[Browniee]

Get the feck in United!!
Happy weekend for once

 

[WyoManU]

Mixed feelings about this one. Of course the win and the 3 points away at Arsenal is a fantastic result and puts us into 4th place. However, we looked as awful as ever. In the first half it looked like nobody on our team even wanted the ball, and if they got it they had no idea what to do with it. I still fear for us this season. We look like we can lose almost every match we are in. Our injuries are also getting ridiculous. At some point we need some people to get fit and stay that way.

 

[Mali_Zeus]

I want to start this off by saying yes, I know we're shite too. If you want to reply, please don't just reply saying we're shite too - I know we are.

De Gea is a one man wall. He was brilliant. He made save after save and kept you in that match. Thought Smalling was very good and Blackett was poor. He looks bad on the ball. I don't think your midfield played well and I thought Arsenal controlled the game. Nearly all of your chamces came on the counter. Di Maria played very well and he's proving me wrong as I thought he was an unnecessary signing. It's incredible how much Van Persie has declined. He looks awful.

Dean was awful. Arse should have had a penlty and your first goal was offside. It evened out though as Rooney was onside on the attack immediately after the goal and Wilshere should have been sent off.

Van Gaal and your team still don't worry me.

A win is a win at the end of the day though.

Why should LVG and our team worry you, teams around you should worry you.

 

[Globule]

3 points from one of worst performances of the season. I'll take it.

We really need to start shoring up our backline, because DDG can't bail us out every match and not every team will be as wasteful as Arsenal. If the roles had been reversed I would be disappointed at not winning 5/6-0.

 

[Dobba]

The Tuesday Club will be good this week...

 

[SalfordRed1960]

Wilshere's was clear cut

Agreed. The only one really. Lots of hopeful little flicks and pot shots from 20 yards, but nothing other than Wilshire.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

Wenger saying about how they dominated the game and the fact that DDG was MOM says it all. You didn't score when you were on top. Tough.

 

[Robbie Boy]

What a strange match. Can't quite believe that we won.

 

[Dylan94]

3 points from one of worst performances of the season. I'll take it.

We really need to start shoring up our backline, because DDG can't bail us out every match and not every team will be as wasteful as Arsenal. If the roles had been reversed I would be disappointed at not winning 5/6-0.

Stop banging on about the performance all of you. Seriously. The performance is irrelevant today. Completely irrelevant. We have won away against Arsenal with half a squad and Shaw got injured on top of all the injuries we already had today too! This is a massive result and a great effort defensively from all the players today bar RvP. There's plenty of reasons to be annoyed at our other performances this season when we've had players fit. But not this one.

 

[Globule]

I want to start this off by saying yes, I know we're shite too. If you want to reply, please don't just reply saying we're shite too - I know we are.

De Gea is a one man wall. He was brilliant. He made save after save and kept you in that match. Thought Smalling was very good and Blackett was poor. He looks bad on the ball. I don't think your midfield played well and I thought Arsenal controlled the game. Nearly all of your chamces came on the counter. Di Maria played very well and he's proving me wrong as I thought he was an unnecessary signing. It's incredible how much Van Persie has declined. He looks awful.

Dean was awful. Arse should have had a penlty and your first goal was offside. It evened out though as Rooney was onside on the attack immediately after the goal and Wilshere should have been sent off.

Van Gaal and your team still don't worry me.

A win is a win at the end of the day though.

I just can't see how anyone can say Fellaini was offside. Dean was by no means awful, and if he did get a decision wrong it was letting that little runt Wilshere stay on.

 

[RORY65]

This game showed us that Rooney has to play upfront. As much as I like Van Persie but he needs to be dropped. No movement, no contribution, absolutely invisible. Even Fellaini has a better season so far than him.

Completely agreed, I don't like Wayne Rooney the man but it's time we have to recognise he's our best striker and we should stop fecking him around to accommodate someone who isn't performing.

