elampiro:


Jones played for 88 mins. He did marvelously well when Balotelli came on.

His departure should even count negatively for him, not positively.

a defender that made 84% pass completion, bagged a needless yellow card because of his lack of positional sense & lost a tackle can't be better than carrick that did more in those categories - carrick bagged no card, the only defender that wasn't cautioned on the night.

salute to carrick, please!

coogar:


a defender that made 84% pass completion, bagged a needless yellow card because of his lack of positional sense & lost a tackle can't be better than carrick that did more in those categories - carrick bagged no card, the only defender that wasn't cautioned on the night.

salute to carrick, please!

okay. All are our players. Carrick did well.

My worry is how the selection will be when everyone is fit. But that's Gaal's headache. Let me relax and enjoy.

I've seriously got a question?

How exactly did Sterling missed that goal? As in, all he needed to do was to lift the ball a little higher or he should have just shot immediately after the first dribble.

I will still keep Jones & Smalling as CBs, they are both immense when fit & are still very young. these little injuries will be behind them soon. at worst sign them up to pay as you play while we get a leader @ the back, but its more certain Evans will be sold - he should have been that leader but his confidence is in tatters.

this was an Evans who'ld step in for Rio or Vidic when the need arose, & performed like no-one ever left in the first place. SMH

coogar:


where in that comment did i suggest strootman is a defender?



i will take a half-fit hummels over the shambles we paraded this afternoon. we cannot win nada with this backline & we should stop hoping their fitness will improve - these centre-halves are sick notes - it's their genetic code.

You said we need 3 defenders and then, proceeded to mention Hummel, Godin and Strootman. So, what was I supposed to think?
As a matter of fact, we don't even need Strootman in midfield nor 'defence'.

‘De Gea could have saved the
Titanic!’ – Man United fans
laud superstar shot-stopper

SailorXY:
I will still keep Jones & Smalling as CBs, they are both immense when fit & are still very young. these little injuries will be behind them soon. at worst sign them up to pay as you play while we get a leader @ the back, but its more certain Evans will be sold - he should have been that leader but his confidence is in tatters.

this was an Evans who'ld step in for Rio or Vidic when the need arose, & performed like no-one ever left in the first place. SMH

I agree with you on Jones, he should be given some time and Fellani should be benched for three consecutive games, the only thing he's offering the team is just the physicality, his slow game tempo and unnecessary back pass could give one heart attack.

Karleb:
I've seriously got a question?

How exactly did Sterling missed that goal? As in, all he needed to do was to lift the ball a little higher or he should have just shot immediately after the first dribble.

Two things. DDG made it hard for him by not falling. DDG did like he was going down but he allowed Sterling to beat him, then he chase after him like a defender.

Second thing was Sterling did have a back up plan for what he wanted to do. He expected DDG to fall, and DDG did not fall. Sterling was shocked DDG recovered to prevent him clear access to the net. If Sterling knew his plan was to beat the goal keeper, he should have rounded him fast by touching the ball diagonally to the left twice (left-forward, left-forward) before hitting into empty net.

elampiro:


okay. All are our players. Carrick did well.

My worry is how the selection will be when everyone is fit. But that's Gaal's headache. Let me relax and enjoy.

rafael will fall back into position & shaw will fall back to position. young & valencia will go back to the bench insha allah......i still prefer valencia in the centre of the midfield than as RB or LB.

the midfield picks itself....
di maria, blind/carrick, fellaini/herrera/mata will occupy the mid-3. it depends on the opposition & who knows, blind can play LB if shaw's fitness doesn't improve.

the attack should be VP, rooney & falcao. when everyone is fit, van gaal will go back to his 4-3-1-2 formation with rooney playing in the hole to service falcao & VP. FA cup will soon join the league games - plenty of games to go round & none of the players should complain, really.

Karleb:
I've seriously got a question?
How exactly did Sterling missed that goal? As in, all he needed to do was to lift the ball a little higher or he should have just shot immediately after the first dribble.

he was wrong footed!

