Cybereagles

Man Utd have been in the same position for 10 consecutive weeks!

wiseone wrote:
Man Utd have been in the same position for 10 consecutive weeks!

The coming few weeks are crucial, if Man United fails to win it's winnable games, then they will be staying in 6th possibly towards the end of the season.

For example, if Man Utd had won yesterday, they would be level on points with City and only 6th because of goal different.

Still a lot to play for, but the top 4 are not just dropping points, so Man United will have to beat them all in order to move up.

benteke wrote:

wiseone wrote:
Man Utd have been in the same position for 10 consecutive weeks!

The coming few weeks are crucial, if Man United fails to win it's winnable games, then they will be staying in 6th possibly towards the end of the season.

For example, if Man Utd had won yesterday, they would be level on points with City and only 6th because of goal different.

Still a lot to play for, but the top 4 are not just dropping points, so Man United will have to beat them all in order to move up.

True.

This coming weekend at Stoke is a very interesting fixture.
Spurs go to Etihad as well - I hope they draw.

What worries me is that Man Utd have a very hard run-in. 2 of their final 3 games are Spurs and Arsenal away - in May. Plus they have to play Chelsea in April. Man Utd still have to play Arsenal, Man City, and Spurs away. I would not like to go into that sequence of games eg. with Man Utd still 6 points outside the top 4. They really need to get loads of points on the board before April comes round.

I really hope those late equalisers/dropped points due to refereeing clangers do not come back to haunt Man Utd in May.

benteke wrote:

wiseone wrote:
Man Utd have been in the same position for 10 consecutive weeks!

The coming few weeks are crucial, if Man United fails to win it's winnable games, then they will be staying in 6th possibly towards the end of the season.

For example, if Man Utd had won yesterday, they would be level on points with City and only 6th because of goal different.

Still a lot to play for, but the top 4 are not just dropping points, so Man United will have to beat them all in order to move up.

LVG has formally retired after a tragedy in his family.

https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/van-ga ... --sow.html

Van Gaal ends coaching career after family tragedy
Reuters
7 hours ago
Former Manchester United and Netherlands manager Louis van Gaal has ended his coaching career following a family tragedy, Dutch media reported on Tuesday.

The 65-year-old, who is out of work since United sacked him in May last year, has turned down a lucrative offer from China.

"I could have gone there (China), but I'm still here," van Gaal told De Telegraaf. "So much has happened in my family that I have been forced to look at things differently."

The sudden death of his son-in-law had been the catalyst, he said. "I had said (after leaving Manchester United) that I would stop but I changed that into a sabbatical, but now I believe that I will not return to coaching."

Asked if he did not have any remaining ambitions, van Gaal said: "No, actually not. I have got everything in my life. I find it boring to mention it all but look at the countries where I have worked and the level of the clubs that I have coached, and there is nothing that remains.

"I actually wanted to stop after the World Cup (in Brazil in 2014) but then the opportunity in England came up. And that was a fantastic country that is now also on my CV."

Van Gaal said winning last year's FA Cup, against the backdrop of his impending dismissal, was the greatest achievement of his career.

"I was standing on the gangplank for the last six months. My head was in the guillotine, put there by the English media. And then in those circumstances you have to try and stick to your vision and inspire the players of Manchester United."

He also managed Ajax Amsterdam, Barcelona and AZ Alkmaar.

wiseone wrote:
Van Gaal said winning last year's FA Cup, against the backdrop of his impending dismissal, was the greatest achievement of his career.

"I was standing on the gangplank for the last six months. My head was in the guillotine, put there by the English media. And then in those circumstances you have to try and stick to your vision and inspire the players of Manchester United."

The English media can be cruel.
Looks like those Mourinho rumours that started around December last season may have affected Van Gaal and the team's form greatly.

But at least he remains polite and grateful to the club despite the way he was sacked, unlike Moyes who whines at every opportunity.

wiseone wrote:What worries me is that Man Utd have a very hard run-in. 2 of their final 3 games are Spurs and Arsenal away - in May. Plus they have to play Chelsea in April. Man Utd still have to play Arsenal, Man City, and Spurs away. I would not like to go into that sequence of games eg. with Man Utd still 6 points outside the top 4. They really need to get loads of points on the board before April comes round.

I really hope those late equalisers/dropped points due to refereeing clangers do not come back to haunt Man Utd in May.

benteke wrote:

wiseone wrote:
Man Utd have been in the same position for 10 consecutive weeks!

The coming few weeks are crucial, if Man United fails to win it's winnable games, then they will be staying in 6th possibly towards the end of the season.

For example, if Man Utd had won yesterday, they would be level on points with City and only 6th because of goal different.

Still a lot to play for, but the top 4 are not just dropping points, so Man United will have to beat them all in order to move up.

Those last 3 games must be approached with a nothing to lose mentality, the team must go there and throw the kitchen sink at them because indeed this season there is nothing to lose, the club has been sitting at position 6 for majority of the season.

