[cyril C]

It's all about getting the win at this stage of the cup, performances don't really mean too much.

Job done. Move on.

Performance does matter as we need to see how the players perform. Still disappointed with Perriera and Fred but good to give them some game time.

 

[RedTillI'mDead]

Summary
5 wins in a row

3rd goal in 3 games for Lukaku and showed nothing we didn't already know. A good finisher of last pass, bad with back to goal, not a great first touch.

Jones the only starter from current first team to get a whole game. And only Rashford after that with a small warm up. So great for resting most of the first team of Spurs game.

A run out for Chong, adrenaline made him a little frantic for first game, but showed high energy, speed and skill. Too early to judge on attacking or crossing ability. Only had one cross and it was a disaster, which comes with the adrenaline.

Beyond those highlights it was a pretty poor game. 40% possession. 8 shots vs 13 for Reading. 5 on target each. 1 corner vs 4. 322 passes vs 491 80% pass accuracy vs 84. Top three touches and passes by Reading players and two of top tackles and interceptions and created chances were Reading players.

Sanchez one very good assist aside showed that he is barely half the player he was and even if he can provide moments he is no more than Rooney was for us. Its like we got rid of one has been on a super high salary and replaced him with another. We need to sell if we can, even on a free. The salary would be better spent enhancing the squad.

I thought McTominay was invisible, but he had 3rd highest pass accuracy at 92%, 3rd most interceptions with 7, joint highest chances created at 2.

Fred was crap, but he needs to be in a progressive forward attacking side which we weren't today

Perriera as always showed the glimpse of class that people rave about, like the shot at the end, but otherwise was barely involved and this is Reading so he should be doing more. I'm still far from convinced.

Mata offered little in this game. We desperately need additional investment on RW to bring natural width.

Defence overall were fairly assured. Reading had chances but not many clear cut.

Overall, not as good as we should expect. Barely any players showing their worth to make first team, even as a sub. But we are through, plenty of players got rested and with 5 in a row Ole has the record for only United manager to win first 5 games. So let's keep positive and the first real real challenge is next week. I'm not seeing enough to be confident we can win or even draw vs Spurs, but training in Dubai should be a good way to get us switched on, warmed up and focused on the game.

I'm worried about this talk of no signings. We almost certainly should be investing in a CB and a RW and there is a good case to say a RB should be on the agenda as should a young DM to develop into Matic replacement.

 

[Rash Decision]

Think the balance of the team in general was terrible. Sanchez Mata Lukaku as the front 3 meant only Lukaku has pace, and only Sanchez presses from the front. The rest of the team suffers as a result. That's on top of the terrible midfield performance as well.

 

[snk123]

Romero - Excellent and reliable as always
Dalot - Okay
Darmian - Surprisingly good as a CB
Jones - Jones
Young - OK. But should moan less.

McTominay - OK.
Fred - Has excellent vision and passing. Is not a DM and should not be the one in front of the defence. Positionally is awful. Why is his touch so poor? The ball always bounces off his first touch.
Pereira - His first touch doesn't get him away from the opponent. Crisp passing with right and left foot though. Similar to Fred in being wasteful.

Mata - Awful. Worst I've seen him play.
Lukaku - Good goal but overall play very Lukakuish.
Sanchez - Played well and eager to impress. Excellent vision


Chong - Rusty
Fellaini - Fellaini
Rashford - So it seems like he's very selfish as a LW.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

The pressing from the front was poor. It was basically Sanchez and Fred pressing, but Lukaku, Mata and McTominay were not able to. That allowed Reading to get a easy foothold in the game from the start. After that we played on the counter, but the midfield made too many errors, and had no chemistry at all. That meant we really did not launch many attacks because of that. Thankfully, the individual quality of our attackers got us the goals, and our defenders did surprisingly well. Never felt we were really threatened at any point.

Still, good win, players rested and now the Spurs game.

Just shows Rashford , Martial and Lingard bring a lot of energy round the box. The midfield was awful. This was the chance for fringe players to show their worth and they failed. You take your chance when you get it or you might not get another.

