patrickmuf:
Our team play is disjointed, we don't defend and press as a unit...

I hope you watched the role Robertson and TAA played in the destruction of Chelsea yesterday? That's what modern elite wing backs do not what we get from Shaw and Wan-Bissaka. I don't need to talk about their midfielders and CBs who push high up the pitch to make the field compact.

KingAlabi:

......and you just mentioned shaw.
I give up on this thread.
so Shaw doesn't offer anything attacking wise like Robertson?

Abeg you no know ball, at all!!

excel127:
Who else noticed how our players slide very often on the pitch. Like there's is problem with their boots or the stadiums turf.
Olé needs to look into that too

patrickmuf:
You are a clown...How many times have we seen Shaw released down the wing let his delivery hits the first man? If you think Shaw offers close to what you can get from Robertson then it's obvious you do not want the progress of our club and that's if you're a Manchester United fan and not an imposter...

KingAlabi:

......and you just mentioned shaw.
I give up on this thread.
so Shaw doesn't offer anything attacking wise like Robertson?

Abeg you no know ball, at all!!

handelex:
Seems like across our backline, each one of them lacks atleast one essential skill required for top level football. Shaw can't cross and find a man for shit, Bissaka is always dribbling and falling, Maguire moves like a Cruise ship, Lindelof seems to get bullied everytime... I don't know, just my contemplation.

Lana1:
Birmingham retired Jude Bellingham's jersey.

The boy better turn Ronaldo for Dortmund.

sylvalord:
Below is a lengthy but very important article

[James Ducker-Tier 1 for everything Man Utd related] A purge is coming at Manchester United - and by over-playing his strongest XI, Solskjaer is sending a clear message

[b]Recent matches proof of how thin on quality United's squad is, and recognition Solskjaer's trust does not extend far beyond flogged first XI

The message to Manchester United’s board should have been ringing loud and clear in recent weeks but if they were in any doubt about how Ole Gunnar Solskjaer really feels about the make-up of his squad, all the evidence was there against West Ham at Old Trafford on Wednesday night.

United had got back on level terms soon after the restart thanks to the latest piece of artistry from Mason Greenwood but, as the second half wore on, fatigue took root and a lethargic team was screaming out for fresh legs in search of a winner, Solskjaer did nothing.

The ineffectual Timothy Fosu-Mensah had made way for Aaron Wan-Bissaka at right-back at half-time but it was not until the 85th minute that Odion Ighalo was introduced for Marcus Rashford, who still appeared to be feeling the acute after-effects of Sunday’s miserable FA Cup semi-final defeat to Chelsea, when he spent the majority of the game chasing shadows.

Solskjaer’s critics may view such inaction as another indication that the United manager has no Plan B. Others will regard it as further proof of just how thin United’s squad is, and recognition that Solskjaer’s trust does not extend very far beyond the first XI he has been flogging for weeks. If ever Solskjaer was telling his paymasters that he needs more players, and better players, it was here. Jesse Lingard, Juan Mata and Daniel James were all on the bench, and stayed there, and Solskjaer’s post-match assessment was revealing.

“We wanted to have goalscorers out there and score goals,” he said. “We know Bruno [Fernandes], Paul [Pogba], Mason, Anthony [Martial], they can create a goal in any second, Marcus as well. We wanted to win the game, of course, it would have been nice to go into Sunday with a win but we are where we are.”

No matter that all of that quintet, with the probable exception of Greenwood, looked pretty shot against West Ham as the game limped to a close, and will have to do it all again on Sunday, when a point at Leicester City will be enough to guarantee Champions League qualification. Solskjaer has entrusted a select few to get his team over the line and there has been no wavering from that, even if he must be craving more quality options to supplement those exhausted bodies.

The danger, of course, is that United clinch a top-four spot, and perhaps win the Europa League next month, and the club’s hierarchy underestimate just how much this squad still needs to get into a position to realistically challenge for the title again. That, or United’s finances in this Covid-19 climate, do not stretch very far beyond a costly bid for the Borussia Dortmund and England winger Jadon Sancho, unless additional funds can be raised through sales.

