[Dylan94]

Not sure what he's said wrong. We were both absolute garbage. So many terrible individual performances.

Today yes. But Southampton have been playing great football until very recently and we have had our good our performances too. And this was still a great game from a neutral persective and in terms of an advert for the Premier League. He's just another bitter snob who hates United and has moved to Spain because he things that's where the real football is at.

 

[Escobar]

He always identifies when we are crap, but he doens't seem to have identified why. If he plays this system and team again, I'll be seriously worried about a blind spot.

That's what I thought as well. He's so good an analyzing but the next game you just know it's not really working out.

 

[Oneunited26]

In terms of the quality of football, he has a point.

United, Arsenal, Spurs and Liverpool have all been well below their expected levels this season.

I will always say this, we are at ground zero from the mess of the fergie departure and moyes arriving, the rot started in 2009 and looking at the decline of our squad since then, the 2013/14 campaign caught up with us with average spending. So it's a complete rebuilding job, things are never going to be pretty when you rebuild a powerhouse. This season is about a top 4, and next season getting stronger and stronger

 

[Jazz]

Loved LVG's post-match interview. Brutally honest. Knows that we need big improvement. Feel safe with him in charge.
On another note, I feel like if we can secure our place in the top four, then the lads will play with more confidence and we'll see some great performances. Lack of confidence is still one of our big problems, along with injuries. But - we are grinding out those results, showing great resilience - and that's a big plus.

 

[Member 39557]

No he doesn't. Southampton have been playing great football until very recently and we have had our good our performances too. And this was still a great game from a neutral persective and in terms of an advert for the Premier League. He's just another bitter snob who hates United and has moved to Spain because he things that's where the real football is at.

I'll have to disagree. United could barely string a handful of passes together for large parts of the first half. Southampton created most of their opportunities from pressing us into bad passing errors. It wasn't exactly a great advert for the premier league as the standard of football was poor.

 

[Cal?]

It seems he forgot the part where Aguero has been single-handedly keeping them in contention.

ABU pundits as usual...

United only won because of RVP's individual brilliance. City are a great side... oh wait, what happens when Aguero is injured?

 

[pierrethesnack]

1. Valencia was spectacularly poor today. He offered almost no support when he had possession on the right wing, which is part of role in this formation. Rooney had a go at him for not providing an outlet in the 2nd half and he also failed to make any kind of run in the 1st when Fellaini tried to pass the ball forward into space. Maybe LvG gave him instructions to stay back, but I think that unlikely.

2. McNair was terrible and was misplacing passes under little pressure. Not too worried. He's a young, talented kid and he'll get more chances. Good decision to take him off before halftime and bring in Herrera. Our ball retention was significantly better as soon as Herrera came on the field.

3. Mata had zero impact and in all honesty was worse than Fellaini, who also started poorly in possession, but I thought grew into the game, especially once Herrera came in to the game.

4. Carrick is great.

5. DDG once again demonstrated why he's the best keeper in the PL.

6. RVP's best performance all season today. His goals obviously were a great reward, but his hold up play tonight was simply amazing. Easily the best player on the pitch and he made the Southampton defenders look foolish.

7. Rooney was poor. Whatever. I'm not all that concerned. He definitely seems to relish playing in behind the strikers more than he does further forward now.

8. Young was tremendous both defensively and working hard to be an outlet moving forward when in possession. He has his limitations but he's earned his spot as a squad player. Very impressed by how comfortable he is when put under pressure in defensive positions.

Wow, it's not often that I agree with everything in a post as long as this.

 

[AR87]

And that's probably his point.

It's not a very good point

 

[Boycott]

Really?

Not any of those 0-3 against City and Liverpool at OT last season?

They were just shambolic team performances. It was CM that cost us at the Etihad. So feeble and mundane with the ball. Defensively fine. Bad goal right on HT. I still have bad memories of Park bouncing off Toure and Giggs playing Hollywood balls out of play

 

[The Red Thinker]

United only won because of RVP's individual brilliance. City are a great side... oh wait, what happens when Aguero is injured?

