[Mihai]

Confirms Pogba!

Blames the pitch for Fellainis mistake. Even praises LVG!

We just won the Charity Chield

 

[MadDogg]

Having Smalling and Bailly as our centre backs means we'll have a very strong defence in the air. Smalling wins pretty much everything, and while Bailly probably isn't quite at the same level, he does seem quite good himself. Will mean Smalling can focus on his own thing, instead of regularly putting himself out of position to win the high balls for Blind (which did cost us a couple of times last season).

 

[RedPed]

Do we need smalling ?

No we don't! The most over-rated player in a United shirt...next to Rooney of course. Thankfully he's banned for the Bournemouth game so another chance for Bailly to show why he shouldn't be dropped.

A Bailly / Blind centre back pairing is the way to go for me.

 

[Will Singh]

Confirms Pogba!

Blames the pitch for Fellainis mistake. Even praises LVG!

Wow this is a new Mourinho, nice touch thanking LVG and the players who didn't make the team but I'm liking this....

 

[PitchFork]

It was good vision from Fellaini to put Vardy through on goal. Mourinho said some players still need minutes. Hopefully that was it. Missed the first half but I would imagine Rooney was just as ineffective in the first as he was in the second. And so we continue waiting for him to 'find' himself again at the expense of giving someone else a chance at #10. Thought Leicester looked fitter and more pumped, as always. Vardy's still running on pure adrenaline. How do they do it?

The confident edginess is back and it wasn't such a terrible game as it has been claimed. Leicester were very fortunate to get that goal, they had some good spells when we lost concentration but overall they didn't look like winning, not to me anyway. I think as United get more match fit we will start seeing more cohesion.

There's just that burning issue: Rooney.

 

[Leftback99]

Do we need smalling ?

Nah we should sell our best centre back really.

 

[GloryHunter07]

Good to have a tall centre forward who can score headers.

 

[WR10]

Confirms Pogba!

Blames the pitch for Fellainis mistake. Even praises LVG!

He's quite bipolar hey? You don't always see this side of Mourinho.

 

[NinjaZombie]

• Bailly looks like he could be great for us although I hope he and the coaching staff work on his timing of when to go in hard and when to stay back because he committed more than his fair share of silly fouls out there. Looks to have the pace and strength to be a proper centre back in the Prem though.

• Zlatan and Rooney can't play together. Both have styles which are too similar, with Zlatan having the edge because he's not prone to falling to pub player levels like Rooney. Rooney has the captaincy though, which is big because we all know how important that is.

• Still pertinent to point number 2: We need either one of Rashford or Martial up top stretching the play.

• Carrick and Blind are the only players we have currently who would actually zip a quick forward pass to one of the front men.

• Mata, Valencia and Herrera brought us back to the positive days of the Van Gaal era with that one exchange they had that freed Valencia up to run in behind the Leicester defence. Good stuff.

• Lingard was pretty good. Kept it simple, had good movement and was generally running around doing something. Shit celebration though. Seriously, cut that shit out Jesse.

• Martial was poor. Kind of worried about him this season. Also, him and Shaw didn't seem to be on the same wavelength. Shaw's overlap actually got in Martial's way at one point in the second half.

• Now that I've typed that out, just remembered about Memphis. That speaks volumes about how apathetic I am to him. Was he injured or something?

• I think I've made my feelings and opinions known about Wayne Rooney too many times in this forum but I genuinely laughed when I saw him passed the ball straight to a Leicester player at one point of time. Might be some sort of coping mechanism.

• Great to have Luke Shaw back. I want to buy his pomade or whatever he used on his hair. How did it stay in style throughout the game and yet be so bouncy?

 

[Nik70]

No we don't! The most over-rated player in a United shirt...next to Rooney of course. Thankfully he's banned for the Bournemouth game so another chance for Bailly to show why he shouldn't be dropped.

A Bailly / Blind centre back pairing is the way to go for me.

That's the most ridiculous statement I've seen in a while...

 

[RedPed]

That's the most ridiculous statement I've seen in a while...

Thank you very much.

 

[NinjaZombie]

Confirms Pogba!

Blames the pitch for Fellainis mistake. Even praises LVG!

I like all of what he said there, including the shoutout to Van Gaal, but that explanation on the Mata sub was great. Concise, well explained and straight to the point. I think Juan's an intelligent model professional who'd have no problems with that and I'd be surprised if he makes a big fuss over this.

