[haram]

So he's playing Dalot because he doesn't want Young suspended for the Arsenal game I imagine?

Still will be good to see him out there.

Probably. Hopefully he is back for the Fulham game.

 

[haram]

I don’t think this game decides top four or not, although lost points will be sort of a nail in the coffin. In my opinion we’ve already passed the point of no return, both in terms of points and the fact that other teams are better and more stable. And the fact that we just aren’t harmonious or happy on the pitch, seldom playing with a settled line-up.

We basically need to beat both Arsenal and Liverpool to be in the mix again, and I sure as hell won’t bet on it. Over the next two games, we can gain six points on Arsenal if we’re lucky... but that probably means Spurs is still 9 points ahead of us. We play Liverpool away before the turn of the season, Spurs don’t really have any big tasks after Arsenal at home.

Liverpool have yet to beat us with Mourinho in charge and he always beats Arsenal.

 

[Matt007a]

Good to see Dalot getting some game time. Slightly concerned he will struggle without a proper right winger to partner him on that side. Knowing Mourinho he'll drop him for 3 months if he does.

 

[Johan07]

10:30
Mourinho reveals Dalot will play against Southampton
Diogo Dalot is set to play against Southampton this weekend, Mourinho has said:

“The opportunities will always come. Phil Jones was not playing. Lindelof got injured and Jones had the opportunity to play against Young Boys. It will happen all over the place I believe. For the other game Luke Shaw was suspended and now we have Ashley Young with four yellow cards. Who knows when the fifth is arriving? Players must be ready. In this case some are going away to the medical room and some are coming back. For example this weekend will be the first call for Dalot. He is ready now. He had an important injury, surgery, then a second injury in the national team when he was coming up, when he was already playing against Young Boys and Derby County, when he was almost here. But now he has been training for two weeks and we think he is ready now.”

Maybe I am bad at Mourinhou-ish but why is everyone interpreting this like a promise that Dalot is starting tomorrow? Isnt it his first return to the squad since his latest injury and cant that be what Mourinho is referring to as "first call". Or did he say anything in addition to this quote?

 

[SqueakyWeasel]

10:39
Is Fellaini now getting the credit he deserves?
“I think now he’s getting [the credit], I think until I came probably no but I think now everyone gives him what he deserves. Everybody knows Marouane is not Maradona but everyone knows what Marouane is and what he can give. In this moment, especially this season and also last season he did many times what strikers couldn’t do which is score goals in important moments. I know him very well and I know the positions he can play, the jobs he can do, this season you saw him as a third central defender against Burnley and you saw him as a striker and as a number eight, which is basically the position where Marouane has more balance and know how but he’s very important in both boxes, in the first third and in the last third. Now people knows what Marouane is and he also feels that good feeling.”

He did what strikers couldn't do because Jose more than likely withdrew a midfielder, sent Fellaini up top and went route one. Ever considered doing that when we have actual strikers on the pitch Jose?

 

[sunama]

If we can't beat them. We should make JM walk "the plank"

If we told Jose that a loss would mean walking the plank, at OT, I promise you, we'd win.
He'd tell the players that this is a must win game and that we mus throw the kitchen sink at Southampton. The issue I have is 'why does Jose need to be on the edge, before he forces our team to play to win?' Surely every match (whether it's a must-win or not), Jose should ensure that we go out all gunz blazing.

The 2 matches where I feel Jose "threw" are the Juve game at OT (making no subs and hanging on to a 1-0 loss) and the MCFC game (telling our players to park the bus) a few weeks back.

 

[sunama]

I wouldn't blame people that need a break from paying subscriptions to pay to watch Utd on tv, or to waste their evenings/weekends watching though. It's all become so depressing and miserable now. I'd rather watch a good movie or play video games than take time out to watch Utd now. Does that make me a shite fan? Probably. Don't care.

I guess I must be one of the few who are excited for tomorrow's match.
I think we'll win.

People can mope all they want. The fact is that Jose is here till the Summer (and possibly, beyond). With this in mind, get behind the team and manager and hopefully we can get top 4, so that if a new manager comes in, he'll have our team in the CL.

 

[ayushreddevil9]

Expecting Southampton and Hughes to have their game of the season against us

 

[Steerpike]

Why did you include the other players then? They all have similar struggles and issues. Pogba is just better than most/all of them. To me it’s incredibly clear you’re just singling him out due to your frustration with him right now. I can’t possibly believe you objectively think he’s isn’t good enough to make our match day squad.