Fair comment this. Aguero single handedly restarted City's rise after that incredible performance against Bayern.

 

[Dylan94]

I'll have to disagree. United could barely string a handful of passes together for large parts of the first half. Southampton created most of their opportunities from pressing us into bad passing errors. It wasn't exactly a great advert for the premier league as the standard of football was poor.

Well we'll have to agree to disagree then. Because a few friends of mine have spoken to me since the game has finished who support other teams and they said that it was a good game. The standard of the football wasn't great today no. But it was still a good game and Southampton have been playing very well up until very recently. And we have had our good games too. He's just a bitter snob as I said and people like him need calling out.

 

[NinjaZombie]

Schmeichel was on another level to VDS. He's possibly the greatest keeper ever so DDG has some way to go.

At the risk of going off topic, I'm not sure I agree.

I can remember quite a few Schmeichel feck ups but only the one VDS mistake against WBA at home. I suppose it depends on what sort of keeper you're looking for. I'd say De Gea's more Van De Sar than Schmeichel.

 

[Oneunited26]

Loved LVG's post-match interview. Brutally honest. Knows that we need big improvement. Feel safe with him in charge.
On another note, I feel like if we can secure our place in the top four, then the lads will play with more confidence and we'll see some great performances. Lack of confidence is still one of our big problems, along with injuries. But - we are grinding out those results, showing great resilience - and that's a big plus.

And we secure champions league football we can buy even better players, and then the fruits of our labour start to kick in. Like I say, to gain a resilient quality when the going gets tough, Like we have seen this season, that is a great asset to have in the future. Bring in better players with this fighting spirit we have, we are a scary prospect in the next few years to come

 

[Crashoutcassius]

Did they really? They had the Long header which was a good chance, the Pelle shot which was a half chance and their goal. Maybe one other half chance at most. The rest was hoofing it forward and us clearing it. We weren't good but Southampton was just as bad at creating anything considering how shaky our defence looked.

The only chance we made from open play was RVP blasting it 6 feet wide from 20 yards, so no sotn weren't just as bad

 

[Member 39557]

It's not a very good point

Well if a patched up underperforming united can get themselves into third, how good can the league really be this year?

I'm chuffed to bits that we're third, but how poor must everybody else be!

 

[pierrethesnack]

Schmeichel was on another level to VDS. He's possibly the greatest keeper ever so DDG has some way to go.

I'd say that's very much nostalgia playing in. VdS vas amazingly consistent and calm, while at the same time pulling match winning performances out of the hat on a regular basis. Schmeichel was such a dominating figure who was capable of the extreme, but in terms of consistency and deliverance, VdS was just as good, if not better.

 

[Cal?]

At the risk of going off topic, I'm not sure I agree.

I can remember quite a few Schmeichel feck ups but only the one VDS mistake against WBA at home. I suppose it depends on what sort of keeper you're looking for. I'd say De Gea's more Van De Sar than Schmeichel.

Schmeichel's performance at St James the year Keegan melted down was probably the most amazing performance I've ever seen from any goalkeeper.

 

[gasmanc]

I feel dirty after that win, dirty...dirty and I like it.

Ohhhh Robin Van Persie

 

[adamwest]

Far too many doom mongerers in here. It's obvious we were shite, but we won. Come on lads!

 

[Cal?]

The only chance we made from open play was RVP blasting it 6 feet wide from 20 yards, so no sotn weren't just as bad

I'd say it was more like 2-3 feet wide, it'd be difficult for the ball to bend onto the side netting from 6 feet wide.

 

[Walters_19_MuFc]

Don't think it's a coincidence that we didn't particularly play well, having reverted to three at the back. Van Gaal obviously feels it makes us more solid, but in my opinion, it makes us less solid, as our players just look lost. In addition to that, our build up play is non existent, at times. There seems to be a lack of options off the ball, hence the great amount of long balls.

