[kouroux]

I thought the second Swansea goal actually demonstrated what we are lacking.

Ayew picked up the ball out on the right and thread a wonderful pass through to Gomis who had made a great run. OK the finish wasn't great but by then the build up had been impressive enough.



This though seems to be in part a problem for us... The players in general look terrified to give the ball away. In doing so we play the way pass sideways or backwards far too often. But when we do then give the ball away its from a sloppy pass generally rather then trying to make something happen. And because it's given away in what should be a simple pass the players don't react quick enough. Suddenly then Blind can be isolated and that's when we are in trouble.

Very true, same thing happened with Gomis' chance in the first half. Ayew picks up, sees a run and makes an outstanding pass.

 

[#07]

My fear is this loss will be to Van Gaal what defeat at Leicester was last year. He will conclude that we threw away the lead because we weren't cautious enough after going ahead. Expect even more boring football after the international break.

 

[mancan92]

Look lets be really honest if we had a top class striker we win this game well. We pretty much dominated for 60 minutes. We had chances to push on. Its got nothing to do with swansea playing better football. They just finished the half chances they got and had a striker with actual striker's instincts. If you swap strikers then we win the game. Its that simple.

 

[Ji_Maria]

Look lets be really honest if we had a top class striker we win this game well. We pretty much dominated for 60 minutes. We had chances to push on. Its got nothing to do with swansea playing better football. They just finished the half chances they got and had a striker with actual striker's instincts. If you swap strikers then we win the game. Its that simple.

Agree completely. Rooney's chances were easier than anything Swansea had to work with. Rooney cost us the game, plain and simple, and to a lesser extent, our defensive errors. But considering our defense has been solid for the previous 4 games, and Rooney crap for the previous 4, I lay the blame squarely on Rooney.

 

[United again!]

I suppose I am going to have to watch this trash just to give proper ratings in the MOTD section. Sigh!
Lets just roll on and forget this game. Swans are a very good team who have been steadily evolving from a possession based component for years, the have shown now that they can clearly perform it better than we can. Some food for thought hopefully.

 

[Shark]

As good as Swansea have been, I just can't put a positive spin on this loss. 1-0 up and supposedly in control, to concede two goals within 5 minutes. I like Fellaini, but there was also something depressing about wheeling him out with 10 minutes to go when we have a striker on the bench who's confidence couldn't be lower. Rooney stays on again.

Shambles.

 

[Rich_H_1989]

Very true, same thing happened with Gomis' chance in the first half. Ayew picks up, sees a run and makes an outstanding pass.

Throughout the game Ayew and Gomis linked up and caused us problems. It was the first time this season that our concerns on Blind were realised. He couldn't cope with the pace or power that he was presented with. And time and again Gomis had space to run in to which created space for Ayew.

Swansea were absolutely good value for their win and fair play to them. They have the look of a really good settled team. Gary Monk has done such a good job there.

The sad thing is... Swansea weren't even at their best today. They did a professional job to get the win. That should be us doing just enough in a tough away game to win but we didn't.

 

[kouroux]

Throughout the game Ayew and Gomis linked up and caused us problems. It was the first time this season that our concerns on Blind were realised. He couldn't cope with the pace or power that he was presented with. And time and again Gomis had space to run in to which created space for Ayew.

Swansea were absolutely good value for their win and fair play to them. They have the look of a really good settled team. Gary Monk has done such a good job there.

The sad thing is... Swansea weren't even at their best today. They did a professional job to get the win. That should be us doing just enough in a tough away game to win but we didn't.

Montero wasn't even playing.

 

[pierrethesnack]

But considering our defense has been solid for the previous 4 games, and Rooney crap for the previous 4, I lay the blame squarely on Rooney.

Agree. Having a solid defense is great and all, but the other team will inevitably be able to score from time to time, so in order to win matches you actually need to be able to score a few goals. Crazy, I know, but it's true. We can't expect our defense to be able to hold on to a 1-0 lead for the entire season.

 

[newgiz]

I am furious and disappointed. I do not understand how the manager after the game can come out and say that we played the game well apart from 6 minutes. I am getting tired and sick of this possession football. Hogging the ball for a long time without actually creating anything or scoring means nothing.

Rooney and Romero were the worst players on the pitch. Everyone under performed but they both were single handedly responsible for this loss.I wouldn't have been so pissed had we at least won the game against Newcastle because the damage would have been limited.

