[Treble]

So just the one positive then?

Basically

 

[Parry Gallister]

Paddy: "I think of all the poor quality games I've seen at Old Trafford through the years, that will be in the top one. That was absolutely rubbish. Poor. Awful. Aston Villa... dreadful. I can never understand why should United get down to their standard, but they did and it was an awful game.

Stewart: Apart from that though?

Paddy: Well apart from that I'm freezing.

That game got properly shite though.

 

[Livewire1974]

Have been more entertained watching paint dry. An abysmal performance against the worst side in the league, and possibly one of the worst sides the Premier League has ever seen. The sooner LVG is gone the better.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

He said the manager 'obviously' had to change the side after Wednesday.

Go figure.

They have some other quotes above which are hilarious but true. He did have to change it as far as Herrera was concerned. Problem was the changes took any speed of thought out of the team. I am seriously thinking these players know something and are just playing out the season. As long as it isn't Giggs that they know.

 

[Sweet Square]

Any sort of win will do at the moment.

 

[Charlie Foley]

@Livvie how come it says you support Southampton? (I've also just realised when you go to tag people it will show their gender.)

 

[glazed]

You want Martial to go?

He can stay

 

[glazed]

What...all of them?

Yes all of them. Except Martial. He can stay.

 

[Slartibartfast]

No more Mr Nice Guy

(Figuratively speaking for the benefit of Izec. (Wasnt that a brand of loo roll?)

Oooh Izal - that's brought back some painful memories ........ it never got nicked tho !!

 

[KikiDaKats]

Well when much weaker players stroll past him in midfield I'm expecting some decent play from him in some other respect or he's not much business playing for us. We can't carry a player just for defending corners.

A lot of players in the past had no business playing for United but as fans we judge them on their contribution on match day. Against Villa calling him a passenger you are basically lying.
I personally don't look forward to watching him but as long as he is involved, assessment should be based on what happened on the pitch.

 

[red_devil83]

A fitting send off for Villa. Both teams served up a pile of steaming crap

 

[christinaa]

Hard as it may seem at this point in time, without Martial and Rashford we are not much up front and they should start together.

 

[JohnnyKills]

The Caf right now kind of mirrors our football in some ways.

Nah the Caf is far more passionate and chaotic than United, if anything this forum reminds me of City in the mid-90s.

If LVG keeps his job, the fury of the Caf might actually break the Internet.

 

[TwoSheds]

A lot of players in the past had no business playing for United but as fans we judge them on their contribution on match day. Against Villa calling him a passenger you are basically lying.
I personally don't look forward to watching him but as long as he is involved, assessment should be based on what happened on the pitch.

I didn't call him a passenger. He was good until Rooney went off. Then he became shite. Which is exactly the time he needs to not be shite.

 

[mu77]

meh

 

[Jazz]

Can't believe we only scored 1 goal against Villa Anyway, I'm 99% sure now we won't make top four.

 

[christinaa]

A good look at our goal statistics:
for 40
against 30

doesn't say much for our season especially when compared to the top clubs and even some of those below us.

 

[KikiDaKats]

I didn't call him a passenger. He was good until Rooney went off. Then he became shite. Which is exactly the time he needs to not be shite.

Your statement implied he was a passenger. Anyway, football is about opinions..who am I to question the way you see things.
I believe he was involved in the built up or end of most things things positive done today and he made a lot of tackles to stop counters. The only time I felt he struggled was when Guestede came on and Villa stopped attacking thru the middle.

 

[Norris]

Bang average performance. @Ijazz17 this is what I was talking about in West Ham post game. If you compare intent shown in that to today, then it is very clear difference. It is not as if Aston Villa had put 10 man behind the ball, parked in their 3rd and we were putting waves of attacks, it was just dull 2nd gear play.

Also, sad for Villa going down. I had sympathy for them always and were a good punching bag for us most of the times in PL era.

