I might be lynched by his fans but - Zaha will not make it at United. He was quite good at Palace in the Championship - but I saw him at Cardiff and he was extremely poor apart from the spectacular debut. Maybe he moved too soon and has bitten off more than he can chew. If Nani's inconsistencies worry fans Zaha will only infuriate them further - he has a knack for trying the spectacular and failing when simple moves would suffice and running down blind alleys. More importantly - and I might be wrong but he has questionable decision-making, doesn't seem to possess the mental make-up of an elite player and seems befuddled all the time. These major flaws will only get pronounced under a disciplined taskmaster like Louis.
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik (@Rood) is joined by CEO Duncan Drasdo and Financial Director Andy Green from the Manchester United Supporters Trust for a special episode on all things behind the scenes at Old Trafford including a brief history of MUST and their aims today, views on INEOS and Sir Jim Ratcliffe so far, and the Old Trafford regeneration.
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I might be lynched by his fans but - Zaha will not make it at United. He was quite good at Palace in the Championship - but I saw him at Cardiff and he was extremely poor apart from the spectacular debut. Maybe he moved too soon and has bitten off more than he can chew. If Nani's inconsistencies worry fans Zaha will only infuriate them further - he has a knack for trying the spectacular and failing when simple moves would suffice and running down blind alleys. More importantly - and I might be wrong but he has questionable decision-making, doesn't seem to possess the mental make-up of an elite player and seems befuddled all the time. These major flaws will only get pronounced under a disciplined taskmaster like Louis.
Ironically these are the same problems nani goes through and he's 27, atleast Zaha is about 20
Don't get me wrong mate. I'm a Nani fan but I do realize his time at United is up - I wish he moves or is sold. It's a win-win situation both for the player's progress and for United's sake and our need to upgrade.
But Zaha is definitely not the answer, even as a squad player. He will turn 22 in 4 months' time and there's been almost no progression in his game for quite some time now. And for all their common mental lapses, Nani was more highly rated at a similar age, further along in his development, played a lot of crucial matches for United and was a fixture for Portugal. Purely as a winger Nani has technique and skill Wilfried can only dream of I'm afraid to say. If anything Zaha is an inferior carbon copy of Nani and I don't think he has the mental drive to seek improvement in his game.
Oh do not get me wrong I was just saying I would give youth a chance who may improve over a player like nani who has hit his peak for potential.
Janazaj I hope could be the answer, but I feel we need that one wide player that could replace both nani and young, for me it would make more sense to cash in on all of nani Valencia and young. But Valencia some how got a new contract, so he is staying, yea that is something to look forward to
Definitely agree with all of this mate. I hope Januzaj is the answer too. Guess I was nitpicking before. Sorry.
I wonder if Kagawa will step up in the coming season.
LVG didn't care about reputations when he subbed his captain RVP off against Mexico.
Which got people taking about how often Rooney will be on the bench next season.
But Kagawa has more to worry about, if he puts in poor performances under LVG then he won't be getting back in the team! no matter how many tweets are posted. Moyes was swayed into playing him over and over by the fans but that isn't gonna happen next season.
Pressure is on Kagawa!
LVG didn't care about reputations when he subbed his captain RVP off against Mexico.
Which got people taking about how often Rooney will be on the bench next season.
But Kagawa has more to worry about, if he puts in poor performances under LVG then he won't be getting back in the team! no matter how many tweets are posted. Moyes was swayed into playing him over and over by the fans but that isn't gonna happen next season.
Pressure is on Kagawa!
Definitely agree with all of this mate. I hope Januzaj is the answer too. Guess I was nitpicking before. Sorry.
Na it's fine dude, don't want to get into argument when we both agree. But with janazaj breaking through, we defiantly do not need young and nani , when we have janazaj and Valencia, adding welbeck may fill in there and we have Rooney mata and kagwa to fit into the team , which I also feel we do not need kagwa when we have mata. So nani and young are expendable, and costing the club wages when they have no use at the club.
I'm really interested to know what he thinks of our wide options. The three 'true' wide players we have Nani/Young/Valencia just aren't very good anymore, yet we've given one of them a new contract. While the other options Mata/Kagawa/Januzaj/Welbeck/Rooney, either lack real pace or would have to be played out of position. So if we don't bring anyone in, I'm not sure what the plan will be. I just hope LVG isn't expecting to see the Nani and Valencia of 2010 that ripped his Bayern team apart, when he rocks up to Carrington.
Valencia should never have been given a new contract, and like I said loads of times on the other 2, all 3 should have seen the exit door for one stellar winger like a di maria, who would balance out the more central creative players like Rooney RVP mata janazaj and kagwa
Valencia is sturdy. He's not a star but a squad doesn't have to be and in many ways shouldn't be made up of superstars.
He's a winger who can't beat a man, rarely assists, and never scores. Same goes for Young. Neither are good enough for a team with the ambitions we have. While Nani is constantly injured and horribly inconsistent with his performances. Thats what I'm worried about. What is LVG planning to do?
