you really think playing 3 at the back was the problem? what i mean is it could so easily have gone in our favour as well as IF we had taken our chances and scored first they would have had to open up more which would have maybe then suited our formation then. steep learning curve for Brendan either way, but as long as he learns all that matters. guess we will never know but i would say it was more the problem when given chances we didn't take them.
Started 442...? Not as bad but just as suicidal IMO. We were going to The emirates, Arsenal have arguably the best midfield in the league yet we expected our two guys who have been hit and miss all season to deal with them. We needed to pack the middle and win the engine room battle. Switch to a 451 (4231, 433, 4321, 41311, whatever) with Sturridge up top and Suarez wide.
I don't like three at the back so I may be slightly biased too. However, I do think it is easy to play against and manipulate. Also, it is suppose to be a system that allows you to win the midfield battle but we didn't play it that way, we had plenty of men in defence and three in attack, we may as well not bothered with Gerrard and Lucas have played a 6-0-4
I don't think you are ahead of schedule either. And you are not doing any better than last season (just yet). You have won the games you were expected to win. The big test was Arsenal. I expected a much closer match (a cagy affair ala United/Arsenal at OT ) but Arsenal were comfortably on top. The thing is the points tally is not important at all. What is key is that you only allow 3 other teams to do better than you. You do that you are in CL but if you dont it does not matter if you have even 80 points. The tests are yet to come.
I disagree we usually do well against the big teams and struggle in games that we should win, in general we are playing well and beating the lesser teams when it come to bigger teams we beat you and lost to Arsenal. My point being if we can continue to win these games where we usually slip up and then take points from the bigger teams it may well turn out to be a good season for us.
I agree with you I keep saying it, but on the basis a team wins home and away against the bottom ten teams, that's a sixty point basis. You need to be getting around 75pts to get top four. That leaves eighteen games to gain fifteen points which is doable. Obviously, it never works out like that but it shows that beating the lower ranked sides is more important than beating the better sides when looking to gain CL football. It doesn't apply when going for the title though. The main problem we have had over the years is beating the teams we should be beating so I am happy to see us potentially putting that right. Smithy... in terms of points from the corresponding games from last season, we are better than last year
This is how United won by a canter last season. Didn't slip up (very rarely) against the so called smaller teams. Again depends on whether 4 other teams do well against those. If they do then Liverpool is going to have to do better. fascinating this season. The gap between 2nd and 7th is only 3 points...
sm1thy - shut up mate! Nobody here is interested in how United used to win and it's not what we are talking about. Like the majority of our competitiors, we have a new unit from which to select. We, like they are at the beginning of a steep learning curve. We made mistakes in both the Arsenal and Southampton matches and paid the penalty. All of this, "should have done this or that against the sides you have played" is truly a load of whooey! You can only beat what is in front of you and if you don't then it's you who made the mistake. When we played United they played like a team of losers - and therefore did. When we played Arsenal we gave them the initiative until too late in the second half and duly lost. So we learn from our experiences and have more information about both ourselves and our future opponents with which to ensure that we don't make the same mistakes again. So, to answer the question we are not ahead of schedule. We do have a harder trial coming up in the next quarter but that is then compensated for by having the majority of the top teams at home in the second half of the season. As for your gap, that can open again and extend just as easily! As far as we are concerned, it does mean that the return United match is not as vital to our prospects. Therefore, no pressure on us and an opportunity to extend the gap!
Exactly how I see it. That's why I think we're on schedule rather than ahead of it. Looking at the fixtures before we started I'd have said where we are now is about where I would expect us to be (given what we know our squads strengths and weaknesses). If we can be in and around the same position come January I'll be more than happy.
Don`t think many of you would have "expected" to be where you are now but you do fully deserve your position at the moment.
Why wouldn't we expect it Diego? We see the improvement to/in our squad and we see us finding the right balance with the players at our disposal, maybe its a case of you being used to Utd being at or near the top from the off or maybe you cant see the wood for the trees.
Find it Strange Paige that the mancs have actually been quiet on the board. Diego and that other critter have been the constant but this time Even UIR has been quiet. We've all been pessimistic. We've improved because we're beating the teams we haven't for a while. Which, this year, as it stands, is better than theyve done. Bar Arsenal....but then.... Month ahead is our test but lets not believe this **** about easier run. Points lost by mancs largely came from small teams....
No, i just think that most of you are realistic enough to be "expecting" a push for top four (whilst like every other club, hoping to win the league) but not many of you would be "expecting" to be second come mid November.
As a realistic United supporter i did "expect" us to be somewhere between 7 and 10 at this stage this season, my only surprise is that we are still only five points off the top.
I'm not suprised mate. You're veterans of the game, brought through by a master. Can't argue with that. You'll; without tinkering be there or abouts for 2 years. Question. How worried are you that there will be a degradation too far. I mean, yes, you have loads of money but so do lots of clubs now which brings it back to skill at all levels. I think, you're all unsure. Welcome to our world. Except because we didn't know any better we were too arrogant. Don't make the same mistake. Actually go on and do it lol!
Looking at the fixtures we've had to start with, I'd say its fair to hope for a similar position to what we are in now. We've had two poor performances / results in Newcastle, Southampton and Swansea, the rest bar maybe the Man Utd game have gone as probably suspected.
We've easily dispatched of the mid-table teams like Fulham and Man Utd. Though in our biggest test against Arsenal we didn't do so well. We need to take points off the top teams instead of relying on the easy 3 points to the likes of Man Utd in the future.
