[Sayros]

That doesn't mean we dithered. I don't think Pep ever really wanted to come here, Klopp was asked also, and he refused. None of the best wanted to come here for some bizarre reason.

The money's certainly changed their mind now when you see Conte or Mourinho with Tottenham or Ancelotti with Everton.

 

[The Mitcher]

The money's certainly changed their mind now when you see Conte or Mourinho with Tottenham or Ancelotti with Everton.

I don't think it was money.

 

[Cantonagotmehere]

obviously we were terrible

we reminded me of a boxer hanging on from the first bell hoping to reach the end of each round

Still 100% believe in Ten Hag and his job will be to close this gap

quite a funny finish and if we'd another 10 mins I think we'd have scored again

Well put

 

[OpenIntrovert]

Its seems like all the players were still off colour after their international duties. Otherwise it would have been so bad. I suspect it takes a while to regain the fitness required to play ETH game, which the team has not done for a long while after the Queen's passing.

ETH could have changed the tactics, but even with the current tactics it is clear that we should be battling City yesterday. We were easily overrun with little to no fight which highlights an issue with the fitness not being there or fatigue.

 

[RC89]

I'm actually not that upset. It was a bad loss no doubt and the scoreline flattered us but we are nowhere near the finished article. ETH is just getting started with us and the season is long.

Our defence will take a lot of the brunt but this game for me was a complete failure from the entire midfield. McTom has done well this season but his ceiling isn't very high. I think we need to bed Casemiro in, even if it means that right now we see a slight deficit, with the hope he can play into form to get a real world class midfielder in there. BTW, I'm not pinning the loss on Mctominay.

Everton next, let's hope we can respond.

 

[reelworld]

Ridiculous over reaction here as usual .
Anyone expect we could compete with City after 5 months is deluding themselves.
United will be fine. Results like this are expected when you rebuild. Citing our (bad) spending by our previous manager is also dishonest because that's not on our current one.

 

[reelworld]

Not really a valid point when you consider the following:

"In terms of net expenditure, United have outspent fellow powerhouse clubs Manchester City (£826.6m), Paris Saint-Germain (£790.4m) and Barcelona (£546m) - all of whom have won five or more league titles during that period, compared with United's sole title in 2012/13."

Using their spending as an excuse is becoming outdated and just makes United look increasingly incompetent.

Eh, United spent badly no doubt.
But PSG is in a one team league and Barcelona had Messi in that time period.

 

[U.N.C.L.E]

Hoping this reality check calms everyone down - this is a long play, not tiktok instant gratification….

 

[colombianmancunian]

Halaand is a beast, he should be here but that failure Ole didn’t convince him to join us when he was attainable. Now he feast on us.

$hitty going straight to another PL title.
We need Casemiro to get integrated into the team, we lacked steel today.

Good for Antony and Anthony to score today. We are still a team on reconstruction.

 

[Cantonagotmehere]

Until Real steals Haaland. We are f&cked.

 

[Winrar]

We won the second half, get in!

Back to reality. The scoreline flattered us, and Haaland is an absolute monster. But nothing to really doom over right now given that our squad hasn't really had the time to fully come together.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't miffed, but overall I'm honestly more pissed off about Varane's injury than the actual result.

 

[Zlaatan]

We're lucky they took their foot off the gas, it could've been so much worse if they had kept at it. I'm happy Martial is back, at least that's one positive I can take from this.

 

[croadyman]

That doesn't mean we dithered. I don't think Pep ever really wanted to come here, Klopp was asked also, and he refused. None of the best wanted to come here for some bizarre reason.

Klopp refused due to Mickey Mouse's awful pitch or was it Donald Duck. Makes you wonder if only we didn't have cartoon characters running things

 

[MexicanCowboy]

Until Real steals Haaland. We are f&cked.

You were fecked even before Haaland. City toyed with you last season without Haaland

 

[croadyman]

Ciry are just too good for us and the rest of the league.

Haaland might be the best striker ever when it's all said and done.

God I want to know who is responsible for this so badly, every single goal has me saying what on earth were we playing at not taking him.

 

[croadyman]

Honestly theres no use getting worked up about it. City are a cheat code. They will own this league for the foreseeable future and they are miles better than anyone. When they finally play Arsenal they will hammer them too.

The Liverpool game last year (the 1st one) hurt more when it was at OT and knowing that Pool DON'T have unlimited funds and were just purely better than us.

This whole PL era is kinda not worth worrying about - City are where they are, they will stay there for as long as their owners want them to. We may get the odd outlier like Liverpool and Leicester but apart from that the League has gone.

Spot on but media will never say league has gone even though deep down they know it has

 

[frostbite]

Until Real steals Haaland. We are f&cked.

Why would Haaland want to go to Real? He was a City fan since he was a kid!

 

[croadyman]

Bollocks. They've had so much spending off the books it's immeasurable. From fake sponsorships to giving Mancini a big job in the UAE after he left City to Peps brother being given Girona FC.

