Some perspective…

Jericholyte2

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Oct 6, 2004
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I get that we didn’t start the season especially great (putting it mildly) but those blaming tactics or the manager need to have a rethink simply down to the injuries / overhaul we’ve had in our defensive unit.

3 of our starting back four are injured, and a new GK is trying to settle in to THAT context, effectively making it 4 out of our starting back 5 (from last season) that are out.

Name me a clubs that wouldn’t have issues with replacing their starting GK and then losing 3 out of your back four…
 
This is why you have a squad and you adapt to the situation. ETH tactically had made Utd too open, the midfield is over run game after game, defenders are having to cover and pick up players who are not being tracked by the mids and that is why teams are having so much joy against Utd.

Sure, it's not the first choice defence but even if it was, it would still be getting exposed as there is no midfield protecting them. The keeper is also poor, it's not communication issues which would be understandable, it's simply that shot stopping and lack of agility makes him weak.
 
maximus419 said:
This is why you have a squad and you adapt to the situation. ETH tactically had made Utd too open, the midfield is over run game after game, defenders are having to cover and pick up players who are not being tracked by the mids and that is why teams are having so much joy against Utd.

Sure, it's not the first choice defence but even if it was, it would still be getting exposed as there is no midfield protecting them. The keeper is also poor, it's not communication issues which would be understandable, it's simply that shot stopping and lack of agility makes him weak.
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We have a decent squad. It's decimated by injuries. You can't prepare for Shaw, Malacia, Varane, Maguire, Amrabat, Mainoo, Mount, Wan Bissaka all being absent from our midfield and defensive group. If the defenders were injured but we had Amrabat and Mount, then at least we could actually provide midfield cover. We literally had nobody but Eriksen & McTominay to pick between to go into midfield which is far from ideal.
 
maximus419 said:
This is why you have a squad and you adapt to the situation. ETH tactically had made Utd too open, the midfield is over run game after game, defenders are having to cover and pick up players who are not being tracked by the mids and that is why teams are having so much joy against Utd.

Sure, it's not the first choice defence but even if it was, it would still be getting exposed as there is no midfield protecting them. The keeper is also poor, it's not communication issues which would be understandable, it's simply that shot stopping and lack of agility makes him weak.
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Only the likes of City can have good enough squad ready for this amount of injuries.
 
These threads seem to pop up far too often.

Excuses FC. It’s been far from good enough. Footballs a squad game, and we’ve assembled a very poor one for the money spent.
 
bosnian_red said:
We have a decent squad. It's decimated by injuries. You can't prepare for Shaw, Malacia, Varane, Maguire, Amrabat, Mainoo, Mount, Wan Bissaka all being absent from our midfield and defensive group. If the defenders were injured but we had Amrabat and Mount, then at least we could actually provide midfield cover. We literally had nobody but Eriksen & McTominay to pick between to go into midfield which is far from ideal.
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To be fair, the point you make cannot be argued against. We really do have the most insane number of injuries at the moment. We would have so many other options if more players were fit and playing. I feel like we are sort of in limbo at the moment, and limbo is a horrible place to be in because there is so much out of your control.
 
bosnian_red said:
We have a decent squad. It's decimated by injuries. You can't prepare for Shaw, Malacia, Varane, Maguire, Amrabat, Mainoo, Mount, Wan Bissaka all being absent from our midfield and defensive group. If the defenders were injured but we had Amrabat and Mount, then at least we could actually provide midfield cover. We literally had nobody but Eriksen & McTominay to pick between to go into midfield which is far from ideal.
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It's unfortunate to have the injuries but then it's the RESPONSIBILITY of the coach to set the team up to let them have success. If that means abandoning his principles and how he plays to grind out results until players get healthy than he needs to make that decision. I fear he will try to play his way to the point of being shown the door.
 
Another point is that we've had a brutal run of fixtures.

We have 4 winnable games now. With 2 or 3 key players coming back from injury. Let's see where we are in 3 weeks or so.
 
The perspective is that we have lost 4 of the last 5 games. That is unacceptable at Manchester fecking United. Stop making these pathetic excuses.
 
The injuries being all muscular are actually on the manager. He didn't prepare the team well during the preseason and our fitness level looks godawful. We run out of gas by midway in the first half ? We basically have enough energy in the tank to only play 20-30 minutes a game at most. This is on the manager failing to prepare his team for the season during summer.
 
