Fergie probably had his fingers crossed when he said that.
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Really, some of our earlier performances were just dire. Static.
Bye bye top 4
- Thread starter Devil_forever
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Really, some of our earlier performances were just dire. Static.
Well, probably 1st but Chelsea with the game in hand and this Sunday's game being billed as the TITLE DECIDER.
Oiiiiiii.. we are almost there
We'll finish 2nd.
Have you found a world war II bunker to hide? In a few weeks time loads of bombers will be dropping their loads on you.
Can you see the future?
We'll finish 2nd.
The period from Christmas on wards had me worried. We only picked up 11 from a possible 21 only beating the current bottom 3 in a run of 7 games. I must admit the turn around has been amazing though.
If we beat Chelsea this weekend, they have Arsenal to play away the following weekend and if they lose, they will be 2 points ahead of us and one point ahead of Arsenal, if we win both our games.
We would still have Arsenal to play of course but Chelsea have to still play Liverpool.
Exciting stuff ahead.
They still have a game in hand though I think.
We would still have Arsenal to play of course but Chelsea have to still play Liverpool.
Exciting stuff ahead.
They still have a game in hand though I think.
Chelsea still got 1 more game than us though. It won't be as close yet, but us and Arsenal beating them would surely pile the pressure on them.If we beat Chelsea this weekend, they have Arsenal to play away the following weekend and if they lose, they will be 2 points ahead of us and one point ahead of Arsenal, if we win both our games.
We would still have Arsenal to play of course but Chelsea have to still play Liverpool.
Exciting stuff ahead.
We don't need to get a result at Chelsea to finish 2nd. We would need to beat Everton away and Arsenal home, which together I believe are more possible than winning at the bridge.
The thing is though, you can't look at a run of games like that in isolation. We had a 6 or 7 game winning streak before then so there was always going to be a little drop off to even things up if you will.
Let us hope we don't have a bad streak before the season ends then!
I hate this shite, you weren't dead right. You gave us little hope of getting top 4, it now looks like we'll get it relatively easy. The people who criticized those who thought we wouldn't get top 4 were the ones who were dead right. We weren't playing well around the time this thread was made but we were still winning games and still in the top 4, that's what made it ridiculous. To think it would be tough to get top 4 around then would be ok and fair, in fact even thinking we'd struggle would be a fair enough opinion but to come out an point blankly say we will not get top 4 was just stupid.
Hardly anyone expected us to come into form like we have and there was very little to suggest we would. A lot of things fell into place for this to happen and a lot of it was luck. There was definitely a stage when top 4 looked very unlikely.
You make your own luck.
We were unlucky with a lot of things. Injuries etc.
LvG didn't just stumble across this team as some would like you to believe, we had a great run end of last year from late September onwards and LvG has kept the team in the running.
This current version of the team has been transformed through all the other versions tried out. It just so happens that the current team works very well and that's why LvG has kept the same team these past few weeks.
We were unlucky with a lot of things. Injuries etc.
LvG didn't just stumble across this team as some would like you to believe, we had a great run end of last year from late September onwards and LvG has kept the team in the running.
This current version of the team has been transformed through all the other versions tried out. It just so happens that the current team works very well and that's why LvG has kept the same team these past few weeks.
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Apart from all the people who did, who called bullshit on the very first page of this nonsense and who explained why.
Yeah but until then that short good run was the only form we had shown this season. We had 13 points from the first 10 games went on a short run of good form then had a run of 11 points from 7 games. I will admit to being concerned back then.
This whole idea that he's stumbled across it is preposterous.
Falcao has been fit for all this time yet has been benched.
Why hasn't he been insisting on playing two strikers or Falcao up front and Rooney in midfield?
RVP will get the same treatment when he comes back.
Falcao has been fit for all this time yet has been benched.
Why hasn't he been insisting on playing two strikers or Falcao up front and Rooney in midfield?
RVP will get the same treatment when he comes back.
Luck? lol. Now that the doomsayers are on the brink of being proven wrong, it's all about dumb luck.
Said it all along the team was being improved in phases starting with the teams foundation. LVG concentrated on defense first, making us hard to beat, then it was ball retention, ensuring we dominated matches and finally that creativity and understanding in the final 3rd has come together.
Bollocks to luck. It's never bad luck when we play shite, it's poor management or players being rubbish. And rightly so.
The game against Spurs was not out the blue. It was an improvement from the Arsenal game. Since then it's been consistent. (Moyes' worst fault imo was his sheer inconsistency.)
That's expert management. That's motivation, knowing when to let Rooney/Antonio Banderas stir up the emotions with a team talk, knowing when to stick or twist with team selections, etc.
We've played fecking well because LvG has finally got things ticking. If anything, Rooney and co playing out of position now means they know exactly what is expected of those in the positions they were playing in before. He's done a Rogers and educated our players. Only better.
Now when we play shit we can at least point to a level we know this team is capable of. That's something we haven't been able to do for a while.
