How will WC affect our season?

Resonance

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If Shaw, Rashford, Bruno and Casemiro can continue their World Cup form into the next half of the season I’d be feeling very optimistic.
 

abailey123

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Eriksen coming home early is good news.
We look short at the back so hopefully one of Maguire / Martinez / Varane comes home early?

De Gea

Wan Bissaka
Lindelof
……….
Malacia

McTominay
Fred

Garnacho
Van de Beek
Sancho

Martial

I read something about the lads going deep will automatically get a week off. The restart is going to be carnage! I certainly won’t be having an accumulator until after new year
 

cyril C

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Eriksen coming home early is good news.
We look short at the back so hopefully one of Maguire / Martinez / Varane comes home early?

De Gea

Wan Bissaka
Lindelof
……….
Malacia

McTominay
Fred

Garnacho
Van de Beek
Sancho

Martial

I read something about the lads going deep will automatically get a week off. The restart is going to be carnage! I certainly won’t be having an accumulator until after new year
Fred is not back, although he probably won't play as much as Casemero
 

wolvored

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I think generally it could be a blessing in disguise. It has broken Arsenals rhythm and could affect them and maybe one or two other teams higher than us.
Lets hope its not detrimental to us though.
 

Borys

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I think we will benefit from this, Martial will be fit for re-start of the season, Varane I think will not be playing every game 90', Eriksen is home already, more gametime will be good for Maguire and Fred. Dalot is having a nice break but I am not sure how this will impact his form.

Casemiro and to some degree Shaw are the ones I worry about.
 

romufc

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I think we will benefit from this, Martial will be fit for re-start of the season, Varane I think will not be playing every game 90', Eriksen is home already, more gametime will be good for Maguire and Fred. Dalot is having a nice break but I am not sure how this will impact his form.

Casemiro and to some degree Shaw are the ones I worry about.
Bruno too, we know what happens when he consistently plays 90 mins, he ends up breaking by Jan.

With Shaw, we have Malacia who can fill in for a game or two to give Shaw a rest.

Casemiro, I agree, we do not have a replacement, he will be our key player, that also goes far in the WC.
 

Mike Smalling

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Nice little break for Eriksen, because Denmark were so aggressively shit. Silver lining.
 

Solius

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Antony getting a good rest so far too. Apart from the stadiums making him ill.
 

Smores

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Why are people so worried about them being tired? They're playing no more games than if the season had continued normally are they? Fewer if anything.

It should be a boost with so many in good form. The only impact might be how the disappointment impacts certain players as we've seen some of them be impacted before.

I'm more concerned about those not getting game time right now as they could be very rusty when we restart.
 

Bilbo

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Its impossible to predict whether players exiting this tournament early will have an advantage over those who go deep. The challenge will be mental rather than physical. Very little time to get over the disappointment of losing a semi or a final, or the elation of winning it.
 

JJ12

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I wonder if the likes of Eriksen will join up with the squad in Spain or just get an extended holiday now
Eriksen in particular should be given time to rest - he looked jaded before the World Cup
 

JeffFromHK

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Negatively,
at least 2-3 teams in the semi final will contain our key players so our players will be darn tired when returning to our squad
 

KeanoMagicHat

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Ronaldo leaving and 3-4 of our players having great tournaments will increase confidence and focus and we’ll have a strong second half to the season.
 

Rood

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Eriksen in particular should be given time to rest - he looked jaded before the World Cup
He definitely deserves some time off - how much though ?

still 3 weeks until we play Burnley
 

ArmchairCritic

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Players playing in the World Cup are going to be more match ready than those who have spent the last month just training. Only risks are Casemiro, Shaw and Bruno who look likely to play heavy minutes throughout. Maguire doesn’t start for us. Fred, Malacia, Antony, Dalot, Martinez and Rashford have had few minutes, although Rashford’s are increasing now. Varane is basically having a second pre season for us here and Eriksen is finally going to have that rest that’s been overdue for a while now.

When we are back I think only Casemiro, Shaw and Bruno are the ones who we might need to rest.
 

Lee565

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The concern I have is when we last had an international tournament where the united players performed well for England they came back in a slump performance wise
 

kps88

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ETH mentioned in an interview before the WC that he was more worried about the players who would be sitting on the bench rather than those starting every game. Someone like Dalot will take a while to get back up to speed for us if Portugal go far in the tournament.
 