Overall, I've never felt less fussed after a victory against Arsenal. At the start of the season the moral high ground nonsense about not spending as much as Chelsea and City recently went out of the window. The difference is they've never spent so much and been as poor as we are currently. Arsenal are rotten at the moment and yet we made them look great, especially in the first half an hour. There's talk on here of how we've improved and there's a clear philosophy, I've seen very little yet. We still can't defend, we're still not great to watch and the performances and results still aren't particularly good. I do believe Van Gaal will improve this team in time but the reality is given the backing he's had, it's pretty poor thus far. Amazingly, this squad probably another £150 million in the next 12-18 months if we're going to catch up.

 

[Shamwow]

I want to start this off by saying yes, I know we're shite too. If you want to reply, please don't just reply saying we're shite too - I know we are.

De Gea is a one man wall. He was brilliant. He made save after save and kept you in that match. Thought Smalling was very good and Blackett was poor. He looks bad on the ball. I don't think your midfield played well and I thought Arsenal controlled the game. Nearly all of your chamces came on the counter. Di Maria played very well and he's proving me wrong as I thought he was an unnecessary signing. It's incredible how much Van Persie has declined. He looks awful.

Dean was awful. Arse should have had a penlty and your first goal was offside. It evened out though as Rooney was onside on the attack immediately after the goal and Wilshere should have been sent off.

Van Gaal and your team still don't worry me.

A win is a win at the end of the day though.

Yeah why would Liverpool be worried about United catching them up?

 

[DevilsQueen]

 

[Globule]

Stop banging on about the performance all of you. Seriously. The performance is irrelevant today. Completely irrelevant. We have won away against Arsenal with half a squad and Shaw got injured on top of all the injuries we already had today too! This is a massive result and a great effort defensively from all the players today bar RvP. There's plenty of reason to be annoyed at our other performances this season. But not this one.

Our defensive performance was 'great'? Okay. And I suppose you would still be praising our great defensive performance if Arsenal managed to take their clear cut chances? Once we scored we really dug in and threw bodies in the way, but for the most part we were disorganised, had no shape and kept giving the ball away in dangerous positions. If you think that was a great defensive performance you have extremely low standards. 3 points doesn't make it a great defensive performance.

And there is plenty of reason to be disappointed in this performance. Of the top teams we've played this season, Arsenal are the ones that look most vulnerable at the back, yet we really failed to capitalise on that. We rode our luck and owe a lot to their poor finishing and DDG's continued excellence.

I'll pick out the positives if we lose so there's nothing wrong with highlighting our flaws when we win.

 

[Dylan94]

Completely agreed, I don't like Wayne Rooney the man but it's time we have to recognise he's our best striker and we should stop fecking him around to accommodate someone who isn't performing.

Overall, I've never felt less fussed after a victory against Arsenal. At the start of the season the moral high ground nonsense about not spending as much as Chelsea and City recently went out of the window. The difference is they've never spent so much and been as poor as we are currently. Arsenal are rotten at the moment and yet we made them look great, especially in the first half an hour. There's talk on here of how we've improved and there's a clear philosophy, I've seen very little yet. We still can't defend, we're still not great to watch and the performances and results still aren't particularly good. I do believe Van Gaal will improve this team in time but the reality is given the backing he's had, it's pretty poor thus far. Amazingly, this squad probably another £150 million in the next 12-18 months if we're going to catch up.

I'll say this one more time in case you haven't got it yet. Today, we have beaten Arsenal, who were unbeaten for 15 games at home, with less than half of a first team squad. That is nothing short of a fantastic and a massive result. The performance today is completely irrelevant. Completely. Now there have plenty of games this season where you have every right to be p*ssed off with our performance when we have had a fit squad. I have been too. But today is not one of those days. Not.

 

[The Mitcher]

I want to start this off by saying yes, I know we're shite too. If you want to reply, please don't just reply saying we're shite too - I know we are.

De Gea is a one man wall. He was brilliant. He made save after save and kept you in that match. Thought Smalling was very good and Blackett was poor. He looks bad on the ball. I don't think your midfield played well and I thought Arsenal controlled the game. Nearly all of your chamces came on the counter. Di Maria played very well and he's proving me wrong as I thought he was an unnecessary signing. It's incredible how much Van Persie has declined. He looks awful.

Dean was awful. Arse should have had a penlty and your first goal was offside. It evened out though as Rooney was onside on the attack immediately after the goal and Wilshere should have been sent off.