Bwuk said:
These threads seem to pop up far too often.

Excuses FC. It’s been far from good enough. Footballs a squad game, and we’ve assembled a very poor one for the money spent.
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Really? Genuinely some posts really rile me up. Every thread is a shit fest so we should try to not complain in another.
 
Bwuk said:
These threads seem to pop up far too often.

Excuses FC. It’s been far from good enough. Footballs a squad game, and we’ve assembled a very poor one for the money spent.
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Nah I don't think it's excuses FC. The reality is that we have a stupid number of players injured and our squad isn't good enough. No excuses there. That's just how it is. ETH inherited a complete train-wreck which is why people calling for him to be sacked have no idea what they are talking about. It's going to take about 5 - 6 seasons for United to undo the total mess we're in. We're absolutely screwed once the injuries hit, but building that strength in depth takes time. It's a pain in the hole having to sit through it, but it is what it is.
 
Team performance against Wolves was also quite poor despite the win. There's not much evidence to say and show that a fully fit 11 would have drastically changed the outcome. The fit 11 still exact some of the same issues an injured squad would and that's inability to maintain possession, lack of goals scored despite chances created, midfield that has the likes of Nunes, Bissouma and Musiala carving through like butter on a piece of bread. You can't offset those issues to unfit starting 11. There's clearly more at play and personally I feel like United had a bit of a disastrous pre season which has contributed to the teams performances.
 
We currently have 12(?) players absent. And that's with other players who were also out injured having now returned.

We can talk all we like about the quality of different players and the tactics, but the base fact is that if we have that many players injured we're always going to struggle. Especially when we have as hard a start to the season in terms of fixtures as we have had.

Doesn't mean there aren't problems, but it would be an obvious mistake to take this as our current level in a more general sense. It's just too hard to judge where we're at at the moment, bar the obvious fact that we're not good enough to play with this depleted a squad.
 
I’m old enough to remember when half a season of poor form wasn’t usually enough to get fans all hysterical. 5- 6 games seems to be going rate at United.

The virtue of Patience is amiss
 
We've seen what injuries can do to a side. Look at Everton, they lose one or two key players and all of a sudden they are flirting with relegation.

Only a couple teams in the world have a squad deep enough to get through this period relatively unscathed. City, Bayern, and maybe Madrid.
 
I'd be more willing to accept injuries as an excuse if not for the fact we were playing garbage football during the tail end of last season too. And he had another £150m to strengthen the team yet we're even worse. Also the entire squad should be coached well enough that we can endure injuries and continue playing the same style of football at a good level. At well managed clubs this extends to youth level.

Here we just keep making bullshit excuses and live in denial about the reality of the situation
 
Redstain said:
Team performance against Wolves was also quite poor despite the win. There's not much evidence to say and show that a fully fit 11 would have drastically changed the outcome. The fit 11 still exact some of the same issues an injured squad would and that's inability to maintain possession, lack of goals scored despite chances created, midfield that has the likes of Nunes, Bissouma and Musiala carving through like butter on a piece of bread. You can't offset those issues to unfit starting 11. There's clearly more at play and personally I feel like United had a bit of a disastrous pre season which has contributed to the teams performances.
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It was diabolical
 
bosnian_red said:
We have a decent squad. It's decimated by injuries. You can't prepare for Shaw, Malacia, Varane, Maguire, Amrabat, Mainoo, Mount, Wan Bissaka all being absent from our midfield and defensive group. If the defenders were injured but we had Amrabat and Mount, then at least we could actually provide midfield cover. We literally had nobody but Eriksen & McTominay to pick between to go into midfield which is far from ideal.
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Amrabat is no messiah, mid table Italian teams don't loan out their best players.
 
santeria13 said:
Too many excuses. We're simply shit.
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*Insert something about Fergie needing X number of years too*
 
He uses the same system, no matter who is available or whoever the opponents are. Loses after loses. This is on him, a good manager finds a way and changes things up.

If he doesnt win the 3 next games his position should really be up for discussion
 
Chumpsbechumps said:
I’m old enough to remember when half a season of poor form wasn’t usually enough to get fans all hysterical. 5- 6 games seems to be going rate at United.

The virtue of Patience is amiss
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This is what happens when you have a load of whingers who've spent their whole life playing fifa and football manager. They think that real life football should be as easy as buying a load of players and winning every trophy going from year 1.

