[robinrooney]

100% Mourinho's fault.

Who in their right mind picks Fellaini in a must win CL game?
Why play Rashford right/Sanchez left after the way we tore Liverpool apart on Saturday?
Why not take Sanchez off? He contributed nothing all game.
Why the shit slow tempo? No urgency. Jose just sat/stood there.He should have been pushing them forward.
Waited too long to make a change. Should have done it at HT.

Absolute shower of shite

 

[Sportsman]

A manager that plays football is required, not one that plays defensive hoofball. That was a very poor Seville team that coasted past you last night.

City/Spurs/Liverpool/Chelsea would have nailed them big time. It's not a nice sight to see players of the quality of Sanchez and the like playing like zombies as they carry out the instructions of the manager, against their principles, completely nullifying their ability.

 

[Redphantom]

Disgraceful, the worst united performance at home I ever seen. No intention to attack, no intention to go and win the game, it's just beyond comprehension! If this was PSG, Real, Barca, the fans wouldn't tolerate it and the manager would be sacked, Jose has the unbelievable nerve to say the team played well!! Please, enough is enough, he has to go, I'd rather lose games 2-3 and go out fighting than this utter shower of anti-football. Then he has a go at the fans for lack of atmosphere, well I was there last night and at no single point did I feel compelled to get out my seat as their was absolutely nothing to excite or get the fans motivated. Jose utterly accountable, I only hope he fans start to get on his back now, this is Man Utd for gods sake......

I'm a Liverpool fan and under the tutelage of Roy Hodgson we witnessed some of the most cowardly football in my lifetime at our beloved club (we god rid!).

I have sympathy for united fans because (and lets ignore the whole rivalry thing) Manchester United are a great footballing institution (god did I say that), but that's the truth and history does not lie. I remember when your league position wasn't so great your side would still put up a bloody fight. I do however think you'll be back, but not under Jose. I do know how you feel.

 

[markelphick]

I think everything's already been said before on here, but team selection totally wrong. That lost us the game.

 

[ChrisNelson]

All he needed to do was show them a video of Saturday and tell them to go out and do that again. He shouldn't have tinkered with the line-up or the instructions - the 11 against Liverpool earned the chance to do it again.

Deep down he must surely know he's messed that tie up over the 2 legs. On Saturday we beat a team twice as good as the one we faced last night and by fighting fire with fire we came out on top with the help of the crowd.

Last night was a great chance to build on that momentum and go in to the last couple of months of the season on a real positive. Instead he has undone all the good work and I don't think many other managers would get away as lightly as Jose if they had players of the quality (and value/ wage) of Pogba and Sanchez underperforming so badly.

We won't win either of the top 2 prizes while Jose has this carefree attitude about him, we need the hairdryer and boot kicking approach back to get the best out of them. And a little more positional awareness wouldn't go amiss.

 

[Martial]

I'm a Liverpool fan and under the tutelage of Roy Hodgson we witnessed some of the most cowardly football in my lifetime at our beloved club (we god rid!).

I have sympathy for united fans because (and lets ignore the whole rivalry thing) Manchester United are a great footballing institution (god did I say that), but that's the truth and history does not lie. I remember when your league position wasn't so great your side would still put up a bloody fight. I do however think you'll be back, but not under Jose. I do know how you feel.

A comparison with Benitez is clearly much more accurate.

Moyes was our Hodgson. And even worse.

 

[Judas]

I'm sick of us only going at teams for 20 minutes at a time, quote often the last 20 minutes when we're desperate.

 

[Stacks]

Didn't Leicester beat these last season? I always thought that when you play for a draw away, you then go for it at home but this felt weird. There was a 70% effort to try and get a goal. My Irish mate who isn't really into football and placed a bet on United screamed at me "why did they only wake up when Sevilla scored?"
reactive football for ya

 

[cyberman]

He tried to over manage the game and it kicked him in the ass. Trying to put on some tactical masterclass while the opposition could simply be run over is beyond stupid.
Oh I know, Ill drop our best midfielder over he last month, bench Mata who has been in fantastic form, move Rashford over to the right (Theyll never expect it) Ignore Pogba to the point his form is chronically abysmal and play Fellaini in a 2 man midfield mere days after stating he told Jose he only had 20 minutes in him v Liverpool.
Pep who?

 

[DomesticTadpole]

I think until we start thinking about United and only United as a club and how to make teams fear us again, nothing will change. At the moment we are all about getting one over other teams. Let's sign Pogba to stop others getting him. Let's sign Sanchez if we need him or not to stop City getting him. Just sign the right players for us. However I am not sure we will while Jose is the manager, it is all about him not the club.

