Manchester United's Headliners, Articles and Rumours

[Rickey]

Originally Posted by Thedeathknight

City's ban got overturned, else even 5th was good enough. However, what's good for Utd are the next three matches. All are winnable considering their form. Whereas for Chelsea and Leicester, their run isn't great and their upcoming matches are tough too. Hope it's gonna be a good run for Utd to CL!

Chelski won their match against Norwich.. so now red devils must win at crystal Palace to just hv a chance to take the 1st 4 top spots.. sigh

[Thedeathknight]

Originally Posted by Rickey

Chelski won their match against Norwich.. so now red devils must win at crystal Palace to just hv a chance to take the 1st 4 top spots.. sigh

I thinl Chelsea are up against Liverpool and Wolves next I read if utd win all three remaining matches, we'll qualify for CL. That opens the door for potential Kai Havertz or Sancho transfer. I think this is Utd's best run so far, since Fergie days

[Tai_zi21]

Originally Posted by ilovepantyhose

haizzzz

OGS intent on passing from the back has backfired again, pogba was casual and lost the ball which led to the first goal

the late equaliser could have been prevented, they need to work more on positioning and marking during set pieces, otherwise next season they will continue to lose points from winning positions

man u must win their remaining games to qualify for UCL #diediemustwin

Tat why OGS doesn’t have a damn clue on what he is doing... I still think he not the right man to bring us forward... but pls prove me wrong and clinch the TOP 4 position...

[ilovepantyhose]

Originally Posted by Tai_zi21

Tat why OGS doesn’t have a damn clue on what he is doing... I still think he not the right man to bring us forward... but pls prove me wrong and clinch the TOP 4 position...

some opponents play with high press, whereas some sit back and soak up pressure. the thing is OGS has his team play out from the back irregardless of opponents' style. as a result, when man u play against a high press, the defenders/midfielders are under constant pressure and can make mistakes, some mistakes resulted in goals. when they prepare for a match, they would want to know how their opponents play when they don't have possession and plan their tactics accordingly

against high press, it could be more suitable to field iglaho as a targetman and have DDG kick the ball to him, speedsters can play off him as there are more spaces due to high press, as well as relieving the pressure off the back line. man u will need to scout/sign a player who is tall, fast and strong, someone in the mould of drogba, but he won't come cheap

[imom]

IMHO Solskjaer has done brilliantly since being handed the reins.

Three managers with different styles, chopping and changing of backroom staff by every manager, no coherent transfer strategy to build a free-flowing attacking team, and a chief executive more focused on marquee signings (and frequently overpaying) - OGS inherited a team 6 years in decay and confusion. You couldn't pick a team that fit any particular playing style.

Still, he managed initially to get them winning and free-scoring - until their lack of fitness caught up with them towards the tail end of last season. In any case, he was in for the long-term project of rebuilding, which everyone at Man Utd knew.

He gave a clear recruitment strategy, with each new player part of the big-picture plan to bring back exciting, attacking football. He didn't want stop-gap players. Even players that had the skills but not the mentality he felt was required of Man Utd players, were shipped out. A long-term plan like that, needs 3 to 4 transfer windows to be completed. You can't just buy 8 to 10 players in one window and get all of them to gel immediately. While it is happening, it is inevitable that the team will struggle for results. He also wasn't helped by injuries to key players like Pogba, Martial and Rashford.

Fernandes was arguably the last piece of OGS' first 11 puzzle (ok maybe we still need one more centre-half, but we are making do for now). Remember OGS wanted him in the summer but a deal was only struck in January. Finally we had someone to pull the strings in midfield in Pogba's absence. Just look at the form table since Fernandes played his first match in match week 25:



And this with the game in hand at Palace tonight.

OGS has now built a team that, when we go a goal down first, there is no panic and there is confidence that we can get back into it. This was not the case in the 6 years before. He has managed to get two forwards scoring more than 20 goals a season again (both of whom were available to the last two managers). The last time this happened was when SAF won the title in 2013. We have made a new record by winning 4 consecutive matches by 3-goal margins. I believe we have scored 5 goals in a match more than a couple of times under OGS - I don't recall any of the three previous managers doing that. He has also brought academy players into the squad with success. If Greenwood is managed well and progresses as he is doing, we may have three forwards scoring more than 20 a season. We also have exciting academy prospects in Hannibal Mejbri and Teden Mengi.

