[sunama]

When LVG first came to MUFC, he stated that football is entertainment and his aim should be to provide entertaining football.
Generally, this means scoring goals and seeing silky smooth skills in the middle of the park.
What we are actually seeing is the total opposite.
This makes no sense.

 

[mu77]

he's fecking high!

 

[Chorley1974]

Key here is "bad day". These are patterns we recognize, not a few individual instances.

My question is this - What would take for LvG to improve us? In your opinion? Let's say he will make it better. How? He already had a full transfer season and picked his players. With his idea of football and tactics, what would he do to improve us further?

Drop/sub Rooney for a start as per my post. I don't really understand what point you're trying to make though.

 

[GimmeAKitKat]

We're just going to forget about Herrera getting a great ball inside the box that just needed a little composure and somehow managing to tie his legs in a knot are we?

Not at all, you would expect Herrera to do better, But for me Rooney's chance was better, it was directly into his path, weighted well and put him 1v1 with the keeper with plenty of space to pick a spot and slide it past. He's supposed to be a world class clinical player. Herrera is a centre/attacking mid who scuffed a ball that reached him through 4-5 sets of legs. He should have done better but its wasn't as big a shambles as Rooney's.

 

[FC Ronaldo]

Missed the game. Been flicking through the comments.

Was it really THAT bad or is there too much immediate emotion playing it up?
Was Rooney awful again?
Was Martial the best player again?

 

[markhrad]

The player I am most disappointed in is Mata. Every match I watch him closely and you can see that he has a good first touch and is skillful enough to beat a defender and face the goal but he runs into the box at every opportunity when he should stay out and contribute to the creativity of the attack.
He will make a nice pass to a player on the side of the box and instead of helping that player he is looking to get into a goalscoring position.
I am sure we would be scoring a lot more goals if he used his skill to create for others rather than bore us with his endless side and back passes until he sees a chance for himself to get into the box.
I feel sorry for Martial, I predicted that he would end up getting frustrated and probably failing as a striker because of a lack of creativity in our central midfield but it seems he is going to get frustrated because he is not even playing as a striker.

 

[sunama]

Drop/sub Rooney for a start as per my post. I don't really understand what point you're trying to make though.

You think that dropping Rooney would immediately see us scoring 1-3 goals/game?
Rooney is a problem, but he is not the absolute cause of us not scoring a goal.

 

[Randall Flagg]

Missed the game. Been flicking through the comments.

Was it really THAT bad or is there too much immediate emotion playing it up?
Was Rooney awful again?
Was Martial the best player again?

It was tumescent and toothless

Rooney failed to have an impact but wasn't bad. None of our attackers made an impact and martial although as usually looked the most likely didn't do an awful lot

 

[LeftyBlaster]

What the hell? Is he on drugs?

He does know that possession doesn't win us points, goals do right?

 

[7even]

Conclusion after today's game.

We are two maybe three players short of being a serious title contender.
Rooney is finished at highest level. Out soonest possible.
Maybe LvG philosophy is outdated. Possession without penetration is counter productive.
We need pace. Pace. Pace.

Palace was the better team and outrun us, outmuscled us and was faster and better in all parts of the game. We where lucky to get a draw.

 

[Chorley1974]

You think that dropping Rooney would immediately see us scoring 1-3 goals/game?
Rooney is a problem, but he is not the absolute cause of us not scoring a goal.

My two points were that the Rooney situation as being perplexing, and that was some real bad knee jerk stuff being posted on here. Nothing too contentious in that, what about that don't you agree with?

 

[walkinhop]

Drop/sub Rooney for a start as per my post. I don't really understand what point you're trying to make though.

I think we can agree that there are some obvious issues in the team. The point i am making is this. Is LvG flexible enough or is he too stubborn and proud to change something? The second part of it is my concern for the future with him. He has done a great job at stabilizing the team after Moyes, no doubt there. However, is he the right man to go a step further? I am not saying we should sack him now, it would be stupid given the table and the situation but come end of the season, if nothing changed and we still play dire football, should we stick with him for a 3rd year?

 

[sammsky1]

The player I am most disappointed in is Mata. Every match I watch him closely and you can see that he has a good first touch and is skillful enough to beat a defender and face the goal but he runs into the box at every opportunity when he should stay out and contribute to the creativity of the attack.
He will make a nice pass to a player on the side of the box and instead of helping that player he is looking to get into a goalscoring position.
I am sure we would be scoring a lot more goals if he used his skill to create for others rather than bore us with his endless side and back passes until he sees a chance for himself to get into the box.
I feel sorry for Martial, I predicted that he would end up getting frustrated and probably failing as a striker because of a lack of creativity in our central midfield but it seems he is going to get frustrated because he is not even playing as a striker.

Mata and Herrera are both getting away with rubbish because of the spotlight on Rooney.

Both have been very erratic in form, not much better than Rooney. Add a disappointing start from Memphis and you have the complete front 4 performing way below acceptable standards, with only Martial offering any ray of hope.

Which begs the question: Are LVG's tactic the problem or the dysfunctional form of Mata, Herrera, Memphis and Rooney the reason for our lack of attacking penetration and goals.

