18 Oct 2016 19:12:22
These games are never as good as they are built up to be.
I see a lot of opinions from both sides on last nights game so let me add a few of mine.
I was happy, why? Because for the first time in 4 years we actually looked like a bloody team. We had a plan and each and every one of them players executed it, they worked for each other and trusted each other to do their own jobs.
This performance could prove to be worth more than points over the season.
Mou thrives on creating a 'us against the world' attitude and all the negative vibes and snides will feed into that.
Only one team will go in to training this morning knowing they done there job, the other will feel deflated and now not be looking forward to the West Brom game.
Which brings me on to the performance. While I understand its not the 'united way' to play a defensive game like that, let me add its also not 'the united way' to not be challenging for cups.
There has been a lot of snide remarks from Liverpool fans about anti football and a like. Well boo bloody hoo, that's just whinging and moaning. Its a typical reaction to the realization that they're team is not there yet and will need more than running around fast to win a title.
The league is over 38 games and I would rather trust a manager that can be emotionless about a game and set the team up to get a result than a manager that for the third time already this season feels he needs to ask the fans to make it the ''noisiest night at Anfield ever'' to get a result.
Like Mou or not, he wins titles. He knows how to manage a 38 game season.
This may be a great point yet, that will be proven in May.
Sure let the remarks come, take them on the chin and laugh. After all we set out to not concede and it never felt in doubt. We had arguably the best chance of the game and we should of scored it. Its hardly like De Gea had much more to do in the game. A Coutinho hit and hope and a Can ricochet.
Our attacking side was off and the slow transition didn't help it but our defensive and mental side of the the game, in arguably the biggest PL game this season was in top notch form.
Its one game in a long season.
18 Oct 2016 19:28:07
Great post chris. I agree.
18 Oct 2016 20:24:46
Agree fully, couldn't have put it better myself, I think your line about not challenging for trophies not being the United way is the thing that resonates most for me, this was a good point that kept is in touching difference whilst not losing any confidence in the first of 4 tough games in 10 days. We will know more about this team after Sunday as well, I doubt mourinho will want a point there against the players that lost him his job.
18 Oct 2016 20:44:14
Spot on Chris, good to see you back. X.
18 Oct 2016 21:19:32
Agree. 1 of our toughest away games and deservedly come away with a point. The first 20/ 30mins was probably the best we've played as a team for a while that I've seen. Always looked in control and powerful going forward in that period. Liverpool created 1 half chance from Can. The other was just a speculative effort from coutinho which was met by a great save. Mourinho was even going to push Rushford in behind zlatan which was the correct move until Rushford got cramp.
18 Oct 2016 21:38:29
CTR I disagree. Like a few others have said if LVG or Moyes played this way they would have been mauled on here. Tactics are tactic but my problem was that Mourinho had no intention of trying to win this game and that is not good enough.
Folk say that this was a 'mou masterclass' no it wasn't it was a 'mou bottling it'. As an A-grade coach you would expect as the game goes on Jose would see that Matip was constantly letting space in behind or that Clyne and Milner especially kept finding themselves out of postion and exploit this by trying to pick them off.
I don't buy into this ideology of the game. Will Pep do this against Liverpool? Did Poch or even Wenger (granted they lost to a last minute goal)? The fact is no other team would do this, in all actuality is there even another club in Europe with a similar reputation and resources that United have got that would play the game this way? I can't think of any.
No one is claiming we should have smashed them but we should have tried to win the match on occasion. Sorry but for me it wasn't good enough.
18 Oct 2016 22:09:21
Maze,
I didn't expect you to agree on one of my posts mate lol.
To answer your questions, off the to of my head yes. A Madrid employ them a lot more than us and have reached two cl finals and won a title to boot.
Pep went to Barcelona and played man for man and got beat, he also went to spurs who were in top form and lost that to.
Klopp got found out to a large extent in Germany.
Yes LVG and Moyes would of got slated but we couldn't of done the task under those guys, it was clear the team was divided. Last night seeing us play as a team was very satisfying.
We controlled the game, it was played to our song sheet and we were a header away from doing it to perfection.
Excuse me if I'm not going for the rope just yet lol.
:)
18 Oct 2016 23:14:17
Ctr we didn't control the game, in the second half we sat back and defended and only for our keeper we would have lost.
They were there for the taking, they have a dodgy back 4 and keeper.
After we got the better of them in the first half we should have went at them second half.
What did we buy pogba for, surely for controlling games like that and attacking them.
I know its only one game but its one we could have won.
19 Oct 2016 00:44:30
CTR It doesn’t make a difference to me who posts what. I read the post not the persons name who writes it. First off A Madrid do not employ the tactics we seen Jose play over the weekend. Yes they have a robust style but are unbelievable to watch on the break. They have a great attacking dynamic to go with their hustle and bustle approach but Jose’s game plan offered no attacking substance and that was my problem with the performance.
