[bsCallout]

The Thursday - Sunday games are notoriously bad.

We have some very important players out that we could do with having back, even for rotation. Need Cavani desperately because we can't play with Martial.

Really poor performance.

Martial and DDG could be the end of Ole, if he persists with them.

Great to get a result. Nice to see Amad and Shoretire get minutes this week. James is earning his playing time, even if he isn't someone we want RW in the future. He manages to score and he has actually committed a few helpful professional fouls.

Greenwood looks good but seems way too desperate to score and is snatching at shots.

 

[Devil may care]

Garbage performance but got the vital 3 points from a couple of good shots out of nothing, cohesiveness as an attacking unit was non existent.

 

[Alemar]

@MyOnlySolskjaer a kind request to start Shoretire performance thread. I wanted to criticize his performance slightly

 

[Summit]

I think it’s a very average field this season, and think many others would agree. Looking at underlying performance indicators, I see a number of issues still. There were periods of the game today where we looked absolutely bereft of energy or quality. Our season has been a mass of such indifferent performances pockmarked by gritty victories, although lately they have dried up. I would personally be more convinced if we could just put a series of consistent performances together.

I find it hard to be negative tbh when we win. I take we made a meal of that win, but to me a win is a win.

 

[PlayerOne]

That first half and the first 10 minutes of the second-half were poor, but games like these, you need to win no matter what.

Thought the set-up was poor, certain players getting picked when they have not earned their spots, but again, a win is all that matters.

Still, we really need to pick up our game now, some tough games coming up soon.

 

[M Bison]

First 20 mins especially, it was comically bad, particularly from our CB’s and DDG, a better team would have punished us more than Newcastle did.

The defence settled a bit but the midfield was non existent and we got overrun by their CM, too much walking and slow build up.

It was until James scored that we settled and looked composed, and we started to pass the ball about. At 2-1 I still fancied them to come back into it and was relieved with the pen.

Our inability to defend corners and set pieces is a real worry, and we look so easy to play against, sit deep and let us have the ball and our defence always has a goal (against) in it so you’re in with a decent chance of a point at least.

 

[ajay1002]

Think Newcastle's high press in the first half ended up helping Utd out. Newcastle looked completely out of gas from 60 minutes onwards.

Nice to get a win against the sort of side we've been dropping points to lately. Seriously need to sort out that defence though.

 

[JoeyJoJoJrShabadoo]

Matic was good today

The football we played was shocking at times. Defence still very poor. Martial a shell of his former self. I dont know how many chances we must give him.

 

[chicha14]

Michael Owen sounds bitter

 

[Irrational.]

“The next eight games will define United’s season” - absolutely earth-shattering analysis by Jake Humphreys.

 

[Judas]

That wasn't good, but we got the job done, which is a step up from some of our recent performances.

 

[redom]

Just glad we managed to get this one over the line with 3 points. We still had the same issues as previous games but this time we got a couple of scruffy(ish) goals to ease the pressure and give us the lead and then the pen to wrap it up, there's still plenty to work on at both ends of the pitch but at least we do have the individuals to get us out of trouble at times even if collectively we aren't firing. Maybe we'll start to build our confidence and get a head of steam going for the end of the season as it's going to be a scrap by the looks of it.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

Michael Owen sounds bitter

Michael Owen is bitter.

 

[stu_1992]

Well it certainly ended a lot better than it started. Majority of the game wasn't great but you can't complain with a 3-1 victory too much. I criticised James at Half Time saying it wasn't his type of game, and while I think that was true he did well to get the goal to put us 2-1 up again. We looked okay from there and obviously the Fernandes goal was the icing on the cake.

Really great to see a debut for Shoretire. I'm sure he'll get more minutes to impress before the end of the year.

 

[M Bison]

Performance aside, I love so many youth players being in the squad.

Rashford
Greenwood
Shoretire
Henderson
Williams
Axel

Fantastic.

 

[Feed Me]

I find it hard to be negative tbh when we win. I take we made a meal of that win, but to me a win is a win.

I’m happy with the win. But I’m looking ahead to the fixtures we have coming up and think we’re in line for a couple of really disappointing outcomes. I can’t fathom how this side is going to get anything from Stamford Bridge or the Etihad.

 

[gerdm07]

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

What does Bruno's goal gesture mean?

