Manchester United Thread 2015/16

[RSB]

Well you were leading it at one point ..

Were going to win it iirc.

[pago]

If LVG is going in the summer then there is absolutely no need to keep him now. Get rid and give Giggs a few games in charge for some experience then think about what to do in the summer. If mourinho is a done deal then no harm done. If Giggs does amazing and wins FA cup and gets 4th then it's a tougher decision but s good one to have.

[Roy Race 9]

the board will not move until it is certain we cant get UCL

wont be long now...but the way the others are playing it may be the opposite;)

[Coldberg]

I could write a ridiculously long post about the utterly unacceptable performance tonight but I need sleep & most of it's been covered already.

We simply didn't come out for the second half. The manager basically accepted we weren't going to qualify as soon as Liverpool equalised. Not acceptable. You attack & at least try to win the game even if the actual tie seems out of reach.

The subs were a comets joke. Like for like, keeps the status quo, don't go more attacking in case we concede. Not the way United have been brought up. We don't mind losing if we've had a proper go at the opposition. At least we tried. Second half tonight we didn't try.

Mata on the wing, Lingard in the middle. What. The. Actual. ****. Mata was awful, not anonymous but properly awful. Lingard brightened up a bit second half but was non existent in the first.

Finished the game with a winger at RB, a RB at LB, an AM on the right wing & a winger in AM. Play people in their best damn positions.

Why not use Depay? Schneiderlin? Schweinsteiger? Saving him for weekend? We more than likely won't beat City. Top four isn't realistic anymore. None of it makes any sense.

The subs tonight are reason enough to sack him. A complete lack of attacking intent or adventure shown against our biggest rival in our first European meeting. Just **** off & take your clipboard with you.

This was the short version of my rant

[JJ72]

Apparently we beat city, we can go on to qualify for champions league. And the away goal was the only difference. Guy is a joke.

[Taz & The Devil]

Seen on twitter:

9 wins in the last 25. Those 25 games include two against Midtjylland and games against Sheffield United, Shrewsbury, Derby and Bournemouth.

It's just getting worse and worse

We have failed to win 22 of our last 35 games. 62.85%

Won 5 of our last 16 premier league games.

[Roy Race 9]

Finished the game with a winger at RB, a RB at LB, an AM on the right wing & a winger in AM. Play people in their best damn positions.

that sums it all up really

the man is a bluffer and has just stumbled on things in order to keep his job.....he is a goner now though no matter what happens

the question is how much more damage will he be allowed to do before he gets the bullet

[foofighter23]

it takes a certain type of manager to **** £300m (or whatever it is) up the wall tbf

[scott MUFC]

what happens if we win the FA cup though

[VamPook]

Don't forget the league Scott

[Roy Race 9]

what happens if we win the FA cup though

doesn't change a thing in terms of him staying UCL is minimum standard and that wont be met so he will be binned

even if we scrape 4th due to everyone else being kak too he is gone

it would be great to win a cup but we wont get past WHU

[Pangaea]

what happens if we win the FA cup though

We get a trophy

[Harryseaess]

I thought Fellaini was our best player in the first half.

I was calling for Varela to be changed after 10 minutes, you could tell it wasn't going to work and it was going to cost us a goal.

[RTHerringbone]

Couldn't quite get why you didn't specifically try to make more of Liverpool using Milner at left back. There was that one early header (Lingard?) where you could quickly see how uncomfortable he was defending crosses, but you didn't seem to try to force the issue. In my opinion, it would have made sense to get Lingard running directly at Milner, rather than having Mata out there, or even to use Depay on that side. Was odd.

[themadsheep2001]

Couldn't quite get why you didn't specifically try to make more of Liverpool using Milner at left back. There was that one early header (Lingard?) where you could quickly see how uncomfortable he was defending crosses, but you didn't seem to try to force the issue. In my opinion, it would have made sense to get Lingard running directly at Milner, rather than having Mata out there, or even to use Depay on that side. Was odd.

LVG is awful at targeting players' weaknesses.

[Timmy Howard]

Or changing plans.

[Icelander83]

LVG is awful at targeting players' weaknesses.

Well that's just nonsense, isn't it? He targets the weaknesses of our players on a weakly basis ffs!

[sebsy]

I apologise in advance, but I've got a few comments I want to get out of my system and I have no idea how long this post is going to turn out to be.

