Posted January 11, 2015 Man Utd without a single shot on target at home... oh dear! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 11, 2015 Worst we played all season. We created nothing all game and didn't even look threatening. Southampton were better in every way. I don't think any of our defenders bar Shaw will still be here in 3 seasons time. All of them are currently not good enough. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 11, 2015 Don't think Liverpool's performance was particularly exceptional today but I'm happy with the win at this stage, especially given that we never killed the game. I felt that Lucas had a good game today so it's slightly concerning to hear talk of a move to Inter Milan. We need him in the team, at the moment.. Lucas is the first name on the team sheet for me, has probably been or most consistant player not named Suarez in the last few years, no idea why Rodgers doesn't seem to want to keep him, it's no coincidence we've been playing better since he's back in the team. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 12, 2015 Me and my mate at work were discussing the Man U situation this morning. He pointed out some interesting stats over on Sky Sports. So, LVG has spent a hell of a lot more and is no further forward that what Moyes was at the same point in the season. A lot of Man U fans were calling for Moyes' head last season, yet LVG seems to getting a bit of a free pass. I watched the match yesterday and Man U did have their chances but Southampton played amazingly well. I would love it if they managed to get into the Champions League. It would be nice for someone different to make the cut, just to shake things up a bit. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 12, 2015 Me and my mate at work were discussing the Man U situation this morning. He pointed out some interesting stats over on Sky Sports. So, LVG has spent a hell of a lot more and is no further forward that what Moyes was at the same point in the season. A lot of Man U fans were calling for Moyes' head last season, yet LVG seems to getting a bit of a free pass. I watched the match yesterday and Man U did have their chances but Southampton played amazingly well. I would love it if they managed to get into the Champions League. It would be nice for someone different to make the cut, just to shake things up a bit. On face value, it doesn't look good. But, you have to consider a wider range of facts: 1. How many times have those signings started and started together? Di Maria has spent long periods out, Herrera had broken ribs and he hasn't played enough, Rojo has been out, Falcao has had injuries and Shaw has been the same. Same for Blind. So, for the most part, Van Gaal has been using the same squad Moyes has had. 2. Moyes had Evra, Vidic and Ferdinand to choose from and had it a LOT better with injuries than Van Gaal has had. We've had more injury issues to contend with, as shown in point 1. 3. Moyes took a team that finished first to seventh. Van Gaal is taking a team that has finished seventh to third/fourth. Typically, Van Gaal's teams finish off better than when they started. Van Gaal isn't really getting a free pass at all, but I think fans know that his pedigree is a lot better than Moyes' and the injury concerns are freak events. We're in a much better position now than we were at this point last season. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 12, 2015 All good points, especially the injuries one. I still don't think you guys are playing well though, which is understandable if the team is chopping and changing due to injuries. You still have some quality in terms of fit players though. Some of which don't seem to be stepping up at times. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 12, 2015 All good points, especially the injuries one. I still don't think you guys are playing well though, which is understandable if the team is chopping and changing due to injuries. You still have some quality in terms of fit players though. Some of which don't seem to be stepping up at times. We're inconsistent, especially defensively. The defensive injuries have ruined us and we've had to go through too many different combinations which has ruined the base of our team. Playing 3-5-2 also hasn't helped us in certain ways because we lack that defender in the middle/the sweeper who is meant to bring the ball out from the back. The closest to that has been Carrick and even he has only just come back from injury. It's a mess in a lot of ways because Van Gaal is trying to get us to play a different way and the players either aren't used to it, can't adapt or they're injured. Blind is the typical Van Gaal player because he can play well in 3 or 4 positions, he's adaptable. Somebody like Rooney also works and he's played well this year. Young has been very, very good and he was a player who looked to be on the way out under Moyes. Considering all the trouble we've had with our defence and injuries, to be in the top four at this point is good going. We've got a good base to work on and I think we'll improve. We played awful yesterday, but that's over now so we have to move on. Next game, we need to be much more attacking and we need to see more pace and aggression. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 12, 2015 I'd not say it's United's doing that has you in the top 4, I'd say it's Arsenal and Liverpool's failings that have you there. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 12, 2015 Yeah, I'd say it's not Man Utd doing better, but Arsenal, Liverpool, Everton and Tottenham doing worse. I think Man Utd will still do enough to get top 4 though, but it's kind of worrying how much they're going to have to spend to get back on top. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 12, 2015 I too agree, United are only so high because Liverpool, Arsenal, Spurs and Everton have been cack this season. You do have the same total of points at this stage as last season after all. LVG has made several blunders. Like yesterday, United hadn't a single shot on target yet your £50 million striker wasn't even included in the squad. Southampton had a bigger upheaval of their squad from last season, a new manager as well and I don't hear them complaining. Also not having Ferdinand is a plus not a minus. