[VanDeBank]

When you have overpaid players all over the pitch who think it’s alright because they are playing for Manchester United and are well paid, I think it’s a problem.
The club treats them as stars players when they have proved nothing for the club. So why should they be arsed ? It’s human nature. If you are not challenged you are less likely to give the best you can. A player as Ronaldo who can challenge themselves on a daily basis is very rare.

Maguire is an exemple of how we are mismanaged : overpaid players, overpaid transfers becoming the captain of a club while he just arrived and never proved anything at this level. How this guy can become the captain of the biggest club of English football ?

How would successfully negotiating a better contract for Martial (from the club's perspective) "challenge" him to be less shite?

I really think you're just being angry here (and justifiably so).

I know mate, that’s why I lost all hope of him long ago.

All I’m saying is, that right now I would prefer the risk he plays with, instead of having players in there who slow our tempo down and cannot be relied on to create anything offensively.

Well yes, that, and after X minutes he just cba to concentrate on his defensive duties. Even in that worldly against Leeds ( and my God was he good), he couldn't be arsed to track the Leeds fullback for the goal against us.

 

[Bestofthebest]

I don’t know if this is already in place but perhaps we should right into future players contracts that salaries are dependant on league position on a weekly basis. The higher up the league the higher the salary and vice versa. Problem is half this lot would never get paid and the better half would not sign.
On the feeling that we don’t blood enough youngsters all I can say is a lot of them do not look physically big enough, although many of them are very talented. A shame really because I‘d love to see some first teamers replaced by youth but feel it could ruin their confidence.
I am desperate for some sort of action to be taken before we become a laughingstock.

 

[MrBest]

Same problems new year. Shocking team selection, same players getting the same liberties that we saw under Ole. No DVB, no Lingard, we persist with the same trash that put us in this position. Matic legs are gone, Scott is average (yes he played well at Burnley but that game and Leeds are the only games he has done well this season), Greenwood came off and was our most creative player, midfield got overrun by a 352 and we tried a 442 againstbit. So many basic things going wrong, Wolves had 13 attempts in the first half, Cavani was anonymous, Ronaldo wasteful. This is just depressing now. Is RR actually in control of this team or is it Darren Fletcher? I've no idea anymore because this is not what I expected from RR and this is not his style of play.

 

[VanDeBank]

I don’t know if this is already in place but perhaps we should right into future players contracts that salaries are dependant on league position on a weekly basis. The higher up the league the higher the salary and vice versa. Problem is half this lot would never get paid and the better half would not sign.
On the feeling that we don’t blood enough youngsters all I can say is a lot of them do not look physically big enough, although many of them are very talented. A shame really because I‘d love to see some first teamers replaced by youth but feel it could ruin their confidence.
I am desperate for some sort of action to be taken before we become a laughingstock.

The confidence of the current first team lot maybe.

 

[Cantonagotmehere]

Why is our passing and link up play so bad? It's amazing, technically we are miles behind top 4, and other teams in Europe. I don't get it.

 

[NewGlory]

Seems some here discover Cavani. He couldn't dribble even if his life depended on it. On rare occasion he'll have moments of brilliance and display good passes but other than that,he's not that kind of player. He's almost exclusively a finisher and the less he touches the ball before shooting, the better it is.

I saw someone here comparing him to Rooney, it's ludicrous.

Well, that sucks

 

[Jacko21]

Can you tell which player is making his first appearance in two years? And which players look despondent before a ball is kicked?

 

[MUFC OK]

I don't know how it has come to this, but I actually miss Pogba in this team. He's more or less the only player we have that actually creates things and has vision - without being sloppy on the ball.

Bruno does aswell, but is too erratic to play in a two-man midfield. He is too inconsistent aswell on the ball that deep in the field. He is far more effective higher up the pitch, where it doesn't have the same implications too lose the ball or try something risky. I know a lot of the same can be said about Pogba, but he has shown before that he can be a bit more disciplined than most of us remember him for.

And believe me, I've wanted him booted out of this club for years now. Just says a lot about our performances lately that I miss him.

The majority want Pogba out, whilst championing the likes of Mctominay and Maguire.

I don’t blame pogba for wanting out, he’s a level above out other midfielders, even if he isn’t always shown the best of his ability.

 

[Redfrog]

How would successfully negotiating a better contract for Martial (from the club's perspective) "challenge" him to be less shite?

I really think you're just being angry here (and justifiably so).

I am not angry, really. I just think the board and the club as a whole is highly incompetent.
We can blame managers and players but the all club is badly run. As long as we don’t change that we won’t be seriously competing.

 

[RomfordRed75]

Just back from a 10 hour round trip for my daughters first ever game at Old Trafford.
Your first game should be something you never forget....I hope she does and very quickly!
Disgraceful performance today, a total embarrassment to the shirt (bar one or two) they looked clueless, nervous and devoid of ideas.
Worst thing is this is seemingly the norm now and I am not sure anyone has any idea how to change it.

