[.Rossi]

So something which happened 7 years ago is to blame for this result?
After we had 3 managers who could have changed a team and make us play some good football.

Ridiculous.

No. What's ridiculous is the fact 3 managers have come in and NOT changed a team to make us play good football

 

[DevilRed]

Can't believe we kept a clean sheet with that back four.

Neither could I

 

[Ban]

And we've won 4
The future looks bleak at best. Arsenal, City, Liverpool and Chelsea looks 10 times better than us, cant see any of them finishing outside top four.

Not 10 times. Better but 10 times?
Chelsea certainly doesnt look 10 times better, no matter they won vs us. And it's a loong season, everything and anything can happen.

 

[Ban]

No. What's ridiculous is the fact 3 managers have come in and NOT changed a team to make us play good football

So what does 2009 has to do with it?

And you think we didn't play some good football today bar the finishing of course?

 

[JeffBoomTetris]

Clattenburg is a grandiose thundercvnt. That's all

 

[Ban]

Of course it was unlucky, but I wasn't that impressed either. If the attack plan is to get a lot of bodies forward, you're gonna get a lot of bodies between the ball and the goal too. Than you have to find a way through in the small spaces and allthough there were a few good idea's, it wasn't smart enough to get more than a few clear cut chances. Burnley wasted clear cut chances also, and was very wastefull with the acres of space they got in counter attack. So there was a positive in the link up play, but a lot about the number of not so clear cut chances was in getting bodies forward and that's risky and tends to produce a lot of blocked attempts that aren't very good chances.

But games likes these are not the problem, 8 out of 10 will end with 3 points. The real problem is in the matches against rivals for the title. That's not solved after a very poor league cup match against a team in crisis without it's playmakers that was won, and creating chances by getting forward like this will get punished by those opponents.

What clear cut chances did Burnley waste?

 

[itso 7]

Yeah but Rashford is hardly in good form either, although I would like to see him or Martial up top for a few games and Mikhi wasn't an option. Ultimately regardless of the layers we used/had available with the team we played we were unlucky not to win.I agree some of the decisions were questionable but there was also a lot of good play in that performance. We'll need to do something about Ibra soon though if he doesn't up his finishing though. Problem is Rashford isn't playing that well, Martial has been injured, Rooney's not exactly the guy you turn to for goals either.

I think its unfair to write off Rashford as an alternative to Ibra when he hasn't had a chance to play as a striker this season, Ibra would look worse if he was shunted out to the wing! Mkhi wasn't an option because of Mourinho so yeah I will blame him for that abd also for panicking and resorting to the comfort blanket that Fellaini offers ahead of Carrick who would have picked that lot apart

 

[legball]

It was not even fantastic defending or anything like that from Burnley, it was just a team that is lacking killing instinct, we were woefully wasteful, another 2 points dropped against another team we should be winning comfortably, we can't win the top teams, can't win the bottom placed teams, it's simply not good enough.

 

[11101]

that didn't happen today at all. He was involved in a lot of our best moves today with quick, short, sharp passing at the edge of the box.

He missed an open goal. Again. Doesn't matter how well he does other things he is here to score goals and he's costing us points.

 

[Giggs86]

Sounds ok, no drama. Hopefully, he can calm down our lads and Jose!

When the interview came up I was expecting a shit storm with him eye gouging the reporter after the way he was demonized earlier.

I was absolutely shocked to see such a calm and professional fella

 

[#07]

So angry. Poor refereeing and poor finishing combined to cost us today. Unbelievable. Ain't even got the words.

 

[Red Viking]

We are now 8 in the League. Its way beyond unacceptable at this point and the players are letting the club and fans down massively. In the end the results matter the most and we are getting absolute shit results.

 

[.Rossi]

So what does 2009 has to do with it?

And you think we didn't play some good football today bar the finishing of course?

When we were on top in 2009, we should have made decisions to stay on top. Instead, we bottled it and slowly but surely, we were dragged down kicking and screaming.

As for today, yes and no. Some good moves, some good passes, great interchanges etc but, 11 blue shirts behind the ball tell a different story

 

[Suv666]

At least Van Gaal was notching up points against the top teams. 1 point against City, Liverpool and Chelsea. Shambolic

 

[JustAFan]

More points dropped and looking nowhere near like a club that will challenge near the top. All the possession in the world means nothing if you can't score against teams that are not very good.

