No wins in 8 games, with us being knocked out of the CL in the group stages, is what has pissed people off. All this is compounded that we are playing tumescent shite and LVG seems to have no clue how to remedy the situation which has led to us slide down the table to 6th/7th which could easily be 10th after the next round of fixtures. Those 3 losses are only a small part of the whole thing.
I'm not worried we wont challenge for the title.....i'm worried we wont make top 4!
- Thread starter BringNaniBack
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What main players?. Our main players this season have been smalling and De Gea. Smalling missed one game.
What players are you talking about coming back?. I can maybe put down the Bournemouth game due to injuries and the rest have been like first team.
Tell me who was missing against Norwich who would have made a difference?. What about the home draw against PSV?
I don't see us making top 4 now. We got top 4 last season playing 4-3-3 where we went on an impressive run of big wins. I don't that happening this time round because of all the attacking players Van Gaal has sold.
The style of play is mind-numbingly predictable we play we absolutely no verve. It's hard to see where our next goal let alone win is coming from. We also didn't have Europa League commitments, In 2016 that is another thing we have to deal with.
I thought at the time when those clean sheets were coming people were overrating our defence and the context of those clean sheets. Now, it seems the wheels have come off and we aren't solid at the back as everyone thought.
I struggle to understand why Van Gaal is still here. Moyes was sacked so late that top 4 was not salvageable by that time. Why were are waiting to pull the plug on Van Gaal I am not sure. I think we should bring in Mourinho purely to secure top 4 if nothing else. I don't think we can just continue like this until the end of the season as assume Guardiola is going to just fix everything.
People are more worried about who takes over next year or getting Guardiola than they are about how this season ends. I don't want to see us in the Europa League again. We are level on points with Liverpool. Every team in and around us is going ahead of us as we slip further and further down the table because we don't know how to score a goal let alone win a football match.
The style of play is mind-numbingly predictable we play we absolutely no verve. It's hard to see where our next goal let alone win is coming from. We also didn't have Europa League commitments, In 2016 that is another thing we have to deal with.
I thought at the time when those clean sheets were coming people were overrating our defence and the context of those clean sheets. Now, it seems the wheels have come off and we aren't solid at the back as everyone thought.
I struggle to understand why Van Gaal is still here. Moyes was sacked so late that top 4 was not salvageable by that time. Why were are waiting to pull the plug on Van Gaal I am not sure. I think we should bring in Mourinho purely to secure top 4 if nothing else. I don't think we can just continue like this until the end of the season as assume Guardiola is going to just fix everything.
People are more worried about who takes over next year or getting Guardiola than they are about how this season ends. I don't want to see us in the Europa League again. We are level on points with Liverpool. Every team in and around us is going ahead of us as we slip further and further down the table because we don't know how to score a goal let alone win a football match.
So what's the consensus then, top 4 difficult for us this year?
I fear to think what happens if we do lose out on top 4. Will we stick with LVG or will we pass the reigns to Giggs who would come into a more difficult situation than now? Who will be available in the managerial merry go-round for us to pick from if we need a change of guard? Also, will players still want to join us because it would then be our second time in three years when we have missed out on CL.
Almost certain to sack LVG if we don't make top 4, as with Moyes, no question.
My concern, to your point, is what we'd do next. If you were Mourinho would you entertain us (assuming he's not already in a job by then).
Would Pep even want to manage a non CL team?
The the 'upcoming' managers, they are exactly that, upcoming - a huge risk.
Oh and Giggs
The 4th place is gone, Arsenal-City-Tottenham will finish in the top 3.
We can only hope on a Leicester collapse.
We can only hope on a Leicester collapse.
I can see Mourinho going to Madrid soon if we don't come in for him. Pep - I would think no way possible especially if we miss out on CL. I don't really know who else is available if we don't take a decision and plan now.Almost certain to sack LVG if we don't make top 4, as with Moyes, no question.
My concern, to your point, is what we'd do next. If you were Mourinho would you entertain us (assuming he's not already in a job by then).
Would Pep even want to manage a non CL team?
The the 'upcoming' managers, they are exactly that, upcoming - a huge risk.
Oh and Giggs
We are not getting top four unless we sign a couple of good players in January and even then it will need a great collapse by Spurs or Leicester. Of course I can see them losing a few but to be fair I can see us losing a few more. I'm 99% sure if we carry on with the same squad and manager we wont make it. I will then dread the summer of trying to buy top players with no CL on offer and potentially LvG or Giggs in charge. Good times.
Amazing how many people took the piss out of the OP.
The signs were there long before the collapse. I posted yesterday that we've only scored 25 goals since beating City at home in April - that's lower than Sunderland, Villa, West Ham, West Brom and many others....
It is quite funny actually, luckily I wasn't one, I thought top four would be a struggle before season even started and if anything my negativity has only grown immensely . Hope I'm wrong though of course.
No chance of top 4 whatsoever. Under LvG, I cannot see the team suddenly changing mentality and playing gung ho football. Even if Leicester do collapse, they wont drop out of the top 4. Arsenal and Spurs are on a roll. Liverpool will be above us by the time we kick off against Swansea if they draw or beat West Ham.
We can still make it, mathematically it's still possible, but we really need to be beating every team that is competing with us for the top four spot. That is a big ask considering the horrible form we're in right now. Every match needs to be treated like a knockout round of a cup game.
Considering how we've done in the LC, let's not.
Even on our better days, we don't create enough chances to collect three points on a regular basis. So we won't be able to get top 4 unless there are improvements in both personnel and approach in January. I fear the club works on a "let's hope for the best" principle so I am not optimistic that decisive changes will be made next month.
