[lex talionis]

I’m looking forward to reading this thread in its entirety, but before I do I’ll just we did more to deserve three points but outstanding goalkeeping robbed us of at least one goal. De Gea was hardly bothered. Disappointed yes, but a draw is a decent result against Chelsea. I’m still confident of a top four finish. This was not the season we were going to lift the PL trophy, but the season we were going to make progress. Defensively, we’ve made significant progress since our earlier debacles this season. More to come.

 

[Tom Cato]

It is not as if Chelsea defended for their lives. Their keeper made one great save and on the other hand we were very lucky not to concede a penalty. We are in 15th place and they are well above us so they can be happy with a point but not us who need the points. If we had won we would have moved up the table considerably while now we are stuck in the bottom half of the table.

We're litearlly 3 points from 4th. You're being a LITTLE BIT DRAMATIC.

 

[sparx99]

We are in 15th place right now. Heck how on earth can Manchester United go and defend like that at OT against a Chelsea team and a manager like Lampard?
There are people who think that a point against chelsea is a good result. This is a terrible Chelsea side with a rookie manager. It's scandalous.

We could be 4th if we win our game in hand...

 

[Mockney]

I’m still confident of a top four finish. This was not the season we were going to lift the PL trophy, but the season we were going to make progress.

So....2nd then? - That being the only progress from 3rd we can plausibly make without lifting the PL trophy.

Just checking we’re all on the same page here is all.

 

[manunited1919]

What I don’t get is this: if Ole wants to show Chelsea respect and go defensive, why didn’t he just do the exact same 5-3-2 lineup that worked so well against PSG? Or if he wanted to play 4 at the back, just start the team that finished the game at PSG. He doesn’t need to re-invent the wheel every game. Use what works and build on it.

 

[Frank Grimes]

Cowardly display from both teams. There were large portions of the game played at walking pace.

 

[AbusementPark]

tough match in terrible conditions. Yes we could have been more adventurous going forward and the team selection could have offered more by dropping James and even playing Telles on the LW. That said a draw is better than a defeat and keeps some sort of momentum going. Chelsea are a good side and made it hard to break them down.

 

[Rado_N]

So....2nd then? - That being the only progress from 3rd we can plausibly make without lifting the PL trophy.

Just checking we’re all on the same page here is all.

No no, 67 points or more.

Although at this point I wouldn’t be surprised if we scored less.

 

[Foxbatt]

We could be 4th if we win our game in hand...

Of the 14 teams above us only 6 clubs have played a game more than us. The rest of the 8 clubs have played the same as us. Of them only Newcastle and Soton have the same points as us.

 

[kerryman]

Same old story recently. Can’t break down a team that sits everyone behind the ball. Chelsea had zero ambition in that game

We probably could have if we played VdB...as soon as I saw James in the lineup I didn't expect much from the game, certainly not a win. No. team will challenge for the title with him in the starting 11.

 

[SWE-Chucky]

Unbelievable that we still have D James in our starting eleven and we have guys like Pogba, Van De Beek, Cavani, Grernwood on the bench. The guy hasn't played a good game for us for over 1 year, specially not when he starts.

 

[Cantonagotmehere]

This place can be so tiresome. Should have won. Take the point and move on.

People need to relax for fack sake.

Lindelof was awesome
Fred did well again
Cavani is going to help a lot.
Telles over Shaw for me, please.

 

[POF]

Disappointing result. Rashford had the big moment of the game but couldn't replicate the PSG finish.

When James plays almost 60 minutes and Greenwood and Van de Beek get 10 minutes between them, you have to question the team selection but also the squad management.

Van de Beek seems such an odd signing. He's a versatile player yet United seem to only want to play him as a 10. Today, 3 other players played the 10 role while he sat on the bench for 90 minutes in a game crying out for creativity.

 

[Foxbatt]

Disappointing result. Rashford had the big moment of the game but couldn't replicate the PSG finish.

When James plays almost 60 minutes and Greenwood and Van de Beek get 10 minutes between them, you have to question the team selection but also the squad management.

Van de Beek seems such an odd signing. He's a versatile player yet United seem to only want to play him as a 10. Today, 3 other players played the 10 role while he sat on the bench for 90 minutes in a game crying out for creativity.

DVB should have played instead of Mata.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

Mediocrity galore. This will be another wasted season it seems where we faff around before having to decide on another manager and round of changes, which going by our record , we'll feck up again.

 

[Utdstar01]

DVB should have played instead of Mata.

I would say we made the wrong sub in Pogba for Mata, DVB would've given more balance IMO. I thought Mata was having a decent game upto that point. Van de Beek takes up clever positions further up the pitch, something Pogba doesn't really do.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

It’s only going to get worse.

Every now and then we'll have the odd underdog win like we managed against PSG which is enough it seems for our fans. Any other big club and 7 in 5 games and 15th place would have been unacceptable.

 

[MattyLT]

Uninspired from both teams, but thought United was marginally better. The result isn't terrible.

 

[Stig]

I thought it was a well played match by two teams that are in a transition phase and doing it while maintaining touch with the top of the table. I'm sure both desperately wanted the 3 points, but there is nothing either team should hang their head about that performance.

