[DomesticTadpole]

Jose said in his press conference that he was disappointed that we didn't carry on playing in the second half like the first.

 

[RedorDead21]

Pogba was very good until they scored, then seemed to become strangely obsessed with getting the ball and standing still with it trying to fend off the entire opposition team.

Matic played well but it was like he saw Rashford's red card last week and felt the need to try and out stupid it.

Fellaini always looks a decent player when he actually has a defined role in the team. The problem with him is that this happens about one in every ten games he starts. Today you could tell what he was in the team to do and that he was doing it very well.

Valencia looked like he'd been told before the game that if he ran over a certain speed or distance he would explode.

Can't deny Lukaku's knack for scoring goals even when he plays like Emile Heskey, but I still prefer the version of him that scores goals without playing like Emile Heskey.

I thought we were decent in the first half, though Watford having some kind of meltdown after we scored turned it into looking like we were thrashing them. Second half I was actually really impressed with how we were playing it out from the back quickly and picking out our forward players, despite being put under pressure. Problem was that a) all of our forward players were guilty of being given the ball in great situations, and cocking it up, and b) wiith 10 minutes to go we just decided to completely stop doing this for no real reason other than to allow Watford to attack with more players.

I can also understand hw Martial frustrates Mourinho. Brings him on with the game stretched in the perfect situation for him. Almost instantly he's fed a great ball putting him 1 on 1 with the full back...and instead of takking him on he cuts inside but so slowly that the fullback just walks back into his way, then just stands there.

There are some players who are cool enough to have a stupid hairstyle and transcend the fact it makes them look like an idiot. Smalling is at the exact opposite end of this spectrum. In that even if he had cool hair it would still make him look like an idiot.

I've never seen another top player insist on that shielding of the ball routine like Pogs....he loses possession half the time and it's not like it ever gives us an advantage...at best he plays it back and we start over. It's pure ego and he needs to be sat down and told it's a pointless activity apart from slowing up an already slow attacking unit.

 

[Flexdegea]

Thought they where solid and was expecting the rush.


So much space, need to exploit then more but team is getting somewhere I think

 

[RedorDead21]

Jose said in his press conference that he was disappointed that we didn't carry on playing in the second half like the first.

Well yes....This idea from fans that he tells the team to drop off I find really amusing. Like he and our team are so amazing they can do that to other PL teams. Switch on Switch off is bloody Karate Kid involved!

 

[Kapardin]

Mourinho said something about Young playing RB after the match. If Dalot is not yet ready, I wouldn't mind seeing Shaw and Young at LB and RB respectively. Need to drop Valencia, he's just about done.

 

[No Idea For Nickname]

"The only thing I don't like about Chris is his haircut"
Jose at Presser

 

[Tomuś]

Only watched the last 30 mins, thought we were horrible to watch, Watford were unlucky not to grab a point.
The red card, can't moan about it 2 bookable fouls.

They were lucky not to be swept aside at the interval, mate.

 

[Schmeichel's Cartwheel]

Positives
- Great first half,
- De God at it again
- Smalling's new do (plus decent performance like)
- Great set pieces
- Fellaini was excellent
- Pogba looked great in the 1st half
- Lukaku, first touch aside, worked his arse off for the team & bagged a goal
- We forced their keeper to make a few cracking saves

Negatives
- Horrible second half
- Some really sloppy passing at times
- Matic sending off
- Pogba looked shite in the second half
- Alexis quiet again
- Martial had a shocking cameo
- Mourinho's shit the bed tactics! (they were there for the taking at 2-0, why let up?)

 

[Casanova85]

Learn your place, Watford.

Had to be us

 

[Rozay]

20 minutes is enough to base a performance on, not like he was subbed on after 90 for wasting time.

He played quite poorly for those 20 minutes and its a completely fair thing to say. If you bother to read my post completely, I told that he didn't come on when we were playing well.

People didn't seem to have a problem last season when he used to come on late and score goals. But if he doesn't play well, 20 mins is too low now?

I’m not saying he played well by any stretch. I just mean he didn’t really play anything. Touched the ball about 4 or 5 times, often just playing simple passes. He tried to play one incisive pass with his first action, otherwise there wasn’t much to rate at all.

 

[Toddler]

Positives
- Great first half,
- De God at it again
- Smalling's new do (plus decent performance like)
- Great set pieces
- Fellaini was excellent
- Pogba looked great in the 1st half
- Lukaku, first touch aside, worked his arse off for the team & bagged a goal
- We forced their keeper to make a few cracking saves

Negatives
- Horrible second half
- Some really sloppy passing at times
- Matic sending off
- Pogba looked shite in the second half
- Alexis quiet again
- Martial had a shocking cameo
- Mourinho's shit the bed tactics! (they were there for the taking at 2-0, why let up?)

Very much in line with this. We need more mentality to play 90 mins.

 

[Trizy]

Typical United. Dominate the first half, take the foot off the gas the second half, concede and defend like a pack of dopes for the remaining game.