- Pretty boring match but we won.
- Martial continues to disappoint and it doesn't look like he cares.
- Shaw good.
- We are starting to look more and more shaky when teams press us and I expect it more and more until Pogba gets back. We really need a good passing DM. After watch PSG this week I just crave a player like Verrati, someone like that could make us really tick.

 

[Dan_F]

Cant say I was massively concerned at all, even when it was pulled back to 1-1. ASM is the only player they have with any real quality. It’s been nice to have a couple of games where it’s been a done deal before the last 10 minutes or so.

 

[Summit]

I’m happy with the win. But I’m looking ahead to the fixtures we have coming up and think we’re in line for a couple of really disappointing outcomes. I can’t fathom how this side is going to get anything from Stamford Bridge or the Etihad.

You worry too much. Have a beer pal. What will be, will be, my friend.

 

[Bilbo]

This first hour was unacceptably poor. It really was. There are of course always excuse - away in Europe, player absences - but those excuses were just not sufficient for how bad we were playing.

However, we won the game. We solved it.....eventually, but its still one that throws up more issues than solutions, and its just an indicator of how maddening this team can be that we played so well on Thursday and so badly today.

The bad:
Martial - obviously. It will say something about our club whether he is still in our shirt next season. He has completely shrunk under the challenge from Cavani. A powderpuff player really. Not good enough

Fred - acceptable with McTominay. Horrific otherwise. Didnt turn up. Didn't drive the team forward. Too safe, and not good enough at even being safe. A real bad night for him

De Gea - he puts this defence on edge. Not commanding. Lacking in confidence. I struggle to see a compelling argument why Henderson isn't getting a run


The good:
Shaw - top quality. Enough said

Rashford - not his best night but he has quality and he'll get 25+ goals this season

Everybody else was decent enough. Matic showed up. James is getting back to something we can use.

We missed Pogba, and Scott, and Cavani. This was a must win game and we got there so let's just move on. Avoid defeat at Chelsea and thats top 4 sewn up IMO

 

[Feed Me]

You worry too much. Have a beer pal. What will be, will be my friend.

Aye, you’re probably right!

 

[CM]

Thankfully managed to salvage a win after that awful first half but there are too many players starting in that team who aren't good enough.

We're already hamstrung with the injuries in midfield meaning we have to play Fred and Matic together, we can't afford to be carrying passengers like de Gea, Lindelof and Martial along with them. Pogba and Cavani's returns cannot come soon enough.

 

[largelyworried]

Not a great performance, but it's the kind of thing you see at this point in the season. Long season, mid week away game in Europe, we looked a little off the pace. We still got the job done. A lot of our problem was Matic + Fred. Zero progressive passing coming into our front line from midfield due to that. But it was forced on us due to injury, so can't be helped.

The real worry is the defence. Our set piece defending is absurd at this point. In a game like this when your strikers aren't on their game, you need a defence that is solid. You need to know one goal and you’re sorted. Not for us. We need a goal just to rub out the stupid one we always give away.

Newcastle knew full well that we don't deal with second balls at set pieces. Their entire strategy was to plug high balls in and go for the second ball. It worked. For the goal, De Gea should have claimed it, Maguire should have cleared it out for a corner, and someone should have been marking Saint-Maximan. He's stood alone in the box for pete's sake. Poor all round. The kind of thing that turns a stroll into a tricky game.

Playing De Gea and Maguire and Lindelof together is just baffling. Every hoof into the box is a dangerous ball with those three at the heart of defence. This is the time where mistakes can finish your season. We cannot carry on with those three. I just hope Ole heeds the warning.

Still, with the teams outside the top four all looking vulnerable, at least we ticked one more game off the list. The league title is gone anyway, so 2nd is fine, 3rd would do. Our focus should be on winning a trophy.

 

[Tapori]

Just shows maybe we all needed to be a bit patient with Dan James.

Sell him. Poor player. Never good enough. Let's pin all our hopes on another young dazzling player and when he performs poorly sell him. And let's pin all our hopes on the next young player and when he performs poorly...

 

[Foxbatt]

Ian Wright and Owen is getting my goat.

 

[JakeC]

@MyOnlySolskjaer a kind request to start Shoretire performance thread. I wanted to criticize his performance slightly

We have one, and are you on crack? A 17 year old came on for the final 4 minutes and you want to have a go at him?

