Sometimes you just wonder what is happening.

Of course social media is shitting all over Lindel%f now, as if he alone
lost the game. People take the easy way out.

The whole team looked like zombies in the final stages of ultimate decay.

Why?


--
Manchester United FC - CHAMPIONS
Latest: England '13 (20th) Europa '17, UEFA '08, World '08
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Quoting anders t in rec.sport.soccer:

Sometimes you just wonder what is happening.

Of course social media is shitting all over Lindel%f now, as if he alone
lost the game. People take the easy way out.

The whole team looked like zombies in the final stages of ultimate decay.

Why?

Why the hell was James playing?


--
Manchester United FC - CHAMPIONS
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On 2020-09-19 12:44, anders t wrote:

Sometimes you just wonder what is happening.

Of course social media is shitting all over Lindel||f now, as if he alone lost the game. People take the easy way out.

I hate penalties like that. I know they are the new normal, and I can't complain any more, but they offend my sense of natural justice. If the
player can't do anything about it, and there is no strong evidence that
it results in an undue advantage to the defending team, why penalize it?

Even worse when the actual call happens minutes after the event, and
when the penalty gets retaken for trivial reasons.

And I wanted Man U to lose.

The whole team looked like zombies in the final stages of ultimate decay.

Why?

Give them few games to get back up to speed.




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On Saturday, September 19, 2020 at 2:44:33 PM UTC-4, anders t wrote:

Sometimes you just wonder what is happening.

Of course social media is shitting all over Lindel||f now, as if he alone lost the game. People take the easy way out.

The whole team looked like zombies in the final stages of ultimate decay.

Why?

Well, you can take solace from the fact that the previous season ended recently and there was hardly a preseason. Liverpool also looked extremely sloppy last week, for the same reason.
On the flip side, I really believe that Solkjaer is out of his depth. There has been no clear style of play, aside from a counter-attacking setup in his first year, and reliance on the individual talent for the strong run at the end of last season. I am pretty sure United will not be starting the 21/22 season with Ole at the helm, and the change might come even sooner.
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On Saturday, September 19, 2020 at 3:13:45 PM UTC-4, Al Kamista wrote:

I am pretty sure United will not be starting the 21/22 season with Ole at the
helm, and the change might come even sooner.

Time for an RSS Who Gets the Sack game?
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On Saturday, September 19, 2020 at 5:13:46 PM UTC-4, Futbolmetrix wrote:

On Saturday, September 19, 2020 at 3:13:45 PM UTC-4, Al Kamista wrote:

I am pretty sure United will not be starting the 21/22 season with Ole at the
helm, and the change might come even sooner.

Time for an RSS Who Gets the Sack game?

sorry, it was called the Coach Sack Competition
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On 2020-09-19 15:13, Futbolmetrix wrote:

On Saturday, September 19, 2020 at 3:13:45 PM UTC-4, Al Kamista wrote:

I am pretty sure United will not be starting the 21/22 season with Ole at the
helm, and the change might come even sooner.

Time for an RSS Who Gets the Sack game?

I was thinking the same thing. What is the best way to score such a game ?
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On 2020-09-19 15:24, Futbolmetrix wrote:

On Saturday, September 19, 2020 at 5:13:46 PM UTC-4, Futbolmetrix wrote:

On Saturday, September 19, 2020 at 3:13:45 PM UTC-4, Al Kamista wrote:

I am pretty sure United will not be starting the 21/22 season with Ole at the
helm, and the change might come even sooner.

Time for an RSS Who Gets the Sack game?

sorry, it was called the Coach Sack Competition

Some early favourites: Mourinho if Spurs bad start continues. Tuchel ?
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No depth. They'll find top 4 tough this season. Arsenal, Spurs, Everton and Wolves should run them close for that.
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On 2020-09-20 18:28, Google Beta User wrote:

No depth. They'll find top 4 tough this season. Arsenal, Spurs, Everton and Wolves should run them close for that.

Who has no depth ? Man United ? I don't see depth per se as a problem (looking down their roster there are lots of decent premier league
players, though some may be injury prone (Jones) and others may yet be
sold our loaned (Smalling, Mata). I think being short on quality and experience up front is their biggest problem. To challenge for the title
they will need Rashford and Martial to stay healthy and play out of
their skins, or will need to sign some better alternatives than Ighalo.

In midfield they have lots of options and if Bruno F, Pogba, and Van De
Beek can gel, they should be fine, with quite a few competent backups
like McTominay, Perreira and Fred.

The back 4 should actually be pretty good and they have two very good
keepers in De Gea and Henderson.

Could finish as high as second. 3rd or 4th more likely, 5th or 6th
certainly possible.
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On Sunday, September 20, 2020 at 10:21:49 PM UTC-4, MH wrote:

On 2020-09-20 18:28, Google Beta User wrote:

No depth. They'll find top 4 tough this season. Arsenal, Spurs, Everton and Wolves should run them close for that.

Who has no depth ? Man United ? I don't see depth per se as a problem

Well, you have to define the goal first before you determine if there's a problem. Top 4 finish? Title contender? Champions? For the latter two they definitely lack quality/depth in a few areas.

To challenge for the title
they will need Rashford and Martial to stay healthy and play out of
their skins, or will need to sign some better alternatives than Ighalo.

Agreed. Someone like Sancho would help greatly. But they have even more pressing needs defensively (DM and CB).

