[IrishRedDevil]

Sir Alex taking a snap of his birthday banner.

 

[Annihilate Now!]

Decent game. The pace was bet slow which suited us... So much so that pretty much any time any player ran with the ball with a bit of pace there was joy to be had.

 

[Nero]

We won the game in the first half. No need for a swashbuckling second half. See the game out and get out. Will be a long and busy season.

 

[SirScholes]

Did they? What chances were that?

They had a lot of chances that required last ditch tackles
We created nothing apart from Mctom hitting 3 shots. That was it other than Ronnie skying a 1 on 1

 

[Vidyoyo]

Sean Dyche sounds like he's had Covid for the past decade

 

[tomaldinho1]

More like what we probably expected. Disjointed with some nice moments and a few players noticeably off fitness but somewhat comfortable. Shape was a lot better but a long road ahead.

 

[ericthered76]

These post match threads could moan underwater.

 

[DickDastardly]

It's the end of the year. Let's focus on the positives.

Shawcho is a good combo.
That left side should be theirs for some time, let them gel properly.

Cavani is a must start. Didn't quite work for him today but the amount of space he creates...the movement...no one on the team offers that.

I like Greenwood. I just like him. He's a good player, he makes things happen. And he has that calmness i like, nothing Rash about him.

If we could upgrade Matić in January...we would be a good team.

And Harry. Feck me. I know i said i'll focus on the positives, but there is not a single positive thing to say about his game. Zero.

 

[TheReligion]

We won, although I don't think we really controlled the game.

I'd say the second half we didn't get out of first gear and pretty much coasted.

That's control.

 

[Someone]

Good team performance. Everyone worked really hard which is a good response to the last game. I was hoping we'd go all for it in the second half but at least we controlled the game and we could've easily scored more. Hope we keep a good momentum going forward.

 

[Denis79]

Not there yet but much better. McTominay MOTM, Sancho showed some nice stuff also. Maguire needs a break on the bench though, his form is awful.

 

[glazed]

Maybe, I'd be amazed if we signed anybody though.

Be surprised if we don't sign a DM. Probably Haidara

 

[calodo2003]

Meh.

But I'll take it.

 

[siw2007]

That was a step in the right direction, it was far from perfect but I would say it was a decent team performance overall and every player put in a solid display. Defensively it could have been better, we let them put too much pressure on us with crosses which we did well with but would rather not have to deal with them at all, when we attacked I felt we used the ball more intelligently, though we weren’t as clinical as we could have been.

Scott gets motm, he put in an impressive display, Ronaldo also played well.

 

[Nordmore]

Did they? What chances were that?

A header and a shot before Ronaldo's miss. Another one when Maguire grabbed #9 shirt. Another one when #21 should shoot with his left instead of trying to control with his right. Another one when #21 (I believe) air shot.

So far I could only remember that but there's probably more.

The match was so chaotic if both sides didn't forget their shooting boots it probably ended 6-4 instead. We were pretty lucky it's only Burnley and their forwards are crap.

 

[Ali Dia]

If we do this against wolves we are going to get rocked Like there’s no discernible boost in energy or industry or clear cut creativity or anything overly tangible. Burnley were just awful and we played our usual game. If we play like this against the best teams they will absolutely destroy us.

Positives - Sancho McT Shaw and Rashford benched it shows nobodies place is guaranteed, we aren’t playing out from the back as much any more, another win for Ralf.

Negatives - same slow play, no real press, giving up guilt edge chances to even the poorest teams, Matic is done yet continues to feature, Maguire is so very shaky and it’ll cost us again and again as better teams target him. I don’t think we’ve learned anything new about the team or manager.

its just where we are at currently. Team still needs a major boost in aggression and quality.

 

[Sparky Rhiwabon]

Much better than against Newcastle. Still lots of room for improvement but I expect improvement as the players get used to the new system, get fitter and perhaps Rangnick brings in one or two players that he wants.

 

[tjb]

It's the end of the year. Let's focus on the positives.

Shawcho is a good combo.
That left side should be theirs for some time, let them gel properly.

Cavani is a must start. Didn't quite work for him today but the amount of space he creates...the movement...no one on the team offers that.

I like Greenwood. I just like him. He's a good player, he makes things happen. And he has that calmness i like, nothing Rash about him.

If we could upgrade Matić in January...we would be a good team.

And Harry. Feck me. I know i said i'll focus on the positives, but there is not a single positive thing to say about his game. Zero.

I agree. What's actually more important from this game was how well we used the flanks and wingers. We played with a lot of width and when we were really up for it, we really stretched Burnley. We played a midblock with lots of width in a 442 and for large stretches of the match, Burnley couldn't get through us. When they did, it was usually individual errors, which isn't great, but is a good sign for the system. Shaw was fantastic and AWB had a good defensive impact.

Matic actually showed why we really need a DM, any DM, as soon as possible. He doesn't have the legs for recovery, but we still looked quite solid through the middle.

Defensively, people have to be patient. Varane hasn't been fit and Maguire is having a really tough time at the moment. We've seen him play consistently well, this isn't his normal level, people need to be understanding of that. If it carries on, then we'll need to have more serious conversations, but for now, we need to show support for him. Lets not act like lindelof or Bailey are better.

 

[Scholsey2004]

Enjoyed the first half, could see some progress in some areas, Sancho and Shaw played well together. Last 30mins far too slow, hopefully that’s due to those high intensity training sessions.

