Manchester United Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread 2018/2019 [Mod note 31-Aug-18]

TheDoc

TheDoc wrote: »

Fred seems to be getting a lot of what I consider undeserved critique from outside of the club

Being labelled a dud or not good enough six games in? HAve to say hard for anyone to come into a dysfunctioning team, but I've liked what I've seen from him, the little we have.

Don't know if that is an edge opinion, but definitely want him in our midfield ahead of Fellaini

I'm the same he has played well imo since he came back into the team al be it only 2 or so games and himself and Pogba have shown some glimpses of getting potentially a good partnership going. I think he can take pressure off Pogba to get the ball moving up the pitch.

I'm not sure why he came off aginast wolves but presumed it was a fitness issue as I thought he played well.

I hopefull anyways sure what else can be at this stage its either blind hope or despair

Adamocovic

patsat wrote: »

Reading all this stuff about Paul Pogba over the last few weeks/months, I can't help but compare him to Mario Balotelli.

A decent list of accomplishments to their names, flashes of brilliance that make the whole footballing world turn their heads, but very inconsistent and largely a poor professional attitude.

Jose is quoted saying Mario Balotelli is "unmanageable"....I have a feeling when all is said and done, another one can be added to that list!

I'm sick of this comparison. It's ridiculous in my eyes. I don't see any real true comparison between the two both on and off the pitch. Pogba has won significantly more individual awards and consistently playing for top teams in the world. Balotelli flashed brilliance, fell to the side with a truckload of issues off the field and is now trying to rebuild his career in France.

Whether people are disappointed with Pogba's performances his record shows he is more professional than Balotelli was. The controversy for Pogba has been what he says in the press and social media. How is that comparable to Ballotelli throwing darts out windows nearly hitting youth players as he was bored, crashing his car with thousands in the boot, physically grappling with Mancini on the training ground, stamping on players during games, crashing announcment press conferances, setting off fireworks in his house again becaus he was bored, pictures with guns on instagram and so on.

People can criticise and complain about Pogba all they want but like I said the comparisons with Balotelli I find lazy. Pogba this summer was a key member of a WC winning squad, Balotelli at the same age out of the international squad, out of contention at Pool and getting shipped out on loan.

Feel free to disagree with me but I find it an extremely lazy comparison and completely over the top, I have been critical of Pogba both on and off the pitch but he is nowhere near what Balotelli was.

bangkok

Adamocovic wrote: »

I'm sick of this comparison. It's ridiculous in my eyes. I don't see any real true comparison between the two both on and off the pitch. Pogba has won significantly more individual awards and consistently playing for top teams in the world. Balotelli flashed brilliance, fell to the side with a truckload of issues off the field and is now trying to rebuild his career in France.

Whether people are disappointed with Pogba's performances he is record shows he is more professional than Balotelli was. The controversy for Pogba has been what he says in the press and social media. How is that comparable to Ballotelli throwing darts out windows nearly hitting youth players as he was bored, crashing his car with thousands in the boot, physically grappling with Mancini on the training ground, stamping on players during games, crashing announcment press conferances, setting off fireworks in his house again becaus he was bored, pictures with guns on instagram and so on.

People can criticise and complain about Pogba all they want but like I said the comparisons with Balotelli I find lazy. Pogba this summer was a key member of a WC winning squad, Balotelli at the same age out of the international squad, out of contention at Pool and getting shipped out on loan.

Feel free to disagree with me but I find it an extremely lazy comparison and completely over the top, I have been critical of Pogba both on and off the pitch but he is nowhere near what Balotelli was.

No disagreement there at all. 100% spot on. Couldnt be relied upon either on the field, sent off loads of times for silly things

Plus bsllotelli and jose seemed to get on with each other :P

Drumpot

Adamocovic wrote: »

I'm sick of this comparison. It's ridiculous in my eyes. I don't see any real true comparison between the two both on and off the pitch. Pogba has won significantly more individual awards and consistently playing for top teams in the world. Balotelli flashed brilliance, fell to the side with a truckload of issues off the field and is now trying to rebuild his career in France.

