Ajax - Man Utd | EL Final Build-up Thread

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Surely, it'll be Smalling and Jones as the CB partnership. Blind hasn't played with either of them recently, and if Jose intended to do that, he'd have tested them out.

I guess the question remains is who will go to LB. Blind or Darmian? Who plays on the RW for Ajax? If it's a pacy winger than I can see Darmian getting the nod. Otherwise, Blind.
 
Heista said:
I am so hoping Mourinho will lose the final.
I truly dislike almost everything about him.
How he plays, what he says and how he says it...
Only his professional personality I mean.

If Ajax have to lose than I will be sad, but happy for United as I follow them as only foreign club. But, goodness, Mourinho losing this final will almost be as pleasant as Ajax winning it.

I wont say any other manager in stead of him would do as he is a topmanager and he can get good players because of his reputation. Butgood riddance if and when is gone.

Even with Ajax we had Frank de Boer who gave us back championships, but now we have a manager who is giving us back football. Even if this manager will not get any prices we are very glad having him.

I understand a price is important for United but I hope there will come a manager soon who will give footbal back to United.
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Jose and United 4 eva <3
 
If United plays solidly in defense and Ajax doesn't somehow get an early goal I can see Ajax self-destruct. The longer the game goes without Ajax leading the larger the chance of United winning will be imo.
 
Giant Midget said:
Surely, it'll be Smalling and Jones as the CB partnership. Blind hasn't played with either of them recently, and if Jose intended to do that, he'd have tested them out.

I guess the question remains is who will go to LB. Blind or Darmian? Who plays on the RW for Ajax? If it's a pacy winger than I can see Darmian getting the nod. Otherwise, Blind.
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Normally speaking the Ajax Right Winger will be Chelsea loan Bertrand Traoré. So yes, a pacy winger.
 
Giant Midget said:
Surely, it'll be Smalling and Jones as the CB partnership. Blind hasn't played with either of them recently, and if Jose intended to do that, he'd have tested them out.

I guess the question remains is who will go to LB. Blind or Darmian? Who plays on the RW for Ajax? If it's a pacy winger than I can see Darmian getting the nod. Otherwise, Blind.
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Darmian has been sound in defense recently. Why should we change? I think Blind will start and he's just been given some rest.
 
I was buzzing about this game a week ago, but having seen our recent performances I'm now dreading it. Can we rediscover our form so quickly after the way we've played in the last few league games?

The nerves are going to be eating me up come next Wednesday. Right now I just hope we get over the line, don't care how.
 
Giant Midget said:
Surely, it'll be Smalling and Jones as the CB partnership. Blind hasn't played with either of them recently, and if Jose intended to do that, he'd have tested them out.

I guess the question remains is who will go to LB. Blind or Darmian? Who plays on the RW for Ajax? If it's a pacy winger than I can see Darmian getting the nod. Otherwise, Blind.
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Blind was rested last night along with the other guaranteed starters such as Pogba, Rashford, Valencia, Herrera, so it stands to reason that he will start in the final, as for his partner well that's up for debate, but were it up to me I'd go with Jones as I feel he is less likely to make an error.

This is the team I would go with:

Romeroo
Valencia-Jones-Blind-Darmian
Carrick-Herrera
Pogba
Miki Martial
Rashford

Miki is horribly out of form, but he remains one of our few world class players and I think he'll turn it on for the final. Pogba is obviously a doubt given the circumstances, in his absence we'll have to go with Fellaini as there is clearly no better option available.

In any case I think our lads will be well motivated for the EL final and win the game comfortably. 3-0 to United.
 
Keenst said:
There is very little to suggest we can simply up our game instantly for this. We have been playing shit football for a long time. I think it will be nervy.
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The fact that we've been rotating our squad with this game in mind for weeks now suggests we've been gearing up to up our game. We got this.
 
Speedy30 said:
No point bus parking in a final. They score and you have to change the set up and mentality of the whole team which is very difficult to do in 90mins.
Your best bet is to start as fast as you can and put a couple past their shocking defence before they have time to settle.
Its not going to be a classic but I can see you winning 2-0/2-1.
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Problem is we haven't played that way apart from one or two rare occasions. Like the Chelsea game. Can we do it again ? We could. But it could also play into the hands of the opposition. A open end to end game suits them more since they have been playing that way throughout the season.
 
