thoughtsonfootball

[thoughtsonfootball]

End of Season Review

Hello I am back and I shall review this season before the rollercoaster of a transfer window begins.

We won the Europa League! 

Wow that’s v embarrassing to type out with an exclamation point considering a club of United’s stature. Keep it mind that it was also a must win game bc if not we would not have had Champions League football next year. Mou put all his eggs in one basket, completely abandoning the Premier league for the last few games to rest players and I guess it payed off??? But also we were playing Ajax so.......it was a game we could have won anyway. 

We also won the Community Shield and EFL cup.

Nice, 2 trophies to add to the cabinet. 

Let’s talk about what really matters.

In Van Gaal’s last season, United finished 5th with 9 draws and 10 losses and he got fired. United finished 6th this year with 15 draws and 5 losses and this is considered to be a better season. I shall elaborate. The style of play under Van Gaal was boring, possession based and just plain stagnant. Martial, and towards the end of the season, Rashford were the only standouts. Rooney was forced into the line up despite his lack of production. This season however, despite brief moments of side to side passing, majority of the games were decently fun to watch with attacking football being played, chances being created and good counters albeit some VERY POOR finishing. We could have won a ton of games and actually challenged for the title assuming we had put away a lot of those draws.  

Defence

Bailly was a revelation and will be a mainstay in the defence for some time to come. Rojo greatly improved his game this year with decent shifts being put in by Smalling and Jones. On the whole, there was nothing to complain about the defence. I still hope Shaw stands a chance to get into the line up next year. Rumors are Mou wants one more central defender who i think will replace Smalling/Jones.

Midfield

Carrick, Pogba, Herrera, Fellaini were the main features and they all performed to the best of their abilities. Herrera definitely exceeded his and I love his passion for the team and hope he stays for a long time to come. Fellaini did what he was supposed to and I guess you can’t ask more from him. Carrick is getting older but still vintage despite some misplaced passes from time to time. Pogba created HELLA chances, made some amazing passes but he did not have the freedom he had in Juventus to break free and score more goals. I hope this changes next season with the addition of a holding midfielder to the team. 

Attacking

Mkhitaryan what a man, great with the ball and always looking up for the pass. Great addition to the team. He took away some playing time from Mata who once again managed a very respectable season, scoring when we needed him to. Martial had a bit of an off year with the “Mou treatment” (that “somehow helped Mkhi”) but he is so young with so much potential that this is will be merely a blip in his career. Towards the end of the season his performances definitely picked up. Rashford was standout, he’s already so good, cannot wait to see how much better he gets in the future. Lingard put in hardworking shifts and is a great role player for the team. And Zlatan, what a signing. He destroyed the PL and cemented his status as one of the best strikers on the planet. His injury was unfortunate and I hope he returns to United next year.  IDK what is going to happen in the offseason we shall see and I shall post my thoughts from time to time. 

Till then.

[thoughtsonfootball]

20 game unbeaten run but y

the last time i posted, United got murked by Chelsea and since then they have gone unbeaten in the prem league and have lost twice. Once to hull in an inconsequential game which eventually led to united winning the EFL cup (lol), and the next time to Chelsea a 1-0 loss that was drab, not disappointing, just drab. 

Drew west brom last game (no goal) and drew everton today (shoulda been 2-1 but “””offside””” goal smh).

ok so sounds good right but not when half these games (at old trafford no less) are dumb draws. If u are tryna be in the middle of the table well yea that’s dope! but u tryna finish top 4 (if u count the points dropped we could very well be 2nd) this will not do. Why is this happening? I shall try to shine a light on this but keep in mind this is my perspective.

1. SCORE LMAO

when do draws happen? when u can’t score more than the other team. With a plethora of pure attacking talent like Ibra, martial, rashford, lingard, mkhi one can expect the goals to flow in. Instead the top goal scorers for us are ibra and my man mata. Mata is a creative player and any goals from him should be an added bonus, not a reliable source. United have just been horrid in the final third despite all the chances created. they just can’t put the ball into the net. WHICH I CANNOT COMPREHEND. 

2. Lackluster start to games

in most games united starts slowly, dominating possession with some players not being urgent enough. that’s fine as long as they grow into the game. this usually happens but way too late to win and they end up with a draw. Or, defensively there is a slight lapse (re: today’s game vs everton when the goal happened in slow motion) in defense. Why not play hard from the word go???

However, most of the games, it is not boring to watch united like it was with LVG which i am thankful for. At times the creativity is lacking and once again it bring me back to the point of sticking to the game plan from the word go.

