What to take away from todays win?

Di Maria's angel

Captain of Moanchester United
Joined
Mar 19, 2014
Messages
14,762
Location
London
Realistically, what sort of conclusions can we make about todays demolition of Chelsea?

The defence is sorted for years?
Has De Gea returned?
The front three, whilst inconsistent, looked very happy today.
Keeping Pogba was a master play from Ole (although may yet lose him).
The midfield is still weak so we may see a repeat of two seasons ago.
Bench strength is lacking.
Pressing? Not so much. Seems like we might go forward with high energy counter attacking football?
 

Adam-Utd

Part of first caf team to complete Destiny raid
Joined
Sep 10, 2010
Messages
39,954
Work to do be done, but an immediate improvement defensively.

Not sure about pereira, think James will have his place before long.

Shaw needs to step his game up too, his attacking play is letting him down.

The new signings really stole the show.

Martial / Rashford both ran their socks off and took their chances well, just need to tidy up their link up play.

Can’t be disappointed with a 4-0 home win with a CLEAN SHEET :drool:
 

izzydiggler

Full Member
Joined
Jul 22, 2006
Messages
3,098
3 good points with the knowledge that although we will struggle to score on some games, the defence has improved and on our day, we have players who can hurt anybody.
 

charlenefan

Far less insightful than the other Charley
Joined
Aug 17, 2005
Messages
33,052
What to take away from today's game?

Positives
Maguire

Negatives
Lacking in midfield
Better sides would have been out of sight by half time
 

Florida Man

Cartoon expert and crap superhero
Joined
Jan 24, 2014
Messages
13,863
Location
Florida, man
The hunger is there. We’ve got the young guns hungry and ready to prove someone wrong and they will die trying.

Maguire Lindelof partnership is the TRUTH. AWB is gonna be world class if he stays healthy. His lunges give me anxiety sometimes.

Sooo much work to be done with passing and chemistry but we’re seeing a lot of glimpses of the magic unfolding beneath our eyes. And the exciting thing is that there is optimism about what has to be worked on. That being said, that first half performance would get us killed against a more clinical team.
 

Di Maria's angel

Captain of Moanchester United
Joined
Mar 19, 2014
Messages
14,762
Location
London
Work to do be done, but an immediate improvement defensively.

Not sure about pereira, think James will have his place before long.

Shaw needs to step his game up too, his attacking play is letting him down.

The new signings really stole the show.

Martial / Rashford both ran their socks off and took their chances well, just need to tidy up their link up play.

Can’t be disappointed with a 4-0 home win with a CLEAN SHEET :drool:
Fred for Andreas, James for Lingard?
 

Di Maria's angel

Captain of Moanchester United
Joined
Mar 19, 2014
Messages
14,762
Location
London
The hunger is there. We’ve got the young guns hungry and ready to prove someone wrong and they will die trying.

Maguire Lindelof partnership is the TRUTH. AWB is gonna be world class if he stays healthy. His lunges give me anxiety sometimes.

Sooo much work to be done with passing and chemistry but we’re seeing a lot of glimpses of the magic unfolding beneath our eyes. And the exciting thing is that there is optimism about what has to be worked on. That being said, that first half performance would get us killed against a more clinical team.
Feels eerily familiar to the of 17/18 where Mourinho shut up shop by December. Hopefully, we start similarly but end better.
 

WR10

Correctly predicted France to win World Cup 2018
Joined
Jul 19, 2009
Messages
5,644
Location
Dream
We saw what it means to be a PL-proven signing. There’s very little bedding in you really have to do and you can just get on with the pace of the football.

If AWB, Harry and Pogba stay fit then we will be giving Liverpool and City a good run. They’re bound to have some poor luck and injuries this year
 

ArmchairCritic

You got pets me too mines are dead
Joined
Jan 4, 2011
Messages
16,152
Felt a bit like a late era Ferguson performance. Midfield non-existent but enough at the other ends of the pitch to make the difference and get the result. Pogba today could have been Giggs in centre midfield back then. The league has moved on quite a bit since we had SAF so it won't be as successful, especially against teams that have better defences or sit deep.
 

