[goin4glory]

Well said, the over reaction here is
incredulous!!

It's hardly a one off though is it? The performances have been consistently dire for months with no signs of improvement.

 

[WyoManU]

It's hardly a one off though is it? The performances have been consistently dire for months with no signs of improvement.

that is exactly right...

 

[Berbaclass]

It's hardly a one off though is it? The performances have been consistently dire for months with no signs of improvement.

Exactly, I don't get why people are thinking that people are complaining about just this game.

 

[Ole'sbodyguard]

Because technically, it hasn't exactly happened like you say.
Why are people so eager to sweep it under the rug? One might also ask.
Why should LVG be beyond criticism?

What has not happened like I said? I said United have drawn with conference sides in the FA cup in the past and been knocked out by Bournemouth. That's a fact and exactly what happened in those games. The fact that all those games featured rotates sides does not "technically" change anything.

I have not tried to sweep this performance under the rug or said LVG is beyond criticism so I don't know why you are asking me those questions. Maybe direct them at someone who has said that. I was addressing a post that asked if this was the lowest point in United's history and gave my opinion that it's clearly not.

 

[Wade3]

bs. If we played with a defensive midfielder behind di maria, mata and herrara, you would see just how good this style of football could be. Problem is, given our wing back situation, it leaves us too open defensively with only Herrara being one of those 3 that is any good defending.

I disagree because I don't see how it opens up the necessary space for the likes of di Maria to be as dangerous as they can be. This style obviously fits the likes of Herrera and especially Mata a lot more, but other than that, I see the others performing better in another system.

 

[ThaReaper01]

Terrible. Honestly can't stand it. Doesn't take a genius to tell you that Di Maria having his back to the goal is about as useful as van Persie in goal. His strengths are running at and committing defenders and playing the final ball. Not a striker nor a #10. Winger or midfielder. Making Carrick captain was one of the dumbest decisions I can recall. He's never been a leader and never will be despite being the eldest player. Foolishness.

 

[FC Ronaldo]

No decent place to post this but putting it here seems to fit most...

Good work by our dugout to help this supporter.

 

[FreakyJim]

What has not happened like I said? I said United have drawn with conference sides in the FA cup in the past and been knocked out by Bournemouth. That's a fact and exactly what happened in those games. The fact that all those games featured rotates sides does not "technically" change anything.

I have not tried to sweep this performance under the rug or said LVG is beyond criticism so I don't know why you are asking me those questions. Maybe direct them at someone who has said that. I was addressing a post that asked if this was the lowest point in United's history and gave my opinion that it's clearly not.

Alright. And I'm just saying it's one of the lowest with such a lineup. I don't think it can be argued.

 

[Mickeza]

It doesn't matter what team is selected, what formation is played or who we play against, we move the ball incredibly slowly and make football look tediously complicated.

 

[Mr Anderson]

2nd half was better. Herrera made a difference. Cambridge defended well and offered nothing really bar a late chance, our tempo wasn't quick enough to stretch them once we had all the possession.

 

[XdanielredX]

/sigh


Before we know it we will be the Liverpool of the 90's / 00's.

Just as it happened to them out of nowhere with no one predicting it, so it does to us.

 

[Kostur]

Yeovil, MK Dons now fecking Cambridge. Both the players and LVG should hang their heads in shame, same shit as last year, there are certain games that should be played even with a monkey as a manager, players are simply meant to go on the pitch and show why they earn 100k quid a week and not sweet feck all like those Cambridge chaps.

If you can't really tell the difference between bunch of 'players' who earn their living in ordinary jobs and a professional team who's highest or second highest in wages in the league, then something is going really, really wrong.

I can't really see signs of progress as well to be fair, I suppose that if I watched match against Swans at home and then this piece of garbage I'd have the exactly same feelings, be able to draw the same conclusions, point out the same problems. It's almost as if we're doing nothing during training sessions midweek.

Edit: see the picture above, one posted by FC Ronaldo? It's come to fecking this, our fans are tryin to kill themselves watching our matches, good job Luis, good job guys.

