Manchester United Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread 2018

Ninthlife

Dele Ali joins Jonjo Shelvey and Joey Barton in my book of footballers who are dirty f##kers.

DM_7

****ing ****.

That was my thought from the early goal and realised it was going to be a bad game.

Annoyed with the Pogba and Matic duo. Why not go with three and bring people on later like Lingard? It is away to Spurs not home v West Brom.

Anyway, encouraged that Lampard thought it was one of those games and United will be fine for top four. But, and a big one, need to be much more up for games than that if they want to make any dent in Champions League.

bmcc10

There is no hope in making any dent in the champions league this season can't seem to figure out how to play against the bigger teams unless it's sitting deep and trying to win games on the counter it's not good enough.

S.M.B.

Very worrying performance and there's very little evidence that I can see to support the 'just a bad day at the office' argument.

The only positives I can take from the game are Sanchez impressing me but I think I'm alone in thinking that and the fact that we didn't concede another 3/4 which easily could have happened.

So many negatives that it's hard to know where to start.

It looks like we'll be relying on our remaining games against the bottom 14 to guarantee CL football next year.

bangkok

Whats even more funny/crazy for all the slagging we do of liverpool, they are only 3 points off us and if they had a proper keeper in goals would probably be ahead of us at this stage

Liam O

DM_7 wrote: »

****ing ****.

That was my thought from the early goal and realised it was going to be a bad game.

Annoyed with the Pogba and Matic duo. Why not go with three and bring people on later like Lingard? It is away to Spurs not home v West Brom.

Anyway, encouraged that Lampard thought it was one of those games and United will be fine for top four. But, and a big one, need to be much more up for games than that if they want to make any dent in Champions League.

Lingard was probably United's best player first half. A lot of the problems would have been solved by switching Sanchez and Martial tbh. Needed more composure on the ball which I thought Smalling especially was poor at. He also stands off attackers way too much. There was one in the 2nd half where Kane took down a high ball, slightly struggled but Smalling just moved back. People will criticise Jones for the goal, rightly so, but it's on of those unlucky things. Rojo should be playing in games like this really to add balance at the back. Valencia was almost afraid to burst forward I felt too.

The midfield then showed even less composure with Matic overplaying it or hoofing it at Lukaku rather than looking for Pogba or Lingard and getting the wingers more involved. Pogba's lack of defensive discipline is really starting to grind too. Lingard did fine first half but shunted out right 2nd and it was never going to work.

As I said wingers should have been on opposite sides. Hard to really over criticise them but maybe could have spread out more with the full backs playing more reserved than normal.

Thought Lukaku did well enough but really has to start going for the 2nd ball. Tends to give up when he makes a mistake, similar to Pogba in that actually.

bmcc10

bangkok wrote: »

Whats even more funny/crazy for all the slagging we do of liverpool, they are only 3 points off us and if they had a proper keeper in goals would probably be ahead of us at this stage

If my aunt had balls she'd be my uncle.

GSPfan

If anyone is doubting Fellaini was injured you just need to get a bleedin grip. Listening to Hoddle and Hargreaves, two saps.

The City game at Old Trafford really tipped me over the edge but playing away to Spurs has been a bad experience for us of late so I can get over this one quick enough.

Biggest problem with the game was the formation again. And to be brutally honest I’d be dropping Lukaku and trying Martial up front and playing Sanchez and Lingard wide of him in a 433 at this stage. Lukaku for me is not up to it. May aswell try something else cause this 4231 stuff is not working.

S.M.B.

Liam O wrote: »

Thought Lukaku did well enough but really has to start going for the 2nd ball. Tends to give up when he makes a mistake, similar to Pogba in that actually.

Martial was just as guilty tonight. Gets ball in dangerous position at corner of box, attempts to cut inside, defender reads it, easily dispossesses him and strolls out of the defence, Martial stands still shrugging his shoulders.

Not good enough.

Your Airbag

S.M.B. wrote: »

Very worrying performance and there's very little evidence that I can see to support the 'just a bad day at the office' argument.