 

[Judas]

Think you can look a bit higher than Jose when it comes to that issue, Woody loves a superstar signing.

 

[montpelier]

they seem a bit of a strange team - decent going forward but not great finishers, unless Ben Yedder gets on (personality clash prone, I read somewhere) - obviously liable to concede but can play well, draw frequently with Liverpool if they don't win

and bear in mind, they've wiped the floor with us, not been lucky or anything, the agg 1-2 flatters Utd something shocking

starting a basic front 2 of Fellaini & Lukaku can't help but even so...

most startlingly however, I think we bottled it, starting with the Manager I'm afraid to say (having supported him to a moderate extent up to here)

 

[Skills]

I agree with this. We even extended his contract ffs, we are a joke.

Some people thought the extension was too short.

It was just 1 year though tbf. It was just to stop him and Mendes gobbing off to the media the entire time. See how quiet they've gone now?

 

[Mciahel Goodman]

It was one of Lukaku's best games. Bailly too. Shame the setup nullified us and no one else was really willing to step up to the plate. McTominay should have started ahead of Fellaini, but Fellaini was better than Pogba. As soon as the switch was made, and it was a logical switch on paper, the defense fell to bits and we conceded two. Matic/McTominay, Rashford or Martial on the left, then figure out what to do with Pogba/Sanchez. Neither is really worthy of a start on current form. Could have Mata, Rashford, Martial, Lukaku, Matic and McTominay as front 6 and on form it would be the right decision. On the flipside, you don't drop your best players but play them into form. This is what Mourinho is doing with Sanchez and Pogba (injuries aside). The problem here is that both of these players want to play on the left which is where Martial and Rashford have been at their best. Sanchez should be battling with Mata on the right, and Lingard for 10, Pogba should be in a direct battle with McTominay for that number 8 position in a 4231, but he either lacks the discipline to play that role properly or isn't prepared to do the simple things that are incredibly important in such a disciplined setup.

Jose isn't a million miles from the Juve model, he just hasn't implemented it anywhere near as effectively. The same with Atletico. Sides that defend great and usually only need one or two moments in a match to win.

 

[Reynoldo]

This is the thing. If we were playing Barcelona or Real Madrid, going all cautious might have made some degree of sense because it would be one of the most efficient solutions.

We were playing a mediocre Spanish side that got served up plenty of goals by several teams over the last few weeks and we actually tried to overcomplicate things for no reason whatsoever. Absolutely pointless.

Exactly, in all honesty we probably would have been better off getting a bigger team than Seville (Ridiculous as that is). It would have suited Jose better, at least then Jose could put his negative tactics to good use. We had an exact gameplay against Pool and executed it fine, it seems last night he set up to be defensive (wrongly) but then just expected the forwards to do their thing on their own.

 

[Jacko21]

The most telling stat from last night was Sevilla having 21 shots - the most we've allowed at Old Trafford since Madrid in 2013.

Think that tells you all you need to know about what a clanger Mourinho dropped with his selection and approach.

 

[Escape Goat]

Has anyone mentioned that last season Seville were knocked out by Leicester?

 

[Strachans Cigar]

People saying we should have gone hung ho: the Scousers did that and they didn’t beat Sevilla in either of their two games?

 

[DomesticTadpole]

Maybe we should be taking closer notice of what he said in his pre-match press conference and did he pick a side to prove the point? I would hope not.

 

[Judas]

People saying we should have gone hung ho: the Scousers did that and they didn’t beat Sevilla in either of their two games?

Difference is we're better the back than them and are more capable of being defensive when needed.

We could have put the game to bed inside half an hour if we'd come out looking like we wanted to win the game.

 

[Sassy Colin]

I guess what is worrying is that the team could get themselves up for a league game against Liverpool, but not for a Champions League game. Jose had a face like thunder at half time, even though we were starting to control the game towards the end of the first half and I expected us to come out with all guns blazing. It is surprising that we still didn't really get ourselves up in the 2nd half either, apart from after the goals, a bit. The only player who really comes out with any real credit is Lukaku, who never gave up.

 

[Escape Goat]

Maybe we should be taking closer notice of what he said in his pre-match press conference and did he pick a side to prove the point? I would hope not.

This is exactly what he does. He did the same in Dec/January when something was clearly going on in the background (which turned out to be Sanchez).

 

[sunama]

Normally I post a comment on here immediately after the match. But not yesterday.
I feel really deflated and I am very disappointed we went out. Jose was hired to excel in these types of tactical European ties and should allow us to progress far into the tournament.

