[Swearing Budgie]

Mctominey - Someone explain to me what he brings to the club apart from being fit? Awful player

Work rate. He's the new Darren Fletcher. Would be great at a club like West Ham.

I do like how he actually looks angry after we lose though. Nobody else does.

Maguire didn't seem angry after the match, just depressed. There's no fire in his belly. Not a leader. Not even a Utd player. A fanny.

 

[Withnail]

This is madness, we had a poor game after a poor start, it's not the end of the world but we should be doing better.

No huge mistakes by Ole or the starting XI/ formation.

The problems as I see it are Pogba who (against his value anyway) isn't playing well enough and deserves to put back onto the bench with Donny coming in.

We need to increase the risk/ tempo from the beginning in bigger games, when we go behind we suddenly look dangerous but it's too late, we need them to pick up the tempo from the off, I don't think it's about caring/ effort etc it's just too cautious.

The last thing that bothers me is that at half time, we needed to change something, come out firing, didn't even necessarily need subs or a tactical change but he needed to tell them, take this game, take risks, move further up the pitch and I think he was happy that it was 0-0.

We keep going at the end of the day and hopefully we can correct these things, I do think the diamond is the way to go but we need to play more at it and not keep switching back.

The period shortly after half time was the only time during the game we played with any urgency at all. They did come out with a different attitude and got further up the pitch. Unfortunately it only lasted about 10 mins and shortly after that they went ahead.

As for the diamond, I'm not so sure. As others have said we don't have amazing attacking fullbacks so we end up with no width at all.

 

[GueRed]

dissapointed but expected

my expectations of United these days are low tbf

top 4 is deemed 'success'

 

[AngeloHenriquez]

The period shortly after half time was the only time during the game we played with any urgency at all. They did come out with a different attitude and got further up the pitch. Unfortunately it only lasted about 10 mins and shortly after that they went ahead.

As for the diamond, I'm not so sure. As others have said we don't have amazing attacking fullbacks so we end up with no width at all.

Roy Keane said it well for me, you shouldn't need the manager to motivate you, he's there to drive you on and what you stated was maybe evidence of Solskjaer doing this and the player's having a bad day.

Diamond has been good and bad, much like every formation, maybe it just depends on the players quite simply? I truly believe a good performance is 80% players 5% manager 5% formation 5% luck & 5% form.

If we lose, it's mainly due to players is the sad fact.

 

[Bestietom]

The period shortly after half time was the only time during the game we played with any urgency at all. They did come out with a different attitude and got further up the pitch. Unfortunately it only lasted about 10 mins and shortly after that they went ahead.

As for the diamond, I'm not so sure. As others have said we don't have amazing attacking fullbacks so we end up with no width at all.

I think when we went down 0-1 ( no need for tackle) the heads dropped and with all the so called playmakers we have, we couldn't break them down. Wrong to take off Greenwood as I think he would have been the one who scored.

 

[Kuba]

I don't get why having 2 defensive fullbacks we are playing with 2 defensive midfielders if Wan Bissaka is not bombing forward on the right McT should do it, but he was standing in the central circle almost all the Time, we are chasing The game and still wants to have that 2 DM on the pitch while Arsenal is not going past half line. Put Cavani in Centre put Greenwood on the right move Rashford to the left, he is not CF his back to goal play is average. Sub off Pogba and play Bruno and VDB behind Cavani while Matic protect our backline try to score a goal. FFS. Show some balls.

About Shaw he has like few assists in his Life because his crossing is not very good yet he is almost our main corner and freekick taker and There is absolutely no danger at all. Its Phil fecking Jones on corners all over again. I mean what am I not seeing here ?

 

[fergieisold]

Ugh, hate the next day after a game like that. Even watching it I thought united kinda look alright...I was expecting them to go up the gears but it never happened.

 

[mitchmouse]

Anyone willing to convert because I don't believe we are better now than under Jose. It's telling that he had success pretty much everywhere he'd been before and has Spurs playing decent football at the moment

 

[Leftback99]

and? It's not really a big deal for a bunch idiots on an internet forum to get it wrong, but why is us being clueless a defence of the Manchester United manager?

