[Frank Grimes]

Delighted for Erik.

 

[Red00012]

One thing is for certain that the players have not downed tools for the manager.

If you watched the 1st 20 mins an argument could be made for the opposite

 

[ThinkTank@Cafe]

It is hard to rely on Shaw to stay fit nowadays.

Yeah, so true. Licha should play as LB then.

 

[Bobade]

Seeing that one of our players who'd discovered has a heart problem being well enough to get back on the pitch and playing. Yes biggest positive for me.

Oh fair play mate, I must have completely missed the news about Mazraoui having a heart problem - honestly the first I have heard of it.

In which case that's probably the biggest positive for me.

 

[quadrant]

One thing is for certain that the players have not downed tools for the manager.

Even after the worst games, I never felt like this was the case. This is part of the reason why I don't think sacking the manager now will result in a short term boost the way you sometimes see when the manager has fallen out with the players.

 

[MrBest]

First half was pathetic. Second half was a lot better, I dont think it was as good as people are saying because our finishing at times was woeful.

Saying thay, I was pleased with Rashford, still has a long way to go to be a proper footballer again, but he showed drive ambition and things were working for him. I'd still love to see Bruno come off with Amad coming in middle.

Overall, 3 points, I cannot complain, at least will be a happy Sunday for once =).

 

[Tincanalley]

F**k me. We won. You'd think we'd lost. Why do we need to be so negative? Yes, we aren't great; ETH might not be our Saviour but FFS we need to get behind the team.

Great post. Well, decent post.

 

[United Irishman]

Usually a bit of a grump and that still wasn’t amazing but… De Ligt, Evans and Hojlund - fair play.

Honourable mentions to Rashford who put in a shift and an excellent assist. Also, the uncles in CM. Quite a feat to win a PL game with zero physicality in midfield.

 

[Cantonagotmehere]

Mostly, the following is related to orgasmic 2nd half.

1. Licha instead of Dalot as a left back was a huge difference. A lot more stability both in defensive phase and build up.
2. 442/4222 without the ball positioning in 2nd half was perfect. Players knew when to press or keep shape. A lot more coordinated performance without the ball and voila - we don’t make silly mistakes, don’t leave any gaps, Casemiro and Eriksen are suddenly world beater MF pairing.
3. Eriksen as DLP is KEY. Manioo can’t do his job. DLP is THE PRIORITY next summer.
4. Rashford is like a new player. He doesn’t rely on his pace and acceleration anymore. Adding some playmaker traits. I hope is still progressing as a player. Interestingly he was drifting right in N10 zone, not even in half space.
5. Attacking shape - 3-2-5 is the way to go. Dalot as an extremely attacking right winger has a lot of potential. We should rotate Maz and Dalot depending on opposition, the latter being an option when we play against lesser opposition.
6. Garnacho should play Rashford’s old role (explosive wide forward exploiting 1-on-1) on a regular basis. Rashy can’t produce INSANE number of runs like Garna. Yes, he is a little bit of a headless chicken, but sheer amount of opportunities he has due to work rate produces result. Also, I admire his MENTALITY. CR7 as his hero (instead of Messi) requires no explanation.

Great post, thanks for the tactics updates that is beyond my pay grade.

 

[lex talionis]

Three points safely in the bag but we must improve substantially to have any hope of a top four finish.

 

[Cantonalegod]

Really good 70m after they should have been up 1-0 after a little over 2m.

If you look closely Jonny Evans just gets a slight touch on the ball, and the attacker had no time to react, so actually a good piece of defending, though definitely last ditch!

 

[Coops73]

I mean yeah great but I am fecked off with these nobody's telling everyone where we’ve got it right or wrong and then nobody’s posting shit on here like we should all take note.

Who gives a feck what this fella is saying and why he is saying it?

 

[RoyH1]

I'll always take the 3 points. And we played great the second half, but that first half was really poor.

 

[Melville Red]

Are you not happy we won?

Yes but at the same time a bit shocked.

 

[BeforeKeanetherewasRobson]

De Ligt looked a lot more comfortable with Evans next to him. Played well today. As did Hojlund. Rashford really looked up for it too. Shame he couldn't get on the score sheet after that performance.

Our pressing in the 2nd half was brilliant. Not seen us win back possession so many times and actually start an attack from it. We need to find that form consistently and from the start of the game and we'll really kick on. Id keep this exact same team on Thursday. Maybe Ugarte in for Cas if that calf injury keeps him out.

