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Well I kind of see it differently, your on a good little run at the moment because you haven't played anyone decent since Spurs. But I think once that defence is tested you will make mistakes.

VVD has had some good games but he's also had some howlers, and has made numerous mistakes that have led directly to goals. hes good in the air, but it's still easy to get round that, you just aim your crosses away from him. He's clumsy though when you put him under to much pressure, and he makes poor decisions. So he would not concern me.

Your attack is manageable for us, as your big strength is pace, so if we don't allow you the space in behind then you can't hurt us.

I'm not really concerned about the neutrals watching the game, all I care about is winning. Our games against the top sides this season have not been bad games, the Arsenal game in particular was one of the best games to watch. The only really bad ones where the away to you lot, and home to Spurs.

VvD has been getting better as he's learned the system. Anyway, we've got to deal with Rafa's lot first and then Porto in the week.
 
is it wrong I want City to beat Chelsea?
I feel we lost the fight for winning the league and real fight is for top4
 
is it wrong I want City to beat Chelsea?
I feel we lost the fight for winning the league and real fight is for top4

To be fair I was pleased they won too, City are gonna win the league regardless, there is nothing us or anyone else can do about that.

We still have to go away to City ourselves too, so having a nice gap to 5th place is handy, as a loss to City and 1 other poor result and Chelsea could have been right level with us. Beat Palace tomorrow though and that's a 9 point gap, a 3 game cusion.

To be honest though, id be very disappointed if we don't finish above the RS to, I'd probably take 3rd now, just aslong as its not them in 2nd <laugh>
 
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To be fair I was pleased they won too, City are gonna win the league regardless, there is nothing us or anyone else can do about that.

We still have to go away to City ourselves too, so having a nice gap to 5th place is handy, as a loss to City and 1 other poor result and Chelsea could have been right level with us. Beat Palace tomorrow though and that's a 9 point gap, a 3 game cusion.

To be honest though, id be very disappointed if we don't finish above the RS to, I'd probably take 3rd now, just aslong as its not them in 2nd <laugh>
Sure. Me too.

But the reality is that 2nd have the same benefits as 4th. No doubt the RS and kloppyflop would celebrate the event as the title minus City.

I would think that should we negotiate Palace JM will focus on the CL. We still need to beat Sevilla and although it shouldn’t be the toughest of all matches we can’t take a win for granted. JM will never have a better chance to divert most of his attention to the champions league.
 
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Sure. Me too.

But the reality is that 2nd have the same benefits as 4th. No doubt the RS and kloppyflop would celebrate the event as the title minus City.

I would think that should we negotiate Palace JM will focus on the CL. We still need to beat Sevilla and although it shouldn’t be the toughest of all matches we can’t take a win for granted. JM will never have a better chance to divert most of his attention to the champions league.

Not quite the same benefits, 2nd and 3rd have the same benefits. 4th still has to qualify in a 2 leg play off. I would rather we didn't have to do that.

We can focus on the CL, but the harsh reality of it all is that we are a along way from being contenders. Our best hope of anything to show from this year is the FA Cup.

If we can get the defence sorted in the summer, then maybe next year we might be more competitive with the top clubs in Europe.

All we can do at the moment is just park the bus as a team, and hope for the best, as if we have a go at the very best sides the likes of Lindelof and Smalling, and our shoe horned full backs will concede chances for fun, and as good as De Gea is, he's not a miracle worker.
 
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Not quite the same benefits, 2nd and 3rd have the same benefits. 4th still has to qualify in a 2 leg play off. I would rather we didn't have to do that.

We can focus on the CL, but the harsh reality of it all is that we are a along way from being contenders. Our best hope of anything to show from this year is the FA Cup.

If we can get the defence sorted in the summer, then maybe next year we might be more competitive with the top clubs in Europe<ok>
You really need to stay current, as from this year 4th is automatic qualification :grin:
 
I wonder if there will ever come a time were 5 or even 6 CL places are up for grabs in the PL.

I know it's the European Cup, but if English or Spanish sides get strong enough results, or any other nation for that matter, then why not let more in.

The Premier League to me looks too stacked with quality to only allow 4 clubs a place. For instance if Chelsea miss out this year, we all know they are a better side than probably atleast 20 of the teams that will be in next years CL.
 
