[onemanarmy]

No we don't miss Keane type, we miss Scholes (or Pogba). Mata (and Herrera) doesn't dictate tempo and we were slow. The players upfront were slow as well, may be tired. Lukaku gave away the the balls many times during counter-attack, he is not Pogba and none of the team can replace Pogba on this function.

We do miss a Keane type. Most of our players are nice guys. Fellaini atleast gives us a bit of a mean streak, opponents are bullied by him, not the other way around.

 

[sunama]

We need some imagination and guile in the team, like City have with Silva and Chelsea have with Hazard. We're predictable.

Our imaginative player is Pogba, who will be back after the WBA game.
The worrying thing for me is that we are so over-reliant on him. Seldom have I seen a top team so reliant on a single player to make them tick.
Jose needs to buy another World class outfield player, because right now, we have only one, but he seems to be unfortunate not to be playing many games due to injuries and suspension

 

[sunama]

Last season we would have lost/drawn this game. So who cares? Job done

This is true.
Also, Lukaku's header was a fantastic.

 

[cyril C]

We do miss a Keane type. Most of our players are nice guys. Fellaini atleast gives us a bit of a mean streak, opponents are bullied by him, not the other way around.

What is Matic doing? Having tea? Matic is already the destroyer or interceptor, we don't need another one except for backup, unless you are playing like Chelsea who need 2 and sometime even 3 DMF. What we lack is someone to dictate tempo, or looking for gaps to exploit, which is what Scholes is good at. Pogba does that, I thought Herrera can but I am wrong. Mata definitely not, and MK just AWOL

 

[NotQuiteManc]

Plus - Shaw is doing pretty well. Jones played like he haven't been out of the team before. Saved the team time and time again. Proper defender. Good header from Lukaku. McT was nothing special but he did his job well. Rashford, what a strike. An inch or two lower it would have been buried deep inside before Begovic can do anything about it. L?

 

[Jeffthered]

What is Matic doing? Having tea? Matic is already the destroyer or interceptor, we don't need another one except for backup, unless you are playing like Chelsea who need 2 and sometime even 3 DMF. What we lack is someone to dictate tempo, or looking for gaps to exploit, which is what Scholes is good at. Pogba does that, I thought Herrera can but I am wrong. Mata definitely not, and MK just AWOL

We DEFINITELY need a Roy Keane on that pitch. The guy was a natural and absolutely immense leader on the pitch. And off it probably.

I actually think this is a generational thing, we have participants, rather than leaders. It is one of the issues that makes Pogba such an excellent player, because he IS a natural leader. Maybe not the vocal type, but his presence is both definitive and thoroughly influential. Ibra has this. Carrick has this.. all in slightly different ways. But when they play, the team is different, more positive and confident. It's why I love Rashford, because despite his age, lack of experience, at least he plays with some guts... he has forced himself into that team, through performance. Not hype.

I'm fed up of so called 'good players' being at United, talking b********s on social media, rather than making some real, consistent statements on the pitch. Some players simply need to raise their game, and help the manager, and show some belief.

If you want to fight for second every season and win a cup here and there, that's fine. But that cannot be the benchmark for Man United. Surely.

 

[onemanarmy]

What is Matic doing? Having tea? Matic is already the destroyer or interceptor, we don't need another one except for backup, unless you are playing like Chelsea who need 2 and sometime even 3 DMF. What we lack is someone to dictate tempo, or looking for gaps to exploit, which is what Scholes is good at. Pogba does that, I thought Herrera can but I am wrong. Mata definitely not, and MK just AWOL

I think you are missing the point here. A destroyer is not the same as an on field leader the way Keane was. Matic is a very good player, but he'll never be the leader Keane was. That "over my dead body" mentality he had, and others in that or previous generations (Neville, Vidic, Schmeichel...) is one of the things which is lacking.

I actually think this is a generational thing, we have participants, rather than leaders. I

I agree with this.

 

[BigdaftGorby]

I think we all know deep down inside that without Pogba we struggle to create, the players rely on him, Lukaku relys on him. Get through the West Brom game with 3 points, regardless of performance, and we are back on it. If you put things in perspective, if City didn’t have this freakish start, if we had just got the rub of the green in a few games then we are running away with the league. Fine lines.

