[Offside]

Our famous mentality midgets strike again.

Those demanding EtH out, ask yourself who Dan Ashworth would want as his replacement.

Same mentality issue we had under Jose, Ole, Lvg and indeed Rangnick.

We must have conceded more late goals under ETH than all those managers combined

 

[Hoof the ball]

Have we had the Caf favourite, "fine margins" yet?

Good teams don't rely on making it a competitive game and hope that good fortune smiles that day.

The reality is that Brighton got the win because we're not good enough to let fortune or misfortune not play its part.

 

[Cathy Ferguson]

Yes I do, especially if we get Ugarte over the line. Our system looks a lot more cohesive this season.

Who's your latest manager pick who will miraculously coach these guys into world beaters? Last season up until Christmas or so it was De Zerbi, but that went quiet after they collapsed.

Not a fan of ETH that is for sure. I have no clue on who will be our next manager. It won't be an easy task.

 

[lex talionis]

I just think Bruno is getting over hyped now, he’s still very creative but he also brings issues when trying to control a game.

ETH is definitely his own worst enemy though, Rashford should not be in the first 11, he just doesn’t have the confidence, attitude or appetite for it.

If Bruno plays and we go with a standard 3 up front then you have to drop one of Mainoo or Casemiro for Mount or we’ll lose the midfield battle against anyone.

Bruno does have issues, but he is our best creator. No Bruno, no chance creation, and no chance creation, no 3 points. At least not with the squad we currently have.

I didn’t like the decision to sub him off when we were still chasing a match winner. We lost the match.

 

[RORY65]

We were alright until Welbeck scored, albeit we didn't look dangerous, but were then very poor until we equalised and could have easily conceded again in that period. Once we equalised we played well for the next period and were really unlucky with the disallowed goal but completely last our way once Bruno got taken off and it felt like they the more likely winners in the last 10-15 minutes.

We haven't been as chaotic in either game as we were last year for the most part, albeit there have been spells where we have reverted to that, but still don't look like a particularly good side and it's disappointing that the counter attack is still our only really way of threatening. Genuinely good sides can maintain a certain level of play because it's ingrained in them over time and yet in the early stages of year 3 under Ten Hag we're still only playing well in patches of games.

It looks like we will be better than we were last year but the inability to dominate games and the lack of goals mean that unless things improve in the coming months then I'd be surprised if we make top 4.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

Not a fan of ETH that is for sure. I have no clue on who will be our next manager. It won't be an easy task.

If they are still hankering after Southgate I would rather have Lee Carsley. Potter keeps turning jobs down.

 

[manichester]

The dutch connection is a disaster.

 

[JediSith]

We have no control of a game and I’m now thinking Ugarte is not going to be the answer. We need an Odegaard or De Bruyne type of midfielder who can dictate they play.

I think Mount can be that type of player. Less magnificent than de Bruyne, but he’s like the needle on the clock that keeps ticking and you only notice his gone when his not there and your clock is 45 minutes behind

 

[doomy20]

Probably deserved to win but at least we have improved from last season as we lost 3-1 here last year. Hag v Slot next week, perfect game to get us back on track.

ETH vs Slot is a mismatch already, Slot will out-tactic him and Jota, Salah and Co will be clinical while we are not

 

[The Hilton]

Not a fan of ETH that is for sure. I have no clue on who will be our next manager. It won't be an easy task.

That's a much more sensible position than last season. I respectfully disagree about Ten Hag, but let's see how this season pans out.

 

[justsomebloke]

Two disastrous collective defensive breakdowns, two goals against. Oh well, at least it's still better than last season, when they outclassed us.

I think some conclusions emerge after the first three games (counting CS):

1. We're completely fine with Dalot on LB and Mazraoui on RB
2. Maguire, while mostly good, will cost us. Sooner or later it's time for De Ligt to start, and that time may be now.
3. The revived Casemiro might not be the at times spectacular liability he was last season, but he's not an awfully big asset either. Time to get that Ugarte deal over the line (and to pray he's the solution).
4. Mainoo looks more and more like a mainstay of this team, more so than last season. Then he was an injection of spice and quality, now he's the glue.
5. Time's up for Rashford as a starter, for now. Let's have Garnacho.
6. Bruno is a #10.
7. Mount may not be useless in that position either (and he was a good deal better today than against Fulham), but all things considered he looks destined for the bench
8. Amad has taken ownership of the right forward position, for the time being
9. Zirkzee should start up front. Such a smart player, does the small things right and positions himself well.

