Im not saying i buy into the 4-1-4-1 either, but whatever you want to say about why we didn't concede, which players kept us in it etc our defence is more solid. The first few games of the season we were conceding 1.6 goals per game by my reckoning, now we're dead on 1 goal per game conceded.
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Im not saying i buy into the 4-1-4-1 either, but whatever you want to say about why we didn't concede, which players kept us in it etc our defence is more solid. The first few games of the season we were conceding 1.6 goals per game by my reckoning, now we're dead on 1 goal per game conceded.
Our football will always be lot more fluid and smooth with players like Herrera and Mata playing, especially for a home game against a team like Crystal Palace.
The fact that we were not that fluid in this game was not a surprise to me after the start line-ups were released.
I was surprised to see Herrera not start. I don't think he is still unfit/healing. Let's hope he starts along with two others CM against Arsenal.
The fact that we were not that fluid in this game was not a surprise to me after the start line-ups were released.
I was surprised to see Herrera not start. I don't think he is still unfit/healing. Let's hope he starts along with two others CM against Arsenal.
If Fellaini plays, he has to stay to next to Blind or whoever else is playing close to the defense so this way he'd give passing opportunities to his teammate and be closer in case of breaks. However when he roams forward, it leaves us so vulnerable on the counter because he is just too slow to get back and with Blind who isn't the quickest either, it's a very dangerous game we play.
That is one gripe I have. It clearly seems to be tactical for Fellaini to break forward and us launching balls into him. I really dislike that.
We used to do it with Moyes too, I hate it because it's clearly not working. Fellaini plays better when he stands next to his midfield partner.
relaxed. this is an interim game sitting in between another 3 top teams. i believe we aimed at maintaining the consistency in our line up so we're not switching our side to tailor make a game plan against palace. rather than 4141 i see it should be a 433 instead. fellaini should be operated as a everywhere no 8 to provide physical strength. and i think diMaria & januzaj should operate as forwards instead of wingers. they should form an attacking diamond together with rooney on the bottom and vanPersie on the tip. just leave the width to the wide defenders to overlap. it should be more better.
It's not now, that was my original point you replied to. I said that although Chelsea had struggled the same as us against Palace, unlike us they'd played well - and better than us - in other games this season. That was why I made reference to the league table.
Some people on here are deluding themselves that we're playing well this season, just because we're playing better than last season. How could we not play better than last season? We have defensive problems, yes, but can anyone really put their hand on their heart and say that if we had every defender fit and available we'd be that much better? Exactly who are these heroic defenders who are going to come back in and make everything ok?
In my view though, by far the bigger problem is in attack. We're simply not scoring enough goals and converting enough chances. We've scored only 17 goals in 11 league games. If we're to make the top 4 that needs to markedly improve.
People in here post so much shit it's unreal. I have to be honest and say I'm fine with the attack being less exciting than in the beginning of the season. When you have to come up with new makeshift defence every game, one consisting of two teenagers and two midfielders even, then you have to solidify the midfield to not expose the inexperienced defence too much. For me that's a sensible approach. Furthermore, a team parking the bus is never easy to play against and it ends up looking ugly.
I'm happy we aren't a complete shambles at the back with the amount of changes we've been forced into.
I think people forget that we have yet to have our strongest XI available too.
The negative: van Persie is still taking way too much time on the ball, and had it not been for the fact van Gaal is still getting used to the league and all that I think he would've been dropped.
Januzaj does the same thing. He can't just play it simple every now and then. Every time he receives the ball he looks for an opportunity to take his opponent on or play the final ball. It reminds me a bit of Real Madrid a few years ago where virtually all of their players wanted to show off.
I'm happy we aren't a complete shambles at the back with the amount of changes we've been forced into.
I think people forget that we have yet to have our strongest XI available too.
The negative: van Persie is still taking way too much time on the ball, and had it not been for the fact van Gaal is still getting used to the league and all that I think he would've been dropped.
Januzaj does the same thing. He can't just play it simple every now and then. Every time he receives the ball he looks for an opportunity to take his opponent on or play the final ball. It reminds me a bit of Real Madrid a few years ago where virtually all of their players wanted to show off.
Hang on. Did the transition magically happen whilst we fired a manager, hired a new one, brought in a handful of players and got rid of a few others? This is very much a transition season too.
Good post. We didn't look too good last night but we controlled the game effectively. Just need to work a bit more on our final third play. We take too many useless shots
However his point still stands, we are not doing enough in attack and this is supposed to be our strong point. We are still rebuilding though so it's to be expected.
How many points did we have, who had we played and what was our league position? That stat in itself says nothing. Statistics have to be put into context or they're meaningless.
I'm not sure why or how his philosophy changed and he suddenly wants target-man Fellaini every game 
This keeps Herrra and Mata out
This keeps Herrra and Mata outNot too sure here. Did we control the game (as some are saying) or did they park the bus (as others are saying)? If it's the latter even we would have had difficulty in not controlling the game.
