Tbf it was embarrassing.
Has the first game dampened your excitement for the season?
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik (@Rood) and Imran (@Annihilate Now!) are here to discuss three 1-1 draws.
The first got us knocked out of the FA Cup, the next puts us in a good position in our Round of 16 Europa League game, and the latest was an actual decent performance against Arsenal at Old Trafford.
All hopes for the season now rest on the Europa League - does Amorim have the squad to win it?
Tbf it was embarrassing.
I had already tempered my expectations this season in terms of results and expected us to struggle last night before the game even kicked off.
We are disjointed at the moment with a lot of big adaptation to come. Just a few of the things that are going to take time...
Onana playing his natural game - Several times last night you could see he was a lot deeper than he was playing in preseason. Probably as a result of being a little safer and not allowing a mistake like against Real again. He also chose the safer option for a pass much more often. That'll improve once everyone settles and gets used to what is expected.
Garnacho starting on the left - He's a young kid with an explosive game. Learning when to pass, dribble and shoot in different scenarios will come with experience. He struggled last season when he started games and was much more effective off the bench. That doesn't just change in 1 preseason.
Mount in midfield - I actually don't think this should take as long to get used to as we had Eriksen there last season, the only change is the role they are asked to play. The box midfield relies on the full back that steps into midfield providing that defensive solidity more than it does the 8 that pushes high. At our rivals they are all employing ex #10s in that spot. Havertz, Silva, even McAlister and Enzo aren't exactly known for their defensive prowess.
Then finally putting Rashford back out left and an actual #9 through the middle will solve a lot of issues with our front 3.
If we're still looking so disjointed come Xmas then yeah I'd be worried about the season, as it stands we're going to have to pick up points with subpar performances for a good while and that's why we won't challenge for the league.
We are disjointed at the moment with a lot of big adaptation to come. Just a few of the things that are going to take time...
Onana playing his natural game - Several times last night you could see he was a lot deeper than he was playing in preseason. Probably as a result of being a little safer and not allowing a mistake like against Real again. He also chose the safer option for a pass much more often. That'll improve once everyone settles and gets used to what is expected.
Garnacho starting on the left - He's a young kid with an explosive game. Learning when to pass, dribble and shoot in different scenarios will come with experience. He struggled last season when he started games and was much more effective off the bench. That doesn't just change in 1 preseason.
Mount in midfield - I actually don't think this should take as long to get used to as we had Eriksen there last season, the only change is the role they are asked to play. The box midfield relies on the full back that steps into midfield providing that defensive solidity more than it does the 8 that pushes high. At our rivals they are all employing ex #10s in that spot. Havertz, Silva, even McAlister and Enzo aren't exactly known for their defensive prowess.
Then finally putting Rashford back out left and an actual #9 through the middle will solve a lot of issues with our front 3.
If we're still looking so disjointed come Xmas then yeah I'd be worried about the season, as it stands we're going to have to pick up points with subpar performances for a good while and that's why we won't challenge for the league.
Excitement? What excitement? Really wish it was as easy to cheat on your club as it is to cheat on your missus
Just joking. Kinda
Just joking. Kinda
Given I was expecting Qatar to have taken over by now, this is all a bonus for me. That said I really tried to detach from anything United/transfer related over the summer, which was pretty refreshing.
Not really because I wasn’t expecting much to begin with, the warning signs were there in pre-season but many elected to ignore it. There’s talent in the squad but apart from Onana and Martinez I don’t really see how the signings we have made will actually work together. We seem to have just signed a load of players Ten Hag likes but that’s been our mistake under every manager, players like Ambarat seems like someone who would work and would actually compliment our existing options but all links to him have died. Mount especially is such a poorly thought out signing, we seem to have signed him because of his reputation more than what he’ll actually bring to a team, which isn’t a right lot.
Yes. I know how this season will pan out. Yesterday was a big big dampener on the rest of the season.
We will stumble though games just like the fag end of last season with some good wins against the bottom teams and some spankings against city, arsenal and Liverpool.
As long as Rashford is the main important player, we won't win much. He is good if he has space but is absolutely brain dead in everything. All talk and no substance. Same for Shaw who plays well when the rest of the team plays well. We are a fair weather team. Sucks for players like Bruno who have come here in their best years and won't win anything much.
We will stumble though games just like the fag end of last season with some good wins against the bottom teams and some spankings against city, arsenal and Liverpool.