Camilo

Full Member
Joined
Jan 27, 2014
Messages
2,924
We're probably going to be better defensively, but I'm not sure we can take anything else from the game. We were lucky in many ways today.

I'm still worried about our lack of proactive play..
 

fps

Full Member
Joined
Dec 22, 2018
Messages
5,478
We saw what it means to be a PL-proven signing. There’s very little bedding in you really have to do and you can just get on with the pace of the football.

If AWB, Harry and Pogba stay fit then we will be giving Liverpool and City a good run. They’re bound to have some poor luck and injuries this year
That's incredibly optimistic. I don't see a title challenge at all, but will be measuring things by our performance in the table vs Arsenal and Spurs c/w last season.
 

charlenefan

Far less insightful than the other Charley
Joined
Aug 17, 2005
Messages
33,052
Felt a bit like a late era Ferguson performance. Midfield non-existent but enough at the other ends of the pitch to make the difference and get the result. Pogba today could have been Giggs in centre midfield back then. The league has moved on quite a bit since we had SAF so it won't be as successful, especially against teams that have better defences or sit deep.
Now you mention it it was a very similar performance to the early games in 11/12 season, remember when we beat Arsenal 8-2 and then Chelsea (ironically) 3-1. Both of those games were rife with the opposition having chances of their own. Hopefully we don't hit a City 1-6 defeat
 
Joined
Jul 31, 2015
Messages
22,545
Location
Somewhere out there
• Great start to the season.
Great stuff from all the new signings.
• Youngest starting 11 in the Prem.
• Exciting, interesting season ahead.

Stay positive, you're all fans after all. Trying to nitpick every single week will leave you permanently unsatisfied.
 

K13

Full Member
Joined
Apr 19, 2019
Messages
583
Location
UK
That we have a team again and everyone who played today seems happy and appreciated.

No matter what happens going forward the very fact that we are a team gives us a great building block.
 

Bobski

Full Member
Joined
Sep 5, 2017
Messages
9,662
Scoreline flatters the performance but it is the first game of the season and no-one should expect the finished article. If we are looking for season long pointers it would appear that a possession based game is not in store, win the ball high and counter or drop deep and counter. Don't want to state that it means the defense is sorted because only sorting the midfield will give us the security needed. Lingard has some use with his energy and direct running IF the better players around him, Pogba, Martial and Rashford consistently provide the quality.
 

El Jefe

Full Member
Joined
Dec 28, 2012
Messages
4,855
We're going in the right direction but it may take a while until we truly see a top class side. However the foundation for whatever this team achieves begins with the 2019/20 season.
 

RedCurry

Full Member
Joined
Apr 25, 2016
Messages
4,686
We were definitely in better physical condition than Chelsea. They faded towards the last quarter of the game and we punished them.

Martial is actually pressing from the front.

We look too casual on the ball at times with our flicks and tricks.

Maguire looked a good leader at the back. Only takes a couple of players of that mentality to turn around the fortunes of a team.

It’ll be interesting to see how we do once other teams have had a few games under their belt.
 

Reddy Rederson

New Member
Joined
May 11, 2018
Messages
3,809
Location
Unicorn Country.
We made good buys in the market.
Our defence is much much improved and can only get better with time.
Lingard has no place in the this team beyond being an impact sub, and even that is questionable.
Pereira just not good enough. Ive never seen what other have to seen to be honest.
Pogba, even though he may go missing is still our best midfielder which leads to;
We didnt make enough good buys in the market as our mid is woeful.

All in all, theres something to build from there now. Maybe a window or two, if we can get more players in the quality of AWB and harry, we could be back.

And I have to give a special mention to James. The joy on that kids face when he scored, just said everything about his character. It meant so much to him to get that goal. Hope that he becomes every bit the success he looks destined to be.
 

El Zoido

Full Member
Joined
Jun 7, 2013
Messages
12,259
Location
UK
Realistically, what sort of conclusions can we make about todays demolition of Chelsea?

