Sunday 19th July and on BBC .
I note it's not clear on WHERE played??
I note it's not clear on WHERE played??
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik and Imran hold a long overdue conversation about United's awful league form with 1 win in 7. They discuss a disappointing draw at Bournemouth, a not so disappointing draw against Liverpool and a crushing defeat at Chelsea - Is time nearly over for Erik Ten Hag?
Then in a special second half of the pod, Nik welcomes Natalie ( https://twitter.com/natalie_17) to discuss the fortunes of Manchester United Women as they booked a place in the FA Cup Final after a historic first ever win vs. Chelsea.
Yeah, but APART from them?
I was just going off latest news on the club app which didn't specify where for the semi but was specific on the final.
" ... it has been confirmed the game will take place on Sunday 19 July, at 18:00 BST. The match will be broadcast live in the UK on the BBC and, like all fixtures since football's resumption, will be played behind closed doors.
The other semi-final, between Arsenal and Manchester City, will be played the day before, with the winner set to meet either United or Chelsea in the final.
The 2020 Heads Up FA Cup Final is scheduled for Saturday 1 August at Wembley Stadium."
With no fans, was hoping it'd be at Villa and give both teams a similar trip.
I think injuries permitting, Chelsea might set up something like this. Its similar to how they set up against Wolves (Willian and Mount in advanced area, Kepa in goal,) and Spurs (James as the wingback, Azpiculeta as RCB, Barkley as one of advanced midfielders, Giroud up top)
---------------------------------------------------Abraham-------------------------
------------------------------------Pulisic--------------------------Mount------------------------------
--Alonso---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Azpiculeta
------------------------------------------Kovacic----------------Jorginho
------------------------ Rüdiger -----------------Christensen------------Tomori
-------------------------------------------------------Caballero
Despite beating Chelsea 4-0 in the opening game of the season, it was my impression that they were threatening as exemplified by:
Conversely, I can envisage United also deploying a three at the back system. United have already played three at the back against Liverpool, City, and Chelsea. Against Spurs, and Arsenal we deployed (on paper) a flat back four each time. Presumably because Ole believed the latter weren't particularly dangerous in comparison to the aforementioned.
I have on paper in brackets, as I'm well aware that once the whistle has been blown, players aren't exactly inflexible. Take United's recent draw against Spurs. It was flat back four on paper, but in terms of what actually happened on the pitch, AWB tucked in as the third CB with James providing width higher up the pitch (and Shaw operating as a wing back on the opposite side). Theoretically this shouldn't have been an issue for James, as providing width isn't a weakness of his, so to speak.
Its rather he doesn't have the sprinkling of stardust, he isn't a dribbling specialist, nor does he have the acumen to operate in tight spaces with consummate ease. In the 2nd half, McTominay operated as the RCB with Bissaka given the license to operate as a wing back positioning James to be less of a winger and more of a right sided inside forward. Given it isn't the most natural fit for him, it was only a matter of time before Greenwood was introduced to operate as a right sided inside forward.
Injuries permitting, can envisage United playing
*Forward 1 and 2 subject to the form and fatigue of Ighalo / Greenwood /James/ Rashford / Martial
----------------------------------------------Forward 1*----------------Forward 2*------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------Fernandes
--Williams-----------------------------------Matic-------------------Pogba-------------------------Bisakka
------------------------Shaw ------------------------------Maguire-------------------------Lindelof
----------------------------------------------------------------De Gea
However, if United were to go with the three at the back route, I'd either prefer Matic as the single pivot, a bit like Inzaghi's Lazio with Leiva at the base, and Alberto and SMS operating in the half spaces respectively.
Alternatively, I'd want to see United take a page of Peter Bosz's Bayer Leverkusen. This could potentially be useful if Matic is prioritised for the EPL.
--------------------------------------------------------------Forward 1*----------------
------------------------------------------------------Pogba-----------Fernandes
--Williams-----------------------------------Fred------------------McTominay-------------------------Bisakka
------------------------Shaw ------------------------------Maguire-------------------------Lindelof
----------------------------------------------------------------De Gea
Although truthfully, I'd much prefer a 4-3-3 system.
In terms of importance, I can somewhat see parallels with when RB Leipzig faced Bayer Leverkusen just before lockdown. It was an encounter which ended in a stalemate (1-1). As a result, RB Leipzig were just three points behind Bayern Munich, with Leverkusen eight points. In other words, both teams were (and still are) trying to break the dominance of leaders who almost seem insurmountable.
