What is our problem?

[hubbuh]

We s**k, that's our problem

We are a bit of a j**e at times.

 

[Jim Beam]

By the looks of it im experiencing this exact problem right now.

But hey I will grant you this way out, because I feel generous tonight.

All perfectly fine. Have a good evening.

 

[Fracture90]

All perfectly fine. Have a good evening.

Likewise.

 

[Lennon7]

Problems? We have many, but my Top 3 would be

1. High Fan expectations. It's not end of the world if we don't win anything and/or finish outside top 4. Get back to your consoles!
2. Not spending enough money. Eddie Woodie has been skimping and we've not spent enough. We need to up our spending!
3. Not getting rid of David De Gea. Come on, he manages couple of good saves...that would never be needed, if we had decent defence ahead of the keeper. Sell him to Real and use money to fund a decent defensive line. Romero is good enough!

Odd post x

 

[Red Indian Chief Torn Rubber]

Thick bastards all over the pitch and in the whole club really

And no leadership. Pogba is our best player but he'll never be a leader

As if being a leader makes you a clinical finisher....

 

[hubbuh]

The manager time to get rid.

Can José be blamed for today? The entire back 5 had a collective brainfart for the first, Martial, Lingard, Rashford and Mkhi all missed guilt-edged chances. We didn't park the bus and run down the clock OR fully commit to attacking and scoring a third, I mean what was Rashford thinking on that counter? Matic was also guilty of some brainless play. Lukaku and Mata are the only two that appear to have an ounce of football intelligence.

 

[BAMSOLA]

MK (and Kagawa) was the most exciting talent in Bundesliga few seasons ago, how do you know Goretzka will do a better job than these 2?

His performances during the confederation cup, his age and his general style of play(physical, good positioning, good passer but keeps things simple) tell me that he has a good chance. He has been a highly rated young footballer for quite sometime and is still only 22 so of course you would expect some adjustment time.

You could argue that Kagawa went to the wrong team in us (would have been better suited to Arsenal IMO) and Mkhitaryan had flaws in his game that were highlighted as points that needed adjusting before we could make it here (lack of physical strength on ball was one I remember hearing from somewhere before he signed). Goretzka has a game more suited to the prem and has time and youth on his side at 22 the two you mentioned were both about 26 when then joined us so less time to adapt to a league they were probably both not ideally suited to in the first place.

 

[Wumminator]

I think that our problem is that certain individuals here don’t represent our club and thus we aren’t going to succeed while they are here.

 

[NJM78]

Players not technically good enough. Young players with potential not consistent enough. Wingers as full backs. Shit finishing all round. Negative tactics at the wrong times like tonight, as soon as Herrera was coming on I knew we were in trouble by inviting pressure onto us, add our finishing on the counter that was amateur hour bad it basically sums us up as a team. Good but nowhere near great.

 

[Vashu]

Not building the team around Pogba is the biggest one. He shouldn't be forced to play so deep, right next to Matic.

 

[Footyislife]

Too many inconsistent youngsters taking up valuable minutes. Rashford, Martial, & Lingard are backups (lots of unfulfilled potential) but we need them to deliver every week. It's a terrible squad building decision considering Mourinho has never been the best at working with youth. But as a core part of our club's philosophy he's trying to do something outside of his comfort zone. Both Martial & Rashford aren't great wingers, but Martial is definitely the better creator of the pair especially when the game is wide open. Rashford has terrible decision making & is best as a poacher, or when you need a player to generate movement with a very defensive opponent. Because our manager can't distinguish that, the two seem to play in a weird rotation style based on who's impressed lately & manages to track back. Silly really when you think about it.

Our midfield is static and too conservative when we win the ball back with the exception of Pogba. We pass it around with the FB's until the opponent gets into their shape and then the chance is gone. Perfect example today with Lukaku and Herrera, ball won 2v1 opportunity, yet Herrera passes the ball to Lukaku and then stays back in a safe position. It's a mentality that dates the LVG era we just can't seem to shake. If we are playing on the counter, players need to play more direct & take calculated risks. Counter attacking and possession style football are like oil & water...

Finally the players aren't robots. Mourinho can't seem to decide on a playstyle, and that shows among the players who play very reserved. It's clear that he's struggling with expectations to consistently deliver attacking football. The moment things start going shaky his instinct is to revert to defensive football. You can't expect the players to just flip a switch. Since the LVG era, losing the ball has been drilled into their heads, with Mourinho valuing the defensive aspects just as much, the conservative approach has taken a hold of the team like a parasite. 10 men down, we are still defending in our half like we are a side from the bottom of league.

I get that Mourinho sets his team up to do the right things, but when they don't execute once, its on the players, but when its a consistent issue, the coaching staff is the ones to blame for not correcting the behavior. I think Mourinho is a good manager (great in the right circumstances) who has done a lot to improve us from the last two clowns who were in charge. Still feel we haven't put a manager with the right skill sets that fit our philosophy in a position to succeed. Until that changes, i don't think we'll be able to truly build towards the success we all crave and want to return too.