Whether people are disappointed with Pogba's performances his record shows he is more professional than Balotelli was. The controversy for Pogba has been what he says in the press and social media. How is that comparable to Ballotelli throwing darts out windows nearly hitting youth players as he was bored, crashing his car with thousands in the boot, physically grappling with Mancini on the training ground, stamping on players during games, crashing announcment press conferances, setting off fireworks in his house again becaus he was bored, pictures with guns on instagram and so on.

People can criticise and complain about Pogba all they want but like I said the comparisons with Balotelli I find lazy. Pogba this summer was a key member of a WC winning squad, Balotelli at the same age out of the international squad, out of contention at Pool and getting shipped out on loan.

Feel free to disagree with me but I find it an extremely lazy comparison and completely over the top, I have been critical of Pogba both on and off the pitch but he is nowhere near what Balotelli was.

The comparison is applicable depending on what you think is the issue with Pogba. Bolatelli brought a lot of the negative attention on himself and he was ridiculously talented but under achieved. . His "why always me" t-shirt was ridiculous because it was obviously his behaviour that led to his issues. .

I suppose some of us see Pogba intentionally courting Publicity for numerous reasons for himself. He wants attention and looks for it. This season he has been actively engaging in a war of words with the club and/or manager. He is bringing this attention on himself. Might not be throwing darts and lighting fires, but its negative attention that's not helping the team and doesn't appear to be helping him either.

And we know he is talented. His performances for France are a constant reminder to United fans as to what we are not getting. And yet, no matter what the manager does with tactics, with public addressing/defending the player positive/negative, Pogba is not responding on the field consistently.

Nothing seems to work with Pogba as nothing worked with Bolatelli . .

The specifics of each others lifestyles and their destructive behaviour may be different but the outcome is the same. Two talented footballers blaming anything but themselves and taking no personal responsibility for their on field issues. People who support Pogba are happy to let it all rest on Jose's doorstep, so its not surprising some people will reject this . We are all only interpreting what we think is happening . .

Adamocovic

Drumpot wrote: »

The comparison is applicable depending on what you think is the issue with Pogba. Bolatelli brought a lot of the negative attention on himself and he was ridiculously talented but under achieved. . His "why always me" t-shirt was ridiculous because it was obviously his behaviour that led to his issues. .

I suppose some of us see Pogba intentionally courting Publicity for numerous reasons for himself. He wants attention and looks for it. This season he has been actively engaging in a war of words with the club and/or manager. He is bringing this attention on himself. Might not be throwing darts and lighting fires, but its negative attention that's not helping the team and doesn't appear to be helping him either.

And we know he is talented. His performances for France are a constant reminder to United fans as to what we are not getting. And yet, no matter what the manager does with tactics, with public addressing/defending the player positive/negative, Pogba is not responding on the field consistently.

Nothing seems to work with Pogba as nothing worked with Bolatelli . .

The specifics of each others lifestyles and their destructive behaviour may be different but the outcome is the same. Two talented footballers blaming anything but themselves and taking no personal responsibility for their on field issues. People who support Pogba are happy to let it all rest on Jose's doorstep, so its not surprising some people will reject this . We are all only interpreting what we think is happening . .

I find it extreme to liken Pogba to Balotelli based off a small similarity in them both liking publicity, and having a circus around them. Like I outlined above, completely different ends of the spectrums both on and off the field.

May aswell liken Zlatan to Petit as they both speak french and had lovely ponytails.

I like to imagine I'm quite open to opinions (don't we all!) but this is one I can't get behind as it feels like an unneccessary and over the top comparison made for the sole purpose of having a dig at Pogba by people who have already mind their minds up regarding his future at the club.

I'm all for highlighting his issues and criticisms but think likening him to Balotelli is just exaggeration.

Drumpot

Adamocovic wrote: »

I find it extreme to liken Pogba to Balotelli based off a small similarity in them both liking publicity, and having a circus around them. Like I outlined above, completely different ends of the spectrums both on and off the field.

