OFFICIAL: Manchester United v Liverpool|Premier League|Saturday 10th March 2018|12:30|Sky Sports

Originally Posted by Denis Irwell

Can understand some of the angst etc re: playing style but it’s a results game. We can be as pretty as we like but if we finish 8th a) he’d be sacked and b) the fallout worse than it is. Only the Abu media leading the gallant fight against “anti-football “ is happening because it’s United. Never a murmur when he did this with Chelsea. We admired Juve and the Milan clubs doing likewise for years whilst pouring scorn on our naïveté. The fact is that the majority on here know nothing but the Ferie years and have little or no perspective. Let’s lay the foundations and build a team on that before soiling yourselves. What you’ve just lived through with SAF is not going to happen again. Even the great Liverpool sides were built on results first (and universally admired) and apart from that, all we’ve had are passing, flattering-to-deceive flourishes from certain clubs that are soon sussed and snuffed out. I’m sure Jose is every bit as aware of the “United way” just as he is about our youth traditions. City have had a distinct advantage and head start on us and were worse than us last season. They’re allowed to build without this continuous, tedious whingeing and whining.

Not true. He got it plenty at Chelsea, which is why he complained last season that Conte won the title playing counter attacking football without the sort of sneering he received doing similar. The scrutiny is more severe at United, but as it should be.

Fergie going is no excuse for United playing defensive football. It's a tough transition but there's no reason we cannot get back on top playing proactive football. But Mourinho built Real Madrid to be a counter attacking side, so any suggestion that his doing so here is a temporary measure is massively optimistic.

Originally Posted by believe

I’ve no issues with any of the above but rewriting events that didn’t actually happen in a game we won seem a bit of a strange way to make a point.

that didn't happen.

Originally Posted by jem

and universally derided for scabbing a penalty and then passing back to the keeper for 70 minutes?

They weren’t even universally derided in Manchester.

Originally Posted by S/Side.Red

Not true. He got it plenty at Chelsea, which is why he complained last season that Conte won the title playing counter attacking football without the sort of sneering he received doing similar. The scrutiny is more severe at United, but as it should be.

Fergie going is no excuse for United playing defensive football. It's a tough transition but there's no reason we cannot get back on top playing proactive football. But Mourinho built Real Madrid to be a counter attacking side, so any suggestion that his doing so here is a temporary measure is massively optimistic.

You could say that about any of the top six.

Fergie going has had a traumatic effect on the club after his 26 year hands on influence. You aren’t going to get pretty football whilst trying to stay relevant/successful. Not even Pep could manage that even with his Saudi budget and pre-employment preparations. Whatever, it’s unreasonable to suggest otherwise.

I won’t change your mind and cba but I have no idea why you maintain any apparent interest in the club when your expectations will never be met, be it under Pep, Poch or the next latest and greatest...

Originally Posted by S/Side.Red

Not true. He got it plenty at Chelsea, which is why he complained last season that Conte won the title playing counter attacking football without the sort of sneering he received doing similar. The scrutiny is more severe at United, but as it should be.

Fergie going is no excuse for United playing defensive football. It's a tough transition but there's no reason we cannot get back on top playing proactive football. But Mourinho built Real Madrid to be a counter attacking side, so any suggestion that his doing so here is a temporary measure is massively optimistic.

Scoring twice first half then sitting back and killing the game, maybe nicking another on the break against the weaker sides was the M.O. of his Chelsea sides. The main difference is they usually made the breakthrough via set pieces rather than long balls aimed at Zlat/Lukaku/Fellaini and picking up the pieces.

I enjoyed the first half at weekend. It felt positive and was how I'd expect us to play against a much vaunted attacking team, and the positivity and aggression shown in winning the ball back and putting them under pressure was miles better than anything we've done for ages. Then second half was horrible. The complete opposite of the first.

Originally Posted by dunk

Scoring twice first half then sitting back and killing the game, maybe nicking another on the break against the weaker sides was the M.O. of his Chelsea sides. The main difference is they usually made the breakthrough via set pieces rather than long balls aimed at Zlat/Lukaku/Fellaini and picking up the pieces.

I enjoyed the first half at weekend. It felt positive and was how I'd expect us to play against a much vaunted attacking team, and the positivity and aggression shown in winning the ball back and putting them under pressure was miles better than anything we've done for ages. Then second half was horrible. The complete opposite of the first.

Dunk....I was sat in k stand so was able to appreciate the defensive performance 2nd half....very solid, well disciplined, no panic....defending is part of the game, we wax lyrical about Maldeni and Baresi but apparently we aren’t allowed to do it...course we all love swashbuckling attack for 90 mins, but ffs let’s just appreciate a good plan that worked well

Originally Posted by Denis Irwell

They weren’t even universally derided in Manchester.



