Big game in two days time, got to be worth a thread. Feel nervous, can't lie. It's not like when Ole ****ed up our last one as, if memory serves, we'd got on the CL by being in top four (and then quickly got knocked out anyway etc. etc.). Feels a fair bit significant. We win, we go into next season with a spring in our step, Ruben gets some players and we aim higher next season. We lose, he quits, probably. And then what? Something about playing to our players strengths or something, even though they are non existent in half of them. Not sure where we are with some of the injuries, especially Yoro and de Ligt. We need both, we really don't want Lindelof or Shaw in the side. Dalot is less crucial, Mazaroui can play there, as can Amad. My prefered team, for what it's worth; Onana De Ligt Maguire Yoro Amad Mainoo Casemiro Dorgu Mount Garnacho Fernandes (striker) Subs then Mazaroui, Dalot, Ugarte, Lindelof, Heaven, Hojlund, Shaw etc. Be **** all like that obviously.
I hope he doesn't, but the chances are he will. Zirkzee is 'fit' apparently, but hasn't played for weeks so shouldn't start. Personally, I'd have Fernandes as that focal point in the front three and have Ugarte or Mainoo (preferably) alongside Casemiro in midfield. Can't see Hojlund getting a peep against Van de Ven and Romero, and what chances he does get he'd **** up.
Everything tells me that Spurs will win this....player for player, I think they have a better side. But I dont know, Spurs just dont win cup finals, they bottle it and lose, its what they do. On the flip side, United tend to win cup finals, even when all evidence puts to them being the underdog, such as in last years FA Cup final. My brain says Spurs, but my heart says United will win this.
I think we'll win, because that's what we generally do. Can't say I agree on this player for player verdict either. Maddison and Kulusevski are missing, and Son isn't properly fit. The rest are just ok, Van de Ven being rapid against (probably) Hojlund isn't great though. Two of our preferred back three are missing but as long as Yoro can make it alongside Maguire then Mazaroui or Shaw can play the other aside, it absolutely 100% can not be Lindelof. The central midfield will be Casemiro and Ugarte, or Mainoo. The two wider ones will be Dorgu and Amad, or Dalot. The 2 10's will be Mount and Fernandes, or Garnacho. The striker will be Hojlund, or Fernandes/Zirkzee. We've got multiple options, we're just very weak at centre forward and, obviously, goalkeeper.
Aye, if Maddison and Kulu were fit it'd be a different game. Son isnt the player he was 5 years ago either and is past it. I have a feeling you will edge it. Spursy curse and all that.
Looking at the two teams i think our bench is stronger than Spurs, we have subs who can reinforce our side all over the pitch and game changers too - Spurs simply don't have that strength in depth. I see extra time and us coming out on top.
Not sure I can handle extra time! An early nerve calmer wouldn't go amiss. But then it's not like we hold on to leads. Looks a good team, and agree strong bench. What could go wrong?!?
The bloke will just continue to cost us games. And in this case, a trophy and an absolute **** ton of money from not being in the CL. Changes needed. Garnacho, Mainoo and Zirkzee need to be on that pitch.
We didn't need CL football, it would have been too much of a distraction, but wee certainly needed the dosh. Upwards and onwards
That was ****. We didn't deserve it, and neither did they. We somehow lost to a worse team than us, by inevitably having our keeper thrown one in. Again. Two garbage teams on show there and no, we neither deserved or would be able to live with Champions league football. Can't believe I'm supposed to be going to the Villa game. Genuinely not sure I can be arsed.
I'm not a 'but we won the stats' type person by any means but this tells you everything. Zero cutting edge. Spurs one 'shot' was the goal, which came off Luke Shaws arse and wasn't a shot. We just lost a final to a team that had zero ****ing shots ffs.
We were fourth when it comes to teams with most passes in the league. Above Arsenal, Newcastle, and Aston Villa. Yet we simply can’t find goals and always concede because the football we have has become so complicated that players are often confused about the two objectives of being on the pitch - don’t be fkin around at the back and be direct at the front. Even the last league game was plagued with passes at the back with Onana possibly enjoying more of the ball than the fkin striker. Madness!! This is why I continue to insist that the players are there. But there is everything wrong with how they are coached and how they are told to execute on the pitch. We need to stop hiding and own those facts.
I still can't believe you can't see that some of the players are the problem, and that say the formation is, but whatever. What the stats above highlight is that we had four times as many penalty area actions, six times as many goal attempts and three times as much possession as our opponents, and yet still couldn't score. So yes, finishing is a problem! The chances were created. Can you genuinely see a future at United for Mount, and Hojlund, and Shaw and Onana under any manager, with any formation? And on our subs bench, you can add Evans, Lindelof, Bayindir, Eriksen to that, and those on loan Sancho, Rashford and Antony. There are at least half a dozen exits and then new faces required. What last night does though, is having picking from a less elite eleven of player.
I'd add Fernandes to that as well. Time to move on and cash in. Mainoo should be in that midfield and, if he manages to toughen up and develop some bottle, Ugarte alongside him instead of Casemiro ultimately.
Can you genuinely see a future at United for Mount, and Hojlund, and Shaw and Onana under any manager, with any formation? There is no doubt that the team can be improved. But the fact is that this is true for every single team. There is always going to be the three players that just wouldn’t be the A+ players. Every team has that constraint and not unique to United. Now, that to the side; when I look at our team sheet, I’m often not met with dread. I get very optimistic with every starting lineup, only to be let down when the final whistle is blown. This suggests we have a massive underperforming problem. Of course it’s easy to just say “change the manager”. This is not necessarily my position even as I criticize the manager. My position is that the manager himself must change his methods. If I were the CEO, I would be demanding Amorim to try something else. He can’t be one directional in his approach to how this bunch of underperformers are managed. We have a cultural problem and regardless of how many players you buy, that culture will continue to prevail until you actually break it fundamentally. Draw a fkin line, so to speak! Now, if the manager comes out and says - “I will never change my methods”, then he absolutely has to go. That is precisely my position. I’m all about strategy, but for strategy to work, it needs to be malleable to diverse set of complex variables.
"It’s really hard for me. I have nothing to show to the fans and say ‘I’m going to improve because of this, I have these problems’. "In this moment it’s a little bit of faith, so let’s see. I’m always open. If the board and the fans feel I’m not the right guy, I will go in the next day without any conversation about compensation, but I will not quit. "I’m really confident about my job and, as you can see, I will not change anything in the way I do things." Amorim contradicts himself in many ways. He says he’ll leave the next day without compensation if the fans and board indicate that they no longer want him. Yet in the same statement, says he’s not going to quit. Meaning he is only going to leave if he’s fired. And given his contract, he will be owed compensation regardless of what he says in the press. Also talks about not having anything to show to the fans. Yet in the same breath, he’s talking about not going to change how he does things. So effectively nothing is going to change in his approach to management. That’s very enlightening! I’m putting this down to the nuances of the language barrier.
