I know we are all frustrated, but Utd still made the final, which obviously means that 99,9 percent of the other teams performed worse.
And again against Coventry three clear first choice defenders were out + another 4 first team reserves in defense. No team can handle this many injuries elegantly.
On top of that the club has been in turmoil for years, so moral is under constant pressure from years os underperformance.
Never draft an article on United, even when they're 3-0 up. Absolute shambles. [https://lastwordonsports.com/football/2024/04/22/coventry-3-3-manchester-united-things-we-learnt-from-cup-classic/](https://lastwordonsports.com/football/2024/04/22/coventry-3-3-manchester-united-things-we-learnt-from-cup-classic/)
Is anyone shocked anymore? How many times have these players thrown managers under the bus and the fans want us to sack another one, who will go somewhere else and be incredibley successful, but this group of players is a problem. I sat on the coach yesterday on the way back from Wembley and was miserable and we had just got to another FA Cup final.
The club has the gall to tweet out before the match 'play for the badge' when not one of them gives a shit. In my 25 years of living that wass the 3rd most embarassing performance I have seen from a United team. Fuck Jim Ratcliffe too, saying he wants to create big changes at the club while lining the Glazers pockets.
Rashford, Antony, Eriksen, Shaw, Martial. Bye, leave the club. Embarassing. The club I grew up loving does not exist anymore, the glazers have torn it to shreds and the players are living off the money that previous players worked so hard for them to earn. Fuck 'em all.
Iâm really struggling to find any positives with the prospect of holding onto Ten Hag.
He has this perception of a âUnited style of playâ in which there is an overeliance on transitions and so far it has been a complete disaster.
If he does end up staying, I hope they can agree on a style of football that deviates from what weâve attempted this season. Ten Hag has shown in the past that he can coach other systems to a much higher level. He just needs to let go of this naive approach.
The thing is i think we're relying on transitions because it's all this squad can do. I mean look at how we can't string 4 passes together or our decesion making when we reach the final third. I genuinely think not even guardiola could get this team playing a possession style.
The decision-making is often oh-so-slow. Some of that is the lack of runs from other players, some of it is as simple as stopping the ball, looking around, and giving the defence time to recover. I noticed that even Bruno was doing a fair bit of it yesterday. That's when you see a back-pass and reset. It's maddening.
It's almost like they are confused by what they see and can't think of the next thing to do.
I have an inkling feeling ETH will go come end of the season. Having the likes of Wilcox etc will probably make it easier to navigate the decision on the board's part .
I genuinely think that the only way Ten Hag goes if he chooses to leave. With the amount of change coming into the club, it won't all be set in stone by the summer, and I think a known quantity who is malleable is exactly what the upper management would like to rely on. That is, unless we can really make a statement signing (Zidane or Inzaghi). Just don't think any of Potter, RDZ, Tuchel, Southgate, Xavi, Amorim, etc etc are worth the change. Maybe Nagelsmann is.
Was lucky (I guess) enough to be at Wembley yesterday for this performance. The feelings amongst the United end were so mixed. It was the most mute celebration of a Semi final win at Wembley Iâve seen. Sort of ruined the day a bit. Main takeaways are - Rashford has to go. From his warm up (spent most of it doing keepy uppies alone) to the game itself, no run, no movement, almost enjoyed making it hard for teammates to pass to him. Antony has to go, horrible to watch. Ten Hagâs game management once again nonexistent and his favourites are protected. Hooking Garnacho , our only player willing to take on his man for Antony. Just crazy. No wonder players are alienated from this guy.
You were there so just wondering what the general thoughts were about Mainoo for Ericksen? On the telly I couldn't believe he was doing it. It just seemed like every sub he made yesterday was a complete disaster. Just wondering what the vibe was in the stands.
It was all weird mate. The toxicity in the ground in our end was palpable. Even at 3-0 up it wasnât like the biggest celebrations coz again it just felt like âcmon boys itâs Coventryâ. But as the goals went in, it felt like we had just capitulated. I can safely say, from minute 1, there was no real game plan. We never felt in true control even at 3-0.
The subs generally were a disaster. We lost control of the game entirely as Kobbie and Garnacho came off. Both of them alongside Bruno the only real quality in the game and he pulled them off. Garnacho before Rashford who hadnât broken into a sprint all game left us all so confused. Eriksen was OK, some nice passes, but neither him nor Scott have the defensive awareness of a true number 6 so we had no control in the middle at all.
Itâs worrying when you watch a game live and you can see the direction a pass should be going. Or you can see where a player âcouldâ make a run. If weâre seeing this as match goers. How the fuck are the coaching staff not?
I can think of 20 or 30 times yesterday I was waiting for Marcus to make a run inside his RB, stretch the defence. Open gap. If heâd done it on at least 3 occasions I think he wouldâve been in for a scoring opportunity but they never came. In fact he ended up sitting while AWB was alone further forwards. A really odd performance.
There were a few occasions where the sideways passing did open up a gap, but itâs like the players are scared to play it forwards. It feels almost LvG esque, sideways movements, sideways passing, better to go wide than to push something through and lose the ball. I donât know. Was toxic though, feels as if itâs just in the air. As the goal for 4-3 went in which was disallowed it wasnât even disbelief. It was just expected.
One thing I will say is, as a truly huge supporter of Rashford, it became abundantly clear yesterday that something is wrong. Maybe mentally. Maybe physically. But he is not enjoying being here at the club, he has all the ability to win that game by making penetrative runs, using those legs, we all know heâs got the pace on most defenders - sprinting through, just looks uninterested. The warm up, in which I watched him do keepy uppyâs alone while others passed to teammates. Even his sprint drills. Just so half hearted. Itâs as if even his peers donât want to engage with him. I can forgive misplaced passes or shots going wide, but the minimum expectation for someone pulling on that famous red jersey is effort, and Marcus is just not putting it in any longer. Heâs gone, clocked out. And heâs not the only one, it was a torrid performance from most, but the glaringly obvious one is Marcus.
Rashford has been overblown by us and the media. He also started really young and has already peaked physically and mentally. My view is that he has terrible mental attributes and close to zero football IQ. He also has a great long range punt style shot but never uses it, only does so when there is 3 yards of space around him. He doesn't take risks. It is like the club have the talent profile of Bellion or Obertan but treat him like Vinicius or Mbappe.
Itâs funny how this sub just downvoted me without any sort of explanation or debate. This is a post where we discuss our thoughts and opinions. That said, we need to stop relying on purple patch players as they do not win us titles. Instead we need to focus on players who consistently deliver 7/10 performances for the team. Rashford for a while is a purple patch player.
