[Stacks]

On the erm, bright side, at least we've got Liverpool and Chelsea away out the way now...

How will we cope with Tottenham's pressing. And will we get a kick against Arsenal who turned these lot over a few weeks ago? I have gone back to my David Moyes level of fear of playing our rivals again.....

 

[TheReligion]

How will we cope with Tottenham's pressing. And will we get a kick against Arsenal who turned these lot over a few weeks ago? I have gone back to my David Moyes level of fear of playing our rivals again.....

We coped pretty easily with Liverpool and their pressing.

I wouldn't worry.

 

[DevilRed]

How will we cope with Tottenham's pressing. And will we get a kick against Arsenal who turned these lot over a few weeks ago? I have gone back to my David Moyes level of fear of playing our rivals again.....

Think we will be fine at home.

We have a few matches to regain confidence and actually find our best eleven. Surely we have seen the last of fellaini.

Surely Carrick/Morgan will be given a chance? Henrikh Mkhitaryan?

 

[Stacks]

We coped pretty easily with Liverpool and their pressing.

I wouldn't worry.

Thats all good when we are setup to nullify but it means we won't be "grabbing" any goals, so I expect points share or zero points against a rival, again.

 

[Jaap]

Scoreline doesn't represent the actual game.
Chelsea were effective - we tried but hardly threatened.

Too static up top - passengers at the back.

 

[DevilRed]

Scoreline doesn't represent the actual game.
Chelsea were effective - we tried but hardly threatened.

Too static up top - passengers at the back.

We were basically just lining up at the back post for a Valencia cross. That was the extent of our "attack".

Was LVG quality today.

 

[Stacks]

Think we will be fine at home.

We have a few matches to regain confidence and actually find our best eleven. Surely we have seen the last of fellaini.

Surely Carrick/Morgan will be given a chance? Henrikh Mkhitaryan?

You have made many assumptions. I surely would've thought Mkhitaryan would've been given minutes to develop match fitness. I surely would've thought getting Martial back to his best would be a priority over starting our academy players on the wings. I surely would've thought Jose would've fielded a line up that signals an intention to go out and claim this match? What we got was what would've happened had Liverpool scored 1st.

 

[ZAGREB RED]

LVG wouldn't lose 4-0 to Chelsea. He'd lose 4-0 to MK Dons and at least get a draw against Chelsea!

True that !!

 

[Wumminator]

Thanks. What made you confident (or not fearful) about Moyes and LvG? I'd like to understand what the difference in terms of their effect on the club is.

I felt like Moyes was appointed by Ferguson and needed time. When it was obvious he wasn't up to it, I thought it was purely on him.

I though LVG improved us slowly. Last season was poor at times, but to sack him like we did annoyed me.

Mourinho I have always been apathetic about. Never really liked him. Thought he was the antithesis of what I like in football and Manchester United. However I could see that if he could bring us to the top,
I'd put up with that. At the moment I've got a manager I don't like, buying players who I didn't want who aren't impressing and were going backwards.

 

[roonaldo78]

That was painful to watch, never really recovered after the first goal.

It is also obvious that if you play one up front, you need someone with pace. Zlatan does not offer this and now he is not scoring either. Time to try Martial or Rashford up top.
Also disappointed with Blind, usually a very dependable player but was all over the place today.

This job is very different to what Mourinho has had to at his previous clubs, hopefully he has realised this already.

 

[Jaap]

We were basically just lining up at the back post for a Valencia cross. That was the extent of our "attack".

Was LVG quality today.

Tried through the middle but that didn't work. No overlaps, no real game plan. And it's been like that since 2013.

 

[sunama]

After the first 2 goals, I felt like giving up.
Then the 3rd. I thought, can we not just wave a white flag and shake hands on 3-0?
But no....we had to continue playing and allow CFC to score a 4th (soft) goal.
My worry was that we'd concede 6th because we were getting worse as the game progressed.

 

[Stacks]

I felt like Moyes was appointed by Ferguson and needed time. When it was obvious he wasn't up to it, I thought it was purely on him.

I though LVG improved us slowly. Last season was poor at times, but to sack him like we did annoyed me.

Mourinho I have always been apathetic about. Never really liked him. Thought he was the antithesis of what I like in football and Manchester United. However I could see that if he could bring us to the top,
I'd put up with that. At the moment I've got a manager I don't like, buying players who I didn't want who aren't impressing and were going backwards.

