[Solius]

You just imagine how little they’d have looked at the Pogba - Neves incident if it was the other way round. We’d have been told it’s barely a touch in a physical game and to get on with it. Souness was frothing at the mouth.

He catches him but I thought contact was allowed now? It doesn’t change the outcome of the ball. It was already going towards Varane.

 

[Godfather]

Quick question... That double save, wasn't that a foul on Varane?

Clear as a day in my opinion

 

[caid]

I am pretty sure he is the guy who lost a header during a corner kick from which Wolves almost scored. I mean, like I said... I watched the highlights only so he might have done many amazing things to cancel that.

Fred was a disaster. Did highlights at least got that one correct?

He was great tbh, they probably had 40 other similar crosses not shown in highlights which he cleared.
Our midfield was terrible more than Fred but yeah im sure he has a pretty terrible highlights package.

 

[Beans]

Okay I saw how the stud touches the sock, and possibly touches the very outermost of the pad, and slightly turns the sock and the pad to the side. I doubt Neves felt it, from the look of it.

But he may have slightly scraped the skin. I'm not sure what I think about a slight scrape with a stud, is that supposed to be a foul?

 

[Judas]

I am pretty sure he is the guy who lost a header during a corner kick from which Wolves almost scored. I mean, like I said... I watched the highlights only so he might have done many amazing things to cancel that.

Fred was a disaster. Did highlights at least got that one correct?

Varane was absolutely class. You can't really pass judgement on him from watching a few minutes of highlights. Good work from defenders sniffing out danger etc. barely makes for entertaining viewing most of the time, so that sort of thing won't be included often.

His first ever game in the PL, he looked like he was born to play in this country. Very very excited that we have him.

 

[big rons sovereign]

You are eliding two different things. Nobody said winning does not matter. Nobody wanted us to drop points. You just made that up.

I am saying that winning is not all that matters, because we also set up and played in a way that suggests we won't win any silverware this season. And that's very telling, three points or not. This was supposed to be the season Ole delivered.

You can tell after 3 games?
Any chance of the lottery numbers...

 

[glazed]

You can tell after 3 games?
Any chance of the lottery numbers...

I can tell you that today's midfield is not going to win the title. McFred has a chance but only a small one.

 

[justsomebloke]

-

Our need for a pure out and out defensive midfielder is so fecking ridiculously massively obvious it’s untrue and it hurts my head that Ole doesn’t see the same, Fred without McTominay is no different to playing with 10 men and was truly awful.

I think Varane had a very solid if unspectacular debut and the second half Pogba played well as a dictating midfield playmaker from deep, I’ve no doubt that Pogba can be a deep lying playmaker alongside a PROPER defensive midfielder at home against teams that park the bus against us.

Sancho looked better on the right than the left but is still finding his feet whilst Greenwood has hit the ground running, I think he’ll score 20 goals this season and if we can get another 20 from Rashford once’s he’s back with Ronaldo and Cavani surely going to get 40 between them we could blow a lot of teams away and I’ve not even included Fernandes in that.

Why would you assume OGS doesn't see the need for a defensive midfielder?

 

[big rons sovereign]

I can tell you that today's midfield is not going to win the title. McFred has a chance but only a small one.

You might as well just give up now then. Save yerself the bother.

 

[SirScholes]

As I said, I can’t be certain. I’d need to see a replay from behind the goal. I doubt De Gea would be beaten by a shot aimed at the centre of the goal. I don’t care anyway. I’m not denying it was a good chance. One of two very good chances they had.

Haha your red tinted glasses are strong
They had atleast 4 great chances to score, and yes, that shot was going in

great to win games like this, ole needs to find his midfield combo quick because tinkering like this might cost us against a team that can finish

 

[RedDevilRoshi]

I am saying that winning is not all that matters, because we also set up and played in a way that suggests we won't win any silverware this season. And that's very telling, three points or not. This was supposed to be the season Ole delivered.