We need to replace Matic & Maguire as they are both too slow and cumbersome, they make far too many bad decisions that get they into big problems on the pitch.

Dalot should be in first team for a while to give him a good run in the team and I’d put Bruno up top with Ronaldo and let Cavani rotate with them.

He certainly needs to be in a different position than in the two behind the striker. His style is to pass long killer balls to the forwards, bypassing anyone between, which was good playing counterattacking Oleball but just doesnt work if you want to play higher up the pitch. I thought Sancho and Greenwood played between the lines far more and linked things up and without being especially great today gave us a much better shape to our play today.

 

[Real Name]

A header and a shot before Ronaldo's miss. Another one when Maguire grabbed #9 shirt. Another one when #21 should shoot with his left instead of trying to control with his right. Another one when #21 (I believe) air shot.

So far I could only remember that but there's probably more.

The match was so chaotic if both sides didn't forget their shooting boots it probably ended 6-4 instead. We were pretty lucky it's only Burnley and their forwards are crap.

Chance in which someone should have shot but didn't isn't exactly a chance. They were a bit dangerous at the start but that was that and certainly not that dramatic.

 

[Crashoutcassius]

And Harry. Feck me. I know i said i'll focus on the positives, but there is not a single positive thing to say about his game. Zero.

headed away everything against a team that has their main focus as an aerial threat.

 

[Robertd0803]

Get in there.

Nice for it to be so straight forward for once.

Oh and Viva Ronaldo.

 

[SirMattlives]

I like Greenwood. I just like him. He's a good player, he makes things happen. And he has that calmness i like, nothing Rash about him.

I saw what you did there

 

[Real Name]

They had a lot of chances that required last ditch tackles
We created nothing apart from Mctom hitting 3 shots. That was it other than Ronnie skying a 1 on 1

We might have watched a different game it seems. And we might a different view of the word chance too.

 

[Cassidy]

Good result. Hopefully performances pick up soon

 

[JJ12]

Apparently MOTM McTominay is the worst player to ever play for us...

He’s not very good but had a very good game

 

[Nakamoto Atsuto]

Not a great performance, but an important result. We got the job done. Well done to Scott McTominay MOTM.

 

[DomM]

Not really a good performance but at least we won and looked better than against Newcastle.
AWB is simply awful, he offers nothing apart from last ditch tackles, he needs replacing.
Maguire still looks rubbish, what has happened since summer, he makes everyone nervous.
Everyone else did ok.

 

[pascell]

I'd say the second half we didn't get out of first gear and pretty much coasted.

That's control.

We played a team who hadn't played a game in 16 days, it's going to take its toll on them in the 2nd half.

They also created the better chances in that 2nd half, mainly off our poor defending on set pieces and could've easily drew level. They had a golden chance with Pieters going unmarked but fluffing his lines completely. Coasted, nah I don't buy it, that scoreline severely flattered our performance.

I'll take the points and run but our future opposition have plenty to pick holes from. Onto the next one.

 

[Ayoba]

Any post match interviews?

 

[Ferguson’s Hairdryer]

10 out of 12 points.

 

[TheReligion]

We played a team who hadn't played a game in 16 days, it's going to take its toll on them in the 2nd half.

They also created the better chances in that 2nd half, mainly off our poor defending on set pieces and could've easily drew level. They had a golden chance with Pieters going unmarked but fluffing his lines completely. Coasted, nah I don't buy it, that scoreline severely flattered our performance.

I'll take the points and run but our future opposition have plenty to pick holes from. Onto the next one.

United had chances too. DDG didn't have a save to make. Hennessy did.

It wasn't a great performance but let's not pretend we were under the cosh.

 

[Suedesi]

We're still not pressing as a team or showing more solidity at the back. A bit concerning but also understandable given how little time Ralf has had with the squad. Can you teach an old dog new tricks?

McSauce was MOTM, I liked Shaw and Sancho/Greenwood played well...

Low points were AWB and Maguire - 130mm British pounds for them two has to the worst piece of business we've done ever.

 

[Champ]

If you’re happy watching that then knock yourself out.

I suggest you go watch Burnley from now on then pal

 

[spiriticon]

3 points, job done. Not spectacular but hey ho.... small steps.

 

[Plant0x84]

Give over

I’m happy for the win, but he has a point. We should have slaughtered them second half, our goal diff is poor and we could have corrected it somewhat against these relegation teams.

 

[ericthered76]

We're still not pressing as a team or showing more solidity at the back which is a bit concerning but also understandable given how little time Ralf has had with the squad to drill them.

McSauce was MOTM, I liked Shaw and Sancho/Greenwood played well...

Low points were AWB and Maguire - 130mm British pounds for them two has to the worst piece of business we've done ever.

Pogba on his own 'will' take that title when he leaves gratis.

 

[Yagami]

Those 3 chances Burnley had at the end were worrying.

For all the talk about control, we have none when it matters most. Instead of keeping the ball at the end to see out the game, we were thanking our lucky stars that Burnley's players can't finish for toffee.

 

[Ferguson’s Hairdryer]

why can’t McTominay play with that energy every week.

I think it’s because when his with Fred, it’s Fred that goes forward more.

 

[Champ]

I’m happy for the win, but he has a point. We should have slaughtered them second half, our goal diff is poor and we could have corrected it somewhat against these relegation teams.

Second game in 4 days, after not being able to train fully as a team for three weeks?
I think a comfortable second half was always on the cards.
Burnley only threatened right at the death.