Sorry to hear that

 

[catmandeu]

I dont think we particularly played bad today. We were in the game except the scoreline. Its just that they were too clinical and hence we could hardly trouble them in terms of points on the table as they calmly played a wide counter attacking football. But i think we lost before the game even started. When thenteam sheet was out, there was no width in the team and which left us to be compact while attacking ! But then we played tall felaini in, who cant hold the ball for a second ( as soon as mata came in, we started being better). We should have played fast wide players and guys who can have a go from afar. A team with zlatan up top and martial and memphis on either side with mata at no 10. Making Morgan and Ander as midfield duo (maybe sub in paul ) should have been much better. Anyways i am not liking jose's squad rotation. He must play memphis and miki t against man city in cup game. Feeling sad but feeling hopeful under the experiment of jose mourinho

 

[Crossie]

I felt like Moyes was appointed by Ferguson and needed time. When it was obvious he wasn't up to it, I thought it was purely on him.

I though LVG improved us slowly. Last season was poor at times, but to sack him like we did annoyed me.

Mourinho I have always been apathetic about. Never really liked him. Thought he was the antithesis of what I like in football and Manchester United. However I could see that if he could bring us to the top,
I'd put up with that. At the moment I've got a manager I don't like, buying players who I didn't want who aren't impressing and were going backwards.

Thanks, I see clearer now. Regarding van Gaal, I fully agree that the way he was sacked was classless. But do you really felt that his football philosophy - apart the youth thingy - was compatible with United's footballing DNA?

 

[Catt]

The mentality of the players is very poor, that's my major takeaway. Considering that we conceded so early in the game from basic player errors, I can't blame Mourinho too much. The quality of the team isn't the major problem, the talent is there, and like every other team in the PL, we do have some average ones. It's the attitude & mentality that is piss poor. Just like against City, we were second to every ball, players were strolling around and at the end of the game, they were hugging & smiling with the opposition players (bad optics). It's fine to lose, even lose by a wide margin (actually it's not but you get the point) but what I don't understand is losing without even putting up a decent fight. I can't say what the other problems are, I'm tired of it from the past 3 yrs. We now have to stick with Mourinho, let him stop the rot, but he has to help himself, first by putting a proper plan in place & picking the best players suited for it, dropping Rooney was good, but Fellaini should follow, our best team won't be with him in it, so, why persist? And then there's Zlatan, and lastly you don't sign a player for 89m pounds & have no clue how to get the best out of him, why was Pogba playing #10 against Liverpool & today as well? Mourinho has to decide what he wants with this team & how he wants them to play & then build the team based on that absolute believe. The team needs a lot of coaching work, dashing off to sign more players might help, but ultimately, we need these individuals to be coached into a unit, that is the real challenge.

I agree with this and think we absolutely have some quality in this team. Obvious Rooney's done and Fellaini needs to be moved on.
We need to shift some players yet but much of the work is to coach the players and get them mentally fit.

 

[catmandeu]

That was painful to watch, never really recovered after the first goal.

It is also obvious that if you play one up front, you need someone with pace. Zlatan does not offer this and now he is not scoring either. Time to try Martial or Rashford up top.
Also disappointed with Blind, usually a very dependable player but was all over the place today.

This job is very different to what Mourinho has had to at his previous clubs, hopefully he has realised this already.

But we can have zlatan sniffing the last defender of opposition and stretch the field while being the target man. Let the three behind him do the intricate passing stuff.

 

[Stookie]

Shocking really, absolutely shocking. Should have changed formation straight away after conceding. United miles and miles away from challenging for anything at the moment. Really need to start playing some Gung ho football.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

LVG wouldn't lose 4-0 to Chelsea. He'd lose 4-0 to MK Dons and at least get a draw against Chelsea!

He'd get hammered by Arsenal instead.

 

[Ole90+3]

The mentality of the players is very poor, that's my major takeaway. Considering that we conceded so early in the game from basic player errors, I can't blame Mourinho too much. The quality of the team isn't the major problem, the talent is there, and like every other team in the PL, we do have some average ones. It's the attitude & mentality that is piss poor. Just like against City, we were second to every ball, players were strolling around and at the end of the game, they were hugging & smiling with the opposition players (bad optics). It's fine to lose, even lose by a wide margin (actually it's not but you get the point) but what I don't understand is losing without even putting up a decent fight. I can't say what the other problems are, I'm tired of it from the past 3 yrs. We now have to stick with Mourinho, let him stop the rot, but he has to help himself, first by putting a proper plan in place & picking the best players suited for it, dropping Rooney was good, but Fellaini should follow, our best team won't be with him in it, so, why persist? And then there's Zlatan, and lastly you don't sign a player for 89m pounds & have no clue how to get the best out of him, why was Pogba playing #10 against Liverpool & today as well? Mourinho has to decide what he wants with this team & how he wants them to play & then build the team based on that absolute believe. The team needs a lot of coaching work, dashing off to sign more players might help, but ultimately, we need these individuals to be coached into a unit, that is the real challenge.

Good post, but come on man....paragraphs!

