Hard to disagree with any of that tbf. If only you'd have adjusted to the set piece problems you'd have come away with a well earned point, feeling unlucky you could have snatched all 3.
Arsenal were pretty disappointing though even though they had the best chances. Draw would have been a fair result.
We were literally a centimetre away from being a well run club, with world class young talent, the best manager in the league and the best young player in world football and capable of a title challenge.
But due to that centimetre we are now a shambles of a club with no direction, ageing slow and should be retired players, with a clueless manager who has no style and a lot of friction between players and staff. The club is in turmoil.
comment by Amadou Bakayoko (U1734)
posted 1 minute ago
We were literally a centimetre away from being a well run club, with world class young talent, the best manager in the league and the best young player in world football and capable of a title challenge.
But due to that centimetre we are now a shambles of a club with no direction, ageing slow and should be retired players, with a clueless manager who has no style and a lot of friction between players and staff. The club is in turmoil.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
This
Last night was a relatively encouraging kick in the balls.
----
Nice way of putting it.
I expected the loss, but for it to come this way, makes me feel a bit better. With some misgivings about his player choices, I believe the team is getting better. We need depth and we need a lot more sheer grit.
I predicted 3-1 before the game but didn't expect us to get so close to one or perhaps even three points.
The thing is though, Arsenal are far from their best and I'm not convinced they've improved from last season at all. A midfield three of Rice, Ødegaard and Havertz won't work against the better sides but was good enough against us.
Højlund is a positive. He looks a real handful - Gabriel was really struggling with him. Keep him fit and get Ambrabat involved ASAP and the picture may change. It's been a woeful start though. Really, really poor - we couldn't complain if we were on two points.
comment by Red Russian (U4715)
posted 14 minutes ago
comment by Amadou Bakayoko (U1734)
posted 1 minute ago
We were literally a centimetre away from being a well run club, with world class young talent, the best manager in the league and the best young player in world football and capable of a title challenge.
But due to that centimetre we are now a shambles of a club with no direction, ageing slow and should be retired players, with a clueless manager who has no style and a lot of friction between players and staff. The club is in turmoil.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
This
----------------------------------------------------------------------
You guys are aware that even if the off side goal was given there was 12 mins left to play
I don't disagree with this at all even if my probably still emotional post this morning suggests I would!
I still maintain it's a sign of where we are that we are quite satisfied with a performance even though we lost 3-1. Having said that SAF (because I did mention it earlier) did win a few games at Arsenal when perhaps the balance of play suggests we didn't deserve too. It was more the Sancho thing afterwards that got me really.
It's still not quite ETH's team either so it would encouraging to see us being far more solid and organised yesterday. The team below is possibly ETH's strongest but, even then, half the outfield players are still not his players! He needs time to stamp his authority and I hope he gets it. Klopp and Arteta got time at their clubs so let's hope we show the same patience.
Onana*
AWB
Varane
Martinez*
Shaw
Casemiro*
Amrabat/Mount*
Bruno
Antony*
Hojlund*
Rashford
comment by Castor Troy (U8700)
posted 8 seconds ago
comment by Red Russian (U4715)
posted 14 minutes ago
comment by Amadou Bakayoko (U1734)
posted 1 minute ago
We were literally a centimetre away from being a well run club, with world class young talent, the best manager in the league and the best young player in world football and capable of a title challenge.
But due to that centimetre we are now a shambles of a club with no direction, ageing slow and should be retired players, with a clueless manager who has no style and a lot of friction between players and staff. The club is in turmoil.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
This
----------------------------------------------------------------------
You guys are aware that even if the off side goal was given there was 12 mins left to play
----------------------------------------------------------------------
12 minutes to extend our lead as well...
I think fans and pundits are too guilty of reacting to the result rather than assessing the performance. Take yesterday for example. Trying to be ans objective as possible I’d say it was an even game, until 95 mins it was 1-1, Arsenal could have had a penalty, United narrowly had a goal disallowed. Other than that I thought it was a gagey enough game with only really the Saka chance that you could say was a full proper chance. Arsenal had a lot of the ball, United looked comfortable enough and a draw probably a fair result all in all. However two goals deep deep into injury time and all of a sudden it was a terrible performance from United, Arsenal are flying, and Rice has paid back his 100m+ already. Its ridiculous stuff.
