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The old Man Utd Thread

ThePixelbarks

By ThePixelbarks
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Southampton is going to be the test for us now. I hope we can get a win at theirs and jump them in the table, counting on Arsenal winning tomorrow. I think that'd really give the whole team a boost and something to aim for - namely hunting City down.

We still feel like a frail squad that needs something positive to happen to gel them as a team, and I hope the next week or so is the turning point.

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Liamness

Liamness

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Stoke came and played football, and as it turns out, they're quite good at it. As the last five minutes showed, they're still pretty good at the smash and grab stuff too. Thankfully it was more of a smash and fumble thanks to De Gea and... Ashley Young? Who had a pretty good game at left back? In fact our whole defence played pretty well, Smalling in particular. He repeatedly brought the ball out confidently and his passing was very positive.

I still find Mata's positioning a little strange. Most of the time, he wasn't any more advanced than Fellaini or Herrera. When he was on the side of the diamond, there were a few times where Stoke players just burned past him like he wasn't there. It wasn't a case of him not trying, but just not being able to either physically make a nuisance of himself, or use a quick burst of pace to recover a decent defensive position. Might've made more sense to just have Mata stay at the tip, where he's not going to have to track back as much and can try to affect the game a little more. He picks better passes than Fellaini or Herrera, if we're going to be running our play through anyone it should probably be him.

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feltmonkey

feltmonkey

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The goal obviously came from nothing, but we look quite in control at the moment. Young is doing well again - who would have predicted that him and Fellaini would be among our most in-form outfield players coming up to the Christmas period?

Another day, another defensive injury though. It's Smalling's turn today.

Edit - kiss of death. As I was writing that post, Southampton have taken control and had three good chances!

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Majora

Majora

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We can't play that line-up again. It's just all wrong. Unbalanced, no pace on the counter, a shambles in defence. Mata in a midfield three just doesn't work and Fellaini just can't pass well enough to be a regular feature in the midfield. Herrera should start in midfield every day of the week over those two. I hope we see the end of three at the back soon too.

You can't account for some of those individual performances though. A number of players were just abject beyond rhyme or reason.

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Liamness

Liamness

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Fellaini has to go, he is fucking shit.

He can be decent but he struggles to deal with being pressed hard, and when he has a bad game he usually has a stinker. Some awful passing from him today.

I get the idea behind the back three today, as neither Young or Valencia are natural fullbacks, and Saints were always likely to pose a tougher test than Stoke. But another player at the back won't help much if it results in more confusion. Having the flexibility to play this would be nice in the long run, but the players clearly aren't comfortable with the system yet. Also moving Carrick back to compensate for Smalling's injury basically killed any slim hope we had of controlling the midfield.

On the other hand, it is very much like the old United, to play so badly and come out with three points. I feel that psychological edge, where opponents feel they're up against it before the game has even begun, may be returning.

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bowser123

bowser123

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How many points did we have after 15 games under Moyes?

After 15 games under Moyes, Man United had 22 points:

6 wins - Swansea, Palace, Sunderland, Stoke, Fulham, Arsenal

4 draws - Chelsea, Southampton, Cardiff, Spurs

5 losses - Liverpool, City, WBA, Everton, Newcastle

After 15 games under LVG, Man United has 28 points:

8 wins - QPR, West Ham, Everton, Palace, Arsenal, Hull, Stoke, Southampton

4 draws - Sunderland, Burnley, Chelsea, WBA

3 losses - Swansea, Leicester, City,

Moyes did poorly at the start of December with two home defeats in a row, picked up over Christmas then tanked after New Year with three defeats in a week from which he never recovered.

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