[Zen86]

The "x position at Christmas" is abit misleading tbh. Because we started the season much later, we only played 14 matches, instead near half a season.
But that's also means we still have more matches to go. I don't think Liverpool will be runaway winners like last time.
There'll be more twist further into the season

Absolutely. There’s a bit of a defeatist attitude by some on here, this season is nowhere near a foregone conclusion.

 

[SoCross]

The rare he times he got it. Did you see him being involved in great build up and keeping the ball for us?

The first half? Yes. Not so much in the second half.

 

[Doracle]

Decent enough display and a little unlucky not to win. I don’t recall Leicester having a chance other than the two goals.

I don’t think James is good enough to start unfortunately. Felt that was an error today but presume it was to try and give Lindelöf some energetic cover. Good that we changed very shortly after halftime.

Decent enough point.

 

[Giggsyking]

Scholes slating Ole. I guess he is a plastic fan too.

 

[acnumber9]

The first half? Yes. Not so much in the second half.

When?

 

[Giggsy13]

What has happened with Williams? I’d much rather him start at RB than Lindelof today.

 

[Leftback99]

Scholes slating Ole. I guess he is a plastic fan too.

Why what did he say? It is possible to be critical of the manager without wanting him sacked you know.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

I guess it depends on your expectations. Where I see us is this is the best we have been since SAF. Away to a good Leicester city team, they didn't have a sniff imo. While we created 4 clear cut chances.

Now we are nowhere as good as this Liverpool team or like Bayern. So I'm not disappointed at this level.

They scored two goals but didn't have a sniff? I mean we do have better players after all in the first 11 and on the bench after all.


I think we've had our moments but as far as I can see, we've come off a 66/68 point season so I'll wait and watch to see where we're headed. I think we've got potential but unless we start coaching the team to excellent in possess we will achieve feck all. Counter attacking won't get us that far - top 4 at best.

 

[Foxbatt]

I didn't see the match. How did we play today? Did we deserve to win or was a draw a fair result?

 

[Falcow]

Not the worst result, as I said before the game, a point here is ok provided we win the next two meaning we would then have taken 26 points from 30.....nought wrong with that.

 

[Dr Foo]

It feels like two points dropped and obviously gutted that we didn't see out the game, but with perspective it is not too surprising also - against a good Leicester team. Said it before that we can't be seriously challenging for the title with a defence like ours (not just the quality of our defenders, but overall team effort/concentration in defending).

While we have a lot of talent upfront, Rashford and Martial are still inconsistent, i.e. not reliable enough to produce top level goods week in week out. If we had a younger version of Cavani, he should be our starting striker. Some have questioned James' inclusion, but let's hope it pays off in terms of overall squad rotation. Besides, we created enough clear chances to put the game away.

We rely on McFred midfield to give us stability and protection in these games, and I thought they did alright, as usual. We don't have the luxury of dropping one of them for a more creative midfielder because we don't have a top level holding midfielder/DM, and Pogba will invariably concede chances in that position.

After dusting off a gloomy start to the season, at least we have hauled ourselves back credibly but still lack the next step to becoming a top team. Let's hope we build resilience and winning mentality to seal 2nd/3rd this season and try to win a cup, before mounting a challenge next year. Progressing in the right direction still and entertaining to watch compared to previous seasons.

 

[Withnail]

These points lost are on Ole. Cowardly setup, cowardly gameplay. We need to play on the front foot and try to devastate this kind of opposition, not to be cautious beyond merit

Nonsense take.

We were the better side and created enough to win. Leicester were lucky to draw.

 

[Giggsyking]

Why what did he say? It is possible to be critical of the manager without wanting him sacked you know.

He just confirmed what every Ole critic said, You will never win the league by putting your best players on the bench. So yes he was hoping we could mount a title race, but Ole worked hard to feck up the starting 11 not to win.

 

[Shane88]

Been credited as a Tuanzebe own goal, obviously. No idea how the idiots on commentary couldn't see that.

 

[zizou81]

Nonsense take.

We were the better side and created enough to win. Leicester were lucky to draw.

Actually agree...cowardly was my initial impression when seeing the staring line up. But the draw is on the players today. Lack of concentration and 2 unforced errors cost us the win.

Plus the errors on the goal scoring front. Good forwards need to know where they are on the line. Both rashford and martial need to learn how to time their runs better. Its frustrating sometimes.

Plus the first goal was all james so he wasnt completely poor.

 

[MileStolar]

I think Cavani is still one of the best out and out strikers in Europe. Obviously, a short term thing but he shows the danger that a natural goal scorer poses. How/why we didn't get Haaland I'll never know.

Many factors I reckon...

-We didn't want exit clause at the time, they insisted

-Riola got himself involved and gave advice to Erling to not come here, and said publicly that we ruin players and that he wouldn't advise his players to come to us

-Haaland said he felt only Ole really wanted him here while other figures in the club were reluctant

-Ole was on the brink of a sack at the time and could've walked very easily if our results hadn't improved after January window

Shame that we haven't gotten him, as it looks like he'd fit us like a glove... I still hope we go in hard for him and show intent. If he has half the impact Bruno has had, we're easily in the mix for the top if League stays dreadful as it is right now.

 

[Leftback99]

He just confirmed what every Ole critic said, You will never win the league by putting your best players on the bench. So yes he was hoping we could mount a title race, but Ole worked hard to feck up the starting 11 not to win.

We conceded a 2-1 lead with the supposed 'better players' on the pitch.