For me United did ok, looked more solid without the ball and had some half chances. Missing lots of defenders and with Martial almost a man down for an hour, it was actually better than I expected; but definitely a whole lot to improve on from what we have seen so far.
comment by Diafol Coch 77 (U2462)
posted 2 minutes ago
comment by Castor Troy (U8700)
posted 8 seconds ago
comment by Red Russian (U4715)
posted 14 minutes ago
comment by Amadou Bakayoko (U1734)
posted 1 minute ago
We were literally a centimetre away from being a well run club, with world class young talent, the best manager in the league and the best young player in world football and capable of a title challenge.
But due to that centimetre we are now a shambles of a club with no direction, ageing slow and should be retired players, with a clueless manager who has no style and a lot of friction between players and staff. The club is in turmoil.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
This
----------------------------------------------------------------------
You guys are aware that even if the off side goal was given there was 12 mins left to play
----------------------------------------------------------------------
12 minutes to extend our lead as well...
----------------------------------------------------------------------
We really looked like we would hit them on the counter for 4 or 5 if we had an extra 12 minutes with a lead. It looked like being one of the all time great results/hammerings if it had been a CM the other way.
I'm not sure I do feel different about it today, to be honest.
I did feel marginally better after making myself watch MOTD2 last night. The Garnacho offside was as close as it's possible to be, and while I don't think there was quite enough to give a foul on Evans for their second goal, I could at least see why Rice had so much time to bring the ball down and get a shot away.
But the truth is we were second best for most of the game, and the same could be said for all our matches so far this season. I didn't even think Arsenal were all that great yesterday, but they didn't need to be all that great to be better than us.
We have problems all over the pitch. A goal difference of -2 tells you all you need to know. We can't defend, we can't keep hold of the ball, we can't control a game, we can't dominate the opposition, and we can't score goals.
There are clearly still serious problems regarding the team's motivation, or mentality, or confidence, or whatever it is that makes us so easy to play against. How is this still the case?
Add to that our injuries, which I don't believe are entirely down to bad luck. It was really noticeable yesterday that our players just looked physically weaker than the opposition. At least when Højlund came on he put himself about a bit and gave their defence a tough time. But I just don't think our squad is fit. That would explain why we're always dominated and why we get so many injuries. But the question is, why are they unfit?
Right now I'm afraid we look a shambles, and the international break comes as a relief. Can anyone seriously see us not being completely outplayed by Brighton in our next match?
comment by Castor Troy (U8700)
posted 4 minutes ago
comment by Red Russian (U4715)
posted 14 minutes ago
comment by Amadou Bakayoko (U1734)
posted 1 minute ago
We were literally a centimetre away from being a well run club, with world class young talent, the best manager in the league and the best young player in world football and capable of a title challenge.
But due to that centimetre we are now a shambles of a club with no direction, ageing slow and should be retired players, with a clueless manager who has no style and a lot of friction between players and staff. The club is in turmoil.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
This
----------------------------------------------------------------------
You guys are aware that even if the off side goal was given there was 12 mins left to play
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Well, yes... but that's a bit like us saying to Wolves fans the other week: "Do you guys realise you might not even have scored a penalty?"
Going ahead on 88 minutes changes the game. Knowing us, we'd probably have conceded an equaliser but I doubt we'd have lost.
comment by Red Russian (U4715)
posted 27 minutes ago
comment by Amadou Bakayoko (U1734)
posted 1 minute ago
We were literally a centimetre away from being a well run club, with world class young talent, the best manager in the league and the best young player in world football and capable of a title challenge.
But due to that centimetre we are now a shambles of a club with no direction, ageing slow and should be retired players, with a clueless manager who has no style and a lot of friction between players and staff. The club is in turmoil.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
This
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Football is a game of fine margins but United could have quite easily lost all 4 games, or have 2 points at this stage.