May aswell liken Zlatan to Petit as they both speak french and had lovely ponytails.

I like to imagine I'm quite open to opinions (don't we all!) but this is one I can't get behind as it feels like an unneccessary and over the top comparison made for the sole purpose of having a dig at Pogba by people who have already mind their minds up regarding his future at the club.

I'm all for highlighting his issues and criticisms but think likening him to Balotelli is just exaggeration.

There are plenty of top players and people who speak or spoke French and have/had ponytails. This is not unique or uncommon.

What is unique/uncommon is players who act similarly to Pogba and Bolatelli and court the same sort of attention/publicity intentionally or not . Both of these players predominantly stick out because of their talents, their perceived underachievement (Pogba for United) and the media attention they have gotten for different reasons. Its these very traits that separates them from most footballers, that's why its a fair comparison.

I don't think Pogba is a headcase, but I do think he is a difficult player to manage.

uncleoswald

Drumpot wrote: »

And for all the talk of "Jose is losing it", but his issue is one player.

It really isn't, it's just the most prominent issue right now. It sounds like this Pogba situation is been built up into a scapegoat scenario to say the only reason Jose failed at United was because of Pogba.

Drumpot wrote: »

Look at Jose having a go at Shaw and what has resulted. It worked.

That's a very generous reading of events. While Mourinho was eviscerating Shaw in public most people were saying that he needed to change his tact, that Shaw was coming back from a horrific injury that some players never come back from and needed encouragement and an arm around the shoulder and a proper run in the team, and this summer Jose started to do that consistently. And guess what? Shaw has somewhat found his old form. Hardly a shinning example Jose's winning man management to finally do the thing most right minded people had been telling him to do all along.

Re. Pogba While I do generally agree that the club should be backing the manager over player in such a scenario (and the idea that Pogba's social media presence would be a consideration for the club is depressing as hell) it is entirely possible that Pogba is viewed as a leader within the dressing room and it is a lot more than Manager vs. One Player in which case there is only ever going to be one winner.

Pogba's record of silverwear is very impressive but I have doubts that his temperament and ego do an increasing disservice to his talent and will hurt the club in the long run. Also many informed people say those past successes had as much to do with who worked along side him as it did to his own talents.

"Pogba" and "Jose" are interchangeable in the above paragraph.

bucketybuck

uncleoswald wrote: »

That's a very generous reading of events. While Mourinho was eviscerating Shaw in public most people were saying that he needed to change his tact, that Shaw was coming back from a horrific injury that some players never come back from and needed encouragement and an arm around the shoulder and a proper run in the team, and this summer Jose started to do that consistently. And guess what? Shaw has somewhat found his old form. Hardly a shinning example Jose's winning man management to finally do the thing most right minded people had been telling him to do all along..

Their interpretation might not be correct, but neither is yours.

I don't believe Mourinho did a single thing different regarding Shaw in the summer, where is this arm around the shoulder stuff coming from?

The only reason anything changed regarding Shaw is clearly because Shaw himself changed, because Shaw himself knuckled down and obviously started giving the manager what he wanted. Mourinho has shown many times that the door is never closed on anybody, and Shaw could have had a run in the team any time he wanted over the past 3 years, all he had to do is put the work in.

The problem with your post is that it implies that all Mourinho did for 2 years was slate Shaw in public and thats just not true.

Drumpot

uncleoswald wrote: »

It really isn't, it's just the most prominent issue right now. It sounds like this Pogba situation is been built up into a scapegoat scenario to say the only reason Jose failed at United was because of Pogba.

That's a very generous reading of events. While Mourinho was eviscerating Shaw in public most people were saying that he needed to change his tact, that Shaw was coming back from a horrific injury that some players never come back from and needed encouragement and an arm around the shoulder and a proper run in the team, and this summer Jose started to do that consistently. And guess what? Shaw has somewhat found his old form. Hardly a shinning example Jose's winning man management to finally do the thing most right minded people had been telling him to do all along.

