The Manchester United Thread

IT HAS been pretty clear this week that Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United are not working. The team simply aren’t functioning.
I don’t believe the players are not good enough. It is a failure, so far, to find a system to suit those players.

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Jose Mourinho is struggling to get the best out of his stars
Wayne Rooney has copped a lot of the flak. For me, it’s far too easy to just assert “Rooney’s finished” or claim he “can’t run any more” or has lost the ability to pick his passes.
The truth is that, with a top manager, tactics determine the personnel.
For me, Zlatan Ibrahimovic is still an outstanding player. Paul Pogba, too, proved at Juventus that he is outstanding. Rooney is still a very good player.
The question is: can you bring these three together in a way that will be successful for United?
If you play 4-2-3-1 — the system Mourinho has preferred since he turned up at Real Madrid six years ago — then either your fastest or slowest attacking player has to be the centre-forward.
If it’s the fastest United player, that would be Marcus Rashford or Anthony Martial in the attacking four.
They would be used to run in behind and stretch the game, to create space in behind.
With the slowest player, Rooney or Ibrahimovic — neither have the pace of the other attacking players — would drop off, creating a vacuum of space behind them for the quicker players to attack into.

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Wayne Rooney, in particular, has been singled out for criticism
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Paul Pogba has often run into Rooney’s space



Jose Mourinho says it's his job to improve Manchester UnitedGETTY IMAGES
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Zlatan Ibrahimovic has struggled after a flying startIt’s very difficult to play that system if you have a centre-forward in Ibra who drops and a No  10 in Rooney who doesn’t naturally go in behind.
It’s even tougher if Pogba also tries to come into that same area from midfield.
You end up with three of United’s main players pretty much holding hands and nobody going in behind and stretching the opposition.
United’s opponents are happy to see the three of them bunched together. The last thing they’d want is Ibrahimovic, Rooneyand Pogba each operating in a different attacking role. That would be a nightmare.
That’s not happened, though. They have all been in the same part of the pitch. Mourinho has to sort that out.
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United have the players to operate in a 4-3-3, then it comes down to who Mourinho wants in the team.
Ibra scored countless goals last season for PSG, a side that played 4-3-3. Pogba did very well at Juventus in a 4-3-3, first with Andrea Pirlo holding and then Claudio Marchisio.
Pogba seems best suited to a 4-3-3, probably with Michael Carrick sitting and with Ander Herrera as the other player, although you could use Morgan Schneiderlin as well, or even Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
Carrick or Schneiderlin would offer a better defensive shield for the team and also allow Pogba more freedom to attack.
You have to have Ibra as the focal point, with two from Mkhitaryan, Rashford and Martial on either side and the width coming from the full-backs.
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Could Michael Carrick be the answer to midfield woes



Manchester United lose 3-1 at Watford - Jose Mourinho's third loss in a rowBut where do you play Rooney in that system? It’s wrong to write him off. He deserves more respect than that and he has been an unbelievable player at Old Trafford.
I still believe all three of them are very important players for United but it’s harder to create a situation where you should have all three on the pitch at the same time.
So Mourinho has to decide if there’s a system to get the best out of all three together — or if he has to make a change.
A lot of people are calling for Rooney to come out of the team.
That’s not necessarily my opinion but if you are going to go down that path, then it makes sense to play Mkhitaryan at No10 instead.
Ibra will then be your slowest in the front four. Maybe it is going to come to that.
 
There won't be a playing clause at all.....

Yeah, as I replied to zz I couldn't believe that at all from a major club. ANY club with something like that in a contract would be foolish to be kind. You could only possibly see a lesser club maybe try tempt a star player to stay with something like that but even then I'm struggling to believe any club would be that stupid.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/foot...SunFootball-_-20160919-_-Football-_-590763269

Sorry scouse, I know it s the S*n, but higginbotham's colmun is ace. I'll try copy it out so you don't have to go to the site

I wouldn't of done naturally, but I greatly appreciate the sentiment mate. It wouldn't be right of me to dictate what people post or chose to read regardless of personal feelings, but thank you for the thought.
 
United have had far worse 3 game slumps than this before. No one else remember the week of ****?

Well baring a complete disaster, all things being equal it will end tomorrow at Northampton.

Would imagine it'll be a solid side like Feyenoord if not stronger as he could do with as easier a night as possible right?
 