 

[cyberman]

Typical United. Dominate the first half, take the foot off the gas the second half, concede and defend like a pack of dopes for the remaining game.

We defended really well though. What did David have to do until the last few minutes from dead balls?

 

[The Real Treble 99]

A game of two halves & just deserved the win just. As bad as we were towards the end of the game we really should’ve put it to bed. I’ve said before we’re just not clinical & ruthless when it comes to finishing teams off. 1st half fantastic, was a joy to watch! 2nd towards the end & if not for the heroics of DDG was really uncomfortable. Saying that priceless 3 points against a team in form. Slowly but surely Jose will get us there! The positives has to be our football is getting better not brilliant but definitely not a bore. At least now I look forward to the next match as before I dreaded it.

 

[sunama]

Dont really think many people in here realize what a big win this was just because the opponent was named Watford.

Before this match they had 4 wins in 4, and we beat them at their own ground.

Mate, it was a big win. No doubt about it.
Unfortunately, on this forum, people love to be negative and want an excuse to sack the manager and sell players, so they can have new toys on display.

 

[LoneStar]

I’m not saying he played well by any stretch. I just mean he didn’t really play anything. Touched the ball about 4 or 5 times, often just playing simple passes. He tried to play one incisive pass with his first action, otherwise there wasn’t much to rate at all.

That's fair enough. And I agree.

 

[Bastian]

Relieved in the end. Good first half after the opener. Brief spell in the 2nd when we started to lose focus, two sloppy balls by Pogba, a mistake by Lindelof soon after and we looked a bit ropey. All about the result though.

 

[Minimalist]

Nice goals and some good stuff in the first half. Second half was poor, seems like its just part of our teams character now, but got the result in the end.

Watford are a decent side. On to the next match.

 

[LolYo]

We're a mid table team. Win some, lose some, nearly every game is a struggle and there is no excitement in watching us play.
Meh as usual. It easily could have gone the other way.

 

[automaticflare]

Really?? Like....Really ????

I think some folks haven’t watched our games to be honest

 

[Dr. Dwayne]

Will we ever score more than 2 goals in a match again?

 

[LolYo]

I think we have the most talented squad in the league or at the very least its debatable and De Gea is awesome. I guess even a horrible manager cant mess that up all the time. Its enough to just barely luck out with 3 points in a game like this.
Nonetheless uninspiring.

 

[Bola]

A good solid performance today and we finished as deserved winners against a tricky team. My only criticism is the need to put chances away when we are in top - could have gone in 4-0 up at half time given how dominant we were for most of the half.

Some decent looking players for Watford. Not like we need another mid, but I like Docoure every time I see him. Christian Kabasele looks a solid defender as well

 

[Red Pavan]

When did you tune in?

why would we 'expect' anything other than that? We haven't seen it in years

I try to stay away from the Match Day and Post match threads but just thought i'd share my thoughts (albeit outdated ones).

 

[RuudTom83]

Good game, it’s the premiership so you are rarely going to have it all your own way.

But overall the attacking play is getting better with each game this season. Just need to be more clinical with the final pass!

But no complaints from me!

 

[ravi2]

We're just so fecking uninspiring. Coasting at half time and we end up clinging on for dear life. Just so sloppy in the second half.

I cannot recall the last time we had a truly entertaining game, maybe the comeback against City when Pogba decided to play to his potential

 

[MrBest]

I've been a keen supporter of martial but I think yesterday's performance sums up his attitude. Has the perfect chance to come on and make an impact, lingard has been awful and always will be average and rashford is out for 2 more games. He could of really made a statement for a place. He really does not look interested at all. All the talent but the boy is going nowhere with that mentality. Fair enough he lost his place and did not deserve it but that was almost a year ago. How long will he sulk for? For everything Jose is, miserable arrogant and strange decisions, you have to give him credit the way he has treated Shaw this year who looked more doomed than Martial. Martial needs to take a leaf out of his book and do something. Yesterday was pathetic.

 

[HailtotheKing]

We're a mid table team. Win some, lose some, nearly every game is a struggle and there is no excitement in watching us play.
Meh as usual. It easily could have gone the other way.

How can you possibly say there's no excitement in watching us play? I was chewing my nails through half of that half. Yes we backed off and rode our luck but we defended very well and we murdered so many counters. Had we managed to get one of those it would've been a different story. Not to mention all the chances we had in the first half.

 

[Billy Blaggs]

I think we have the most talented squad in the league or at the very least its debatable and De Gea is awesome. I guess even a horrible manager cant mess that up all the time. Its enough to just barely luck out with 3 points in a game like this.
Nonetheless uninspiring.

A horrible manager? Bog off!!
They were unbeaten!

 

[MyOnlySolskjaer]

Fellaini sitting in front of the centre backs made Matic redundant imo. Generally a decent performance against a team that's been in great form, but clinging on for dear life at the end.