Re. Pogba While I do generally agree that the club should be backing the manager over player in such a scenario (and the idea that Pogba's social media presence would be a consideration for the club is depressing as hell) it is entirely possible that Pogba is viewed as a leader within the dressing room and it is a lot more than Manager vs. One Player in which case there is only ever going to be one winner.

Pogba's record of silverwear is very impressive but I have doubts that his temperament and ego do an increasing disservice to his talent and will hurt the club in the long run. Also many informed people say those past successes had as much to do with who worked along side him as it did to his own talents.

"Pogba" and "Jose" are interchangeable in the above paragraph.

Jose has been at the club 26 months, what players have caused anywhere near the same kind of issues that Pogba has? What player aired their issues in public, constantly making it an issue? What did Pogba say after game 1 this season? He’s been goading Jose publicly since he came back from the WC .

Pogba has been a problem on/off for a long long time not just right now. He’s been the consistent thorn in the side of Jose and been very much inconsistent for a year at this stage. You can say that Jose didn’t manage him right but Pogba is the biggest problem for numerous reasons , not least the fact that the club values his off field presence as much as fans would like to see it matched on the field.

It’s inteesting that now that Shaw has worked out the narrative is that its little or nothing to do with Jose, especially when the player themselves are quite glowing in their praise to him. Shaw’s previous coaches at Southampton aluded to the fact that Shaw has the exact issues that Mourinho was trying to address. Ultimately a player has to decide to learn or not, Shaw showed the kind of humility and hard work to learn that Pogba lacks... Maybe Pogba needs a different kind of coach , that’s the way it is sometimes and doesn’t make Jose a bad manager.

Jose might be very capable of causing rifts, mismanaging players and bringing publicity we don’t want but Pogbas been taking the piss since his interview after the first game and I don’t blame Mourinho for finally shooting an arrow across his bow.....

Loafing Oaf

uncleoswald wrote: »

Pogba's record of silverwear is very impressive

Yeah I like this jacket too:


:P

uncleoswald

bucketybuck wrote: »

Their interpretation might not be correct, but neither is yours.

Yes I should have said that wasn't 100% my interpretation of events, just that it was a very valid one, at least, and I'd argue more so than the one that Jose's has man-managed Shaw wonderfully.

bucketybuck wrote: »

I don't believe Mourinho did a single thing different regarding Shaw in the summer, where is this arm around the shoulder stuff coming from?

https://metro.co.uk/2018/07/26/luke-shaw-reveals-surprise-text-jose-mourinho-unflattering-holiday-photos-7765735/

"I spoke with the manager about a week after the holidays," Shaw explains. "I was in Dubai and he texted me and we had a really good chat. It made me feel really confident about the upcoming season and that's why I worked really hard.

Shaw told the Daily Mail of Mourinho’s out-of-the-blue text. ‘It was a breath of fresh air when he texted me. I wasn’t expecting it.

Sure he goes onto say that Jose is positive on the training ground but then why was the text such "a breath of fresh air"? Maybe I'm reading too much into it and I'm sure that is what I'll be accused of but that sounds like a player who just wants to stay in his mangers good books so is willing to say nice things about him in public.

bucketybuck

uncleoswald wrote: »

Sure he goes onto say that Jose is positive on the training ground but then why was the text such "a breath of fresh air"? Maybe I'm reading too much into it and I'm sure that is what I'll be accused of but that sounds like a player who just wants to stay in his mangers good books so is willing to say nice things about him in public.

Thats what I say though, the difference here isn't with Mourinho, who has publically praised Shaw many times in the past, the difference is with Shaw who wants to stay in the good books and is finally prepared to say or do what it takes. The change came from Shaw, which speaks well of him even if he still has a lot to prove.