Well, as I suspected, we were always conceding and never scoring 4. We could have scored a few but Liverpool also could have had 4 or 5. As soon as we made the second full-back swap I said to myself 'there's going to be a few comments in the thread about this' Schweinsteiger on for Carrick was another substitution that had nothing in the way of implying we were going to do everything we could to pull something off. In some way it's hard to lambast the substitutions 100% because look at our bench. Our only attacking threat was Depay and he's had three, maybe four good matches for us. But he still could have done something more adventurous with the subs and bizarre substitutions have been an LVG staple throughout his reign.

We were actually looking in a really good position until the Coutinho goal, and looked like taking it to extra time and penalties was a genuine possibility and maybe even the most likely outcome. But Varela compounded what had been an awful first half display from him by pretty much gifting Coutinho an opportunity to score and he duly obliged. Tie was over from there, and the way we came out in the second half suggested that the team felt the same way. Varela showed here why I rate Darmian as a much better defender and also better going forward. I like Varela but he has a lot to learn and Darmian is by far the better choice.

de Gea was his usual brilliant self. Blind had equally measured moments of greatness and woefulness that are the norm for him. Fellaini had some good moments, but Jonny Elbows as I like to call him doesn't really do anything effective and just frustrates. I love Carrick to bits but, and perhaps I'm on my own in this assessment, he seems to be firmly on the wind down now. Schweinsteiger seemed to come on and do nothing but give away the ball or fouls, the particular highlight being a blatant hack down on the edge of our box. Rashford and Martial both did well, trying to drive the team on by beating players and making things happen but it was never going to be enough. Lingard was poor, inconspicuous at times whilst Mata struggled. Mata on the right with Lingard in the middle was just another in al ong line of baffling decisions by LVG, who is either out of ideas and trying anything in the hope it will work, or has just lost the plot.

What I'd very much like to discuss isn't just reactionare yo last night but something I've been pondering for a while. The squad just seems overloaded at the moment with 'squad players', but too many of them are starters. Our best 11 isn't good enough and our backup players aren't either. We have too many players who are just doing a job.

Goalkeeper isn't a problem, but if de Gea leaves this summer that is a huge loss. Romero has been very good recently when called upon and whilst I'd like to see us go for someone like Lloris if de Gea were to leave, I think Romero would be good enough.

At the back, with everyone fit we have Shaw, Smalling and Darmian and that's a good start but Blind just is not good enough. This is the one area we must address one way or another. I'd like to see us really go after someone like Varane. That's not to say we'd get him but I think he would be a great partner for Smalling. We definitely need someone much bettert han Blind anyway. Varela is good enough as a back up at RB whilst CBJ is a more than able deputy for Shaw. I'm not convinced by Rojo whilst Jones is constantly injured and also not good enough imo. He'd be fine as a backup but when constantly getting injured he can't even be that. I like McNair as well, and I liked Blackett though both obviously have a way to go yet.

Schweinsteiger isn't able to play regularly and, like Carrick, is perhaps on the decline. Understandable after his injury troubles but we have to want more. Schneiderlin has been getting better and I think he can hopefully prove to be the new Carrick. He's got a way to come but he is only going to improve, as he has been, and I expect him to have a couple of solid years where he is under appreciated before people really recognise his worth. Mata is obviously a quality player but goes missing far too much and just drifts through games too often, and I think Herrera has been doing the same. Herrera is a solid player but hasn't really done enough, though I like to think he is one of the players who will thrive under a new manager who uses him properly, though I guess that could be said about most players. Lingard I just don't think is good enough. I want to thing more highly of him as it's always great when players come through the academy but now he's a regular player it's clear just how average he is. He has his moments but more often than not he just runs in to trouble, gives the ball away or disappears from the game entirely. Depay has had 3 good games - 2 against Brugge and one against Midtjylland, but as disappointed in him as I have been, it is only his first season and aagin I'd be more keen to see what he can do under what will hopefully be a much more capable manager.

Up top, Martial is quality though I'd love to see him in a front two, drifting to the left as Henry used to have a penchant for doing. I think he could really destroy teams doing that. Rashford has done really well so far but we need to not expect too much from him and if anything possibly needs a rest. Rooney was showing signs of hitting form again after 2 years of woefulness before his injury but I'd be happy to see him go.

Coming in to the season I said the squad looked too thin expecially as, if anything, the squad looked no better than the previous season despite now having a European campaign to deal with, and this has been cruelly exposed with the injury crisis rearing it's head again after a brief lull. Getting rid of Hernandez and Welback - the latter of which was never a popular decision - (as well as RVP) was a mistake for all to see and that's why we are now constantly playing Rashford.

Then you've got your players like Young and Valencia. Young, before his injury, was actually one of our better players and had really found form, though in the long run you'd ideally want him there to start less important matches as a squad player than a regular left-back. Valencia on the other hand should at best be a squad player, who is used in the minor games when you want to rest your important players, and even then you don't really want him on the pitch.

