[#07]

 

[Annihilate Now!]

I don't think I've ever seen us be that wet against Arsenal at home... we usually just barge/tackle/whack them out of the game, but today... Francis fecking Cockhead was out-muscling Fellaini, I mean... what the feck is that?!

We played like a complete bunch of fannies tonight... but at least in the first half we managed to play fairly well in-spite of being completely wet and never wanting to tackle anyone... then the second half came along and we just fell apart. No one could pass to each other (or at times wanted to pass to each other), everyone wanted about 10 touches on the ball, it was a completely pathetic effort. The only person sort of trying was Carrick, but even he seemed to be perplexed by the absolute nonsense around him.

Also, our flat out refusal to move forwards at times is staggering. People have yards of space in front of them, but will still stand there, in hope that a pass to the left or right will come around. Balls into space are at a premium, even when it's as simple as knocking it over the top into that massive area behind the full-back... which is absolutely mind boggling when you're playing with feckin' wingers.

 

[bosnian_red]

Thought there must have been an injury. Was stupid making the subs he did. Ruined it for us at half time. Herrera was doing much better then Blind, though he wasn't great or anything, but Blind was having a really bad game. Taking off Herrera got rid of any mobility and creativity in the middle. Nothing wrong with Shaw on the day I thought, was a strange sub.

 

[VeevaVee]

Thought the game was open and enjoyable in the first half. Something I haven't felt for ages.

Valencia is a poor and pointless player at United. If you're gonna be miles out of position then you better make sure you get the ball and don't turn round and back into a player like a labrador with an itchy arse instead of tackling them. The sooner we get a proper RB the better.

Januzaj is shit. Elaborated on in his thread. Takes away from the team. Loan spell needed.

Di Maria I thought was doing ok til his lost the plot. At least being half useful anyway. His cross was perfect. I can definitely see him becoming a decent player for us in time.

Rooney played well. That touch and then the chipped pass was beautiful. And all while their defence was on the backfoot. Almost like old times.

The only award we are now fighting for is the Keep De Gea Medal for Excellence in Persuasion.


I'm now going to go and repeat these sentiments in the players threads.

 

[Blue always red]

I'm 99.99% certain we went 3 at the back and then let everyone else choose where they were.

 

[Danny1982]

I agree with that tbf. That game was horrible, yet will inevitably be forgotten to posterity because of the result. Though it was at least an away game, early in the season, for a side that could still be argued to be going through transition.

My biggest problem with tonight was not the overall performance (at least in the first half) but the conservatism of the HT substitutions. Bringing on two defensive players in a home tie we were drawing, on 45 minutes, seemed odd for any team, let alone Manchester Utd. He obviously counld't have predicted the red, but it had alreadly lowered our potency, as well as obviously reducing our options after it. More to the point, it seemed like the kind of sub you'd only make after at least an hour of a game you were winning. It was risk averse at a time when there was no cause for it.

And it's not like it was out of character either, he did the same thing against Newcastle last week, which he got away with because of their last minute clusterfeck, and seems to have become a trend in his attitude since the Leicester loss...

I'm still a supporter of LVG, and not gearing up to rant mode yet, but I am getting worried by his current mentality. Yes it's an improvement of sorts, but most of our deficiencies in that away game were still present tonight. We were just a little more proficient at making up for them, rather than anything approaching solving them. A whole 4 months later.

We quite clearly still have problems, and we're not going to 'solve' them in the next 10 games. I just hope we can scrape a top 4 finish by sheer will and determination like we used to do when SAF was in charge, and then try to fix our problems in the Summer.

It's easy to blame Valencia and Di Maria for the loss, but imo the biggest (decisive) difference between the two teams tonight was composure when having the ball under pressure. Most of Arsenal's players had the composure to keep the ball when we put them under pressure (which we did quite well whenever any of their players got the ball), while we failed to deal with the pressure they applied on us (on individual level) and their second goal is a good example. That's for the technical part.

However, for me the technical aspect is not the one I'll assess LVG based on in the remainder of this season. I want to see his motivation skills. I want to see him get the squad fired up to play the remaining games and secure at least a top 4 spot, no matter how. Last minute winner. A win against the run of play. An ugly 1-0 win, doesn't matter. SAF once said tactics are overrated, motivation is far more important, and I do believe that. Moyes was a terrible motivator, which is why I never felt he can take us to the top. LVG is a better motivator as far as I know, but I need to see him do it.