With just over a day and half left in the transfer window I can't see us acquiring anyone major to transform the squad. Its frustrating and I have no faith in the manager to make the right choices.

 

[Siorac]

Never given a 1 rating before. Congratulations Rooney. The worst performance I've seen in years.

He was far worse against Villa.

He was shite yesterday, mind you, not debating that. Just that he was even worse at Villa Park.

 

[RedDevil@84]

I am surprised Memphis getting better points than Rooney. He was as bad on form and had absolute no desire to do anything better. Kept falling down like 20 times.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

Throughout the game Ayew and Gomis linked up and caused us problems. It was the first time this season that our concerns on Blind were realised. He couldn't cope with the pace or power that he was presented with. And time and again Gomis had space to run in to which created space for Ayew.

Swansea were absolutely good value for their win and fair play to them. They have the look of a really good settled team. Gary Monk has done such a good job there.

The sad thing is... Swansea weren't even at their best today. They did a professional job to get the win. That should be us doing just enough in a tough away game to win but we didn't.

I said a couple of weeks ago that this game would be the real test for our defence and unfortunately I was proved right. A naff goalkeeper doesn't help the situation though. If SAF was here could you imagine him keeping DDG in the stand. He would know he is our best goalie and would play him regardless and like with Ronaldo would have handled his transfer better.

 

[Rich_H_1989]

I said a couple of weeks ago that this game would be the real test for our defence and unfortunately I was proved right. A naff goalkeeper doesn't help the situation though. If SAF was here could you imagine him keeping DDG in the stand. He would know he is our best goalie and would play him regardless and like with Ronaldo would have handled his transfer better.

The transfer saga of DDG has for me being handled appallingly. It's been clear for some time he wants to leave and I think he'll go before midnight. You look at John Stones and he's been able to continue to play for Everton despite handing in a transfer request. The club should have acted much quicker than this. As it stands we'll need to get a replacement keeper in by 6pm tomorrow but we've had weeks and weeks to sort this situation.

 

[montpelier]

I would have to agree that we need a GK who is not Romero and that LVG is able not to fall out with.

I don't mind the 1st goal, players do give the ball away & we got broke on, maybe a bit over committed forward, these things happens & the opposition will score from time to time. The 2nd though, is just worse every time you see it. Little speculative knock into the box followed by non existent defending & goalkeeping.

I thought we were OK actually except in the rather key areas of keeping it out at one end & scoring at the other, which obv puts the focus on Rooney & Romero.

 

[Hernandez - BFA]

I'm not too pleased about the result, naturally - but I'm astonished how much stick the club has had after it. People are making out as if we've lost the first 4 games.

It's annoying, but we were the better team for 75+mins of that game. We lost due to a GK blunder.

 

[Keenst]

Rooney's performance was encouraging in a way, just his finishing needs to far more instinctive and clinical. We did lack pace again too, I was really disappointed with Depay.

 

[11101]

He was far worse against Villa.

He was shite yesterday, mind you, not debating that. Just that he was even worse at Villa Park.

I dont know. Against Villa he didnt scuff three golden chances to score, and he didn't misplace a simple pass when we were piling forward which led to a goal on the counter.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

I dont know. Against Villa he didnt scuff three golden chances to score, and he didn't misplace a simple pass when we were piling forward which led to a goal on the counter.

As you say we managed to beat Villa despite Wayne.

 

[Siorac]

I dont know. Against Villa he didnt scuff three golden chances to score, and he didn't misplace a simple pass when we were piling forward which led to a goal on the counter.

Blaming him for the equaliser is EXTREMELY harsh. Losing the ball near the edge of the opposition's penalty area shouldn't necessarily lead to a goal, it's something that happens hundreds of times in every game. That was a collective failure.

And yesterday he at least got into scoring positions, made the right runs etc. He was slow and ponderous in front of goal which are evidence of either very poor form or just general decline. I'm still clinging to the hope it's the former but I'm beginning to be really worried.

 

[jderbyshire]

Wow, really stuggled to pick a MotM there. I see Shaw has the most votes, but wasn't he at fault for the first goal?

I think some are overreacting to this game - I don't think it was THAT bad. I think Swansea suprised us with their formation change and this caught everyone out, for example Schweinsteger who looked confused at times early on.

I've seen much worse last season and during Moyes' reign.

