[noodlehair]

Also, one thing that worries me is that we are yet to start a game well. It's taking us far too long to settle into games, it cost us against City, last night, almost Hull and we were gifted a goal at Bournemouth (albeit good 2nd half). Even v Southampton we could have been one down before we took the lead.

With the team and players we have, we should be far more dominant.

There's a lot of aspects of our performance we need to work on at the moment. A lot of it though you can put down to needing time for the players to learn how to play the way Mourinho wants...but there are other aspects where it just comes down I think to us not having players who are very good at certain things.

The two traits I don't like about our performances so far this season are the hoofball tactics deployed late in both of our last two games, and our habit of faffing about with the ball instead of shooting when in good positions, but being happy to take on ridiculous shots on goal from very poor positions. The later is genuinely baffling. Against Hull, people were dicking around with the ball 6 yards out, and then the SAME players were shooting at will first time or on the turn from 30+ fecking yards!

I also think we're currently very poor at sitting off teams, but also think we'll get better at that as we get used to doing it...against Southampton and City though it was painfully clear it needs a lot of work. You can't sit 8 or 9 players behind the ball on the edge of your own area, AND allow the opposition team to play through you, but that's what we've been doing.

 

[Inigo Montoya]

There's a lot of aspects of our performance we need to work on at the moment. A lot of it though you can put down to needing time for the players to learn how to play the way Mourinho wants...but there are other aspects where it just comes down I think to us not having players who are very good at certain things.

The two traits I don't like about our performances so far this season are the hoofball tactics deployed late in both of our last two games, and our habit of faffing about with the ball instead of shooting when in good positions, but being happy to take on ridiculous shots on goal from very poor positions. The later is genuinely baffling. Against Hull, people were dicking around with the ball 6 yards out, and then the SAME players were shooting at will first time or on the turn from 30+ fecking yards!

I also think we're currently very poor at sitting off teams, but also think we'll get better at that as we get used to doing it...against Southampton and City though it was painfully clear it needs a lot of work. You can't sit 8 or 9 players behind the ball on the edge of your own area, AND allow the opposition team to play through you, but that's what we've been doing.

There's an awful lot of sense in what you say. I think the business of shooting more; there's needs to be some pragmatism there. While I didn't see the Feynoord game a lot of negative comments concerned the shooting where there was a pass on. I believe there is a lack of quality in midfield certainly where pace is concerned. Pogba can't do this on his own

 

[mitchmouse]

Even I felt the same when I saw the goal. De Gea is no longer in God mode.

PS: His contributions for the team in last 3-4 years has earned him right to make some mistakes though.

I don't mind mistakes... but at times I have the awful feeling he's stopped caring...

 

[Mike09]

I disagree slightly there. If you look at the team sheet we should have been beaten them easily. There are still too many players who are not performing (Martial and Pogba were pretty poor) and some (like Rojo and Darmian) just are not United material. This is clearly a work in progress.

If you look at the team sheet we should have beat them but in reality Feyenoord team sheet is filled with players who has been playing together this season, winning 5 games in a row, scored 15 goals and conceded 2 goals only while our teamsheet is filled with almost half of players that haven't involved in our games that much. I still think we were underestimating Feyenoord. Quality they are so much worse than us but mentality we can't underestimate their consistent form.

 

[revel911]

What's annoying is minus Rojo, I looked at that line-up and said "this line-up should be phenomenal, " I missed the game, but it looks like it was less so. Wasteful and it looks like the "minus Rojo" thing fired back at us.

 

[gerdm07]

Just got a chance to watch the match. My thoughts:

1. I thought it weird to make 3 subs at the 60' mark. I can't remember seeing that happen and it makes me think Mourinho is being too cocky and trying to flaunt his genius.

2. We still have some players in LvG mode and the most glaring is Herrera. I think I could count at least five or six times Herrera received the ball with space in front of him to exploit, and each time he brought the ball backwards and passed back or to the side. Mata a few times, Schneiderlein a few times. When you are in the opposition third and have some space, attack!

3. Without good wing backs our attack really suffers. Rojo found himself in very good positions with the ball but he rarely produced anything good.

 

[noodlehair]

What's annoying is minus Rojo, I looked at that line-up and said "this line-up should be phenomenal, " I missed the game, but it looks like it was less so. Wasteful and it looks like the "minus Rojo" thing fired back at us.

Well, I'd have added Darmian and Schneiderlin to the list. I don't think they're good enough, or even particularly useful at not being good enough. I did feel a bit for Darmian as it looked like he was at least playing with more purpose than last season, but, he's shite. Schneiderlin did nothing at all to justify being on the pitch in place of anyone, and that caused us problems all game. The other problem being that the alternative, Carrick, is usually exactly the same these days. Fellaini is genuinely a better option than the pair of them and that is not a good thing.