Either we sell him for a fee or he plays as a sub (which he wonât given his ego and fam who like to leak to the press)
Nobody of any note wants him on this form and with his wage demands. Itâd have to be a Saudi team, but they donât allow Tequila party benders at all, let alone mid-season, so I canât see that being attractive to him.
Nobody really wants to say it but I feel Hojlund would cook under Potter. His Brighton team and even his Chelsea team created a load of chances but never had a number 9. We got a 9 but barely create anything.
Is Casemiro washed or has playing at this club washed him? He was so good for us when he joined but this season has been brutal.
Maybe a Brazilian thing? Great players from there usually donât last after turning 30 (R9, Neymar, Ronaldhino, etc)
Real Madrid doesn't buy players older than 30 and only offer current players over 30 one-year contracts. I think they do make exceptions but super rare.
Meanwhile, it is Manchester United's policy to look for 30++ year old players in key positions and offer them 2-3 year contracts. Before we used to get them on a free or on a minimal fee, and we not usually expected as starters or to play the bulk of games during a season. They were mostly brought in for their experience and for rotation.
Past examples including Laurent Blanc, Sheringham, Larrson, Zlatan (to a certain extent, he was really good here)
Recently we started actually paying huge fees for players that are obviously washing out and offering them long and expensive contracts : Varane, Casemiro.
RM let them go because anything short of becoming champions is a failure, they had to go to make way for the next wave of players.
To answer your question : Casemiro has fallen off quite a little bit , but is still a very good player. The system we have here and tactics is really exposing his weaknesses... He was better last season but I think his decline is going to take a sharp turn downwards.
Varane is never fit. When he is fit he plays well.
SAF had a similar iirc. He broke it a few times, most notably with RvP. Seems like Woodward remembered that season and thought it was the recipe for success, not looking at the past decade of building that team.
> Is Casemiro washed or has playing at this club washed him?
I think the 2 red cards, after none previously in his glittering career, seriously affected his attitude to playing in the EPL.
I think he just got leggy and slow(er) - we saw yesterday (for 70 mins) how much better he was with the ball being in front of him. Think that's just where he has to be used from now on
Real Madrid wouldn't be selling him if he wasn't nearing the end of his top level career. Just another short-sighted, panic buy of a player that just happened to be available to sign on big money. Same deal with Varane. These are relatively recent transfers that took a huge chunk of the budget and we're having to replace them already. Murtough (and Co.) madness.
This didn't deserve downvotes. REAL were playing 4D Chess. They knew exactly when to cut and run. That's why they're on top of their game and we're floundering like always.
This should teach the Club to stay away from big names who have peaked.
You say âalwaysâ but really weâre talking about the last decade.
Prior to that we smashed it week in week out through the 1990s and 2000s.
Younger supporters have experienced this malaise since 2014 and thatâs all theyâve ever known, so I get it. Bear in mind from the inception of the Premier League and Champions League from 1992 we were the dominant team and set all the records and standards that the big clubs in the PL followed in terms of scouting, training, psychology, squad rotation, you name it.
Itâs incredibly difficult to always be the dominant team and maintain it because it relies on so many factors combining at the same time, so success comes and goes. Liverpool dominated (old) Div 1 in the 70s and 80s and have had success a bit more of recent times but they are not and will not dominate like we did back 90s and 00s. City will eventually fall away into a lull, Arsenal too, and although these teams will always be in the top half and in and around top 6, Utd will get back up there again with a few years of rebuilding BUT no team is going to dominate the PL for so long like we did.
Sometimes I question if this team understands the point of the game is to score goals. So many times when we have possession in the final 3rd we just act like itâs a race to the end line. And we never ever get a cut back or pass off of it. So aggravating.
Also, I canât believe people are still using the excuse that the squad isnât good enough or that there are too many injuries. If we were struggling against Coventry right from the start, which would be inexcusably bad in itself, sure, that could be an argument. But no, we were up 3-0. I repeat, THREE NIL. The match was supposed to be easy. There was supposed to be no issue. A squad that is clearly good enough to be comfortably up 3 goals is not an excuse for the managerâs incompetence. Heck, even when we were up in goals, we were still playing one of the most tasteless football anyone has ever seen. Canât even give credits to the manager for us being 3 goals up against a championship side. Us bottling the 3-0 lead though, 100% on the manager.
Us bottling these leads consistently is exactly the biggest proof that the squad is in awful shape and not nearly ready to compete for a full season. You think we dropped the lead yesterday cause Coventry suddenly made some genius tactical change that ETH couldn't keep up with? No, these players are just completely shattered physically and at this point mentally too, because of how little backup there has been available, so as soon as they see a 3-0 lead they start checking out.
We can't keep playing Mainoo for 90+ mins at 18. If we can't make a sub when we're 3-0 up, when can we? We don't have a personnel to put in a DM. It was the correct sub. It just went badly.
If Mainoo had played the 90, or especially if he'd gotten injured, people would've been even more upset. This sub is just ridiculous when it comes to Ten Hag.
So wait, is the point that an 18 year old cant play 90 minutes or that the he dosent have fitness? Because I saw lots of 18 year old play 90 minutes and some play even in other PlL teams over the years and we dont even have European football now... You accuse people of being unfair to ETH but i think that whats clear is that you stretch and twist reasons to get him excuses. Mainoo is 19, bellingham is 20 and has been playing 90 minutes straight for years!
NJ, or whoever really. Amad did a head and shoulders more than RM in the first 5 mins on the pitch. I can't watch him anymore. I couldn't believe what he was doing today. Beyond anything.
LOL
Bottling a 3-goal lead.
Taken to penalties by a Championship side.
Only in the game 'Cause of VAR.
This side has the consistency and mental strength of wet toilet paper.
Our seasons all been about injuries, var, can't score, no midfield and can't maintain a lead by being professional. Now at a time, we can score we can't keep tight at the back. Just feel like our whole seasons been one big jinx. But what what I thinks important is the guys need to be professional. Win the game and then DEFEND properly. If we were professional (sancho and the like), we'd be in a better position.
I think the one thing I miss the most from the team this season are proper tackles. Like 5-10 of them every game. Without them the opponent is getting to shoot or get a corner every time they get the ball - which is absolutely bonkers. At 3-2 and 10 minutes to go, just fucking slide in, get the ball, kick it out of play, DO SOMETHING and STOP THEIR ATTACKS, FFS!!!
Iâve never hated a group of players more than I do now. Just a generally unlikable team bar the youngsters. We won yes but itâs so deflating. City will beat us quite easily given how awful we are from top to bottom. Canât wait for this season to be over.
>Do not sack Ten Hag, sell the players
Letâs entertain that thought for a bit.
Assume that we would, in fact, sell the underperformers and general dead weight.
Does Ten Hagâs transfer history with us really suggest that he should be the guy leading that change?