Shirley07:

You said we need 3 defenders and then, proceeded to mention Hummel, Godin and Strootman. So, what was I supposed to think?
As a matter of fact, we don't even need Strootman in midfield nor 'defence'.

we need a henchman!
carrick & blind are too similar. there are games where we need a bull terrier, fellaini does it decently at times though but his passing is horrible & he has the pace of a snail.

Shirley07:

You said we need 3 defenders and then, proceeded to mention Hummel, Godin and Strootman. So, what was I supposed to think?
As a matter of fact, we don't even need Strootman in midfield nor 'defence'.

Reason.

looking at it again, sterling should be hung, he should have struck the ball on his sexing touch. he had no reason to touch it for the 3rd time.....

coogar:
looking at it again, sterling should be hung, he should have struck the ball on his sexing touch. he had no reason to touch it for the 3rd time.....

Its obvious De gea is saving grace for Man Utd @ the moment, but how long will Man Utd rely on a goalkeeper?

coded01:

Its obvious De gea is saving grace for Man Utd @ the moment, but how long will Man Utd rely on a goalkeeper?

de gea isn't a separate entity from united. he's our player. any of our players can cop heroic displays that get the team a victory. saying we rely on our own player to get us 3 points is malicious.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2873435/Manchester-United-3-0-Liverpool-PLAYER-RATINGS-David-Gea-stars-hosts-Raheem-Sterling-endures-afternoon-forget-hapless-Merseysiders.html

You agree or North ?

coogar:


rafael will fall back into position & shaw will fall back to position. young & valencia will go back to the bench insha allah......i still prefer valencia in the centre of the midfield than as RB or LB.

the midfield picks itself....
di maria, blind/carrick, fellaini/herrera/mata will occupy the mid-3. it depends on the opposition & who knows, blind can play LB if shaw's fitness doesn't improve.

the attack should be VP, rooney & falcao. when everyone is fit, van gaal will go back to his 4-3-1-2 formation with rooney playing in the hole to service falcao & VP. FA cup will soon join the league games - plenty of games to go round & none of the players should complain, really.



he was wrong footed!




we need a henchman!
carrick & blind are too similar. there are games where we need a bull terrier, fellaini does it decently at times though but his passing is horrible & he has the pace of a snail.

We already have Herrera for that. Infact, what we should be talking is how similar both Herrera and Strootman are. Both are box to box midfielders. And from what we've seen from Di Maria so far, he's more comfortable in midfield than on the wings. That's another box to box CM we have on our hand.

What we actually need is a playmaker that can knit play together in the centre of play and that player isn't Strootman, I would rather have his team mate, Pjanic or a player like Verratti. These are the players the team need, Carrick and Blind have tried their best to knit play together but there's little they can do as they aint playmakers, they are holding midfielders.
Infact, they are being burdened with two works and once either of them is marked out, the team is a goner just like the team did against Leicester when Blind was marked out.

elampiro:


Reason.

See my response to @Coogar.

Shirley07:

We already have Herrera for that. Infact, what we should be talking is how similar are both Herrera and Strootman. Both are box to box midfielders. And from what we've seen from Di Maria so far, he's more comfortable in midfield than on the wings. That's another box to box CM we have on our hand.
What we actually need is a playmaker that can knit play together in the centre of play and that player isn't Strootman, I would rather have his team mate, Pjanic or a player like Verratti. These are the players the team need, Carrick and Blind have tried their best to knit play together but there's little they can do as they aint playmakers, they are holding midfielders. Infact, they are being burdened with two works and once either of them is marked out, the team is a goner just like it did against Leicester when Blind was marked out.

mata can knit play together......
it is when you put burden on him to do defensive job that he collapses. only a genius like him could have assisted RVP for the 3rd goal. we have enough creative players in that team, what we lack is steel especially when we don't have the ball.

we need:
•strootman or vidal
•godin + hummels + varane

From my own point of view, we need the players to be fit, too much of new players hurts a team, the injured players should get fit on time, buying and buying gurantees nothing, wage turnovers on the long run. Herrera, mata, di maria, fellaini, blind were bought to help in that aspect, we still wanna buy more, too many cooks spoil the broth. Defenders are needed instead, preferably blacks with pace and tactical awareness

coogar:


mata can knit play together......
it is when you put burden on him to do defensive job that he collapses. only a genius like him could have assisted RVP for the 3rd goal. we have enough creative players in that team, what we lack is steel especially when we don't have the ball.