Your comments show a lack of understanding on the levels of cheat mode from City.

This does not take away from the fact that the United board/Glazers have made shite decisions for the last 9 years though.

Shame media won't ever expose them

 

[Redbandito]

Yeah but they scored 6

hahaha! Underrated post!

 

[MinGin]

Halaand is a beast, he should be here but that failure Ole didn’t convince him to join us when he was attainable. Now he feast on us.

$hitty going straight to another PL title.
We need Casemiro to get integrated into the team, we lacked steel today.

Good for Antony and Anthony to score today. We are still a team on reconstruction.

As I remembered, the reason is the club did not want a release clause adding into the contract before he moved to Germany.

 

[croadyman]

As I remembered, the reason is the club did not want a release clause adding into the contract before he moved to Germany.

Referring to not taking him at Molde and that is something I will NEVER EVER forgive this club for

 

[frostbite]

Referring to not taking him at Molde and that is something I will NEVER EVER forgive this club for

Haaland was a City fan since he was a kid. Why do you think he would ever agree to join us? Because of Ole? Managers come and go. Haaland was a City fan, not an Ole fan.

 

[croadyman]

Haaland was a City fan since he was a kid. Why do you think he would ever agree to join us? Because of Ole? Managers come and go. Haaland was a City fan, not an Ole fan.

Ole told club to sign him and they wouldn't listen,that for me is unacceptable and don't buy his love for City just because pictured in a shirt and daddy played there.

 

[Ole'sgunnarwin]

Something that isn’t getting talked about enough is how slow our first choices wingers are…. All 160m worth!

both have popped up with a couple of goals this season… but neither Sancho nor Antony are quick enough to beat a man. And even when they do some tricky footwork to get passed a man, neither have the acceleration to leave them.

they both want lots of touches but it all in front of the man.

FBs dream. Just stand off them and they just have to cut back.

we need at least one wide player who can break with pace…. If martial keeps himself fit, I’d be going with rashford over Sancho from the left.

Completely agree, it's a massive problem

 

[dogwithabone]

Keane had it right when he said there was no aggression, no bite in midfield. A couple of tenacious lower league players snapping, terrier like, at City's playmakers would have made a better fist of it. City strolled, quite literally on occasions, from Edison to the edge of our box. I’d try Casemiro and Fred in there to see if that can pairing can flourish. I’m no fan of Shaw but perhaps Malacia need a bit of time out and physically Shaw just looks a bit more commanding.

The few pluses were the Antony strike, what a goal that was, and Martial. Considering his pre season form and the two yesterday, Martial deserves a run. Oh and we might just have found ourselves a proper penalty taker. Antony is an odd one because I don’t think he’s done too much yet but has scored a couple of really well taken goals against - currently - the best two teams in the PL. I’d like to see him really take someone on on the outside though, just to see what he’s really made of.

 

[AdamColeBebe]

Eh, United spent badly no doubt.
But PSG is in a one team league and Barcelona had Messi in that time period.

Well yeah obviously they aren't relevant in this situation. I was highlighting Man City.

 

[Ronaldo's Love Child]

Was today just a case of being beaten by a better team? I think so. Nothing we could do. Obviously we want to blame someone, The Glazers, ETH, coaching, ole, rashford, mc t.
Haaland is a freak..difficult to cope with that.

Precisely. Nothing wrong in losing to maybe the best team in Europe who were also up for it.

The question is, did we learn anything from it? Any lessons were ones we should already have known.

Mctom. is a squad player at best
We are accommodating Bruno too much even to the point that we seem unable to change our formation as it would push him out of his favoured position.
Rashford can not be relied upon to lead the attack..........ever!
Sancho is beginning to look like an expensive failure. There isn't any point to him being on the pitch. Does he give us extra width? Not really as he likes to cut inside. Ok, does he take on his man and dribble past them? Not really either.

 

[big_jeffstar]

Yes, it was on the radio today that he is actually a die hard Leeds United fan, is that where you think he wants to be? Is that what you mean?

No, his dad gave an interview a few days ago basically saying he doesn't want to stay anywhere for longer than 2 and a half - 3 years and his aim is to play in every European league, which is why they insist of the release clause, so no club can basically take him hostage.. he wants to play for Madrid, Bayern etc etc.. he's the ultimate mercenary , but at least he's honest about it i guess

 

[Fluctuation0161]

Klopp refused due to Mickey Mouse's awful pitch or was it Donald Duck. Makes you wonder if only we didn't have cartoon characters running things

Ed fecking Woodward has alot to answer for.

*and the Glazers for allowing his reign of failure to last so long.

 

[Fluctuation0161]

You were fecked even before Haaland. City toyed with you last season without Haaland

Last season we had 1 lame duck manager and a supply teacher with no midfielders.

I think the posters point is that certain levels are attainable in a season or two under ETH, we are only a few months in. But City adding a once in generation talent to their already high functioning team is almost unachievable to compete with in the short term.