Yeah, I see your point. Villa were just absolutely terrible. One of the worst performances from an opposition I can remember in a long long time. A team like United cannot be so lackadaisical against such dross. But that said, I still think there are a couple of reason why United are so inconsistent with their intent and desire regardless of Opposition of tactics

• Team Change. We went from playing 3-3.5 quick attack minded players in the previous game to Two-ish and a Rooney. That drop in pace especially from out attack players can never be seen understated.
• I know many here think that he's past it and that he should not play next season, but I still hold Carrick in high regard. Him and Blind (especially Carrick I would say) are responsible for initiating so many of our attacks with crisp forward passing. Even his long balls are perfect, not like Schneiderlin or Mata's which seem to be in the air forever. Obviously, he is physically very much on the decline, but if he is protected enough and given a good dynamic midfielder to partner him, he is very effective. I really fear for us when he calls it time, coz unless Blind is moved to that position, there is no one who can do it as good as he does.

Now, I am not trying to defend our performance here, it was pretty horrible, especially the second half. But I think with maybe a slightly different team, we could have had a better showing.

In any case, suppose you are right about our lack of intent for games or the inconsistency of it, what do you think the reason would be ? It can't be the Manager in that case, since we have had patches of performances where we looked good. The players wouldn't do that if van Gaal was the problem. It can't be tactics either since we've rigidly stuck to the same tactic the whole season. I am just not sure what the root cause is.

The result:
...

Interesting Post, just a couple of thoughts I thought I might share.

• I agree with your opinion that Mata is a little overrated (overrated maybe a strong word. He just needs a more conducive environment imo), but I think you picked out the wrong match to criticize him. He was very good, for the most part. Made a lot of clever runs into the box. He even actually played a forward pass to the RB which I don't ever recall him doing in his time. It was one of his better performances, or maybe I should say halves.
• Rojo literally had nothing to do from defensive front. How you say he was poor based on having to do nothing baffles me a little. De Gea had nothing to do all game either, does that mean he was poor too ? In an attacking sense, I think he was okay-ish, a typical Rojo performance. Lots of endeavour but little finish product. But he got forward at every opportunity, he just needs some composure in the final third. But calling him poor is against a little weird for me.
• Memphis was poor in the first half, but I thought he did better in the second half. He gained in confidence, was more direct and did his defensive duties diligently. But I can see why you would say he was poor. I still think he will come good though. Ever since that Chelsea game and the U21 game after that, his attitude has changed (alteast I think it has).
• Smalling on the decline ? Really ? He's not a complete defender, but on a steady decline seems a little farfetched. I was about to post on the 1 v 1 thing, but might as well post here. I think when it comes to using his physical prowess in a 1 v 1 battle, Smalling usually comes on top, be it in an aerial duel or in a Shoulder to Shoulder tussle for the ball. But when it comes to trying to outwit his opponent in a 1 v 1 situation, he usually comes second best. That chance for Ayew wasn't the first time where Smalling failed to win a 1 v 1 against a tricky forward this season. It's a little surprising since I thought he would be better against it since he probably comes across such situations in training against Martial, Rashford, Memphis etc. He's not a complete defender by any means and the likes of Darmian and Blind are better in such situations (For Blind it depends if the tricky forward has some space to run into as he doesn't stick as tightly to his player as Darmian), but I still think he's been in the top 5 defenders for this season.

 

[Livvie]

Pretty sure you can edit that yourself under Personal details.

I know. I will obviously have to do that - I forgot all about it tbh. My bad.

 

[Norris]

That said, those that have been pushing for TFM in midfield must be licking their lips. Even though he hardly had much game time, he was responsible for the Memphis chance, so he has already shown what he can offer in that position. He would work well in a 4-3-3 imo, though I still hope his long term future is in the centre of defense.

 

[Livvie]

@Livvie how come it says you support Southampton? (I've also just realised when you go to tag people it will show their gender.)