It's all easy to say in hindsight. If he'd have gone with the usual 4-2-3-1 and still lost everyone would be saying how he's an idiot for not using the diamond or whatever it was.

It was poor from both the manager and players but Arsenal played well and were never going to be the walkover most thought.

 

[Bestietom]

It's all easy to say in hindsight. If he'd have gone with the usual 4-2-3-1 and still lost everyone would be saying how he's an idiot for not using the diamond or whatever it was.

It was poor from both the manager and players but Arsenal played well and were never going to be the walkover most thought.

A manager should be able to change his team on the field when things are not going our way. Then bring the right players on from the bench. Rashford was having a stinker yet he takes off Greenwood who was the only one looked like scoring.

 

[sparx99]

So? I don't get why us morons on here thinking something is a good idea and proving to be wrong is a defence of Ole. He's the one implementing these ideas in reality, not us.

Yeah, I’m defending the system not Ole. We have played a variety of formations none of which are to blame for our poor results. The poor results are poor implementation of the systems and/or poor team selection within those systems.

I just don’t like the idea of people blaming 4-2-3-1 or the diamond or 3-5-2 etc when those systems could all work if implemented in the right way.

 

[1988]

It's all easy to say in hindsight. If he'd have gone with the usual 4-2-3-1 and still lost everyone would be saying how he's an idiot for not using the diamond or whatever it was.

It was poor from both the manager and players but Arsenal played well and were never going to be the walkover most thought.

You could, sort of, say we lost with the 4231. After the break Solskjær changed the formation.

Fred, McTominay; Greenwood, Fernandez, Pogba; Rashford.

Solskjær had to however. Arteta had read the diamond well and Arsenal did well shutting us down in the first half.

 

[Betson]

Maguire didn't seem angry after the match, just depressed. There's no fire in his belly. Not a leader. Not even a Utd player. A fanny.

Looked far too calm and relaxed for a man who should be spitting fire for how things are going , we seem content with being a top 6 team who beats a better team now and gain.

 

[12OunceEpilogue]

The first half was terrible. Formation wasn't working as we kept giving the ball away when we did finally manage to get it. Especially Fred. Bruno was blunted, not by the presence of Pogba, but because we hardly had the ball. Greenwood was horrid, his frustration showed when he got that yellow for lunging in to retrieve the ball after losing it. Don't remember much from Rashford save that KDB-esque pass to Mason that was saved.

I thought we defended well but couldn't keep the ball. Painful to watch.

I agree. Mason and Rashford both showed flashes but couldn't do enough with the scraps they were thrown. The defeat is not on either of them individually though I think there is huge room for improvement in their understanding as a front two (though it's unlikely to be seen much now given Martial is back).

We were better in the second half after the tactical switch, still not particularly good, but we could have nicked a 1-0 win had Pogba not lost his head and made us chase it. After that it really was painful; Arsenal could stay disciplined in their shape and we could barely lay a glove on them in half an hour of football.

 

[acrebo]

On Pogba....this was supposed to be his role right? So why did he seem so clueless in actually playing it. Honestly, the excuses are over at this point....Since we bought him, aside from one or two goals, Pogba has consistently flopped in big games...even when not completely poor he still only manages average performances in these games.

I certainly can't claim to be someone who is absorbed in football... I rarely watch other English teams, let alone continental club football, so I can't begin to suggest how Pogba was used for Juventus.

However, my understanding was that his best position was on the left side of midfield. Whilst I appreciate moving a player around means they can become less effective in their historically strongest position, how badly he performed yesterday is a real concern. Ironically, I think he worked quite hard but looked weak in defence and laborious in possession.

I know that, as a fanbase, we are generally flip-flopping between whether Ole's doing a 'good' job or not - I personally feel myself unintentionally doing it but it's really hard not to when we are going through such extremes. Whilst the PSG, Newcastle and Leipzig results were fantastic, the actual performances actually flattered to deceive with 8 of the 11 goals coming in the last 20 minutes. All three games remained in the balance prior to the last 20 and, certainly in the case of PSG and Leipzig, we rode our luck at times beforehand.