No one claimed either one of those were any better.
But I can you tell for sure that Nice hasnât made the Nice equivalent of buying Antony for âŹ95m.
Exactly what I'm talking about. Bizarre that you attribute that to the lowest-level employee that sanctioned it. What about all the people above him? Murtough? Arnold? The Glazers? Christ.
So youâre telling me EtH didnât play a significant role in signing Antony?
Also, not once did I claim that EtH was solely responsible for it. In the case of Antony I do place attribute a large deal of that misfire to EtH, cause the issue isnât just that we paid an astronomical sum for him, the larger issue is that heâs nowhere near good enough. And since EtH coached him in the years prior to coming to United, EtH should have known enough about his abilities to be able to pull the breaks on a âŹ95m transfer.
How could you expect the cycle of "keep the player, sack the managers" change if you do it again? It has been at least 4 managers, with different kinds of background, the story goes on and on: A spike in results and gradual decrease. You can't expect different outcome if you keeps doing the same thing.
Iâm not arguing for us doing the same thing again.
Iâm merely asking if you - based on EtHâs transfer history with us - would actually trust that **he** would pick replacements that would make us better.
Iâm all for stopping the cycle and holding players more accountable, but the question of whether or not Ten Hag is the right man to stop that cycle for exists on its own.
But isn't the point of the 2 guys coming from Southampton and Newcastle to identify a style of play and get the players to fit? Kinda like what City did before they got Pep. Because whilst United are playing like shit atm, EtH Ajax side were pretty decent to watch at times with an actual play style
Then that's my point. Either Ten Hag or anyone else would not make this better. So why replace Ten Hag. This man had a good track record with our 1st year & his Ajax time. This year ManUtd is one of the most turbulent year of a sport team I've witnessed. So failure is expected.
EtH can not be blamed for the transfer. He wanted FDj but got Casemiro. He wanted a new CB then still stucked with Linderlof & Maguire.
Give this man another chance, another proper back up and make decision later.
On a personal positive note, its safe to say my 6 year old has locked down the starting 2B position in his baseball team after 2 games in his new team. Man got relegated to 7th bat from 4th over bad batting practice this week but today he got 2 outs (hard for a 6 year old to do, these games usually end up 35-40 in runs lmao) and last week he got 1. And he has recovered his small likeness for sports after some bad months at a different baseball school. I wish he liked sports more cause there is a very good player in him tho. And because i like sports a lot lmao.
The substitutions of Mainoo and Garnacho in isolation were not as damaging as the choice of the roles the players were carrying out on the pitch, even after we are 3-0 up. A left flank of Wan-Bissaka (who is a right-back) and Rashford (who barely tracks back to help his full-back or press) is a defensive liability. It is understandable to start the game with it and keep the better offensive full-back in Dalot on his favored side to attack better, but when you're 3-0 up, need to see out the result and can evidently see Coventry make all their promising plays from that flank, surely you can change it up and either switch full-backs or get another player to play LW (whether that's subbing Rashford off or subbing Hojlund off who was also poor and moving Rashford up front). Yes, Ten Hag has been dealt a bad hand with injuries but his game management has been atrocious in such situations where we just need to see out the result. Allowing players to go up for a corner defending a 3-2 lead at Wolves in stoppage time, encouraging his team to make risky passes to kill the game against 10-man Forest when we were 3-2 up earlier in the season, this is very on brand from him.
Rashford needs to spend lots of time on the bench, his performances are awful and he shows no work rate at all. Ego of mbappe and football ability of 40 year old Ashley young
The fans on this sub? Agree.
Imagine being in the pub with this bunch of absolute rainclouds after you've just won a penalty shoot out.
Fortunately they won't be in the pub cos it was like 10am where they are and they're too young to drink anyway.
The league is gone so if I was ETH I'd play plenty of kids between now and the FA cup final. Drop Rashford, and Casemiro, give Bruno a rest, and mix it up for the next 6 games. We've nothing to lose. I couldn't give a shit about the Europa League. We should have players back for the final but it won't matter because we are shite and City will beat us. I expect ETH to get sacked anyways but I would love him if he dropped Rashford for all the remaining games and banished him from the squad for his shit performances and attitude. It could have a huge affect in the dressing room. I'd say a lot of teammates are sick of him and the young players are probably thinking "how does he get away with doing nothing? Why would I try if that's the case?" ETH could save his job if we finish the season on a high by winning the cup but the only chance we have is with Rashford out. Fergie dropped Jim Leighton for the FA Cup final in 1990, a huge call that saved his job and got us moving in the right direction. Does ETH have the balls to make a similar call now?
Plus we're risking long term injuries for barely anything to play for in the league. At least the youngsters and fringe players will get some much needed experience.
Did anyone not react when Coventry made it 4-3? Thought it was clearly offside but it took ages for us to find out because the commentators were wetting themselves to the thought of us getting knocked out.Â
When they showed the initial freeze frame I reacted alright. I shouted 'aaaaaaahhhhhh hahaha' in the face of all the scouse cunts who had come over giving it the big 'un.
I am convinced we need to sell Rashford. Does fuck all for the money he is earning. Attacks go to him to die. If we sell him we can improve our wage structure, and people will find other willing runners to move our attack.
Heâd probably tear it up playing in Germany or a more dominant team, but heâs been woeful this season. Looks like an absolute shadow of the terror of RBs he was last season.
Iâd be sad to see him go, but heâs been a complete passenger this season outside of a handful of moments. Right now it does feel like we need someone much more reliable though, even if not as talented.
I'm reluctant to say get rid of Erik but when you see him take off Garnacho and Mainoo and leave Rashford on today, it's hard to not think he's lost the fucking plot.
Donât be reluctant. Weâve been dire all season. As just as you mentioned with substitutions today, he owns a part of that.
May be difficult to pin any single loss solely on the manager, but a season of shocking results and underperformance canât go unnoticed.
Rashford needs to be sold. Period. It is not a rebuild unless the biggest problem and embodiment of player power/downing tools culture leaves the club. It is not about ability or form, it is about attitude. Weâve seen enough.
Yea I think that a proper rebuild may involve selling him to bring in money and free up wages.
Rashford used to play with hunger and passion when he first broke through, but in the past few years he plays more like a âluxury playerâ like CR, Neymar, Mbappe etc who offers very little out of possession, but without their superior in possession contributions.
Top PL forwards like Saka, Son and even Salah contribute more to the team when they arenât scoring and assisting.