That would be my concern as a United fan, a general lack of control in games , conceding goals, reliance on counter attacking, letting other teams play
comment by Devonshirespur (U6316)
posted 3 minutes ago
comment by Red Russian (U4715)
posted 27 minutes ago
comment by Amadou Bakayoko (U1734)
posted 1 minute ago
We were literally a centimetre away from being a well run club, with world class young talent, the best manager in the league and the best young player in world football and capable of a title challenge.
But due to that centimetre we are now a shambles of a club with no direction, ageing slow and should be retired players, with a clueless manager who has no style and a lot of friction between players and staff. The club is in turmoil.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
This
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Football is a game of fine margins but United could have quite easily lost all 4 games, or have 2 points at this stage.
That would be my concern as a United fan, a general lack of control in games , conceding goals, reliance on counter attacking, letting other teams play
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Alternatively we could have won all four with just a bit more luck for Garnacho in getting a pen v Spurs and the goal v Arsenal.
comment by Devonshirespur (U6316)
posted 3 minutes ago
comment by Red Russian (U4715)
posted 27 minutes ago
comment by Amadou Bakayoko (U1734)
posted 1 minute ago
We were literally a centimetre away from being a well run club, with world class young talent, the best manager in the league and the best young player in world football and capable of a title challenge.
But due to that centimetre we are now a shambles of a club with no direction, ageing slow and should be retired players, with a clueless manager who has no style and a lot of friction between players and staff. The club is in turmoil.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
This
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Football is a game of fine margins but United could have quite easily lost all 4 games, or have 2 points at this stage.
That would be my concern as a United fan, a general lack of control in games , conceding goals, reliance on counter attacking, letting other teams play
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Yep, we could also have won all four and been on 12 points. Fine margins indeed.
A CM offside call away from beating arsenal and two sitters away from being up against Spurs.
comment by Diafol Coch 77 (U2462)
posted 20 minutes ago
I don't disagree with this at all even if my probably still emotional post this morning suggests I would!
I still maintain it's a sign of where we are that we are quite satisfied with a performance even though we lost 3-1. Having said that SAF (because I did mention it earlier) did win a few games at Arsenal when perhaps the balance of play suggests we didn't deserve too. It was more the Sancho thing afterwards that got me really.
It's still not quite ETH's team either so it would encouraging to see us being far more solid and organised yesterday. The team below is possibly ETH's strongest but, even then, half the outfield players are still not his players! He needs time to stamp his authority and I hope he gets it. Klopp and Arteta got time at their clubs so let's hope we show the same patience.
Onana*
AWB
Varane
Martinez*
Shaw
Casemiro*
Amrabat/Mount*
Bruno
Antony*
Hojlund*
Rashford
----------------------------------------------------------------------
It’s also not a game of 11 men anymore. Even smaller PL sides have depth these days, we don’t.
Seen enough from Hojlund to get me excited. He's so fast and he's going to be a real handful.
Now if we get the Amrabat I saw in the world cup in the side too then things will look very different for us.
We need to go and win 6 or 7 out of the next 9 games now. Maybe a draw or two and no more than 1 more defeat. If we do that things will be looking fine again.
Spurs away Arsenal away being our first two away games wasn't ideal really given our injuries and new players aren't settled in.
comment by Glazers Out (SE85) (U21241)
posted 49 seconds ago
Seen enough from Hojlund to get me excited. He's so fast and he's going to be a real handful.
Now if we get the Amrabat I saw in the world cup in the side too then things will look very different for us.
We need to go and win 6 or 7 out of the next 9 games now. Maybe a draw or two and no more than 1 more defeat. If we do that things will be looking fine again.
Spurs away Arsenal away being our first two away games wasn't ideal really given our injuries and new players aren't settled in.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Yep, I agree with all this as a more optimistic take
comment by Busby (U19985)
posted 41 seconds ago
comment by Diafol Coch 77 (U2462)
posted 20 minutes ago
I don't disagree with this at all even if my probably still emotional post this morning suggests I would!
