23 Feb 2018 07:07:06
Morning

My apologies I missed the game on Wednesday as I was on a plane going long haul. Also seems I missed the trial and execution of the manager. I was disappointed to find we didn't get an away goal, it was also a mistake SAF made quite a few times. However we are very much in the tie and need to win at home, which we are capable of. Of course if views on here were represented in the crowd we would struggle without the support. Luckily the crowd are not so fickle.
I can't comment on the game but we are still in the competition with a good chance of progression and there are some big games to come, traditionally the time to unite behind the team. There have been far worse times than having to deal with a draw away to clever Spanish opposition but you wouldn't think so. The manager will be judged on progress in the competition, with the club and first team as a whole, it is only half time in the game, see what happens rather than keep making a crisis every time we play. Back to my beer.

1.) 23 Feb 2018
23 Feb 2018 07:28:32
Sorry RedMan couldn't disagree more. I watched the match with another 12 United fans. And every one of us was disappointed with the performance and lack of ideas and endeavour. We could not string two passes together. At one stage, Sanchez was playing left back. The whole team looks totally devoid of confidence and harmony. It was really poor showing. De gea made two stunning saves and I would not have been surprised if we had list by two or three.
We didn't though, but the biggest problem is we didn't look or attempt to score an away goal. Which means the match at OT is going to be a nervous affair. Sevilla are no slouches. They'll come to OT and can easily score a couple of goals. They had 24 shots and only the brilliance of de gea kept them out.
I don't think nil nil is a good result and it was one of the worst performances I've seen from a United team in Europe. So make no mistake, the disappointment on here is highly justified.

2.) 23 Feb 2018
23 Feb 2018 07:49:12
AAA

It is a disappointing result and a big mistake not getting an away goal. Yet, I have seen far worse times as I am sure you have, plus a win in the home game puts us through. I recall we struggled with the 94 team including Cantona and Keane so the search for the magic formula goes on. It is two legs so let’s see the result overall. I have managed to locate WiFi over here and get on to find some on social media resigning their support for the club, would rather watch the plastics. Maybe we now only have 400m followers. Getting through may be harder but it is two legs not one and it has been far far more dire than this in the past. For me the Jose journey has some time to run and I hope for a better transition than after SAF.

3.) 23 Feb 2018
23 Feb 2018 08:06:52
I'll be honest. The manner in which we set out to defend and not try to trouble the opposition doesn't sit well with me and other fans. It also has exactly the opposite effect as we end up defending deep and conceding ground to the opposition. The best form of defence is attack.
None of us are deserting United and I realize some fans might not be real. But we have to realize that the mourinho style of management is coming under severe scrutiny. He's blaming everyone for our failings. Surely, we can't all be wrong and he's the only one that is right?
I hate the way our club is being exposed in the media and he seems to have no idea how to handle them. The place looks depressed.

4.) 23 Feb 2018
23 Feb 2018 08:21:02
With our confidence, Seville are now the favourites for going through. I had mentioned this earlier, if we score 1st then we will sit back and they can just equalize even in the 90th minute and we are out. On the other hand if they score 1st and sit back then it'll be very difficult for us to score 2 with our lack of creativity. I have a picture in my mind where we are in the tie with desperate need of a goal and mourinho using his same old tactic of putting in forward in place of a full back and just hoping that it works somehow. (Fellaini tactic can't be used as he is injured) .

5.) 23 Feb 2018
23 Feb 2018 08:41:06
Red Man, for me I don't think it's the worst result. It was how we went about getting it that is so disappointing.

We only had 6 attempts at goal, we barely ventured out of our own half and when we did we looked like we might get a nose bleed and turned back asap.

If we were up against a powerhouse side I could understand it more. But we were up against a team that has conceded more goals than they have scored this season, a team that has conceded the most goals in the UCL this season.

The worst thing is we didn't even do the sit tight and defend well tactic very well. Chelsea did a similar thing against Barcelona, and they restricted Barcelona to a few chances.

Yet we did it against Sevilla and we restrict them to just the 29 shots on goal. Which is 16 more than they had on average before they played us.

They managed more than twice as many shots as they normally do against a team that was only trying to stop them scoring.

The only reason we aren't 2 or 3 nil down in this tie is a combination of poor finishing on their part and a few world class saves from DDG.

It was probably the worst performance I have seen from us in a long time, although the result wasn't all that bad. Personally I would have preferred a 3-3 draw as at least then we have 3 away goals.

Looking at this squad and the team we were up against it just wasn't a game plan we needed to use.

We now have a pivotal month, lose the Chelsea and they draw equal on points with us, lose to Sevilla and Liverpool and we would be out of the UCL, and probably 4th in the EPL with a manager who seems to be having an issue with our best player.

It's starting to feel very familiar to how Jose normally ends things with a team.

