27 Sep 2020 09:56:43
A last gasp penalty probably halted a flurry of poisonous tweets on Social Media but the relief of a last minute winner only masks an ugly truth.

Utd were outplayed for the second week in a row by relegation fodder and despite some protestations that Palace and Brighton are in fact decent teams Utd will never progress beyond the shadows of mediocrity if they cannot win these games.

Utd's apparent red hot form after the re-start extended to just four games against Sheffield United, Bournemouth, Brighton and Aston Villa. It wasn't all sunshine and roses following the re-start and any talk of a revival or progress was surely premature. Draws against Southampton, West Ham and a fortunate win against Crystal Palace were far from convincing. A schooling by Chelsea in the FA Cup and defeat to Seville in the Europa League meant another season ended in bitter disappointment.

The warning signs were there before the end of last season that Utd had been found out. When pressed aggressively Utd can't play out from the back and give the ball away in dangerous areas. When teams defend narrow and allow the full backs possession of the ball Utd struggle to create chances. With a lack of pace and mobility at CB and in CM Utd are wide open to the counter attack and teams are able to progress up the pitch and into dangerous positions relatively unopposed.

None of this has been addressed during the transfer window yet the formation and tactics remain the same.

The use of a C.V. stricken Paul Pogba still recovering from a serious challenge and without a pre season is perplexing especially with the acquisition of VdB. Without wanting to make excuses for his poor performance he is obviously not fit and shouldn't be playing. To continue to deploy him in a deeper role is equally perplexing and as he enters the last year of his contract this only emphases the confused decision making at the Club.

Utd lined up with the extent same team that so convincingly beat Brighton less than two months previously. This further emphasises a disastrous transfer window with a team frozen in time and lacking ideas. It is plainly obvious to see which team has progressed since then and even a last minute winning penalty can't disguise the inertia and poor decision making that continues to plague the Club.

1.) 27 Sep 2020
27 Sep 2020 10:27:19
DLIB, are you studying journalism with Shappy by any chance? 🤣🤣

We were rubbish again yesterday, no doubt. It still surprises me how Luke Shaw seems to get away without much criticism. Just because he does OK going forwards, doesn't absolve him from his defensive errors.
For a player playing in the top league, his positional sense and general lack of awareness is diabolical.
Just watch him during a game and see how often he is out of position, or not busting a gut to get back. And he constantly gets sucked into the middle. It's like a school kid getting drawn to the ball all the time.
Maguire and Lindeloff get all the flack, and rightly so to a large extent, but Shaw does then no favours at all because people are constantly having to cover for him.
Ok, he gets forward better than AWB in the other side, but let's not forget he is a defender. His job is, first and foremost, to defend.
You can kind 9f see why Mourinho made those comments about having to talk him through games. Maybe OLE should start having some input during games rather than doing his best mannequin impression.

2.) 27 Sep 2020
27 Sep 2020 10:30:36
Agree with all of that DLIB. great post mate.

Pogba slows us down and should be sold plus I think his career owes more to his social media presence than his talent - but to be fair to him he's had C.V. and the effects can be long lasting. Ole should know this and manage him accordingly but then Ole is utterly inept and wildly out of his depth so it doesn't surprise me one bit that he keeps playing an obviously struggling Pogba.

We need to throw millions upon millions in the direction of Leipzig, whatever it takes to get Upamecano. The same for Telles. We have the worst Utd defence I've seen in 30yrs yet want to splash £100m on a winger!

Chasing Sancho is like shopping for a jacuzzi when your roof has blown off. only an idiot (or Ed Woodward) would contemplate it!

3.) 27 Sep 2020
27 Sep 2020 11:06:17
DLIB

I am glad you see the issues.

On the CB role, it was plainly obvious some time ago we need to recruit, it has been a subject discussed on here at length. However, is the club going to buy one when our manager said yesterday “ For me, we've got enough good centre-backs here at the moment”? Suddenly the club buy a CB and Ole will then say he identified the need. There is standing by players and then there is going into a season with a gaping hole and the manager in denial. Maybe they told him there was no money for a CB. Well, that is likely because of the Sancho pursuit, madness.