I still maintain it's a sign of where we are that we are quite satisfied with a performance even though we lost 3-1. Having said that SAF (because I did mention it earlier) did win a few games at Arsenal when perhaps the balance of play suggests we didn't deserve too. It was more the Sancho thing afterwards that got me really.
It's still not quite ETH's team either so it would encouraging to see us being far more solid and organised yesterday. The team below is possibly ETH's strongest but, even then, half the outfield players are still not his players! He needs time to stamp his authority and I hope he gets it. Klopp and Arteta got time at their clubs so let's hope we show the same patience.
Onana*
AWB
Varane
Martinez*
Shaw
Casemiro*
Amrabat/Mount*
Bruno
Antony*
Hojlund*
Rashford
----------------------------------------------------------------------
It’s also not a game of 11 men anymore. Even smaller PL sides have depth these days, we don’t.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Indeed. I agree.
To add to the above you have Garnacho, Mainoo, Lindelof, Maguire, Dalot, Malacia, McT, Eriksen, Martial etc (I've probably forgotten someone obvious!) who can come in and do some kind of job. They're not awful by any means but we do need better of course.
comment by Glazers Out (SE85) (U21241)
posted 2 minutes ago
Seen enough from Hojlund to get me excited. He's so fast and he's going to be a real handful.
Now if we get the Amrabat I saw in the world cup in the side too then things will look very different for us.
We need to go and win 6 or 7 out of the next 9 games now. Maybe a draw or two and no more than 1 more defeat. If we do that things will be looking fine again.
Spurs away Arsenal away being our first two away games wasn't ideal really given our injuries and new players aren't settled in.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Spurs and Arsenal perhaps not ideal. To put a positive spin on it though maybe it's better to keep the games against lower sides until we're better ourselves. I mean it wouldn't be a shock at all to see our best XI lose both those games anyway!
comment by Diafol Coch 77 (U2462)
posted 27 minutes ago
comment by Castor Troy (U8700)
posted 8 seconds ago
comment by Red Russian (U4715)
posted 14 minutes ago
comment by Amadou Bakayoko (U1734)
posted 1 minute ago
We were literally a centimetre away from being a well run club, with world class young talent, the best manager in the league and the best young player in world football and capable of a title challenge.
But due to that centimetre we are now a shambles of a club with no direction, ageing slow and should be retired players, with a clueless manager who has no style and a lot of friction between players and staff. The club is in turmoil.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
This
----------------------------------------------------------------------
You guys are aware that even if the off side goal was given there was 12 mins left to play
----------------------------------------------------------------------
12 minutes to extend our lead as well...
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Obviously, my OP isn't about how we deserved to win or anything. But at 2-1 up, I'd have fancied our chances with Rashford, Garnacho and Hojlund on the pitch and the luxury of sitting compact and hitting them on the break.
Next 6 in the league:
Brighton H
Burnley A
Palace H
Brentford H
Sheff United A
City H
We need to go into that derby game with some momentum and form. Definitely some winnable fixtures for us too. Brighton is going to be very tough though.
Oh, one other specific positive from the match: that Hojlund back-heal. Not just a big lad, eh?
At the risk of incurring the wrath of those intent on blaming Onana for the sun going down at night, I personally thought he was the biggest positive from that game yesterday. It was really interesting the see the difference in how Arsenal pressed us yesterday vs how they did in both games last season, and it really contributed to us actually looking pretty assured in possession at the back. I think that will stand us in good stead for away games this season.
Aside from that, I am somewhere between the OP and Jalisco's post. Still serious questions over the mentality of certain players in these games, and compared to the elite teams we are still worryingly sub-standard when it comes to progressing the ball.
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positives from Emirates
Page 1 of 4
posted on 4/9/23
Hard to disagree with any of that tbf. If only you'd have adjusted to the set piece problems you'd have come away with a well earned point, feeling unlucky you could have snatched all 3.