Similarly, United and Chelsea are two sides trying to reach the top of the mountain. To Chelsea's credit, they're doing exceedingly well given they had a transfer ban, sold an individual of elite calibre, and with the greatest respect to Derby County, his first season in charge of a behemoth of a club. We're talking about a side that won the EPL 15 years ago, and since then won it multiple times, not to mention making their presence felt on the European stage, some serious encounters against Barcelona including pre Guardiola, winning the competition itself, and quite recently dominated A.Madrid in an utterly dominant performance with it arguably being the most authoritative performance against Simeone's Madrid since they (A.M) encountered Pep's Bayern Munich. A loss to United, I feel, would give United a psychological edge going forward.
Many viewers of the league are expecting Liverpool to have more competition next season, with evidence of that partly being more tight affairs with games at the top. It wouldn't be completely out of place to think it wouldn't be on the back of the mind of certain players when the two sides are level, or perhaps with United taking the lead.
With Ole placing a great emphasis on mentality, winning the competition will go a long way in fostering this environment. The breadcrumbs of an Fa Cup (and hopefully a Europa League) will hopefully grow a seed in the environment. Once United achieve silverware, I'd like to think that appetite once they've got a taste will grow to be insatiable with the group as a collective not being a satisfied until they win the likes of EPL and UCL.
---------------------------------------------------Abraham-------------------------
------------------------------------Pulisic--------------------------Mount------------------------------
--Alonso---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Azpiculeta
------------------------------------------Kovacic----------------Jorginho
------------------------ Rüdiger -----------------Christensen------------Tomori
-------------------------------------------------------Caballero
Despite beating Chelsea 4-0 in the opening game of the season, it was my impression that they were threatening as exemplified by:
Additionally, when United played Chelsea later on, it was a sensational free kick from Rashford which separated the sides.Defence work in progress which is to be expected given it was the first time the back four played together.
Shaw can see the shirt number of his man, Barkley can possibly put Abraham through on goal, McTominay and Pogba have left the back four exposed
Giroud is through on goal. Fortunately Pedro had tunnel vision and didn't see his teammate.
Given that AWB will be expected to contribute offensively, we can expect this to be a regular occurence. He did actually win the ball back
Abraham is through on goal as Maguire is trying to both cover Shaw and block a possible shot from Pedro.
United conceded several crosses from our left side
Can Maguire block the cross
Abraham has got to be scoring from this cross. Showed his inexperience
Should Lindelof be winning this in the air? Lack of communication between Bisakka and Lindelog. Poor defensive awareness from Bisakka. Bisakka's positioning was a slight concern of mine in preseason.
Leads to De Gea being beaten from a tight angle
Felt Pulisic would've made better decisions in the final third had he started. Giroud caused problems too
Conversely, I can envisage United also deploying a three at the back system. United have already played three at the back against Liverpool, City, and Chelsea. Against Spurs, and Arsenal we deployed (on paper) a flat back four each time. Presumably because Ole believed the latter weren't particularly dangerous in comparison to the aforementioned.
I have on paper in brackets, as I'm well aware that once the whistle has been blown, players aren't exactly inflexible. Take United's recent draw against Spurs. It was flat back four on paper, but in terms of what actually happened on the pitch, AWB tucked in as the third CB with James providing width higher up the pitch (and Shaw operating as a wing back on the opposite side). Theoretically this shouldn't have been an issue for James, as providing width isn't a weakness of his, so to speak.
Its rather he doesn't have the sprinkling of stardust, he isn't a dribbling specialist, nor does he have the acumen to operate in tight spaces with consummate ease. In the 2nd half, McTominay operated as the RCB with Bissaka given the license to operate as a wing back positioning James to be less of a winger and more of a right sided inside forward. Given it isn't the most natural fit for him, it was only a matter of time before Greenwood was introduced to operate as a right sided inside forward.
Injuries permitting, can envisage United playing
*Forward 1 and 2 subject to the form and fatigue of Ighalo / Greenwood /James/ Rashford / Martial
----------------------------------------------Forward 1*----------------Forward 2*------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------Fernandes
--Williams-----------------------------------Matic-------------------Pogba-------------------------Bisakka
------------------------Shaw ------------------------------Maguire-------------------------Lindelof
----------------------------------------------------------------De Gea
However, if United were to go with the three at the back route, I'd either prefer Matic as the single pivot, a bit like Inzaghi's Lazio with Leiva at the base, and Alberto and SMS operating in the half spaces respectively.
Alternatively, I'd want to see United take a page of Peter Bosz's Bayer Leverkusen. This could potentially be useful if Matic is prioritised for the EPL.
--------------------------------------------------------------Forward 1*----------------
------------------------------------------------------Pogba-----------Fernandes
--Williams-----------------------------------Fred------------------McTominay-------------------------Bisakka
------------------------Shaw ------------------------------Maguire-------------------------Lindelof
----------------------------------------------------------------De Gea
Although truthfully, I'd much prefer a 4-3-3 system.
