[RedDevilRoshi]

We were cruising in the first half so i left to do something else. What the hell happened?

The complete opposite

 

[BennyBlanco]

2nd half was a disgrace. Can't think of much else to say about it.

 

[Seven Seas Sardines]

This is my major beef. The CSKA game is sandwiched between Arsenal away and City at home. We should have been in a position to rest a lot of players.

An x11 which should not be beaten by CSKA by more than 4 goals and shouldn't start against Arsenal or City:

Romero
Darmian Jones Lindelöf Blind
Herrera Mctominay
Mkhitaryan Fellaini Lingard
Ibrahimovic
​

Then we should have this x11 for the two big games(with Smalling in place of a forward if we go 3-5-2):

De Gea
Valencia Bailly Rojo Young
Matic Pogba
Rashford Mata Martial
Lukaku
​

Barring injuries and a Mourinho feck-up we should be fine.

​

 

[AXVnee7]

Don’t talk shite we battered them first half

Hardly ‘talking shite’ when the past month has proven me correct. Just the loss of one player (Pogba) proved to be significant.

We don’t have the same chemistry without our best XI.

 

[manunited1919]

Ok boss. So it was just a training exercise.

 

[Raees]

Why are our youngsters not being played in games like these

 

[NYAS]

So Jose tells his team at half time, 'boys, go for the draw. Forget about winning'. Meanwhile, he replaces fumbling Lingard with Rashford and replaces unimpressive Martial with Zlatan. Matic also comes in and ends up spending a lot of time in the opponent's half.

We all know Jose when he wants to play for a draw. No one parks the bus better.

I’m not sure what your point is. That every time Jose wants to play for a draw, he gets a draw? And the fact that he lost tonight means he was trying to win?

Taking off Pogba for Matic is an indication that you’re willing to sit back and concede some control of the game. Defend and block attacks instead of creating them and maintaining possession higher up the field.

I’m not even talking about style of football here. I’m talking about the very clear satisfaction with a potential draw after seeing the chances missed in the first half.

 

[sglowrider]

LVG out!

No mas.

 

[Will Absolute]

Don't think of it as a head to head, that is misleading. It is in fact a mini league between the teams that end up on the same points.

This mini league would be based on the following criteria (in order):

1. Points between the three:

Basel and CSKA have both beaten each other and if CSKA win at Old Trafford each team would have the same number of points (6) so it would come down to...​

2. Goal difference between the three:

Currently that would be:
Utd: + 5
Basel: -1
CSKA: -4​

Basel have finished their mini-league and cannot improve this or any other relevant statistic. They are and will remain further behind in every criterion following this one and so absolutely must overhaul Utd on goal difference alone. As you can see CSKA would have to beat Utd by seven clear goals for Basel to finish ahead of Utd. Utd finishing on -1 would not be enough for them See the next criterion for exactly why. In order to pass Utd themselves CSKA must win by 5 clear goals.​

3. Total goals scored between the three.

Currently that would be:
Utd: 7
Basel:3
CSKA:3

As you can see Basel will always be behind in this criterion.
​

All further criteria are irrelevant. (edited because I ballsed it up)

Here is a link to the relevant UEFA pdf. The relevant section is 17.01

​

Very clear. Well done.

 

[AXVnee7]

The only obvious outfield first teamer absent for the whole match was Valencia.

It’s not so much the second teams quality, it’s that they don’t complement each other aswell. Pogba and Matic offer the perfect balance to each other, when one of them goes out we struggle to replicate that level.

Obviously you can’t play both for every game and we shouldn’t need quite that level for this game. It’s just something that’s become clear to me. Better finishing would’ve won us this game as we created plenty but atleast defeats highlight our deficiencies.

 

[Imran Mamdani]

complacency at its best, we need to finish off games when we have chances. only if fellaini had more hair.....

