PAID: Manchester United v Wolves Official Match Thread

Originally Posted by My Name is Keith

Utter shit - shit atmosphere too. Beginning to dread matches at old Trafford - we seem to be far more up for it away. The front 3 were shit - need to £#%&! Sanchez off, he looks like he’s completely forgotten how to play football. Lindgard was gash as was Lukaku.

But Valencia wound me up the most - he stops absolutely anything happening down the right - takes absolutely no risks and grinds the pace of our attack down to the bare minimum.

As soon as we have a bit of a platform to build on (3 away wins) we £#%&! it up.

It’s going to be a shocker of a season. We’re already playing for top 4 and probably that 4 th spot.

No idea what the solution is but days like today make me feel like we need to bin half the squad and the manager.

Cheers. Missed it this afternoon. Sounds like an off day. Matic

Originally Posted by DuanePipe

Decent game. Fair result.

Wolves play the same team and the same way every time. Two midfielders, Moutinho and Neves. Can't help thinking that if Utd played with Pogba & Neves and we had Fellaini, that would have been a different result.

Great save from Patricio first half, two decent saves by DeGea.

Shaw was good. Delighted Fred got taken off early. Also happy to see Valencia in rather than Dalot as I knew Jota would get at him.

Utd seemed to run out of ideas once we conceded the ball for the last 20 minutes. We're a decent team with a good manager, but that defence you couldn't break down contained Matt Doherty, Ryan Bennett and Connor Coady - they're Championship players. Well coached, but they're still gonna prefer defending against hopeful balls in the box than slick passing (as proven by the goal you scored).

Yep the fred sub was bizzare and Dalot should have been playing rather than ‘stop the game’ tone.

Thought you were decent - defo will stay up and you even might finish above us.

Originally Posted by DuanePipe

Decent game. Fair result.

Wolves play the same team and the same way every time. Two midfielders, Moutinho and Neves. Can't help thinking that if Utd played with Pogba & Neves and we had Fellaini, that would have been a different result.

Great save from Patricio first half, two decent saves by DeGea.

Shaw was good. Delighted Fred got taken off early. Also happy to see Valencia in rather than Dalot as I knew Jota would get at him.

Utd seemed to run out of ideas once we conceded the ball for the last 20 minutes. We're a decent team with a good manager, but that defence you couldn't break down contained Matt Doherty, Ryan Bennett and Connor Coady - they're Championship players. Well coached, but they're still gonna prefer defending against hopeful balls in the box than slick passing (as proven by the goal you scored).

It's been that way for about 4 years now and it's genuinely baffling.

Originally Posted by Part 36 Offer

Mourinho

Pleased for ya

Originally Posted by ZiggyStardust

Well it is when the guy in charge can’t coach the team to be at least the sum of their parts or actually improve players

In what world would you expect any manager to take last year’s squad and make them league contenders against a team which got 100 points last season? As for improving players or the team being greater than the sum of its parts, 80+ points last year suggests something went right in that area. But maybe a better manager would have had them on 90+ eh, such is the untapped brilliance within the squad.

Why have klopp and guardiola needed to sign so many players? Why didn’t they just improve what they had? The idea of managers improving international standard players is quite frankly, %@#$&!s. It’s not their job.

Originally Posted by Sparky***

It's been that way for about 4 years now and it's genuinely baffling.

Against the best Utd teams of the past, the final twenty minutes used to feel like a slow death. You knew the goal was coming, pressure intensified, passing would remain on point and eventually you'd succumb to the inevitable. Now it just seems like whack it in and hope Fellaini can knock one down. I suppose that works on a percentages basis but that's a tactic that most teams will prefer to defend against.

Originally Posted by Jammy Dodger

In what world would you expect any manager to take last year’s squad and make them league contenders against a team which got 100 points last season? As for improving players or the team being greater than the sum of its parts, 80+ points last year suggests something went right in that area. But maybe a better manager would have had them on 90+ eh, such is the untapped brilliance within the squad.

Why have klopp and guardiola needed to sign so many players? Why didn’t they just improve what they had?

People mention that "he's not getting the best" out of them...

does anyone know what Lingard's 'best' looks like? What about Valencia? or Smalling...

I know Martial doesn't want to be here, Sanchez just looks like a woodward signing all over, awful so far... the rest?

Originally Posted by Sparky***

Loads of mediocre players who wouldn't get anywhere near another top side with ambitions.

Surely the manager of that top side would just improve those mediocre players though.

Originally Posted by DuanePipe

Against the best Utd teams of the past, the final twenty minutes used to feel like a slow death. You knew the goal was coming, pressure intensified, passing would remain on point and eventually you'd succumb to the inevitable. Now it just seems like whack it in and hope Fellaini can knock one down. I suppose that works on a percentages basis but that's a tactic that most teams will prefer to defend against.

It works against the more sophisticated teams where you have to play the percentages...

but against as you say, championship level players, they want the ball up in the air where they can attack it, facing away from their own goal.

Where they don't want to be is turned and getting run at. Or players getting to the by-line and cutting quality passes across the box that has them scrambling towards their own goal. that's what City and Liverpool do better than anyone.

Also we're criminally passive without the ball, surely you must have noticed how easy it was for you to play your way out of defence. We are a very slow, passive, reactive team that seeks to slow the game down all the time.

Originally Posted by Jammy Dodger

Surely the manager of that top side would just improve those mediocre players though.

Or, like Guardiola, immediately come in and identify the entire defence and goalkeeper as your main weakpoints and spend 300m rectifying it in one window.

They do it because it's clear they don't spend much time on practicing fast passing and movement in training hence why most performances are generally stodgy but especially towards the end when panic sets in as time runs out. And when you panic players defer responsibility hence long balls hoping for a lucky bounce or something becomes obvious to do.