On the other hand there is the Europa cup avenue.
A decision will have to be made

benteke wrote:

wiseone wrote:
Van Gaal said winning last year's FA Cup, against the backdrop of his impending dismissal, was the greatest achievement of his career.

"I was standing on the gangplank for the last six months. My head was in the guillotine, put there by the English media. And then in those circumstances you have to try and stick to your vision and inspire the players of Manchester United."

The English media can be cruel.
Looks like those Mourinho rumours that started around December last season may have affected Van Gaal and the team's form greatly.

But at least he remains polite and grateful to the club despite the way he was sacked, unlike Moyes who whines at every opportunity.

LVG was unfairly and poorly treated by those hacks.

All the best to LVG

Depay nearing move to Lyon:

A permanent move away is a mistake IMHO. I think they should loan him out to get seasoning and tactical nous. He has bags of talent but just needs to figure when/how to harness it.

wiseone wrote:Depay nearing move to Lyon:

A permanent move away is a mistake IMHO. I think they should loan him out to get seasoning and tactical nous. He has bags of talent but just needs to figure when/how to harness it.

A permanent move with a "buy back option" + a "sell on clause" is much much much better than any loan deal. United have done well with this deal.

Is there some new FA rule that Man Utd must never be awarded a penalty no matter how blatant the circumstances? Man Utd should have had at least two penalties against Stoke yesterday:

1) Handball by Eric Pieters from Mata's cross.
2) Handball by Shawcross who cradled the ball like it was a newborn baby.

Then there was Shawcross' flying elbow smash on Rashford right on the edge of the box. Clattenburg did not even give a free kick let alone a red or yellow card to Shawcross which it merited. It was more like a WWE move than a legit challenge on a football pitch.

It was great to see Schweinsteiger playing well after such a long time by the sidelines, he even got loud cheers from the fans, and Mourinho has changed his mind, Bastian is now staying.

Ashley Young's time is up.

The best moment for me was young Axel Tuanzebe getting his debut. Heard rave reviews about this teenager and at his young age he is already the Reserve team captain, and has been said to be too good for the reserves. The irony is that he got his debut against a team managed by Warren Joyce (who was his mentor and former coach at youth and reserve level at Man Utd).

Fellaini scored - AGAIN...In the last 2 seasons he has scored decisive goals in the FA cup semi-final, EFL Cup semi-final, a crucial goal that got Man Utd into the group stage of last season's Champions League, AND he scored crucial winning goals against Spurs and Liverpool, yet Man Utd fans simply refuse to give the man credit.

I am not enamoured by Bastian's reintroduction to the team. Not sure a 32yo injury prone immobile guy coming to the end of his career is the answer in midfield when Carrick is 35yo. To that end the decision to sell Schneiderlin (who is 5-6 years younger than Bastian and in the prime of his career) seems very puzzling.

benteke wrote:It was great to see Schweinsteiger playing well after such a long time by the sidelines, he even got loud cheers from the fans, and Mourinho has changed his mind, Bastian is now staying.

Ashley Young's time is up.

wiseone wrote:The best moment for me was young Axel Tuanzebe getting his debut. Heard rave reviews about this teenager and at his young age he is already the Reserve team captain, and has been said to be too good for the reserves. The irony is that he got his debut against a team managed by Warren Joyce (who was his mentor and former coach at youth and reserve level at Man Utd).

Fellaini scored - AGAIN...In the last 2 seasons he has scored decisive goals in the FA cup semi-final, EFL Cup semi-final, a crucial goal that got Man Utd into the group stage of last season's Champions League, AND he scored crucial winning goals against Spurs and Liverpool, yet Man Utd fans simply refuse to give the man credit.

I am not enamoured by Bastian's reintroduction to the team. Not sure a 32yo injury prone immobile guy coming to the end of his career is the answer in midfield when Carrick is 35yo. To that end the decision to sell Schneiderlin (who is 5-6 years younger than Bastian and in the prime of his career) seems very puzzling.

benteke wrote:It was great to see Schweinsteiger playing well after such a long time by the sidelines, he even got loud cheers from the fans, and Mourinho has changed his mind, Bastian is now staying.

Ashley Young's time is up.

Bastian has experience and wisdom, as old as he is, he can control a game better than a younger guy like Schneiderlin, who is competing against people like Herrera and Pogba.

I'm sure from now going forward Bastian can help us fight for top 4

Benteke - he has to be fit enough to get onto the pitch in order to be able to control a game. He has started a grand total of 1 game in the last 13 months. He has been injured for the majority of that time. Man Utd are playing with fire by getting rid of Schneiderlin and relying on two guys with a combined age of nearly 70 to play DM in this era where top teams are packing their teams with ultra-fit, fast, and athletic runners in midfield to press manically. Look at the midfielders playing for other top sides: Chelsea: Matic, Kante, Man City: Fernando/dinho, Arsenal: Elneny, Ramsey, Coquelin, Xhaka, Liverpool: Can, Lallana, Henderson, Spurs: Wanyama, Alli, Dembele, Sissoko.

