Match Day Thread Manchester United vs Southampton EFL CUP Final Sunday 26/02/2017 Kick-Off 4:30PM

Always remember that with any opinion, people could agree with you, but there is then a problem that you could both be wrong in the end? Keep an open mind and go by your instinct and look for any hard evidence.

 

Reading the papers this morning I'm even more annoyed about the MoM award. The Times suggested half the Saints team could have won it without that 2nd goal. In USA they have a Most Valuable Player award and in that sense you couldn't argue with it. But MoM, no!

 

Don't start some prove I wasn't wrong bollocks, please. There are no winners.

 

Block 124

I looked to the left, and I saw passion, jubilation, expectation and hope. I saw flags, banners and scarfs. I saw appreciation.

I looked to the right, and I saw a fans, they could of been any fans. I saw no scarfs, no banners, no jubilation.
I saw a welt of expectation, just waiting to win.

Damn those fine margins.

I am immensely proud of the players and fans. I desperately wanted to see our team win like my dad did in 1976. We deserved to win. That counts for something.

 

People who left early are a disgrace. Good to see vocal support singing OWTS at the end.

 

Manchester United?

 

Forster definitely had one of his less effective games, the first goal was down to a misplaced, badly organised wall, his bad positioning and slow to get down to the ball, but the real problem could be put on Romeu for his over enthusiastic challenge which gave them the opportunity in the first place. The second could be put down initially to JWP hesitating and getting robbed creating the breakaway opportunity, the shot seemed to come through Mayas legs and again Fraser was slow getting down to it. I can't fault him for the third, Ibra was given too much space and sheer skill got him the goal, not a Fraser cock up. He did mess up with a mis-kick when he was given a back pass which created the problem. He also made two or three good saves which kept us in the game. As for the wall problem, they clearly learned from it because when an identical situation occurred in the second half, the wall dealt with it.

As for Gabba, it has been quoted that he has scored in every one of the last six matches that he has played in, all at a high level, like any striker he will have good periods and bad times, only time will tell how good he really is.

 

Yep that's about the one negative i got from yesterday. A lot of fans were leaving even before the final whistle?!?! I know sure a few would have genuine reasons why they needed to rush of but the rest....
I just don't understand how you can leave a cup final early when you're team are still just one goal away from extra time.

 

The MoTM should go to the player who makes the biggest impact on the game. Now, no denying that Ibrahimovic scored 2 perfectly good goals, but apart from that he did practically nothing for his team, no chasing back, no tackling, just a lot of diving. Compare and contrast with Gabbiadini, who was always back looking for the ball when he wasn't making runs into the box. And he scored more goals than Zlatan! But I wouldn't even have given him the award. From where I was sat, Romeu dominated the game, along with JWP, Yoshida, and just about everyone else in our team. As others have said, questions could be asked about Forster's reactions and positioning, but he has not been in the form he was in before his injury and needs time out. No, sod it, give the award to the entire Saints team!

 

Fraser hasn't been himself this season, he has looked poor in quite a few games and even though it is just a statistic; he has the worst shother to goal ratio in the league.

I've always said he is a top keeper but this season he has been poor, hopefully he will get back to his best again soon.

 

Getting home was always going to be a problem for some, if it had gone to extra time, those using public transport would have struggled even more. I used the train via Paddington and Reading, the trains I used were full and standing, and I got home in Swaythling around 22:00, that option wouldn't have been viable had the game finished any later. I don't know how the people using Waterloo trains fared? Many coaches were arriving back after 23:00

 

Yeah I was sat in club Wembley which is a mixture of fans from both teams (mainly Utd though unsurprisingly) and there was a Saints fan there who had obviously taken the #wemarchon to mean "take a **** load of marching powder". He was giving it the big one right from the first whistle, at first people were finding it amusing but he gradually got worse. When they went 2-0 up he stormed off towards the concourse knocking over an elderly Utd fan who was celebrating. Missed Gabbiadini's first goal, returned after half time more pissed/charged than before. When Gabbiadini scored the equaliser he ran off goading all the Utd fans culminating in about 5 of them trying to start on him. In the end a Saints fan who was obviously there with his son had to sit next to him to calm him down so he didn't get the **** kicked out of him for the majority of the second half, meaning that he wasn't watching the game with his son but with some Escobar enthusiast who couldn't control himself. When Ibra scored he again stormed off and didn't return. At that point though it was almost fair enough as all the Utd fans in the section were obviously going straight for him after his reaction to the equaliser.

 

Sitting so high up in the gods really helped me appreciate Romeu today. Everytime he would get the ball you just knew he would turn into space and play the right ball, he is really one hell of a player, we have to hold onto him for next season. As per Fraser I think he needs a break, give the lad we've just signed a few games. You don't play like Fraser did last season without being a top GK, I just think he needs some time off to recover and maybe work on a few aspects on his game because when he's on form he's one of the best in the league.

 

Blimey. I'm all about passionate support (I often make a tit of myself by shouting/singing all by myself haha) but there's no excuse for rudeness and aggression. Shame that some people don't control themselves and end up ruining it for the people around them. Hope you enjoyed it none the less!

 

Fraser could have done better for both 1st half goals. But...the first was a superbly taken free kick, absolute class actually. And Linghard shouldn't have had that much space for the 2nd - that was a collective defensive error which might not have happened had V...well, you know.

Anyway, Fraser didn't cost us the game. Many things did, maybe fate being one of them. At least we gave them a game, when at 2-0 we could easily have capitulated.

And what's this I here about Mourinho being gracious in victory? That won't do. Next time we'll have to beat them, just to see if he can be equally gracious in defeat, which is a damned site harder to pull off btw.

 

Mourinho looked very sheepish in accepting the cup, Admitting it was for the fans.. But I believe he knows that it should of been Saints holding it up.
He was obviously sympathetic.

 

The man sitting next to me had come all the way from Canada as his cousin got a ticket for him - he wad originally from Hampshire and was in fine voice. He decided to go for a beer 5 minutes from half time so he missed the 1st goal. He returned about 15 minutes into the 2nd half so also missed the second goal!!! What the hell was he doing?! To come all that way for a final and booze was more important to him than the game. I had absolutely no sympathy for him...

 

There was a guy next to me who turned up 10 minutes late, got up to go to the toilet, came back and then went again before half-time and missed Manolo's first goal.

He returned so late into the second half so once again, he missed the equalising Gabbiadini goal. He then got up again with about 20 minutes to go before returning and then leaving early.

What a waste.

 

Went to go to the loo at half-time, the queue for the gents was the same as for the ladies. Went in there after the game and it only had cubicles, which idiot designed that. Didn't remember that from last time. Very good acoustics in the ground though, and we had great seats. Wouldn't have fancied being in line with the halfway line right at the very top of the 'wave' though.