The only positives I can take from the game are Sanchez impressing me but I think I'm alone in thinking that and the fact that we didn't concede another 3/4 which easily could have happened.

So many negatives that it's hard to know where to start.

It looks like we'll be relying on our remaining games against the bottom 14 to guarantee CL football next year.

The signs have been there for a while now. After the City defeat the teams confidence tanked. We had a nightmare Christmas period and momentarily return to form every now and again to spank a mid-table team.

After the Bournemouth home win I predicted a tough second half of the season as we ere very poor in that game too and our over all form was bad. I called negative and was said to be over-reacting and should be happy with the win but it was clear then and certainly clear now two months later that Jose hasn't got this team clicking and somethings clearly wrong.

We have no real style, when not playing the long ball stuff even our short stuff has a bit of hit and hope about it. Our plan seem to be get it wide always, very very little goes through the middle. Its all very predictable and easy to defend against. Even with the money spent its like Jose doesn't know what kind of team he wanted to build.

We'll be lucky to have any sort of showing in the UCL but I think Jose will get us top four possibly 2nd place too. That's it for the this season and it not good enough with the cash spent.

I'm not calling for him to be sacked but we need to see serious progress next season, a real title challenge, the dead weight gone and the midfield sorted once and for all. The summer will be huge for Jose, he needs quality signings.

bucketybuck

Ninthlife wrote: »

There are times i wish he would rip some of his team mates to shreds over their poor decision making/passing when he is in great positions

Want to know what is wrong with that squad?

There was a moment late in the game, United laboriously trying to bring the ball down the left, going nowhere. Lingard is over on the right in acres of space. Standing still he makes a small motion as if calling for the ball, it doesn't go to him. On the left they turn back and he again motions for the ball, it doesn't go to him, then almost immediately it is turned over and Spurs break.

Out on the right Lingard slightly spreads his arms in a whimper, the sort of almost-motion you make when you want to complain but don't feel its your place to shout at the big knobs. Watching it all I could think was "you had that entire side of the field to yourself, why weren't you demanding the ball and more importantly, why the hell are you not ****ing them out of it right now?".

Great bunch of lads, not many men though.

wanderer100

https://twitter.com/manutduniverse/status/958829571352166400

jayo26

I'm pogba biggest fan on here always always defend him but after that tonight I'm disgusted one of the laziest performances I've seen ever.

NIMAN

jayo26 wrote: »

I'm pogba biggest fan on here always always defend him but after that tonight I'm disgusted one of the laziest performances I've seen ever.

You say lazy, I say outclassed.

He is often outclassed when he comes up against good midfielders.

Bret Hart

We've a great record in games,were we score first.However if we don't,that's a whole different story.

You've no chance of winning a PL or even compete for it,along with the CL if you've not got,a strong mentality too react after a setback in a game.This side doesn't have that.

We'll probably go and beat Huddersfield on Saturday,but I mean what satisfaction comes from beating cannon fodder like them,when you ultimately know that in the games against the top sides,with the record we've against them being poor,your just a setback away from it happening again.

We're and for the forseeable future just a club competing for 2nd spot in the PL and making up the numbers in the CL.

Nalz

Ninthlife wrote: »

Dele Ali joins Jonjo Shelvey and Joey Barton in my book of footballers who are dirty f##kers.

Michael brown and Julian Dicks

Nalz

NIMAN wrote: »

You say lazy, I say outclassed.

He is often outclassed when he comes up against good midfielders.

It was both tonight imho

IncognitoMan

I don't think I've watched a more disastrous 90min from United in a long time. Just terrible. Everything that could have gone wrong went wrong.

Jose got his team and tactics completely wrong. Could be a while before we see that line up again, thankfully.

Hopefully he gives 3-5-2 an extended go. It's the best way to get Pogba playing, it allows Martial who is by far our best and most composed finisher to go up top and partner Lukaku who definitely would benefit from having a strike partner. Play Sanchez behind those 2 allowing him a bit of freedom to drift and play.

Playing Martial as a right winger should be an absolute no go. As should playing Pogba as part of a 2 man midfield without the security of another defender behind him.

