Just 3 points off second place, things certainly looking better now.
Moyes So Far!
- Thread starter RedTillI'mDead
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Given that we have struggled a lot against two of those teams below Fulham and were hardly at our best against Palace I think we can safely conclude that it was a positive first half performance today in comparison.
It has been a good little run now, though. If we beat arsenal next week then we are truly back in it, and as people have said: the next few months will really show where we are at.
We laugh at arsenal and Liverpool for having easy starts and getting ahead of themselves, but then we've only beaten the 5 worst teams in the league and people are getting ahead of themselves.
FFS - You act like you just need to turn up and you beat these teams.
Who gives a shit if we've beaten poor teams recently? We're still winning games and if you can't be positive about that feck off.
Who gives a shit if we've beaten poor teams recently? We're still winning games and if you can't be positive about that feck off.
You probably thought we were unlucky against City. Our performances in the big games has been the biggest worry and the Arsenal game next week is huge. Can't afford to lose that one. We have a title winning squad, so of course we should expect to beat the teams we have beaten and anything else is a massive disappointment.
Why would you not be positive though? We're playing good football, scoring goals and we're racking up points and progressing in cups.
But no, for some people it's "But let's wait before we start sucking him off"
Are you even a Manchester United fan? Do you want Moyes to do well?
Well, that's in what? two games recently? Before that we were playing terrible football, it's only last week we were hopeless against Stoke. In fact I recall a lot of us saying "let's wait before we start slagging him off", surely it's ok to say the opposite too?
I'm sure people want him to succeed but if it's acceptable to tell people who are critical to shut the feck up and give him time when things aren't going our way, then it's certainly acceptable for people to be cautious about this 'great' goalscoring run of wonderful football that encompasses an entire ... two games.
There's nothing wrong with looking for positives as a fan. There's nothing wrong with Liverpool or Arsenal doing it either. You can only beat who you play. In the 1st half yesterday it was probably the best football we've played all season in my opinion and you can probably say some of the best we've played in a long time so people have the right to get excited or satisfied with that and maybe get a bit carried away. Especially after the doom and gloom of a month ago.
It's the same with Arsenal. It won't last forever and they will lose but whilst they're not why not have a bit of confidence about themselves? It's weird, it does come across like people just want to complain since Fergie left and hope we fail for a bit to prove themselves right. The confidence is no difference to the pessimism, people dismissed Moyes after 2 games and now won't admit that he MIGHT work out. You can't go in to any job in any profession and fit right in normally, it takes time to adapt and who knows, it might fail but it might actuallyt work out? Perrsonally I'd like to think it's the latter.
Encouraging performance in that first half. Team seems to be picking itself up. But we really haven't beaten a top team. Its the same criticism we have of Arsenal, but our performances against City, Chelsea and Liverpool were soft. Given current form, we aren't beating Arsenal. In fact, they'll give us a hard hard time.
This isn't a criticism of Moyes. Maybe he just needs more time. But not every semi decent half is the light at the end of the tunnel like some of you seem to think. We have alot of issues that need to be sorted including a defence that needs to re=learn the art of defending.
This isn't a criticism of Moyes. Maybe he just needs more time. But not every semi decent half is the light at the end of the tunnel like some of you seem to think. We have alot of issues that need to be sorted including a defence that needs to re=learn the art of defending.
The issue for me is that we still havent put in a full 90 minute display. Every game we have a shit half and against better teams they punish you. The Arsenal game will show us how we're doing. The positive thing to take from yesterday was for 30mins we remembered how to move as a team. Good pace, movement and closing down throughout the team.
The arsenal game next week feels bigger for us than it does for them. And that hasn't been the case for a few years now. Moyes can put down a real marker here.
It's like the next lad said after you, you're supposed to look for positives as a fan. I don't understand why people are saying "Well the teams we beat are rubbish"
If we're winning games consistently now I'll take that.
The Liverpool and City games were both away from home and we actually played well vs Chelsea at Old Trafford.
I've seen positives in the last two/three games for sure, but if you can't point out the negatives then what's the point of a football forum in the first place? I think you should invent your own forum called superhappyredcafe.net and see how much fun that is.
In fact I wold argue that our form away from home has been much better.Bar the City game, our away performance include Swansea, Liverpool, Sunderland and Fulham. Compared to that our home game performances against Palace, Southampton, Stoke and WBA were plain atrocious. We'd be better off playing Arsenal at Emirates currently.
The fact is, that we aren't playing our best right now. And any decent team will expose our frailties quite easily. Arsenal play fast, pressing football and that exactly the kind of football we get hammered with. The home-away thing has nothing to do with the fact that we're playing poor and will get beat by good teams whilst we accuse Arsenal of not having proven themselves against good teams.