I don't know - maybe because at some point in the past I mentioned wanting them to do well.

 

[Mal donaghy]

Out of all the home stadiums in English league Football, Old Trafford have witnessed the least goals, that alone is grounds for dismissal surely!!

 

[Dec9003]

Yeah, I see your point. Villa were just absolutely terrible. One of the worst performances from an opposition I can remember in a long long time. A team like United cannot be so lackadaisical against such dross. But that said, I still think there are a couple of reason why United are so inconsistent with their intent and desire regardless of Opposition of tactics

• Team Change. We went from playing 3-3.5 quick attack minded players in the previous game to Two-ish and a Rooney. That drop in pace especially from out attack players can never be seen understated.
• I know many here think that he's past it and that he should not play next season, but I still hold Carrick in high regard. Him and Blind (especially Carrick I would say) are responsible for initiating so many of our attacks with crisp forward passing. Even his long balls are perfect, not like Schneiderlin or Mata's which seem to be in the air forever. Obviously, he is physically very much on the decline, but if he is protected enough and given a good dynamic midfielder to partner him, he is very effective. I really fear for us when he calls it time, coz unless Blind is moved to that position, there is no one who can do it as good as he does.

Now, I am not trying to defend our performance here, it was pretty horrible, especially the second half. But I think with maybe a slightly different team, we could have had a better showing.

In any case, suppose you are right about our lack of intent for games or the inconsistency of it, what do you think the reason would be ? It can't be the Manager in that case, since we have had patches of performances where we looked good. The players wouldn't do that if van Gaal was the problem. It can't be tactics either since we've rigidly stuck to the same tactic the whole season. I am just not sure what the root cause is.


Interesting Post, just a couple of thoughts I thought I might share.

• I agree with your opinion that Mata is a little overrated (overrated maybe a strong word. He just needs a more conducive environment imo), but I think you picked out the wrong match to criticize him. He was very good, for the most part. Made a lot of clever runs into the box. He even actually played a forward pass to the RB which I don't ever recall him doing in his time. It was one of his better performances, or maybe I should say halves.
• Rojo literally had nothing to do from defensive front. How you say he was poor based on having to do nothing baffles me a little. De Gea had nothing to do all game either, does that mean he was poor too ? In an attacking sense, I think he was okay-ish, a typical Rojo performance. Lots of endeavour but little finish product. But he got forward at every opportunity, he just needs some composure in the final third. But calling him poor is against a little weird for me.
• Memphis was poor in the first half, but I thought he did better in the second half. He gained in confidence, was more direct and did his defensive duties diligently. But I can see why you would say he was poor. I still think he will come good though. Ever since that Chelsea game and the U21 game after that, his attitude has changed (alteast I think it has).
• Smalling on the decline ? Really ? He's not a complete defender, but on a steady decline seems a little farfetched. I was about to post on the 1 v 1 thing, but might as well post here. I think when it comes to using his physical prowess in a 1 v 1 battle, Smalling usually comes on top, be it in an aerial duel or in a Shoulder to Shoulder tussle for the ball. But when it comes to trying to outwit his opponent in a 1 v 1 situation, he usually comes second best. That chance for Ayew wasn't the first time where Smalling failed to win a 1 v 1 against a tricky forward this season. It's a little surprising since I thought he would be better against it since he probably comes across such situations in training against Martial, Rashford, Memphis etc. He's not a complete defender by any means and the likes of Darmian and Blind are better in such situations (For Blind it depends if the tricky forward has some space to run into as he doesn't stick as tightly to his player as Darmian), but I still think he's been in the top 5 defenders for this season.

