Manchester United Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread - See Mod Warning in OP, 09/11

BloodBath · 26-10-2014 11:15PM

Looks like Van Gaal took my advice of using Fellaini to mark Fabregas for the game. Good and bad stuff from him today but overall he put in a good shift.

Amazing that there is still negativity in here from some supporters.

We got a result against the favourites in the league with our shaky defence and missing 2 of our star players and others. We could have won the game but a draw was a fair result in the end.

We went a bit quiet in the second half which was worrying. The crowd and the players looked like they were beaten. What happened to this singing section? The fans seemed very quiet.

There is steady improvement going on there. I said if Costa wasn't playing the game would be close and it was. Chelsea really aren't that special and we're only a couple of signings off being able compete for the league.

Top 4 is coming this season. The team rebuild completed in the summer and a proper title and champions league run next season.

Believe.

bucketybuck · 26-10-2014 11:17PM

Was very surprised how completely anonymous Fabregas was, regardless of how Felliani played. I keep forgetting he was on the field, and get surprised when somebody mentions him, I can't remember a single thing he did in that game.

sky88 · 26-10-2014 11:23PM

Blue giant wrote: »

Jones would have probably got injured in it.

And injured someone else

Zico · 26-10-2014 11:32PM

sky88 wrote: »

And injured someone else

That's his modus operandi these days.

kryogen · 26-10-2014 11:50PM

Zico, you need to stop drinking, smoking, whatever it is your doing, and maybe back away from the internet for a little while?

Zico · 26-10-2014 11:59PM

kryogen wrote: »

Zico, you need to stop drinking, smoking, whatever it is your doing, and maybe back away from the internet for a little while?

Yes

kryogen · 27-10-2014 12:24AM

Night Zico. Enjoy the rambling

Zico · 27-10-2014 12:39AM

kryogen wrote: »

Night Zico. Enjoy the rambling

Yes

TheDoc · 27-10-2014 02:17AM

So your LVG planning for Sunday against City.

Do you stick with an underperforming Mata or play an out of practice Rooney ?

Hank Scorpio · 27-10-2014 03:02AM

TheDoc wrote: »

So your LVG planning for Sunday against City.

Do you stick with an underperforming Mata or play an out of practice Rooney ?

Rooney clearly for me, even though Mata's been ok in general I think we were in desperation mode when we signed him and are starting to realize its not names who make a team, hes been enough

Rooney seems to always turn up in big games for United

Mikeyt086 · 27-10-2014 04:11AM

Mr Alan wrote: »

I didn't see it.

Was at the Giants Causeway while it was on. Came in here after not knowing result and saw declarations of "what a result" and some celebratory gifs, hence why I surprised when I saw it was actually a draw not a win.

Can understand relief & being happy, but wouldn't go over the top about it.

Great stuff.

Condescending as you like, didn't even see the game.

Sure Chelsea aren't even good. Fabregas, Matic, Hazard and the like, spoofers the lot of them. A decent team would have beat them 8-0.

Giggsy11 · 27-10-2014 06:22AM

Fellaini was very good, thought this was probably his best game for ManUtd.

It was evident in the early moments of the game. Headed clearances were cheered. A strong tackle to stop Eden Hazard as he closed in on goal drew loud roars from the Old Trafford crowd. The confidence gained from his performance at the Hawthorns seems to have impacted on the player and the supporters.

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho might have anticipated dominating the midfield zone. Daley Blind is a tidy playmaker but far from a powerful presence, while Nemanja Matic has proven himself to be a dominant force so far this season. But the inclusion of Fellaini for his first start under Louis van Gaal changed the dynamic.

Playing slightly from the left of midfield but closing down Cesc Fabregas high up the field when he had chance, Fellaini worked hard to stop the man who prompts Chelsea from deep. Fabregas completed only three passes in the first 20 minutes and just 11 in the whole first half.

Given that the Spaniard has played more passes than anybody else in the Premier League, it was remarkable that United were able to stop him getting on the ball

The Premier League tracking data shows that Fellaini covered 12.17 kilometres in the match, the most by any United player, and made 70 high-intensity runs. That was more than anyone else on the pitch and, tellingly, the most he has made in any game in a United shirt.