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 12, 2015 I'd not say it's United's doing that has you in the top 4, I'd say it's Arsenal and Liverpool's failings that have you there. That doesn't really make a lot of sense because Arsenal and Liverpool fail almost every season. Some teams do well and some do not so well, with others who are surprise packages or loiter in beween. We focus on our own football and if other teams fuck up then that's their problem. Liverpool didn't finish higher in the league than us last season because we fucked up, they finished higher because they were better. Yeah, I'd say it's not Man Utd doing better, but Arsenal, Liverpool, Everton and Tottenham doing worse. I think Man Utd will still do enough to get top 4 though, but it's kind of worrying how much they're going to have to spend to get back on top. The only team who aren't doing well out of those is Everton. All of the rest are pretty much where they usually are or have been for the last few seasons, with the exception of Liverpool who had one great season. For every good team that doesn't do so well (Liverpool), there's one that exceeds expectations (Southampton, West Ham, or even Swansea). We have to spend more because the players that were brought in to be the next generation of defenders (Jones, Smalling, Rafael (possibly), Evans) aren't up to it or the youngsters that are already there (McNair, Blackett) need experience alongside them in order to improve. Last year should have been the transition year where we planned all of this out and decided who needs to go and who needs to come in to improve things. We didn't do that, so we're doing that this season. I too agree, United are only so high because Liverpool, Arsenal, Spurs and Everton have been cack this season. You do have the same total of points at this stage as last season after all. LVG has made several blunders. Like yesterday, United hadn't a single shot on target yet your £50 million striker wasn't even included in the squad. Southampton had a bigger upheaval of their squad from last season, a new manager as well and I don't hear them complaining. Also not having Ferdinand is a plus not a minus. See the points I made above. That £50 million striker you mentioned hasn't been fit half the time and hasn't done that well when he has played, bar a few games here and there. He wouldn't have made much difference, imo. Also, we had Wilson on the bench, so at least Van Gaal is giving the younger players an opportunity to prove themselves rather than relying on big, expensive talent. Finally, Southampton got a new manager and sold loads of players, but they have been able to select near enough the same or their best 11 every week, so they're obviously going to be playing better. They sold expensive, over-rated British players and brought in other players who are at least equal to the ones who had left. Let's see how well they cope with their entire first choice back four out or go without their star players regularly throughout the season. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 12, 2015 You can't say you're doing better than last season when you're not though. Whereas this season Liverpool and Arsenal are doing worse than they did last season. Regardless of where Arsenal are and where Liverpool usually are, they're still doing worse than last season, that's indisputable. Of course injuries haven't helped but given the money Van Gaal has spent he should've bought more wisely. If he had bought defenders you'd not have had the problems anywhere near as much as you've had. Injuries are no excuse really, the squad should've been able to cope but the fact he didn't buy wisely enough for the team means you've suffered... that's just bad management, not bad luck. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 12, 2015 To back up Kav's point - Arsenal were in 1st at this point last season, with 48 points - 12 more than we currently have. We have regressed (although I do think we could be just as good if we bought some defenders!) Liverpool were in 4th with 42 points, 10 points more than they currently have. The comparison is with last year, 2014 v 2015, Moyes v Van Gaal. Not how Arsenal and Liverpool have performed over the last 10 years or so. If you then slot in Southampton as taking the "Everton" slot (surprise better than expected team), if Liverpool and Arsenal had performed as well as last season (Chelsea and Man City on around the same points as last year), Man Utd would be around the same position as last year - yet Moyes somehow was performing worse than Van Gaal. In reality, they're really comparable, and arguably, Van Gaal hasn't really spent his money wisely. And Van Gaal hasn't had the Champions League or any European football to deal with, either! Of course, you can blame injuries, fixture list, etc., and points don't really matter, it's your position relative to everyone else, but we're around the halfway point of the season, where everyone has played each other once, so it's a fair point to take a snapshot of where teams stand compared to last year, and really, Man U haven't improved at all. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 12, 2015 Imagine signing Falcao and Balotelli... When you could have got Alexis Sanchez. