Match Day Thread Manchester United v Chelsea

HAHAHA.. Gotta love this James boy!!

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I was just typing my message about McTominay and bang, a good play starts from him. He is quickly becoming one of my favourite players. I love hard working players that are without drama.

 

Very much enjoyed that. Obvs.

 

Easy win in the end

 

Yeah, bit of a cagey start, then we pretty much hammered them.

It was important to start well but to put four past Chelsea means no one is talking about Ole being in over his head.

The media will be all over Chelsea instead, this is a very good start.

 

Hmmmm.

 

Pretty much carried on from where they left off in pre-season but McGuire added extra stability to defence. That allowed Shaw and Obi Wan Bissaka to crack on. The only negative was Pogba who gave possession away eleven times in critical areas. Hook him for the next game, stick on Mata and we'll be fine.

 

Oh, just watching the post match crap on Sky, I'll lay 10-1 now that Souness chins JM at some point during the next three PL games.

 

Imagine how much better we'd have been if he hadn't played.

 

And 2nd in the table!!!

 

Pereira was poor 1st half and it’s clear why Ole plays him, he’s got bags and bags of energy to burn but he’s by far our worst player and an assist doesn’t change that. I’d drop him in the next game for Fred and let Pogba (Who was played way too deep today) move into an advanced position.

If Pereira can’t cope in a deeper role then sacrificing Pogba’s best attributes is suicidal to accommodate such an average player, it’s the exact opposite of what we need to do.

 

Hope Pogba stays with you. Hopefully, there is room for the subtle skills of Mata and once Sánchez has overcome his massive sulk, he can be included in the match day squad. (Or has that gone too far and he could be loaned out to some club like Bayern or Real, who I think are not going to spend 200m on Neymar?)

 

Can't understand the reviews on Pereira. He has played well during pre-season, he's more dynamic and aggressive than Matic in terms of playing this new pressing style - and on top of all that, he put in a great cross for Martial's goal................

 

We'll definitely be in Top 4, Bissaka and Maguire as if always playing for us) Chelsea only really had a few chances.
Our new velvet four

 

I'm extremely happy with our defence ti season. Even before McGuire signed up there were signs on pre-season that Wan Bissaka had brought confidence to the back line, so add to that Big H, then all looks good. My only concern is that I don't think were technically good enough to be playing the ball out from defence all the time - it just invites trouble too near our own 18yd box. Better teams than Chelsea will rob us of possession and be right in on goal. One of De Gea's strengths is his distribution, we need to use it.

 

The whole team was poor in the first half, in my opinion. But I always like Pereira on the field due to his high energy.

I don't like playing the ball out of defence. I'm never confident seeing that. Against someone like Liverpool that press from the front, that will be murderous. Even for lower teams, it leads to someone making a mistake.

 

Playing out just seems to be one of these football fads that come and go, sadly, at the moment it's in vogue but I just don't get it. I'd rather get the ball to the halfway line and , if need be, be fighting for possession there rather then on the edge of the 18yd box - it just seems suicidal.

 

Blame PEP! It is a useless fad considering you need a team of best of the best ball handlers in every position, including the goal keeper, for it to have a chance of working. What fkin use is that? But then again, this is why I never rate Pep. He is a video game manager that requires the glowing stars to be perfectly aligned to execute. You only have to look at how many players have been wasted under him to see that.

 

Sorry. I can't agree with that. We could have done with him as our manager. He's almost the perfect fit for United. Managed big clubs and big players with big egos. At least he can recognise which players wouldn't fit or ultimately work within the team and get rid.

Good start to the season BTW. As I said last season, OGS could do well this season but success must be measured not in terms of trophies but style of play and progress towards a flair and winning team. The road will be bumpy as usual. Pogba and Sanchez are in his in tray to deal with. But the young players look they could gel as a team but the jury is out. At least Pogba is not doing a Lukaku and disrupting the team. As long as he has these flashes of brilliance that could turn a game in an instant I would play him. If and it is a big IF Real take him (in the next transfer window) then they will fork out around £150m which could be used to get top players. But OGS mustn't fall into the Sanchez trap. Bringing expensive players who then sit on their backside .

 

Pep manages teams that are very much in good standing before joining. To illustrate the point, Barca and Bayern have hardly missed a beat since he left them in terms of winning titles and staying competitive - granted, Bayern are going to fall off because of aging squad. Yes, Pep is without a doubt a good manager. But there is no evidence to suggest that he could take an underperforming and depleted team to the very top.

But I do agree that he does an excellent job managing egos through discipline that no player is bigger than the team.

 

He made no difference whatsoever to Bayern.

He's had a huge impact on City of course but then he's been able to spend what he wants and replace mistakes. He can discard ones who aren't up to scratch without worrying about it, a nice luxury.

That said, he's still a great coach. Great manager as well. Gets his players to buy into what he wants and gets them playing good football.

Could he do it without the cash though? Not sure. He's never going to need to prove that either so it's irrelevant.

I also don't buy into the bollocks that he improves players that much. If you stick two £60 million players for every position into a squad, they are all going to appear better.