Evans is more “stable”, less likely to get drawn out of the line than Martinez or Maguire. Sometimes defenders have to jump/risk but think de Ligt would welcome the feeling of stability that Evans gives him, especially while still learning the rest of the team/style of play.

 

[stu_1992]

Very good second half, easily the best half of the season. Annoyingly we needed to concede to actually step up, something we've seen too often over the years. Solid win though. Nice to be happy after a game.

Hopefully Rashford can keep up that performance level and it would be great to see Hojlund go on a bit of a run now. Desperately need someone creating and scoring goals.

 

[tenpoless]

Bald is gald

 

[McTerminator]

15:00 kick off in the UK so didn’t see it. Must be a sign to stop watching all together…

 

[sparx99]

Now that the game has been over for a little while I feel like the best way to sum this up would be:

A perfectly fine performance. There was mostly good. A little bit of bad. If that was part of a season where you finish top 4 it wouldn’t be memorable.

In amongst our current run of form it’s not going to change many opinions. Our next 6 matches until Arsenal in December are all winnable. If we produce this level each week we should win most if not all of them.

At which point you imagine the confidence would be creating a positive feedback loop leading to better and better performances as that hypothetical run goes on. We saw a little bit of that once Garnacho scored and suddenly tried to set up Hojlund after just shooting in the first half.

 

[Giggsy13]

I thought the 2nd half we were fantastic. Glad that the squad has a pulse and some pride. Hopefully can build some positive momentum. ten Hag in or out, I just want to enjoy watching United again.

 

[Stig]

Rashford worked hard. Says it all.

I think he tried more than he usually does, and it was still sporadic. But it was better.

 

[Stig]

I wouldn't give anybody less than 6/10 - nobody had a nightmare, even Rashford seemed more interested than usual.
No stupid bookings
It was much better than we have been.

Was it any better than mid-table football ?

 

[always_hoping]

Watching back on the match on Premier sports. Pre match predictions. Presenter 2-1 win for Brentford, Damien Delaney 2-2 and Kenny Cunningham went for a 4-2 win for Brentford.

 

[always_hoping]

I wouldn't give anybody less than 6/10 - nobody had a nightmare, even Rashford seemed more interested than usual.
No stupid bookings
It was much better than we have been.

Was it any better than mid-table football ?

Good enough to beat a decent team. Man City last month also beat Brentford 2-1 at home. Match stats then and today was very similar.

 

[Bastian]

I think he tried more than he usually does, and it was still sporadic. But it was better.

I think that's a bit unfair. I generally view him as a lazy player, but today he was busting a gut at every opportunity (along with all the others, bar maybe Zirkzee when he came on) and won the ball back a few times or enabled a teammate to win the ball back. Blocked quite a few passes and always tried. If he played like this (even without an assist or a goal) I'd be OK with him and I think most fans would be (the +300K a week thing still requires genuine 300K a week performances to be happy with him).

This should be viewed for him, and the collective, as the minimum requirement.

 

[JediSith]

Good performance, good result.

 

[SungSam7]

There's no negative. We won.

No that doesn't cut the mustard. We lose next weekend, draw the week after and win. Is that what we accept to happen. Winning isn't enough anymore. There needs more to be shown. His time is done and just winning against a mid table side is not enough

 

[TrueRed79]

That second half performance should be our base performance and this team should be producing that as a minimal level.

Thought the same thing when the game finished. Just can't see the team rise to that level, yet. If they do, then we can get out of this mess because that second half was excellent.

 

[tenpoless]

Didn't watch the 7-0 win and didn't watch this one.
I'll continue not watching matches.

 

[Offside]

I thought the 2nd half we were fantastic. Glad that the squad has a pulse and some pride. Hopefully can build some positive momentum. ten Hag in or out, I just want to enjoy watching United again.

Doubt it’ll happen. At least it’s proof we can win a football match. Been a while.

 

[Hester_manc]

I looked at some statistics for our season so far after the Brentford match, (and I would not find a better tread than this one):

- United has hit the woodwork 6 times this season, most of all teams. Bruno and Garnacho have both done it two times.
- United has made the most tackles of all teams, 180.
- Onana is the keeper with most clean sheets.

