The Manchester United Thread

A "bit" off topic I know but LOL!!!

Asked to preview a game between Liverpool (captained by one of his closest friends) and QPR (managed by his father), Sky Sports' finest Jamie Redknapp has opted for a 2-2 draw because 'Liverpool will be aware QPR are a little shaky'.

A little shaky? A little shaky? They're bottom of the Premier League having shipped 15 goals in seven games, Jamie. That's not shaky, that's sodding capsized.
 
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My team prediction foe WBA on MNF -

De Gea
Rafeal,Jones,Rojo,Shaw
Carrick
Blind,Di Maria
Mata
RVP,Falcao

Subs - Lindegaard,Smalling,Blackett,Fellaini,Januzaj,Wilson,Fletcher.
Score - 0-4 Falcao x2 Di Maria and RVP one a piece :)
 
However retaining the two senior defenders meant these three instead of playing together and building an understanding of their own game and each others to assert themselves as Manchester United's new CBs, they were often paired with one of Rio or Vidic. While this was not necessary a bad thing it meant we had to fit them in at RB (Smalling and Jones) to develop with experience. Also it meant rather focusing on their own game they had to look out for Rio and Vidic's weaknesses as their physical qualities declined with injuries and age.

All in all the three of them while showing in periods that they are individually gifted, they haven't made their stamp and they may be running out of time. It goes down to coaching too. Our defence in general really looks like they're doing their own thing as opposed to being a tight, compact unit. Evra in his latter years often getting caught in the middle of the pitch, so CBs being dragged to cover for him just one example.

We need to coach our defence to be mentally strong but also make themselves a proper defensive unit to stifle opponents as opposed to reacting to situations. This doesn't need money to be splashed around. Defending itself is an art and coaches like Mourinho and Pulis pride themselves on making their team a nuisance to break down. Moyes at Everton! Pulis as the example of getting a group of players who look depleted to then making them a force which can't be broken easily. Excellent coaching to the minute detail for the entire group of players.

There's no reason why that can't be attributed to Manchester United.

While I agree with most of the posts, that is a pretty big risk to take. Jones and Evans are injury prone in general. It is not just because of going all out in matches, but in general, both are very injury-prone. Add Chris Smalling to the list - I don't know what happened with him, but he became pretty bad (almost woeful) along the line. Bad reading of the game, and bad positioning. Injuries haven't helped him too.

Jones, despite his injuries, has been excellent, and has potential to be world-class. I would prefer Jones anyday over someone like, say, Mangala. The only young defender who is on the same level is Varane, but it doesn't seem that way with Jones due to the constant injuries he picks. Evans, when fit, is also brilliant in a 4-man defence.

However, assuming we get into Champions League next season, we can't really go with this defence. I'm not talking about quality here, but quantity. You can't have matches from BPL, Champions League, FA Cup, Capital One Cup and the like, and have 6 defenders where 3 senior defenders are constantly injured. We'll never get a constant defensive pair, which is bad news when Central Defence is concerned.

Most good teams in general, have had constancy in defence. We haven't really achieved that due to injuries. And considering our current defence, it is doubtful we will. Hence the need to get a new central defender. Options vary from Hummels to Shawcross to Vlaar. Vlaar is out, mainly due to his transfer value and age. Between Shawcross and Hummels, I'd probably go for Hummels. Remains fit most of the times, commanding at the back, solid, and doesn't make too many mistakes. With him next to Jones, while Evans is used for rotation, defence can be pretty solid for some time to come, while at the same time giving our youngsters gametime in cup games. Rojo will probably used at both LB/LCB depending on necessity.
 
Louis van Gaal says #mufc's injury list is down to four players: "I'm very happy because there are no injuries from the internationals."
 
LvG: The players understand the philosophy but they have to perform that philosophy. We need more balance in the team. Not only spectacular attractive and attacking football but shape whilst defending. We are looking for that balance.
 
Boss: "West Brom are very difficult to beat, especially at their home... but we have to start with a victory after the international break."
 
Van Gaal: "I have confidence in my players & that's important, but it's more important they have confidence in the manager & staff." #mufc
 
The #mufc boss underlines there's still room for improvement: "We could have done better because I don't think we're balanced yet."
 
While I agree with most of the posts, that is a pretty big risk to take. Jones and Evans are injury prone in general. It is not just because of going all out in matches, but in general, both are very injury-prone. Add Chris Smalling to the list - I don't know what happened with him, but he became pretty bad (almost woeful) along the line. Bad reading of the game, and bad positioning. Injuries haven't helped him too.

Jones, despite his injuries, has been excellent, and has potential to be world-class. I would prefer Jones anyday over someone like, say, Mangala. The only young defender who is on the same level is Varane, but it doesn't seem that way with Jones due to the constant injuries he picks. Evans, when fit, is also brilliant in a 4-man defence.

However, assuming we get into Champions League next season, we can't really go with this defence. I'm not talking about quality here, but quantity. You can't have matches from BPL, Champions League, FA Cup, Capital One Cup and the like, and have 6 defenders where 3 senior defenders are constantly injured. We'll never get a constant defensive pair, which is bad news when Central Defence is concerned.

Most good teams in general, have had constancy in defence. We haven't really achieved that due to injuries. And considering our current defence, it is doubtful we will. Hence the need to get a new central defender. Options vary from Hummels to Shawcross to Vlaar. Vlaar is out, mainly due to his transfer value and age. Between Shawcross and Hummels, I'd probably go for Hummels. Remains fit most of the times, commanding at the back, solid, and doesn't make too many mistakes. With him next to Jones, while Evans is used for rotation, defence can be pretty solid for some time to come, while at the same time giving our youngsters gametime in cup games. Rojo will probably used at both LB/LCB depending on necessity.

I get your point. I mentioned that time is running out for those 3. The combination of factors mentioned have stifled them. My main gripe is the stability and team building at the back has been very poor especially because it happened during their stages of development. A lot of time has been invested in Evans, Jones was 16m, Smalling 10m + add ons. They were brought in do be the future of the club but that looks like it has failed.

Now we're in transition it's the perfect time to build with them. The pressure of challenging isn't there as the expectancy is top 4 :O.

The problem with signing the likes of Vlaar and Shawcross is even though they are good and equal to / better than what we have currently, it's short term-ism and that's what has got us to where we are now.
 
All this talk of the team being unbalanced seems to me like he wants to play with just 1 STR and is still not happy with the squad imo.
 
I think seeing as you probably won't sign a CB this season it will be worth looking at how or if they progress under LVG sometimes a change is as good as a rest sometimes, so if they can stay injury free you could see some progression but I know thats a big if.
 
I think seeing as you probably won't sign a CB this season it will be worth looking at how or if they progress under LVG sometimes a change is as good as a rest sometimes, so if they can stay injury free you could see some progression but I know thats a big if.
Agree mate. Imo I would rather see how they get under LVG this season, instead of panic buying in Jan.
 
I hear carrick will play in stockings and young will don a bra and stilettos.
 
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