[Trizy]

I actually thought I'd come home to this thread and there would be uproar, good to see our fans are actually sane unlike some other club's fan forums.

I don't think the loss was disappointing towards the end because all belief for me went out the window when that stupid cnut Smalling got sent off. Overall I was impressed by our attitude and had it being any other team below the top 4 we'd probably have went on to win it even with 10 men.


De Gea: Can't be blamed for the goal and although some of City's best chances were kicked straight at him he's just so fecking class I love him
Valencia: as average as can be expected when a poor winger plays RB
Smalling: He'd never play again for United if I was in charge, I honestly rate today as THAT stupid.
Rojo: Stood up well for some attacks but all over the place a lot of the time, he may be good for depth but he's not good enough for a starting 11
Shaw: My MOTM, I thought he was just brilliant and had too much work to do but handled it all!

Di Maria: Not his best but we were only allowed attack for half an hour all game before and after the red
Fellaini: One of the best players on the pitch over all, although he missed a sitter (header) he's contribution and passing was spot on.
Blind: Cool as you like in midfield, some of his passes ''wtf'' comes out of your mouth because it looks like he gave away the ball but he always finds his man
Januzaj: Wasn't given enough time to impact the game, was getting kicked around the place.
Rooney: Sloppy passing but played his heart out plus roared at a few players when it was required
RVP: Loan striker isn't gonna work against City

Subs
McNair: Continued to show how solid he is although I think he may have lost Aguero for the goal
Wilson: Not given enough time, would have had him on from the 60th for RVP
Carrick: Surprisingly good, passing was on point, should work wonderful in the ''Blind Role''

 

[Mister Ed]

The league table is looking depressing right now. We really need a win and today I felt City were there for the taking, not in the best form, low on confidence, lost against WHU and NU, Silva not there and our confidence was quite good after that late goal against Chelsea and finally a game were we could field a decent starting eleven. I Think we started decently but Smalling just fecked us over, I knew he would get a second yellow after that foolish decision to go and stand in the way of Hart and ofcourse he did. Game was basically over for us then, I knew if we could get a point from that game it be as good a winning. I liked how played with 10 man and I think it is unfortunate that we didn't manage a late equilliazer because we certainly had the chances for it.

The annoying thing is that the same issues are surfacing again. Individual errors from our defenders keep costing us points, no luck whatsoever with the injurries, can't score on corners, our big players go missing in the big games and altough we have decent chances and some of the best finishers in the world we struggle to score when it matters and it seems like we still need a kick in the back before we actually start footballing at which time it is often too little too late for us. Obviously game would have been different with 11 vs 11, but imo we can't complain about the ref, the red card was clear and we are lucky City didn't get a penalty or two (because they could have).

Hopefully Rojo won't be out for too long, hopefully we start winning again soon because wereally need the points and obviously any hope for the title is long gone, we are 13 points behind Chelsea, we got be carefull we don't slip up for top 4 because that would be inexcusable.

As far as Smalling is concerend I've had it with him, he can't play football, he isn't as good in defending as many think he is, he is injurry prone, often makes mistakes that always cost us and today we learned that he is one of the most stupid players on this planet and when I look at him it is as if he doesn't give a feck. This boy doesn't deserve the shirt, he doesn't deserve the paycheck and I hope we move him on asap. We need atleast one good experienced centreback in the january transferwindow and in fact we might even need two because I have also had it with Evans and I'am starting to get enough from Jones aswell.

 

[manufanatic]

Van Gaal won't stand for it.
I could see him splash out on 2 big defenders in the summer if he can't get anyone in Jan.

Who are we going to get..isn't that the problem

 

[caisenma]

I actually thought I'd come home to this thread and there would be uproar, good to see our fans are actually sane unlike some other club's fan forums.

I don't think the loss was disappointing towards the end because all belief for me went out the window when that stupid cnut Smalling got sent off. Overall I was impressed by our attitude and had it being any other team below the top 4 we'd probably have went on to win it even with 10 men.


De Gea: Can't be blamed for the goal and although some of City's best chances were kicked straight at him he's just so fecking class I love him
Valencia: as average as can be expected when a poor winger plays RB
Smalling: He'd never play again for United if I was in charge, I honestly rate today as THAT stupid.
Rojo: Stood up well for some attacks but all over the place a lot of the time, he may be good for depth but he's not good enough for a starting 11
Shaw: My MOTM, I thought he was just brilliant and had too much work to do but handled it all!

