[Raoul]

Have to agree with that a bit but the players given a chance from the bench shouldn't need motivation if they have any ambition to become starters. Pathetic performance.

True. The general atmosphere and urgency the squad displayed (regulars and non-regulars) was pretty languid. A sign the manager is not managing properly.

 

[EverReddy]

I think Mourinho is spot on: '2nd matters to me but it doesn't matter to some of my players'

 

[redIndianDevil]

Everyone will blame the manager but I don’t want to talk about that. History tells us that if the manager doesn’t meet the board’s expectations, he will be fired. What about the players though? No desire, no concentration and a downright poor attitude. Week in week out we see inconsistent performances. Except De Gea and maybe Matic, no player can claim to be delivering a 7/10 performance in most weeks. Martial, Pogba, Rashford, Mata - no desire to make runs, careless in possession, no intensity or intent while attacking. Everything was slower than it should be -one extra touch, one extra dribble, one-two’s around the box without any purpose. This is not about coaching. This is about taking pride in your work, in the club you represent all the time. Not just when your backs are against the wall or when its an important occasion. Complacency and arrogance is the biggest issue in the team. Really sick of the players.

When a team is poorly coached there is not really much to be done. De Gea is consistently good not because he is a better professional than the others, it's because his position is the only one where Mourinho and his coaches can do anything. Id even go far as.to claim that De Gea is losing his ability to bring the ball out from the back under Mourinho.

 

[Marcky411]

I disagree there. Why would they need motivating at all? He has just given them a chance to play themselves into the FA cup final, no motivation needed. The players have a lot to answer for.

The players know it doesn’t matter what they do out on the field tonight there is no way they will be replacing Lukaku, Sanchez, Lingard, Matic, Pogba etc for the FA Cup final. They might just be lucky enough to get a few minutes.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

The players were woeful, but the manager picked that side and isn't motivating them properly.

 

[Raoul]

Watching MUTV and people phoning in are disgusted. Alex Stepney and David May are really unhappy. Can't blame them. Our players just go through the motions and are happy to pick up their wages.

The wages thing is another issue. We are in danger of becoming a club who pay significantly higher wages, where players don't feel the urgency to win because they know that win or lose they bank accounts will be well taken care of.

 

[Jim Beam]

Not even so angry with the result. And it is really not an issue with our position in the table, second and this many points in isolation are good. But, considering the way we play, people might as well just check the score on the net and not bother watching.

 

[Raw]

Seems like a bit of a disconnect between Jose and some players. Please please please don't let that whole 3rd season thing happen.

 

[Fully Fledged]

Sums it up

Yeah as I said in the match day thread this is why we are so far behind City. It doesn't matter how ell we do in the big matches if we keep up these performances against the cannon fodder we are getting nowhere near City.

 

[redIndianDevil]

I cannot agree that Lukaku has been that good this season. He is just as crap and as inconsistent as the rest of the squad and he was consistent supported and played through his bad form by the manager and our attack is only built for him to score.

 

[ayushreddevil9]

Never really remember when i last enjoyed watching football. No identity, no brand.. only fellaini and hoofball. Well that's what you get when you persist with dross like darmian mata fellaini

 

[CassiusClaymore]

Might as well have been wearing beach shorts.

Think they've seen through his FA Cup bluff.

 

[ayushreddevil9]

Bloody hell, that is scathing.

They really deserve that

 

[van der star]

It was infuriating to watch the players walk around in the last 10 minutes in the opposition half, doing the same things over and over again. And the lack of urgency in our play in the 15-20 minutes before that was quite appaling too. Something about this team's mentality just doesn't sit right, and it can't all be down to bad coaching.

 

[Gordon S]

When the entire team (bar De Gea) plays like they just been on a Rooneyesque bender, there must be something else that just isn't working.

How can we not have more cohesion? A better plan to get players in good positions?
The most worrying thing is that this isn't a one off, we've seen this football from us lots of games this season.
We rely far to often on De Gea, Pogba, Martial, Lukaku or Sanchez to show pieces of magic to win us games.

 

[Henry Gaervell]

I'm a jose fan, but I put the blame on him tonight. I'd go so far as to dock him a weeks wages for his awful decision.

Two things annoyed me in particular:

1) Right Flank. Utterly stupid decision to put darmian and Mata on the right. Darmian has shown his attacking limitations, while Mata is quite frankly pants as a right winger (attacking centre mid is a different story). It's like tieing one arm behind your back as a boxer, as well disrupting the whole team as the shape is broken.

2) Folloing on fron the above, I'm sick of jose making the same poor decisions again and again. He also made a 3rd I picking a largely immobile midfield. It's fine to rotate and get it wrong - but dint keep msking the same mistake and expect the same outcome. In a normal job it would be classed as negligence and you'd eventually get the sack.

Jose was the main issue, but the players were to blame as well. Martial and rashford showed why they are rotation opions and both put in poor performances. I'd rip up fellani's contract offer based on that and Mata did nothing

Poor.

 

[Denis79]

True. The general atmosphere and urgency the squad displayed (regulars and non-regulars) was pretty languid. A sign the manager is not managing properly.

Without a doubt, what annoys me alot is the lack of professionalism and pride in our players. Might be completely wrong, but it's a feeling I can't shake. Maybe I'm just getting old and bitter.

 

[Toni's Left Foot]

If you want to watch some coherent football played with purpose, catch the u18s in the national final tomorrow.

 

[VivaObertan]

I spent over £2,000 on this club in the past week in tickets alone and this is the sort of performance they put in...

 

[siw2007]

We could have Sane and Sterling and I don't think they would do any better under Mourinho.

I’m usually very critical of Jose’s tactics, I think we are too negative and that there isn’t enough progress with the talent we have and money spent. But I think today the players have to take some responsibility.