 

[Siorac]

I didn't see the match. How did we play today? Did we deserve to win or was a draw a fair result?

We struggled to exert control of the game, the ball just didn't seem to stick at all, but we still had the better chances and conceded a shit goal near the end. On the balance of play a draw is fair but frustrating.

 

[Polar]

Happy with the performance, but disappointed we didn’t get 3 points. We were the better side, and that’s impressing considering we talk about Leicester away.

The game wasn’t perfect, but it told me we are on right track. The team spirit is great and we always possess great threat. We have pretty much found the right balance on the midfield, and now we only need to find the best partnership or set-up in behind.

Bailey in good shape could play an critical role in our defence. He was outstanding in the first half. He has the highest top-level of all our CB’s. I would have liked if Ole tried to settle the partnership between Bailey and Maquire. We need on of our CB’s to have speed and a little bit more aggression. Even though it’s risking to give Bailey time, I think we could benefit a lot in the longer run.

 

[Inigo Montoya]

Been credited as a Tuanzebe own goal, obviously. No idea how the idiots on commentary couldn't see that.

Because they love to spunk all over Vardy. God knows why. Bailly had him in his pocket as usual and he was the only outlet.

He’s supposedly reinvented himself as some sort of working class hero but he isn’t. Another rich wide boy

 

[Foxbatt]

A draw at Leicester is not such a big disaster. Yes it's very disappointing of course. I wonder why he didn't start with Pogba? This is not in hindsight but I have said before that we should play Pogba, Bruno and Fred. If he thinks our midfield is going to get over run he should have dropped a striker for a midfield player.

 

[Ramshock]

Woah. Watch it.

Why? He isnt afraid to lay in to his long time team mate. Love Scholes the player but Scholes the pundit is plastic as feck

 

[Hugh Jass]

Happy enough. But we should have won it.

Impressive performance i thought.

 

[Offside]

Beat Wolves and Villa and this will be forgotten. Then go to Anfield and blow the title race wide open.

 

[Holocene]

Beat Wolves and Villa and this will be forgotten. Then go to Anfield and blow the title race wide open.

Ending Liverpool's home record to announce our title race would be glorious.

 

[lex talionis]

Leicester should thank their lucky stars they dug out the draw today. A scruffy equalizer for them while we muffed glorious chances. A point gained for Leicester, two points dropped for United.

But I’m feeling better about our chances of securing a top four finish. Not long ago we got punked by Spurs at home, whereas now we hammered a better side and are disappointed to walk away with only one point.

 

[Tiber]

Was working, didn't see the game. But 2.2 away to Leicester doesnt sound like an awful result

 

[automaticflare]

Scabby draw. Should have comfortably won that game. Crated lots of chances

 

[Loon]

Disappointed, but says a lot I am disappointed we did not win against a team at the top part of the table, but a win would have been a massive booster and the feeling we let an opportunity slip again is dominant.

 

[Dr. Dwayne]

Was working, didn't see the game. But 2.2 away to Leicester doesnt sound like an awful result

It's not, but we are still disappointed.

 

[KiD MoYeS]

We're not winning the league with that defence, for people getting carried away - not that many were. But look, some progress is definitely evident. Would have taken a draw if offered to me before a ball was kicked. Second place and a cup would be a good season.

 

[gica_7]

It's not, but we are still disappointed.

Which is the clearest indication of improvement, I guess.

 

[Al Capone]

Mings been sent off for Villa, will he be back against us or still serving a ban for two yellows???

 

[Vidyoyo]

I don't have too many complaints. Boxing day fixtures are never easy, especially this year as most of our team have been playing a ton of games in a short space of time. Attacking-wise we were always a threat and Leicester often looked stretchd, which is nice. Martial continued his languid style which hurt us but you could also see his runs drawing the defence away. It works as long as other players are scoring.

Less good, Leicester knew our defensive weaknesses and took full advantage. Maguire vs. Vardy was never going to be a fair contest. It's like pairing up a kangroo versus a lynx. We knew that though and Leicester are generally a top heavy team so it was always likely they'd score, similar to Leeds in the last game. It's a fine line but as long as we're outscoring the opposition it's not a huge problem. One to think about it though.

 

[arnie_ni]

Think tiliimens (butchered the spelling) would walk into this team alongside Fred at present

 

[Oldtraffordboy]

Second place and a cup would be a good season.

Still think 2nd will be very difficult. So early even though we're at Christmas.

But definitely looking for a 10-15 point improvement season on season.

Cups are a bit of a lottery.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

Mings been sent off for Villa, will he be back against us or still serving a ban for two yellows???

Just one game, so imagine it will be against whoever they play midweek.

 

[Foxbatt]

My New Year celebration is now dead.

 

[Valencia Shin Crosses]

Yes I think strikers win games and leagues. A Vardy or Kane in our team today and we win easily. There’s a reason Fergie went all out for RVP and we win the league yet we had no midfield then either

1. Martial wasn't on the end of any of our big chances so replacing him with Kane wouldn't have changed anything today.

2. Liverpool literally won the league last year with Firmino scoring like 5 times all year. This antiquated thought process that one player has to score all of a teams goals is ridiculous, and its how you end up with a team that gets nullified if a player is out of form or injured.

 

[SinNombre]

The problem is the defensive organization and mcTominay.

As usual, the knives are out for Martial and Rashford though.

We are scoring enough goals for the chances we are creating.

The problem is we concede on very little.