United Hour podcast - In or Out? (Leicester loss)

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Well, that was crap again wasn't it...Nik (@Rood) goes Ole In and Imran (@Annihilate Now!) goes Ole Out as the two sit down to review Manchester United's dreadful 4-2 loss against Leicester City.



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Let us know what you think of the pod troops - agree or disagree on the points made? Questions for next week?

And where are you guys at now? Ole In/Out? What needs to improve? By how many are we going to get spanked by Liverpool next week?

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Another great episode. Must say I am firmly in the Imran camp regarding this issue. You talked about Pogba how he looks different when playing for United, and I think even that is down to Ole. The players dont seem to have a clear defined job out there which is why they look so clueless and often like 11 individuals rather than a team.
This squad is actually really good and I believe the board needs to react before its too late to save this season.
 

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Another great episode. Must say I am firmly in the Imran camp regarding this issue. You talked about Pogba how he looks different when playing for United, and I think even that is down to Ole. The players dont seem to have a clear defined job out there which is why they look so clueless and often like 11 individuals rather than a team.
This squad is actually really good and I believe the board needs to react before its too late to save this season.
Not sure you can put Pogba issues on Ole as Jose had even bigger problems with him
Really difficult to understand his club Vs country form - although he has been decent in the attacking role but constantly lacking in centre mid for us
 

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Not sure you can put Pogba issues on Ole as Jose had even bigger problems with him
Really difficult to understand his club Vs country form - although he has been decent in the attacking role but constantly lacking in centre mid for us
I think that was a different issue though. Pogba and Mourinho clearly despised each other, while I believe the relationship between Ole and Pogba is quite good?
 

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Pogba is obviously a problematic player. Some players can come in and fit right away, while he's been struggling for years. Maybe it couldn't be helped and no manager on earth could get the best out of him in a full club season (Rather than a short Euro or World Cup).

At the same time, he's never been given the priviledge of having a top quality manager at United. He's obviously enjoyed a better relationship with Solskjaer compared with Mourinho, but they both weren't good enough in terms of football.

It's a question we'll never get the answer to.

As for the idea we were part of a title fight because we were top in January... No, I'm sorry. If by the time March comes you're nowhere near the leaders, you weren't a part of anything.
 

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I think that was a different issue though. Pogba and Mourinho clearly despised each other, while I believe the relationship between Ole and Pogba is quite good?
He definitely likes him more than he likes Mou, that is for sure! What's interesting is he has basically the same stats under both managers (Mou: 108 games, 43 goal involvements, Ole: 101 games, 47 goal involvements). It would have been almost identical had he not got 4 in the Leeds game!
 
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Not sure you can put Pogba issues on Ole as Jose had even bigger problems with him
Really difficult to understand his club Vs country form - although he has been decent in the attacking role but constantly lacking in centre mid for us
Square pegs, round holes (and/or tactics)?

I think Pogba needs a lot of cover and/or to be further forward. We’re trying to place a very good player into a formation that doesn’t get the best out of him… arguably relates to other players too.

I want Ole to succeed but (1) he has to see the issues quickly and (2) he has to change things and that probably involves dropping some high profile players. If he doesn’t, he’s got weeks, months at a push.
 

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We add Varane and Ronaldo and we're a worse team. It's shocking. Maguire was a disaster. Why wasn't he hooked at half time (or earlier)? The first two balls that came to him he looked like he'd never seen a football before. The first was a pass from Shaw that he bundled into touch, the second was another sequence back near our box and his ball out to Shaw was weak and intercepted. It was clear within 5 minutes Maguire was going to be a liability.

We got our pants pulled down with him, Fred, and VDB.
 
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MonkeysMagic

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Have to admire Nik's optimism but the question that Imran posed is the pertinent one: is Ole the manager to elevate Utd to title contenders? After 3 years the answer is an emphatic No. Once you come to that conclusion, there needs to be no debate and a change needs to be implemented to give the new manager as much time to get his ideas embedded...this waiting till Dec or summer makes no sense.
 

buckooo1978

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Solskjaer by his own admission doesn't seem to have any ideas as to why we are experiencing the problems we are....