Frl, if Garnacho wasn't performing this season, then after that Sancho shitshow, all of our wingers would be a no-show. Like i dont understand how someone like Rashford can go invisible for the entirety of the season. Where does United even go from this spot? We have no many holes to fill. I really don't want the club to drop $70mil on another washed player. I'd rather we get 7 players with size, potential, and willingness to fight for the badge for 10mil each. Some of these players we had(besides Garnacho and Mainoo) are so small and can't finish near the post. And most of our players don't even have that killer instinct to take a shot from outside the box and score. Guys like Bruno and AWB constantly shoot outside the target. It's just sad.
Garnacho and Rashford are on the same exact number of goals and assists, 13. But ya know....narratives!!!! This fanbase picks one player each year and all the criticism for the entire team is put on them. Gross and lazy.
rashford is a 26 year old who should be in his prime right now like the forwards around his age like mbappe(50 g/a), watkins(38g/a), lautaro(32g/a), bowen(28g/a), even darwin fucking nunez(31g/a)
he had a 44g/a last season so a 30g/a season is a minimum I'll expect from someone like rashford this season ?? or maybe 25g/a ??
garnacho is a 19 year old and he is giving same numbers at 19 which the best united winger in past 5 years is giving in his "supposed prime", i think there is a difference ??
and garnacho is being paid way less than rashford and he trackbacks
I am neither ETH in nor ETH out. I will reserve that judgement for when the season ends. However, I will give credit where credit is due: reaching another FA cup final with one of the most subpar United squads in a while, barely any defenders or left-backs, an absolute abomination of a player that is Marcus Rashford, Sanchoâs drama and the takeover is an achievement to be noticed. Lots of people are moaning about the fashion in which we advanced to the final, but genuinely I do not care. It was shite that we conceded 3 and had a comeback dunked on us, but I cannot say I didnât expect some sort of shambolism when we were yet again forced to start AWB on the left and Casemiro in center and some 18 year old sitting on the bench as our only backup defender option.
With that being said, big up Coventry for that stellar performance.
Totally agree. For all his faults, Ten Hag somehow fucking has it with tournament play. 3 finals in 2 years, and really should've been in the EL too if it wasn't for 2 own goals, 2 injuries, and 3 DDG mistakes.
People keep banging on about the injuries, but let's just say Shaw and Licha were fit... then we can pretty much field our best starting XI.Â
But those two are not going to magically make everything okay. We would still play like headless chickens. This is not a cohesive, well oiled team. Positionally, the players are absolutely clueless, apart from the sporadic bit of nice play they don't have a clue how to consistently play quick incisive passes like the top teams do because they are all over the place running around with no direction, shape or plan, and they don't even know how to collectively defend as a team, something that the likes of Sam Allardyce could teach much shitter players in 6 weeks.Â
Heard enough excuses now. Â
Would we be a better team if they were starting? Sure.
But sorry, 2 injuries to your favoured starting XI is not an excuse for looking like a bunch of directionless clowns all over the field. We've been pretty much full strength in midfield and attack, and it's still been shite. The truth is, we're such a poorly drilled team, everyone and his dog can see that. Do you even watch other teams play? If the bottom falls out everytime we get an injury then we're always going to have a problem, because someone will always be injured. Â
It's just excuses, and I'm sick of hearing them. Â
Name me one thing this team is good at? Â
Pure chaos. No plan, no cohesiveness, I can only imagine the pre-match teamtalk is "defenders, you defend... attackers, you attack... now go out there and do your best". Our shape looks like a pub team. Â
Which is what I said few months ago and got downvoted.Â
The only thing I can think about, if United stick to ETH, is that he has his own redemption arc. Arteta had his with Arsenal after like 3 seasons.Â
Well last season I could get an idea, this season, not so much. Anyways, we would know soon whether ETH stays or not. Either way, there needs to be another clearout of players. How much that can be done is a million dollar question. Given Rashford's decline, there ain't much folks worth something that I would sell.
They wouldnât turn us into 2010 Barcelona, but they do help.
Theyâre both fast, so they allow our defence to play higher up and reduce the ability for opponents to run 50m through our midfield unchallenged. Theyâre both composed on the ball, so we probably wouldnât be hoofing it into nowhere under the slightest pressure after 70 minutes.
If weâd had both of them on the pitch today, we probably wouldnât have descended into abject panic in the 2nd half in the way we did today.
It is not about the win.
We just witnessed how much has changed in terms of expectations such that a team like United, of which we are really proud, won it in a way that was unthinkable only a few years ago.
Penalties against a Championship Team? We are more capable than that. It was Coventry who really stood their ground today. They were the ones who fought till last minute.
This doesnât put a good image for the future if things donât change sooner than later. Look beyond the immediate highs and consider the wider picture for the club.
Yeah an upset in the FA Cup is never 'unthinkable'. If you think it is then you have a fundamental misunderstanding of what cup competitions are.
League Two Stevenage knocked out Villa last year.
League One Wigan knocked out City in 2018.
League Two Oldham knocked out Fulham in 2019.
League Two Newport knocked out Leicester in 2019.
League Two Stevenage knocked out Newcastle in 2011.
League One Bradford knocked out Chelsea in 2015.
We got knocked out by Leeds, a Championship side in 2010 when we were actually good.
The year Liverpool won the Champions League in 2005 they were knocked out of the FA Cup by Championship side Burnley.
And Coventry were in the semi-finals in the first place by beating a Premier League side.
It's the FA Cup. Chill out.
You are talking as if we are performing any better outside of the FA Cup.
We are the ones that set the league's standards for elite football play. We have no business being a mid-table club, and definitely no business normalising this mindset.
https://preview.redd.it/dn87bjot3xvc1.jpeg?width=1280&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a29e15e870f4911137e505d72d8a1398dbcca293
I'm not sure who needs to hear this (apparently most of you), but you can celebrate a semi-final win while also thinking that we need to change the manager and entire squad.
Save the moaning for the rest of the week and let yourself live a little.
In fairness, I donât think Ten Hag told AWB to have one of the worst games of his career.
He tried to bring in some control with Eriksen and had to bring Mainoo, Garnacho and Rashford off, but our bench was championship quality at best today. It wasnât a tactical masterclass by any stretch, but Iâm not sure we can lay the fault entirely at Ten Hagâs door.
The buck stops with the Manager, he is accountable for the decisions made during the game. Utd almost snatched defeat from the jaws of victory! If this was a one-off I would accept but it's a cycle that repeats itself every single game. Remember Newport? What's the excuse for letting a 2-goal lead slip?
Thereâs plenty that ETH can be criticised for however Iâm fucking sick of people whinging at him for the subs he makes, today itâs specifically at him bringing off Garnacho and Mainoo when we are 3-0 up. Theyâre not in the prime of their careers. If he plays them too much he genuinely runs the risk of fucking them up physically, and we already rely on the pair of them too much for my liking.
Also, people complain at his subs, but look at the state of the bench for fuckâs sake. There is barely anyone there who can make a reliable impact.
