Pretty bad eh, sometimes its just goals. Re runs of the CL final in 1999 seem endless.
Miscellaneous Reserve/Youth News
- Thread starter Cevno
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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.
Its a joke eh, they had a camera man there as well so its not like they don't have footage. Who ever decided to replace match reports with a few pictures is also just unbelievably stupid as well. And the whole rule of not being allowed to show matches at the same time as PL matches was completely thrown out the window last weekend when they showed it at the same time as City's first team match. It would be hard to provide shittier coverage if they tried.
Here is a match report for it though.
https://thepeoplesperson.com/2021/1...tspur-u23s-1-0-manchester-united-u23s-241275/
Just as an aside, if the first team persists with the 3-5-2/5-3-2, I would love to see Alvaro Fernandez and Ethan Laird play as wing backs for us at some point next season.
Agreed, Fernandez reminds me of Pep full back, almost an auxillary CM at times.
Was thinking this myself. I think they'd both suit being wing backs incredibly well, 3 at the back really negates their biggest weaknesses and they're both so good in possession that our attacking game would benefit tremendously well, it also means being able to slot Shaw in at CB if needs be, I think his composure would benefit us when we try playing out from the back. Believe Laird got an assist yesterday for Swansea too.
Definitely. Just a really nice player to watch. Technically very good and has a good range of passing. So many times he beats his man just by dropping his shoulder. Think this system would be perfect for him and would help cover some of his defensive flaws.
Yeah, agreed. It's definitely an exciting proposition. It's great to see Laird string a couple of good loan spells together. I always believed he was more than good enough to make it with us, but was concerned about his bad luck with injuries. Fernandez looks a quality talent too, despite not having that big an appetite for the defensive side of things. It is interesting to see how a change in tactics can open up different possibilities in how you can view the squad. You mention Shaw as a possibility at centre half, though I assume Matic and McTominay are alternatives also.
I don't know if it's a strategy from Uniteds side - but we have "never" had any physically developed players at lower levels. Some clubs often get criticized by ignoring talent over physique. With United, it's often the other way around. We often have really small players, but you can probably can count on one hand United-youngsters who are significantly taller than 6 ft - over the last 20 years
It's Alvaro x2, Shoretire and Hannibal x2 ?
It's definitely a planned process of scouting/recruiting...there has been the odd tall striker but they have all been rangy rather than physically developed and probably a handful of centre-halves but that's about it .
The rest have developed into tall, physical players as they have naturally grown.
Dermot Mee v Hull City (F)
Hannibal Mejbri v Lincoln City (EFL Trophy) (two yellow)
Alvaro Fernandez v Manchester City (U/23) (two yellow)
Bjorn Hardley v Everton (U/23)
Anthony Elanga v Everton (U/23)
Alvaro Fernandez v West Ham (U/23)
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I was pleased to see Adam Berry and Jack Moorhouse on the bench for the U18's yesterday.
Two young players that I'm looking forward to seeing more of. I liked the look of Moorhouse during the Northern Ireland friendlies this summer - looked a good all round CM. And, as others have said, Berry looks an exciting prospect from the clips I've seen of him.
Two young players that I'm looking forward to seeing more of. I liked the look of Moorhouse during the Northern Ireland friendlies this summer - looked a good all round CM. And, as others have said, Berry looks an exciting prospect from the clips I've seen of him.
Fernandez x2, Hannibal, Elanga and Hardley. Maybe fortunate that Hannibal has been injured so much
Not convinced that's still the same methodology as some of you may find out over the coming years. The 16s have always been one of the biggest in the country, the boys recruited in the 15s are definitely bigger than average and I believe below that we aren't the smallest of sides. Given the average height of Premier league players is now around 6ft (just look at our midfield with Pogba, Mctominay and Matic) the game has perhaps changed.
Ah thanks...
Thanks for the update. Most of us haven't seen any U/16 football since 2019/20 due to restrictions and even now Academies are not allowing supporters to attend games. So unless you are a parent, scout or something there is very little information about this.
Certainly a few seasons back when I watched the team most weeks, the likes of Hampson, Burke, Kavanagh, Wilding, Mather, Murray, Brown and others were tiny compared to most of the opposition. Of course the defenders like Gallagher-Allison, Aljofree, Bennett and perhaps Nolan were more physically developed and others were about average I guess with Mainoo a good example of someone who has grown significantly over the last two seasons.
I look forward to seeing these lads come through.
U19s about to play Atalanta on BT Sport
Missed the full team, but looks like Vitek, Fernandez, Mengi, Bennett, Sviderski, Hanson, Shoretire, Elanga, Forson & Mcneil are starting
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that's great to see the thread for the youth news.
1-0, Shoretire. Nicely worked goal.
The game is available for free on UEFA dot TV for those who are interested.
2-0 United, looks like Elanga's free kick has gone all the way through.
A knee-on-knee clash has left Shoretire looking in some discomfort.
Not a penalty for me, arm is down by his side
Atalanta have just been awarded a penalty with the worst refereeing decision I've ever seen.
2-1.
2-1.
It's pinned to his back, not even debatable, rubbish decision.
I agree, I worry for the standard of refereeing we'll see in the next 5-10 years.
Very harsh decision for a PK given against us.
The Atalanta captain number 21 is pretty decent.
Ridiculous decisions by the ref generally in the last couple of minutes
Finished 2-1 to United. Was well managed in the end and some really good performances in there
Agreed. The maturity in the players when the going got tough was great to see. I'd have preferred if we got a 3rd goal on the counter, but playing on that pitch against a very direct Atalanta side was a solid test for the players, and they passed.
Yeah, the pitch was pretty rough, the opponents were pretty awkward, and the ref wasn't the best. Hats off to the lads really
Very good performance, the best so far in the tournament. Should've been a bigger score though. Shoretire and Mengi the best out there. Mainoo and Hansen midfield though
Bit weird the referee gave them that real soft penalty but didn’t give us one of those fouls at the end which looked much more clear cut.
Glad to see Mengi getting praise, feels like a long time ago since he was wowing people playing well above his age group in U23s!Very good performance, the best so far in the tournament. Should've been a bigger score though. Shoretire and Mengi the best out there. Mainoo and Hansen midfield though
Mengi has a lot of potential - but was on a steep 18 month downward trajectory - finally looks to be moving in the right direction again. But sometimes I wonder if some of the praise he was given as a 16-17 year old was a result of his physique. The guy was a monster already then.
I don't think the loan to Derby helped, nor served much purpose other than to lend a hand to Rooney.
Hopefully his next loan, whenever that may be, is better thought out, much like the loans we've picked for Laird.
Well he got a few games there, at least he knows how the other half live now as well. Given he seems to be showing signs of improving again it can't have been an all bad experience.