Yes and I’m not saying that the way we played today was good - far from it. It was a poor performance. I said it was a smash and grab win. But the main thing is we won though and that’s all that matters - getting the 3 points. That’s the target I’m sure everyone has going into a game is to win it. I’d be way more concerned if we were the better team today, had all our players fully match fit and available and also had already signed a midfielder that was part of the squad today but we failed to get the points. Dropping points so early in the season and we are already playing catch-up. That’s what I would be massively concerned and worried about.

I’m not going to make any predictions on who is going to be winning what silverware this season just yet. It is far too early to say and to be writing us off. There are a lot of games still to be played and no one knows how those will pan out unless you have superpowers to fast travel into the future? For instance, who predicted at the start of last season that Chelsea would win the Champions League, Villarreal would win the Europa League and the likes of PSG (in particular) & Juventus wouldn’t win their respective leagues when they had won something like 8-9 league titles in a row going into that campaign?

 

[glazed]

But the main thing is we won though and that’s all that matters

You realise that you're making two contradictory statements there? The first I agree with, the second I don't.

 

[Bastian]

Varane MOTM ah, have to give it to Dave. That save is the best save I can remember ever. That defensive pairing looks immediately way more healthy. That being said, Maguire has looked quite sloppy in the last couple of games and Varane bailed him out at least once where he could have cost us a goal.

The midfield horror show is down to tactical shortcomings and a failure to recognise a huge problem. It is there for all to see.

Greenwood is fecking magic.

 

[ArjenIsM3]

 

[elnorte]

I genuinely thought last season our level of good fortune was at times uncanny and could not possibly be sustained. This was both in terms of how we would manage to win (or sometimes draw) games we certainly should have lost while simultaneously putting in at best subpar to at worst shambolic performances. Based on today's game it would seem I might be wrong.

 

[RedDevilRoshi]

You realise that you're making two contradictory statements there? The first I agree with, the second I don't.

I’m not. Win the game no matter what. That’s what matters in the end - getting the victory. It’s a results driven business. It would be a more a concern if we had dropped points today and it’s the same old story like the past few starts to the season - playing catch-up so early in the season yet again due to silly dropped points.

 

[glazed]

I’m not.

You are. It's the main thing or it's all that matters. It can't be both.

 

[The Brown Bull]

Very lucky to get the win. Some very poor performances. Our attackers movement needs improvement.Good start from Varane.DDG put the keepers argument to bed.

 

[RedDevilRoshi]

You are. It's the main thing or it's all that matters. It can't be both.

Which is what I explained in the rest of my post which you’ve removed - it’s a results driven business. Getting the win is all that matters in the end. Whether you do it playing excellently or you have to grind it out. How can it not be both? Does every win need to be a complete perfect performance in your eyes for it to really matter?

 

[ChaddyP]

this is my favorite picture now

 

[GaryLifo]

Crying genuine tears for another plastic side? Feck them. Team and supporters still giving us stick for Duncan Edwards. They can do one

I think you may have missed my sarcasm here.

 

[Reddevildans]

I genuinely thought last season our level of good fortune was at times uncanny and could not possibly be sustained. This was both in terms of how we would manage to win (or sometimes draw) games we certainly should have lost while simultaneously putting in at best subpar to at worst shambolic performances. Based on today's game it would seem I might be wrong.

You could counter argue that and say there were games where we deserved to win and didn't. Cant be bothered to remember the specific games but luck and fortune levels itself out. I'm sure there's a defeat around the corner for us if we don't improve our play drastically because you can't afford to keep giving opposition easy chances and set up with the wrong personnel. Sooner or later we'll get punished. Need to step up gears quick.

 

[Will Singh]

There was more negatives then positives so the positives were Maguire and Varane, Varane was class and it’s was so obvious just how much we missed a top CB. De Gea…wow what a save and MOTM for me.

Theres so many negative so I’ll just say Pogba can’t play in the 2 CM positions so it’s either he plays on the left attack or play him instead of Bruno! Wolves are a decent side but they were growingthrough our midfield like a hot knife through butter. We need 2 top CM’s and McT and Fred ain’t got the passing ability we need. I’ll keep it friendly about James, the guy just ain’t good enough and to be honest if your playing football the objection is to score a goal when you can shoot shoot…

 

[padotido]

Very, very lucky.

