[el3mel]

Stats and my analysis and final scores do not back this up. The really bad match in my book was Spurs 0-3. Passing was good against Brighton and Burnley (Joe Hart stopped a 0-6). Brighton had the rub of the green enabling them to exploit mistakes at optimum times. I could see the Spurs defeat coming as the shape was all over the shop. Against Brighton it was only really Young and Bailly that had stinkers. i thought Brighton confirmed that Matic and Pogba in front of Smalling and Lindelof should be an automatic choice.

Spurs game was far bette than Brighton one. Brighton was a terrible game. We didn't create anything and was lax even after going 3-1 down. Second half was disgusting.

Spurs game was a good performance, not great but good. The result flattered them. Even if they had won, they should have won 1-0 or something. Our defense became a complete joke after Kane goal and we collapsed.

 

[Foxbatt]

We need a striker who can put away those kinds of chances. Against top teams we will not get more than one or two and we got found out against Spurs when Lukaku missed those kinds of chances.

 

[Cantonagotmehere]

Yeah, I've kept giving NBC's commentary chance after chance after a good first few impressions, but they've gone downhill. To be fair, I can say that about any commentator nowadays. If we only had more Higginbotham or Ekoku types...

I can’t listen to it anymore. They are so fecking awful. Not sure what to do, might just play Zepplin for the audio and watch the next NBC match. I think my kids would understand.

 

[sglowrider]

I can’t listen to it anymore. They are so fecking awful. Not sure what to do, might just play Zepplin for the audio and watch the next NBC match. I think my kids would understand.

Honestly, after Alexis fookin' Lalas, NBC commentators aren't half bad. I really hate that cnut.

 

[downunder red]

Just watched the replay after listening to the match live on radio. Thought that we didn't have one passenger all game. Shaw was my man of the match.
The one thing i'd like to mention is the Man Utd away supporters. Absolutely fantastic. It has to give the players a lot of confidence to hear you from start to finish. Keep up the good work.

 

[Mindhunter]

Missed the game but the goals look good, specially the way we moved the ball and created the chances. Shaw looks really good for the second goal.

 

[Hal9000]

We need a striker who can put away those kinds of chances. Against top teams we will not get more than one or two and we got found out against Spurs when Lukaku missed those kinds of chances.

This is why his record against the top 6 teams against Everton was so poor, what was it 0 goals? Happened against Brighton and Spurs, and tbh he should of got more today.

 

[#07]

We need a striker who can put away those kinds of chances. Against top teams we will not get more than one or two and we got found out against Spurs when Lukaku missed those kinds of chances.

I love Rom but I can see where you are coming from.

The difference between that performance and that of Mou’s best team, Madrid 2012, was the quality of finishing.

The reason Mou’s Madrid scored 121 league goals in 2012 was Ronaldo getting 61 goals. Give Ronaldo the chances Rom had today and we win that 5-0.

 

[SqueakyWeasel]

That was Graeme Le Saux, who normally is a good co-commentator for NBC. That comment, though, was him clutching at straws to blame Mourinho for Rashford's lack of linear progression.

I feel the same as you do about Rashford: he's trying way too hard to do everything possible. He needs to focus on doing the simpler things consistently before trying to be impressive.

I pointed this out in the MDT (after mentioning the state of the NBCSC comm a few times) and got shot down for it with some comment excusing the bias because broadcasting providers naturally want to show "drama". Surely you can show drama unfolding on the pitch while remaining balanced and unbiased as sport commentators are supposed to be?

The thing the BBC did to Mourinho at the end of MOTD2 with the alternative Hegel quotes about "…a man being nothing but a series of his actions"; "history teaching us "… that we learn nothing from history"; and that "nothing great in the world has ever been accomplished without passion" was pretty much deserved as Jose left himself open to it. BUT, the BBC used it with humour after a balanced and fair assessment of the game.

I'm pretty sure they had it locked and loaded along with his obituary should we have lost but that would have been fair too.

 

[wolvored]

Yeah we played well. Beyond that, it was also very entertaining. On another day, Burnley could’ve seen red on more than one occasion, the ref also turned pens away for us... he had a mare basically.

Thanks. Well perhaps this will be a springboard to playing a better brand of football and winning mentality

 

[pocco]

Interesting.

After the Tottenham debacle, I wanted Mourinho out because it seemed like we'd regressed and he'd lost the dressing room. But if the reality behind the scenes is different, I'm more than happy for the club to keep him on.

The passing against Burnley was very good, it has to be said. Breaking through a 10 man defence is never easy, regardless of the quality of the opposition.

