[Lennon7]

Tough one for Spurs too.

Spurs breezed past us not long ago

 

[FreakyJim]

Good win, looked like they enjoyed themselves too, but let's see how they respond vs Chelsea. Usually, when this group of players play well in one game it feels like they immediately let up and it's followed by a month/months of crap performances.

 

[Lash]

I'd buy that if they hadn't missed actual empty nets up to 4 times in the league

Very true.

 

[dogwithabone]

Spurs breezed past us not long ago

Right.

Can we not improve? Can we not learn from that defeat? And we’ll have a different manager. People keep saying how crap we are - and we have been - but there will have been five or six other teams in that draw that Spurs will have preferred to have drawn.

 

[Havak]

Very positive as it was a win with goals. Bruno off the mark is key, hopefully that takes some pressure off him and he has a season more like what we expect with goals/assists. Some good minutes for players like Zirkzee and Ugarte to be more in tune for when the new manager comes in.

However, if I'm to be a bit cynical, it was just a United under Ten Hag display where we actually scored. Obviously, no one should expect much difference in playing style when the man was sacked on Monday, Ruud probably had one solo training session at best. But the players did look to have a bit more energy and willingness to get into different positions to create chances.

Basic thoughts are you can't scoff at a 5-2 win where you play well for large parts of the game. Handful of shaky defensive moments, awkward errors for Leicester's goals. Hope Ruud can stay on the staff, but even if we were to beat Chelsea and win the next couple (assuming Ruud takes charge until we play Leicester in the league) don't get carried away. Don't let it be another Solskjaer train.

 

[GreatDane]

Very positive as it was a win with goals. Bruno off the mark is key, hopefully that takes some pressure off him and he has a season more like what we expect with goals/assists. Some good minutes for players like Zirkzee and Ugarte to be more in tune for when the new manager comes in.

However, if I'm to be a bit cynical, it was just a United under Ten Hag display where we actually scored. Obviously, no one should expect much difference in playing style when the man was sacked on Monday, Ruud probably had one solo training session at best. But the players did look to have a bit more energy and willingness to get into different positions to create chances.

Basic thoughts are you can't scoff at a 5-2 win where you play well for large parts of the game. Handful of shaky defensive moments, awkward errors for Leicester's goals. Hope Ruud can stay on the staff, but even if we were to beat Chelsea and win the next couple (assuming Ruud takes charge until we play Leicester in the league) don't get carried away. Don't let it be another Solskjaer train.

I disagree. Ruud has had limited time to change much, but it was clear that they played with more freedom.

 

[Massimo Taibi]

Slept on it but that was certainly refreshing and enjoyable, something I can’t have said about ETH’s reign for the last year or so, barring one or two exceptions.

Thought Ruud looked like one of us. He savoured every second and just enjoyed it, knowing it probably won’t last much longer.

 

[ColvaleGoa]

Spurs breezed past us not long ago

In any iteration,we should not fear Spurs. Not ideal but we will hopefully be in a better mental space than when we last played them.

 

[ErikElevenHag]

They picked a weird time to sack Ten Hag. Last game was a bent VAR call and diabolical finishing, and surely this same ragtag bunch of misfits would have stomped Leicester just the same.

A poor result after 18 months of our worst ever performance as a club in the premier league era is a strange time to sack a manager?

 

[Lennon7]

In any iteration,we should not fear Spurs. Not ideal but we will hopefully be in a better mental space than when we last played them.

Not at all, glad we’ve got Spurs over other teams, but that’s not what I said. Unfortunately, they just won’t be fearing us.

 

[moodyred]

It's clear the players wanted ETH out. Otherwise I don't know how to explain Casemiro's goals. I have come to expect him to shoot off target all the time.

 

[Tincanalley]

It's clear the players wanted ETH out. Otherwise I don't know how to explain Casemiro's goals. I have come to expect him to shoot off target all the time.