GrandJury said:
This simply is a game where if our defence is good and everyone does their jobs we'll win.

While we haven't been clinical, Ajax really, really can't defend. If we can soak their pressure we'll kill them off fairly easily IMO.
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What makes you so sure Ajax can't defend? I think you probably never watched a full game did you? Only the 2 returns against Schalke and Lyon?
Sanchez would probably start every MU game as CB and De Ligt (only 17 years old) within a year or 2.

Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see if MU is really underestimating Ajax or that it is mainly guys like you ;)
 
Random Task said:
Blind was rested last night along with the other guaranteed starters such as Pogba, Rashford, Valencia, Herrera, so it stands to reason that he will start in the final, as for his partner well that's up for debate, but were it up to me I'd go with Jones as I feel he is less likely to make an error.

This is the team I would go with:

Romeroo
Valencia-Jones-Blind-Darmian
Carrick-Herrera
Pogba
Miki Martial
Rashford

Miki is horribly out of form, but he remains one of our few world class players and I think he'll turn it on for the final. Pogba is obviously a doubt given the circumstances, in his absence we'll have to go with Fellaini as there is clearly no better option available.

In any case I think our lads will be well motivated for the EL final and win the game comfortably. 3-0 to United.
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Yeah, Pogba and Valencia are getting a long and deserved rest. Hopefully both players, even with Pogba father's recent passing, will be raring to go.
 
togg said:
One thing I know, is that if we do indeed lose, the pain will ripple right through the summer like repetitive deflating bad memory!
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Yep, the best thing about a big loss is usually that there is another game just around the corner to right the wrong. But with cup finals, it's usually not the case; makes it so much more important. Don't want to have to wait 3 months for the next game!

A win will also have a huge boost going into next season for the players. The atmosphere in pre-season will be full of excitement and hopefulness, however it may be a bit damp if the result doesn't go our way.

Massive game. If Pogba is on form, I think we'll win.
 
togg said:
One thing I know, is that if we do indeed lose, the pain will ripple right through the summer like repetitive deflating bad memory!
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Depressing thought isn't it. Redcafe will like a cemetery should the unthinkable happen.
 
Surprised people haven't widely considered the notion of a 3 man defence with Blind, Jones and Smalling. An extra cautious approach wouldn't surprise me at all.
 
ilovethisgameahahah said:
I couldn't disagree with this more. We have scored 1 goal and conceded 4 in our last 3 games, all of which we parked the bus in. This season has shown us that our bench defenders are very poor in a low block and our attackers are useless when asked to defend deep in our own half and break on the counter, especially with Rashford isolated up top getting long balls pumped at him. I think if we are not brave and try to play a balanced game then the nippy Ajax front line will have a field day and at best, if Romero has a good game we will take it to penalties.
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I think not having Pogba to play the first pass out in those games dramatically reduced the effectiveness of our transitions. We need a performance akin to Chelsea at home (in which Pogba did play) rather than Spurs/Arsenal away, although all three games involved a low block.
 
I think it will be Smalling/Jones and Blind at the back. I think Mourinho will choose Smalling over Jones because he's better in the air and that's important when the other centre back is quite small.
 
Can't believe people are seriously wanting us park the bus against Ajax. Have we really fell that low? Jeez.

I think this game will be a tense one with very few goals. In fact can see it being won by a 1-0 for either side. Certainly won't be one for the neutrals I don't think.

In terms of team selection, I think it's certain that Romero, Lingard (ugh), Jones, Darmian, Pogba, Valencia, Rashford and Herrera will start. The rest is probably up for grabs. I personally would rather Mkhi started as he has been generally very good in the Europa, But I think Jose will go with Lingard and Mata or Martial (probably Mata).

If we lose, then this place will definetly not take the strain. Jose will certainly get a bad time aswell.
 
JoaquinJoaquin said:
Can't believe people are seriously wanting us park the bus against Ajax. Have we really fell that low? Jeez.