Which part of the Tottenham game made you think that? We played fantastic, better than yesterday imo, considering the opposition.

Anyway, I'm really pleased with things at the moment. Bar one game I'm impressed with the performances, even if we didn't get the result against Spurs. We've brought so many players back into the team over the last couple of weeks, and against Leicester a lot of players started who hadn't had a pre season. If you're sensible and factor this in, it's been a promising start. You can see a lot of players aren't fully fit yet, but when they are we could see some really good performances.

 

[Robertd0803]

First time on here for a while. Much needed result, should have been 4 or 5. Ref was beyond dreadful.

 

[Sunny Jim]

For the first time in ages we looked cohesive in attack. We looked like a unit. Amazing to see.

 

[Verbalkint]

Lukaku's misses will cost us in the big matches for however long he is here.

I wish Mourinho had your keen foresight. That way he'd sell Lukaku now and save us all the misery.

 

[Ahsan_6386]

Well 3 particular points which come out of after this match and season till now are :

1. Luke Shaw is progressing very well . Better energy and smarter runs from him till now . With him coming in well I am looking forward to integrating Dalot too in the line up . It will be exciting to have 2 young full backs running down the wings soon .

2. Smalling and Matic are a must for us for all away matches since they really give the proper defensive shield to our set up .

3. Lukaku is a good striker but we need a better one if we want to win bigger things . He needs an awful lot of chances to score which has already hurt us this season .

 

[Bestietom]

Much needed and I hope we can go on from this. Watford will be a very tough game for us.
Shaw is playing well and his crosses are superb for Lukaku who needs to take his chances.

 

[Bestietom]

Fred dropped already.

 

[James Peril]

Fred dropped already.

Makes perfect sense to drop a small midfielder for Fellaini against Burnley away. Would accept that every time, Mourinho anticipated set-pieces galore and rightfully slotted the big man into the team.

 

[jderbyshire]

Lingard pissed me off yesterday.

He usually thrives on the counter, linking up in fast moves, but he kept messing up.

Felt sorry for Sanchez getting subbed - thought he was our best attacking player.

Surely Martial should be further up the pecking order than Rashford? That last 20 mins or so was set-up for Martial to run riot on that defence (like the first few games of last season when we kept bringing him on and he kept scoring against tired crap teams)

 

[Massive Spanner]

Fred dropped already.

Fred was probably only playing the first few games of the season because we were so short in midfield. Most manager's will integrate player's coming from foreign league's in slowly at the start, especially from weaker leagues like Ukraine.

 

[PaulRich]

Looking at the way we kind of set up against Spurs and then the way we approached the game yesterday I suspect there may have been a few home truths on the training ground over our playing style - we've looked far more direct and pacy. Sure we'll come up against sterner tests as I thought Burnley were really poor yesterday but we faced what was in front of us well.

 

[Smores]

Which part of the Tottenham game made you think that? We played fantastic, better than yesterday imo, considering the opposition.

Anyway, I'm really pleased with things at the moment. Bar one game I'm impressed with the performances, even if we didn't get the result against Spurs. We've brought so many players back into the team over the last couple of weeks, and against Leicester a lot of players started who hadn't had a pre season. If you're sensible and factor this in, it's been a promising start. You can see a lot of players aren't fully fit yet, but when they are we could see some really good performances.

I'm very much of the same thought, whether it's going to be enough improvement to catch City i doubt it but as long as we're in the mix til March I'm not cry too much about it.

 

[Seven Seas Sardines]

Many on here are perplexed about the Sanchez sub, but for me it made somewhat sense since he's lacking fitness, was on a yellow card and hadn't Rashford had a brain fart we'd probably be praising the way Mourinho preserved our squad.

 

[iHicksy]

Anyone know who was co-commentator for NBC yesterday? He was some Ex-Footballer. Anyway, my favourite moment was when Rashford was sent off and he blamed Mourinho. He said it was Jose's fault because Rashford is clearly annoyed at not getting any game time and this was his anger from the manager's treatment coming to the front. Amazing. I was just waiting to hear how Pogba's missed penalty was Jose's fault but he never got around to telling me.

 

[Annihilate Now!]

Many on here are perplexed about the Sanchez sub, but for me it made somewhat sense since he's lacking fitness, was on a yellow card and hadn't Rashford had a brain fart we'd probably be praising the way Mourinho preserved our squad.

Nothing wrong with that sub at all.

I've always thought, if we're winning a game comfortably, then a manager can really substitute whoever he wants... and they player has no right to act all pissy about it either.