we need:
•strootman or vidal
•godin + hummels + varane

Mata is not a playmaker.
Do you see how Silva conduct play? Now, that's a playmaker and I bet Silva is burdened with defensive duties as much as Mata.
Mata is not even an AMC like Ozil, James, Gotze, he's basically a second striker.
What you're failing to grasp is the playmaking aspect, not creativity. Both are two different things. For example, Xavi do the playmaking for Barca, Iniesta and the forwards do the creativity. However the platform for their creativity is Xavi's playmaking. Without it, Barca lose their penetration and incisiveness. Same with Madrid whenever they had Alonso out, they were out of sort, although they have Kroos in his place now.
What Manutd need is a playmaker.

Shirley07:

Mata is not a playmaker.
Do you see how Silva conduct play? Now, that's a playmaker and I bet Silva is burdened with defensive duties as much as Mata.
Mata is not even an AMC like Ozil, James, Gotze, he's basically a second striker.

it's easy to be a david silva when you have 5 grown gorillas doing the dirty work. who's our equivalent of yaya toure? fernandinho? fernando? kompany? mangala? even city's fullbacks are all solid(clichy, sagna, kolarov & zabaleta).

they only have flair players in the advanced area of the team.....nasri, silva, navas, aguero, etc. this is why you can't really compare mata to silva. silva has all the freedom to express himself with the knowledge that he has gorillas covering his arsë. mata doesn't have that kinda luxury with us.

What you're failing to grasp is the playmaking aspect, not creativity. Both are two different things. For example, Xavi do the playmaking for Barca, Iniesta and the forwards do the creativity. However the platform for their creativity is Xavi's playmaking. Without it, Barca lose their penetration and incisiveness. Same with Madrid whenever they had Alonso out, they were out of sort, although they have Kroos in his place now. What Manutd need is a playmaker.

mata is an excellent playmaker!
then you have rooney, herrera, januzaj, di maria, etc. the problem with these players is that we don't have a pivot strong enough to let them express themselves - so we instruct them to defend from the front & track back. not every player likes to defend & run around like a headless chicken.

if you want to see the best of mata - play vidal + strootman behind him.

coogar:


it's easy to be a david silva when you have 5 grown gorillas doing the dirty work. who's our equivalent of yaya toure? fernandinho? fernando? kompany? mangala? even city's fullbacks are all solid(clichy, sagna, kolarov & zabaleta).

they only have flair players in the advanced area of the team.....nasri, silva, navas, aguero, etc. this is why you can't really compare mata to silva. silva has all the freedom to express himself with the knowledge that he has gorillas covering his arsë. mata doesn't have that kinda luxury with us.



mata is an excellent playmaker!
then you have rooney, herrera, januzaj, di maria, etc. the problem with these players is that we don't have a pivot strong enough to let them express themselves - so we instruct them to defend from the front & track back. not every player likes to defend & run around like a headless chicken.

if you want to see the best of mata - play vidal + strootman behind him.

It's a myth that Toure provides steel. He's reformed his game into attacking play long time ago.
The only player sanctioned with defensive duties are Fernando and Fernandinho and even then, only one out of them plays coupled with the fact that Fernadinho is a box to box CM, turned into a makeshift DM by City.
Fernadinho is at his best in a box to box role and that was where he made his name at Donetsk. So, that leave Fernando as the only true DM City have.
We also have our own DM which is Blind and let me made it known to you that before his injury, he was ranked among top 3 players with the highest no of tackles and interception in the league. He's also not just a DM for us, he's been a player who knit up our play and contributes to our build-up play. I'm sure when he's relieved of such burden, he would even contribute much more in the defensive aspect.
Also, with all the defensive gadgets City have, they are still poor in europe. You know why? Because they failed to deploy Silva the right way. Instead of the centre, he's forced on the wing to accommodate two strikers.
City's best game against top teams in europe still remains the Barca game where they had Silva in the centre. In that game, Silva was the best player on the pitch and this he archived while playing with an out of sort Yaya and a deflated Fernandinho in midfield yet, he was still able to outclass Xavi, Iniesta, Messi and co. Unfortunately, City lost the game because their forwards went on holiday despite the chances Silva fashioned out for them.
That said, I still don't get how Mata being invisible in games relate to not having DM in midfield. It's more like him not having a playmaker to knit play behind him, like Kagawa did for him when he was here. Have you also noticed that Iniesta drop in form coincided with Xavi's decline. Iniesta find it difficult to get his mojo back because he lacks penetration and incisiveness from the midfield. And this is a player who's 10 times better than Mata and not a second striker!
What Manutd need is a playmaker, not Mata nor Strootman!