We are 15th. That is not maintaining touch with the top of the table.

 

[Tarrou]

Two managers who really wanted to avoid a defeat clearly

We were slightly the better side but didn’t do enough to deserve the win, IMO

Telles would’ve made a difference in a game like this. Cavani looked sharper than i expected.

 

[POF]

DVB should have played instead of Mata.

Mata was great against Newcastle and is creative at least. James really looked the odd man out and highlighted United's lack of quality out wide.

It's worrying for Donny that Ole has suddenly started playing Pogba as a 10.

 

[baskinginthesun]

This game was never about the win. It was about keeping Chelsea out due to United shipping goals for fun. I get the feeling Ole set up to counter Chelsea but, when that didn't happen he brought two attacking players to try and take the game to them. For those of you that piss and moan about Ole leaving it late to make subs, he brought Cavani and Pogba on before the 60th minute. From then on, we never let Chelsea out their own half. Had we won this 1-0, we would probably be giving Ole a lot of praise for subs and all that. So, anyways, I thought it was a solid performance and with a bit more luck or whatever, we would have won this.

 

[Freak]

It was a tight game with the middle of the park being really congested. I am a little disappointed that we don’t get more crosses in from wide positions and still constantly try to break teams down through the middle.

Having said that it’s a good point against a good team who came here to defend. We had good chances but their keeper was on good form. Take the point and let’s move on.

 

[r0663664]

James never should have started. Ole, you can’t play Greenwood 45 mins and Cavani 45 mins. What is the points for starting a game with 10 players? One play where James took the ball into a field of Chelsea defender? Bone head play.

 

[Mr PG]

We struggle to break down defensive set-ups. Need to work on that and see if any of the wingers we bought can open up teams. Or someone .

Pointless when they’re all on the bench though

 

[reelworld]

Contrary to most, I don't think we played that bad. Selection made sense, with the exception of James. But United have lost 2 matches at home in a row, and the flow of the game was never comfortable enough to unleashed everything at Chelsea.

I think Ole goals is to build on the defensive confidence that was shattered against Spurs. I believe we'll see a more adventurous United once the defence established themselves, and we'll see that soon enough

 

[nainaisson]

I’m looking forward to reading this thread in its entirety...

You're a genuine masochist, then. This place must be an endless source of pleasure for you.

 

[RedBanker]

What happens when both teams fear losing more than they desire a victory. Two points dropped for both teams, more so for us because I don't give a damn about where Chelsea end up in the league table. A cringeworthy friendly vibe throughout the game and the smiling and chatting at the end was a true reflection of some realities. God I miss the times when matches versus top teams seemed like battles and not tea parties.

 

[Jeffthered]

Fine game, fine performance, fine defence.

Pretty standard really. Wish Rahsford’s goal would have gone in!

I am assuming you're not being serious.

That was an embarrassment. No guts. Two teams, two clubs really, with huge monies spent, and still searching for a clear plan.

Garbage , weak football. Rubbish.

If such performances satisfy us as Man United fans, then I am not sure what to draw from that.

 

[Interval]

Mediocrity galore. This will be another wasted season it seems where we faff around before having to decide on another manager and round of changes, which going by our record , we'll feck up again.

Yep. Seems like it. Which is so off-putting. Because we seem to have great strength and reasonable depth in attacking areas that any top notch manager can really do something with the team

 

[tenpoless]

He's really done a poor job in ingratiating the signing with fans. VDB, for example, I'm not even sure what our plans are for him. We've seen glimpses of strength in his game, but not really been able to enjoy any performance from him yet. Somehow, it feels like our squad is in transition again, the xi we used to end last season has been tarnished and hasn't been replaced. The big games coming thick and fast doesn't help either, as I still feel Ole is trying to figure out how to best use the squad tactically after the spurs debacle.

I feel the same and it is such an annoying one. I mean... you look at James starting and scratch your head. I thought Ole planned to use him to mark Pulisic because offensively we know he offered nothing, running fast is the only thing he could do.

But that wasn't the case. We actually relied on James and hoped that he'd perform and create/score a goal - a player who's been underperforming for months now with vDB, Cavani, Pogba, Greenwood sitting on the bench. I cannot wrap my head around it. But that's not all, when James looked like he wanted to go home and that it wasn't his night, rather than subbing him immediately, Ole waited till the 58th minute? even after the shitshow in 1st half, Ole gave him another chance and hoped that he'd come good in the 2nd half... to the detriment of the team.

The sooner Ole realizes that he has plenty of other options the better. vDB is a good player and it really is disheartening to see him not being used at all. We could utilize other formations and play like a different team in the same match. Our depth is that good now and there's little excuse not to make a change when the team is struggling.

 

[Fahad Jawaid]

This draw is on Ole. He basically ensured that we had only 30 odd minutes to score against 11 men behind the ball.

With James and Mata, it felt like we would never score. AWB had a piss poor attacking performance. Shaw was same.

