"We've beat big teams in the past and we've won big games but we've always had to do it a different way to how we prefer to do it" -Rashford

[Bastian]

That was the most interesting bit of the presser. Saying that we're able to play our own style and win. Nothing new here for the Caf, but it does show that the players obviously feel the same. In order to continue down this route of playing a progressive style and still win we are probably a few first XI players short still, but we've had a couple of good games like this, Barca away and Spurs.

When was the last time we played well against a big side and won, prior to this season?

 

[OrcaFat]

Yeah, it’s true, we’re playing good stuff and winning big games. Mostly.

The Liv defeat really was curious in that way but if you look at the line up and formation there are a few little red flags there, I think.

I doubt Rash was saying this directly but possibly we expected to play our normal game and win. When things went wrong the players lost their heads - we saw that.

He says they didn’t give up but stopped playing in a co-ordinated way. They were in shock at 3-0, I think. With Case carrying a knock and Bruno freaking out, there was nobody getting hold of the situation.

I think they had it in their heads that they should be winning because that is their recent experience. Still a few lessons to learn in that way but the fundamental state of our being a confident team, playing our way and expecting to win is very welcome and will lead to more improvement imo.

 

[Sandikan]

Without this being one of those "blessing in disguise" type situations, hopefully it'll instantly give everyone a huge wake up call, and make them realise we haven't made it just yet.
Winning big home games, Barcelona and a cup, and then that happening is one hell of a complacency batterer!

 

[OrcaFat]

It’s obviously been harder to play “our way” since Eriksen got injured. We still got some good results but our possession game has been lacking and we’ve missed his creativity.

 

[Cheimoon]

I doubt Rash was saying this directly but possibly we expected to play our normal game and win. When things went wrong the players lost their heads - we saw that.

I think he rather means that Ten Hag is drilling them in a certain style/tactics, but they have had to adopt different approaches when playing the big teams - probably because Ten Hag feels that the team isn't ready for that yet and/or that he doesn't have enough players yet that can execute his style at the level required against the strongest opposition.

 

[OrcaFat]

I think he rather means that Ten Hag is drilling them in a certain style/tactics, but they have had to adopt different approaches when playing the big teams - probably because Ten Hag feels that the team isn't ready for that yet and/or that he doesn't have enough players yet that can execute his style at the level required against the strongest opposition.

No I think he was saying we had to change our style against the big teams in the past but these days we play teams on our terms.

 

[Isotope]

I think he rather means that Ten Hag is drilling them in a certain style/tactics, but they have had to adopt different approaches when playing the big teams - probably because Ten Hag feels that the team isn't ready for that yet and/or that he doesn't have enough players yet that can execute his style at the level required against the strongest opposition.

I think Rashford meant that yes we've won against big teams in the past, but we've won with the style that we didn't prefer. So now he wants us to win big games with style he/United prefer.

It doesn't work this time, but that's the sacrifice to make.

 

[Hughie77]

What I like he said nonsense when they said they threw the towel In so to speak he said they were unorganised by trying to get back into the game. Now I can get that .

 

[Berbasbullet]

What I like he said nonsense when they said they threw the towel In so to speak he said they were unorganised by trying to get back into the game. Now I can get that .

Similar to the 6-1 v City, Fletcher scored an absolute wondergoal which actually killed us in the end.

 

[FrankDrebin]

Coaching and abit more smarts in the transfer window will hopefully get us there.

 

[DWelbz19]

That 'way' will not change until we inject this side with a bunch of players (mostly in midfield) who can retain possession and be calm on the ball under the press in big matches.

We're still a counter-attacking, transition base team to our very core. Very few of our players can play a more dominant possession based game.

 

[Smores]

Couldn't give a shit about winning the right way in big games. Even Fergie sacrificed preferred style in big games to achieve victory.

It's also a bit of a lazy excuse as if we could have won but we took the high ground. Key mistakes are key mistakes and most of the goals conceded were not down to style of play.

 

[FrankDrebin]

Can we move on from SAF please , thanks.

 

[hobbers]

That 'way' will not change until we inject this side with a bunch of players (mostly in midfield) who can retain possession and be calm on the ball under the press in big matches.

Basically this.

When you have a passing triangle of Fred, Bruno and Weghorst in the centre of the pitch you are never keeping the ball against any half decent side.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

That 'way' will not change until we inject this side with a bunch of players (mostly in midfield) who can retain possession and be calm on the ball under the press in big matches.

We're still a counter-attacking, transition base team to our very core. Very few of our players can play a more dominant possession based game.

Yup. We need to make a few key signings in the summer in that direction otherwise it’ll be another season of struggling with possession play

 

[sullydnl]

Not sure I get what Rashford means?

If there has been a change in how we approach these bigger games then it hasn't been a particularly radical one, as we've still mostly been the team with less possession and control relying on counter-attacking football, same as before.

And more generally we still need to go long far more than is ideal and still average just the 6th most possession in the PL. All of which is largely down to limitations in our squad forcing a high degree of compromise and pragmatism from ETH.

