Manchester United 3:1 Crystal Palace (Tue 19th July, 11:10 UK time)

[UnrelatedPsuedo]

Exactly yet someone thought we weren’t just a counter attacking team under ole when we was. I bet about 85% of our goals was through counter attacking. This is where I think it will change under Ten Hag, it’s so much easier to open up teams when you have movement in your play.

It’s so much easier when you’re winning the ball 20-30m from goal and are attacking a team that’s not in a defensive shape. That’s still ‘counter attacking’.

Ole had the right idea. But our transitions were 50-70m from turnover to goal attempt. That kind of effort destroys players. Unless you’re slicing teams open with two quick passes and a player through on goal, inside 20 seconds, opponents have partly reset and you’re no better off.

The days of counter attacking from deep inside your own half are dead. Yes. Plenty of goals will be scored that way, but it’s not a sustainable way to set up a top team as Plan A.

 

[Plant0x84]

Thanks for putting the score in the thread title, those of us who haven’t seen the game yet really appreciate it!!

 

[Speako]

Not gonna lie, these Fish jokes are genuinely putting a smile on my face, during a very hot afternoon of work.

Carp Diem!

 

[DJ_21]

It’s so much easier when you’re winning the ball 20-30m from goal and are attacking a team that’s not in a defensive shape. That’s still ‘counter attacking’.

Ole had the right idea. But our transitions were 50-70m from turnover to goal attempt. That kind of effort destroys players. Unless you’re slicing teams open with two quick passes and a player through on goal, inside 20 seconds, opponents have partly reset and you’re no better off.

The days of counter attacking from deep inside your own half are dead. Yes. Plenty of goals will be scored that way, but it’s not a sustainable way to set up a top team as Plan A.

100%, think the last successful counter attacking team was Leicester when they won the league. They basically set up that way all season. It’s good for teams to have different plans and different ways to get a goal rather then just settling on one style of play.

 

[Rhyme Animal]

Another carping critic!

Look at the lot of you making fun of young Fish...

Yer all a bunch of bassholes!

Not gonna lie, these Fish jokes are genuinely putting a smile on my face, during a very hot afternoon of work.

Carp Diem!

To be fair to Crystal Plaice this was their B team.

Utd fans might want to mullet over before getting too excited about this victory.

Some on here are getting so ahead of themselves that ETH’s Utd are being trouted as potential PL champions.

Though, tbf that’s probably just the prawn sandwich brigade.

 

[Crashoutcassius]

Yeah, this.

We had possession; but lacked any semblance of how to use it in a cohesive manner, or how to create any discernible patterns of play.

The phrase pattern of play is parodied into oblivion now but that aside I agree. Whoever our actual possession / attacking coach was, I always assumed McKenna, just wasn't at it like they were on setting up and executing counters, which we were great at at different times. You can still see the basis of that countering prowess in the team today. And can still see how clueless they are in possession even against the extremely poor teams we have played so far, although small signs of improvement

 

[Real_Knut]

Ffs this is a footy thread, don’t fillet with fish puns.

Agreed. What is the porpoise of moderators if not to rid us of those? The bad puns hurt to the sole.

 

[Semper Fudge]

Thanks for putting the score in the thread title, those of us who haven’t seen the game yet really appreciate it!!

It's such a deeply meaningful game after all!

 

[Red the Bear]

He's been playing regularly for five years, and the list of United players through history with as many games is not long. I think we have a reasonably large sample size to rate him. Pereira didn't get a chance, Lingard is out. James sold, while Bailly and AWB are out in the cold. Williams is not getting a try. None of these played under SAF, yet we don't think they're good enough.

If he improves then that's great, of course, but he is not very good at things United midfielders have usually been good at, and he has not been a good player so far in his career. He wasn't very good in the academy either.



The claim was that he's the worst academy player who's been given as much time, I'm pretty sure.

He got that many games because it's a position we severely underinvested in and and every manager since his breakthrough has found him to be adequate to fill that role, and to his credit he has been relatively consistent (consistently subpar perhaps but consistent nonetheless) and most of them have valued that.

Again I'll give him half a season under Eric before passing judgment , we have consistently made world class players look shite in the past 10 years so let's give him some time before piling up criticism on him.

 

[Santoryo]

The Portugeuse Drama Queen is going to ruin it all isn't he

Ten Hag seems to believe Ronaldo can press all day long. He'll be in for a brutal surprise.

 

[devips]

What is with Bailley, Pellistri and Garner? Were they all injured?

 

[Pscholes18]

Watching these goals from the highlights, it's night and fecking day from the last few seasons. It's certainly ETH football.

 

[Fully Fledged]

The red card did cause a lot of tenchion to be fair.

That's de-bait-able

 

[Fully Fledged]

What did Fish get sent off for? Red card in a friendly jeez .

Trout tickling.

 

[Adam-Utd]

100%, think the last successful counter attacking team was Leicester when they won the league. They basically set up that way all season. It’s good for teams to have different plans and different ways to get a goal rather then just settling on one style of play.

And that was purely because they had a demon in Vardy who could do repeat sprints all day long + outpace defenders for fun. Then you had Mahrez, the midfield of Kante and Drinkwater and a fairly solid defence who worked well in a low block.