Di Maria: Not his best but we were only allowed attack for half an hour all game before and after the red
Fellaini: One of the best players on the pitch over all, although he missed a sitter (header) he's contribution and passing was spot on.
Blind: Cool as you like in midfield, some of his passes ''wtf'' comes out of your mouth because it looks like he gave away the ball but he always finds his man
Januzaj: Wasn't given enough time to impact the game, was getting kicked around the place.
Rooney: Sloppy passing but played his heart out plus roared at a few players when it was required
RVP: Loan striker isn't gonna work against City

Subs
McNair: Continued to show how solid he is although I think he may have lost Aguero for the goal
Wilson: Not given enough time, would have had him on from the 60th for RVP
Carrick: Surprisingly good, passing was on point, should work wonderful in the ''Blind Role''

Spot on.

 

[NinjaZombie]

I'm really sick of United seems to be giving players like Valencia, Smailing times and times again to prove themselves, enough is enough for me. IF you're not good enough to cement your place after a season you're not good enough, off you should go.

Teams like Madrid, Barcelona, and other European Giants won't tolerate underperformer for so long.

I agree totally.

 

[Sandikan]

Who are we going to get..isn't that the problem

Let me answer that in a different way.

Is it hard to improve on the current batch?

 

[Relevated]

Imo the red card inspired us to play more as a unit, without the card it's possible we wouldn't have been as tight. I think because of it we will go on and it will really keep us motivated.

 

[Boycott]

We should have tried to get them on the back foot. First 20 mins our passing was shocking.

When they settled they looked good, got their goal and stifled the game. Pellegrini subs were too defensive against 10 men and that would be why they could have dropped points.

 

[Globule]

I agree totally.

While I agree, I don't think we can blame LvG for this. We spent £150 million in the summer to upgrade our options, getting rid of 14 players in the process. How much more upheaval can we realistically expect in one window. If we go into next season still relying on the likes of Valencia and Smalling, then we can begin to question LvG on this, but now is too early. The fault lies with Moyes and (mainly) Ferguson for this.

 

[Mister Ed]

Frustrating thing is that if ever there was a time to play City today was it. Silva out, Toure's not turned up this season and it could have been a really interesting game.

Once Smalling went, it was just a case of waiting for the inevitable goal. Then they inexplicably eased off, and we grew back and almost snuck something.

We sort of look better and have good potential, but the actual points show us as worse than last year.

We need to put a run in. But then next away game after Palace is Arsenal, just when they're getting all their big guns back

Alot of people at this time tought last year we could easily make top 4, just needed some players back and perhaps a midfield addition in Jan. The truely horrible thing is that as soon as we had our best players back and the jan window was over and we got Mata we were playing worse than before the winter.

I think it is obvious we look far beter as a team than we did last season and we certainly have the potential to turn this around and still get top 4, we are 4 points off. Obviously it was always going to be difficult against Chelsea and City, I think it is unfortunate that we didn't get more from this games as I've certainly had the feeling it was possible for us. Obivously Palace is a must win game now and hopefully we can manage our first big result under LVG against Arsenal (we usually do, even Moyes won against them). Anyway I think we shouldn't look at the scoreboard right now but we should look at the performances and altough there are many things that need to improve there are also some good things that we can build upon. I just really hope we manage to get a goo defender in January and we start adressing our set peices, espeically the corners and for god I hope Falcao starts showing his face in the team soon !

 

[Kakeru]

I actually thought I'd come home to this thread and there would be uproar, good to see our fans are actually sane unlike some other club's fan forums.

I don't think the loss was disappointing towards the end because all belief for me went out the window when that stupid cnut Smalling got sent off. Overall I was impressed by our attitude and had it being any other team below the top 4 we'd probably have went on to win it even with 10 men.


De Gea: Can't be blamed for the goal and although some of City's best chances were kicked straight at him he's just so fecking class I love him
Valencia: as average as can be expected when a poor winger plays RB
Smalling: He'd never play again for United if I was in charge, I honestly rate today as THAT stupid.
Rojo: Stood up well for some attacks but all over the place a lot of the time, he may be good for depth but he's not good enough for a starting 11
Shaw: My MOTM, I thought he was just brilliant and had too much work to do but handled it all!

Di Maria: Not his best but we were only allowed attack for half an hour all game before and after the red
Fellaini: One of the best players on the pitch over all, although he missed a sitter (header) he's contribution and passing was spot on.
Blind: Cool as you like in midfield, some of his passes ''wtf'' comes out of your mouth because it looks like he gave away the ball but he always finds his man
Januzaj: Wasn't given enough time to impact the game, was getting kicked around the place.
Rooney: Sloppy passing but played his heart out plus roared at a few players when it was required
RVP: Lone striker isn't gonna work against City

Subs
McNair: Continued to show how solid he is although I think he may have lost Aguero for the goal
Wilson: Not given enough time, would have had him on from the 60th for RVP
Carrick: Surprisingly good, passing was on point, should work wonderful in the ''Blind Role''

Excellent analysis.