 

[NoLogo]

I think that our problem is that certain individuals here don’t represent our club and thus we aren’t going to succeed while they are here.

So we have become a mercenary team?

 

[redzombie]

I see no fight in Jose, That Chelsea implosion broke him. He either needs to get over it, or go.

 

[Garethw]

We lack leaders. Rooney may have become quite useless in the last few years of his United career, but he was a big personality on and off the pitch. He was a leader that the players looked up too. Who exactly have we got now that fits that bill?

 

[Fully Fledged]

Can José be blamed for today? The entire back 5 had a collective brainfart for the first, Martial, Lingard, Rashford and Mkhi all missed guilt-edged chances. We didn't park the bus and run down the clock OR fully commit to attacking and scoring a third, I mean what was Rashford thinking on that counter? Matic was also guilty of some brainless play. Lukaku and Mata are the only two that appear to have an ounce of football intelligence.

Yes.
he took off the only player that looked like scoring for us, for Mkhitaryan FFS. He left Smalling in the middle of our defence when he was clearly injured. Overruled Jones sending him up pitch and out of the action area.

 

[Garethw]

Go back to Fergies last championship winning squad. You had Vidic, Evra, Ferdinand, RVP, Giggs and Rooney in the dressing room. All massive personalities.

We don’t even have one fecking player like that now.

 

[hubbuh]

Yes.
he took off the only player that looked like scoring for us, for Mkhitaryan FFS. He left Smalling in the middle of our defence when he was clearly injured. Overruled Jones sending him up pitch and out of the action area.

That was Smalling's call to make, only the player knows if he's injured to the extent that his mere presence becomes a hinderance. We played too well for the vast majority of the game, and witnessed too many stonking individual errors to lay blame at anywhere other than the players. Mou has been up and down but we were let down by individual feck ups today.

 

[Vashu]

Go back to Fergies last championship winning squad. You had Vidic, Evra, Ferdinand, RVP, Giggs and Rooney in the dressing room. All massive personalities.

We don’t even have one fecking player like that now.

Personalitywise there's Ibra.

 

[hubbuh]

Personalitywise there's Ibra.

He isn't a central player though. We lack guaranteed starters that are leaders. City don't really have any, but their style of play doesn't seem to demand it. I feel like ours does, for some reason.

 

[Hed Zitin]

Overrated players in attack or us. That's our issue. State of them.... Nowhere bear consistent enough for top side.

 

[nesty]

1. The Squad

We simply cannot compete when compared to the likes of City/Barca/Madrid/PSG etc. Giggs echoed this week what most of us thought. Since Fergie left, the recruitment simply hasn't been good enough. Millions pissed away which has seen us drift further and further away from any hope of winning the league. Jose will need some serious investment in the next two windows. Unfortunately, unlike years ago where United could arguably poach any player, now we are competing with 4 or 5 other teams in the league.

2. Mentality

Not just today against Leicester, but for the past 4 years. We're scared shitless of pressure. I think we all have taken for granted the fighting mentality Fergie instilled in all of his players. I watched us this evening sit further and further back against a team with a man down. Pressure builds and we start to panic. This is turn means we drop deep, inviting more pressure and eventually conceding late goals rather than scoring them.

 

[Bwuk]

We aren't good enough.

We have far too many average players.

If your an opposing player, looking at our starting 11, you wouldn't want to play against Pogba, Martial, Lukaku and De Gea. The rest you'd fancy your chances against.

 

[Paul_Scholes18]

We are second in the league and if we are honest have got really good results this season apart from a shock against Bristol. City is just insane at the moment. Tactically ahead of us and they got the momentum now with them. We are a Mourinho team now with his flaws in the way we play.

 

[Vashu]

He isn't a central player though. We lack guaranteed starters that are leaders. City don't really have any, but their style of play doesn't seem to demand it. I feel like ours does, for some reason.

Yep, I agree though in few years time with right circumstances Pogba and Lukaku could become such leaders IMO. I wish Mourinho would focus firmly on building a proper central midfield structure, because it would lessen the pressure on other formations. Right now he's adding single pieces every summer transfer window, which is quite a frustrating ratio.

 

[IronCroos37]

Not enough world class players, that is our problem. Rashford and Martial, yeah they should develop as they have good potential, but develop them around senior top attackers. Mata comes good from time to time, but the others are squad players.

 

[INF-AMOS]

Echoing what some posters are saying...
Giggs mentioned in the press this week about players that are 'Manchester United players'... this has as much to do with strength of character as being technically gifted.

Giggs had this along with many other former United players. You have to seriously question the strength of character of some of our current players? .... to let that 10 man Leicester team off the hook in this game was nothing short of a capitulation. Sadly I think most if us are now just expecting this from some of this group of players. 2nd in the league sure, but i think this position is masking our problems. We can only hope Mourinho weeds out the players who are not mentally up to the task of putting this club back to the top.

