Manchester United's Headliners, Articles and Rumours

[lacoruna69]

Originally Posted by Marmots

There is no outright win bet, at least I could not find.
It is $6 now as I see it, gives Man Utd a flattering more than 10% chance to win in 90 mins.

Guess I'll be donating $50 to SG Pools.
If Man Utd wins, watch my name turn green

Anyone else going to go dumbass mode with me too ?

Bro!!! You won!!!

[Tai_zi21]

Originally Posted by lacoruna69

A very nervy 2nd half....even more nervy when Doku score.
This guy practically changed the game.

Told you guys don't lose hope liao.

ETH fulfilled his promise to bring the FA Cup back to Old Trafford. But will he get to keep his job??

Marmots huat gao gao sia!!!

With so many well known manager out there looking for a job… I don’t think they will stick with ten hag… great job in winning the FA cup but that doesn’t hide the fact we are 8th position on the table… we have no CL to play for next season…

[lacoruna69]

Originally Posted by Tai_zi21

With so many well known manager out there looking for a job… I don’t think they will stick with ten hag… great job in winning the FA cup but that doesn’t hide the fact we are 8th position on the table… we have no CL to play for next season…

Think this is some sort of a farewell match for many of them.

Varane, Amrabat really put on a good show...feel a bit sad this will be their last game for United.

I also saw ten Hag talking to Brandon Williams after the match. Probably wishing him well.

With so many managers doing musical chairs, think no lack of job offers as well.

Bayern Munich say they are interested in ten Hag.

Guess UCL will be a bit hard in the next few years as re building is in progress.
But at least still got Europa.

[Marmots]

Originally Posted by lacoruna69

Bro!!! You won!!!

Originally Posted by Marmots

If Man Utd wins, watch my name turn green

Will do the green thing by the end of the week (almost just nice on anniversary of joining SBF) and all the points and power you have become X 3.
First, need to ram it up, don't know if can reach 5k before going green.

All help appreciated.

https://www.sammyboyforum.org.nz/sho...2#post23369122


That said, great win isn't it ? We are in Europe.
Did not expect it to get in this way.

So, should ETH stay with this win ?
A BBC report shows that Man Utd has the most injuries this season, that no doubt affects him.
But.....why with Martial and Antony when they can't cut it ?
Why McTom couldn't be played more until past halfway in season ?
Why until now, McTom not included in not for sale group.

Man Utd has several highly rated youngsters, why didn't ETH seek EPL approval to include a few in light of the massive injuries, if the youngsters were not included in the EPL squad.

I say no to ETH remaining.
Ending up in 8th place has more to do with ETH himself than factors he can't control.

Nonetheless, gratz to Man Utd and to us.
We won the FA Cup and are into Europe

[ilovepantyhose]

Congrats to man u on winning the FA cup! its something to cheer after a poor season, finished 8th (W18 D6 L14 and a -ve goal difference), no UCL but at least there is UEL next season

here's a quick review of season 23/24

the good:
first is winning the FA cup; second is the emergence of mainoo, becoming a first XI regular and an England international; third is garnacho's development (THAT goal vs everton); fourth is hojlund seems to be the striker that man u been lacking (time will tell)

the bad:
- the amount of injuries this season is omgwtf , esp martinez and varane. ETH was also deprived of his DLs, he had reguilon as cover but the medical dept assured him that the DLs would be fit, reguilon loan was ended and then shaw got injured again, wtf? (special mention for reguilon, when he was DL, he made alot of forward runs and a threat down the left flank ala evra)

- the loss of form, esp casemiro, rashford and eriksen. casemiro and rashford were good last season, but were poor this season. eriksen is 32 so bo bian, casemiro dip in form is too drastic (although his ability to meet the ball during set pieces is still good), and rashford is in his prime, his loss of form for the whole season is unbelievable. rashford lifestyle is heavily scrutinised by the media and the report of his drinking until blackout is jialat smh, seems like he is using alcohol to escape reality. hope he can use the england squad omission as motivation to work harder and improve. digress abit, on the case of antony, i'm inclined to think that he is a waste of money, so far he is still a one-trick pony and he is too easily baited into retaliation (boo! )

- the inconsistency and inability to hold on to a lead, many games this season man u would take the lead but let opponents equalise or even win, its facepalm after facepalm, the mentality is really weak and game management is poor, the way of play after taking the lead is naive. perhaps the additions of onana, mount, hojlund, and amrabat could have contributed to the inconsistency as they need time to find their feet. this season is more hyde than jekyll

- defensive midfield and defence, overran or bypassed too easily, even by supposedly weaker opponents. the defending overall is comical and the amount of shots allowed at goal is ridiculous

- ETH rigid tactics/strategy, his instructions to play out from the back has backfired many times, stubbornly insisting the team to play out from the back against quality teams like city, arsenal, pool where sit deep and compact and play on the counter would be more pragmatic. i would say the FA cup final is where ETH adjusted his tactics vs city where the team sat deeper and more compact and utilise quick counters. the team followed his instructions, the two counters yielded two goals, but on the other hand while man u is more compact, city were able to find their way thru several times, good thing they weren't clinical enough. why can't man u play like this every match??? (special mention to AWB, he has showed why he is such a strong 1on1 defender, he effectively kept doku quiet)

ETH: stay or go?
rumours have been rife that he will end up like LVG, sacked despite winning the FA cup. can see that ETH is getting frustrated with questions about his job, lets see the overall performance so far

1st season: finished third, qualified for UCL, reached UEL quarterfinals, won the Carabao cup but lost in the FA cup final. grade: B-