 

[stevoc]

Oh fair play mate, I must have completely missed the news about Mazraoui having a heart problem - honestly the first I have heard of it.

In which case that's probably the biggest positive for me.

Fair enough mate, no worries.

 

[Yakuza_devils]

Finally, we saw a team right there in the 2nd half. Where have this team been all this season? Hope this team show up on weekly basic from now on. No more 11 individual play like they just met. If they could play like this week in week out, it could save ETH job.

 

[stevoc]

Even after the worst games, I never felt like this was the case. This is part of the reason why I don't think sacking the manager now will result in a short term boost the way you sometimes see when the manager has fallen out with the players.

I don't think we'd get a boost because of the usual scenario where the players are just sick of the manager like with Jose. But we have a decent squad that Ten Hag is most likely dragging below it's level with his tactics. A new manager with a different approach could be getting more out of this squad.

 

[Yakuza_devils]

Mostly, the following is related to orgasmic 2nd half.

1. Licha instead of Dalot as a left back was a huge difference. A lot more stability both in defensive phase and build up.
2. 442/4222 without the ball positioning in 2nd half was perfect. Players knew when to press or keep shape. A lot more coordinated performance without the ball and voila - we don’t make silly mistakes, don’t leave any gaps, Casemiro and Eriksen are suddenly world beater MF pairing.
3. Eriksen as DLP is KEY. Manioo can’t do his job. DLP is THE PRIORITY next summer.
4. Rashford is like a new player. He doesn’t rely on his pace and acceleration anymore. Adding some playmaker traits. I hope is still progressing as a player. Interestingly he was drifting right in N10 zone, not even in half space.
5. Attacking shape - 3-2-5 is the way to go. Dalot as an extremely attacking right winger has a lot of potential. We should rotate Maz and Dalot depending on opposition, the latter being an option when we play against lesser opposition.
6. Garnacho should play Rashford’s old role (explosive wide forward exploiting 1-on-1) on a regular basis. Rashy can’t produce INSANE number of runs like Garna. Yes, he is a little bit of a headless chicken, but sheer amount of opportunities he has due to work rate produces result. Also, I admire his MENTALITY. CR7 as his hero (instead of Messi) requires no explanation.

Great post especially on Rashford. He is one of my favorite players. Hope he can transform his play from now on. He seems to be starting to click with Garnacho as well.

 

[sdb4884]

Good to finally win but lets face it Brentford were shit and we had enough talent on the field to beat them and we just managed it. Against a better side we would have folded like normal.

 

[steffyr2]

I was watching Tottenham/West Ham before this game started. What a difference! Tottenham scored at the 52nd minute, then the 55th, then the 60th. They won 4-1. Never stopped attacking.

Kind of reminded me of the way Utd used to play -- wasn't there the statement (maybe a song?) that the opposition would score 8 and Utd would score 10. Fun, wild, swashbuckling games.

Anyway, imo, the players are playing exactly how ETG wants them to play -- boring and safe, with the occasional goal being scored now and then. Similar to LVG. I took the dog for a walk mid-game, don't think I missed anything.

 

[r0663664]

Delighted for Erik.

I am delighted that we can turn it around but not for Erik. How can we play like crap in the first half? And then play alot better in the 2nd? Because we are angry, what is that? Keane is always angry and old United will just break teams down. Seriously, 2nd half performance should be our minimum expectation for this club.

 

[r0663664]

I was watching Tottenham/West Ham before this game started. What a difference! Tottenham scored at the 52nd minute, then the 55th, then the 60th. They won 4-1. Never stopped attacking.

Kind of reminded me of the way Utd used to play -- wasn't there the statement (maybe a song?) that the opposition would score 8 and Utd would score 10. Fun, wild, swashbuckling games.

Anyway, imo, the players are playing exactly how ETG wants them to play -- boring and safe, with the occasional goal being scored now and then. Similar to LVG. I took the dog for a walk mid-game, don't think I missed anything.

Fully agreed. We need to go back to the old way of playing attacking football. Not this boring shit, hoping to score a goal. Erik isn't the man to take us forward. When is the last time that we score in the first half? When it the last time we score a few goals in 10-20 mins spell? All opponents know that once we score, we will sit back allowing them to come at us. We need a manager who is brave and Erik isn't the one.

 

[downunder red]

So poor it could have been Brentford

Sorry I was drunk at the time.