 

[Tonjo]

Some of the players are lacking in confidence and United's priority is not to loose rather than go all out to out-score the opponents.
Observations on some of the players in this game:
1) Valencia - seemed to be more worried of getting back to defend as he is part winger and part defender. He dared not loose the ball and take on the full back. His crossing is awful. Sometimes, sending hard low crosses into the penalty box can cause more havoc than trying to pick up the strikers, especially against big defenders and goalkeeper.
2) Januzaj - probably not match fit and made some wrong decision. Whenever he plays, he keeps on giving the impression that he is quite selfish type of player.
3) Wilson - the worst player again. Don't really know why so many people is raving about him. He does not have any of the skill a good striker posses and is not even robust enough to be one. His only attribute is his speed. LVG is stubborn enough or maybe because of his contract situation, he gets to play more often. He needs to bulk up and learn from RVP or Falcao and maybe will improve and make an impact next season.
4) Jones - the most suitable position for him if United cannot acquire one, is the right back. With so many talents out there, it seemed strange that he is taking the corners on the left side. Really poor tactical decision made by LVG as he has to run back into position from the far corner.
5) Blind - like most of you who noticed, the wing-back or left back position is not suitable for him as he is slow and dare not take on the opposition defender. He Is more suitable to be a holding mid-fielder which Carrick is currently doing. Perhaps taking over from Carrick when he retires or use him together with Carrick in the middle as defensive midfielder to stifle teams like Arsenal and Chelsea.
6) Herrera - should be starting each game as his movements and tackling is second to none.
United will probably win the replay if the players utilize their skills and be more adventurous.

 

[Dunk]

Some people need to get their head out their ass and watch the football being played by rival clubs once in a while. They are playing the superior, more cohesive team football lately while we we've been getting worse. Van Gaal has a full roster to select an A-class team from and we have seen little improvement, if any, from Moyes' reign.

 

[ManUArfa]

When a team has everybody parked with their seat belts on, the last thing you need, as the attacking team is two strikers. You need creators, wingers, overlapping fullbacks, intelligent players. Fellaini and Wilson were absolutely anonymous - they're just not suited to the type of game we saw tonight. They're best when the game is open.

Came to more or less the same conclusion in a post on the Herrera thread about half an hour ago.

 

[Kakeru]

We seem to be more conservative as a team than we were way back under Dave Sexton. At least he kept the wingers out on the flanks, we just seem so pedestrian and lacking width to break teams down. We need to play with wingers rather than wing backs. It isn't helping us at all asking them to be our outlets, especially when they aren't specialists in the position.

That's very worrying. All stories I heard from older United fans were extremely bad about Dave Sexton and I can understand why he was sacked back then. Someone must tell Van Gaal what Sexton's dire approach cost him back then.

 

[Jed I. Knight]

Great match today, I'm glad I spent my Friday evening watching it. I especially enjoyed that one time we created a chance, as well as getting another opportunity to watch Phil Jones take corner kicks.

 

[Asger]

Terrible. Honestly can't stand it. Doesn't take a genius to tell you that Di Maria having his back to the goal is about as useful as van Persie in goal. His strengths are running at and committing defenders and playing the final ball. Not a striker nor a #10. Winger or midfielder. Making Carrick captain was one of the dumbest decisions I can recall. He's never been a leader and never will be despite being the eldest player. Foolishness.

Not like Rooney is a better captain. No one should be made as captain!

 

[POF]

I am amazed at some of the comments naming Januzaj as one of the better players. He was slow, indecisive and wasteful again today. You could see the strikers getting frustrated with him. On the rare occasions Di Maria drifted left the quality of his delivery was on another level.

Rojo was excellent today. He has dealt with physical strikers really well. Herrera added a new dimension to the attack. Falcao looked sharp also. He was really unlucky not to score. A chance made completely by his excellent movement and awareness. Similar to the chance at QPR. One simple ball made dangerous by his ability to find space.

Much is made of the system but the key to any system is getting your best players in positions where they can hurt (or stop) the opposition. Watching Fellaini, Valencia and Jones try to play neat intricate football on the right was painful.