Today I saw the players fired up, they played with urgency and compensated for the inferior technical ability compared to Arsenal's players. We should have still won though. If we can keep playing with passion then there is a good chance we'll finish in the top 4 this season, despite any technical problems we have at the moment. And then, in the Summer we could try to fix those problems.

 

[Rezyuz]

Apparently i watched a completely different game then most.

My view on the game:

- First half was good, and at some moments great.

- At first i was "fellaini #10 offs" but if you just looked at the game unbiased you saw the stupid amount of presence fellaini had. His value to receive the ball up top in the second half was just amazing. Should Mata have played? In my opinion yes, as i stand for GOOD football above effective football. But would Mata have been more effective? thats a different story.

- The dives, yeah DM and AJ both had some dives, but so did Welbeck and Sanchez (litterly right before DM got sent off he had an exact replica of DM "dive" resulting in a free kick on the 16th).

- DM's reaction was unprofessional, but giving him red was just pure wrong as he shouldn't have had yellow in the first place. The one that should have gotten red is both Bellerin and Rojo.

- But at the end of the day, I'm disappointed we lost, but also damn proud. Cuz we just absolutely dominated the second half with 10 vs 11 which everyone just seems to forget. The football wasn't brilliant, but what do you expect 10 vs 11? But the work rate, spirit was. It looked more like United was going to score 2-2 then Arsenal scoring 3-1.

We lost by PERSONAL errors (looking at you, like always Tony), not by our football, not by our team as a whole.

Any other day this would have been a win.

 

[Annihilate Now!]

How can anyone be happy with our approach after half-time? We were absolute garbage.

 

[Gannicus]

I'd love to know what his longest run of games before injury/suspension is since Red Nev got taken round the back of the Hawthorns and put down.

I'd love to know that too, but this season Rafael suffered a cheekbone fracture, which has nothing to do with how prone to injury he is.

Whatever happen 2, 3 or 4 seasons ago has absolutely nothing to do with whether Rafael is fit to be a United RB now, at least when our next best option in that position is a makeshift winger.

 

[saivet]

Just got back from the game. So so frustrating. Arsenal didn't play all that well but our 2nd half performance was dire. We gifted them a goal and never looked like getting back into it. Not seen a replay yet, but I'm fuming with di Maria. Why touch the fecking ref?!

Shaw and Herrera injured??

 

[ThierryHenry]

Bit harsh on Welbzinho.

I'm hoping we line up like this:

Szczesny

Bellerin Mertesacker Koscielny Gibbs

Coquelin
Ramsey Cazorla

Ozil Giroud Sanchez
​

Chamberlain or Welbeck starting is fairly likely, but that probably means a far too attacking midfield with Ozil and Cazorla. Either way, we'll likely sit deep and play on the counter. That's worked great in some games (City being the obvious example), but if the ball doesn't stick with Giroud then we can have long spells not even getting out of our own half. I'm picturing a game where both teams take turns to dominate possession and play on the counter, with the team with the fewest defensive mistakes winning. We're guaranteed to gift you at least a goal, so I'm just hoping the favour(s) get returned...

Pretty much, I'm just shocked that it was you guys who gifted us the goal.

You're in a lot of trouble here. I'll be pretty shocked if you finish top four with the games left, and I don't think Van Gaal will be the United manager next season. A lot more time and even more money is needed.

 

[FlawlessThaw]

You're in a lot of trouble here. I'll be pretty shocked if you finish top four with the games left, and I don't think Van Gaal will be the United manager next season. A lot more time and even more money is needed.

Yep we are and I think you're right on both counts. You guys should see as us a warning before the Wenger Out frustrations come out when Arsenal have their next defeat. Wenger is a shrewd manager as he showed tonight and with him you're favourites for the cup and should be well placed for a top 3 finish - something most fans here would take.

 

[Mick1991]

Two subs at half-time killed us, we were going in with our tails up and right in the game, all the decent work from the first half was thrown away before a ball was even kicked. There is plenty in football that will trip you up, no need to tie your own laces together.

