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Manchester United 2:1 Swansea City

Old Trafford

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Sat, 2 January 2016 @ 3:00pm GMT
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    LeftyBlaster said:
    We played far better against them than we have in any recent memory. Nobody's saying we battered them. If you can't see that then go watch it again. Far from perfection but a good place to build from.
    Click to expand...

    I could understand if we played like that 1 month after he arrived. You could say that that game is good place to build on.
    You could say if we are that good after 1 month, after 18 months (and £200M spent) we will be fantastic.

    My friend, "that performance", was after 18 months!
    That's as good as it gets.
    2 shots on target.

    I can't believe that people are getting so excited about a 0-0 against Chelsea - a side who everybody agrees were terrible in that game.
    LVG stated previously that fans need to adjust their expectations.
    I think some fans have done this, and now a 0-0 draw, after a decent 30 minutes is hailed as a great performance.

    Dominate possession. 2 shots on target. 0 goals scored. << this is similar to our previous form during our last 8 games.

    endless_wheelies said:
    70-30
    Click to expand...

    I see what you did there.
    My prediction:
    65-35
     
    Last edited:
    The board needs to realize times have changed since SAF's reign. I honestly want United to win but every team comes to OT with the same game plan and having 10 men behind the ball which we cannot break at all. It also doesn't help that our only attack is from the LW. Everyone is getting ahead of us and if the performaces continue, our season will be over by February. We should forget about winning the title. Even if we win tomorrow it will be a narrow 1-0 win with set piece or an own goal. None of the players have the capability to score, we are relying too much on a 20 year old. LVG needs to go now before it's too late.
    With such performances we should be clinging ourselves to the top half of the table.
     
    Last edited:
    sunama said:
    I could understand if we played like that 1 month after he arrived. You could say that that game is good place to build on.
    You could say if we are that good after 1 month, after 18 months (and £200M spent) we will be fantastic.

    My friend, "that performance", was after 18 months!
    That's as good as it gets.
    2 shots on target.

    I can't believe that people are getting so excited about a 0-0 against Chelsea - a side who everybody agrees were terrible in that game.
    LVG stated previously that fans need to adjust their expectations.
    I think some fans have done this, and now a 0-0 draw, after a decent 30 minutes is hailed as a great performance.

    Dominate possession. 2 shots on target. 0 goals scored. << this is similar to our previous form during our last 8 games.

    I see what you did there.
    My prediction:
    65-35
    Click to expand...
    You didn't really watch the game did you? Otherwise you wouldn't have played the "shots on target" card, which makes absolutely no sense to do if you did watch the game. The biggest chances in the game, all of them, resulted in shots off target. We hit the woodworks twice and Rooney managed to overshoot a volley from 5 meters. On the other side, Chelsea's biggest chance was Matic's, which also didn't result in a shot on target. That statistic therefore says absolutely nothing about this game, and about most games actually. We played well for 75 min, after which we began to tire. Is it so hard to admit that we actually played a good game, even though we didn't get a result? Also, did you ever consider that Chelsea looked poor, because we played so well?

    A lot of the people who are against LvG staying (which is a fair opinion) refuse to acknowledge any positives. Having an opinion is fair, while the results have not been good and therefore wanting a change of manager is understandable. However, as a supporter of a club, I would always also look at the positives as well. If I were against him staying, as long as the board would decide to keep LvG and he's still here, I would at least hope that he'd be able to turn things around because that's what you do when you support a club.
     
    sammsky1 said:
    To win we have to score a goal .... Hmmm
    Click to expand...

    That's what LVG tells his players in the pre-match team-talk.
    When he tells them that, our attackers shit themselves and have panic attacks. :lol:
     
    Orange said:
    You didn't really watch the game did you?
    Click to expand...

    I did. And I actually enjoyed the first 30 minutes. I thought we'd score.
    However, lets not get ahead of ourselves - we didn't score. After 30 mins we reverted to our normal style of play and the result was also the normal: 0-0 scoreline.
    Playing fancy football is all fine and well, but if you are losing and drawing for 8 games, the only thing matters is the score line.
    Some fans find it acceptable to lose and draw for 8 games (or more). I don't.

    Orange said:
    A lot of the people who are against LvG staying (which is a fair opinion) refuse to acknowledge any positives.
    Click to expand...

    As stated above, the score line is now the most important thing to look at. Almost scoring counts for nothing.
    We are currently on relegation form - hogging the ball for 70% of the time, then scoring zero goals is of no consequence.
    I work in sales and management and if I ALMOST made 100 sales, but actually made zero sales, I'd get fired. ALMOST doesn't count if you are constantly losing and drawing.
     
    Loublaze said:
    Ok..one game. We've still looked way more settled with those two as a central pairing. Smalling is way more effective and comfortable as a RCB
    Click to expand...

