Bayern v Man Utd | Post Match

[buckooo1978]

£350m is shit these days to be honest. It’s the equivalent of 1 Neymar + 1 Coutinho. Considering the squad Jose inherited was so hapless, it’s ridiculous to think £350m would be enough to make the jump from 5th to league champions.

couldn't disagree more to be honest - with what he inherited and what he's spent we should be playing much better and with some sort of plan - I am not expecting us to be champions - just to play with some coherence and to be frank, he's wasted lots of the money he's been given

we've spent that huge sum of money and we still went into the cup final with Young and Valencia as fullbacks. He signed two CBs and Lindelof has barely played and Bailly was dropped for the last month of last season.

Lukaku scored more at Everton...Pogba was better at Juve....Mhiki was better at Dortmund and has already said he's happier at Arsenal. Sanchez was pish.....You could argue that the only signing who has performed is Matic in his defensive role.

It's not about individuals though - it's about a team that doesn't play as a team and is disfunctional.

I don't accept that he hasn't been backed well enough - he took players who aren't performing but we are talking about international players - they aren't guys playing in the Sunday league - the team hasn't played well - we were 6th for shots on target last year and 6th for expected goals - just ahead of Bournemouth and Palace...we're certainly not getting value for the investment made in the team.

so the excuse that he hasn't been backed enough doesn't cut it for me......

if you look at Klopp - from day 1 he has played a certain way and window by window he has improved the players in each position - at the minute all they need is another CB and I think they would push City hard - you don't get that feeling with United at all and Jose best days at United are behind him I feel.

 

[Son Of Sam]

With all due respect, but that has to be the weakest argument I have ever seen. How about this: 350million is one Alex Sandro, Harry Maguire, who is being chased by us right now (and was bought for 12 million from Hull, but since we are talking here about how the money was spent across the years during Mourinho's tenure), Riyad Mahrez and plethora of other players that certainly would boost our squad. I do believe that there is a something fundamentally wrong at the scouting level, because paying some exorbitant prices for a defender that had a decent run in the WC is totally ridiculous. Nonetheless, the sum that was spent by Mourinho could be presented in numerous variations, so it is a moot point.

You can only buy players that are available. As at when Jose arrived, Sandro wasn’t unsettled at Juventus. You have to look at things in perspective. Why aren’t you tasking the board to back Jose the same way Pep has been backed? Is that too much to ask?

We probably make twice as much as City in terms of revenue. United are the richest club in Europe yet we can only boast of one & half world class players - that simply tells me we have a parasitic board willing to receive ££££ and not invest in the squad.

United are the richest club in Europe but 90% of our players won’t start in the top 6 teams in Europe. That disproportionate index in the player quality is why we are here. Jose isn’t a magician....he can never turn Darmian to Dani Alves or make Smalling play like Maldini. Let’s just admit we have a core of super-mediocre players.

 

[RD76]

The players will have learned absolutely nothing from that. It's ok saying that results matter, and they do, but teams who have no identity, no spirit and no purpose to use the ball are not going to get results.

Very worrying.

 

[Paxi]

This might be the worst pre season weve ever had tbh. It's been a mess from start to finish. Will be shocked if the season comes and we are all of a sudden firing on all cylinders, given that we've been trash.

Sshhhh.. we dont say that here.

 

[Crashoutcassius]

Not too worried about what Jose says as that usually has an agenda and usually a clever one given he's one of the all time great managers. More wondering why peoppe are surprised we arent well prepared given all the missing player especially when mourinho has highlighted it 2x per day to remind you. Fair enough spurs had players are world cup doesn't change much

 

[Crashoutcassius]

All the good teams (Barca, Real, Bayern, Juve) play the high press and do it well. Jose set up this team to invite pressure and go on the counter; is the style of football simply behind the times?

Presume it went out of date exactly when Jose won the league a few years ago ? Or did it honour of date when we got more points than the treble season last year ? I would argue it Is still an effective style

 

[Paxi]

Any Jose comments?

He made a pre match comment saying that if we don't sign anyone else; - we will be in big trouble. That's a Manchester United manager speaking like were lowly fecking Portsmouth here. Increadble that people actively support this.

 

[MJJ]

Honest question. Who enjoys watching us nowadays?

It's sad to watch this now. Bayern made football look easy while we looked like a pub team in possesion.

