Soda Jerk Posted February 7, 2014 Report Share Posted February 7, 2014 Vidic confirmed as off at the end of the season. It was predictable, but he's made it official. A massive loss, but best for both parties. He did his knee pretty bad in 2011 when he was out for the season, and he never recovered. 2 games in a row is a huge ask for him, and usually doesn't happen. He's not the same player he was. You don't usually return after you've done your ACL in as he did. Michael Essien had the same injury, and he's operating at about 50% of what he used to be. United need a centre back anyway, so it doesn't change much. Then again, I also think Moyes should bite the bullet and make Smalling and Jones first pick at centre back, since they are both sub-par at Right Back and Midfield respectively. Smalling at RB especially. Jones can be good in midfield, but it's a total lottery. Sometimes He'll just charges around for 20 minutes until he goes off injured because he's caved his own head in on the ground. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain America Posted February 7, 2014 Report Share Posted February 7, 2014 http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/26079931 This seems like very good news for us! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted February 7, 2014 Report Share Posted February 7, 2014 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gladstone Posted February 7, 2014 Report Share Posted February 7, 2014 http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/26079931 This seems like very good news for us!That's great - more of this sort of thing in Scotland would be good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TR!ΔNGL€ T€€TH Posted February 7, 2014 Report Share Posted February 7, 2014 I thought that a SPL without the forces of darkness meant all the clubs would be fucked? Strange that Dundee Utd seem to be doing so well then... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gladstone Posted February 7, 2014 Report Share Posted February 7, 2014 I thought that a SPL without the forces of darkness meant all the clubs would be fucked? Strange that Dundee Utd seem to be doing so well then...And a lot of Rangers fans seem to still believe the SPL is worse off without them. As Hugh Grant said in Mickey Blue Eyes: "Geddoud of heeeeee" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flights Posted February 8, 2014 Report Share Posted February 8, 2014 (edited) OOOOOCCCHAAA!Dons gonna do this? Edited February 8, 2014 by Flights Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paranoid Android Posted February 8, 2014 Report Share Posted February 8, 2014 Fucking magic. Well deserved win and we after it was 2-1 we had the better chances of another goal too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flights Posted February 8, 2014 Report Share Posted February 8, 2014 YAS! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paranoid Android Posted February 8, 2014 Report Share Posted February 8, 2014 Absolute perfect week. Couldn't have asked for better than that. Got a feeling we might get a certain team in blue in the next round. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gladstone Posted February 8, 2014 Report Share Posted February 8, 2014 Absolute perfect week. Couldn't have asked for better than that.Got a feeling we might get a certain team in blue in the next round.That at Pittodrie would be great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murrr Posted February 8, 2014 Report Share Posted February 8, 2014 YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS Wonder what type of fucking made-up bullshit Neil Lennon will come out with tonight. What a team this is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skacel Posted February 8, 2014 Report Share Posted February 8, 2014 It's a great time to be an Aberdeen fan! COYR**!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted February 8, 2014 Report Share Posted February 8, 2014 It's just ace. Best time to be a Dons fans since I started going to games in the mid-90s. Great times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soda Jerk Posted February 9, 2014 Report Share Posted February 9, 2014 United set a new Premier League record today. 82 crosses. 82. Eighty Two. Only 18 reached a United player, and that includes crosses which were overhit and were collected on the opposing flank. United scored two goals. Neither of them came from the crosses. Fulham had that young lad in defence, Burn. He's 6ft8 apparently. You're not going to win at crossing when you're aiming them towards an 6ft8 monster. Gary Neville was adamant today wasn't David Moyes' fault. United had one tactic today. Put the ball out wide, twat it into the box as hard as possible. Surely the manager has to take the blame for only having one very outdated way of playing. Especially when Fulham had 7 or 8 bodies in the box at any given time. RVP had 14 touches of the ball today. What a way to utilise one of the best centre forwards on earth. Understandable if you've got Carlton Cole in the box. Hammer it at his head and hope for the best. RVP can do alot with a pass to feet. There's just no need to play sunday league tactics when there's players like RVP, Rooney and Mata out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paranoid Android Posted February 9, 2014 Report Share Posted February 9, 2014 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ca_gere Posted February 10, 2014 Report Share Posted February 10, 2014 Delved into redcafe