[Falcow]

He is the proverbial 'like a new signing'.

DVB, Telles, Cavani and the two younger lads. Was a much better window than. people give it credit for. Include Axel and Henderson into the mix and our squad is so much better than last season.

 

[A-man]

1000% Maguire makes things too slow. I know we needed someone who can be calm in defence but sometimes it's as if he has actually been taking Kalms tablets before the game.

Definitely want to see more of this Linders & Zebe duo. Just because he cost 80m it seems Maguire has been given a free pass for too long. But don't get me wrong, he's a great defender at times but it's the consistency.

We are too busy saying we need a face cb for maguire and it's a bit disrespectful to lindelof. I think we actually need a face cb for lindelof because hes just much more mobile and comes across as a cdm in defence at times.

We'll see over time what the best pairing will be but so far I'm liking this duo.

I think we would miss Maguire’s contribution in the air though. He is good at clearing in the box as well as further up the pitch.

This has to be said and I hope Ole notices this too. It happens with Matic and Pogba who both hold the ball for too long too. Maguire Matic and Pogba are all a big part of us transitionin from defense to attack and they all dwell on the ball too long making our attacks slow. I think these three are the main culprit why we play lethargic at times

You’re right, it was not just in the back line but also more speed in the midfield. Matic is too old but Pogba should be able to change that in his game.

It’s just about his fitness, quality has never been in doubt. Many United fans surprised at his performance last night? Not any I know. Can he stay fit though? His injury history is a mixed bag, pulled hamstring, hip injury, metatarsal. It’s probably better than an reoccurring issue, and he’s only 22 so fingers crossed..

I was surprised. He has hardly ever played against quality teams before. I think he has one single game as starting CB in the PL. Also he did not impress at all when he played last season. I was definitely sursprised in a good way, but at the same time it was only one game and shouldn’t draw too many conclusions from it.

 

[RedorDead21]

He is the proverbial 'like a new signing'.

DVB, Telles, Cavani and the two younger lads. Was a much better window than. people give it credit for. Include Axel and Henderson into the mix and our squad is so much better than last season.

But our positive views on this are largely because of last night......lose agaist Chelsea and our minds go back to a poor Summer window.....its purely all results driven.

Added to this Ole is in everyone's good books. Pogaba on VDB on the bench and we lose.....that first 11 looked quite poor to me at kick off I have to say. Would the PL prove it to be...more likely.

 

[croadyman]

"You get near Di Maria and smack him like this"
makes a fisting gesture
"Then you know what will happen, he will flap around like a dolphin on the ground"
makes a dolphin gesture
"After that it can't be good for them, can't be good. You know what happened when Ashley Young shoved him off, he cried for 5 minutes"
shakes head

The flap around like a dolphin bit would be funny to watch

 

[croadyman]

The kid looks ice cold and I surely hope so that he develops into a captain. Every team needs leaders and Axels speaks very smartly. Love to see that and a great performance. Just stay injury free kid.

Yeah I just love how he completely played down facing two world class players as just like any other game

 

[Falcow]

But our positive views on this are largely because of last night......lose agaist Chelsea and our minds go back to a poor Summer window.....its purely all results driven.

Added to this Ole is in everyone's good books. Pogaba on VDB on the bench and we lose.....that first 11 looked quite poor to me at kick off I have to say. Would the PL prove it to be...more likely.

Take your point but I was positive on the window at the time of closing. After a couple of really bad performances we have had a couple of good ones and Ole deserves credit for finally moving away from the same 11 albeit some of changes were enforced.

I dont think the result against chelsea will change my mind on the transfer window but I can see plenty of negativity in here on it alright.

There is no doubt in my mind that the squad is much much better at the start of this season than the start of last, result this weekend doesnt change that for me. Bruno can be added to the group I mentioned above also as he wasnt here at start of last season.

 

[Ubik]

If that was Upamercano last night.
This place would have erupted.

In fairness, it erupted even though it wasn't.

 

[Rolaholic]

Love this lad

This is the kinda thing that made Ole say he could see the captaincy in Axel's future in the past.

First match in near 10 months yesterday and hardly put a wrong foot in against a top 3 attack in the world. Really hope Ole let's him build on that with some consistent playing time moving forward. Lord knows we need a little stability at the back and I'm hoping Axel can provide that

 

[DWelbz19]

I'm willing to do it tonight. I'll put AXL on loop.

I await with bated breath.

