Concerning today's match, until Ibra's goal we were risking to have a similar game to many of those where we tried and tried without result, playing with only one forward against lesser teams who defend in numbers. Had they managed to score the first goal, it would have been hard for us to win. Luckily, Zlatan showed his class and we managed to get the lead, which was absolutely crucial. Later, we just played our game well and finished the business.

Darmian was good today, Romero as well, Shaw also positive but still far from his best (understandably), Zlatan very good, Bailly and Rojo so and so. For Herrera it was not the best of performances, had some errors in the passing, but he was not bad and put his usual great effort, which is very important for our game. Lingard had one good run through the middle, but not much more. Runs a lot, but the quality is just not there and he is too lightweight, so he is easily pushed out of the game by the opponents. Miki was OK, scored an important goal, so we could say it was a positive game for him, hope he will start against Chelsea.
I am happy for Rashford because he finally scored. Hope he will continue with his growth despite a recent stall, so it is very important for him to feel the trust of the coach, the players and the fans. In the same time, he is still far from being a finished product and should not be overplayed at this stage.

Manchester United under Marouane Fellaini's captaincy:

100% win ratio
100% clean sheet record
Avg 3 goals per game

Captain. Leader. Legend

Nemanja77 shkroi:

Lingard is fine. He isn't great, but once again he had a fine game. He has become a decent player in the team, works hard and does the simpler things. Kind of the new Fletcher/O'Shea/Park type of a player.

He is decent, but the maximum for him would be our bench and maybe not every time. Definitely, he is not a player who should start more games than Martial or more than Mkhitaryan.

I don't have anything against him, just a feeling he is playing too much, while better players are somehow behind him in pecking order.

This reminds me of Craig Bellamy on MNF last season(or was it the season before that?). He talked about how his time at City was. He was there but then they bought Robinho, SWP, Tevez, Adebayor, Santa Cruz, Adam Johnson etc.

He said that he didn't see himself playing up front after that, because the guys were better than him. But he saw that Robinho was not doing that well and didn't really put in the required effort and made a point of changing his position(before he was a striker) to get games. He knew he'd have to work hard and show the right attitude and this would be the only way he'd play for a club of that standard.

I think it's not very different for Lingard. He sees that he has to work hard to get games and he probably knows that if others start to work as hard as him, then he won't get much game time. And that's kind of setting the standard at the club. I think such players are invaluable for the club. They set the standard that any newcomer must meet to get any time on the pitch. And it also sets the standard for the likes of Mata, Martial, Mkhitaryan, Martial and even Rooney...

While Lingard is not a great player I think he has enough quality to play the 'workers' role. Plus he isn't someone who loses the ball too often. He works his socks off in attack, trying to find pockets of space and he works well defensively. I think the comparison with Park isn't very off. He perhaps isn't at good in that role right now, but I think he'll grow into it. He's just 23 and I think he'll get better with time.

I think the 'blame' for him playing so much is on the others. The likes of Martial, Rashford, Memphis and even Mkhitaryan should have more end product to warrant an automatic place. They have played reasonably well but they haven't really set the world alight. The fact that Martial, Rashford and Mkhitaryan between themselves have just 11 goals and 6 assists by this stage of the season shows that they've underperformed on the whole. I think Jose is right that everyone other than Zlatan (and Pogba probably as well) must up their game in attack. This has just not been good enough so far.



As for Fellaini - I believe you don't hate him, but the way you phrased your post gave me a feeling that you either hate or just very much dislike him.

I do agree that he isn't at the required standard but then again if he is fourth choice + plan B + someone who sets the standards in terms of effort then I don't mind having him around. I still feel we haven't been able to use him to a good effect as a target man but clearly he has some skills that nobody else possesses and if used right, then it could be very useful.

As for Jose having different standards for different players - I suppose that's normal? I think we've heard it often enough how people say that some players need to be told off to get them focused, others need support. I also disagree with him doing the talking in public, but I have some hope that this will change.


