28 Oct 2018 18:28:13
Important win. Enjoyed quite a lot of the game apart from the last 15 odd minutes. Should have really been 3/ 4 up instead of squeaky bum time at the end.
Martial was magnificent. Lovely finish and when he is terrorising defenders like this he is so exciting to watch. Only negative is that he should have scored with the one on one. He was uncharacteristically I composed. That left side is his to lose now. He has a good understanding with pogba that Sanchez seems to lack. He needs to maintain consistency and I am sure our fortunes will improve.
Really good to see fred back in the starting 11. I am a fan and think he brings an energy and tempo to our midfield. He can be a little wasteful and gets caught in possession, but he needs games to get used to the pace of the league. Matic unfortunately is becoming a bit of a problem. You can not fault his effort, but he is a bit of a liability for me. Would like to see Herrera replace him to give us more mobility and legs in the middle.
Hats off to lindelof. Been really solid the last few games. He still has a few nervy moments but he does have a nice passing range. An experienced cb next to him would do him wonders (Alderweireld) . Smalling with the usual brain fart for the penalty. Solid at times but he always has a mistake in him.
May be in the minority but thought rashford was decent. His work rate and willingness to run caused problems for the Everton defence and provided space for the likes of mata and martial. He did exactly what Lukaku has not been doing - MOVING. Taking him off coincided with us looking less threatening. He deserves to start our next game as striker again. If not, Sanchez deserves a nod. Lukaku is a real worry. His confidence is shot to pieces. Should have scored the header. I really hope he can get a goal soon and build the confidence. He should earn his place back. He is not a bad player. But he looks very slow and heavy.
A small step in the right direction. We have shown we can be a very good side, but show it far too little. Just need to tighten up and take each game as it come. 5 points off the top 4. Who knows if we can go on a run. The problem is we lack consistency. I just hope we go for it because we have the players in attack to do a lot of damage.
28 Oct 2018 19:03:01
I agree with much of that park . When the left side operates like that we look pretty good . Martial and pogba can be inconsistent tho and when they have an off game we look terrible as our right hand side rarely provides anything . Personally I'd rather have players who have ability but lack consistency like pog and martial than players who may try hard but just haven't got it .
Jose has made a pig's ear of some of his signings but I'd say give him a new CB and a right side attacker and say that's yr last if u buy poor again . If the board want younger players with resale accept it and find players for those roles .
When I watch games like today it's hard to not want someone with martials ability on the right as we may look pretty potent instead of heavily reliant on our left hand side . I'm with park on matic he's immobile and a steady Eddie but Jose likes him.
28 Oct 2018 19:27:55
Park good post I echo most of that pal. It was another case of the good, the bad and the ugly for me today.
On a positive note I'm absolutely delighted for Martial. He's a player that epitomises everything we love at Utd. Quick, tricky, direct, runs and commits defenders, creates space for others and is often so calm and clinical in front of goal.
Shaw, Pogba and Martial showed signs of a promising partnership down the left side.
It's early days but I'm yet to be convinced by Fred. I'm not sure what type of player he is? He has energy but is too easily shrugged off the ball. He works hard but doesn't really win it back. I think he showed signs today that he was prepared to make runs ahead of the ball into the right channel allowing Mata to move inside which I liked. I'd like to see him be a bit sharper and more decisive on the ball but accept he hasn't played much football recently. I see no reason why Pereira couldn't do that role and saved us a fortune.
I thought Rashford looked ok upfront but I think he's better off the left. He should be pushing Martial for that role and he always looks dangerous from the bench when defenders are tired.
I've banged on about this but I really believe Sanchez should be given a chance upfront. He's quick, mobile, skillfull, tenacious, he can run in behind and drop deep into midfield and link the play. He'll give us numbers in midfield and enable us to keep better possession of the ball. If we could get players like Pogba, Martial, Mata, even Fred running beyond I honestly believe we'd see a more dynamic, fluid and dangerous team.
I watched Juventus last week and their rotation in midfield and upfront left us dizzy. I see no reason why Sanchez, Martial, Pogba, Fred and Mata couldn't do the same. What we need at Utd are footballers not target men. Lukaku and Fellaini have their place in the squad but I'd like us to play a braver, more dynamic, fluid style and we need footballers with mobility and technical ability to achieve this. We've seen just how devastating Martial can be when he collects the ball in the left channel. We don't get the ball to him often enough because we don't build the play and go long too soon. We saw today too many aimless balls into the channels for Rashford to chase. We need our front man to drop into midfield link the play then feed the ball into the left channel for Martial where his can receive the ball on the run with the defenders back tracking. Alternatively we need runners from midfield giving Sanchez options on the ball. We need our CB's and Matic to move further forward, squeezing the play and suffocating the opposition.
I'm absolutely convinced we have the players to execute a more exciting, dynamic and fluid brand of football. We merely need need the courage and vision to make this happen.
28 Oct 2018 20:34:35
The effort Lukaku put in when he came on spoke volumes. There was a particular moment when Fred was attacking down the right, him and Lukaku were two on two and he just stood still as if time had stopped. He doesn't seem to understand the basics of his role at times. That coupled with his weird paranoid ego mean he's in a very dangerous slump. He shouldn't even be in the matchday squad for the next game, Rashford or Sanchez should lead the line, as others have said.