Van Gaal and your team still don't worry me.

A win is a win at the end of the day though.

 

[DevilsQueen]

 

[soapythecat]

Horrendous to watch (first 20 minutes definitely), but we won and 4th. Will take a win in any shape or form with all the injuries we have. 2 decent games to come and we can look more settled with players coming back.
RVP very poor yet again though - he needs dropping to give him a kick up the arse.
Smalling quality I thought, as we're all the back line once they settled down.
Good decision to play Fellaini over Herrera I thought.
Could have easily lost it and potentially been 13th come tomorrow evening. So given that we really need to win next two and get some gaps in the table.

 

[SalfordRed1960]

I want to start this off by saying yes, I know we're shite too. If you want to reply, please don't just reply saying we're shite too - I know we are.

De Gea is a one man wall. He was brilliant. He made save after save and kept you in that match. Thought Smalling was very good and Blackett was poor. He looks bad on the ball. I don't think your midfield played well and I thought Arsenal controlled the game. Nearly all of your chamces came on the counter. Di Maria played very well and he's proving me wrong as I thought he was an unnecessary signing. It's incredible how much Van Persie has declined. He looks awful.

Dean was awful. Arse should have had a penlty and your first goal was offside. It evened out though as Rooney was onside on the attack immediately after the goal and Wilshere should have been sent off.

Van Gaal and your team still don't worry me.

A win is a win at the end of the day though.

Now take the blinkers off and watch as someone who isn't bitter.

For at least the last 7 or 8 years, Arsenal have played us off the park as far as possession is concerned. In those years I believe they have had only 1 victory. We always play a counter attack against them because they are a very ill disciplined team. They lose focus and often give us 2 or 3 chances. They are even worse when they go a goal behind because they throw caution to the wind. If it hadn't been for Di Maria it could easily have been 3-0 and Giroud wouldn't have scored that excellent goal.

Arsenal should not have had a penalty, if you are referring to Wilshire. But then again, with the shit penalties that Liverpool get in their favour it is no surprise that you think it was a penalty. As for Fellani being offside, look again and you will see he timed his run to perfection. If Gibbs had not been a dick, the goalie would have got the ball.

United alone don't need to worry you. However, you would have to be very blinkered to think that the fact we have not been left behind with all our injuries and new players is a sure sign that we are going to be fighting for the top 4.

 

[Mali_Zeus]

Crazy season. If we had lost we'd been 9th.

 

[Dylan94]

Our defensive performance was 'great'? Okay. And I suppose you would still be praising our great defensive performance if Arsenal managed to take their clear cut chances? Once we scored we really dug in and threw bodies in the way, but for the most part we were disorganised, had no shape and kept giving the ball away in dangerous positions. If you think that was a great defensive performance you have extremely low standards. 3 points doesn't make it a great defensive performance.

And there is plenty of reason to be disappointed in this performance. Of the top teams we've played this season, Arsenal are the ones that look most vulnerable at the back, yet we really failed to capitalise on that. We rode our luck and owe a lot to their poor finishing and DDG's continued excellence.

I'll pick out the positives if we lose so there's nothing wrong with highlighting our flaws when we win.

I didn't say it was a great defensive performance. I said it was a great defensive effort. Difference. It was a great effort considering that half of the people we had defending for the majority of the game weren't actually defenders. And your still doing it. The performance is irrelevant today. Of course we're going to be disorganized and out of shape when we're having to change out formation and line up because we're missing half of the players that we had for our last game. There is absolutely no reason to be disappointed in this performance whatsoever and if you think that then your deluded and will never be satisfied. Yes we got some luck, we've deserved some bloody luck this season with all the injuries and decisions that have gone against us. Appreciate this win because it is a massive one.

 

[Nogbadthebad]

Any tactics that allow three clear chances in the first half aren't good tactics.

6 first team players out with shaw off. Including 3 defenders and our defensive mid. Any tactics that keep a clean sheet for 94 minutes under those circumstances is pretty good I think.