Solskjaer and his assistant, Mike Phelan, felt United needed nine new players when they took over permanently and, 16 months on, little has changed. They have got four in but still need another five - a right winger, striker, midfielder, centre-half and probably another full-back, too, when you consider how Luke Shaw’s injury has left them looking particularly light in that area. And that is assuming the goalkeeper conundrum can be resolved from within the resources the club already has. David De Gea’s reaction against West Ham to his calamitous showing at Wembley was impressive but whether he can cut out these lapses over the longer-term remains to be seen at a time when Sergio Romero and Dean Henderson are knocking on the door.

Fernandes has played all bar 61 minutes of United’s eight Premier League matches in the month since the restart, plus all 210 minutes of the FA Cup ties against Norwich and Chelsea, and the heavy workload has started to take a toll. But Solskjaer does not have another playmaker he trusts to call upon. Despite the allowance for nine substitutes now, Wednesday was only the third league squad Lingard has made since lockdown and Mata has played just 20 minutes in the league over that time. Any notion that United do not need another creative midfielder is entirely misplaced.

Rashford has missed just 37 minutes of Premier League football in the past month, Martial only 55 minutes. And since coming on as second-half substitutes in the first game back against Tottenham on June 19, Pogba, Greenwood and Nemanja Matic have missed just 63, 70 and 110 minutes of league football respectively. And in the case of the one league game Matic has not started since Spurs, Solskjaer could not wait to get the Serb on the pitch against Crystal Palace.

Contrast these statistics to other members of the squad: James has played 54 minutes of league football since starting and being substituted against Tottenham, Fred has made one league start, and Andreas Pereira has been nowhere to be seen. Even Scott McTominay, whom Solskjaer does trust and who can count himself unfortunate not to have played more, cannot get a look in. As for the lesser-spotted Diogo Dalot, forget it.

Solskjaer has been forming judgements for some time but the dismal performances by many of his fringe players in the narrow 2-1 FA Cup quarter-final win against Norwich clearly seem to have hardened opinions and some of the stand-ins did little to burnish their reputations against Chelsea. It cannot be easy coming in from the cold, and Fred - who benefited from a sustained run of games earlier in the season in the absence of the injured Pogba and McTominay - looked woefully undercooked at Wembley. Yet it is hard to see how some of the players are going to get the game-time they need to at least get to a level where Solskjaer feels comfortable playing them.

Solskjaer has chosen his words very carefully in public and that has been to his credit but he has demonstrated a ruthless streak in the way he decisively discarded the likes of Marouane Fellaini, Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez, and his recent team selections only support the view that there is another significant purge to come.

From languishing in 14th position, seven points adrift of fourth, in late October, United have clambered their way up to third with a game to go when, after back-to-back defeats to Liverpool and Burnley in January, they looked spent. They will hope they have just enough left in their legs to finish the job at the King Power Stadium. But, beyond that, this squad still needs significant replenishment, and Solskjaer knows that better than anyone.

Sources: https://www.reddit.com/r/reddevils/comments/hwdzu7/james_ducker_a_purge_is_coming_at_manchester
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2020/07/23/purge-coming-manchester-united-over-playing-strongest-xi-solskjaer/

Lana1:

sylvalord:
Ignore the irrelevant fools until they doubt their own existence!

Intermilanfan:
Dry.

handelex:
Meanwhile Jesse Lingard says he's back on the right track after dealing with 'off-the-field issues'

handelex:
The Premier League will consider allowing Manchester United, Manchester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers a delayed start to next season depending on how far they go in European competition.

The start date for the next campaign is due to be ratified as September 12 at a meeting of the 20 clubs on Friday, the final videoconference of the season, which is the latest weekend the Premier League has deemed workable to fit in all the games.

The league needs 34 weekends and four midweeks for its campaign but it also means that the players at United, City and Wolves could have very little time to prepare compared to their rivals.

Wolves, for example, played their first competitive fixture of this season on July 25 last year with a Europa League qualifier and if they go all the way to the final of the competition they will play until August 21.

handelex:
Wonder why Chelsea isn't being considered despite the club still playing in the Champions League..

iamoyindamola:

Calm down sir, I thought you caged God almighty (Jehovah/Allah)

handelex:
Wonder why Chelsea isn't being considered despite the club still playing in the Champions League..