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I wonder if the likes of Eriksen will join up with the squad in Spain or just get an extended holiday now
I've thought about is well. If I was the manager I wouldn't mind the experiences pros like Eriksen taking an extended holiday if they felt they needed it. He doesn't exactly strike me as a person who would lose focus and go clubbing anyway. Different with younger players suddenly just having a lot of free time on their hands, though.
 

Rood

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ETH mentioned in an interview before the WC that he was more worried about the players who would be sitting on the bench rather than those starting every game. Someone like Dalot will take a while to get back up to speed for us if Portugal go far in the tournament.
TBF Dalot played a ridiculous amount of minutes this season so was more in need of rest than anyone

But I see the point with someone like Malacia for example
 

Pavl3n

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Well our backline seems alright.
Dalot's not playing much for Portugal, Lindelof is back, Martinez is sitting on the bench, Harry is getting his first string of games for the season so we can't really say he's getting burned. Malacia is also not used too often. It only leaves Shaw and Varane as the ones that may need an extra week break. But then Varane has only played in two games for around 70 minutes each. However WC final is on the 18th and our first game in the league is on the 27th, considering it's the boiling point of the season - I don't think they'll need too much extra time off.
McTominay and Donny are back, Fred is underused, Eriksen is already having time off and he should be fresh and ready for the EFL fixture. We only have to worry about Bruno and Casemiro. But then again, whatever applies to Shaw and Varane should apply to the former two.
Looking at the forward line - Martial, Sancho, Elanga and Garnacho are back, training and hopefully improving (especially Sancho). So we only need to worry about Rashford and Antony. But none of them are starters and their minutes are well managed.


So all in all, the majority of the squad is getting a good break and time to work together, which has to be beneficial for us. The only worries are Shaw, Varane, Casemiro, Bruno and potentially Rashford if Southgate decides to keep using him due to his form. However one between France and England will be coming home after the quarters, so we'll be getting Shaw or Varane back sooner. I'm confident we'll kick off on an unbeaten run.
 

Sunny Jim

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Eriksen coming home early is good news.
We look short at the back so hopefully one of Maguire / Martinez / Varane comes home early?

De Gea

Wan Bissaka
Lindelof
……….
Malacia

McTominay
Fred

Garnacho
Van de Beek
Sancho

Martial

I read something about the lads going deep will automatically get a week off. The restart is going to be carnage! I certainly won’t be having an accumulator until after new year
Didnt City send 17 players to WC? They will a huge problem
 

Todd

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Eriksen coming home early is good news.
We look short at the back so hopefully one of Maguire / Martinez / Varane comes home early?

De Gea

Wan Bissaka
Lindelof
……….
Malacia

McTominay
Fred

Garnacho
Van de Beek
Sancho

Martial

I read something about the lads going deep will automatically get a week off. The restart is going to be carnage! I certainly won’t be having an accumulator until after new year
I have a hard time hoping that our players fail at the World Cup just so that they get a bit of extra rest before our season restarts.

Varane and Martinez are being used sparingly, and Maguire having a good run in this tournament can do nothing but help his state of mind when he comes back to the club.

I have a feeling Brazil are going to be in it until the end so I imagine we'll be missing Casemiro, Fred, and Antony when things pick up again.
 

justsomebloke

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Casemiro, Shaw, Bruno and Varane are the main concerns I think.

Maguire hasn't played much this season, and will possibly come back in better shape than he left in, even if England goes far.

With Shaw you worry about a dip in focus upon return, with Bruno it's just the sheer amount of playing time for club and country combined, with Varane above all the risk of another injury. Casemiro's endurance should be helped by a soft start to the season.

Rashford hard to assess - if he's now a regular and England goes far there might be a toll, and then it's a matter of how it all ends, for emotional and motivational impact.

Unless Antony and Fred find their way into the starting XI, going far with Brazil could be a positive - they'll have played enough to stay in match shape but not so much that it has worn them down, and they might be coming off an uplifting, confidence-inspiring experience (which could work both ways, granted).

Dalot I don't think will see much game time. And Pellistri seems irrelevant in any case.
 

IRN-BRUno

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The biggest concern for me isn't really the extra/lack of minutes but more the impact mentally. Losing in a World Cup final must be incredibly tough, then imagine making a mistake that costs you the trophy or missing a penalty in a shootout. How could you be expected to turn up for a PL game a week later and forget about it?