Matic seems a million miles off the player that we seen in August - October.

spiralism

I think this is where Jose needs to call Herrera in from the cold and start playing a 4-3-3 again in these big games, or even a 5-3-2. Pogba and Matic as the two central midfielders just get overrun against the bigger teams that can press.

Think he needs to know in general that especially away in the top 6 games there's a medium between suicidally attacking (spurs and arsenal away) and parking the bus (the rest of them)

At the very least he needs to bin the 4-2-3-1 in the big games. It's a dated formation these days and only suited to overrunning weaker sides. We were completely overrun in the midfield and Pogba doesn't have the head to take on so much responsibility in there. He's a world class midfielder we're not using properly in these sort of matches. Look at how Juve utilised him compared to us for example.

Our best performances and results in this era have come out of a 4-3-3, if it means sacrificing some attacking potential in these sort of games that we can spring from the bench later then so be it. Mourinho needs to bury the hatchet with Ander, sorting a new deal out with Fellaini would also be great.

spiralism

S.M.B. wrote: »

Very worrying performance and there's very little evidence that I can see to support the 'just a bad day at the office' argument.

The only positives I can take from the game are Sanchez impressing me but I think I'm alone in thinking that and the fact that we didn't concede another 3/4 which easily could have happened.

So many negatives that it's hard to know where to start.

It looks like we'll be relying on our remaining games against the bottom 14 to guarantee CL football next year.

It was a bad day at the office, coupled with a poor setup for the game that was in it and exacerbated by falling behind to one of the best counter pressing and counter attacking outfits in football. We were in an uphill struggle with a backpack full of bricks from the word go pretty much.

That match made for some utterly dejecting viewing, seriously. It wasn't even the early goal that killed me as I thought the team responded quite well. For about 10 minutes, then it all went to shíte.

It reminded me too much of the performance at Anfield earlier this season where it would be hard to tell what the manager's gameplan actually was because the players were so terrible at showing that there was a gameplan. When you see the likes of Matic misplacing passes out over the sideline from early on, you know it just might be one of those nights.

The players let themselves and the manager down, but there are 2 things in Jose's power which might have made a difference. Well, the first definitely would have to some extent IMO...

2 in midfield, why? - We were getting bypassed in midfield earlier this season playing with 2 against the likes of Leicester and Newcastle. I said it back then and will repeat it now - We need 3 in CM for around 80% of our games. The other 20% being those games against the weaker teams at home. No, we won't see immediate results from the very first game we put 3 in CM, but it needs to be implemented for at least a few games to see the benefits.

Young/Shaw/LB - I understand Jose playing Young last week after Shaw having a busy run of games, but can't understand why Shaw didn't get reinstated to the starting 11 against Spurs. He has shown great promise since returning to the team recently, and has arguably been one of our strongest players over the last 5 weeks or so.


It is what it is though, shíte, but not the end of the world. As bad as it was to watch, there are worse times when we could have had this defeat - Chelsea's loss does us a huge favour which might come in handy by the time we face them in just over 3 weeks.

On the same Wednesday last year, we had another atrocious performance in a 0-0 against Hull at Old Trafford. You get these games, but then we bounced back the following weekend with a 0-3 at Leicester. I'd be hoping for a similar response this weekend against Huddersfield who we owe a hiding to anyway.

ESPN's Mark Ogden chiming in with his thoughts on Pogba...

Manchester United have a problem with Paul Pogba. He is the player they cannot do without, but also the one who makes life so difficult for Jose Mourinho's team when he is asked to do a job that he is simply not equipped to perform.

And so it proved against Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley on Wednesday when, after arguably his worst performance in a United shirt, Pogba was substituted after 62 minutes. His team was trailing 2-0 and being given the runaround by a vibrant Spurs team, for whom 11 players had roles that suited them, which led to the overall product of the home side being greater than the sum of its parts.

But back to Pogba, United's £89m midfielder and the man who makes them tick... when he is deployed in a position suited to his talents. At Wembley, he was one of two deep-lying midfielders -- playing alongside Nemanja Matic -- but, at 24, Pogba has yet to develop the defensive discipline to play that role successfully. Given that, when he does line up there, he becomes a liability, especially against better teams.