The difference with Fergie was that Fergie WAS United. Nobody really did question whether he was the right man for the job. At least not seriously. It was his way or the highway. I think it was invaluable and I hope Jose can create that as well. But that will take years of hard work before we might see something like that.

If there's controversies, the captains are the ones who go talk to the ref, not everyone else.

Also, and that might just be a myth, it seems to me like the refs often let the captains of just a wee bit easier in fouls and such.

If we played 100% by the rules, it would matter who the captain was. A hothead isn't favorable.

Nemanja77 shkroi:

Do you think it is right to make Fellaini captain? In case you do, please enlighten me and tell me why.

I'd go for Zlatan all day long. He's got massive experience, is a big influence on other players, and (looks like) is well respected.

Nemanja77 shkroi:

Then, how comes that Jose' has so much understanding and calm with some players, while he easily attacks some others, even in public? He seems to have different standards with different players, based on personal liking. He never misses to give a bashing to Shaw for example, while Fellaini can do anything and is never criticized.

Perhaps it's the thing that, just like all the people, some players need stick, others need candy to motivate them. Although I'm not sure that criticizing a player in public could be somehow beneficial to that player, at least Fergie didn't use to do it.

The English media have suddenly discovered a superstar Paulo Dybala on Tuesday....and yesterday they also "discovered" a young sensation Youri Tielemans :)

(http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11095/...clash)

I've wrote here about this player more than once and, while I hope he won't shine tonight :) I'd really really like us to sign him as soon as possible, before someone like Real Madrid, Barcelona or Bayern come knocking.

At only 18 years old, he already possesses great quality and imo the club who buys him will have a fantastic player for next 10 years at least. He is exactly what we should be looking for. Even if he doesn't cement a place in our starting lineup in his first season, he would learn and enter the 1st team gradually.

We have missed on Renato Sanches last Summer and we should not miss on this player as well.

Great match today!

The players were well disciplined defensively and attacked nicely as well.

I think Jose did a great job tactically and the players carried it out brilliantly as well. Haven't seen Chelsea as impotent since they lost to Tottenham.

Rashford for the first time today took his chance as a striker. Hopefully he'll continue to improve and keep putting in such performances. Lingard IMO supported him really well also.

Also just saw Jose's interview. Said that nobody was tired, we just played the best team for this match today. Love it.

I'm excited about how we'll play against City next week. Could be a big big game for the top four.

Very good match tactically, brave from Mourinho to leave Zlatan on the bench and risk being crucified by the media if we didn't win.

Almost every United player played very well today, with maybe the exception of Pogba who should have done better, especially when with the ball.

We could have played even better if we hadn't made lots of unforced errors in passing. Our shots could have been better as well, because Young, Rashford and Lingard were in good positions several times but couldn't keep their shots on target. On the other hand, Chelsea didn't create a chance and their shots were mostly from difficult positions.

Today it was crucial to score the first goal. We were a bit lucky with both goals, as the first one came after a handball from Herrera and the second was a deflection, but we deserved this little bit of luck. The assist from Herrera was magnificent and he was also on the right place in the right time for the 2nd goal, didn't hesitate and sent a powerful shot.

Our fight for the 4th place will be very difficult as we have tough matches away against City, Arsenal and Spurs, while Liverpool and City have an easier schedule.

The fight for the title will be interesting if Chelsea fail to win against Everton and/or WBA away.

We do have tough games ahead and it's going to be hard to get into the top four. But I think it's not out of our reach.

I think that the Europa League games shouldn't be THAT hard(Anderlecht didn't seem too good at least) and as we're on a good run, then who knows.

Looking at the fixtures:
Burnley away - I think it's not going to be as hard. They must attack at least a bit at home as well so I'd hope that we'll find enough space to punish them. If we turn up then it should be quite straightforward.

City away - the crucial match really. If we win against Burnley and then City, then we're ahead of them and it could get easier.

Swansea at home - they're in the drop zone and it's going to be difficult, because they haven't been that bad lately. They're probably happy with a point against us, so this is tough. I think their defense isn't that good overall though, so hopefully we can win it.