In my view I don't think he has a clear plan in mind. Things seem to change from game to game.I'm not sure why or how his philosophy changed and he suddenly wants target-man Fellaini every game
Nah its Rooney keeping out Mata. Fellaini deserves his as well, IMO.I'm not sure why or how his philosophy changed and he suddenly wants target-man Fellaini every game
While I don't like seeing Mata and Herrera on the bench, Fellaini's physical presence is needed at the moment. Many of our defenders are currently out injured, so we need to lessen the exposability of our defence or else I could see us doing another Leicester away.I'm not sure why or how his philosophy changed and he suddenly wants target-man Fellaini every game
I don't mind us scraping a couple of 1-0 wins while we have so many injuries as it is. All the points matter in the end.
Seems really churlish to be moaning about us not being attacking enough when we've become much harder to score against, despite missing ALL our best central defenders. If anything, a manager who changes his teams approach to cope with such an obvious deficiency and still get decent results deserves plaudits not criticism. Seems obvious we'll be more gung ho with a stronger back four. Looking forward to it. Clear and obvious signs of progression in recent weeks. Which is what I've been waiting to see all season. Good stuff.
He's hardly playing a defensive role except during corners and free kicks. He's been playing a lot more forward than some of our attacking players.
TBF Fellaini play like a proper midfielder and he is doing a good job. He is as much a target-man as any big player in other teams.I'm not sure why or how his philosophy changed and he suddenly wants target-man Fellaini every game
Exactly. One of my biggest worries with LvG was that he would only have us playing offensively and ignore the defensive stuff. This was coming true for a lot of this season too. But these past few games are heartwarming. Its still not balanced, but we're getting there.
These are bull, at least wait until the end of the season to compare our season under LvG to Moyes because were 5 points of 3rd and been damn unlucky with injuries and also the players seem to have more belief under LvG than they ever did in Moyes.
Indeed. He's doing a decent job.
Goal kicks and the like too though. He takes care of quite a few of those. Which is good seeing as Blind isn't the strongest in the air.
I agree with you. Saw United had 18 shots, so on a better day surely they would have scored more. Arsenal is beatable even at the Emirates, Southampton and West Ham's bubbles will burst. Top 3 is till very attainable.
He wins a lot of aerial duels for us though and is playing like a proper midfielder. Also, he is not playing a lot more forward as you claim he does. I think he only does as he's told except for the occasional brain fart, e.g. against Everton.
The players' average position from yesterday's match:
I am surprised about Di Maria position so much forward and in the middle.He wins a lot of aerial duels for us though and is playing like a proper midfielder. Also, he is not playing a lot more forward as you claim he does. I think he only does as he's told except for the occasional brain fart, e.g. against Everton.
The players' average position from yesterday's match:
Fellaini's just prove my point from before that he is playing like a proper midfielder. I was one of the biggest critics of Fellaini but at the moment he is doing his job.
He wins a lot of aerial duels for us though and is playing like a proper midfielder. Also, he is not playing a lot more forward as you claim he does. I think he only does as he's told except for the occasional brain fart, e.g. against Everton.
The players' average position from yesterday's match:
Interesting graphic. Definitely dispels the myth that Fellaini is playing basically up front and we are hoofing the ball to him.
I don't pay much heed to these graphics. I'm at the game, and comment on what I see with my own eyes. If Fellaini is regarded as a midfielder player he hardly tracks opposition midfielders, or makes a telling pass forward. To me he is playing a free role anywhere he takes a liking during the game.
Spot on. Just what I said in the other thread. This place is insane at times. You just know if he hadnt switched things around and we got battered, he'd be crucified for being fixated on his philosophy and not being flexible enough.
Blind has hardly played in defence until yesterday occasionally changed positions with Carrick.
If's and buts...
The facts are we've not done well over the course of the season. I reckon it's a combination constant formation changes, poor team selections and injuries.
The recent formation change is due to the injuries. We just cant play the diamond with our current defensive options. Regarding team selection, he hasnt got much wrong bar Fellaini who tbf, has done well.
All I'm saying is I can see why van Gaal has stuck with Fellaini. He came into the team when Herrera got injured and since then he has done well and earned his place in the team. When you then have to play the back four we played yesterday you have another reason to stick with him (aside from him doing quite well).
Well we can keep crucifying him for the bad start to the season or judge things, game by game, looking for signs of improvement. The latter seems a better approach to me.
I don't get what Fellaini has done in the last 4 games for people to keep saying he's done well. He scored a goal against West Brom, and has created nothing despite playing as an attacking player. Standards are falling at United when people are satisfied with a 5 point return from the last 4 games, with 3 of those points against a rubbish team yesterday.
Who would you have played instead of him? It's not like we've had a whole lot to choose from. Herrera is supposedly on the verge of returning but I wouldn't have thrown him straight back in against either Chelsea or City. To me it made sense to use a player who's physically capable in those two fixtures, and who's played against both sides several times before. Against Chelsea he helped contain Fabregas a lot as far as I could see (albeit I had to watch the game on a very shitty stream.)
That's a fair enough approach. However, I hardly saw an improvement yesterday. If anything it was a performance reminiscent of most of our games last season.
Benatia went to Bayern didn't he?
Come on, Fellaini has played as a midfielder and has done his job well. This is similar to complaining that Park didn't play well when he was asked to do a similar job. The point is, Fellaini isn't a creative midfielder. He's doing his job well though, which is why he continues to hold his place in the team.
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