 

[#07]

If we could defend we'd be quite the team. Top scorers in the Premier League. Bottom half defensive record. That tells the whole story of our season.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

Sell him. Poor player. Never good enough. Let's pin all our hopes on another young dazzling player and when he performs poorly sell him. And let's pin all our hopes on the next young player and when he performs poorly...

Sums it up doesn't it.

 

[Djemba-Djemba]

Up until James scored I thought we were terrible, every bit as bad as we were against West Brom and Sheff Utd.

Once it was 2-1 we played well and we managed a rare comfortbale league win.

Shaw was very good again.

Martial is now depressingly bad.

 

[BestRed]

Dug in and got the 3 very important points. Not always easy done after a midweek euro away.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

I thought we were a bit shit but we finished strongly and we never looked like letting a one goal second half lead slip (never mind a two goal lead) so that’s something to be pleased about seeing as closing games out comfortably has been a big issue for us this season.

 

[MrBest]

Awful performance as usual, no surprises. I'd like to say great to bag the 3 points but Chelsea and City next and having dropped silly points in recent weeks, we had to win this at all cost. Job done, but I'm not happy with how bad we actually are. I think James deserves MoTM. He chased well, got a goal, end product at times was questionable but his effort was above most. I also thought Matic was good and Shaw his usual consistent self. Bruno had a stinker but he offers moments of magic which no other player does for us, on a regular basis. Oh and great goal from Rashy, need more conviction from him going forward.

 

[Gator Nate]

I mean, is this supposed to be a serious argument? So if he scores one fecking goal out of nowhere, him being shit for 99.9% of the game is fine?

Seriously? Hardly that... he played well... better than most, I'd say. One of the few attackers on the squad that defends well, too. And for 90+ minutes.

I think Newcastle came at us in an unexpected manner and caught us off guard. Took a half to settle down. Whatever Ole said to the lads at the half seemed to do the job, though.

My problem with the defense today was the lack of strong clearances for most of the match. We need Bailly out there!

Outside of that, the midfield did well enough and the front line did what was needed to get three goals.

Rashford's goal was special.

James was clinical on his goal, even if the pass was to Bruno in the middle.

Bruno had a nice pen.

I suspect Diallo and Shoretire will start on Thursday.

 

[Tapori]

Sums it up doesn't it.

Aye. Look, not every player in every squad can be Arjen Robben or Ronaldinho but can you imagine the early PL era in the social media age when our youngsters and young signings came through then?

SACK FERGIE
SELL BECKS

 

[Alemar]

Very average performance, but it’s good we won.
De Gea made a few good saves, Shaw was very solid as usual, Matic quite good, as were Rashford and James.

Fred and especially Martial were dreadful.

Bruno was very average, but G+A again, so we can take that.

Shola Shoretire - congratulations on the debut, but he didn’t look ready

 

[Pogue Mahone]

I mean, is this supposed to be a serious argument? So if he scores one fecking goal out of nowhere, him being shit for 99.9% of the game is fine?

Please don’t tell lies. It makes sensible discussions on here impossible.

 

[KiD MoYeS]

Poor performance but in Ole's defence, Matic and Fred are going to offer little to nothing going forward and they were only two available centre midfield players. Onto Chelsea, need a few players back, particularly McTominay and Cavani.

 

[Summit]

Aye. Look, not every player in every squad can be Arjen Robben or Ronaldinho but can you imagine the early PL era in the social media age when our youngsters and young signings came through then?

SACK FERGIE
SELL BECKS

GIGGS, it is always sell GIGGS

 

[Feed Me]

I mean, is this supposed to be a serious argument? So if he scores one fecking goal out of nowhere, him being shit for 99.9% of the game is fine?

I think you need to remove your preconceived bias and watch the game for what it was. James was probably our most effective attacker today and is in the side on merit.

 

[Alemar]

We have one, and are you on crack? A 17 year old came on for the final 4 minutes and you want to have a go at him?

Please get me right: I am very happy he came on, and in general supportive of playing youth. At the same time, we need to keep our feet on the ground: contrary to Diallo debut midweek, Shola didn’t impress much (although I do agree 4 minutes is not a lot of time).

P.S. where is Shoretire thread? One in youth section doesn’t count as he is now officially a First team player