 

[bosnian_red]

Rooney is brutal out there. Has his uses off the ball but his touch is so bad. Martial was pretty poor I thought too but just needs to work his way back and relax a bit.

Bailly is a tank on the other hand and looks excellent on the ball too. Great passing through the lines. Blind very good as well and mourinho seemed very happy with him leading bailly throughout the game at the end interview too. Great to have shaw back and valencia is looking a tank again.

On the team overall... theres still that tendency to be overly cautious that will take time to remove as mou says. Defensively looking a lot more organized though. We had a good defensive record under lvg but we didnt look organized so its a difference now.

 

[Sigma]

Re: Michael Owen

Nothing to do with our performance. But did anyone else notice since Owen has become a Liverpool ambassador his scouse accent has become incredibly pronounced? I never noticed he had one before, but commentating on the match it was almost like he was making an effort to butcher the English language with that horrible lilt to his voice.

Yeah, he sounds an awful lot like Steve McManaman

 

[GloryHunter07]

Pretty happy with that.

Would've been a clean sheet, but for Fellaini's inexplicable through ball to Vardy.

Bailly very good indeed, Shaw looking good (handled Mahrez very well), Blind & Valencia solid. Backline looks good.

Rooney's inability to control a ball or pass properly was horrifying. I am certainly not in the "Rooney is Satan" camp, but a composed passer in his position today and I think we'd have won comfortably.

I think Fellaini actually had a reasonable game, with the rather enormous caveat of the fact he directly cost us a goal.

Zlatan's class was clear, Lingered was very good but Martial still looks like he's lacking match practice.

The subs didn't have long on the pitch...but Rojo continues to look like a poor defender to me.

Think we'll be there or thereabouts.

Pretty good summary tbh. I thought Martial was barely in the game, teams are doubling up on him which is tough.

 

[krazyrobus]

Disappointing that Mkhi only came on late in the game while Rooney was serving up that horror show.

Bailey, inspite of 1 nutmeg and 2 unnecessary fouls controlled Vardy well and was able to pass out well in between the lines.

Rest of the backline was solid.

Fellaini and Carrick were all right, not pulling up trees but not awful either.

Lingard was buzzing around well, Martial was a zombie

Zlatan was alright, he and Rooney were dropping so deep we were in our half a lot of the time.

So quite a bit for Mou to fix.

 

[Acole9]

Apart from a few rough tackles the game was pretty much like any other pre season friendly. Not a great deal of intensity from either side but after the City game got cancelled this was a real fitness builder for us. I'm pleased with how we played but the team is still adapting to Mourinho's methods.

 

[ghagua]

Decent enough game, but we need serious improvements. Bailly has all the tools to be a great defender, except he seriously lacks footballing IQ. He has to learn when to fly into a tackle and when to hold off. Carrick is perfect for LvG's shite system, but he should not be starting in this team. Jose needs to grow some balls and drop Rooney to the bench. He will run all day like he did today, but he is seriously lacking quality.

 

[stu_1992]

Happy with that. A good performance, especially considering where we are with our preparation for the season. Always thought we looked like the better team and we generally in control. Would have been very annoyed if Fellaini had cost us the game with that awful mistake. That really was shocking.

Agree with the people who say Rooney was poor, but don't expect him dropped anytime soon. I reckon he will be given the chance to play his way into form. (Not what I'd do, but it's what I expect to happen.)

Definitely some positives there. Bailly was very impressive, I was worried after he got nutmegged early but he recovered extremely well. MOTM for sure. Hopefully keeps that up. Lingard was good I thought, I didn't agree with the decision to start him but he showed his value. Very nice goal. Shaw looked good, and still quick too. Valencia looked more confident. Nice for Zlatan to score his debut too.

Good start, but won't mean much if we don't build from here.

 

[PieCrust]

Clearly the team hasn't gelled yet, with the lack of preparation.

Bailly was excellent for the most part. A bit reckless at times, will probably have a diciplinary problem while me matures.
Rooney is terrible. I pray that Mourinho will drop him at some point.

Fellaini played well for me, outside of his one bonehead back pass. Carrick was non-existant.

Ibra gonna Ibra. Did well for not having any support or service to really speak of.

 

[Raw]

Tunnel cam

 

[Nik70]

Thank you very much.

If you'd made that statement two years ago I would have agreed with you but he's been immense over the last season or two.