His determination to break forward is so irresistible that he inevitably does just that, leaving Matic isolated and United's back four exposed; so it proved against an attacking force as deadly at Tottenham's, who had the game won inside half an hour.

As a central midfielder of such calibre, Pogba should be able to concentrate long enough to be able to play a more defensive role when the occasion demands. But he cannot, so perhaps it is a case of more fool Mourinho for asking his star man to do it against the likes of Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen.

After watching Pogba try and fail to carry out his tactical instructions for just over an hour, the United manager did not attempt to suggest that anything else was behind his decision to substitute Pogba than a frustration with his performance.

"No. No," Mourinho said, when asked if Pogba's substitution was due to him being injured. "It was just a change for [Marouane] Fellaini. I wanted to try different qualities with different players."

Under Mourinho, some players are given greater protection than others and there are precious few examples of Pogba being subjected to even the mildest of public dressing downs, Wednesday was one of those moments.

Being hauled off against Spurs with almost half an hour to play, which came after an animated discussion between manager and player in the first half, was a humiliation for Pogba and one to which he will not be accustomed. Indeed, since returning to United from Juventus in August 2016, it was only the fourth time that he had failed to finish a Premier League game he had started.

The first, against Crystal Palace last May, was a case of energy preservation three days prior to the Europa League final against Ajax. Pogba was spared the final 20 minutes of November's home win against Newcastle, having made his comeback in the game following a two-month injury lay-off, while he was sent off against Arsenal at the Emirates in December.

But there was no ulterior motive this time: Pogba's withdrawal against Spurs was purely down to his performance, about which Mourinho was right to be angered and alarmed. That said, United's manager is not blameless, either.
Had Mourinho selected Ander Herrera alongside Matic and used Pogba further forward, as against Everton last month when he produced a man-of-the-match performance in a 2-0 win at Goodison Park, the France international would have been in his best position, further forward and with less defensive responsibility.

But the signing of Alexis Sanchez, while making United a more formidable attacking force, has created a tactical dilemma and the attempt at solving it against Spurs failed miserably.

With Pogba playing deeper, Mourinho used Sanchez, Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard behind centre-forward Romelu Lukaku. Martial and Lingard's recent form justified their selection, while Sanchez was always going to start, but the three cannot all be accommodated in the same team behind a striker.

For one thing, it takes Pogba away from the position in which he is most dangerous to the opposition, but it also leads to Mourinho asking him to do a job is simply isn't equipped to carry out. Pogba cannot tackle, his heading is poor and he does not sniff danger like a more naturally-defensive player. He also lacks the discipline to sit deep.

If, or when, Mourinho recruits a central midfielder as a long-term replacement for Michael Carrick to play alongside Matic, Pogba will be free to play where operates best. He stretches games and provides a crucial link from back to front, covering the middle third of the pitch and creating chances for teammates.

But this game served another reminder that he simply isn't a defensive midfielder and Mourinho made a mistake by selecting him for that role against Spurs. However, if United's manager is to take anything from a miserable night, it might be a final realisation that he cannot use Pogba in that position again.

Giggsy11

Very poor performance, probably worst this season. First half was good though, made some good movements and created chances but they just gave up in the second half, it was like there were not even arsed to stage a come back.

Pogba was very poor, so was Matic. Jones was class whole season but atrocious against Spurs.

Not sure if we can pick any positives except it's obvious Shaw should play as LB against stronger teams.

jayo26

Nalz wrote: »

Michael brown and Julian Dicks

Denis wise absolutely hated him

bangkok

Would jose have played lampard as a holding midfielder in his prime?? No chance

Dont understand why he plays pogba there

StringerBell

Actual image of me watching that match last night

jayo26

Only thing we can take from it is the last time we had a really crappy game similar to that we went on a decent run which we really need to do.

I know I sound like another poster here now but I remember saying it when we were linked to Sanchez first that I wouldn't be getting overly excited by it because what we really need is a midfielder and our play wouldn't change until we got another midfielder but ohh no got excited.

