Playing Devils advocate here, have to say I was watching Sheffield park 10 men behind the ball so deep they were all in their own defensive 1/4. Hard for any team to break that down.
Is there anyone left who wants to defend lvg now?
- Thread starter golden_blunder
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Arsenal, City, Spurs or even Everton to name a few would have beaten them handsomely. We have no cutting edge.
They did park the bus but we also gave them the time to do it. It's not like they defended resolutely or relied on top notch goalkeeping. Every time we attacked, we did it so slowly and deliberately and obviously that they always had the chance to get everyone back and into position. And that's all you need really, for defensive tactics to stop Man Utd now - stay in position and don't do anything too stupid. Another half season in and we still think patient, rigid passing is the only way forward.
we might not have shit players but we do have a shit manager. (well, he is as of now)
You have to say that he was right about Sheffield United not scoring in the first half either.
Even I've given up defending him now, that was awful yesterday.
We should be better at beating teams that park the bus seeing as we have to face it pretty much every week, it's something we've struggled with long before LvG arrived truth be told. Our lack of ability to break teams down is ridiculous. We look toothless and clueless more often than not.
Don't let LvGs incompetence fool you. We have some proper shiteness in our squad.
I would argue we suffer like Arsenal did in that we have players without a winning mentality. Fergie had a knack of picking winners.
And now you're Deflecting the blame from lvg
Until yesterday was advocating that we keep backing the manager and the team.
Still backing the players who I hope are following the manager's instructions but yesterday was worse than the 4 defeats in a row. Now the final straw.
A couple of class additions and the players we have can become a really top team.
LvG has done a few good things, but can no longer accept this robotic football, he has to go.
Still backing the players who I hope are following the manager's instructions but yesterday was worse than the 4 defeats in a row. Now the final straw.
A couple of class additions and the players we have can become a really top team.
LvG has done a few good things, but can no longer accept this robotic football, he has to go.
Nah. As my post gave away I don't rate LvG at all anymore and do think that most of the blame should be aimed at him. Doesn't change the fact that we have some players in the squad that are badly about of form or straight up not good enough to be starting games for us.
I don't want to defend him and I don't like our current state. That said, I don't want him sacked. What I want is for us to turn things around, play better, win more and stick with the manager until his contract expires. Now, I don't know what the chances of that happening are but it's what I want.
people this was the plan all along - lull the footballing world into think we're shit then STRIKE! - ahha now who's laughing motherfecker!
I respect you for being so amazingly optimistic.
In the absence of a credible alternative, I'm still backing him (I really don't want Mourinho - he's just not right for us in so many ways). Of course if we don't get CL then he has to go and I'd have Mourinho over Giggs (he'll have to change his ways a lot though).
I don't like what he's saying about not buying in Jan though. We desperately need another striker and winger. Lacazette + Mane? The foundation of the team is fine, we just can't attack for shit. That and his good past record are what I'm clinging to. He's not Moyes. He has his reputation and pride to defend. Moyes arrived with nothing and left with less than nothing.
I don't like what he's saying about not buying in Jan though. We desperately need another striker and winger. Lacazette + Mane? The foundation of the team is fine, we just can't attack for shit. That and his good past record are what I'm clinging to. He's not Moyes. He has his reputation and pride to defend. Moyes arrived with nothing and left with less than nothing.
Scunthorpe played the same 10 men behind the ball. Chelsea took 12 minutes to break that down. Just playing Devil's advocate too.
The fact that you don't want Jose doesn't mean he is not a credible alternative. It's just that you don't want him. You can back him until he destroys what is left of this season, then we will have next season to look forward to. Because he has his reputation to defend. So he is not required to defend his legacy this season?
being fair - all the big clubs that played , did so with lesser players out there , we looked shit with our best 11 we could field at home on a great pitch. looked like a div 2 team didn't we.
Is there a team on the planet that we wouldn't struggle against?
I'm betting we'd struggle against a RedCafe XI, with every one behind the ball.
my legs are gone.
But can you stand still and do nothing?
We might get an official mattress sponsor. We're doing wonders for the sleep market.
I think that is a very good point, we struggle in basically every game and we play the same way in every game because the manager seems to be oblivious to the fact things aren't working. We could have played a non league team yesterday and we still would have struggled because we had two holding midfielders, full backs who weren't great going forward, only one player in the whole of our midfield who has pace and can beat a man and we do everything at a snails pace.
We are ose say to play against it is almost laughable, LVG's philosophy is out dated and will be torn up by whoever replaces him, sooner he goes the better but I think he will be here until at least this summer and maybe even beyond that as I could see him being replaced by giggs in the summer but stay on was DOF.
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better than anyone i fecking know. wait can i sit around?
Absolutely, as long as you stay behind the ball.
Agreed. There was a counter attack where either Martial or Herrera (can't remember which one) was freed on the left and it amounted to jack shit as we had absolutely no idea what positions to take up in that situation.
I have no idea what we do in training.
He has coached the team to be rigid, play risk free and keep the ball, it means we always have more of the ball but can barely even get a shot at goal let alone score goals. Not only have we not scored in the first half for ten games at home but I bet we have t had many shots on target either.
This is the philosophy, stay rigid, keep the ball and don't take risks and the results are predictable to everyone but LVG.
feck it , you can count on me gaffer!
Maybe Sheff were far better drilled and organised than Scunthorpe?
Premier Inn and Lenny Henry could start advertising on the pitch?
And even with a lead they didn't manage to hammer them. I didn't see the match, but I read it wasn't easy. I don't want to defend yesterday's performance, but I got the feeling that every poor match from United gets overdramatized in the light of the current narrative.
Beat me too it.
That would be just about every game we've played this season.
All them muppets at FullTimeDevils do. Especially Howson and Mckola. The stupid idiots.
No point highlighting individual matches, this is a regime, people are fed up having watched this shit time and again, you can have off days, but that was'nt an off day, it was the current norm, unacceptable.
It's so frustrating to see supposedly lesser teams attack us quickly and create big holes in our (apparently really good) defence by doing so, yet we can't do the same to them.
Or play in goals until round the 70th minute, when you're required to save a weak attempt, on target
It isn't LVG, we don't have the quality of players simply. Rooney is a faded force, Mata a luxury player we can't carry. BFS is a faded force. Schneiderlin, Hererra and Young are good players but not crucial ones. Martial and Depay are young and inconsistent.
We can't attract the top players that we want to the club. I don't think Mourinho would do any better with this squad or any other manager.
Van Gaal is too stubborn of course but my feeling is that we don't have a great squad, or one close to it. I don't see a change of manager seeing us charge us to the top of the league.
We can't attract the top players that we want to the club. I don't think Mourinho would do any better with this squad or any other manager.
Van Gaal is too stubborn of course but my feeling is that we don't have a great squad, or one close to it. I don't see a change of manager seeing us charge us to the top of the league.
Our full backs and midfield are not helping out enough but I don't think it's tactics I'm thinking it might be because they aren't good enough at those roles.