Agree with pretty much all you've said there in particular our players laughing and joking with opposition after getting beat (nevermind an absolute battering). Mercenaries who just don't give a shit about what it means to play for United.

Tonight has changed by opinion on a few of these players, especially Ibra, but I always knew he was a bottler. I think uncle Pat needs to have a good chat with his nephew as well.

 

[The_Order]

Been saying this since the City game. The mentality of the team needs a transplant, too many of our players fold faster than Superman on laundry day.

 

[Paul the Wolf]

Really poor performance, shambles at the back.
The team we started with does not work together, playing Pogba and Fellaini ahead of Herrera does not work.
Terrible start, Blind was awful in the first half hour. Two down, Chelsea had control.
I hope Fellaini is no longer involved in this type of formation.

Consolation only Chelsea and Liverpool won ahead of us.
Need to sort out our best formation quickly.

 

[Garethw]

For once I'd just like us to approach a match with a positive mentality.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

What a trash start by Mourinho at United. We're 5 points off 4th already. This is making LVGs start to last season look phenomenal in terms results-wise. And we've only gone ahead and spent around 150 million pounds this last summer. Pathetic.

Also, how the feck do you sign a top player from the Bundesliga and chuck him out of your plans after one poor half?

 

[Ban]

At times like this I hate the fact I love football so much. Every time after defeats and games like this I say to myself I'll lay of football for a while but of course that never happens. My head hurts and I feel crap. I shouldn't feel like that cause of football but there's that.

After 30 seconds our game plan collapsed and we didn't look like going back in it. At least we did create some chances but didn't score and that's been happening for a while.

Team attitude is still a big problem and I don't know what Mourinho has to do to change it.
After we conceded I didn't think we can get in it. I still don't see it in our players.
Didn't see all that swapping shirts thing but all of the players should be fuming after a game like this.

I thought he will sort out defense first but we look like a train wreck there. Now Bailly is injured I don't know what will happen. I would gladly see even TFM there. Smalling looked like a school boy on 2 goals. What to say about Blind. One of those days but I don't know why Shaw didn't start.

Fellaini, Young and Ligard played in the league and Mata and Martial in EL.
Mata and Martial should be in the first team in the league, that's pretty obvious. I get it that Martial was injured for Liverpool but he should have started today. Saying all that our wing options are not really good and Rashford is wasted there.
Ibra should definitely be dropped for Burnley, he's too slow and doesn't even score anymore. Put Marcus up front. But I think there may be one more problem. Jose's reluctance to sub him and to drop him for the league.
Where the hell is Mickhi?
Put him against City, against Burnley, whoever, just play him!

I don't care one bit about City game. We may as weel lose, just hope it won't be a serious defeat. I expect a tighter game, it's Old Trafford and they as well as us won't play with a full team. On the other hand it's a chance for some of our player to show they're not that bad and some other to prove they should be starters.

I'w wrote a full article, it's a flow of thought but seriously I don't where do we go from here. If even our 3rd manager after Fergie can't sort this out I don't know what to say.
Jose should get time I think but if we don't get CL then he and the whole club are in serious trouble.

 

[iKeano]

The mentality of the players is very poor, that's my major takeaway. Considering that we conceded so early in the game from basic player errors, I can't blame Mourinho too much. The quality of the team isn't the major problem, the talent is there, and like every other team in the PL, we do have some average ones. It's the attitude & mentality that is piss poor. Just like against City, we were second to every ball, players were strolling around and at the end of the game, they were hugging & smiling with the opposition players (bad optics). It's fine to lose, even lose by a wide margin (actually it's not but you get the point) but what I don't understand is losing without even putting up a decent fight. I can't say what the other problems are, I'm tired of it from the past 3 yrs. We now have to stick with Mourinho, let him stop the rot, but he has to help himself, first by putting a proper plan in place & picking the best players suited for it, dropping Rooney was good, but Fellaini should follow, our best team won't be with him in it, so, why persist? And then there's Zlatan, and lastly you don't sign a player for 89m pounds & have no clue how to get the best out of him, why was Pogba playing #10 against Liverpool & today as well? Mourinho has to decide what he wants with this team & how he wants them to play & then build the team based on that absolute believe. The team needs a lot of coaching work, dashing off to sign more players might help, but ultimately, we need these individuals to be coached into a unit, that is the real challenge.

Great post, totally agree with every word.

 

[Sandikan]

How will we cope with Tottenham's pressing. And will we get a kick against Arsenal who turned these lot over a few weeks ago? I have gone back to my David Moyes level of fear of playing our rivals again.....

Score the first goal, be ok. Concede the first goal, mentality is shot to pieces.

 

[Mike09]

Aye, his smugness when asking that other poster had he watched Chelsea is just hilarious considering that right now, Kante looks very average and has failed to replicate his form from last season.