We've a star studded attack who don't create many chances

We are actually overperforming this year compared to our XG such is that issue

Defensively open and weak

tactically naive, no control over games, questionable team selections, very questionable in game management

I've literally no idea where optimism about Solskjaer comes. Does anyone actually think in the next few weeks he will develop a style of play? We haven't had a style of play in 3 years under him bar counterattack which is a strategy that you would expect a relegation threatened team to employ.

Even if we somehow get a couple of backs to the wall results in the coming weeks does anyone (apart from Nik of course lol) think he is going to challenge managers like Pep, Klopp or Tuchel in the next 5 years.
 
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Square pegs, round holes (and/or tactics)?

I think Pogba needs a lot of cover and/or to be further forward. We’re trying to place a very good player into a formation that doesn’t get the best out of him… arguably relates to other players too.

I want Ole to succeed but (1) he has to see the issues quickly and (2) he has to change things and that probably involves dropping some high profile players. If he doesn’t, he’s got weeks, months at a push.
To be fair to Pogba, he started the season well but lately hes been much more comfortable on the left side than in the pivot which then causes issues for Rashford/Sancho

I agree that Ole has to make some big decisions this week, for me its time to go back to basics - introduction of the new players has not worked so well so I expect him to revert to the tried and tested McFred and personally Id be looking to start Rashford, Cavani, Greenwood and maybe even Lingard on Wednesday


We add Varane and Ronaldo and we're a worse team. It's shocking. Maguire was a disaster. Why wasn't he hooked at half time (or earlier)? The first two balls that came to him he looked like he'd never seen a football before. The first was a pass from Shaw that he bundled into touch, the second was another sequence back near our box and his ball out to Shaw was weak and intercepted. It was clear within 5 minutes Maguire was going to be a liability.

We got our pants pulled down with him, Fred, and VDB.
Maguire is an excellent player, already proved it for us last season and for England but quite clearly he should never have started at Leicester and that decision was the main reason for our downfall


Have to admire Nik's optimism but the question that Imran posed is the pertinent one: is Ole the manager to elevate Utd to title contenders? After 3 years the answer is an emphatic No. Once you come to that conclusion, there needs to be no debate and a change needs to be implemented to give the new manager as much time to get his ideas embedded...this waiting till Dec or summer makes no sense.
Like I said, I am not sure myself but the way I see it is that Ole has done more than enough over the past 2 seasons to get a chance to see what he can do with this squad


Solskjaer by his own admission doesn't seem to have any ideas as to why we are experiencing the problems we are....

We've a star studded attack who don't create many chances

We are actually overperforming this year compared to our XG such is that issue

Defensively open and weak

tactically naive, no control over games, questionable team selections, very questionable in game management

I've literally no idea where optimism about Solskjaer comes. Does anyone actually think in the next few weeks he will develop a style of play? We haven't had a style of play in 3 years under him bar counterattack which is a strategy that you would expect a relegation threatened team to employ.

Even if we somehow get a couple of backs to the wall results in the coming weeks does anyone (apart from Nik of course lol) think he is going to challenge managers like Pep, Klopp or Tuchel in the next 5 years.
This season we have quite clearly been poor but obviously we have played much better under Ole

I do find this whole focus on 'style of play' to be very overdone - we had a very clear style of play under LvG and no one was happy with it, ask yourself this question: what was Alex Ferguson's style of play?
 

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Great podcast. Maybe it's a good thing that it was just the two of you because you flowed well and got through a lot of stuff. Nice one
Cheers mate!

do usually aim for 3 but the 2 man shows can work out well too
 

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This season we have quite clearly been poor but obviously we have played much better under Ole

I do find this whole focus on 'style of play' to be very overdone - we had a very clear style of play under LvG and no one was happy with it, ask yourself this question: what was Alex Ferguson's style of play?
LVG had his philosophy which he never got right for an abundance of reasons (really poor recruitment, players like Rooney ineffective, RVP done, no quality strikers, misusing Di Maria, playing Fellaini in a passing team, too slow, too rigid etc) - it's not really relevant - managers have styles of play that are effective and some don't- we fall into the latter.

when people talk about a style of play it's about a semi consistent approach to games where players are coached to play together effectively. To attack as a unit and to defend as a collective as well. We arent talking tiki taka here - we are talking about players who understand their roles, where they should be, where their teammates are etc - this allows them to exploit the opposition, move the ball quickly and create. As a bare minimum players who work hard for each other which I don't feel we are seeing in Oles lineups.

