We're winning this one comfortably!
Crystal Palace vs. Manchester United
- Thread starter Annihilate Now!
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik (@Rood) is joined by CEO Duncan Drasdo and Financial Director Andy Green from the Manchester United Supporters Trust for a special episode on all things behind the scenes at Old Trafford including a brief history of MUST and their aims today, views on INEOS and Sir Jim Ratcliffe so far, and the Old Trafford regeneration.
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Think Palace will probably take the win. 1-0. Set piece. Hideous away fixture now under Pulis.
I think if we can build on the improvements in our play that we saw in the Arsenal game we can win this and with a bit of style.
Did I miss something? I swear the Sun reported Rooney had signed the other day.
It hasn't actually been signed. The Guardian, Times and Telegraph have all reported it to be signed this week.
I'm sick of saying it now really, but it has to be Rooney, Mata, Januzaj, van Persie as a four in any shape as they're generally going to move around and be difficult to mark anyway. Valencia and Young should not be starting games for us any more, though I'm sure we'll see them when we play away in the Champions League.
Probably, as Mata wont be playing any Champions league games for you.
Will stick 30 quid on a 1-1 draw.
Mata was wasted on the left against Arsenal....
Im more in favour of picking a system to suit the players rather than 4-4-fecking2 with AMs out of position
I just want to see Mata and Kagawa in tandem. Kagawa is yet to play since Mata's arrival and there's potential for some great passages of play with those two in the side. Even if it's sporadic.
Mata has shown he can be very effective on the left or the right, we just need tactics to suit him.
This will be a tough one. Your attacking troubles coupled with Palace and their defence will probably see the game end up 1-1 in an awful game.
That's the thing though, when one of Mata/Rooney/Januzaj/van Persie can't play, it should not be Valencia/Young who come in, it should be Kagawa as he's a similar player to the three we'd want behind RvP (or if not Kagawa, then a central midfield player). At the moment, even when those four are fit and able to play (and Kagawa is too), it's still Valencia/Young who get the nod. My hope for United is that we play this system of those three attacking number 10's behind a striker and when there's an injury, suspension, or ineligible player, you play your next best player who fits the system, not change the system to bring in width and a worse player. Out-and-out wingers are ways to change the game during the game, not from the start. It's how Chelsea were/are playing, albeit with a couple of players who are 'more' winger-like than Mata/Januzaj, but a darn sight less of a full on wide player like Valencia for example. The difference could be that United actually have a still top-class striker in front of them.
I'm also sick of people suddenly jumping in and saying oh Mata is wasted on the wing or on the left. He shouldn't be there, even when the four I/we keep wanting to play eventually do play together. It will not be as straightforward as Rooney in the hole and Januzaj/Mata wide. Think of it as an offensive diamond rather than the conventional midfield diamond.
Rooney
Mata Januzaj
van Persie
Mata Januzaj
van Persie
That's how it should go, with those three swapping whenever needed. You have two holding midfield players in Carrick/Fletcher/Jones/Fellaini who just sit there while your front four go at the opposition, which also enables one or both of Rafael/Evra to go forward and provide the width instead of Mata/Januzaj being 'wasted' there. It just seems like a much better way to play as at all times you can have 4-5 players defending and 5-6 players attacking.
I just hope it is given a chance and we can get some consistency going. Starting Young/Valencia is holding the team's development back IMO and not getting the best results in the process.
I don't even care at this stage.... Just start Kagawa and Mata...
Unless something miraculous has happened in the sun, I can see nothing other than defeat here.
You know that wont happen so are you just saying it so you can have something to moan about?. How can you not care at this stage??????
Moyes must surely be close to panicking at this stage. Under such circumstances, he might even try to play Mata and Kagawa at the same time. That's what I'm hoping for.
The season is fecked, and I don't believe for a second that we will finish top 4 now. And I've been known for being ridiculously optimistic when it comes to United. Hell, before the season started I even predicted that we'd win the league
It's all about the CL now for me. Let's do a Liverpool/Chelsea!
Moyes must surely be close to panicking at this stage. Under such circumstances, he might even try to play Mata and Kagawa at the same time. That's what I'm hoping for.
The season is fecked, and I don't believe for a second that we will finish top 4 now. And I've been known for being ridiculously optimistic when it comes to United. Hell, before the season started I even predicted that we'd win the league
It's all about the CL now for me. Let's do a Liverpool/Chelsea!
Still plenty to care about even without domestic chances. Still tons to look forward to for the rest of the season. Tons to be interested in.
De Gea
Evans - Vidic
Rafael ----------------------- Evra
Carrick - Fletcher
Januzaj - Mata - Kagawa
Rooney
__________________________________________
Evans - Vidic
Rafael ----------------------- Evra
Carrick - Fletcher
Januzaj - Mata - Kagawa
Rooney
__________________________________________
The team above is most likely a fantasy baring in mind Moyes doesn't seem to know who Kagawa is, or have the balls to play Rooney in his best position in place of RVP. I feel that Rooney and the team are suffering due to players being moved out of their favoured positions to accoomodate Rooney and RVP in the same lineup. Rooney is best playing as the main striker. We have enough players better at playing in the hole between midfield and attack than Rooney. He needs to be a main striker and let players like I've selected above do the job that they're best at. Rafael and Evra will create the width needed for the AM's to do their job.
