Didn't see it, but it looks like you got done on the break. Loads of possession and the Spam barely had any chances, but took the ones that they did. You didn't make the most of your own, judging by the equal shots on target (3). Weird, unbalanced midfield selection. Jorginho, Vieira and Havertz? Very lightweight. Was Ramsdale ****, as he doesn't appear to have made a save? Can't think what might have hurt his confidence...
The players are no longer playing for him. He’s a dead man walking so I wouldn’t be surprised to see him go soon. There is no quick fix; somebody needs to be appointed who can rebuild. That means identifying which players can be kept and improved, establishing a proper system for recruitment - which is very difficult as Utd can’t currently compete for top players and get ripped off for average ones - and bringing through young players. It took SAF around 5 years to achieve a rebuild. So who fits the bill? Who is available? Who would want the job at present and has a good enough track record and experience of handling the pressures and demands of big club, which expects success? That person needs to have authority and command respect, but be approachable and empathetic to some fragile and demotivated players? I don’t know the answer. The obvious candidates are in jobs they won’t leave. It’s going to involve taking a gamble on an up and coming manager rather than an old established one.
The first goal shouldn't have been given, as Ramsdale was having his shirt pulled from the corner by Soucek. But there's no VAR and Hooper conveniently didn't see it, so the OG stood. In any case, White got his header technique wrong. Second goal was a long ball from Aguerd into Kudus, who controlled and finished brilliantly. Zinchenko gave him the time and space to do it, though. He should have won the aerial duel for the first ball and instead backed off, allowing Kudus to score. Ramsdale didn't cover his angles, either. Awful defending. For the third goal we didn't close down Bowen, his deflected strike wrong footed Ramsdale and that was game over. Although he probably still should have saved it. First-half, we were the better team, but found ourselves 1-0 down. Second-half, we were too passive and didn't really show any intensity or intent. And this is precisely why I said our transfer window wasn't good enough. We didn't address our midfield problems with Xhaka going and with you-know-who's constant injury problems/unavailability. Spending £65m on Havertz to play in that position was an utterly insane decision and I cannot figure out what our scouting/recruitment team were thinking. Ridiculous decision that could (and probably will) cost us from progressing to the next level we want to reach. A total waste of funds. I can't understand it. Not getting a different type of attacker to Jesus/Nketiah was also a huge opportunity missed. We needed more variety in attack and it wasn't addressed. Neither was getting adequate back up to Saka. Too many gaping holes still left in the squad.
So the League Cup won’t be going to Manchester or North London. Liverpool look favourites, but the door is wide open for Newcastle to win a trophy. And for Chelsea.
Usually the Man Utd owners pull the trigger when qualification for next seasons' CL seems highly unlikely. to them. When in this season do you think that time will come ??
If their December fixtures pan out as expected, he won’t be there for the FA Cup third round as there's some heavy motivators to get rid of him in there 2/12: Saudis (a) 12/12: Bayern (h) 17/12: Saltypool (a) 23/12: West Scam (a) 26/12: Villa (h) A drubbing at Waaaaaaaahnfield will probably be the last straw
League cup QF draw : Everton v Fulham Chelsea v Newcastle Port Vale v Middlesbrough Liverpool v West Ham One non-PL team will be in the SFs. Also a good opportunity for some "Loan watch" viewing (Devine) .
This was something I picked up on as an outsider, think I even mentioned it to you during the transfer window. I felt you lot could/ can really do with a guy that literally specialises in scoring goals. Jesus is a talented and technical team player but it’s evident to see why Pep never trusted him to lead City’s line on a regular basis. Just isn’t a good enough finisher, feels like he needs 4-5 good chances to bag 1 goal, a good/ top striker does that in about 2-3. I’m hoping you lot don’t enter and win the race for Osimhen, feels like he could be a perfect fit for Arteta’s system, would almost certainly bring you 25+ goals in my opinion.
It’s arrived already. There is no realistic chance of Utd finishing above all of Spurs, City, Arsenal & Liverpool (and you can add Newcastle too). Highly unlikely Utd would prise a lesser European place away from Villa or Brighton either. There is little point waiting.
The routes are : 1. Finish PL top 4 2. Win the CL 3. Drop into the EL KO stages and win On #1, the current top 5 are 2 pts better than last season, and Man Utd are 3 pts worse. So some worrying signs but to say already things are lost ?? On #2, that is always a big ask,. For PL clubs, #3 is a good option (but to get on that path by default requires some humiliation + big revenue drops) .
Reckon there’s a good chance they go for Toney, but Brentford don’t seem keen on letting him go in Jan.
Signing Havertz instead of Osimhen or Lautaro Martinez was bizarre. Failing to upgrade on Elneny when Partey is a crock/rapist was also odd.
Wilf "Dwayne Dibley" Zaha with a screamer for Galatasaray: https://streamin.me/v/c2993bad Looked like a bit of a foul there, though. Hmm...
The FA are now investigating whether Tonali continued to break betting rules after his move: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/67313204 Newcastle are going to borrow Neves from their non-owners in response.
