[Jim Beam]

Look buddy today was Mourinho versus Pep 20th edition.

Pep has won 10 times now and Mourinho has won 4 times.

Many were also saying his success at Barca was because of Messi (and I actually was one of them) and that in the EPL Mourinho would do much better because his tactics are alot more suited to it. But Pep has beaten Mourinho at his home two times in a row now in the EPL. And Mourinho is notoriously difficult to beat at home but Pep has done it twice in a row anyway and without any players like messi or whatever. Pep just seems to be better, end of story.

Look, buddy, don't give a shit about Pep. We're better than before. Are we? Simple answer.

 

[walkinhop]

When you are second and play the first at home...I'd rather we try and lose than play for parity which we lost anyway. It's so frustrating to watch us be in this position any not go for it.

 

[RoyH1]

Poor effort all around. Mourinho has a lot of work to do and Woodward has to match City in the transfer market this summer.

 

[SAFicus]

Sorry to point it out but it's been a money game one way or another since the PL started. You have to stick with your team.

You're right, but it is getting worse.

Your club is one of the few that hasn't descended into complete and utter madness since 2008 though.

I will still follow my team, but I won't be paying sky sports to watch games anymore. Just catch Motd as I did when wages were still in five digits.

 

[JohnnyKills]

Did you miss watching the first half completely? If not, then I cannot think you actually believe they didn't dominate us. Once they were ahead they just controlled the game and apart from the Lukaku chance we barely had sight of their goal. They had more clearer chances than us the whole game and the only reason we didn't concede more is because Mourinho is not good enough to go toe to toe with Pep, so he just shuts shop every time we play them, right from the first minute.

Yeah they absolutely battered us.

 

[Im red2]

We approached the game with the mentality that they were better than us. So no surprise that it came out that way. We should have attacked them from the start with wide balls to the wings. Lukaku I would have had on the bench, as this type of match would have been more suited to Zlatan. After Walker got the booking on 3 minutes I would have made that sde my main side of attack.

 

[Nate Dogg]

Mourinho is an ancient manager who is clueless in terms of tactics and how to play expansive football.

Time to get rid?

 

[NJM78]

I viewed the league as over before a ball was kicked today as I don't expect this City side to drop 8 points to us between now and April. Therefore the disappointment is sort of tempered by the inevitability of what will happen this year.

Same. I’m more gutted by the continued form of Lukaku and the fight we will have from the teams directly below us in battle for top 4. I don’t think that is as cut and dry as many think, so we really need to pick up maximum points in our next two games without Pogba and really keep some momentum going between now and the CL starting back up in Feb.

 

[Zlatattack]

There is no one else who can come in and beat Pep currently in the Premier League.

We could be less negative in the process. Also Conte managed it last season.

 

[Ban]

Mourinho is an ancient manager who is clueless in terms of tactics and how to play expansive football.

Time to get rid?

Sure. We're second, advanced to the last 16 of CL.

But yeah lets get rid.



Oh ffs...

 

[M Bison]

I know Lukaku is getting all the hate but there is a lot more wrong with Manchesteer United than Lukaku's poor form.

City were not great but they are clearly a better side than us and will win the league at a canter now.

We need to sign 2 players in January, have them bedded into the team for next season. Get 2 or 3 more in the summer.

I agree on the bolded, Souness said in the post match analysis that he's getting no service whatsoever and is totally isolated which is true. I'm actually quite embarrassed with the performance today, we were poor all over the park and that showed in the possession and attempt stats.

As for point 2, i don't agree. i thought City were fantastic and completely deserved the win. They were up for it, first to everything and won every second ball. Looked dangerous in the final 3rd and kept the ball superbly.

 

[Sp00ks11]

No pogba no party!

 

[Tom Van Persie]

Mourinho is an ancient manager who is clueless in terms of tactics and how to play expansive football.

Time to get rid?

We're 2nd and have a good chance at winning trophies but yeah let's get rid of him.

 

[James Peril]

Very hard to discuss the game, all in all I believed we were going to be challenged much more on the floor - we weren't really. We lost the game because one player did not turn up, one player was less alert than the others. Two assists from Lukaku, one giant miss when it mattered the most. Extremely disappointed by him.

 

[redom]

I’m obviously chuffed with the result but I won’t come here to talk about that. I’d be really annoyed as a United fan watching that game. You had one good moment in the final third in the entire match (Ederson double save) where you played football to get in a good position. City will get the plaudits but I was astounded how easy United made it for us to defend.

Delph, Fernandinho and Mangala all played in our defence today and United made absolutely no attempt to exploit that and put them under real sustained pressure. In a game you had to win, on your own turf, that must be really frustrating. Mourinho can talk about the Ref (it wasn’t a penalty in my view) but it wasn’t even close today, not because City were excellent, but because United made it so easy for them to completely control the game. I’m still astonished.