Brilliant analysis.

 

[Desert Eagle]

I disagree. Ruud has had limited time to change much, but it was clear that they played with more freedom.

It was a free hit. Interim manager,league cup. Less pressure so no wonder they played with more freedom.

 

[FrankDrebin]

Another high scoring LC game and neither of our two main forwards look anywhere near to scoring.

 

[Berbasbullet]

It's clear the players wanted ETH out. Otherwise I don't know how to explain Casemiro's goals. I have come to expect him to shoot off target all the time.

You genuinely think Casemiro was missing the target on purpose?

 

[moodyred]

You genuinely think Casemiro was missing the target on purpose?

I hope you know it's a joke. Ha!

But seriously Casemiro's shot have been so poor for so many games I have come to expect him to miss. That was one freaking good goal.

 

[Zed 101]

Shocking how bad Leicester are, funny to think but for the dodgy penalty ETH would probably have won this one and we would be stuck with him for weeks yet!

I hope that Amorim brings some more dynamism up front, we are way too rigid, I remember fondly under SAF and more recently under Ole, it that our front line was fluid, switching positions regularly in game, giving defenders different problems, changing the point of our attack and the options, under ETH (and last night) it is way too static.... remember we had not seen Garna play on the right in like 12+ months since he broke into the 1st team, then he was forced onto the right, had an amazing few games, then has been back on the left since??? Rashford is more effective on the left generally but has moments on the right, but if either start left/right that is where they stay all game, move them around!!!

 

[Who's Kissing Cameras?]

Anyone got a full match replay river? Missed the game!

 

[stu_1992]

Good result for us. It felt a bit surreal watching a match with Van Nistelrooy in charge of us. Leicester were obviously weakened so hard to judge any real impact from the manager.

What a game from Casemiro though. Not exactly the role you'd expect from him, but christ what a strike that was. He seemed like he got his on every attacking set piece too. He definitely still has a role here, although not sure he should be a role player with those wages.

Very happy to see Fernandes gets couple of goals. One extremely lucky of course. But hopefully his form picks up in general now as it will be badly needed.

Garnacho being productive again is great to see. I was hoping Amad would hwve more impact when he came on as Rashford didn't do too much in the game. Someone I also wanted to have a big game was Zirkzee but there wasn't really anything to report there.

 

[Lash]

Good result for us. It felt a bit surreal watching a match with Van Nistelrooy in charge of us. Leicester were obviously weakened so hard to judge any real impact from the manager.

What a game from Casemiro though. Not exactly the role you'd expect from him, but christ what a strike that was. He seemed like he got his on every attacking set piece too. He definitely still has a role here, although not sure he should be a role player with those wages.

Very happy to see Fernandes gets couple of goals. One extremely lucky of course. But hopefully his form picks up in general now as it will be badly needed.

Garnacho being productive again is great to see. I was hoping Amad would hwve more impact when he came on as Rashford didn't do too much in the game. Someone I also wanted to have a big game was Zirkzee but there wasn't really anything to report there.

I've actually thought it for a while now, he's actually an attacking player that can contribute defensively. He can deliver more line breaking passes and is a bigger goal threat than Mainoo, but he is a liability further back, as he's not actually very tidy in possession. At this point, we're paying for his experience and if we use him correctly, he can be a good influence, because we haven't seen any midfielder be as all action as him last night. Having Ugarte tidying up behind him is a really good addition.

 

[UpWithRivers]

Why was everyone banging on about the defense being sht. Particularly Lindelof. Sure they got 2 goals but they were flukey. Yeah maybe we should have attacked the ball better but other than that and one shot that was a good save Leicester did jack sht against us.

 

[Red Indian Chief Torn Rubber]

Spurs breezed past us not long ago

And we will probablyvbreeze past them in this cup. Don't forget in this cup we can score at will.....

 

[Ghirahim]

5 goals, all out attacking football. Maybe United don't need another manager.