Clearly I've ruffled a few feathers here with my criticism of Paul Pogba. I would say that my criticisms are based on his performances - i.e. what he has actually been doing on the pitch - and most of the responses have been about him being a good player - i.e. what he perhaps could do on the pitch.

I believe Pogba can be a very good player in the right context. By this I mean playing in a system that suits him, and in a team that understands what he brings to the side - both positive and negative. What is clear to me is that other teams have worked Pogba out - they know that he's a player who needs time on the ball, so they press him, and this often results in him being dispossessed. In the English premier League creative players are generally denied time on the ball, so they need to think quicker - basically the notion of having a picture of what's around them before they even receive the ball. Pogba doesn't seem to have developed that in his game yet.

I also think Pogba's performances have deteriorated since last season. That's down in part to the point I make above (other teams working out how to play against him), but also down to his own motivation which appears to be at least questionable. If Mourinho were to leave, it's quite possible that his replacement would get more out of Pogba and improve his game -

There are managers at big teams who actually coach players on where their hands should be in relation to their feet when receiving the ball. Yet, Mourinho cannot even effectively coach attacking play, movement, spacing etc...

- but that isn't going to happen prior to tomorrow's match.

 

[Bestietom]

I have backed both teams to score No draw. So I'm not sure what team turns up, as usual.

 

[Sassy Colin]

Rumour that Dalot will start tomorrow?

 

[Sied]

10:30
Mourinho reveals Dalot will play against Southampton
Diogo Dalot is set to play against Southampton this weekend, Mourinho has said:

“The opportunities will always come. Phil Jones was not playing. Lindelof got injured and Jones had the opportunity to play against Young Boys. It will happen all over the place I believe. For the other game Luke Shaw was suspended and now we have Ashley Young with four yellow cards. Who knows when the fifth is arriving? Players must be ready. In this case some are going away to the medical room and some are coming back. For example this weekend will be the first call for Dalot. He is ready now. He had an important injury, surgery, then a second injury in the national team when he was coming up, when he was already playing against Young Boys and Derby County, when he was almost here. But now he has been training for two weeks and we think he is ready now.”

Rumour that Dalot will start tomorrow?

Mourinho doesn't specify he'll start, but it'd be a bit of an odd premeditated sub.

 

[AgentP]

He did what strikers couldn't do because Jose more than likely withdrew a midfielder, sent Fellaini up top and went route one. Ever considered doing that when we have actual strikers on the pitch Jose?

So you want us to play long balls from the start of the game? Also, Fellaini is better than Lukaku when it comes to controlling long balls and winning headers.

 

[IrishGlen]

Well, the injuries to Lindelöf and Sanchez and the amount of out of form players we have heading into a congested fixture list is going to be a problem.

Looking to the next 3 games - you’d imagine Dalot will be in the squad at least so you’d imagine he will rotate with Young (Young will start Arsenal IMO) and Smalling / Shaw are likely to start all three. First question would be whether to go with Bailly or Jones? Me personally, I ran out of patience with Jones so would prefer Bailly to be given a run of games.

We’ve plenty of options in the midfield so I feel Matič has to be dropped or at the very least “rested” for tomorrow and hopefully a Herrera or Fred takes that opportunity. Now, it becomes more of a headache when looking at the front options. Lukaku was dropped and rightfully so. He hasn’t done anything in his substitute appearances to warrant a recall however IF he has to start then I’d rather it be tomorrow than Arsenal.

Another one is Martial - before Crystal Palace, it was stated he wouldn’t be able to play three games in a week but we’re in a precarious position trying to rest him now.

Starting XI for Southampton:

De Gea

Dalot Smalling Bailly Shaw

Fred Herrera Pogba

Lingard Rashford Martial

No Valencia, Matič or Lukaku. That would be fine by me.

 

[Annihilate Now!]

Since Sir Alex Ferguson retired, the two teams with the most goalless draws in the PL are Southampton (22) and Man United (20)

Great stuff

 

[haram]

De Gea
Dalot Smalling Jones Shaw
Fellaini Matic Pogba
Mata Lukaku Martial

 

[SqueakyWeasel]

So you want us to play long balls from the start of the game? Also, Fellaini is better than Lukaku when it comes to controlling long balls(*) and winning headers.

