[Poll] Are you convinced by us, or do you think we're flattering to deceive?

[Boycott]

I'm confident in this team. They have good balance and I always felt even last season the squad is up there as the best in the league. It was the first eleven that had some question marks.

Matic and Lukaku improve it ten-fold.

Then the players who were already here are showing their quality each game unlike last season.

The performances have been comfortable. Reminds me a little of Fergie's last two seasons where we racked up lots of goals despite not being blistering on the eye. That team had character and quality in attack whereas this team I feel has character and quality all over.

 

[MancunianAngels]

Expectations have changed now and I don't think we have even played that well.

During pre season, I would have taken a top 4 finish, quarter finals in the Champions League and success in one of the cups. Now, I think I would be disappointed with that.

 

[Reiver]

I voted convinced although I'm probably somewhere in between the two options. I'm certainly no doom monger but I still have some concerns.
Still think we're short of quality in CM. When injury free we're fine but a couple of injuries and we look light. Same on right side in attack.
When fixtures piled up after Christmas last season, we suffered. We have a bit more strength in depth - it might be enough to see us through. I think we're genuine contenders.
I think we've played decently and had even better results. I think we can still play a fair bit better and I look forward to seeing it.

 

[sunama]

5 games in, three 4 nil wins. If you're not happy with things as they stand you're a nutter.

I couldn't have said it better myself.

 

[Deleted member 101472]

I couldn't have said it better myself.

Thank you. I'm convinced there's a lot of people in here who started supporting is somewhere in between schmeichel coming up for that corner and Soldkjaers slide

 

[Camy89]

These guys can't catch a break. Typical Caf.

If they play shite, they get torn to shreds on here. If they score 16 and concede 2 in their first 5 PL games, they're 'flattering to deceive'.

Yeah, alright, we haven't played one of the 'top teams', but that's our fixture list, nothing we can do about that. The fact we're pumping these teams is good. We may not be playing our most scintillating football, but i'd never label it 'flattering to deceive'.

Christ. Learn to enjoy life a bit.

 

[TheRedDevil'sAdvocate]

The scorelines may be flattering but the team is progressing and it seems to be moving towards the right direction.

What these flashy scorelines indicate though is that we usually look good value of our leads and this will help us see out with more ease these games against midtable clubs which used to end in irritating draws in the majority of the post Ferguson seasons. When the opponent is forced to throw bodies forward in order to chase the game, our attacking transition seems to be capable to put the game to bed before our defense is put to the test. This alone might make a 10-12 points difference when compared to last season.

Another good sign is that yesterday we took the lead through a goal scored in open play (not in the transition/counter, not in a set-piece situation) for a second game in a row. The counter argument to this, if it's to be called that, is that it's only the second goal we score in open play (not fast break, not set-piece) in order to take the lead in one of our games. I think that this what makes some of our fans hesitant and waiting for more games in order to draw safer conclusions. Is it point for any concern?

I'd argue it is mainly because the more capable we become in opening up ultra deep and narrow defenses and the better we deal with situations in tight spaces, the easier it will become for us to lead our games into the stage that is Mourinho's bread and butter. Us dropping deeper to protect a lead and ready to break on the counter and the opponent forced to leave more and more spaces open for exploitation. We get a bit better at this and we'll surely challenge for the title.

As for the games against the best teams in the league, i believe they'll be a test of our defense's compactness and composure and the whole team's resilience more than a test of our attacking prowess. Even in Fergie's last seasons, when we fielded a midfield of Carrick plus one and everyone was moaning about us being overrun, almost always we found ways to exploit spaces and create good chances.

 

[glazed]

I'm convinced we're better than last season. But we could easily end up outside top 4 if we had a couple of key injuries and Jose went mental (which he will sooner or later). So not convinced convinced.

 

[sunama]

Last season we'd have drawn today.

The season before we'd have lost.

Exactly!
And what is with all the negativity around this place. We are absolutely walloping teams right now. Generally, after we have played a team, they end up in the relegation zone.
I do agree that some other teams may be marginally better than us, but until we actually play them we won't know for sure.
So based on the games that we have actually played, I'm ecstatic with what we are doing.

 

[whatwha]

We haven't looked that improved from last season IMO, still De Gea keeps bailing us out, last two PL games we weren't good defensively either. We are still creating minimal number of chances compared to the likes of City, Spurs and Chelsea.

De Gea bailing us out? What nonsense. Apart from one super save he's hardly had anything to do, nothing that an average PL GK couldn't handle.

 

[sunama]

Another good sign is that yesterday we took the lead through a goal scored in open play (not in the transition/counter, not in a set-piece situation) for a second game in a row. The counter argument to this, if it's to be called that, is that it's only the second goal we score in open play (not fast break, not set-piece) ...

There is nothing wrong with being a counter attacking team.
For me, some of our most exciting play in years has been when we counter attack, with extreme pace. Going from defence to attack in about 10 seconds.

 

[Pexbo]

I don't get this flattering to deceive business.

We've been creating great opportunities all game every game.

Because we haven't put them all away early in the game and our finishing has been a little erratic then, it's somehow credited as not worthy of the results because the ones we do actually put away are late in the game and somehow worth less.