It's the reason why Liverpool can bring in players like Curtis Jones or Keita and you don't see the drop in performance. We instead are a team of individuals. We certainly don't have a philosophy under Ole. He's brought in players like Donny or Sancho- players who thrived in systems at Ajax and Dortmund and I'm not sure he knows how to use them.

Fergie was a pragmatist first and foremost. His instructions were simple if you listen to his former players but he always tried to play fast attacking football with lots of width. His teams always created chances and he had squads that arguably weren't as talented as our current one. It's silly to compare Fergie to Oles anyway. There's no comparison to be made in terms of their management skills.

The facts are we arent attacking effectively or creating enough chances. As I said earlier we are outperforming our XG and relying on individuals popping up. Given the talent we have you would expect more in terms of creation and goals.

Defensively we have been really poor and we've been wide open. Shaw and Maguire's performance levels have dropped drastically but structurally we aren't right. Teams like Newcastle, Wolves and Southampton have opened us up far too easily. Listen to Rodgers interview and he talks about how easy it was to bypass us in central areas. We weren't good last season either. Our set piece record was poor and, correct me if I'm wrong, but we had a worse defensive record than Liverpool who we finished ahead of and who were playing midfielders at CB for long periods of the season with their injury problems.

We have played better under Ole for short periods but we've never looked like being serious challengers for anything major. Even when we were getting good results we weren't controlling games. Thinks have regressed since last season when our amazing away form (in front of empty stadiums) carried us.

The question I have for you is what makes you think he will get it right? What signs are there that he has answers. What do you see changing?

He earned the right to have a go at this season after finishing a distant second but I've given up hope of things 'clicking' myself.
 
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LVG had his philosophy which he never got right for an abundance of reasons (really poor recruitment, players like Rooney ineffective, RVP done, no quality strikers, misusing Di Maria, playing Fellaini in a passing team, too slow, too rigid etc) - it's not really relevant - managers have styles of play that are effective and some don't- we fall into the latter.

when people talk about a style of play it's about a semi consistent approach to games where players are coached to play together effectively. To attack as a unit and to defend as a collective as well. We arent talking tiki taka here - we are talking about players who understand their roles, where they should be, where their teammates are etc - this allows them to exploit the opposition, move the ball quickly and create. As a bare minimum players who work hard for each other which I don't feel we are seeing in Oles lineups.

It's the reason why Liverpool can bring in players like Curtis Jones or Keita and you don't see the drop in performance. We instead are a team of individuals. We certainly don't have a philosophy under Ole. He's brought in players like Donny or Sancho- players who thrived in systems at Ajax and Dortmund and I'm not sure he knows how to use them.

Fergie was a pragmatist first and foremost. His instructions were simple if you listen to his former players but he always tried to play fast attacking football with lots of width. His teams always created chances and he had squads that arguably weren't as talented as our current one. It's silly to compare Fergie to Oles anyway. There's no comparison to be made in terms of their management skills.

The facts are we arent attacking effectively or creating enough chances. As I said earlier we are outperforming our XG and relying on individuals popping up. Given the talent we have you would expect more in terms of creation and goals.

Defensively we have been really poor and we've been wide open. Shaw and Maguire's performance levels have dropped drastically but structurally we aren't right. Teams like Newcastle, Wolves and Southampton have opened us up far too easily. Listen to Rodgers interview and he talks about how easy it was to bypass us in central areas. We weren't good last season either. Our set piece record was poor and, correct me if I'm wrong, but we had a worse defensive record than Liverpool who we finished ahead of and who were playing midfielders at CB for long periods of the season with their injury problems.

We have played better under Ole for short periods but we've never looked like being serious challengers for anything major. Even when we were getting good results we weren't controlling games. Thinks have regressed since last season when our amazing away form (in front of empty stadiums) carried us.

The question I have for you is what makes you think he will get it right? What signs are there that he has answers. What do you see changing?

He earned the right to have a go at this season after finishing a distant second but I've given up hope of things 'clicking' myself.
Quite obviously Im not comparing Ole to SAF, only mentioned Fergie just to show that having a 'philosophy' is not that important

But anyway, the idea that Ole doesnt have a style is wrong - he aims for fast transition, fluid attacking football - whether we acheive that on a weekly basis is another matter!
But the best of Manchester United under Ole has for me been the most enjoyable football we have seen since Fergie retired - the only issue has been consistency. Go and have a look at our top goals of last season and there are some outstanding team moves, it is not just about individuals.