    Yes but let's not kid ourselves that Blind is good enough to be a starting CB for us and whilst I agree with you it says more about Jones and Rojo

    He's done ok with a defensive team in front and his passing is useful - a key area of the team that needs strengthened
     
    sunama said:
    I could understand if we played like that 1 month after he arrived. You could say that that game is good place to build on.
    You could say if we are that good after 1 month, after 18 months (and £200M spent) we will be fantastic.

    My friend, "that performance", was after 18 months!
    That's as good as it gets.
    2 shots on target.

    I can't believe that people are getting so excited about a 0-0 against Chelsea - a side who everybody agrees were terrible in that game.
    LVG stated previously that fans need to adjust their expectations.
    I think some fans have done this, and now a 0-0 draw, after a decent 30 minutes is hailed as a great performance.

    Dominate possession. 2 shots on target. 0 goals scored. << this is similar to our previous form during our last 8 games.
    Click to expand...

    Fecks sake nobody's calling it a great performance. It's a good place to build from. Yes, we should be expecting far better after 18 months. Nobody's disagreeing either; I dare say you won't find anyone thinking otherwise. But since we're here, time to accept reality. We need to improve, and we need to improve now; there is no more room for shitty performances. If you can't be happy that we showed signs that we're capable of that against Chelsea then it's high time you stop grieving over what could've been. Since we can't change the fact that LVG is going to be here for the foreseeable future, why not just pray that he gets what made us look better against Chelsea? Nobody's showering us with glory. It's your own misconception of what I think.
     
    We shall have to agree to disagree.
    I'm going to avoid arguing with someone over the internet - been there, done that - never again.
    Peace out bro.
     
    I'm strangely looking forward to this match. I'm not sure why because it will probably be a borefest, but yeah. Come on United!
     
    Only change in the squad for tomorrow is McNair in for CBJ, according to twitter.
     
    That Chelsea game really has lifted the pressure on LvG, I have no idea why but it has, to such an extent that I think we could lose tomorrow and he'll be fine.

    This and the FA cup game really is the calm before the storm tough, so it's to be hoped he wins them both.
     
    I would bite your hand off for a draw, be it 0-0 or 1-1. But I'd settle for a 1-0 loss. Losing by only one against Swansea is no mean feat.
     
    LawCharltonBest said:
    I'm strangely looking forward to this match. I'm not sure why because it will probably be a borefest, but yeah. Come on United!
    Click to expand...

    Me too, mainly due to the idea of seeing Schweinsteiger, Schneiderlin and Herrera starting again. Am I right in thinking we've only seen this versus Everton away and the Chelsea game?

    No doubt one of them will be dropped after I've posted this but I really do think this is our best combo by far at present and if we start with it we'll be at least mildly entertained :)
     
    We lost all 3 games against Swansea since LVG was appointed 2-1. Doesn't look good.
     
    Wonder how many we'll have to lose before the boards patience finally snaps. I reckon he'll be safe still if we lose tomorrow, but it does need to change quickly.
     
    Orange said:
    We played well for 75 min, after which we began to tire.
    Click to expand...

    Did we watch the same game? At a stretch, we had a good first half. Realistically, more like 30 minutes.

    Orange said:
    Also, did you ever consider that Chelsea looked poor, because we played so well?
    Click to expand...

    What, just like all the other teams that beat Chelsea this season? Chelsea aren't bad, they were all just playing so well that day? Of course, we didn't even beat them, unlike fully half the teams that played them before us .
     
    I would like to see Mata out of the line up just to see what we are like with pace from the start. The first 20 or so minutes are very important to build confidence and Young for instance is capable of skinning defenders. That makes the opposition anxious and unable to settle which is the complete opposite of what we see currently.
     
    sunama said:
    I did. And I actually enjoyed the first 30 minutes. I thought we'd score.
    However, lets not get ahead of ourselves - we didn't score. After 30 mins we reverted to our normal style of play and the result was also the normal: 0-0 scoreline.
    Playing fancy football is all fine and well, but if you are losing and drawing for 8 games, the only thing matters is the score line.
    Some fans find it acceptable to lose and draw for 8 games (or more). I don't.

    As stated above, the score line is now the most important thing to look at. Almost scoring counts for nothing.
    We are currently on relegation form - hogging the ball for 70% of the time, then scoring zero goals is of no consequence.
    I work in sales and management and if I ALMOST made 100 sales, but actually made zero sales, I'd get fired. ALMOST doesn't count if you are constantly losing and drawing.
    Click to expand...
    I agree with you on the result bit, of course. However, I think we can agree on the fact that if we can continue to play like this, results will come :) I believe, based on his resume, that LvG has the ability to make this happen. Of course, there are no guarantees that he will actually succeed and we might have to sack him, but until his contract is actually terminated I will hope for him to succeed.
     
    Wow, some feeling really adventurous and predicting a 3-0 win for United.
     