Arsenal away - based on their recent form I don't see them as too dangerous. Hopefully the team will be focused and do a job. Just like we always did under Fergie.

Tottenham away - the other huge one. They might be still in for the title and they are playing really well. We need to deliver and possibly get some luck to get 3 points.

Southampton away - I think that this isn't going to be too tough. They're safe and for some reason I feel that under Puel they haven't really managed to keep their level.

Palace at home - I think that if we're in the run for the top four at that point, then we'll win it. Palace have been very good and they'll surely be safe by then and I think we'll just want it more and force the goals.

As for City and Liverpool:
City have a pretty easy schedule. There's the derby match first. I can't see them losing at Boro. Then Palace at home could be tricky for them as Palace aren't safe yet. Leicester at home - who knows which Leicester will turn up. WBA at home is likely an easy win and Watford away is probably a win as well.

Liverpool - they have fewer matches, which helps them. Palace at home next week could be tricky. Watford away - I think they'll win. Soton at home I think they'll win. West Ham away.. I think it's likely they'll win but then again West Ham might need a point at the time etc. Boro at home should be an easy win as I think Boro will be relegated by then. It feels like they're in a very good position and it's mainly between us and City.

All in all I think there could be a few tricky fixtures for all teams. But our hope will live only if we beat City. So it's a big 10 days for us. We need to beat Anderlecht, Burnley and City. But such pressure is what makes football fun. Especially combined with the expectation that the team will do well. That last part has been missing for a while :).

chuksi shkroi:

Great match today!

I'd even risk to say - the best from what I saw/remember this whole season. I was impressed the most by our defensive play, how they fought for the ball like raging bulls, they didn't give space to the opponents and didn't let them too close to our penalty area. All this disciplined play reminded me of the best matches of Jose's Inter in Champions League.
Now please keep at this level cause Manchester derby could be vital.

PREMIER LEAGUE TOP 5 QUICKEST PLAYERS THIS SEASON

1. Shane Long – 35.31km/h
2. Marcus Rashford – 35.21km/h
3. Matt Phillips – 35.20km/h
4. Lynden Gooch & Brad Smith – 35.19km/h
5. Kyle Walker – 35.18km/h

R.I.P. Ugo Ehiogu

I liked this player always, I remember I always used to buy him when I played Championship Manager.

(http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2896/premier-l...722/-)

Having a manager like Mourinho means so much when it comes to attracting top players, there is no doubt about it.

What an ugly game :(

If someone never watched football before but saw the game tonight, I doubt he/she would be attracted by this sport, which is usually beautiful, but not this game.

It is disgraceful for Mourinho and United to ever play for 0-0.

It was obvious that with this attitude tonight we were not going to score, at least not score more than City. It wasn't even tactics to play on counter-attack, as City's central defenders were positioned very well and didn't risk being hit on the counter, especially not by a team which attacks with one player, maximum two.

We were missing Pogba very much, Martial was frustrated on the wing or almost on left back, Miki was nowhere to be seen, etc.

We are still in the fight for top 4, we can still reach Liverpool and surpass City, but tonight it seemed that Mourinho had already decided to focus on EL, or just to wait for another chance.

The only positive thing from tonight's game is that Fellaini will not be able to play in the next 2-3 games. On the other hand, the bad news is that he will be in the starting 11 against Celta next Thursday. Tonight was one of his worst games and he proved yet another time that he is an epic idiot with a naive reaction to Aguero's provocation.

If United were to play like you suggest, they would have came home with 0 points in their hands and way lower chances for top 4. Given the injuries and the fatigue, this was the best gameplan in the circumstances. Also, it's Mourinho, what were you expecting? He started the Chelsea game with the same tactic, only then we were lucky to score that early goal and send them into panic mode for the rest of the first half.

