Did we believe the hype?

Originally Posted by BarryX

Great post Sparky, although we've still got a mountain to climb in terms of competing for title. There's a ridiculous gap in goal difference between us and the three teams above us (City +50).

We're nowhere near them mate. Not even remotely close. And being brutally honest with you i don't think we'll be getting near them whilst Guardiola is still there. He's got them to a level approaching what he had at barcelona circa 2009-2011. It's taken him 7 years but he's got there, he's perfected his machine.

our great run involved us coming back from behind because of manager had set up wrong in the first place.

if anything we’ve believed the hype of a manager who hasn’t spent well and can’t seem to set us up properly and then can’t see what’s wrong during the game and counter it.

our run is similar to that ole away run when her get coming back from behind.

I think we did.

I certainly thought the sort of toss we’ve seen from the last 2 matches was behind us.

The problem is the gap between the first choice and the rest and that we've lost 4 really key first choice players who are part of the spine, Varane, Martinez Casimero and Eriksen

The last two have talked a while to get back fit again.

Meanwhile he's massively improved the 2 full backs and Rashford and Garnacho and Bruno has been well Bruno.

People complaining about tactics etc we can all take a different view and I'm a bit with Jem about having a proper 3 in midfield for some games as it takes the pressure off a bit but then our real problem is scoring goals and effectively Sancho and Martial.

Look at what he's done to the defence imagine what he can do up front...mouth watering for next year

Anyone doubting him - Luke Shaw marking Haaland out of the City Game...astonishing piece of tactics.

Also handled Ronaldo/Maguire very well.

I think much of the criticism has to be tempered by the fact that, as a lot have said, the squad is still full of shit.


1st team fit and firing has shown itself able to compete, but so many of the 2nd string just aren't fit to be here.

Fred
McTom
Maguire
Dalot I don't particularly rate
Sancho has been awful
Martial
Wout


Just nowhere near good enough.


That said, he definitely needs to sort his away game management out. There's been no excuse for some of the really odd decisions he seems to make sometimes.

I wouldn't judge EtH's in game management until he's got his own squad tbh. He's currently swapping shite for shite and there's nothing he can do about it.

Desperate for Garnacho to play fully fit.

Originally Posted by magic_cantona

I wouldn't judge EtH's in game management until he's got his own squad tbh. He's currently swapping shite for shite and there's nothing he can do about it.

Desperate for Garnacho to play fully fit.

Does every manager need 10 of their own players to set a team up properly?
I’m not anti ETH fwiw - just being critical….

Seems like a daft thing to say, you can’t judge a managers in game management without all of their own players?

Originally Posted by magic_cantona

I wouldn't judge EtH's in game management until he's got his own squad tbh. He's currently swapping shite for shite and there's nothing he can do about it.

Desperate for Garnacho to play fully fit.

Yeah, that's true to a point but his away record is a huge concern.

Unless you think that our squad is worse than, say, West Ham's which is clearly not true.

Like Armchair said, not as good as we thought we were, not as bad as we think we are now.

Main problem is over reliance on Rashford (and to a degree Bruno). More goals from the team and we can overcome some changes in defence etc but currently no Rashers no party. And he’s never going to score 30 a season.

Originally Posted by magic_cantona

We're where we are now because we have been very good. Too many games, some awful luck with a squad packed full of other managers players and now we're seeing the struggle. If we'd have been £#%&! all through the season, we wouldn't be as tired and broken as we are now.

Could work out better this way anyway. Giving the murderers false hope of CL and then snatching it away

We do have to qualify for this to pan out though obv.

The state of this thread ffs.

Originally Posted by redhegemony

Look at what he's done to the defence imagine what he can do up front...mouth watering for next year

.

we are in a 'run in' not even to win the title but to just qualify for champions league football.
we have a decent squad and are in crunch time we have so far taken 4 points from a possible 12 and our 11 point gap over our rivals could be gone next game.