 

[Kaizane]

I won't lie, I was baffled when I saw him on the team sheet last night. Not because I doubted his quality, but because I thought it was a daunting challenge after being out for 10 months, it felt like Ole was throwing him to the wolves against two of the best attackers in the world. Turns out I needn't have worried, it was Tuchel throwing Neymar and Mbappe to the wolf that was Axel. Loved how calm he was, seemed to proliferate throughout the backline and in turn the team, which helped the whole team remain calm.

 

[Rossa]

Hopefully a pairing for the future. I like the thought of having 2 lightning quick centre halfs

Johnsen and Stam being the last two?

 

[R77]

Still in a state akin to positive shock tbh. Genuinely stunned. A big part due to this lad. What a beast.

 

[croadyman]

Still in a state akin to positive shock tbh. Genuinely stunned. A big part due to this lad. What a beast.

Would be such a huge boost to our defence IF he could manage to stay fit,could he be the answer to CB problem or still need to invest in an Upamecano

 

[MadDogg]

Johnsen and Stam being the last two?

Rio and Silvestre played together quite a lot.

On a related note, people always forget how good Silvestre was for the first half of 03/04. Most people on the forum at the time felt he'd been our best player that season and probably second best only to Henry throughout the entire league. Unfortunately he fell apart a bit once Rio got that long suspension and never got back to anywhere near that form again. I'll always remember him fondly for that half a season of brilliance though.

 

[Mark Pawelek]

He is the proverbial 'like a new signing'.

DVB, Telles, Cavani and the two younger lads. Was a much better window than. people give it credit for. Include Axel and Henderson into the mix and our squad is so much better than last season.

Mainly because United didn't buy Jadon Sancho some influencers are mindlessly promoting their agenda of the bad transfer window when it was a good window (in the end).

 

[gajender]

Rio and Silvestre played together quite a lot.

On a related note, people always forget how good Silvestre was for the first half of 03/04. Most people on the forum at the time felt he'd been our best player that season and probably second best only to Henry throughout the entire league. Unfortunately he fell apart a bit once Rio got that long suspension and never got back to anywhere near that form again. I'll always remember him fondly for that half a season of brilliance though.

Oh I remember that season I thought we were going to win the title but it all unravelled after Rio's suspension unfortunately, it would have been real funny that Arsenal could have missed out on the title despite being unbeaten for whole season.

 

[bosnian_red]

Mainly because United didn't buy Jadon Sancho some influencers are mindlessly promoting their agenda of the bad transfer window when it was a good window (in the end).

Yeah, the annoying part was how we handled the window and left it all to deadline day (which is a mess to do), but in the end we did the right things for sure. Just could've been managed much better and prepared us for the season better, and probably saved us from those awful performances before the international break.

Cavani is a prime example tbf. Available since June, signed on deadline day in October, needs to quarantine for 2 weeks and then train for a few weeks to get to fitness which means he likely won't do much until after the November international break!

 

[Bastian]

Extremely impressive last night. So important that he can keep fit this season and that he's managed properly in that sense. That interview shows an outstanding attitude. And to be fair, Ole has made him captain once and Jose said it took a matter of minutes to see he was going to make it as a player here.

 

[RUCK4444]

If we keep him fit this season and in the starting 11 it will be a massive boost for us.

 

[Class of 63]

Just think If we'd signed Cool Lee Bar Lee or that Upper Me Cano chap in the Summer Axel wouldn't have got a look in last night.

 

[SER19]

Still in awe of his performance last night. One good performance doesn't mean much in the big picture but the performance itself was pure dominance. Absolutely brilliant

 

[Grande]

Just think If we'd signed Cool Lee Bar Lee or that Upper Me Cano chap in the Summer Axel wouldn't have got a look in last night.

I don’t worry much about that. We tend to get restless, but Solskjær has known about the potential of this player since probably before he arrived, and yesterday shows that even with a year and a half of injuries he was going to get a shot, and his development didn’t look as if it was harmed that much either.
I expect it will take him half a season before he regularily plays as good as he can, but if he gets a break from injuries now, I’m looking forward to seeing that.

 

[Trex]

Looks like our most complete center half.pace+power+height+composure+ the right amount of aggression, reminds me of van dijk

 

[#07]

AXEL! AXEL! AXEL! AXEL! TUANZEBE DIDDY DUM DIDDY DOO!

Still hugely hyped about Axel's performance last night. So good to see kids come through our academy and perform on the big stage.

 

[sammsky1]

But our positive views on this are largely because of last night......lose agaist Chelsea and our minds go back to a poor Summer window.....its purely all results driven.
Added to this Ole is in everyone's good books. Pogaba on VDB on the bench and we lose.....that first 11 looked quite poor to me at kick off I have to say. Would the PL prove it to be...more likely.