In other words I would have thought the point would be "we are still forced to play in a way we wouldn't prefer against these big sides and that needs to change", as opposed to any suggestion that change has already occurred.

 

[Mickeza]

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I found this insightful. No cliches around we didn’t want it enough or we stopped running -they’ve clearly rewatched snippets and ETH has tactically got across to them why from a structural sense it was a total mess.

 

[united_99]

Yeah I don’t get it either. We just beat Newcastle in the final with less than 40% possession so if he is including this in “in the past” then fair enough.

 

[OrcaFat]

Yeah I don’t get it either. We just beat Newcastle in the final with less than 40% possession so if he is including this in “in the past” then fair enough.

We are a different team without Eriksen. Not much more to it than that really.

 

[Baxquux]

Of course they didn't just 'give up' to a man. Does that comport with anything we know about Casemiro, for instance- it's obviously a combination of being burnt out by the schedule, knocks to at least one key member of the team (Cas, in particular, Licha also looked slightly sluggish, maybe not fully recovered from possible concussion from previous match) and different parts of the line chasing the game in different ways.

Next season, we don't need more 'pashun' in the face of set-backs (like goal conceded immediately after half-time), we need a higher ceiling squad depth, including a consistent ability to slow and speed the game up from within midfield as necessary, but also (unlike Eriksen, much as he still has a role) able to close down and cover ground at pace ideally, along with ideally someone closer to De Gea at the very least in terms of pulling off clutch saves (normally) but with better distribution...

 

[Blood Mage]

We lack technical players who can beat a press, that's why we're struggling to play the way Ten Hag wants at the moment. Martinez, Shaw and Eriksen are really the only players with good enough technique to thrive in this system. Casemiro gets by just fine because of his amazing reading of the game and positional sense but his technique isn't really up to standard either.

 

[united_99]

Couldn't give a shit about winning the right way in big games. Even Fergie sacrificed preferred style in big games to achieve victory.

It's also a bit of a lazy excuse as if we could have won but we took the high ground. Key mistakes are key mistakes and most of the goals conceded were not down to style of play.

Yep. I mean it’s obviously important to have a set style which wins you most of your games.
Then it’s actually a sign of a great manager to do what is necessary and adapt in the bigger games or against certain teams if necessary in order to win them. If he believes that his “usual” style without any adjustments is the way to win the big games then fair enough.

I very much doubt Klopp or Liverpool players or fans have lost any sleep when they for example beat the mighty Spurs in the CL final with just 2 or 3 shots on target and less than 40% possession.

 

[Theonas]

Couldn't give a shit about winning the right way in big games. Even Fergie sacrificed preferred style in big games to achieve victory.

It's also a bit of a lazy excuse as if we could have won but we took the high ground. Key mistakes are key mistakes and most of the goals conceded were not down to style of play.

It's not about you giving or not giving a shit. It's the fact that this was the approach of the most successful teams in the recent past. Teams that had to adjust their style like Chelsea, Leicester or us towards the end of Fergie's tenure proved to be lacking in Europe against the very best, and more importantly, couldn't sustain their success. We are not special, if we want to be at the level of City and Liverpool of the past few years and even current Arsenal, we need to develop a style that is good enough to beat the best, more often than not.

 

[Yagami]

That 'way' will not change until we inject this side with a bunch of players (mostly in midfield) who can retain possession and be calm on the ball under the press in big matches.

We're still a counter-attacking, transition base team to our very core. Very few of our players can play a more dominant possession based game.

Shaw, Martinez, Rashford and Martial are the only players who fit. Potentially Garnacho and Malacia, too.

Everyone else is weak under pressure. EtH needs to address this in the summer. No more lightweights like Casemiro, Eriksen and Antony like his first window.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Shaw, Martinez, Rashford and Martial are the only players who fit. Potentially Garnacho and Malacia, too.

Everyone else is weak under pressure. EtH needs to address this in the summer. No more lightweights like Casemiro, Eriksen and Antony like his first window.

Shameless.

 

[Bastian]

Like I said in the OP, I think we've seen two of those matches this season. We didn't win away at Barca, but we played like a big team. And we definitely looked the part against Spurs. Against Liverpool at home we were under the cosh, I mean we had just lost our first two matches under ETH and were desperate for a result. It wasn't particularly pretty, nor was the home match against Arsenal, and we were extremely lucky at home to City. That being said, when we've got everyone fit we can see that we're starting to play football that is well beyond anything we've seen post SAF. For someone like Rashford who came through during LVG's reign, this is a first for him, and you can understand how good that might feel. There was a lot of hype when we beat PSG away a few years ago and when Ole had Pep's number, but it was always a plucky underdog fight.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Like I said in the OP, I think we've seen two of those matches this season. We didn't win away at Barca, but we played like a big team. And we definitely looked the part against Spurs. Against Liverpool at home we were under the cosh, I mean we had just lost our first two matches under ETH and were desperate for a result. It wasn't particularly pretty, nor was the home match against Arsenal, and we were extremely lucky at home to City. That being said, when we've got everyone fit we can see that we're starting to play football that is well beyond anything we've seen post SAF. For someone like Rashford who came through during LVG's reign, this is a first for him, and you can understand how good that might feel. There was a lot of hype when we beat PSG away a few years ago and when Ole had Pep's number, but it was always a plucky underdog fight.