Do you think Mata was that good? I thought he was poor personally. He was involved, he was lovely and putting himself about.
His end product is criminal though.
In terms of being involved I expect that from players like, I don't know Borini, Robbie Brady and even Lingard perhaps. But with Mata and any club at the level we want to be at I don't think his performance today was good enough.
Regarding Rojo, I agree defensively he had very little to do. In terms of the attacking though he was a non-entity. Attacking is so, so important for any modern day full back. At Old Trafford against a team sitting back you really need the full back to get up and be able to but good crosses in and he simply can't.
Plus De Gea made a fairly good save towards the end.
Memphis I agree did somewhat get better as the match went on, it's just his decision making that lets him down time and time again. Perhaps he can improve, in fact I'm almost certain we can see more of him than what we saw today. I'm not sure if he can turn into a top quality left winger though. Here's hoping he can!
Smalling is someone I can see is really highly rated on here, and for good reason. Physically he's spot on, he's almost like a really old fashioned centre back. He can tackle, he can head it and he is obviously a good player, I'm not sure he's a great player though.
On the ball he's pretty much useless. His passing is atrocious and every time he hopelessly lumps it upfield he invites unnecessary pressure on the team.
Because of this to make up for it I think really he should be almost perfect defensively. To play for a club of our stature if you can't actually play the ball that well at centre back then you need to be incredible defensively. At the start of the season he was. But for a while I've been unimpressed with him.
I just think going forward bringing in someone alongside blind who can provide the defensive aspect and play a bit would add the perfect balance to the defence.
That's not saying I'm giving up on Smalling, I hope we go into next season keeping on Blind-Smalling because I think as a partnership they've been excellent.

 

[sglowrider]

I fell asleep again! Expect things to kick on after the 1st goal I have seen us score in months but instead. .. snore!

 

[Cerpin]

Timewasting in the corner, against the worst team in the league, on our own ground. Pathetic.

 

[bubbles_]

feck me, I couldn't watch the game so I turned my phone off to avoid the score all afternoon and just sat down to watch it. One of you could've at least tried to run me over first couldn't you?

 

[Norris]

Do you think Mata was that good? I thought he was poor personally. He was involved, he was lovely and putting himself about.
His end product is criminal though.
In terms of being involved I expect that from players like, I don't know Borini, Robbie Brady and even Lingard perhaps. But with Mata and any club at the level we want to be at I don't think his performance today was good enough.
Regarding Rojo, I agree defensively he had very little to do. In terms of the attacking though he was a non-entity. Attacking is so, so important for any modern day full back. At Old Trafford against a team sitting back you really need the full back to get up and be able to but good crosses in and he simply can't.
Plus De Gea made a fairly good save towards the end.
Memphis I agree did somewhat get better as the match went on, it's just his decision making that lets him down time and time again. Perhaps he can improve, in fact I'm almost certain we can see more of him than what we saw today. I'm not sure if he can turn into a top quality left winger though. Here's hoping he can!
Smalling is someone I can see is really highly rated on here, and for good reason. Physically he's spot on, he's almost like a really old fashioned centre back. He can tackle, he can head it and he is obviously a good player, I'm not sure he's a great player though.
On the ball he's pretty much useless. His passing is atrocious and every time he hopelessly lumps it upfield he invites unnecessary pressure on the team.
Because of this to make up for it I think really he should be almost perfect defensively. To play for a club of our stature if you can't actually play the ball that well at centre back then you need to be incredible defensively. At the start of the season he was. But for a while I've been unimpressed with him.
I just think going forward bringing in someone alongside blind who can provide the defensive aspect and play a bit would add the perfect balance to the defence.
That's not saying I'm giving up on Smalling, I hope we go into next season keeping on Blind-Smalling because I think as a partnership they've been excellent.

Didn't say Mata was that good. But it was an improvement over his more recent outings. I agree that for someone who is seen as a No 10, his through balls etc aren't always spot on. Memphis had made better passes than him in the game. That said, he can probably player well regularly, but in a better system. Give him a team with fast wingers, a striker willing to run in behind, a solid and dynamic midfield, all of which we already have the tools for imo and you can see him do very well. Although, I would still prefer Rooney as the No 10 and then Herrera and then Mata.

