[Siorac]

Can we please, please, PLEASE sign some forwards. We're desperately in need of depth.

We're desperately in need of quality, really. It's not like we just need backups to... Rashford and Elanga.

 

[The Irish Connection]

Clean sheet and win is obviously positive but it is hilarious how we’ve gone back to a hoofball counter attack side like under Ole.
Really need a midfielder who can pass and control things a bit, a right winger and a centre forward.
Lucky to get the win today.

 

[Salus Populi Suprema Lex]

Defense look assured.

Much better. Varane and Martinez must be given the chance to form a partnership. Malacia a huge improvement on Shaw.

 

[BluesJr]

Good points but I just can’t get excited about the way we’re playing yet. I doubt the manager is enjoying yet either.

 

[Judas]

Shaw and Maguire aren't getting back in this team unless its for cup games or injury/suspensions.

 

[r3idy]

Something to build on. Defense looked for the most part, comfortable. Loving the fighting spirit in that back line.

Midfield worked hard

Christ on a bike we need some quality though up front. Sancho looked isolated

 

[RedIke]

Got no complaints from our defence, it's our attackers that are too soft, and never get stuck in. They're easily taken out by a simple charge by the defender.

That's fair. Agree with that end. A proper #9 could do wonders since I thought Ronny today was wank.

 

[Red00012]

Bring on Leicester

 

[Irrational.]

It’s clear to see what an absolutely astronomical difference FdJ would make to this side. Composure on the ball when we’re under siege and trying to play out from the back is what we need to punish teams when we’re holding onto a lead by a thread and the opposition are throwing everything at us. The likes of McT and Fred end up shitting the bed and giving the ball away time and time again, not allowing our attackers to get forward.

Doesn't look like it’ll happen though.

 

[Poborsky's hair]

Really up there with one of the worst games we played over the last 10 years only with the exception we managed to get a goal this time. We really created nothing and parked the bus with zero quality on and off the ball.

Us becoming the midtable team is one of the biggest tragedies in my life tbh, can't watch this shit anymore. People will say win is a win, good to have some positive people around but from the body language of more than half the players who featured today we will see that the season will be incredibly long and only a bad season to one of the top6 teams will get us top6. We lack quality all over the pitch and other minor teams play good enough football to beat us these days.

It's like a coin flip, is it gonna be a 4:0 beating like against Brentford or we managed to get some points in a goalless draw or a tight win like today, the next time we play? To be honest I would rather us to play around TOP8 and good football than this antifootball, only to finish 6th maximum anyway.

Season is long and things will get better but watching some decisions by the manager and his new favourite players really keeps me in the worrying mode.

 

[mctrials23]

we've got a proper back four now......but the problem is the attack

Elanga is not a starter, Rashford is not a 9. Ronny is finished and Sancho can be dual marked out of games.

We need a striker and a winger.

Sancho can be stifled but in a functioning team that would just leave them open elsewhere. Hes still contributing but we aren't even close to a team that can take full advantage of his talent. Teams know that if they remove Sancho from the game they have killed 50% of our attacking threat.

Rashford needs to be sold. Hes simply not putting in the effort. Elanga comes in and out of games but needs a bit more steel about him at times. There were moments where he should have been putting in a tackle and didn't. He had got himself into the right place to help but was far too passive once he was there. Ronaldo is done and should be put out to pasture. Honestly I would just let him leave for free. Hes behaved like a bit of a cnut but his wages alone are obscene for the player he is now, let alone the performances he is capable of.

Unless you are dominating a game Ronaldo isn't very useful.

Poor performance but good and vital result.

 

[Dyslexic Untied]

Potentially massive game for building momentum and confidence in the squad. Also, so important that we didn't drop points immediately after the Liverpool game.

 

[Ramshock]

That was an ordeal. Ugly to watch (not just because of the kit) but I’ll take the 3 points.

We needed a game like that to build character

 

[FatTails]

Best 3 players:
1) Eriksen
2) McTominay
3) Varane

Swap Martinez for Eriksen and I’m onboard

 

[troylocker]

Not pretty, but I’ll take the 3 points.

 

[Murder on Zidanes Floor]

Held on for dear life post the goal! But 3 PTS in the board!

Elanga can't start. He's doesn't even offer a defensive presence, running a lot doesn't actually help the team if it's just for the sake of it.

Scott can't start anymore. We have Casemiro. Play him and Fred. Drop one of Eriksen or Bruno. There is your three in midfield.