Mourinho fan club probably. Everyone else is just waiting for him to be sacked.

 

[royboy16]

Theres a few quotes on the offical site.
A fantastic experience for the boys

"Finally, it's over. Finally, such a difficult pre-season is over. The players were, once more, brilliant, they could not have done better than what they did. Fantastic experience for the boys.

"There was a moment I was looking to the area and they was Axel at centre-back to left, Demetri at left wing-back, Garner in midfield on the left and Chong. At the same time it was Lewandowski on Axel, Robben on Mitchell, Goretzka on Garner and Sule on Chong. It was fantastic, absolutely fantastic. We were playing against their best team, it was their complete squad apart from Tuliso."

Marcus always wanted no.10

"Yeah, he wanted it. He always wanted it. Of course, he respected the big Rooney and then Zlatan wanted to have it. Of course, he was in the shadow, waiting for the opportunity and now the shirt is empty. It's something fantastic for the kid, let's give the shirt to him."

WE WANT TO GET A CERTAIN IMAGE
“Once more, a fantastic experience but difficult to make it transfer to do what we want to do in the Premier League, just playing for this kind of pride. We don't want to come here and lose badly by four or five. We want to get a certain image, a certain competition, which we did for our boys.”

IT'S BEEN TOUGH FOR THE PLAYERS
“For the ones who have played a lot of minutes, it was hard once more and Ander [Herrera] we don't know but it's between him and Eric [Bailly]. Apart from that, the boys resisted and tomorrow, for them, is a day off.”

WE MUST BE READY FOR LEICESTER
“In the week, we have to organise the week in a way so we can be fresh for Friday because, on Friday, the Premier League starts. We play for points and it's with the players we have. There is no time to cry. Players are not going to be here on Friday and we have to go with best possible team and with a great mentality.”

 

[Stactix]

I'm negative mainly due to the second half of last season.
The football was practically identical to the majority of the football within this Preseason.

I don't expect that to change, call me negative tw*t w.e.. but has enough changed to make a difference?

Utd could go and splash 300mill, the football served up will be pretty similar.

 

[Canagel]

couldn't disagree more to be honest - with what he inherited and what he's spent we should be playing much better and with some sort of plan - I am not expecting us to be champions - just to play with some coherence and to be frank, he's wasted lots of the money he's been given

we've spent that huge sum of money and we still went into the cup final with Young and Valencia as fullbacks. He signed two CBs and Lindelof has barely played and Bailly was dropped for the last month of last season.

Lukaku scored more at Everton...Pogba was better at Juve....Mhiki was better at Dortmund and has already said he's happier at Arsenal. Sanchez was pish.....You could argue that the only signing who has performed is Matic in his defensive role.

It's not about individuals though - it's about a team that doesn't play as a team and is disfunctional.

I don't accept that he hasn't been backed well enough - he took players who aren't performing but we are talking about international players - they aren't guys playing in the Sunday league - the team hasn't played well - we were 6th for shots on target last year and 6th for expected goals - just ahead of Bournemouth and Palace...we're certainly not getting value for the investment made in the team.

so the excuse that he hasn't been backed enough doesn't cut it for me......

if you look at Klopp - from day 1 he has played a certain way and window by window he has improved the players in each position - at the minute all they need is another CB and I think they would push City hard - you don't get that feeling with United at all and Jose best days at United are behind him I feel.

Of course. If spending money is the only way to improve then what is the point of Jose exactly? Isn't his job supposed to be improving the players he's got?

 

[Son Of Sam]

couldn't disagree more to be honest - with what he inherited and what he's spent we should be playing much better and with some sort of plan - I am not expecting us to be champions - just to play with some coherence and to be frank, he's wasted lots of the money he's been given.

He’s only bought 9 players. Uncle Pep has bought 20 players to a squad that already had 4-5 world class assets. De Gea was the only world class player United had when Jose arrived. City keep improving & removing deadweights, we keep amassing them - thus the universe of difference in the team quality.

we've spent that huge sum of money and we still went into the cup final with Young and Valencia as fullbacks. He signed two CBs and Lindelof has barely played and Bailly was dropped for the last month of last season.

Woodward wouldn’t invest in the defence. Pep spent £250m on theirs, they got rid of Zabaleta, Clichy, Sagna, etc who can be argued are better than some of our defenders. United need a clearout & £350m cannot achieve that massive task.