What Fellaini did was stupid, but not deserving a straight red card, a second yellow at best. Aguero dived both at the foul and the following "headbutt" [Fellaini barely touched him while he flies off to the ground, give me a break] but if the referee is blind as Atkinson tonight it's to be expected. Other than that, Fellaini had a very good game until then, cheering for his absence is a poor attitude on your part considering how overworked our midfield is and how valuable the Belgian is in certain types of games. Against Arsenal and Spurs having someone of his qualities in the midfield is extremely valuable. Ok, Fosu-Mensah will get some game time, but with 2 vital PL games in the next 2 weeks having only 4 players for a 3 central midfield formation will be gruesome.

If United were to play like you suggest, they would have came home with 0 points in their hands and way lower chances for top 4.

I don't remember suggesting anything in particular, so how do you know we would come home with 0 points?

What I told is that is disgraceful to play for 0-0. I follow United for more than 25 years and I don't remember we ever played this way, as we always went to win games (at least in the league), not draw.

City's defence is not unbeatable, we had a chance to surpass them and we needed to try at least, instead of going for 0-0.

He started the Chelsea game with the same tactic

Wrong.

Against Chelsea we played a kind of 4-4-2, with Rashford and Lingard upfront, three in the middle, Young left midfielder/wing, Valencia offensive RB.

What Fellaini did was stupid, but not deserving a straight red card, a second yellow at best.

Rules are rules and you cannot interpret them this way. A headbutt is a red card, doesn't matter if he barely touched him or not. Anyway, even if it was a second yellow, he was off and left his team-mates in trouble just because he could not control himself. This is highly unprofessional and stupid. Just when he was starting to play a bit better and I was almost convinced that he might be a player for our bench and some special tasks, he reminded me what a liability he was.

Other than that, Fellaini had a very good game until then, cheering for his absence is a poor attitude on your part considering how overworked our midfield is and how valuable the Belgian is in certain types of games.

He didn't have a good game, he had a poor game. Lost a lot of balls either on the ground and in the air, all in all one of his worst games for United, in my opinion.
Cheering for his absence is not a poor attitude, but just my frustration that we still have this player in our team, with the third manager...
Moyes made a mistake by bringing him because he didn't have a clue what to do with United (let alone the amount of money he spent for him), but LVG and Mourinho also kept him and that is a mistake. United doesn't need such a player. I know he might be valuable for SOME tasks, but sorry, that is not enough if you have ambitions to be among the best in Europe. Such player is OK for a mid table team and their ambitions.
Mourinho sold Schweinsteiger and Schneiderlin, didn't buy anyone instead of them, overplayed Pogba and therefore it is logical that now we have this situation in the middle. Anyway, since we already had Carrick and Herrera in the middle, we could have played a more offensive player in front of them, like Rooney or Miki or Lingard.

After a very good game as a striker, Martial was again pushed on the left wing, almost left back, which is another error imo.
Shaw doesn't play again, while Darmian doesn't offer much in the offensive part.

Young was very good lately, but he was on the bench again.

Therefore, with the team that played last night, we couldn't expect more than a point.

By the way, yesterday I heard a sad fact that, since SAF left, United never finished a season above City in the table. We had a chance last night to work on correcting that, but it seemed that Mourinho was pleased with one point and that he will try to get CL through Europa League.

What I told is that is disgraceful to play for 0-0. I follow United for more than 25 years and I don't remember we ever played this way, as we always went to win games (at least in the league), not draw.

United were also stronger in the past 25 years. You can say what you want, but City's squad is very strong and the only reason they're underperforming is because Guardiola really wants to implement his style [which takes time to teach] instead of one that is easier to put into application. Ergo, going there looking to attack would have been bad news.

A headbutt is a red card

Yeah, but it makes a difference when it comes to the number of games he's suspended for. As I said, what he did was stupid and Aguero played him just the right amount for that.

He didn't have a good game, he had a poor game. Lost a lot of balls either on the ground and in the air, all in all one of his worst games for United, in my opinion.