Our attacking options are horribly unbalanced atm. All the quality we have prefer playing centrally, Rooney/RVP/Mata/Kagawa/Januzaj/Welbeck...all of those play best through the middle. I'm not sure what the solution is tbh.
Januzaj is a wide player for me, at the moment at least. He has good pace and can beat a man.
I agree it needs looking at. I think it's a case of us having too many issues to fix in a single summer. 2 central midfielders, a left back and a centre back is a huge wedge. Unfortunately it seems we'll have to re-address centre back again next summer when he realises Vermaelen is shite.
2 seasons ago i would have agreed with you, i would have also pointed to his ability to play at right back. But his performances in the last 2 years have been so below par i dont think he deserves a place in the squad and would rather we replace him from someone in our youth ranks.
Bit extreme but he is the very definition of deadwood at United. At least with Young and Nani you feel on their day they will take on their man and get good crosses in. Valencia just looks back and rarely beats the first man with his crosses. TBH all three have to leave United because when Valencia is your best winger out of all three (given the game time he got) something is horribly wrong!
Sure, Januzaj and another can do for now then we will see about rebuilding the wings next summer, hopefully, from a position of strength. This rebuild/overhaul is,or should be, a process not an event . I am just hopeful that a few youngsters like Lingard, Lawrence and Zaha can capitalize on this and save us some money.
Haven't seen Neil much since he lost his bet and refused to change his twitter name to strawberry sally. Terrible journo, pretty good FM player though.
He has the quality but like you said, he lacks consistency. It annoys me greatly as well. But I say give him a chance under LvG. Actually everybody should be given a chance. At least until January transfer window. If we sell him now, we'll probably get something like 4m to 5m max for him. That's not much anyway.
Despite being apparently inconsistent, and constantly making the wrong decisions Nani is the 17th highest assisting player in premier league history.
How does he do it?
How does he do it?
I am as excited about having LVG at the helm of this club but there's one thing that is stirring in the back of my strange and delirious mind. We as United fans have become very used to stability, to staying on top of the game for years at a time. Having Sir Alex as manager for such an extraordinary length of time with his tenacity and unrelenting will to win has ensured that. But now with him gone, there may still be an element of uncertainty in the minds of the fans, most of whom have only known SAF as manager or who have seen him as manager for the longest time. David Moyes heralded a new era for Manchester United but his disastrous tenure, which could have otherwise steadied the ship and kept some renewed vigour, has stalled our development after the Big Man.
So we have placed our trust in Luis Van Gaal and rightfully so. He has all the attributes of a fantastic manager and a big honours list. But the question is, what if, after the first two seasons see us win absolutely nothing, being runners-up in the league twice in a row, bowing out at the semi-final stage of the CL in both years and putting in a sterling effort to push City/Chelsea all the way. Yes, we put in a huge effort but still have nothing to show for it. Would the fans accept two years without success, even in the face of good football? Yes, I know it seems obvious and the least we expect is an improvement in our general play with a lot of effort thrown in. But we're used to winning trophies. As fans we have seen trophy after trophy. This has heightened our expectations and there is a certain standard that we hope the club meets.
We could have a great team under a great manager who could go onto play positive attractive football. But if it yields no result, the disappointment could start to simmer and there could be calls from a minority for a new coach to be installed. As long as there is doubt within the supporters, there is bound to be uncertainty. I'd imagine that, with the recruitment of Van Gaal, this is supposed to be a long-term prospect with a change towards more modern tactics, improvement in individual performances, the possible instilling of youth and the building of a second empire, so to speak. The question is, do the fans have the patience to put up with a barren few years? If not, we may see a vast rotation of managers in search of immediate success. And that, obviously, is something we don't need at this club.
So we have placed our trust in Luis Van Gaal and rightfully so. He has all the attributes of a fantastic manager and a big honours list. But the question is, what if, after the first two seasons see us win absolutely nothing, being runners-up in the league twice in a row, bowing out at the semi-final stage of the CL in both years and putting in a sterling effort to push City/Chelsea all the way. Yes, we put in a huge effort but still have nothing to show for it. Would the fans accept two years without success, even in the face of good football? Yes, I know it seems obvious and the least we expect is an improvement in our general play with a lot of effort thrown in. But we're used to winning trophies. As fans we have seen trophy after trophy. This has heightened our expectations and there is a certain standard that we hope the club meets.
We could have a great team under a great manager who could go onto play positive attractive football. But if it yields no result, the disappointment could start to simmer and there could be calls from a minority for a new coach to be installed. As long as there is doubt within the supporters, there is bound to be uncertainty. I'd imagine that, with the recruitment of Van Gaal, this is supposed to be a long-term prospect with a change towards more modern tactics, improvement in individual performances, the possible instilling of youth and the building of a second empire, so to speak. The question is, do the fans have the patience to put up with a barren few years? If not, we may see a vast rotation of managers in search of immediate success. And that, obviously, is something we don't need at this club.