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 12, 2015 You can't say you're doing better than last season when you're not though. Whereas this season Liverpool and Arsenal are doing worse than they did last season. Regardless of where Arsenal are and where Liverpool usually are, they're still doing worse than last season, that's indisputable. If you watched us under Moyes for an extensive period of time, you'd see that we're playing much better and with more confidence, even if we aren't getting the points. Most United fans are realistic and know that even if the stats are comparable with that of Moyes, the other factors such as the injuries (think you're downplaying this a bit here) count for a lot. We've essentially had the same team for most of the season as Moyes had, except with an even younger and inexperienced defence. Putting the points aside, we finished 7th last season and all United fans would take where we are right now, especially as we are under transition right now when we should have been doing it last season. Of course injuries haven't helped but given the money Van Gaal has spent he should've bought more wisely. If he had bought defenders you'd not have had the problems anywhere near as much as you've had. Injuries are no excuse really, the squad should've been able to cope but the fact he didn't buy wisely enough for the team means you've suffered... that's just bad management, not bad luck. Yes, he should have bought better defenders, but we also bought a lot of players and they have ALL been injured plus others. Sorry, you can't plan for that and I think you're grossly underplaying this issue. We bought Di Maria, Rojo, Blind, Herrera, Falcao (loan) and Shaw and they have ALL been injuried for significant periods of time. Carrick spent a large part of the season out already. You can't plan for that and they all (with the exception of Falcao) haven't had any major injury problems before. This is bad luck. What else do you call it when your left back (Shaw), back-up left back (Rojo) and Blind (player who can play there) are all injured at the same time? Ashley Young is injured too and he also has played there this season. We bought two defenders, another player who can play in defence, we have used the same defenders as last season (Smalling, Jones, Evans, Rafael) and promoted younger ones (McNair, Blackett)...that's 9 defenders, 11 if you count Valencia and Young. At some point or another, each of them has been out. Of course we need to improve here and buy better players, but that doesn't necessarily mean they won't get injured. :p Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 12, 2015 The thing is, you didn't need to buy Di Maria and Falcao, instead of them he should've bought defenders, especially knowing that Vidic, Rio and Evra were going and Smalling, Jones, Evans and Rafael aren't really good enough. Rojo and Shaw simply wasn't enough, evidently. Literally everybody knew this. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 12, 2015 Imagine signing Falcao and Balotelli... When you could have got Alexis Sanchez. Balotelli was our last resort. We tried for Alexis but he chose to go to London. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 12, 2015 These awards on this evening are a disgrace. David Luiz has been named in the World Team Of The Year. Manuel Neuer Phillip Lahm David Luiz Thiago Silva Sergio Ramos Andres Iniesta Toni Kroos Angel Di Maria Cristiano Ronaldo Lionel Messi Arjen Robben I'd put Mascherano in in his place for his World Cup performances alone. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 12, 2015 The thing is, you didn't need to buy Di Maria and Falcao, instead of them he should've bought defenders, especially knowing that Vidic, Rio and Evra were going and Smalling, Jones, Evans and Rafael aren't really good enough. Rojo and Shaw simply wasn't enough, evidently. Literally everybody knew this. Well, we technically did buy three (Shaw - left back, Rojo - left back, left sided centre back, and Blind can play in Centre Midfield, left of midfield, centre back and left back). We needed an extra world class defender and we were in for Benatia who went to Bayern and also looked at others but they didn't get through. Rojo has looked alright in the games he has played, as has Shaw. If we had the same back four plus De Gea for most of the season like a team such as Chelsea has, we would've done better, it's the rotation (due to injuries) which has been the problem. Also, credit to Van Gaal for actually giving the youth players a chance and there are already centre-backs at the club who should be given the chance to step up to the plate. They may do eventually, but right now they haven't. Doesn't mean they necessarily won't next season. Also, if you saw us last season you'd know that that we needed to improve EVERYWHERE bar in goal. We had a shit centre-midfield, a shit defence and shit wingers. Herrera and Blind have looked good when they are fit and playing, it's getting them onto the pitch which is a problem. I'm much more optimistic and pleased with our general play and future than I was last season. We will improve and get better and it's just nice to see the players playing with a bit more confidence. Obviously, yesterday was the exception to that as were genuinely awful. Of course, I may change my mind if the next four or five games go the same way. :p Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 15, 2015 How did Luis get into team of year? He was cack at Chelsea so he got sold d was criticised heavily at some World Cup matches. Maybe his hair is so memorable people couldnt think of another defender and just put him there? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 18, 2015 We're really starting to hit some form now. Top 4 is becoming more possible every week. Sturridge will be back soon, and hopefully he can hit full fitness as quick as possible. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 18, 2015 We're really starting to hit some form now. Top 4 is becoming more possible every week. Sturridge will be back soon, and hopefully he can hit full fitness as quick as possible. We really need to start killing teams off, though, as we're always leaving the door open for the opposition to get back into the game Sturridge returning should help, as our main problem is in the finishing department, but it's not really wise to pin all hope on him! As for top 4 hopes, Liverpool definitely have a chance but results this weekend, other than our own, mean we haven't got any closer. Even Arsenal might win today Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 18, 2015 Good win for us today in the league. Also just got my Leage Cup Semi Final ticket Which leg? I'm off Wednesday but couldn't get a ticket for away leg Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 18, 2015 That was the most un-Arsenal display in years. And I bloody loved it! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 18, 2015 How about that, that was a real away performance against a big rival for a change. Cazorla and Coquelin were immense. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