 

[Sandikan]

A very poor performance, but with the FA cup coming up, no Lukaku, Sanchez or Valencia, I will get over this one quickly.

The next 2 league games might be awkward watches too I feel. Need to get 4 points from them though, to avoid wasting 2nd, and more importantly, to keep some sort of momentum for a hard final!

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

Despicable performance.

Those away fans deserve a refund.

That was a pathetic performance. No one except DDG absolved of criticism.

 

[Red Viking]

The only way to get more of the players motivated is make sure that those that generally do not perform to a high enough standard over several seasons like Mata is to tell them look for a new club or face reserve football next season. There is simply too much complacency in our team as under performers gets too much slack and excuses made for them. It is time to send a message to the players that no more excuses will be made and some players have been found too poor to stay. We need ruthlessness when it comes to dealing with mediocre players otherwise they stay forever to pick up wages and enjoy the life style that comes with playing for Manchester United. We have too many players that do as little as possible to be allowed to stay every season and the performances shows just that.

 

[Marcky411]

I think Mourinho is spot on: '2nd matters to me but it doesn't matter to some of my players'

Yes he is, the problem is some of his players know second is nothing, it’s no trophy except Jose has been talking about second place since January as if it was a trophy.

 

[MonkeysMagic]

It is very satisfying to hear Jose in the post match interview say what is so obvious to some fans...there are too many average players at Utd that do not justify their place in the squad let alone starting 11.

Always the blame on the manager ‘not motivating’ the players...what the hell are the players doing midweek if they need to told they should be up for a match. Jose has been a perennial winner, and granted he will never play expansively but if he were to do so, this team would get torn to shreds due to attitude of some the players.

 

[Darran]

He has been banging on about 2nd place, we have West Ham next, bet their players will show up, then 2nd place is assured. If we don't get 2nd then he will look a fool. We would be miles behind City and maybe behind the CL finalist, we are a long way off competing.

Manager needs to go wrong choice for the way united should be playing.

 

[SapperBRed75]

One of those teams was determined to impose themselves, and defended from the front without killing the game off. Well done Chris Hughton. Absolutely gutted by our abject performance.

 

[Sied]

Rashford and Martial I'd imagine.

Blimey...

 

[MIC_FIN]

My last post, due to restrictions.

It isn't the manager, It's the absolute dross performance by individual players that cost us the loss. I can't believe how much hope people put into the likes of Martial and Rashford. They are squad players. Nothing more, nothing less. I've said it loads of times. It's either time to loan them out or get shut. Lingard falls into that category too. Just get rid of Fellaini, and Darmian. Sell Shaw too. Just not good enough to take us to the places we NEED to be.

 

[Zexstream]

Brighton wasn't even that good, they got a very lucky goal and that was it. We were just far worse than them.

Not one of the players looked like they cared, amazing when you consider they are all playing for a place in the cup final. They just don't care.

 

[stu_1992]

Rather pointless game that unfortunately we treated as such. Should be looking to finish the season as strongly as possible, but instead we get this. Struggle to pick out any player who played well today. De Gea had a nice save...

 

[Woodenlung]

Blaming the players again.

Nothing to do with the obvious failures in coaching when it comes to building an attack. Nope. Definitey not.

 

[R.N7]

Rashford and Martial I'd imagine.

José's probably just as sick of the Anthony Martyrial FC fans as the rest of us.

 

[Al-T]

Shockingly poor. Attitude of some of these players is just bloody lazy. They were shown up tonight against an organised side that knew exactly what they were doing and executed their game plan. Chris Hughton has set up Brighton like this all season and the spine of his team has been able to stay fit and start the vast majority of games.

Watching Knockaert and Izquerdo running at people with the ball reminded me of what we used to do. When United were attractive to watch.

 

[Devil may care]

The forwards will get stick and they were poor, but the midfield 3 were absolutely dire and didn't give them a single decent pass all game, the complete lack of desire, intensity, entusiasm and creativity was sad to see.

 

[svastian99]

without fighting spirit
without natural leaders
no hunger to win
without passion

Rashford: immature decisions
Martial: no presence / consistency in the field
Pogba: losing the ball with stupid decisions and defending very badly
Fellaini: please just go
Young, Smalling, Mata and Matic: very erratic and / or slow
Rojo and Darmian: a long time without football

one of the worst performances of the season

I can not understand this:

United vs top 6:

United 1-0 Spurs
Arsenal 1-3 United
United 2-1 Chelsea
United 2-1 Liverpool
City 2-3 United
United 2-1 Arsenal

United vs promoted teams:

Huddersfield 2-1 United
Newcastle 1-0 United
Brighton 1-0 United

 

[Summit]

I spent over £2,000 on this club in the past week in tickets alone and this is the sort of performance they put in...

wut? 2k

 

[Rajma]

José's probably just as sick of the Anthony Martyrial FC fans as the rest of us.

So how come we lost to West Brom and other shite team with first teamers on the pitch while looking beyond dreadful? Fans are sick of Jose as well though. Pot, Kettle, Black.

 

[Mozza]

Same shite, different day. Mouriniho has got to go

 

[Moriarty]

Rashford is far better than tonight's showing. He's a natural number 9 but, though it pains me to say it, his development in that position has been retarded. Pogba plays like he couldn't give a feck unless the opposition is in the top 6 and the full-back dilemma should have been sorted a long time ago. Tony V. Goes wide, cuts inside, plays a diagonal ball. Young, ditto, but with a few variations. Martial, same again. Cuts inside, tries a dribble and runs into a brick wall. We are so predictable, especially against the Brightons and WBAs of the league. Half of them look miserable as hell. They're playing for Manchester United for heaven's sake. They've arrived, yet they play like they've just been rejected by Tranmere.