[King7Eric]

There's no quick fix. As much as I dislike City, their forward planning over the past few years has been worthy of a Bond villain. They set up the club so that all Pep had to do was book a plane ticket from Munich to Ringway and turn up. Our forward planning has been worthy of the British general staff at Dunkirk or Sebastopol. £1 billion has been taken from the club to pay bankers. Half of that invested in our academy and some on well thought-out purchases might well have bought us stability and continuity. Instead, we muddle along, getting the odd good result. You saw the difference today.

Pretty much this. People need to realize this. You can blame Jose or the players all you want, fact is City have far superior players at the moment and there's only so much tactics and passion can do to mitigate the gulf in class.

We as a club need to be patient, for this City cycle to finish ( and no matter how good you are every club's great cycle doesn't last more than 3-4 years) and make sure we have the players and manager groomed and ready to build on their lapse, kinda like City did to us with SAF retiring.

 

[steffyr2]

Mixed emotions.

With 15 minutes to go and still in the game I'm thinking that this isn't a bad defeat (if there is such a thing) away to the best team in the league.

Now in reflection it really says something that I even felt that way for a moment. It's not a particularly upsetting defeat because we had a punchers chance at best. What is upsetting is how much better the elite are than us.

There are probably 6 to 10 teams across Europe now that will come to Old Trafford and dominate against us. That's at our ground. Away from home the number rises again.

I honestly don't know any more whether it's Jose's tactics or that our players aren't good enough. It doesn't even really matter.

I'll tell you -- our players aren't good enough. Watch us in the 2nd half when we had the ball. Absolutely no clue what to do with it, no one showing for the ball, no one moving into the attack.

Whether someone else could make us play better remains to be seen, but no matter what the players aren't good enough. No guts, no glory.

 

[Mockney]

Gulf in class. On the manager or the board? Both for me.

If only we’d been allowed to sell our two best players and buy Willian and a defender though. Then they’d see!

 

[Kag]

We’re a football team that has zero interest in playing football.

 

[Bilbo]

City are by far the best team in the league and possibly the best attacking side we've seen in the PL yet people wanted us to go toe to toe with them

We cannot defend for shite right now so defending and remaining in the game was always going to be our best route especially with Pogba out. It's not pretty but expecting anything else was quite silly.

There's a lot of undeserved criticism for Mourinho imo. Our team doesn't match to there's at all especially without Pogba. We could have had Sarri, Poch etc as our manager and the same score would be likely.

It's not that we should be going toe to toe with them. That would be insane at this moment.

The question we need to ask is why we cannot go toe to toe with them. Why don't we have a squad that can play football the way the best modern teams are capable of?

 

[UnitedChampionsAgain]

Apart from the pen did we have a shot on goal?

Think Martials was on target but Stones took it in the balls. Another woeful performance.

 

[RedSky]

1 shot on target.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

Spent on dross!

Precisely. City got the structure set up ready for when Pep came in and had the list of players he wanted ready. We just stumble from one crisis to another.

 

[UncleBob]

Spent on dross!

Blame Woodward when he signs the players the managers want
Blame Woodward when he doesn't sign them.

 

[Pscholes18]

They are just a much better team. Better players but most importantly. Better manager. Well drilled attacking football and it seems they didn't even have to come out of second gear.

This all day long.

 

[Fracture90]

Agree. Manchester United should never play like this. It's beneath us.

Quite depressing really.

 

[Litch]

City are by far the best team in the league and possibly the best attacking side we've seen in the PL yet people wanted us to go toe to toe with them

We cannot defend for shite right now so defending and remaining in the game was always going to be our best route especially with Pogba out. It's not pretty but expecting anything else was quite silly.

There's a lot of undeserved criticism for Mourinho imo. Our team doesn't match to there's at all especially without Pogba. We could have had Sarri, Poch etc as our manager and the same score would be likely.

Some of that is true but Klopp has shown that they are getting closer and closer to City. It's arguable that they might push them all the way this season cause they don't look like losing either. This is off the back of a CL final last year.
We look no further on (maybe even going backwards) than we Jose came here. We are still talking about spending more money on the same positions that we've already thought we had resolved.

 

[RedDevil-85]

Garbage football and negative tactics.
Outclassed,bossed around with ease.Couldnt even muster a shot on target the first half.
Embarrassing.

2nd half we get a pen and get back into the game but the tactics stayed the same and we never went for it.
Disappointing as hell.

Mourinho never looked like he wanted to win the match.

 

[pacifictheme]

They are just a much better team. Better players but most importantly. Better manager. Well drilled attacking football and it seems they didn't even have to come out of second gear.

Thry're just a far better run club. Corruption or not they've had this pep plan in place for years.

 

[Heinzesight]

LOL you were watching something else.

Great reply. No. They played a hell of a lot better than us and posters saying they “didn’t have to try” and “never got out of first gear” is a piss-take!

