[Keeps It tidy]

Keep grinding them out

 

[Clas Sified]

Romero, Smalling and Darmian all played very well today, Romero had me shitting bricks early on but settled down and looked good at the end of the match. However Smalling was absolutely fantastic and deserves MOTM.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

Poor performance but we got the result we needed. Hopefully it gives everyone confidence.

Our attack and creativity is something that needs work though.

 

[Jacob]

I'll take the result given the premiere nerves and new players finding their feet.

 

[Ryan7]

Pathetic. Holding on like a relegation side. Took 65 minutes to fashion a shot on target. Same shit, different season.

 

[matt23]

Good game to start off with. I think Spurs will finish ahead of Liverpool again this season so the grinding nature of the second half was justified.

Smalling and Darmian were standouts, some decent stops from Romero to be fair.

 

[Varun]

Boring game but solid 3 points.

 

[Cina]

Schneiderrick did ok (I'm combining them cause they're so similar that I genuinely can't tell them apart at times)

Darmian, Smalling, and Romero were our three best players, which is good, I guess? Although 3 of your back 5 being the best players in a game at home probably isn't actually that great.

Anyway, 3 points in the first game after a nervy week, that's all that matters.

 

[acnumber9]

Another game at Old Trafford with one shot on target. Our football is terrible to watch. It's hard to take much satisfaction out of watching United under Van Gaal.

 

[Striker10]

This is why I wanted us to get a strong target man as we don't hold it up well enough and it comes back far too often. The goalkeeper is a mistake waiting to happen as is Blind. I think we're a few players short but glad of the win

 

[Martin(6)Buchan]

Well that was interesting.....

 

[adamwest]

We won the game. Sod all the down beat doom mongerers. First game of the season and we have 3 points. Get the feck in

 

[sizzling sausages]

Poor performance, nice to get the win though. The rest will come hopefully.

So the defence that everybody have worried about have been superb, especially Mike.

...but the star studded attack and midfield we've all been looking forward to haven't really hit it off...yet.

The attack is still our biggest problem imo.

 

[Smores]

Some worries coming out of that game but as the first game of the season I think the 3 points is what matters.

Just hope it's not another limp season up front

 

[shamans]

I don't want to be negative all the time, but the state of our squad is a bit concerning. How many shots did we have on target again?

 

[Kostur]

Thank feck for the three points, too big distances between midfield and attack, very average match from our midfielders out of whom Schneiderlin looked the best I think and Schweiny the worst. Very good match from Darmian, Romero, Mata and Young, rest was pretty average with Rooney looking the worst of the bunch, really worrying times ahead in our attacking department.

 

[kouroux]

The performance wasn't good overall and terrible in the last 10mins but I'll take the 3 points and be happy about it.

 

[#07]

Appalling. Six defensive players, four attacking players, no link between them. If Van Gaal thinks this 4-2-3-1 offers 'balance' he is watching a different sport. We had no control over the game whatsoever. We've won, but like when we won playing 3-5-2, mostly down to luck. We certainly didn't create enough chances to warrant winning.

The plus points were Darmian, Smalling and above all winning. Also, it was good to see Romero do alright given the circumstances. Memphis started brightly but faded badly, and I don't think playing at #10 in the middle of the most congested parts of the pitch are helping him. We really need to go back to playing 4-3-3.

 

[Hed Zitin]

The result was all that mattered in the end. So any complaints I have mean nothing.

We aren't match fit that much is clear. A real slog at the end there and a slow start.

Romero played really well. Smalling was excellent, as was Darmian my MOTM.

We need more pace asap. Pedro can't come soon enough. We still play to slow.

 

[ivaldo]

Really, really impressive. Controlled the game and created plenty of chances.

 

[Empire]

Excellent, did exactly what we needed to, we know in advance it will take time for the team to click and we also know when they do how well they'll play, in these first 10 or 12 matches we need to put points on the board.

 

[justboy68]

Smalling and Darmian were brick walls. Romero had a very solid game too all things considered. We'll see better performances from Schneiderlin, still won the ball a fair few times though. We're still lacking the chance creation going forward which is disappointing. It will be good to get someone else (presumably pedro) in the mix and also please lets try Mata in the middle with Memphis out wide.

Decent enough win though and we're off and running!

 

[pcaming]

We lacked any sort of temp, no energy in build up play and serious shortage of chances, but hopefully it's just first game jitters. We really need to get in some attacking players.

 

[rover]

job well done

 

[The Law of Denis]

Incredibly boring football, sadly not even that effective.

Hopefully once the team gels and gets fit we start to do better.