Undeinably we have been poor this season and we explore the reasons for that on the pod but we were in a worse league position this time time last year and Ole turned it around then to prove the doubters wrong.

What needs to change? For me Ole needs to go back to basics and trust in the players that delivered last season - big names will need to be benched for the good of the team. Whether Ole has the balls to do that, I am not actually sure myself.

Ultimately your opinion is actually the same as mine, that Ole has earned the right to have a go at this season so I'll be backing him until it is clear that the season is a write off.
 

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Quite obviously Im not comparing Ole to SAF, only mentioned Fergie just to show that having a 'philosophy' is not that important

But anyway, the idea that Ole doesnt have a style is wrong - he aims for fast transition, fluid attacking football - whether we acheive that on a weekly basis is another matter!
But the best of Manchester United under Ole has for me been the most enjoyable football we have seen since Fergie retired - the only issue has been consistency. Go and have a look at our top goals of last season and there are some outstanding team moves, it is not just about individuals.

Undeinably we have been poor this season and we explore the reasons for that on the pod but we were in a worse league position this time time last year and Ole turned it around then to prove the doubters wrong.

What needs to change? For me Ole needs to go back to basics and trust in the players that delivered last season - big names will need to be benched for the good of the team. Whether Ole has the balls to do that, I am not actually sure myself.

Ultimately your opinion is actually the same as mine, that Ole has earned the right to have a go at this season so I'll be backing him until it is clear that the season is a write off.
From your obvious blind faith in him can only assume that the season isn't a write off for you until we are knocked out of the champions league and cut adrift of top 4 like we saw under Moyes in 2014 so sometime next spring then
 

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From your obvious blind faith in him can only assume that the season isn't a write off for you until we are knocked out of the champions league and cut adrift of top 4 like we saw under Moyes in 2014 so sometime next spring then
There is no blind faith, Ole has undeniably earned the right with clear season on season progress since he arrived - but there will need to be progress again for me to back him to continue after this season.
 

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There is no blind faith, Ole has undeniably earned the right with clear season on season progress since he arrived - but there will need to be progress again for me to back him to continue after this season.
I really wonder where this continual progress argument would have gone IF the scousers defence wasn't utterly crippled by injuries to their main CB's and Chelsea hadn't started the season with a seriously out of his depth Lampard
 

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I really wonder where this continual progress argument would have gone IF the scousers defence wasn't utterly crippled by injuries to their main CB's and Chelsea hadn't started the season with a seriously out of his depth Lampard
I dont do ifs, buts and maybes - Im only interested in real life
 

buckooo1978

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Quite obviously Im not comparing Ole to SAF, only mentioned Fergie just to show that having a 'philosophy' is not that important

But anyway, the idea that Ole doesnt have a style is wrong - he aims for fast transition, fluid attacking football - whether we acheive that on a weekly basis is another matter!

But the best of Manchester United under Ole has for me been the most enjoyable football we have seen since Fergie retired - the only issue has been consistency. Go and have a look at our top goals of last season and there are some outstanding team moves, it is not just about individuals.

Undeinably we have been poor this season and we explore the reasons for that on the pod but we were in a worse league position this time time last year and Ole turned it around then to prove the doubters wrong.

What needs to change? For me Ole needs to go back to basics and trust in the players that delivered last season - big names will need to be benched for the good of the team. Whether Ole has the balls to do that, I am not actually sure myself.

Ultimately your opinion is actually the same as mine, that Ole has earned the right to have a go at this season so I'll be backing him until it is clear that the season is a write off.
Neville and Carragher hit the nail on the head for me on MNF - Neville stated that Solskjaer needs to find a way of blending these players into a system that works but as his post-match quotes attested he is far from that. Really we face Atalanta tonight and I really am not sure what to expect which is the normal for Ole's team. We really could see anything such is the inconsistency. I think you overrated the quality of our football last season and when you look at some of the key stats (xg, xpts) We overperformed like this season. We didn't open teams up enough even with Oles 'fast attacking fluid football,' - from the stats and the eye test I don't remember this to be honest. I certainly haven't enjoyed our football this year apart from moments.

so at what point do you consider this season a write off? Progress this year to me looked like an actual sniff at a title race. We will finish 20 points behind Liverpool and City I'd guess. We aren't going to win the CL.

last year we may have been on less points but he's added considerably to the squad, been given players in key positions, we can't expect rivals to have the same issues and we haven't played a top team yet.