 

[arthurka]

Man united goal difference -1

Man City goal difference +31

Hahaha.. What a state we are in.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

Blame Woodward when he signs the players the managers want
Blame Woodward when he doesn't sign them.

Think in a way he is to blame, he has recruited three manager badly and should have brought in a DOF ages ago. The club is stuck in a time warp in that area. We need to move forward. Both on the pitch and off it.

 

[Pscholes18]

8th place - our involvement in the title race is over. Top four is practically gone too. The warning signs were there last year. We didn't heed them and here we are. The next 7 months are pointless - we are simply killing time until the new man in gets a go at the circus that is Manchester United.

And he's getting money for January.... complete waste when we all know he's done at the end if the season

 

[Red_Ramirez]

Not surprised with the result

We were underdogs. This City team are in their prime

 

[Al-T]

It's not that we should be going toe to toe with them. That would be insane at this moment.

The question we need to ask is why we cannot go toe to toe with them. Why don't we have a squad that can play football the way the best modern teams are capable of?

Nail. On. Head!

 

[Moriarty]

This all day long.

Some of our lads looked beaten before a ball had been kicked. It had a bit of a Christians v Lions feel to it.

 

[NK86]

Switched it off after their 3rd. What happened between Pep and Sterling?

 

[RedNed77]

As painful as it is to ask the question so directly. If Jose is all about results, and he can see city’s style gets results, and he’s the arch pragmatist, then why doesn’t he just play like them?

 

[DomesticTadpole]

And he's getting money for January.... complete waste when we all know he's done at the end if the season

They better hadn't give him money now. Surely they can see how bad we are and that is down to the manager. It will just be money wasted.

 

[UncleBob]

Think in a way he is to blame, he has recruited three manager badly and should have brought in a DOF ages ago. The club is stuck in a time warp in that area. We need to move forward. Both on the pitch and off it.

3 ?

He's hired Van Gaal and Mourinho.

 

[Foxbatt]

It is not going head to head. Look at the way Bournemouth played against us. They had a plan and they passed and their movement off the ball was better than us. They were coached to play football. While what do we do?

 

[Chekhov]

We're stinky

 

[Zexstream]

If you’re going to talk bollocks, at least talk accurate bollocks. City have the most expensive team the world has ever seen.

Like I said, we are dogshyte.

Gone from the number 1 club, spent as much as city and a million years behind.

Maybe you could point out 1 positive from that?

 

[DomesticTadpole]

As painful as it is to ask the question so directly. If Jose is all about results, and he can see city’s style gets results, and he’s the arch pragmatist, then why doesn’t he just play like them?

Cos he doesn't know how to?

 

[Sandikan]

Pretty much this. People need to realize this. You can blame Jose or the players all you want, fact is City have far superior players at the moment and there's only so much tactics and passion can do to mitigate the gulf in class.

We as a club need to be patient, for this City cycle to finish ( and no matter how good you are every club's great cycle doesn't last more than 3-4 years) and make sure we have the players and manager groomed and ready to build on their lapse, kinda like City did to us with SAF retiring.

A team might last 3-4 years, but a club can last way longer. City have finished ahead of us the last 5 years for starters, this year will be 6th, and that doesn't look likely to end anytime soon.

Our best chance is they uncover more dodgy City practice and hit them with big punishments.
Unlikely though, but our best chance.

 

[Katalinski]

They are far more superior than we were over them when they were nothing. Moyes the prophet.

 

[Foxbatt]

LVG was the right man to come after Moyes. No one else was available. At least LVG got us to pass the ball and keep possession. This is Sunday football now.

 

[Litch]

We've spent an absolute fortune under LVG and Mourinho, money spent isn't the issue here

......especially when you compare how many players we have broken PL records to buy.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

3 ?

He's hired Van Gaal and Mourinho.

I was thinking of Moyes, but he was the one who didn't kick Moyes up the arse in that first transfer window. He just let him dither as usual.

 

[Bilbo]

I'll tell you -- our players aren't good enough. Watch us in the 2nd half when we had the ball. Absolutely no clue what to do with it, no one showing for the ball, no one moving into the attack.

Whether someone else could make us play better remains to be seen, but no matter what the players aren't good enough. No guts, no glory.

We have a huge amount of talent here though.

It's difficult not to think that Pep or Klopp would be able to fashion a better football team from this squad.

 

[Moriarty]

3 ?

He's hired Van Gaal and Mourinho.

Both with stellar track records. Both managed huge clubs and one was fresh from taking a team to the WC semis. On paper, there weren't many better candidates.

 

[minoo-utd]

Cowards.

 

[King Eric 7]

If only we’d been allowed to sell our two best players and buy Willian and a defender though. Then they’d see!

William/Martial was paper talk. Amyway, I'm no fan of the board or Mourinho right now.

 

[Gordon S]

Christ, the amount of space and time they were allowed on the ball at times!
Our lack of aggression and pressing will soon start to haunt me in my dreams

 

[Godfather]

Must be hard for Mourinho to realise just how much better Pep is.