[tob]

Switching to four at the back and a diamond midfield changed the game.

 

[hbgreg]

Good win pals, on to Southampton.

 

[Irrational.]

We squeaked past Yeovil, and it took our £60 million man to settle our nerves.

It could have been so, so different on another day. McNair could've been off and they had a couple cleared off the line as well as their striker missing from a few yards.

3-5-2 is bullshit. Let's get back to a more structured formation and bring on the next round.

 

[LazyRed-Ninja]

FT 0-2! Yeovil, your welcome was very well appreciated, but do not forget to return Celtic’s kit when slamming the door behind you.

 

[jem]

Happy we won, but god that was awful. Good to see Di Maria score. He really should be an automatic starter once he's fully fit. I thought Mata brought some composure to the game, but goal apart, I thought Herrera was woeful. There was nothing there to suggest he should starting over Fellaini (based on what Fellaini has shown this year.)

 

[Rado_N]

Moral victory apparently for Yeovil

 

[justboy68]

Called it at half time. Not great but always comfortable really.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

Herrera's passing has been extremely sloppy today. Two quality goals but still a very poor game of footy.

It's 90 minute under Herrera's belt, he look knackered at the end. Di Maria got some minutes as well. So good stuff.

 

[Successful]

We shouldn't forget that these sort of performances were usual even when SAF was around. Early FA cup games are tricky.

 

[RedDevil-85]

Two nice goals and a win.
Good to see Di Maria back.
Thats todays posetives.

 

[jem]

We squeaked past Yeovil, and it took our £60 million man to settle our nerves.

It could have been so, so different on another day. McNair could've been off and they had a couple cleared off the line as well as their striker missing from a few yards.

3-5-2 is bullshit. Let's get back to a more structured formation and bring on the next round.

I honestly wanted Yeovil to equalize. We'd obviously win the replay, and it would send a pointed message to LVG that this system isn't working.

 

[DevilRed]

Scrappy performance as expected. Two well taken goals were the difference in this one. That and the fact that we finally went back to a four man backline in the second half.

If yeovil didn't have pub level strikers upfront it might have been a different story.

Still, its an away victory and we'll take that!

 

[Alex Styles]

It's almost as if Yeovil got a bit tired...

Exactly!

 

[Irrational.]

Then what do you make of Chelsea having those lower sides for years and then winning the Cup at the end? Why could we not turn that into our advantage as they (Chelsea) did?

I dunno, Chelsea have always been a more disciplined side that always manage to kill off the opposition. We seem to be intimidated by a high energy game, and can't cope when the lower league opposition fly into tackles and get in our faces.

Our players, even under Sir Alex seemed to have the mentality that the game was won simply by turning up against the opposition, which is why we've had more than our fair share of cup upsets over the years.

 

[marukomu]

I think Fletcher is finished. Today just proved it.

 

[jem]

We shouldn't forget that these sort of performances were usual even when SAF was around. Early FA cup games are tricky.

True, but trickiness doesn't excuse the woeful performances of Darren Fletcher and Ander Herrera (or Rooney, for that matter.)

 

[izec]

The only thing that changed the game was Herreras goal and Yeovil getting tired, nothing else. The formation didnt change much

 

[FlapR]

We never play well against lower league teams, not that I can remember anyway. Yeovil were clearly pumped up for the game and had a lot more energy than they usually would in a normal league game, which is standard really. We didn't play well at all, but they never gave us the chance so credit to them.

 

[Pyro19]

No, you have it all wrong. Fletchers job based on his positioning and movement is to sit in front of the back 3. BTW out of all the players playing balls forward Fletcher has sent through more penetrative passes than anyone else. Fletchers job in that position is not to dominate the midfield, its to assist the back 3. Shaw and Rafael have been poor. They sit high but dont push on to higher positions and have lost the ball so often its not funny. On top of that they are standing static when receiving. If they were more aggresive with their movement then it would have forced the Yeovil wide players to cover them tighter and in turn create more space for Rooney and Herrera.
Of course everyone is going to blame Fletcher.