Yup very lucky..
Ole was drunk put little Fred to protect midfield and back four

 

[Tincanalley]

That was worrying today. The ref was awful, okay, Wolves were lively. Okay. But it was so shapeless. There’s a thread here about tactical stuff; you can’t ignore Ole’s rawness sometimes, like he’s just standing in STILL till a manager comes along.

The most worrying thing for me was a glimpse of the future. The sense that even if you replace James with a football player, and Fred with someone more suited to his role today, we still have problems of rhythm and unity. Roy said it at half time; we are relying only on individual brilliance.

Wolves deserved to win that. Our goal was a bit lucky, to be fair. It was a painful watch, seemed to go on and on. What’s next? Ronaldo will score goals and create excitement, but he won’t turn Ole into an elite manager; indeed I am inclined to wonder if the presence of Ronny will further diminish the status of OGS in the dressing room. Or… Maybe it’s only me, suffering some early season jitters.

 

[Tincanalley]

Telling, I sense, Pogbas diplomatic answer re Ronaldo. You can see him thinking something else, something other than the line he is saying. Maybe he doesn’t like Ronaldo; maybe it’s another unwelcome bigger marketing fish. Maybe he wants to play a different way. Maybe he thinks it’s a sentimental deviation from whatever semblance of a plan Ole had sold him.

Almost reminds me a bit of that moment with Rooney. He was wishing the club more ambition. I’ve gone all Ole-doubter here all of a sudden.

 

[bucky]

 

[lost7]

Telling, I sense, Pogbas diplomatic answer re Ronaldo. You can see him thinking something else, something other than the line he is saying. Maybe he doesn’t like Ronaldo; maybe it’s another unwelcome bigger marketing fish. Maybe he wants to play a different way. Maybe he thinks it’s a sentimental deviation from whatever semblance of a plan Ole had sold him.

Almost reminds me a bit of that moment with Rooney. He was wishing the club more ambition. I’ve gone all Ole-doubter here all of a sudden.

I can't tell if this is sarcasm or not haha

 

[Matthew84!]

Well that performance was worse than against Southampton, we was lucky to get the win but we played slightly better second half.
Sancho will need time to settle in and Varane looked really good.
Shame its the internationals now but least Rashford and Scott will get chance to get recover.

 

[U.N.C.L.E]

It’s becoming obvious that the rest of the EPL teams simply have to kick us all over the park and refs like Dean will let them because “United”….

 

[Dante]

Mike Dean was refereeing a rugby match for Wolves, and a girls under 9's game for United.

Fecking awful performance from that cnut.

 

[NK86]

I'm fully on board with the idea that we didn't play well though. My issue is with the idea that winning while being dominated is a disgraceful thing that requires questions being asked of the manager. If most of our games were won this way you'd have a point, but they're not. Do you think City last year didn't have any game where they didn't dominate and should have lost on xG but ended up winning? Were they lucky? How many times did we under SAF do that?

Maybe we're getting too hung up on the word lucky because of the broader connotations that word has. Maybe you could call it lucky, but then I'd argue that is par for the course in the Premier League and the fact that we still won is a point for Ole's management rather than against.

I understand where you're coming from, however this situation where we struggled for the most part only for one of our forwards digging us out of the hole with a piece of brilliance is far too common a theme. That is where it starta raising doubts.

Sure, even when we were at our peak under Fergie we did have these games. However they were few and far between. Nowadays half of our games are like this. So, even though we win the worry remains that this is not sustainable to challenge for the bigger trophies.

And that was my original point. Our coaching methods seem to not be getting the best out of our players and as a result a new midfielder won't solve our issues since the glaring lack of drilling a team is there for all to see and won't just change without some fresh faces in the coaching staff who can improve us. We are still lesser than the sum of our parts and will continue to do so till the obvious is resolved.