Play Martial up top when fit. Rashford left, Sancho right. Or add in Garnacho and play Rashford up top.

Malacia is great, solid. Martinez is an animal, will get caught out over the next few games as teams know he wants to dive in.

Varane, I am praying he stays fit. Titan at the back. Looks fantastic. Add Casemiro ahead of him and this could be great.

Ronaldo, has to go. Today showed it. Looks spent. Sporting or Napoli. Hell there are thirty odd UCL teams, he can go to Genk if he's desperate for UCL goals.

Signings:

CF - Isak would of been great. Hell, if he's fit I'd take Calvert-Lewin type who can hold that ball and bring our wide players into play, plus a threat from crosses.

RW - Pedro Neto for example.

 

[El-Manos]

We need a striker who can hold up the balL desperately.

 

[Reapersoul20]

Not the best game, but a good win. So much happier not having to watch Maguire/Shaw/Pogba anymore. Actual intensity and aggression in midfield and defence. It's brilliant. Martinez and Malacia so refreshing to watch.

 

[R'hllor]

Good win, 3 pts, performance overall wasnt great, it was poor even, feckers from last season still need fecking off but it is what it is.

 

[Andycoleno9]

Not a great game but win away without being in real danger all game (ok, except at the end) is nice to see after 7,8 away defeats.

 

[siw2007]

Back to back wins, stopped the losing streak away from home, so that’s great news. We did make hard work of it, didn’t really deserve the win, I think a draw might have been fairer but can’t fault the performances of Varane and Martinez who were superb today. Front line weren’t good enough today, Southampton back line just battered them for most of the game.

 

[90 + 5min]

Importan win. That is what matters right now. Finally we get a game where we don't concede goals.

McTominay, Martinez and Varane very good. Followed by Malacia, Eriksen and Dalot.

 

[redom]

We don't half make hard work of it!

Hopefully this reluctance to play possession football is just a temporary reaction to the first two results and we've focused on defensive grit and making sure we don't give away the ball too often in our own third so we've gone in the opposite direction and are just putting our foot through it more often than not when under any sort of pressure. It makes sense to a certain degree because our players are so fragile mentally that we were making mistakes and then falling apart so it seems like we're being a lot more pragmatic and just hoping to string some results together, relieve some of the pressure on everyone and then hopefully as confidence starts to come back we can switch focus to being a bit more expressive and controlled when in possession. Baby steps I suppose.

 

[Nickosaur]

So important to get a win like that under our belt.
Scrappy, a little lucky, poor for large parts, still hung on AND a clean sheet.

 

[DRJosh]

Defensively we're becoming quite good, but it saved us today because our build up play and attacking options are poor. So pleased to see our back line being so confident, it gives the rest of the team a boost.

But last season that game would have been a loss for us, so I'm grateful for the three points. A lot of positives to take from this game.

Couldn’t have said it better. We’re harder to score against now and as they say a winning side starts from the back

 

[BorisManUtd]

So poor after scoring the goal, though we defended well but we just couldn't keep composure and control the ball, it's probably key area that needs improvement. Still, it's big 3 points and that is most important at this moment.

Southampton were average and pretty bad in final 3rd, so many wasteful shots from them.

 

[December_16]

Tough win that. We dropped a gear after scoring, could have backfired against a better team. I’m not too worried about midfield, they’ll gel better with time. Forward line is super worrisome, though. We’re so thin and lacking in quality it’s painful to even think about.

 

[CarbonStoolBites]

Absolutely sh*t. Nothing has changed yet. No ability to retain posession and the imbalance in moving from defence to attack is horrible.

Literally looked like a vintage SAF away win.
“Nothing has changed”, last season we were not winning this match, today we did.
So that has clearly changed.

 

[acnumber9]

Eriksen was strolling around for the last 20 mins before he was subbed off . He wasn’t even making an effort

I don’t understand why we’re leaving him on for 90 minutes. He blatantly isn’t up to the physical demands to do it.

 

[Valencia Shin Crosses]

Back line fantastic. McT an abomination of a midfielder, Bruno was bad but that finish was brilliant. Sancho was great until we couldn’t get him the ball second half and he got subbed off. Ronaldo is finished. Elanga belongs in the championship. Rashford had the most anonymous game I’ve ever seen for someone that lasted a full match.

 

[Salus Populi Suprema Lex]

Really up there with one of the worst games we played over the last 10 years only with the exception we managed to get a goal this time. We really created nothing and parked the bus with zero quality on and off the ball.