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/15115/9536571/marouane-fellaini-played-an-important-role-in-shackling-cesc-fabregas-for-manchester-united-against-chelsea

Hotblack Desiato · 27-10-2014 08:56AM

J. Marston wrote: »

Messiest celebration ever?

Needs a soundtrack...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q62OdupxMZM

RobertKK · 27-10-2014 09:02AM

Ivan Yates on Newstalk reviewing the game with Phil Thompson said 'Blackett had a poor game'.
Thompson goes 'Blackett?'
Yates didn't catch on that Blackett was not on the pitch.

Hopefully Blackett has another poor game against Yates' favourite team: Man City.

RobertKK · 27-10-2014 09:07AM

Augeo wrote: »

I think Chelsea seemed very lax, no urgency, I imagine mourinho gave them a lashing at half time. I agree with your ott sentiment

Like when Chelsea had 6 corners before United got their first. Clearly Chelsea were being very lax and no sign of urgency...

RobertKK · 27-10-2014 09:11AM

GavRedKing wrote: »

Leaking goals? 2nd best defence in the league and 3 of the 8 were against Everton when we won by 3 goals.

Weve let in a goal a game and scored roughly 2.8 per game. Ill take that ratio tomorrow. :pac:

Sorry for this but I can't resist.

Yes leaking goals :P

Chelsea failing to get clean sheets away.
But then United failing to win away.
I suspect both will change for both teams in fairness.

Will I Amnt · 27-10-2014 09:12AM

Smalling had a good game yesterday, he has the potential to be so good, consistency has always been his problem. I'd like to see him get a proper run of games and see how he fares, providing he can stay injury free of course.
It's such a shame how injury prone the defenders are as a whole, no chance of ever having a settled back 4 with that group of players.

Giggsy11 · 27-10-2014 09:46AM

Tom Kundert @Portu_Goal

Nani just sensational today but another superb performance from João Mário. Spraying the ball around the pitch like a seasoned master.

He assisted 2 goals this weekend. I think he has scored around 4 goals and got few assists.

CantonasCollar · 27-10-2014 09:51AM

My thoughts on yesterdays match:

1. Another goal for RVP despite another meh performance.

2. Fellaini had a good game.

3. Another typical display from us this season, better first half and a poorer second half.

4. We should have been up at half time, but De Gea saved us in the second half on a few occasions so a draw is probably a fair result.

5. Great to see a last minute goal again.

6. Shaw and Januzaj played well down the left.

7. An encouraging performance against the league leaders shows another step in the right direction.

8. The defence are struggling with such frequent changes at centre back, just can't get a settled pairing.

9. Mata needs to be played in his preferred position when Rooney isn't playing, he just doesn't impact the game as well from a deeper position.

10. Rafael despite being a good player is becoming a bit of a liability.

homerjay2005 · 27-10-2014 09:53AM

its been a long time since we had a goal like that to celebrate and the place was absolute bedlam. i havent seen the place rocking like that or "bounce level" as its called, since 2012 is say - it was sensational.

great point to get and hopefully this kick starts our season as its been a really disappointing one until now.

RVP threw his jersey into the crowd and the lad beside us caught it

Giggsy11 wrote: »

Fellaini was very good, thought this was probably his best game for ManUtd.

Fellaini was excellent yesterday and our best player. weve all given him stick but credit where credit is due and i am delighted for him. Mata was poor though and anybody i talked to on the way out was of the consensus that he is slowly but surely heading towards the exit.

another CM signing, along with a fully fit squad(unlikely i know) and Mata is on his way to being a bit part player as Kagawa was last season.

Giggsy11 · 27-10-2014 09:58AM

CantonasCollar wrote: »

My thoughts on yesterdays match:

1. Another goal for RVP despite another meh performance.

2. Fellaini had a good game.

3. Another typical display from us this season, better first half and a poorer second half.

4. We should have been up at half time, but De Gea saved us in the second half on a few occasions so a draw is probably a fair result.

