PL W FA Premier League

Manchester United 4:1 Leicester City

Post-match discussion


Sat, 24 September 2016

I think fellaini has been really good for us this season at what he is supposed to be doing, but the argument people have been making about the team being stronger without Rooney seems to apply just as much with Fellaini too. Having ander in there and mata completely changed the way we played, I wouldn't have dropped fellaini but by doing so we were such a better team. Not entirely sure how removing our tallest player has suddenly made us so deadly on corners.
Its really simple, there is more to holding role than being really tall. Fellaini has a golden chest, but Herrera brings more mobility, better passing, more pace and guile. He's six feet tall so he's no manlet, either.
 
Its really simple, there is more to holding role than being really tall. Fellaini has a golden chest, but Herrera brings more mobility, better passing, more pace and guile. He's six feet tall so he's no manlet, either.

Except my point was that Fellaini has been good, not that he has been tall?

Fellaini offers a lot to the position, he wins duels, can put in a tackle, intercepts to a decent standard and doesn't lose the ball that much as he keeps it simple. I completely agree on what Herrera offers extra but my point was that we were dropping one of our better players so far but it was certainly worth it.
 
Except my point was that Fellaini has been good, not that he has been tall?

Fellaini offers a lot to the position, he wins duels, can put in a tackle, intercepts to a decent standard and doesn't lose the ball that much as he keeps it simple. I completely agree on what Herrera offers extra but my point was that we were dropping one of our better players so far but it was certainly worth it.

Sorry if my post came off as patronising, it wasn't my intention at all.

What I was trying to say is that, Fellaini's quality are valuable as a last resort, he offers a chaos factor in certain games. However what he offers is not enough at the top level. He keeps it simple tends to be code for passing sideways and backwards, Cleverley used to 'keep it simple' too.

My point is you'll never get a game-changing moment or an incisive forward pass or an intricate link up play from the guy. Furthermore, he gives away silly, often costly fouls. He hasn't made the most of his physical attributes this season and doesn't cover enough ground to get the best out of our world record signing.
 
Rashford (18) and Lingard both came from the academy no more than a year ago? All the others have one league titles at other clubs.

Lingard is 24. He's almost in his prime, he was nowhere near an Academy player last year.
 
Absolutely blitzed Leicester after the first goal and had the game all wrapped up by half time, which is something we've not seen much over the last few years. Was pleased to see Rooney dropped as he has to earn a place in the team and the side looked strong without him. Pogba was terrific with Herrera and also Ibra not too far behind.
 
Just open my laptop to post my thoughts about the game:

  • Blind is our official corner taker. 3 goals from corners, he know where to put the ball and smart to take advantages of mental lapse for defender
  • Mata in no.10 role. He is every influential in his play, popping up here and there finding pocket of space
  • Good pressing from wingers, Rushford and Lingard press well, only of them but the whole team. Herrara, Mata and Pogba press well as well
I could see this team as almost the best XI. Maybe Martial and Rushford interchange, Lingard and Miki interchange. Great performance.
 
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When Rooney came on for Rashford, i am not sure if he was instructed to roam inside. He seems to be everywhere and trying to get the ball as much as possible. With Rashford , he stretched the field by staying wide and used his pace intelligently. I love seeing Zlatan coming deep and holding the ball. His used of the ball is economical and knowing how to play forward or wide.
 
For once, we looked dangerous with Blind's corner. The balls were better than games before. I think we should change the corner takers. There's always something strange with the corners Rooney took, you just know that 9/10 the ball will be fluffy and flying high with no speed, power and precision behind it.
 
Jose has been talking about us not pressing, well yesterday we did and he played people who he knew would carry that instruction out for him.
 
Just open my laptop to post my thoughts about the game:

  • Blind is our official corner taker. 3 goals from corners, he know where to put the ball and smart to take advantages of mental lapse for defender
  • Mata in no.10 role. He is every influential in his play, popping up here and there finding pocket of space
  • Good pressing from wingers, Rushford and Lingard press well, only of them but the whole team. Herrara, Mata and Pogba press well as well
I could see this team as almost the best XI. Maybe Martial and Rushford interchange, Lingard and Miki interchange. Great performance.
I don't think this is the best eleven we can put up when all players are on form. Structurally I still think we will do well with Carrick holding behind Pogrrera and with Mhki in for Lingard both from a defensive and offensive perspective. Plus Martial is better than Rashford on one-on-ones, just a small matter of him getting his confidence back.
We have the squad to play both 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1 effectively so I hope Jose has an open mind and trains the team to be adept at using both systems.
 
Sorry if my post came off as patronising, it wasn't my intention at all.

What I was trying to say is that, Fellaini's quality are valuable as a last resort, he offers a chaos factor in certain games. However what he offers is not enough at the top level. He keeps it simple tends to be code for passing sideways and backwards, Cleverley used to 'keep it simple' too.