But then if you isolate Rojo's attacking intent in such a manner, you need to do it for Valencia as well. What did he do apart from that assist which was noteworthy ? Rojo atleast got into the box a couple of times in the second half (He could have done something with that Memphis Lob if he had some compsoure). Valencia made one excellent run into the box in the first half and that was about it. Had Valencia not been the one responsible for the assist, you could have just as easily said he was poor as well. So I feel singling him out is a little harsh when Valencia apart from the assist was probably the worse full-back. I agree that our full backs need to offer more in an attacking sense, but all our full-backs have been pretty poor in that regard all season. The only one who I thought did well in that regard was Varela and he's nowhere to be seen.

At the start of the season, I don't think he was challenged in that same manner. He was mostly in physical duels with the strikers which he wins more often than not. But if you put a tricky skilful striker on him, he does tend to struggle. He's not an expert on reading the opposition players. He's easily sold by those step-overs and feints. I agree, if he is not going to be a ball playing defender, he needs to work on this asap. He's definitely not a great player. But he's still had a very good season imo.

 

[SalfordRed1960]

Out of all the home stadiums in English league Football, Old Trafford have witnessed the least goals, that alone is grounds for dismissal surely!!

Isn't it the best home record in the league?

 

[littlepeasoup]

Must have been nice for the journos. They had a week to refine their Villa relegation stories.

 

[Adisa]

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

 

[noodlehair]

I only caught the second half but yeah. We seemed to play for about 10 minutes then just acted like we were about 6-0 up.

I don't see the point in worrying about top four or anything else. If you have a set of players who can't hold their nerve at home to the worst team in the league when there isn't really mch going on or much on the line, it's pointless expecting them to be able to do it when there is any form of actual pressure.

 

[Gerald G]

Atrocious... simply atrocious.

 

[Maradona10]

I genuinely thought i should reply to the candy crush request i recieve everyday from a cnut friend of mine. This is horse shit, we play/watch football to score goals not play for who can keep the ball longest. 40 goals scored, that is wutterly shameful. Manager of manutd with most resources in world gets them to score 40 goals in 33 games. The only reason our defense looks a little better is because we dont attack, if we did, we would be torn to shreds and be even lower in the table.
In short- feck off van gaal

 

[MyOnlySolskjaer]

Tweet

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He cannot be serious.

 

[pascell]

lol....well, fair enough, you were there and saw it all. But hey...what was the general mood around you, I mean, was there just a general acceptance of where we are as a team. Anti LVG etc? Just curious.

The atmosphere was very flat, most chanting was about us going to Wembley. I just think everyone has got used to the way we play, whilst hoping we get into the final of the FA Cup and can go on to win it. Personally, I think top 4 is beyond us and just hope something changes over summer, so winning the FA Cup would be great at this stage.

there was one on the 50 minute mark sailed hopelessly out of play swerving away from his team mate. it was hilarious, actually made a mental note of the minute. he did have a good first half though

I remember that one, he used the same technique on most long passes apart from the one for the goal. I just don't think he's sharp enough and intelligent enough to play CM.

 

[Todd]

3 points, but it doesn't even matter at this point because City aren't going to drop a point from here on out and Liverpool are gonna win Europa as well so CL is as good as gone for us.

 

[Perrick Dubois]

Didn't get to see the game, couldn't really even follow it. Sounded pretty awful though, don't think I'll catch the replay for this one. Three points is three points however and keeps us in the hunt for a CL place. Onward to next week!

 

[John_K]

What a boring match, as usual these days.
It sounded like the atmosphere was so flat in the stadium.... It's absolutely disgraceful to be playing like this at home against the worst team in the league!
How many games that were actually entertaining have we played under Van Gaal?

 

[Fully Fledged]

I hate football at the moment. I'm just waiting for next season and hoping against hope that it's better than what we have been served up for the last 3 seasons.