Arsenal were pretty disappointing though even though they had the best chances. Draw would have been a fair result.
posted on 4/9/23
We were literally a centimetre away from being a well run club, with world class young talent, the best manager in the league and the best young player in world football and capable of a title challenge.
But due to that centimetre we are now a shambles of a club with no direction, ageing slow and should be retired players, with a clueless manager who has no style and a lot of friction between players and staff. The club is in turmoil.
posted on 4/9/23
comment by Amadou Bakayoko (U1734)
posted 1 minute ago
We were literally a centimetre away from being a well run club, with world class young talent, the best manager in the league and the best young player in world football and capable of a title challenge.
But due to that centimetre we are now a shambles of a club with no direction, ageing slow and should be retired players, with a clueless manager who has no style and a lot of friction between players and staff. The club is in turmoil.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
This
posted on 4/9/23
Last night was a relatively encouraging kick in the balls.
----
Nice way of putting it.
posted on 4/9/23
I expected the loss, but for it to come this way, makes me feel a bit better. With some misgivings about his player choices, I believe the team is getting better. We need depth and we need a lot more sheer grit.
posted on 4/9/23
I predicted 3-1 before the game but didn't expect us to get so close to one or perhaps even three points.
The thing is though, Arsenal are far from their best and I'm not convinced they've improved from last season at all. A midfield three of Rice, Ødegaard and Havertz won't work against the better sides but was good enough against us.
Højlund is a positive. He looks a real handful - Gabriel was really struggling with him. Keep him fit and get Ambrabat involved ASAP and the picture may change. It's been a woeful start though. Really, really poor - we couldn't complain if we were on two points.
posted on 4/9/23
comment by Red Russian (U4715)
posted 14 minutes ago
comment by Amadou Bakayoko (U1734)
posted 1 minute ago
We were literally a centimetre away from being a well run club, with world class young talent, the best manager in the league and the best young player in world football and capable of a title challenge.
But due to that centimetre we are now a shambles of a club with no direction, ageing slow and should be retired players, with a clueless manager who has no style and a lot of friction between players and staff. The club is in turmoil.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
This
----------------------------------------------------------------------
You guys are aware that even if the off side goal was given there was 12 mins left to play
posted on 4/9/23
I don't disagree with this at all even if my probably still emotional post this morning suggests I would!
I still maintain it's a sign of where we are that we are quite satisfied with a performance even though we lost 3-1. Having said that SAF (because I did mention it earlier) did win a few games at Arsenal when perhaps the balance of play suggests we didn't deserve too. It was more the Sancho thing afterwards that got me really.
It's still not quite ETH's team either so it would encouraging to see us being far more solid and organised yesterday. The team below is possibly ETH's strongest but, even then, half the outfield players are still not his players! He needs time to stamp his authority and I hope he gets it. Klopp and Arteta got time at their clubs so let's hope we show the same patience.
Onana*
AWB
Varane
Martinez*
Shaw
Casemiro*
Amrabat/Mount*
Bruno
Antony*
Hojlund*
Rashford
posted on 4/9/23
comment by Castor Troy (U8700)
posted 8 seconds ago
comment by Red Russian (U4715)
posted 14 minutes ago
comment by Amadou Bakayoko (U1734)
posted 1 minute ago
We were literally a centimetre away from being a well run club, with world class young talent, the best manager in the league and the best young player in world football and capable of a title challenge.
But due to that centimetre we are now a shambles of a club with no direction, ageing slow and should be retired players, with a clueless manager who has no style and a lot of friction between players and staff. The club is in turmoil.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
This
----------------------------------------------------------------------
You guys are aware that even if the off side goal was given there was 12 mins left to play
----------------------------------------------------------------------
12 minutes to extend our lead as well...
posted on 4/9/23
I think fans and pundits are too guilty of reacting to the result rather than assessing the performance. Take yesterday for example. Trying to be ans objective as possible I’d say it was an even game, until 95 mins it was 1-1, Arsenal could have had a penalty, United narrowly had a goal disallowed. Other than that I thought it was a gagey enough game with only really the Saka chance that you could say was a full proper chance. Arsenal had a lot of the ball, United looked comfortable enough and a draw probably a fair result all in all. However two goals deep deep into injury time and all of a sudden it was a terrible performance from United, Arsenal are flying, and Rice has paid back his 100m+ already. Its ridiculous stuff.