As long as Rashford is the main important player, we won't win much. He is good if he has space but is absolutely brain dead in everything. All talk and no substance. Same for Shaw who plays well when the rest of the team plays well. We are a fair weather team. Sucks for players like Bruno who have come here in their best years and won't win anything much.
Could not agree more.
The bright side here is that some of our players are hungry. Martinez for example and even though that was a penalty Onana was committed to getting that ball. He's not afraid. We need a fearless goalie and it's the first game. We just move along and hope that they learn from this one and do better. Even Sancho looked a bit different.
You can't look at the summer window and feel any sense of excitement. There were no exciting signings made aside the goalkeeper. The movement in the market has stipulated the conditions in expectation of this season.
Last year the issues were goals, passive wide areas, replacement for Eriksen and fullback. None of those metrics have been tended to. The wingers could improve this season so I'll leave at area open. People can say Mount is Eriksen's replacement positionally but not necessarily by way of quality in the deeper areas of the midfield.
If United had signed a right back, winger and a forward then it would have been a better window imo.
Last year the issues were goals, passive wide areas, replacement for Eriksen and fullback. None of those metrics have been tended to. The wingers could improve this season so I'll leave at area open. People can say Mount is Eriksen's replacement positionally but not necessarily by way of quality in the deeper areas of the midfield.
If United had signed a right back, winger and a forward then it would have been a better window imo.
My expectations for the season were not that high. Preseason is preseason but still warned us that we have so much to work on and improve.
We still can´t defend very well, still can´t press well as a team, our midfield is slow and gives us problems both with and without the ball.
Our attack is very young and there is very little consistency there. Only really Bruno you can count on to dig something up every game.
We have a 20 kid waiting to come on the pitch for us and we honestly have no clue if he is able to step and deliver for a big club. Doing well for half a season in Italy and for NT isn´t a big sample size to draw any conclusions from, still have to wait and see what he can bring to us.
Still, that game was a big slap in the face. Wolves are most likely fighting for survival this season, didn´t play fantastic by any means, still the better team throughout the 90 minutes.
We still can´t defend very well, still can´t press well as a team, our midfield is slow and gives us problems both with and without the ball.
Our attack is very young and there is very little consistency there. Only really Bruno you can count on to dig something up every game.
We have a 20 kid waiting to come on the pitch for us and we honestly have no clue if he is able to step and deliver for a big club. Doing well for half a season in Italy and for NT isn´t a big sample size to draw any conclusions from, still have to wait and see what he can bring to us.
Still, that game was a big slap in the face. Wolves are most likely fighting for survival this season, didn´t play fantastic by any means, still the better team throughout the 90 minutes.
Not at all. In the opener last season we got pumped, but finished the season very well. I can't count how many times I said "If only we'd won those first two games, we might've challenged". So this time, we still played bad, but we got the 3 points. Let's wait and see how much we improve again.
I am not sure how someone can say that teething problems were to be expected as this is ETHs second season in charge.
Having said that, I cannot say that I have had any excitement in the first place. I do not think United can challenge and my opinion would have remained the same even if yesterday's game ended 7:0.
Having said that, I cannot say that I have had any excitement in the first place. I do not think United can challenge and my opinion would have remained the same even if yesterday's game ended 7:0.
I never really had any excitement for this season because based on our transfer activity it very much looked like we'd be treading water, mostly because we haven't strengthened the midfield - and no, I don't consider Mount to be a significant upgrade. He'd be a good squad player in a better team.
The game went pretty much as expected.
The game went pretty much as expected.
The performance itself didn't concern me. Opening game results don't mean much. I remember the game Vs Swansea. Moyes first game in charge. I thought that performance was very good - then everything went to the dogs.
What worries me is the performance was a real reflection of our performances in pre-season. We look tired, void of ideas and easily bullied both to the ball and while on the ball. We rode our luck yesterday and that's being fair. Wolves could have 2-3 easy goals and we are lucky they can't find the net. A better team would have put us to bed.
The only thing I see to build on is a generally underwhelming performance. Both Anthony and Rashford were hopeless. The midfield looks disjointed. Casemero was too static at times. Bruno worked hard like he always does. Defensively we look poorly drilled.
So...my expectations haven't been dampened...yet. But the next 5-6 games will really answer that.
What worries me is the performance was a real reflection of our performances in pre-season. We look tired, void of ideas and easily bullied both to the ball and while on the ball. We rode our luck yesterday and that's being fair. Wolves could have 2-3 easy goals and we are lucky they can't find the net. A better team would have put us to bed.