5. Great to see a last minute goal again.

6. Shaw and Januzaj played well down the left.

7. An encouraging performance against the league leaders shows another step in the right direction.

8. The defence are struggling with such frequent changes at centre back, just can't get a settled pairing.

9. Mata needs to be played in his preferred position when Rooney isn't playing, he just doesn't impact the game as well from a deeper position.

10. Rafael despite being a good player is becoming a bit of a liability.

Mata was played in his best position.

Rafael is not a liability. He was very good yesterday, he was booked around 6th min mark but didn't commit a foul (I think) for the whole 80 odd mins playing against Hazard.

BloodBath · 27-10-2014 10:03AM

I've been saying Mata isn't good enough for quite a while now. I haven't seen anything from him in a United jersey to suggest he's good enough. The last 3 managers seem to agree as well since he's not first choice for any of them.

Saying that I though he performed better than usual yesterday. He got himself into some good positions and actually made some effort defensively. I even seen him make a block near our box. How often do you see that?

He delivered a sweet pass to Di Maria as well creating a good goal scoring opportunity and he could have had a goal if Van Persie had squared the ball to him on one of his shots. He was wide open in the middle of the box.

He's still a great player to have as back up but will he be happy being second choice? He would get more game time with more competitions next year but I have a feeling he would be suited to Spain or somewhere where his defensive liabilities won't be as much of a problem.

Will I Amnt · 27-10-2014 10:04AM

Thought Rafael gave up a lot of possession yesterday myself, himself and Di Maria made things a lot harder than they should have been through indecision or trying to take on too much.

Kerrigooney · 27-10-2014 10:10AM

Was yesterday Fellaini' s best performance for ye guys? Thought he did well yesterday.

KH25 · 27-10-2014 10:10AM

I honestly don't know how raf can be called a liability after yesterday. He was booked early on for a silly pullback (although IMO like ivanovic's first yellow it was a very soft card) but after that he played well and didn't give away any silly fouls. It was a good performance from him.

duffman13 · 27-10-2014 10:12AM

Kerrigooney wrote: »

Was yesterday Fellaini' s best performance for he guys? Thought he did well yesterday.

By far, I thought he played really well, there was a bit towards the end were him and Matic took the ball of each other 2 or 3 times and he just wouldn't give up. It's amazing what a goal can do for a drop of confidence.

Will I Amnt · 27-10-2014 10:15AM

Didn't see too much wrong with Mata's performance yesterday, held on to the ball well and won a lot of frees with quick feet. It's only in the Premier League that attacking midfielders/number 10's are criticised for their defensive frailties.

duffman13 · 27-10-2014 10:15AM

KH25 wrote: »

I honestly don't know how raf can be called a liability after yesterday. He was booked early on for a silly pullback (although IMO like ivanovic's first yellow it was a very soft card) but after that he played well and didn't give away any silly fouls. It was a good performance from him.

I think the fact he was on a yellow after 5 mins against a Mourinho team and didn't get sent off is a massive achievement. You have to think Jose was telling Hazard to get at him as much as possible. In fact it was almost opposite Rafael yesterday, defending well (bar the goal) but not good going forward.

The goal annoyed me though, it was picked up in commentary a few times that Rafael was marking Drogba, that was always going to be a mismatch.

duffman13 · 27-10-2014 10:17AM

Will I Amnt wrote: »

Didn't see too much wrong with Mata's performance yesterday, held on to the ball well and won a lot of frees with quick feet. It's only in the Premier League that attacking midfielders/number 10's are criticised for their defensive frailties.

Think he has been getting a lot of flack but he hasn't been great in the last couple of games. I just don't think we set up to play to his strengths

Will I Amnt · 27-10-2014 10:22AM

duffman13 wrote: »

Think he has been getting a lot of flack but he hasn't been great in the last couple of games. I just don't think we set up to play to his strengths

He hasn't been great but he hasn't been nearly as bad as people are making out.

Manchester United Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread - See Mod Warning in OP, 09/11

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