In my brief foray onto livechat yesterday, I asked why was DvB on the bench, why spend £40m for a substitute? What was he bought for? What was the plan? Why buy him when there is a need for a CB, a defensive midfield player? If he slotted in to the plan, fine, but it doesn’t look planned.

Why keep Pogba when we know he doesn’t want to be here? Is that Ole or someone who doesn’t want to lose money on him financially? We don’t have a good defensive MF player, playing Pogba deep is tactically nuts.

Our much vaunted forward line has no back up, we have no plan B, no forward of any type that can make a difference. Martial is not a true CF, the only one is Ighalo who is nowhere near good enough, yet we are going into a new season having chased a RW all summer. Ighalos loan is up in January, then what?

Frozen in time is a good point. We have a manager who is looking back at what SAF did in the distant past, trying to recreate that, yet the game has moved on, miles on. People said Mourinho was yesterday’s coach, the game had moved on, yet cheer for a coaching system that had its day in the 1990’s. We will not move upwards with Ole’s backward perspective. The fact the club seem set on this path is more destructive, they seem hell bent on being ordinary.

4.) 27 Sep 2020
27 Sep 2020 11:18:26
Betty - you know I'm a massive fan of a snooze fest 😴🤣

Sadly I'm far to old to be a student 👨‍🎓

I obviously just have far too much time on my hands!

Inconsistency continues to be our nemesis both collectively and individually. Most of our players seem incapable of sustaining any kind of form for more than a few games.

5.) 27 Sep 2020
27 Sep 2020 11:35:16
Betty, completely agree on Shaw. Apart from the foul on him that won us the free kick for our first goal he was woeful. He’s been average for a long time now and he’s just got away with it as we’ve not really had anyone to come in. With Telles being likely, the major issue is that Maguire is playing on that side. An attacking fullback exposes us too much due to Maguire being slow.

I want Maguire to do well but think ultimately we will regret spending 80m on a cb who requires extra spending around him to get the best out of him. He can be slow if he can lead the defence and control the box but so far he’s proven he has no leadership qualities and definitely does not know how to sense danger in our own box.

6.) 27 Sep 2020
27 Sep 2020 11:41:41
Mannequin impression Betty. that's great. couldn't find a better way to describe Ole during the games. Perfect buddy. Brought a chuckle.

{Ed047's Note - you lot must be Arsenal fans and have an agenda talking like that! Shocking 😉

7.) 27 Sep 2020
27 Sep 2020 11:51:55
Amz, I want all of our players to do well. Unfortunately, too many have been given far too long to improve, and failed miserably. There are too many that look decent when we are winning, but hide when our backs are to the wall.
Even players in like Martial are little more than fair weather sailors. Look OK when the going is good, but disapear when we really need then to dig deep.
Been saying it for years, we really lack leadership and personality on the pitch. We also lack it off the pitch now too.
OLE would have been ideal for the mural at the old Highbury. Would have fitted in perfectly.

8.) 27 Sep 2020
27 Sep 2020 12:29:20
Ed, most of us know very well there is no agenda! It's just that some never take off the old rose tinteds.
Opinions vary, I know. But even the most loyal of United fans must realise deep down that we are actually not very good at the moment.
For some bizarre reason, some if our fans seem to think it makes them less if a fan to admit it.

{Ed047's Note - I know Betty, it’s like me trying to convince myself that Arsenal are title contenders and Ozil is the answer to my prayers!

9.) 27 Sep 2020
27 Sep 2020 22:27:28
Betty, I said the other day, it's about time everyone accepts that there are no easy games in this league any more, and anyone can beat any other team, on any given day. The sooner some of us make peace with that, rather than praising to the heavens, or calling for sackings on a game by game basis, the happier everyone will be.

10.) 27 Sep 2020
27 Sep 2020 17:58:46
I guess it depends what you're praying for Ed? You never know, he may answer thise prayers. Just as long as they aren't football related 🤣🤣.

{Ed047's Note - exactly Betty! 🤣🤣