I think this game will be a tense one with very few goals. In fact can see it being won by a 1-0 for either side. Certainly won't be one for the neutrals I don't think.

In terms of team selection, I think it's certain that Romero, Lingard (ugh), Jones, Darmian, Pogba, Valencia, Rashford and Herrera will start. The rest is probably up for grabs. I personally would rather Mkhi started as he has been generally very good in the Europa, But I think Jose will go with Lingard and Mata or Martial (probably Mata).

If we lose, then this place will definetly not take the strain. Jose will certainly get a bad time aswell.
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If true, there's only one team/coach to blame.
 
Not really worried about the game. Everyone knows yesterdays game was a nothing match and it will be similar against Palace. We've known for sometime we were prioritizing the Europa League.
 
Sjaakmeoff said:
If true, there's only one team/coach to blame.
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If we lose then Jose is going to get it from all quarters there is no doubt about it. And would I agree with it? Well to an extent he would deserve alot of the blame for what has happened this season, especially the last month. It has been horrible and mainly boils down to his selections and tactics. But if we win then it's happy days and a pretty good season. The line is that thin right now.
 
willhse456 said:
I think it will be Smalling/Jones and Blind at the back. I think Mourinho will choose Smalling over Jones because he's better in the air and that's important when the other centre back is quite small.
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Sanchez and dolberg are two good headers of the ball. I think this is a very valid point.
 
I'm expecting Ajax to come out and attack us from the go. So Jose will most likely setup to counter. The team that scores the first goal will have a huge advantage. There will be chances for both teams and we'll win if we are clinical. If we are our usual self and keep missing chances, a loss is inevitable. I'm pretty sure this is how we'll line up
Romero
Valencia Smalling Blind Darmian
Herrera
Fellaini Pogba
Lingard Rashford Mkhi​

My prediction is 2-1 to United with Rashford and Lingard scoring in the first half. They'll score a late one and we'll hang on for dear life in the last 10-15 mins.
 
JoaquinJoaquin said:
If we lose then Jose is going to get it from all quarters there is no doubt about it. And would I agree with it? Well to an extent he would deserve alot of the blame for what has happened this season, especially the last month. It has been horrible and mainly boils down to his selections and tactics. But if we win then it's happy days and a pretty good season. The line is that thin right now.
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I was talking about: "I think this game will be a tense one with very few goals. In fact can see it being won by a 1-0 for either side. Certainly won't be one for the neutrals I don't think."

Mourinho's tactic is to kill games, to let other teams play bad. No matter how bad it looks.

Bosz is all about pressing and creating.
 
Sjaakmeoff said:
I was talking about: "I think this game will be a tense one with very few goals. In fact can see it being won by a 1-0 for either side. Certainly won't be one for the neutrals I don't think."

Mourinho's tactic is to kill games, to let other teams play bad. No matter how bad it looks.

Bosz is all about pressing and creating.
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Well yeah that's what I was getting at. Ajax will want to play, But Jose will have us parking the bus and defensively we are generally strong so that's why I can't see alot of goals in the game.
 
Striker10 said:
Not really worried about the game. Everyone knows yesterdays game was a nothing match and it will be similar against Palace. We've known for sometime we were prioritizing the Europa League.
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But we were pretty dire in the 'something' matches as well. That Arsenal game was a fecking shambles. One of the most cowardly set out tactics of recent history which was totally on Mourinho.
 
abhayselvan said:
I'm expecting Ajax to come out and attack us from the go. So Jose will most likely setup to counter. The team that scores the first goal will have a huge advantage. There will be chances for both teams and we'll win if we are clinical. If we are our usual self and keep missing chances, a loss is inevitable. I'm pretty sure this is how we'll line up
Romero
Valencia Smalling Blind Darmian
Herrera
Fellaini Pogba
Lingard Rashford Mkhi​

My prediction is 2-1 to United with Rashford and Lingard scoring in the first half. They'll score a late one and we'll hang on for dear life in the last 10-15 mins.
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So the second leg of the Celta Vigo semi all over again?

Hope not as nearly broke the telly last time.... if it happened again, not sure I could stop myself from throwing something this time.
 