 

[Redfrog]

Same problems new year. Shocking team selection, same players getting the same liberties that we saw under Ole. No DVB, no Lingard, we persist with the same trash that put us in this position. Matic legs are gone, Scott is average (yes he played well at Burnley but that game and Leeds are the only games he has done well this season), Greenwood came off and was our most creative player, midfield got overrun by a 352 and we tried a 442 againstbit. So many basic things going wrong, Wolves had 13 attempts in the first half, Cavani was anonymous, Ronaldo wasteful. This is just depressing now. Is RR actually in control of this team or is it Darren Fletcher? I've no idea anymore because this is not what I expected from RR and this is not his style of play.

If we played well against Burnley, it was only in the first half as I saw the second and we were poor.

 

[Che Guevara]

A couple of weeks ago I cautioned against counting games in hand and I got slaughtered.

 

[RedSky]

Was it confirmed Mason was took off due to injury?

 

[MrBest]

If we played well against Burnley, it was only in the first half as I saw the second and we were poor.

Sorry i am not sure what you are referring to. I mentioned Mctominays overall game against Burnley being good. I agree, first half we were better than we have been and in the second, as you said, back to square one.

 

[Nicoseth]

What the feck did I just watch? Pretty sure it was a bunch of overpaid, big-time charlies who lack the talent and mentality to play for Manchester United. Rangnick got it wrong tonight - no doubt. He needs to find a way to adapt quickly to this league as we're getting constantly outplayed as it is. But this issue is way more than him. I'm seeing players lose 50/50 challenges. I'm seeing them being petulant when they throw themselves on the ground and don't get a free kick. I'm seeing them sulk on the bench. I'm seeing them make selfish decisions over and over again on the field. And I'm seeing zero leadership from any player on the field. After thinking about this, here is my list of players who I think are actual 'United players' and others who are not. I'm not including everyone on this as some players haven't played enough this season to make it to either list:

Players who aren't fit to wear the shirt:
Shaw
Maguire
AWB
Lindelof
Telles
McTominay
Matic
Fred
Lingard
Rashford
Pogba

Players who deserve to wear it:
DDG
Varane
Bruno
Greenwood
Ronaldo
Cavani
Sancho

With a squad like this, we're in a spot of bother. No amount of coaching from Poch or Rangnick or anyone else is going to fix this quickly. This could take years before we see a team capable of competing for the top silverware.

 

[tjb]

There's a bit of slagging on Ralf going on that I believe is misplaced. The XI was about right, although I would have gone with Donny over Scotty, who really was pure shit tonight. But going with Scotty was on some level a defensible decision. In the end it was the midfield that just wasn't able to pull any strings whatsoever.

The back line did its job. Yes, we conceded a goal but it was yet another one of those career-worldie goals we seem to always cough up against clubs like Wolves. But how on earth we're unable to establish anything like cohesive play comes down to the players. Even if the Glazers called up one of us clowns to manage United the players should be able to create something on the back of pure instinct if nothing else.

We're in Dark Ages now and there's no light at the end of this tunnel. Two weeks ago I was sure we'd land fourth place. Now I have my doubts about landing sixth place.

At the end of the day, this is and has been what has made us relatively struggle for the last 8 years. How can you imprint any playing style in an effective manner when the engine of the team is terrible. We don't have a single midfielder that can resist the press or is defensively savvy. In addition to that, most our midfield can't pass and have heavy first touches. The league is at a place where almost any midfield you match up against has midfielders with some of these basic elements in their game. Yet we actually don't even have a premier league worthy holding midfielder. The midfielder we have that can pass, is always injured and is not very good defensively. We are getting hurt game after game due to the fact our central midfielders can't orchestrate or get the ball to move more quickly due to a lack of positioning, off the ball movement, anticipation and the basic technical skills of passing and having a good first touch.

Under Ole, we tried to mask this by circulating the ball slowly, whilst barely creating anything, as we had possession but couldn't move the ball consistently into the oppositions final third. With Rangnick, we have ended up seeing the true picture of what our midfield looks like. Constant battles with teams that have nowhere near the quality we do, sometimes even being dominated, whilst our rivals can pin these teams back with ease. Our attack has great players, our defenders have usually been ok, but our midfield has always been a problem.

 

[Redfrog]

Sorry i am not sure what you are referring to. I mentioned Mctominays overall game against Burnley being good. I agree, first half we were better than we have been and in the second, as you said, back to square one.

Sorry, I tired, didn’t read the post properly.

 

[Isotope]

maybe worth its own thread. Why did RR persist with Ronaldo and Cavani up-front? Both are too similar: good/great finishers, average passers and in creativity. It just doesn't make sense.

