[shaky]

Most 1 sided match I've watched in a while. Deserved the win. Will take a point though. Just a shame that we missed the chance to move out of 6th for a couple of hours at least. Still, it's better than losing to Swansea at home.

 

[ManUnitedCanuck]

Started slowly and got behind, but then grew into the match. Our lack of composure in front of goal is costing us a lot of points this season.

Other comments:
-Pogba slows down our counter attacks too much by not releasing the ball
-still lacking some movement once we get to the opposition 18
-disappointing to not have got all 3 points

 

[wolvored]

I dont get some of the negative comments. We were away to Stoke, who give everyone a tough game at home. We dominated the game 25 shots 8 on target to their 1. We did all the attacking. We just need to start putting the chances away. Lingard hitting the bar was our most clear cut chance, until Rooneys goal. Im sure next season this wont be a problem, as we bring in better players in the summer, and ship some out, perhaps some favourites of some people, but if they aint doing the business. The only thing that annoys me is still with the back passing. Jones and Smalling where at it again today mostly unnecessary. In fact one pass by the halfway line!

 

[Van Piorsing]

The feck was that shit ? This team can't be for real. Let's work on everything besides actual scoring which is essential thing in football and then say we're playing great.

Below expectations.

 

[OnlyTwoDaSilvas]

Another game where we should have had 4 or 5 goals from clear cut chances. We played fairly well, but decision making infront of goal is poor. Ibra always wants to take a touch, he should have just headed that cross, and normally when you'd bank on him being selfish, he tries to play it across a crowded 6 yard box instead of just smashing it. Mata spooning it over when it looked easier to score. Pogba putting it right at Grant when the space between Grant and the near post was gaping. Mkhi skying it under no pressure from inside the box. It is just getting silly.

The body check on Rashford right on the edge of the area, and the Shawcross handball were huge decisions which as usual didn't go our way. Arnautovic committed 2 more fouls and a deliberate handball whilst on a yellow. The old cliche is that "these things even themselves out", but we've had way more go against us than for us this season.

We are playing well, which is the positive. We need to be more ruthless infront of goal.

Did they even get a shot on target in the end? Even if they did, they were muck.

 

[77]

Didn't take our chances. Forget about the ref, we should have won that. Stoke away is not a game I would have started Mata in so this one is on Mourinho.
Definitely two points dropped.

 

[VanGaalEra]

49 shots on goal in 2 games against Stoke, 2 goals and only 2 points.

Frustrated, pissed off, angry? Just some of the emotions through those two games.

 

[RedTiger]

These games happen we just have to take it on the chin.

What a goal to break the record though, fair play Wazza.

 

[Nighteyes]

We just can't finish our chances. Just not good enough.

 

[OohAahMartial]

In a weekend where Liverpool and 1 of Spurs/City drop points at least, we claimed 1. Typical us over these past few seasons, just not enough.

We controlled most of the game, wasted many chances and have only ourselves to blame even though the referee was abysmal (it's no coincidence that we haven't won with him in charge of our games this season).

In summary: Our shot conversion utterly stinks.

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

And that is why we are 6th. Nothing new here to say. Its all been said before. So many games like this.

Congrats to Rooney for finally breaking the record and with a goal worthy of it.

 

[psychdelicblues]

Our season is over.

In recent seasons whenever the teams we are chasing have slipped up we've failed to take advantage. Speaks to the mental weakness of this team.

Finishing was absolute and utter turd. We had so many shots, the bulk of which weren't worthy of the name.

A lot of players showed they haven't got the stomach to play for Man Utd today. Repeatedly wasting good chances, choking in front of goal.

We have a lot of mannequin footballers: their only purpose is to look nice, they have virtually no ability to do decisive things.

Really poor. I am not even sure we will be playing Champions League football next season after that. This was the kind of fixture we simply had to win to keep up.

That's the spirit.

 

[NK86]

Two dropped points. Ibra looked knackered.

Pogba needs to start games in the right mood, far too casual

Yeah Ibra looked like he could use a break. I am not sure but is Martial injured? Why wasn't he even on the bench?

 

[wolvored]

Changed my stance, if Spurs win (I hope they do) then we gained a point on LFC and City, always looking at the positives ay.

A draw would be better

 

[Monte Clift]

I knew we were going to draw this match 1-1 from the very beginning. We were never likely to score goals given our form in front of goal, and defensively, whilst we were solid, Hughes' teams have a knack of stepping up against us (wonder why he doesn't do this against any other side ). Their goal was extremely lucky in the end even though Mata really struggled to keep tabs on Pieters.

