[Get In Scholesy]

On the plus side, the fans sarcastically cheering was the best moment of any United game for a few months. It showed a level of creativity and teamwork I thought impossible for people wearing United jerseys.

Very much so, sad that we resorted to that but funny nonetheless. It was refreshing, in an ironic type of way.

 

[Ixion]

The matches against Yeovil, Cambridge and Preston last season were about as bad as this game. #progress

 

[DomesticTadpole]

The matches against Yeovil, Cambridge and Preston last season were about as bad as this game. #progress

Except they were away from home. Those games are always tricky. We still came through them.

 

[vidic blood & sand]

 

[Dr. Funkenstein]

But Guardiola gives them the freedom to do whatever they want in the last part of the pitch.

Position,
Possession,
Play

Where the feck is our play ?

Where are the players who make it? Who is setting up attacks in the final third? Who is the man with the idea's? They are all reactive, they're all waiting to react to something happening, but no one is making things happen. They were waiting for Martial to get past defenders, so there's something to react to. This is not about Guardiola having players like Messi or Robben, this is about Guardiola having players like Iniesta or Vidal. Players who aren't just reactive, but proactive, who can make things happen from good positions in the final third because they have the imagination to set up attacks, class in the execution isn't even the matter here, it's about the idea's.

Herrera has a bit of that, not an awful lot, but he has been poor since coming back from injury, and even the execution of the most basic stuff was off. Mata was terrible yesterday, but has never shown the imagination to make things happen. They need the wide forwards to take on defenders because they can't think of anything themselves. What happens when you give freedom to players without imagination? They use their freedom to wait for things to happen. A signing that could really make a difference, change the face of this squad, it's a playmaker, a dominant player with vision and imagination who has ideas and takes initiative.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

Why didn't he just play:-
DDG
Darmian, BFS, Herrera, Memphis,
Rooney, Martial

4-4-2 with two wingers and not two holding midfielders.
Just curious.

 

[MDFC Manager]

Why didn't he just play:-
DDG
Darmian, BFS, Herrera, Memphis,
Rooney, Martial

4-4-2 with two wingers and not two holding midfielders.
Just curious.

Even LvG isn't nuts enough to play with only 7 players.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

Even LvG isn't nuts enough to play with only 7 players.

I missed Darmian, Smalling, Blind, CBJ off. Sorry. It would be interesting if nothing else.

 

[MDFC Manager]

I missed Darmian, Smalling, Blind, CBJ off. Sorry. It would be interesting if nothing else.

I agree with you though, I have no bloody idea why Fellaini was played in midfield yesterday. Even Rooney is better there (marginally, albeit).

 

[SirAF]

They came for a replay, they fought like any underdog does in the cup.

"They" as in United.

 

[rpitchfo]

Having chance to reflect - for me that was the worst performance this season for a number of reasons.

*It was against a league 1 team (a mid table one at that!)
* A league 1 team that showed no ambition - it's really not that hard to break down a resolute defence that you have miles more quality than. It only took a few runs by Depay to show that.
*It was at home
*It was in the FA cup (a chance to express ourselves away from our struggles in the league)
*It followed a victory (no glimmer of hope our troubles may be confidence based)

There are obviously lots of longer running issues around LVGs refusal to budge from an inflexible system and a number of players under performing - but as a one off game that really was as bad as it gets.

 

[noodlehair]

I actually thought Darmian was alarmingly shit... maybe not quite as shit as Mata, but definitely up there... and when them two make up the right side of your pitch, then feck me... it's really feckin' shit.

Yeah he was bad. I nearly always think Darmian is alarmingly shit though. He looks like he literally doesn't know how to play football.

I also always think Blind is alarmingly shit at centreback, but people seem to turn blind eye to that because he'll play a good long pass about once a month.

 

[Godfather]

On the plus side, the fans sarcastically cheering was the best moment of any United game for a few months. It showed a level of creativity and teamwork I thought impossible for people wearing United jerseys.

Yep. Was my favorite part of the game!

