Amazing how many posters don't understand context when making their comparisons. Taking this game as a barometer to compare with LVG or Jose's time, is just bonkers.
We are in an injury crisis with our only creative midfielder and our #9 out yet people complain about our attack. It's a traditional banana-skin post-International game, yet people complain about the coaching--there was just one training session. Game plan worked to nullify an in form Leicester that many fans thought would beat us.
We have often been slow starters to a season, and it's unsurprising that this season we have been too, considering how last season ended. 3 points and clean sheets build confidence. We got that clean sheet by Ole strengthening from the back first with Maguire and AWB, two class signings, and putting his faith in De Gea and trying to restore his confidence and form.
I want him to play youth as much or more than any of you, but there is a process with young players, and now Butt is in charge of that process too. They are getting cameos to help them adjust, and to be fair, none have shown in their cameos anything to suggest that they absolutely must be played, nothing like Rashford scoring on every debut he made. The plan has been stated all along, that they will get their chances when we get 2-3 games a week from here on in, in the Cup games against lesser opposition to see how they fare against adults. It's one thing to perform well in the U23's 2nd division, but that is a whole different level to the Premier League.
And we have squad players who haven't been even getting in the squad, let alone the 1st team, and they get restless and unhappy, and start moaning in the media and probably the dressing room too, like Matic. So they are bound to be ahead of the youngsters. There will be enough games for them all to get chances, and if the young lads take those chances convincingly then players like Mata and Matic will have to make do with squad player status or be allowed to leave to find 1st team football. McTominay has already shown that a young player can bench a senior pro like Matic. Matic can hardly complain when looking at their relative performances today, but even then context counts as any player needs minutes, needs games, to get to match sharpness, and that gets harder as they get older. Matic is probably in the Rooney stage where they are stuck in disbelief at their own decay.
Fred finally got some minutes, after no pre-season, and we can presumably see him being eased into the side, and today he took his chance well I thought, could be great timing to have him coming into fitness just when we need him.
Rashford was living off scraps, but still converted a penalty (finally!!) and hit a super free kick that was dead unlucky to not give us a comfortable 2-0. James still looked bright, though Ole retains his record.
Mata and Pereira we know aren't truly good enough for the 1st team, and the club clearly know that too as they tried to get Dybala and Eriksen, and Costa, but we are stuck with what we have. Lingard seems to be 1st choice at #10 but was ill, but there is very little difference really between Lingard, Mata and Pereira, they are all just squad quality, except the latter two have a bit more goal potential, especially from set-pieces, whereas Lingard is better for our counter-attack and pressing. Gomes probably will steal their place, but only when he has proven himself against adults in the Cups 1st, which considering his size is not an unreasonable thing to do.
I was a little surprised to see Chong play on the left and James to switch to the right, as Chong has played more on the right over the last few seasons (albeit not so much recently). Looked lively, but still yet to give a performance that can't be denied a start.
Most importantly, we get 3 points, go 4th (not really such a bad start as everything is relative), kept a clean sheet, won a 6 pointer with our rivals, and build confidence.