The Manchester United Thread

[Alc]

Nice!







Matt Law
‏ @Matt_Law_DT





Chelsea fans near press box chant '**** off Mourinho'. And call him Judas. He signals three titles and points at Stamford Bridge pitch. Also Chelsea fans chant Conte the extra special one and boo Mourinho.

Important clarification that a very small section of fans just behind the dugout were mainly responsible. The vast majority of fans in the stadium just ignored him.

 

[Anthony]

Jose Mourinho says Paul Pogba was the 'best player on the pitch' in Chelsea win over Man Utd.

I'm starting to despair now.
Sometimes I think Jose is living in an alternate reality.

 

[Alc]

You did a great job of disrupting and suppressing every line of passing and pretty much keeping us down in every position, but you weren't handling Hazard all that well, hence the constant stream of fouls. I think Mou did a great job because too many teams just manhandle Hazard and let everyone else run free, but the niggling, Classico style fouls are not the way to deal with him either. Keeping him wide and isolated would have worked a lot better.

Nearly every El Clasico game where Mourinho has employed these tactics has ended up backfiring though. There is a fine line between making frequent niggling fouls and outright manhandling a player and most players end up on the wrong side of it eventually during a match. It was a strategy that will work maybe 3 times out of 10. As you said, keeping him wide and isolated would have worked a lot better fouling him only when absolutely necessary.

 

[Theatre of dreams]

Jose Mourinho says Paul Pogba was the 'best player on the pitch' in Chelsea win over Man Utd.

I'm starting to despair now.
Sometimes I think Jose is living in an alternate reality.

Dont think he believes that at all. Just taking pressure of the lad. He's been good as a whole most parts the season. Will only get better next in a settled and improved team. And now being use to the league.

 

[djs1]

Jose Mourinho says Paul Pogba was the 'best player on the pitch' in Chelsea win over Man Utd.

I'm starting to despair now.
Sometimes I think Jose is living in an alternate reality.

its all psychology,theres no way jose believes that im sure.

 

[djs1]

and for those that are losing the plot over how bad pogba supposedly has been are you forgetting about the starts made by de gea and vidic in particular?both struggled early on and became top players.to judge someone sop early is ridiculous and can only be as a result of the transfer fee.Transfer fees nowadays do not always reflect a players ability,there are many factors involved.

 

[Theatre of dreams]

and for those that are losing the plot over how bad pogba supposedly has been are you forgetting about the starts made by de gea and vidic in particular?both struggled early on and became top players.to judge someone sop early is ridiculous and can only be as a result of the transfer fee.Transfer fees nowadays do not always reflect a players ability,there are many factors involved.

And Evra debut against City. One of the worst performances I've seen in a Utd shirt.

 

[razielioux]

On of the most consistent player in PL? Always seems to show up.

Yep. Always saves our arses from embarrasment.

 

[Theatre of dreams]

Tbf if we don't get top 4 it's not the defence or GK fault. It's the midfield and STR that have cost us.

 

[Anthony]

to judge someone sop early is ridiculous and can only be as a result of the transfer fee..

I couldn't give a rats if He cost €5 or €105,000,000.
He was ****, and gets called out as ****.

I've been supporting this club since the 70's and don't make any apologies for these show pony brands mincing about like a f***ing Kardashian.

IF He comes good, great.
But He has a long way to go to convince Me He is worth a place at my club.

Please don't compare Vidic to pogba.
Vidic is a hard working lad who just wanted to be a footballer... He put the effort in and became a legend.

Less time worrying about your hair, or whether your tacky new line of handbags make their way onto Sports Direct is the key here.

View attachment 101257

 

[Subtle]

Nearly every El Clasico game where Mourinho has employed these tactics has ended up backfiring though. There is a fine line between making frequent niggling fouls and outright manhandling a player and most players end up on the wrong side of it eventually during a match. It was a strategy that will work maybe 3 times out of 10. As you said, keeping him wide and isolated would have worked a lot better fouling him only when absolutely necessary.

People seem to forget that there's a reason unsportsmanlike conduct is so loosely defined in the rules: it's so that when refs come across situations like this, they can act according to their own judgement.

Honestly, if they had just played it down a bit they probably would have gotten away with it. The real issue was that not only were they fouling Hazard constantly, it was that they were doing it so brazenly that any ref with a bit of self respect is going to become annoyed that he's being played. They were being that guy, the one who makes a big point of how the rules don't explicitly say he can't bring his own clubs with him to crazy golf.

 

[Alc]

People seem to forget that there's a reason unsportsmanlike conduct is so loosely defined in the rules: it's so that when refs come across situations like this, they can act according to their own judgement.