Lukaku scored more at Everton...Pogba was better at Juve....Mhiki was better at Dortmund and has already said he's happier at Arsenal. Sanchez was pish.....You could argue that the only signing who has performed is Matic in his defensive role.

Lukaku - Teething period.
Pogba - Serie A is Scottish league
Mkhi - He’s not pulling trees at Arsenal
Sanchez - Too early to judge.

I don't accept that he hasn't been backed well enough - he took players who aren't performing but we are talking about international players - they aren't guys playing in the Sunday league - the team hasn't played well - we were 6th for shots on target last year and 6th for expected goals - just ahead of Bournemouth and Palace...we're certainly not getting value for the investment made in the team.

Would Darmian, Valencia, Smalling, Jones, Shaw, etc play for Man City? How come Pep wasn’t able to get the best out of the bulk of the players he inherited? Fact remains - some players can’t be retrained, it’s better to cut ties and get new ones that suit one’s playing style.

so the excuse that he hasn't been backed enough doesn't cut it for me......

It’s a good excuse considering the only club that finished ahead of Jose last season was the only one that outspent him. In other words, minus Man City’s megaspending, Jose would have won the league last season. He finished comfortably ahead of the media darlings(Spurs, Liverpool, Chelsea & Arsenal) in spite of the truckload of mediocre players in his squad.

if you look at Klopp - from day 1 he has played a certain way and window by window he has improved the players in each position - at the minute all they need is another CB and I think they would push City hard - you don't get that feeling with United at all and Jose best days at United are behind him I feel.

Klopp was given the long rope that no United manager can be given. Think about it. If Jose hasn’t won a single trophy in 3 years while playing sexy football, would United board, the fans and the media take it easy with him? I am sure he would have been sacked by now.

The board wanted instant results, that was why they hired Jose.....so it’s shocking that they are only willing to back him partially. It doesn’t make any economic sense. They either sack Jose right now and hire someone they can trust to groom the young players or back Jose to the hilt. Doing neither is moronic.

 

[deafepl]

I want Jose out unless he has to improve brand of football, I can't stand watching United sides anymore, it felt like I support relegated team who is trying to survive

 

[RoadTrip]

His comments are starting to irritate me.

 

[AndyJ1985]

Of course. If spending money is the only way to improve then what is the point of Jose exactly? Isn't his job supposed to be improving the players he's got?

That's the job of every manager. But for some reason many United supporters ignore that and argue our managers should be given time to spend billions before they are judged. Its absolute nonsense

 

[Adam-Utd]

So bored of watching us, no matter if you’re the most defensive coach out there the aim is still to win the match.

1 shot at goal that wasn’t even on target in 90 minutes is pathetic, no matter what team you’re playing against.

If this negativity continues into the first few games of the season I can see the fans turning very quickly.

Genuinely think he’ll be gone by Christmas.

 

[buckooo1978]

Of course. If spending money is the only way to improve then what is the point of Jose exactly? Isn't his job supposed to be improving the players he's got?

my thoughts exactly

it seems those who think Jose is the right man to take us forward only seem to suggest that money is the solution

based on our style of play and general performance levels we are going to do very well to win 25 games next year again. Our results weren't really a fair reflection of our performances and an injury to Lukaku and/or De Gea and we'd struggle very badly

I think we made an error in giving him another year - I would have held off to this season as I think we've seen the best of Mourinho's United

 

[Son Of Sam]

Of course. If spending money is the only way to improve then what is the point of Jose exactly? Isn't his job supposed to be improving the players he's got?

How many players from the list that Guardiola inherited have improved under him?

How come Pep - the player improving machine couldn’t get the best out of....

Joe Hart
Claudio Bravo
Nolito
Clichy
Sagna
Iheanacho
Jesus Navas
Etc.

The agenda against Jose on here is mad ridiculous. Is he a magician?

 

[AndyJ1985]

How many players from the list that Guardiola inherited have improved under him?

How come Pep - the player improving machine couldn’t get the best out of....

Joe Hart
Claudio Bravo
Nolito
Clichy
Sagna
Iheanacho
Jesus Navas
Etc.

The agenda against Jose on here is mad ridiculous. Is he a magician?