 

[notcool]

I could give a feck about this result, basically. It was actually quite funny to me. We kept going back and back and obviously there was a fair bit of potential to concede but it looked like we might get away with it. It ended up that we didn't but we were so close! It's almost meaningless so I don't mind so much. Congrats to Basel and hopefully they can get through to the Ro16 now.

 

[moonunderthewater]

I think we'll be alright. Benfica will stuff Basel, we'll murder Moscow.
They won't score against us, we'll put at least 3 past that defence.
Arsenal will have to play Thursday night, (we know about that problem), City have to go to the Ukraine, Pep will want to win, so he'll take the full squad.
So, both Arsenal and City will be fatigued.
CL rd of 16 is 10 weeks away, José's system is perfectly suited to 2 leg knockout comps.
The way its set up, a lot of the big boys are not making it to the last 8. Every chance of a decent draw, just got to steer clear of Paris till the final

 

[Denis79]

Blind and Darmian were really poor, we really need new full-backs.

 

[GaryLifo]

Maybe I'm easily pleased but I thought it was job done and going to plan until the goal.

Didn't think the performance was as good second half, but was plenty good enough to have got the point.

Guy in the middle was offside and attempted to play the ball. Goal should have been chalked off really.

 

[NotBrendanRodgers honest]

Job done. Unless we lose at home by 5 goals to CSKA.

Its head to head not goal difference

 

[MarchingOn]

Our defenders who play sparingly were poor when called upon. Good to know. Leave them on the shelf.

 

[The Mad Manc]

An x11 which should not be beaten by CSKA by more than 4 goals and shouldn't start against Arsenal or City:

Romero
Darmian Jones Lindelöf Blind
Herrera Mctominay
Mkhitaryan Fellaini Lingard
Ibrahimovic
​

Then we should have this x11 for the two big games(with Smalling in place of a forward if we go 3-5-2):

De Gea
Valencia Bailly Rojo Young
Matic Pogba
Rashford Mata Martial
Lukaku
​

Barring injuries and a Mourinho feck-up we should be fine.

​

I would agree, but cannot see Mourinho making 11 changes. Hopefully not a big issue for us though.

 

[Acole9]

We're as good as there, albeit bar a miracle from CSKA. Very frustrated by the performance, first half we should've wrapped it up comfortably, we had enough chances. Second half Basel were a lot better and we were so sloppy.

 

[dwd]

We were cruising in the first half so i left to do something else. What the hell happened?

Most of our players did the same as you.

 

[dave1956]

The problems are well know and have been aired on this forum often. We have 4 players who fulfil our full back positions, ( Young, Valencia, Darmian and Blind ) none of which can be considered top class in their relative positions. In fact all 4 are really, " Make do and mend ", players. Against fast and tricky wingers who press they are continually second best.
We have a central defender in Smalling who lacks positional sense and lacks defensive organisation ability, easily pulled out of position and has difficulty bringing the ball out from the defensive to an attacking position.
With this combination unless the mid field players can control the game, ( As in the first half ) we will always be open giving away a sloppy goal.

 

[The Mad Manc]

Our defenders who play sparingly were poor when called upon. Good to know. Leave them on the shelf.

Aye. Poor game from Blind. I think Darmian is solid defensively but offers nothing going forward. FBs in serious need of an upgrade. Not sure what Lingard brings to the table either. Scoring the occasional thunderbolt seems to be enough to keep him around.

 

[Theonas]

The problems are well know and have been aired on this forum often. We have 4 players who fulfil our full back positions, ( Young, Valencia, Darmian and Blind ) none of which can be considered top class in their relative positions. In fact all 4 are really, " Make do and mend ", players. Against fast and tricky wingers who press they are continually second best.
We have a central defender in Smalling who lacks positional sense and lacks defensive organisation ability, easily pulled out of position and has difficulty bringing the ball out from the defensive to an attacking position.
With this combination unless the mid field players can control the game, ( As in the first half ) we will always be open giving away a sloppy goal.