I wanted to wait before the match ended to quote this post.

Do you still believe that Fletcher made the most penetrative passes forward and or if he assisted the back 3? I myself saw him loose the ball without any pressure at least 4-5 times throughout the entire match and he almost always lost it when under pressure.

Not an attack on you but it's clear as day the guy is absolutely finished at top level football.

 

[Hans Wurst]

Job done, Yeovil held their own really well for 70 minutes, then they tired and we got the two goals. Might have been a different story if they scored one of their chances.

 

[Flying_Heckfish]

Awful performance really. At least we won.

 

[Gannicus]

Lots of problems right now, but the root of it seems to be fatigue and I'm going to blame it on the excessively intense training sessions. The boys look trim and fit, but they're sluggish. What good is 5% body fat if you have no energy?

 

[jem]

Amen! Just let that 3-5-2/5-3-2 die already, Louis.

And McNair looked far more convincing at FB, then he did at CB in the first half. It really is time to scrap the 3-5-2. I don't see how it plays to any of the strengths that we have.

 

[minoo-utd]

Good to have Di Maria back it seems the only positive today IMO. Really disappointed by the performance specially away from home and there is no quick fix it looks. Hope I'm wrong but the lack of chances and our weak shaky defence is confusing really. And if the philosophy of our manager is playing this pathedic 3-5-2 thing then things will still look awful as we saw. With all the names he has got it should be much more flexible attacking formation. Just hope.

 

[Successful]

True, but trickiness doesn't excuse the woeful performances of Darren Fletcher and Ander Herrera (or Rooney, for that matter.)

I think Fletcher shaped up a bit from the 65th minute and on. It's also a common fact that you drop a couple of levels when you play against poor players. Many of our players don't play together very often either. Not much of an excuse but no excuses are needed - we're through.

 

[Winrar]

Actually got my 0-2 prediction correct

 

[Ace of Spades]

Happy we won, but god that was awful. Good to see Di Maria score. He really should be an automatic starter once he's fully fit. I thought Mata brought some composure to the game, but goal apart, I thought Herrera was woeful. There was nothing there to suggest he should starting over Fellaini (based on what Fellaini has shown this year.)

Herrera wasn't woeful, he was just average. And no, Fellaini does not deserve to start ahead of Herrera because he is not better than Herrera, and Fellaini's last two games were poor.

 

[Hamadovich86]

Mediocre performance today but winning is winning. Despite his great goal I was disappointed with Herrera's performance he was so sloppy with the ball. Fletcher should not be playing for Manchester United nothing for him to do anymore. Good to have di Maria back we are in desperate need for pace.

 

[Herrera]

Time to name and shame those to put us to lose by four/five goals.

 

[Tonjo]

Tyler Blackett looked very confident and strong.
I think he should be the regular left back instead of Shaw.
Wayne Rooney showed signs of tiredness after so many games in the past week.
Without Young and Valencia, United should revert back to 4 defenders at the back.
Jones-Smalling-Rojo-Blackett should be strong enough against Southampton.

 

[nemanja15]

Sorry to hate on Fletch (what a bloke), but the irony of him talking about the crucial need to not give the ball away is just too much.

 

[Loublaze]

Good job, Jonny!

Decent game, but still presented Yeovil with the easiest of chances to score with his back header to Moore. He's setting a record here

 

[starman]

Their manager is tiny, they all look giants in comapred. Hargreaves is what? 5'10?

 

[Mrs Smoker]

Decent game, but still presented Yeovil with the easiest of chances to score with his back header to Moore. He's setting a record here

My post was about specific defensive work being done by him. Have to see that header again, but yeah, lucky for Moore not being good.