2nd season: finished 8th, crashed out last place in UCL group stage, won the FA cup and qualified for UEL. can argue that the amount of injuries have greatly affected the overall performance in BPL and UCL. winning the FA cup despite the odds and against city (who is superior) is a positive. grade: D-

as a fan, i'll take the three finals and two cup wins in two seasons, although we cannot ignore the reality that man u is still far behind city, arsenal and pool in terms of challenging for the title. i prefer ETH to stay and see out his project/vision for the club

hopes and expectations for next season:
the squad MUST improve on consistency and defence. with varane leaving after his contract expires, i think lindelof will partner martinez in defence as he is faster and more mobile than maguire

BPL - achieve a top four finish and qualify for UCL. next season will be a two horse race between city and arsenal, as pool might take time to adapt to arne slot. third and fourth places will be a FFA between pool, villa, spurs, chelsea, newcastle and man u

UEL - a run as deep as possible

domestic cups - deep runs (man u is in four competitions next season, onana auto will be keeper for BPL and UEL, and i hope bayindir can be selected for the domestic cup fixtures, let him see some action)

[lacoruna69]

Originally Posted by ilovepantyhose

Congrats to man u on winning the FA cup! its something to cheer after a poor season, finished 8th (W18 D6 L14 and a -ve goal difference), no UCL but at least there is UEL next season

Wow, the legend is back!!!

Very concise review of the squad.

Welcome back!

[lacoruna69]

Originally Posted by ilovepantyhose

here's a quick review of season 23/24

Just want add some of my thinking.

Revelation this season definitely is the emergence of Mainoo.

Also the main reason why Eriksen was being overlook.

Garnacho is fast staking a claim for both AML and AMR. He proved he is equally deadly on both wings.

ETH appears to have stumble upon a nice formation whereby there is no outright striker. Bruno apprears to have been tasked as False 9 and libero upfront. He is free to attack, hold, pass, shoot upfield. Which he did with great effectiveness these few matches.
With 3 midfielders behind him, he is well covered.
Which comes to the important question of Hojlund.
So far, he was deployed as a sub and he did redeemed himself by scoring twice since coming on.
He wasn't as good if ETH started him.
So this is something to think about.

With Casemiro and Amrabat 99.9% leave club, who will partner Mainoo?

With Varane leaving, who will partner Licha? Lindelof is not bad but he is just so so only. Nothing spectacular. With Licha injury prone, need to find a good consistent CB...so far none in the team list. Academy?? Groom Kambwala??
Maguire?? Nah....this guy is still mistake prone.

ETH had opened fire to challenge the owners to sack him.
Stating if they don't want him, he will just go other clubs and win trophies for them.
In his speech to the OT crowd, he had promised to win at BHA and also win the FA Cup. Both he kept to the promise.
But I'm more inclined to him leaving.
His team selection is biased towards Onana, Antony, Rashford.
3 players I do not think are fitted for EPL.
Letting or rather forcing DDG leave was a big mistake.
The only justify signing from ETH was Licha. Who had everyone clapping.
But he is injury prone.

Probably a new maanger will have some new ideas.

[ilovepantyhose]

Originally Posted by lacoruna69

Welcome back!

haha tyty was busy and quite a number of matches were midnight/early morn timings, so could only watch the highlights

Originally Posted by lacoruna69

Just want add some of my thinking.

...

this season, eriksen somehow couldn't dictate play when he had the ball, often he made backward passes or he couldn't release the ball fast enough. and he can't defend, naturally mainoo is preferred

yes, garnacho has improved this season, but his final product is still lacking, he still has trouble going past his marker, it will help if the AWB/dalot can go forward and overload the flank. if rashford and antony don't improve, garnacho will start

playing a false 9 and speedy wingers was to specifically counter city style (it should work against arsenal too). city played with a high defensive line, man u would sit deep and compact, wait for city to make a mistake and counter with speed via the wingers. when hojlund came on, he gave the city defence a diff headache because of his physical style and man u went direct. forgot which match was it, ETH employed a false 9 against a normal back 4 defence and it didn't work, man u couldn't find a way thru and their attacking third became very congested as there was no SC to keep the DCs busy. hojlund is the classic SC type, he is effective as long as his teammates supply/create chances for him, it also means that the wingers gotta be less selfish

if casemiro and amrabat do leave, i think the best option to partner mainoo is mctom. mount has injury problems and his form is poor, even if ETH selects him, he has a tendency to vacate his position to press high and leave all the defensive work to the other MC. i hope casemiro can stay for one more season, 1. to mentor mainoo, and 2. his ability to meet the ball during set pieces is really valuable. i'm unsure about amrabat though... seems like he is not accustomed yet to the pace and intensity of english football, but he is decent enough as a backup

as man u isn't in UCL next season, its even more difficult to sign quality defenders, so the best option to partner martinez is lindelof, with maguire and evans as backup, and also try their best to sign a DRLC (given the injuries this season). kambwala... its rare for top flight managers to select a youngster to be starting DC, mainly due to lack of experience, inconsistency and higher probability of mistake... case in point: ETH would rather select casemiro as DC. kambwala will benefit from loan moves to lower divisions as i doubt he can overtake maguire/evans in the pecking order currently

assuming man u doesn't sign new players for next season and casemiro stays, the best XI will be: onana, AWB, shaw, lindelof, martinez, mainoo, casemiro, garnacho, rashford, fernandes, hojlund. if casemiro leaves, mctom will take his place

regarding ETH's stance, i think his defiance is a reaction to the media than to ratcliffe & co, as the media keep stirring every small thing and baiting ETH. but ETH really needs to be more flexible with his tactics like in the FA cup final, and man u also needs more players who can read the game and adjust on the fly. playing out from the back will backfire because man u cannot keep the ball like city can