Imo they are cheats but they are effective cheats. They may as well be renamed UAE FC.

 

[Fluctuation0161]

Shame media won't ever expose them

City also invest heavily in good lawyers and good PR.

 

[captaincantona]

It seemed obvious to me that Eriksen as a 10 in these games gives us both creativity and care on the ball. Not sure how Bruno fits into a team that wants to go toe to toe with city. ETH surely must see he is hit and miss in almost all aspects of him game and against top sides, it’s difficult to concede possession like that.

Martial will give us a dimension we havnt had so far.

Sancho was weak and lazy. Seeing Bernardo and foden moving and demanding the ball and hassling and pressing. I’d give Sancho a video of them for the whole Week and make him watch it clockwork orange style. No difference in talent- just application.

 

[Fluctuation0161]

No, his dad gave an interview a few days ago basically saying he doesn't want to stay anywhere for longer than 2 and a half - 3 years and his aim is to play in every European league, which is why they insist of the release clause, so no club can basically take him hostage.. he wants to play for Madrid, Bayern etc etc.. he's the ultimate mercenary , but at least he's honest about it i guess

I'm sure the UAE coffers could persuade him...

 

[DomesticTadpole]

I'm sure the UAE coffers could persuade him...

Barcelona when Lewandowski too old or replace Benzema at Real.

 

[Revaulx]

I don't think it was money.

I’m sure you’re right. There were plenty of red flags:

• Woodward
• No proper structure to support the manager
• Glazers’ prioritising commercial success over sporting achievements
• SAF lurking in the background

I’m not convinced about the last one, but a prospective manager might have considered it.

 

[trevor newnham]

It was always gonna happen. City are a great team , just so much better than us. It really really hurts to say that but just because we win 4 in a row, we are not the best team in the land just because we get done by City, its not the end of the season. We can still get in the top 4.

 

[fergiewherearethou]

Haaland was a City fan since he was a kid. Why do you think he would ever agree to join us? Because of Ole? Managers come and go. Haaland was a City fan, not an Ole fan.

I don't think it matters that much who was a fan of when he was a kid, if we made a big money offer sooner, before he joined Dortmund, when he was at Salzburg we could of transferred him.
But we are a long way from the times we recognized top talent soon, I really don't think we could of gotten Ronaldo if SAF did not make a move when he was at Sporting, if a Spanish team like Atletico, Valencia or Sevilla would of transferred him at 18, Real would of been all over him at 20-21.

 

[justsomebloke]

You’re right about numbers and maybe I should’ve paraphrased it better but what I meant was that to control a midfield better, you need one pure DM behind two CMs (one being more attacking) which 4-3-3 provides better than 4-2-3-1 does and also that our current 3 is too attacking and not balanced enough to be a controlling midfield as Bruno is basically a second striker playing in no 10 position.

McTominay is normally a CM but currently playing as DM or the more defensive one in the double pivot. Eriksen is good at controlling the game but not the best physically so our physicality, energy and defensive stability suffer with him in the team too. He needs others who’s going to provide the steel, energy and other defensive aspects of the game to be around him.

So, McTominay - Eriksen behind Bruno is far from an ideal midfield 3. For me, Fred - Casemiro - Eriksen is not ideal either as I’d like my most advanced midfielder to get on the scoresheet and assist more than current Eriksen does (Eriksen at Spurs would’ve been great as his G & A numbers were brilliant) but it’s still our best bet right now IMO.

I think this is remote from the issues we were facing yesterday. Our CMs just kept getting dragged out of position off the ball, because they were individually focused on marking a specific opponent - Bruno/Gündogan, Eriksen/De Bruyne, McTominay/Silva. As KDB and Silva especially tended to drift out to the flanks, our midfield was frequently empty, and you got sequences like when Ake and Grealish were allowed to carry the ball unopposed across half the field. This was not due to how the midfield was arranged positionally.

Defensively there was no control in the space in front of the back four, who, perhaps because of that, tended to fall too far back. And to top things off, the marking was less than sharp in the box. Two of City's goals came from an unmarked player in the box as the CBs had moved back almost to within a meter or two from the goal line and the midfield didn't pick up, another two came as a central player was allowed to hit an incisive pass through the back line. Their corner goal wasn't a marvel of marking from United either. Only on their fifth - Haaland's beautiful low cross to Foden - was the backline squarely beaten through the whole sequence.

And when we won the ball, we had no shape.

 

[Red Indian Chief Torn Rubber]

never face a top team away from home with a Mctominay as your sole defensive shield. The end

 

[justsomebloke]

It was always gonna happen. City are a great team , just so much better than us. It really really hurts to say that but just because we win 4 in a row, we are not the best team in the land just because we get done by City, its not the end of the season. We can still get in the top 4.

Yes they are, but that doesn't mean "it was always gonna happen". Two teams have drawn against City in their first 8 games. It's not impossible.