 

[bri2013]

I actually enjoyed watching the game tonight despite the number of inconsistencies on all sides. Bellerin probably should have been sent off for a second bookable. Fellaini committed fouls all night ( though I do think he got pulled up on occasion because of who he is!)

Blind didn't have a good game, neither did Shaw. Valencia was at fault for both goals we conceded. Di Maria had a brain fart after a ridiculous dive and while i'm not sure it deserved a sending off, his actions cannot be defended.

Taking Herrera off at half time was a strange decision, bringing Jones on was I feel a good one.

My only hope is that now Di Maria is banned, Januzaj gets a start, and after Valencia's performance, he gets a seat on the bench and Rafael gets back in the side.

The side LVG put out in the first half seemed to play with more purpose than of late and so maybe he is closer to working out his best 11.

Personally, I think his best 11 should include Rafael as he is technically a better player than Valencia, going forwards and back. I would also prefer to see Januzaj play in the Di Maria slot to see what he can do.

All things considered, we didn't deserve to win tonight because we didn't do enough

 

[KiD MoYeS]

Not enough players fighting for the shirt. We're commending Young for his work rate, but he's a limited player. Thought di Maria let us down big time getting himself sent off. Not good enough, the story of the season.

 

[NoPace]

Positives:
-De Gea might not leave and he is our best player since peak Ronaldo.
-Rafael might get a chance to save his career here now
-Rooney scored and keeping him at the 9 is imperative to our long-term success

 

[shabadu84]

I can see us not getting top 4 and LVG staying, especially if the playing style is more frequently like the 1st half For the rest of the year. You'd think that would get us some wins, especially against the weaker sides. Revert to boring play and he will lose the fans, which, IMO, hasn't happened yet.

 

[ghagua]

Been critical of the performances this entire season, but we played some decent stuff at times, this despite LvG

 

[olesmyhero]

First 45 minutes were good. Second 45 minutes were awful. We completely fell apart after Valencia's mistake. For all the joking about Arsenal's weak mentality over the years, we're not much better lately.

 

[Pscholes18]

Guess Di Maria is a diving cnut playing for us as well. Good call by Marriner. Both that and the Janzuaj-dive.

Wtf was Janzuaj thinking....he had his man beat...that could of easily lead to a goal....cnut.

 

[Pscholes18]

Once he took off Herrera for Carrick it was over....Carrick, Blind and Brillow Pad in the middle of the park..where the feck was Mata? Where the feck is Rafael????

 

[Pscholes18]

The diving, the hoofing it to Fellaini, the comical stopping of the ball, the stupid substitutions... Atrocious!

I am so sick of them hoofing it to Felleini every fecking game.....its embarrassing.

 

[NK86]

Is hoofing the ball to Fellaini the last 20 mins everytime we chase a game LVG's idea of a plan B? Had Moyes used that tactic last season he would have been slaughtered on here and rightly so. LVG is such a defensive coach. The half time subs made zero sense if not for injuries. And him saying Valencia was MOM was a pathetic attempt to divert attention. If we don't finish in the top 4 because of his pigheadedness then I would be delighted if he got the sack.

Oh and someone should have booted the ball against Oliver's head for being the d**k that he is.

 

[bosnian_red]

First 45 minutes were good. Second 45 minutes were awful. We completely fell apart after Valencia's mistake. For all the joking about Arsenal's weak mentality over the years, we're not much better lately.

Yep. I thought we were definitely the better team in the first hour, and maybe even the first 5-10 minutes after Welbeck's goal, but the red card killed us and we went right into hoofing mode. The first 45 we genuinely played well though, looked dangerous going forwards, played with pace and dominated the possession for the most part. No idea why the changes were made at half time, but you could tell Smalling wasn't as comfortable as Rojo was at passing out from the LCB position (for all those who think it's not a big deal, it makes a difference), and Blind - Carrick was just way too static and conservative compared to having Herrera in there. Had Valencia not played that back pass I reckon we would have won but it's all ifs and buts now.

I hope we stop with the Fellaini up front stuff by the way. We revert to hoofing way too soon in every game, it should be a final 5 minutes tactic at most, not 20-30 minutes or more every game. And Fellaini is relatively useless when we aren't playing long ball, especially when you consider we have Juan fecking Mata on the bench.

 

[Scarlett Dracarys]

Came home all excited tonight to watch the game but for some strange reason it didn't record. I'll take it as me being spared having to endure another shit performance. What happened to United ? Is it the manager, the players ? It's so frustrating.