Edit: United played with more freedom.

 

[RDCR07]

I think the right time was after the FA Cup win. I hate firing people so I would not be on that decision making team.

Well no shit he should have been let go in May. But you said it’s a weird time to fire him now. If we didn’t fire him and he wins 3 out of the next 4 you can’t fire him then can you? He has brought himself till Dec then and the whole process keeps getting dragged on and on.

 

[Maticmaker]

At half time I was asking people around me if could they remember the last time United scored 4 goals in the first half at OT.... no one could remember.
The fact we had scored 4 (forget for a moment the 2 we let in) before the break is testimony to the ability to finish; every goal, from Casemiro's 'screamer', were decent goals, well made chances or sharp reflexes (his second), even the free kick although deflected, was winging towards the top corner.

Same players, slightly different set up but the difference was we looked a balanced side, after the first few minutes when Leicester sprang out of the traps.

The potential is there, RVN's determination and his seemingly more touchy-feely' style with the players, may have cast off some the 'straight jacket' approach that ETH tended to employ. This should be enough to get us well away from the relegation 'morass' (currently only 7 points away), if not into the top six.

We can but hope the new guy, when he arrives can work with what he's got, at least for the time being.

 

[Todd]

Why no match thread for Chelsea yet?

 

[Wing Attack Plan R]

A poor result after 18 months of our worst ever performance as a club in the premier league era is a strange time to sack a manager?

You read that correctly.

 

[Wing Attack Plan R]

Well no shit he should have been let go in May. But you said it’s a weird time to fire him now. If we didn’t fire him and he wins 3 out of the next 4 you can’t fire him then can you? He has brought himself till Dec then and the whole process keeps getting dragged on and on.

You're having an argument with yourself. I think they should have got rid once the season concluded. It seems weird to sack him after what was a clear and obvious corrupt VAR decision. Why not after the Spurs hammering? It is weird in that the game they sacked him after, he had legit excuses, whereas plenty of matches came and went where we were terrible and they didn't sack him.

 

[Wolfbot]

Dalot needs to be benched

Can't really do that at the moment though, we're light on defenders full stop, never mind in the fullback position.

 

[Red_toad]

Where's the Chelsea Match day thread? Caf is seriously lagging recently, thought this Mods would be all over these kind of things...

 

[lex talionis]

We can crap on the opponent all we want, but it wasn't that long ago when opponents like Leicester City were crapping on us. We beat the side that was put out in front us and no ridiculous referee decisions. Yes, we did score one goal off a huge deflection but it's not as through we rode luck over 90 minutes. We took our chances well and came out with a fully deserved win. We have to start somewhere dig out of the hole ETH put us and hopefully this is that start. We'll see about Chelsea, but even if we put up a good fight and lose at least we'll put up a good fight.

 

[RDCR07]

You're having an argument with yourself. I think they should have got rid once the season concluded. It seems weird to sack him after what was a clear and obvious corrupt VAR decision. Why not after the Spurs hammering? It is weird in that the game they sacked him after, he had legit excuses, whereas plenty of matches came and went where we were terrible and they didn't sack him.

You keep repeating the same thing over and over that he should have sacked in May. Why don’t you deal with reality? He wasn’t sacked and this was the right time to do it. You seem to can’t comprehend the simple concept that there is easy run of games coming up and you don’t have to give him a chance to get points cause it delays the inevitable sacking and us moving forward and getting a good replacement.

If you think he had a legit excuse after the West Ham game then what about the Spurs game when we went down to 10 men at HT. Isn’t that more of an excuse than the last minute penalty at West Ham?

 

[Wolfbot]

Enjoyed it. We looked dangerous any time we attacked.

But, we still looked hugely open. Maybe they thought they could get away with that against a second string Leicester side....which is fair fecks...but too many times they played one pass and were running at our back 4 which is a long running theme.