for the first time in ages. Was interested in seeing what the general consensus on Moyes was. Doesn't make for pretty reading. Can't say I expected him to falter so much. You can point to the squad he was left with, etc but he really hasn't covered himself in glory. Realistically, what do people think the outlook is? Is he likely to see out the season regardless of results or can we realistically see him getting the boot after, say 4 or 5 more dire games? That'd be the norm at most clubs these days. Does the fact he's on a bumper contract change things? Does anyone think he'll sort things out? I'm increasingly thinking he won't but I also think he's due a streak of solid results and he'll coast to the end of the season at which point signings may save him. His tactics have been particularly fucking medieval recently so not sure if a new squad will help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soda Jerk Posted February 10, 2014 Report Share Posted February 10, 2014 Red Cafe is in meltdown, but there's a lot of knee-jerkers on there, and a few lunatics who wanted him gone after his pre-season results. It's difficult to judge, because the Red Cafe lot are different to the match goers. Most on there are slagging off everything possible before kick off. Rabble rabble Ashley Young?! Rabble rabble 4-4-2!? The home crowd were singing the David Moyes song most of the game. The internet may have turned on him, but actually matchday supporters haven't quite yet. I believe Moyes is in a safe position. For Moyes to be sacked would mean Sir Alex admitting he was wrong. It took him 8 years to admit he'd dropped a clanger with Jaap Stam. In 2025, he'll probably admit that he maaaaybe should have kept Paul Pogba. I think Moyes will get until the end of next season, minimum. If he does have that cushion, he basically has the freedom to experiment from now until May. He's not going to get top 4, and he's not going to get relegated. Every game is an exhibition game. Earlier in the season, he said he was "playing his safe options" in Young and Valencia. Well, that hasn't worked much. Both are awful. He should use the rest of the season to experiment. Drop the "safe options", and play the technical footballers (Kagawa, Nani, Mata) over the direct kick and chasers (Young, Valencia). Try a midfield three. Play the ball through the middle, and drop the constant "pass it out wide and twat it into the box" as his go-to tactic. The strength of the squad gets mixed opinions. The squad won the league with ease. There's a good core of top players, and in my opinion, the squad just needs to be refreshed. De Gea, Rafael, Smalling and Jones (CB only, both are ghastly at RB and CM respectively), Carrick, Fellaini Mata, Kagawa, Januzaj, Rooney, RVP is a very good core of top players, or players with the potential to be top players. Carrick probably has one good season in him, maybe two. Fellaini has alot to prove. He's a talented player, but needs to adapt. Evans, Fletcher, Welbeck and Hernandez are very solid squad players. Young and Valencia too, I suppose. Vidic, Rio and Evra will leave. Giggs probably should retire. Cleverley and Buttner are atrocious and should be punted. If United keep the attack in tact in the summer, then they don't need any attacking players. They probably need two very good central midfielders, one left back and an experienced centre back. Those numbers are unrealistic. A midfielder, left back and centre back all of a very good level would be a good summer for United. Say Gundogan, Coentrao and Hummels. Or players of that level. Moyes has had his share of bad luck this season. RVP and Rooney out injured at the same time made his job hugely difficult, but most of the issues this season have been tactical. Pre-historic wing play, poor shape, shit defending. 3 top players in the summer puts the squad back in a very competitive shape. But with each shite performance, I start to believe Moyes is hugely out of his depth. An elite club should have recruited an elite manager. Chelsea, City, Spurs, Liverpool, Newcastle, Villa have all changed managers numerous times over the past few years. None of them went for David Moyes as an option. I think that is quite telling. He was a good manager at Everton, but pushing for positions between 4th and 8th may well be his level. I don't think he has what it takes to be an elite manager. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ca_gere Posted February 10, 2014 Report Share Posted February 10, 2014 The above is pretty much exactly what I think. Fan forum sentiment is almost always irrational but I have to say I was still surprised by the lack of support/level-headed argument. Even seemingly sensible Man Utd fans on my facebook have turned into hardened Moyes outers recently. This no hope feeling is new to Man Utd fans I suppose. I only caught some of the first half of the Fulham game but the whole team looked so unsure of themselves it was quite shocking actually (having not watched Moyes' Utd much this season). Under SAF the back four seemed really well drilled in what they do when they get the ball - it wasn't always a back pass, a pass forward or a pass to the side but whatever it was it was done with certainty. Against Fulham it looked like the back four were getting the ball and almost looking to the sideline to get instructions on what they should do next. There was something not right there - whether there was mixed instructions on the defensive possession gameplan or the midfield was playing out of