Frankly put, we need better players, and we need better squad depth.

I'd be happy to see the folllowing players go: Valencia, Jones, Fellaini, Rooney.

I also wouldn't be too bothered if Schweinsteiger, Lingard and even Mata were to be moved on. The first two would be fine as squad players, but Schweinsteiger could probably do a really valuable job somewhere else whilst Lingard will no doubt have a decent career at Mid-Low Premier League level, but not for us. I love Mata to bits, seems like a genuinely lovely lad, but as I say he just drifts out of games far too much, though that is likely as much down to LVG as himself. With him it all depends on what the new manager (assuming we get one) wants to do with the formation and style. I'd rather him stay and be awesome, but could understand him being moved on, to a degree.

We need to replace Blind and Lingard as regular starters and vastly improve over them. I guess that brings us on to players (and types of players) we should be looking to bring in. It's horrible how much the squad still needs sorting out despite the hundreds of millions spent, and as I've alluded to with a few players, parhaps all that is required is a new manager who actually gets the best out of those players and knows what he is doing.

It's always a difficult one discussing who we should be buying because whilst there are players anyone in their right mind would like to sign, it's about those players being available, whether or not they would want to come and whether or not their current club would be willing to let them go.

So, who should we be looking at, if we at first discount whether or not they are really gettable one way or another? The obvious ones would be the likes of Neymar, Pogba and Bale. They often come up as supposed targets, though more likely as something for the newspapers to sell or for the players' agents to get a better standpoint elsewhere, but any of those are the types of addition we could really do with. We desperately need a defender and Varane is someone I'd love to see at United, though again it's a case of why would he choose to come to us at the moment, unless we make a blinding managerial appointment. Mats Hummels would be another great signing but you likely have the same issues again.

Looking a bit closer to home, the names mentioned quite often are the likes of Lukaku and Kane whilst I personally like Barkley and really like the look of Deulofeu. Mahrez is another but I think Barkley would be a better fit for us and what I hope to see in the new season. I'd take Kane over Lukaku any day, though given we have only Rooney, Martial and Rashford and the fact I'd happily see Rooney go, it would be great to get both. Of course this is where it all gets a bit 'fantasy manager' but the squad definitely still needs a lot of work.

It really has been a depressing season. If anything we've gone backwards from last season, and all things considered LVG has done a far worse job than Moyes. We've never had any real momentum under LVG as ono the rare occasions we win 3/4 in a row it's usually involved wins against the likes of Shrewsbury and Midtjylland before we're back to the miserable draws and losses. The only thing you can possibly say is that, in this last month, win, lose or draw, an attacking intent that was so long missing has been injected back in to the team but it still hasn't been enough in the grand scheme of things.

[Icelander83]

Feeling better now, sebsy?

[sebsy]

A tad

[Harryseaess]

I'm not reading that .

[Sid1984]

At least the scousers are also out of the Europa league. They just have to play 2 extra matches.

[Timmy Howard]

I made it to Romero being good enough should DDG leave and then stopped.

[akura]

LVG was crazy saying we could score 4 against liverpool.

[Pangaea]

I read that novel, and there isn't really anything to disagree with. Must feel good to get that off your chest

[RTHerringbone]

LVG was crazy saying we could score 4 against liverpool.

Did he specify over what period of time it would be?

[sebsy]

Indeed. A few frustrations I've wanted to get out for a while there

Timmy, what I actually said was I think he will be good enough, and if you actually use your head it's clear I'm not saying he is in de Gea's league, but considering we have other areas that need much more focus, and the fact that when he has played he has been very good, he is a more than able deputy, albeit one that you wouldn't view as a long term option right now.

[ddidiodion]

I read that novel, and there isn't really anything to disagree with. Must feel good to get that off your chest

I mean he did say Romero was good enough to be our first choice keeper. That's not true.

[sebsy]

Perhaps I didn't word it right, although like Timmy you've misread what i said. I said I think he would be good enough not that he definitely would be like de Gea clearly is.

What I mean, is that if de Gea leaves, and we can't get someone like Lloris, Romero isn't exactly a bad option for a season. He showed in those two games recently that he was a more than able deputy when de Gea was out and he didn't do badly iirc when he was playing at the start of the season.

[ddidiodion]

He's a 1 in 5 howler man, he's a great backup but if we go into a full season with him as no. 1 we are totally screwed.

A great team needs a great goalkeeper.

