23 Feb 2018 10:29:54
So the Manchester United civil war is in full flow at the moment. I was like everyone else watching that turgid affair on Wednesday night but it's a two-legged tie. If we get through to the next round no one will care. I get that the football is dog $hit at the moment but that's down to how our club has been run for the last decade.

Fergies handling of the squad in his last few years was atrocious. The handover to Moyes and Woodward was a disaster and then LvG filled the squad up with mediocre players. 7th, 4th, 5th and 6th have been our last four Premier League finishes. That's down to poor management and woeful squad building. Run before we can walk springs to mind.

Jose sets the team up cautiously because our defence is abysmal. We have the best goal keeper in the world. Sadly in front of him are two failed wingers a headless chicken in Smalling and an injury prone Jones. When Bailey plays he is immense but he seems to be out more than he plays lately but him and Dave are who you build the defence around. My point being is that normally a championship winning side builds from the back. Jose has been putting out fires all over the squad and has had to spread his purchases and couldn't fully revamp the back line. Look at Pep, he's bought 5 defenders and 2 goalkeepers in less than two years.

The one time Jose got off the bench on Wednesday was when we gave the ball away from the corner and they countered. The style of play is boring and slow because if commit too many forward we probably would concede a lot more. I'm not trying to be condescending by explaining this I'm sure you all get it, but I'm just trying to reiterate that this short termism sack a manager every two years isn't going to work for us. He's playing this way for a reason.

Liverpool, the pundits fall over backwards with superlatives for them. But baring a miracle in the Champions league, they'll end up potless. One league cup in 11 years. The great Spurs side that play attractive football with some wonderful players in their team will always be the bridesmaid, never the bride. Hats off to City though, long term planning, squad building, backing the manager and they're getting their rewards.

Whether you like Jose or not, he's bringing in a better standard of player and when he does eventually leave, he'll leave a better squad for the next man. And in the grand scheme of things in all our football supporting careers, what's another year or two to see if Jose can crack it, instead of ripping it up and starting again.

Take a step back and a deep breath, it's never as bad as it seems!


1.) 23 Feb 2018
23 Feb 2018 10:54:23
Agree with most of that Mumbles, but despite all of what you say, there is no excuse for the lack of energy, and what looks like lack of desire. A bit more passion would ease things while Jose builds his team.


2.) 23 Feb 2018
23 Feb 2018 11:36:30
You're totally right Mumbles; our defense is rubbish. Having said that, it doesn't concede that many.

However, the strongest part of our squad is the attack so why not make us of that and go on the attack. Also, we have quite energetic attackers who are more than capable of pressing high up the pitch. So, if we have a weak defense why invite the opposition on to us rather than try and play in their half.

The problem is that Mourinho is so blinkered and one dimensional he can't adapt to make best use of what he has at his disposal.


3.) 23 Feb 2018
23 Feb 2018 11:23:49
Nice read mumbles.


4.) 23 Feb 2018
23 Feb 2018 11:25:55
agree in part mumbles put I disagree with the reason why we are setting up defensively. Our strongest area of our team in terms of personnel is attack. Sanchez, martial, lukaku, mata, rashford, lingard and co is stronger than valencia, young, smalling, jones. So surely we should be playing to our strengths and adopting the mantra 'you score 3 we score 4'? When bailly returns and if we pair him with rojo I will be happy with that defence. I personally would give lindelof a run in the team and stick with him. That is the only way he will learn. For the life of me I do not know why Shaw is not playing. Young is and will never be a left back. We look so unbalanced and whenever we face a decent side Young gets shown up. Love his attitude but he should be nothing more than a squad player.

I agree that we have been atrocious post fergie and Jose has improved the squad. But we are nearly two years down the line and we still have no identity. We consistently chop and change the team selection and have not struck up many meaningful partnerships across the pitch. There is no energy and cohesion in our build up play. It is often slow and laboured and nobody is making intelligent runs. We have seen early on in the season when we move the ball quickly and carry the ball forward with intent and purpose we are a force to be reckoned with. For us to not take teams on is unacceptable.

This was Sevilla not Barcelona. All us fans want to see is excitement and entertainment. We are not even doing that. We are going backwards and we need to stop the rot quickly. Players need to stand up and be counted for but the manager must get the lads fighting otherwise our season will go to pot very quickly. I am not advocating sacking the manager I just want to see a plan or system and to stick with it. Consistent team selection and some passion, energy and confidence and this team will produce the goods. There is a lot of talent here.


5.) 23 Feb 2018
23 Feb 2018 12:20:04
I disagree Mumbles. Our defence isn't rubbish. And our record shows that. It is the way we play that is rubbish. we defend deeply and invite pressure onto our defence and that's why we look nervous all the time. If the manager plays the right tactics and trains the team to be more energetic and close further up the field, then we will not look so bad and we might even create a few scoring chances in the process. At present, the opposition defences are very comfortable with our play. Our build up is slow and ponderous, our attacking play is narrow and predictable, and our closing down and desire to win the ball back is non existent. And these are the reasons why so many of us are desperate to see change.


6.) 23 Feb 2018
23 Feb 2018 13:00:17
With Lingard in the team we have more movement up front and are able to play more of a forward press. Fan and media pressure has been deafening to move to 433 with Herrera and everyone is surprised that the midfield dropped deeper and created less.

I think Jose needs to stick to his 4231, Sanchez switch to the right, martial or Rashford to the left and Jesse in the 10 role - adjusting to be slightly more disciplined for bigger games.

The other option is put Pogba wide right in big games. He can easily have more impact their than Mata - and that is the type of move Fergy would have made in big European games.


7.) 23 Feb 2018
23 Feb 2018 13:48:23
AAA

I disagree, I think there is uncertainty in our defence particularly centrally and RB and they are covering it by playing a little deeper and it is costing a little going forward.


8.) 23 Feb 2018
23 Feb 2018 16:51:31
I agree with you folks that our build up play is slower than an old man getting into a bath. Jose could 100% be doing better but I think he's just trying to grind this season out. It certainly isn't pretty.

AAA, I'm sorry mate but our defence is woeful. De Gea has been POTY for the last four seasons, says it all. Valencia and Young are top professionals but they need to be replaced. The eds told us last summer that Jose wanted a new right back. Valencia will do but he's not at the level.

AAA, out of curiosity, which defenders do you think are good enough for us to make a push in the league and give us a chance in the Champions league?


9.) 23 Feb 2018
23 Feb 2018 19:35:11
Mumbles, he wasn’t POTY last year and he hasn’t had a huge amount to do this year. The defence may look dodgy on paper but we don’t concede many.