2013/2014 Season

[Soda Jerk]

Managerial backlash is incredible at times. Calling for Moyes' head already is utterly mental.

 

Truth. Mid-season sackings are dumb mostly. However, I would say United would have to draw the line if he fails to get top 4 by May. There'd be no excuses, as he has a very good squad.

 

Not being in the Champions League would be catastrophic for many reasons. Financially, first and foremost (Champions League telly cash = mad cheddar stacks) but he'd also have zero chance of hanging on to Rooney either. United have alot of players with expiring contracts this summer and next. Falling from the top of the pile is a difficult mountain to climb if players are eyeing a move to better positioned clubs.

[Adam Easy Wishes]

Needs a clearout. There are too many sort-of-good players in the United squad.

 

Nani, Valencia, Anderson, Buttner, Welbeck, Cleverley off the top of my head. (I love Welbz as much as the next guy, but he's suited to a top-half Prem side, not one challenging for the title).

 

They need another striker that will chip in with goals against the lesser sides (like what Berba did for them - I heard a stat yesterday that he didn't start against any of the top six sides in his final season with Utd, but still scored a decent amount of goals. On a side note, Berbatov would be a wonderful signing for Arsenal).

 

They need a genuinely creative midfielder to sit in alongside Fellaini and Carrick. They need Darren Fletcher back and IMO, to recall Nick Powell from Wigan. Get in another winger. Put Ryan Giggs down. Start playing Phil Jones alongside Nemanja Vidic at CB and let them have a run together. Sign Leighton Baines. #freeshinji

[Soda Jerk]

Anderson, Buttner, Cleverley - I agree. Bye.

 

Valencia and Nani - still useful, though Nani's time is running out. Sometimes he looks excellent. He had 3 great seasons from 2009 to 2012, but he's been shit either side of those. Valencia is useful because he's great at right back. Arguably better than he as on the wing. he's also great in Europe, because European full backs don't track back, like, ever. He tore Leverkusen a new arsehole home and away. Sociedad too. Because why defend?

 

Welbeck - Not sure. He's great at EVERYTHING except finishing. As soon as he enters the penalty area with the ball at his feet, he turns into jelly, and falls over, or he blooters the ball into a steward's head. I don't think he's cut out to be a striker. It's too late for him to learn how to be good finisher IMO. But he's MASSIVE. And impossible to knock off the ball, His passing and work rate are all top notch. He presses all over and wins nearly every challenge. Warrior.

 

So I suggest, and I'm one million percent srs, Welbeck - Midfield destroyer. The Black Gattuso. If his strengths are defensive traits, work rate and passing, and his most embarrassingly useless traits are finishing and crossing, then why is he playing upfront or on the wing? Play to the boys strengths. He's a brute with muscle and three lungs. Play him in a position where United lack a brute. Pop him in front of the back four, and United won't concede a goal again this season. Or next. 100% guaranteed to work.

 

If only David Moyes knew as much about football as I do.

Edited December 5, 2013 by Joda Serk

[Paranoid Android]

Fellaini has been pretty terrible for United, hasn't he? Embarrassingly so really, he can't do anything.

 

United have needed to sort out the midfield for years and they are now really paying for not addressing the issue properly. But people are going completely over the top in regard to Moyes because that's what football fans and journos do these days, put everyone in the success or crisis column depending on their last match. Everything black and white.

 

All that is happening at United is just what people predicted and what the fans claimed they were willing to accept as part of the transition. The big problem though is that with the top half being so competitive it's not just the title they have to give up but top four is looking like a big challenge now. I think Arsenal, City and Chelsea will remain the top 3 which leave a big group of clubs fighting for that fourth place.

[Soda Jerk]

I've said it alot, but Fellaini's great performances at Everton didn't come from central midfield. He looked ordinary at best there. His standout games was when he was the #10. He's not really a good midfielder. Though to be fair, he was one of United's best players last night. Impressive passing stats at full time, so he filled in for Carrick relatively well. He's not the player who is going to turn it all around though.

 

No idea why Moyes didn't go for Thiago.

[Captain America]

We scored with Bendtner up front.  That's pretty funny.

 

I'm on board the Berba idea.  I'm quite happy for him to saunter about up front against the teams we don't need Giroud and score some wonder goals.  Also 25/30 mins of Berba at the end of games would be much more useful than NB.

[ca_gere]

They need a couple of top players to come in and get rid of some of the deadwood (Clevs, Anderson for sure) but most importantly they just need some stability. Moyes is still figuring out who should play where and I'm sure the players are still getting used to working under him. SAF is the only manager some players at United know - A new manager at the club is a huge change. Much bigger than it is at pretty much every other club bar your Arsenals.

 

There's pressure to get back to the top level quickly but in reality it just doesn't work like that. You can point to the squad he was left with, the fact they didn't buy the marquee ozil-esque player or Moyes' seemingly strange selections but this, to me, is obviously a transitional period - one that United will be all the better for in a year or so. 

 

The way some 'fans' talk, it's as if the appointment of a new manager at not only one of the biggest and best teams, but one of the biggest sporting businesses in the world was done on a whim or just because 'the papers' said he was the best fit. Dave down the pub has no fucking clue about the day-to-day aspects of managing a football club (and neither do I) and I wince whenever I hear some talksport air-time gobbler giving his summation of Moyes' tenure purely on a match-by-match basis.