 

[Henrik Larsson]

I almost feel bad for Wenger. But then on the other hand, I really don't

 

[DomesticTadpole]

Horrendous to watch (first 20 minutes definitely), but we won and 4th. Will take a win in any shape or form with all the injuries we have. 2 decent games to come and we can look more settled with players coming back.
RVP very poor yet again though - he needs dropping to give him a kick up the arse.
Smalling quality I thought, as we're all the back line once they settled down.
Good decision to play Fellaini over Herrera I thought.
Could have easily lost it and potentially been 13th come tomorrow evening. So given that we really need to win next two and get some gaps in the table.

I agree to an extent, just relieved in a way that Wilshere went off injured or their little argument might have carried on and Fellaini might have taken retribution out on him then got a red.

 

[Jazz]

One thing about us from the Fergie years was we would play badly and still win... this is not that different and we didn't play too badly bar the first 30 mins. Considering the injuries and having two academy players in there providing defensive cover - I think we did great to come away with a win. Very very happy. We need to continue winning anyway we can right now. We have to be practical as we need to stay in the top four.

 

[ThanksBoss26]

A big three points.

Very pleased.

 

[marlowe78]

I think this is what's meant by an uneven performance.

Elated to get the three points but this could've easily been an Arsenal blowout if not for the brilliance of De Gea, whom we need to call into the executive offices and re-sign for a very long time. 3-5-2 was clearly not working earlier in the season and I thought LVG using that formation today was suicide with two inexperienced backs in McNair and Blackett playing against a top 4 side. We looked just as I expected without Blind to provide cover for the backline and only Fellaini and Carrick in the centre. We looked nervous and were getting overrun by Arse up the middle, besides going under constant pressure whenever we had the ball.

We grew into the game but caught a huge stroke of luck with the OG, as it didn't look like we were ever going to take control of things. I also thought Wenger overreacted to falling behind and began committing players forward too early, which played right into our hands. Di Maria (minus the miss) and Rooney were excellent in finding space on the counterattack and hopefully Rooney begins to find a goalscoring rhythm. Di Maria...I hope can find the net again.

I thought under the circumstances the defenders were okay. I'm glad to see Smalling put in a good game after his red card debacle. McNair I thought was a bit sloppy with the ball but did a very good job in shutting Arsenal off from the deeper areas. Blackett had a few good moments but he needs to improve in handling the ball, some of his decisions (or lack of them) were diabolic.

Young and Valencia were pretty good in their wingback roles, especially with Young showing a lot of energy while going forward. The weak link to the entire game was, sadly, van Persie, who should've been taken off much sooner. I'm not sure if it's a physical problem (which he probably has anyway) or an application problem, but he looks timid in one-on-ones, can't seem to get open positions, and wasted a great chance to set Di Maria a clear run at goal that resulted in an offside. Wilson is clearly giving us more pace in that area when he's on.

 

[RORY65]

I'll say this one more time in case you haven't got it yet. Today, we have beaten Arsenal, who were unbeaten for 15 games at home, with less than half of a first team squad. That is nothing short of a fantastic and a massive result. The performance today is completely irrelevant. Completely. Now there have plenty of games this season where you have every right to be p*ssed off with our performance when we have had a fit squad. I have been too. But today is not one of those days. Not.

It's a great result, not arguing with that and I'm really proud to see the likes of McNair, Blackett and Wilson playing their part but stating Arsenal's unbeaten run at home is a bit pointless given they've played well probably once this season and yet they missed several chances to put us away early on. If this was the occasional game then fair enough but we've been well below par for much of the season and have actually become less creative as the games have gone on.

The injuries excuse is getting tiresome, it's not a coincidence we and Arsenal always have injuries and Chelsea seldom do. Jones will miss games because he's an idiot, Rojo got injured being an idiot, Rafael and Evans are injured frequently while we knew Falcao was a risk when we brought him in. Blind is pretty much the only first team player whose injury has cost us and was unexpected.

 

[Globule]

I didn't say it was a great defensive performance. I said it was a great defensive effort. Difference. It was a great effort considering that half of the people we had defending for the majority of the game weren't actually defenders. And your still doing it. The performance is irrelevant today. Of course we're going to be disorganized and out of shape when we're having to change out formation and line up because we're missing half of the players that we had for our last game. There is absolutely no reason to be disappointed in this performance whatsoever and if you think that then your deluded and will never be satisfied. Yes we got some luck, we've deserved some bloody luck this season with all the injuries and decisions that have gone against us. Appreciate this win because it is a massive one.