My point is you'll never get a game-changing moment or an incisive forward pass or an intricate link up play from the guy. Furthermore, he gives away silly, often costly fouls. He hasn't made the most of his physical attributes this season and doesn't cover enough ground to get the best out of our world record signing.

Yeah I agree and whats more with the way everyone was playing yesterday he would have stuck out like a sore thumb. Obviously that is hypothetical as we couldn't play that way with him in the team but the difference in footballing ability is huge.
 
It was better, obviously. I thought the first 20mins was (understandably) very scratchy & then we played really well from the 1st goal up to half time. We won't always score 3 goals from corners but there were chances from open play too. This team isn't going to win the League but I'd rather watch that style of play than the tumescent crap that fielding Rooney & Fellaini seems to facilitate.

I wouldn't mind us finishing 5th if things were looking really good for next year. Bailly & Smalling has developed into a seriously solid CB pairing, Shaw is back playing really well, Blind, Lingard, Zlatan have been upgraded, something like that. Wazza & Carrick need to leave & we can leave the SAF years behind finally & have got what feels like a new team at last.

Still a long way to go.

Encouragingly though, the two times now that Mourinho has been under pressure to do something - HT vs. City, and selection for yesterday, he has 'done the business'. Go Jose !!!
 
When Rooney came on for Rashford, i am not sure if he was instructed to roam inside. He seems to be everywhere and trying to get the ball as much as possible. With Rashford , he stretched the field by staying wide and used his pace intelligently. I love seeing Zlatan coming deep and holding the ball. His used of the ball is economical and knowing how to play forward or wide.
That's what Rooney always does. Drops in to acres of space and either lays it 5 yards or pings it wide right.

He has zero positional discipline.
 
Blind showed what an excellent player he is, and that he needs to be in the team somewhere.

Hopefully Ander can build some consistency now, keeping Fellaini out of the team in the process. The two are night and day in terms of their mobility and ability on the ball.

I've always considered Mata to be a bit of a luxury player, but what he showed yesterday is that he can contribute in the number ten role. Hope this is the end of the right wing experiment.

Zlatan was pretty good overall, but he needs to put his shooting boots back on.

Overall, it was a positive showing, but there's still a hell of a lot of work to do. I hope Mourinho can find and keep the right balance in terms of the starting line up. Stoke game at home is absolutely vital, because Liverpool and Chelsea away afterwards looks a bit daunting.
 
We shouldn't get carried away, and we didn't score 4 goals simply because Rooney didn't start.

Before our first goal, they were the better team. We had several defensive mistakes and lots of gaps in our back. 3 of our goals are set pieces, wich is a very good thing but not an indication that we were drastically improved. Yes, the absence of Rooney allowed us to play with more fluidity and fast tempo, but a midfield of Pogba & Herrera still is no good. If Mou insists on playing with 2 man midfield, then either Carrick or Blind should partner Pogba and not Herrera of Fellaini.

On any case it was an improved performance overall that should give the players a huge moral boost, and we should build on that.
Carrick in a midfield two is just asking for trouble.

Jose tried it in the CS.just doesn't work.
 
First time in long time that I've watched highlights of one of our games. For me, that should be the team going forward with Mkhi replacing Lingard (and potentially Shaw for Blind however that would be quite harsh on Blind).
 
Good win.Absolutely delighted with the first half and just a little disappointed with the 2nd.
We were so much better without Rooney's poor touch, losing possession and general awfulness.
Herrera miles better than Fellaini.
Mata was excellent.
Blind was better than Shaw at LB and delivers good corners.
Would like to see Mkitharyan getting a run of games now probably ahead of Lingard.
Much better effort , our best to date but Leicester were average at best.
 
That's what Rooney always does. Drops in to acres of space and either lays it 5 yards or pings it wide right.

He has zero positional discipline.
This x10. His second trademark pass (apart from the valencia long ball) is where he has his back to the goal, receives a pass and passes it right back to the person who gave him the ball. It makes me want to tear my hair out sometimes :lol:. It's like in his head thats the benchmark of the number 10 position
 
This x10. His second trademark pass (apart from the valencia long ball) is where he has his back to the goal, receives a pass and passes it right back to the person who gave him the ball. It makes me want to tear my hair out sometimes :lol:. It's like in his head thats the benchmark of the number 10 position

I like it, :lol:. Those 2 trademarks and #3 the now fairly regular 'WTF was That?' are the full extent these days. Not even shooting now is he?

It is sad to see the decline but I watched Sanchez play 'up top' for the Arse yesterday & the workrate and the finish for his goal made to look ridculously easy were what Rooney used to do, except that Rooney was much better. (I don't think Sanchez is really a striker before I get destroyed by irate Gooners)
 
First time in long time that I've watched highlights of one of our games. For me, that should be the team going forward with Mkhi replacing Lingard (and potentially Shaw for Blind however that would be quite harsh on Blind).

Shaw for Blind? Blind was literally the best player on the pitch.
 