Nah, magicians are entertaining

 

[Eriku]

Not too surprising. Rashford clearly has some learning to do in order to lead the line on his own, we're sorely missing Lukaku. Wouldn't hurt to have Matic and Pogba available, either.

We better look a different animal in attack after they return.

 

[MooseTheMooche]

You can only buy players that are available. As at when Jose arrived, Sandro wasn’t unsettled at Juventus. You have to look at things in perspective. Why aren’t you tasking the board to back Jose the same way Pep has been backed? Is that too much to ask?

We probably make twice as much as City in terms of revenue. United are the richest club in Europe yet we can only boast of one & half world class players - that simply tells me we have a parasitic board willing to receive ££££ and not invest in the squad.

United are the richest club in Europe but 90% of our players won’t start in the top 6 teams in Europe. That disproportionate index in the player quality is why we are here. Jose isn’t a magician....he can never turn Darmian to Dani Alves or make Smalling play like Maldini. Let’s just admit we have a core of super-mediocre players.

There is a massive difference between a state driven club (city, PSG) and a club like ours. Such clubs literally have an unlimited source of money (222 million for Neymar, and loan for Mbappe with an obligation to pay 180 million is just insane. This stuff is not even in the realm of videogames), we on the other hand, have to work differently, and occasionally spend big on a top quality player. With the money spent by Mourinho, and the names that have been brought in, I can't say that he wasn't backed enough. Pogba, Sanchez, Mkhitaryan, Bailly, Matic, Lukaku just to name a few players that were (are) here. All these names are quality players, and most of them know the Premier League extremely well, therefore the argument that they have to adapt is out of the window.

As for the last paragraph, yes, I agree wholeheartedly that no manager in the world would make Smalling or Darmian play up to a certain standard, but at the same time we have the likes of Martial and Rashford that are in my opinion on the same level (skill-wise) as the likes of Leroy Sane, or Raheem Sterling. I honestly can't say that ANY of our players progressed under Mourinho. Sanchez came in, and was shambolic, Pogba is not playing to the level that he is capable of, Rashford regressed if I'm being honest, maybe Lukaku would be an example of a player that has progressed. Mourinho simply did not utilise well the squad that he has at his disposal, period.

 

[walsh]

Jose will use the negativity to motivate the team, and we will have a similar start to last season.
Then we will get trashed by Spurs and struggle from there and on. Similar to last season, but with less points and potentially not qualify for CL.

Similar start to last season but get trashed in our 3rd game? Weren't we flying ahead alongside City for the first couple of months?

 

[SquishyMcSquish]

I think we played like this with Spurs in mind? I believe we will be way more attacking against Leicester etc but this performance was obviously super defensive as it will be against Spurs too, hopefully that day Counter-attacking will work though.

You're at home. Why would a team as expensively assembled as yours, with numerous world class stars in your roster, be aiming to prepare defensively as possible for a game against us? We're a good side but we aren't a top European team, you don't need to park the bus to stand a chance against us and you usually do us at OT. Weird mentality.

 

[Crashoutcassius]

He made a pre match comment saying that if we don't sign anyone else; - we will be in big trouble. That's a Manchester United manager speaking like were lowly fecking Portsmouth here. Increadble that people actively support this.

If he had poch and he stayed quiet while levy did nothing people would go nuts. The only way Jose can put pressure on management is via media. He is doing a far better job at it than his two predecessors, getting glazers to spend and do their business very early in the window relative to other premiership clubs

 

[Devil may care]

Tell John Wick I wanna open a contract - on myself!

 

[Lagger]

£350m is shit these days to be honest. It’s the equivalent of 1 Neymar + 1 Coutinho. Considering the squad Jose inherited was so hapless, it’s ridiculous to think £350m would be enough to make the jump from 5th to league champions.

Is that how English fans view money these days? Those TV contrast fecked up your perspective. Look up how much Bayern gets to spend, then come back and tell us how 350m is shit. No offense, mate. But it's how you spend the money as much as how much you can spend. The FIFA console mentality isn't really helpful.

 

[walsh]

I have lost all hopes for this season. I have this grim feeling that we will slip out of the top 4. I do not want to waste my time this year watching my beloved team playing such dire football.

Best of luck in all your future endeavours then.

 

[Crashoutcassius]

You're at home. Why would a team as expensively assembled as yours, with numerous world class stars in your roster, be aiming to prepare defensively as possible for a game against us? We're a good side but we aren't a top European team, you don't need to park the bus to stand a chance against us and you usually do us at OT. Weird mentality.