The players were poor yesterday, no doubt, but when there's such a significant lack of energy, intensity and coherence, that has to fall on the manager and coaching staff. There's absolutely the wider issue of the Board consistently not backing managers but we still have enough talent in the players Ole has at his disposal to put on far better displays than we've witnessed so far this season.

 

[Sandikan]

Looked far too calm and relaxed for a man who should be spitting fire for how things are going , we seem content with being a top 6 team who beats a better team now and gain.

We'll do very well to come top 6 this year.

 

[Lentwood]

In my mind the diamond was a good answer to Arsenals 3-4-3. In theory we had four midfielders up against their midfield two. We should have been dominating possession in the middle of the park. Instead, Fred, Pogba, Bruno and McTominay just gave it away constantly.

They had nowhere to go but sideways and backwards though. The only passing options going forward was straight passes into Greenwood and Rashford who then had to receive the ball back to goal in their own half.

When we switched to 4-2-3-1, the whole momentum of the game shifted. It was obvious Ole had asked the wingers to stay wide and for us to go more direct

 

[Giggsy13]

The period shortly after half time was the only time during the game we played with any urgency at all. They did come out with a different attitude and got further up the pitch. Unfortunately it only lasted about 10 mins and shortly after that they went ahead.

As for the diamond, I'm not so sure. As others have said we don't have amazing attacking fullbacks so we end up with no width at all.

We played better for the period after HT because our formation reverted back to a 4-2-3-1. It’s at that time Ole should have taken out Pogba for Cavani to allow Rashford to shift to the left. It was a disaster from a tactical standpoint. Ole is the author of his own demise.

 

[cyril C]

Yeah, I’m defending the system not Ole. We have played a variety of formations none of which are to blame for our poor results. The poor results are poor implementation of the systems and/or poor team selection within those systems.

I just don’t like the idea of people blaming 4-2-3-1 or the diamond or 3-5-2 etc when those systems could all work if implemented in the right way.

You can blame both the players and the manager. We could hardly pass the ball in the opposition half, because key players like Bruno, Pogba, were not there to receive, because middle was so congested, and Greenwood / Rashford had to come back to half line to receive the ball.

If our players can transform and adapt to the diamond, then it might work, as it work for other teams. But when our players play like school children then they don't have any clue.

 

[OleTheGreat]

That pass from Pogba to Mctominay in the box in the final minutes of the game was so funny. Mctominay is a defensive midfielder who can do nothing but play short passes and go back to his defense. He cannot pick a pass nor can he drive into the opposition box. He's just as useless as Pogba. I'm a huge fan of Pogba but I think he's completely lost his game after coming to United. He's never known his position in this team and has struggled to get going after so many years within the squad. I'm not someone who says OleOut or PogbaOut just because I hate how they're handling things but it doesn't look good at all.

 

[Leftback99]

You could, sort of, say we lost with the 4231. After the break Solskjær changed the formation.

Fred, McTominay; Greenwood, Fernandez, Pogba; Rashford.

Solskjær had to however. Arteta had read the diamond well and Arsenal did well shutting us down in the first half.

It changed it for the better and then Pogba happened.

 

[OleTheGreat]

Ole and the team dont have a f*cking clue sometimes. Absolute donuts on the field today.

Isn't it surprising how we just cannot get on the ball and go to find a few key passes and off towards the goal. Our pattern of play is just ridiculous. We were always looking to turning behind and go towards the defenders. I hated every min of that game. It was lame, lethargic and clueless. Lindelof pushed the ball forward once and slipped and always gave it away, shows how uncomfortable we looked.

 

[OleTheGreat]

Although we were poor, does anyone think Neville was way over the top in saying “Arsenal absolutely deserve the win”?

Their only goal was a penalty in which Bellerin was going nowhere, and apart from that they hit the bar from outside the box and had a couple of half chances.