For me United did ok, looked more solid without the ball and had some half chances. Missing lots of defenders and with Martial almost a man down for an hour, it was actually better than I expected; but definitely a whole lot to improve on from what we have seen so far.
posted on 4/9/23
comment by Diafol Coch 77 (U2462)
posted 2 minutes ago
comment by Castor Troy (U8700)
posted 8 seconds ago
comment by Red Russian (U4715)
posted 14 minutes ago
comment by Amadou Bakayoko (U1734)
posted 1 minute ago
We were literally a centimetre away from being a well run club, with world class young talent, the best manager in the league and the best young player in world football and capable of a title challenge.
But due to that centimetre we are now a shambles of a club with no direction, ageing slow and should be retired players, with a clueless manager who has no style and a lot of friction between players and staff. The club is in turmoil.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
This
----------------------------------------------------------------------
You guys are aware that even if the off side goal was given there was 12 mins left to play
----------------------------------------------------------------------
12 minutes to extend our lead as well...
----------------------------------------------------------------------
We really looked like we would hit them on the counter for 4 or 5 if we had an extra 12 minutes with a lead. It looked like being one of the all time great results/hammerings if it had been a CM the other way.
posted on 4/9/23
I'm not sure I do feel different about it today, to be honest.
I did feel marginally better after making myself watch MOTD2 last night. The Garnacho offside was as close as it's possible to be, and while I don't think there was quite enough to give a foul on Evans for their second goal, I could at least see why Rice had so much time to bring the ball down and get a shot away.
But the truth is we were second best for most of the game, and the same could be said for all our matches so far this season. I didn't even think Arsenal were all that great yesterday, but they didn't need to be all that great to be better than us.
We have problems all over the pitch. A goal difference of -2 tells you all you need to know. We can't defend, we can't keep hold of the ball, we can't control a game, we can't dominate the opposition, and we can't score goals.
There are clearly still serious problems regarding the team's motivation, or mentality, or confidence, or whatever it is that makes us so easy to play against. How is this still the case?
Add to that our injuries, which I don't believe are entirely down to bad luck. It was really noticeable yesterday that our players just looked physically weaker than the opposition. At least when Højlund came on he put himself about a bit and gave their defence a tough time. But I just don't think our squad is fit. That would explain why we're always dominated and why we get so many injuries. But the question is, why are they unfit?
Right now I'm afraid we look a shambles, and the international break comes as a relief. Can anyone seriously see us not being completely outplayed by Brighton in our next match?
posted on 4/9/23
comment by Castor Troy (U8700)
posted 4 minutes ago
comment by Red Russian (U4715)
posted 14 minutes ago
comment by Amadou Bakayoko (U1734)
posted 1 minute ago
We were literally a centimetre away from being a well run club, with world class young talent, the best manager in the league and the best young player in world football and capable of a title challenge.
But due to that centimetre we are now a shambles of a club with no direction, ageing slow and should be retired players, with a clueless manager who has no style and a lot of friction between players and staff. The club is in turmoil.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
This
----------------------------------------------------------------------
You guys are aware that even if the off side goal was given there was 12 mins left to play
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Well, yes... but that's a bit like us saying to Wolves fans the other week: "Do you guys realise you might not even have scored a penalty?"
Going ahead on 88 minutes changes the game. Knowing us, we'd probably have conceded an equaliser but I doubt we'd have lost.
posted on 4/9/23
comment by Red Russian (U4715)
posted 27 minutes ago
comment by Amadou Bakayoko (U1734)
posted 1 minute ago
We were literally a centimetre away from being a well run club, with world class young talent, the best manager in the league and the best young player in world football and capable of a title challenge.