Yeah, agreed. And the first half against Chelsea was about as dominant a spell as I can remember at Stamford Bridge in a very long time.

Plus we did leave it very late against City but we were fairly comfortable. I think they only had one shot on target, despite loads of possession. We weren’t under siege and were clearly the better team in the first half.

Now I think about it, the recurring theme in big games has been very good first halfs, a lot less good after halftime. Which is a definite improvement on being dominated for the full 90 minutes.

 

[Isotope]

Basically this.

When you have a passing triangle of Fred, Bruno and Weghorst in the centre of the pitch you are never keeping the ball against any half decent side.

Add (United) Casemiro to that.

 

[hobbers]

Add (United) Casemiro to that.

We need Casemiro doing want he did at Real. Winning the ball and giving it to Eriksen to hit the vertical passes and someone like Frenkie to carry the ball forward.

 

[Isotope]

We need Casemiro doing want he did at Real. Winning the ball and giving it to Eriksen to hit the vertical passes and someone like Frenkie to carry the ball forward.

Even when Eriksen was playing, Case was never a metronome at United. I think EtH doesn't value possession much.

 

[Sweet Square]

Meh, given the last few years it’s hard not to be cynical about the worth of player interviews. If it goes to shit under Ten Hag for whatever reason, a lot of these players will start to blame the play style and training.

 

[R'hllor]

This place really looks down on possession, which is kinda funny, i understand lunatics from JM and Ole era but overall is kinda surprising.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

This place really looks down on possession, which is kinda funny, i understand lunatics from JM and Ole era but overall is kinda surprising.

It’s an old school thinking and also has roots is us being twatted by Barcelona in two finals. I completely disagree - for me leaving off the field issues aside it’s our biggest tactical / coaching issue of the last decade. Once we learn to move the ball about and dominate possession properly, we’ll go up several notches as a teams. Granted we’ll probably need to make signings in that direction but for me it is vital.

 

[Gazza]

Shaw, Martinez, Rashford and Martial are the only players who fit. Potentially Garnacho and Malacia, too.

Everyone else is weak under pressure. EtH needs to address this in the summer. No more lightweights like Casemiro, Eriksen and Antony like his first window.

 

[croadyman]

We lack technical players who can beat a press, that's why we're struggling to play the way Ten Hag wants at the moment. Martinez, Shaw and Eriksen are really the only players with good enough technique to thrive in this system. Casemiro gets by just fine because of his amazing reading of the game and positional sense but his technique isn't really up to standard either.

Which technical players who can beat the press do you think we can realistically bring in

 

[croadyman]

We need Casemiro doing want he did at Real. Winning the ball and giving it to Eriksen to hit the vertical passes and someone like Frenkie to carry the ball forward.

More chance of Barella than De Jong,for a start he might actually be open to move

 

[JohnnyKills]

Of course they didn't just 'give up' to a man. Does that comport with anything we know about Casemiro, for instance- it's obviously a combination of being burnt out by the schedule, knocks to at least one key member of the team (Cas, in particular, Licha also looked slightly sluggish, maybe not fully recovered from possible concussion from previous match) and different parts of the line chasing the game in different ways.

Next season, we don't need more 'pashun' in the face of set-backs (like goal conceded immediately after half-time), we need a higher ceiling squad depth, including a consistent ability to slow and speed the game up from within midfield as necessary, but also (unlike Eriksen, much as he still has a role) able to close down and cover ground at pace ideally, along with ideally someone closer to De Gea at the very least in terms of pulling off clutch saves (normally) but with better distribution...

This.

 

[JohnnyKills]

Shaw, Martinez, Rashford and Martial are the only players who fit. Potentially Garnacho and Malacia, too.

Everyone else is weak under pressure. EtH needs to address this in the summer. No more lightweights like Casemiro, Eriksen and Antony like his first window.

Haha come on with Casemiro mate!!

Do agree about Martial though. We need to somehow get him fit or find someone else who can turn, keep the ball and bring people into play. Kane is amazing at that but his age isn't ideal.

 

[Lyng]

Shaw, Martinez, Rashford and Martial are the only players who fit. Potentially Garnacho and Malacia, too.

Everyone else is weak under pressure. EtH needs to address this in the summer. No more lightweights like Casemiro, Eriksen and Antony like his first window.

 

[Real Name]

Shaw, Martinez, Rashford and Martial are the only players who fit. Potentially Garnacho and Malacia, too.

Everyone else is weak under pressure. EtH needs to address this in the summer. No more lightweights like Casemiro, Eriksen and Antony like his first window.

This post is a parody.