I really do hope that in preparation for next year, he begins to tinker with his tactics this season, to see how these players fair if they play a more attacking style and go toe-to-toe with good opponents.
I think the problem is that he just doesn't trust our defence enough to allow our midfield and attackers to spend the majority of the game in the opponent's half.

 

[Shark]

After I've had time to sleep on this result, I kind of feel strangely indifferent. I was hyped up for the match and had strong emotions at the end of the match, but it's all gone now and has turned to disappointment. This team and mostly the manager last night have let us all down in a big way last night, and that trust won't be easily earned back on my part and I presume the majority feel the same. I'm not calling for Jose' head, for from it, but unless he changes his ways going into these games, I honestly can't see it ending any other way than a boot out the door sooner than later.

 

[Pace Abuser]

How is the mood at the stadium towards Mourinho? Most still behind him or what do you think?

I was sat in the south stand lower tier and at the final whistLe a lot of fans heckled Jose with boos ringing out. Others tried to drown it our with applause.
There was some serious profanity and ire which I'm certain Jose heard. This may have riled him to come out defensive in the post match interview.

"You're not a united manager" was chanted by a small group. Generally the crowd was very deflated toward Jose around me.

 

[sunama]

The only positive I can think of is that Mou hopefully finally realizes his super rigid system is not a good fit for these players and changes it soon.

The game has evolved and Mou has to keep up with the times.

I am hoping that this is the case.
And for the remaining games, he must experiment with different tactics.
If he sticks with the same rigid system, we can expect more of the same next season and we may (yet again) struggle against top class opponents.

 

[Mr PG]

United need to make changes headed into the next summer. Whether Mourinho leaves or not United need two ATTACKING wingers their is not one winger at United who can go and take on a fullback. That is how I are up watching United always with wingers who can take on a fullback and make something happen. I also Believe United need to play 2 forwards up top Lukaku and Rashford deserve a shot together. It is a WASTE having Rashford out-wide. 2 man midfield with Pogba ( yes I still think he has it and can show his quality) and another box to box defensive midfielder. In defense a new LB is mandatory the center backs are fine as are the right backs. Spend SMART Sanches can be sold on to make money he simply does not fit the system and I just don't fancy him. Lukaku up top with Rashford both quick and one imposing and powerful in Lukaku and then 2 fast pacy wingers who can take on a fullback this team would be fantastic on the counter and overall on suffocating a team with offense. Rant over but this is just not the United I know.

Should buy Basel right winger Mohamed Elyanossu who had the beating of Danilo time after time even Guardiola mentioned him in the after game interviews

 

[sunama]

The most telling stat from last night was Sevilla having 21 shots - the most we've allowed at Old Trafford since Madrid in 2013.

Now that is crazy.
Basically, our goal was being blitzed.

I do wonder if the relaxed tempo of our players, is down to Jose or themselves.
Is Jose telling them on purpose to slow the tempo down and conserve energy?

 

[sunama]

Should buy Basel right winger Mohamed Elyanossu who had the beating of Danilo time after time even Guardiola mentioned him in the after game interviews

Mate, this is not about buying players.
Right now, Jose (and I am a huge supporter of his, who wants him to stay and win us lots of trophies), needs to amend his tactics. Playing so defensively clearly does not work against some teams and he needs to recognise this.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Yeah tonight feels like a watershed moment. I can take losing, I can even take playing badly and losing, but to go out like that. Such a cowardly embarrassing defeat against an at best decent Sevilla side. Really did remind me of our European exit to Liverpool.

I've generally supported Jose and I really can't be arsed going through the whole new manager thing but tonight was so bad it's really made me question if it would be so bad to get rid in the Summer. Much like how I felt at the end of Van Gaal I really am not sure I can watch another year of that.

Yeah, I'm in the same boat. Was a watershed moment for me too. We've been a bit shit a few times on the road but generally been pretty good at home. The exception being playing the very best teams in the PL and I don't mind if we're still a level below those teams and need to be pragmatic against them until Mourinho has the last few pieces in his jigsaw puzzle. Whoever they may be.

Last night was a new low, though. Sevilla posed almost no threat, over both legs. For some weird reason their manager dropped their only player capable of being a goal threat and replaced him with some lad who couldn't hit a cow's arse with a banjo. They have a decent record at home so the first leg didn't bother me too much but they're fairly shit on the road and concede a tonne of goals. The fact we created so little against them over three hours of football is horrific and brings me right back to the one or two shots on goal per game that broke me under Van Gaal.