Infairness to Sanchez he didn't give up last night he still pressed the best he could at 2 nil down and so did valencia but I can't think of one other player that had a similar attitude.

Lord TSC

jayo26 wrote: »

Infairness to Sanchez he didn't give up last night he still pressed the best he could at 2 nil down and so did valencia but I can't think of one other player that had a similar attitude.

Round the 90th minute or so, spurs were passing it among their defence and keeper. Sanchez was still running at them, and waving his arms to the other players to push up and put pressure on (which they weren't).

He didn't have a great game, but I thought he was at least showing something of a positive attitude near the end, demanding more from those around him even when the clock was nearly up. He gets a bit of a pass considering he's not at the team a week yet, and there was issues all over the pitch.

Trigger

bangkok wrote: »

Would jose have played lampard as a holding midfielder in his prime?? No chance

Dont understand why he plays pogba there

I think it’s mainly that he doesn’t have a proper third midfielder that he trusts, he might have thought Fellaini and Matic would provide a solid base but Fellaini has been injured. He probably didn’t expect Ander to be as bad as he has been and can be certain he didn’t see The heart issues with Carrick.. he has openly stated that Midfield is going to be where the signings will be made for in the summer..

Matic and Pogba seem to be the only CM’s he trusts in big games at the mo.. he trusts Fella too but his injury problems have prevented that. Matic holding on his own with Pogba pushing forward is grand against the teams where you have the majority of possession..

Just remember though, Pogba played as a box to box with Juve not as a 10.. he still had to track back and Juve defended as a unit in the same sense that United so..

Last night though, Pogba actually seemed like he didn’t care to track back.. he wanted the others to do the work for him.. i actually think it was more to do with him not being on his passing game and he was getting incredibly frustrated because what he was trying wasn’t coming off..

Pogba needs to learn when to play a couple of 10/15 yard passes and get some confidence back up, instead of trying to be a hero all the time.

Just my opinion anyways..

SlickRic

Pogba is your best player.

But in a 2-man midfield, against a team like Spurs, it's just death. That's asking him to do a job he's not equipped to do.

José was losing his shít at one stage as he kept vacating midfield. That is what Pogba does when he's at his best. He goes and influences where he sees fit. it's fine against dross, but not against an oiled machine.

José banked on Pogba doing something nobody was really convinced he could, because of one of, or a combination of all these things:

1. he wanted all of his attacking talent on
2. Fellaini wasn't fit
3. he didn't trust Herrera

it backfired.

Joseeds his midfield anchored, and Pogba couldn't do it. it's not because Pogba is shít it's just not what he's at all good at.

StringerBell

bangkok wrote: »

this is the united line up i wanted, time to stop worrying about the opposition and show them what we got.

spurs have plenty to be worried about our team.

Sanchez, Pogba, Martial, Lukaku, Lingard they have plenty to be worrying about

bangkok wrote: »

jose should have read that. Herrera would have more stable in a midfield 3.

our midfield so far has been poor

bangkok wrote: »

martial starting on the right was a crazy decision also. Luke shaw should have started as well

bangkok wrote: »

martial has been excellent playing from the left, should have left him there, sanchez through the middle

bangkok wrote: »

every man and his dog knows pogba in a 2 doesnt work. he was pushed further forward after the scholes criticism and was excellent, moving back to a midfield 2 again just doesnt make sense

So it was the team that you wanted, and also not the team that you wanted and every man and his dog knew it wouldn't work. Great

adox wrote: »

Really poor form Jose IF true.

I can understand his frustration but take off one of the players that has been brutal for 70 minutes not a fella that you put on 8 minutes ago.

Jose can be seen hugging Fellaini when he comes off and asking him whats happened,Fellaini who was clearly seen hobbled minutes before hand tells Mourinho and Jose gives him that look of recognition which would tie in with it being a recurring problem. Fellaini heads off for treatment and you would imagine ****ing disgusted with how it turned out.

pjohnson

bangkok wrote: »

Would jose have played lampard as a holding midfielder in his prime?? No chance

Dont understand why he plays pogba there

Well he doesn't. We only play with one DM and thats Matic. Pogba is supposed to go box to box covering ground and helping both offence and defence. Pogba only gives a fúck about the offence so Matic is alone left facing two opposition midfielders. Matic plays DM (a la Makelele) so Pogba is meant to be the Essien/Fabregas beside him

Giggsy11

SlickRic wrote: »

Pogba is your best player.