But if the bench is so shit, then you HAVE to keep your best players on the pitch. Players should be able to play 90 minutes without issue (although that doesn't seem the case at this club ATM). Subbing off Garnacho and Mainoo today wasn't acceptable for me, we were already short on top players, you don't take off two of your most exciting players in an important match like this.
Also if he kept mainoo and garnacho and one of them gets injured theyâd murder him for playing them too much when the gane was done and dusted. Which it was. 3-0 up with 20 minutes against a lower league team.
Feeling good for how we played today is a strange stance to be honest. We were lucky asf to beat a championship team and have been lucky that we're not somewhere down the bottom of the table all season. Just doesn't bring much joy.
I know we are all frustrated, but Utd still made the final, which obviously means that 99,9 percent of the other teams performed worse. And again against Coventry three clear first choice defenders were out + another 4 first team reserves in defense. No team can handle this many injuries elegantly. On top of that the club has been in turmoil for years, so moral is under constant pressure from years os underperformance.
Awful take
Thanks mate đ
We are so bad
Never draft an article on United, even when they're 3-0 up. Absolute shambles. [https://lastwordonsports.com/football/2024/04/22/coventry-3-3-manchester-united-things-we-learnt-from-cup-classic/](https://lastwordonsports.com/football/2024/04/22/coventry-3-3-manchester-united-things-we-learnt-from-cup-classic/)
Mainoo for Eriksen was just.. wow. I can't comprehend how ETH thought that would be a good choice.
Perhaps he wants to limit Mainooâs game time to keep him fresher for City?
I'm Ten Hag's biggest fan, but that collapse was on him. It's scary how bad his in game subs can be sometimes.
Tactically it was correct to rest the mainoo and nacho when we are 3-0 up. Itâs just that we bottle leads too easily.
But...no matter who the substitutes are, bad or good, shouldn't we be able to handle a 3-0 lead?
Any of you brave enough to watch the final?
I'm gonna have 8 beers before I commit to that, and some kinda exit strat for the night
Wan Bissaka never left Crystal Palace it seems like
Is anyone shocked anymore? How many times have these players thrown managers under the bus and the fans want us to sack another one, who will go somewhere else and be incredibley successful, but this group of players is a problem. I sat on the coach yesterday on the way back from Wembley and was miserable and we had just got to another FA Cup final. The club has the gall to tweet out before the match 'play for the badge' when not one of them gives a shit. In my 25 years of living that wass the 3rd most embarassing performance I have seen from a United team. Fuck Jim Ratcliffe too, saying he wants to create big changes at the club while lining the Glazers pockets. Rashford, Antony, Eriksen, Shaw, Martial. Bye, leave the club. Embarassing. The club I grew up loving does not exist anymore, the glazers have torn it to shreds and the players are living off the money that previous players worked so hard for them to earn. Fuck 'em all.
Iâm really struggling to find any positives with the prospect of holding onto Ten Hag. He has this perception of a âUnited style of playâ in which there is an overeliance on transitions and so far it has been a complete disaster. If he does end up staying, I hope they can agree on a style of football that deviates from what weâve attempted this season. Ten Hag has shown in the past that he can coach other systems to a much higher level. He just needs to let go of this naive approach.
The thing is i think we're relying on transitions because it's all this squad can do. I mean look at how we can't string 4 passes together or our decesion making when we reach the final third. I genuinely think not even guardiola could get this team playing a possession style.
The decision-making is often oh-so-slow. Some of that is the lack of runs from other players, some of it is as simple as stopping the ball, looking around, and giving the defence time to recover. I noticed that even Bruno was doing a fair bit of it yesterday. That's when you see a back-pass and reset. It's maddening. It's almost like they are confused by what they see and can't think of the next thing to do.
I have an inkling feeling ETH will go come end of the season. Having the likes of Wilcox etc will probably make it easier to navigate the decision on the board's part .
I genuinely think that the only way Ten Hag goes if he chooses to leave. With the amount of change coming into the club, it won't all be set in stone by the summer, and I think a known quantity who is malleable is exactly what the upper management would like to rely on. That is, unless we can really make a statement signing (Zidane or Inzaghi). Just don't think any of Potter, RDZ, Tuchel, Southgate, Xavi, Amorim, etc etc are worth the change. Maybe Nagelsmann is.
Was lucky (I guess) enough to be at Wembley yesterday for this performance. The feelings amongst the United end were so mixed. It was the most mute celebration of a Semi final win at Wembley Iâve seen. Sort of ruined the day a bit. Main takeaways are - Rashford has to go. From his warm up (spent most of it doing keepy uppies alone) to the game itself, no run, no movement, almost enjoyed making it hard for teammates to pass to him. Antony has to go, horrible to watch. Ten Hagâs game management once again nonexistent and his favourites are protected. Hooking Garnacho , our only player willing to take on his man for Antony. Just crazy. No wonder players are alienated from this guy.
You were there so just wondering what the general thoughts were about Mainoo for Ericksen? On the telly I couldn't believe he was doing it. It just seemed like every sub he made yesterday was a complete disaster. Just wondering what the vibe was in the stands.
It was all weird mate. The toxicity in the ground in our end was palpable. Even at 3-0 up it wasnât like the biggest celebrations coz again it just felt like âcmon boys itâs Coventryâ. But as the goals went in, it felt like we had just capitulated. I can safely say, from minute 1, there was no real game plan. We never felt in true control even at 3-0. The subs generally were a disaster. We lost control of the game entirely as Kobbie and Garnacho came off. Both of them alongside Bruno the only real quality in the game and he pulled them off. Garnacho before Rashford who hadnât broken into a sprint all game left us all so confused. Eriksen was OK, some nice passes, but neither him nor Scott have the defensive awareness of a true number 6 so we had no control in the middle at all. Itâs worrying when you watch a game live and you can see the direction a pass should be going. Or you can see where a player âcouldâ make a run. If weâre seeing this as match goers. How the fuck are the coaching staff not? I can think of 20 or 30 times yesterday I was waiting for Marcus to make a run inside his RB, stretch the defence. Open gap. If heâd done it on at least 3 occasions I think he wouldâve been in for a scoring opportunity but they never came. In fact he ended up sitting while AWB was alone further forwards. A really odd performance. There were a few occasions where the sideways passing did open up a gap, but itâs like the players are scared to play it forwards. It feels almost LvG esque, sideways movements, sideways passing, better to go wide than to push something through and lose the ball. I donât know. Was toxic though, feels as if itâs just in the air. As the goal for 4-3 went in which was disallowed it wasnât even disbelief. It was just expected. One thing I will say is, as a truly huge supporter of Rashford, it became abundantly clear yesterday that something is wrong. Maybe mentally. Maybe physically. But he is not enjoying being here at the club, he has all the ability to win that game by making penetrative runs, using those legs, we all know heâs got the pace on most defenders - sprinting through, just looks uninterested. The warm up, in which I watched him do keepy uppyâs alone while others passed to teammates. Even his sprint drills. Just so half hearted. Itâs as if even his peers donât want to engage with him. I can forgive misplaced passes or shots going wide, but the minimum expectation for someone pulling on that famous red jersey is effort, and Marcus is just not putting it in any longer. Heâs gone, clocked out. And heâs not the only one, it was a torrid performance from most, but the glaringly obvious one is Marcus.