 

[Raees]

Positives

• Rooney is looking like the Wayne of old now and scoring again. Threat.
• Blind and Smalling didn't give them a sniff. Solid.
• Memphis coming on changed the game, great tactical awareness by LVG. Grandmaster.
• Midfield trio controlled proceedings from start to finish regardless of who came on. Domination.
• Youngters got more game time yet again. Paedo.

Negatives

• Spanish duo weren't at the races yet again, especially Herrera. AWOL
• Had everyone's touch been better could have kept the ball even more and protected against having a shot on target against us. Flawless.

 

[Godfather]

Yeah he was bad. I nearly always think Darmian is alarmingly shit though. He looks like he literally doesn't know how to play football.

I also always think Blind is alarmingly shit at centreback, but people seem to turn blind eye to that because he'll play a good long pass about once a month.

Don't agree much with Darmian I think he is doing ok, apart from not knowing how to cross a football. But totally agree on Blind.

 

[Godfather]

Positives

• Rooney is looking like the Wayne of old now and scoring again. Threat.
• Blind and Smalling didn't give them a sniff. Solid.
• Memphis coming on changed the game, great tactical awareness by LVG. Grandmaster.
• Midfield trio controlled proceedings from start to finish regardless of who came on. Domination.
• Youngters got more game time yet again. Paedo.

Negatives

• Spanish duo weren't at the races yet again, especially Herrera. AWOL
• Had everyone's touch been better could have kept the ball even more and protected against having a shot on target against us. Flawless.

The Wayne Rooney of old? You mean the one of a few months back I guess. The fecker looks as slow as ever.

 

[Raees]

As much as people slate Scholesy, his 10 minute rant was spot on!!!

Couldn't be more spot on. Especially about getting the ball to Rooney. I mean we should be playing it into him ASAP... no wonder he is suffering before this year. His performances are picking up now so it is vital we take advantage and get the ball into our captain fantastic and let him win us games.

Even Messi and Aguero would be doing as bad as Wayne in the past few months.

 

[Raees]

100% this

Rant:
If I would read tommorow morning that the Glazers would just sack everybody at the club that has anything to do with football I'd just be fecking delighted. The manager and the fecking staff including Giggs deserve the sack, the players deserve the sack, the medical team deserve the sack, the scouting department deserve the sack, everyone at the academy deserve the sack. Just sack them all and start all over. I hate what this club has become, I don't enjoy a fecking second watching United games anymore. Don't even care about the bad results but the performances on the pitch, the attitude of the players, it is just unacceptable ! Going out on the market and spending doesn't work because our scouting department are cocks, our medical team seem shit because every season half of the team at some point is injurred for a long while and the players that come out of our academy they are brining nothing to the first team, literally nothing !
/Rant

If this is your feelings after a comprehensive victory I'd hate to see what you think after a loss.

 

[clarkydaz]

Positives

• Rooney is looking like the Wayne of old now and scoring again. Threat.
• Blind and Smalling didn't give them a sniff. Solid.
• Memphis coming on changed the game, great tactical awareness by LVG. Grandmaster.
• Midfield trio controlled proceedings from start to finish regardless of who came on. Domination.
• Youngters got more game time yet again. Paedo.

Negatives

• Spanish duo weren't at the races yet again, especially Herrera. AWOL
• Had everyone's touch been better could have kept the ball even more and protected against having a shot on target against us. Flawless.

wut? Injury time penalty?

 

[DomesticTadpole]

If this is your feelings after a comprehensive victory I'd hate to see what you think after a loss.

What was comprehensive about it? A Division One side and we beat them 1-0 in injury time. How is that comprehensive. We hardly created anything. If we battered them fair enough, we didn't.

 

[Raees]

What was comprehensive about it? A Division One side and we beat them 1-0 in injury time. How is that comprehensive. We hardly created anything. If we battered them fair enough, we didn't.

Many big teams struggle against lower league sides on cup day.. usually leads to a frenetic helter skelter game. I'd prefer to see us win in a controlled manner and reserve our energy for PL games.