Di Maria is the biggest waste though. He actually played quite well as the #10 but his ideal role is tucked in from the left. He can go inside or outside and is a real threat doing both. There's no point playing Fellaini and Januzaj on the sides of the diamond as they are not dangerous doing either.

It's obvious that Van Gaal doesn't trust Di Maria defensively in that role in the diamond. In that case, he needs a new system.

 

[ravi2]

I like falcao, but it just isn't happening for him, bit he and rvp need to go this summer and we need a fast striker up top.
Herrera needs a powerful cm alongside him to let him shine and We need a seasoned cb as well...and even with that our team Still needs more speed.

 

[Gannicus]

I can understand the frustration and panic. After all, we are Manchester United and they were only Cambridge United.

But we do have to acknowledge that one thing United have been very poor at over the last 6-8 years is breaking down a parked bus. But we do have two players who are very good at threading needles in the last third, Mata and Herrera. We could and should have anticipated this defensive strategy, trained for it and dealt with it.

I really hope Louis has the boys ready for a giant convoy of buses parked in front of the Stretford End.

 

[Asger]

3) Wilson - the worst player again. Don't really know why so many people is raving about him. He does not have any of the skill a good striker posses and is not even robust enough to be one. His only attribute is his speed. LVG is stubborn enough or maybe because of his contract situation, he gets to play more often. He needs to bulk up and learn from RVP or Falcao and maybe will improve and make an impact next season.
.

Learn from Falcao? Its not like he as been good for us so far! How he has scored so many goals in the past I doesn't understand, did he maybe get 10 clear cut chances every match? You would at least thought so after seen him miss too many clear cut chances.

And one question, have you seen Wilson play for the u18 and u21 last 2-3 years? He has a lot more to offer than just speed. Its not like he or Falcao and Persie get much service from our team.

 

[caid]

Learn from Falcao? Its not like he as been good for us so far! How he has scored so many goals in the past I doesn't understand, did he maybe get 10 clear cut chances every match? You would at least thought so after seen him miss too many clear cut chances.

And one question, have you seen Wilson play for the u18 and u21 last 2-3 years? He has a lot more to offer than just speed. Its not like he or Falcao and Persie get much service from our team.

You cant really blame the strikers recently imo. The ball spends way too much time in our half being knocked back and forth between our cb's and carrick
Falcao pretty much had his hand up in the air and was making little runs for most of the 90 mins and got about 4/5 passes thrown in his general direction over the whole match.
Our attacking players are guilty of going backwards when a forward pass is on quite often but our defence and dm move the ball way way too slow.

 

[Freak]

LVG has sucked the confidence out of these players. Imagine having to constantly change roles in different systems, cutting back on your attacking instincts because the manager wants more possession. You play in a bubble of confusion.

 

[Cmz']

I think it's clear that we need another CB who's prepared to take risks on the ball, our slow and laboured play isn't helped at all by the likes of Jones (plus Evans and Smalling when they're in the side) constantly taking the safe option. It happened against Southampton, happened against Villa and happened again tonight (plus a bunch of other times this season) teams know they can sit back against us because we play so slowly from the back. It allows teams to get into shape and just sit there, we need to pass it quickly and drag them out of shape before playing that final ball but the problem is the defenders don't seem to realise that and are happy to go back if they don't have a completely free option to pass to.

I don't think van Gaal is telling our players to play like this as you can see he's clearly frustrated by it because he complains after every single game and it's not as if he can change much about it when the only CB we have who looks competent on the ball is Rojo, unless we decide to either field Carrick - Rojo - Blind or Carrick - Rojo at CB every game which would obviously be ridiculous. I've criticised van Gaal before but I do think his hands are tied here because without playing the ball quicker up field it makes it all the more difficult to actually create chances and work the ball around. I wouldn't be surprised if at least two of Smalling, Jones & Evans were gone in the summer and personally I think he'll get rid of all of them. Until then I don't see much changing for us. No matter what people say about the formation and van Gaal's philosophy it would be difficult for any team to play quick fluid football when the vast majority of the build-up is through players who would rather hoof it 40 yards or pass it backwards instead of taking a risk.