The only thing I see to build on is a generally underwhelming performance. Both Anthony and Rashford were hopeless. The midfield looks disjointed. Casemero was too static at times. Bruno worked hard like he always does. Defensively we look poorly drilled.
So...my expectations haven't been dampened...yet. But the next 5-6 games will really answer that.
Yes, because that midfield is the exact issue I had when we were chasing Mount so hard and all of my concerns were shown to light in just one game. And honestly him not sure how that composition can even be “tweaked” given each players natural style.
So basically we need another midfielder already to replace the one we bought. Oh and our 80m RW doesn’t look to have gotten any better
So basically we need another midfielder already to replace the one we bought. Oh and our 80m RW doesn’t look to have gotten any better
I will reserve my judgment after the new players together with Hojlund start playing more regularly. Having a proper number 9 changes the dynamic of a team completely as spaces are created by an intelligent forward. We will see how the team progresses.
We need to see how the new striker turns out. If he's a dud then we are in trouble. And we need a decent backup for Casemiro who I don't think can do this on his own. This season will be far more competitive than last year. If you offered me fourth place I would bite your hand off.
It was already obvious in the test games that our midfield has not improved and out game in the final third is as clueless and toothless as ever.
Mount is not the missing piece of the midfield puzzle, Onana might in the long run be an improvement but needs the right players in front of him (and GK was one of our least problems) and Hojlund is a pure goalscorer and will not help our overall play. If anything this means Rashford back on the wing and while I am fan I think on the wing he takes away a place of a more creative and back-tracking player. I am in the minority who sees him more as a 9.
I think ten Hag is trying to find solutions and is not afraid to go different routes but right now with the additions we got I cannot see big improvements. Top 4 this year would be a surprising success.
Mount is not the missing piece of the midfield puzzle, Onana might in the long run be an improvement but needs the right players in front of him (and GK was one of our least problems) and Hojlund is a pure goalscorer and will not help our overall play. If anything this means Rashford back on the wing and while I am fan I think on the wing he takes away a place of a more creative and back-tracking player. I am in the minority who sees him more as a 9.
I think ten Hag is trying to find solutions and is not afraid to go different routes but right now with the additions we got I cannot see big improvements. Top 4 this year would be a surprising success.
Only because everyone has been a bunch of wet wipes over the Onana "penalty" incident. It's just a case of 'oh yeah, this shite again' 
only thing it's really done is just reinforce why we needed to buy a CF....and highlight that we are still a player or two short in midfield. these facts we already knew going into the match.
Weirdly it's slightly increased it. I still have full trust in Ten Hag so believe we will get to the point where we are playing really well.
If we can get one of the stretches where we don't out of the way with full points then turn a corner performance wise, that is what will make me believe we can actually win a title.
I would have loved to watch us smash them 4-0 but getting a match line that out of the way with 3 points felt brilliant. Last season if we had scraped wins in the first 2 games and in a couple of others where we were off then we would have been in a genuiene title challenge.
If we can get one of the stretches where we don't out of the way with full points then turn a corner performance wise, that is what will make me believe we can actually win a title.
I would have loved to watch us smash them 4-0 but getting a match line that out of the way with 3 points felt brilliant. Last season if we had scraped wins in the first 2 games and in a couple of others where we were off then we would have been in a genuiene title challenge.
Not really, no. Ten Hag showed, after the two games last season, that he is a pragmatist.
He has his preferred way of playing, but if that is not working, then the team will be adjusted.
Little tweaks that make the difference. Maybe Mount sits deeper and Shaw overlaps again on the left.
He has his preferred way of playing, but if that is not working, then the team will be adjusted.
Little tweaks that make the difference. Maybe Mount sits deeper and Shaw overlaps again on the left.
I'll give Onana a bye as I think he's a good bit of business and we all know De Gea needed to be replaced eventually to suit Ten Hag's so called style.
But, from front to back we have issues that we haven't addressed.
I was seriously underwhelmed with our front three. All players that do the same thing and need the same thing. They need space to run into and can't cross for toffee. When you don't give them space they either run into dead ends or into opposition players. Garnacho is exciting and still very young as a prospect. Anthony and Rashford are tripe though. All talk and no substance. I actually really dislike both players.
But, from front to back we have issues that we haven't addressed.
I was seriously underwhelmed with our front three. All players that do the same thing and need the same thing. They need space to run into and can't cross for toffee. When you don't give them space they either run into dead ends or into opposition players. Garnacho is exciting and still very young as a prospect. Anthony and Rashford are tripe though. All talk and no substance. I actually really dislike both players.