Again CTR this was not about ‘getting found out’. I am more than happy to accept that away from home in a tight affair a team employ certain tactics to nullify the opponents but you must still for at least a small portion of the game stay true to your principles of being a team that wants to win. Jose should have been analysing that game as it played out and changed our structure to exploit the glaring weaknesses Liverpool showed.
I don’t know if the team under LVG and Moyes was divided. Countless times I seen posters on here saying LVG had brought a ‘togetherness to the squad’. For me the team still looked disjointed. Zlatan seems to be struggling and Pogba was non-existent playing as a 10. Only the usual suspects of Young, Felliani and De Gea etc looked like they knew exactly what was asked of them.
As for controlling the game we must have watched different matches. I watched 10 bodies camped in their own half scampering like dogs across the field constantly chasing the ball. If that is controlling the game then my word I hope we do not control a game ever again. As for the ‘rope’ I don’t think anyone is suggesting that, I just feel we deserve more form one of the most reputable football clubs, one of the highest regarded managers and some of the most top grossing players.
19 Oct 2016 06:49:11
Athleti have deployed those tactics often maze. Yes they counter very well but yet still give up possession.
I was joking mate, I know u are giving your opinion nothing to do with names lol.
Leahy we must of watched different games mate.
19 Oct 2016 08:29:48
I thought Jose'got his game plan spot on: deny Liverpool their pressing games (Herrera was superb) then catch them on the break. Yes Liverpool had more success in the second half but by the end of the match were just packing defence to protect the draw. It was a mature, tactical performance from United in possibly their toughest away fixture of the season. Sure it was boring and Pogba and Ibra were disappointing but, as a means to an end, it worked well.
Of course we'd all like more attacking football - and if his tactics continue like this then there will be concerns - but as a marker of a team finally casting off Van Gaal's ideas and embracing Jose's, it could be the springboard for something better.
19 Oct 2016 08:52:45
I see a United team more together for the first time since Fergie, it wasn't a bottle job he want to Liverpool to do a job and done it spot on, just cz we didn't have the ball doesn't mean we didn't control the game, the game was played out exactly as Jose wanted it too, therefore a tactical masterclass. I think people are expecting champagne football and titles already, Jose is only just building his team, top 3/ 4 is the aim and a point at a rampant Liverpool is a tremendous result for a team yet again in transistion.
19 Oct 2016 12:18:11
This is a manager with 8 league titles in 3 different countries and 2 champions leagues, yet i find more and more posters on here really question his tactics.
Man utd want to win, jose mourinho knows how to get the job done, it will take time but his record speaks for itself. I just can't believe people questioning his tactical ability. On Monday, a job was done that needed to be done, wasn't the best but it was what was needed.
19 Oct 2016 13:04:07
Ctr we had 35% possession.
Was letting them have the ball controlling the game.
Herrera done his job very well so did ddg . valencia made a top notch tackle. so if you look at them 3 things we were defending the game hoping for a draw, not controlling the game.
19 Oct 2016 13:29:25
Leahy, yes it was. Possession isn't the most important thing on a football pitch, space is. Look at how little Liverpool had the ball in our defensive third, they had the ball in their defensive third and the middle third of the pitch.
Remember we had loads of possession last season, but never in the final third. Which made us boring to watch. The difference between us last season and Liverpool against us this season is us not going into the final third last season was because we didn't try too, where as Liverpool didn't get into the final third against us because we didn't let them.
If we forced them to play in a different way and in a way we wanted them to then it is fair to say we controlled the game.
Liverpool like press high, this doesn't work when they have the ball. Giving them the ball deeper means they have to work opens in a more patient way. They don't have that deeper playmaker, that person who can create from deep. Henderson is no Carrick, and they don't have ball playing defenders. Liverpools weakness is their defence and a lack of someone deeper to control the tempo, their strengths lie in Coutinho, Firmino and Mane being able to get on the ball on the edge of the penalty area. We blunted them by cutting off their supply unless they dropped deep where they aren't as much of a threat.
We limited them so much that in 60 minutes on the pitch Sturridge had one touch in our penalty area.
19 Oct 2016 13:41:49
The game plan was to let Liverpool have the ball so they couldn't harass us off it which is when they score a lot of goals from, by having 35% possession yes we controlled it.
19 Oct 2016 13:45:57
Shappy that liverpool team is far from a top side everyone is making them out to be.
We could have done a lot better going forward.
19 Oct 2016 16:28:26
Leahy, that Liverpool team is only 2 points off of top spot. Everyone is waxing lyrical about how well City are playing, well if Liverpool are only 2 points off of them then they can't be playing too badly.
In fact if Liverpool won the game against us by three goals they would have been top of the league ahead of that fantastic City team.