 

[whatwha]

As if being a leader makes you a clinical finisher....

Eh? Maybe today the problem was more a lack of finishing, but in general we lack leadership on the pitch. Even today we could have used someone to organize our defense at the end without forcing an almost immobile Smalling to cover the far post.

 

[whatwha]

We aren't good enough.

We have far too many average players.

If your an opposing player, looking at our starting 11, you wouldn't want to play against Pogba, Martial, Lukaku and De Gea. The rest you'd fancy your chances against.

Lukaku? He passed well today but he's not United quality...

 

[El Zoido]

Right now, I think City’s blinding success is getting to us. The body language, in particular that of Rashford, Lukaku and Pogba, has got steadily worse as we’ve dropped points and City have steamed ahead. We wanted this league badly and to have it completely finished before Christmas must be crushing to them. Even Jose is looking dejected. We have a good young squad though, we need stability and we will try again next year. City can’t win the league every season forever.

 

[Wumminator]

So we have become a mercenary team?

We’ve become a mercenary club 100%

 

[sammsky1]

Too many young and underdeveloped players whose inconsistency cost us every other game.
Lack of world class creative players behind our main striker. None of Mata, Martial, Lingard, Rashford, Mhkitariyan are good enough ... which is frankly shocking.
Inconsistency from our world record signing midfielder. Pogba should be bossing most games he plays, but doesn't (and is then AWOL for various reasons).
No warriors or leaders. Pathetic Men Child's like Hererra instead.

All these reasons mean we don't retain possession very well, are inconsistent in our ability to counter attack, and have been missing countless chances when we do get through.

I think our defence is fine

 

[sammsky1]

Lukaku? He passed well today but he's not United quality...

he is the least of our problems and more than good enough if the team is built to service him, which it should be.

 

[Livvie]

Apart from the technical stuff, tonight we witnessed players...including Pogba...being so bloody nonchalant with both passing and effort. Pogba literally just stood still at one point, instead of going for the ball, and another time, Rashford looked like he was playing walking football.

 

[Backrow Singer]

There's no-one in this team who you look at and think "it's going to be OK because he's out there". Ibrahimavic is possibly the only one who has the aura about him, even if they aren't playing well, those type of players inspire everyone around them. Great teams have numerous of them, I'm not sure we have one (goal keepers don't count for me). You look at Owen Farrell (Rugby), players with that drive and that mentality are what squads are built on.

Today just needed a little bit of composure, a bit of authority, a bit of leadership on the pitch.

 

[Marcky411]

Manager, management,coaching, guidance...... One thing is for sure throwing money at the problem hasn't worked. It all starts at the manager and ends with the manager. We can blame all the players in the world, but how many times have we bought players, excited we landed them and after intergrating into the team they start to go backwards and a year later they are a failure. e,g Lukaku, came here started great scored goals for fun and now he can't find the goal for all the money in the world. Is that down to the player alone or the manager?

 

[WPMUFC]

Lukaku? He passed well today but he's not United quality...

He should've had 3 assists and rashford should've played him one on one with the keeper.

if the team can't convert his passing and won't pass to him, what's he supposed to do?

 

[Ashley R1+O]

The manager time to get rid.

Sorry but this absolutely and 100% not the problem.

Mourinho can't turn these guys into leaders and turn them into players with balls of steel and bottle. There is no on-field leadership core in this team at all LVG (and Moyes) gutted it. We have to be patient while waiting for players like Pogba/Lukaku to develop into leaders it will take time if it even happens at all.

 

[Bojan11]

Manager, management,coaching, guidance...... One thing is for sure throwing money at the problem hasn't worked. It all starts at the manager and ends with the manager. We can blame all the players in the world, but how many times have we bought players, excited we landed them and after intergrating into the team they start to go backwards and a year later they are a failure. e,g Lukaku, came here started great scored goals for fun and now he can't find the goal for all the money in the world. Is that down to the player alone or the manager?

What are you going on about?

Lukaku, if Rashford used his eyes would have had a clear goal midweek. The same situation again today. He also should have had three assists. He scored the winners vs West Brom and Bournemouth. We knew what we were getting when we signed him a striker who scores in spurts. But he has surprised me how he is also capable of playing decent passes through.

Don’t forget during that time Mkhitaryan and Pogba were playing great. The service has dried up. Lukaku isn’t the issue. It’s the lack of decent service.

 

[Infra-red]

Liverpool away seems to have been a turning point in our season (we've only won by 2 or more goals once in the 2.5 months since that game, compared with 7 times in the 2 months before it).

We played a bit better today than in recent weeks, but game management at the end was appalling. I honestly think the problem is primarily mental; there's a lack of both leadership and intelligence in the squad.

 

[northender]

United looked better with 3 at the back, 2 strikers and Lingard as the runner behind. Why has Mourinho reverted back to a 4-2-3-1 again lately?