Shirley07:

It's a myth that Toure provides steel. He's reformed his game into attacking play long time ago.

toure provides steel. he's a beast at breaking down plays - he does exactly what fellaini does for us but much better at it. he has the drive to bring the ball forward from the deep end & create chances. he's a box to box dynamo midfielder. his energy levels might have gone down a notch but he still provides steel.

The only player sanctioned with defensive duties are Fernando and Fernandinho and even then, only one out of them plays coupled with the fact that Fernadinho is a box to box CM, turned into a makeshift DM by City.
Fernadinho is at his best in a box to box role and that was where he made his name at Donetsk. So, that leave Fernando as the only true DM City have.

the 3 of them are gorillas - we don't have anyone as strong as them in our team. when you have kompany, mangala, & those 3 destroyers in the same team then the creative players get the license to roam & express themselves without fear or fervour.

We also have our own DM which is Blind and let me made it known to you that before his injury, he was ranked among top 3 players with the highest no of tackles and interception in the league. He's also not just a DM for us, he's been a player who knit up our play and contributes to our build-up play. I'm sure when he's relieved of such burden, he would even contribute much more in the defensive aspect.

blind is just a young carrick.....
his strength is mostly positioning & interception. he's not much of a hard tackler & he doesn't travel with the ball like toure does. he needs to bulk up too to withstand the physical demands of his role.

Also, with all the defensive gadgets City have, they are still poor in europe. You know why? Because they failed to deploy Silva the right way. Instead of the centre, he's forced on the wing to accommodate two strikers.

city's failure in europe is just teething problems. they don't know how to manage games in europe yet & that's to do with their inexperience as a team. city's 2nd team is better than arsënal but arsenal manage european games better than city cos of their experience over the years.....the tactical approach, the confidence & the psychological angle are all important too. it's one thing to be good, it's another thing to know how to win.

City's best game against top teams in europe still remains the Barca game where they had Silva in the centre. In that game, Silva was the best player on the pitch and this he archived while playing with an out of sort Yaya and a deflated Fernandinho in midfield yet, he was still able to outclass Xavi, Iniesta, Messi and co. Unfortunately, City lost the game because their forwards went on holiday despite the chances Silva fashioned out for them.

the 3 players floating behind city's striker are fluid. they all roam and occupy different positions as the game dictates. silva isn't really an out & out winger. he often gets into the hole to deliver a killer pass. he's mostly everywhere. their attacking football is fluid!

That said, I still don't get how Mata being invisible in games relate to not having DM in midfield. It's more like him not having a playmaker to knit play behind him, like Kagawa did for him when he was here. Have you also noticed that Iniesta drop in form coincided with Xavi's decline. Iniesta find it difficult to get his mojo back because he lacks penetration and incisiveness from the midfield. And this is a player who's 10 times better than Mata and not a second striker!
What Manutd need is a playmaker, not Mata nor Strootman!

without 2 strong DMs behind mata, the burden falls on his shoulders to track back & make up for the deficiencies in the pivot. last season, we had a very weak midfield & the AMs were asked to protect the pivot - and that takes something away from their attacking play.

trequartista should be what they are - modern football is destroying the game by making everyone defend like zombies. if you have 2 centre halves & 2 DMs to protect the back 4, why is there another need to put AMs in defensive mode? that's 7-9 players in defence, it blunts attacking football.

coogar:


de gea isn't a separate entity from united. he's our player. any of our players can cop heroic displays that get the team a victory. saying we rely on our own player to get us 3 points is malicious.