ETH is trying to stop and reverse around 10 years of rot, poor standards and players just doing as they please. That's not going to happen in a year.
 
Samid said:
The perspective is that we have lost 4 of the last 5 games. That is unacceptable at Manchester fecking United. Stop making these pathetic excuses.
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This many missing players coupled with a tough run of fixtures isn't an excuse. It's a genuine reason for struggling so far.

Players win football matches. Not tactics or managers. You need your players.

On top of that we've generally had some bad luck. Tonight again.
 
Matt Varnish said:
Amrabat is no messiah, mid table Italian teams don't loan out their best players.
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Ah sure we'll have to wait and see. I do feel people are pinning too much hope in the lad, but stranger things have happened. He could be a sensation. Man...I feel like I haven't been consistently excited about a player in so long. Not meaning to turn into one of those cranky old men who always talk about the old days when everything was great, but yeah...it's all just meh. I see brighter times on the horizon but it's going to take time lads. Patience is truly required, and ETH needs time to make something special.
 
Klean said:
It's unfortunate to have the injuries but then it's the RESPONSIBILITY of the coach to set the team up to let them have success. If that means abandoning his principles and how he plays to grind out results until players get healthy than he needs to make that decision. I fear he will try to play his way to the point of being shown the door.
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Ok... we played away to Bayern. They have won every single group stage game for multiple years now. They are a top 3 favourite for the CL. What the hell do you want :lol: Ten hag prepared us well, we had a good start, we conceded a sloppy goal and then their heads fell. Even so.. the result was 4-3. Chill.
 
santeria13 said:
Too many excuses. We're simply shit.
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There's a difference between an "excuse" and a "reason". The reason we've started this season so poorly is partly down to injuries. It's not an excuse it's just a fact. It doesn't excuse the players that are playing of their poor performances but it is the reason those sub par players are on the field to begin with. Get the idea?
 
Andersonson said:
He uses the same system, no matter who is available or whoever the opponents are. Loses after loses. This is on him, a good manager finds a way and changes things up.

If he doesnt win the 3 next games his position should really be up for discussion
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Very odd time to to level that accusation given he switched systems in our last PL game.
 
Matt Varnish said:
Amrabat is no messiah, mid table Italian teams don't loan out their best players.
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I don't think you realize how useless Eriksen is off the ball.
Also, Italian teams do loan to buy deals literally every single time. Even with their most valuable players like Chiesa.
 
el3mel said:
The injuries being all muscular are actually on the manager. He didn't prepare the team well during the preseason and our fitness level looks godawful. We run out of gas by midway in the first half ? We basically have enough energy in the tank to only play 20-30 minutes a game at most. This is on the manager failing to prepare his team for the season during summer.
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Yeah it’s totally on the manager everytime that we have these pointless globetrotting pre season tour with long travels and commercial obligation instead of a reasonable, compact schedule that allow for comprehensive fitness/tactical work.

LvG complained, Mourinho complained, Eriksen already spoke weeks ago about how the travel negatively affected the tour, but it’s obviously EtH who wished for that. Fact of the matter is, since Fergie retired, no manager has had the authority to curb the excesses on the commercial side of the club, and our pre season tend to suffer because of it.
 
Oranges038 said:
This is what happens when you have a load of whingers who've spent their whole life playing fifa and football manager. They think that real life football should be as easy as buying a load of players and winning every trophy going from year 1.

ETH is trying to stop and reverse around 10 years of rot, poor standards and players just doing as they please. That's not going to happen in a year.
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Im really not meant for social media to be honest. Some of the over reactive stuff I read on here is just…. Well … I’m gonna call it unhealthy…..
 
I think we’ve been both shite and unlucky. The fixture list hasn’t been kind but we’ve lost all difficult games. I would prefer to see where we are by the time we play City at the end of October. We have winnable PL games and have Galatasaray and Copenhagen for our next 3 CL games which should really set the base for us to qualify. However, if we don’t get results against Burnley and Palace in the PL, Ten Hag could be in trouble. I’m nervous for Ten Hag but still optimistic that we could have a decent season.
 
There are a lot of injuries but that's why we have a squad. A lot of the defensive errors we've been making are so basic and they were happening even when Wan-Bissaka, Varane and Shaw were all available.

The midfield in front of them is a huge worry and the manager has to take accountability for that too. We've been haemorrhaging chances every game this season and that has only been exacerbated by the system we're trying to play. It's not working.
 
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