Seven games away from the most promising league season since Fergie

simonhch

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I wouldn't say it's gone.

There's every chance we can make top 4 at the expense of Leicester and we may only need 5th to get into CL anyway.
There’s 21 points available, and only 6 separate us from 3rd. 5th may be enough, dependent on The CAS outcome. And there’s the Europa league route. It’s going to require a tremendous run of form but I think it’s doable. I wouldn’t be surprised to see it go either way.
 

Nikelesh Reddy

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We”ve been great in the transfer window,but I wouldn’t say that our performances have been consistently good this season.We played some terrible football at the start of the season,we then went on a bit of a run,we were then good against Tottenham and Sheffield,but we were dissapointing yesterday....

So our performances have to get better,there’s no question about that...
 

Keefy18

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We”ve been great in the transfer window,but I wouldn’t say that our performances have been consistently good this season.We played some terrible football at the start of the season,we then went on a bit of a run,we were then good against Tottenham and Sheffield,but we were dissapointing yesterday....

So our performances have to get better,there’s no question about that...
In fairness, yesterday's starting XI was our reserves pretty much bar maybe 2 or 3 players.

There's still quite a bit of deadwood to get rid off. I count at least 7 players that could and should go...

  1. Jones
  2. Smalling
  3. Dalot
  4. Periera
  5. Lingard
  6. Sanchez
  7. Mata
The latter is the only one who might stick around due to the new deal he got but even then he'd not really be missed.
 

Withnail

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There’s 21 points available, and only 6 separate us from 3rd. 5th may be enough, dependent on The CAS outcome. And there’s the Europa league route. It’s going to require a tremendous run of form but I think it’s doable. I wouldn’t be surprised to see it go either way.
Yes sorry winning the Europa is another avenue I forgot to mention.

There's also the fact that we play Leicester on the last day and their run in is tougher than ours.

I'm quite confident we'll beat them so with their superior goal difference to take into account we only need to make up 4pts in the intervening games.
 

eire-red

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This season is such a funny one, for long stretches we were abysmal. Looking at the squad now, and I don't feel like we'll ever revert back to the type of performances we saw against Bournemouth, West Ham, Crystal Palace etc.

At the moment, we're showing, maybe not title winning form, but close to it. Maguire, Bruno, Pogba, Martial, Rashford, Fred, Shaw, Lindelof. We have a core of players in their prime years or at least coming into their prime, with the youth of Williams, Greenwood, Tuanzebe, Wan Bissaka, and a few more fringe players providing some much needed energy and exuberance.

We're in what feels like a good place right now, but let's not forget how bleak it was before the International break. Let's see how the season finishes, Top 4 and a cup (preferably EL) would be satisfactory. We need to add some quality in the summer, hopefully Sancho and a quality squad addition like Grealish, and really push on.

In short, I feel like this season has been equal parts good and bad, but since February I've seen enough to expect us to mount a serious challenge next year, maybe not a title challenge but at least a fight to claim maybe second or third.
 

Nikelesh Reddy

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In fairness, yesterday's starting XI was our reserves pretty much bar maybe 2 or 3 players.

There's still quite a bit of deadwood to get rid off. I count at least 7 players that could and should go...

  1. Jones
  2. Smalling
  3. Dalot
  4. Periera
  5. Lingard
  6. Sanchez
  7. Mata
The latter is the only one who might stick around due to the new deal he got but even then he'd not really be missed.
We have been much much better in the transfer market since Ole came In,so I”m sure that these players will be phased out gradually.But I”m still not convinced if he’s a good enough coach to guide us back to the top.The greatest managers in the world nowadays seem to have a unique ability of making good players even better just by their remarkable coaching nous.Does Ole have that ability?I”m really not sure....He’s a nice person who gets along well with the players and represents the club well.Hes capable of tactically competing in the big games....But can he improve the players on the training field?Thats the million dollar question for me...
 

Lentwood

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I love the change of direction we're seeing from the top down since Jose left. Like many posters have said, I finally feel like win or lose I can get behind this team.

One thing to be careful of is that I still feel we are only ever one or two injuries away from being mediocre again. The midfield is starting to look strong but take out Martial and I'm not sure who leads the line. Likewise, take away Maguire and I'm not sure I've total confidence in a Bailly/Lindelof partnership at CB. Also, we've only really Rashford who can play AML to the standard required, so again, significantly weaker without him.
 

Revan

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Has the feeling of 05/06 to me. Young players on the cusp of World class. Maybe a key signing away from things falling into place.
We had Ferdinand, Scholes, Giggs, RvN (although broke with SAF at the end of the season) and VDS who might have been considered world-class, with Rooney, Ronaldo, Vidic and Evra going on that direction.