You seriously think our problems are that we don't defend well enough? I don't even think that the highlighted part is true but if it was, it would be the same as every single top team in the world. Why do you think you constantly hear people moaning about how "proper" defending is dead. The best teams aim to control the midfield so as to they have to do as little defending as possible. As I said, I am not even sure that we are set up like that but if we were, you can hardly criticize a defence that conceded 2 goals in 5 CL games and 6 in 12 PL games.

 

[deafepl]

You seriously think our problems are that we don't defend well enough? I don't even think that the highlighted part is true but if it was, it would be the same as every single top team in the world. Why do you think you constantly hear people moaning about how "proper" defending is dead. The best teams aim to control the midfield so as to they have to do as little defending as possible. As I said, I am not even sure that we are set up like that but if we were, you can hardly criticize a defence that conceded 2 goals in 5 CL games and 6 in 12 PL games.

That's it

 

[Vida5Nick]

Jose at fault majorly here. So much for turning the corner after the newcastle win. LVG-esque. Better, but not by much.
Dire boring football that shows us how far away we are from the elite teams like Madrid despite spending feckloads in the two seasons Jose was hete

Qualifying for the group should be a given yet we're making it tough for ourselves as usual. We should treat each game like a CL match, not approach it like a friendly. That's a dire attitude to hold.

If this is the standard we're gonna put out against one of the CL heavyweights we're sure to meet later we might as well not turn up. We're sure to get blitzed.

And before anyone says we beat madrid pre season, read my lips. It was a friendly and Madrid treated it as such. They wont be that in a CL match

 

[IAmAWinner]

We lost, who cares? CSKA isn't going to beat us by three or more goals, even when Jose will inevitably field a second string 11. Everything is ok, when we fail to beat Brighton, then the meltdown is warranted.

 

[Vida5Nick]

We lost, who cares? CSKA isn't going to beat us by three or more goals, even when Jose will inevitably field a second string 11. Everything is ok, when we fail to beat Brighton, then the meltdown is warranted.

If this is the attitude we're going to take we might as well not turn up for the rest of the CL games and precisely why we lost today. Taking things for granted is something one should never do in football. City doesnt and thats why they are top of the league. We spent years away hoping to get back in the CL yet piss away games once we're in it.

 

[Vidyoyo]

Not even going to lie, we weren't great in the first half either. Had a few decent chances - Lukaku and Fellaini - but even then we looked like we were lacking a cutting edge. It's a theme of many of our games this season and I'm not really surprised we lost.

 

[peridigm]

Our fullbacks are a serious problem.

What fullbacks?

 

[kiristao]

I think Jose was as much at fault for our goal as our Fullbacks. Taking of Martial to bring on Ibra left a gaping hole on our right wing as Lukaku played that position for all of 3 secs. That is why Darmian got caught in a 2 on 1 situation. NO doubt he could have tried harder to stop the ball from coming in and Blind could tried harder to get to the ball.
For someone who talks so much about balance as an excuse not to play Rashford and Martial in the same starting 11, How did Jose allow the team to be so imbalanced for the last 10 mins when were playing with virtually no right winger, 2 number 10s in Fellani and Ibra and 2 DM in Matic and Herrera.

 

[Listar]

We were cruising in the first half so i left to do something else. What the hell happened?

Pogba got subbed

 

[Listar]

I’m not sure what your point is. That every time Jose wants to play for a draw, he gets a draw? And the fact that he lost tonight means he was trying to win?

Taking off Pogba for Matic is an indication that you’re willing to sit back and concede some control of the game. Defend and block attacks instead of creating them and maintaining possession higher up the field.

I’m not even talking about style of football here. I’m talking about the very clear satisfaction with a potential draw after seeing the chances missed in the first half.

No, taking off Pogba means he does not care too much about this game. Pogba is just too important. He would not have taken off Pogba against Newcastle if the score was still 0-0.

 

[endless_wheelies]

Annoying but in the grand scheme of things not a big deal.