You could say that about any of the top six.

Fergie going has had a traumatic effect on the club after his 26 year hands on influence. You aren’t going to get pretty football whilst trying to stay relevant/successful. Not even Pep could manage that even with his Saudi budget and pre-employment preparations. Whatever, it’s unreasonable to suggest otherwise.

I won’t change your mind and cba but I have no idea why you maintain any apparent interest in the club when your expectations will never be met, be it under Pep, Poch or the next latest and greatest...

Bizarre thing to say when I continue to get stick for my support of the previous manager, which was largely because I appreciated what he was trying to do in the face of inconsistent results.

You still haven’t really explained why playing proactively is an unreasonable thing to expect. Just repeating that Fergie leaving is tough isn’t really a decent explanation. The other three members of the top four all play positive football. We can’t give it a go because Fergie left five years ago?

Originally Posted by no fun

Dunk....I was sat in k stand so was able to appreciate the defensive performance 2nd half....very solid, well disciplined, no panic....defending is part of the game, we wax lyrical about Maldeni and Baresi but apparently we aren’t allowed to do it...course we all love swashbuckling attack for 90 mins, but ffs let’s just appreciate a good plan that worked well

It was unnecessary is the point. We defended well, because we had to, because of how we set up.

Why not just carry on doing what we were doing first half? Even if just for the first 10-15 minutes, instead of inviting pressure and the inevitable conceding of a goal? (even if we have to score it ourselves).

There was plenty of panic btw. That's why we couldn't keep the ball for more than 5 seconds. Probs only The Scottish Player who showed any composure, and Matic tbf, when on the ball.

Originally Posted by dunk

It was unnecessary is the point. We defended well, because we had to, because of how we set up.

Why not just carry on doing what we were doing first half? Even if just for the first 10-15 minutes, instead of inviting pressure and the inevitable conceding of a goal? (even if we have to score it ourselves).

Liverpool’s strength is speed up front

Put a wall up and they are too £#%&!ing thick to implement a plan b

So if we had stormed forward in the second half we would have been vulnerable to being hit on the break

Right decision, right result

Originally Posted by no fun

Liverpool’s strength is speed up front

Put a wall up and they are too £#%&!ing thick to implement a plan b

So if we had stormed forward in the second half we would have been vulnerable to being hit on the break

Right decision, right result

We'd completely nullified them first half without inviting pressure. We didn't concede first half, did second. We didn't 'storm' forward at any point in the first half either. Or at any point in Mourinho's tenure tbf

Right result, wrong decision.

Originally Posted by no fun

Liverpool’s strength is speed up front

Put a wall up and they are too £#%&!ing thick to implement a plan b

So if we had stormed forward in the second half we would have been vulnerable to being hit on the break

Right decision, right result

Do you think they really wanted to hurt us?

Originally Posted by jaffo

Do you think they really wanted to hurt us?

Do you think they wanted to MAKE. US. CRY

Originally Posted by jaffo

Do you think they really wanted to hurt us?

Originally Posted by Bunker Buster

Do you think they wanted to MAKE. US. CRY

Ha ha ha

@#%&!s

Originally Posted by no fun

Put a wall up and they are too £#%&!ing thick to implement a plan b

Tell that to Juve

Originally Posted by General Woundwort

Tell that to Juve

What on earth are you talking about?

Never happened

seems to be a bit of revisionism re the first half. it wasn't as bad as the second, but we still couldn't retain possession and the fact that they failed to turn possession into chances wasn't really down to good defending. we looked light on numbers in midfield and the punts downfield that didn't land at rashford's feet via lukaku's head were just giving posssession back to liverpool. van gaal's possession for its own sake is better than mourinho's back 6 and long clearances.

in any case, handing the intiative to the opposition is never a good idea. carry the threat.

Originally Posted by General Woundwort

Tell that to Juve

Originally Posted by jem

van gaal's possession for its own sake is better than mourinho's back 6 and long clearances.

Not against teams that employ high tempo high press and score the majority of their goals after dispossessing the opposition in their own half

Originally Posted by General Woundwort

Tell that to Juve

Originally Posted by forwardirektion

Not against teams that employ high tempo high press and score the majority of their goals after dispossessing the opposition in their own half

that's not really an excuse for giving away posssession and sitting back.

Originally Posted by jem

that's not really an excuse for giving away posssession and sitting back.

Yes it is, it's exactly how we won the europa league final. Jose even said that was the plan afterwards.

"Can't tackle us in our own half if we kick the ball straight to their back 4"