 

[Tincanalley]

If Fred, Pereira and McTominay got an extended cup run together maybe they might start to click. That’s being very optimistic

 

[Paul the Wolf]

That was fairly uninspiring but we're through and rested a lot of players.

Midfield and both the full backs were weak and not in control of the game.
Fred had some good moments but still gives the ball away too often. McTominay seems a bit of a pointless player. Pereira dithers too much.
Dalot and Young didn't give much apart one foray each.
Darmian, Jones and Romero were steady.
Lukaku and Sanchez didn't get much service and Mata was below par again.
Chong tried too hard to impress, Fellaini was Ok and Rashford a bit rash today.
No-one stood out for MoM.

 

[Garethw]

From Ole's interview after the game, he's far from impressed by the performance.

Good to hear. A lot of those players let him down today.

Hopefully a fair few of the 11 players that started today will be shipped off come the summer.

 

[Tincanalley]

Romero - Excellent and reliable as always

Dalot - Okay
Darmian - Surprisingly good as a CB
Jones - Jones
Young - OK. But should moan less.

McTominay - OK.
Fred - Has excellent vision and passing. Is not a DM and should not be the one in front of the defence. Positionally is awful. Why is his touch so poor? The ball always bounces off his first touch.
Pereira - His first touch doesn't get him away from the opponent. Crisp passing with right and left foot though. Similar to Fred in being wasteful.

Mata - Awful. Worst I've seen him play.
Lukaku - Good goal but overall play very Lukakuish.
Sanchez - Played well and eager to impress. Excellent vision


Chong - Rusty
Fellaini - Fellaini
Rashford - So it seems like he's very selfish as a LW.

Jones is Jones, Fellaini is Fellaini and Lukaku is Lukaku. Who’d a thunk?

 

[Cockney Phil]

Learned a lot today, enjoyed it although it was very messy - as Ole said post-match its the first time they played together.

Positives — having now seen the full squad, obviously the players are good enough to win titles but some need game time. Rustiness can be overcome but only through playing as subs or the odd starts. We have no problems up front and gifted with some top players. Our midfield could become outstanding.

Negatives — it’s a bit shocking what LVG’s millions and Jose’s 400 millions have bought. We have no masters to take control in strategic positions. We have very skilful players and some are high class but we look fail in important places like CB/sweeper. I was disappointed that none of the young players really stepped up today. I thought Andreas has gone backwards under Jose, Fred looks lost and Dalot seems less promising than his start. McT needs to use his qualities better instead of being so easily intimidated. Rom’s limitations were once again on show. Fella is no longer plan B.

Future - Sanchez is done, he simply cannot replace Mata for sustained productivity. Long term we need a strong replacement for Mata. In contrast Chong looks more than promising and has the chance of stepping up. Long term I would make Ander captain and Matic the No2.

 

[Tarrou]

only saw the last 30 minutes but we looked shite

Chong was doing his best bambi on ice impersonation

 

[AngliaRed]

What about Alexis?

Ole said its nothing to worry about, looked like a tight hamgstring.

 

[Garethw]

When the likes of Fred find themselves on the bench for all the important games, he better not complain.

Exactly. This was his chance to wrestle a starting spot away from Herrera or Matic. He failed.

 

[ash_86]

Please tell me this was a one off game. That was hard to watch.

 

[Buster15]

Ole said its nothing to worry about, looked like a tight hamgstring.

Excellent. Appreciate the update.

 

[Garethw]

only saw the last 30 minutes but we looked shite

Chong was doing his best bambi on ice impersonation

Today was the wrong game to introduce him. We couldn’t keep possession for longer than ten seconds at a time.

I’m a bit concerned that the management team weren’t able to change things around. We were shit for the whole 90 minutes.

 

[Melville Red]

I did wonder why Fred was playing in The Ukraine. I also wondered why we were buying a player who was, playing in The Ukraine. I wondered some more when nobody else was showing any interest in him and he didn’t feature once in the Brazilian team at the WC. £50+million, nice!
I realise now of course that he is indeed shite and should be playing in, er The Ukraine or another hotbed of first class football. Another great signing by Mourinho.

