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Weekend games

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Goal difference usually tells a more objective story about any team's strengths and weakness than the point haul. Here are the stats after 5 games:

Man City: 15 goals scored, 4 conceded. Dominance.

United: 8 scored, 6 conceded.
Boring and rather mediocre.

Arsenal: 12 scored, 7 conceded. High-scoring, but somewhat defensively frail.

Chelsea: 10 scored, 6 conceded. A bit more defensive-minded than Arsenal.

Spurs: 8 scored, 2 conceded. The most stable defense in the league, they usually need to score only once to win.

LFC: 11 scored, 8 conceded. Attack is fine, but defense has the worst record in the top 6.

Based on this - and with the caveat that we have played 3 out of 5 matches against other top-6 teams, all away from home, whereas all the others so far played 1 such game - I would say that Man City are clear favorites and LFC and Spurs are the best among the rest. United are so far the worst team in the top 6 and it's clear that Mourinho is not even close to finding a workable model.
 
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Need to factor in the fixtures we've had though...certainly in comparison to the others. Not to mention 4 of the 5 games have been away. No excuse for conceding all them goals of course it's not, we still need to tighten up. Overall though I don't see any reason why we can't have an exciting season and surprise a few people.
 
Gary25 said:
Need to factor in the fixtures we've had though...certainly in comparison to the others. Not to mention 4 of the 5 games have been away. No excuse for conceding all them goals of course it's not, we still need to tighten up. Overall though I don't see any reason why we can't have an exciting season and surprise a few people.
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I dunno - we do better against the big teams lately. It seems like the mid table games are when we really are going to be tested mentally
 


According to Sinclair and Murphy, Rooney should be played as a holding midfielder. At this rate, by January, pundits will be advising De Gea out, Rooney in.
 
Oh what a wonderful weekend.

Maureen will now do the only thing he knows how to do.

He'll pull Utd back in to their shell with tight defence and two combative central midfielders stationed just in front of the back four.

Well I say combative - but one will be Pogba - and he'll be wasted there.

He won't trust youth, and he'll play with only 1 striker - which will be massive Zlatan.

His wide players are shite and they'll be expected to track back, etc

Rooney will be dragged back to play even deeper and will be a liability.

It's basically his old school Chelsea tactics.

Trouble is, Utd don't have the players to make this work.

Can't wait to see the horrible prick crack under pressure again.

Leicester for the win next week at OT.
 
StevieM said:
Oh what a wonderful weekend.

Maureen will now do the only thing he knows how to do.

He'll pull Utd back in to their shell with tight defence and two combative central midfielders stationed just in front of the back four.

Well I say combative - but one will be Pogba - and he'll be wasted there.

He won't trust youth, and he'll play with only 1 striker - which will be massive Zlatan.

His wide players are shite and they'll be expected to track back, etc

Rooney will be dragged back to play even deeper and will be a liability.

It's basically his old school Chelsea tactics.

Trouble is, Utd don't have the players to make this work.

Can't wait to see the horrible prick crack under pressure again.

Leicester for the win next week at OT.
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What do you mean 'now' do that? That's how he's been playing anyway

Fellaini is sitting in front of the back four and while his passing is accurate, it's mostly short and sideways. Pogba is not one for dictating play with the ball either, and Rooney's dropping deeper and deeper.

Some of their passing against Watford was simply embarrassing.

I think he needs to bring Carrick into the side, or drop Rooney to allow Mktikitikitaryn to play centrally behind Ibra.

I hope this poor form continues, it's very enjoyable.
 
peekay said:


According to Sinclair and Murphy, Rooney should be played as a holding midfielder. At this rate, by January, pundits will be advising De Gea out, Rooney in.
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This was really bizarre. I have to say the quality of the punditry on MOTD is not great compared to Sky. Don't think Carra and co. will start advocating for Rooney to be appointed United's playmaker, especially on the back of an atrocious passing display like that one. They don't need him in this position either – Herrera or Blind or Carrick are far better at pulling the strings from midfield. The crazy thing is that United have more than enough quality players to make Mourinho's system work well enough, but he is just showing a total lack of balls to make a clear decision about Rooney's role. I'm guessing for all the bluster and pretense of being in control, he understands his standing in the game has diminished a lot after what happened at Chelsea, so he just cannot afford to alienate the captain of his new team.
 
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He is shoehorning players into his preferred system, it's not that unexpected. They seem to have bought a load of names with no real thought as to where they're going to play Rooney does appear to be undroppable, which is odd since nobody - other than Phil Neville and MOTD pundits - really thinks he should be playing. Pogba needs to be deployed further forward where he can do some damage. Problem is, where does that leave Mkhitarayan, Rashford, Martial, Mata, Rooney, etc. It's all a bit early days, but they do have glaring issues. They have talented players, though, so it could be sorted. But will Mourinho swallow his pride and find the balls to drop Rooney?
 
All this optimism over us because we've played more away games is a little concerning to me.

The way we play means we will often perform better away from home, because teams are almost obliged to come out at us more when they're playing at home in front of their own fans, which suits us perfectly.

Playing teams that are usually lower down the table at Anfield is the exact problem that we often struggle with, breaking down sides who have no interest whatsoever in attacking in numbers.
 
FoxForceFive said:
All this optimism over us because we've played more away games is a little concerning to me.