The one thing that I will not be able to handle is a penalty shootout. The nerves would kill me. I don't even know who our penalty takers would be. My choice would be Pogba, Mkhi, Herrera and Rashford. Rooney, Mata and Martial would also do well if they are on the field.
 
BeforeKeanetherewasRobson said:
So the second leg of the Celta Vigo semi all over again?

Hope not as nearly broke the telly last time.... if it happened again, not sure I could stop myself from throwing something this time.
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:lol: This won't be that bad since we would still have extra-time. The Celta Vigo game was something else! I still can't believe they missed that chance in the very end.
 
JoaquinJoaquin said:
Well yeah that's what I was getting at. Ajax will want to play, But Jose will have us parking the bus and defensively we are generally strong so that's why I can't see alot of goals in the game.
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Ah, ok.

Kinda sad don't you think? Such a big club with quality players formed for a crapload of money (Pogba's left leg was more expensive than Ajax' entire team) and all Mourinho can think of is how to stop Ajax from winning, in stead of trusting his own players and just let them play.

Even stranger is the way the forum is following his way of thinking. Everyone is posting different line-ups, which are best to stop Ajax. I really don't get that. Just play your best 11. Given the difference in quality this should be more than enough to win this.

So stop being adult kittens and man up.

(sadly my last post of the day...newbie problems :))
 
We've been flat in recent weeks but the I expect the team to be at it next week and go for the kill. But once again inability to take our chances is the major concern.
 
Daley Sinkgraven joined the Ajax training on Thursday morning, according to the Algemeen Dagblad. The left back of Peter Bosz stood one month by the side with a stubborn knee injury. Also, Lasse Schöne, who had to miss Willem II, is out of the party.

Schöne played in the semi-finals against Olympique Lyon with a foot injury and walked the next day with a pack of ice on his foot. The odds of being available to Manchester United again are significant, while Sinkgraven seems to be a doubt in spite of his fitness. He hasn't played any matches for a long time.

The return of Sinkgraven will in any case be considered by Bosz as defender Nick Viergever received a red card in the semifinal and is now suspended for the final.
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Sjaakmeoff said:
Ah, ok.

Kinda sad don't you think? Such a big club with quality players formed for a crapload of money (Pogba's left leg was more expensive than Ajax' entire team) and all Mourinho can think of is how to stop Ajax from winning, in stead of trusting his own players and just let them play.

Even stranger is the way the forum is following his way of thinking. Everyone is posting different line-ups, which are best to stop Ajax. I really don't get that. Just play your best 11. Given the difference in quality this should be more than enough to win this.

So stop being adult kittens and man up.

(sadly my last post of the day...newbie problems :))
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Hey I totally agree. Like I said in the 'confident for next season' thread, We need to start getting on the front foot and attacking teams which lets them worry about us. Sick to death of us 'neutralizing' teams lately that are inferior. That boils down to Jose though. And that is why if we lose he will take alot of flack and rightly so IF he chooses to set out like that in the final. Ideally I would like us to put out our strongest team and go for it, as it would be a very good game if we had free flowing United and free flowing Ajax go at it. But it's a results business and Jose needs this. He knows that aswell so he wont take any risks IMO.

Mods - I like this guy, bump up his rights :D
 
Sjaakmeoff said:
Ah, ok.

Kinda sad don't you think? Such a big club with quality players formed for a crapload of money (Pogba's left leg was more expensive than Ajax' entire team) and all Mourinho can think of is how to stop Ajax from winning, in stead of trusting his own players and just let them play.

Even stranger is the way the forum is following his way of thinking. Everyone is posting different line-ups, which are best to stop Ajax. I really don't get that. Just play your best 11. Given the difference in quality this should be more than enough to win this.

So stop being adult kittens and man up.

(sadly my last post of the day...newbie problems :))
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Mourinho teams play counter attacking football. Why would he change now?

What do you mean by trusting his own players? Of course he trusts the players who will start in the final. He trusts that the players who will be on the pitch will follow his instructions.

And again this crap about the cost of our player. We have the money, we buy who we want. Should we play the reserves because that's the team closer to Ajax level?

I don't think this is sad at all.
 
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