If we fail to get top 4 under LVG then the entire board should be kicked out of the club with him.
We are at a stage of the season where this is completely salvageable and the lack of action by the board is now bordering on the line of gross incompetence.
One season out of the CL for a club like United is an anomaly, but 2 out of three is a fecking full blown crisis.
We are at a stage of the season where this is completely salvageable and the lack of action by the board is now bordering on the line of gross incompetence.
One season out of the CL for a club like United is an anomaly, but 2 out of three is a fecking full blown crisis.
I have a bit of hope since the Chelsea game, we saw glimpses of what the team can do and I believe we have the potential to "blow teams" away if we gather some momentum. Van Gaal needs to ditch his philosophy or come up with some sort of hybrid system where he only imposes it on a CDM and the defensive part of the team. Effectively all attacking midfielders and strikers need to be given full freedom in an attacking sense but need to track back defensively and press high under instruction. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that van Gaal's system is too rigid and predictable. If he wants to get us into the top four then the philosophy, entirely or in part, has to go.
That first page of responses is a fun read now.
The transfer window is key... We cannot hope to improve without more fire power, particularly on the right hand side.
Achieve this, and the players returning from injury may see us through.
Achieve this, and the players returning from injury may see us through.
To me, we are not a bad team, we are a dead team. Listless, no confidence, no philosophy (!), no will. Sometimes I have the feeling that the players already "wait" for the next manager. If so, we have no chance to turn things around. Could be another Moyes year.
Ridiculous. 25 goals in our last 25 PL games, whilst picking up 35 points, is definitely sack worthy.
I can see us easily finishing 7th this season,the squad is too small and not good enough,we got rid of too many players too soon IMO
I expected 4th place this season but wrote already in August that LVG might get the sack before the end of the season because he left us with a mediocre attack (actually, it is worse than mediocre). 25 goals in our last 25 PL games is a shockingly poor return for a club like Manchester United.
The team is going backwards rather than progressing and the slump is far further back than the last 8 games. This is what happens when you have decision makers with no footballing acumen.
People are way too pessimistic here. No way will the club allow results to go on like this. Arsenal and City are definitely in top 4. I am still confident Leicester will fade away a bit ending 5th or 6th, stats are in their favour, sure but their season has been exceptional having everybody fit so far. Surely that's not going to continue. That means United has to battle it out with Spurs and Liverpool for the other 2 spots. I am sure United will scrape to top 4, players are returning from injuries and there is heavy pressure on LvG to give players more freedom.
4 wins in our last 17 isn't enough? 14 wins in our last 35 games, in all competitions shows the board are content with mediocrity.
In fact, in 53 games this year, we won 26, drew 13 and lost 14.
The way this season is going, I'm not convinced Leicester will do the traditional dropping off. The gap between top and bottom is not, for the present- and who knows for the future with PL funding, what it was. It's an exciting era for the league in many ways.
That said, the patchy form of the top 5/6 has been, in the past, something we've used to our advantage. LVG seems completely clueless about how to operate in this odd, unpredictable environment. I thought we were getting someone with extensive experience- not exciting but someone who'd been round the block and could roll with the inevitable punches. But, this just ain't happening.
Top four was the very least of our ambitions in the recent past...now, it seems to be receding in line with LVGs credibility.
That said, the patchy form of the top 5/6 has been, in the past, something we've used to our advantage. LVG seems completely clueless about how to operate in this odd, unpredictable environment. I thought we were getting someone with extensive experience- not exciting but someone who'd been round the block and could roll with the inevitable punches. But, this just ain't happening.
Top four was the very least of our ambitions in the recent past...now, it seems to be receding in line with LVGs credibility.
What are people seeing to think that we can still challenge for top 4 with the current squad? We don't have the players to create or score the goals required to win enough games. We were hanging on for a while only because we weren't conceding.
The issues with the quality in attack were clear in the summer and we didn't address them. If we don't do any business in January nothing is going to change, regardless of who's in charge. There are at least 6 teams in the league with more threatening forward lines than ours.
The issues with the quality in attack were clear in the summer and we didn't address them. If we don't do any business in January nothing is going to change, regardless of who's in charge. There are at least 6 teams in the league with more threatening forward lines than ours.
Man Utd has been very unlucky with injuries but when players are returning back from injuries you can field a team good enough to scrape top 4.
I'd say at least 10 but just nitpicking.
Indeed, if you take into account Everton and Stoke.
I would argue those 3 losses were the straw that broke the camels back. If they had been won we would be top of the league and though people would be pissed off at the football they would be more accommodating. The 3 losses caused the media and fans meltdown.
Other teams were unlucky with injuries, too, particularly Liverpool. I'm not sure that the injuries to United players were only about luck. Our squad wasn't big enough and LVG did not rotate. Many players were visibly tired in December.
i don't think so.
Against Bournemouth we did not have 3 of our regular back four, we did not have schmidfield, so that is 5 of the first team not playing. As far as the backline is concerned we didn't have our backup defenders either.
Against Chelsea we had one first team player (in Shaw) missing.
In the CL I think we can all agree we were found out even with a first team. Also showed a mentality issue within the team.
Leicester?Who on earth is going to knock us out of the top 4?
right....
Arsenal, Tottenham, City will finish in top 4, we'll have to compete with Leicester and Liverpool for the 4th place I reckon. But thats if LVG turns things around or leaves, if not, top4 is out of boundaries.
Actually I thought we were lucky to even be in the top 4 when our bad run began. We already played really badly during that time and where like 13th in terms of chances created, even at a time where we were doing relatively good in terms of league position.