I just wonder why Mourinho set us up like Stoke were playing against Liverpool at Anfield. Their team was set up to have a go at us. Hughes always sets up his teams to have a go at us. Never have I seen him set up a side that will play on the back foot against us. Their piss-poor midfielders Whelan and Adam didn't do well enough to allow for it (which is why we dominated the match and kept them pegged back), but whenever they had the chance, they always tried to play football and attack us.

Another thing that surprised me is how we went with both Mkhitaryan and Mata on the wide areas resulting in 0 width in our side. We were really struggling to open them up save for some good bits of play from Mkhitaryan and Pogba until Rashford came on and provided that width.

All in all, it was a very frustrating match, so much so that I threatened to hurt my parents because of it.

This is why Mata was bombed out of Chelsea as he thought he had better no.10s and he can't track back when playing on wing as he's insanely slow.

 

[Eriku]

A tough stadium to go to, they get lucky with their goal, Mata fails to score from a yard out and generally is having a poor game along with Herrera, and Stoke had one thing to do: defend.

The fact that we again salvage something towards the end, that we're not beaten until it's over, is a good sign... but feck me if Mourinho doesn't need to learn that he needs someone in midfield who can try to control the match for us.

 

[2 man midfield]

Why does Rooney have a Saddam Hussein beard in the OP banner?

 

[SuperiorXI]

As someone said in this thread. The damage was done in September and October and now every dropped point feels worse

It's not even that bad, we sit in 6th but are a few points away from 2nd. The top 6 really are so far away from the rest this season and there's still lots of football to play.

 

[Oscie]

Most 1 sided match I've watched in a while. Deserved the win. Will take a point though. Just a shame that we missed the chance to move out of 6th for a couple of hours at least. Still, it's better than losing to Swansea at home.

100%. Bossed the game all but for a bit of a nervy opening 10 minutes. Obviously disappointing we only got a draw when we deserved three points but the players don't deserve criticism after that, aside from maybe the age-old issue of putting chances away. One of our better away showings this season. Incredibly unlucky.

Arnautovic wasn't getting a second yellow if he committed sexual assault on the referee.

 

[Chicharo]

Sometimes it seems we just don't know what to do when we come anywhere near the opponenents goal.
Very unhappy with the results. We continued the unbeaten record during which we've drawn almost every second game. Not encouraging bearing in mind that we have yet to play some very tough games

 

[whatwha]

No Carrick, no win. Coincidence?

Pleased with Rooney's 250th coming in style. Should have been the winner if not for Mata's OG and missed sitter, other missed chances and Clattenburg.

Season is not finished.

 

[Pyro19]

Fellaini should ALWAYS be our plan B
Rooney should never be our first attacking sub , he shouldn't even be an option in tight games
Mata and Mkitaryan provide us with no width when both of them start together leading to our fullbacks being isolated.
Need a Carrick replacement.
Herrera was probably our best performer followed by Valencia.
Clattenburg is a diva and nowhere fit enough to be a Tier 1 League referee.

Considering the way we're dominating every match, there's something positive to be taken here. The goals will definitely come with so many chances created, I just hope we start converting as long as we have our future in our own hands.

 

[sunama]

We absolutely dominated that game.
In the 2nd half it felt that there was a rule which stated that Stoke were not allowed to attack.
I can't believe we came out of that with a draw.

 

[Get In Scholesy]

Nope.

Yes now I see, there was quite the fist pumping action there.

 

[Oscie]

Fellaini played well when he was on. In the end we were so dominant he wasn't needed but when he played he was a solid 7/10

 

[Trizy]

Two points dropped.

No matter how good our unbeaten run sounds I'm calling it now were not making top four. Our finishing hasn't improved all season and is costing us.

 

[The_Order]

You start with Fellaini, you get whats coming to you, that is a square root of feck all. Mou should be taking part of the blame for this one, Marouane is a great spoiler to come on when you are 3 up

 

[The United Irishman]

Feels like groundhog day, did easily enough to win another game but somehow failed. The performance was decent in the main.

Just seen Rooney is topping the MoM poll, yes he scored, yes he beat SBC's record, but his performance was dreadful.

Everyone was horrid..so he deserved it for saving a point

 

[Peanut Butter]

But for £500m spent, and a manager being paid £12m a year, you'd expect better than this. Rome wont be built at all if we consistently miss out on Champions League football.

Champions League footy is overrated. Both Spurs and Liverpool are doing well in the league this season without consistently qualifying for CL.

Fans are obsessed with Top 4 now. We can still finish 5th every season and attract far better players than nearly every other club in the league.

Once Carrick is replaced and we have Bailly playing every week, we will look even better.

 

[The red panther]

Well said.