[Timmy Howard]

Indeed. A few frustrations I've wanted to get out for a while there

Timmy, what I actually said was I think he will be good enough, and if you actually use your head it's clear I'm not saying he is in de Gea's league, but considering we have other areas that need much more focus, and the fact that when he has played he has been very good, he is a more than able deputy, albeit one that you wouldn't view as a long term option right now.

I don't think I did misread what you've said.

I'm not suggesting you were comparing him to DDG, I just would be extremely worried if we went into a season with Romero as our no.1 if we failed to get other targets.

I was being slightly facetious anyway as I did read the whole thing and agreed with most - especially regarding Lingard.

[sebsy]

Fair enough, my apologies. As I say I probably worded my thoughts on the GK situation not quite as I intended.

[Timmy Howard]

No worries, as soon as LVG goes we can all get back to getting along and bashing Sid.

No offence Sid.

[Pangaea]

He's a 1 in 5 howler man, he's a great backup but if we go into a full season with him as no. 1 we are totally screwed.

A great team needs a great goalkeeper.

Hopefully de Gea doesn't realise that, and sticks around.

[Guest]

So what if it is Mourinho, does anyone thing that make De Gea less likely to leave?

[Timmy Howard]

So what if it is Mourinho, does anyone thing that make De Gea less likely to leave?

No.

If it wasn't for a dodgy fax he was leaving last summer. Things have only got worse since then with or without Mourinho incoming.

[Pangaea]

If I was de Gea and knew Mourinho was incoming, I'd be looking for a house in Spain pretty ****ing fast.

We have some insurance in the new contract, but I suspect DDG is pretty free to leave, and there may be something similar as with Ronaldo in place. As poor as we have been the last 3 years, de Gea has been the one burning candle. I really, really, really hope he stays, but won't be surprised if he doesn't. A player of that calibre should be winning trophies.

Though it should be said he probably won't win many for Real Madrid either

[Timmy Howard]

Haven't we won more league titles than Ronaldo has since he's left?

[Icelander83]

A very quick wiki check says he won the league in 2011/12 and that's it. So yeah

[Sid1984]

So what if it is Mourinho, does anyone thing that make De Gea less likely to leave?

De Gea is a sensible man, he'd want to be managed by a great manager in Mourinho than a clueless ***** in LVG. However, will he believe in the united squad is the question mark.

[chef]

a very interesting read there sebsy I agree with what you say.. we have plenty of squad players but not many first 11 players that stand out

[Bren24]

We only really have De Gea, Shaw and Martial who are at the top of their game and I would be happy to see them start every match. That's assuming Shaw makes a full recovery of course.

I do like Herrera but we've never really seen him play a string of games in his best position. Obviously that's not his fault, and should we play to his strengths, he's another I'd like on the pitch.

Still undecided on Mata, on one hand he can offer that quality at times, and at others he's fairly non existent. Would certainly like to keep him in the squad though.

Wouldn't be too concerned if any other player was to move on in the summer.

[Pangaea]

a very interesting read there sebsy I agree with what you say.. we have plenty of squad players but not many first 11 players that stand out

Probably a very Liverpoodlian thing to do (ed: looking back to the glory days, I mean), but that midfield with Giggs - Keane - Scholes - Beckham was divine. World class players in every position. Hardly donkeys up front or at the back either.

We're a long way from that level of quality right now.

And as funny as it was at times, I miss when we "threw the kitchen sink" at teams when in search for a goal. Sir Alex's teams didn't always succeed with that either, and it sometimes backfired -- but they tried.

[RSB]

Yeah, us having squad players as starters has been obvious for a while now and is the main failing of LvG's performance with transfers, but it does mean that we're well placed if we make signings in key positions.

De Gea (if we can keep him), Shaw, Schneiderlin, Herrera, Mata and Martial are a solid base to build from. The defence is a bit of a shambles; Darmian is flexible and solid, if limited - him plus whichever you prefer of Rojo and Smalling are fine for cover. Jones has quality but doesn't look like ever getting over his injuries, so can either be retained as reliable cover for when he is fit or sold. Varela and McNair are unlikely to be good enough; nor is Valencia and Carrick's done now sadly. New RB and two new CBs plus Shaw, covered by Darmian, Smalljo, Young and Blind in an emergency should be enough while facilitating deserved opportunities for the likes of CBJ, Poole, Williams and probably TFM.

Midfield is a decent enough unit. Schneiderlin and Herrera should obviously be the first choice pairing, while Blind's (mis)adventures at centre half have perhaps clouded memories of him being a thoroughly decent anchor man to drop in for tighter games. Schweinsteiger is a platinum plated Mercedes of a player but looks like he struggles to complete one game a week, never mind two. Should be kept on in a c.2011-13 Giggs role for his experience and quality. Fellaini is a useful option if used right. There's probably room for another body in the squad but it depends how much exposure you want to give TFM in his best position.