 

[Garethw]

If this is your feelings after a comprehensive victory I'd hate to see what you think after a loss.

It wasn't close to being a comprehensive victory ffs. We were a minute away from a replay.

If that is what you regard as a comprehensive win then you have been truly seduced by the dark side (Emperor Van Gaal).

 

[Andy_Cole]

feck off LVG.

 

[2 man midfield]

I agreed with all of that. He says what many posters here have said is wrong with us, but it seems like we're no closer to solving those issues.

 

[RoyoftheRavers]

Any time we start with Fellaini in the middle we're awful.

You could remove "in the middle" from that statement.

 

[Striker10]

None of Sheffield United's defending baring one block on a Martial shot - was that good. LVG needs to understand or get across to the players that if teams are defending - you have to get players shooting sometimes because then you turn the defenders and you might get lucky. We don't take enough chances in and around the box. We're too predictable. We need to look to have a shot every few attacks. You can't go 45 minutes with one shot off target and that's it. You only give teams confidence putting us under pressure when they see us being completely ineffective.

That is a sign of being mediocre and a lot of our play now is mediocre.

Also it takes one pass to go from a to b and sometimes we pass the ball in patterns that are pointless and go no where. I liked pereira's ball to Jessie in the second half - that was Scholes like and we've not had that for much of the season. I'd like to see him given opportunities as I think he has that ability to spray the ball around and he's pretty mobile.

 

[The Brown Bull]

2 attempts in 90 plus minutes against any side is embarrassingly bad.Against Sheffield United its shameful.

 

[SalfordRed1960]

Thank god for that!! Reading your earlier posts had me worried because it appeared that you were defending the insipid football we are playing as long as it got results!

Far from it. We all want better football, but just because it is not easy on the eye doesn't mean we should say we didn't deserve the result. If Sheffield United gave as good as they got, great I can accept we didn't deserve the win, but they didnt.

 

[jem]

The bizarre thing is: if you showed me that interview in isolation (ie. I hadn't watched the game or any of the previous wretched run of games,) I would think LVG is exactly the right man for the job. He praises the win, but is quick to point out the many shortcomings: the need for creativity and speed on the wings and faster passing (and the need for players to have thick skins.) Compared to the nervous, deer-in-headlights look Moyes always carried, LVG looks like an ideal fit to lead United (and you don't hear him talking about getting to the byline as it's some sort of victory in and of itself.*)

So why can't he get his players to play like he seemingly wants? Either he is doing a very bad job of managing them and/or being disingenuous in this interview, or they are a ponderous, inept bunch bunch who can't follow the manager's game-plan. My gut-feeling is it's 75% the former; 25% the latter.

*Again, I'm only talking about this particular interview. I'm well aware of some of the nonsense that LVG has spouted in previous interviews.

 

[Red71]

The worst game of football I've seen since most of our other games this season. It doesn't really matter if we win or lose anymore, because when we win we manage to do it in a way that still makes you furious that you watched the game.

This is increasingly what it feels like supporting United at the moment. We're meant to enjoy watching our team but man alive.....! Who'd have thought that the elation of a last minute win could be spoiled too!!!

 

[DomesticTadpole]

I think the best thing that could happen for the players is either LvG goes now or at least they know he is going in the summer. A lot will be worried that he will get another season. If either of the former I think they would just loosen up themselves. He is like a grim reaper hanging over them. He is probably saying their futures are under threat, when actually it should be his.

 

[Yorkeontop]

The first time I've really felt that air of depression people talk about these days. It was the kind of football that left me thinking I'd rather see us lose 3-2 than win like that.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

The first time I've really felt that air of depression people talk about these days. It was the kind of football that left me thinking I'd rather see us lose 3-2 than win like that.

Same here, I would rather they went for it. They would still more than likely win. LvG is a coward and he has his team playing cowardly football. We would get to see how good DDG and Smalling really are without most of the team in front protecting them.