 

[caisenma]

Pros: Adnan, Herrera, Rojo.

Cons: hardly ANYTHING comes to mind...

 

[.Rossi]

Clean sheet lads

 

[NJM78]

What a dog sh1t performance that was last night. I have never known a United team be so slow, boring and predictable (even last year)
No knee jerk reaction but surely LvG stubborn pride will be his downfall, he seems to have instilled a negative attitude into almost every player - we are not going to win any trophies based on our possession stats and mediocre teams like Cambridge are finding it so easy to play against us.
Worrying times right now as our form has been pretty ropey tail end of last year until now, we really need to kick on and cement a CL spot. I honestly believe if we finish outside of top four and don't win the FA Cup van Gaal would have been a huge failure - despite our shortfall in defence he certainly has the midfield and attack to finish in the top four.
He needs to start playing players in their correct positions i.e Rooney, Di Maria and stop persisting on possession and shape, also give Herrera a run of games, he is technically very gifted and has the pace to close down players when defending as well as play on the break, I'd rather win 4-3 than draw or lose 1 nil.
We have great attacking players and bang average defenders - surely we must play to our strengths. At least it will be entertaining!

 

[kafta]

Pros: white jersey looks nice.

Cons: united and the pitch look awful

 

[Successful]

David Moyes is probably a bit relieved by these results. His stocks are rising in value again.

 

[Barca84]

LVG has sucked the confidence out of these players.

Its the other way round if you ask me. Some of our squad have sucked the confidence out of LVG. The Leicester shambles was the catalyst for what we're seeing now.

 

[PvsNP]

Fell asleep after watching about 10 min in the middle of the first half, but it looked like we played with 4 at the back. Did we do that the whole game?

 

[Lawman]

No decent place to post this but putting it here seems to fit most...

Good work by our dugout to help this supporter.

Looks like the guy has just fell asleep watching us!

 

[Drifter]

Blaming the pitch and the ref. Must follow the match day thread.

 

[Jazz]

Its the other way round if you ask me. Some of our squad have sucked the confidence out of LVG. The Leicester shambles was the catalyst for what we're seeing now.

This. Our mentality sucks. Wish we had someone in the dressing room who knew how to handle this. Surprised that it doesn't seem the coaching staff are taking this into consideration?? Though of course, that's just speculation on my part. But I maintain our mentality is the biggest stumbling block. I don't care about formations, the players need to step up as well.

 

[Kakeru]

This. Our mentality sucks. Wish we had someone in the dressing room who knew how to handle this. Surprised that it doesn't seem the coaching staff are taking this into consideration?? Though of course, that's just speculation on my part. But I maintain our mentality is the biggest stumbling block. I don't care about formations, the players need to step up as well.

Why are we keeping Ryan Giggs on the organization's wage bill if it's not knowing nor showing Van Gaal how to press the right buttons with those players?

 

[DomesticTadpole]

Why are we keeping Ryan Giggs on the organization's wage bill if it's not knowing nor showing Van Gaal how to press the right buttons with those players?

Exactly, that is the whole point of him being there. Continuity.

 

[J-Stander]

I thought their fans were very good last night, then I saw a cardboard cut out of Will and Kate. Boat racing tarts.

 

[Jazz]

Why are we keeping Ryan Giggs on the organization's wage bill if it's not knowing nor showing Van Gaal how to press the right buttons with those players?

I don't know why Ryan is there. Probably club politics - who knows. But Ryan does not have the ability (at this moment) to know how to handle players from a psychological point of view. Ryan has been protected all his professional career at United. He's never had to come out of his comfort zone, so how can he look at things from another point of view?
Plus he was an excellent player and tends to see things from a player's point of view (his) where he could naturally motivate himself etc etc. I suspect that he takes it for granted that other players would think in the same way. Hope that makes sense? He probably thinks that he had those high standards and expects other players to naturally do the same regardless of what's happening. That's why some great players do not make great managers I guess.

 

[Jazz]

I thought their fans were very good last night, then I saw a cardboard cut out of Will and Kate. Boat racing tarts.

I saw that too!