Can you imagine Carras and Bastian getting closed down and pressed by Kante, Fernandinho, or Wanyama?

benteke wrote:Bastian has experience and wisdom, as old as he is, he can control a game better than a younger guy like Schneiderlin, who is competing against people like Herrera and Pogba.

I'm sure from now going forward Bastian can help us fight for top 4

...Bastian is done. Lucky he scored yesterday, he is as done as Rooney, they are just there for moral support.

wiseone wrote:Benteke - he has to be fit enough to get onto the pitch in order to be able to control a game. He has started a grand total of 1 game in the last 13 months. He has been injured for the majority of that time. Man Utd are playing with fire by getting rid of Schneiderlin and relying on two guys with a combined age of nearly 70 to play DM in this era where top teams are packing their teams with ultra-fit, fast, and athletic runners in midfield to press manically. Look at the midfielders playing for other top sides: Chelsea: Matic, Kante, Man City: Fernando/dinho, Arsenal: Elneny, Ramsey, Coquelin, Xhaka, Liverpool: Can, Lallana, Henderson, Spurs: Wanyama, Alli, Dembele, Sissoko.

Can you imagine Carras and Bastian getting closed down and pressed by Kante, Fernandinho, or Wanyama?

benteke wrote:Bastian has experience and wisdom, as old as he is, he can control a game better than a younger guy like Schneiderlin, who is competing against people like Herrera and Pogba.

I'm sure from now going forward Bastian can help us fight for top 4

It's mostly due to non selection by Mourinho, that's why he has been absent that long.

Otherwise he is actually the better player for playing out of pressure, unlike young ones like Pogba and and Herrera, they can also be rendered useless as recent games have shown.

All he needs is other people to press for him, and he just lays passes

@Benteke what your take on top 4?Do you see Manu sneak into top 4?This mid week game will tell a lot as the table for top 4 might change..Hope Liverpool don't allow Chelsea to win tomorrow.

Mourinho's first competitive game as Man Utd manager was in September 2016. Schweinsteiger last started a game for Man Utd on January 9, 2016. Schweinsteiger was not getting picked (because he was always injured) even before Mourinho joined the club. Schweinsteiger joined Man Utd in 2015. It is now 2017. In that time period Man Utd have played about 90 games. Schweinsteiger has played in 21 of them. That is a damning indictment of his fitness record.

benteke wrote:
It's mostly due to non selection by Mourinho, that's why he has been absent that long.

Otherwise he is actually the better player for playing out of pressure, unlike young ones like Pogba and and Herrera, they can also be rendered useless as recent games have shown.

All he needs is other people to press for him, and he just lays passes

wiseone wrote:Mourinho's first competitive game as Man Utd manager was in September 2016. Schweinsteiger last started a game for Man Utd on January 9, 2016. Schweinsteiger was not getting picked (because he was always injured) even before Mourinho joined the club. Schweinsteiger joined Man Utd in 2015. It is now 2017. In that time period Man Utd have played about 90 games. Schweinsteiger has played in 21 of them. That is a damning indictment of his fitness record.

benteke wrote:
It's mostly due to non selection by Mourinho, that's why he has been absent that long.

Otherwise he is actually the better player for playing out of pressure, unlike young ones like Pogba and and Herrera, they can also be rendered useless as recent games have shown.

All he needs is other people to press for him, and he just lays passes

I won't read too much into the fitness record of any of United's players under LVG. That man took United as a retirement job and was simply too laid back.
Mourinho has been working on this and the results are showing. Look at Jones and Rojo especially.

United had suffered 15 muscular injuries by this point last season - this term it is just 12. And on average, by the end of January in the last five seasons, United had lost players for 377.2 days to muscular complaints while this time around it is just 175. (The Daily Mail)

Mourinho quietly made changes to United's training complex and methods. he has softened training pitches while tailoring rest, recovery and practices to individual players. Michael Carrick and Zlatan Ibrahimovic have a combined age of 70 but their fitness records have been good so far, helped in no small part by their extended periods focused purely on recovery.

wiseone wrote:Mourinho's first competitive game as Man Utd manager was in September 2016. Schweinsteiger last started a game for Man Utd on January 9, 2016. Schweinsteiger was not getting picked (because he was always injured) even before Mourinho joined the club. Schweinsteiger joined Man Utd in 2015. It is now 2017. In that time period Man Utd have played about 90 games. Schweinsteiger has played in 21 of them. That is a damning indictment of his fitness record.

benteke wrote:
It's mostly due to non selection by Mourinho, that's why he has been absent that long.

Otherwise he is actually the better player for playing out of pressure, unlike young ones like Pogba and and Herrera, they can also be rendered useless as recent games have shown.

All he needs is other people to press for him, and he just lays passes

@wiseone, do you forget that Mourinho came in and simply froze out Schweinsteiger, even banning him from training with the 1st team.
And this went on for months, and it was unclear why.
He only changed his mind around November/December, and we even thought he is just playing him so he can be sold in January.
Now apparently Bastian is staying. All very surprising to me