Why was the text a breath of fresh air? I don't know, because:

https://www.irishmirror.ie/sport/soccer/soccer-news/jose-mourinho-hails-luke-shaw-11878822 - Jan 18 - Jose Mourinho hails Luke Shaw one of the world's best left-backs

https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/manchester-united-transfer-news-luke-shaw-next-club-vs-bournemouth-highlights-a8110241.html Dec 17 - Jose Mourinho heaps praise on Luke Shaw

https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/10844547/jose-mourinho-praises-luke-shaws-attitude-and-marcus-rashford-after-man-utd-win Apr 17 - Jose Mourinho praises Luke Shaw's attitude

https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11667/11100533/man-uniteds-jose-mourinho-full-of-praise-for-luke-shaws-comments-on-mauricio-pochettino Oct 17 - Man United's Jose Mourinho full of praise for Luke Shaw's comments on Mauricio Pochettino

Drumpot

uncleoswald wrote: »

Sure he goes onto say that Jose is positive on the training ground but then why was the text such "a breath of fresh air"? Maybe I'm reading too much into it and I'm sure that is what I'll be accused of but that sounds like a player who just wants to stay in his mangers good books so is willing to say nice things about him in public.

We are all reading and interpreting what is going on without all the facts. We all have our preferences and default standings when it comes to players and managers. . Its easy to see why some people presume Jose is the problem and/or why some people would see Pogba as the problem.

Ultimatley its clear that Jose and Pogba dont get on but that does not expressively imply that Jose is at fault. Players and managers sometimes dont work out for numerous reasons. People dont call Pep a bad manager because he couldnt find a place for Zlatan in his team. It just happens for numerous reasons that maybe they just arent compatable.

So then the question to ask is what to do. Do you sack the manager ? Do you sell the player ? Can the manager and player figure out a way to make it work ?

uncleoswald

bucketybuck wrote: »

Thats what I say though, the difference here isn't with Mourinho, who has publically praised Shaw many times in the past, the difference is with Shaw who wants to stay in the good books and is finally prepared to say or do what it takes. The change came from Shaw, which speaks well of him even if he still has a lot to prove.

Why was the text a breath of fresh air? I don't know, because:

Clearly Shaw felt a difference in attitude and felt supported in a way he hadn't before. A lot of Jose's past praise of Shaw has been backhanded or condescending with another public dressing down not far off. And only one or two of the ones you quoted were even really that effusive.

Drumpot wrote: »

Ultimatley its clear that Jose and Pogba dont get on but that does not expressively imply that Jose is a bad manager. Players and managers sometimes dont work out for numerous reasons. People dont call Pep a bad manager because he couldnt find a place for Zlatan in his team. It just happens for numerous reasons that maybe they just arent compatable.

So then the question to ask is what to do. Do you sack the manager ? Do you sell the player ? Can the manager and player figure out a way to make it work ?

I agree, they don't seem compatible. It never seemed like a good fit tactically even before considering attitude and personality clashes.

I'd like to see the midfield trio of Fred-Matic-Pogba be given a proper run in the team to see if it can work. Not dropping one of them after one game and giving them a public dressing drown. This seems to be the midfield that Jose has been designing from the beginning, all three his players so no excuses in terms of style of play. Give them a chance till Christmas to see if the team shows signs of life. If Jose is still not happy by then then back him or sack him.

Drumpot

uncleoswald wrote: »

I'd like to see the midfield trio of Fred-Matic-Pogba be given a proper run in the team to see if it can work. Not dropping one of them after one game and giving them a public dressing drown. This seems to be the midfield that Jose has been designing from the beginning, all three his players so no excuses in terms of style of play. Give them a chance till Christmas to see if the team shows signs of life. If Jose is still not happy by then then back him or sack him.

I’d agree with that but would add I would like Pogba to STFU about anything that can be turned into a drama.

bucketybuck

uncleoswald wrote: »

Clearly Shaw felt a difference in attitude and felt supported in a way he hadn't before. A lot of Jose's past praise of Shaw has been backhanded or condescending with another public dressing down not far off. And only one or two of the ones you quoted were even really that effusive.

We'll have to disagree then. Obviously I can only quote public statements here, but behind the scenes I simply wouldn't accept that a text in the summer was the first time in two years that Mourinho had texted Shaw, spoken to Shaw privately, praised Shaw or otherwise encouraged Shaw in any way.

deaddonkey15

Drumpot wrote: »

I’d agree with that but would add I would like Pogba to STFU about anything that can be turned into a drama.