A great season from here would be finishing 4th and an FA Cup - a real lowering of expectations.

I'm sure objectively you wouldn't be happy going into next season with McFred in our midfield. We know their qualities, we know their limitations, they aren't going to turn into top defensive midfielders or help us control games. Bearing in mind these are 2 players who are experienced at the top levels but their limitations are there to see. If we had a chance to bring in Kante you wouldn't hesitate would you?

The exact same principle should apply to Ole. We know his qualities in that players like him, he's been great for the culture and identity of the club. We also know his flaws and we arent a title challenging club under him. We don't create enough, dominate games or defend well enough. We've never had the consistency to challenge and we look further away now as we have done in the last couple of years. Ole's managerial experience is poor - why should he be given more time if we have an opportunity to bring in an interim manager who could improve us?

It's double standards to want to improve the playing staff but not want to improve on the common denominator - a manager who is out of his depth.
 

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it is actually totally normal for the best teams to outperform xG/xPts stats - that is what sets them apart from the norm.
Just go look back at every league winner of recent times and all are overperforming so this is not a negative at all: https://understat.com/league/EPL/2019

On a worst case scenario this season could be a write off as soon as next month - this run of games which first takes us to the next International Break and then end of Nov with a raft of big games is sink or swim

But as you know I prefer to look on the bright side and when we beat Liverpool on Sunday we will only be 1 point behind them - hardly a sackable offence is it?
 

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First time listener and really enjoyed that. I'm not sure if some of the disagreeing is manufactured, but I do think it's important to have different points of view, especially when they are well put forward by people who clearly have some knowledge of the game.

With regards Pogba looking a different player for United, keep in mind that national team managers have a very structured approach and tactically, they have to be spot on because the players only come together so often. There has to be a clear strategy and formation and each player knows exactly what is required of them every time they are on international duty, whereas at United, Pogba gets given more freedom and sometimes (when he feels like it) that's great. He has had some great performances for France, but not a single one comes close to how he took the game by the scruff of the neck in that second half we stopped City from winning the league and he scored a brace. It's why he is such an enigma, because his top level performances for club/country are best midfielder in the world territory, but the drop off when he's not at that level is huge. It's like he is incapable of a nice steady 7/10 performance week in week out.
 

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On a worst case scenario this season could be a write off as soon as next month - this run of games which first takes us to the next International Break and then end of Nov with a raft of big games is sink or swim

But as you know I prefer to look on the bright side and when we beat Liverpool on Sunday we will only be 1 point behind them - hardly a sackable offence is it?
This is the point. In spite of what we are watching now and however unlikely it is there is a small possibility the stars will align and we get a result it doesn't change the fact that Ole is grossly under qualified to manage a top team. You shouldn't be satisfied with a few good days, nicking results and scraping into CL spots. We're embarrassing ourselves at the minute and Young Boys, Villareal and Atalanta have all been comfortably better than us.

Again we are seeing the same issues tonight. Simple goals conceded, too many balls over the top. Against an injury affected team with a midfielder at CB.

Admire the optimism but at one point does it become delusion. If we play like this at the weekend we'll be cut to ribbons. What's that saying about doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results?

If an interim manager fits the bill we can rescue this season to a degree.
 

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This is the point. In spite of what we are watching now and however unlikely it is there is a small possibility the stars will align and we get a result it doesn't change the fact that Ole is grossly under qualified to manage a top team. You shouldn't be satisfied with a few good days, nicking results and scraping into CL spots. We're embarrassing ourselves at the minute and Young Boys, Villareal and Atalanta have all been comfortably better than us.

Again we are seeing the same issues tonight. Simple goals conceded, too many balls over the top. Against an injury affected team with a midfielder at CB.

Admire the optimism but at one point does it become delusion. If we play like this at the weekend we'll be cut to ribbons. What's that saying about doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results?