Unfortunately, I do not see that parallelism. Pogba (when he bothers) is world-class, possibly Bruno too, but that's it (De Gea might be if he reaches anywhere the form he had pre-world cup). We definitely have Rashford and Martial who can be considered to be in the cusp of world-class. It is still nowhere as good as it was in 05/06 (with RVP leaving, and the other four reaching world-class status, we had 8 world-class players, while now we can have at most 5).

It is a promising team, but I don't see it competing for the two big trophies next season.
 

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We had Ferdinand, Scholes, Giggs, RvN (although broke with SAF at the end of the season) and VDS who might have been considered world-class, with Rooney, Ronaldo, Vidic and Evra going on that direction.

Unfortunately, I do not see that parallelism. Pogba (when he bothers) is world-class, possibly Bruno too, but that's it (De Gea might be if he reaches anywhere the form he had pre-world cup). We definitely have Rashford and Martial who can be considered to be in the cusp of world-class. It is still nowhere as good as it was in 05/06 (with RVP leaving, and the other four reaching world-class status, we had 8 world-class players, while now we can have at most 5).

It is a promising team, but I don't see it competing for the two big trophies next season.
I think this is good analysis. Not only are your points about the world class players accurate, but there is also the matter of consistency. Although this team is much improved lately (and qudos to the manager for that), I need to see them play consistently well for a whole season.

Looking at LIverpool and City, this season, LFC record is P31 W28 D2 L1 v City P31 W20 D3 L8 = 23 points difference.

I am far from an admirer of Liverpool as a club, but have to recognise the consistency of performance of this team, where they only failed to take points from a game on one occasion.

City have scored 10% more goals than Liverpool (77 v 70) but still find themselves 23 points adrift. Remember all those Liverpool games (including v us) when they ground out 'lucky' wins? We need to rediscover the art of being 'lucky'. To be fair, we did in the FA Cup, v Norwich - horrible performance overall, but kept going to sneak a winning goal from a centre back.

Our defence is tidy and hopefully Bruno and Pogba (if he stays) will bolster the striker's goals, so if we can be consistent, I don't see why we shouldn't challenge in the longer term, when we strengthen the squad so we are not hostage to injury of key players (a risk that Liverpool are also subject to, IMO).
 

TrustInOle

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In fairness, yesterday's starting XI was our reserves pretty much bar maybe 2 or 3 players.

There's still quite a bit of deadwood to get rid off. I count at least 7 players that could and should go...

  1. Jones
  2. Smalling
  3. Dalot
  4. Periera
  5. Lingard
  6. Sanchez
  7. Mata
The latter is the only one who might stick around due to the new deal he got but even then he'd not really be missed.
James should not be on that list. Fantastic squad player to have and tons of time to still improve.

Rest is easily agreeable.

Edit. Apologies, misread Jones as James haha. My bad.
 

Member 113277

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Haha! Ammended, these night shifts mess with me, only been home an hour and not been bed yet, sigh.
Next time, use the old professor's trick - 'I was just checking to see if anyone was paying attention' :-)
 

Dante

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Manchester have now scored more league goals (51) than they did in the whole of LvG's first season at the club (49).
 

Darlington Padgett

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Showing great promise, we still need a better squad to challenge. Sancho is without a doubt the perfect fit, he can play on the right and also rotate with Pogba/Bruno if needed. Right now if either Pogba or Bruno gets injured we're back to where we started.
 

Schmeichel's Cartwheel

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Manchester have now scored more league goals (51) than they did in the whole of LvG's first season at the club (49).
Mad to think we had Rooney, Van Persie, Falcao, Di Maria & fresh from Chelsea Mata that season yet scored so few goals.
 

Dion

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Crazy thing is, we finished 4th that season as well :eek:
Nah that season we scored 62 goals, he's referring to the second season when we finished 5th.

Mad to think we had Rooney, Van Persie, Falcao, Di Maria & fresh from Chelsea Mata that season yet scored so few goals.
We didn't have RvP, Falcao or Di Maria the season we scored 49, that was the second season when we had teenage Martial and Rashford and a decrepit Rooney.

We're still at a lower GpG (1.59) than LvG's first season, Moyes' first season and Mourinho's second season.
 
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Stig

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I think I'm just beginning to realize what a good player Matic is.

.... It has taken me some time !
 

RedPed

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Solskjaer's best run as United manager:



38 goals scored and 4 conceded (all avoidable) in all competitions. And we've beaten Chelsea and City (twice) during that period.


Tottenham and below are out of Champions League contention imo. They'll be slugging it out for Europa League places. It's now just down to who can hold their nerve and grind out results for the rest of the season. We also have one of, if not the easiest run in but it will be close. What are the odds on the four of us playing each other on the final day of the season, by the way?? That's just mental! Leicester City seem to be in the most precarious position. That final day of the season could end up being a real doozie.




On a side note. After the Norwich game, Arsenal have Wolves, Leicester, Spurs and Liverpool. :lol: I really hope they get destroyed.
 