For an away game against a team that’s won 4 in a row. I’ve got no issues with the lineup and it worked. Both were good physical presences and ultimately that was the difference.

 

[haram]

We need to be killing games off the counter like we did at the start of last season. There was no reason for that game to be that nervy at the end.

Another nervy performance.

And what is the point of Lingard?

Are we going to say this anytime he does not have the best game? Was you saying this last season? Get off the guys back, we won.

 

[The Special One is God]

Tbh I’m not sure how people can say this as definitively as they have been. He played 20 mins and his sample size was too small. People are talking as if he failed to control the ball everytime. Either that or they are taking that moron Keown literally who was accusing him of playing a poor pass over and over when it was Valencia.

I hear people saying the old tired and lame excuse "Martial only played 20 minutes."

Gareth Bale won the Champions League for Real Madrid by playing 20 minutes v Liverpool.

 

[Isotope]

We had many one touch plays that just wasn't there last season, so that's a definite welcome. We had many bodies on their box when attacking, that's a clear improvement. Our defence and midfield could go up against any team in the league.

It's our attack that just fall short though. (current) Sanchez, Lukaku, and Lingard are just not elite attacking group compared to Liverpool, City, and even Spurs. So many good ball supplied to the front on counter attack, but the lack of quality up front just kill them. The sub-standard fullbacks when attacking also doesn't help. It's just insane we kept prioritized another CB last summer.

 

[gerdm07]

I really like the new tactic of playing Pogba behind Lukaku at the end of matches when preserving a lead. It worked vs Burnley and worked today and will lead to goals late in matches. So many reason to continue this:

- Pogba needs less defensive duties because of his fatigue at the end of matches
- He is tremendous at protecting the ball and gives our defense a break
- He can be fabulous on the break
- He and Lukaku work well together

Good stuff from Mou!

Other points
- Sanchez and Lukaku have no cohesion
- Martial is still pretty dumb. I don't understand why he tried to pass when he should have taken on his man and on top of that I don't see why he can't execute it fairly simple pass.

 

[sglowrider]

Thats the difference between us and City, Liverpool.

We seem to play for 45minutes only whilst the other two teams are relentless and go after you for all 90mins.

 

[Cantonagotmehere]

Only watched the last 30 mins, thought we were horrible to watch, Watford were unlucky not to grab a point.
The red card, can't moan about it 2 bookable fouls.
Fallaini was very good and deserved man of the match.

Worth watching the whole thing. Lots of good moments. Tough to stay United were shit today.

 

[tenpoless]

Smallingdinho.

Sanchez still shite, Martial still shite.
Oh wow... When will They ever "click" with the team or perform up to their capabilities?

 

[ErranMorad]

Good away win against a team on a high. Smalling & De Gea were great. Fellaini, Pogba & Matic were good.

Annoying that we still can only perform in patches. We have periods in the game where we look like world beaters and periods where we look like relegation battlers hanging on to dear life. Still don't dominate games like we should. Started the game well, then Watford were over us until we scored the goals; dominated the rest of the half. Second half gave the initiative to them in spite of being comfortable with our 2-0 lead. De Gea again had to bail us out as we couldn't counter well or just continuously gave them the ball rather than keeping it.

 

[phunky]

Pogba was very good until they scored, then seemed to become strangely obsessed with getting the ball and standing still with it trying to fend off the entire opposition team.

Matic played well but it was like he saw Rashford's red card last week and felt the need to try and out stupid it.

Fellaini always looks a decent player when he actually has a defined role in the team. The problem with him is that this happens about one in every ten games he starts. Today you could tell what he was in the team to do and that he was doing it very well.

Valencia looked like he'd been told before the game that if he ran over a certain speed or distance he would explode.

Can't deny Lukaku's knack for scoring goals even when he plays like Emile Heskey, but I still prefer the version of him that scores goals without playing like Emile Heskey.

I thought we were decent in the first half, though Watford having some kind of meltdown after we scored turned it into looking like we were thrashing them. Second half I was actually really impressed with how we were playing it out from the back quickly and picking out our forward players, despite being put under pressure. Problem was that a) all of our forward players were guilty of being given the ball in great situations, and cocking it up, and b) wiith 10 minutes to go we just decided to completely stop doing this for no real reason other than to allow Watford to attack with more players.

I can also understand hw Martial frustrates Mourinho. Brings him on with the game stretched in the perfect situation for him. Almost instantly he's fed a great ball putting him 1 on 1 with the full back...and instead of takking him on he cuts inside but so slowly that the fullback just walks back into his way, then just stands there.

There are some players who are cool enough to have a stupid hairstyle and transcend the fact it makes them look like an idiot. Smalling is at the exact opposite end of this spectrum. In that even if he had cool hair it would still make him look like an idiot.

Noodle's post-match analyses are always a delight to read when we win.

 

[Irish Jet]

It was a tough win against an unbeaten side. Most people were picking us to lose myself included.

This f*cking place.