Mata is obviously gold and Rooney's far better than most people give him credit for, but we're a bit thin on the ground up top beyond that. Martial is obviously going to be a hell of a player but we need to make sure not to run him into the ground either through volume of work or responsibility - was worrying the number of aimless crossfield passes he was playing last night, like he was trying to do it all himself. Januzaj, Pereira, Depay, Wilson and Rashford have all shown varying sparks of promise and should be allowed to develop, but we need more quality for right now, probably in a wide area. Don't think Lingard will end up more than a squad option unfortunately. I think *****ing large on a big name centre forward fails to address the problems we had when we've done the same previously - having a strong enough side to provide the bullets, and developing the young players already here.

RB, CB x2, probably a winger and maybe a CM and we'll be set I reckon. Oh and a keeper if Dave goes - Romero's recent appearances shouldn't erase the memory of his cluster****s at the start of the season. Shouldn't be too tall an order really.

[Roy Race 9]

thank god we didn't go through.........Dortmund that would have been a nightmare;)

And as funny as it was at times, I miss when we "threw the kitchen sink" at teams when in search for a goal. Sir Alex's teams didn't always succeed with that either, and it sometimes backfired -- but they tried

those were the days I remember back to a game about 79/80 we had lost first leg 4-0 away to a good porto team and were given no chance

in return we won 5-2 chris mcgrath had the game of his life...we went out on away goals but the point is the players left everything out there we hit woodwork 3-4 times it was an amazing effort, and it wasn't a good Utd team but the players give it their best and didn't stop from the first kick to the last:brock:

It should be shown to our current manager and some of the prima donnas and they can hang their heads in shame:brock:

[Coldberg]

Carrick isn't done. There's a reason Arsenal & City are sniffing around.

Sure he's 35 soon but in a midfield three he's still the conductor. Going forward it should be Carrick or Schweinsteiger alongside Schneiderlein & Herrera. For games where we don't need the second defnsive minded midfielder you can push Carrick further up or use Mata with Carrick (or Schneiderlein) dropping out.

Use wingers on the wing (radical I know) & then you've got Rooney/Martial/Wilson/Rashford up top. They could also play from the left if you only want one winger.

Our midfield is actually quite flexible & definitely well stocked. It's our completely average defence that's the problem. The only player I'm happy with as a starter is Smalling & even he has his odd moments of forgetting how to be a footballer. Our season is all but over so TFM could happily partner Smalling for the rest of the season if it were up to me. No pressure & no expectation.

[Roy Race 9]

TF

Carrick isn't done. There's a reason Arsenal & City are sniffing around.

Sure he's 35 soon but in a midfield three he's still the conductor. Going forward it should be Carrick or Schweinsteiger alongside Schneiderlein & Herrera. For games where we don't need the second defnsive minded midfielder you can push Carrick further up or use Mata with Carrick (or Schneiderlein) dropping out.

Use wingers on the wing (radical I know) & then you've got Rooney/Martial/Wilson/Rashford up top. They could also play from the left if you only want one winger.

Our midfield is actually quite flexible & definitely well stocked. It's our completely average defence that's the problem. The only player I'm happy with as a starter is Smalling & even he has his odd moments of forgetting how to be a footballer. Our season is all but over so TFM could happily partner Smalling for the rest of the season if it were up to me. No pressure & no expectation.

what a spot on post:thup:

TFM is going to be a star give him a go for rest of season

I really appreciate Carrick and said here earlier when I lived in Germany a few years ago he was the player most german fans would take from our squad(we were good then too:D) into their team;)

recently tho I have seen him get got caught in possession a couple of times, hope it was a blip..he is class on the ball and always seems to have time, the sign of a top top player ...would like to see him get another year at least tho

[Sheps.]

Carrick's always been one of my absolute favourite players and I still feel he's got at least one more Pirlo-esque season in him if we do exactly what Juve did and protect him with two runners, i.e. Herrera and Schneiderlin.

[Roy Race 9]

yes me too

the biggest issue he had was who he took that shirt over from;)....some fans couldn't let go that Keano had gone and demanded carrick do the same things, totally different player, no one was ever going to replace Keane but Carrick's longevity here proves what a quality signing he was

give him the right players around him(not the lanky string of .....) and he will do a top job for us

[ddidiodion]

I just want a world class striker and a central defender. Sod everything else, the team with a 25 goal a season striker is going to walk the league next year. That has to be the main aim, Martial is still better out wide right now and Rooney is only that player 5 games a season.