[antsmithmk]

I'm not surprised with the result. We usually lose against relegation candidates. That was the case with Sir Alex. It is part of United DNA.

Yep I can imagine him giving them credit and saying that's the beauty of football.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

Been here before haven't we!!! For all those still angry at the performance, all I'll say is that last night wasn't a patch on watching QPR beat us 4-1 at OT years ago.

We are better than people said we were at the start of the season, but no where near as good as some of the pundits have been suggesting of late. We are possibly a season or two away from being in a position to really challenge, hopefully they'll learn from this go to Arsenal on Saturday and maintain the away record and we'll forget about this.

That was a team who knew how to win and had an off day. They were driven to put it right through their own pride. Most of this team have not won trophies in the PL. We cannot presume as yet that come the weekend everything will be rosy again.

 

[MancFanFromManc]

That was a tough watch. You could tell from the first minute that we weren't gonna play well. Sloppy from the off, and unlike previous games that didnt improve after we conceded. I counted 3 sloppy touches in the first minute of the second half too, so Ole's half time team talk didnt change anything either. It didnt feel like Sheff United played well either, just that we couldnt string two passes together. Maybe I'm doing them a diservice, they did defend well. I dont want to ever see that version of Bruno again, he was awful (I'm only singling him out cos of the high bar he's set. I'd be calling our Martial too, but thats too easy!!)

 

[DomesticTadpole]

I couldn't believe what happened with Sheffield's second goal, so I re-watched it.

If you look closely, you'll see that several players care less about clearing the danger than the glory of our next counter-attack.

Martial is stood waiting for the ball, as is Cavani, as is Bruno. Rashford is out of shot, so is presumably waiting on our right hand side.

Pogba is in the penalty box, but stands there doing nothing, like his job is to feed Martial, Bruno, Rashford or Cavani, not defend.

It's as if all those players are already thinking about our counter-attack, because Sheffield are so far up the pitch, that's the time to pounce.

That's why seven Sheffield players could pass it so easily around our five actual defenders (the defence + Matic)

We didn't clear the danger. We got punished.

Next time, defend first, counter-attack second!

Good observation.

 

[MancFanFromManc]

After some reflection, I’m not too concerned in the long run.

Last night was a bit of a typical step along the way of a developing team. Even when things look sweet, the team can lose to anybody on its day. That happens to all teams but especially those who have to rotate players who are not quite on the required level yet.

A few more players in the key positions we are lacking, DM, CB, CF and (Diallo if possible) RW and the whole thing will look very different.

I still think we can put up a good challenge, assuming City don’t go on a massive winning streak. Second would be okay, or even third with a lot more points than last season.

Terrible result yesterday but overall I’m happy.

Loving the optimism. Its just one (bloody awful) performance, so hopefully we can reset and get back to form at the weekend. We do better against the better teams so here's hoping. Glass half full!!

 

[DomesticTadpole]

That was a tough watch. You could tell from the first minute that we weren't gonna play well. Sloppy from the off, and unlike previous games that didnt improve after we conceded. I counted 3 sloppy touches in the first minute of the second half too, so Ole's half time team talk didnt change anything either. It didnt feel like Sheff United played well either, just that we couldnt string two passes together. Maybe I'm doing them a diservice, they did defend well. I dont want to ever see that version of Bruno again, he was awful (I'm only singling him out cos of the high bar he's set. I'd be calling our Martial too, but thats too easy!!)

That was the sad part, usually a goal against fires us out of our lethargy. Even thought after half time he would make changes and we would sweep them aside, it's as though the Arsenal game is more important and he was thinking ahead when this game had to be won first. Well it sure as hell is now. If we had won last night I would have taken a draw against Arsenal. Now he has to get a win.

 

[Judas]

It wasn't just one awful performance though. We've played like this so often this season but managed to scrape through, got the win and its glossed over the shite we've played. This result was coming and totally deserved.

