Why not? We got battered by Brentford a little while ago. You can certainly get a result against Liverpool.
Does Ronaldo start against Liverpool?
- Thread starter Deery
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Why not? We got battered by Brentford a little while ago. You can certainly get a result against Liverpool.
What are people proposing we do instead?
Play Matic and McFred as a defensive 3, and then have Bruno and Lingard nominally wide and then Rashy gambling around ahead of them?
Play Matic and McFred as a defensive 3, and then have Bruno and Lingard nominally wide and then Rashy gambling around ahead of them?
I don't think dropping him against Liverpool is a good idea - he is our only threat up front right now, plus we can't really afford to not try and get a result at Anfield as Arsenal still have a game in hand on us.
I would like to think one of the reasons we have been so casual in play recently was because players were saving their fire for the game against Liverpool.
There is little chance that I am correct but I can live in hope.
I would like to think one of the reasons we have been so casual in play recently was because players were saving their fire for the game against Liverpool.
There is little chance that I am correct but I can live in hope.
He is 37 years old. With Arsenal couple of days after Liverpool I do think it will be wise to save his body for that game.
Why? This is just a CL style week and he scored plenty for us in CL this year.
No choice is there. Park the bus and play 5-4-1. Leave Ronaldo up front and hope we nick something. Reality is though we’re dire and Liverpool could well be putting 5 past us once again.
Form changes. No better place for Man United to do it than at Anfield.
Chelsea had a really tough fixture away to Real Madrid last week which pretty much everyone said we would lose and guess what, we did lose. The team really tried to win though and the fans saw and appreciated the effort.
I guess if we lose today because all our players are knackered I'll change my tune but I think the confidence a good performance brings is worth the physical toll.
He shouldn't be benched off the back of a hattrick, no. Especially when there's no other obvious source of goals in the team at the moment.
We need to find a workable solution behind him for the Liverpool game though. Easier said than done when the squad is so depleted and the players who do remain are low on confidence.
We need to find a workable solution behind him for the Liverpool game though. Easier said than done when the squad is so depleted and the players who do remain are low on confidence.
Our performances have been consistently poor since the New Year though, even in the games we've won. We've got a fairly thin squad anyway after January, 5 first-team injuries and playing a team who are bang at it.
They'll put 4 or possibly 5 past us again.
Completely different circumstances. But your last point is a good one. It is the business end of the season however so by all means run them all into the ground I suppose. But I just don’t see it making any difference in the end. Unfortunately.
Our lads should be chomping at the bit at getting the chance to prove the result at Old Trafford earlier in the season was an aberration and excited at the chance of putting a significant dent in the title aspirations of our oldest rivals.
In reality they are probably pre-approving their post match Instagram platitudes about needing to do better with their agents or choosing a new hair stylist.
In reality they are probably pre-approving their post match Instagram platitudes about needing to do better with their agents or choosing a new hair stylist.
90 min yesterday. If he plays 90 minutes against Liverpool with that intensity they have, he will not be fresh for Arsenal. Game that as more important game because of league positions. Arsenal are going to Chelsea in midweek and we can hope for Chelsea win.
He'll probably get 'injured' in training tomorrow.
But that’s the exact same as a Game in Europe week and he carried us in Europe while becoming the third top scorer in the league as we speak.
It just seems like posters have suddenly made a massive deal about this situation over nothing.
He can't play 3 games in a week if we want to get best of him. Regardless of opposition and tournament.
I get the sentiment and personally I think him being a passenger off the ball are the last thing you need playing against the top sides when it’s all about intensity and physicality but we haven’t got any other strikers. I guess you could play Bruno as a false 9 then flood the midfield except we haven’t got any fit midfielders either. Can we get this one called off!? 
I’d probably rest him personally and if we are still in it with 30 mins left bring him on. We aren’t going to see a lot of the ball and counters will be our best form of attack.
But wouldn’t be mad to see him start either.
But wouldn’t be mad to see him start either.
No, lets start Rashford or Lingard instead.