Bruno controlled the game, as you might expect against Leicester with 6 odd changes but just hope that acts as a catalyst for a jump start.

Amad looked very lively. Trying a bit too hard for a goal perhaps but I don't mind that at 5-2...he certainly put himself in the right areas and was unlucky not to score.

Zirkzee still looks a bit lost. Thought he had some better moments second half but hes a long way from the quality we need at the moment. Hopefully he finds his feet and gets more confident but it's a concern.

Another game under Ugarte's belt. All in all positives which were desperately needed.

Thought we could have been 5 or 6 up by HT.

I didn't actually think we looked as open at all. The opposition were pretty poor but I thought we were winning the ball back quite well generally.

Sure they got in a few times but it was usually the result of a shit pass

Why was everyone banging on about the defense being sht. Particularly Lindelof. Sure they got 2 goals but they were flukey. Yeah maybe we should have attacked the ball better but other than that and one shot that was a good save Leicester did jack sht against us.

Yeah, I agree as I felt there was an element of fortune to both their goals. We could have done better in those moment individually of course, but ultimately the keeper makes a ropey punch that lands right in front of their player who manages to hit his strike perfectly.

Then the second is a slapstick moment with De Ligt heading off Dalot who can't do anything with it and again it falls to their player who just puts it in.

We had a couple of flukey goals as well so felt they kind of cancelled each other out, didn't begrudge them it.

I wasn't very impressed with Dalot and Martinez overall, both getting caught out of position or very casual, sloppy play at times. The centre backs were alright though.

 

[Wing Attack Plan R]

You keep repeating the same thing over and over that he should have sacked in May. Why don’t you deal with reality? He wasn’t sacked and this was the right time to do it. You seem to can’t comprehend the simple concept that there is easy run of games coming up and you don’t have to give him a chance to get points cause it delays the inevitable sacking and us moving forward and getting a good replacement.

If you think he had a legit excuse after the West Ham game then what about the Spurs game when we went down to 10 men at HT. Isn’t that more of an excuse than the last minute penalty at West Ham?

Are you one of those types who can start a fight in an empty room?

 

[RDCR07]

Are you one of those types who can start a fight in an empty room?

Are you one of those types who can’t understand a simple point made and keep saying it doesn’t make sense?

 

[Nobby style]

Very positive as it was a win with goals. Bruno off the mark is key, hopefully that takes some pressure off him and he has a season more like what we expect with goals/assists. Some good minutes for players like Zirkzee and Ugarte to be more in tune for when the new manager comes in.

However, if I'm to be a bit cynical, it was just a United under Ten Hag display where we actually scored. Obviously, no one should expect much difference in playing style when the man was sacked on Monday, Ruud probably had one solo training session at best. But the players did look to have a bit more energy and willingness to get into different positions to create chances.

Basic thoughts are you can't scoff at a 5-2 win where you play well for large parts of the game. Handful of shaky defensive moments, awkward errors for Leicester's goals. Hope Ruud can stay on the staff, but even if we were to beat Chelsea and win the next couple (assuming Ruud takes charge until we play Leicester in the league) don't get carried away. Don't let it be another Solskjaer train.

Totally agree with this. Everyone keeps saying how crap Leicester were, but for good parts of the match they were coming at us pretty freely, especially down the right side. And if you take away the two goals they gifted Bruno, and add in the post they hit to be a goal, then it was a 3 - 3 match.

This looked very much like a Ten Hag cup match - play decently well, piss poor finishing and absurd decision making in the last third of the pitch, rely on someone's (Casemiro's) individual brilliance to win, get very lucky, allow a foolish goal (especially involving Dalot), get run through often, not great defensively . . . and on we go.

 

[lex talionis]

The two Leicester goals were a bit fluky, especially the second one. The first was a magic shot that only prime De Gea would have saved. Bayanidir got in a decent punch, but it feel kindly to a player who scored what will probably end up being the top goal of his life.