But in a 2-man midfield, against a team like Spurs, it's just death. That's asking him to do a job he's not equipped to do.

Josas losing his shít at one stage as he kept vacating midfield. That is what Pogba does when he's at his best. He goes and influences where he sees fit. it's fine against dross, but not against an oiled machine.

Josanked on Pogba doing something nobody was really convinced he could, because of one of, or a combination of all these things:

1. he wanted all of his attacking talent on
2. Fellaini wasn't fit
3. he didn't trust Herrera

it backfired.

Joseeds his midfield anchored, and Pogba couldn't do it. it's not because Pogba is shít it's just not what he's at all good at.

Agreed. Pogba in a 2 man midfield is fine against most teams but when you are playing Spurs away it's a suicide, they are one of the hardest working team and they just flooded the midfield with numbers and we had just Matic and Pogba vs 3-4 players.

It was a tactical mistake from Jose.

S.M.B.

I find it odd that Pogbas best game for United was away to Everton this year where he played in a 3 man midfield with Herrera and Matic and he completely dominated the game. He was outstanding that night and was delighted in a post match interview where he was saying that Jose gave him the freedom to go where ever he wanted.

We've haven't set up the same way since. No idea why.

I wonder how good a job Carrick would do beside Matic?

Mitch Connor

I've long been vocal on my belief that Pogba can play deeper, can play in a midfield two - has the tools and capability.

I was wrong. He has the tools, but not the capability.

If we want to play Sanchez, Lukaku and Pogba in the same team, then only one from Martial, Lingard and Mata can be picked too - we need to play Pogba in a freer role, in a midfield three (like we did vs Everton) and play Matic and either Fellaini or Herrera beside/behind him. Anything else at this point is just madness.

My personal choice would be a team of:

---

De Gea
Valencia

---

Bailly---Jones----Shaw

---

Herrera----Matic----Pogba
Sanchez

---

Lukaku

---

Martial.

Its harsh on Lingard as he has had such a good season, but that would be my go to. If we want to go a bit more defensive than that I would have Lingard in for Martial I suppose.

Robson99

Couple of mistakes were made by Mourhino last night

1. Young at left back was terrible position wise all night and is not a left full. Cannot understand how he did not select Shaw

2. Pogba just does not function as a deep lying middle of the park player. At Juve he was part of a 3 in the middle of the park but they also played a 352 which helped even more. Surely when all on here can see it he as manager should see that

3. There is no game plan in these big games or no method to our passing or attacking play. This he needs to sort out

4. Our pressing was terrible. Individuals pressing rather that all pressing. Needs to work as a unit

Thought Valencia and Sanchez tried hard all game but that was all that bust a gut. Lukaku barley had the Spurs centre halves breaking sweat. When you see what Kane done to our two you can see they are chalk and cheese in terms of all round ability and quality

Going forward we need to go 433 or 352 to get the best out of these players.
IMO that means getting Hererra back into the team with an atticking 3 of Rashford Martial and Sanchez or Martial and Sanchez in a two.

jayo26

SlickRic wrote: »

Pogba is your best player.

But in a 2-man midfield, against a team like Spurs, it's just death. That's asking him to do a job he's not equipped to do.

José was losing his shít at one stage as he kept vacating midfield. That is what Pogba does when he's at his best. He goes and influences where he sees fit. it's fine against dross, but not against an oiled machine.

José banked on Pogba doing something nobody was really convinced he could, because of one of, or a combination of all these things:

1. he wanted all of his attacking talent on
2. Fellaini wasn't fit
3. he didn't trust Herrera

it backfired.

Joseeds his midfield anchored, and Pogba couldn't do it. it's not because Pogba is shít it's just not what he's at all good at.

