. THAT should be the focus of attention. Moaning about him dancing with some friends in downtime is just unnessecary imo.

deaddonkey15

stankratz wrote: »

Marcus Rojo had a good game, that's about it.

He is becoming a bit of an unsung hero this season, as well as Jones. Hopefully his injury isn't too serious.

Nalz

Lord TSC wrote: »

Bashing a young player for posting a social media video of some friends messing round annoys me.

Like...there's plenty to actually bash him about. Do people expect him to sit at home between training sessions staring at a wall?

Yes, Pogba has been poor for a few games now. THAT should be the focus of attention. Moaning about him dancing with some friends in downtime is just unnessecary imo.

It's cringy and bad timing and in United's training dressing room I suppose. I'm on the fence about it, see both views.

Get your game then take your fame.

limnam

Lord TSC wrote: »

Bashing a young player for posting a social media video of some friends messing round annoys me.

Like...there's plenty to actually bash him about. Do people expect him to sit at home between training sessions staring at a wall?

Yes, Pogba has been poor for a few games now. THAT should be the focus of attention. Moaning about him dancing with some friends in downtime is just unnessecary imo.

He should be crying into his huge pillow in his downtime.

Show some hurt.

Just give the antics a break.

Nalz

deaddonkey15 wrote: »

He is becoming a bit of an unsung hero this season, as well as Jones. Hopefully his injury isn't too serious.

Yep two centre halves and maybe Rashford. After that the performances were average to poor

secman

bangkok wrote: »

today is Feb 1st, we are 5 points off 2nd, 4 points off top 4. lads saying top 4 chances are gone tonight need to take a look at themselves!!! loads of football left to be played. we will probably go and hammer leicester now at the weekend and everyone will be saying about top 4 again. fickle

We don't fcking do hammer, haven't for a long time.

adox

Lord TSC wrote: »

Bashing a young player for posting a social media video of some friends messing round annoys me.

Like...there's plenty to actually bash him about. Do people expect him to sit at home between training sessions staring at a wall?

Yes, Pogba has been poor for a few games now. THAT should be the focus of attention. Moaning about him dancing with some friends in downtime is just unnessecary imo.

Absolutely. I'm a grumpy old bollix and I didn't even give it a second thought, or his hair cuts. I find it strange the attention it's getting.

adox

I still think Smalling and Bailly are the partnership for the future unless more CBs are brought in.

I'd say there will be quite a few outgoings this summer.

castletownman

Lord TSC wrote: »

Bashing a young player for posting a social media video of some friends messing round annoys me.

Like...there's plenty to actually bash him about. Do people expect him to sit at home between training sessions staring at a wall?

Yes, Pogba has been poor for a few games now. THAT should be the focus of attention. Moaning about him dancing with some friends in downtime is just unnessecary imo.

Well how come 19 year old Rashford doesn't appear to have as much of an active presence online then? Maybe he is more level-headed at a younger age.

In fact, I am starting to think that Pog is a bit of a mercenary. Summer-long transfer saga and foregoing the opportunity of CL football (with no guarantee of it year on year given the relative competitiveness of the league) in favour of the big bucks and higher profile.

bangkok

adox wrote: »

I'll say it again. I don't care how much he cost or how good he may be in a year or two, Pogba needs to be benched. Doubt he even broke a sweat tonight. You can't afford to carry performances like that in the middle of the field, with the hope that he may produce a bit of magic.

I'm really beginning to doubt the wisdom of the purchase of him.

Doubt the wisdom of signing pogba, seriously man.

Lord TSC

adox wrote: »

Absolutely. I'm a grumpy old bollix and I didn't even give it a scene thought, or his hair cuts. I find it strange the attention it's getting.

And Jesus, Rio Ferdinand of all people giving out about off-field antics?
I'll be honest, if thats the worst Pogba gets up to, I'm thrilled....

adox wrote: »

I still think Smalling and Bailly are the partnership for the future unless more CBs are brought in.

I'd say there will be quite a few outgoings this summer.

I honestly think Smalling won't last the summer. I still believe he's part of the same issue there is with Shaw (namely, those leaks earlier in the season) I think there's going to be a massive cleanout this summer. I think Jose either did not want to or wasn't allowed to do it the second he came in.

But Rooney, Young, Schweinstieger will be all going. Martial and Shaw seem to have completely lost his trust. Smalling and Darmian don't look far off that either. Could see Mata wanting a move, due to being a bench player.

bangkok

adox wrote: »

Absolutely. I'm a grumpy old bollix and I didn't even give it a second thought, or his hair cuts. I find it strange the attention it's getting.