No reason, the poster has an agenda is main reason

 

[SquishyMcSquish]

No reason, the poster has an agenda is main reason

Fair. Thought it was a bit weird, we're hardly looking in tip top shape going in to the season and our record at OT is woeful.

 

[Paxi]

If he had poch and he stayed quiet while levy did nothing people would go nuts. The only way Jose can put pressure on management is via media. He is doing a far better job at it than his two predecessors, getting glazers to spend and do their business very early in the window relative to other premiership clubs

Look I'm not disagreeing in a sense that we should spend a bit more money or at least be more prudent and buy well but airing your dirty laundry is not going to rectify anything... especially when you're already deviding half the fan base. It's very simple actually...

 

[Son Of Sam]

There is a massive difference between a state driven club (city, PSG) and a club like ours. Such clubs literally have an unlimited source of money (222 million for Neymar, and loan for Mbappe with an obligation to pay 180 million is just insane. This stuff is not even in the realm of videogames), we on the other hand, have to work differently, and occasionally spend big on a top quality player. With the money spent by Mourinho, and the names that have been brought in, I can't say that he wasn't backed enough. Pogba, Sanchez, Mkhitaryan, Bailly, Matic, Lukaku just to name a few players that were (are) here. All these names are quality players, and most of them know the Premier League extremely well, therefore the argument that they have to adapt is out of the window.

United can spend more than City & PSG. The whole state driven club is a lie the board of directors want us to believe. United’s turnover is £600m. Even by FFP’s high standard, spending half of that amount every summer is still “healthy” to the club. We can do everything City have done plus so much more. I don’t believe that PSG/City state-driven nonsense. It’s a myth passed down by the Glazers to keep our expectations low. Go and read the statement of account if you doubt me.

As for the last paragraph, yes, I agree wholeheartedly that no manager in the world would make Smalling or Darmian play up to a certain standard, but at the same time we have the likes of Martial and Rashford that are in my opinion on the same level (skill-wise) as the likes of Leroy Sane, or Raheem Sterling. I honestly can't say that ANY of our players progressed under Mourinho. Sanchez came in, and was shambolic, Pogba is not playing to the level that he is capable of, Rashford regressed if I'm being honest, maybe Lukaku would be an example of a player that has progressed. Mourinho simply did not utilise well the squad that he has at his disposal, period.

On the top of my head, Jose improved Valencia, Young & Lingard. Martial has attitude problem and Rashford probably needs more quality around him like Sterling/Sane.

It’s the quality around Sterling/Sane that makes them look good. We all saw how Sterling went from a Roy Keane to an Eric Djemba-Djemba at the World Cup and that’s simply because there was no KDB or David Silva delivering passes with accuracy.

Sane couldn’t even make the German squad because he’s not that good enough for Joachim Löw. It’s the quality around them that made them look the business. Who knows what Rashford would have become with Neymar or Dybala around him....

 

[Rajma]

Utterly pathetic. I know it's pre-season but someone explain to me how it being a friendly makes this less stupid? If anything it makes it worse since the only semi viable reason for this nonsense is because you're too scared to try and play...which makes no sense in a game where the result has no consequence.

The only way I can explain it is that Jose fears for the morale of the team right before the new season if we were to get smashed today.

 

[Fosu-Mens]

Similar start to last season but get trashed in our 3rd game? Weren't we flying ahead alongside City for the first couple of months?

We played well until we meet Liverpool. After that it was all safe and pragmatic football. Getting 2nd last season with our attacking play(number of goals, shots on target etc) was suprising from a statistical point of view. If we have the same number of goals/shots on goals numbers this season it is unlikely that we will get 2nd place.

 

[GiddyUp]

Listen guys, we have been shit for half a decade now with no sign of fluid attacking football on the horizon. We have a brilliant core but everyone else is shite and the fact that our back four are SAF players and our player of the year every season is our goalkeeper should be shameful for any of the playing or coaching staff over these seasons.
It was inevitable when the greatest manager alive retired that an ageing first eleven and an average squad may struggle but I'm at a loss to explain the dog shit football that has been on display over three managers. Woodward is also a huge factor in this shitshow.
We will persevere though. Our main priority should be to compete as best we can and stay relevant while phasing out the mess that is half our first team. I trust Mourinho to do this but so far nothing has changed except league position which is more then acceptable. In Lukaku and Pogba we have a power base to build around and I feel the club should allow Mourinho to sign players for the 1st team without the restrictions of resale value or merchandising profile. He will walk away when the situation gets hopeless but we are a hopefully a million miles away from that. We had a cracking start last season but I feel the players let that go to their heads with dumb celebrations and confident swagger. We were knocking in three in the last ten minutes while being frustratingly average for the other eighty and when the other teams settled we began to struggle a bit.