What game did you watch? Herrera lost way more balls than him, some of them right to the edge of our box, Mkhi kept dribbling the ball into the feet of his opponents and had 0 product, Martial in the second half was invisible, and yet Fellaini gets the stick, unbelievable. He tackled, he intercepted, he robbed City players of the ball in some occasions, he did what he had to do in the system Mourinho designed.

Cheering for his absence is not a poor attitude, but just my frustration that we still have this player in our team, with the third manager...
Moyes made a mistake by bringing him because he didn't have a clue what to do with United, but LVG and Mourinho also kept him and that is a mistake. United doesn't need such a player. I know he might be valuable for SOME tasks, but sorry, that is not enough if you have ambitions to be among the best in Europe. Such player is OK for a mid table team and their ambitions

It still shows poor attitude on your part. Cheering for one of your player's suspensions is already in poor taste, but doing that to someone who despite his flaws works hard and never ever complains about the stick he gets from the fans is absolutely terrible. It's not his fault Moyes was completely in over his head and ruined himself and his career in the process. It's not his fault that LVG used him to great effect in his 1st season [remember how useful he was in the final push for 4th?], and not his fault that LVG made no progress in his 2nd season. Oh, and Fosu Mensah is also injured, cheering for a more depleted midfield are we?

Mourinho sold Schweinsteiger and Schneiderlin, didn't buy anyone instead of them, overplayed Pogba and therefore it is logical that now we have this situation in the middle. Anyway, since we already had Carrick and Herrera in the middle, we could have played a more offensive player in front of them, like Rooney or Miki or Lingard.

Mourinho left Schweini and Schneiderlin leave because they wanted to leave. Players who are held prisoner are a liability and after all.
And please, no Rooney. The insistence to play him in every match was one of LVG's greatest mistakes, his form has dipped considerably and abruptly 2 years ago. Since then, his first touch is comparable to a ball hitting the corner of a table and his finishing, while sometimes effective, is nowhere near what he had 3-4 years ago. At 31 Rooney looks in worse shape than Ibra at 35, as much as I appreciate his achievements he is unfortunately past it and has been since 2016 at least

We had a chance last night to work on correcting that, but it seemed that Mourinho was pleased with one point and that he will try to get CL through Europa League.

Top 4 is still doable and it's the most important aspect from this game. Rivalries can wait, playing for objectives is the most important part. Would you rather finish 5th and City 6th just so you can be above?

Ergo, going there looking to attack would have been bad news.

You see, this is not Manchester United mentality.

I didn't say we needed to go gung-ho, but at least a bit more wish to hurt the opponent would have been more suitable for a team that needs points, in order to gain one of top 4 spots.

What game did you watch? Herrera lost way more balls than him, some of them right to the edge of our box, Mkhi kept dribbling the ball into the feet of his opponents and had 0 product, Martial in the second half was invisible, and yet Fellaini gets the stick, unbelievable. He tackled, he intercepted, he robbed City players of the ball in some occasions, he did what he had to do in the system Mourinho designed.

I didn't say others were great (because they weren't) but we were talking about Fellaini and imo he had a poor game. I read different player ratings just to see whether it was just my bias, but all of them gave him very low ratings, so it's not a coincidence. The ratings were not low just because of a red card, but due to a poor overall performance.
As I said, the others were weak as well, especially Mkhitaryan, but at least they didn't leave their team with 10 players.

Imo, Bailly was our MOTM, but Blind was also very good.

It still shows poor attitude on your part. Cheering for one of your player's suspensions is already in poor taste, but doing that to someone who despite his flaws works hard and never ever complains about the stick he gets from the fans is absolutely terrible. It's not his fault Moyes was completely in over his head and ruined himself and his career in the process. It's not his fault that LVG used him to great effect in his 1st season [remember how useful he was in the final push for 4th?], and not his fault that LVG made no progress in his 2nd season.

What do you know about my attitude???