It's nonsense, it doesn't really matter which opportunities we are putting away, the only stats that matter are the goals scored and goals against collumn and that's looking very healthy to me.

 

[Denis79]

5 games in, three 4 nil wins. If you're not happy with things as they stand you're a nutter.

I find it hard to understand how some can't see how far we have come in such a short time, I never thought we would hit the ground running like we have. We will have downs, we will lose games and play poorly like EVERY other club, our fans will bitch and moan forgetting the shit served under LVG and Moyes. I wont change my expectations because of our fantastic start to the season, top 4 and a decent run in the CL and i'll be more than happy because it's clear to see we are back on track. Give Mourinho a transfer window or two and I honestly think we will be back at the absolute top of european football.

I'm starting to think that alot of the negative on here are fans trying to win arguments on this forum. I wanted Morata so anything Lukaku does is shit, I hate Fellaini so he never has a good game, I don't like Mourinho so whatever the result we are still poor. And if by any chance they actually have a storming game they won't post anything positive to undermine their previous opinions, instead they wait for that slip up to come here and say I told you so.

Well here's a fan who's fecking buzzing at what's going on at our club. Fecking wonderful days ahead!

 

[Gambit]

Big thing I'm happy to see is we're giving just as much in the last 10 minutes as we are in the first.

 

[beedoubleyou]

Why would you be convinced either way after 5 games? Daft poll, maybe fans should take a step back and apply some rational thinking to avoid car crashes like the Match Day Thread.

 

[Ikon]

I'm not convinced that we WILL win the League, but I am convinced that we CAN.
We are certainly heading along the right track, and I've not been this optimistic for years.

 

[Uniqueusername52119]

There is nothing wrong with being a counter attacking team.
For me, some of our most exciting play in years has been when we counter attack, with extreme pace. Going from defence to attack in about 10 seconds.

Completely agree with this. During the last few seasons we have just been too slow in getting forward. By the time the ball got anywhere near the final third, the opposition had got back in numbers to defend. This season has been much better in this respect.

 

[TheRedDevil'sAdvocate]

There is nothing wrong with being a counter attacking team.
For me, some of our most exciting play in years has been when we counter attack, with extreme pace. Going from defence to attack in about 10 seconds.

I never said there's something wrong with us being a transition team. Football is a game of spaces and most times United face opponents who set up to nullify our best attacking plan. I already mentioned we're lethal on the counter and that we look like scoring in almost every time we get our creative players running with the ball and with open space to run into. But when a game kicks off we don't find ourselves in this type of situations right from the start. We usually face teams with ten men behind the ball trying to slow everything down and kill off any kind of rhythm we may have.

This isn't the first time we find ourselves in such predicament, in fact it's the story of our lives since Ferguson turned us into title challengers. Fergie's best response to that was to try to maintain a high tempo by exploiting the spaces on the wings and by bombarding the opposition box with first time balls. Mourinho's approach is more reluctant thus far at United. We seem content with having the ball at our feet and with trying to work out good openings whenever we can't break quickly on the counter mainly through Pogba (who is marked closely). If this is to continue, we'll eventually need to improve our combinations and our short passing in the final third.

Again (this goes for a post below yours), i didn't say i'm not pleased with the progress we've made. I didn't say we don't deserve our wins until now. I didn't say that we look good only because we've faced mediocre sides thus far. Quite the contrary. But the difficulty to break down very compact defenses and to raise the tempo (turn games into end to end contests against inferior sides) when the counter attacks aren't an option may cost us in games we concede first or in games when we'll have to take the risks in the final 15-20 minutes.

 

[FujiVice]

Moyes and Van Gaal have really damaged some of you lot.

 

[RedDevil@84]

I think we are somewhere in between. We haven't faced big teams yet and that will be the real test and by which we can judge our level. On the other side, we struggled against small teams last few seasons. So it is an improvement. no doubt.

 

[Raoul]

Far too early for this thread imo. Let's wait til we at least play a top league side before asking the questions.

 

[Handsome Devil]

It's like some people on here are willing us to come crashing down so, come May, they can say "Told you so!" They probably have the post drafted already.
Just roll down the window and enjoy the ride. The view is quite lovely at the moment.

 

[Sandikan]

Last year we had a spell where we were creating lots, and missing lots.

So I'm delighted we're smashing so many goals! 16 in 5 league games!

Imagine if we turn it on to maximum for a prolonged spell, we could be dangerous!

 

[SteveTheRed]

Bit difficult to answer, convinced that we can do what? Am I convinced we can win the league? Compete for the League? better than last season?

I'm convinced we are a better team than last year, we look more ruthless in front of goal. But we haven't played a top 6 side yet, Everton were still in the game at 1-0, could have easily been 1-1 at times, Davies being inches offside etc. but they collapsed at the end.

It's a little to early to call.

 

[AshRK]

If it wasn't for Williams' misplaced pass, we'd have ended up with a nervy 1-0 win, my point is that the late goal gluts are papering over some of the issues like creating more open chances from the beginning, we created one good chance for Lukaku in the first half, the rest were speculative crosses, if it wasn't for Valencia's screamer the match might have ended up 0-0 too(who knows).