 

[leontas]

Watching City after us is quite painful. There’s so much more structure and pace in their attacking movements.

 

[The Hilton]

Not sure it will matter what our system is if we do not put the ball in the net. We need a goalscorer.

It would help to be a bit more clinical in front of goal, no doubt, but we put the ball in the net twice today. A big issue for us today was that we ran out of steam a little in the middle, particularly Casemiro, and it became a shootout which we lost due to bad luck and individual errors rather than the control we had for almost the entire first half.

 

[Ollie Derbyshire]

Bruno does have issues, but he is our best creator. No Bruno, no chance creation, and no chance creation, no 3 points. At least not with the squad we currently have.

I didn’t like the decision to sub him off when we were still chasing a match winner. We lost the match.

I’m just disappointed he’s not been able to taper his enthusiasm and bring a bit more composure to his play. He gives the ball away too much and actually messes up some very simple chances picking the wrong pass or trying or trying to play that pass to spectacularly instead of just a simple one.

 

[aeh1991]

Told you we needed a left footed LB, because Dalot is half the player he is when he plays there. And anyone who thought that Amass would come into this team and become a regular is delusional.

 

[justsomebloke]

I just think Bruno is getting over hyped now, he’s still very creative but he also brings issues when trying to control a game.

ETH is definitely his own worst enemy though, Rashford should not be in the first 11, he just doesn’t have the confidence, attitude or appetite for it.

If Bruno plays and we go with a standard 3 up front then you have to drop one of Mainoo or Casemiro for Mount or we’ll lose the midfield battle against anyone.

Bruno played as a false nine for most of the game, as he did against Fulham. Not really a position from which you exercise control of a game.

 

[Bestie07]

We don't create enough, and as long as that continues to happen it will always be a split of the coin what the result might be.

 

[Redplane]

I'm fecking pissed to start the weekend with a result like this. I had reset my hopes for this season. Can the EPL please move all our games to Sunday night or a weekday from now on when I'm already in a lesser mood anyway?

 

[noodlehair]

I don’t get this, Rashford wasn’t great and generally it was a toss up between he and Amad , Amad even though he was making poor errors that killed moves was more involved in the game and had better use of the ball. If not for Zirks knee the sun that replaced Rashford scored.

Bruno ran his ass off for 60 minutes and then started to look tired and was getting very loose. They were obvious people to be taken from the game.

Put McT on to try and get some pressing energy upfront again which had left since Mount was taken off.

Both subs seem like sensible ones to me. The only real obvious error I saw was the one he does most weeks by starting Maguire.

There was no need to make any subs at the time as we'd juat scored and had the momentum. If we'd ended up back under pressure or too open 10 minutes later thwn it would have made more sense but even then, Garnacho doesn't look comfortable on the left, and we already had a right back pretending to be a left back there, and Bruno was still getting on the press which Mctominay juat doesn't do nearly as well from the front. It was a recipe for trouble as could be clearly seen by Brighton repeatedly just running up thatcside of the pitch and outnumbered us the second we made the subs. I mean what's not to get I thought it was absolutely clear as day? It was a collosally counter productive thing to do.

I also don't get why we needed to change anything at half time. We were largely controlling the game and playing well and were only 1 goal down. We'd obviously trained to play that system all week and then abandoned it at half time and looked nowhere near as coherent or organised.

And whether or not starting Maguire is right, subbing your most experienced CB for someone who's played about 8 minutes for the club, late in a game when under increasing pressure, is asking for trouble. What was the purpose of this sub? It was a straight swap at the point in the game where actually you'd probably bring Maguire on rather than take him off.

ETH constantly concerns me with his subs and last season more often than not with his system/starting 11, because it's like what is and isn't working is completely irrelevant to him.

You don't see good or well managed teams pratting about with subs or systems when they are on top or playing well in a game. They wait until there is a problem or weakness they can target and then change to suit. We almost never do this. More frequently we use game management to create problems that needn't be there.