 

[NK86]

I think folks are having an issue with it being called lucky, and I somewhat agree.

Why is it luck and not skill that DeGea made two great saves and Wan Bissaka a great defensive block?

Why is it luck that their keeper made a great save in the first half, but Mason got the better of him with his second chance.

It's not like they had a wide open net and skied a chance while we scored off a deflection.

xG might have a story to tell, primarily to show which team was on the front foot, but in no way does it make us lucky, in my humble opinion.

Not looking to start an argument, I just don't agree with it being defined as lucky.

Opportunistic? Absolutely!

I just replied to another poster. Understand why people may find the word "lucky" unfair. I wanted to say that we are seeing these type of performances far too often to just ignore them after a win where we were the second best team for the majority of the game. The coaching staff needs to do better as currently we are nowhere close to as good as we can be.

 

[AttackAttackAttack]

I thought it was, pretty obvious one too. Was surprised nobody mentioned it.

I recall a few occasions Harry scoring using the same technique and the goal getting disallowed.

 

[hellhunter]

I am pretty sure he is the guy who lost a header during a corner kick from which Wolves almost scored. I mean, like I said... I watched the highlights only so he might have done many amazing things to cancel that.

Fred was a disaster. Did highlights at least got that one correct?

Absolut disaster, yeah

 

[Cnaiür urs Skiötha]

Like so many times within the last years: great result, awful game.
We can talk about single players, but that our slow playing style does not improve is down to coaching and tactics. Sancho already looked frustrated at times, no idea what Ronaldo should do with no chances created.

 

[illotr]

1st half was terrible. I think in 2nd half our build up was fairly solid given the circumstance. And that was due to Ole's adjustments and the players took it up a notch, probably also with Wolves intensity declining. As much as people like to attribute the goal to individual brilliance, the passing and build-up play had to be there to set up the one-on-one opportunity for Mason. You can't say that was not at all tactical. That being said, the problem with Pogba sitting deep still remained in 2nd half as Wolves could easily penetrate through every time they dispossessed us. And the players seemingly still had room to up the tempo yet they didn't. Surely Ole needs to work on getting the players in form as the game starts. Speaking of which, we seem to always get better when the intensity drops and our technical players have room to do their things but easily overwhelmed when the game is tight.

 

[OrcaFat]

Pogba + Fred as a 2 clearly doesn’t work at the moment, although second half wasn’t just as bad. The number of times Fred was more advanced than Pogba and then one of them lost possession was scary.

Yes, exactly. Fred hasn’t got the game intelligence required to play with Pogba. 2nd half was a bit better. But “scary” is the truth. Fred and McT as a partnership seems better on the face of it but they still manage to get out of position and leave the midfield bare. Watching them two trying to hold it together under pressure from athletic, pressing teams is agony.

 

[NinjaZombie]

Pogba can't play that role. He has to be further up tge pitch

Back when he was at Juventus, I remarked to a friend of mine that Pogba would never be a top class centre midfielder who would be dictating the game, in the mould of Xavi, Scholes, Kroos etc. He just doesn't have it in him.

Here we are trying to play him in what is essentially a midfield 2 with a player who barely resembles a top division footballer.

 

[UNITED ACADEMY]

Wolves were always gonna be tough. I watched the Leicester game, they also wasted lot of chances and they even had one on one chance before conceded 1 goal but Traore missed it. I heard they totally dominated Spurs despite of losing 1-0 from penalty.

I also watched their game vs Nottingham Forest, they fully dominated that game but missed lot of chances but managed to win 4-0 by scoring all of them in second half. I think this is a good away result and the fact we maintain the unbeaten away record is also positive thing. Bruno Lage for Wolves look much more promising than Nuno.

Next game is home game vs Newcastle who are much worse than Wolves in my opinion and I think we will be fine. Although, I prefer Pogba plays on the left today with Donny in midfield instead. Add Ronaldo and Scott McTominay to our midfield, we could look much better for the rest of the season in my opinion.