 

[NecssryEvil]

Well, there goes another season down the drain. The rest of the year will just be going through the motions as there is nothing left to play for. I think if most are honest to themselves they know it's time to start looking for a new manager, he has had plenty of time to get things on track and has proven that he is lacking in many areas. Pogba has to be moved on, I can't believe we picked him back up in the first place, 120 million down the drain. Hopefully Zlatan will retire at the end of the year, because other than a couple lucky goals, he sucks too. Martial was obviously a flash in the pan, Rashford is a million miles away from being good enough and really, other than De Gea, there is not one player on the team right now that has the class to play for a team like United. The only thing that will keep me watching at all will be when we are in the relegation battle towards the end of the year.

Am I doing it right?

 

[Stretford End Phil]

Well, there goes another season down the drain. The rest of the year will just be going through the motions as there is nothing left to play for. I think if most are honest to themselves they know it's time to start looking for a new manager, he has had plenty of time to get things on track and has proven that he is lacking in many areas. Pogba has to be moved on, I can't believe we picked him back up in the first place, 120 million down the drain. Hopefully Zlatan will retire at the end of the year, because other than a couple lucky goals, he sucks too. Martial was obviously a flash in the pan, Rashford is a million miles away from being good enough and really, other than De Gea, there is not one player on the team right now that has the class to play for a team like United. The only thing that will keep me watching at all will be when we are in the relegation battle towards the end of the year.

Am I doing it right?

One consolation for fans, tickets will be easier to get hold of in the Championship. Great post.

 

[Inigo Montoya]

Well, there goes another season down the drain. The rest of the year will just be going through the motions as there is nothing left to play for. I think if most are honest to themselves they know it's time to start looking for a new manager, he has had plenty of time to get things on track and has proven that he is lacking in many areas. Pogba has to be moved on, I can't believe we picked him back up in the first place, 120 million down the drain. Hopefully Zlatan will retire at the end of the year, because other than a couple lucky goals, he sucks too. Martial was obviously a flash in the pan, Rashford is a million miles away from being good enough and really, other than De Gea, there is not one player on the team right now that has the class to play for a team like United. The only thing that will keep me watching at all will be when we are in the relegation battle towards the end of the year.

Am I doing it right?

You forgot the part where we go into administration and plummet down the leagues, even below Leeds Utd

 

[Stretford End Phil]

You forgot the part where we go into administration and plummet down the leagues, even below Leeds Utd

Worse, Leeds buy-out the Glazers and move the club to the sheep pen.

 

[Midfield]

I predict a draw for this game, but never expect that we are going to lose

 

[NecssryEvil]

You forgot the part where we go into administration and plummet down the leagues, even below Leeds Utd

It is known.

 

[AndyMUFC]

Awful game to watch and a toothless attacking display, very much like we became accustomed to last season. Too many players doing nothing. Think Darmian and Rojo were part of the problem last season because they provide little offensively, Pogba was completely out of the game again and the front three being taken off all at once spoke volumes about their displays.

Not many players deserve starts at Watford based on the last two games really.

 

[Salus Populi Suprema Lex]

I'm still seething about what was another display unworthy of Manchester United; the type of display we've seen all too often in the post Fergie era. Jose must rediscover the Fergie mentality at the club asap. Crap lack that can't be accepted.

 

[MattyB1986]

Did anyone really expect a full blown, passionate performance when Jose was quoted saying, "manchester united doesn't want to be here, I don't want to be here, the players don't want to be here?"
I expected to see us play dull, uninspiring football after reading that prior.

 

[clarkydaz]

Did anyone really expect a full blown, passionate performance when Jose was quoted saying, "manchester united doesn't want to be here, I don't want to be here, the players don't want to be here?"
I expected to see us play dull, uninspiring football after reading that prior.

Agreed. We got exactly what we asked for, beginning directly from the manager

 

[Salus Populi Suprema Lex]

Did anyone really expect a full blown, passionate performance when Jose was quoted saying, "manchester united doesn't want to be here, I don't want to be here, the players don't want to be here?"
I expected to see us play dull, uninspiring football after reading that prior.

I wasn't aware he'd made such a remark, but the fact is the Europa League is our level this season, so we should be showing the competition some respect. We aren't Champions League standard just now and need to re-establish ourselves in Europe. Results like last night's only further undermines our credibility amongst the elite clubs.

 

[Laphroaig]

In total control defensively, only fecked over by an awful linesman. A bunch of players got some playing time. Shit in attack and terribly boring, as we always are in the group stages in Europe, even under SAF in CL. We'll still get through the group and hopefully up our game when the real games start. Not arsed. I assume Watford will be a different game.