Honestly, if they had just played it down a bit they probably would have gotten away with it. The real issue was that not only were they fouling Hazard constantly, it was that they were doing it so brazenly that any ref with a bit of self respect is going to become annoyed that he's being played. They were being that guy, the one who makes a big point of how the rules don't explicitly say he can't bring his own clubs with him to crazy golf.

The problem is that how many times has Mourinho employed these tactics and actually managed to get away with a win? More often than not, it ends up backfiring and sometimes spectacularly so (6-1 agains Barcelona anyone?). Cannot seem to understand why people think this was a tactical masterstroke by Mourinho. When your plan to stop an oppositions best player is simply to try and kick him off the park, thats not good enough.

For a blueprint on how to stop Chelsea, look at how Pochettino set up against us in both league games we played vs Spurs. Or Guardiola in the City game. Both were very unlucky to lose the games they did.

 

[Mike.]

The idea that Pogba doesn't work hard is bollocks. You might not like what he does off the pitch but he trains hard. That's the one thing that's never been held against him at United or Juve. So excusing vidics horrific first season by saying he worked hard, and then not giving Pogba the same leeway is a load of ****. **** Evra wasn't even physically fit enough for the league when he joined.

 

[Legend Incredible]

The idea that Pogba doesn't work hard is bollocks. You might not like what he does off the pitch but he trains hard. That's the one thing that's never been held against him at United or Juve. So excusing vidics horrific first season by saying he worked hard, and then not giving Pogba the same leeway is a load of ****. **** Evra wasn't even physically fit enough for the league when he joined.

Again, it's the fee really.

Sent from my SM-G900T1 using Tapatalk

 

[Mike.]

Anthony is saying that he doesn't care about the fee though. Then excusing vidics being so **** it looked like he might get sold, because he worked hard. It goes both ways. Pogba has been OK overall, but he needs to be much better next season. But some of the reasoning being used to hammer him is bollocks

 

[Subtle]

If nothing else, Pogba should get a pass on the fact that it's hard for a player like him to shine in a team that has, for the vast majority of the season, been building into something new. Once you get everyone settled, make a few more signings I'm sure he will come good.

He could probably do with keeping a lower profile til then though.

 

[Mike.]

Pogba's issue is that he overplays, this the one aspect I expected Jose to work hardest on, but it seems he indulges that, and actively wants that individuality. In that case, Pogba needs to work on his decision making more. Not worried about his creative presence, but he needs to also trust the small stuff. He'd be twice as dangerous if he simplified his game. He's also not helped by players not taking the chances he makes. Equally I'd like to see him time his runs more.

 

[Anthony]

I didn't bring any other players up.
That's just redirection by the Pogba apologists.

"Pogba was ****"
"But (insert name) was **** in 1998?"

Lets all see where it goes. None of us can predict the future. We can only go by our gut instinct and eyeballs.
But I don't see enough from him at the moment to get me all wet (people are allowed to stay out of the Pogba love in, I'm sure?).

I'll revisit the subject next season and see if all his hard training has turned him into a footballer.

He could probably do with keeping a lower profie til then though.

XD
Can you see that happening?

 

[Subtle]

Pogba's issue is that he overplays, this the one aspect I expected Jose to work hardest on, but it seems he indulges that, and actively wants that individuality. In that case, Pogba needs to work on his decision making more. Not worried about his creative presence, but he needs to also trust the small stuff. He'd be twice as dangerous if he simplified his game. He's also not helped by players not taking the chances he makes. Equally I'd like to see him time his runs more.

You have to feel it would be a lot easier for him to simplify his game if he was in a position where he could focus entirely on being a forward thinking player, and when he helps out and gets stuck in that's just a great bonus. Mentally, that's got to be so much pressure for a young guy, and way too much to think about. His partners in midfield and the wingbacks at Juve freed him up so much by comparison.

 

[djs1]

I couldn't give a rats if He cost €5 or €105,000,000.
He was ****, and gets called out as ****.

I've been supporting this club since the 70's and don't make any apologies for these show pony brands mincing about like a f***ing Kardashian.

IF He comes good, great.
But He has a long way to go to convince Me He is worth a place at my club.

Please don't compare Vidic to pogba.
Vidic is a hard working lad who just wanted to be a footballer... He put the effort in and became a legend.

Less time worrying about your hair, or whether your tacky new line of handbags make their way onto Sports Direct is the key here.

View attachment 1107976

the world in general is a far cry from the 70s,including the football world.Social media and online activities mean footballers,especially when you are the most expensive player ever,are celebrities now whether we like it or not.When i first started watching united we had players like mal donaghy,mike phelan,mark hughes etc who would be classed as 'proper men' but that is such an outdated view.