I can't say it has especially, no. Those of us with experience know it's better to start off slowly and build up to a big finish anyway. We certainly can't reinvent our formation so quickly, it needs time to bed in.
None of the issues from last night can't be resolved either with time (fitness, sharpness), rotation (Rashford left, Hojlund up front), a new midfielder and more time on the training pitch. All of those things are in our power to resolve & I don't believe ETH will take it at all lightly, however he may have responded post match. I fully expect a response on Saturday.
Ask the same question after the Arsenal game and I might have a different opinion of course, but even if we lose to Spurs & Arsenal and get points at home against Forest we'll have had two tricky away matches out of the way and still be on the same points total as last season.
None of the issues from last night can't be resolved either with time (fitness, sharpness), rotation (Rashford left, Hojlund up front), a new midfielder and more time on the training pitch. All of those things are in our power to resolve & I don't believe ETH will take it at all lightly, however he may have responded post match. I fully expect a response on Saturday.
Ask the same question after the Arsenal game and I might have a different opinion of course, but even if we lose to Spurs & Arsenal and get points at home against Forest we'll have had two tricky away matches out of the way and still be on the same points total as last season.
I wouldn't say that the match has dampened my excitement for the season, because my excitement for the season was already dampened by our summer business.
That being said, let's give Casemiro/Mount/Bruno some time to mesh and let's see what the new striker can do before any of us damn the club to a future of Europa League football.
That being said, let's give Casemiro/Mount/Bruno some time to mesh and let's see what the new striker can do before any of us damn the club to a future of Europa League football.
It’s going to be a loooooong season. I don’t think Casemiro can be trusted against athletic midfields. I know Mount and Bruno left him exposed but still … not looking forward to the Newcastle fixtures (among others).
1 game into the season and i'm already wishing it was over.
What's there to look forward to? City sweeping up the trophies, everyone bar us playing decent football. Chelsea signing all the players in the world. sigh.
What's there to look forward to? City sweeping up the trophies, everyone bar us playing decent football. Chelsea signing all the players in the world. sigh.
No, because I wasn't that excited in the first place based on preseason. Casemiro was on and off last season and that didn't get resolved, Eriksen was 'replaced' by someone of a different profile, wingers still look the same. Jury out for the striker. No new defenders.
Fun times ahead
Fun times ahead
Not the game itself dampened my excitement, however the combination of
- Bad game (Similar to the period after we won the carabao cup).
- Maguire staying.
- the midfield and attack needs upgrades (which we don’t have the money to do so).
- our rivals are strengthening a lot more than we are.
- the sale of the club looks off..
The combination of these things kind of making me feel like this will be a long possibly disappointing season.. I’m usually every excited, even when we’re playing bad, just this time feels little different for me.
- Bad game (Similar to the period after we won the carabao cup).
- Maguire staying.
- the midfield and attack needs upgrades (which we don’t have the money to do so).
- our rivals are strengthening a lot more than we are.
- the sale of the club looks off..
The combination of these things kind of making me feel like this will be a long possibly disappointing season.. I’m usually every excited, even when we’re playing bad, just this time feels little different for me.
Every year…every sport I follow…people always massively overreact to the first game. It’s comical to me.
In baseball it’s even funnier since there are 162 freakin games. American football….it’s a little more serious. But my god. One game means nothing. And we got the win!
If this dampens your hopes or makes you think that this is 100% the way the team will be all season, then you have the mental toughness of tissue paper. Sorry, it’s just facts. Assuming a team will play exactly they did for one game…just because it’s the first one…is mad.
In baseball it’s even funnier since there are 162 freakin games. American football….it’s a little more serious. But my god. One game means nothing. And we got the win!
If this dampens your hopes or makes you think that this is 100% the way the team will be all season, then you have the mental toughness of tissue paper. Sorry, it’s just facts. Assuming a team will play exactly they did for one game…just because it’s the first one…is mad.
No it hasn't. We still got a win despite how bad we were. The midfield needs a little time to adjust, I'm looking forward to seeing progress on the pitch as the season continues. I hope to see more movement, especially when Onana has the ball. There were times where he needed to hoof it away because nobody was bothered to make themselves available. Also patiently waiting for Hojlunds debut, think that's something I'm most excited about. I'm not too worried about the rest of the season based off of this one game.