Hahaha
Hahaha
How is this even a question for fecks sake. Ridiculous thread
I could maybe understand it if we had some elaborate tactical plan which involved us bringing in a Ji-Sung Park type character who was going to stifle their wing backs and bolster our already workmanlike forward line - but he’s gonna be next to Rashford and Pogba.
So yeah, bung Ronnie in and pray he can score a set piece or something.
So yeah, bung Ronnie in and pray he can score a set piece or something.
So he starts or doesn’t, because it seems the fanbase are torn on this one?
He will be roaming around without a ball for 90 minutes, there will be no service at all. Rest him, play for the draw.
But somewhere deep inside, I would like to see the passionate, intense, and aggressive team play with him against Liverpool to win.
But somewhere deep inside, I would like to see the passionate, intense, and aggressive team play with him against Liverpool to win.
I wouldn't put a single penny on it happening, but I've seen stranger things happen in football than a United win on Tuesday.
This thread is another glorious example of a fanbase having the team they deserve.
This thread is another glorious example of a fanbase having the team they deserve.
I wonder where he'll fly off to if he's dropped for this one? Rangnick has his hands tied with Ronaldo so of course he'll play and quite frankly should.
Of course he starts. Anyone saying he shouldn’t is completely off their head.
Generally don't think we should be starting Ronaldo in big games but at the moment I don't think we even have the players to opt for a different set-up either, so suspect we have to.
No it’s about game and player management, nothing to do with rolling over to Liverpool as I still harbour thoughts of winning the game, just with different tactics. It’s why I am so torn as to whether he starts or not and it looks like I’m not the only one.
People actually want us to drop the only player who looks capable of scoring a goal?
He’s pretty much our only aerial threat (excluding Cavani- remember him) and if we are to get anything out of the game it’ll likely be a smash and grab from a set piece. Therefore we have to play him!
How’s he done in the matches after the CL ones?
If you're thinking tactically then my last sentence doesn't apply to you. If you're throwing the towel in, as many are here, then it does.
I think we probably have a 5-15% chance of winning this game. Its hard to imagine any kind of good result that doesnt involve something special from Ronaldo
Yeah tactically, in a perfect scenario we play the like of Lingard, Sancho, Elanga and they run their bollox off for 60 minutes and keep us in the game and then introduce Ronaldo for the clutch winner..
Yes because other than him no-one else is capable of scoring a goal!
We don't really have a replacement do we? Cavani can't be found and Ronaldo is our only option.
Who do you replace him with? Who leads the line and presses. We have Cavani, but he is injured. Thats it. Play him we might be lucky and at least score with him.
Just going through it now
Scored v West Ham
Didn’t start v Everton
Disallowed goal v Liverpool (which, to this day I saw wasn’t offside)
Didn’t score v City
Didn’t start v Chelsea
Scored v Norwich
No goals v Watford
Didn’t play v Leicester
Another point I’d like to make is that he played the game before the CL games as well so it’s not really a group of 2 but 3
2 v Newcastle
0 v Villa
0 v Leicester
2 v Spurs
Assist v Watford
0 v Leeds
Hat trick v Spurs
I dont think there’s anything abnormal there and that’s just CL. You have games like Arsenal at home in the middle of short turnarounds where he scored 2, scored at home v Burnley 3 days after a game, Brighton at home was his third game in a week as well.
Is that perfect? No, but it’s still impressive and not drop him territory. The man has 2 hat tricks in his last 3 league games and Liverpool gift the opposition a lot of guilt edge chances that we need Ronaldo to be on the end of.
He was rested versus Young Boys, so his record is 1 goal in 7 after European matches, three of which he wasn’t fit enough to even start. In your stats, that compares to 7 in 7 in the match before European games. That’s a massive difference.
I don’t think there’s much doubt that he’ll be adversely affected for the Arsenal game if he plays tomorrow. I’d personally prefer him to be fully fit for the Arsenal game and go with a false 9 system versus Pool.
I don’t think there’s much doubt that he’ll be adversely affected for the Arsenal game if he plays tomorrow. I’d personally prefer him to be fully fit for the Arsenal game and go with a false 9 system versus Pool.
Who'd play then to provide this pace ? Not like we have that many options
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