It's sticks in the throat but congratulations on your teams performance, it is incredibly frustrating to see us basically hand the game to you on a platter, you might not have created chance after chance but we allowed you to play the way you feel most comfortable, we didn't challenge your weaknesses or take you out of your comfort zone at all. You expect City to have a decent chunk of the ball and play some decent stuff given the form and general approach to the game Pep brings but for us to to be so accommodating really should draw all the criticism I'm sure we're in for in the coming days, something needs to change in these types of games if we're going to progress.

 

[Silverman]

Haven't been this downbeat after a loss in a while. I think it was the fact that we shot ourselves in the foot.

 

[Marcky411]

We’ve spent loads and our players are just nowhere near as good as theirs, which is shameful really. They are better than us at passing, dribbling, decision making, and they are fitter than we are.

We played cowardly football and still lost. It’s not really right to play defensively, but if we got a draw we’d say ‘Well, okay then,’ playing defensively and losing is appalling.

Again, I am questioning our style of play, because I really have no idea what we’re trying to do, and our long range passing isn’t good enough to be purely counter attacking as we seem to want to be.

One word "MANAGER" they got a real good footballing manager with a eye for talent, style and winning. Spent a lot but has improved them drastically and made them into a title winning team (by december) in just 18 months. Mou has had +/- the same money and too has been 18 months in the job and we still look like a team in transition with a brand new manager.

 

[M Bison]

Mourinho is an ancient manager who is clueless in terms of tactics and how to play expansive football.

Time to get rid?

Who would you replace him with, enlighten the caf?!

 

[Fully Fledged]

I know Lukaku is getting all the hate but there is a lot more wrong with Manchesteer United than Lukaku's poor form.

City were not great but they are clearly a better side than us and will win the league at a canter now.

We need to sign 2 players in January, have them bedded into the team for next season. Get 2 or 3 more in the summer.

Lukaku nearly scored an own goal in the last match took a great save from DDG to stop him. Today he got 2 assists. He was unlucky with the first as there was a player on his back but the second he could hit that ball anywhere and he bangs it into a crowd of players. Nothing unlucky about that coming back to one of their players.

I don't know if his poor form is down to confidence or fatigue(he starts every game and is never subbed) but in either case he could do with a week out of the team.

 

[Walters_19_MuFc]

Call me bitter, but City didnt blow me away.

Yes, they dominated the game - that was to be expected, but what clear cut chances did they create?

Apart from the two goals, which were from set pieces, I cant remember them pulling us apart and creating goalscoring chances.

I think thats why Im really pissed off.

All before the game, all the talk were about how good City were at creating chance after chnace. They didnt. Actually, Arsenal created a lot more.

That said, we probably didnt deserve anything out the game anyway.

Despite being a bit better in the second half, on the few occasions we did attack, we didnt do enough going forward.

People will talk about how good City are now and thats there's a gulf in class, but we were missing our best player in Pogba, and Fellaini, who, would have been perfect with the way we played today.

We simply didnt have the quality in midfield to beat the press.

This is why Pogba and Fellaini were a massive miss.

Pogba, as we saw against Arsenal, has the ability to keep the ball under pressure and pick out a pass to start the counter.

Fellaini in Lingards position would have been an outlet for us to find, where nine times out of ten, he holds it up and gets us up the pitch.

Had we had those two, im confident we'd have got something.

Unfortunately, we didnt, and yet again, we've gone into a big game without having our strongest team. City, on the other hand, have been able to field more or less the same side every week. Thats been the difference.

 

[Alex99]

I think that's it for the league now. I can't see City maintaining this sort of form for the rest of the season and stretching the gap too much, but they're finishing 5-12 point ahead of the team in 2nd, which I think now is likely to be us or Chelsea, with Arsenal, Spurs and Liverpool scrapping it out for 4th.

 

[Nate Dogg]

Heskey sorry i mean Lukaku needs to be given the same treatment as Mickhi.

 

[bdspeedy]

I’m obviously chuffed with the result but I won’t come here to talk about that. I’d be really annoyed as a United fan watching that game. You had one good moment in the final third in the entire match (Ederson double save) where you played football to get in a good position. City will get the plaudits but I was astounded how easy United made it for us to defend.

Delph, Fernandinho and Mangala all played in our defence today and United made absolutely no attempt to exploit that and put them under real sustained pressure. In a game you had to win, on your own turf, that must be really frustrating. Mourinho can talk about the Ref (it wasn’t a penalty in my view) but it wasn’t even close today, not because City were excellent, but because United made it so easy for them to completely control the game. I’m still astonished.