We can blame the players all we want (and most of them deserve all the stick they get) but ultimately, the team is the embodiment of the manager on the pitch and everything about last night, from the team selection, to the tactics, the sheer lack of desire to get forward and hurt the opposition crystallised all my worst fears about supporting a team manager by Mourinho. Honestly starting to wonder how much more of this I can put up with. I hate the managerial merry-go-round as much as the next man (and more than a lot of posters on redcafe) but wouldn't be all that upset if Mourinho got the hook tomorrow.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Now that is crazy.
Basically, our goal was being blitzed.

I do wonder if the relaxed tempo of our players, is down to Jose or themselves.
Is Jose telling them on purpose to slow the tempo down and conserve energy?

We've been consistently running less than every other team in the league, all season long. That has to be down to the manager and the way he wants us to play.

 

[ZAGREB RED]

Yeah, I'm in the same boat. Was a watershed moment for me too. We've been a bit shit a few times on the road but generally been pretty good at home. The exception being playing the very best teams in the PL and I don't mind if we're still a level below those teams and need to be pragmatic against them until Mourinho has the last few pieces in his jigsaw puzzle. Whoever they may be.

Last night was a new low, though. Sevilla posed almost no threat, over both legs. For some weird reason their manager dropped their only player capable of being a goal threat and replaced him with some lad who couldn't hit a cow's arse with a banjo. They have a decent record at home so the first leg didn't bother me too much but they're fairly shit on the road and concede a tonne of goals. The fact we created so little against them over three hours of football is horrific and brings me right back to the one or two shots on goal per game that broke me under Van Gaal.

We can blame the players all we want (and most of them deserve all the stick they get) but ultimately, the team is the embodiment of the manager on the pitch and everything about last night, from the team selection, to the tactics, the sheer lack of desire to get forward and hurt the opposition crystallised all my worst fears about supporting a team manager by Mourinho. Honestly starting to wonder how much more of this I can put up with. I hate the managerial merry-go-round as much as the next man (and more than a lot of posters on redcafe) but wouldn't be all that upset if Mourinho got the hook tomorrow.

United got possibly one of the easiest draws they could in this competition, then proceeded to mess things up royally even after a decent result in the away leg. Probably just as well it wasn't Real or Barcelona, or even PSG or City for that matter.
I honestly thought the Liverpool result was possibly the sign of things taking a turn for the better and hoped United would continue in the same vein last night. Still can't actually get my head round United at OT in the Champions League putting in such a meek, timid and pathetic performance and going out to a mediocre Sevilla team.
Had United managed to do the almost impossible and come back and win 3-2, as they did at Palace, it would have been a great turnaround, but ultimately would only have been papering over the cracks of an utterly dismal display.
Something has to change.

 

[cyril C]

People saying we should have gone hung ho: the Scousers did that and they didn’t beat Sevilla in either of their two games?

Hung ho may not be a straight forward solution. We did go for 4231 instead of 433 so we were not really conservative. It was more to do with who plays where and why there was no chemistry between them, that cost us the game. In fact, had we played 3 men-MF we wouldn't left the open space in the middle, but then it would probably end up 0-0, not exactly what we had hope for.

 

[Jacko21]

Now that is crazy.
Basically, our goal was being blitzed.

I do wonder if the relaxed tempo of our players, is down to Jose or themselves.
Is Jose telling them on purpose to slow the tempo down and conserve energy?

Bit of both I suspect.

Mourinho would've wanted a cautious approach, but that said, he would've wanted far more from the players.

I can't imagine the players would've agreed with his decision to introduce Fellaini and move Rashford, because it took away the momentum from the previous performance(s).

I've seldom seen a team look as nonplussed as our lot did last night.

 

[Canagel]

The most telling stat from last night was Sevilla having 21 shots - the most we've allowed at Old Trafford since Madrid in 2013.

Think that tells you all you need to know about what a clanger Mourinho dropped with his selection and approach.

Which raises the question what are actually trying to achieve here? We're trying to build a solid defensive shape at the expense of our attack but then still allow teams time and space to do what they like. De Gea makes so many saves because we are so open at times.

 

[Jacko21]

Which raises the question what are actually trying to achieve here? We're trying to build a solid defensive shape at the expense of our attack but then still allow teams time and space to do what they like. De Gea makes so many saves because we are so open at times.

Even by our standards though, the ease at which Sevilla were able to play a single ball through our midfield was frightening. The midfield two of Matic and Fellaini was a clanger from Jose, we couldn't get a foot on the ball and they were being bypassed.