One big concern I have is that the main addition we made to our midfield which was meant to really improve us doesn’t fit with our other two starters, at least with how he played last night.
similarly, our expensive winger our manager wanted last year is still flattering to deceive offensively.
two caveats of course:
-Antony had a bad injury toward the end of last season, so he might take a few games to get up to speed.
-Mount and Bruno need time together to work out how they play together in front of Casemiro. After a good first season the manager has earned the time to work that out certainly but it needs to happen.
Hopefully Hojlund can add something to our setup but he’d want to be a neater fit than either of the above two.
I wonder do we still need someone in midfield to play closer to Cas because as leggy as he looked last night he was left on an island all match. I thought Rabiot could have been a great pick up on a free but I know there is baggage there. You’d think a poor enough team in disarray like wolves would be the game to get away with pushing two midfielders up but they’re an irritant for us generally and maybe Gary o neill is just good in a crisis looking at last night and last season. Amrabat could help and there are minutes for Mainoo if he can step up
there are other issues last night like Martinez playing well below what we know he can play at, so that will improve things, as well as Rashford looking worse than he has in he past in a position where he’s often not his best(though frequently better than last night it has to he said).
Winning ”those games” was a cornerstone of our success under sir Alex so a win is a win, I think we all feel differently as it’s game one and a few people were worried before about the problems we saw arising.
I wasn't even excited to start with.
I wasn't as excited for this season as I usually am even before the game. I think it's to do with the signings. They're all solid transfers but none really excite me or make me feel like we've gotten much closer to City. There's usually always one new signing you're really excited to see play but that hasn't happened for me yet. Hoping Hojlund can come in and hit the ground running but it's a lot to ask for from a twenty year old.
It's a curious Redcafe thing that if a player has a demonstrably good statistical rate of productivity that the same player is deemed immune from valid criticism on the basis that they score or assist a lot.
Football isn't that simple and it's possible to be a statistical contributor and simultaneously decidedly mediocre in other key aspects of the game.
Rashford, last night for example, was in the middle of the field in the midst of an attacking transition. He received the ball and had two good outlets, but he held onto the ball until such a time in which there was no longer any angle. He lost the ball. Did he chase it? No, he flapped his arms about and stood still.
Rashford might score a bucketload this season too, but there's a larger point to be made about him not having the tact, nuance, decision making, aerial anticipation or work ethic off the ball for his scoring prowess to negate his enduring flaws.
This is obviously why Hojlund is so important here. It's not about whether he scores more than Rashford or not; it's about him simply being better in all the above areas in general to such an extent that others collectively score more goals and thus the team goals stat improves.
We must get this point. It's far too myopic a view to put the highest scorer at CF. A CF's job is so much more than his own individual direct statistical contributions.
Football isn't that simple and it's possible to be a statistical contributor and simultaneously decidedly mediocre in other key aspects of the game.
Rashford, last night for example, was in the middle of the field in the midst of an attacking transition. He received the ball and had two good outlets, but he held onto the ball until such a time in which there was no longer any angle. He lost the ball. Did he chase it? No, he flapped his arms about and stood still.
Rashford might score a bucketload this season too, but there's a larger point to be made about him not having the tact, nuance, decision making, aerial anticipation or work ethic off the ball for his scoring prowess to negate his enduring flaws.
This is obviously why Hojlund is so important here. It's not about whether he scores more than Rashford or not; it's about him simply being better in all the above areas in general to such an extent that others collectively score more goals and thus the team goals stat improves.
We must get this point. It's far too myopic a view to put the highest scorer at CF. A CF's job is so much more than his own individual direct statistical contributions.
Just relieved we did not face one of the big teams. If they keep playing like that, we will get mauled like we did against Liverpool.
I’ve seen enough already. We’re fecked. Write the season off. We go again next year.
I’ve said it before. Rashford’s ability in build up and general link up is really poor and damaging to the team.
People will always look at the fact he goes through patches of scoring goals. But when those crucial goals don’t come, he really is a liability at times.
We can’t get Hojlund in quick enough. Especially with his involvement in build up play. He has one of the highest progressive passing stats in Europe. We desperately need that. Not someone who is going to constantly run into defenders and give the ball away.
Not at all. We didn't have a good preseason and some players are still to come in. Despite getting pegged back for most of the match, we held our nerve and got the win. Last season had enough to show this is not our normal under ETH. Only worry is we haven't really improved our midfield.
All a bit knee jerk for me - compare it to the first two games last season for one thing.