I didn't say that did I? I was giving a nod to the fact that Jose fecks with the logical order of things and uses that feckery to underline the myth that he has had no support since becoming United manager.

Jose is merely trying to recreate history around a vain reality within which he controlled events and made that outcome happen on Tuesday night. Fellaini is a (the only current Jose) plan B but should never be a starter in my opinion.

He was playing up front and screwing up chances from the first whistle on Tuesday night with his blah football ability - chances that would/could/should have been more competently handled by a forward or a genuinely attacking mid-field player.

As I think we can agree, there is no way that Jose's master plan was that Fellaini waits and scores in the first minute of added time … so what was he adding for the first 90 minutes then?

(*) with his hand perhaps

 

[sunama]

So you want us to play long balls from the start of the game? Also, Fellaini is better than Lukaku when it comes to controlling long balls and winning headers.

Against top sides (with strong midfields), I would say that long ball is our best chance of scoring goals and winning.
Basically, go back to front in a few seconds, with long balls into Fellaini, who can chest it down for our other attackers to come into play. Once the ball is in the final third, let Martial (or our other attackers) have a go at scoring.
Against lesser teams, passing along the ground, from defence to midfield, to attack is doable.

The idea is to use the strengths of our team and not expose our weaknesses.

Against MCFC, we attempted to park the bus, using a bad defence who can't park the bus. Our weakness is defending and to allow MCFC to come at our defence was suicide.
We should've hoofed the ball into the final third and attempted to keep the ball in the final third of the pitch, where we are stronger. It's not pretty, but it increases our chances of winning. And to highlight: the aim of the game is to win.

 

[sunama]

He was playing up front and screwing up chances from the first whistle on Tuesday night with his blah football ability - chances that would/could/should have been more competently handled by a forward or a genuinely attacking mid-field player.

Did we watch the same game?
What I saw is that Fellaini didn't have much to do in during the match, as long balls were not being used.
What I do remember was Rashford having multiple chances and fluffing each and every one of them. Had we had a decent striker, we would've scored 3-4 goals.
When Fellaini had his chance in the 92nd minute - he scored.

People want us to play pretty football. I get it. But we don't have the players to play that way. We have giants and these giants are useless at playing pretty, quick, silky smooth passing, football.
A video was posted in the matchday thread for Young Boys and it showed just how bad our team is at passing/controlling the ball.

In summary, while we are in poor form and struggling to score goals, play to our strengths and grind out wins/points.

 

[Red Indian Chief Torn Rubber]

If we told Jose that a loss would mean walking the plank, at OT, I promise you, we'd win.
He'd tell the players that this is a must win game and that we mus throw the kitchen sink at Southampton. The issue I have is 'why does Jose need to be on the edge, before he forces our team to play to win?' Surely every match (whether it's a must-win or not), Jose should ensure that we go out all gunz blazing.

The 2 matches where I feel Jose "threw" are the Juve game at OT (making no subs and hanging on to a 1-0 loss) and the MCFC game (telling our players to park the bus) a few weeks back.

Perhaps we should place him on a weekly rolling contract

 

[SqueakyWeasel]

Did we watch the same game?
What I saw is that Fellaini didn't have much to do in during the match, as long balls were not being used.
What I do remember was Rashford having multiple chances and fluffing each and every one of them. Had we had a decent striker, we would've scored 3-4 goals.
When Fellaini had his chance in the 92nd minute - he scored.

People want us to play pretty football. I get it. But we don't have the players to play that way. We have giants and these giants are useless at playing pretty, quick, silky smooth passing, football.
A video was posted in the matchday thread for Young Boys and it showed just how bad our team is at passing/controlling the ball.

In summary, while we are in poor form and struggling to score goals, play to our strengths and grind out wins/points.

Fair enough, that's your view, you know mine … this place is awesome!

 

[Trizy]

Expecting Southampton and Hughes to have their game of the season against us

You say that as if they're going to raise their level when reality, we are not a level above them.

 

[ayushreddevil9]

You say that as if they're going to raise their level when reality, we are not a level above them.

Aren't Southampton are in the relegation zone?

 

[Infra-red]

Since Sir Alex retired, the two teams with the most goalless draws are Southampton (22) and United (20)... should be a cracker!

 

[FootyGirl88]

Aren't Southampton are in the relegation zone?