Having said all of that, we won the game, and I guess that's the main thing. Its also good that, although we've ridden our luck quite a lot today, we're starting to win games when not playing well, which is the sign of a good team. It was a similar case with Arsenal. That's five in a row now and we're third, yes third. I'm so happy. I just hope we go back to a back four against Liverpool come Sunday.

 

[pierrethesnack]

At the risk of going off topic, I'm not sure I agree.

I can remember quite a few Schmeichel feck ups but only the one VDS mistake against WBA at home. I suppose it depends on what sort of keeper you're looking for. I'd say De Gea's more Van De Sar than Schmeichel.

I agree. Scmeichel was superior in terms of presence and ability to do the spectacular, but VdS was much more consistent and better with the ball.

 

[Member 39557]

Well we'll have to agree to disagree then. Because a few friends of mine have spoken to me since the game has finished who support other teams and they said that it was a good game. The standard of the football wasn't great today no. But it was still a good game and Southampton have been playing very well up until very recently. And we have had our good games too. He's just a bitter snob as I said and people like him need calling out.

That was what the reporter based his judgement on, and that's why I said it wasn't a good advert for the league. You're agreeing with my point about the standard of football.

 

[AR87]

Well if a patched up underperforming united can get themselves into third, how good can the league really be this year?

I'm chuffed to bits that we're third, but how poor must everybody else be!

I think that the league has much more depth than previous years and in comparison to other leagues. United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham have struggled, but it's unfair to simply say it's because they're poor rather than giving credit to the other teams.

 

[Ixion]

I'd say that's very much nostalgia playing in. VdS vas amazingly consistent and calm, while at the same time pulling match winning performances out of the hat on a regular basis. Schmeichel was such a dominating figure who was capable of the extreme, but in terms of consistency and deliverance, VdS was just as good, if not better.

Don't want to derail this thread but Schmeichel/VDS has been discussed on here before with a poll and Schmeichel won it convincingly.

https://www.redcafe.net/threads/better-keeper-schmeichel-or-van-der-sar.398238/

I think its also unfair to just dismiss it as nostalga. He is genuinely one of the greatest keepers in history. He practically won the Euros for Denmark.

 

[Oneunited26]

Don't think it's a coincidence that we didn't particularly play well, having reverted to three at the back. Van Gaal obviously feels it makes us more solid, but in my opinion, it makes us less solid, as our players just look lost. In addition to that, our build up play is non existent, at times. There seems to be a lack of options off the ball, hence the great amount of long balls.

Having said all of that, we won the game, and I guess that's the main thing. Its also good that, although we've ridden our luck quite a lot today, we're starting to win games when not playing well, which is the sign of a good team. It was a similar case with Arsenal. That's five in a row now and we're third, yes third. I'm so happy. I just hope we go back to a back four against Liverpool come Sunday.

Yes but consider how bad we were last season of 7th, it's not going to be a quick fix. Judge how good United are for quality of the football next season, and the year after.

The summer coming up, we will Have no World Cup, van gaal Will know the PL more, he will have a free summer to sign players, he is not tied with World Cup dutie, and with champions league football, we will have a better chance of signing better players

 

[Woodzy]

Some of our players just baffle me. They can have all the time in the world on the ball and still look lost.

 

[Member 39557]

I think that the league has much more depth than previous years and in comparison to other leagues. United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham have struggled, but it's unfair to simply say it's because they're poor rather than giving credit to the other teams.

The other teams obviously deserve a bit of credit, but has the depth increased due to the average teams improving, or has the depth increased because the teams towards the top have regressed?

It's an interesting question.

 

[pierrethesnack]

Don't want to derail this thread but Schmeichel/VDS has been discussed on here before with a poll and Schmeichel won it convincingly.

https://www.redcafe.net/threads/better-keeper-schmeichel-or-van-der-sar.398238/

I think its also unfair to just dismiss it as nostalga. He is genuinely one of the greatest keepers in history. He practically won the Euros for Denmark.