In midfield they have lots of options and if Bruno F, Pogba, and Van De
Beek can gel, they should be fine, with quite a few competent backups
like McTominay, Perreira and Fred.

Strongly disagree. The latter three are nowhere good enough for a title contending team. Matic played well last year but he's slow and he's 32.

The back 4 should actually be pretty good

Even the most diehard United fans will disagree with you here.

Could finish as high as second. 3rd or 4th more likely, 5th or 6th
certainly possible.

There's no chance for second in my book.
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On 2020-09-21 07:05, Al Kamista wrote:

On Sunday, September 20, 2020 at 10:21:49 PM UTC-4, MH wrote:

On 2020-09-20 18:28, Google Beta User wrote:

No depth. They'll find top 4 tough this season. Arsenal, Spurs, Everton and Wolves should run them close for that.

Who has no depth ? Man United ? I don't see depth per se as a problem

Well, you have to define the goal first before you determine if there's a problem. Top 4 finish? Title contender? Champions? For the latter two they definitely lack quality/depth in a few areas.

To challenge for the title
they will need Rashford and Martial to stay healthy and play out of
their skins, or will need to sign some better alternatives than Ighalo.

Agreed. Someone like Sancho would help greatly. But they have even more pressing needs defensively (DM and CB).

In midfield they have lots of options and if Bruno F, Pogba, and Van De
Beek can gel, they should be fine, with quite a few competent backups
like McTominay, Perreira and Fred.

Strongly disagree.

You did say the same about Fletcher for years before reluctantly giving
him some credit, if I recall correctly.

The problem in midfield is mostly a moody and injury prone Pogba who
just can't be bothered some of the time.

The latter three are nowhere good enough for a title contending team.
Matic played well last year but he's slow and he's 32.

The back 4 should actually be pretty good

Maguire is good. Lindelof could be upgraded. A healthy Wan-Bissaka and
Shaw are adequate in my view.

Even the most diehard United fans will disagree with you here.

Could finish as high as second. 3rd or 4th more likely, 5th or 6th
certainly possible.

There's no chance for second in my book.

There's always a chance, however small. Maybe it is time to play the
"this year's Leicester" game again.

I see Spurs as being in a much worse position than Man U. Vertonghen
gone, Alderweireld past his best, their most creative player (Eriksen) inexplicably ditched, and an overdependence on Kane. Plus a coach too egotistical to learn from his mistakes and adapt to a changing world.
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On Tuesday, September 22, 2020 at 11:14:11 AM UTC-4, MH wrote:

On 2020-09-21 07:05, Al Kamista wrote:

On Sunday, September 20, 2020 at 10:21:49 PM UTC-4, MH wrote:

In midfield they have lots of options and if Bruno F, Pogba, and Van De >> Beek can gel, they should be fine, with quite a few competent backups
like McTominay, Perreira and Fred.

Strongly disagree.

You did say the same about Fletcher for years before reluctantly giving
him some credit, if I recall correctly.

I've completely forgotten what I said or thought of Fletcher.

The problem in midfield is mostly a moody and injury prone Pogba who
just can't be bothered some of the time.

And the resurgence of a dominant DM, which is tablestakes for top teams again, and which United don't have.

LFC - Fabinho
MC - Fernandinho (Rodri as successor)
BM - Was Thiago, now Kimmich or Goretzka?
RM - Casemiro
FCB - Busquets (needs to be replaced soon though)
PSG - Marquinhos

Matic is not in this class, and Fred and McTom are even further behind. They need a midfield "boss", who can keep things clean and organized behind their more fanciful midfielders.

They were linked with Saul Niguez earlier this year, who is exactly the kind of signing they need, in my expert option :-) Or Ndidi, who would also be an excellent addition.

The latter three are nowhere good enough for a title contending team.
Matic played well last year but he's slow and he's 32.

The back 4 should actually be pretty good

Maguire is good. Lindelof could be upgraded. A healthy Wan-Bissaka and
Shaw are adequate in my view.

Wan-Bissaka and Maguire maybe. Shaw and Lindelof are not good enough for a title aspiring team. They might get by if they had a dominant midfield ahead of them (like how City carried Zivchenko and Otamendi) but they don't have that protection.

I see Spurs as being in a much worse position than Man U. Vertonghen
gone, Alderweireld past his best, their most creative player (Eriksen) inexplicably ditched, and an overdependence on Kane. Plus a coach too egotistical to learn from his mistakes and adapt to a changing world.

Maybe so, but United have to contend with heavily reloaded Chelsea and Everton, and a continuously improving Arsenal and Wolves. Even top 4 is far from safe for them.
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On 2020-09-22, Al Kamista <alkamista@hotmail.com> wrote:

LFC - Fabinho
MC - Fernandinho (Rodri as successor)
BM - Was Thiago, now Kimmich or Goretzka?

With double-6 it is those two, with one (either) going forward from time
to time. But it has been Kimmich hitting those long outlet passes now.
Neither has Thiago's ball skills, and Kimmich in the past has also been
good for the loss of concentration causing the costly turnover. We'll
see. I think the 8-0 against Schalke was a little deceptive, since they
are in such bad shape. We've got Hoffenheim away on Sunday, after the
UEFA Supercup on Thursday. First match against a title candidate (not
counting the BLiga Supercup) is Dortmund away in early November (the usual
date for that match recently).

--
ciao, Bruce
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