We're on the up.Slow progress, but the confidence seems to be returning and Moyes seems more relaxed in his interviews.Of course we have not managed to overcome any of the top opponents we have faced in the league, but a run of good form going into the Arsenal game is vital.Tuesdays game in Spain will be a real test, and the timing of this game is good because this is a tough trip and yet perfect preparation.We'll probably set up the same for real as we will Arsenal.
Moyes has had his hands full, but we now have Rooney on top form,Januzaj in the team and signed on,Valencia is hitting form and RvP looked a lot happier yesterday.The defence is settling down a little and we're winning games.Two wins from the next two games and the critics will be choking on their words.
Moyes has had his hands full, but we now have Rooney on top form,Januzaj in the team and signed on,Valencia is hitting form and RvP looked a lot happier yesterday.The defence is settling down a little and we're winning games.Two wins from the next two games and the critics will be choking on their words.
Yeah I agree. So far our games against the big teams have been dreadful, and Arsenal are probably a better side than City who spanked us. A draw wouldn't be so bad a result next week.
Twigg is the best United fan on here along with Successful and you should listen to them.
without getting into the whole Sky decider bullshit this game next week will be pivotal for Moyes this season
I think we are definately going to finish top 4 but if we are going to challenge for the title we will need to beat the top teams
as good as they are playing at the minute Arsenal will be fearful of playing against us.....Rooney loves playing Arsenal
the only thing I'm worried about are injuries as a few key ones could really hurt us
get well soon Carrick, Cleverley, Rafael and Evans
I think we are definately going to finish top 4 but if we are going to challenge for the title we will need to beat the top teams
as good as they are playing at the minute Arsenal will be fearful of playing against us.....Rooney loves playing Arsenal
the only thing I'm worried about are injuries as a few key ones could really hurt us
get well soon Carrick, Cleverley, Rafael and Evans
I agree here, it is beating "these" teams consistently that will win you the league, not the big ones. If we end up not winning the league, then we will/should be cursing the "easier" matches where we dropped both two and three points.
The "big games" that we've flattered to deceive in can partly be attributed to Moyes adopting a pragmatic approach to them (against Chelsea he brought on Giggs rather than a genuine attacking threat, against Liverpool our set-up looked like we just wanted to scrape a 0-1 win, and we looked horribly defensive in our tactics versus City). However, I severely doubt that Moyes will adopt the same approach against Arsenal next weekend.
Yes they are dangerous and playing relatively well, but we have had the hex over them in recent seasons and I'd wager that they'll fear us far more than we'll fear them. This can be explained as sport is often won psychologically as well as what's achieved on the field, and Arsenal for quite a few years now have been very brittle when the chips are down.
A spanking at the hands of Dortmund midweek will bring them crashing down to earth too, I'd imagine.
Yes they are dangerous and playing relatively well, but we have had the hex over them in recent seasons and I'd wager that they'll fear us far more than we'll fear them. This can be explained as sport is often won psychologically as well as what's achieved on the field, and Arsenal for quite a few years now have been very brittle when the chips are down.
A spanking at the hands of Dortmund midweek will bring them crashing down to earth too, I'd imagine.
Our midfield is godd, a good point against Southampton, a good draw against Chelsea, what a performance.
No.
Anyone expecting Arsenal to roll over this year for us like they have done previously is deluded. Their side has been completely transformed, when are they going to start getting the respect they deserve? We'll have to be at our very best to beat them.
Well said.
People slate Twigg for being overly positive but seem to keep quiet when people are looking for excuses to criticize United. It works both ways.
I'd say seeing positives and negatives is the best way to look at a football team.
You're supposed to have a balanced view as a person is what I believe. Me being a fan shouldn't get in the way of being able to see things for what they are (or what I think they are). I certainly don't think one should ignore negatives because it's not how a fan Is "supposed to be".
They have essentially the same team that we have been beating for years, bar Ozil. And he was anonymous yesterday against a terrible Liverpool team.
They've been decimated by Dortmund once already this season and play them away midweek before our game. Their confidence will have taken a massive bashing before that game, whereas we're gaining confidence all the time. Throw in the mental block they have when it comes to United, I'd wager that come next Sunday, Wenger and co. will be very much afraid of us.