 

[Paul the Wolf]

Some players played really well, Jones, DDG, Shaw but the midfield went missing. McTominay was very quiet, improved a bit in the second half, Matic not as good as usual , there were no options and Lingard was back to usual.

Lukaku scored which hope will improve his confidence but looked absolutely shattered towards the end, he needs a rest.

 

[Bestietom]

Just not good enough without Pogba. West Brom will be a big game on Sunday without him.

 

[Marcky411]

Our imaginative player is Pogba, who will be back after the WBA game.
The worrying thing for me is that we are so over-reliant on him. Seldom have I seen a top team so reliant on a single player to make them tick.
Jose needs to buy another World class outfield player, because right now, we have only one, but he seems to be unfortunate not to be playing many games due to injuries and suspension

It is not that we are so totally reliant on Pogba for creativity, it is the way Jose sets up the team when he isn't in it that makes us look totally reliant on him. The few creative players we have end up on the bench or not in the selection at all. If Jose does buy a world class midfielder he too will want to play all the time, you won't find one to sit on the bench as a backup to Pogba.

 

[Wal2Fra]

The over reliance on Pogba is going to be our undoing this season. It's absolutely ridiculous. We need 2 or 3 players on his level to truly compete. And to be honest I don't give a shite about Arsenal and Liverpool dropping points. We're Man Utd and only first will do. The CL places behind it doesn't matter whether we finish 2nd, 3rd or 4th. The aim is to fight for the title and anything less is a failure.

Half way down page 3 and finally someone someone talks sense!

Who cares about what Arsenal and Liverpool did, they are fighting to be in the top 4 - United on the other hand are the only team with a chance of taking this title of City as it stands. Forget looking at that bunch down there!

 

[dichinero]

Half way down page 3 and finally someone someone talks sense!

Who cares about what Arsenal and Liverpool did, they are fighting to be in the top 4 - United on the other hand are the only team with a chance of taking this title of City as it stands. Forget looking at that bunch down there!

Tbf, the weather conditions were really really bad last night. It was like a storm out there. That's the new excuse.

 

[MacabbiUnited]

Half way down page 3 and finally someone someone talks sense!

Who cares about what Arsenal and Liverpool did, they are fighting to be in the top 4 - United on the other hand are the only team with a chance of taking this title of City as it stands. Forget looking at that bunch down there!

Yes completly logical given we finished 7th 4th 5th and 6th in the last 4 seasons. Apperantly even SAF failed for 13 seasons out if 26.

On current City form no team in the history of the PL can match them, not even Fergie's greatest sides. Were doind good. Were 2nd with a 7(!) Point cusine on 4th place.

 

[Alabaster Codify7]

God, that was horrendous. Outplayed at home by a bottom level team. Get used to this I guess, long, bleak winter ahead - 3pts is the most important thing. Same on the weeeknd please.

 

[breakout67]

Not really getting people that are saying Bournemouth were better than us.

We had the best chance of the game (Martial), Rashford hit the bar. It was obvious that Bournemouth had good build up play but were not getting clear cut chances.

Just because the opposition strings a few passes together doesnt mean they deserve the win. Goals win you games and we created better opportunities.

 

[RedDevil@84]

Not really getting people that are saying Bournemouth were better than us.

Bollocks.... They were hardly any better than us. Given the conditions both teams struggled.

 

[daveyjones]

Weird game. Most players had at least a good performance (apart from Lingard), but the team performance was not impressive.

 

[Dobbs]

I think we all know deep down inside that without Pogba we struggle to create, the players rely on him, Lukaku relys on him. Get through the West Brom game with 3 points, regardless of performance, and we are back on it. If you put things in perspective, if City didn’t have this freakish start, if we had just got the rub of the green in a few games then we are running away with the league. Fine lines.

That's a very thick fine line. If only a club didn't exist and bad results were good results?

This isn't freakish from City. I've made this point elsewhere. They haven't broken the mold when it comes to spending just to replicate the norm. These hugely talented squads will set a new standard and so they should. We should be as well. Fergie never had the money our previous three managers have had. Can you imagine what he could do with today's transfer spend and squad size.