 

[Wade3]

Our performance, bar our finishing, was good. But once again we blew several very good chances. The difference between us and other top teams lies there. We controlled and dominated the game even with 10 men, there's not much more you can ask for.

 

[Catt]

No, I don't fecking hate him!

Give me another example of where I look to blame him?! You're so presumptuous that even I'm embarrassed for you. Belittling me under false accusations. You're a joke

Oh you mean by selling Ronaldo and getting Valencia.

 

[PitchFork]

Didn't get to see it but judging by the comments it was another case of should have won but didn't put the chances away, that and another phenomenal display by their keeper.

If that is a fair assumption then I'll take it. At least we're attacking and creating chances. Nothing we can do about opposition keepers.

 

[Lawman]

Stone wall penalty turned away same versus Man City yes we should have scored but referees need to be doing their jobs as well. Not helpful.

 

[RetroStu]

Incredible. The best football we have played in years and we dont score.

Thats just the way it goes, especially with us.
I'm actually happy to write this season off if it starts to look like a style and a plan is emerging for the future.

 

[DevilRed]

Silver lining is that it didnt even feel like we were a man down. It was an impressive effort considering most played midweek.

The strikers should be held accountable for todays travesty. Namely Ibra.

 

[Red Defence]

Yeah but Rashford is hardly in good form either, although I would like to see him or Martial up top for a few games and Mikhi wasn't an option. Ultimately regardless of the layers we used/had available with the team we played we were unlucky not to win.I agree some of the decisions were questionable but there was also a lot of good play in that performance. We'll need to do something about Ibra soon though if he doesn't up his finishing though. Problem is Rashford isn't playing that well, Martial has been injured, Rooney's not exactly the guy you turn to for goals either.

Rashford comes into his own when he's playing in front of goal.

 

[Walters_19_MuFc]

Good game. Created chances, but couldn't finish. Simple. On another day we'd have won 4 or 5, but we didn't. Another two points dropped. Arsenal and City won today. Making it increasingly hard to catch up with them.

 

[Sandikan]

What clear cut chances did Burnley waste?

i'm sure they had at least 2 where the ball fell to someone about 15-20 yards out and they blazed over.

 

[Ban]

When we were on top in 2009, we should have made decisions to stay on top. Instead, we bottled it and slowly but surely, we were dragged down kicking and screaming.

As for today, yes and no. Some good moves, some good passes, great interchanges etc but, 11 blue shirts behind the ball tell a different story

We had more than enough chances since 2009 to sort it out..
We should now give time to Mourinho to do it.
I see some signs of improvement although it isn't happening quickly enough.

i'm sure they had at least 2 where the ball fell to someone about 15-20 yards out and they blazed over.

Those aren't clear cut chances.

 

[MZX7]

I am disappointed like everyone else that we did not win and win comfortably but I really enjoyed the match. The interplay around the box is among the best I can remember ever seeing us play. The one-twos, flick-ons and through passes were a joy to watch and Zlatan was involved in most of them.
Yes results matter most but football in its essence is a game of skill and we displayed that today.

At least half of those interplays would not have come off against a stronger opposition with better defenders. We were provided a lot of space today by Burnley. We should have grabbed those 3 points.

 

[Catt]

After the final in 2009, he sat down to look at how Barcelona's under age academy was set up and how he could replicate it.....

In the years after, we signed Jones, Smalling, Young, Kagawa, Valencia, Owen, Bebe, Obertan etc etc

I'd draw your own conclusions from that tbh

I agree that signings like Young, Owen, Bebe, Obertan was mindblowingly bad.
Kagawa looked perfectly fine at the time and Jones was a rated young player.
Valencia's been a decent player and I think Ferguson wanted more talented players to follow with the persuit of Hazard etc.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

Too many average players - I would only start De Gea, Bailly, Pogba, Herrera, and Martial (and Shaw and Mkitaryan if they prove good enough). We need to pretty much replace the rest of the deadwood; our standards have dropped so much that a few flicks by Zlatan and a few interceptions by Blind are deemed excellent performances.

We've been crying out for a top striker since RVP, and Zlatan is not that man. I can believe the money down the drain on the likes of Memphis, Schneiderlin, BFS, Darmian, Fellaini, not to mention that Lingard keeps starting and Young is still here.