    Big game. If we lose this, then I am convinced LVG is off. A convincing win here and I think his job is safe until there's nothing to play for this season. Not sure why I think that, but I just feel that the club need to decide now whether or not to keep him just so the transfer window can be planned ahead. No point letting LVG pick targets if we're just going to sack him in a month or so.

    Not sure where a sloppy win will leave him. Slightly in limbo. This is the most winnable game we've had for a while. All Swansea have mustered recently is a draw at Palace.

    For the good of the players, the fans and most importantly Van Gaal, we need a performance and a promising result here. I want LVG to do well despite losing my faith in him.

    We'll see how this horrid run has re-evaluated his philosophy. If he's as stubborn as ever and refused to change a thing, then he's in a pickle.
     
    Hernandez - BFA said:
    Big game. If we lose this, then I am convinced LVG is off. A convincing win here and I think his job is safe until there's nothing to play for this season. Not sure why I think that, but I just feel that the club need to decide now whether or not to keep him just so the transfer window can be planned ahead. No point letting LVG pick targets if we're just going to sack him in a month or so.
    Click to expand...
    he would, or at least should have been sacked by now if we weren't going to give him the january transfer window.
     
    People, less chatty more line-ups since LVG's presser was no help.
     
    Our performance against Chelsea has given many reason to be optimistic, and indeed we did look better. The biggest difference I noticed was that our players were more mobile, moving to make themselves available for passes rather than rigidly sticking to their positions and that ''trust your team-mate to find you'' BS, so that's a plus.

    I thought Chelsea, however, were the poorest team we played this season, and our performance flattered to deceive. They went for zonal defence, did not put any pressure on the player with the ball and hardly seemed to want the ball at all. Their game plan, it seemed was to take advantage of our inability to score, let us have as much of the ball as we wanted to lure us in, and hit us on the break. They under-estimated us a little, and our players, given time on the ball were able to put in several shots that hit the post or really tested Courtois. On the other hand, they were right; ultimatly we were unable to score, and they had a few counter attacks that could have won them the game. All in all, I think anyone who watched and analyzed the game will find the result was fair.

    I haven't seen Swansea play lately, but I hear they are not doing so well. Still, I don't expect them to allow us as much space and time on the ball as Chelsea did.

    I'm going for a cautiously optimistic 0-0
     
    ------------------------DDG-----------------
    Darmian-------Smalling ----Blind-----Young
    --------------Schw--------Schn--------------
    Mata-------------Herrera-------------Martial
    -------------------Rooney---------------------

    If that's not enough to comfortably beat Swansea then we need a change..
     
    Today's the day guys, I can feel it, we're going to score a goal.
     
    ------------DDG------------
    ------smalling--jones------
    Darmian--------------blind
    ---------schneiderlin-------
    -----Herrera-----BFS-------
    Mata-----------------Martial
    -----------Rooney-----------
     
    I'm getting that pre game optimism despite the fact I should know better!

    Changing my vote...2-0 Utd.
     
    If the team play like they did in the 1st half v Chelsea, with good movement and quick passing and pace, then we should win. ( still not convinced it was Van Gaals instructions to play like that)
    Revert to type as we probably will then a very exciting 0-0 is on the cards.
    I'm going 0-0.
     
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Post-match discussion

Man of the Match

Anthony Martial image Anthony Martial 63% of 872 votes

Runners-up

Player Ratings

6.2 Total Average Rating

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Compiled from 575 ratings.
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Score Predictions

444,114,170
  • Man Utd win
  • Swansea win
  • Draw

Detailed Results

  • 20% Man Utd 1:0 Swansea
  • 20% Man Utd 2:0 Swansea
  • 18% Man Utd 0:0 Swansea
  • 7% Man Utd 3:0 Swansea
  • 7% Man Utd 2:1 Swansea
  • 6% Man Utd 1:2 Swansea
  • 5% Man Utd 1:1 Swansea
  • 4% Man Utd 0:1 Swansea
  • 3% Man Utd 0:2 Swansea
  • 2% Man Utd 3:1 Swansea
  • 2% Man Utd 5:0 Swansea
  • 2% Man Utd 4:0 Swansea
  • 1% Man Utd 0:5 Swansea
  • 1% Man Utd 0:3 Swansea
  • 0% Man Utd 1:3 Swansea
  • 0% Man Utd 4:1 Swansea
  • 0% Man Utd 0:4 Swansea
  • 0% Man Utd 4:2 Swansea
  • 0% Man Utd 3:2 Swansea
  • 0% Man Utd 2:2 Swansea
Compiled from 728 predictions.
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Match Stats

  1. Man Utd
  2. Swansea
Possession
55% 45%
Shots
19 9
Shots on Target
6 4
Corners
4 2
Fouls
14 10

Referee

Jonathan Moss

Man Utd Lineup

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