Just the same old problem - no creativity in the final third. I know everyone's on Rooney's case (strange seeing as he's just scored a hat-trick last match) but he wasn't getting much service out there.

What was wrong with Depay? He wasn't running at the defenders like we've seen him do.

People on here were having orgasms at the fact Herrera was picked to play #10...

- but he did nothing.

 

[montpelier]

I can see some comedy this morning in Rooney's performance. The take & the nutmeg to get through on goal were world class. His next two touches, failure to get a shot off & attempt to get a penalty were Dog & Duck level.

 

[Oneunited26]

My fear is this loss will be to Van Gaal what defeat at Leicester was last year. He will conclude that we threw away the lead because we weren't cautious enough after going ahead. Expect even more boring football after the international break.

Don't think we can get any more defensive

 

[Oneunited26]

I'm not too pleased about the result, naturally - but I'm astonished how much stick the club has had after it. People are making out as if we've lost the first 4 games.

It's annoying, but we were the better team for 75+mins of that game. We lost due to a GK blunder.

We could have if we coincided the first goal first, as there is no way we would have won any of our games if the opposition scored first.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

Wow, really stuggled to pick a MotM there. I see Shaw has the most votes, but wasn't he at fault for the first goal?

I think some are overreacting to this game - I don't think it was THAT bad. I think Swansea suprised us with their formation change and this caught everyone out, for example Schweinsteger who looked confused at times early on.

I've seen much worse last season and during Moyes' reign.

Just the same old problem - no creativity in the final third. I know everyone's on Rooney's case (strange seeing as he's just scored a hat-trick last match) but he wasn't getting much service out there.

What was wrong with Depay? He wasn't running at the defenders like we've seen him do.

People on here were having orgasms at the fact Herrera was picked to play #10...

- but he did nothing.

Probably but some did less than nothing.

 

[clarkydaz]

People on here were having orgasms at the fact Herrera was picked to play #10...

- but he did nothing.

not true he was lively and set up mata in the first half with a nice bit of skill

 

[pierrethesnack]

Don't think we can get any more defensive

Don't jinx it, or we will go back to the dreadful 3-4-3. Or 5-4-1, as I call it.

 

[Oneunited26]

Don't jinx it, or we will go back to the dreadful 3-4-3. Or 5-4-1, as I call it.

Don't think it really matters, the current system is not actually doing anything special. What ever system that is played, VG is the problem. Can't wait until his 3 year contract ends and we can sign a more practical manager who does not over complicate things

 

[Hernandez - BFA]

We could have if we coincided the first goal first, as there is no way we would have won any of our games if the opposition scored first.

We did go 1-0 down vs Brugge. The fight is in us.

 

[Oneunited26]

We did go 1-0 down vs Brugge. The fight is in us.

It can be, but I'm having a hard time seeing us recover from loosing positions in the PL which is concerning me allot

 

[11101]

Blaming him for the equaliser is EXTREMELY harsh. Losing the ball near the edge of the opposition's penalty area shouldn't necessarily lead to a goal, it's something that happens hundreds of times in every game. That was a collective failure.

And yesterday he at least got into scoring positions, made the right runs etc. He was slow and ponderous in front of goal which are evidence of either very poor form or just general decline. I'm still clinging to the hope it's the former but I'm beginning to be really worried.

Im not blaming him solely, but the amount of times he has been giving the ball away mid attack is too frequent and it is the worst time to lose the ball as the team is set up for attack and everyone is out of their defensive positions.

I think he can still do it for us, but every season this getting up to speed process takes longer and it is becoming too much.

 

[Rams]

It seems to me that nobody can keep things in perspective anymore.

I thought LvG was spot on with his summary of the match and that United let themselves down by not making the most of their opportunities. The match should have been dead and buried before Swansea scored their first goal on the counter. We had plenty of opportunities.

 

[FCBarca]

Claiming dominance by LVG undermined most of what he ultimately provided to the press - it was majority possession but far from creating dominant chances

Mata on the right wing is simply a poor decision as was removing Herrera - think things would've/could've been much different with Young instead. Depay started brightly but faded as there was zero rhythm in the passing game - felt he wasn't properly utilized.