It's because he plays for Man Utd and is the worlds most expensive player.

And fans like to slag Man Utd and build up the hype all united players are crap bla bla

Nalz

Does it really matter if it was Rio or not highlighting Pogbas internetting?

limnam

castletownman wrote: »

Well how come 19 year old Rashford doesn't appear to have as much of an active presence online then? Maybe he is more level-headed at a younger age.

I imagine he's busy watching videos of the next right back he might face next week. Or the mistakes he made in his previous game or you know other activities professionals on 300k a week should do even though he's on a pittance in comparison

Not designing his next back pack

secman

bangkok wrote: »

Doubt the wisdom of signing pogba, seriously man.

Like spending big bucks on a top of the range beamer... but it drives like a Ford fiesta more often than not....and to add salt to the wounds someone keeps putting go fast stripes on it , different ones every week .Hard to impressed with it.:)

Lord TSC

https://twitter.com/sistoney67/status/826921077242724356

Jose:: "Yesterday a 4th official told a manager 'I enjoy very much your passion' today I am told to sit down or I am going to the stand."

Lord TSC

Actually, let's go with some good news too...

https://twitter.com/PierreMenes/status/826913614120484865

He writes for Canal, and is apparently decently credible. Says we've an agreement with Griezmann, Madrid won't let him go for less than his release clause which we're willing to pay.

Nalz

Jose walked off very bizzarely in a BBC interview after the game

adox

bangkok wrote: »

Doubt the wisdom of signing pogba, seriously man.

Stellar contribution as usual.

Yes doubting the signing of him. Was he really what the club needed at this stage? A club and team on its knees? Perhaps the money could have been better spent on getting a proper base of a team before bringing in what, at the moment is looking like the icing on the cake type player.

I get you think he's great and with that you usually never offer any critique on performances or games and just give sound bites like "he's world class" "the best midfielder in the world" " he's only 23" "he's adjusting" he's hit the bar 5 times"

He's taking up a space in the most important part of the pitch - the midfield, the one area where you really can't afford to carry players and he has been carried for huge spells of games plenty this season.

So there. There's some reasoning why I am asking the question about his signing and whether it was the right thing to do.

The midfield is still a problem for the team imo and that's the heart of the team, where the game is controlled, attacks set up and attacks from the opposition stopped. We still haven't got that right and have spent a world record fee on a player that has all the ability in the world but needs players around him to do the dirty work that he doesn't seem to want to do. His positional sense is dreadful for a midfielder.

If we had a rock steady midfield already in place thenyeah he would have been a lovely(if vastly overpriced) signing but we don't and that still needs addressing. It looks like we gone arse about face in trying to fix the midfield.


So yeah. Seriously man.

adox

Lord TSC wrote: »

I honestly think Smalling won't last the summer. I still believe he's part of the same issue there is with Shaw (namely, those leaks earlier in the season) I think there's going to be a massive cleanout this summer. I think Jose either did not want to or wasn't allowed to do it the second he came in.

But Rooney, Young, Schweinstieger will be all going. Martial and Shaw seem to have completely lost his trust. Smalling and Darmian don't look far off that either. Could see Mata wanting a move, due to being a bench player.

Maybe so re Smalling but all things being equal I'd have those two as first choice every day over the current two. I think they are much better defenders than Jones and Rojo

Jones should really be sold in the summer due to his appalling injury record alone but it's piling up the number of players the club needs.

I'm very surprised no signings were made in January.

adox

adox wrote: »

This needs to be stickied for the rest of the season.

As an example of a massive over-reaction?

Forget it, thread is in the gutter now anyway.

bucketybuck wrote: »

When the same people who think that Valencia is a good right back start to realise that we don't have top class attacking players.

Because thats the truth, our squad suffers badly from "everybody thinks they have the prettiest wife" syndrome when the simple fact is that we have too many players that won't win us titles.

How is one of those groups the same as the other, at all? I tried to engage with you a few weeks ago on Valencia. Offering an argument and examples of not why he was great, but why he was not as useless or ineffective on the attack as the one-liners suggest. You didn't respond, but kept on making the one-liners anyway.