I agree 200% with the analysis of Smalling: if it was for many of us after today, he would be told in his face that he can pack his bags and return everything with United's badge on it because it would mean he will never plain for this club again.

 

[Roboc7]

It was always going to tough when we had ten men because we don't have any pace on the counter so we were easy to pin back, fellaini should have scored to level the game but rojo was lucky not to give away a pen and get sent off and city could easily have had another pen or two. We gave city more to think about in that game than we did in both combined last season, we have to win on Saturday now though and get something at arsenal.

Shaw was our best player I thought, everyone worked hard but smalling was idiotic and cost us any chance of getting any points. We are missing something I the final third as well, too pedestrian, not dynamic enough and still too easy to counter attack which is going to cause us problems.

 

[ivaldo]

All in all I didn't think it was a bad performance, this was City away from home remember and we were unlucky not yo get a point. We were down to 10 men and had a complete make shift back 4 yet we dominated City in the second half. This reaffirms my beleive its a top 4 finish this season.

 

[Raoul]

All in all I didn't think it was a bad performance, this was City away from home remember and we were unlucky not yo get a point. We were down to 10 men and had a complete make shift back 4 yet we dominated City in the second half. This reaffirms my beleive its a top 4 finish this season.

Agreed. I was impressed with our ability to actually turn up the heat later in the 2nd half when we were down a goal and a man.

 

[Natener]

I hope so, Smailing's potential, and that's all. Potential.

When do we draw the line that a player is not good enough. It took Nani 5 years to get the boot, are we some kind of charity?

Insert something Bebe-related here. Anyway, one might say United is more patient with their players. Keeping faith in our players and so on sort of thing. Perhaps it's because much more money have been invested into playing staff in recent times but I do sense there's more a trend with holding onto our players nowadays than we did in the past.

 

[caid]

Dont want to be a downer too much but we weren't looking that great before smalling went off imo.
Thought Fellaini was pushed too far forward and not getting involved enough on the ball (had a good game as the match wore on mind you).
I didn't think we were doing enough to take advantage of our extra man in midfield.
I dont know, matches kind of have phases and i think city were better than us for 10-15 mins before the sending off.

Thought januzaj was very good, he looked bright and looked capable of giving clichy a really tough game.
Valencia ... not a full back, just not working out. Still think he can be a good wing back but i wouldn't play him full back unless i was desperate
De Gea was great again

 

[tombombadil]

I guess the game can be summed up by one line.

Smalling cost us the game.

Simple as that really. And when Rojo got injured, that was the end of it.

At least, the team put up a good fighting spirit despite everything stacked against them. I think that's probably the only thing we can take from this game. Last season we would have just rolled over and died. This season, at least, the team played with a bit of pride.

If the team continues to put up this performance and fighting spirit, and assuming no more moments of madness or injuries to the defense, the Crystal Palace game should be winnable.

 

[bosnian_red]

Who are we going to get..isn't that the problem

Anyone who isn't constantly injured. That's an improvement. Hell, bring in Stones and Laporte or something like that. There aren't any top defenders around, but plenty of decent ones who we could get. Even similar quality to the ones we have now would be alright. Just as long as they are fit.

 

[tombombadil]

Let me answer that in a different way.

Is it hard to improve on the current batch?

I was hoping that Rojo would be that solid centerback that we could build around, with the younger centerbacks partnering him, but it seems he is just as rash and hot headed as Jones.

 

[tombombadil]

Agreed. I was impressed with our ability to actually turn up the heat later in the 2nd half when we were down a goal and a man.

I was impressed as well, but I think that was partially because City started to sit back (either because they were tiring or because they wanted to wear down the game). Once they realised they sucked at that, they started pressing and pushing forward again and they nearly got a goal after that.

Even with that in mind, I still thought the fighting spirit the team put up was admirable. This was unthinkable, last season.

 

[Ronetta]

Fellaini spitting at opponents again. Got away with it on Zabaleta last time, having elbowed him in the face and then spat at him whilst Zabaleta was on the floor. Now he commits a penalty worthy foul on Aguero and spits at him as well.

Bog brush really is a class below your club, in every respect.

http://www.joe.ie/football/vine-did...-during-first-half-of-manchester-derby/473810

 

[bishblaize]

Honestly, proud of the lads today.