 

[Feed Me]

Shit game but we made nine changes which was always going to have an impact. The lads now have a week of warm weather training ahead of the Spurs assignment when the team will look different.

Romero and Darmian were good, but it was slim pickings other than that. I actually think Darmian looks better in the middle than out wide. I wouldn't complain if he started alongside Lindelof against Spurs.

The midfield trio were absolutely atrocious and we can all see why Fellaini is the go-to man when the first choice players in that area aren't available.

Lukaku won't start games when it really matters because he's way too passive off the ball, although he's a great back up option against the no-mark teams.

I personally think Sanchez needs to be judged when surrounded by our best players, but two cute assists in under a week is a pretty decent re-entry to the side. Hope his substitution was more precautionary than an actual injury but I'd expect Lingard back in the team against Spurs in any case.

You can forgive the odd stodgy performance as long as they are the exception instead of the norm.

 

[Garethw]

Please tell me this was a one off game. That was hard to watch.

Let’s hope so.

 

[12OunceEpilogue]

Good to hear. A lot of those players let him down today.

Hopefully a fair few of the 11 players that started today will be shipped off come the summer.

Yes, he's had a few questions answered about his our fringe players and none of this lot can be surprised to find themselves on the bench going forward.

 

[Judas]

I did wonder why Fred was playing in The Ukraine. I also wondered why we were buying a player who was, playing in The Ukraine. I wondered some more when nobody else was showing any interest in him and he didn’t feature once in the Brazilian team at the WC. £50+million, nice!
I realise now of course that he is indeed shite and should be playing in, er The Ukraine or another hotbed of first class football. Another great signing by Mourinho.

City wanted him. Magical Pep wanted him.

 

[kouroux]

Today was the wrong game to introduce him. We couldn’t keep possession for longer than ten seconds at a time.

I’m a bit concerned that the management team weren’t able to change things around. We were shit for the whole 90 minutes.

On theory today was the perfect game to introduce him because it will rarely get easier than this. However we really didn't exert that much effort to control the game better which would have helped the kid more. It's a bit disappointing really

City wanted him. Magical Pep wanted him.

Getting interested in a player is one thing but to go the length of acquiring is something else altogether. Fred is way way too clumsy on the ball

 

[AN17]

It's important for us to remember that our entire squad is not drilled into following a style of play like City or Pool do right now. Most of the players today were rusty, not familiar with each others rhythm and movement and it clearly showed. It's going to take a lot more than a few weeks to get the fringe players up and ready to fill in whenever needed and perform to an acceptable level. Even then some are not going to be good enough(which we already know) and I'm sure we'll bring in the necessary replacement in the summer.

 

[dannyrhinos89]

That team was pretty much a team of deadweights we should be moving on.

Darmian
Jones
Pereira
Mctominay
Mata
Lukaku
Sanchez



All should be sold.

Romero, Young, dalot and Fred are ok as backups.

 

[reelworld]

Watched it expecting to see bad football, and it went exactly like that. 9 changes and 2 players returning from injury will do that.

 

[klsv]

Classic Jones

Spoiler

 

[R.N7]

 

[Tony247]

I did wonder why Fred was playing in The Ukraine. I also wondered why we were buying a player who was, playing in The Ukraine. I wondered some more when nobody else was showing any interest in him and he didn’t feature once in the Brazilian team at the WC. £50+million, nice!
I realise now of course that he is indeed shite and should be playing in, er The Ukraine or another hotbed of first class football. Another great signing by Mourinho.

It is understandable if a player makes couple of mistakes, everyone does. But his consitency in incosistency is outrageous! There is not one aspect of his game I can think of worthy of wearing Man Utd shirt.

 

[Hugh Jass]

That was poor. Against a PL side we would have shipped a few goals.

Granted we made a lot of changes.

 

[Johan07]

Romero - Excellent and reliable as always
Dalot - Okay
Darmian - Surprisingly good as a CB
Jones - Jones
Young - OK. But should moan less.