Yep

 

[Bocca9978]

Since Sir Alex Ferguson retired, the two teams with the most goalless draws in the PL are Southampton (22) and Man United (20)

Great stuff

I went for 0-0 before knowing this.
Exciting stuff.

 

[Sassy Colin]

Seriously, if we can't beat these lot, Jose should just resign, never mind getting sacked.

Hughes is heading for the sack.

 

[peridigm]

Since Sir Alex Ferguson retired, the two teams with the most goalless draws in the PL are Southampton (22) and Man United (20)

Great stuff

C'mon. You can't drop this stat without a full list the the results along with the managers to compare. Get to work.

 

[LawCharltonBest]

I want Manchester United to win

 

[JB08]

Clearly I've ruffled a few feathers here with my criticism of Paul Pogba. I would say that my criticisms are based on his performances - i.e. what he has actually been doing on the pitch - and most of the responses have been about him being a good player - i.e. what he perhaps could do on the pitch.

I believe Pogba can be a very good player in the right context. By this I mean playing in a system that suits him, and in a team that understands what he brings to the side - both positive and negative. What is clear to me is that other teams have worked Pogba out - they know that he's a player who needs time on the ball, so they press him, and this often results in him being dispossessed. In the English premier League creative players are generally denied time on the ball, so they need to think quicker - basically the notion of having a picture of what's around them before they even receive the ball. Pogba doesn't seem to have developed that in his game yet.

I also think Pogba's performances have deteriorated since last season. That's down in part to the point I make above (other teams working out how to play against him), but also down to his own motivation which appears to be at least questionable. If Mourinho were to leave, it's quite possible that his replacement would get more out of Pogba and improve his game -
- but that isn't going to happen prior to tomorrow's match.

I mean, you are justifying yourself but if you read my post I didn't disagree or argue your specific arguments. I just think you are clearly exaggerating by saying he shouldn't be in the 18.

 

[extincti fugax hominum]

Will be a scrappy 2-1 win for us imo.

Want to see Dalot on the RB position.

 

[0le]

I want Manchester United to win

Most underrated post.

 

[poleglass red]

Southampton to knock the ball about like a Pep coached team. We huff and puff, Southampton keeper makes worldie saves. We make a sub late on and snatch all 3 pts. Rinse and repeat.

 

[freeurmind]

0-0 most probably but hoping to be surprised. Would like to see Fred and Pereira (Herrera if fit) get a go but it'll probably be Matic again. Also not sure why Phil Jones is suddenly ahead of Bailly in the pecking order at CB.

-------------DDG
Dalot Smalling Bailly Shaw
-----------Pereira
--------Pogba-----Fred
-------------Mata------------
-------Rashford---Martial

 

[izec]

Draw

 

[Vadim]

Draw

Yeah I think we will draw 0-0 or 1-1.

 

[Buster15]

Yeah I think we will draw 0-0 or 1-1.

I almost dread United games recently.
Don't really care how we play as long as we start to string a series of wins together.

I am sure that if we were to win four or five matches, the almost unbearable pressure will lift and we can start to enjoy our team again.

We are so inconsistent.

 

[Vadim]

I almost dread United games recently.
Don't really care how we play as long as we start to string a series of wins together.

I am sure that if we were to win four or five matches, the almost unbearable pressure will lift and we can start to enjoy our team again.

We are so inconsistent.

I don’t even dread watching us now. I’m so indifferent. If we win, meh. If we lose, meh. None of it means anything.

Win = someone starts a thread “Let’s go on a run now” only for us to then draw/lose the next game.

Lose = “Well that was shite.”

It’s the style. I just can’t handle watching the two lumps Matic and Lukaku stink the place out regardless of form. They’re not Man Utd players. You know the mistakes they’re going to make before the match starts. Matic will lose possession in a dangerous area of the pitch. Fat Rom will miscontrol several passes and walk around pointing at the floor.

Jose will pretend to look interested by throwing something or being controversial when in reality all he cares about is his image.

It’s a big pile of depressing shite. But it won’t always be this way, so I’m just waiting until we have a new manager and hopefully new owners.

 

[Foxbatt]

It is going to be crappy from us for sure. No doubt about that. Jose never gets his team selection right this season. When we won the Europa etc he normally gets his selection and his tactics and his subs right. This year he has completely lost it.

 

[el3mel]

I just noticed the match is at the same time as a match for my local team. Can be blessing in disguise I see.