If an interim manager fits the bill we can rescue this season to a degree.
I've got a saying for you - never post at half time :D
 

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First time listener and really enjoyed that. I'm not sure if some of the disagreeing is manufactured, but I do think it's important to have different points of view, especially when they are well put forward by people who clearly have some knowledge of the game.

With regards Pogba looking a different player for United, keep in mind that national team managers have a very structured approach and tactically, they have to be spot on because the players only come together so often. There has to be a clear strategy and formation and each player knows exactly what is required of them every time they are on international duty, whereas at United, Pogba gets given more freedom and sometimes (when he feels like it) that's great. He has had some great performances for France, but not a single one comes close to how he took the game by the scruff of the neck in that second half we stopped City from winning the league and he scored a brace. It's why he is such an enigma, because his top level performances for club/country are best midfielder in the world territory, but the drop off when he's not at that level is huge. It's like he is incapable of a nice steady 7/10 performance week in week out.
Cheers for the feedback mate

There is the odd time we might play devils advocate to get a debate going but on this occasion there is nothing manufactured

Was glad to see Pogba benched tonight - we know he has the skills but until he signs a new contract I prefer Ole to trust in those committed to the cause
 

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Surely you’re all queuing up to record after that game right?
 

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I've got a saying for you - never post at half time :D
:) I actually think that match underlined my point....Is this the evidence that we are back then :lol:

What an enjoyable night and a great win but what did we see ...

A disjointed, non-pressing, disorganised United, two nil down at home to an injury ravaged Atalanta. Liverpool will cut us to ribbons if we play like that. Much better second half though from an attacking POV and a few times we sustained pressure rather than just playing it long over the top. De Gea was great as usual.

I really hope we defend much more compactly and work harder on Sunday. Those injuries to Fred and Rashford could be very troublesome.
 

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Surely you’re all queuing up to record after that game right?
I've managed to lose my voice after screaming at the TV last night so I'm out, but we are trying to get something recorded today

:) I actually think that match underlined my point....Is this the evidence that we are back then :lol:

What an enjoyable night and a great win but what did we see ...

A disjointed, non-pressing, disorganised United, two nil down at home to an injury ravaged Atalanta. Liverpool will cut us to ribbons if we play like that. Much better second half though from an attacking POV and a few times we sustained pressure rather than just playing it long over the top. De Gea was great as usual.

I really hope we defend much more compactly and work harder on Sunday. Those injuries to Fred and Rashford could be very troublesome.
As we said on the pod, defensive organisation has been our major downfall this season (and last)- Varane was supposed to solve that and without him it's no surprise to see it's a major issue. At least Maguire looks fit now

But creatively I thought we played well throughout the game - there were several good chances first half, just poor finishing and thankfully we made up for that 2nd half

On xG we absolutely deserved the win last night and that should kill the idea that Ole has lost the dressing room

Yes we will need to improve for Sunday, especially on the defence - I hope Fred is available
 

buckooo1978

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it is actually totally normal for the best teams to outperform xG/xPts stats - that is what sets them apart from the norm.
Just go look back at every league winner of recent times and all are overperforming so this is not a negative at all: https://understat.com/league/EPL/2019

On a worst case scenario this season could be a write off as soon as next month - this run of games which first takes us to the next International Break and then end of Nov with a raft of big games is sink or swim

But as you know I prefer to look on the bright side and when we beat Liverpool on Sunday we will only be 1 point behind them - hardly a sackable offence is it?
Well I take no pleasure in today's humiliation but how's your mindset now

That kind of result was coming today.... how does any Ole In-er explain this latest disgraceful performance
 

Rood

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Well I take no pleasure in today's humiliation but how's your mindset now

That kind of result was coming today.... how does any Ole In-er explain this latest disgraceful performance
Obviously horrific today - I was expecting a few tags when I logged on and the Caf duly delivered !

As said on this pod, defensive organisation has been our downfall this season and was again today.

It's difficult to explain the huge fall in form from the likes of Maguire and Shaw in particular (both making major errors for goals today) - both were excellent last year but have struggled all season and I can only put it down to a 'Euro Hangover' and burn out


Credit to any of you boys who plan to record after this.
Recording tomorrow, tried to today but didn't think anyone would want to listen to 60minutes of grown men crying