You're doing it again with Martial. To say he offers a whole lot of not much lately, full stop? It's not an accurate or a fair assessment at all. That's judging him on his pre-December form, which was atrocious, and not taking into account any improvement in form since then, which there has been. Without him, a loss was imminent at home vs Middlesbrough on New Years Eve where we would have been even more adrift of the Top 4 going into tonight's game. That's one example of him offering something significant recently off the top of my head, there are more which show he has been better than such a dramatic one-liner suggests.

adox

bangkok wrote: »

It's because he plays for Man Utd and is the worlds most expensive player.

And fans like to slag Man Utd and build up the hype all united players are crap bla bla

And what about all the Utd supporters giving out about it?

Richard Hillman

He is a 100m player. It is his minimum requirement to be the best centre midfielder in the league or at last be in the PL Team of the year.

He has a small handful of good performances, which have all been against chump teams. Which was the exact problem with France during the summer.

There are major concerns regard to his game intelligence and these videos are hardly enhancing his profile as somebody who isn't bat**** dumb.

Six months in and people still wondering what he actually does apart from look quite stylish on the ball.

Is he a good tackler? No
Is he a good passer? Yes, he's well above average
Can he shoot? No
Is he good reader of the game? No
Does he score goals? Not many
Does he have pace? Not really
Is he good headerer of the ball? No
Is he good at set pieces? Hasn't had much of a chance, looks good
Is he physical? Kind of
Is he a leader? No
Is he is a big game, clutch performer? No


What exactly is he good at?

Nalz

Nalz wrote: »

Jose walked off very bizzarely in a BBC interview after the game

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38835923

Tyson Fury

Tyson Fury wrote: »

Wow, how I'd love to see a good old fashioned strike pair up front! Won't happen though under Jose, best we can do is watch clips of yorke and Cole. We used to be so exciting back then, now we're as predictable as rain.

We dont have the midfielders to play a front 2, there is no combination I wouldnt see getting over run especially as most teams essentially play midfield 3s

adox

stankratz wrote: »

As an example of a massive over-reaction?
Forget it, thread is in the gutter now anyway.

No, because that's how I see it after tonight.

spiralism

Honestly disgusted with that. There's a rot that has set in the past few years in how we completely lack any resemblance of bottle. I would bet my life on us finishing outside the top four once again after that.
We cannot score goals for ****. We're better at it than last season, sure, but that's saying **** all given how negative we were last year. We've roughly the same amount of goals as Everton, West Brom, Stoke and Bournemouth. Sides more on our level this year than the top 5 above us, all of whom have scored at least 14 more.

After Ibra our next best goalscorer in the league has four goals ( both Mata and Pogba). Meaning that if he has an off day we are probably ****ed.

I don't know what can be done to fix this mess this season. If anything.

bangkok

adox wrote: »

Stellar contribution as usual.

Yes doubting the signing of him. Was he really what the club needed at this stage? A club and team on its knees? Perhaps the money could have been better spent on getting a proper base of a team before bringing in what, at the moment is looking like the icing on the cake type player.

I get you think he's great and with that you usually never offer any critique on performances or games and just give sound bites like "he's world class" "the best midfielder in the world" " he's only 23" "he's adjusting" he's hit the bar 5 times"

He's taking up a space in the most important part of the pitch - the midfield, the one area where you really can't afford to carry players and he has been carried for huge spells of games plenty this season.

So there. There's some reasoning why I am asking the question about his signing and whether it was the right thing to do.

The midfield is still a problem for the team imo and that's the heart of the team, where the game is controlled, attacks set up and attacks from the opposition stopped. We still haven't got that right and have spent a world record fee on a player that has all the ability in the world but needs players around him to do the dirty work that he doesn't seem to want to do. His positional sense is dreadful for a midfielder.

If we had a rock steady midfield already in place thenyeah he would have been a lovely(if vastly overpriced) signing but we don't and that still needs addressing. It looks like we gone arse about face in trying to fix the midfield.


So yeah. Seriously man.

He was signed as a player that will be at the club for the next 10 years. He is 23. A baby in midfield terms. 7 goals in his first season at the club and will prob get double figures. A few bad games and everyone jumps on him. What about all the games he played and he was brilliant?

bangkok

Mourinho being childish again in post match interview

adox

bangkok wrote: »

He was signed as a player that will be at the club for the next 10 years. He is 23. A baby in midfield terms. 7 goals in his first season at the club and will prob get double figures. A few bad games and everyone jumps on him. What about all the games he played and he was brilliant?

He's had more poor games than good games imo.
I've tried to lay out my reasons why I think he may have been the wrong signing, or at least question it in my previous post. You seem to have ignored that.