Bunch of moaning sods in here as usual.

We are a million times better than we were last year. Rome wasn't built in half a season.

What Rome ?

We haven't even started laying the first brick.

Should have always won this game. Should have always won last weekend versus Liverpool. If we did that we would have been back in top 4 and the first brick would have been in place. But it is still place 6 for us.

 

[G-manc]

That was a very frustrating watch. Without being brilliant i thought we totally dominated and should have won.

I was surprised to see Mkhitaryan taken off as i thought he was looking dangerous when he turned and ran at them. Mata shouldn't be selected wide away from home as he can't stretch a game with any pace like Martial/Rashford and to a lesser extent Lingard.

 

[RedTillI'mDead]

When you calm down and think about it. Stoke got a jammy goal, defended all game and we got frantic desperate to get back in the game

I am disappointed with Zlatan. I am not sure what he is trying to prove?! Is he trying to prove that he is more than a scorer? He could have taken the shot and yet he tries to pass. We can't capitalize Liverpool dropping points. Not going to TOP 4. We took more than 25 shots to get a single goal. Come on, we are better than that.

I think Zlatan felt for Mata and wanted to help he to get us back in the game, clearly a wrong move

 

[itso 7]

A bunch of bottlers, how long are we going to blame luck and tolerate missing so many chances? The manager has recognised that we are poor finishers why not work on it on the training ground and/or sign another attacker? And Mourinho bottled it too with selecting Fellaini instead of someone who could provide something in attack, he was brought in to combat the aerial ball but was nowhere near the ball when Stoke pumped it up the field and the only thing he succeeded in doing was help us play like Pulis' Stoke.

 

[acnumber9]

I dont get some of the negative comments. We were away to Stoke, who give everyone a tough game at home. We dominated the game 25 shots 8 on target to their 1. We did all the attacking. We just need to start putting the chances away. Lingard hitting the bar was our most clear cut chance, until Rooneys goal. Im sure next season this wont be a problem, as we bring in better players in the summer, and ship some out, perhaps some favourites of some people, but if they aint doing the business. The only thing that annoys me is still with the back passing. Jones and Smalling where at it again today mostly unnecessary. In fact one pass by the halfway line!

Spurs and City both stuck 4 past them. They aren't the Stoke they were before by any stretch.

 

[wolvored]

Yeah Ibra looked like he could use a break. I am not sure but is Martial injured? Why wasn't he even on the bench?

I dont know why martial wasnt picked but hes only got 2 in 13 games according to stats. Perhaps Griezmann is going to come and play on the left

 

[Kraftwerker]

We need to stop giving shit sides a goal head start.

Did it to Liverpool last week and again today. Also did it to Middlesbrough (albeit not early in that game).

You can see why Mourinho increasingly adopted a cautious approach as his career developed. Losing cheap goals is such a kick in the teeth. Give me 1-0 wins anyday over a 26 shot scrap whilst trailing to a soft goal.

 

[LawCharltonBest]

We absolutely dominated that game.
In the 2nd half it felt that there was a rule which stated that Stoke were not allowed to attack.
I can't believe we came out of that with a draw.

I remember when seeing stats like this having not won was a shock. Seems a regular thing this season

Finishing is a big issue

 

[Offside]

How so? So far this weekend we've gained 1 point on the top 4 and will gain another point on another. Sure 3 points would have been nicer but to say we're getting further away is wrong.

If Arsenal win we are six points off 4th. That is far too much of a gap and we need a big run to get ahead.

 

[Arka_BleedingRed]

Today was a huge opportunity that we have failed to capitalise upon. Fellaini, Mata, Ibra and Pogba for most of the game were poor. So many speculative shots, some extremely bad finishing and non-existent build-up play in the final third.

Also, Poor tactics from Jose. We have bad crossers, who are constantly attempting multiple poor crosses against a team which does not lack in height, strength and organization. Instead of matching Stoke's physicality, why didn't he focus on a team playing intricate passing and good movement? Mkhi was without support quite frequently in the final third. Martial's drive and dribbling abilities were sorely missed.

Games like this will be the reason we end up missing top four.

 

[bdspeedy]

Unlucky to not win the last 2 games .Two thoroughly unsatisfying draws in a row in traditionally tough fixtures but maybe we should be happy with a point against Liverpool and a point away at Stoke.

 

[NK86]

I dont know why martial wasnt picked but hes only got 2 in 13 games according to stats. Perhaps Griezmann is going to come and play on the left

I hope we haven't given up on Martial. That would be such a huge mistake. This really makes me question how Mourinho treats certain players. If Martial was fit, he should have definitely been on the bench in place of Schweinsteiger.