I mean our subs were almost a mirror of the last game. As if the thinking is"it somehow worked last time so let's just ignore that it's a completely different game against a completely different opponent and bring on the same players again"

 

[The Cat]

Bruno does have issues, but he is our best creator. No Bruno, no chance creation, and no chance creation, no 3 points. At least not with the squad we currently have.

I didn’t like the decision to sub him off when we were still chasing a match winner. We lost the match.

Did anyone see him laughing while running off? Could be the start of a mutiny against ETH

 

[dubplate warrior]

I think Mount can be that type of player. Less magnificent than de Bruyne, but he’s like the needle on the clock that keeps ticking and you only notice his gone when his not there and your clock is 45 minutes behind

Mount can not control football matches. The closest kind of midfielder we have for that is Mainoo and even then he's better up the pitch.

 

[lex talionis]

I’m just disappointed he’s not been able to taper his enthusiasm and bring a bit more composure to his play. He gives the ball away too much and actually messes up some very simple chances picking the wrong pass or trying or trying to play that pass to spectacularly instead of just a simple one.

Bruno is a whinger and a nutter, and at times he attempts passes that just aren’t there. But he does pull off some very good stuff that’s crucial to our attack, I do wish Bruno had Mount’s disciplined mentality and that Mount had Bruno’s ability.

 

[Siorac]

We need luck every game to get a win. When are we going to start *earning wins* *regularly* and *convincingly*?

I've been waiting 2 years now.

11 years, more like.

 

[lex talionis]

Did anyone see him laughing while running off? Could be the start of a mutiny against ETH

I’ve only read that here. I’ll go back and see if Bruno really was enjoying our defeat with laughter. Terrible is go.

 

[Swearing Budgie]

If he insists on starting Rashford, why not in the middle with Garnacho on the left?

Rashford can then spend the entire match sulking and offside but not have to bother tracking back.

 

[Hughie77]

I'm as angry as feck losing that game.. it was never a loss in a million years..
Not out out played better team for large parts .

Eth Imo should have put Garnacho on bit earlier.. Rashford seems as if its same old as last season.. can't sell him nobody wants him!

Bruno coming off was strange one unless he had a knock. Game changed with the non goal, otherwise its a comfy win.. and everything would be different..

Now though it will be the same shit off all the ABUs for a week leading up to the dippers game..

Lose that at home and its sack time talk again..
There is imo no other guy to take charge.. unless they sack him and put RVN in.. but imo that's way off but it's not for others...

 

[kouroux]

Does Garnacho's shot go in without Zirkzee redirecting with his knee, because that angle looks like it could have just gone wide of the other post.

It was going in for sure

 

[Ollie Derbyshire]

Bruno is a whinger and a nutter, and at times he attempts passes that just aren’t there. But he does pull off some very good stuff that’s crucial to our attack, I do wish Bruno had Mount’s disciplined mentality and that Mount had Bruno’s ability.

Honestly I think we need a more disciplined 10 and we would create as many chances.

 

[ken11]

11 years, more like.

True!

 

[Raoul]

I'm as angry as feck losing that game.. it was never a loss in a million years..
Not out out played better team for large parts .

Eth Imo should have put Garnacho on bit earlier.. Rashford seems as if its same old as last season.. can't sell him nobody wants him!

Bruno coming off was strange one unless he had a knock. Game changed with the non goal, otherwise its a comfy win.. and everything would be different..

Now though it will be the same shit off all the ABUs for a week leading up to the dippers game..

Lose that at home and its sack time talk again..
There is imo no other guy to take charge.. unless they sack him and put RVN in.. but imo that's way off but it's not for others...

Re: Garnacho. ETH's excuse will be that he's not yet match fit after the summer.

 

[Lentwood]

Our famous mentality midgets strike again.

Those demanding EtH out, ask yourself who Dan Ashworth would want as his replacement.

Same mentality issue we had under Jose, Ole, Lvg and indeed Rangnick.

We keep conceding late goals because we don't sub off players who are shattered, we bring on defenders and retreat to the edge of our own box

 

[Redivy]

This makes the Liverpool game so important.