 

[tomaldinho1]

We got an excellent option in Shaw who should now get a look in. Valencia bar the odd game has been a great player for us at RB. Agree on the CM bit, but another CF when we have Martial and Rashford who in my opinion should get a look in. Buying another CF will only hamper the growth for both. RW maybe, unless Mhki can be accommodated with his pace and can be a positive option.

Even with all these flaws, we are a bloody good team. We are not a great team who can go toe to toe against Barcelona and Madrid but should be able to play well against a mid table team and put them away with minimal fuss. We seem to be organised brilliantly defensively but when we counter attack we seem to waste far too much time getting in to positions to make it count.

Buying more players will not solve the quality of football if the manager is hell bent on forcing players to play his way and with his method rather than let them play creatively.

I agree with this part - our CMs ability to dominate the space in the middle of the pitch is relatively non existent. It surprised me that Bournemouth were actually carving us open more easily than City did and DDG was much busier in the 1st half especially. Whether it's a tactical choice or a lack of presence I feel it has to stop - if you counter against us (which is very likely given we are hoofing the ball atm) it's not too difficult to move the ball quite quickly to the edge of our box. Whilst you then still have to fashion an opening and beat DDG we should surely make it more difficult for teams to keep possession that close to our box.

Most teams let us pass the ball around the back line, which we are masters of, but drive us out as soon as Martial or another attacker gets the ball. I don't understand why we don't do this - we seem happy to track players and retreat to our box (I guess so we have more space to counter into?) before making a stand and it's only because of DDG that we beat Arsenal and, to a lesser extent, Bournemouth IMO.

 

[mike bird]

That's a very thick fine line. If only a club didn't exist and bad results were good results?

This isn't freakish from City. I've made this point elsewhere. They haven't broken the mold when it comes to spending just to replicate the norm. These hugely talented squads will set a new standard and so they should. We should be as well. Fergie never had the money our previous three managers have had. Can you imagine what he could do with today's transfer spend and squad size.

No he actually did have the money the previous three managers had. You conveniently forgot to add depreciation and what no to. Back then milk would cost 10p a carton and Man Utd were the big spenders. We were breaking records in the transfer market, over and over again. When we spend £30m on Rio, thats Neymar's money today.

 

[Dobbs]

No he actually did have the money the previous three managers had. You conveniently forgot to add depreciation and what no to. Back then milk would cost 10p a carton and Man Utd were the big spenders. We were breaking records in the transfer market, over and over again. When we spend £30m on Rio, thats Neymar's money today.

Of course we broke records and of course £30 million then was more than it is now. Goes without saying.

But Fergie never had this sustained spend summer after summer. Much more typical was to make a big signing, like Rio, and that would be the only major outlay for a couple of years. A big splurge followed by conservative spending. That was post '98.

For example we win Champs League in 98 with a big spend the preceeding summer. Over the next two summers Bathez was the biggest signing at £8million.

Pre '98 we were never, ever, competing with Europe's biggest clubs. It took until the signing of Veron for us to sign a fully established world star. His fee still miles behind what Madrid were paying for Figo and Zidane.

Put it this way, United and City have both spent more since Fergie retired than the man himself spent during his 27 years here. Even with inflation that's insane.

Conveniently forgot my arse.

 

[Prodigal7]

Of course we broke records and of course £30 million then was more than it is now. Goes without saying.

But Fergie never had this sustained spend summer after summer. Much more typical was to make a big signing, like Rio, and that would be the only major outlay for a couple of years. A big splurge followed by conservative spending. That was post '98.

For example we win Champs League in 98 with a big spend the preceeding summer. Over the next two summers Bathez was the biggest signing at £8million.

Pre '98 we were never, ever, competing with Europe's biggest clubs. It took until the signing of Veron for us to sign a fully established world star. His fee still miles behind what Madrid were paying for Figo and Zidane.

Put it this way, United and City have both spent more since Fergie retired than the man himself spent during his 27 years here. Even with inflation that's insane.

Conveniently forgot my arse.