For what it's worth, I've played with teams who've dominated leagues for years at a time but might hit a rough patch at some stage. We'd be facing the "new pretenders" as it were when everyone was writing us off but we'd beat them - not solely due to this, mind - because they hadn't the mental strength or belief to overcome us. Years and years of defeats would have them mentally scarred and they'd bottle it every time the pressure came on. Now I know that's amateur football compared to professional football but Arsenal's mental well-being has been a point of discussion for years now. I don't see that changing just because they've beaten the also-rans of the Premier League.
Also, I saw an interesting graphic in the newspaper on Friday that compared Arsenal's results this season against the same opponents last season. They are actually five points worse off than last year's equivalent so all this nonsense of Arsenal sweeping all before them is quite bizarre. They've taken advantage of a helpful fixture list whilst the other challengers have been taking points off one another left, right and centre. Nothing more, nothing less.
It's not the same team. Ramsey is about 10 times better. Giroud looks far better. And their defence is looking alright. And he's, they have ozil a brilliant footballer. Plus football isn't all about personnel. Just look at our shitty start for evidence of that. So you're wrong on that point.
And Dortmund didn't "decimate" them. Did you actually watch the game? It was a very tight contest.
I love these types of posts that love to hype up the other challengers to the Premier League title. One week it's City who we are supposed to be in awe of, the next it's Chelsea and now it appears to be Arsenal. Bizarre.
And yes, I did watch the Dortmund game. Dortmund played them brilliantly and were well worth their win. They sat back that extra twenty yards in the final half hour and invited Arsenal on to them, lulling Arsenal into a false sense of security but hitting them with a killer blow. It was ultra impressive and something you could see happening as Arsenal didn't look too dangerous despite all of their possession.
That's the difference between the top sides and Arsenal. Arsenal have only one way of playing and if that goes tits-up, they're fecked. United, for all the flak we receive - and shock, horror, most of it is from our own "supporters" - are far more adaptable.
The Fulham game was the first time we sat higher up the pitch (certainly first half) and didn't allow a team to push us back. That was a huge improvement and we immediately reaped the benefits. Let's hope that continues.
Two mobile central midfielders allows us to do that, and to be fair, Valencia was closing down a lot better yesterday, too.
Huge improvement on previous weeks, definitely.
They won't need another way to play against us. Their current style is enough for us.
I love these types of posts that love to hype up the other challengers to the Premier League title. One week it's City who we are supposed to be in awe of, the next it's Chelsea and now it appears to be Arsenal. Bizarre.
And yes, I did watch the Dortmund game. Dortmund played them brilliantly and were well worth their win. They sat back that extra twenty yards in the final half hour and invited Arsenal on to them, lulling Arsenal into a false sense of security but hitting them with a killer blow. It was ultra impressive and something you could see happening as Arsenal didn't look too dangerous despite all of their possession.
That's the difference between the top sides and Arsenal. Arsenal have only one way of playing and if that goes tits-up, they're fecked. United, for all the flak we receive - and shock, horror, most of it is from our own "supporters" - are far more adaptable.
Its not awe of title challengers. Rational thought says that they're not the same as last season. Its the same argument other clubs' followers may have used against us at the begining of 2006-07. Bar Carrick, we were the same. Players come of age, confidence helps. The best clue of the difference would be the league form.
Because the "negatives" which he's talking about are not months old and recently it's been good stuff. Good results for a while now.
I don't understand why after we win so many and scoring plenty of goals we're getting stuff like "Yeah but these teams are shite". If that's the case why even bother following football, we're guarenteed to win against the teams at the bottom anyway!
He disappeared for around 3 weeks when we were playing crap. Works both ways.
I wouldn't say recently it's been all good stuff though. Are you forgetting how awful we were against Stoke? You'll always get people looking for too many negatives but there's nothing wrong with pointing out issues within the team, of which there are a lot.
I don't think Arsenal have the pace in their side to counter us and so we should be comfortable sitting higher and try to play the game in their half.That said, that will be their strategy no doubt and perhaps we should concede ground to counter them ourselves.Will Moyes be so worried about losing, and will that fear see us play a more conservative game?? I would hate to lose but I would just love us to go for it!
Personally I think he has simply taken a more long-term approach to his take-over rather than just signing the best players he can in the window just gone. I think his main priority this season is to weigh up his squad, see what assets he's got, what he needs and what he wants rid of. He seems to be experimenting tactically also, at least it looks that way with our sudden swift change of tempo in recent games. It's a controversial approach from the fans perspective to take charge of a squad and not look for immediate success, but it makes sense in the long run and if this is what he's doing I admire him for that because it takes guts and we all know if things don't work out right away that won't be long till he gets one hell of a hackling from the fans.
If he could've signed more and better players, he would have.
Going for Fabregas and Baines quite publicly says it all. Both are up there with the best in their positions.
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