Too soon. Let us sulk a while.

 

[JoaquinJoaquin]

Some real overreactions in here. Obviously it's horrible to lose to City but if truth be told we are a year away from a title challenge anyways. I think today proved that City aren't Barcelona 2009 like many try to make out, and are definitely beatable. We have to buy a genuine game changer or two in Summer though for us to be able to do that. I think a Griezmann today would of made a huge difference.

The negative to today was the hoofing tactics from our defence which was obviously a tactic given to them. That is completely unacceptable and shouldn't ever be used again.

 

[Becks-7-]

Clear red card for Kompany in my opinion. Kicked after Herrera directly after his tackle.

 

[The red panther]

Look, buddy, don't give a shit about Pep. We're better than before. Are we? Simple answer.

We are better than we were under Moyes and LVG if that is the measure you want to use for Mourinho but we are crap compaired to United under SAF and we are crap compaired to City under Pep.

And we won't win the title now for the 4th year in a row whilst we will have to bear seeing City lift their next one.

Also wouldn't be surpised if we would end up giving away our second place and might end up struggling for top 4 again if shit hits the fan.

In the end I'am just expecting United to be alot better than this both in results but most all in terms of the quality of the football.

 

[Raoul]

Call me bitter, but City didnt blow me away.

Yes, they dominated the game - that was to be expected, but what clear cut chances did they create?

Apart from the two goals, which were from set pieces, I cant remember them pulling us apart and creating goalscoring chances.

I think thats why Im really pissed off.

All before the game, all the talk were about how good City were at creating chance after chnace. They didnt. Actually, Arsenal created a lot more.

That said, we probably didnt deserve anything out the game anyway.

Despite being a bit better in the second half, on the few occasions we did attack, we didnt do enough going forward.

People will talk about how good City are now and thats there's a gulf in class, but we were missing our best player in Pogba, and Fellaini, who, would have been perfect with the way we played today.

We simply didnt have the quality in midfield to beat the press.

This is why Pogba and Fellaini were a massive miss.

Pogba, as we saw against Arsenal, has the ability to keep the ball under pressure and pick out a pass to start the counter.

Fellaini in Lingards position would have been an outlet for us to find, where nine times out of ten, he holds it up and gets us up the pitch.

Had we had those two, im confident we'd have got something.

Unfortunately, we didnt, and yet again, we've gone into a big game without having our strongest team. City, on the other hand, have been able to field more or less the same side every week. Thats been the difference.

Agree with this. City have been a bit off lately which is why some thought we may take the points today. Trouble is, they are still good enough to grab 3 points against us without Pogba and with Lukaku misfiring.

 

[AshRK]

One word "MANAGER" they got a real good footballing manager with a eye for talent, style and winning. Spent a lot but has improved them drastically and made them into a title winning team (by december) in just 18 months. Mou has had +/- the same money and too has been 18 months in the job and we still look like a team in transition with a brand new manager.

And a team who is 2nd now and not 6th. So just because of one loss let us not blindly overreact. We have made improvement , a considerable one. Finishing 2nd this season will no way be bad.

 

[Woodenlung]

Same as the Liverpool game. We focused far more on the threat posed by the opposition than we did on their weaknesses. We saw Otamendi and Delph make a balls up for our goal, but we never made a proper effort to attack them. That first half was one of the worst performances I can remember from a United side.

 

[Sentient Meat]

City were the better team, but it wasn't like they were light years ahead. If Lukaku merely played like a competent player we would have drawn that game. Their front four is superior and very dangerous, but they looked less threatening than Arsenal today. They've looked vulnerable for the last three or four games so who knows what can happen. I think we should just focus on winning our matches and maybe the next time we see them the gap will be closer. They always say Mata's a liability because he's too slow, doesn't track back as well, yet Lingard gifts them a goal and Mata is right in the middle of another scoring opportunity. I realize he did well for us the last few games, but we should have put Juan in sooner. I enjoyed the game until Lukaku made that horrible clearance, after that the team seemed to retreat into a shell until the subs came on.

 

[Red1968]

The sad fact is that City have become what we used to be. They are a top class squad, great playmakers, great finishers, solid defence and a solid goalie. They also have that intangible of luck that we used to have . Now they have Fergie time victories. They would be a tough team to beat under any circumstances and today we gifted them both goals with horrendous pub team defending. It would take an epic collapse or rash if injuries for them to blow this lead for title.

 

[automaticflare]

Call me bitter, but City didnt blow me away.

Yes, they dominated the game - that was to be expected, but what clear cut chances did they create?

Apart from the two goals, which were from set pieces, I cant remember them pulling us apart and creating goalscoring chances.