Arsenal didn’t create enough chances for that kind of praise. Disappointing performance from us but a point would’ve been fair based on chances created.

Very True. I totally agree. We were rubbish but it certainly isn't Arsenal who deserved to win. They were just as bad as us and got away with it because Pogba was rubbish stretching in the wrong box. I will not agree if someone came out and said Arteta got one over on us. They had a better formation to ours and could've created a lot from the wide areas but they were just bad. We were rubbish through and through.

 

[Annihilate Now!]

Very True. I totally agree. We were rubbish but it certainly isn't Arsenal who deserved to win. They were just as bad as us and got away with it because Pogba was rubbish stretching in the wrong box. I will not agree if someone came out and said Arteta got one over on us. They had a better formation to ours and could've created a lot from the wide areas but they were just bad. We were rubbish through and through.

They were more organised, created the better openings and defended better then us... So yeah on balance they deserved it.

First half in particular they were clearly the better team.

 

[Name Changed]

It seemed to me that he changed the midfield. I know McTominay came in for Matic, but Fred seemed a lot deeper. It looked to me that McTominay replaced Fred and Fred replaced Matic.

The midfield was great against RBL. I don't understand why it was changed. We were so flat. There was no need to tinker so much after having our best game in a long time.

 

[OleTheGreat]

Watching Man Utd is like wasting 2hrs of my life for the last few years. After being smash by Tottenham, our manager decided that to be top 4 is to protect the back 4. Putting players who cannot attack into XI. Ole, you're disgraceful to the club where attacking is our DNA. Please resign ASAP! I doubt you can beat Everton, Southampton, Leicester, Wolves and etc. Joke!

We all thought playing PSG, Chelsea, Leipzig and Arsenal would decide Ole's future but I think it's the fixtures against Everton, Southampton, Leicester and Wolves that will actually bring about the sack of Ole20. PL is one of the toughest leagues in the world and like Jose mentioned in the interview last night, one game can change how a team can move up or down the table. Ole has done so much for the club and I appreciate everything he has but I don't think he has it in him to actually get them to play together and move like flowing water. What's worrying me more is I still have no idea how things can change for the better at United.

 

[theklr]

As much as OGS missed some tactical tweaks and subs, i dont really care much about that because that wasnt the main culprit at all. If the players were on their game we 100% would have won this match because quality wise we are much better than Arsenal, even with Martial out.

What I do care about is the worrying capacity of the coaching team and the players inability to get their match concentration and fitness in order.

Sloppy and lethargic all over the pitch , just as against Spurs.

I actually agree with Roy Keane that the players have to take a long hard look at themselves. And Ole has to be less of a nice guy sometimes and not wrap the players mentality in cotton wool.

Sometimes you have to start treating them like the professional players they are.

 

[Giggsy13]

Very True. I totally agree. We were rubbish but it certainly isn't Arsenal who deserved to win. They were just as bad as us and got away with it because Pogba was rubbish stretching in the wrong box. I will not agree if someone came out and said Arteta got one over on us. They had a better formation to ours and could've created a lot from the wide areas but they were just bad. We were rubbish through and through.

Arsenal were not rubbish. If it wasn’t for a cross-bar and a few missed chances in the box, they could’ve won this 2 or 3 nil. They played a smart and controlled game.

The 1st half was damning indictment of Ole’s poor tactics. Arsenal played a high press and we were struggling to string passes together. Arsenal knew we would be playing through the middle so they nullified that threat and attacked down the wings forcing our FBs back. Arteta out thought and out manoeuvred Ole.

Ole got it right for the first 10 minutes in the 2nd half by switching formation but should have taken one of Fred or Pogba off for Cavani to allow Rashford to move to the left where he’s always a threat. It was poor substitutions and game management by Ole.

 

[UweBein]

I am honestly sick and tired of opposition fans in these threads. Fine in the Football Forum, but why in this section of the site? We have to watch tumescent, shit on a stick football every few days, and then have smug supporters of other teams slyly lauding it over us.

Because someone needs to give you a reasonable opinion about the game.
I saw a game between two team which any team might have won.
No team played particularly well or paticularly bad. You are just two points behind Chelsea which is not that bad at this point of the season.