Ultimately, tactics let them down even more than personnel although Ayew's pass to Gomis was a thing of beauty - the beastly part of that was the horror show that Romero will always be between the sticks

 

[Rams]

Claiming dominance by LVG undermined most of what he ultimately provided to the press - it was majority possession but far from creating dominant chances

Mata on the right wing is simply a poor decision as was removing Herrera - think things would've/could've been much different with Young instead. Depay started brightly but faded as there was zero rhythm in the passing game - felt he wasn't properly utilized.

Ultimately, tactics let them down even more than personnel although Ayew's pass to Gomis was a thing of beauty - the beastly part of that was the horror show that Romero will always be between the sticks

Ultimately, I think these kind of opinions proof a complete lack of understanding of sport. (Or unwillingness to understand as is the case with the majority of the ex-professionals who are so called analysts)

Goals change matches. United were creating plenty of goal scoring opportunities before Swansea’s equalizer and were completely dominant. Just before Swansea’s equalizer United even missed a sitter. The Swansea equalizer change the complexion of the match because it put United under more pressure to score. Whether you’re a 100 meter runner at the athletics World Championship or a football team trying to win a match you’re most likely not to perform to the best of your ability when you are under pressure. An experienced international pro like Gary Neville should know this all too well, this is what disappoints me most about these so called football pundits and the rest of the press. United deserved to lose because they didn’t finish Swansea off when they should have. However, to suggest Swansea were the better side or even outplayed United is completely ridiculous.

 

[FCBarca]

Proves something alright, poor comprehension & lack of understanding of tactics

 

[SalfordRed1960]

Proves something alright, poor comprehension & lack of understanding of tactics

Fergie changed our style in Europe because even though we were entertaining we got caught out by the technically superior European teams (and that is not just referring to the top teams). Against Swansea we suffered the same. After we went 1-0 we were very much in cruise control and were going for a second. Losing the ball in an attacking position when the majority of the team had gone on the attack left us open and we got punished.

The players did not respond to that mistake, and defenders sleeping and poor goal keeping resulted in the second. LVG expects his players to think, for some reason they stopped. Hoofing up to Fellani, I do not think this is a tactic per se, more a default for players who can't think.

 

[marlowe78]

Blaming him for the equaliser is EXTREMELY harsh. Losing the ball near the edge of the opposition's penalty area shouldn't necessarily lead to a goal, it's something that happens hundreds of times in every game. That was a collective failure.

And yesterday he at least got into scoring positions, made the right runs etc. He was slow and ponderous in front of goal which are evidence of either very poor form or just general decline. I'm still clinging to the hope it's the former but I'm beginning to be really worried.

I agree, the counter started with his pass but the defence behind him should really have done better. It wasn't as if he coughed the ball up in front of goal, it was in the opponent's third of the pitch.

If we want to get on his case, let's focus on the chances he blew one after another. I'm still agitated after that chance he had to equalize and got no shot off. I was stamping my foot on the floor in anger at that. For a player whose first instinct is to score goals, I really can't try to explain what he was thinking in waiting so long. You can't blame physical decline on it, I just can't understand it.

 

[Rams]

Proves something alright, poor comprehension & lack of understanding of tactics

Always good to know that football fans on internet forums have better understanding of tactics than football managers at professional football clubs.

 

[Tom Van Persie]

Rooney was shocking yesterday. Had a few good chances in the 1st half to put us in the lead but didn't due to his bad decision making. I was saying in the Martial thread that this season we've been playing a lot more through balls and a lot of the time Rooney doesn't have the pace to get on the end of them. Happened on a few occasions yesterday.

Wasn't impressed with Romero either. He needs to improve his kicking and I don't know what he was doing on that second goal. Smalling and Shaw were brilliant again.

 

[mancan92]

Wow, really stuggled to pick a MotM there. I see Shaw has the most votes, but wasn't he at fault for the first goal?

I think some are overreacting to this game - I don't think it was THAT bad. I think Swansea suprised us with their formation change and this caught everyone out, for example Schweinsteger who looked confused at times early on.

I've seen much worse last season and during Moyes' reign.

Just the same old problem - no creativity in the final third. I know everyone's on Rooney's case (strange seeing as he's just scored a hat-trick last match) but he wasn't getting much service out there.

What was wrong with Depay? He wasn't running at the defenders like we've seen him do.

People on here were having orgasms at the fact Herrera was picked to play #10...

- but he did nothing.

He was by far our most creative player and created 3-4 chances for mata and rooney which should have been converted. I don't see how that is nothing.