Since then though teams like City / Liverpool showed possession + a high counter press just mops the floor with any other style currently.

 

[Strelok]

Ten Hag seems to believe Ronaldo can press all day long. He'll be in for a brutal surprise.

I seriously doubt he'd actually believe that. He was talking to the press. Even my old and blind dog knows Ronaldo can't and won't.

Anyway, nice watch today. Really hope we can play like this once the season starts.

 

[trevor newnham]

I know a lot of you don't like Maguire but I think his defensive headers are much under rated. Telles ( vertically challenged as he is) was nowhere near both those headers

 

[Handsome Devil]

This team is definitely moving on from Ole Gurnard Sole-jaer.

(Two for the price of one.)

 

[rooney2009]

Sancho? Malacia?
[/QUOTE
Definitely not Malacia- I think Shaw starts the 1st game
I know it’s a long shot but if Ronaldo leaves and we get Anthony then does he start on the right wing?although I don’t think He is fit at the moment]

 

[Highfather_24]

I remember back in 2020, when we all thought these 3 were going to light it up. 2 years later and its finally happening.

 

[RedChisel]

Fish made a rod for his own back there.

 

[big rons sovereign]

Ffs, all these fish puns are giving me a haddock.

 

[Tom Van Persie]

What is with Bailley, Pellistri and Garner? Were they all injured?

Garner was injured but is back in training and wasn't risked today. He will probably feature in the next game.

 

[arthurka]

The RedFish got fillet for the goal.

Bad right

 

[Heista]

Will Fish should never appear in the squid again if you ask me.

 

[Jean claude van hire]

Thanks for putting the score in the thread title, those of us who haven’t seen the game yet really appreciate it!!

i would suggest next time you desperately want to avoid the score of a United football game you may be advised to avoid a Manchester United forum.

 

[Donut]

Superb showing until the subs. Bravo.

 

[Blood Mage]

It is funny to watch teams like Palace raise their game against us even in friendly matches. They were well up for it today the cnuts.

 

[BeforeKeanetherewasRobson]

You would have got good odds on Liverpool being the only team not to score against us so far?

Relegation candidates

 

[CallyRed]

Fish

 

[pascell]

It's such a deeply meaningful game after all!

Or maybe some of us were working all day, were looking forward to watching the game without it being spoiled for us?

 

[RedDevilRoshi]

First 60mins was a very good watch. The 2nd & 3rd goals were absolutely fantastic. The passing, movement and interchanging of the front 3 was something we hadn’t seen from a Manchester United front 3 for some time.

Once the raft of subs came on, then it became very pear shaped and they were the better side for those closing stages of the match.

Of course a few things still to be worked on but the positives certainly outweigh the negatives.

 

[Robindinho]

A red card in pre season? Cod almighty.

Don't know what he was doing flopping about on the floor though... Looked like a fish out of water.

 

[Dante]

He got that many games because it's a position we severely underinvested in and and every manager since his breakthrough has found him to be adequate to fill that role, and to his credit he has been relatively consistent (consistently subpar perhaps but consistent nonetheless) and most of them have valued that.

Again I'll give him half a season under Eric before passing judgment , we have consistently made world class players look shite in the past 10 years so let's give him some time before piling up criticism on him.

We spent a world record £94m on Pogba, £50m on Fred, £40m on VdB and £30m on Matic.

McTominay forced 3 out of 4 of them out of the team, and made the other 1 his partner. Not just under one manager, but three.

 

[Tom Cato]

Ten Hag seems to believe Ronaldo can press all day long. He'll be in for a brutal surprise.

Que the "bUT rONalDO iS tHe proBleM" satirical posts when he bags goals and the team plays like stinking potato

 

[jameyzane]

To be fair to Crystal Plaice this was their B team.

Utd fans might want to mullet over before getting too excited about this victory.

Some on here are getting so ahead of themselves that ETH’s Utd are being trouted as potential PL champions.

Though, tbf that’s probably just the prawn sandwich brigade.

How many times does this have to be pointed out. In preseason, its not about the opponent, but how much of what the manager wants the players take to. Tactics on and off the ball. We can play Crystal Palace's D team and it wouldn't matter. It is what the players do with the bodies running around them that matters.

 

[Barthez]

These fish jokes are all so childish guys. Can we just scale it back a bit please….

 

[justsomebloke]

So we dominated teams did we? We could hardly keep the ball under ole, couldn’t string 2 passes together.

yes we did, certainly in 20/21 and certainly when we were facing weaker teams. Look it up. Where we principally struggled to score in that season where precisely against opponents suited to counterattack tactics if you're not trying to dominate the game - City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal. United in the 1 1/2 seasons following Brunos arrival was typically a team that scored off established play, dominated games against bottomhalf opponents and did disproportionately well against such teams while struggling against the best ones. We were a team reliant on counterattack and struggling in established play for Oles first year in charge, but it's bleedin obvious that's not what we were following that.

 

[Fanta Stick]

Ffs, all these fish puns are giving me a haddock.

Try a couple of Co-CODamol or if that doesn't work maybe a couple of ibuproFIN?

Lots of water of course.

 

[Fanta Stick]

These fish jokes are all so childish guys. Can we just scale it back a bit please….

You are not the bass of me!