But due to that centimetre we are now a shambles of a club with no direction, ageing slow and should be retired players, with a clueless manager who has no style and a lot of friction between players and staff. The club is in turmoil.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
This
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Football is a game of fine margins but United could have quite easily lost all 4 games, or have 2 points at this stage.
That would be my concern as a United fan, a general lack of control in games , conceding goals, reliance on counter attacking, letting other teams play
posted on 4/9/23
comment by Devonshirespur (U6316)
posted 3 minutes ago
comment by Red Russian (U4715)
posted 27 minutes ago
comment by Amadou Bakayoko (U1734)
posted 1 minute ago
We were literally a centimetre away from being a well run club, with world class young talent, the best manager in the league and the best young player in world football and capable of a title challenge.
But due to that centimetre we are now a shambles of a club with no direction, ageing slow and should be retired players, with a clueless manager who has no style and a lot of friction between players and staff. The club is in turmoil.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
This
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Football is a game of fine margins but United could have quite easily lost all 4 games, or have 2 points at this stage.
That would be my concern as a United fan, a general lack of control in games , conceding goals, reliance on counter attacking, letting other teams play
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Alternatively we could have won all four with just a bit more luck for Garnacho in getting a pen v Spurs and the goal v Arsenal.
posted on 4/9/23
comment by Devonshirespur (U6316)
posted 3 minutes ago
comment by Red Russian (U4715)
posted 27 minutes ago
comment by Amadou Bakayoko (U1734)
posted 1 minute ago
We were literally a centimetre away from being a well run club, with world class young talent, the best manager in the league and the best young player in world football and capable of a title challenge.
But due to that centimetre we are now a shambles of a club with no direction, ageing slow and should be retired players, with a clueless manager who has no style and a lot of friction between players and staff. The club is in turmoil.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
This
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Football is a game of fine margins but United could have quite easily lost all 4 games, or have 2 points at this stage.
That would be my concern as a United fan, a general lack of control in games , conceding goals, reliance on counter attacking, letting other teams play
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Yep, we could also have won all four and been on 12 points. Fine margins indeed.
A CM offside call away from beating arsenal and two sitters away from being up against Spurs.
posted on 4/9/23
comment by Diafol Coch 77 (U2462)
posted 20 minutes ago
I don't disagree with this at all even if my probably still emotional post this morning suggests I would!
I still maintain it's a sign of where we are that we are quite satisfied with a performance even though we lost 3-1. Having said that SAF (because I did mention it earlier) did win a few games at Arsenal when perhaps the balance of play suggests we didn't deserve too. It was more the Sancho thing afterwards that got me really.
It's still not quite ETH's team either so it would encouraging to see us being far more solid and organised yesterday. The team below is possibly ETH's strongest but, even then, half the outfield players are still not his players! He needs time to stamp his authority and I hope he gets it. Klopp and Arteta got time at their clubs so let's hope we show the same patience.
Onana*
AWB
Varane
Martinez*
Shaw
Casemiro*
Amrabat/Mount*
Bruno
Antony*
Hojlund*
Rashford
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It’s also not a game of 11 men anymore. Even smaller PL sides have depth these days, we don’t.
posted on 4/9/23
Seen enough from Hojlund to get me excited. He's so fast and he's going to be a real handful.
Now if we get the Amrabat I saw in the world cup in the side too then things will look very different for us.
We need to go and win 6 or 7 out of the next 9 games now. Maybe a draw or two and no more than 1 more defeat. If we do that things will be looking fine again.
Spurs away Arsenal away being our first two away games wasn't ideal really given our injuries and new players aren't settled in.
posted on 4/9/23
comment by Glazers Out (SE85) (U21241)
posted 49 seconds ago
Seen enough from Hojlund to get me excited. He's so fast and he's going to be a real handful.
Now if we get the Amrabat I saw in the world cup in the side too then things will look very different for us.
We need to go and win 6 or 7 out of the next 9 games now. Maybe a draw or two and no more than 1 more defeat. If we do that things will be looking fine again.
Spurs away Arsenal away being our first two away games wasn't ideal really given our injuries and new players aren't settled in.