The defence is sorted for years?
Has De Gea returned?
The front three, whilst inconsistent, looked very happy today.
Keeping Pogba was a master play from Ole (although may yet lose him).
The midfield is still weak so we may see a repeat of two seasons ago.
Bench strength is lacking.
Pressing? Not so much. Seems like we might go forward with high energy counter attacking football?
Mostly accurate, but it’s Shaw’s defending I’d be worried about. As Jose said at half time, he’s too easily pulled out of position and it creates a ton of space on the left flank. Maguire was covering for him once the space opened up, but unfortunately as good as Maguire is, he can’t play two positions at once.
 

r3idy

Correctly predicted France to win World Cup 2018
Joined
Jul 7, 2012
Messages
1,299
Location
Near Old Trafford
Positives

Defence - Maguire and Spiderman at the back. Looked solid. Defence is boring stuff but its the foundation to give the team confidence. Not sure if it was Souness or Jose but the point they made rang true. If you are a midfielder or attacker you will take more risks knowing that you have a solid line behind you.

Midfield - Never mind Maguire but if you want to look at a leader then take a look at McSauce. Stood up when needed, calmed players down when needed. Swung the ball from left to right when needed. No fuss display. Pereira, was a little disappointed with today. Thought he was often a pass off the pace especially when we didn't have the ball

Attack - Death by a 1000 cuts when attacking, great shape when we defended, especially from their goal kicks.

A special moment - Said it one of the other threads but my opinion (some may agree / some may disagree) but I genuinely feel that under Ole, our post Fergie rebuild, revival whatever you want to call it starts with this man, this season. Part of that was when Daniel James Scored. There seemed to be a just a glimmer of that connection between the players, the shirt and the fans. A stark contrast to when Lukaku scored at Arsenal and celebrated on his own.

Very Early days but you can only judge on what you have seen. More positives than negatives
 

C'est Moi Cantona

Full Member
Joined
Feb 15, 2014
Messages
8,573
We'll be ok in defence and and attack until injuries kick in, but the midfield needs work, and if Pogba isn't in it then I shudder to think.

But the win was fantastic, and I'll enjoy watching Chelsea side this season..
 

Lentwood

Full Member
Joined
Jan 2, 2015
Messages
6,783
Location
West Didsbury, Manchester
I dont think its time to get carried away just yet. I thought we were quite poor first half and fortunate not to go in behind. Second half was better but still thought 4-0 flattered us.

Positives

- Maguire and AWB
- Debut goal for James
- Confidence booster for De Gea
- Clean sheet
- Four goals
- Lindelof/Maguire partnership

Negatives

- Pogba very loose in possesion at times
- Midfield bypassed on several occasions. We looked very open throughout the game
- Attacking play far from fluid.
- Shaw and AWB dont offer much going forward
 

el3mel

Full Member
Joined
Oct 23, 2016
Messages
43,735
Location
Egypt
We have a staple back 4 and our counter attacks when done right are great to watch.

Need to improve our possession of the ball in the middle though, and don't start that nervy in other big matches as it may cost us.
 

Globule

signature/tagline creator extraordinaire
Joined
Sep 1, 2013
Messages
4,757
Hard to draw any definitives from the first game of the season, but there were positive signs.

I do think our efforts at playing out from the back are going to cost us at times. We gave the ball away in some dangerous areas.
 

Bobcat

Full Member
Joined
Feb 2, 2014
Messages
6,365
Location
Behind the curtains, leering at the neighbors
Positives:
  • Defense has been massively improved by AWB and Maguire
  • A full preseason seems to have done us good. Hopefully we can play with more intensity this season without having half the squad injured at once
  • Team spirit seems to be high
  • Martial and Rashford scoring will give them a confidence boost. Big season ahead for them
  • We are lethal on the conter
Negatives:
  • MF was a mess at times. Not at all confident about the Pogba/McTom partnership and Lingaard/Pereira are hardly world beaters either.
  • Our organized attacks need some serious work. To much faffing about and to little movement
 

Fully Fledged

Full Member
Joined
May 23, 2013
Messages
16,147
Location
Midlands UK
What was the average age of the players who played today? Every player including the subs.

People moaning need to look at the age and look at the likes of Gomes, Chong, Tuanzebe and Garner who can still make the step up. This squad is exciting. It may take a couple of years to reach it's potential but we have something special here. Lets not rush to judgement on it.
 