 

[Kakeru]

Tyler Blackett looked very confident and strong.
I think he should be the regular left back instead of Shaw.
Wayne Rooney showed signs of tiredness after so many games in the past week.
Without Young and Valencia, United should revert back to 4 defenders at the back.
Jones-Smalling-Rojo-Blackett should be strong enough against Southampton.

I know that Blackett has that LB ability in him since he was trained at youth level for that. However, it's a little crazy to say Shaw shouldn't be the regular LB. Blackett as the official backup LB is more than enough for him at this stage of his career.

 

[Loublaze]

My post was about specific defensive work being done by him. Have to see that header again, but yeah, lucky for Moore not being good.

Its becoming a reckless habit wouldn't you agree?

 

[Tonjo]

After watching Di Maria fit again, I think his best position is in the attack.
He can be the partner to Van Persie or Falcao in United's striking pair, just like
Robben and Van Persie in the Dutch National side.
United can line up the following players if report is true that the injured players are fit again.
............................De Gea............................
Jones.......Smalling............Rojo..........Blackett
.................................Carrick........................
...............Herrera.......................Blind...........
.................................Rooney.......................
...............V.Persie/Falcao............Di Maria.......

 

[jem]

Herrera wasn't woeful, he was just average. And no, Fellaini does not deserve to start ahead of Herrera because he is not better than Herrera, and Fellaini's last two games were poor.

Sorry, but based on this year's evidence (I never saw Herrera at Bilbao,) I don't think Herrera has done anything to show he should be starting ahead of Fellaini (whose insertion into the lineup more or less coincided with the start of our best run of the season.) Herrera may well be the better player (his reputation prior to coming here would certainly suggest so,) but I have yet to see it, and one can't help but wonder if Van Gaal feels the same way.

 

[jem]

After watching Di Maria fit again, I think his best position is in the attack.
He can be the partner to Van Persie or Falcao in United's striking pair, just like
Robben and Van Persie in the Dutch National side.
United can line up the following players if report is true that the injured players are fit again.
............................De Gea............................
Jones.......Smalling............Rojo..........Blackett
.................................Carrick........................
...............Herrera.......................Blind...........
.................................Rooney.......................
...............V.Persie/Falcao............Di Maria.......

He just needs to be playing, and be if not the main, then one of the focal points of our attack. His quality is there for all to see.

 

[Stack]

I wanted to wait before the match ended to quote this post.

Do you still believe that Fletcher made the most penetrative passes forward and or if he assisted the back 3? I myself saw him loose the ball without any pressure at least 4-5 times throughout the entire match and he almost always lost it when under pressure.

Not an attack on you but it's clear as day the guy is absolutely finished at top level football.

I saw him make 4 bad mistakes in the last 20 minutes. If you have a look in the Ben Pearson or Andreas Pereira threads in the reserves forum you will see a few weeks ago I mentioned that i would rather either of those 2 get a start ahead of Fletcher. My point is that people are deciding that Fletcher has a bad game before kick off and then only ever see his mistakes and are oblivious to his good efforts. In the 1st half he was nowhere near as bad as people were saying. If he has a bad game fair enough. He absolutely in the first half played more penetrative balls forward, some of them the risky type of passes that people are claiming we dont do enough of. In the first half he sat in front of the back 3 and did a decent job there. the problem as I said before half time was that Shaw and rafael were being ineffective as wingers. Funny they were the 2 players subbed at half time. 1st half I give him a 7, 2nd half a 6.
It will be interesting to see the game stats. I would think that he would be close to our best player in terms of passing percentages and numbers of passes. Also i would think he got the most forward passes as well. I was watching him in this game especially closely because of all the flak he has gotten lately. Again, I would prefer to see either Pearson or Periera start ahead of him. However if we have Blind, Fellaini and Carrick out experience wise he is the next guy in line for the spot in front of the back 3. Pearson however needs a chance to be seen in the 1st team in that spot, this would have been the perfect game for him to get at least 20 minutes.
Fletcher was nowhere near the car crash people in this thread were claiming.