6.) 23 Feb 2018
23 Feb 2018 08:50:25
Tell you what Redman, how about you go to Seville and watch a replay of the game then come back and tell us all how buzzing you are having invested that time and money for that experience.

7.) 23 Feb 2018
23 Feb 2018 09:13:33
Sailor,

The bookies don’t think Sevilla are favourites in the slightest but what do they know?

Snappy,

A hell of a lot of ifs there, including 3 Home defeats when we have 1 Home defeat in 18 months.

8.) 23 Feb 2018
23 Feb 2018 09:34:32
For me Weds summed up the José conundrum, most people are completely against how we played but we got a result. The style is not easy on the eye so it's not a surprise when we lose to the likes of Huddersfield and Newcastle.
I get fed up with people saying we are 2nd in the league as a defence for José and his tactics because it's where we finish in May that counts. If we lose the tough games we have in the next couple of weeks and we are 4th does that make José a worse manager than he is now.
AAA may have a point about the club looking depressed, how many players play with a smile on their faces, the players look miserable, Lukaku is a great example.
I think our strongest asset is the strengths we have going forward and I would rather see us try to win games rather than avoid losing them. I'm not sure we have gained anything by signing Sanchez due to the way we play, in fact it seems to have disrupted things. Sanchez is a top quality player so let's see him operating in the final 3rd of the pitch rather than just in front of our left back.
Like many I have supported Utd for over 50yrs and even when we got relegated I can't remember the style of play being so hard to watch. We have had worse players and worse managers but we have always tried to win games and for me that is the crux of the matter.

9.) 23 Feb 2018
23 Feb 2018 10:28:11
Shappy. did you say an issue with our best player? By that I presume you mean Pogba? Do me a favour please. yes we all know that he has all the talents in the world but he has been absolutely pathetic for the past month or so and Jose is well within his rights to bo**ock him and drop him out of the first 11. We have players like Matic who look absolutely knackered and on his last legs trying to do all the leg work and cover Pogba in that central midfield area. You just have a think about that. he earns 300 grand a week and he's prancing about like bambi on ice ducking out of 50/ 50 balls and not tracking back. If you get asked to do a job then you go out on that pitch and you try to do a job to the best of your ability which he clearly isn't doing.

10.) 23 Feb 2018
23 Feb 2018 13:00:57
I think with the dominance English clubs have had in the champions league this season, especially in the 1st legs, it kinda feels like it was around 2008 when The premier league could have 3 teams in the semis consistently. Except we could be left behind.
If city, Liverpool and spurs had lost their 1st legs, do you think there would be as much of an outcry for Jose’s head? Because it was a 1st leg away from home in Spain I’d think of it as he was happy with a 0-0 or grab a 0-1, confident we will finish the job at home.
If it was a repeat performance in the 2nd leg at home though, then would be the time to be worried.

11.) 23 Feb 2018
23 Feb 2018 13:50:13
Simon, Pogba has been poor for the past month.
That doesn't mean he isn't our best/ most influential player.

The question should be why is he in poor form? Is it just a natural dip? Is he struggling with injury? Has he been distracted by off field issues? Or has our manager mismanaged him?

Lingard was in the form of his life until Jose started digging out his best mate. Coincidence or knock on effect?

If Jose is picking fights with one of the most popular players in the team does he truly believe that the players won't talk to each other? Is he completely sure that the players will back him over Pogba?

If not then it's a big gamble to take, you risk alienating the majority of the squad and that only ends one way.

For me this is starting to feel like the beginning of the end for Jose.
More and more fans are turning against the kind of football he serves up.
More are getting annoyed with his dower demeanor, his sour press conferences and his strange out bursts.
He doesn't seem happy even after getting a contract extension, maybe living in the Lowery is getting to him.
He is picking fights with fans, with players, with ex players and pundits, with journalists and just about everyone.

We saw this happen in his final six months at Chelsea, both times before he was sacked.

Things look like they might be about to unravel, and Jose looks like the key contributor in his own demise again.

12.) 23 Feb 2018
23 Feb 2018 18:06:30
I agree Shappy; the manager at any club lives and dies by his relationship with the fans. Once a manager loses the fans it's only a matter of time. We have LVG as our very own recent example.

Jose is perhaps a little unlucky because coming after LVG, the fans haven't got the amount of patience they would have had if he followed Fergie directly. As it is we've had years of crap, turgid football and I think many Utd fans have just reached the point where we've just had enough of it and we need it to change.

Add Jose's miserable demeanor and miserable face to his miserable football and I for one just think "oh, sod off to Paris"

Conversely, a good fan/ manager relationship really strengthens a manager's position when it comes to the players. I think the players are more inclined to behave if they believe the fans love the manager.

No doubt Jose will leave us in better shape than he found us but there is still a lot of work to do. I hope Jose leaves at the end of the season and takes a sabatical. I think he needs a break to try and rediscover his love for the game and to rethink his approach which is now outdated and surpassed.