Mata was our best player.

 

[marlowe78]

As well as we played, I can't take any positives out of that match except for the performances of a few individuals. At the end of the day, we failed to put a single ball in the net against a relegation candidate. If we have any hope of even making top 4 (I don't think we will TBH), these are games where you simply have to win.

I'm surprised that there hasn't been much discussion about how poor our corners are. Burnley conceded a load of them and we couldn't get a single head on those balls. They either went straight to Burnley defenders or hit the first man. We're supposed to have all of this size in the team but we don't make use of it.

I'll give credit to the back 4, even though they really didn't have very much to do. I thought Darmian and Shaw had good games while Blind and Rojo were organized. But that is easy to say since we had almost all of the possession and Burnley showed no real urge to pressure us, it was obvious they were looking for a point, even when they had an extra man.

I'm still trying to figure out if Zlatan just has this kind of demeanor or if he's really that full of himself that he laughs off responsibility when blowing clear chances like the one late in the game. I won't say that he played badly, as he made some good plays through to the attackers but his zero conversion means he should be dropped.

Rashford, who has the movement to find openings in the box, is being wasted out wide. I also don't understand what we were looking for Lingard to do, because he was central for the entire first half when he should've been making runs on the wing and looking to stretch Burnley's defenders across. It was very silly to take off Mata when he was driving on the team. It's pretty ironic that he may have been on the end of that pass high in the box that Rooney completely fluffed.

I'm not going to bother complaining about the refereeing, because do you think we'll get any sympathy after all of those years with SAF in charge? Clattenburg was awful (the red against Herrera was ludicrous) but we have no one but ourselves to blame for 2 points dropped.

I am trying to feel optimistic because our passing and buildup is vastly better now than last season (would've loved to have seen Martial in this game) but it's unreal that we STILL don't have a reliable striker for the 3rd year on. If we keep failing to score at this rate, our results are no better than relegation candidates.

 

[RedElf]

I hate Clattenburg what a shite ref. Zlatan's needs to sharpen up and Rooney can do one.

 

[Lord Megadrive]

Well... guess we should've won that.. 37 attempts at goal! How many were genuine chances though?
We are playing a bit rubbish at the moment but soon.. it'll be glorious when this team clicks, and tbh when Mourinho uses a front 3 of Martial Mikhi and Rashford! Just think our front 3 would be called MMR..

 

[Dr. Funkenstein]

What clear cut chances did Burnley waste?

One shot went over de the bar which practically only had to be on target to become a goal and one player was through and had only De Gea to beat but he let Shaw get back at him.

 

[Catt]

What did Rui Faria say?

 

[rockerlad]

This is on Ibrahimovic.

Flat track bully my arse.

He's pants

 

[Ban]

One shot went over de the bar which practically only had to be on target to become a goal and one player was through and had only De Gea to beat but he let Shaw get back at him.

Those aren't called clear cut chances.

 

[pauldyson1uk]

United best display this season v one of the best keeper displays I have ever seen, on another day we would if won 6-0

 

[redshaw]

We're on course for another ~50 goal season at this rate.

Hopefully today's game has shown things are about to change and the goals will come but it's all looking very familiar.

I don't think its a coincidence that 2013 we had Rooney RVP and Hernandez at their peaks, since then we know Rooney is done, same with RVP. We strangely sold Hernandez and haven't replaced any of the three never mind all three. This is a huge failing that Fergie wouldn't have let happen.

Rashford has only just emerged, still very young but I feel he is one of our next superstars. Martial is a maybe he'll come good but never seems to be prolific. Rooney is even more done and Ibra would be a good squad player yet he's our main man. Ibra is top quality player but it's like relying on Teddy Sheringham alone with some hopefuls and a dead horse and playing these guys down the wings hasn't really helped us, we just scrape by each season.

1. ----
2. ----
3. Ibra
4. Rashford.

 

[K2K]

I don't even remember it what did we exactly talk about ?

Unpopular opinions thread while we still doing well.

You said the reason we were doing so well was because we had played easy teams. I disagreed then.

 

[Rams]

It wasn't a bad performance, god knows how we didn't win today. Things not going our way at the moment.

 

[RedIke]

Not much needs to be said today.

Best attacking game in years. Shit result. Weird, dumb, funny, outrageous, maddening. All of the above.