The way we play means we will often perform better away from home, because teams are almost obliged to come out at us more when they're playing at home in front of their own fans, which suits us perfectly.

Playing teams that are usually lower down the table at Anfield is the exact problem that we often struggle with, breaking down sides who have no interest whatsoever in attacking in numbers.
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In fairness, we managed quite well against Leicester, but I agree, in part. Whether Klopp manages to figure out how to beat teams parking the bus is a question we don't know the answer to. He did seem very confident in his interview with Geoff Shreeves that he had learned something from that game. We'll see.
I think it is who we played against that is as much the issue. We have visited 3 of the most difficult grounds in the PL to pick up a result and got 7 from 9 points (and should really have 9). If those wins were against Stoke, West Brom and Sunderland there would be much less optimism. These games are also important in that we are taking points from our direct rivals, so it is a win/win.
 
Fully support the locking of the other thread, but I did want to add a comment to it - I watched the video in the OP and I have to say it really does highlight some very obvious inadequacies, the most obvious being a complete failure to position the camera appropriately
 
Halmeister said:
He is shoehorning players into his preferred system, it's not that unexpected. They seem to have bought a load of names with no real thought as to where they're going to play Rooney does appear to be undroppable, which is odd since nobody - other than Phil Neville and MOTD pundits - really thinks he should be playing. Pogba needs to be deployed further forward where he can do some damage. Problem is, where does that leave Mkhitarayan, Rashford, Martial, Mata, Rooney, etc. It's all a bit early days, but they do have glaring issues. They have talented players, though, so it could be sorted. But will Mourinho swallow his pride and find the balls to drop Rooney?
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What has pride got to do with anything regarding whether or not he drops Rooney?
 
I said it after he signed but I'm not convinced by Pogba - supremely talented? oh yes ... definitely, but he's played for 4 years with the best team in Italy bar none, with a fantastic goalie, defense and midfield partners. He didn't have any pressure to lead the team - to dictate the game, to dominate ... He just played for a fantastic team.

He's now moved to a team which has a fantastic goalie, a up n' down defense and is expected to dominate the middle, while carrying players who have no ability to dictate the play (Felliani and Rooney). He's going to continue struggling, regardless of his talent ...
 
Pogba doesn't seem to know what he's supposed to be doing. The media - and most of their fans - seem to be now blaming Rooney for everything, including Pogba's mediocre form.
 
Halmeister said:
I should have put a comma after "pride". I meant as well as swallowing his pride, he should find the balls to drop Rooney.
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But that's what I don't understand. Dropping Rooney would appear to be what EVERYONE is telling him to do, so it's not like he requires "balls" to do it, or it's some kind of controversial or unpopular decision.
 
manwithnoname said:
But that's what I don't understand. Dropping Rooney would appear to be what EVERYONE is telling him to do, so it's not like he requires "balls" to do it, or it's some kind of controversial or unpopular decision.
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It would leave a gap in attacking midfield. He already made cunts out of Mata and Mkhitaryan who might have filled that gap. So what remains is him being under huge pressure to push Pogba further up. Then where the fuck will he go? He'd have to stick Carrick in midfield, because he already made a cunt out of Rooney being a midfielder. Then what about when Sideshow Bob picks up his inevitable three-match ban? He will look like an idiot for dropping Schweinsteiger. I think that's why he doesn't want to go there.
 
manwithnoname said:
But that's what I don't understand. Dropping Rooney would appear to be what EVERYONE is telling him to do, so it's not like he requires "balls" to do it, or it's some kind of controversial or unpopular decision.
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But when has he ever listened to what other people(media and fans) think? He needs to drop Rooney but it's probably one game too late now, he will continue to pick him just in spite.
 
manwithnoname said:
But that's what I don't understand. Dropping Rooney would appear to be what EVERYONE is telling him to do, so it's not like he requires "balls" to do it, or it's some kind of controversial or unpopular decision.
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It would be within the club though, given Rooney's status there, plus Mourinho's stock in the boardroom won't be at its highest just now.

This is getting more like "Eastenders" every day. Looooooooooooong may it continue.
 
manwithnoname said:
But that's what I don't understand. Dropping Rooney would appear to be what EVERYONE is telling him to do, so it's not like he requires "balls" to do it, or it's some kind of controversial or unpopular decision.
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Yeah, what Jules has said. The media still seem to be on the Rooney bandwagon, and I can imagine Rooney is the type to kick up an almighty fuss if he's dropped. It's odd because Mourinho has been known to bench stars before, but he seemingly won't do it here.
 
Why is Rooney popular within the club though? He has twice had them over a barrel in getting a new contract, having a pop at the ambition of the club in the process of lining his own pockets. Meanwhile his performance standards (despite the fawning English press's best efforts to make you think otherwise – the best goal in history etc.) have steadily been getting poorer each season.
 
I'm not liking all this Rooney bashing...

the cunt will score a bicycle kick against us, and the entire english media be hailing that the best goal ever scored in football....
 
kingjulian said:
I'm not liking all this Rooney bashing...

the cunt will score a bicycle kick against us, and the entire english media be hailing that the best goal ever scored in football....
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He could well do, still capable of moments of magic but his legs are clearly gone and his best days are behind. I suppose it's not surprise given he's played week in week out for Club and Country for about 15 years.
 
How can his legs be gone? He's only 30 years old.

Fuck me, how is Totti even standing up?
 
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