Anyone else think LVG bears a resemblance to David Lynch?
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@OutOfTowner Obviously there has to be a period of adjusting from supporters as well. A huge era has ended for us and we have to accept it's unlikely to be repeated. We should be title contenders on a pretty regular basis, but quite possibly not as before as we simply won't have that stability; we should be title winners here and there, but it's unlikely to be as regularly as before, nowhere near.
We should always be thinking as long term as possible, but we can't do it like we did before. And right now it's about small steps. It's about leaving behind this past year, and also being able to leave behind the Fergie era, maintain it's positive and improve the negatives that crept in as time went by. Playing different football, returning to the CL, those are the basics. There's no right or wrong answer as to what we do in a few years time if we've done that, but struggle to get past the next hurdle, like actually winning stuff.
We should always be thinking as long term as possible, but we can't do it like we did before. And right now it's about small steps. It's about leaving behind this past year, and also being able to leave behind the Fergie era, maintain it's positive and improve the negatives that crept in as time went by. Playing different football, returning to the CL, those are the basics. There's no right or wrong answer as to what we do in a few years time if we've done that, but struggle to get past the next hurdle, like actually winning stuff.
I'm a bit drunk but looking at Van Gaal on the sideline in this game reminds me how happy I am to have a proper manager managing Man Utd again. Bring on next season
@Amir Oh of course. I think we all accept that there's a need to alter our perception of this club as the domineering force in english football, at least for a little while. But for a set of fans who have known huge success for a sustained period, this will be exceptionally difficult. Especially as it means downgrading from crusading behemoths sweeping all before them to also-rans. And while we freely acknowledge that it must be down, I can't be certain that our supporters are capable of doing that. I know I'll find it difficult.
The second part of your reply though touches on something I feel is important in the acquisition of a new manager. Leaving the past behind is what we need to do to go forward and improving the negatives is the next step. I always felt that at the end of SAF's reign, we were getting by not by exciting play but by sheer force of will. In my view, Fergie was getting tired mentally and it was his urge to win once more before bowing out that got him over the line. He bowed out of the game at the right time before his energy was spent and he was hanging on by his fingernails. Luis now has an opportunity to change the mentality of the club and the squad and start introducing modern tactics with an updated approach. He can start by urging the team to start pressing further up thee pitch and being more patient with possession, perhaps playing more through the middle rather than having to rely on wingers.
The second part of your reply though touches on something I feel is important in the acquisition of a new manager. Leaving the past behind is what we need to do to go forward and improving the negatives is the next step. I always felt that at the end of SAF's reign, we were getting by not by exciting play but by sheer force of will. In my view, Fergie was getting tired mentally and it was his urge to win once more before bowing out that got him over the line. He bowed out of the game at the right time before his energy was spent and he was hanging on by his fingernails. Luis now has an opportunity to change the mentality of the club and the squad and start introducing modern tactics with an updated approach. He can start by urging the team to start pressing further up thee pitch and being more patient with possession, perhaps playing more through the middle rather than having to rely on wingers.
Hope we don't play a style like the Dutch next season. They should easily outclass this team with the quality they have but they only want to play counter attacking football, show some balls Louis
Hope we don't play a style like the Dutch next season. They should easily outclass this team with the quality they have but they only want to play counter attacking football, show some balls Louis
You mean show some balls and play higher line and be much more adventurous by take more risks with that back four and midfield?
Hope we don't play a style like the Dutch next season. They should easily outclass this team with the quality they have but they only want to play counter attacking football, show some balls Louis
I don't know. I appreciate the controlled and measured approach to possession football, working the space rather than forcing it. This is something we have struggled with in recent years. But we should also compliment it with a view to getting forward with a lot more intent.
I don't think people realise how poor this Netherlands team actually is. Take out Robben and van Persie and it's barely better than Costa Rica's.
Hope we don't play a style like the Dutch next season. They should easily outclass this team with the quality they have but they only want to play counter attacking football, show some balls Louis
He's playing tournament tactics.
Considering Kuyt's been deployed as a wingback by LVG in this tournament, I don't think it's out of the question that Valencia's new contract has been given on the basis of him as an option there.
I accept that against Portugal or Chile, but Costa Rica are playing for penalties since the start, adjust from 3 centre backs and 2 wing backs, change from counter attack.
Oh please bring on Krul just for pens. That would be brilliantly mental.
I know LvG seems pretty amazing but I doubt he can play wingback and manage us at the same time.
This is insane, can't remember the last time that happened. Hope it works out now though it's done!
I hope you know what you're talking about.
....fecking massive call 
He's mental!! I don't think I've ever seen that happen before.
Bizarre sub today, first time I can really find anything to criticize. The only thing I can think is that they just spent a couple of training session loading Krul up with all the information on how the Costa ricans take penalties.
If this comes off...
Goalkeeping sub apart. I for one am very concerned that he's left the likes of Kuyt on all match.
He cannot really lose with the decision really. If he doesn't save any, he doesn't save any. If he does, van Gaal is a genius.
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