I think most people recognise that pogba is our best player and you are right he is been asked to do something he doesnt do that's nothing new to us.

For me anyway last night was pogba chance to shine with a player that is of the same stature as him someone that can drive him on and work with him but pogba walked around midfield and lost the ball and didn't try get it back.

As I said last night I love pogba I've always defended him but last night was unacceptable he is talked about sometimes as our future captain going by last night his attitude does not deserve to be anywhere near the armband.

Lord TSC

pjohnson wrote: »

Well he doesn't. We only play with one DM and thats Matic. Pogba is supposed to go box to box covering ground and helping both offence and defence. Pogba only gives a fúck about the offence so Matic is alone left facing two opposition midfielders. Matic plays DM (a la Makelele) so Pogba is meant to be the Essien/Fabregas beside him

Matic frustrated me a lot last night but as the game went on, I realised it wasn't massively his fault. Every time he got the ball, two or three Spurs guys were pressuring him, and he often got isolated, forcing him to try something risky, or hoof it. No one was showing for the ball, no one was offering him any help. He just kept getting swarmed.

Morning :mad:

Lord TSC

M!Ck^ wrote: »

Morning :mad:

Let's not start the morning angry, Mick. It's a new day, yes it is!

jayo26

M!Ck^ wrote: »

Morning :mad:

Ahhh cheer up mate it's Huddersfield up next and pool are going to draw with spurs happy days.





Ps. We probably get beaten.

Kerrydude1981

Last night was like the away game to Chelsea last year

Conceded an early goal as well

Highly depressing

Trigger

No time to be angry or upset, we need to move on and make a fûckin show of Huddersfield!

Liam O

In the last couple of weeks we've seen Liverpool beaten by Swansea and WBA, Arsenal beaten by Swansea, Chelsea losing comfortably to Bournemouth and Spurs have drawn with West Ham and Southampton in January.

A loss to Spurs away while trying a new combination of players isn't the end of the world, even with it being such a bad performance. All of the above have had their bogey games. It's worrying but it's something that can be addressed.

Though I did laugh at the neutrals criticising Jose for taking off Fellaini, hugging him, clearly looking to encourage him but they see it as a disgraceful show of ego when he was clearly injured. Couldn't write it.

Trigger

Kerrydude1981 wrote: »

Last night was like the away game to Chelsea last year

Conceded an early goal as well

Highly depressing

I thought we had got back into it and were playing decent stuff until they scored the second.. then the heads dropped and it was like they were resigned to defeat..

jayo26

jayo26 wrote: »

Ahhh cheer up mate it's Huddersfield up next and pool are going to draw with spurs happy days.





Ps. We probably get beaten.

That gif helped a bit

Honestly I'm not concerned about CL places and where we will finish. I'm confident will will still finish 2nd at at worst 3rd.

What pisses me off the most is I really wanted us to beat Spurs and we had the capability to do so.

The setup was all wrong in midfield and I'm blaming Jose for it more so than the players.
The issue was glaring after 20 minutes. How it wasn't addressed by a 3 man midfield at half time is beyond me.

Fellani getting injured was hugely unlucky and at that stage the shape was gone once he was forced to make another sub.

To note: I'm not absolving the players of anything either. Going out on a whimper like that was really gutting.

bangkok

StringerBell wrote: »

So it was the team that you wanted, and also not the team that you wanted and every man and his dog knew it wouldn't work. Great



Jose can be seen hugging Fellaini when he comes off and asking him whats happened,Fellaini who was clearly seen hobbled minutes before hand tells Mourinho and Jose gives him that look of recognition which would tie in with it being a recurring problem. Fellaini heads off for treatment and you would imagine ****ing disgusted with how it turned out.

Not really sure why you quoted me on all of the above. I said martial had been playing excellent from the left (in previous games) and then jose starts him on the right.

On the original line up it looked like pogba was playing in a midfield 3 with matic and lingard but as the game developed it was clear that was not the case.