3. Overdependence on Zlatan/Other players not stepping up

Yea so like we need more players to score we have the damn talent holy shit. 

A couple positives:

1. Defense lowkey dank: with mou using different CB pairing, LB/RB choices, no one player has been explicitly trash. This is a good thing.

2. Young players getting hella playing time - our squad in yung af so many players under 25. This is definitely a team for the future. Experience gained this year will def bode well. This was not a one year plan. 

3. Squad depth. Young. Yo how tf he doing this? He’s been p raw since he cracked the team again. And Fellaini too recently. But like let’s be real u can’t depend on these guys to lead United to titles. Mou not afraid to drop Rooney is a HUGE thing. It is kinda sad but like there are more capable and better fits. 

4. I like how Mou changes up tactic and is not adamant. Even plays with 3 sometimes like wow! Shows the trust he has in his players.

Long post but what im tryna say is, im not SAD just not happy. Just gotta hope for the Europa League win (easier said than done lmao).

Please score some goals United. 

[thoughtsonfootball]

What did I watch today

Chelsea had success w/ their 3 back formation recently and it was expected for them to line up as such. No pressure to include Rooney in the line up today so I was looking forward to a demolition of Chelsea especially after a strong performance (albeit vs a turkish side) from United this past week. 

but what the fuck happened shit was SLOPPY. it was absolutely painful to watch.

Ok mistakes happen first goal in 30 seconds but how tf are u not gonna be able to hold on to the ball/make a proper pass. this 4-2-3-1 is not dank let’s be real. defending was in shambles and with Bailly hurt idk what to expect in the coming weeks. Kudos to Chelsea for capitalizing on every mistake United made. Their wingbacks were very effective in suffocating the United midfield. (I expected this from LVG’s 3 man defense but we all know what happened w/ that LMAO)

there is no use having all the talent in the world if there is no concrete gameplan. Sure, “go out there and have fun” can work if the team is cohesive but like United is nowhere close to that. I understand that Mou is still trying to figure it out. My humble opinion is a 4-3-3 w/ Mata in the hole. Herrera is becoming a fine CM and I feel any pairing of Herrera/Carrick/Schneiderlin w/ Pogba in a CM role (so he can actually be box to box and does have to deal w/ playing in the hole) can work. Also Fellaini has been good and all but dude shouldn’t start lol. Pogba needs time to settle and he is young tho it’s cool.

It’s still early in the season and I’m not as sad as i usually get when United drops a game. I realistically don’t think we can win the title this year but pls a top 4 finish (fml I’ve gone from wanting to win titles to this this is so depressing). I want Arsenal to win lmao poor Arsene deserves something that team is good.

[thoughtsonfootball]

First Loss

Woke up at 730 to watch the derby. Was P SURPRISED to see Lingard start and not Rashford. Just to save time, first half was a disaster it was painful to watch. Sloppy play by mostly everyone very lackluster showing. Letting 2 goals in was bad but I still had faith going into half time. BECAUSE I THOUGHT ROONEY WOULD BE SUBBED OFF BUT NAH. WHY PEOPLE ARE SCARED TO GET RID OF HIM IDK HE IS NOT PERFORMING AT ALL. 

Despite that, I liked how Rashford played. I think United got the hang of it and were bringing it to the Citizens. I think they are like the “Warriors” bc you know they have a dank game plan and WILL ruthlessly perform. So i liked that Mourinho kept altering tactics. It was too little too late tho (Rooney stayed till the end fml pls end this torture his career is dying a slow death). i didn’t feel too bad bc first loss but obviously this is a HUGE learning lesson for future games against Pep. 

I think Valencia is doing an amazing job at RB. I have always admired him for his endurance and soft spoken nature but he is bossing it at RB. Pity Darmian tho.

Still mad that the ginger De Bruyne is dank af

[thoughtsonfootball]

Fergie Time

I wouldn’t say United played bad but Hull defended magnificently. I was p happy at 90 mins assuming that 1 point was secured. But Rashford came thru with a dank run to secure the win in fergie time. 

So clearly this game Rashford and Mkhi were the catalysts. Martial didn’t do much, Zlatan tried (that absurd knockdown was unreal) and Rooney was on the field. Mata is such a smart player I want him in Rooney’s role. I know he’s the club captain and all but yo u gotta show that you are worthy. It’s not gonna happen but he shouldn’t start. Also Rashford shouldn’t start either, bring him on second half tho.