 

[Andersons Dietician]

Anyone know who was co-commentator for NBC yesterday? He was some Ex-Footballer. Anyway, my favourite moment was when Rashford was sent off and he blamed Mourinho. He said it was Jose's fault because Rashford is clearly annoyed at not getting any game time and this was his anger from the manager's treatment coming to the front. Amazing. I was just waiting to hear how Pogba's missed penalty was Jose's fault but he never got around to telling me.

That wasn’t exactly what he said now was it. You’ve missed out key points to make that sound much worse than it was.

 

[JK-27]

Nothing wrong with that sub at all.

I've always thought, if we're winning a game comfortably, then a manager can really substitute whoever he wants... and they player has no right to act all pissy about it either.

I disagree. Firstly, a player playing well but getting subbed should be displeased, it's a sign they care. Sanchez was having a decent game for one, and he didn't look tired.

Secondly, the sub did change the momentum of the game in Burnley's favour, even before Rashford got sent off, so I don;t think it was a great sub.

 

[iHicksy]

That wasn’t exactly what he said now was it. You’ve missed out key points to make that sound much worse than it was.

Well i'm going by memory. What key points did I leave out? He definitely said Rashford's anger was was indirectly Jose's fault for not playing him....

 

[Andersons Dietician]

Well i'm going by memory. What key points did I leave out? He definitely said Rashford's anger was was indirectly Jose's fault for not playing him....

He said “could be” as he has been in a similar situation where he hasn’t been playing much and has gone on to the field and let his frustration and anger at not playing as much as he had get the best of him. You made it sound much worse than what he actually meant or said. He wasn’t Jose bashing, just making the point that his frustration with a lack of minutes could have boiled over.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

Just getting to watch the game now. Is there something wrong with Bardsley? He keeps falling over.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

The referee was awful, just giving freekicks for nothing things.

 

[sunama]

For those of you saying that we need a better (more clinical) striker than Lukaku: what gettable alternatives are available?
Remember the striker needs to have a big name and the price can't be too high.

At present, I can't really think of anybody who fits this bill. Woodward loves Neymar, but Neymar won't be leaving PSG for the next few years.
IMO, we are stuck with Lukaku for the next few years.

 

[sunama]

Just getting to watch the game now. Is there something wrong with Bardsley? He keeps falling over.

Someone's greased his boots.
It's the same guy who greased Radamel Falcao's boots when he was playing for us.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

Someone's greased his boots.
It's the same guy who greased Radamel Falcao's boots when he was playing for us.

 

[RedorDead21]

For those of you saying that we need a better (more clinical) striker than Lukaku: what gettable alternatives are available?
Remember the striker needs to have a big name and the price can't be too high.

At present, I can't really think of anybody who fits this bill. Woodward loves Neymar, but Neymar won't be leaving PSG for the next few years.
IMO, we are stuck with Lukaku for the next few years.

We need to get more out of Sanchez then and try and get him in the box more to get 15-20 goals. We are very poor in attack in general so Lukaku is only part of the issue. In fact he's more than good enough he just needs help.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

I am really impressed with the number of balls Fellaini cleared from out penalty area and how composed he was.

 

[Kostov]

Lads anyone can tell me where can I watch the entire game online? Download maybe or something? I missed large part of the first half, if anyone can give some advice, I'd be very grateful.

 

[Jeffthered]

Didn't see the game, but I am just pleased we won. That's how it is for now.

How did we play? An honest version please... it sounds like Luke Shaw had another influential game.

 

[Handré1990]

Didn't see the game, but I am just pleased we won. That's how it is for now.

How did we play? An honest version please... it sounds like Luke Shaw had another influential game.

We played very well, I thought. Moved the ball quickly, and kept going for goals, even after the red card. Very few scares from Burnley, who didn’t really manage much. Lukaku was unplayable for long periods, got in behind their defence at least 7 times off the top of my head. Missed a pen and an open goal, could have had two more penalties as well.

Think 1st half vs Tottenham, for most of the game (and without defensive mistakes). We took 21(I think) shots (9 on goal), which should also give a good indication.

Shaw, Smalling, Lukaku, Sanchez, Lingard, Valencia and Fellaini all had a very good game. None were poor though, so that’s maybe what I thought was the main thing to take away. We also attacked from both sides and the middle, not ‘just’ the left side.

Burnely were very poor, but could easily be because at the moment we look a completely different beast from last season.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

Nice to see us going for that third goal and still doing so after we were down to 10 men. That is a good change of mentality.