AFC NimbleThumb

Full Member
Joined
Apr 21, 2019
Messages
8,280
Not starting Matic was a Huge statement; in fairness so was omitting Mata.

A game against Chelsea & a lot of managers would have played them.

We’re obviously rounding into a good counter attacking unit.

AWB & Maguire looked to have settled already aswell.
 

In Rainbows

Full Member
Joined
Apr 17, 2014
Messages
6,730
What to take away? We need a better midfield, our new signings proved their worth, and we should be more optimistic in regards to our front line.
 

Isotope

Ten Years a Cafite
Joined
Mar 6, 2012
Messages
23,554
Didn’t see any attacking output from both fullbacks, and that’s one (of many areas) we were crying for last season.

AWB made a good career choice of become a fullback instead of winger.
 

Casanova85

New Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2018
Messages
4,183
Location
Northwestern Mediterranean
Supports
Cruyff/SAF
Rashford and Martial need to keep scoring and receiving assists. Our entire PL campaign depends on that.

Difficulties to link the defense with the midfield.

Maguire and Bissaka are our best signings in many years.
 

Andersons Dietician

Full Member
Joined
Jun 14, 2016
Messages
13,192
Mostly accurate, but it’s Shaw’s defending I’d be worried about. As Jose said at half time, he’s too easily pulled out of position and it creates a ton of space on the left flank. Maguire was covering for him once the space opened up, but unfortunately as good as Maguire is, he can’t play two positions at once.
Yeah but let’s be truthful he was getting pulled out of position because Rashford wasn’t tracking back and he was left with a 2 on 1. 2nd half when Rashford started tracking back that stopped. Jose was just taking sly digs even if anyone with a set of eyes could see why that was happening.

I think today we struggled with the pressing because Chelsea were very open and quite spread out so that made pressing harder but against teams that are slightly more compact it’ll look much better.

I think Wolves will be a much tougher test and we’ll get a better idea of where we are at with that game.
 

Devil may care

New Member
Joined
Jan 7, 2010
Messages
35,976
Morale looked good but we've seen that before, it's hard to trust this team to fight when it's tough going, hopefully Lukaku and Sanchez were the locker room poison and things will stabalize.

Tactically I think Ole has made an astute move having Pogba on the right of the double pivot, not only does he link well with AWB, but the defensive quality and recovery pace of AWB can hopefuly cover Pogba when he has his lapses which will always happen when he plays in a 2.

Our counter attack looks good but our build up play when we are trying to take the game on is still poor, not enough ball players in the team, too many runners, which is why Ole wanted a creative #10.
 

VeevaVee

The worst "V"
Scout
Joined
Jan 3, 2009
Messages
46,248
Location
Manchester
We need to turn up from the off or we'll get punished.

That we may be in for a more enjoyable season. Or we may be in for as equally frustrating season as recent ones.
 
Last edited:

Steven-UK

New Member
Newbie
Joined
Jan 30, 2019
Messages
521
Location
Manchester
What I take away from today is that we need to be absolutely clinical with our chances. Because goals aside, we were not far way from being United of last season for large parts of the game; the difference being that we took our chances so that the momentum didn't reverse like it did so many times last season.

We need to score those chances, or like last year, we'll be defending for our lives for the final 20 minutes of every game.

1) Pogba was useless first half, and needs consistency and a defensive partner to allow him some space further up the pitch. Even Lingard outplayed him first half.

2) Lindelof and Maguire were easily the best two United players out there.

3) Wan-bissaka looked very assured for his age.

4) Brilliant atmosphere at OT by the way, looks like the singing section has been moved to the Stretford end.

5) Standing ovation for Mourinho was classy, I could see the back of his head from my seat, and as soon as fans started chanting his name, he immediately got up and shown his appreciation. Good moment.

One of the best days at OT for a good while (apart from the prices for a beer and food going up again!).
 

Volumiza

The alright "V", B-Boy cypher cat
Joined
Jul 13, 2018
Messages
13,510
Location
Somewhere in the middle
What I take from today:

Our back 4 is as good as any in the league.

Our midfield seriously needs a bit of steel.

Our attack needs a to understand how to get the ball in the back of the net.

Other than that, it was a great opening match.