Well baring a complete disaster, all things being equal it will end tomorrow at Northampton.

Would imagine it'll be a solid side like Feyenoord if not stronger as he could do with as easier a night as possible right?

Needs to use that game to set things right, not just win, but give them a humping
 
Yeah, as I replied to zz I couldn't believe that at all from a major club. ANY club with something like that in a contract would be foolish to be kind. You could only possibly see a lesser club maybe try tempt a star player to stay with something like that but even then I'm struggling to believe any club would be that stupid.



I wouldn't of done naturally, but I greatly appreciate the sentiment mate. It wouldn't be right of me to dictate what people post or chose to read regardless of personal feelings, but thank you for the thought.

Scouse, you do realize that this is the internet and that sentence most likely has never been written before? :P
 
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HAD THEIR PHIL

Phil Jones to be sensationally sold by Jose Mourinho as Arsenal and Liverpool plot January bid]

What has happened to Phil Jones anyway? I had genuinely forgotten you still had him. Wasn't he quite decent at one point?
 
No, he was always a crook. More than often a *** as well. Sometimes he did ok, just to injure himself in the process.
 
What has happened to Phil Jones anyway? I had genuinely forgotten you still had him. Wasn't he quite decent at one point?

he was excellent, then got injured, and has been injured on and off since, and each time he comes back, hes a bit worse.

Ferguson was hugely exaggerating when he compared him to Edwards, but he looked like he had it all. Bar the ability to stay injury free
 
Nothing more than bad luck with injuries, I'll never forget the time he done a number on Cristiano Ronaldo under Ferguson. He's a terrific man marker, strong, aggressive (in fact maybe a little bit too aggressive/fearless, which got him one or two of the lengthy injuries), decent on the ball, and if he can get a bit of rub of the green with remaining injury free, and rediscover the form he once had, then he can be a top defender for any English club, and the national team.
 
Nothing more than bad luck with injuries, I'll never forget the time he done a number on Cristiano Ronaldo under Ferguson. He's a terrific man marker, strong, aggressive (in fact maybe a little bit too aggressive/fearless, which got him one or two of the lengthy injuries), decent on the ball, and if he can get a bit of rub of the green with remaining injury free, and rediscover the form he once had, then he can be a top defender for any English club, and the national team.

Agreed, I just don't think that any top club will now take the risk on him, he needs to go back to a club like West Brom/Stoke level club and re-gain his fitness, form and game time as he won't get it at United.
 
Agreed, I just don't think that any top club will now take the risk on him, he needs to go back to a club like West Brom/Stoke level club and re-gain his fitness, form and game time as he won't get it at United.

I'm wondering would a loan move not be more suited? Something like Arsenal done with Wilshere.
 
I'm wondering would a loan move not be more suited? Something like Arsenal done with Wilshere.
Think it's time to cut our losses TBH. He's not forced to play even out on loan and the way he plays will always see him picking up injuries imo. Shame because I thought he was good when was fit and not just at CB but DM also. Also think Mou will go big on another top top CB in the summer. Just on another note apparently Barca enquired about Bernardo Mendes the other day from Monaco and his agent Mendes told them that Mourinho and Utd have first option in the summer. And also Mendes has said Utd and Mourinho have made contact with him and Madrid about a move for Isco in Jan.
 
Lol. I just realized Mike dean is going to ref the game on Saturday. Wouldn't shock me if mourinho gets sent off.

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I am hoping for this lineup against Northampton today, hoping for Carrick to get some minutes to prove himself for the game against Leicester.
And I want to see what Memphis can do from the start and most of all I want Rooney to play, especially deeper, next to Carrick so he isn't in the way of all the creative attacking players..

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Then for my 2nd Lineup against Leicester I am really curious to see Mkhitaryan play from the start(If he's not injured) instead of Rooney.. maybe in the Central Attacking Mid and Mata out wide instead, but I think Mata in the centre will be better..

Then either Martial or Rashford to start on the left, most likely Martial!

Also Carrick from start again if he does well against Northampton, if not then I can see Schneiderlin/Fellaini get that spot.

Then maybe(?) Blind instead of Shaw if Shaw's injured or Mou decides to drop him..

But most of all, I want to see Rooney on the bench.. :'(

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And hopefully we can win both games!
 
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