We need to start trying Vdb with Fred/Mctominay because this makes us extremely boring and making chances becomes tough. As we have literally 4 players capable of doing anything positive and tbh Mata and James don't count. Today for the first 60 minutes we had 2 players capable of doing anything.(Bruno and Rashford).

I want to see positivity in our play at home atleast and not play with a pivot. Or if we do then never use Mata and James. Play with a front four of Rashford/Cavani, Martial/Greenwood, Bruno and Pogba/Vdb

 

[Tarrou]

Yep. His narrative always changes to suit poor results.

Would be pretty weird if it didn’t seeing as journalists don’t keep asking you why you didn’t win after you win.

 

[King7Eric]

Every now and then we'll have the odd underdog win like we managed against PSG which is enough it seems for our fans. Any other big club and 7 in 5 games and 15th place would have been unacceptable.

Spurs and City have 8 in 5. Chelsea have 9 in 6, Arsenal also 9 in 5. We are not the only ones who have dropped points. No season is made or unmade after 5 games. I know its an almost impossible thing to ask nowadays, but have a little bit of patience.

 

[Krits]

Not too unhappy with a draw, a loss would have been disastrous.

But, in saying that. James should not have started, Ole missed a trick with that. I was happy with the rest of the team. In a big game like this you need to be a bit pragmatic, especially if your team isn't on form yet. When everyone is high on confidence and has good chemistry going you can be a little more ballsy. Given the current start of the season, I think Ole made the right call, other than James obviously. I want to love the kid, because of his story. I hope he can somehow gain some confidence. But as things stand, it looks like this might be too big a stage for him to feel comfortable in. You can see that he plays way within his shell.

Cavani could not have started, so that just left Greenwood and VdB (No chance would I give Pogba a start). I don't know if Greenwood isn't up to full fitness, but I would have still given him the start to sub him for someone else later. He makes things happen and since we set up defensively we needed an x-factor in our team other than Bruno (Rashford currently isn't able of providing that x-factor).

We might still be looking at a top 4 finish here, not really expecting a title challenge.

 

[bdecuc]

Spurs and City have 8 in 5. Chelsea have 9 in 6, Arsenal also 9 in 5. We are not the only ones who have dropped points. No season is made or unmade after 5 games. I know its an almost impossible days to ask nowadays, but have a little bit of patience.

You have to wonder don't you? It's like everyone acts like a child these days. No context allowed just instant negative 'takes' and reaction.

I'm not exactly happy with nil nil with Chelsea but it's not a bad result. We need to get through Everton and Arsenal in decent shape then I reckon we'll kick on with points and rocket up the table. But I know perspective is difficult for a lot of people.

 

[Gasolin]

Every now and then we'll have the odd underdog win like we managed against PSG which is enough it seems for our fans. Any other big club and 7 in 5 games and 15th place would have been unacceptable.

Really? You think our records against the big teams has been "odd"? It's been very consistent.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

Spurs and City have 8 in 5. Chelsea have 9 in 6, Arsenal also 9 in 5. We are not the only ones who have dropped points. No season is made or unmade after 5 games. I know its an almost impossible thing to ask nowadays, but have a little bit of patience.

Nobody is saying any of this. But the current leadership and management of the club reeks of mediocrity. And we'll keep hanging on to other teams sharing our awfulness or little results and runs here and there until we sort it out.

 

[Gasolin]

What happens when both teams fear losing more than they desire a victory. Two points dropped for both teams, more so for us because I don't give a damn about where Chelsea end up in the league table. A cringeworthy friendly vibe throughout the game and the smiling and chatting at the end was a true reflection of some realities. God I miss the times when matches versus top teams seemed like battles and not tea parties.

So when you put Cavani, Pogba, Greenwood and take Scott out, it means that we didn't want to win?
We even sacrificed the f****** balance to try to win that game.
We had x2 Rashford chances, x2 Cavani chances, and their keeper was on form, and their 5 defenders deep in their box were freaking out.
They had one shot at De Gea, everything else was wild, in fact I think it was 14 shots vs 6, 4 vs 1 on target.

I would have loved for us to score on our big chances but it's football, and our goal is to gain back the confidence lost while building up that fitness. It's happening, we will see the fruits soon. Rotation is a thing so we will see how we rotate.

 

[King7Eric]

You have to wonder don't you? It's like everyone acts like a child these days. No context allowed just instant negative 'takes' and reaction.

I'm not exactly happy with nil nil with Chelsea but it's not a bad result. We need to get through Everton and Arsenal in decent shape then I reckon we'll kick on with points and rocket up the table. But I know perspective is difficult for a lot of people.

Its the same with both wins and losses. We beat PSG and suddenly we're great, we draw against Chelsea and we're shite again. Nearly every manager is pointing out that teams are struggling with the way this season is scheduled and it'll take a while for teams to get going. But the great experts on here expect that the other teams are just sitting ducks against us and we should be able to beat them all.

We dominated and created the better chances against a more than decent Chelsea side. Their keeper made a couple of really good saves to get them the point. It happens and is not the end of the world, except on Caf, because here anything less than a 5-0 win, people will find something to criticize.