I expect a bit more determination over a whole match this time around and for us to have no fear when attacking or supporting an attack. They score two we score four. Plus Pogba has now got a taste of the seriousness of success and leadership so hopefully that is evident this season while Lukaku seems to be to Mourinho what Keane was to SAF. We need leaders out there and a new breed of players who understand the importance of stepping out on the pitch for this club because Smalling, Jones, Young and Martial dont have a fecking clue.

When all is said and done though it does not impact our lives. It puts us in a shitty mood and opens us up to a slagging but that all fades away with every goal we score. We knew Moyes had to go and Van Gaal was getting nowhere with his philosophy. Mourinho showed great management in his first season by prioritizing EL over the league, we reached our goal and added a European trophy. Last season he got us second behind city who had a phenomenal season and an FA Cup final. Progress is being made but with horrible football.

I am keeping positive though and i advise everyone else to be the same. The club has a high enough profile to attract great players and managers and the old saying that football is cyclical should put you're mind at ease at the state of things on the pitch right now.

 

[Member 5225]

Jose

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

 

[Son Of Sam]

Is that how English fans view money these days? Those TV contrast fecked up your perspective. Look up how much Bayern gets to spend, then come back and tell us how 350m is shit. No offense, mate. But it's how you spend the money as much as how much you can spend. The FIFA console mentality isn't really helpful.

Bayern raid the best players in their league and bully the others. After winning the league by as early as November, they give their starting XI enough rest to compete in Europe.

Bayern wouldn’t have such luxury in the PL. They would be spending £400m every summer to be in the same level as they currently are. Stop comparing the dynamics in Bundesliga to the PL. They are worlds apart.

 

[Greck]

Theres a few quotes on the offical site.
A fantastic experience for the boys

"Finally, it's over. Finally, such a difficult pre-season is over. The players were, once more, brilliant, they could not have done better than what they did. Fantastic experience for the boys.

"There was a moment I was looking to the area and they was Axel at centre-back to left, Demetri at left wing-back, Garner in midfield on the left and Chong. At the same time it was Lewandowski on Axel, Robben on Mitchell, Goretzka on Garner and Sule on Chong. It was fantastic, absolutely fantastic. We were playing against their best team, it was their complete squad apart from Tuliso."

Marcus always wanted no.10

"Yeah, he wanted it. He always wanted it. Of course, he respected the big Rooney and then Zlatan wanted to have it. Of course, he was in the shadow, waiting for the opportunity and now the shirt is empty. It's something fantastic for the kid, let's give the shirt to him."

WE WANT TO GET A CERTAIN IMAGE
“Once more, a fantastic experience but difficult to make it transfer to do what we want to do in the Premier League, just playing for this kind of pride. We don't want to come here and lose badly by four or five. We want to get a certain image, a certain competition, which we did for our boys.”

IT'S BEEN TOUGH FOR THE PLAYERS
“For the ones who have played a lot of minutes, it was hard once more and Ander [Herrera] we don't know but it's between him and Eric [Bailly]. Apart from that, the boys resisted and tomorrow, for them, is a day off.”

WE MUST BE READY FOR LEICESTER
“In the week, we have to organise the week in a way so we can be fresh for Friday because, on Friday, the Premier League starts. We play for points and it's with the players we have. There is no time to cry. Players are not going to be here on Friday and we have to go with best possible team and with a great mentality.”

If this is from Jose then credit for the positivity.

I know praising someone for not being negative or not moaning is odd but the bar has been set really low thus far

 

[Jojo <3 Mou]

The only way I can explain it is that Jose fears for the morale of the team right before the new season if we were to get smashed today.

That was my fear!

It has taken a lot of the gloss off the Hererra, Pereira, Fred midfield. Theoretically, Leicester, Brighton etc should be a bit easier.
Please come back Pogba!!! and Matic, Young, Valencia. Lukaku!!!!