 

[Noc-Z]

Agree with the people who say Rooney was poor, but don't expect him dropped anytime soon. I reckon he will be given the chance to play his way into form. (Not what I'd do, but it's what I expect to happen.)

Yeah it feels like we are forever waiting for Rooney to find form. I'm sick of it.

 

[RyRy11]

Yeah, he sounds an awful lot like Steve McManaman

I was gonna reply this

 

[greatscott9930]

Disappointing that Mkhi only came on late in the game while Rooney was serving up that horror show.

Bailey, inspite of 1 nutmeg and 2 unnecessary fouls controlled Vardy well and was able to pass out well in between the lines.

Rest of the backline was solid.

Fellaini and Carrick were all right, not pulling up trees but not awful either.

Lingard was buzzing around well, Martial was a zombie

Zlatan was alright, he and Rooney were dropping so deep we were in our half a lot of the time.

So quite a bit for Mou to fix.

Interesting choice of expression in a Fellaini context

 

[#07]

 

[krazyrobus]

Interesting choice of expression in a Fellaini context

I don't get it.

 

[Roosney]

Bailly was great, Jessi and Valencia too.
Martial had either poor or excellent moments, needs to stop trying too hard I think.
We looked disjointed but atleast we were more straight forward than before.
Sometimes I joke that I'd do better than Rooney when he's having a stinker but today he was really awful, close to my level lulz.

 

[LouisDanGaal]

Tunnel cam

I love these videos. Zlatan really just catches your attention doesn't he, guy is just a superstar even when all he is doing is thinking.

 

[simonhch]

- Bailly, Smalling and Blind are three quality centre backs to have.
- Valencia was fantastic.
- I thought Fellaini had a very good first half.
- Lingard is a triumph of attitude and work ethic. Love the kid. Great option to have.
- Martial looks rusty.
- Pogba will be a fantastic addition to this side, especially running through the middle.
- I would like to see a midfield trio of Schneiderlin, Pogba and Mkhitaryan

 

[Sultan]

A trophy and Pogba on the same day. Not bad

Not as good as the day we won the FA Cup, and we finally waved goodbye to his disastrous 2 years.

 

[OneUnited24]

I liked what he said about the changes in the team, how last season Valencia might have played a backpass instead of crossing the ball into the box. Its going to take time but so far i'm liking how hes telling his players to play to their strengths.

 

[Dumbat12]

Aww, look who had his fingers crossed for us.

Spoiler

I love this guy.

Always liked him.

 

[Bastian]

A few thoughts

Bailly looks extremely promising as an athletic powerful and pacey defender - decision making looked a bit suspect. But all in all, a good debut against a relentless side.

Rooney still struggles, and I think Jose will too if he keeps using a below par Rooney as the team's focal point.

Martial struggled a bit and was frustrated. Really hope Jose will put his total faith in him, we all know the kid will be a super star.

Would really like to see an attack comprised of Martial, Zlatan, Rashford.

And lingard proved his detractors wrong, again. I was thinking before the goal, that Jose must love him for his good runs and defensive contribution.

 

[Viral United]

6 fecking shot on target,
feck yes.

 

[devips]

What, Valencia and Lingard still in the first team? Sack Mourinho. Also, Smalling was the worst player on the pitch. Sell him as well.

 

[RedPed]

If you'd made that statement two years ago I would have agreed with you but he's been immense over the last season or two.

Im not saying he's bad, he's ok I suppose. But his form did dip last season. And as for the grabbing/shirt-pulling... But to say he's the best in the league, should be a guaranteed starter, we couldn't buy better etc., etc. is just stretching it a bit imo. Which is why I said OVER-rated. Bailly already looks a more solid bet at the back and he's only going to get better. That's all I'm saying. I just hope Mourinho does the right thing and starts with the best players (Rooney included), rather than going by names, which is where Hodgson fecked up with England.

 

[celyn1]

The best part for me was the grin on Valencia's face when he was given the armband!

 

[ChaddyP]

6 fecking shot on target,
feck yes.

We're back baby!!!! yeah!!

 

[sunama]

Wasn't a great game, but it's pre season.

Put the ball in the box for our big striker. Goal. Do it again. Quit the tippy tap outside the box.

The Tikki-Takka stuff outside the box did not work so well last season, so I think you are right.
We have a big tall striker, so when in doubt hoof it into him and see what he can do.
As the season progresses though, I'd like to see us attempt to play along the ground, at speed, rather than relying on the "hoof the ball to our tall striker, for a header" tactic.