(Apart from Smalling, who's an absolute eejut)

City deserved the win, won't deny that. But, like last week, there was little between the two teams. Pre-sending off it was pretty even. City made the good chances, but in terms of controlled play and possession we were dominant. At that point i would happily have backed us to score during the game.

After the sending off and for the first 20 mins of the second half it was one-way traffic, and City deserved the breakthrough. But bearing in mind we ended up with our 6th choice centre back and a central midfielder in defense, with Tony V at full back, I actually thought our defending was pretty decent. Far far better than last season.

But after that we fought and fought, and frankly for the last 20 minutes City looked like the team with 10 men. Fellaini should have scored, ADM was unlucky not to & Rooney got better and better as the game went on. Shaw in particular led by example and looked a lot older than his 19 years.

So, not claiming this is a good result, but this is certainly not a case of 'back to square one'.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

While I agree, I don't think we can blame LvG for this. We spent £150 million in the summer to upgrade our options, getting rid of 14 players in the process. How much more upheaval can we realistically expect in one window. If we go into next season still relying on the likes of Valencia and Smalling, then we can begin to question LvG on this, but now is too early. The fault lies with Moyes and (mainly) Ferguson for this.

That is a great point, this team needed new players and he dithered and dithered. Some of the rebuilding need doing last season, so we are a season behind in the process. Herrera should have been here last season for one. Glad he wasn't in a way as Moyes would have ruined the lad.

 

[Dante]

Our forward play looked disjointed. City's defence was there to be run at, but RvP simply didn't have the pace to do it. The 3 behind him were all risk takers rather than tempo setters, if that makes sense. I think Mata would have helped, if only to be a body the ball could stick to.

At the back, we still don't look like we know what we're doing. Yes, Smalling lost his head a couple of times, but that happens in football. I'm much more concerned about Rojo's basic lack of a footballing brain. I'm still not sure what to make of Shaw either. I know he's only 19, but for someone with his reputation, he sure goes missing an awful lot.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

I was hoping that Rojo would be that solid centerback that we could build around, with the younger centerbacks partnering him, but it seems he is just as rash and hot headed as Jones.

I think Rojo needs and experienced, calm head next to him. He can't speak much if any English and he is the experienced head sometimes. not fair on him.

 

[Mad Winger]

Despite the injury crisis, our shaky defense and having to play with 10 men, we've totally matched City and Chelsea over the last week. I agree with Van Gaal when he says that we're close.

Proud of the team.

 

[Barney]

This shows that no matter what we will always be the big team and they will always be small.

Can't argue with this incredible logic.

e'd beat these cnuts with 11 men. Proud of our performance with 10.

This is not taking into account the three penalties City should have had, yeah?

Rojo's injury

With the way Rojo has been performing I'd have thought that was a positive.

 

[Red Dreams]

Fellaini spitting at opponents again. Got away with it on Zabaleta last time, having elbowed him in the face and then spat at him whilst Zabaleta was on the floor. Now he commits a penalty worthy foul on Aguero and spits at him as well.

Bog brush really is a class below your club, in every respect.

http://www.joe.ie/football/vine-did...-during-first-half-of-manchester-derby/473810

what would you know about class? you support City.

 

[kafta]

In my time watching united, I can't remember the last time I saw so many positives despite a loss.

That said, di Maria should stop taking corners, we need falcao fit, and blind/shaw look like fantastic signings.

Also, I'm not his biggest fan, but credit where it's due, Rooney is looking really good this season.

 

[Raoul]

Looks more like drool to me.

 

[Silverman]

Not a bad performance considering the red card. We have two extrememly tough games in Chelsea and City over and done with. Time to dust ourselves down and concentrate on beating Crystal Palace next week.

 

[Patchbeard]

Just watched the game on a re-run. You just knew Smalling's stupid first yellow card would cost him. Why on earth would you do that...is it really worth a yellow card to block what is essentially a long pass?! Surely he knew it was a bookable offence. I know he's got a degree or something but that man is definitely lacking some brain cells. The second yellow was pretty fecking dim too considering he was already on a yellow.

After that it was hard to be hopeful of any kind of result, I only had faint hopes we would sneak a draw with 11-men after all. Haven't read through this or the matchday thread, but my biased opinion was that (despite Graeme Le Saux thinking City should've had 3 penalties) I don't think any of them were clearcut. Twice Aguero went down like a sack of potatoes after minimal (if any from Carrick) contact, the other time Rojo won the ball through Yaya's legs without making contact with the cake.