And Mourinho likewise.

Sand

deaddonkey15 wrote: »

And Mourinho likewise.

98% of the drama around United during and since the summer has been generated by Mourinho. I would love for him to just do his job quietly and STFU.

How Soon Is Now

Has anyone else seen or heard anything about this!?


http://www.spiegel.de/international/cristiano-ronaldo-american-woman-accuses-ronaldo-of-rape-a-1230627.html

tayto lover

God be with the days when managers managed and players played and the media hadn't a clue what was going on because everyone got on with their jobs and kept their mouths shut.

J. Marston

Would really like to see Lukaku dropped tomorrow. His misses are killing us this season. Needs a serious kick up the hole.

Sanchez up top might be worth a try. Let him worry less about creating and focus on running in behind. He'll have more movement than Lukaku at least, whose go-to move is to amble out to the right wing.

bucketybuck

Lukaku was excellent last season, and has 4 goals in 6 PL games so far this season.

Maybe he has been poor for the last 2 games but goddamn people have short memories around here. Lukaku does not need dropping, unlike a lot of players he has earned a bit of faith for his 2nd season.

deaddonkey15

bucketybuck wrote: »

Lukaku was excellent last season, and has 4 goals in 6 PL games so far this season.

A generous way of saying 4 goals in 8 games.

Liam O

bucketybuck wrote: »

Lukaku was excellent last season, and has 4 goals in 6 PL games so far this season.

Maybe he has been poor for the last 2 games but goddamn people have short memories around here. Lukaku does not need dropping, unlike a lot of players he has earned a bit of faith for his 2nd season.

He got 17 league goals. He was not good enough for large parts of the season. These misses aren't a new occurance, they were commonplace last season and cost a lot of points. He's gone backwards since leaving Everton and hasn't stepped up for United. His attitude is great but attitude only gets you so far when you're not producing.

Quandary

When lukaku is having an off game or a poor run of form he still works his ass off for the team.

This alone should be reason to let him try to play himself back into form. Sub him off after 60 mins if he's way off the pace but I would definitely be starting him.

Mitch Connor

Liam O wrote: »

He got 17 league goals. He was not good enough for large parts of the season. These misses aren't a new occurance, they were commonplace last season and cost a lot of points. He's gone backwards since leaving Everton and hasn't stepped up for United. His attitude is great but attitude only gets you so far when you're not producing.

So who do we drop him for? Rash? Sanchez? Martial? Performing even less then him.

Adamcp898

bucketybuck wrote: »

Lukaku was excellent last season, and has 4 goals in 6 PL games so far this season.

Maybe he has been poor for the last 2 games but goddamn people have short memories around here. Lukaku does not need dropping, unlike a lot of players he has earned a bit of faith for his 2nd season.

You have clearly forgotten a huge swathe of last season.

Adamcp898

Adamcp898 wrote: »

Play some Snow Patrol.

Were you there?! :pac:

J. Marston

Adamcp898 wrote: »

You have clearly forgotten a huge swathe of last season.

I remember him going 2 and a 1/2 months without a league goal.

Already this season he has cost us massively. Brighton and Spurs back to back horrible, game-changing misses at 0-0. Another chance to kill the game against Derby and he couldn't even hit the bloody target in a one-on-one. Wolves, one of the most anonymous striker performances you'll see.

Nobody can tell me when he is through on goal that you're confident of him scoring. He is not reliable, at all.

Backstreet Moyes

Aguero gets 6 or 7 chances a game and misses a few easy chances

Lukaku is lucky to get 2 chances a game.

He has had a sluggish start to the season but we won't find much better that is a realistic signing

bucketybuck

Adamcp898 wrote: »

You have clearly forgotten a huge swathe of last season.

Yes, I'm sure that's it. I may have a lot of posts giving Lukaku credit for being one of our few players to do well last season, but clearly I have just forgotten most of it. A ****ing case study in amnesia, thats me.