Regarding De Gea bailing us out, I know he is doing his job, him doing his job more than often means that our defenders are not doing their job well, meaning our defence and midfield are that not strong yet, Everton opened us up with ease in the second half, Stoke too in the previous league match, imagine what would happen versus an inform or a top team?

If, buts etc can all be applied either way. If lukaku had taken his chance we would have gone 2 up in first 30 mins and we could have won 4 or 5 -0 much earlier. My point is you cannot just say de gea bailed us when the two saves he made were not spectacular and also we won 4-0.

Also, let us not forget these were the same teams we were dropping points to, so yes we cannot deny improvement. Like I said ifs, buts can apply either way. If we had finished our chances last season we would have finished 2nd or 3rd with 85 odd points but that's not how football work, does it?

 

[beedoubleyou]

Far too early for this thread imo. Let's wait til we at least play a top league side before asking the questions.

Exactly. 10 league games minimum.

 

[Ace of Spades]

We have had our good games, and we have had some games where we struggled.

But how is that worse than any other team ??
We are playing well, scoring freely and defending well, much better than last season.

 

[datura]

Failure to put away games like those we have had so far has cost us in the past. I think we are still a few players away from being a great side, but we're looking ruthless and definitely going the right direction.

 

[Treble]

My two cents:

The team is good but not yet as good as the results suggest.

Wham: Good from start to finish, one of our most consistent performances over 90 minutes.

Swansea: unimpressive in attack for 80 min, then 3 goals. Swansea hit the bar when it was still 0:0 though.

Leicester: good performance over 90 minutes.

Stoke: decent but with some annoying mistakes in defence.

Everton: strong start and then faded till the last 10 minutes when a mistake by Williams for the second goal helped United decide the game. Everton had 2 very good chances before that.

It's a good start but the fixtures were relatively easier. The team hasn't been properly tested yet. (I don't count the game with Madrid, they are too good and we had some new players in key positions).

 

[Bogga]

Until we've faced any of the other top teams it's really hard to tell. But winning these games that we drew last year is a step forward...

 

[No Idea For Nickname]

I know it is to early, and we have to play big teams to see where we stand, but I know one thing.
I'm not having squeky bum time at 1-0 like I had last few seasons.

 

[shabadu84]

If this trend holds - we win the matches we should be winning, which we weren't doing last season - then we will be in the title mix assuming we don't lose Pogba or other key players (DDG, Bailly, Lukaku) for too long. There's just too many points to be had against the bottom half of the table that we didn't get last year. I do think our style and approach is better this year but I'm not sure it's built to handle a full strength attack from the likes of City, Liverpool, or Spurs yet. We can beat them but they'll make us uncomfortable and I'm not sure how we'd react if we go behind in matches like that.

 

[Danny Roberts]

It's very early days but a great start. Lukaku has settled straight in and I'm sure we'll not have as many 0-0s and 1-1s as last season. I'm definitely convinced. I'm not expecting us to win the CL, or, in truth, even the PL, but I fancy a decent crack at both which would be a big step forward.

 

[Ace of Spades]

I also don't get this obsession about beating top teams. Liverpool did that last season and still barely scraped fourth.

Over the last three years we have beaten top sides as well, did nothing for our position in the league because we dropped too many points against these same so called weak teams.

 

[el3mel]

Moyes and Van Gaal have really damaged some of you lot.

Exactly that. The past 3 or 4 years have destroyed any confidence in some here and make them very cautious in their optimism. They don't want to get over optimistic to not getting crushed later. I don't agree with that, though. I always have the same optimism and same expectations every season.

 

[iamherenow]

I also don't get this obsession about beating top teams. Liverpool did that last season and still barely scraped fourth.

Over the last three years we have beaten top sides as well, did nothing for our position in the league because we dropped too many points against these same so called weak teams.

preach my brother..we can afford to draw against the big teams but not the small teams,we should be walloping them..

 

[DavelinaJolie]

I think there's a little bit of flattery, given that two of the 4-0 games were puffed up in the last ten minutes to maybe make them seem more comfortable than they are. It still looks like there are some kinks to be ironed out, but I think this team can compete with any side put in front of them and potentially come away with a result against top sides.

 

[Shark]

I also don't get this obsession about beating top teams. Liverpool did that last season and still barely scraped fourth.

Over the last three years we have beaten top sides as well, did nothing for our position in the league because we dropped too many points against these same so called weak teams.

This a hundred times over. Under LVG we were big team slayers, and we were ultimately shite otherwise. There's always this obsession when a team is doing well in this league to say ''they haven't played anyone yet''. Even when that team has scored something like 16 goals and conceded 2 in 5 games. Like we have.

 

[ash_86]

4-0 win doesn't say the whole thing. We were poor for the large parts of the game.

 

[Ananke]

Overall we've looked solid. In comparison to other teams in the Premier League, we look at the VERY least like a top 4 side (modest). Yeh it's the start of the season, might not have played the 'big teams' yet but the games so far have not been the easiest. I'm confident, because the players look very confident.