It will sometimes work when you have big fellas to aim at as we have. But it shouldn't be the go to plan.

£#%&! having a plan B Make plan A better.

Originally Posted by Jammy Dodger

In what world would you expect any manager to take last year’s squad and make them league contenders against a team which got 100 points last season? As for improving players or the team being greater than the sum of its parts, 80+ points last year suggests something went right in that area. But maybe a better manager would have had them on 90+ eh, such is the untapped brilliance within the squad.

Why have klopp and guardiola needed to sign so many players? Why didn’t they just improve what they had? The idea of managers improving international standard players is quite frankly, %@#$&!s. It’s not their job.

You do realize Jose has signed players as well

It’s generally a combination of improving the players you inherited and signing players in the positions you need to upgrade

Klopp and Pep have done well on both counts while Jose has done poorly on both counts

And before you come back with “oh what about Pep getting Bravo and Nolito wrong” well so what. Every manager makes the odd dud signing and they were hardly big money signings anyway

Originally Posted by Sparky***

does anyone know what Lingard's 'best' looks like?

It’s a £#%&!ing joke. He gets a couple of goals over a three game stretch and every @#%&!’s calling him messi lingard . Absolute nothing player.

Now I’m sure i’ll hear how he’s young, homegrown, a squad player, Mata’s worse and I must hate players that come through the ranks.

“They play like I like to play, which is like the World Cup final,” the manager said. “That is the attitude I like my teams to have in every match. We didn’t have that. This is something you learn when you are a kid in the academy. You don’t need experiences at the highest level to learn that. It is a basic law of football.”

“I can’t explain the difference of attitude because I never had a difference of attitude. For me it is difficult to explain that"

Yea hard to believe they weren't inspired by this rousing speech:

“For sure, difficult season. I don’t change that because we won two matches in the Premier League. Difficult season for sure.

“You see the level of the teams – you see Liverpool squad, City squad, Chelsea squad, Tottenham squad, Arsenal improving. It’s going to be difficult. I am not saying we are going to have more points than last season because last season we collect a very acceptable level of points.”

Originally Posted by ZiggyStardust

And before you come back with “oh what about Pep getting Bravo and Nolito wrong” well so what. Every manager makes the odd dud signing and they were hardly big money signings anyway

Nice that you can have some balance and nuance when talking about managers of our rivals.

Under Mourinho, Manchester United have dropped 6 points from 7 games at Old Trafford against newly-promoted teams!

They only dropped 5 points against newly promoted teams in the TEN seasons before him!

.

Much as #Pogfeelings was a complete @#%&! for their goal, he was one of our more positive performers. The issue was his immaturity during a period when he and Utd were dominating the game, he did his usual dwelling in the ball and got caught out.

But in that last 20 he was positive, demanding the ball and urging the side forward. Lost count of the number of times he picked it up 40 yards from goal only to see the %@#$&!s Fellaini, Lukaku, Martial and Mata just melt into their back line and provide no option other than Mourinho’s oh so loved lofted ball towards Afro@#%&!’s shit head.

Had the above £#%&!wits possessed either a plan on how to attack coherently or at least shown some intelligence and variety in their movement he’d have had more options and given us more chance to open them up.

I’m no big fan of his, and I largely blame him for their goal, but I don’t hold him accountable for our pathetic attempts at forward play when chasing a winner.

Originally Posted by Jammy Dodger

The idea of managers improving international standard players is quite frankly, %@#$&!s. It’s not their job.

Honestly, amongst the mountain of absolute shit you've posted, that's the cherry.

Originally Posted by Jammy Dodger

It was the best we could hope for once the transfer window shut.

Harry Maguire would've improved our goal return no end

Decent game, United's attack is a mess though. I just don't understand the solution because even if the manager is ditched I think 1 or 2 have to go. Sanchez isn't working and I just don't see that changing, the right hand side is also %@#$&!s. No balance. If Rashford is to play from the left - when available - then there has to be an alternative to Lukaku when he has an off day (like today).

Fred's substitution was an odd one and Valencia boiled my piss. Keith's summed him up better than I can atm, I'm still £#%&!ed off with his dull approach play.

Originally Posted by sa7

Much as #Pogfeelings was a complete @#%&! for their goal, he was one of our more positive performers. The issue was his immaturity during a period when he and Utd were dominating the game, he did his usual dwelling in the ball and got caught out.

But in that last 20 he was positive, demanding the ball and urging the side forward. Lost count of the number of times he picked it up 40 yards from goal only to see the %@#$&!s Fellaini, Lukaku, Martial and Mata just melt into their back line and provide no option other than Mourinho’s oh so loved lofted ball towards Afro@#%&!’s shit head.

Had the above £#%&!wits possessed either a plan on how to attack coherently or at least shown some intelligence and variety in their movement he’d have had more options and given us more chance to open them up.

I’m no big fan of his, and I largely blame him for their goal, but I don’t hold him accountable for our pathetic attempts at forward play when chasing a winner.

Pretty much agree with this. The few chances we created all came through Pogba who was the only player who wanted the ball & who looked like he had the ability & confidence to open Wolves up. Lukaku was just a waste of a shirt. Lingard did nothing & Alexis looks lost in this team.
Pogba was piss poor in his defensive duties though & that is why he cops so much deserved flak. Absolutely infuriating watching him stroll around when Wolves were attacking
Still don’t see what Lindelof brings. Slow, weak & not the footballer I thought he was supposed to be .
Has Valencia forgot he used to be a winger, don’t recall one single cross from him.

Originally Posted by Jammy Dodger

The idea of managers improving international standard players is quite frankly, %@#$&!s. It’s not their job.

What is their job then? Get paid millions just to scribble 11 names on a paper and do some interviews?