 

[André Dominguez]

The second goal would be easily defended if every player involved on the defensive process knew ho to do this:

Spoiler

It's something you learn at youth level, ffs!

 

[Offside]

I’ve said it before on here but this style of play we have just isn’t sustainable. I’ve no doubt we can finish 3rd and closer to the top 2 but we won’t ever win the league whilst our ball retention is so poor.

I’ve never seen a United team so bad at keeping possession - we lose it so easily every single game. Major problem as our 2 best players (Rashford and Fernandes) are two of the worst culprits.

Our back line also isn’t good enough. Do we really think we can win the league when we have the worst defensive record in the top 11? We’re conceding 2 in a game regularly and against shit teams. 1 in 3 of Sheffield Utd’s goals this season have come against us for feck sake.

 

[Tribec]

That was a team who knew how to win and had an off day. They were driven to put it right through their own pride. Most of this team have not won trophies in the PL. We cannot presume as yet that come the weekend everything will be rosy again.

Hence why I said "Hopefully they'll learn from this", not they will.

 

[MUFC60]

What else is new? Young, inconsistent team has off day struggling to break down an "easy" side. Every team has these games and the consensus everywhere, including here, has overwhelmingly been that Manchester United are not expected to be the title-winning team this year despite massive improvements.

If people's upper lips were half as stiff as their nipples whenever this team stumbles, they'd kiss a hole right through Pochettino's ass.

It's a bad result and we played terribly against terrible opposition, ending a really good run of results. It's not the end of the world.

"The way the club is at the moment" is that we're second in the PL and just beat Liverpool out of the FA Cup. "The way many of our supporters are at the moment" on the other hand is that even in a situation where I'm consumed with disgust over this awful performance, multiple posters manage to be so much worse than that that I actually sit down and type that reminder. As angry as I am with, say, Anthony Martial, at least he doesn't have the attention span of a goldfish. You and your ilk are a far, far bigger annoyance than any player's performance tonight, and you do not deserve anything good this club may happen to give you in the future.

Who has the attention span of a goldfish? I've supported this team since the 60s, home and away in my younger days, and I am entitled to my opinion just like you so why do I not deserve anything good in the future. My point about the way the club is, is about the Glazers robbing us blind, going out of the CL group that we had sewn up almost, poor poor decisions and tactics by Ole, losing semis, losing to one of the worst Prem teams ever. But at least you're happy cos we are 2nd and beat the scousers in the cup(always good admittedly). We're miles away from where we need to be but as I say, it's just my opinion and like arseholes, we've all got one.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

Hence why I said "Hopefully they'll learn from this", not they will.

Fair enough. The fact it is away might help. We have played Everton, Southampton and West Ham away when they were in form and come away with a win, so here's hoping the same happens with this game. I just wish we could find a way to improve our home form.

 

[Inigo Montoya]

Martial and Axel getting racist abuse on social media now.
What the holy feck

 

[DomesticTadpole]

Martial and Axel getting racist abuse on social media now.
What the holy feck

Really? That is uncalled for. Some people are disgusting. They didn't play well, leave it at that. Non of the team played well are they targeting them?

 

[fps]

Without either Fred or McTominay there was a lack of urgency and tempo from midfield that led to a sluggish display. Martial was really off it, his balance isn’t great and he was frequently on his heels.

Inevitable that this team will still have good and bad days, but tbh if De Gea has cleared out his box properly once in the air once on the ground it’s still a win. So that’s concerning. Like Sanchez or Ozil he seems to be on so much money that he’s pretty comfortable win lose or draw. That’s not good enough.

Tactically the constant dropping of a CM into the back line to allow full backs forward led to a lot of deep and wasted possession, a more positive approach tactically in midfield and we’d surely have run through them.

 

[Giggsy13]

Mentality midgets. The chance to go top, open up a gap between those below us and go nine points ahead of Liverpool. And the outcome was a pathetic performance with comedy defending.