 

[sunama]

Even if Pep was perhaps the best choice for City, he would not necessarily be a good choice for us, we are at a different stage of the football cycle where we are still trying to build a good functioning team (still in transition). Jose is better suited for us.

I do agree that Jose is a better fit for us. He is tried and tested in the EPL and he has previously built teams, taking them from good to excellent.
Pep, has a history of taking a great team and keeping them great. So it would've been risky giving him our 5th place team.

Now, with regards to the "theory of transition" (TOT), I do not believe in this.
I think TOT is an excuse for failure, which the fans/pundits have latched on to. They did it for LFC. And the same excuse has been used for MUFC for 3 years now.

When Moyes was hired, Pelligrini and Jose joined MCFC and CFC respectively.
Pelligrini finished 1st.
Jose finished 3rd.
There was no sign of transition - new managers came and immediately had their teams winning.
Last season Ranieri arrived at LCFC. New manager. Won the title. There was no transition and the team was winning.

This season, 3 teams have new managers: MCFC, CFC and us....exactly the same 3 teams as 3 years back (spooky).
And so far, MCFC and CFC have been unbeaten. Again, no sign of TOT.

So, I realise that some of you believe in TOT, but the stats do not bear this out.
The only teams in the EPL who have ever used the excuse of TOT, for failure, are LFC and MUFC.
Rather than making excuses (such TOT) for teams who perform badly, we need to accept when our players/managers are doing a bad job and may need to be moved on.

Jose is a Galactico class manager. IMO, he is the best in the World and we should all demand that he get us back to winning ways without needing to use the TOT excuse, which no other teams (except LFC and now MUFC) use.

 

[JustinC00]

If Jose is trying to get out of the EL as quickly as possibly then I support it. Feck this competition. Would rather not have Thursday games in the spring especially since the race for 4 will probably be tight.

 

[The Mad Manc]

It's really hard to understand how this performance was so bad. Forget about getting hung up on the formation, these are good to quality footballers. We should be absolutely demolishing teams like Feyenoord.

Doesn't seem like we learned our lesson from the derby by standing off the opposition. We need to press the ball. Sure it means larger gaps over the field but win it high up and we turn defence into attack quickly thereby avoiding the slow build up play which doesn't seem to get us anywhere and is van Gaal-esqe

 

[Name Changed]

AGAIN we got beat by a poor team ?? Maybe we should realize we not that good anymore ?? United payes more for Pogba then Feyenoord for her entire selection .

Yes we aren't that good but when one of our players costs more than an entire team then we should expect to win. And if not win, at least look half decent/

 

[Name Changed]

True.
Everything about the Europa just feels like turd though doesn't it. Time of week, kick off time, opponents, mixing up the lineup.

Certainly happy to move on for the weekend. Need to be on it for then though, as 3 games without a win starts to become a real problem.

Absolutely. Even a win in the Europa League would raise confidence. I would love to have seen Pogba playing well last night and then seeing him against Watford with a little bit more confidence in him.

 

[Name Changed]

Absolutely shocking performance, this has me worried about our season. What did Mourinho have to say after?

Edit: just saw the interview, he seriously can't be happy with that? We played well in the 2nd half? No we didn't Jose.

I don't really mind that too much. Ferguson would have come out and defended his team all the time. I don't mind José sticking up for his players in public. Behind closed doors is a different matter. There are quite a few who need a good kick up the arse.

 

[manunited1919]

I do agree that Jose is a better fit for us. He is tried and tested in the EPL and he has previously built teams, taking them from good to excellent.
Pep, has a history of taking a great team and keeping them great. So it would've been risky giving him our 5th place team.

Now, with regards to the "theory of transition" (TOT), I do not believe in this.
I think TOT is an excuse for failure, which the fans/pundits have latched on to. They did it for LFC. And the same excuse has been used for MUFC for 3 years now.

When Moyes was hired, Pelligrini and Jose joined MCFC and CFC respectively.
Pelligrini finished 1st.
Jose finished 3rd.
There was no sign of transition - new managers came and immediately had their teams winning.
Last season Ranieri arrived at LCFC. New manager. Won the title. There was no transition and the team was winning.

This season, 3 teams have new managers: MCFC, CFC and us....exactly the same 3 teams as 3 years back (spooky).
And so far, MCFC and CFC have been unbeaten. Again, no sign of TOT.

So, I realise that some of you believe in TOT, but the stats do not bear this out.
The only teams in the EPL who have ever used the excuse of TOT, for failure, are LFC and MUFC.
Rather than making excuses (such TOT) for teams who perform badly, we need to accept when our players/managers are doing a bad job and may need to be moved on.

Jose is a Galactico class manager. IMO, he is the best in the World and we should all demand that he get us back to winning ways without needing to use the TOT excuse, which no other teams (except LFC and now MUFC) use.

