Why are we so mentally fragile?

[Irrational.]

For a team that has so many so-called "leaders" we don't half shit ourselves when we're in need of a result. Sometimes you get the feeling that the players have resigned themselves to losing points before a ball has even been kicked. We have some strong characters like Maguire and Matic; others with an absolute wealth of experience like DDG and World Cup winner Pogba - yet we always seem a bag of nerves and struggle to produce the goods when they matter.

We have the right quality of players, yet there seems to be a mental block there somewhere that allows shitehawks like West Ham, Southampton, Bournemouth, Newcastle, Burnley and Watford get results against us. It's a mentality issue rather than a talent issue.

You watch other teams like Liverpool and they have a "we will not be beaten" attitude from the first whistle. You score three, we'll score five.

Is this an issue that comes from the manager or from the players themselves? Do we need to buy more leaders?

I can almost guarantee we'll be shitting ourselves on Sunday with misplaced passes, giving away stupid chances/ set pieces, missed opportunities or goalkeeping errors. I just hope we scramble ourselves over the line so we can regather for next season and sort out our mentality.

 

[VidaRed]

Because we lack confidence since we haven't won anything in a pressure situation.

 

[mu4c_20le]

None of those are leaders. Maguire was never a leader at Leicester and if Matic is a leader then so is Young.

 

[AshRK]

We were definitely physically fragile today. I think we started the game well and created decent chances so one cannot say we were nervous but as the game went on you could see the team was not able to do physically and this is where Ole was awful with his game management. We stopped trying after the 60th minute. If we bottle it against Leicester then yes it would confirm we are mentally fragile.

 

[VidaRed]

None of those are leaders. Maguire was never a leader at Leicester and if Matic is a leader then so is Young.

Add a roy keane to this team and we'd be challenging next year.

 

[Zlatan 7]

I just basically posted a reply to this op in a different thread

 

[Ronaldo's ego]

We have leaders in the team? That’s news to me. Getting over the line in high pressure situations always helps and Sunday is a big test. If we pull through that, it’ll raise the mental strength a bit going forward.

 

[Class of 63]

We ain't mentally fragile.

 

[Steven-UK]

We ain't mentally fragile.

....... we are like baby goats being chased by a wolf nearly every game we play.

 

[VeevaVee]

It's like the team goes through collective mood swings for a number of games - feeling good, feeling high, before becoming mildly depressed for a while.

 

[Class of 63]

....... we are like baby goats being chased by a wolf nearly every game we play.

Behave yourself, mentally fragile teams don't only lose one game out of 21

 

[Web of Bissaka]

Leaders?

Guess we're seeing a different team.

I only see one real leader -- Bruno, and his tank is gassed out.

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

Teams usually take the image of their manager.

I do worry like others said, that we're too similar to Wenger's Arsenal in the latter years.

 

[hungrywing]

Leaders?

Guess we're seeing a different team.

I only see one real leader -- Bruno, and his tank is gassed out.

What's really bad is if there are greater influences in the dressing room that aren't aligned with him.

No one - not even a Keane - can fix a situation like that without support.

 

[Jibbs]

It's like the team goes through collective mood swings for a number of games - feeling good, feeling high, before becoming mildly depressed for a while.

This... like bunch of kids. Not a single leader in the side, except perhaps Bruno.

 

[Steven7290]

Is everything on mentality? If you can't see the heaviness in the legs of our players, some of our most consistently performing players too, I don't know what there is to discuss.

 

[CG1010]

Honestly the only leader I see is Bruno.. he is the only one not having the confidence issues. Weirdly another one could be Greenwood as he seems to be mentally stronger than Rashford/Martial who still get nervous at big stage

 

[SirMattlives]

I don't think of us as mentally fragile as such, the results don't really support that claim. But I do think we are sometimes a little physically fragile in that our players can be bossed by tougher, rougher opponents, and it leaves us vulnerable when kick'n'rush stuff into our box goes on, as we have seen. Now I do think there is a lack of obvious leadership on the field - the Keane type - that would instill discipline and resolve on the field, it's hard to see who among the current team would really take a game on and lead by example, but that's a personality as much as talent issue. The last Fergie team did not have Keane but it had players who seemed to engage like that when needed, all over the pitch: Evra, Rooney, Rio, even Young. I feel the current team is a bit lightweight in that regard, short of guys who are willing to lead by example, drive us on to win, call on the others to show up and play. I don't know who is out there who might add that to us so I have to hope the management can instill it in a few of the current players. I just don't see Pogba ever being the one and Maguire seems a bit too introverted, but we can live in hope.

 

[Web of Bissaka]

Teams usually take the image of their manager.

I do worry like others said, that we're too similar to Wenger's Arsenal in the latter years.

This!

Wenger fostered a happy camp and safe environment for the players to play, which helps a lot of the youngsters but the trade-off is complacency and declining winning mentality. He needs the likes of Viera and the rest who have leadership to be the meaner guys in pushing the players into winning.

Ours in comparison..
Happy Ole = Team is a happy team. = We have togetherness and trust with each other. = We don't blame each other. = no bad apple. An environment that is too safe and peaceful naturally breeds complacency. De Gea, Lingard etc continue given chances after chances even after mistakes and rubbish performances says a lot. Our manager also like to say good things about the players publicly. The only thing we can hope for is he is ruthless privately and directly to the players personally but I'm not confident he is that kind of manager.

Do the players fear Ole's wrath or any repercussions each time we lost, make mistakes, etc?? I remember Rio once admit that the players were afraid of Fergie each time they lost, so they refuse to lose. We know Fergie's personality, he is really honest upfront and backroom combined with psychology. Fergie hates losing and hates half-heartedness from players as he reflected that from his work -- giving it his all, dedication, etc, and this transmit to his players.

Not sure how Ole really is, but what we can see on the surfaces are... maybe I'm being too harsh with Ole, but nevertheless, he still has my support. Ole needs more players like Bruno, but then players with genuine leadership is hard to get and find.

 

[yan man utd]

I think this is an intriguing topic; confidence is infectious and so is nervousness. Ok so first, if the players believe in the plan then that helps; surely they mostly believe in each other with outstanding players like Rashford, martial, Greenwood, Bruno and subjectively Pogba and Matic.
I don’t want to pick on De Gea and Lindelof but to me they look nervous; actually wan bissaka and Pogba seem to have recently had a significant drop In confidence. It’s a bit like having a rotten apple in the fruit bowl.
When I first started going to Old Trafford as a kid my mates dad who took us came up with a couple of pearls of wisdom. This was in Fergies early days and Liverpool we’re nearing the end of their heyday.. we had Robson, Hughes that was about it. Anyway he said, a good/top team needs 8 or 9 players minimum to be on form to have a good chance of winning, ideally 10 or 11 you might be able to carry 1 or 2 players but not more.
The other thing was that you need at least 7 or 8 that can play - beat a man/ pass well and are confident on the ball.
confidence is a fragile thing.... back then we had Jim Leighton in goal... I’m not saying de gea is as bad as he was but he is in danger of being. Confidence must spread through the team surely...

 

[Marcelinho87]

They're just knackered.

 

[meamth]

Comparing that performance and the first game since the restart, we're basically knackered to be honest.

Nothing has changed besides their waning agility and work rate.

I don't think it's a mental problem. You can be as determined as you want, but your body can't do what you brain wanted.

Ole miscalculated on the FA cup situation, I understand he wants to win everything that can be won, I admire that attitude, but sometimes, he just have to be more careful with fatigue.

Hopefully this kind of fixtures won't happen again next season, and we can see the players in optimal form again..