That result wasn’t about bad luck or tiredness or Sheffield Utd playing out of their skins, it was about wilting under pressure. We’ll probably need to drop to 4th or lower now before we see them attempt to come out of their shells again.

This is definitely the reputation that this squad has over the past few years, the “nearly men”. I’m sure it’s been posted before but look at the diabolical pass Martial makes to the Sheffield man and his reaction. There is none. Bruno tracks back to stop the Sheffield counter while Martial jogged on. That sums up our squad. A few great leaders and a lot of passengers. If Ole starts Martial this weekend then he can feck off too.

 

[Maticmaker]

"After the Lord Mayors Show" if ever this old saying had relevance it was this week for United, they beat Liverpool then surrender to bottom of the League.

And surrender it was, if this had been at the time of WW1 then you would suspect half that team would be facing a firing squad for 'going missing in action/suspected cowardice in the face of the enemy'.
For goodness sake, Sheffield didn't even have to play well, just form up defensively rock solid when we had the ball and put some mild pressing on us, beginning ten yards inside our half. That way if their mild pressing failed (which most times it did) then their front three could double back and create a 'shield-wall' against which our players could hurl themselves.
However we didn't, apart from Greenwood, neither Rashford nor Martial even attempted any 'head on' runs at defenders.

Perhaps the worst aspect and most negative outcome last night for us was that a team who have only won one game up to last night and was rooted at the bottom of the league, could drum up more commitment and energy than a side allegedly getting ready to challenge for the title.
The two big questions, why wasn't Cavani on from the start, why was Martial on at all?

 

[SER19]

Still reeling from this. Pretty much any sane person knew we'd lose again soon it's just the nature of a long season, but this defeat was absolutely shocking and looks no less so in the light of a new day.

One of the worst results in years

 

[Siorac]

Nah we beat them twice in that 07/08 season when they got lowest ever total but never forget that 96/97 when Wanchope danced through our defence

And Sunderland got a draw at Old Trafford in 05/06 when they got 15 points in the end.

 

[R'hllor]

Martial and Axel getting racist abuse on social media now.
What the holy feck

What a surprise

 

[Heinzesight]

I think the gutting thing about last night is the realisation that we aren’t there yet in terms of challenging for the title.

We all knew it deep down but you had the hope that the ‘luck’ we were having and comebacks were ‘what champions do’ but we must have all felt this result was on the cards.

The inconsistency of our best players will leave us short of the big prizes. Just so frustrating they can’t do it week in week out. Or at least have a few sub-par matches rather than the gutter level we see all too often.

But, a couple of signings in the right areas will have us mounting a serious title changing next season I’m sure of it. Next year is our year and all that!

 

[VidaRed]

After a full nights sleep I'm still seething.

Scandalous performance, I've been part of the 'ole at the wheel' brigrade but if ole lets this slide without heads rolling then I'm afraid ole hasn't got what it takes to take a jump from top 4 to title contenders. However, I don't think we'll know (atleast for now) what happened in the dressing room after the game.

 

[KiD MoYeS]

One bad result in months. The aim this season was top four and a trophy. Let us see can Ole deliver, his contact is due to expire next season so he will need to do something to earn an extension. Calm.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

Still reeling from this. Pretty much any sane person knew we'd lose again soon it's just the nature of a long season, but this defeat was absolutely shocking and looks no less so in the light of a new day.

One of the worst results in years

Yes. Was not expecting this. If we had lost at Arsenal it would not surprise me as Arteta seems to have Ole's number, but last night was a shocker.

 

[superdry]

Groundhog day, lots of good players make progress, poor coaching and team selection slaps us back down again.

 

[Judas]

"these results happen" yeah they do, they've happened to us loads down the years, one of those nights etc. But those come in seasons where we're putting in plenty of convincing wins against other teams, and then you have a night where it just doesn't come together, doesn't click. Truth is, most of our games this season have been like that. We're waiting to click, and we've done brilliantly to grind out wins while waiting for things to come together, but it was never going to last.