The unbeatable David de Gea stops almost seven certain goals...



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcExHd-fw1I

If anyone was the main man in the Clásico-type game in the Premier League between Manchester United and Liverpool at Old Trafford, it was United's Spanish goalkeeper David de Gea. He held his side together during the difficult moments and then became a veritable nightmare for the Liverpool forwards. His six notable saves:

12th minute: Sterling receives the ball in the area and tries to get round the advancing De Gea with a hard, low shot but De Gea throws himself down and saves it.

24th minute: Sterling again. This time he unleashes a hard shot before he reaches De Gea, but De Gea tips it round for a corner.

51st minute: Sterling's final try. He takes advantage of a defensive error by Evans and appears to dribble the ball past De Gea, but when he strikes the ball towards goal, De Gea stops it, this time with his foot.

67th minute: Sterling crosses to Balotelli, whose shot is pushed onto the bar by De Gea.

81st minute: Balotelli swivels round inside the area, controls the ball but shoots straight to where De Gea is protecting the goal.

85th minute: Balotelli's third attempt, again with no luck. He goes one-to-one with the United keeper, but De Gea deals with the situation very competently.

http://www.marca.com/en/2014/12/14/en/football/international_football/1418587112.html

coogar:


to think carrick - a makeshift defender was our best defender today just tells you everything you need to know. van gaal should move jones, evans & smalling to crystal palace. we need 3 fit defenders. hummels, godin & strootman will do this january.

roma are out of champions league - strootman has no excuses now than to join us.

Seconded

Shirley07:

Mata is not a playmaker.
Do you see how Silva conduct play? Now, that's a playmaker and I bet Silva is burdened with defensive duties as much as Mata.
Mata is not even an AMC like Ozil, James, Gotze, he's basically a second striker.
What you're failing to grasp is the playmaking aspect, not creativity. Both are two different things. For example, Xavi do the playmaking for Barca, Iniesta and the forwards do the creativity. However the platform for their creativity is Xavi's playmaking. Without it, Barca lose their penetration and incisiveness. Same with Madrid whenever they had Alonso out, they were out of sort, although they have Kroos in his place now.
What Manutd need is a playmaker.

Who was Chelsea's playmaker When Mata was with them ?
A playmaker can be creative in fact creativity is one of the most important attributes of this footballing Role.

Alan Shearer: Michael Carrick is Man
United’s best midfielder and best
centre-back

SIRcumalot:

Who was Chelsea's playmaker. When Mata was with them ?
A playmaker can be creative in fact creativity is one of the most important attributes of this footballing Role.

No one in particular during Drogba era which was all about grit and physicality but after Drogba exit and Oscar arrival, Oscar became the playmaker until Chelsea signed Fabregas.
It's a myth that Mata was unstoppable at Chelsea. He was only unstoppable against teams that afforded him space but against teams that denied him space in midfield, he was gash. We all know the reason he was always good against us which was because of our open and gash midfield which allowed him to waltz through unhindered but against teams like City, Pool, Swansea, Southampton e.t.c, he was found wanting. And apart from his goals against Arsenal, he was always his invisible self against them.
His champion league performance were even the poorest. At that time, some Chelsea fans, including my bro said it was because the team had ugly style of play, relying on grit and also, it was his 1st season with them.
Fastforwarded to his 2nd season when Oscar and Hazard were signed, his performances in the CL were even more gash. He was so out of sort against Juve and Donetsk, was invisible throughout the game while the newcomers (Oscar and Hazard) were pulling up their weight and doing something useful in the game but no, Mata was his useless self except against Norjalland where he put on his commando hat.
And when Bennitez was appointed as Chelsea Coach, the team had a counter attacking playing style which was built around Mata. This allowed him to thrive but even then, he was still his useless self against those aforementioned teams like Swansea which dumped them out of the F.a cup, Man City, Liverpool e.t.c.
How do I know this? Because I watches majority of Chelsea games with my bro.
The funny thing is people just look at his stats for Chelsea and start to cream their pants, forgetting that he was Chelsea's chief set piece taker (corners and freekicks) which increased his stats and he himself is a natural stat padder. For example in Chelsea game against Donetsk where he was invisible and useless, he was still able to make an assist for Moses' goal through a corner kick. He was a stat padder for Chelsea and even now, for us. It's so sad that Mourinho discovered that earlier before Manutd's coach did.
For the umpeteeth time, Mata aint a playmaker!