Also lukaku is a big issue in our team. When he plays we seem to launch aimless balls towards him, thinks its time to play either martial or rashford up front for a few games

StringerBell

Pogba was terrible last night, kept leaving gaps in midfield basically doing what he always does in a 2 man midfield. How Matic doesn't tear the head off him at times for leaving him so isolated against the opposition midfield I have no idea.

However, this is not Pogba's game, watched it in the pub last night and every one of us at the table were in agreement the midfield was wrong and was probably going to **** us. I know its harsh but I'd have been dropping Lingard for the game and starting with the 3 man midfield, it allows Pogba the freedom he needs while ensuring the other team cannot simply walk through our midfield and put the back four under constant pressure.

If things aren't going well he is a great option to come off the bench when you need to go for it then in the second half. Away to a team like Spurs that was the wrong call imo but tbh I am finding it tough to nail Jose to the cross completely as I may have been wrong and if the team hadn't conceded the most ridiculous goal after 10 seconds it could have been a different game, I suspect not however but it does deserve consideration as it changed the entire game for both teams.

I am sure Lukaku will catch some flak tbh but other then a good response, which we did get after their first goal the attackers got absolutely nothing to work with because we couldn't get a foothold in midfield. Jose should have changed that also when it became clear it simply wasn't working, it was very obvious where the issue was.

Bringing Mata on has to be the most pointless sub of the lot for the record.

Drumpot

I really think people need to relax.

Jose is not an idiot and he knows what he’s doing. All managers sometimes get things wrong and sometimes they don’t have the players they want to have the success they target. I remember the season that city first won the league an important time in the season when united blew a 4-2 lead at home to Everton just before they played city away. Fergus panicked and played a ridiculously defensive team and united lost 1-0 but it could of been 5 had city taken their chances. My point is sh*t happens even to great managers and good squads.

As somebody said somewhere, city got to CL semi final and were there or thereabouts in the league when Pep joined. United were getting knocked out of the Europa and finishing outside the top 4. When champions league and league are your targets, that suggests that United had a much bigger gap to fill to catch-up with City and that Jose had a much bigger job on his hands.

Since then , for all the bollox written about United’s spending , city have well outspent us. They are the benchmark for spending , not spurs or arsenal or Liverpool. And United are not matching them so Jose is managing with less resources the Pep. I’m not moaning or whining, it’s just a fact.

Despite some poor performances , United do look fairly comfortable in top 4 and a decent shout for second. To be frank, 2nd to 4th doesn’t seem to be something top footballers care about once they are in champions league. For the last few years Just look at how the champions of England have struggled the next season to get motivated to win it again. Players seem to not care much if they aren’t going to win the league, once they get a top 4 spot.

With Jose, there is no better manager to take the club forward. Despite the money spent , I feel city’s spending has to be awknowledged when expecting certain results. The players signing under Jose look much better and more effective then a lot of the players being signed before he joined. Injuries have compounded a squad deficient in quality to keep up with City’s relentless spending spree.

I didn’t want Jose from the start because I would of liked the club to build old school way which is what they tried with LVG. But now that we have him I wang him to have the chance to do his thing. He’s already won things with a very poor squad (IMO) and while it’s frustrating to see the team take two steps forward and two steps back, I think the progression from 2 seasons ago is evident.

But for city’s record breaking form, we would still be in the hunt for the league. And we are in the champions league knockout with at least a quarter final spot as a realistic target. I wonder if results and performances in the league might be different if city weren’t so ruthless. It’s different when you are realistically chasing a team you can catch to just trying to keep things respectable. Huddersfield aside , United’s defeats have been against quality teams that would be part of the course most seasons.

Perhaps the Jose 2nd season thingy has many people over confident. I think the clubs clearly on an upward curve, Jose is doing a great job and that people need to realize that it takes time and money to rebuild glory days. Since united are not spending the most, we need to be more patient with the manager while he try’s to work his magic.

pjohnson

I know people are saying drop Lingard but I'd keep him in against Huddersfield. Drop Pogba (for Herrera), Young (for Shaw) and Jones (for Rojo). The three of them were shocking last night. You can't put in those levels of performance and expect to stay in the team. Might get them to buck up.