Bailly is a damn rock in defence. He is aggressive af and it’s just a pleasure watching him play lock down defence. He’s 22 so safe to assume the future is LIT. Praying for no injuries this year!!!

[thoughtsonfootball]

2016/2017

I guess the board “didn’t have to realize they should stop buying big LOL”. 

What a transfer season it has been for United, calmly accomplishing everything they needed to. Bailly might lowkey be the best signing from his performances so far. 2 games, 2 MOTMS! And this dude Zlatan. Told my boys when United signed him that he will be a RVP type player. Remember that season? Came in and just started scoring. Zlatan is such a large individual with great ball skills and hold up play that I think not only will be score a lot of goals but also open up opportunities for others.

Also this dude Mata. What a guy he always proves that he deserves to be in the team. But tbh with Miki on the bench I don’t want him to play on the right. He should play at CAM (can we please bench Rooney he’s ok but like team is STACKED and he clearly isn’t justifying his value to the team)

First game impressions: MY BOY Herrara continues to impress Mou and wtf happened to Fellaini??? Finally playing like a CDM after 2 damn years. This partnership will be interesting but tbh when Pogba starts I feel Herrara can take over Fellaini’s role. Damn, from lacking good midfielders to having trouble picking the best partnership! Just praying this will be an injury free season!!!

[thoughtsonfootball]

Hey

Been absent just cause I’ve had no motivation to do anything.

Kinda gave up on the United season after some lackluster performances but it’s nice to see young talent stepping up. Martial will be a BEAST and Rashford has practically come out of nowhere. Tbh, United’s academy has been getting hella shit recently ( no way is it what it was back in the day) but I feel there are some quality products. Gotta hold on to players like Pereira tho. Januzaj HAS gotta show what he has if he wants to stay on the team. MY BOY Memphis tho. Flashes of his talent have been noted in recent games but LVG has gotta play him more. He’s still 21 so he’s got a long career ahead of him and I’m sure it’ll be alright. Saw highlights of the City game and I actually really liked Lingard playing a more central role. I feel like after 2 years, the board has got to realize that buying big isn’t the way to go. The team is young and in a couple years they will be a force. A Class of 92 in the making maybe???

[thoughtsonfootball]

Great Job Swansea

Swansea is a very interesting team...Adding Ayew for free was an amazing deal for them and had tipped them to do well this year ala Everton 3 years ago. What a start they’ve had to this season. Gomis is on fire and has more than filled the shoes of one Bony who hasn’t done much in City.

SO Swansea have beaten United 3 times now. Romero could have saved Gomis’ shot. But the bigger picture,  I gotta come clean, I hate the way United play. Rooney is being trash, he had 3 clear cut chances and he took too long. Where is the tenacity??? Depay also didn’t perform well. What is this man...these are games we should be winning. Rooney better start scoring.

[thoughtsonfootball]

The New United Way

United have since played their games against Newcastle and Club Brugge and haven’t conceded a goal yet. Surprising...is this defensive partnership of Smalling and Blind actually working? They should have scored against Newcastle but it is what it is i guess. United are getting their CBs to play in midfield which makes Blind very useful to make those crucial passes as he did against Brugge which ultimately let to Rooney’s first goal.  Was p sad about no one scoring against Newcastle but the inclusion of Herrera in the game against Brugge allowed for a lot more creativity. I feel like Januzaj will be good...in a couple years. He isn’t good enough to start yet. Memphis tho, looking like a class signing. Praying he becomes a legend like Ronaldo and stays with the club. Romero seems to be doing ok with some key saves, good distribution. Hope we works his command of the backline tho. Not a De Gea replacement by any means.

Back in the Champions league baby, with a relatively easy group. Let’s see how this year unfolds. 

PS. Great job on the hattrick Rooney but pls I want another striker.

[thoughtsonfootball]

The Otamendi and Pedro Saga...

Otamendi to City for close to 32mil pounds. WOULD HAVE BEEN A DANK COP FOR UNITED AND I THOUGHT WE HAD THE MONEY but ok... Rumors are City teased Valencia with Mangala then said sike here’s more money instead. Well, it is what it is. The back four has been looking ok these 3 games and Smalling is acting like a leader so we shall see if this holds up. I also like Blind’s ability to pass out from the back but I am concerned about his size and awareness as a CB. He did say he was smart enough to play as one in an interview...we shall see.  PEDRO TO CHELSEA. Everyone is livid about this one.  Should have been a pretty straightforward transfer, pay the fuck up and take Pedro! IDK why Woodward was haggling over 5 mil euros but Chelsea ended up stealing him from United in the last minute. If he had come to United, would have been deployed on the right or through the middle. Still not an out and out striker so I guess United didn’t really miss much. Maybe LVG was pleased enough with Adnan Januzaj to decline the transfer. Keep in mind I am not one of those who is shitting on Pedro after United failed to cop him. It is probably entirely United’s fault for not paying the release clause. I am more concerned with gifting a player of really high caliber to Chelsea, the current champions.