Hopefully someone like Spain lose in the final and it's not a problem for us. Winning could present a similar situation though, that's the peak of your career and something you'll probably never replicate. It's understandable that you might not be focused for games against Forest and Wolves in the space of a couple of days.
 

cyril C

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I think we will benefit from this, Martial will be fit for re-start of the season, Varane I think will not be playing every game 90', Eriksen is home already, more gametime will be good for Maguire and Fred. Dalot is having a nice break but I am not sure how this will impact his form.

Casemiro and to some degree Shaw are the ones I worry about.
Either Varane or Shaw, will be coming home end of this week. The Portagal & Brazil stream are more worrying because potentially they will meet at Semi. Final or not, both teams' players will need a rest afterwards.
 

wolvored

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Why are people so worried about them being tired? They're playing no more games than if the season had continued normally are they? Fewer if anything.

It should be a boost with so many in good form. The only impact might be how the disappointment impacts certain players as we've seen some of them be impacted before.

I'm more concerned about those not getting game time right now as they could be very rusty when we restart.
You are right. I especially think the last paragraph the one that might impact Utd. No proper match play is more detrimental than playing in WC and coming straight back to the Premier.
 

justsomebloke

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I believe United is now the PL club with by far the most players still in the tournament. 11, by quick count.

edit: No, City's got 11 too. But no one else has more than 6.
 
Last edited:

bosnian_red

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Well.. they'll at least come back confident? Not ideal for pretty much every United guy to make it far but at the same time, can't hate on it :lol:
Dalot, Bruno, Rashford, Shaw, Maguire, Varane, Martinez, Malacia, Casemiro, Fred, Antony all making the final 8. So our lineup of those who haven't made the quarter finals...

De Gea
Wan Bissaka Lindelof Jones Williams
McTominay Eriksen
Sancho Van de Beek Garnacho
Martial​
 

Boondog

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I think this club is about to make an epic run. Arsenal just took a big hit with Jesus injuring that knee. Two other teams ahead of them on the table I think are lesser teams. Main risk is injury, just gotta hope our boys can get through the remainder of this tournament without getting hurt.

If things go our way though on the injury front these guys are about to make a lot of noise. They'll add a striker of at least decent quality to replace Ronaldo and will be very hard to beat. Feels to me like a special season is ahead of us and hopefully it's not the box of sees candy I just ate talking. :devil:
 

cyril C

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I would assume Brazil and Portugal reaching semi-final, regardless of result, those players will not be available upon return, at least for 1 week. Good news is that either Varane or Shaw will be available.
 

Demon Barber

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I don't think we will be overly affected by the WC. Other teams will perhaps need to rest players too. Those players who are not in Qatar have already had time to work on fitness, tactics or recovery. They have training and two matches in Spain to work on sharpness.

A few players who are still at the World Cup may need a rest upon return, but even though we moan about our squad not having strength in depth we should be able to cope.
 

Fully Fledged

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I've thought about is well. If I was the manager I wouldn't mind the experiences pros like Eriksen taking an extended holiday if they felt they needed it. He doesn't exactly strike me as a person who would lose focus and go clubbing anyway. Different with younger players suddenly just having a lot of free time on their hands, though.
I don't think you'd let them go away on their own. You'd send a fitness coach.
 

Gandalf Greyhame

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Hardly Played:
Malacia

Played, but not too much/Knocked Out:
Licha, Dalot, Fred, Antony, Rashford, Eriksen

Regulars (and all still in QF) :
Varane, Maguire, Shaw, Casemiro, Bruno

Our squad will pretty much be running on fumes after the restart. The ones who didn't feature will have to take up a lot of responsibility.

That's mainly DDG, Sancho, Garnacho, McT, Lindelof and Martial.
 

justsomebloke

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Well, then we're down to just four players who are still in the tournament and have played regularly: Varane, Maguire, Shaw and Bruno. And maybe Dalot from here on and out? Plus Martinez and Rashford, with more occasional game time. By this time tomorrow, that number will be lower still. And the first PL game is more than two weeks away, which should surely be feasible for the players now knocked out?

A little worried about the emotional impact on the Brazilian players though.
 

gerdm07

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Looks like our defense will be the most affected.

Varane and Martinez: They'll need at least 10 days off but I think Maguire and Lindelof playing the first 3 matches will not hurt us.
Shaw: He'll probably miss the Burnley match and then be ready to go.

I wonder how we'll line up with if both Dalot and Shaw are out that first match. I hope Casemiro is ready the first match.
 

wangyu

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The good news is most of our players got quite far so they didn't have the chance to break their legs while skiing.