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Football: New Season, but same old Messi at Barca and elsewhere.


A Horse Named Stranger

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13 minutes ago, Soylent Brown said:

Gary Neville going on about United not signing players at the moment, but you've got to think- if you're grumbling that not having Sancho is causing you to lose to Palace, perhaps there are bigger issues than not having Sancho?

 

In fairness he's not really grumbling about them not getting Sancho in particular. He mostly seems to want them to get a centre back.

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That was dire. This team looked like they were still on preseason. We will need lots and lots of luck to finish even 4th. We got that luck in the 2nd half of last season and the postponement helped us massively since we looked on the verge of burning out. Clearly this isn't a top 4 squad. Europa League places is our level. 

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8 minutes ago, ljkeane said:

In fairness he's not really grumbling about them not getting Sancho in particular. He mostly seems to want them to get a centre back.

Yeah, that too, but they have TFM - why not play him there instead.

And I suppose it isn't a great look when you're having to call for a great, quick centre back to cover for your world-record-expensive other centre back.

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Just now, Soylent Brown said:

Yeah, that too, but they have TFM - why not play him there instead.

Well to be fair today it was coz Wan-Bissaka only just came back off quarantine and wasn't fully fit so TFM played RB (where he was actually not bad).

Tbh if really necessary I'd consider AWB in a CB position because he's got all the qualities you'd normally want in someone to partner a Maguire while being pretty naff at the attacking side of FB- it's just a fucking risky move to trust that his positioning is up to it for half a season minimum.


This was also another game that highlights that none of our forwards are strikers. Martial has good games but he also has games like this where he just isn't dragging the CBs around enough. It was quite notable immediately after Ighalo came on and there were immediately situations where, although the attacks weren't successful, Ighalo was making the no9 runs Martial was not and you could see a gap of 5-10 yards between them as a ball came in. Even Greenwood, he finishes like a 9 but he moves like a 10, drops off and cuts sideways to make space rather than playing off the shoulder.

I don't know who the solution would be there. There aren't many world class strikers or even that many of that next level down, that's a huge fucking problem for everyone. It's the problem Liverpool have having missed out on Werner. It's gonna be a problem for Leicester when replacing Vardy in the next couple of years, Spurs can't find a proper partner/backup for Kane for love nor money...

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35 minutes ago, polishgenius said:

Tbh if really necessary I'd consider AWB in a CB position because he's got all the qualities you'd normally want in someone to partner a Maguire while being pretty naff at the attacking side of FB- it's just a fucking risky move to trust that his positioning is up to it for half a season minimum.

Or just play Bailly. He has his reckless moments but is also quick and brings some aggression. No point risking Wan Bissaka at CB. He's an excellent defensive fullback and really isn't any worse going forward than any of our other RB options. 

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57 minutes ago, Consigliere said:

Neville is right though. Woodward's incompetence at paying a record fee for Maguire is not relevant to Neville's point. 

I still think United's biggest problem is OGS. He's basically Southgate- he has all the players on side and feeling good, but he doesn't know what he's doing.

(Which is not to say that the squad doesn't need strengthening, just that there will still be problems after that.)

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Just now, polishgenius said:


If he's fit.

He's not injured as far as I know and was taking part in training sessions. Might not be fully fit though since he hadn't played much after the restart. Doubt it happens anyway. Solskjaer clearly rates Lindelof as our 2nd best CB. 

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9 minutes ago, Soylent Brown said:

I still think United's biggest problem is OGS. He's basically Southgate- he has all the players on side and feeling good, but he doesn't know what he's doing.

(Which is not to say that the squad doesn't need strengthening, just that there will still be problems after that.)

Yeah, Solskjaer is good at man management but as a coach as well as tactically he is bang average. The squad does need strengthening but a better manager could squeeze out more points from the current squad. Solskjaer was fine as an interim and should never have been appointed permanently. Sentiment informed that decision and is par for the course as far as Woodward and his cronies gross negligence in running the football side of things goes. 

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United finished last season on a pretty hot streak, albeit with a soft run of games.  And then they turn up for a home game to start the new season looking uncoached, unfit and generally clueless.

OGS has presided over two long win streaks for them, but it really seems like he just rides the momentum while it’s there, with no idea of how to conjure it or revive it.  Just be matey with the players and throw in an expensive signing for a fillip.  It sounds a bit like Alan Pardew really.

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3 minutes ago, Iskaral Pust said:

Just be matey with the players

 

Solskjaer has plenty of problems, like Consigliere says he's tactically average (he's not inept, he learns, but he's too slow to react both in-game and over a course of time to poor trends), but this idea that he's just there to be the players' mate and pat them on the back is a total myth with no foundation. He's improved multiple players on an individual level for starters and the way he's handled the youth- give them chances but drop the ones who can't make it pretty quickly- says he'scapable of ruthlessness (for the latest evidence see us obviously wanting another LB despite Brandon Williams performing at least as well as could be expected from him in his appearances last season, because he isn't the right player with our current team). As has been said new signings aren't going to fix every issue he has but when he seems unable to drop out-of-form players like Rashford or Pogba it's because the alternative is Jesse Lingard.

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