Maybe Mourinho felt that Sevilla having the ball at the edge of our box was no cause for concern and that it would allow us spring on the counter. Needless to say, that was all wrong.

It's beyond me why a change wasn't made to rectify the midfield after 20 minutes.

 

[Sp00ks11]

This current team doesn't know how to go out and win a game, they are constantly set up to contain and nullify the opposition. It's no real surprise then that attacking players really struggle at our club, Pep, Klopp or Poch would have our current squad playing a lot better than this. Even Wenger would. Since Liverpool away we have been dire to watch and even before that game, a lot of our high scoring games were VERY flattering scores, late flurries of goals after 60-70 minutes of boring slow football.

Mourinho has steadied the ship, brought in some excellent players, but I want him out. I am bored with his negative tactics, bored of him living off past glories, bored of his ability to kill players, and would much rather he goes rather than a few very promising players thinking 'this is no fun, I want out' (Martial, Pogba, Shaw) only to go and perform like Salah and De Bruyne elsewhere.

 

[The red panther]

The most pointless argument in existence when you look at the biggest teams (which were apparently suppose to be) in Europe over the last 10/15 years, their manager turnover, and the trophies they’ve accumulated. “Manager Stability” is not a necessity for success.

1Change that to was.
2 Woody needs to grow a pair and feck him off.
A forward thinking attack minded manager would sort this out. We have had 2 defensive and one possession at all costs manager since fergie and it hasnt worked, so try an attack minded manager ffs. Enrique would be my choice or someone like him. Even Klopp or Poch would also make a better fist of it.

I agree, I was just explaining why many on here keep giving him credit and holding off the criticism as was the question is the post I responded to.

But yes I agree, Mourinho has not been good enough and I don't think he is the right man for the job and that alone is enough to reason to sack him.

 

[donkeyfish]

Here is my two cents about this United team. People will go on and try to find different and unique reasons as to why we lost. They will say it’s the formation or the tactics. Quality of players and Jose is also a common reason pointed out. From my understanding after the Liverpool game is its none of the above. Jose plays a certain way that is not park the bus but deep lying counter attaching football. He played the same style against Liverpool at home as he did today against an inferior Seville side but we won the harder game and loosing the easier. And pretty much the same players played in both games. So it cannot be Jose, his tactics, formation or the players otherwise this much vaunted Liverpool team would have gotten a result against us. I believe the players didn’t turn up today like they did against Liverpool. They are not consistent and that’s the main reason for all our demises this season; consistency. And consistency will only come once we play more under this management. Once you play a certain way over and over again, only then it becomes second nature and you improve your consistency. So the solution is to accept this and keep going under Jose. We have an amazing squad, after Sanchez there can be no issues with quality of the squad, big wins against Liverpool and Chelsea show that Jose and his tactics are fine. Players just need to play more to improve their consistency. Hopefully it doesn’t take too long but some time is needed.

We've been lacking consistency for a while. Every season lately has had some absolute horror shows.

I hope it's enough to just wait, but I'm not sure. It's a serious problem though.

 

[DavidLayland]

We've seen too many good players turn to shit under this manager for it to be anything other than him. His cowardly tactics and shameful football. It's boring and embarrassing to watch United these days, and only barely tolerable when we win matches. But it's been tumescent shit forever. And this just takes the cake.

I can categorically say that I have no support left to give Mourinho. He is the exact opposite of the type of coach I want at this club. Manchester United and shit on a stick football, do not go together. Sadly, this club is now more about making money, and as long as he gets us in the CL, he'll still have a job.

I've supported this club since I knew about football - about 5 years old - and it means more to me than just a game. It's the only connection I had to my estranged, and now late, father. He would be turning in his grave to see what a fecking spineless shower this manager has turned us into.

I will not post in the football forum (a blessed relief to many I am sure) or watch another game until this fecking charlatan has gone. Most games make my eyes bleed, and that is not what football is supposed to be about.

Mourinho out. I'm done.

I totally agree with your comments. We seem to have so much in common (inc the late United-mad father...mine was nicknamed Mr United) I, too, have supported United since aged 5 (in 1956!) This two-legged tie is an all-time low. It comes down to the manager who has gone mad with power....totally arrogant, is never in the wrong, and never apologises.

Last night ANY United fan could have selected a better team and got a better performance than the one we witnessed. So much for Jose "tactical genious" Mourinho. To those of you who still believe in this joker I say wake up and realise that he is a fraud and an anachronism.

It's high time he left our great club so that we can move on.