 

[Bocca9978]

Sorry boys and girls I watched this one, what a mare. I'll go back to not watching again.

It’s my fault, I decided to try to get excited about the game and believe we’d come back when usually I don’t think we will. I’ll go back to having no faith!

No, no. It’s my fault. I didn’t wear my United shirt while watching!

 

[SER19]

Yes. Was not expecting this. If we had lost at Arsenal it would not surprise me as Arteta seems to have Ole's number, but last night was a shocker.

Yeah even looking ahead at the fixtures I was being realistic thinking 11 from 15 would be good and keep us close to city before their tricky run. But losing the way we did, to who we did, could be crushing. Like a balloon popping. It was absolutely awful

 

[redmanx]

Really? That is uncalled for. Some people are disgusting. They didn't play well, leave it at that. Non of the team played well are they targeting them?

Like many many others here I witnessed this sort of mindless yobbishness going back to the 70s; I can't remember seeing or hearing similar stuff in the 60s but I was very young. The 70s was the time when violence at football matches, I will not call it "football hooliganism" because the vast majority of people in the ground were there to watch football, not start a fight, became common place. Racial, homophobic and similar abuse was rife but pretty much overshadowed by the violence on news programmes; I guess blood and gore were more newsworthy than verbals. Over the next couple of decades or so the violence was largely eradicated, to a degree, but the racist chants and abuse was always there, and now, in line with the world at large, has intensified. Sadly there will always be racists and, seeing the reports re the racist abuse of our own players by some of our own so called supporters, its clear that even in a multi racial football team there is no respite for those singled out by the appalling sickness of racism.

 

[Giggsy13]

Disgusting vile scum on social media racially abusing Axel and Martial. There are so many other expletives to describe Martial’s game rather than resorting to the lowest of lows.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

Like many many others here I witnessed this sort of mindless yobbishness going back to the 70s; I can't remember seeing or hearing similar stuff in the 60s but I was very young. The 70s was the time when violence at football matches, I will not call it "football hooliganism" because the vast majority of people in the ground were there to watch football, not start a fight, became common place. Racial, homophobic and similar abuse was rife but pretty much overshadowed by the violence on news programmes; I guess blood and gore were more newsworthy than verbals. Over the next couple of decades or so the violence was largely eradicated, to a degree, but the racist chants and abuse was always there, and now, in line with the world at large, has intensified. Sadly there will always be racists and, seeing the reports re the racist abuse of our own players by some of our own so called supporters, its clear that even in a multi racial football team there is no respite for those singled out by the appalling sickness of racism.

They are sad people, maybe making friends with other races and people of other sexuality might actually make their lives better.

 

[Alfie092]

I think a lot of United fans, including myself saw a result like this coming.

Most of our games in this run which took us to the top were games where we had luck on our side and scrapped past teams by a single goal margin due to moments of magic, like the Pogba goal vs Burnley. Aside of Leeds, who have we really beat convincingly?

Yes, you can say a team of champions know how to edge out those tight games, United a decade ago were known for that, Chelsea the same in the past, Liverpool last season won so many games by a single goal but the difference was the other teams compared to ours had a much more reliable defence who you could trust. You just can't trust our current team defensively and the goals we conceded yesterday didn't surprise me but it would surprise me if the great PL teams of the past conceded that.

There is a reason why we also keep losing semi-finals... we have a weak mentality still and bottle it when it matters most. I can admit our mentality is stronger than any point in time since SAF retired IMO but there is still too many cracks in this team for me to truly believe we are in a title race. I hope I am wrong!

I am happy with the strides we have made under Ole and I do think we will still comfortably finish in the top 4, which in all honesty in the past 8 years we have only comfortably finished in the top 4 once (when we finished 2nd under Jose) and have never been in a title race, even in the season we finished 2nd as we finished a bloody 19 points behind City!