What can I say man, Pedro fits Jose’s style. Has pace, tracks back on defence and is a smart player. Cuadrado has struggled to fit in and I am assuming Pedro will eventually start over Willian. Maybe even in the hole??? I am definitely keen to see how they use him.

So essentially, the 2 best teams on paper (and the league) get better. Nice.

[thoughtsonfootball]

Season is underway

Quite a few points to address

United have won 2/2 with only 1 actual goal being scored by a United player. Sure, LVG’s possession strategy seems to be good but where are the chances being created! The whole point of retaining possession of the ball is for more opportunities to be created and that is not happening. I miss the United of old, strong counter attacking play. Maybe with Pedro..........(I wish Angel had stayed)

Speaking of, how about Man City. Solid midfield with fast, attacking wingers and an amazing striker (United with Nistelrooy up front?) GREAT statement win against Chelsea today...If they sign De Bruyne (and Otamendi for god knows what reason) beware of them in the Champions League as well, they won’t bow out easy.

Chelsea...poor transfer window? I think not. They have a very good team but it’s just a slow start. They have played games against very good teams (yes, swansea is very good) and Courtois isn’t available so honestly everyone needs to chill, they’ll be giving hell soon enough. 

Arsenal...yea...can someone say 4th place?

How about Swansea. Andre Ayew is proving to be a dream signing for them. I had mentioned on my twitter that the mid tier clubs have made some very good signings so this will be a really good season of EPL. Crystal Palace are also looking good with the addition of Cabaye. Everton have a talented bunch of youngsters but will they be able to handle the renewed competition? Didn’t manage to catch all the games this weekend so I’ll hold off on commenting on that.

[thoughtsonfootball]

Farewell Rafael, Bye Di Maria

Rafael leaves the club as a hero, despite not having done much at United. Di Maria leaves as a failure. It is sad, a player of that quality would have been amazing on the team. He could have been a legend in that number 7 shirt. It is most unfortunate that Ashley Young usurped him from his starting role but in LVG’s team, performance > potential. I don’t hate Di Maria for leaving but I wish he had stayed another season just to prove his worth. I guess he didn’t want to compete.

[thoughtsonfootball]

Sigh Liverpool...

Benteke to Liverpool...32.5 mil pounds...amazing piece of business. NO LOL. I hate the way Liverpool operates. They don’t behave like an elite team, the way they just buy all these players. Team isn’t even rebuilding so idk why they’ve bought so many players over the past few seasons. I guess Benteke is supposed to be THE Suarez replacement.

Benteke is good and had an unreal run of form towards the end of the last season. If he steps up and delivers the goals that Liverpool were lacking last year I expect to hear “i told you so”s. They’ve spent 60+mil on Firminho and Benteke which is more than what they got for Sterling.

50 mil for Sterling was outrageous tho. He isn’t even a finished product but since I am an England fan, I hope he flourishes and doesnt’ end up like Nani. This Benteke transfer has Carrol written all over it but if he turns out to be a Torres...good going Liverpool. We’ll see if they can get a top 4 finish at least this year. (I don’t think so)

[thoughtsonfootball]

Thank you RVP

RVP will no doubt go down in United history as a legend. Great signing by Fergie to give him the perfect farewell when he retired at the end of No.20. AMAZING finisher. Too bad he seems to be disinterested and have lost his pace. I wanted him to stay but definitely not if he was gonna continue like last season. I wish him the best of luck with Nani at Fenerbahce. Thank you for number 20 RVP. Will always love your volleys and that goal against Villa.

[thoughtsonfootball]

Transfers Galore!

DAMN WOODWARD 3 signings in 24 hours UNREAL. In addition to Darmian and Schweinsteiger, United have now bought Morgan Schneiderlin for a cool 25 million. He’s basically a Strootman type player who Van Gaal adores. Hard tackling, great passing defensive midfielder. He’s young too so he’s gonna be a main stay in the United team for years to come. If paired with Herrera, it’ll give Herrera more freedom, something that he would relish. The midfield contingent is looking pretty formidable now. 