Okay, so what if Wilshere took his clear chance, we didn't get the fortuitous opener and Arsenal ended up winning 2-1. Basically the exact same performance with just the outcome of two brief moments changed. There is absolutely no way you would be offering any kind of defence of that performance. The fact we won changes the result, not the performance. We do have a crippling list of injuries that is really taking its toll on shape and organisation, but we made so many basic mistakes today that could have been costly.

Don't get me wrong, I'm ecstatic with the result and I would much rather have a poor performance and 3 points than the opposite, but I'm also looking for signs of progression and, while it's excusable in defence considering the injuries, there wasn't a great deal of attacking cohesion or threat until Arsenal went all gung-ho at the end.

 

[Walters_19_MuFc]

Rode our luck a lot in the first half, and had it not been for De Gea, we'd have gone in at least two down. Thankfully, we didn't concede, and the second half, although still looking a bit vulnerable, we looked more dangerous on the counter, which we obvious played for, and thankfully got that goal.

I think it was so important we got that first goal because as you saw, it meant Arsenal had to push even more for the equalizer, resulting in a second goal to us.

All in all, like I said, we rode our luck, but sometimes that's needed. Lads put in a massive effort today. I just hope this can now be the start of a run for us now.

 

[CassiusClaymore]

Pointless argument.

We were shit. We won. @ Arsenal.

 

[Maestro14]

2-0 up and I was celebrating our first shot on target. Yeah we were lucky, particularly in the first 20 minutes, but in the second half we could've scored 4 or 5 with Arsenal's panic defending. A much needed result though, and hopefully our performance will pick up against Hull. In particular, Di Maria should have more freedom in the next couple of weeks and we should see him shine again.

 

[Dylan94]

It's a really good result, not arguing with that and I'm really proud to see the likes of McNair, Blackett and Wilson playing their part but stating Arsenal's unbeaten run at home is a bit pointless given they've played well probably once this season. If this was the occasional game then fair enough but we've been well below par for much of the season and have actually become less creative as the games have gone on.

The injuries excuse is getting tiresome, it's not a coincidence we and Arsenal always have injuries and Chelsea seldom do. Jones will miss games because he's an idiot, Rojo got injured being an idiot, Rafael and Evans are injured frequently while we knew Falcao was a risk when we brought him in. Blind is pretty much the only first team player whose injury has cost us and was unexpected.

The injury excuse is used by a lot of teams and has been used many times by us before. That's why it sounds tiresome. But right now it's a very legitimate excuse. Rafael, Jones etc may be injury prone but there's nothing LvG can do about that. He could only buy who was available in the summer and who he thought could help the team. Perhaps there weren't defenders available that we wanted or would fit his system. And I'm not saying that we shouldn't be playing better. All I'm saying is that in terms of this game and this game alone, the performance is irrelevant, and still, to an extent, would of been had we have lost too. Feel free to go hell for leather if when we get players back we're still playing sh*t. I will be alongside you. But not today. Today is not the day for that.

 

[stu_1992]

Massive result. I'm not quite sure how we pulled through the horror show of the first 30 minutes, but once we learnt how to deal with them and hit them on the counter it looked quite positive. Very satisfying. I'm sad De Gea didn't get his clean sheet though, despite what Rooney says , because he absolutely deserved it. Man of the match by far. I wish Di Maria had scored that chance too, especially since he was in my fantasy team. I still stand by the fact that Wilshire should have been sent off, he absolutely flew off the handle for no reason.

 

[sunama]

The fact we won changes the result, not the performance.

I realise that you want to see pretty football, but with so many injuries this is going to be difficult.
Also, we need points above everything else.
If LvG finishes outside the top 4 while playing pretty football, having spent £150M, he will almost certainly be sacked.
Top 4 is the target and that is where we are right now.
Arsenal are fantastic at home and we beat them. Be thankful and happy for this.