"he" isn't do anything right. absolutely nothing.

Originally Posted by Ethers

The state of this thread ffs.

I was a leedle bit drunk

Originally Posted by marlo

we are in a 'run in' not even to win the title but to just qualify for champions league football.
we have a decent squad and are in crunch time we have so far taken 4 points from a possible 12 and our 11 point gap over our rivals could be gone next game.

"he" isn't do anything right. absolutely nothing.

Christ you’re non-stop. Your position on ETH was cemented 2 games in, he’s made a @#%&! of you ever since and now in an entirely predictable turn of events the team is struggling following the relentless nature of the season and you’re hellbent on pushing your angle to prove you weren’t wrong. You were. You are. Save it.

We haven't believed the hype, we've created it.

But who could blame us? Expectations were not great and the team's performances have often exceeded them causing us, as football supporters often do, to get all giddy and think we're going to win a load of silverware I expect the end of the season will probably have us slightly above where we were realistically expecting to before it began.

Originally Posted by Sparky***

it was the first trophy Manchester United had won in SIX £#%&!ing years. We were well within our rights to enjoy it for what it was.

The fact is we started the season short of players in certain areas and as the season has progressed the squad has only got weaker.

Ronaldo left and wasn't replaced.
Mason Greenwood will never play again and hasn't been replaced.
Van De beek out of the season.
Eriksen missed two and a half months.
Casemiro missed about 8 games.
Garnacho out for nearly two months.
Martinez out for the season and Varane just missing games all over the place.

The squad that wasn't to quality to begin with has been absolutely rinsed. the owners couldn't be bothered to invest anything in January either. No other club in the top 4 has had to contend with either the fixture pile up or the injuries we have.

The players are exhausted and as a result you're getting about 30 mins or so of decent-ish football followed by an hour of lacklustre crap.

It's nothing to do with hype or belief and everything to do with the realities of top level sport.

Nailed it, as usual. IMHO of course

Originally Posted by marlo

we are in a 'run in' not even to win the title but to just qualify for champions league football.
we have a decent squad and are in crunch time we have so far taken 4 points from a possible 12 and our 11 point gap over our rivals could be gone next game.

"he" isn't do anything right. absolutely nothing.

You appear to be loving it though mate, never seen you on here so much.

Your posting frequency seems to directly correlate with our form. Very strange.

He was nowhere to be seen while we weren’t losing for 20-odd games and progressing through the cups.

We've played 33 games since Christmas. Almost a full season of games in 5 months.

The players are £#%&!ed, we've had injuries aots and losing Varane and Martinez at the same time is a kick in the balls.

This season has gone better than most expected and if we can limp over the line and get champions league football, it will be classed as a good season, possibly over achieving given the state of us last year.

If we manage to beat City in the cup final, it's an excellent season and we will kick on

Originally Posted by Sparky***

it was the first trophy Manchester United had won in SIX £#%&!ing years. We were well within our rights to enjoy it for what it was.

The fact is we started the season short of players in certain areas and as the season has progressed the squad has only got weaker.

Ronaldo left and wasn't replaced.
Mason Greenwood will never play again and hasn't been replaced.
Van De beek out of the season.
Eriksen missed two and a half months.
Casemiro missed about 8 games.
Garnacho out for nearly two months.
Martinez out for the season and Varane just missing games all over the place.

The squad that wasn't to quality to begin with has been absolutely rinsed. the owners couldn't be bothered to invest anything in January either. No other club in the top 4 has had to contend with either the fixture pile up or the injuries we have.

The players are exhausted and as a result you're getting about 30 mins or so of decent-ish football followed by an hour of lacklustre crap.

It's nothing to do with hype or belief and everything to do with the realities of top level sport.

Made £#%&! all difference, let's be fair.

Originally Posted by dunk

He was nowhere to be seen while we weren’t losing for 20-odd games and progressing through the cups.

TBF that’s a bit selective. He felt we were in a title race around the time of Arsenal away.