Great result but I wouldn't go overboard. There was a lot to improve on. Leicester were the better team before we scored. We were crap enough in the second half. We should have kept going and gotten more goals.

But on the positive side we played great football for 25 minutes and Mourinho had the balls to drop Rooney. Hopefully he doesn't go back to Rooney after the next bad result.
 
Just open my laptop to post my thoughts about the game:

  • Blind is our official corner taker. 3 goals from corners, he know where to put the ball and smart to take advantages of mental lapse for defender
  • Mata in no.10 role. He is every influential in his play, popping up here and there finding pocket of space
  • Good pressing from wingers, Rushford and Lingard press well, only of them but the whole team. Herrara, Mata and Pogba press well as well
I could see this team as almost the best XI. Maybe Martial and Rushford interchange, Lingard and Miki interchange. Great performance.
I would have let you get away with it but you did it again :lol:
 
Great result but I wouldn't go overboard. There was a lot to improve on. Leicester were the better team before we scored. We were crap enough in the second half. We should have kept going and gotten more goals.

But on the positive side we played great football for 25 minutes and Mourinho had the balls to drop Rooney. Hopefully he doesn't go back to Rooney after the next bad result.

When the team is transitioning away from a Moyes disaster, and trying to get away from a rooney era still gripped with his 300K contract and a huge distraction for Jose. This season is about rebuilding an identity and slowly transitioning the team away from guys like rooney, next season I do hope Jose will have found the identity he is after, and he has players he's got that can play week in week out. At the mo its still up in the air, its still a concern we got this rooney cloud hanging over us, and he could play anytime and its a few steps back
 
I've downloaded the match to watch again. The first half was flawless. Best we've played in years.
 
Shaw has a lot of potential, but he's never produced a performance as accomplished as what Blind did yesterday.
Chelsea away 2014-2015.

But, I get your point, both are fantastic options to have certainly
 
I've downloaded the match to watch again. The first half was flawless. Best we've played in years.

Watched the highlights of the first half, twice (having seen the game). We were immense after scoring. Like you say, the best football we've played since 11/12, in my opinion.
 
Well, this was the performance we've all been waiting for. Zlatan could have made this the perfect match but missed a couple I'd expect him to score normally. He too was much better though. Offered a study in what a striker should be doing when he drops deep. Total contrast to what we've seen from...

Our man of the match, Wayne Rooney. Had his best and most influential 83 minutes of the season. His contribution to the fluency and fluidity of our play really shouldn't be underestimated or under-appreciated. I'm happy that Jose finally found his best position and Wayne didn't let anyone down! Let's hope we (and he) continue this.

PS;": Yes, I did vote Rooney as the MotM... seriously, guv...

PPS: Blind is so under-appreciated it's annoying. Herrera and Mata had brilliant games as did Pogba, but surely Blind was the best player (bar Wayne)? Mahrez didn't get a sniff. And this is when a lot of United fans were apprehensive before the game. This was as close to flawless as I've seen an LB performance in a long while. He didn't be just kill Mahrez though. He was also a massive attacking threat and his set-piece delivery is marvelous too! He has to start. Don't care whether DM, LB or CB. He should be indispensable.
 
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Man of the Match

Paul Pogba image Paul Pogba 40% of 1015 votes

Runners-up

Player Ratings

7.0 Total Average Rating

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Lowest Rated Player

Compiled from 803 ratings.

Score Predictions

502,79,131
  • Man Utd win
  • Leicester win
  • Draw

Detailed Results

  • 31% Man Utd 2:1 Leicester
  • 13% Man Utd 2:0 Leicester
  • 11% Man Utd 1:1 Leicester
  • 9% Man Utd 3:1 Leicester
  • 6% Man Utd 1:0 Leicester
  • 5% Man Utd 2:2 Leicester
  • 5% Man Utd 3:0 Leicester
  • 4% Man Utd 1:2 Leicester
  • 2% Man Utd 0:2 Leicester
  • 2% Man Utd 0:0 Leicester
  • 2% Man Utd 3:2 Leicester
  • 1% Man Utd 4:0 Leicester
  • 1% Man Utd 0:1 Leicester
  • 1% Man Utd 1:3 Leicester
  • 1% Man Utd 0:5 Leicester
  • 1% Man Utd 5:0 Leicester
  • 1% Man Utd 4:1 Leicester
  • 0% Man Utd 4:2 Leicester
  • 0% Man Utd 2:3 Leicester
  • 0% Man Utd 0:3 Leicester
  • 0% Man Utd 1:4 Leicester
  • 0% Man Utd 3:4 Leicester
  • 0% Man Utd 2:4 Leicester
  • 0% Man Utd 0:4 Leicester
  • 0% Man Utd 5:1 Leicester
Compiled from 712 predictions.
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Match Stats

  1. Man Utd
  2. Leicester
Possession
67% 33%
Shots
16 10
Shots on Target
7 3
Corners
8 6
Fouls
9 12

Referee

Mike Dean