Man Utd v Liverpool - 12/9/15

I agree with you Jamie.

Plus everyone will say Liverpool were shit, but I disagree because it's our system, our high pressing and control of the tempo that has made them look shit. We did that to City, Spurs and Pool last season, we have done that again today. That's very much what Barcelona and Bayern are doing on a daily basis as well: controlling possession is not only to deprive your opponents of the ball and prevent them to score, it's very much about having them suffocate, and being unbale to respond even when they do have the ball.

The first half was actually brilliant from a tactical perspective: it's like Liverpool were a championship side we were toying with. Now everyone will say LVG is responsible for our poor attacking performances, but I would disagree as well. Sure his system does look a bit too restrictive, but today Carrick/Schweini/Herrera were bossing the midfield and controlling the game with ease, while our defence played high and looked unbreakable. Mata, Depay and Fellaini got a fair decent balls to put them in good attacking position, but they simply didn't do anything good with it.

Now I just want to ask you a simple question:
Imagine we had the exact same team as today, played that Liverpool team, but instead of Fellaini/Mata/Depay we had (for instance) Robben, Suarez,Neymar, or Messi, etc. We would have annihilated them 7-0 and that is no exaggeration.

LVG is building a solid core at United, a solid structure and a terrific footballing philosophy. Yes, it's not perfect yet as we haven't gelled completely, but I personally believe that with a bit more quality at the top, we would be much more scary for everyone. I think our attacking players are letting us down a little to be fair. And this was shown by Young and Martial who, when they came in, went on running at their defenders, pushing them back and provoking them. It's not surprising that we looked more incisive and dangerous then, and they were the spark we needed to kill them off.

Too early to jump on any conclusion, but I think we're on the right track. I am just disappointed we are so light upfront. I wish we had signed Pedro, as I believe he would truly have made a difference. Imo we lack one more world class attacker in our rank.

Pretty much what I feel Matt. I suppose you can blame LVG for selection and lack of another attacking signing but as far as tactics are concerned I'm not seeing a whole lot wrong. It's a good thing to dominate possession, another part of LVG's philosophy is passing the ball around so much that the opposition are so fucking knackered you pick them off later in the game.. You could say Liverpool chasing shadows for 45 minutes in the first half enabled us to pick them off a little easier in the 2nd.

On the whole I'd just like to see our attacking players give a bit more. If we're not even getting the ball into good positions then fair enough blame the tactics but as far as I'm concerned in the first half today we had the ball in great positions on numerous occasions and our attacking players failed to produce.

You can't fault VG for not leaving space for someone to fill after RVP, it's something Fergie would have done (and Welbeck would have been the one to step up). But we also don't know what, if anything, is lined up for Summer and if it's a reason they backed off Pedro.

VG is definitely shaping this squad for the next manager, while hoping to squeeze the pips out of what he's got currently and actually win something, there's a lot going on all at once.....and we still look an infinitely better side than we did last season, get the cutting edge right and we'll surprise.

Agree with Jamie and Matt, tactically we were better in the first half, the second half was just attack and we could have conceded easily if it wasn't for the amazing defending and a couple great saves from De Gea. An opponent like City won't be so forgiving (I almost said Chelsea :lol: )
We obviously have a problem in not having anyone up front to finish off all the possession, but it's not like we're going to sign a world class player just now. Martial did great, but I don't expect him to start scoring every game, and Rooney every other.
So maybe the best way is to find some balance between the possession game and the attacking one.

We have good attackers on their day yes, but they all have question marks over them. You can't rely on any of them to produce week after week. Especially not yet when looking at the younger guys.

The training methods probably have something to do with it. How can players be motivated on match day when they can't be motivated on the training ground?
It's no coincidence our defenders have got better while our more creative players are looking average. Yesterday Memphis didn't move from the left and Mata didn't move from the right, it's like they were told don't you dare move from your position. How can creative players be expected to shine under these conditions?
Herrera was supposedly dropped last season because he dared come out of his "zone." Januzaj was let go because according to VG he wasn't giving enough for the team.
We sign players for the type of players they are. Not try and turn them into drones. Of course we can make players better in the positional sense or strength department but if you restrict creative players then what are you left with? Rooney looks like he's playing with the world on his shoulders. Mata doesn't look like he's enjoying life at all. Memphis confidence looks shot and seems to be getting worse in every game.
There's a very easy fix in all this which is give our creative players freedom to play like they know how, if not we may as well just tie stone blocks around their ankles for all the use they're going to be.

Another interesting stat which shows you how that first half attack underperformed is the fact Memphis had 43 touches and lost the ball 8 times. Compared to Young who had it just 27 times but only lost it once.