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Yep, I agree with all this as a more optimistic take
posted on 4/9/23
comment by Busby (U19985)
posted 41 seconds ago
comment by Diafol Coch 77 (U2462)
posted 20 minutes ago
I don't disagree with this at all even if my probably still emotional post this morning suggests I would!
I still maintain it's a sign of where we are that we are quite satisfied with a performance even though we lost 3-1. Having said that SAF (because I did mention it earlier) did win a few games at Arsenal when perhaps the balance of play suggests we didn't deserve too. It was more the Sancho thing afterwards that got me really.
It's still not quite ETH's team either so it would encouraging to see us being far more solid and organised yesterday. The team below is possibly ETH's strongest but, even then, half the outfield players are still not his players! He needs time to stamp his authority and I hope he gets it. Klopp and Arteta got time at their clubs so let's hope we show the same patience.
Onana*
AWB
Varane
Martinez*
Shaw
Casemiro*
Amrabat/Mount*
Bruno
Antony*
Hojlund*
Rashford
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It’s also not a game of 11 men anymore. Even smaller PL sides have depth these days, we don’t.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Indeed. I agree.
To add to the above you have Garnacho, Mainoo, Lindelof, Maguire, Dalot, Malacia, McT, Eriksen, Martial etc (I've probably forgotten someone obvious!) who can come in and do some kind of job. They're not awful by any means but we do need better of course.
posted on 4/9/23
comment by Glazers Out (SE85) (U21241)
posted 2 minutes ago
Seen enough from Hojlund to get me excited. He's so fast and he's going to be a real handful.
Now if we get the Amrabat I saw in the world cup in the side too then things will look very different for us.
We need to go and win 6 or 7 out of the next 9 games now. Maybe a draw or two and no more than 1 more defeat. If we do that things will be looking fine again.
Spurs away Arsenal away being our first two away games wasn't ideal really given our injuries and new players aren't settled in.
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Spurs and Arsenal perhaps not ideal. To put a positive spin on it though maybe it's better to keep the games against lower sides until we're better ourselves. I mean it wouldn't be a shock at all to see our best XI lose both those games anyway!
posted on 4/9/23
comment by Diafol Coch 77 (U2462)
posted 27 minutes ago
comment by Castor Troy (U8700)
posted 8 seconds ago
comment by Red Russian (U4715)
posted 14 minutes ago
comment by Amadou Bakayoko (U1734)
posted 1 minute ago
We were literally a centimetre away from being a well run club, with world class young talent, the best manager in the league and the best young player in world football and capable of a title challenge.
But due to that centimetre we are now a shambles of a club with no direction, ageing slow and should be retired players, with a clueless manager who has no style and a lot of friction between players and staff. The club is in turmoil.
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This
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You guys are aware that even if the off side goal was given there was 12 mins left to play
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12 minutes to extend our lead as well...
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Obviously, my OP isn't about how we deserved to win or anything. But at 2-1 up, I'd have fancied our chances with Rashford, Garnacho and Hojlund on the pitch and the luxury of sitting compact and hitting them on the break.
posted on 4/9/23
Next 6 in the league:
Brighton H
Burnley A
Palace H
Brentford H
Sheff United A
City H
We need to go into that derby game with some momentum and form. Definitely some winnable fixtures for us too. Brighton is going to be very tough though.
posted on 4/9/23
Oh, one other specific positive from the match: that Hojlund back-heal. Not just a big lad, eh?
posted on 4/9/23
At the risk of incurring the wrath of those intent on blaming Onana for the sun going down at night, I personally thought he was the biggest positive from that game yesterday. It was really interesting the see the difference in how Arsenal pressed us yesterday vs how they did in both games last season, and it really contributed to us actually looking pretty assured in possession at the back. I think that will stand us in good stead for away games this season.
Aside from that, I am somewhere between the OP and Jalisco's post. Still serious questions over the mentality of certain players in these games, and compared to the elite teams we are still worryingly sub-standard when it comes to progressing the ball.
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