position or what, I don't know. It was really weird to watch and something I've never seen from a Utd side. As you say, there are enough top players there that you'd think would keep the team bubbling to the top of the league front-runners, if not entirely capable of winning the thing. Moyes just doesn't seem capable of using them in the right way. Ashley Young and Valencia are great to have in your squad as impact subs or plan b gameplan pawns but to sacrifice what are clearly your best options to fit them in is just mental. Again, i'm confident they'll see an upturn in form soon. It looked to me that Mata was still figuring out his responsibilites instead of doing what he does best, which is whatever the fuck he likes. They need to build around him in my opinion. But, that clashes with Rooney's free roaming nature. It's a tough one. I also have faith that Felaini is a great player if used right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soda Jerk Posted February 10, 2014 Report Share Posted February 10, 2014 I think the only way Moyes will enjoy an upturn in form is if he realises that what he's currently got United doing is horrid, and he just thinks "fuck this" and tries something different. He goes out and buys the best central attacking midfielder in the league whilst breaking the clubs transfer record, and then he plays a tactic responsible for smashing 82 crosses into the box, which mostly bypassed Mata who was constantly in good positions behind the strikers. It's crazy. Understandable if he was playing Fellaini and Carlton Cole upfront, but he's just not playing to his players strengths. RVP can hit a volley, but he's not a prolific header of the ball. Rooney is good in the air but he was being manmarked by that HUGE Fulham youngster. No chance. The biggest concern is that Moyes seems to believe games like yesterday and the Stoke game were good performances, and felt no need to try anything different. The first 46 crosses in the first half didn't work. Should have brought on Januzaj earlier, and maybe Kagawa and penetrate the middle. Exploit Fulham's lack of pace and cut them open. Dropping points at home against the worst team in the league isn't acceptable for most teams, let alone the Champions. Today, he's come out and defended further yesterdays tactical approach, and seems content to play an 'aerial' game. He's starting to sound a little bit like Wenger a few years ago, who defended a lack of a plan B, and was content to see his team pass the ball around with no penetration. Swap the possession hogging for speculative crosses, and Moyes is in a similar situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paranoid Android Posted February 10, 2014 Report Share Posted February 10, 2014 I've been a defender of Moyes so far this season but it's becoming harder and harder to hold that position. He's making some baffling decisions which put the spotlight on him when the team fails, the weak squad argument was only really valid when talking about failing to keep up with City and Chelsea etc but some of these recent performances against weak opposition have been abysmal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soda Jerk Posted February 10, 2014 Report Share Posted February 10, 2014 I've been a defender of Moyes so far this season but it's becoming harder and harder to hold that position. He's making some baffling decisions which put the spotlight on him when the team fails, the weak squad argument was only really valid when talking about failing to keep up with City and Chelsea etc but some of these recent performances against weak opposition have been abysmal. In terms of individuals, I think United have just as good a squad as Chelsea, if not better, especially now United have Mata. I think only City have a better squad. Putting it into that context makes Moyes' struggles look even worse. That squad should be in the top 4 regardless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soda Jerk Posted February 10, 2014 Report Share Posted February 10, 2014 There's also increasing murmurs that Moyes has lost the faith of alot of players. "Lost the dressing room", as they say. Javier Hernandez has taken to Instagram and Twitter, saying some cryptic stuff which seems to point to him wanting out. Wilf Zaha uploaded a picture of himself and Solksjaer and captioned it "Nothing like someone who believes in you...". Rio got involved in some chatter on Twitter regarding the next manager to be sacked, and mentioned Moyes in quite a negative way. Vidic has explicitly stated he will leave at the next nearest opportunity. Losing a captain is huge, even if he is past his prime. Long serving senior players should be fighting their way out of the turmoil, rather than looking to jump ship. Lots of rumours surrounding Rooney and RVP, both who have remained silent. Usually players are quick to quash it, if it's nonsense. But regardless of the manager, if players don't want to play for United, then they shouldn't be at the club. There is a realistic chance of quite an exodus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gladstone Posted February 10, 2014 Report Share Posted February 10, 2014 Fucking hell - apparently Maicon has died in a car crash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alkaline Posted February 10, 2014 Report Share Posted February 10, 2014 Fucking hell - apparently Maicon has died in a car crash. Not that one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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