The old Man Utd Thread

[Gabzy]

Rooney's passing range is unreal. Also, great shot from Benteke for their goal. We're playing quite well though

[Gabzy]

Well, we haven't had a chance yet, but y'know.. Possession's great!

[Liamness]

Neither Rooney or Fletcher are playing moving the ball quickly enough. Our recent run of wins has for the most part been against teams who want to play a bit. Here Villa are happy to sit quite deep, especially after now they've scored, and we look a bit shit again. I'd like to see Januzaj come on for Falcao (who is a little redundant when we're struggling to get the ball into dangerous areas) and Carrick move up from the defence.

[Gabzy]

Umm.. How is that a sending off offense? Looked like they were both fairly going for the ball to me.

[Gabzy]

I know I'm talking to myself here, but do Young and Valencia actually practice crossing? Ever? Fuck me, they are so frustratingly wasteful with the ball 99% of the time, I swear the cross for Falcão's goal was pure fluke.

[Liamness]

Yep looked a very harsh. Very surprised by Villa's approach since, if anything they've shown more desire to get the next goal.

[Mr Do 71]

3 - 0 so far! Rooney's got 2, RvP just scored his.

[Majora]

We've been pretty good. Newcastle haven't looked terrible either so it's not like we're being flattered by an awful opposition performance. Some really nice play between the front four and Young has been a constant threat. Someone really should have scored from one of his crosses by now.

[Gabzy]

We've been really good today, solid at the back and creative up front. Encouraging signs! Also, Rooney is just.. His eye for a pass is second to none.

[feltmonkey]

i'm looking forward to watching the highlights. it does sort of look like Van Gaal has made Rooney into a better player, doesn't it? this midfield role seems to suit him well.

[Bleeders]

A comfortable game for us so far, solid performance from the team.

Rooney has been immense and Rafael is back too!

[Gabzy]

FFS, Jones. Ruining our clean sheet.

[Liamness]

i'm looking forward to watching the highlights. it does sort of look like Van Gaal has made Rooney into a better player, doesn't it? this midfield role seems to suit him well.

There was a couple of times where he slowed down a move or picked the wrong option. He scored two goals and had an assist, so his contributions were vital in an attacking sense, but he didn't really help us control the game. If Van Gaal is trying to convert him into a deeper role for the longer term, then he still has a lot to learn.

Hard to read too much into any of the performances, as it was about as straighforward a win as you're likely to see, but it was a solid game from everyone.

[Dark Soldier]

I have a man crush on Falcao. His movement is immense, once he's back to full match sharpness he'll be amazing.

[Mr Do 71]

I have a man crush on Falcao. His movement is immense, once he's back to full match sharpness he'll be amazing.

He's gonna be banging them in soon.

[Gabe]

I presume you guys think the top-4 is the lowest you'd expect now this season, given the great run you've been on (albeit without playing the best football)?

[Dark Soldier]

Top 4 is the goal, if we come 5/6th I won't be overly disheartened. Below that, for me, would be a disappointment. As long as we finished higher than last season though, I won't be too arsed. I can see what van Gaal is trying to do, and we'll get there with time.

[AlwaysBeClosing]

I presume you guys think the top-4 is the lowest you'd expect now this season, given the great run you've been on (albeit without playing the best football)?

We're playing better than everyone below us, but not as good as those above. Our last few games have shown we have improved so much since the opening day and yeah, I'd expect top four now.

[feltmonkey]

i'd be disappointed with anything below third right now, and i'd like to see some signs in the second half of the season that we'll be able to challenge for the title next season.

[Majora]

What makes the recent run more impressive as well is that we've mostly been doing it with our 'old' group of players, the team that the Moyes apologists said were a load of no-hopers when they were trying to claim it wasn't really his fault. Obviously Falcao is a big add but 5 of the 6 new Summer signings are injured and some have been for a while now, so I don't think you can say Van Gaal has just bought his way into the top 3/4 either.

And yeah, anything below fourth would be a huge disappointment now, I think.

[AlwaysBeClosing]

How did Rafael look by the way? My stream was cutting out and then I fell asleep.

[Liamness]

He looked up for it and was physically competitive (as you expect) but seemed a little off the pace, even for the short time he was on. Good to see him back, but looked like it'll be another week or two before he can start a game.

[Guest]

I wonder if we're going to strengthen in January.

[Liamness]

You could say we need more cover at fullback, midfield is weak (still), and we probably need another winger. Before we try to bring in new players though, I'd want us to be getting as much as we can out of the ones currently have, because that will allow us to pursue a more focused transfer strategy. There is clear room for improvement with the players that we already have, and with that being the case it's hard to know exactly who we should target.

One reason to buy in January if if someone wanted anyway becomes unexpectedly available, which is unlikely. The other is if you believe bringing in players can improve your prospects, but we're unlikely to drop out of the top four with the squad we have, and we're ten points behind Chelsea (they've only dropped nine so far and we're close to the halfway mark) so the league is probably beyond our reach. So it looks to me like we should wait till the summer.

[Ran]

I'm still not completely sold on this but I think he's doing a good job with Ashley Young. I have never been keen on him since even before he was signed but I'm starting to come round!

[AlwaysBeClosing]

Midfield is weak. Please, stop, you're killing me!

[feltmonkey]

I'd say we still need a top quality centre back. Apart from that, we're fine.

[AlwaysBeClosing]

McNair looks superb at the moment, growing in confidence and putting in some fantastic tackles, recovering and reading fairly well, especially considering his age. I'm very happy with sticking with what we have: Rojo, Evans, Jones, Smalling and McNair (as well as Blackett for cover).

[Gabzy]

Lol.. we are not going to score today.

[Bleeders]

This has got a jammy Spurs winner all over it, 5 good chances either wasted or well saved.