McTominay - OK.
Fred - Has excellent vision and passing. Is not a DM and should not be the one in front of the defence. Positionally is awful. Why is his touch so poor? The ball always bounces off his first touch.
Pereira - His first touch doesn't get him away from the opponent. Crisp passing with right and left foot though. Similar to Fred in being wasteful.

Mata - Awful. Worst I've seen him play.
Lukaku - Good goal but overall play very Lukakuish.
Sanchez - Played well and eager to impress. Excellent vision


Chong - Rusty
Fellaini - Fellaini
Rashford - So it seems like he's very selfish as a LW.

He was not. He played Pogbas role and was the most forward of the two #8s compared to McT who played more like Herrera. Pereira sat in front of the defence. Which game did you see?

 

[hungrywing]

Every single player out there bar Rashford and arguably Young had something to prove today and they either played like an FA Cup game against Reading is beneath them or tried hard but were unable to stand out against relegation fodder from the Championship. Very worrying.

Our keeper was MOTM. Against fecking Reading.

Yep. No proactive running from the midfield at all. I don't know about worrying though. Disappointing for sure.

Players can get a bit pouty playing with 'the second string' against 'unworthy' opposition. But either way, Ole learns something about them and gets some ammunition with which to perhaps motivate them.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

City wanted him. Magical Pep wanted him.

Think Pep played a naughty trick on us.

 

[EwanI Ted]

Poor match. Attackers and defenders weren’t great, but the problem was midfield. McTominay, Pereira and Fred were really poor both individually and as a unit. Not even sure who was supposed to be where, they just seemed to wander wherever they pleased leaving huge gaps for Reading to receive the ball every time they lost it. The gap in quality got us though in the end, but those three were poor and made otherwise mediocre performances from the attackers and defenders seem much worse.

Still, it was the second string and I’ve seen enough crappy second string cup games not to get too worried about it.

Special mention to the Reading fans, who have to be the quietest away fans I can ever recall at Old Trafford. Give em a trophy or something.

 

[RedTillI'mDead]

BT being too cheap to pay for the studio really benefiting them now with the lawnmowers drowning out the "analysis".

I did think this was hugely embarrassing. Talk about poor. They shouldn't be getting in this position.

 

[Yoichikuroma]

Pretty poor performance overall, can't comment much about the forward because of the nonexistent midfield. I don't think pereira will be here next season, still don't understand the hype about him.

 

[Lam]

Happy with the win and can understand why we didn’t press like the previous game. It’s important to preserve players and win with least effort at this stage.

That said, I was a bit disappointed with Lukaku, Sanchez, Andreas and Fred. These players should be staking a claim in the first team with a good performance but did not really show energy or enthusiasm. Maybe they were instructed to just do enough?

Lingard Martial and Rashford should start on current form over Mata Sanchez and Lukaku. Never thought I would say this!

 

[Decade long lurker]

Poor game. Ground was quiet. Busy period though and all that mattered was getting through. Move on,Huge test next Sunday.

 

[Irwin99]

It wasn't a great match but we're through to the 4th round. Some of the players were disappointing though considering that this was a good chance for them to show their worth. I actually thought our best players were our goalkeeper and two central defenders. The midfield was absolutely woeful. Mctom did much better in the second half and won quite a few tackles but he couldn't control the game. My impression of him is that he's a fairly decent tackler with decent awareness but has no authority when we have the ball. Fred and Pereira were all over the place at times.

Sucks that Alexis got injured. Jones looked like he took a knock at the end of the game too

 

[Trizy]

They were pretty much all shite. Romero motm? Still felt like a routine comfortable 2-0 win though so who cares really. None of these bar probably Young or Jones should start vs Spurs

Yup Romero was the only consistent one.

First time in ages we won all festive fixtures including the January cup game. Or have we ever?

 

[KingOle]

Lot's of nerves on everyone it seemed. When you play 9 fringe players they dont really have anyone to lean on and it becomes like this.

Good goals and kept a clean sheet so thats good, and Lukaku is impressing me with his clinical finishing though,if he'd be happy as a sub he has a future in the club.