I think thats why Im really pissed off.

All before the game, all the talk were about how good City were at creating chance after chnace. They didnt. Actually, Arsenal created a lot more.

That said, we probably didnt deserve anything out the game anyway.

Despite being a bit better in the second half, on the few occasions we did attack, we didnt do enough going forward.

People will talk about how good City are now and thats there's a gulf in class, but we were missing our best player in Pogba, and Fellaini, who, would have been perfect with the way we played today.

We simply didnt have the quality in midfield to beat the press.

This is why Pogba and Fellaini were a massive miss.

Pogba, as we saw against Arsenal, has the ability to keep the ball under pressure and pick out a pass to start the counter.

Fellaini in Lingards position would have been an outlet for us to find, where nine times out of ten, he holds it up and gets us up the pitch.

Had we had those two, im confident we'd have got something.

Unfortunately, we didnt, and yet again, we've gone into a big game without having our strongest team. City, on the other hand, have been able to field more or less the same side every week. Thats been the difference.

I agree with this 100%

 

[Ban]

This thread is actually.

Sane. I expected to be completely crazy.

I mean, we lost to City so it was expected but it's not as loony as I expected.

 

[Shark]

We are better than we were under Moyes and LVG if that is the measure you want to use for Mourinho but we are crap compaired to United under SAF and we are crap compaired to City under Pep.

And we won't win the title now for the 4th year in a row whilst we will have to bear seeing City lift their next one.

Also wouldn't be surpised if we would end up giving away our second place and might end up struggling for top 4 again if shit hits the fan.

In the end I'am just expecting United to be alot better than this both in results but most all in terms of the quality of the football.

You start to wonder when the next title is going to come now. City aren't going away and Liverpool, Chelsea and Spurs aren't slouches either. We're just another big fish in the pond these days, our glory days are well and truly over unfortunately.

 

[Marcky411]

1.8 rating for Lukaku currently

that high, people are being to kind.

 

[BeforeKeanetherewasRobson]

If looking at possession, ability on the ball, yes they're better but they don't determine games, just heavily influence them. Thought too defensive but still had chances.

Lukaku dreadful.... if he's scoring you can ignore/let go the rest of his game but when he's not, he's a huge liability made worse by gifting them the winner. His touch is fecking awful and I've rarely seen such a big front man lose so many challenges.... if he can't hold the ball, not scoring AND giving away goals, we're a 10-man team and the ball keeps coming back.

Pogba huge miss as he's the link from back to front (though thought Matic did ok). Without him, no out ball from defences though made harder by defenders (especially Smalling) having poor passing ability. Need defenders, existing or new (though I think new) who can stop a ball and make a 20-yard pass.... City have, we haven't. Meant we hoofed too much and with Lukaku, the ball keeps coming back.

Had to be braver, make the passes, attack more (get City turned) but think we made it easy for them.

Finally, ref... don't think he clearly influenced result but if Rashford chucking the ball down is a yellow, he's got to give them for a few City tackles and the nonstop time wasting... four minutes injury time, you're having a giraffe ref. Silva tackle, couple of defensive tackles, Sterling dive after Young 'collision', De Bruyne dive. You got mugged ref.

Shoulda, woulda, coulda .... that's the disappointing thing.

 

[Jim Beam]

We are better than we were under Moyes and LVG if that is the measure you want to use for Mourinho but we are crap compaired to United under SAF and we are crap compaired to City under Pep.

And we won't win the title now for the 4th year in a row whilst we will have to bear seeing City lift their next one.

Also wouldn't be surpised if we would end up giving away our second place and might end up struggling for top 4 again if shit hits the fan.

In the end I'am just expecting United to be alot better than this both in results but most all in terms of the quality of the football.

So, who do you think would do a better job?

 

[desmondisback]

I reckon pep would win the league with this exact mufc team. We can actually play really good football but we play in a style that amplifies our weaknesses.

Yes swap the managers over and it would be a 50-50 fight for the title at least

 

[Jose Jaime Eskauriatza]

This sums up my thoughts exactly. We needed to not give away easy chances and put away ours. Lukaku did neither.

Next weeks another game. All is not lost. We MUST get second.

We're not dead, far from it... they exploited a set piece strategy I cringe at... two players front and back post stepping out trump the stupid area positional sh*t... don't see the positives in doing, cost us two goals today... City didn't get close enough otherwise.

 

[christinaa]

You start to wonder when the next title is going to come now. City aren't going away and Liverpool, Chelsea and Spurs aren't slouches either. We're just another big fish in the pond these days, our glory days are well and truly over unfortunately.

We had a great time for 26 Years !

Now we're re-building the team - it's not so easy.