For the reason we are in TOT mode, and other teams aren't, look no farther than Rooney. 2 managers have tried to build teams around him, and now Jose drops him for 1 game and due to the bad results, may be pressured to persist with him. As long as we have Rooney as an essential component at the center of our team, we will be in TOT mode. Can you imagine at RM if Raul continued playing and never retired, still being an automatic first team starter as striker? They would have been in TOT mode.

 

[khoazany]

Aye. A good humiliation against against Northampton Town. Just what the doctor ordered. There's only a couple U-23's I would consider and that is Axel and Harrop. Maybe Riley. People make it sound like we have tons of kids that are fighting for a first team place. We don't. It is just a pity CBJ was sent on loan, he could not be worse than Rojo.

2-3 is "some".And actually I consider TFM one of them.

 

[BennyBlanco]

After a sleep and mind wipe, aka booze, I'm coming to the belief the result was good, the sooner we go out of that pile of shit competition the better off we'll be for the premier league, honestly I want out.

The fact remains if we put in a solid performance against Watford and come away with 3 points, we're still looking in great shape in the PL, which at this point in time is the only thing that matters to us.

 

[Ballache]

I don't really mind that too much. Ferguson would have come out and defended his team all the time. I don't mind José sticking up for his players in public. Behind closed doors is a different matter. There are quite a few who need a good kick up the arse.

Yeah I calmed down now, too much time spent on this forum does that to you

 

[MattyB1986]

Agreed. We got exactly what we asked for, beginning directly from the manager

Way I looked at it was.. not too bothered about this competition and used it to give some players who haven't had a game yet some match time. I think Jose finds it an unnecessary distraction to the league. Way the players played all game as well. Not too bothered about last nights performance will get worrying if the same lacklustre effort is displayed Sunday in the league though.

 

[gav81]

Like it or not, the Europa League is our level right now. I think it is dangerous in our current position to believe we are too good for the competition and treat it with contempt. We are where we are for a reason, and that is, we haven't been good enough. Participation in the Champions League is not an automatic right but one to be earned. We should prove we are ready for the step up by trying to win every game, whoever it may be against. If we can't compete with Europa League teams and develop a habit of losing, how do we think we will compete with the best of the Premier League or Champions League?

 

[pocco]

Jose could have quite easily played a more 'reserve' side if he really wasn't bothered. I think that quote it's being taken a bit out of context if it's the one in thinking of.

 

[Vida5Nick]

Mourinho has the best win percentage record of any manager in premier league history (66% win vs 65% SAF). He is simply a serial winner and synonymous with success. Pep looks a good signing for city, at the moment, as you say, but we will see in May who was the better signing.

Even if Pep was perhaps the best choice for City, he would not necessarily be a good choice for us, we are at a different stage of the football cycle where we are still trying to build a good functioning team (still in transition). Jose is better suited for us.

It was one bad game, but there were several factors that contributed to our poor play, such as 8 changes from our previous squad, several players without any match fitness, and the constant fouls allowed by ref.

Guardiola had the bigger win percentage over the El Clasicos they've met him over the years. Mourinho only bested him once. Dont think thats a condicience and he can make tough decisions. He threw Hart and several important players aside despite the cost and bought more to supplant thier squad(they are in transition too with thier aging squad issues)while Mou for some reason refuses to cut the dross like Rojo and Fellaini and Rooney who are not United quality and in Roo's case clearly past it ,or those that were frozen out.

That is what we need as a manager and been missing since SAF. We dillied daillied while City acted fast and then we panicked and signed a manager again just like LVG 2 years before. Piss poor planning from the club.

 

[sunama]

This is clearly a work in progress.

We have been a work in progress, in transition (or whatever term people want to refer to it as), etc for 3 years now.
Meanwhile rival managers like Ranieri, Pelligrini and now Pep, joined their new teams and got them winning, immediately.
Is there some rule written that states MUFC must be a work in progress for 3-5 years, before we can consistently win again?

IMO, we are not a work in progress. We have everything in place now. Top players. Top manager. Fantastic training facilities. Great stadium. Great fan base.
The "need more time" excuse is just that..an excuse. Top managers and top players are expected to get almost immediate results and Jose is fully aware of this. The guy is already under pressure.

Anyway, I hope we get a win today. If we can do that, it will at least relieve some pressure and boost morale.

 

[Welsh Wonder]

I don't mind mistakes... but at times I have the awful feeling he's stopped caring...

what?

 

[Ritish Talwar]

This game was a perfect example of why we need someone like Blind at the back, who could string some meaningful passes from the back.
Still feel we need Carrick in the lineup, specially when we are not starting Blind.

 

[TMDaines]

For some reason the MotM voting and Player Ratings are still open. I think Herrera deserves the nod by now!