 

[Robbie Boy]

I kind of thought we would nick a throughly undeserved goal and the narrative on here would be that Ole is a genius. Arsenal were deserved winners and we were lucky not to go in one or two down at half time.

It was a shameful performance and Ole got everything wrong that he could. I'm just about in the Ole out camp.

 

[ghagua]

In order to compete, we need to sort out our engine which is the midfield. As hard as they are trying, McT and Fred simply don't have the class to lift this team. Pogba is Pogba, not up for a fight and Matic is simply too slow and past it. We need a hard-working defensive midfielder to protect the defense and one who can make passes and move around the midfield. We then need to partner him with an attacking midfielder who can make passes. We may have one already in VdB if he is given chances.

Go for Denis Zakaria and Rice in the January transfer window. Zakaria, Rice, and VdB will make a nice pairing and give us options. Put all our midfielders up for sale if needed.

 

[oses14]

Difference is that teams in PL have worked us out. Clueless tactics.

Ok but you would think by this point Ole would at least know a decent idea of the squad to put out for those games. That’s my only gripe with Ole at the moment

 

[Giggsy13]

Because someone needs to give you a reasonable opinion about the game.
I saw a game between two team which any team might have won.
No team played particularly well or paticularly bad. You are just two points behind Chelsea which is not that bad at this point of the season.

I thought Arsenal were more organized and played with more purpose. You can see what they were trying to do re: control the flanks with Saka and Willian and force us to play through the middle, which they bossed for the majority of the 1st half.

Do you see Lampard surviving the sack? With Poch out there, I can see Roman making a move midway thru the season if results don’t improve.

 

[bsCallout]

In hindsight, I'd have liked to see VdB instead of Pogba, but Pogba had a blinder against Leipzig.

Most importantly though, Telles for Luke Shaw. Unfortunately it wasn't an option.

A front two is best for us, but it needs Martial.

We have great midfielders so a diamond should work.

But we have no way to break through the lines with pace thanks to our defence.

Telles and Tuanzabe in my opinion would make a huge difference. I don't care who Tuanzabe replaces between Maguire and Lindelof either.

 

[Will Singh]

Wtf?

Elaborate on what you mean?

Moyes was a proven PL manager (experience) and was chosen by SAF, Ole on the other hand was a failed PL manager but chosen by the fact that he was a club legend. On paper Moyes looked less of a risk then Ole.

 

[Strelok]

Elaborate on what you mean?

Moyes was a proven PL manager (experience) and was chosen by SAF, Ole on the other hand was a failed PL manager but chosen by the fact that he was a club legend. On paper Moyes looked less of a risk then Ole.

And just because of that Ole has been a bigger mistake than Moyes ?

You have an incredible sense of logic tbh

 

[hobbers]

Moyes was much less of a mistake than Ole relatively speaking.

He was the best of a bad situation, since as we learned afterwards SAF and the board preferred all of Pep, Klopp and Mourinho for the job but the timing was off for all 3 of them. At least with Moyes we got a rubbish manager in for what was obviously going to be an impossible job anyway. The real mistake was hiring LVG afterwards, despite his age and retirement plans.

 

[Utd heap]

He’s had a bunch of excellent games, this season and last. Far better than anything Kleberson ever produced. His problem (like most of this poxy team) is his capacity to follow up an excellent game by playing like absolute dog shit in his next run out.

Yeh i was hammered yesterday, talking bollocks.

He was that unbelievably shit that even me after 8 pints singled him out.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Yeh i was hammered yesterday, talking bollocks.

He was that unbelievably shit that even me after 8 pints singled him out.

Hehe. Been there (although haven’t managed 8 pints in a single session since late 00s)

 

[Inigo Montoya]

Elaborate on what you mean?

Moyes was a proven PL manager (experience) and was chosen by SAF, Ole on the other hand was a failed PL manager but chosen by the fact that he was a club legend. On paper Moyes looked less of a risk then Ole.

He was 4th choice mate