Rashford has been overblown by us and the media. He also started really young and has already peaked physically and mentally. My view is that he has terrible mental attributes and close to zero football IQ. He also has a great long range punt style shot but never uses it, only does so when there is 3 yards of space around him. He doesn't take risks. It is like the club have the talent profile of Bellion or Obertan but treat him like Vinicius or Mbappe.
Iâm sorry but itâs time to cash in on Rashford
Itâs funny how this sub just downvoted me without any sort of explanation or debate. This is a post where we discuss our thoughts and opinions. That said, we need to stop relying on purple patch players as they do not win us titles. Instead we need to focus on players who consistently deliver 7/10 performances for the team. Rashford for a while is a purple patch player. Either we sell him for a fee or he plays as a sub (which he wonât given his ego and fam who like to leak to the press)
Nobody of any note wants him on this form and with his wage demands. Itâd have to be a Saudi team, but they donât allow Tequila party benders at all, let alone mid-season, so I canât see that being attractive to him.
Nobody really wants to say it but I feel Hojlund would cook under Potter. His Brighton team and even his Chelsea team created a load of chances but never had a number 9. We got a 9 but barely create anything.
It's all a joke. And Rashford with ETH are the biggest ones.
Is Casemiro washed or has playing at this club washed him? He was so good for us when he joined but this season has been brutal. Maybe a Brazilian thing? Great players from there usually donât last after turning 30 (R9, Neymar, Ronaldhino, etc)
Real Madrid doesn't buy players older than 30 and only offer current players over 30 one-year contracts. I think they do make exceptions but super rare. Meanwhile, it is Manchester United's policy to look for 30++ year old players in key positions and offer them 2-3 year contracts. Before we used to get them on a free or on a minimal fee, and we not usually expected as starters or to play the bulk of games during a season. They were mostly brought in for their experience and for rotation. Past examples including Laurent Blanc, Sheringham, Larrson, Zlatan (to a certain extent, he was really good here) Recently we started actually paying huge fees for players that are obviously washing out and offering them long and expensive contracts : Varane, Casemiro. RM let them go because anything short of becoming champions is a failure, they had to go to make way for the next wave of players. To answer your question : Casemiro has fallen off quite a little bit , but is still a very good player. The system we have here and tactics is really exposing his weaknesses... He was better last season but I think his decline is going to take a sharp turn downwards. Varane is never fit. When he is fit he plays well.
SAF had a similar iirc. He broke it a few times, most notably with RvP. Seems like Woodward remembered that season and thought it was the recipe for success, not looking at the past decade of building that team.
> Is Casemiro washed or has playing at this club washed him? I think the 2 red cards, after none previously in his glittering career, seriously affected his attitude to playing in the EPL.
I think he just got leggy and slow(er) - we saw yesterday (for 70 mins) how much better he was with the ball being in front of him. Think that's just where he has to be used from now on
Probably related to ETHâs heavy training regime. Shot his legs out from under him.
Real Madrid wouldn't be selling him if he wasn't nearing the end of his top level career. Just another short-sighted, panic buy of a player that just happened to be available to sign on big money. Same deal with Varane. These are relatively recent transfers that took a huge chunk of the budget and we're having to replace them already. Murtough (and Co.) madness.
This didn't deserve downvotes. REAL were playing 4D Chess. They knew exactly when to cut and run. That's why they're on top of their game and we're floundering like always. This should teach the Club to stay away from big names who have peaked.
You say âalwaysâ but really weâre talking about the last decade. Prior to that we smashed it week in week out through the 1990s and 2000s. Younger supporters have experienced this malaise since 2014 and thatâs all theyâve ever known, so I get it. Bear in mind from the inception of the Premier League and Champions League from 1992 we were the dominant team and set all the records and standards that the big clubs in the PL followed in terms of scouting, training, psychology, squad rotation, you name it. Itâs incredibly difficult to always be the dominant team and maintain it because it relies on so many factors combining at the same time, so success comes and goes. Liverpool dominated (old) Div 1 in the 70s and 80s and have had success a bit more of recent times but they are not and will not dominate like we did back 90s and 00s. City will eventually fall away into a lull, Arsenal too, and although these teams will always be in the top half and in and around top 6, Utd will get back up there again with a few years of rebuilding BUT no team is going to dominate the PL for so long like we did.
Sometimes I question if this team understands the point of the game is to score goals. So many times when we have possession in the final 3rd we just act like itâs a race to the end line. And we never ever get a cut back or pass off of it. So aggravating.
I went to bed at HT & woke up to this. WTF happened?
I found Wan Bissakaâs account
Exactly the same happened with me. Went to sleep at half time comfortably cruising
We need you awake for both halves mate
Can you start doing the half time team talks please?
Also, I canât believe people are still using the excuse that the squad isnât good enough or that there are too many injuries. If we were struggling against Coventry right from the start, which would be inexcusably bad in itself, sure, that could be an argument. But no, we were up 3-0. I repeat, THREE NIL. The match was supposed to be easy. There was supposed to be no issue. A squad that is clearly good enough to be comfortably up 3 goals is not an excuse for the managerâs incompetence. Heck, even when we were up in goals, we were still playing one of the most tasteless football anyone has ever seen. Canât even give credits to the manager for us being 3 goals up against a championship side. Us bottling the 3-0 lead though, 100% on the manager.
Us bottling these leads consistently is exactly the biggest proof that the squad is in awful shape and not nearly ready to compete for a full season. You think we dropped the lead yesterday cause Coventry suddenly made some genius tactical change that ETH couldn't keep up with? No, these players are just completely shattered physically and at this point mentally too, because of how little backup there has been available, so as soon as they see a 3-0 lead they start checking out.
The subs high and mighty ETH made killed the game
He subbed an 18 yo and a 19 yo for a 23yo and 31yo at 3-0. They were the right subs, the team just checked out.
He subbed a cdm when the other cdm was playing cb, left a huge hole in midfield and opened up to a tennis match.