The trust test of our mentality and how far will come will be put to the test now and if the players do genuinely believe they can win the league then we need to bounce back immediately vs Arsenal on the weekend. The following 5 games in the league are all winnable, aside from Everton and Chelsea which could be tricky. After the Chelsea game we then have City, so that's 6 PL games before we play them and IMO if we are to have any chance of winning the PL we probably need to win at least 5 of those 6 games which is a tough ask as I don't see City dropping too many points sadly. And then when it comes to the City game, we may be able to put ourselves in a position where we don't have to win and a draw will do.

This is just me trying to be optimistic but if I was to be real with myself, I only feel the gap between us and City from this point will get larger. I do hope I am wrong!

 

[chicha14]

first few pages of this thread feels RAWKY

 

[fps]

After some reflection, I’m not too concerned in the long run.

Last night was a bit of a typical step along the way of a developing team. Even when things look sweet, the team can lose to anybody on its day. That happens to all teams but especially those who have to rotate players who are not quite on the required level yet.

A few more players in the key positions we are lacking, DM, CB, CF and (Diallo if possible) RW and the whole thing will look very different.

I still think we can put up a good challenge, assuming City don’t go on a massive winning streak. Second would be okay, or even third with a lot more points than last season.

Terrible result yesterday but overall I’m happy.

I agree with this. As for all this "it's unacceptable" nonsense - teams lose sometimes, and teams put in bad performances sometimes. This is a strong squad, I would suggest picking Matic, sadly, made a big difference. Without one of Fred and McTominay there isn't that fizz and energy in midfield to really compete. Very surprised not to see either in midfield for a match which was always going to be about lung power and heart first.

 

[Banat]

We have no game plan except counter-attacking football and we rely on individuals to break deep sitting teams. I have been and I'm still OGS out and some decent results and individual performances didn't cloud my thoughts.
Top 4 and maybe a cup run is the maximum a badly coached team with some wc individuals can achieve in one season.

 

[Cloud7]

Ever since Klopp made that statement about us getting a lot of calls we seem to be getting a lot of ridiculous calls against us

 

[Ronaldo's ego]

Let that be a reminder as to why we have no right to shun cup competitions. We are not winning the league this season, that’s the reality.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

Ever since Klopp made that statement about us getting a lot of calls we seem to be getting a lot of ridiculous calls against us

Which is why Ole should learn from SAF in that way as well. He quite happily made pointed statements to benefit United regarding referees.

 

[gerdm07]

Sheffield U have score more than one goal twice in the PL this year. Both times were against us. That is just weird and concerning.

- Martial should not start except to give others a rest against lesser teams. He needs to prove he deserves to play regularly.
- DeGea is getting close to being replaced. He has played well since his poor displays vs PSG and RBL but last night his cowardly goalkeeping appeared again. More and more opponents will start crowding him and putting the ball inside the PK mark on corners. He can't be a PL keeper unless he gets braver and stronger.
- AWB looked much better. Did you see the nice move he made to beat a defender? He needs to do more of that when he is deep on the wing and get a cross in.

A win would have been so nice as it would have put some distance between us and the teams in the low 30s on points. Now Chelsea and Arsenal have some hope and Saturday becomes more important.

 

[Inigo Montoya]

Sheffield U have score more than one goal twice in the PL this year. Both times were against us. That is just weird and concerning.

- Martial should not start except to give others a rest against lesser teams. He needs to prove he deserves to play regularly.
- DeGea is getting close to being replaced. He has played well since his poor displays vs PSG and RBL but last night his cowardly goalkeeping appeared again. More and more opponents will start crowding him and putting the ball inside the PK mark on corners. He can't be a PL keeper unless he gets braver and stronger.
- AWB looked much better. Did you see the nice move he made to beat a defender? He needs to do more of that when he is deep on the wing and get a cross in.

A win would have been so nice as it would have put some distance between us and the teams in the low 30s on points. Now Chelsea and Arsenal have some hope and Saturday becomes more important.

If Sheffield Utd aren’t a lesser team then I don’t know who is. Martial had an excellent scoring record against them which makes it all the more unfathomable why he was so poor