Entertainment value or just get the 3 pts?

[sunama]

Whenever we win no matter how ugly, it put a smile on my face, even to the very least a sigh of relief.

Playing wonderfully but losing... ouch... it'll hurt, especially on big game.

I remember us playing CFC 2 years ago.
We had I think 71% possession and we lost.
I think that was when it dawned on me that playing great football. High possession. Dominating the opponent. And then losing the game is painful and frustrating. I decided on that day, that I'd rather dominate the match less, but come away with a win. Winning is all that matters, now, especially given that we haven't won the league in 5 years.

5 years of no league win, can turn into 10, 20 or even 30 years. Ask Liverpool about this.
IMO, we need to win a league asap, hook or by crook. The longer we go without a league win, the more difficult it will be to re-gain it (again, using Liverpool's example).
If you need further evidence notice how long it's taking Jose to take us back to the top. Notice how LVG just could not get us into the top 3 and eventually conceded that we should not expect to win the league. Had Jose or LVG taken over immediately after SAF, the pressure and expectation would've been to win the league immediately.

We need to win that league, whichever way possible and Jose is exactly the right manager to deliver that. I believe that now more than ever.

 

[Cee90]

We shouldn't have to pick between one or the other.

But for me as a fan, I'd much rather see us play entertaining football rather than set out to play a bland, uninspiring brand of football.

Sure, in some cases we will need to take a cautious approach to certain matches, but in the majority of matches I'd like to see a better style of football.

Jose is just trying to do what's best for him, which is of course to win matches. In my opinion, he doesn't really place that much value and importance on what the fans want or the tradition of the club.

He thinks that by adopting a defensive approach it will minimise our chances of losing. The problem is, we often look blunt in attack and when things don't go to plan, it's easy to point the finger at him.

I watch football to be entertained. It's the reason I fell in love with the game and our club. It is not life or death, therefore I want to watch us play exciting, attacking football whilst also winning.

 

[Decomposing In Paris]

You like wasting 90minutes of your life then admiring United’s football kit?

Well, that was patronizing.

Getting 3 points requires your team to score at least one goal more than the opposition, so it's not a fashion show, it's a football match. You're talking about a "brand" or "style" of football that you may prefer, that goes in and out of fashion, 3 points never will.

 

[Romez]

We all became fans of football by the actual sport being played on the pitch, not the results.

Now when you decide to support a team results obviously become more important, but the reason we 'waste' almost 2 hours of our days week after week is to watch the football being played. As a fan of a big team we're spoiled into wanting the team to win silverware which you need results to achieve but we should also be playing at least some entertaining football.

I'm going to assume this applies to a lot of people here, but multiple times this season I find myself saying 'at least we got the win' at the end of games, but I definitely was not happy during the match. You get annoyed and frustrated with what you're seeing. This type of feeling should only occur a couple times a season, it shouldn't be the norm.

If all that mattered was the 3 points, why even watch the games? You might as well just check the results on your phone or something.

You need both, specially as one of the biggest teams in the world.

 

[Turnip]

I watch football for entertainment, not so I can just say that that team I like won. Started watching United because they were fun to watch, not because they won everything (though admittedly I'm sure that helped).

If we played in LvG's style but won every game of the season I'd fecking love it... for a season. After a while I'd be wondering why I was bothering to spend 2 hours a week watching something that didn't bring me any entertainment. Liverpool and Tottenham fans are loving it at the moment, they genuinely don't seem too bothered that they aren't going to win anything because being able to watch your team and have a good time doing so is more important.

I don't think it has to be a one or the other choice, but if it was, I'd pick entertainment.

Maybe I'm watching the wrong sport, because even the best teams are mostly kinda boring. Barca spend a lot of time passing between their defenders and not doing much. Basketball on the other hand is a thrill ride pretty much every match, even in the BBL. I think football could learn from other sports and bring in more rules to force more exciting games, like shot clocks or ways to stop time wasting or being harsher on diving.

 

[downunder red]

So a lot of you are saying we should put up with games where we have 1 or 2 shots and scrape a win. A club like us shouldn't even think like that . With the resources we've got it's sad we're even discussing it.

 

[TMDaines]

We often score six and seldom score ten...

Our last six+ goal haul was that 8-2 against Arsenal on 28th August 2011. That seems a long time ago. Heck we have only done it four times post-2004.

I'd be interested to know how this compares to other top clubs both in the PL era and historically.

 

[SAFTHEGREAT]

I think i have got to understand Jose better since i've been watching him from his Milan/Madrid days. He is a pragmatist but i don't think he's installing negative tactics to the team.

2 things that are most important when it comes to winning football matches- more goals than your opponent and 3 points.

Jose understands this and sets up his teams to go out and keep the ball in front of them when defending. He likes all his players to commit to their jobs and always look for trouble with the ball in sight. When 9 players are looking towards the ball in defense, it is easier to set off your opponent than when you're midfield in your opponents half and the back 4 need to take care of all the defending. Jose likes to sit deep with more members and counter big teams because that's the best way to annoy teams that cannot score even after hogging the ball for longer periods which slowly but eventually frustrates them into committing mistakes.

He definitely likes the defensive approach but i think we have been poor in attack because there is no co-ordination within the team in terms of offensive approach. We change a lot from one match to another in the front of the pitch and i think it has cluttered their vision. Too many good players who are not breaking through consistently. I would like to think that Jose is not the problem here but our players are not owning up to their jobs. Of course United is not a team that should play with lesser possession than any other team but that does not mean we shouldn't change for the manager who wants to win no matter what the circumstances.

We need to believe in Jose and close the door in defense. He will provide the way for our attacks to bloom only when he is 100% convinced we will never leak goals behind because of performance/technicality issues. Jose's one of the best managers in the world for the way he thinks and i think given the right squad and a group with positive minded players, he can push any big team into abyss.