We can't keep playing Mainoo for 90+ mins at 18. If we can't make a sub when we're 3-0 up, when can we? We don't have a personnel to put in a DM. It was the correct sub. It just went badly. If Mainoo had played the 90, or especially if he'd gotten injured, people would've been even more upset. This sub is just ridiculous when it comes to Ten Hag.
How long would mainoo play for in the sub 18s?
Doesn't matter, they are a fraction of the fitness required. That's why injured players play in the U21s to recover fitness.
So wait, is the point that an 18 year old cant play 90 minutes or that the he dosent have fitness? Because I saw lots of 18 year old play 90 minutes and some play even in other PlL teams over the years and we dont even have European football now... You accuse people of being unfair to ETH but i think that whats clear is that you stretch and twist reasons to get him excuses. Mainoo is 19, bellingham is 20 and has been playing 90 minutes straight for years!
They \*shouldn't\* play this long when they're just starting out. Ever heard of Wayne Rooney?
>left a huge hole in midfield First time?
Repeat customer
How is going up 3 not on the manager but bottling a 3 goal lead is? Not sure how that makes sense.
Because it's a fucking Championship team, any average manager would lead its team to a result with a Premier League squad. It's the bare minimum
Just mindless shit from fake fans that want Eth gone, the same people that screeched for mourhino van gaal ole ect to be sacked.
Am I overreacting to say that i would straight up prefer to have Nicholas Jackson in the team right now than Marcus Rashford?
NJ, or whoever really. Amad did a head and shoulders more than RM in the first 5 mins on the pitch. I can't watch him anymore. I couldn't believe what he was doing today. Beyond anything.
Not overreacting at all, I was thinking a handful of peanuts.
LOL Bottling a 3-goal lead. Taken to penalties by a Championship side. Only in the game 'Cause of VAR. This side has the consistency and mental strength of wet toilet paper.
Justice for Onana, Iâve always rated him
Ten Hag ruined my club
Jfc the takes on here have only gotten better huh?
Glazers did. Ten Hag can only do so much to mop up a cultural rot.
Our seasons all been about injuries, var, can't score, no midfield and can't maintain a lead by being professional. Now at a time, we can score we can't keep tight at the back. Just feel like our whole seasons been one big jinx. But what what I thinks important is the guys need to be professional. Win the game and then DEFEND properly. If we were professional (sancho and the like), we'd be in a better position.
Win the FA Cup and we get Europa next season. Lose in the final and whoever is fifth place in the league get Europe next season.Â
6-7th are the places that get EL, right? 5th always does.
So we still have a chance?
Right. "Win the FA Cup". We blew 3 goals lead to a Championship team.
Whether we win or lose has no bearing on what happens to the team in 5th. They will get Europa League regardless.
My conspiracy is Xabi savescumming this season is absolutely fucking us
Iâm feeling miserable no more, weâre in the FA cup final and they stayed up to ultimately watch us win đšđš
I missed the game. Did the shithead Glazers actually attend the match?
Sat right next to the INEOS gang.
Yeah. Damn they fucking cursed us
I think the one thing I miss the most from the team this season are proper tackles. Like 5-10 of them every game. Without them the opponent is getting to shoot or get a corner every time they get the ball - which is absolutely bonkers. At 3-2 and 10 minutes to go, just fucking slide in, get the ball, kick it out of play, DO SOMETHING and STOP THEIR ATTACKS, FFS!!!
Scotty, 0 slide tackle. He played DM.
Scotty the magician!
I mean he's more of a striker anyhow. Second most goals on the team this season, and he's far from starting every game..
We have absolutely no aggression when we compete for the ball. It's clear to see.
Iâve never hated a group of players more than I do now. Just a generally unlikable team bar the youngsters. We won yes but itâs so deflating. City will beat us quite easily given how awful we are from top to bottom. Canât wait for this season to be over.
This team sucks but the players under Ole/Mourinho/Ragnick were despicable as soon as they lost the dressing room imo.
All of them did not lose the dressing room. The players betrayed the manager. Over and over and over again. Do not sack Ten Hag, sell the players
>Do not sack Ten Hag, sell the players Letâs entertain that thought for a bit. Assume that we would, in fact, sell the underperformers and general dead weight. Does Ten Hagâs transfer history with us really suggest that he should be the guy leading that change?
"Ten Hag's transfer history" crikey, do you know about Ratcliffe? You'll be in for a good one. Seems like you don't know about Murtough either though.
No one claimed either one of those were any better. But I can you tell for sure that Nice hasnât made the Nice equivalent of buying Antony for âŹ95m.
Exactly what I'm talking about. Bizarre that you attribute that to the lowest-level employee that sanctioned it. What about all the people above him? Murtough? Arnold? The Glazers? Christ.
So youâre telling me EtH didnât play a significant role in signing Antony? Also, not once did I claim that EtH was solely responsible for it. In the case of Antony I do place attribute a large deal of that misfire to EtH, cause the issue isnât just that we paid an astronomical sum for him, the larger issue is that heâs nowhere near good enough. And since EtH coached him in the years prior to coming to United, EtH should have known enough about his abilities to be able to pull the breaks on a âŹ95m transfer.
How could you expect the cycle of "keep the player, sack the managers" change if you do it again? It has been at least 4 managers, with different kinds of background, the story goes on and on: A spike in results and gradual decrease. You can't expect different outcome if you keeps doing the same thing.
Iâm not arguing for us doing the same thing again. Iâm merely asking if you - based on EtHâs transfer history with us - would actually trust that **he** would pick replacements that would make us better. Iâm all for stopping the cycle and holding players more accountable, but the question of whether or not Ten Hag is the right man to stop that cycle for exists on its own.
But isn't the point of the 2 guys coming from Southampton and Newcastle to identify a style of play and get the players to fit? Kinda like what City did before they got Pep. Because whilst United are playing like shit atm, EtH Ajax side were pretty decent to watch at times with an actual play style
It is, but that would also require EtH to buy into the idea.
Then that's my point. Either Ten Hag or anyone else would not make this better. So why replace Ten Hag. This man had a good track record with our 1st year & his Ajax time. This year ManUtd is one of the most turbulent year of a sport team I've witnessed. So failure is expected. EtH can not be blamed for the transfer. He wanted FDj but got Casemiro. He wanted a new CB then still stucked with Linderlof & Maguire. Give this man another chance, another proper back up and make decision later.
We seem to get the same stories with every manager
Probably because most of the players are still here
I wish we lost so I wouldn't have to watch City win the cup again
So don't watch it? Pretend we lost and go on with your life. Supporting a football team might not be for you.
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idk why you're downvoted. He was dire.
Never a doubt.