Well, I'm not all that concerned with the opinion of the masses

But you're right, this isn't the thread.

 

[RedStarUnited]

WBA
Leicester City

Games where we played better than the opposition for the majority of the match and still didnt win.

I enjoy these wins more, i am sad like that.

 

[Dylan94]

That was what the reporter based his judgement on, and that's why I said it wasn't a good advert for the league. You're agreeing with my point about the standard of football.

I am. But ok then I'll just change my words and say that In my opinion: whatever point that he's trying to make, it isn't a very good one.

 

[Mockney]

That's what I thought as well. He's so good an analyzing but the next game you just know it's not really working out.

It's frustrating when lazy armchair managers on the internet can so easily identify when a team is going to be poor. Like many a Moyes team, or Fergie's latter experiments with Giggs & Scholes in midfield, the 3-5-2 consistently seems to instill dread, and then predicatably almost always justify that dread in practice. It forces you to really test your natural instinct to implicity trust the professionals, when these things seem so obviously obvious.

I'm still very trusting of Van Gaal, and certainly believe he'll come good. But the 3-5-2 is that one nagging bit of loose flappy paper at the edge of his opus of credentials I can't help but worry about and pick at.

 

[Theonas]

Nothing like him, this was just pure shit gifted by 2 errors. Even more mind boggling is that you have actually strung together a longer run of wins than we have. With SAF you still had a degree of control, even in the poorer games you won.

You clearly didn't watch us against Southampton at OT 2 seasons ago. Under Fergie, we played like this many times, it just was never consecutively.

 

[NinjaZombie]

Schmeichel's performance at St James the year Keegan melted down was probably the most amazing performance I've ever seen from any goalkeeper.

Yes it was. Also, I remember his save vs Inter Milan in the 1999 CL. And his Bergkamp penalty save.

But I also remember him getting lobbed by Albert in that 5-0 Newcastle lost, and him in no man's land as Quinn got the better of Bruce in the Manchester derby, or the amount of times he miskicked a ball.

Like I said, depends what you're looking for in a keeper. Maybe Schmeichel got away with a few things thanks to the chaotic nature of 90s English football. I'd rather have a calm head like VDS.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

WBA
Leicester City

Games where we played better than the opposition for the majority of the match and still didnt win.

I enjoy these wins more, i am sad like that.

LvG brought that up, that we have played better earlier in the season and not won. He said the better team didn't win. Fair play to him.

 

[Twisted_Woody]

Anyone have highlights or Gifs?

 

[AR87]

The other teams obviously deserve a bit of credit, but has the depth increased due to the average teams improving, or has the depth increased because the teams towards the top have regressed?

It's an interesting question.

I think it's probably a bit of both. United are rebuilding, Liverpool are doing Liverpool things, Arsenal is going full Arsenal and Tottenham is in transition with a new manager again. Additionally I think the influx of even more TV money has allowed more teams to increase the quality of their squads so they are stronger than they've been in the past.

 

[Raoul]

Anyone have highlights or Gifs?

Not at this time. GIFLord should be sacked.

 

[Mockney]

WBA
Leicester City

Games where we played better than the opposition for the majority of the match and still didnt win.

I enjoy these wins more, i am sad like that.

Leicester is definitely a game where I think the players, rather than the tactics/formation etc were at fault. We completely dominated that game and then mentally imploded when they got back into it. But results have a huge impact on perception, and the Arsenal & Soton results naturally give the impression our set up was justified, while the Leicester one will always be viewed in hindsight as a huge managerial failure.

I think both of these are wrong headed, but I completely understand them.

 

[Member 39557]

At the start of the season I loved our play, although we looked like we'd have to win every game 5-4. Now we're a bit dull to watch, but it's bafflingly effective. We need to find the right balance pretty soon, otherwise we'll run out of luck!