 

[Vato]

I'm sorry, but this has to be on LVG surely? United played the best half of football they've played in a long time and he goes and makes not one but two(!) subs at half time...

You couldn't make this shit up.

 

[bosnian_red]

I'm sorry, but this has to be on LVG surely? United played the best half of football they've played in a long time and he goes and makes not one but two(!) subs at half time...

You couldn't make this shit up.

Well there was that which obviously killed a lot of our momentum but we still created a few chances in those first 15-20 minutes of the second half and were generally on top. Not much Van Gaal can do about Valencia passing it short for Welbeck to get an open goal or Di Maria deciding to dive and then tug the referee's shirt to get himself sent off. It's on all 3 of them more then anything I think.

 

[bosnian_red]

Came home all excited tonight to watch the game but for some strange reason it didn't record. I'll take it as me being spared having to endure another shit performance. What happened to United ? Is it the manager, the players ? It's so frustrating.

First half was arguably our best half of the season, or one of, taking into account the strength of opposition. We controlled the game, passed it around quickly and made chances. They scored after a good run from Chamberlain but some shambolic defending, then we score shortly after from a great ball from Di Maria and a good header from Rooney. Di Maria and Rooney in particular were very dangerous in the first half and our best players pretty much.

Second half, Herrera and Shaw subbed off at half time for some reason for Carrick and Jones, leaving a midfield 3 of Carrick, Blind and Fellaini (can it be more uninspiring?), and then the first 15 minutes nothing really happens apart from a few half chances from both teams, and then Valencia gives an awful back pass to De Gea, Welbeck latches on to it, pokes it past de gea and then scores an open goal. Think they should have had a red card before that, maybe it was after, can't remember, but it was a clear second yellow from Bellerin but the ref gave nothing. We make a few more chances after that, Arsenal being dangerous on the counter attack, and then Di Maria pointlessly gets himself sent off and then we proceed to hoof for the remaining 20 minutes creating feck all.

If you ignore the result and the last 20-30 minutes, we actually played well really. Clear signs of progress and there were such fine margins in the result. A win would have done us a world of good, but as it is, we lost, we got knocked out and the caf is collectively depressed forgetting all the good that we did and just focusing on the last 10 dreadful minutes. What is worrying though is that we're clueless at chasing results, apart from hoofing it forward. We very rarely turn things around in our favour, more often then not we equalize but then concede again instead of taking the lead.

 

[olesmyhero]

First half was arguably our best half of the season, or one of, taking into account the strength of opposition. We controlled the game, passed it around quickly and made chances. They scored after a good run from Chamberlain but some shambolic defending, then we score shortly after from a great ball from Di Maria and a good header from Rooney. Di Maria and Rooney in particular were very dangerous in the first half and our best players pretty much.

Second half, Herrera and Shaw subbed off at half time for some reason for Carrick and Jones, leaving a midfield 3 of Carrick, Blind and Fellaini (can it be more uninspiring?), and then the first 15 minutes nothing really happens apart from a few half chances from both teams, and then Valencia gives an awful back pass to De Gea, Welbeck latches on to it, pokes it past de gea and then scores an open goal. Think they should have had a red card before that, maybe it was after, can't remember, but it was a clear second yellow from Bellerin but the ref gave nothing. We make a few more chances after that, Arsenal being dangerous on the counter attack, and then Di Maria pointlessly gets himself sent off and then we proceed to hoof for the remaining 20 minutes creating feck all.

If you ignore the result and the last 20-30 minutes, we actually played well really. Clear signs of progress and there were such fine margins in the result. A win would have done us a world of good, but as it is, we lost, we got knocked out and the caf is collectively depressed forgetting all the good that we did and just focusing on the last 10 dreadful minutes. What is worrying though is that we're clueless at chasing results, apart from hoofing it forward. We very rarely turn things around in our favour, more often then not we equalize but then concede again instead of taking the lead.

so, ignore 1/3 of the game and the score line that knocked us out of the cup.

 

[bosnian_red]

so, ignore 1/3 of the game and the score line that knocked us out of the cup.