The game against Spurs was not out the blue. It was an improvement from the Arsenal game. Since then it's been consistent. (Moyes' worst fault imo was his sheer inconsistency.)
That's expert management. That's motivation, knowing when to let Rooney/Antonio Banderas stir up the emotions with a team talk, knowing when to stick or twist with team selections, etc.
We've played fecking well because LvG has finally got things ticking. If anything, Rooney and co playing out of position now means they know exactly what is expected of those in the positions they were playing in before. He's done a Rogers and educated our players. Only better.
Now when we play shit we can at least point to a level we know this team is capable of. That's something we haven't been able to do for a while.
We were extremely consistent in the second half of season under Moyes.
I expected us to come into form in the 2nd half of the season. In fact, I predicted that we would score more points than any team in the 2nd half of the season. Lets see if this comes true.
Why? I have absolute faith in LVGs methods, which have worked at every single club side he has managed.
If you check my posts in the match day threads you will see me shooting down the negative posts, which defied logic, eg: when people were worried about losing to Aston Villa or willing to accept a draw with LFC and Man City (who are in dire form). The only team I am weary of is Chelsea.
I have to assume that the Moyes Effect is still lingering and this negativity still pervades the minds of many supporters, who fear teams which are below us in the league table.
And with regards to luck...in sport you make your own luck.
Yep!I'm not saying LvG shouldn't be credited for our turnaround. He's a master tactician, Neville's analysis on MNF shows that and that probably only scratches the surface but to say we haven't been lucky is just a joke. Evans getting suspended, Di Maria getting suspended, Shaw getting injured and RvP getting injured were all extremely important in our transformation. That's luck.
I don't really agree.
He was stubbornly insisting on playing all of Falcao, VP and Rooney in the same lineup, Mata and Herrera were a bit marginalised, and Di Maria was playing in centre mid, seemingly to everyone saying that was the right place.
Then VP got injured, and Falcao was so off the pace even a stubborn stubborn man could see it.
Cue Rooney up front, meaning room for another midfielder. Di Maria getting sent off let Mata in the team,and since then the combo has been marvellous!
You cannot say it was pure judgement, or we'd have tried this a lot earlier!
1) he rates Wilson and could have easily put him back in as striker
2)Januzaj could have easily taken di Marias place after red card
3) he was not satisfied with Herrera in midfield as yet
4) Mata playing a number 8 or 10 gets rid of his defensive balance which is why Rooney and fellaini were preferred
Yes somethings have been a bit fortunate, but this is lvg we are talking about, not bloody David Moyes. Van gaal has reasons he does certain things that many of us won't understand. I do question somethings he does. But surely he hasn't just stumbled upon a system that he is already vastly knowledgeable about.
Some absolute quality punditry from the 'experts' there. What do you expect when you pick three ex-City players (two of which also played for Liverpool) as your pundits? The only emotion their capable of is bitterness.
Do not understand why you believe there was luck in things falling in place. As they say, the more I practice the luckier I get. We have had injuries all season, and when LVG asked the fringe players to come in and do what they have trained to do for the last 6 months, they did it. It still took time, but what they practiced came off on the park. It has now built a confidence, similar to Liverpool last year, where maybe we are slightly playing above ourselves, that is what confidence does to a team.
Most of the pessimists on here were judging their opinion on the style of play, the fluidity of play, and the lack of creativity. They also, wanted some players to be on the park, without recognizing that LVG probably had good reason for not playing them. These same people always saw the grass greener elsewhere, oh shit Liverpool have just scraped their 3 win on the trot, thus they are a form side and we should shit ourselves. The reality is that though Chelsea have gained the most points, at no time has any one team really shown a high level of consistency and fluidity. United have slowly grown each month and have only really struggled in terms of creativity against teams that have parked the bus, the same teams that the other top 6 clubs have struggled against.
Yes I suffer from this! Before Moyes if we were behind in the league I could only look up to see who we had to catch up, now I look down and fear the pack closing in again, it appears I am suffering from the after effects of the Moyes era.
The only cure to this for me is us kicking on and confirming what appears to be happening., until then I'll keep taking my medication (whisky).
Tonight's loss makes things a bit tighter. Southampton loss was good but we still have some tricky fixtures left. I think we'll make Top 4 but it's not a certainty like maybe some would've thought.
Everyone was expecting us to lose this game. Nothing surprising. Arsenal are also going to lose at the Bridge. We'll make top four quite easily.
We will need 5 points from Palace, Everton and Arsenal games probably. We will do it if we continue the way we are playing very easily.
Arsenal play Chelsea at the Emirates.
I don't think losing makes much of a difference, it was always our toughest remaining fixture and the injuries were costly. Beat West Brom and Hull and Southampton and Spurs would need to win all their remaining games. Liverpool still need to go to Chelsea aswell and need to win the rest.
Oh, well, they'll lose (or draw) there then.
On average, we're about 1/30 to finish in the top four. It's nailed on, this thread is completely redundant tbh.
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