This thread is bizarre sometimes. The same guy who wet himself every time Rooney was criticised and who won't hear a bad word about Martial, he doesn't think Lukaku is doing enough. There is a laundry list of underperforming weenies at the club but the one that needs dropping is the guy who was one of the few to show a bit of fight last season.

You know what, same as with the manager situation, I hope these people get what they want. I hope Lukaku is dropped and lets see Martial up front for the rest of the season. Lets see Rashford start every game up there. It would end up with a title win, no problem at all.

noodler

deaddonkey15 wrote: »

A generous way of saying 4 goals in 8 games.

Gone be the days when 1 in 2 was considered v. Good!

Mitch Connor

With Lukaku the issue is the chances he has missed.

I 100% agree with the opinion we create little in terms of numbers but in most games Rom has got a chance that he should be taking easily.

So it's not so much about pure stats, it's about what we've seen happen. 1 in 2 over a season isn't terrible, but he should be on 6 or 7 easily.

Mitch Connor

https://twitter.com/ManUtdUSA/status/1045984292713766918?s=19

Looks a super defensive side.

3 defensive midfielders. Jose is an absolute coward.

Yawn.

See you next game.

bangkok

https://mobile.twitter.com/ManUtd/status/1045984124371177473?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet

Looks like a diamond formation

bangkok

Mctominay in for fred is a surprise although i do like him as a player and what he gives to the team

xtal191

Ugh even the bench isn't great. Has Fred started any of our away games in the league? I really hope Martial can continue his good form from the last match.

Lord TSC

Midfield diamond?

Lukaku - Martial
Pogba
Fellaini - McT
Matic
Shaw - Lindelof - Smaling - Young?

If Pogba wants to "attack, attack, attack", that line up looks like one designed to absolve him of all defensive responsibilities.

Drumpot

Everything working out nicely.

Ryder cup break and united game in between....

pjohnson

Drumpot wrote: »

Everything working out nicely.

Ryder cup break and united game in between....

Russian F1 Qualifying clashing with this. Can catch F1 again later tho!

bangkok

Ive only just realised sanchez isnt even in the squad!!

Mitch Connor

Lord TSC wrote: »

Midfield diamond?

Lukaku - Martial
Pogba
Fellaini - McT
Matic
Shaw - Lindelof - Smaling - Young?

If Pogba wants to "attack, attack, attack", that line up looks like one designed to absolve him of all defensive responsibilities.

But there are only 3 attackers. Including him. That is the problem. He was not talking about just wanting to attack himself, he was criticising the setup and attitude of the side in general. That as a side we don't press enough, don't attack quick enough, don't move enough.
Adding another defensive player just increases that problem.

bangkok

Lord TSC wrote: »

Midfield diamond?

Lukaku - Martial
Pogba
Fellaini - McT
Matic
Shaw - Lindelof - Smaling - Young?

If Pogba wants to "attack, attack, attack", that line up looks like one designed to absolve him of all defensive responsibilities.

Pogba wants the team to attack. Its a surprising line up to say the least. We have never gone 2 up top so interested to see what way we line up

Mars Bar

Carlos Quieroz, now Iran coach, was at my work place today looking at the facilities ahead of the Asia Cup. Didn't get a chance to take a picture with him but it looks like we'll be able to see some sessions when they train here. A great throwback to the glory days at United.

Rossi IRL

Strange enough line up

Rossi IRL

pjohnson wrote: »

Russian F1 Qualifying clashing with this. Can catch F1 again later tho!

Match on TV
F1 on Tablet
Ryder Cup on Phone

Gotta love technology

JaMarcus

Absolutely delighted that Sanchez and Valencia appear to be dropped. Hopefully that's the case and they're not injured.

pjohnson

Rossi IRL wrote: »

Match on TV
F1 on Tablet
Ryder Cup on Phone

Gotta love technology

Oooh la dee da with your fancy tablet :pac:

Loafing Oaf

Rossi IRL wrote: »

Strange enough line up

McTominay, Matic, Fellaini all playing. Why not chuck in Herrera and make it a full house of DMs?