We really need to start well.

 

[nameischarles]

Sorry but that display of football was dreadful. You can make all the excuse you want that it's a preseason game or that players are getting their fitness levels up but honestly, there was nothing new to show. No change of play, no style, no attack, no enthusiasm and just outright negativity by Mourinho with his comments. Sure a majority of the first team players were not there but at the same time, a majority of our depth was there.

Can't wait for the season to start, I guess I'm being optimistic that somehow we will just get it but most likely not.

 

[buckooo1978]

He’s only bought 9 players. Uncle Pep has bought 20 players to a squad that already had 4-5 world class assets. De Gea was the only world class player United had when Jose arrived. City keep improving & removing deadweights, we keep amassing them - thus the universe of difference in the team quality.

Why are you comparing us to City? For what it's worth Pep took over a much better squad but the players he has signed have made sense and almost all improved the team and squad - that's not the point I was making - the question I asked was what do defenders of Mourinho think he will do to improve us - people only seem to cite money - can he not coach performances out of players?

Woodward wouldn’t invest in the defence. Pep spent £250m on theirs, they got rid of Zabaleta, Clichy, Sagna, etc who can be argued are better than some of our defenders. United need a clearout & £350m cannot achieve that massive task.

we spent 70 million on Lindelof and Bailly, not peanuts - how much did Spurs buy Alderweireld for? - he inherited Smalling and Jones who did good jobs under Fergie without being fantastic. Shaw has had his issues but Jose was a big fan at Chelsea. Why has Lindelof played so seldomly then? Why was Bailly dropped for the last month of last season?

Lukaku - Teething period.
Pogba - Serie A is Scottish league
Mkhi - He’s not pulling trees at Arsenal
Sanchez - Too early to judge.

That's a lot of excuses - 6/7 players signed who played better beforehand or haven't made a significant improvement to the way we play - joining a squad of players who aren't performing - Even Martial and Rashford were better under Van Gaal. It's nonsense to suggest Serie A is Scottish League by the way and obviously Pogba has shown his capabilities at all levels to CL and WC finals

Would Darmian, Valencia, Smalling, Jones, Shaw, etc play for Man City? How come Pep wasn’t able to get the best out of the bulk of the players he inherited? Fact remains - some players can’t be retrained, it’s better to cut ties and get new ones that suit one’s playing style.

Have a look at the United side that beat Arsenal 8-2. A top manager like Fergie got performances out of all the players in his squad....P Neville, O Shea and Jones in holding midfield roles - with the right preparations, motivation and management you can get a tune out of players. Fabian Delph played very well for City last year at left back which obviously isn't his position. Look at the performance levels of players like Henderson or Robertson at Liverpool and you can see what a good man manager can do to player performances.

It’s a good excuse considering the only club that finished ahead of Jose last season was the only one that outspent him. In other words, minus Man City’s megaspending, Jose would have won the league last season. He finished comfortably ahead of the media darlings(Spurs, Liverpool, Chelsea & Arsenal) in spite of the truckload of mediocre players in his squad.


Klopp was given the long rope that no United manager can be given. Think about it. If Jose hasn’t won a single trophy in 3 years while playing sexy football, would United board, the fans and the media take it easy with him? I am sure he would have been sacked by now.

The board wanted instant results, that was why they hired Jose.....so it’s shocking that they are only willing to back him partially. It doesn’t make any economic sense. They either sack Jose right now and hire someone they can trust to groom the young players or back Jose to the hilt. Doing neither is moronic.
I agree that they should have addressed the ongoing issues and this points to problems with our targets, our scouting, do players want to play for United/Mourinho and why, do the board think we have enough for 4th so let Jose do his job and replace next Summer...who knows ........regardless for the time the special one has had to work with the squad and the money he has had the poor performance levels aren't acceptable and again I would ask what do you think he will do to improve the way we play?

As someone quoted above - if he isn't able to manage and coach the squad and he's simply there to sign players why is he still in a job?

based on his purchases and the performance levels do you think there's a great chance Sandro will not be as good as he is in the 'Scottish League', Toby might take time to settle in etc - what gives you confidence 2 or 3 more signings will actually perform?

it's not good enough quite simply and I'm yet to hear a convincing argument as to why he might improve us