Us becoming the midtable team is one of the biggest tragedies in my life tbh, can't watch this shit anymore. People will say win is a win, good to have some positive people around but from the body language of more than half the players who featured today we will see that the season will be incredibly long and only a bad season to one of the top6 teams will get us top6. We lack quality all over the pitch and other minor teams play good enough football to beat us these days.

It's like a coin flip, is it gonna be a 4:0 beating like against Brentford or we managed to get some points in a goalless draw or a tight win like today, the next time we play? To be honest I would rather us to play around TOP8 and good football than this antifootball, only to finish 6th maximum anyway.

Season is long and things will get better but watching some decisions by the manager and his new favourite players really keeps me in the worrying mode.

It's going to take time, mate. We have been a shambles, it will require signings, time and hard work to become a half decent team. Baby steps for now.

 

[Jacky Quacky]

Really up there with one of the worst games we played over the last 10 years only with the exception we managed to get a goal this time. We really created nothing and parked the bus with zero quality on and off the ball.

Us becoming the midtable team is one of the biggest tragedies in my life tbh, can't watch this shit anymore. People will say win is a win, good to have some positive people around but from the body language of more than half the players who featured today we will see that the season will be incredibly long and only a bad season to one of the top6 teams will get us top6. We lack quality all over the pitch and other minor teams play good enough football to beat us these days.

It's like a coin flip, is it gonna be a 4:0 beating like against Brentford or we managed to get some points in a goalless draw or a tight win like today, the next time we play? To be honest I would rather us to play around TOP8 and good football than this antifootball, only to finish 6th maximum anyway.

Season is long and things will get better but watching some decisions by the manager and his new favourite players really keeps me in the worrying mode.

What a shit stain of a post

 

[Negative Red]

Very happy we got the 3 points over the line but we're still carrying players. Rashford a passenger and McTominay was just McTominay. Hopefully we can get a couple of players in.

 

[Jippy]

I can't understand the positivity here! So many worrying signs, back to how we played last year. Struggling to build from the back, losing possession too easily in midfield. Was Rashford on the pitch? CR looks pedestrian on the ball.

I actually thought people are being too negative. Ugly, scrappy win, offering little in attack, but still showed the grit to eke out the win.
Need reinforcements clearly, but it's only game three under ETH and it's a work in progress and moving in the right direction at least.

 

[Gorse Hill Red]

Can’t understand why with the players we have we can’t keep the ball and take the game to the opposition when going ahead. Better finishing from Southampton and we have drawn today. Happy with the 3 points but not our performance after Bruno’s goal.

 

[Tiki-Taka]

Such a slick slick goal. When we have 1, 2 touch football, we on the money. We didn't do it enough today, but that hopefully will keep improving.

Rashford’s run there was the best thing he did all game.

 

[jesperjaap]

Happy with the result. Only thing looks different at the moment though.....is the new players. I kind of include Varane in that as he barely played last season.

Basiaclly we look better organised positionally, reading the game and not making errors or failing to track runners as a back four. The back four is what has improved. Malacia had a couple fo shaky moments byt he isnt leaving loads of space out wide like SHaw did. Martinez out and Maguire in....there were moments where if it was Maguire, a big gap would have appeared.

I thought McTominay had a good game, but still we look so open in terms of allowing the other side to get to the back four, hopefully with Casemeiro in that changes.

The biggest thing for me though is our attack. We only play well and create chances in one scenario.....on the break with our pace, there is no plan b. Fernandes gets away with out a slating for a wonderful finish, show a youtub evideo of every touch though and 80% of them he is giving the ball away, Rashford isnt a striker, Elanga is a good team player with pace but not a top winger in the making individually, Sancho still isnt creating or invlved enough.

In all hnesty as things stand, go back pre-ROnaldo and Cavani, Martial, Rashford, Greenwood.....looks better than what we have now.

May sound a lazy conclusion, but for me, the wau we seriously improve is still signings. We still need a rb, cm, rw, cf but I think we probably only sign one and then something like Dubravka as a back up keeper

 

[Denis79]

Happy for the win. Poor performance though.

 

[FatTails]

Absolutely sh*t. Nothing has changed yet. No ability to retain posession and the imbalance in moving from defence to attack is horrible.

Username checks out

 

[DomesticTadpole]

Love how some think we should be Cruyff's Ajax, when he still hasn't got most of the players he actually wants. It is little steps. If they can get another win on Thursday it will do wonders for the team and managers confidence.