As for match tactics, not even SAF got it right for every match. We've suffered humiliating defeats under SAF by Liverpool, Man City, Newcastle and yes, even Southampton (6-3 anyone?), while we were at the very top. Can't expect OGS to get it right for every match.

Yes, we now have a winning first 11 but the rebuild is far from complete. They will have off-days. We now need to build depth so that we can rotate and keep playing levels high thoughout the season and cope with injuries. This is what he will be doing. Hopefully he can complete it over the next two windows, and challenge by the 2021/2022 season. But make no mistake - there will be frustrating times ahead. 2021/2022 is an optimistic target - the other top teams are not going to stand still and watch our rebuild.

For now, hope they can secure 4th, or even 3rd if other results go our way... GGMU!

[Rickey]

Wat a fantastic detailed write out n analysis by bro imom on OGS above ... thumbs up!!... but this morning's 2-0 win over crystal Palace was just luck n fortunate.. one penalty due to Palace not given n VAR ruled in their favour... I think this team is getting tired after playing so many games unchanged...if the knuckle head don't change a few players they might lose in the remaining games... Brandon Williams n Luke Shaw, 2 good players are injured....

[lawro]

FA Cup semi-final predictions

Man Utd v Chelsea x-x 2-0

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/53431016

[Thedeathknight]

Awesome analysis bro imom, and completely agree with all the points u've put across. I've already said before that Utd are right now playing the best football seen in a really long time. Just two more games to go, and here's to hoping for two more wins!

[imom]

Originally Posted by Rickey

Wat a fantastic detailed write out n analysis by bro imom on OGS above ... thumbs up!!... but this morning's 2-0 win over crystal Palace was just luck n fortunate.. one penalty due to Palace not given n VAR ruled in their favour... I think this team is getting tired after playing so many games unchanged...if the knuckle head don't change a few players they might lose in the remaining games... Brandon Williams n Luke Shaw, 2 good players are injured....

Lindelof got the ball first I felt, re the VAR/penalty appeal. Anyway, also damn heng that Ayew was millimetres offside when he put the ball in the back of our net… And can't believe Fernandes hit the post with that shot! Agree that fatigue is starting to show over the last two matches. Damn suay to lose both our left-backs at the same time. Fosu-Mensah didn't look comfortable on the left and kept dragging back to use his right foot. Hope one of Williams/Shaw can make it back for the remaining matches.

[imom]

Originally Posted by Thedeathknight

Just two more games to go, and here's to hoping for two more wins!

Nail-biting finish to the season… 😅

[Thedeathknight]

Originally Posted by imom

Nail-biting finish to the season… 😅

That too an FA cup semi final clash coming up. Hope we can clinch top 4 and the cup. Would be an awesome ending to the season, which I never expected at the start.

[lacoruna69]

Bruno was an excellent signing....he brought out the best in many players.

With Pogba now back in use again...really miss the hard running of Fred.
Hope he didn't get de motivated.
Fred had improved vastly since Bruno's arrival.

Very crucial victory at Selhurst Park after dropping pts against Soton previously.

Getting into CL is real possibility now....

Agree another good CB is needed as Ole now only believed in Maguire and Lindelof pairing.

[lacoruna69]

Originally Posted by Thedeathknight

That too an FA cup semi final clash coming up. Hope we can clinch top 4 and the cup. Would be an awesome ending to the season, which I never expected at the start.

slightly tricky here as it won't be easy against Chelsea...but Chelsea is also chasing CL spot too. CL spot is definitely of higher priority now for both teams.
so, Chelsea will also need to make a decision.

[Rickey]

Originally Posted by lacoruna69

slightly tricky here as it won't be easy against Chelsea...but Chelsea is also chasing CL spot too. CL spot is definitely of higher priority now for both teams.
so, Chelsea will also need to make a decision.

It's a close call with Giroud in form ...hope red devils prevail n clinch the cup with Bruno's & Iglaho's help .....GGMU !!...but b4 that they hv to overcome their neighbours in blue or the Gunners in the other semi-final which is not easy too

[Thedeathknight]

I almost forgot that Utd have their Europa run coming up as well. Winning the cup is also a sure shot way of getting into CL next year, in case they can't make top 4. However, I'm sure OGS and Utd will look at that as a last resort