In terms of importance, I can somewhat see parallels with when RB Leipzig faced Bayer Leverkusen just before lockdown. It was an encounter which ended in a stalemate (1-1). As a result, RB Leipzig were just three points behind Bayern Munich, with Leverkusen eight points. In other words, both teams were (and still are) trying to break the dominance of leaders who almost seem insurmountable.
Similarly, United and Chelsea are two sides trying to reach the top of the mountain. To Chelsea's credit, they're doing exceedingly well given they had a transfer ban, sold an individual of elite calibre, and with the greatest respect to Derby County, his first season in charge of a behemoth of a club. We're talking about a side that won the EPL 15 years ago, and since then won it multiple times, not to mention making their presence felt on the European stage, some serious encounters against Barcelona including pre Guardiola, winning the competition itself, and quite recently dominated A.Madrid in an utterly dominant performance with it arguably being the most authoritative performance against Simeone's Madrid since they (A.M) encountered Pep's Bayern Munich. A loss to United, I feel, would give United a psychological edge going forward.
Many viewers of the league are expecting Liverpool to have more competition next season, with evidence of that partly being more tight affairs with games at the top. It wouldn't be completely out of place to think it wouldn't be on the back of the mind of certain players when the two sides are level, or perhaps with United taking the lead.
With Ole placing a great emphasis on mentality, winning the competition will go a long way in fostering this environment. The breadcrumbs of an Fa Cup (and hopefully a Europa League) will hopefully grow a seed in the environment. Once United achieve silverware, I'd like to think that appetite once they've got a taste will grow to be insatiable with the group as a collective not being a satisfied until they win the likes of EPL and UCL.
Of course we have to go for this. The FA is a meaningful trophy for sure. However this year, with us trying to make the step up, sign a few important players, hopefully keep Pogba etc it feels like top 4 has to take precedence. I can see both teams rotating for this game as both managers reputations will depend more on the league finish.
I think doing both would give us great momentum going into next season. The sort that could see us challenge for the title.
I'll be you 50p that you don't rotate any of your better players and I could name at least 8 starters right now (barring injury of course).
Of course we get drawn at "home" to Chelsea when the game is to be played at Wembley. Can't remember all of it, but hasn't Chelsea had the most favourable draws in the cup for years? If they get a team of similar capabilities, they are almost always home, and if they are not at home they face lower level opposition?
Semi finals in the FA Cup have always been at neutral grounds, this season is no different.
Just this season in the cup we've played two teams above us in the league (Liverpool and Leicester), one was home, the other away and it's looking likely you'll be above us when we play!
Our "easy" ties often come due to the big boys getting themselves knocked out.
Take 2010 for example, people moaned we got no big team throughout which was technically true but it wasn't our fault Arsenal and City underestimated Stoke (who we then knocked out), United and Liverpool got themselvesdumped out at home by teams lower than anyone we faced or Spurs bottled the semi vs Pompey.
Yes, I know the semis and finals are played at neutral ground, was more tongue in cheek at finally being given "home advantage" only once we got to the stage of neutral grounds.
Obviously it's not Chelsea's fault, I was never saying it was either. You can only beat what's in front of you, like I wrote above it was an attempt at a tongue in cheek comment. I do seem to remember Chelsea having favourable draws quite often in the cups though.
I see this as a chance to rest Fernandes and pogba tbh seeing as we have already beaten this lot on a few occasions without needing them in the team so i am sure we can pull it off again and to have both coming off the bench is a lethal back up plan.
Arsenal - Man C at 60 min : 1 - 0
Really hope for Arsenal - Man Utd in the final.
Really hope for Arsenal - Man Utd in the final.
Chelsea have the same issues as us.
I've got to say we need to be giving our all for this. A trophy is in touching distance.
I've got to say we need to be giving our all for this. A trophy is in touching distance.
I expect to see the battle of the weakened teams, but we should have plenty on the bench that can come on and make a big impact.
As long as it's not a repeat of 2005
Don’t remind me. Arsenal bought out a dvd of that game and I recall some Arsenal fans saying they won’t buy it as they were taken apart for 120 mins
So what history is going to repeat itself?
89/90 - Liverpool win the league, Leeds promoted, Man Utd win the FA Cup
16/17 - Arsenal beat Pep's Man City in the SF and face (and beat) Chelsea in the final
89/90 - Liverpool win the league, Leeds promoted, Man Utd win the FA Cup
16/17 - Arsenal beat Pep's Man City in the SF and face (and beat) Chelsea in the final
How we lost that I will never know.
It was worse than our two CL final losses for me. There was just no way we should have lost it
There, fixed for you.
You are very welcome.