If you are expecting us to play like R.Madrid, with so many injuries and after 3 months of LvG, you are going to be frustrated because LvG's methods usually take a while to set in and he will need the majority of his 1st team available.
Are you aware of our injury problems right now? Even Mourinho would be struggling if Chelsea had half the 1st team out.

 

[Sylar]

Given all the changes, all the injuries, no settled back four (or three), the poor start, the fact weve gone to Arsenal and won and are 4th is positive.

 

[Dylan94]

Okay, so what if Wilshere took his clear chance, we didn't get the fortuitous opener and Arsenal ended up winning 2-1. Basically the exact same performance with just the outcome of two brief moments changed. There is absolutely no way you would be offering any kind of defence of that performance. The fact we won changes the result, not the performance. We do have a crippling list of injuries that is really taking its toll on shape and organisation, but we made so many basic mistakes today that could have been costly.

Don't get me wrong, I'm ecstatic with the result and I would much rather have a poor performance and 3 points than the opposite, but I'm also looking for signs of progression and, while it's excusable in defence considering the injuries, there wasn't a great deal of attacking cohesion or threat until Arsenal went all gung-ho at the end.

I would still have said that it was a good effort by the guys considering all the changes to the system and line up since our last game. Yes it wasn't perfect today by any means, yes we got some luck - deservedly so - all I'm saying is criticise other performances in other games this season, I certainly have, but not this one. The performance is irrelevant in this one all things considered, and still would have been to an extend had we of lost. Go hell for leather if when we get guys back and we're still playing sh*t . I will be too. But not today.

 

[RORY65]

The injury excuse is used by a lot of teams and has been used many times by us before. That's why it sounds tiresome. But right now it's a very legitimate excuse. Rafael, Jones etc may be injury prone but there's nothing LvG can do about that. He could only buy who was available in the summer and who he thought could help the team. Perhaps there weren't defenders available that we wanted or would fit his system. And I'm not saying that we shouldn't be playing better. All I'm saying is that in terms of this game and this game alone, the performance is irrelevant, and still, to an extent, would of been had we have lost too. Feel free to go hell for leather if when we get players back we're still playing sh*t. I will be alongside you. But not today. Today is not the day for that.

I'm tired mate, maybe that's why I'm cranky but I thought the performance could have been better if we'd played the diamond or the 4-1-4-1. Despite the injuries we were still able to leave Mata and Herrera on the bench to play a system that has been really poor whenever we've used it. As I said before, I do believe Van Gaal will improve this club in time but I don't think he's making it easier to deal with the absences by tweaking the system all the time. That being said, you're right that it's always a good result to win away to Arsenal and hopefully we'll put in a much better performance in the one game we have this season where we have a close to fully fit squad!

 

[The United Irishman]

I want to start this off by saying yes, I know we're shite too. If you want to reply, please don't just reply saying we're shite too - I know we are.

De Gea is a one man wall. He was brilliant. He made save after save and kept you in that match. Thought Smalling was very good and Blackett was poor. He looks bad on the ball. I don't think your midfield played well and I thought Arsenal controlled the game. Nearly all of your chamces came on the counter. Di Maria played very well and he's proving me wrong as I thought he was an unnecessary signing. It's incredible how much Van Persie has declined. He looks awful.

Dean was awful. Arse should have had a penlty and your first goal was offside. It evened out though as Rooney was onside on the attack immediately after the goal and Wilshere should have been sent off.

Van Gaal and your team still don't worry me.

A win is a win at the end of the day though.

Yeah, you should be worried about Palace first!

 

[Kounan]

Dean was awful. Arse should have had a penlty and your first goal was offside. It evened out though as Rooney was onside on the attack immediately after the goal and

What penalty? The Shaw situation? If yes, it's a penalty like the foul on Rooney in the second half - NO FOUL.

But about offside, if the rules are like in the WC, it was not offside as it says that it's offside only if the attacking player touches the ball, not before (that made lot of problems for players and some referees) and Fellaini didn't touch the ball, he even didn't jump.

I would like you to correct me if you know better (really this just about the rules and I would like to know the correct ones).

PS
Offside has nothing to do with Dean, he can't see an offside. He also could have sent off Wilshere off ig he had strictly followed the rules (but I am happy he didn't as I do not agree totally with the rule).