One of Ronaldo/Cavani/Greenwood/Rashford paired with Bruno/Sancho would make more sense.

 

[The Irish Connection]

On a positive note, Bruno should have scored, Sancho should have played Ronaldo in and Cavani should have played Greenwood in.

 

[Red the Bear]

I'm tired robbie

 

[TheRedHearted]

Well, obviously you can blame poor coaching if you want. For me when the players fail to make an easy pass or fail to control a ball or fail to make a decent cross, or if they decide to go for a glory shoot over their teammate who is in a much better position I know who I would rather blame.

But it always circles back to that they can't pass or make the right decision because they're so unorganized due to poor coaching.

 

[Sultan]

Schooled by Neves and Moutinho.

 

[sparx99]

On a positive note, Bruno should have scored, Sancho should have played Ronaldo in and Cavani should have played Greenwood in.

Those chances really highlight our attacking issues. We either make the wrong choice or miss a great chance and we aren’t making enough of them for it to not matter.

I remember Andy Cole getting tonnes of stock for missing chances but he ended up around top 5 pl goal scorers by the time he left Utd because we made so many chances back then.

If Bruno scores tonight we probably win. We had a couple of chances against Newcastle a few weeks ago to win it as well. We simply don’t have the margins with this team to miss the clear cut chances we do make.

Personally, I’d playa three man midfield. Mimic City and Liverpool. Yes, we know we are lacking in comparison but a poor imitation would still be significantly better than what we are currently seeing.

If I was setting us up right now with our all around issues I’d be playing something like below.

De Gea

AWB
Varane
Lindelof
Telles

Matic

Bruno
Van De Beek

Greenwood
Ronaldo
Sancho

When Greenwood cuts inside Bruno should overlap on the RW and deliver crosses into the box for Ronaldo. AWB holds position deeper as he’s useless going forward.

Meanwhile I reckon Van De Beek and Sancho operate on a similar give and go wavelength and could combine nicely.

Telles pushed really high as a virtual LW filling the space Sancho vacated while also delivering crosses for Ronaldo. Greenwood would also attack from the back post.

 

[RazorOz]

How bad must Donny be to not get a minute in this team under 2 managers now?

Said all season, and I still don't see why we're not playing 3 in midfield, whatever 2 we play aren't good enough to control a game.

 

[RedRonaldo]

We have one of the worst midfield in the league. There's no urgency in this team, no energy level, and no structure at all.

MCtominay is totally useless for us, he is playing for opponents
Sancho is massive flop
Rashford is a joke
Cavani probably has his mind on Barca, maybe he should go
Matic is old
AWB/Shaw should be replaced

Only positive is, Jones is clearly better than Maguire. So goodbye Maguire.

 

[parkthebuslads]

Is anyone as sick of hearing Cavani's song as I am ?

 

[always_hoping]

Previous 4 games v Wolves in Old Trafford

December 2020, 1-0 smash and grab Rashford with a late deflected winner

February 2020, Brunos debut dour 0-0

Jan 2020, a real struggle eventually won 1-0

September 2018 a 1-1 draw with Jose Mourinho saying afterwards "They were better and were more aggressive, had more intent and I don't know why but they were more motivated."

Sound familiar? That win for Wolves in Old Trafford was coming and this group of United players seemed to ignore the previous struggles at home to them and thought talent alone would get them 3 points..

 

[Utd7]

Yes definitely.
But that didn't happen and we are where we are.
There is no easy answer.
And things are not going to change in the short term.
The players just have to do all of the basics that premier league standard players should be able to do. Because it is pretty clear that they are not doing the basics.
But what bothers me most is why seemingly good players come to OT and deteriorate so quickly.
Why?

It’s the culture. Standards at the club have dropped post Fergie. That’s how you get players half-assing with minimal effort.

 

[stoinz]

I actually thought Sancho did quite ok. Mostly I see it as an issue with Matic and MCT and to some degree Ronaldo. Both midfielders love dallying on the ball resulting in needless pressure, missing good passing opportunities and always end up making bad passing decisions (to Ronaldo when he is rubbish holding the ball especially 2-3 defenders crowding in on him) or passing back to defense/goalkeeper.

Either they don't trust their team mates or they have no confidence in making the passes. It is especially bad when you compare it with Wolves midfield to attack, rarely they dally on the ball. You can tell the difference Bruno made when he came on.

Oh and Jones played really well. When he put his head on the line for that last freekick, I thought it was fate that we will sure equalize from there.

 

[Strelok]

Just back from a 10 hour round trip for my daughters first ever game at Old Trafford.
Your first game should be something you never forget....I hope she does and very quickly!
Disgraceful performance today, a total embarrassment to the shirt (bar one or two) they looked clueless, nervous and devoid of ideas.
Worst thing is this is seemingly the norm now and I am not sure anyone has any idea how to change it.