 

[Kapardin]

Qualifying for the group should be a given yet we're making it tough for ourselves as usual. We should treat each game like a CL match, not approach it like a friendly. That's a dire attitude to hold

Actually, it is the opposite of what you say. We have made it easy for ourselves in terms of qualifying thanks to our early thumping wins against Basel and CSKA. That puts us in a very comfortable position where we can afford to lose by 2-0, 3-0 in the last 2 games and still qualify as group toppers. How is that "making things tough for ourselves"?

Making things tough for ourselves would be drawing to PSV at home and needing a win in Germany against Wolfsburg to qualify, while some clueless eejit subs on Nick Powell for Mata when we are chasing goals. Now, that's asking for trouble.

 

[Salus Populi Suprema Lex]

I'm getting an angry with these performances and results against mediocre opposition. We were fine first half; second half was a Huddersfield type performance: lazy, sloppy, complacent. There's no excuse to be losing against a team like that; a team with a fraction of our quality and resources. Switzerland isn't even a proper country; it's bits of three countries which have mutually agreed a tax dodge. We are still mentally weak; there aren't enough hard professionals in the side, and I maintain there are numerous players in the squad who have no right being at Manchester United. Darmian, Smalling, Blind, Lingard are run of the mill professionals of the Darron Gibson/ Tom Cleverley ilk, IMHO. When asked to prove themselves, they fail. Fellaini has already said he's leaving, so we need about half a dozen cleared out. Pogba was again a class apart, but to compete at the highest level we need several players of his quality.

Too much deadwood; not enough grit. Still a long way to go for this team to be winning the title or Champions League.

 

[suhaylah]

I think Jose was as much at fault for our goal as our Fullbacks. Taking of Martial to bring on Ibra left a gaping hole on our right wing as Lukaku played that position for all of 3 secs. That is why Darmian got caught in a 2 on 1 situation. NO doubt he could have tried harder to stop the ball from coming in and Blind could tried harder to get to the ball.
For someone who talks so much about balance as an excuse not to play Rashford and Martial in the same starting 11, How did Jose allow the team to be so imbalanced for the last 10 mins when were playing with virtually no right winger, 2 number 10s in Fellani and Ibra and 2 DM in Matic and Herrera.

I think he's trying to shoehorn Ibrahimovich into the team and by doing that, we are being an imbalanced team. Either Lukaku or Ibrahimovich should be on the pitch.

 

[prtk0811]

We can not provide quality final balls in the final third, just depend on crossing most of the times and Lukaku keeps hitting straight at the keeper when he has one on one.

Lack of professionalism by the players.

The game was very similar to fayennoord city game, but city had the ball and delivered a great one two and a final ball to Sterling and he scored the only goal of the game while we don't keep the ball play for a point in the end conceeding initiative to Basel to knick a winner and 3 defenders getting beat for the ball because of lack of intensity and quality from them.

Could have finished the job here and taken a deserved rest in final game but now one more match to burn our energy in the busy fixture period.

True lack of professionalism, from all the players and the manager too for playing for a point in final minutes.

 

[Red Indian Chief Torn Rubber]

We need to sort out our attitude vs poor teams

 

[Kostur]

I don't think there's a problem with taking Pogba off who's coming back from a long injury, I'd say that it was more or less expected that he'd play 30/60 minutes this game. The problem starts when the rest of the team is looking fecking clueless once he's off, it's quite disgraceful.

 

[Salus Populi Suprema Lex]

I don't think there's a problem with taking Pogba off who's coming back from a long injury, I'd say that it was more or less expected that he'd play 30/60 minutes this game. The problem starts when the rest of the team is looking fecking clueless once he's off, it's quite disgraceful.

Several players had another chance to prove themselves last night, but once again they blew it. They weren't thrown in against Real Madrid; it was a Basel game without any pressure. It's getting tiresome and a number of them have run out of chances for me; it's time to get ruthless. We're carrying too many passengers in the squad.