 

[Lewis.no.9]

It's frustrating, there is a realistic title challenge this season ready to be taken but we just don't look like taking it

this totally!!

i would go big in january. Griezmann has a buy out clause. just match it and get him in, then get kane in the summer.

 

[Kostur]

Any post match comments bar Stone's tweet?

 

[Chorley1974]

I think we can agree that there are some obvious issues in the team. The point i am making is this. Is LvG flexible enough or is he too stubborn and proud to change something? The second part of it is my concern for the future with him. He has done a great job at stabilizing the team after Moyes, no doubt there. However, is he the right man to go a step further? I am not saying we should sack him now, it would be stupid given the table and the situation but come end of the season, if nothing changed and we still play dire football, should we stick with him for a 3rd year?

I'd say he's too stubborn, and I'm no fan of the dire football, but it's too early to say get rid yet.

 

[Maradona10]

 

[DomesticTadpole]

I'd say he's too stubborn, and I'm no fan of the dire football, but it's too early to say get rid yet.

If we are off the pace at Christmas I would be seriously worried.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

In Wayne's position I would say Louis.

 

[EverReddy]

Missed the game. Been flicking through the comments.

Was it really THAT bad or is there too much immediate emotion playing it up?
Was Rooney awful again?
Was Martial the best player again?

Yes
Yes
Yes

 

[kouroux]

That's probably because he doesn't wanna upset Wayne.

 

[prateik]

We are 5 points worse off this season compared to last season after the same fixtures. Progress?

 

[kouroux]

When LVG first came to MUFC, he stated that football is entertainment and his aim should be to provide entertaining football.
Generally, this means scoring goals and seeing silky smooth skills in the middle of the park.
What we are actually seeing is the total opposite.
This makes no sense.

It is safe to say that LVG was/is a big bullshitter.

 

[Hernandez - BFA]

DDG, Rojo, Young and Martial were only performers today.
The rest was either shite or beyond shite.

First time I've said this but I'm losing patience in LVG now. I can handle bad performances, but today was just pointless. No point us turning up. Absolutely shocking attacking display. Change the fecking system or start dropping Rooney.

 

[The Purley King]

The problem isn't the players, Rooney aside. It's the system. I lost count of the number of times in the first half when one of our midfielders or cbs had 20 yards to run into and they passed it sideways.
No drive no imagination.
I was high up in the holmesdale rd stand and when you see it all laid out in front of you you see how little movement there is. A traffick cone would have moved more than Rooney.
This was a treat for me as brother in law couldn't use his palace season ticket but today depressed me completely we will never be good enough playing like this....

 

[Lewis.no.9]

oh ffs. Van gaal is a total turnip. Get him out

 

[Drifter]

Now he is taking the piss.

 

[SalfordRed1960]

Teams know exactly how to set up to defend us now.

Didn't sound like Palace was parking the bus. They are a tight unit, as we saw when they played City earlier this season.

 

[FC Ronaldo]

It was tumescent and toothless

Rooney failed to have an impact but wasn't bad. None of our attackers made an impact and martial although as usually looked the most likely didn't do an awful lot

Yes
Yes
Yes

Cheers lads, appreciate the updates

 

[Gerald G]

Terrible performance. Attack again lacking. Both the individuals and the way we blame is to blame. Individual players out of form too which obviously doesn't help but another game without a goal and 1 shot on target today? Dreadful. Things need to improve and quickly at that.

 

[Spoony]

So, we may end up spending £58m on a player whose best position is still unknown by the bloke who bought him.

 

[caisenma]

He's blaming our result on our lack of possession? I'm sorry but if I'm in the dressing room I'm beginning to give up on him. His message is nonsensical. Utter bollox.

 

[walkinhop]

I'd say he's too stubborn, and I'm no fan of the dire football, but it's too early to say get rid yet.

So we pretty much agree but i am not sure i understood what is too early.

This i asked "come end of the season, if nothing changed and we still play dire football, should we stick with him for a 3rd year?"

If nothing changed by the end of the season, would you stick with him for a 3rd year?

 

[Sunny Jim]

That's probably because he doesn't wanna upset Wayne.

This. I think its.obvious that Martial is no9.

 

[FreakyJim]

well, if you don't know then who the feck does
maybe at left back

 

[christy87]

I can understand that, he does lose the ball a lot when he plays up front by kicking it in to the back of the net

 

[DevilRed]

Jaysus.

I think we have to face reality lads. Its going to be a fight for 3rd and 4th place again for us this year. We aren't title contenders based on our lack of firepower upfront.

 

[mav_9me]

What the hell? Is he on drugs?

He does know that possession doesn't win us points, goals do right?

I'm sorry but that's completely correct, what he said.
But that again reflects on the team/players/manager that decent pressing and we can't keep the ball? If we can't keep the ball against decent pressing then he has failed in implementing his philosophy of possession. Possession is not just keeping the ball between the back 4 with the opposition parking the bus.

That is why I have said the same thing again and again. We are not really good at possession football.

 

[Lewis.no.9]

wow the quotes on Martial are utterly ridiculous. What an old fool. Get this clown out now and get a actual world class manager in.

 

[RoadTrip]

Errrr, yes we do?