Apparently Woodward’s goal is to have a ‘marquee signing in every position’. Apparently United can spend 250mil this summer with ‘only’ 72 million having been spent thus far (for 4 QUALITY players tho). Would be dank if we get Otamendi (over Ramos yes) and a 20+goals striker (please no Higuain). 

[thoughtsonfootball]

United Cop Schweini!

Wow, who would have thought, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Bayern Munchen legend and world cup winning captain to Manchester United. This is equivalent to Ryan Giggs leaving United, Kobe leaving the Lakers, Wade leaving the Heat. UNREAL. Deal is rumored to be 14mil which may look steep for a player who is turning 31 this year. I have seen many people on twitter saying that this is a bad move by United owing to his age. Sir Alex probably wouldn’t have done it but then again, he did buy a 29 year old RVP in his final season who duly delivered a trophy (I’ll save RVP for another post). Bruh Ballack won medals at Chelsea in his 30s. Scholes came back to play and what about Carrick right now, at 33, he’s still doing a really good job. (I guess this age thing holds true for midfielders more than for a striker/winger). AND why is it considered a great deal for Crystal Palace to sign Cabaye (29yrs) for 13mil but not ok if United sign a fucking dude who has more trophies than Man City (look this up this is true).

Who is Schweinsteiger? One of the best midfielders in the world with an amazing shot. Formerly played and developed in that position under Van Gaal so that’s an added plus. He’d know all about the ‘philosophy’. I’d be down for him to either play as the CDM (Blind has been doing a great job tho) or alongside Herrera in the middle. IF United do get Schneiderlin too, the midfield is about to be STACKED. Schweini, Herrera, Fellaini(let’s be real he isn’t a CAM), Blind and Carrick. Carrick will be slowly phased out imo but that remains to be seen if he continues to turn in class performances. We are getting a ‘better’ Carrick in the form of Schweini so that makes me really excited. Our striker (only Rooney atm LOL) will be getting some dank service. 

And now the real man of the hour. Darmian and Schweinsteiger in 2 days.

Ed Woodward my man. Got SHAT on in his first season in charge bringing in Fellaini for more than his release clause. He’s out here proving people wrong and showing off. Spain thinks he’s a god for trolling Real Madrid and still not having given up De Gea. This Physics major is a BOSS right now lol. Who in the world would have thought it was possible to prise away a legend from Bayern. First Darmian, now this. He’s throwing that Adidas money like he’s the mfking wolf of wall street. I wonder what else he has in store.

[thoughtsonfootball]

Darmian in, Rafael out?

Darmian to United for £12+2mil on a sub 50k pw contract? I’d call that a steal. Admittedly, I haven’t been following his career but I can however say that I have definitely heard of him. I bought him on FM14 in the January window as a stop gap/role player who can play across the back line and if i remember correctly, I used him as a LB over Evra (as opposed to his natural RB position) due to Rafael being the mainstay at RB. Keep in mind this was FM14 so I did not have Shaw. So when I heard rumors that United were in for Darmian, I was pleased. 

Tbh, I didn’t really see the need for a RB. Sure, a dank RB would be great but Valencia did a decent job last season. Rafael, though hurt for most of last season, is raw af imo. He has good work rate, an attacking mindset, great pace and on a good day, a good crossing ability. Phil Jones the marauder can play RB too. And Paddy McNair. None of them world class but I figured United could focus on strengthening other positions (STRIKER, CB, CARRICK REPLACEMENT). 

We were linked with Clyne mid season with the deal being said as “almost done”. Apparently he wanted to come to United but LVG shut it down. Idk, Clyne is young, English and i liked him on fifa lmao. Once again, I was indifferent about him arriving/not arriving. Darmian is definitely an upgrade over him tho. More versatile, experienced and consistent (peep Squawka for stats). I guess the only reason I’m butthurt is bc Rafael is now gonna have to leave. Look how important he was in United’s last title winning season.

I like Rafael, he’s a tenacious dude. In his best season (12/13?), watching him overlap with the winger was such a treat. I guess he was a bit rash at times (So is Ramos but we still tryna cop). Last season was a poor indicator of his skill/potential. He’s still only 24! When LVG arrived I thought Rafael was going to be one of the stars of the team. Damn injuries man, ravaged the whole team. I sincerely hope he remains on the team. Given that Darmian can put in a shift as CB, there should be some healthy competition for the RB starting position. Fuck Johnny Evans send him the fuck away. We don’t need him for anything.