At least we didn't capitulate given the situation. Two midfielders on the right side of defence, two teenagers on the left side, and only 5 players ahead of them, including RVP. Turning into our Gerrard that man is; playing every game but being a hindrance 90% of the time.

 

[Raoul]

All things considered we did ok in both games. We didn't get the points but still played good football in both.

 

[buckooo1978]

proud of the resilience...... stark contrast to the gutlessness we witnessed last season

our hard work, decent passing at times and determination is being undone by the defence....

lack of quality, lack of depth, too many injuries - plain and simple

ridiculous from Smalling for that first yellow...the second was very ill judged as well trying to cover space that Valencia has vacated....couldn't McNair have filled in

in terms of Smalling it speaks volumes that Carrick looked more assured in that position when we were under more pressure and Rojo's impulsiveness (disappointed with his reaction to a dislocated shoulder......pop it back in man!)

overall pretty positive though and its clear we are going the right way

The way I see it we are in a mini league with Arsenal, Liverpool and Spurs for 3rd and 4th

We looked so much better than Liverpool even with our injuries and 10 men

the only thing that will cost us 4th will be the injuries and suspensions we are picking up - even with this a defender like Vlaar, Shawcross or Lescott would probably walk into our team given the inconsistency of our players - a strong, reliable CB is a priority

 

[nemanja nemagic]

This is not taking into account the three penalties City should have had, yeah?

With the way Rojo has been performing I'd have thought that was a positive.

It is clear that Rojo is not a top defender but I don't think he has fared too badly at centre back this season. Certainly done better than Lovren, for instance.

As for the penalties - the fouls for the first one and third ones were committed by Fellani and Carrick respectively; two players who would not have been in the centre back position had Smalling stayed on the field. this does not excuse the fact that they were penalties - but it does reinforce JonDahl's assertion that with eleven men they could have been avoided. No arguments for the second penalty; it was definite.

When we had eleven on eleven it was fairly even I would say - we had more of the ball, but City had the better chances and were more incisive. There is no guarantee we would have won today with 11 men each, but I think we would have taken something from the game.

It's encouraging for me personally as it is the first game since 2012 where we looked like wresting points off City - there were periods where we dominated them (especially in midfield). That screams progress and I'm quite heartened by it. We can beat them back at OT later in the season

 

[Barney]

It is clear that Rojo is not a top defender but I don't think he has fared too badly at centre back this season. Certainly done better than Lovren, for instance.

As for the penalties - the fouls for the first one and third ones were committed by Fellani and Carrick respectively; two players who would not have been in the centre back position had Smalling stayed on the field. this does not excuse the fact that they were penalties - but it does reinforce JonDahl's assertion that with eleven men they could have been avoided. No arguments for the second penalty; it was definite.

When we had eleven on eleven it was fairly even I would say - we had more of the ball, but City had the better chances and were more incisive. There is no guarantee we would have won today with 11 men each, but I think we would have taken something from the game.

It's encouraging for me personally as it is the first game since 2012 where we looked like wresting points off City - there were periods where we dominated them (especially in midfield). That screams progress and I'm quite heartened by it. We can beat them back at OT later in the season

Ahh, always love it when people randomly drag Liverpool players into an argument. Rojo has been awful, Lovren has too, I didn't say otherwise.

You shouldn't have been close to wrestling points off them had Oliver done his job correctly. City could and should have been out of sight.

 

[nemanja nemagic]

Ahh, always love it when people randomly drag Liverpool players into an argument. Rojo has been awful, Lovren has too, I didn't say otherwise.

You shouldn't have been close to wrestling points off them had Oliver done his job correctly. City could and should have been out of sight.

And I didn't say otherwise. Just supporting the 11 vs 11 argument. More a savage indictment on Smalling.

 

[Igor Drefljak]

I thought we played well, although on another day they could easily have had 3 penalties given against us
One thing that did annoy me was near the end when Rooney got clean through, I know it wasn't on his stronger foot, but make the keeper work at least.

Also, I didn't like how we was so happy to give them so much room down the wings, and our wing backs got so far forward, we left so many gaps to often

 

[Tarrou]

Some people are acting like it would have been a straight-forward win if Smalling wasn't sent off. I mean sure, we had some good possession but City were starting to get on top, they'd got in behind the full-backs a few times and that is what led to the sending off. De Gea also made a great save from Aguero before Smalling completely lost the plot.

 

[Acole9]

Disappointed as I felt we played well and if Smalling wasn't sent off we could've gone on to win I feel so we were in the game up until that point and I don't think City played particularly well.