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Danish Wizard

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The last day might be an interesting one.
Leicester vs United
Chelsea vs Wolves
Battle for CL to the last minute
 

Schmeichel's Cartwheel

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Get competent LB, rock solid DM, also RF and I think we really would have the team on our hands for the first time in ages.
Agreed on LB & RW. I trust Matic to be our DM. I think a better CM/AM to come off the bench instead of Pereira and Lingard etc
 
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I'm sorry to say but the final piece of the puzzle maybe a better manager. Like you said, there is a chance but if we are no where near contention it will be inevitable that he gets the chop.
it’s this manager who has brought in Maguire, AWB, James, Ighalo and Bruno. He’s the manager that has got the best out of Martial, Rashford, Fred etc etc.

Rome wasn’t build in day. Good things come to those who wait blah blah.

can you not see the team he’s been rebuilt from top to bottom and that this takes time. We are seeing some of those fruits now.
 

londonredmaniac

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it’s this manager who has brought in Maguire, AWB, James, Ighalo and Bruno. He’s the manager that has got the best out of Martial, Rashford, Fred etc etc.

Rome wasn’t build in day. Good things come to those who wait blah blah.

can you not see the team he’s been rebuilt from top to bottom and that this takes time. We are seeing some of those fruits now.
Nah, let's change it again just as we are starting to look like to are improving significantly.

Makes sense to start again with new ideas...
 

anant

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On a side note. After the Norwich game, Arsenal have Wolves, Leicester, Spurs and Liverpool. :lol: I really hope they get destroyed.
Nah, need Arsenal to beat Wolves and Leicester, or atleast get a draw in both those games
 

Keefy18

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We have been much much better in the transfer market since Ole came In,so I”m sure that these players will be phased out gradually.But I”m still not convinced if he’s a good enough coach to guide us back to the top.The greatest managers in the world nowadays seem to have a unique ability of making good players even better just by their remarkable coaching nous.Does Ole have that ability?I”m really not sure....He’s a nice person who gets along well with the players and represents the club well.Hes capable of tactically competing in the big games....But can he improve the players on the training field?Thats the million dollar question for me...
I'm confident he is already doing this.

TBF to Ole and the coaching staff this is the first time in the post Fergie era we are now playing with a distinctive style and not just countering teams. We are playing with a high press and work rate is fantastic, we retain possession well and move the ball with far better tempo than at almost any point in the last decade arguably.

On your point, he has improved AWB, Shaw (although still not 100% convinced personally), Williams, Matic, Fred, McTominay, Rashford, Martial, Greenwood... that's just off the top of my head.

Simple question...... who is our player of the season, I bet it's far more varied and up for grabs than at any point in at least a decade. We've quite a few players quite worthy of taking it to my mind.
 

lysglimt

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Solskjaer's best run as United manager:



38 goals scored and 4 conceded (all avoidable) in all competitions. And we've beaten Chelsea and City (twice) during that period.


Tottenham and below are out of Champions League contention imo. They'll be slugging it out for Europa League places. It's now just down to who can hold their nerve and grind out results for the rest of the season. We also have one of, if not the easiest run in but it will be close. What are the odds on the four of us playing each other on the final day of the season, by the way?? That's just mental! Leicester City seem to be in the most precarious position. That final day of the season could end up being a real doozie.




On a side note. After the Norwich game, Arsenal have Wolves, Leicester, Spurs and Liverpool. :lol: I really hope they get destroyed.
Why - I hope they destroy Leicester and Wolves :)
 

prateik

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5th gets CL.. right?
Wolves need to get off our backs.. they have some tough fixtures coming up.
 

El Zoido

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Leicester will be out of it come through last day, I don’t even think we’ll need to beat them. Every one of their remaining games is a potential banana skin and they’re not in good form. We’ll have a better GD by the end of the season too.
 

crossy1686

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5th gets CL.. right?
Wolves need to get off our backs.. they have some tough fixtures coming up.
Not confirmed yet, we find out in the next 10 days if City get banned or not.

I think the top 4 will be United and Wolves making up 3rd and 4th. Chelsea and Leicester will drop too many points looking at their run in's. Cheslea to finish 5th and get a place by default.
 

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Not confirmed yet, we find out in the next 10 days if City get banned or not.

I think the top 4 will be United and Wolves making up 3rd and 4th. Chelsea and Leicester will drop too many points looking at their run in's. Cheslea to finish 5th and get a place by default.
Having watched Chelsea destroy City, I fear they will be difficult to overhaul in their current form, which is unfortunate as they were out of form before the break - anyway, I hope you're right and I'm wrong on this - let's see what they do with West Ham tonight - I see them as being on a par with us, at the moment and unfortunately they have a point point lead and a game in hand.

Wolves are a threat, for sure, we just need to try to win every game and see what happens with Chelsea and Leicester, who may be currently in third, but look the most vulnerable.
 
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