 

[Someone]

Great result, but a poor performance.

I really don't know why we can't create any chances, so many good players on the pitch but almost no creativity.

 

[Raw]

Kyle Walker is the Premier League topscorer

Is it me or did Spurs seem a lot fitter than us? We were just getting loads of cramps by the 75th minute or so.

 

[Roboc7]

Not a good performance, we looked rusty and lacklustre but got the win which is all that matters.

Biggest positive was smalling who played really well, biggest negative was blind who was as useful as a cone defensively for most of the game. It's not his fault but he lacks every attribute required to be a success there and it's almost laughable he is one of our first choice cb's.

 

[Snow]

Great to start off with 3 points and a clean sheet against a tough opponent.

Smalling was immense. Perhaps won us the game.

 

[kidbob]

We look very similar level to last season to be honest. Early days but a lot of progression is needed. Have to get Pedro or someone else in, need a good centre half and need to get Depay out wide and a midfielder in behind Rooney. Still too much turning back when there's space in front and too many hanging behind the ball when there's a chance to move forward. For a possession team there is a lot of space between our players and we end up having to go long a lot. It's sad to think that we still very much look a work in progress. Hope I'm proved completely wrong as the season progresses.

Romero looked good tbf.

 

[TrustInJanuzaj]

Haha the negativity in this place is hilarious, yes we were unconvincing but this is gameday 1 for god sake and we won! Instead of looking at what we were looking try thinking about the things that were good.

 

[hobbers]

With neither Schweiny nor Herrera on the pitch there's no drive in midfield, one of them has to start alongside either Carrick or Schneiderlin. LVG also needs to move beyond the Blind at CB experiment asap.

 

[MDFC Manager]

Despite investing half a billion we are miles away from proper title contender

Half a billion? why not round it off to 1 billion? Or 10 billion?

 

[Krits]

Shit game. Bright points were Smalling, Darmian and Mata. Schweinstiger showed a few moments of class, nothing more. Ashley young was wasteful. I'm becoming more and more frustrated with Rooney.

Onwards and upwards!

 

[Ødegaard]

Darmian continues to look absolute class.
Depay looks much better and more energetic in a proper game than he seemed in pre-season.
Schneiderlin is quality at hassling the opponent into losing "control" in midfield.
General fitness seem to be in place.
Romero, while not being De Gea quality, shows that he is a quality backup to have.
Mata shows that he really works his socks off for the team.
3 points against a good opponent, winning on days such as these instead of conceding one or two is a good way to start of the season.

All in all, very, very happy to now have the league started and first match over with it. with the 3 points being the most important note.

 

[Jev]

We still really struggle to create chances from opening play, even when dominating possession and pushing the opponents back. That's a worry.

Some of the new boys looked bright. Darmian was solid, Depay showed glimpses and Romero saved us in the second half.

Underwhelming start but a big win.

Smalling MOTM.

 

[Di Maria's angel]

Last year with a solid midfield and defense.

Very dire performance.

 

[kouroux]

Kyle Walker is the Premier League topscorer

Is it me or did Spurs seem a lot fitter than us? We were just getting loads of cramps by the 75th minute or so.

Which is weird as we had more rest than them.

 

[Raees]

Quality of the game was so poor.. Spurs looked shite, they really have regressed as a side big time since Harry's tenure. A spurs side of old would have beaten us today, whereas I never felt we were in danger today.

 

[WyoManU]

Pretty dire stuff. At OT and just a couple shots on target. Unacceptable. LVG continues to disappoint if I'm being honest.

Our best player was Darmian. Love this guy already.

Rooney and Memphis were poor. Young was below average. Mata is...not a winger. Herrera was on when we were defending.

Though Carrick and Morgan did well enough. Bastian came on and immediately got a yellow and then nearly gave away a goal but settled more after that.

Shaw was acceptable but not getting forward enough for me. Blind was average. Smalling was very good.

Valencia came on for Darmian and, can you believe it, all of a sudden they had all sorts of space in and around him. Just goes to show what we were missing.

Romero can't pass, we learned that. But, he did make a good account of himself when it mattered so you have to applaud him.

Still a lot of work to do. We need proper wingers. Young isn't good enough. Thought he was mostly bossed by Walker. He looks a one trick pony and once defenders know what he wants to do then he is neutralized. I am mostly really disappointed that some of our younger players didn't get a chance after how well they played in pre season. Surely at least Perreira deserved a shout.

At least we got the three points but if this performance is indicative of the season to come we won't be title contenders but should be able to get top 4 again.