For example, I would never boo Fellaini or any other player if I was in the stadium because I am completely against that, but here I will surely say my opinion. I don't consider Fellaini "my" player and I never did, because he is just a mistake Moyes brought and it keeps dragging on unfortunately. I don't blame him personally as he is trying hard, I blame Moyes from bringing him and LVG and Mourinho for not selling him. Anyway, what I can blame Fellaini for is his idiotic behaviour that affects the whole team. Headbutting Aguero (even slightly) is just the last example, but there were other situations too, like a stupid penalty he made against Everton, which cost us 2 points. Those errors were very avoidable.

Oh, and Fosu Mensah is also injured, cheering for a more depleted midfield are we?

I will not comment this at all...

Mourinho left Schweini and Schneiderlin leave because they wanted to leave.

They didn't want to leave, they wanted to play.
Afterwards, when they saw they are not getting almost any minutes, it was logical for them to leave.
I don't blame Mourinho for selling them, but he should have known that, in this case, he needs to have some backup, to avoid finding himself in a situation we are in now.
Anyway, if he though we had too many midfielders and wanted to get rid of someone, he should have sold Fellaini. But then, I don't think anyone really wanted to buy Fellaini. Even if they did, what would be an offer for him? 5mil? 10mil? We would have never got more than that and there's a reason why.

Top 4 is still doable and it's the most important aspect from this game. Rivalries can wait, playing for objectives is the most important part. Would you rather finish 5th and City 6th just so you can be above?

No. Winning against City was important in order to surpass them in the table and we could have tried at least, as they are not an unbeatable opponent. We did it against Chelsea and Spurs, so why not against City?

I don't have any problems with Jose's gameplan. This was an away match at City, which is always going to be decided by fine margins. Looking at how City have played throughout the season I expected our quick forwards to cause them problems and at times they did that. In the second half our attacks became less potent and that wasn't great.

I think a large part of the reason why we played like this was the fact that we're playing so many games. I think if Jose had a full week to prepare and then a week of rest after the game, then he might have gone and tried to press them all over the pitch. They have short and not so strong strikers and we could've had a lot of joy pressing them. But as we didn't have enough time to prepare that gameplan, then it would've been a disaster to play like that. Plus it would've helped to have someone like Pogba playing instead of Carrick for that gameplan.

I agree that we missed Pogba. We relied too much on Carrick to make the forward passes. He did well, but both Herrera and Fellaini weren't able to do enough higher up the pitch. There were plenty of occasions, when their defensive line was high up the pitch and Rashford made good runs, but the others didn't manage to make the throughball. I think the gameplan was pretty good, because they were constantly struggling against Rashford and Martial.

I think that Martial didn't have a very good game yesterday. I know he had a task of keeping it compact in defense and worked a lot, but on the ball he wasn't dangerous enough. A few times he made good runs in the first half, but too often it felt he played it safe or didn't try to expose his direct opponent. I feel that's one of the things that Jose doesn't like too much about him.

The only positive thing from tonight's game is that Fellaini will not be able to play in the next 2-3 games. On the other hand, the bad news is that he will be in the starting 11 against Celta next Thursday. Tonight was one of his worst games and he proved yet another time that he is an epic idiot with a naive reaction to Aguero's provocation.

That's the kind of attitude towards him that I don't like. You seem to be making it very clear that you don't like him. I think yesterday he wasn't great, but did a good job in a team where we didn't have our first choice midfielders available. He got a stupid red card of course, but generally he played his role well.. He broke up play excellently and that's always important against a team like City. I was somewhat afraid during the last 5 minutes during the corners, because we didn't have Zlatan, Pogba or Fellaini defending them and they had Kompany, Otamendi and Yaya as pretty strong headers in our box. Fellaini is important in those situations, like it or not. He isn't going to lose his duel against anyone.

I don't think Jose has conceded the fourth spot. If we win our game in hand, then we're in fourth place. This point as actually a good point, because it theoretically put us above Liverpool. We do have some tough matches coming up in the league, but I think we're in a good position. 24 games unbeaten is impressive - just 2 teams have gone on a longer unbeaten run in PL and United have once done 24 games as well.