We need a result. Zirkzee and Garnacho to start.

 

[Woziak]

We look like a team that will finish 6th-8th and sadly with the ability of the manager and the players that is probably about all you can expect.

Even if the offside goal had counted I don’t think we’d have held on for a win, I expect to watch that same level of performance week in week out and ETah’s job will depend on how many fine margins fall in his favour because I don’t see us winning many games comfortably.

I think you’re being a little optimistic, this team will be lucky to finish 10th, we simply don’t score enough goals or control enough games in the EPL.

I think Zirkzee willl end up being a decent signing, I like his touch and his overall movement, Mazraoui will be an ok signing but the rest have been vastly overrated, De Ligt is soon to be one Harry maguire Mark 2 as a meme.

We needed a quality creative left back, we need a creative deep lying midfielder like carrick and a midfield destroyer plus another out and out goal scorer, today is a reality check we still desperately need 3/4 players in and 5 or 6 out and if ineos don’t want to start with an average 8th -10th place start this season, they better get busy before deadline day.

 

[Dazzmondo]

Think most Utd fans are majorly overrating our performance today. Yes, the goal being ruled out was unfortunate, but Brighton were the far better team in the 2nd half. I'd struggle to pick a single Utd player I was impressed with today. I would have said Dalot, but he was massively at fault for Brighton's winner. Mount's pressing was good in 1st half (and he should have stayed on unless it was an injury) but he still didn't offer anything when in possession.

I'm very concerned with how toothless we've looked up front in all 3 of our opening games so far. I thought we'd get top 4 because with the squad we have we should 100% be finishing there, but I'm losing confidence in that.

Massive game against Liverpool where we really need some sort of result. Another loss would be a terrible start to the season

 

[BorisManUtd]

Didn't watch either of our 2 opening league games and am happy after seeing today's result. We've now lost 4 times to Brighton early in the season (August/September): 18/19 2nd game of the season, 20/21 (beat them but should've lost), 22/23 lost at OT, 23/24 lost at OT, 24/25 lost away. Nightmare opponent for us.

Can't comment on the game that I didn't watch but defeat this early into season already takes away the excitement. Especially as our next game is vs Liverpool...

 

[Mibabalou]

Bad starting XI selection and bad substitutions.

Game was ours for a bit but we didn't kill it off.

 

[Woziak]

The dutch connection is a disaster.

No Dutch Coach ever win the EPL, No Dutch Coach has never finished runners Up!

 

[steffyr2]

Two disastrous collective defensive breakdowns, two goals against. Oh well, at least it's still better than last season, when they outclassed us.

I think some conclusions emerge after the first three games (counting CS):

1. We're completely fine with Dalot on LB and Mazraoui on RB
2. Maguire, while mostly good, will cost us. Sooner or later it's time for De Ligt to start, and that time may be now.
3. The revived Casemiro might not be the at times spectacular liability he was last season, but he's not an awfully big asset either. Time to get that Ugarte deal over the line (and to pray he's the solution).
4. Mainoo looks more and more like a mainstay of this team, more so than last season. Then he was an injection of spice and quality, now he's the glue.
5. Time's up for Rashford as a starter, for now. Let's have Garnacho.
6. Bruno is a #10.
7. Mount may not be useless in that position either (and he was a good deal better today than against Fulham), but all things considered he looks destined for the bench
8. Amad has taken ownership of the right forward position, for the time being
9. Zirkzee should start up front. Such a smart player, does the small things right and positions himself well.

Moral of this, nobody has gotten better. What exactly makes us want to keep ETH?

 

[Cantonagotmehere]

Brutal. Awful luck on the Garnacho shot, but 2 awful goals.

Rashford cannot start vs Pool but I'm sure he will.

Case was fine but could see him getting leggy again, he can be good for us but only playing 60% of games. Please get Ugarte.

Brutal way to start the day. Feck.

 

[Big Ben Foster]

We need luck every game to get a win. When are we going to start *earning wins* *regularly* and *convincingly*?

I've been waiting 2 years now.

Not just that, when are we going to play *convincingly* *for 90 minutes* at least *two games in a row*?

Literally the bare minimum expectation. It's year three and it hasn't even happened yet.