I do.

Drop the big name who can't trap a ball and pass properly, nor can run and press so we can bring back the high pressing and interplays. And most importantly can now play with 11 men instead of 10. Buy a good defensive midfielder. We'll play a much better football. At least we'll start to look like a team, like the one who finished second last season for example.

It's not rocket science. Ralf know this? Of course unless he's blind. Problem is it seems some big name is untouchable regardless of how shit his performances have been.

 

[DSG]

I hate watching this team.

Rangnick is shite. He’s not a genius. He’s not an innovator. He’s won nothing. Tool.

sick of the entire lot. We can’t pass. We can’t finish. We can’t defend.

 

[stoinz]

I do.

Drop the big name who can't trap a ball and pass properly, nor can run and press so we can bring back the high pressing and interplays. And most importantly can now play with 11 men instead of 10. Buy a good defensive midfielder. We'll play a much better football. At least we'll start to look like a team, like the one who finished second last season for example.

It's not rocket science. Ralf know this? Of course unless he's blind. Problem is it seems some big name is untouchable regardless of how shit his performances have been.

I don't think RR is the type that won't drop players. If you are referring to Ronaldo, I suspect it is something to do with lack of options than not wanting to dop him. It seems he doesn't trust Rashford very much and Martial has ruled himself out and he mentioned before Greenwood needs to bulk up more. Actually I dont think we have any strikers in our rank that can play the way RR wanted, maybe Martial on his day.

We can possibly ditch the 2 up front and have one of Ronaldo/Cavani rather than 2 at the same time. But not sure if changing formation is something which RR has implemented before or know how to do. Will be like asking French chef to make suishi.

 

[Ludens the Red]

I do.

Drop the big name who can't trap a ball and pass properly, nor can run and press so we can bring back the high pressing and interplays. And most importantly can now play with 11 men instead of 10. Buy a good defensive midfielder. We'll play a much better football. At least we'll start to look like a team, like the one who finished second last season for example.

It's not rocket science. Ralf know this? Of course unless he's blind. Problem is it seems some big name is untouchable regardless of how shit his performances have been.

You’ve described the entire team to be fair.

 

[BigBebe]

I got the kickoff time wrong so only switched on as Wolves scored. I thought that at least I would see 10 minutes of us really going for it. Wrong!

At that point, the average age of the team was approaching 29 years old - you can't really expect players in their 30s to have any sort of pressing game especially when you have played them right through the xmas period.

How bad were Greenwood and Sancho to have been taken off?

I thought that Ralf had a reputation for bringing through youth?

 

[Judas]

I got the kickoff time wrong so only switched on as Wolves scored. I thought that at least I would see 10 minutes of us really going for it. Wrong!

At that point, the average age of the team was approaching 29 years old - you can't really expect players in their 30s to have any sort of pressing game especially when you have played them right through the xmas period.

How bad were Greenwood and Sancho to have been taken off?

I thought that Ralf had a reputation for bringing through youth?

Greenwood shouldn't have come off, one of the few dangerous players we had. Sancho was awful, looks completely void of any confidence and his passing is just nervy.

Our entire team doesn't look like they're on the same wavelength, so little chemistry.

 

[rooneyberbatov]

I hope that RR has it in him to bench half of the squad against Villa. The only players who cared were De Gea, Jones, Greenwood, and Ronaldo/Cavani. Don't get me started on Rashford after coming in. The guy's done right now, his body language speaks volumes. Bring in the youngsters, or give me VdB/Mata/Fred in the middle. Can't get any worse, surely.

 

[norm87cro]

I wasn't even uspet when Wolves scored. That says a lot. Bruno should have scored but then it would have been double robbery since Wolves were the better team in our first game and we nicked that one.

 

[justsomebloke]

I wasn't even uspet when Wolves scored. That says a lot. Bruno should have scored but then it would have been double robbery since Wolves were the better team in our first game and we nicked that one.

I felt the same way. Wolves were impatient, imprecise and ineffective on the counterattack and toothless around and in our box. But when you allow that amount of corners and chances, sooner or later someone is going to get lucky.

 

[Ixion]

The only players who cared were De Gea, Jones, Greenwood, and Ronaldo/Cavani. Don't get me started on Rashford after coming in. The guy's done right now, his body language speaks volumes.

You're defending Ronaldo and Cavani after their performance and then slating Rashford for a 10 minute cameo? Their performances weren't good enough either and they should be told so.

 

[redcafe_reader]

But it always circles back to that they can't pass or make the right decision because they're so unorganized due to poor coaching.

Well as I said, you can blame the poor coaching all you want, it's your right. Our fanbase have been doing it for 4 managers in a row already, and I already know beforehand it will be the same with Rangnick