*Official Match Thread* - Manchester United v Manchester City 25/10/15

Originally Posted by utd99

Same manager as the corresponding fixture last year when we played them off the park. The players have to own this one, the good and bad of it.

I'm not just talking about this fixture. We've got no balls. Van Gaal is a safety-first manager. It's unarguable that his teams are tedious to watch. The Internet reds can be as 'smart-arsed' as they wish but the football under VG is shite

Originally Posted by suedeshoes

I'm not just talking about this fixture. We've got no balls. Van Gaal is a safety-first manager. It's unarguable that his teams are tedious to watch. The Internet reds can be as 'smart-arsed' as they wish but the football under VG is shite

Team with poor attacking options in dull to watch shocker

Originally Posted by carlosartorial

Sparky has nailed it here.

Content with a point, on to the next game.

Pretty much this , stay in contention at the top .
Hopefully add another player in January

Originally Posted by dunk

That's simply not true. We did play with an element of caution, concerned about their pace on the break. We pushed but didn't have the requisite quality in the final third to force a breakthrough. City were content to sit and soak up the pressure as they knew we didn't have the personnel to trouble them.

If we'd pushed haphazardly and been picked off for 2 or 3 on the break, you'd have been complaining about lack of caution.

an element of caution?

in the 70th minute we 'broke' with two men. the attack broke down. rewatch the match for similar moments at your leisure. we are caution writ large. cowardly you might call it. I'm not asking anyone to push haphazardly. I'm asking for quality, effective attacking football from a squad of expertly coached professionals at the peak of their careers. or 'manchester united' as they used to be known.

the fact we didn't have the "requisite quality in the final third" isn't a mitigating factor. its the indictment. the entire £#%&!ing point. what is van gaal doing that this squad of proven and upcoming talents can muster about three shots on goal all game?

ranieri has made vardi (the @#%&!) look competent. we've got martial, mata, herrara, depay, rooney () and we look like dogshit week in week out.

Originally Posted by dunk

Team with poor attacking options in dull to watch shocker

I'd expect a 'world class manager' to get more out of Martial, Mata, Rooney and Herrera tbh (and Memphis and Wilson). His philosophy seems to be possession at all costs, regardless of any potential end result

Originally Posted by dunk

Team with poor attacking options in dull to watch shocker

And who is to blame for that?

Originally Posted by My Name is Keith

Thought we were the better team and just about deserved a win. A draw was a fair result more or less too. defensively we were outstanding - de bryne didn't get a sniff and sterling was nullified.

We simply don't have enough up front though - Rooney was ok but he needed to be excellent. Martial was nullified too easily and loaf head played excellently.

Their fans were abysmal - worst away fans of the year.

Overall I'm pretty chuffed with that - hate losing it and we didn't. A bit more upfront and we would have nicked it.

this, in spades..... (can't comment on the fans bit obv)

Originally Posted by woody78

Pretty much this , stay in contention at the top .
Hopefully add another player in January

If we can stay in contention while we try to develop a functioning attack then if our attack does click at some point we could go on to win the league

Originally Posted by irk

rooney is gash obviously. obvious to everyone except his fanboys.

rooney didn't win the game on his own. not quite gash. who else have we got? martial could have played up the middle and maybe wouldn't have seen the ball. ever.

Originally Posted by jem

rooney didn't win the game on his own. not quite gash. who else have we got? martial could have played up the middle and maybe wouldn't have seen the ball. ever.

rooney saw loads of the ball. just did £#%&! all with it. in terrible positions.

lip up fatty, i say.

Originally Posted by ZiggyStardust

If we can stay in contention while we try to develop a functioning attack then if our attack does click at some point we could go on to win the league

yup. I reckon if I could fly I could get on tv too.

Originally Posted by Tiberian

And who is to blame for that?

Originally Posted by irk

rooney saw loads of the ball. just did £#%&! all with it. in terrible positions.

lip up fatty, i say.

sure, but if martial was in the middle, on the last man, playing like a centre forward.... would he ever see the ball? not the way we play. at least wide, he gets involved (and played the pass of the game to lingard). if memphis was doing anything, he would be in ahead of rooney. but he's not. memphis and martial might be a partnership, but it isn't at the moment.

I miss nani.

Speaking as a Rooney fan boy I hope he £#%&!s off in January and we sign Harry Kane ....bored with his £#%&!ness now

Originally Posted by TheFatGoth

No striker on the bench today, is that on Moyes as well?

City were there for the taking, when we get a decent attack we will win games that we are now drawing.

Mene doing his best at getting hated at Anfield

United bound has to be.

We're United

The most over used, tedious phrase of the past few years. The 'United way' died years ago. It's modern football and we have a pragmatic manager brought in to steady the ship. If you can't take a few seasons of LvG you're in for a miserable time

Originally Posted by Sparky***

Great post.

We've currently got 1 player in our team who i would say is playing at his maximum, that's chris smalling. We had two but then Shaw broke his leg. Those were the only two players who looked in top form. The rest have all struggled at various points.

What the actual £#%&! are you on about

Originally Posted by Tiberian

No striker on the bench today, is that on Moyes as well?

So what's your solution to the fact that Van Gaal hasn't managed to complete a three year task in one year? Keep Falcao and Van Persie when neither were the solution, and both have gone on to do such stellar things elsewhere? Keep Welbeck and Chicha even though they were both varying degrees of shite and not what was required? Go and put a gun to Rumenigge's head and explain why either Muller's signature or his brains were going to be on that contract? What?

In any rebuilding situation you are going to have parts that progress faster than others, and if there weren't areas of the team that were incomplete, well then it wouldn't be a rebuilding situation any longer would it? Why don't you try just saying Van Gaal is the problem rather than asking these loaded questions intended for the recipient to to draw your conclusions for themselves?