If you give more places to the better leagues who do you take them away from and what do they have left to play for.
I think 4 places is the most there will ever be in order to keep it fair to the lesser leagues and give them something to aim at.
 
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Not quite the same benefits, 2nd and 3rd have the same benefits. 4th still has to qualify in a 2 leg play off. I would rather we didn't have to do that.

We can focus on the CL, but the harsh reality of it all is that we are a along way from being contenders. Our best hope of anything to show from this year is the FA Cup.

If we can get the defence sorted in the summer, then maybe next year we might be more competitive with the top clubs in Europe.

All we can do at the moment is just park the bus as a team, and hope for the best, as if we have a go at the very best sides the likes of Lindelof and Smalling, and our shoe horned full backs will concede chances for fun, and as good as De Gea is, he's not a miracle worker.
Diego has already corrected your point about 4th...

I only agree with your points about us being a long way from contenders and being the very top team to a certain degree. We are far away from the likes of Barcelona’s or City. We haven’t gelled as a team although arguably we may have the talent.

But remember the CL like the FA cup is a knock out tournament and United under JM have shown themselves to be a good Cup team. Last season we definitely were a better Cup than league outfit. Because we were very difficult to beat but didn’t win enough games to challenge in the league, Being difficult to beat is the one crucial quality in Cups.

But we are better at winning at home this season. Hopefully we should negotiate Sevilla but then in the q/f it is about luck of the draw. But let’s make sure we beat Sevilla. Only a win will do.

For me. Yes JM has parked the bus more often than I would have liked. But I would be 100% pissed off if he played like the Chavs yesterday. It is one thing setting yourself difficult to beat and quite another to surrender meekly when you are behind. If we played like the Chavs in being totally gutless I would call for JM to go. What the **** is the point of defending with 11 players behind the ball when you are 1-0 down with 30 minutes to go? The risk is getting beat 2-0 or 3-0. The reward is getting a point and a morale boosting draw. In all of the matches I’ve seen United play ( even under JM and other managers ) once we fall behind we promptly change to an attacking formation.
 
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In a way the pressure is less on Saturday for both teams. I hope that JM would feel that a defeat would not be that disastrous. But I think he will start cautious as usual and change to a more attacking formation if we fall behind.

2-1 after being 0-1 at half time.

If he feels like that he can **** right off right now.

The only thing that can stop a defeat to Liverpool being disastrous is if it's meaningless in the league. 2009 and 2011 spring to mind. But not only would a defeat put us firmly behind Liverpool in the league, it would leave vulnerable to Chelsea and with no margin for error with games against City and Arsenal still to come.

We want to be secure in the top four and able to focus on the CL and FA Cup, losing next weekend would put all that at risk imo.
 
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If he feels like that he can **** right off right now.

The only thing that can stop a defeat to Liverpool being disastrous is if it's meaningless in the league. 2009 and 2011 spring to mind. But not only would a defeat put us firmly behind Liverpool in the league, it would leave vulnerable to Chelsea and with no margin for error with games against City and Arsenal still to come.

We want to be secure in the top four and able to focus on the CL and FA Cup, losing next weekend would put all that at risk imo.

Disaster in terms of the deluded ******s beating us but not quite in terms of the top 4 objective!

What I want is to put the deluded RS in their place. It is JM we are talking about and he will be cautious and he’ll take a draw rather than risk defeat. But for me I’d like a more attacking game so that we can win the match.

But I suspect he’ll want to control their attack first before we play our game. He will need to gamble (for him). I am sure we will see something similar to the Chelsea game. A similar score will suit me.

Not that I am encouraging complacency, there is more leeway than you think in terms of top 4. With 9 points in front, we can afford a few draws instead of wins.
 
is it wrong I want City to beat Chelsea?
I feel we lost the fight for winning the league and real fight is for top4
I watched the 2nd half of City/Chelsea and to be honest, I got very bored. It almost felt like training match. City pass, pass, pass and more passes reminded me of LVG time. Same thing that City did again yesterday in Champions League. Almost 1000 passes. Thank goodness I didn't watch that one.

I hope teams start going at City next season and not just sit there like mugs watching passes and settling for 20% possession.