The majority of the Leicester players have failed to live up to last seasons standards, naturally enough. That would be because they pretty much all played well above their actual levels and will never again replicate that kind of form. Kante played in a team that suited his strengths and he excelled; looking at him so far for Chelsea, makes it clear that he may well be another that over-performed and will never find those levels again. Who knows?

You haven't watched Chelsea, have you? Kante has been thoroughly underwhelming.

OK

 

[Sandikan]

Time to stop mucking about with Martial and Miki and get them onto the wings and play them into form.
Rashford isn't right at the moment for repeated wide starts, he needs to be starting the cup games up front, and coming on when we need an option in the league.

Would feel much more comfortable with that for starters, but then we need to sort midfield out still. Fellaini has his place, but a better bet is Pogba, Herrera and one of Schneiderlin and Carrick.

 

[77]

The person I feel sorry for most is my mrs. She's going to have a miserable rest of her sunday after this, no doubt about it.

 

[AllezLesDiables]

What a trash start by Mourinho at United. We're 5 points off 4th already. This is making LVGs start to last season look phenomenal in terms results-wise. And we've only gone ahead and spent around 150 million pounds this last summer. Pathetic.

Also, how the feck do you sign a top player from the Bundesliga and chuck him out of your plans after one poor half?

Ask Kevin De Bruyne

 

[royboy16]

Zlatan and Martial looked fecking delighted at full time

Wtf?

I was saying that to my friend in the pub,you'd swear there were in the team that won 4 -0.

 

[togg]

I felt like Moyes was appointed by Ferguson and needed time. When it was obvious he wasn't up to it, I thought it was purely on him.

I though LVG improved us slowly. Last season was poor at times, but to sack him like we did annoyed me.

Mourinho I have always been apathetic about. Never really liked him. Thought he was the antithesis of what I like in football and Manchester United. However I could see that if he could bring us to the top,
I'd put up with that. At the moment I've got a manager I don't like, buying players who I didn't want who aren't impressing and were going backwards.

Twig...you're going to need therapy.....

 

[amolbhatia50k]

Ask Kevin De Bruyne

 

[royboy16]

I think the fact he spent large sums of money over the summer has put him under extra pressure.

The man has a huge job to do now,I just hope he sticks with and doesnt throw in the towel.

 

[Roosney]

Now that was painful.
The thing that stood out was the lack of effort and fight. Somewhere around the 60th minute Blind got the ball back and there was about seven United players just standing and watching, not single one of them looked like they wanted ball and get the ball forward. Worrying.
I know it was the third game within six days but still you can't be that worn out at this state.

 

[Crossie]

The situation is indeed a bit reminiscent to Mourinho's encounter with KdB. He was top class and saved Werder from being relegated almost on his own - at the age of 21 or 22. Mou insisted he returned to Chelsea (KdB had preferred a move to Dortmund), praised him in pre-season, KdB got injured, showed one or two mediocre performances afterwards and was crossed off Mourinho's list, sold to Wolfsburg in January. Well, the latter is not gonna happen for sure.

 

[GiddyUp]

Smalling has to go guys. Never rated him as a top player and is a disaster waiting to happen every game. Can's attempt against us last week is an example, Smalling had a fist full of his jersey while facing him, practically pulling him in to a shooting position. Every time it's a panic with this guy. Would have Bailly and Blind everyday over Smalling. Shocking defending and an embarrassment to himself and the club today. A long hard look is needed in to individual players and they should be called out by the manager and the club.
I do have 100% confidence Jose will fix it and Rooney/Young/Fellaini/Smalling/Jones/Lingard need to go, the quality is not there if we want to compete for the league.

 

[legball]

Good post, but come on man....paragraphs!

Agree with pretty much all you've said there in particular our players laughing and joking with opposition after getting beat (nevermind an absolute battering). Mercenaries who just don't give a shit about what it means to play for United.

Tonight has changed by opinion on a few of these players, especially Ibra, but I always knew he was a bottler. I think uncle Pat needs to have a good chat with his nephew as well.

about the paragraph bit, I had to really control myself to even come up with the post, it was that bad.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

The situation is indeed a bit reminiscent to Mourinho's encounter with KdB. He was top class and saved Werder from being relegated almost on his own - at the age of 21 or 22. Mou insisted he returned to Chelsea (KdB had preferred a move to Dortmund), praised him in pre-season, KdB got injured, showed one or two mediocre performances afterwards and was crossed off Mourinho's list.

It's a bit different though. Mourinho has actually spent 25 odd million on a highly proven star from Bundesliga. It's not like he's called him back from a loan to assess him. It's really thick to spend good money on an established player only to chuck him out like some worthless youth player you didn't fancy weeks later.