SAF never needed to spend massively because he had world class stars and world class young players already at the club. The Co92, Ronney, Ronaldo. Vidic and Evra were sensational purchases though. There is a huge differrence in individual quality with our current team compared to his team bar his last season, which granted was nothing short of a mirical. Expecting regular miracles is a little harsh.

 

[BigdaftGorby]

That's a very thick fine line. If only a club didn't exist and bad results were good results?

This isn't freakish from City. I've made this point elsewhere. They haven't broken the mold when it comes to spending just to replicate the norm. These hugely talented squads will set a new standard and so they should. We should be as well. Fergie never had the money our previous three managers have had. Can you imagine what he could do with today's transfer spend and squad size.

I think it’s always fine lines at the top, I see your point and we can’t just magic away a team or change results. Our performance against City wasn’t the best, I thought our performance against Arsenal was worse. The difference between those games is the finest of lines, we could of easily conceded 6 against Arsenal but beaten City....bounce of the ball, a stray foot a miskick. City (I hope) will get stuck in the mire at some point. I can’t see us challenging on as many fronts as they will, it may work in our favour. It may not. Problem is not how much is spent, it’s where and how it’s spent. We’ve spent lots, just on a lot of wrong players.

 

[marlowe78]

Just finished watching, as I was at work during the game. Very middling performance as a team. There was good work by a handful of individuals but it easily rates with other crap outings like Brighton and Southampton.

I am getting several degrees of fed up with Lukaku and how Jose is managing his playing time. He did score but outside of that header he was by and large useless. His touch continues to be an opponents' best friend and there was one giveaway he made in the late 2nd half that led to a full-on counterattack. The match against City (when he should've come off at halftime if not for Rojo's injury) and this one were another two games where I don't think his play at all justified him staying on for the entire game. Martial and/or Rashford should be pressing for time in Lukaku's position but Jose only sees a rusty Ibra as his backup so there's no real competition there.

Like others have said, having Pogba out is a big miss but we have no excuse for our play through the MF looking so inept. We should have some kind of a capable backup to Pogba for times that he's unable to play. Herrera might have been the player to do that a couple of seasons ago but he's been converted to a holding MF and seems to have lost his ability to drive play forward. As much as I love the guy, it's turning out to be a mistake in resigning Carrick. We might have at least been able to give Andreas a chance as Pogba's understudy had he not felt too far on the outside and asked for a loan. Our holding onto 2nd place might hinge on us buying someone in January.

Clear positives were Shaw, McTominay, and Jones, who all put in solid games. McTominay impressed me in the 2nd half and helped to create Rashford's scoring chance where he was ridiculously unlucky. Outside of De Gea, no one else really played that well. Martial blew an easy chance to score and the rest of the night was having to make runs from very deep positions. Mata had some bright moments but was running around to little effect when Bournemouth starting pressuring us towards the end. While Lingard was sloppy, Bournmouth seemed to have even less to think about after he came off.

On a 10 scale, I'd give this a 5. The 3 points were a good result after losing the derby but looking at it in isolation it was purely mediocre. We did gain points on Liverpool and Arsenal, though, so hopefully the squad draws some confidence from it.

 

[cyril C]

SAF never needed to spend massively because he had world class stars and world class young players already at the club. The Co92, Ronney, Ronaldo. Vidic and Evra were sensational purchases though. There is a huge differrence in individual quality with our current team compared to his team bar his last season, which granted was nothing short of a mirical. Expecting regular miracles is a little harsh.

Fergi only need to buy players 1 at a time because he was building on a stable and already top performing team. Incremental change to a winning team only helps to make it better. Mourinho on the other hand, had to refresh the entire team except goal keeper department. Every players that we bought in the past 4 years are either re-sold, flop, or simply too average. Chelsea fails (sort of, at least up to now) because they didn't invest last summer, they should have at least 1 major signing beside Morata, who is simply a replacement. Do you think City will need major personnel change next season? May be 1 or 2 will do to maintain front running position.

 

[Acole9]

Only just managed to watch the highlights because BBC have only just put Match of the day on iPlayer! Three points, difficult match. I don't know what that Bournemouth defender was going on about at the end playing the poor me/poor us we're a small club act, it was never a foul.