[Soda Jerk]

The way some 'fans' talk, it's as if the appointment of a new manager at not only one of the biggest and best teams, but one of the biggest sporting businesses in the world was done on a whim or just because 'the papers' said he was the best fit. Dave down the pub has no fucking clue about the day-to-day aspects of managing a football club (and neither do I) and I wince whenever I hear some talksport air-time gobbler giving his summation of Moyes' tenure purely on a match-by-match basis.

 

This takes away probably most of this thread, and perhaps a large chunk of football forums. What would be left to talk about, other than animated gifs of Aaron Ramsey's wonderful collection of 2013 goals?

[Adam Easy Wishes]

Eh, Phil Jones' face and Bacary Sagna's hair?

[ca_gere]

This takes away probably most of this thread, and perhaps a large chunk of football forums. What would be left to talk about, other than animated gifs of Aaron Ramsey's wonderful collection of 2013 goals?

 

Analyzing performances, tactics, etc is one thing but almost every single call is 'he's not the right man for the job' - bullshit spouted with no understanding of long term objectives or any insight to what anyone is like inside a dressing room, board room or otherwise.

[Paranoid Android]

Enough of this wishy washy premiership nonsense.

 

It's the motherfucking world cup draw today.

[Paranoid Android]

[Captain America]

Couldn't find a gif of it on Wednesday night.

 

Ramsey's through ball to Ozil was great.

 

[The Milner]

Miss-hit. 

[Paranoid Android]

[Paranoid Android]

BRRRRRR

[ca_gere]

KEEEPPPSSS

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49KvKCmAyfI

 

What a player

[Paranoid Android]

Group A: Brazil, Cameroon, Mexico, Croatia
Group B: Spain, Chile, Australia, Netherlands
Group C: Colombia, Cote D'Ivoire, Japan, Greece
Group D: Uruguay, Italy, Costa Rica, England
Group E: Switzerland, Ecuador, Honduras, France
Group F: Argentina, Nigeria, Iran, Bosnia-Herzegovina
Group G: Germany, Ghana, USA, Portugal
Group H: Belgium, Algeria, South Korea, Russia

[Paranoid Android]

Group B is fantastic. Spain - Holland on the second day of the tournament will be brilliant.

[Soda Jerk]

Miss-hit. 

 

Two shinners in a row.

[Mr Owl PhD]

Group G looks like the 'Group of Death', particularly as most of the games are in the north.  England's game in Manaus is in the middle of the night, so the conditions may not be as bad as people seem to be predicting.  Amazonian nights are fairly pleasant in my experience.  They'll probably still lose though.

[ca_gere]

I'm officially excited about the world cup now

[Paranoid Android]

I got excited when the final qualifiers were done but it's increased loads now the draw is done. 6 months really seems too long to wait. The world cup really is the greatest thing. I feel very sorry for people who don't appreciate it.

[ca_gere]

I know the match summary will point to moyes' shortcomings but Newcastle won that game fair and square. Really solid performance.

[Murrr]

I thought we were brilliant today. Did exactly what we needed to do to win, played in a way that completely minimised our weaknesses, and we really stifled Man United. Alan Pardew got his team and tactics bang-on. I thought he was culpable for our massacre at Swansea, where we sat back and treated them like Barcelona with no intentions of playing our own game, but today he was excellent. 

 

A few of our more maligned players had stormers. Iron Mike Williamson had an absolute blinder. It helped that Van Persie looked either short of fitness or short of any desire to play football this afternoon, and it also helped that United didn't really run at him, but he was dominant in the air and mopped almost everything up. Tiote's renaissance continues: he's definitely getting back to his best and has stopped trying a lot of the flash long-passes and wonky Yaya runs from midfield. He's great when he just sits in the centre circle and robs motherfuckers.

 

Shout-outs to Vurnon Anita and Debuchy too. I can understand why Anita doesn't play every week, because we have a lot of excellent central midfielders, but he's a guaranteed 8/10 whenever he plays. Debuchy... I'm not sure if this bloke knows he's a full-back. Spent most of the first-half playing on Evra's shoulder, and he almost scored a belter and all. 

 

United looked really, really rubbish. Januzaj looked to be the only player with any real creative spark in the XI, but even he struggled to get into the game. He's young, obviously, but he doesn't seem capable of imposing himself against a well-drilled team of strong athletes. The defence was ropey throughout, and Vidic could easily have been sent-off for that cowardly brutalisation he unleashed on Anita in the second-half.

 

It's not just the creativity and defence, though. What I'd be worried about most, as a Man United fan, is the completely lack of fire in any of these players. So many of them looked bored, uninspired and uninterested out there. Cleverley, Van Persie, Hernandez, Nani... completely anonymous, all of them. They are not playing for their manager at all. This is the first time I've really had a chance to scrutinize Moyes' United this season, so I don't know if they look like that every week, but there are a lot of gutless wasters in that team and it'd probably take a good few transfer windows to squeeze them all out. I can't say that I hope Moyes turns it around, but he has a lot of work today.

 

Anyway, great performance from us. I am so delighted I think I might crack open a bottle of strawberry Ribena.