When we are back - I hope we lose the mystique of 'Big' grounds/opponents

RedStarUnited

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Just over 10 years ago I went to the Emirates to watch Peps Barca play Arsenal. The first half of that match, I had never seen a big team go to another 'big' team and dominate them so much. I don't think Arsenal came out of their half. You would never have known that Barcelona were the away team.

Since then, One of my favourite things about Pep has been cocky self belief that no matter who or where he plays, he can set his team to dominate and cause problems. As far as I can remember, even in Fergie's prime, we always had an air of respect for certain teams and grounds. For example, our most dominant win at Anfield was probably under LVG. A lot of the games with Fergy were tight games.

Liverpool have scored 4 and 5 in their last 2 games at OT. We have played Liverpool teams much worse than the current United team and not once have we gone to their ground and put 4/5 past them. You can say its because Liverpool played the games of their seasons against us or you can listen to someone like Gary Neville who was in those Fergy teams and he will tell you that we approached Anfield games with a lot of respect no matter how bad they were compared to us at the time. Last year, Gary Neville and Carragher had an argument about the approach United took when we played them at Anfield. Jamie was adamant we should have gone for Liverpools neck and Gary was saying that 'this is still Anfield', video below..



Before this match, Liverpool lost 1-0 to Southampton and the next match after us they lost 1-0 to Burnley at home. We were top of the league. In the return leg at OT they put 4 past us as by then their confidence was back and ours was gone.

When our luck changes and we play Liverpool in dire straits, I hope we remember these games and hammer them. Forget about where we are playing, let our level of quality tell the difference.
 
I agree with this. Even in the SAF era we always went to these grounds with caution and would rarely dominate. I cannot wait for the day we go back to Anfield/Etihad and destroy these teams.
 
I full heartedly agree with this, Fergie has a classical and old fashioned view in this regard and I think it cost us a lot especially in Europe where many games where we should have won or had gone for the kill didn't turn in our favor.

You also have to consider that a lot has changed as well , although of the mystique and the supposed "atmosphere" doesn't exist anymore in fact I'll argue that most big clubs have a far worse atmosphere compared to the more passionate smaller ones simply due to the fact that those clubs have become so commercialized that a lot of match going fans don't bother or are simply unable to help create an imposing atmosphere (not saying whether its right or wrong), just look at the Barcelona game the other day and what befall the mighty nou camp.

I'll expect us losing this mentality as fast as Eric walks in as he simply wouldn't be as well acquainted with this concept and is coming from a foreign country.
 
You can't use games against this United in this conversation. We are an appalling disinterested bunch. Sir Alex's United would have ripped this bunch apart.
 
RedStarUnited said:
Just over 10 years ago I went to the Emirates to watch Peps Barca play Arsenal. The first half of that match, I had never seen a big team go to another 'big' team and dominate them so much. I don't think Arsenal came out of their half. You would never have known that Barcelona were the away team.

Since then, One of my favourite things about Pep has been cocky self belief that no matter who or where he plays, he can set his team to dominate and cause problems. As far as I can remember, even in Fergie's prime, we always had an air of respect for certain teams and grounds. For example, our most dominant win at Anfield was probably under LVG. A lot of the games with Fergy were tight games.

Liverpool have scored 4 and 5 in their last 2 games at OT. We have played Liverpool teams much worse than the current United team and not once have we gone to their ground and put 4/5 past them. You can say its because Liverpool played the games of their seasons against us or you can listen to someone like Gary Neville who was in those Fergy teams and he will tell you that we approached Anfield games with a lot of respect no matter how bad they were compared to us at the time. Last year, Gary Neville and Carragher had an argument about the approach United took when we played them at Anfield. Jamie was adamant we should have gone for Liverpools neck and Gary was saying that 'this is still Anfield', video below..



Before this match, Liverpool lost 1-0 to Southampton and the next match after us they lost 1-0 to Burnley at home. We were top of the league. In the return leg at OT they put 4 past us as by then their confidence was back and ours was gone.

When our luck changes and we play Liverpool in dire straits, I hope we remember these games and hammer them. Forget about where we are playing, let our level of quality tell the difference.
Click to expand...

When was this?
 
amolbhatia50k said:
You can't use games against this United in this conversation. We are an appalling disinterested bunch. Sir Alex's United would have ripped this bunch apart.
Click to expand...
He has a point, just look at our early 2000s team , we were dominant to the truest sense of the world and we still approached games like this with apprehension .
Even when we dominated juve who ended up cl finalists that season we were cautious, and I argue that the same mentality cost us the tie with Madrid in a season were we were by far the beat team in Europe. That's not how klopp sees it , he didn't give a shit it was old Trafford, he simply gone for our jugular.
 
I fully agree.

It's one of the reasons I didn't want Conte.

I want a manager who will set us up to go out and dominate the ball/opposition no matter where we play them.
 
To be fair to Fergie, we were challenging on 2-3 fronts year in year out. He would plan his teams 3 games in advance and this is why he was such a master at squad management. It’s why we had certain players that would feature in certain games and then he out of the first team. And let’s be honest, it was bloody effective.

People will remember the 5-0, and 4-0 for a while but more than that, people will remember that this United team were shocking against all of our opponents, and that Liverpool were one of the dominant teams in the era.
 
I don't agree with aura around being the home team. If the visiting team is better and has the confidence and form, go for the jugular. It's a game, ''respecting'' the occasion/stadium is total nonsense.
 
Football was different then, draws were a better result in the league. If you needed 80 points instead of 90 points to win the league, you can get away with 8-9 draws per season. There was also some residue of 2 points for a win systems in managers minds, where 2 draws is as good as 1 win and 1 loss, whereas now it’s so long past it that nobody thinks draws are as good results as they were.
 
Looking back, even Fergie's teams were set up like a bunch of cowards
 
Skills said:
Looking back, even Fergie's teams were set up like a bunch of cowards
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The worst one was the season before the end against City which they won with a Kompany header. I can’t remember the exact team but I remember Rooney up front on his own and Park Ji Sung trying to mark Touré, it was one of the most defensive games Ferguson ever played, I remember thinking that cost us the title because we were better than we set up.

But Ferguson was often bold in the early days, most of his United career in fact, it was only really last 5 years where it got a lot more negative in those big away games.
 
Its more to do with the way the game has gone much much softer. Go back and watch some of those united liverpool games from the 90's and watch the way the tackles fly in. The refs let alot more go and stuff that these days is a straight red wasn't even called as a foul sometimes.

You couldn't just turn up an anfield in a big Derby game with a baying crowd and try and strut around playing pretty football, you would get kicked off the park the crowd would love it and lift Liverpool to a different level. These days you can't kick anyone off the park you would go down to ten/nine men before you had even got going.

The aggressive physical side of the game is almost gone in comparison to what is used to be, much easier to turn up somewhere and play your football.
 
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