Well that's the obvious drawback... but the last 30 minutes was like that because we gave away a goal because of the backpass and then got the red card. We seem to lose our heads way too easily this season. When the game is in the balance we played really well is what I'm trying to say. It's something to build on and be optimistic about instead of thinking the season is over. We just need to play like that more often. We should have started playing like that a while back but wasted too much forcing Falcao/RvP up front. Hopefully it's not too late and hopefully this result doesn't kill any confidence we had in playing that way, as it was actually entertaining stuff and we were the better side.

The game was so finely poised though that if you played it 3 times with the same level of performances, you'd get 3 completely different results every time I think. One bad back pass was what decided it essentially.

 

[Rednotdead]

If anyone thinks it's going to get better than this under Van Gaal, they can think again. How many times now has he made tactical or personnel changes that baffle everyone watching, as though he knows something everyone else in the world doesn't? It's just going to keep happening. He'll spend another £150m in the Summer and we'll be right back here again this time next year, with him still spouting his philosophical drivel.

 

[Winrar]

First half was a good contest but everything went to shit in the second with yet another set of bizarre substitutions.

Pretty much, I'm just shocked that it was you guys who gifted us the goal.

You're in a lot of trouble here. I'll be pretty shocked if you finish top four with the games left, and I don't think Van Gaal will be the United manager next season. A lot more time and even more money is needed.

I would agree with this, we basically pushed the self destruct button with our schoolboy errors (gifting the goals and Di Maria with that silly second yellow) and silly decisions by Van Gaal with substitutions.

Anyways congratulations on progressing to Wembley again

 

[Gannicus]

Blessing in disguise, mates.

Let's just hope that Louis learns the obvious lessons from this match.

 

[Winrar]

Blessing in disguise, mates.

Let's just hope that Louis learns the obvious lessons from this match.

It's hope that kills.

 

[Rednotdead]

Blessing in disguise, mates.

Let's just hope that Louis learns the obvious lessons from this match.

That's the only problem, he doesn't learn - his ego translates events so they appear different in his eyes from what everyone else sees. We're at the stage of the season now where everyone's faults and limitations are ever increasingly under the microscope and I really don't see him coming out of it well.

 

[Gannicus]

That's the only problem, he doesn't learn - his ego translates events so they appear different in his eyes from what everyone else sees. We're at the stage of the season now where everyone's faults and limitations are ever increasingly under the microscope and I really don't see him coming out of it well.

I agree this is a serious problem. Maybe Louis has been waiting all seasons to prove he really does learn lessons. We shall see.

 

[Kostur]

Biggest questionmark for me is why we went off the boil at half-time. I don't think it was due to taking off Herrera, he was invisible in the first half, done very little to be fair and we played a lot through the left rather than right side where he was placed. To me it looked as if the instructions our players got were something along 'we're playing too open, cut this shit, play slower and safer' lines. This is what pisses me off.

Arsenal were nothing special really, there for the taking and we were more or less enjoyable to watch in the first half. LVG absolutely killed it in the second half. If Shaw was not injured then he shall feck off with taking him off, not sure whether bringing on Carrick, in a hindsight, was such a good idea either.

 

[MZX7]

The funniest reactions here are from the Welbeck fanboys.

These are the same people who used to moan and groan that Rooney got more chances than Welbeck under Moyes.

See Rooney's finish and Welbeck's sitter. That is the most Welbeck can do in front of goal...depend on a boo boo like that from a defender which takes away the goalie from the picture...if only that happened 15 times in a season, he'd be a top scorer for his team.

Sadly, such errors don't come that often in any team's favor.

And being "happy" for Welbeck after a piss-poor performance by him and after he put us out of the competition displays how some fans put individual players over the club itself.

Thank God there are so few of such.

 

[Desert Eagle]

Gutted we lost to those arsenal fannies. Freaking had to be Welbeck too. The one consolation is I didn't wake up early in the morning to watch it. Only top four left to play for and only 10? games left. 2 shitty seasons in row. Don't wanna get used to this

 

[bishblaize]

Hard to know what to think after last night. Neither team was great but we gave them problems up until the sending off. They looked technically better than us as usual but i was confident we had more goals in us.

But suicide on the second goal from Valencia and a ludicrous red card meant that the defeat was totally self inflicted. And really there's not a lot the manager can do about such idiotic moments.

Overshadowed a good first half and an otherwise improved performance from ADM.