I'm sure some people will have a problem with the above lineup, but above is the formation and players I want to see us playing for the rest of the season. RVP and Rooney don't seem to work together in the same team, individually they're brilliant, together they're bringing us down. On paper, those two players in the starting lineup looks great, it's not the same for reality. I feel that RVP or Rooney will need to leave in the summer to make way for different type of player, a more 'Mata' like player. I would prefer to keep Wayne over Robin.
Nothing less than 3 points should be acceptable we've dropped enough points at OT already.
Has 1-0 defeat written all over it.
I feel optimism creeping back to me, but maybe that's just because it has been a while since our last catastrophe. I think I am prepared to believe the Arsenal game was us turning a corner.
Anyone posting a line up without one of Valencia or Young is going to be disappointed. Or rather, we are all going to be disappointed because one of either Valencia or Young will play.
1-2
We will get by here, but only just.
We will get by here, but only just.
It seems like there's a broad opinon that this formation suits the players we have more than the 4-4-2 we've tried. The fact RvP, Nani and even Young (though probably not Valencia) would also suit this formation gives it weight.
I really long to at least see it in action once - if only to see with my own eyes that its not right.
Sadly what we're more likely to see is
De Gea
Rafael---Smalling---Jones---Evra
Valencia Fletcher---Carrick Mata-
Rooney
RvP
Rafael---Smalling---Jones---Evra
Valencia Fletcher---Carrick Mata-
Rooney
RvP
0-3
I'm confident. Nothing to lose now. Moyes will just try things out now, and I reckon his try-out for this match will be a successful one
I'm confident. Nothing to lose now. Moyes will just try things out now, and I reckon his try-out for this match will be a successful one
A turning corner? I'm not too sure, but at least we had a bit of an identity to our play and tactics. Result wise, it was a very disappointing game for me, I think that Arsenal were there for the taking.
Maybe they were but still a point at the emirates is a respectable result. We tried to vary our attacking play more, we looked pretty solid. You could tell neither team wanted to lose it.
That was part of the issue for me. Taking into account how shockingly far off we are from 4th place, I think that a draw was a pointless result. We needed to win that game.
I can see both points of view in this though. As much as a win would have been lovely, a loss would have been devastating, and that is not because of the points. A draw gives us something to build on. As you say we are shockingly far off 4th - so far off, in fact, that we can probably afford to stop worrying so much about points and just try and build up confidence and momentum. I agree it was a bit disappointing but I think some patience is called for. If we do put together a decent run of form from here then I think the Arsenal game will come to be seen as the turning point, the springboard that launched it. But only time will tell.
De Gea
Jones--Smalling--Vidic--Evra
Carrick--Fletcher
Mata--Rooney--Januzaj
van Persie
1-3.
Hopefully Kagawa and Fellaini come on at some stage. Let Mata play the whole game as he won't be available for the Champions League. Kagawa on for Rooney/van Persie or Januzaj and Fellaini on for Carrick.
Jones--Smalling--Vidic--Evra
Carrick--Fletcher
Mata--Rooney--Januzaj
van Persie
1-3.
Hopefully Kagawa and Fellaini come on at some stage. Let Mata play the whole game as he won't be available for the Champions League. Kagawa on for Rooney/van Persie or Januzaj and Fellaini on for Carrick.
I think we'll draw this. 1-1.
But that's what Moyes has been doing all his career - trying not to lose games. To me it's ominous that in a game we had to win, he was still driven by fear of losing.
We didnt have to win it. Winning it would have felt great but it wouldnt have made any real difference to us. We still wouldnt be getting 4th, win or lose.
I mean, if this was a must win game, then it is hard to think of a game - other than a friendly - that isnt one.
I mean, if this was a must win game, then it is hard to think of a game - other than a friendly - that isnt one.
Anything but a Fletcher/Carrick midfield please. It's so slow that we keep getting hit on the counter.
The attack's scoring enough to get points from games, but we keep conceding soft goals because our defence gets so stretched.
The attack's scoring enough to get points from games, but we keep conceding soft goals because our defence gets so stretched.
On paper, we've more than enough talent to demolish Palace but, like others, my store of optimism has been badly depleted this season. Pulis has got a pretty good team spirit going and they'll be tough to beat.
Any idea if Nani is back?
I would like to see the below line up.
De Gea
Rafael --Smalling--Jones--Evra
Carrick--Rooney
Nani---Mata--Januzaj
Van Persie
Kagawa to play in the CL.
I would like to see the below line up.
De Gea
Rafael --Smalling--Jones--Evra
Carrick--Rooney
Nani---Mata--Januzaj
Van Persie
Kagawa to play in the CL.
Wot! No Young?
Another one of those annoying myths knocking round. That's not true at all.
Moyes might have set Everton up not to lose when playing teams that were much better than Everton (even then, this was arguably only in the away fixtures - he collected some impressive scalps at Goodison) but you don't get the type of league finish that became the norm at Everton without setting out to win a lot of games too. Going into each game with your first priority not to lose is what relegation candidates do, not teams pushing for CL/UEFA cup places.
Or teams going through a bad patch of form. I'm hoping we can grind out a win and build on it.
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