We are in the midst of a rebuild during which the rules should be massively enjoy the highs and be kind and sympathetic when we lose.

 

[Classical Mechanic]

Still in awe of his performance last night. One good performance doesn't mean much in the big picture but the performance itself was pure dominance. Absolutely brilliant

This is rational. No point in hyping him up beyond what he's proven. Playing in a back four higher up the pitch is a different challenge altogether. I've always been a big fan of Axel but on this forum there's very little middle ground or rational assessment.

 

[sammsky1]

Can we dismiss this notion that he's injury-prone?

He's had a couple of big injuries, one was a broken metatarsal while at Villa, and the other for us was a hip injury. We still don't know what's kept him out for the last 10 months yet.

Injury-prone would be a reoccurring injury in the same muscle or joint, like Ledly Kings knee's, or Dembele's hamstring. Tuanzebe has just been very unlucky with some big injuries in totally different areas. There's no suggestion he's injury-prone at this stage.

The saddest part of all of this is the development gains he would have made in all the time out injured.

If he can be that good last night, imagine where he would be right now if he could have stayed fit.

 

[Rossa]

Rio and Silvestre played together quite a lot.

On a related note, people always forget how good Silvestre was for the first half of 03/04. Most people on the forum at the time felt he'd been our best player that season and probably second best only to Henry throughout the entire league. Unfortunately he fell apart a bit once Rio got that long suspension and never got back to anywhere near that form again. I'll always remember him fondly for that half a season of brilliance though.

True! Silvestre was great for a while. Brown was also very quick!

 

[Wheato]

His talents know no bounds.

 

[arthurka]

If that was Upamercano last night.
This place would have erupted.

This place erupted last night from his performance. No need for Upamercano to do that.

 

[Red Indian Chief Torn Rubber]

He perfomed pretty much like I've believed he can. I just pray he is over them injury woes. He might prove an asset yet

 

[pseudo_canadian]

For the love of God, please stay fit.

He was incredible last night. So composed.

 

[Tony247]

Built like a tank...and have speed too

 

[seegoblu]

This thread is so full of optimism (and hyperbole) all of a sudden.

It was undoubtedly a great performance, but it was only a single performance. If Axel can perform at this level on a consistent basis, then I think he is the long-term solution for one CB slot. While I think Axel's pace could make up for Slabhead's lack thereof, I would prefer a more complete CB to play along side Axel. However, I know it's not practical to expect the team to replace its £80m captain.

In addition to the other deadwood CBs (Jones and Rojo), the club should make every effort to sell Bailly and Lindelof and replace them with a top, in his prime mobile CB like Varane and rotate the three Maguire, Axel and Varane with youth providing additional depth.

 

[LawCharltonBest]

Not just based on yesterday (which i only saw the highlights for) but on him on general.. It'll be lovely if this is the start of more first team exposure.

Remember Neville saying 2-3 years ago that he looked at the United team and didn't like it, said there were no personalities and it wasn't a likeable team for the fans. It was hard to disagree.

Guys like this, Maguire, McTominay, Bruno, Rashford.. This team is becoming very likeable. And they're winners.

 

[Berbaclass]

Not just based on yesterday (which i only saw the highlights for) but on him on general.. It'll be lovely if this is the start of more first team exposure.

Remember Neville saying 2-3 years ago that he looked at the United team and didn't like it, said there were no personalities and it wasn't a likeable team for the fans. It was hard to disagree.

Guys like this, Maguire, McTominay, Bruno, Rashford.. This team is becoming very likeable. And they're winners.

Maguire is likeable? He’s pretty dull as a character IMO.

 

[FootyGirl88]

Not just based on yesterday (which i only saw the highlights for) but on him on general.. It'll be lovely if this is the start of more first team exposure.

Remember Neville saying 2-3 years ago that he looked at the United team and didn't like it, said there were no personalities and it wasn't a likeable team for the fans. It was hard to disagree.

Guys like this, Maguire, McTominay, Bruno, Rashford.. This team is becoming very likeable. And they're winners.

These two are the only winners, McTominay and Maguire haven't won anything yet.

 

[AltiUn]

We're getting a very good return on the 22-23 year old age group from the academy. Tuanzebe, Rashford, Henderson and McTominay is a very solid collection of players from one age group.

 

[AshRK]

He waa brilliant on the ball too. Surely he has to feature regularly. Hopefully he stays away from injury

 

[SoCross]

He had a slight head start on Mbappe though didn’t he? But outstanding performance!