Shirley07:

No one in particular during Drogba era which was all about grit and physicality but after Drogba exit and Oscar arrival, Oscar became the playmaker until Chelsea signed Fabregas.

For the umpeteeth time, Mata aint a playmaker!

This is enough answer that lengthy tirade just makes me think you personally hate the guy.
Well I disagree with you, Mata was Chelsea Playmaker,and one of the finest in the league at that time,he was two time CFC player of the year in that role which is impressive for a stat Padder!!
I myself have greatly adjust my expectations since he joined us,it obvious that for Mata to shine for us we'll have to recreate the same environment he thrived in at Chelsea which won't be good for anybody except Mata.
I thought Chelsea Physical style of play ended with Jose first stint with the Club, the style of play wasn't employed by AVB or Carlo Ancelotti ?

Shirley07:

No one in particular during Drogba era which was all about grit and physicality but after Drogba exit and Oscar arrival, Oscar became the playmaker until Chelsea signed Fabregas.
It's a myth that Mata was unstoppable at Chelsea. He was only unstoppable against teams that afforded him space but against teams that denied him space in midfield, he was gash. We all know the reason he was always good against us which was because of our open and gash midfield which allowed him to waltz through unhindered but against teams like City, Pool, Swansea, Southampton e.t.c, he was found wanting. And apart from his goals against Arsenal, he was always his invisible self against them.
His champion league performance were even the poorest. At that time, some Chelsea fans, including my bro said it was because the team had ugly style of play, relying on grit and also, it was his 1st season with them.
Fastforwarded to his 2nd season when Oscar and Hazard were signed, his performances in the CL were even more gash. He was so out of sort against Juve and Donetsk, was invisible throughout the game while the newcomers (Oscar and Hazard) were pulling up their weight and doing something useful in the game but no, Mata was his useless self except against Norjalland where he put on his commando hat.
And when Bennitez was appointed as Chelsea Coach, the team had a counter attacking playing style which was built around Mata. This allowed him to thrive but even then, he was still his useless self against those aforementioned teams like Swansea which dumped them out of the F.a cup, Man City, Liverpool e.t.c.
How do I know this? Because I watches majority of Chelsea games with my bro.
The funny thing is people just look at his stats for Chelsea and start to cream their pants, forgetting that he was Chelsea's chief set piece taker (corners and freekicks) which increased his stats and he himself is a natural stat padder. For example in Chelsea game against Donetsk where he was invisible and useless, he was still able to make an assist for Moses' goal through a corner kick. He was a stat padder for Chelsea and even now, for us. It's so sad that Mourinho discovered that earlier before Manutd's coach did.
For the umpeteeth time, Mata aint a playmaker!

My nigga this is 2014, you need to upgrade from OGBC2 FM Stereo to flatscreen HD signal.

Oscar was the playmaker

SailorXY:
Fellaini better raise his game from the previous performance.

so Fletcher still dey make bench sef smh

he is d vice captain what did u expect?

^^^Mata is not the problem with our midfield, he ultimately may not be a starter with time but he's a useful player to have - being a 'stat padder' can only be a good thing.
we will do well to sign Strootman and Vidal. we have playmakers like Blind, Carrick di Maria & Herrera. Herrera & Blind are mobile & press opponents well but don't have as much energy when they are on the ball. we need that man to stand toe to toe with rugged players, Fellaini does that well but his tekkers & pace is terrible which disrupts our flow definitely. he's still a good option or plan B!

coded01:



Its obvious De gea is saving grace for Man Utd @ the moment, but how long will Man Utd rely on a goalkeeper?

ah! mate,thought u were sitting Shiva yesterday... celebrating already are we?