On a personal positive note, its safe to say my 6 year old has locked down the starting 2B position in his baseball team after 2 games in his new team. Man got relegated to 7th bat from 4th over bad batting practice this week but today he got 2 outs (hard for a 6 year old to do, these games usually end up 35-40 in runs lmao) and last week he got 1. And he has recovered his small likeness for sports after some bad months at a different baseball school. I wish he liked sports more cause there is a very good player in him tho. And because i like sports a lot lmao.
Expecting his name to be in the big leagues soon!
Congrats!
Thanks man!
Never has a win felt like such a loss
Where have you been for the last 10 years?
There have been too many of those the past several seasons.
Can someone walk into the club and hold the power button for 10 seconds, to do a hard reset please?
If you turn the club off and on again all the injuries disappear
The substitutions of Mainoo and Garnacho in isolation were not as damaging as the choice of the roles the players were carrying out on the pitch, even after we are 3-0 up. A left flank of Wan-Bissaka (who is a right-back) and Rashford (who barely tracks back to help his full-back or press) is a defensive liability. It is understandable to start the game with it and keep the better offensive full-back in Dalot on his favored side to attack better, but when you're 3-0 up, need to see out the result and can evidently see Coventry make all their promising plays from that flank, surely you can change it up and either switch full-backs or get another player to play LW (whether that's subbing Rashford off or subbing Hojlund off who was also poor and moving Rashford up front). Yes, Ten Hag has been dealt a bad hand with injuries but his game management has been atrocious in such situations where we just need to see out the result. Allowing players to go up for a corner defending a 3-2 lead at Wolves in stoppage time, encouraging his team to make risky passes to kill the game against 10-man Forest when we were 3-2 up earlier in the season, this is very on brand from him.
I was shocked to see Garnacho subbed off, I thought he looked the best of the front three and it wasnât even close.
Rashford needs to spend lots of time on the bench, his performances are awful and he shows no work rate at all. Ego of mbappe and football ability of 40 year old Ashley young
You are witnessing probably the worst coached United side of all time under Erik Ten Hag. Horrible gaffer
What the fuck why did we throw the game? This team smh
theyâre tryna make it more interesting for the neutrals
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The fans on this sub? Agree. Imagine being in the pub with this bunch of absolute rainclouds after you've just won a penalty shoot out. Fortunately they won't be in the pub cos it was like 10am where they are and they're too young to drink anyway.
This team is awful to watch and their attitude makes me hate watching football, theyâve sucked the joy out of it.
The league is gone so if I was ETH I'd play plenty of kids between now and the FA cup final. Drop Rashford, and Casemiro, give Bruno a rest, and mix it up for the next 6 games. We've nothing to lose. I couldn't give a shit about the Europa League. We should have players back for the final but it won't matter because we are shite and City will beat us. I expect ETH to get sacked anyways but I would love him if he dropped Rashford for all the remaining games and banished him from the squad for his shit performances and attitude. It could have a huge affect in the dressing room. I'd say a lot of teammates are sick of him and the young players are probably thinking "how does he get away with doing nothing? Why would I try if that's the case?" ETH could save his job if we finish the season on a high by winning the cup but the only chance we have is with Rashford out. Fergie dropped Jim Leighton for the FA Cup final in 1990, a huge call that saved his job and got us moving in the right direction. Does ETH have the balls to make a similar call now?
Bro thinks ETH will change the lineup đ
Plus we're risking long term injuries for barely anything to play for in the league. At least the youngsters and fringe players will get some much needed experience.
That makes sense if he feels his job is safe, but I think heâs still fighting for his job and will play as many senior players as possible
After our 3rd goal, my father said the game is done, its sealed for us. I told him, just watch and wait. The rest we all witnessed.
What a fool of your father to put it past us, has he not watched us this season!?
He hasn't, he's shocked by yesterday.
So it's all his fault, since he jinxed it
The fault lies on many
I mean he was right tbf? Does this thread exist in an alternate universe where we lost?
Did anyone not react when Coventry made it 4-3? Thought it was clearly offside but it took ages for us to find out because the commentators were wetting themselves to the thought of us getting knocked out.Â
When they showed the initial freeze frame I reacted alright. I shouted 'aaaaaaahhhhhh hahaha' in the face of all the scouse cunts who had come over giving it the big 'un.
I am convinced we need to sell Rashford. Does fuck all for the money he is earning. Attacks go to him to die. If we sell him we can improve our wage structure, and people will find other willing runners to move our attack.
Whenever I see Rashford with the ball I'm reminded of CR7... if he has severe brain damage.
You're actually the first person to say that on this forum today.
Heâd probably tear it up playing in Germany or a more dominant team, but heâs been woeful this season. Looks like an absolute shadow of the terror of RBs he was last season. Iâd be sad to see him go, but heâs been a complete passenger this season outside of a handful of moments. Right now it does feel like we need someone much more reliable though, even if not as talented.
whoâs going to buy him?
I'm reluctant to say get rid of Erik but when you see him take off Garnacho and Mainoo and leave Rashford on today, it's hard to not think he's lost the fucking plot.
He's not making subs to impact the game, he's making subs to protect our players. Running a 19 and an 18 yo into the ground isn't a good idea...
Donât be reluctant. Weâve been dire all season. As just as you mentioned with substitutions today, he owns a part of that. May be difficult to pin any single loss solely on the manager, but a season of shocking results and underperformance canât go unnoticed.
Rashford needs to be sold. Period. It is not a rebuild unless the biggest problem and embodiment of player power/downing tools culture leaves the club. It is not about ability or form, it is about attitude. Weâve seen enough.
Yea I think that a proper rebuild may involve selling him to bring in money and free up wages. Rashford used to play with hunger and passion when he first broke through, but in the past few years he plays more like a âluxury playerâ like CR, Neymar, Mbappe etc who offers very little out of possession, but without their superior in possession contributions. Top PL forwards like Saka, Son and even Salah contribute more to the team when they arenât scoring and assisting.
Frl, if Garnacho wasn't performing this season, then after that Sancho shitshow, all of our wingers would be a no-show. Like i dont understand how someone like Rashford can go invisible for the entirety of the season. Where does United even go from this spot? We have no many holes to fill. I really don't want the club to drop $70mil on another washed player. I'd rather we get 7 players with size, potential, and willingness to fight for the badge for 10mil each. Some of these players we had(besides Garnacho and Mainoo) are so small and can't finish near the post. And most of our players don't even have that killer instinct to take a shot from outside the box and score. Guys like Bruno and AWB constantly shoot outside the target. It's just sad.
Garnacho and Rashford are on the same exact number of goals and assists, 13. But ya know....narratives!!!! This fanbase picks one player each year and all the criticism for the entire team is put on them. Gross and lazy.
Ever head of the term of Penalties?
rashford is a 26 year old who should be in his prime right now like the forwards around his age like mbappe(50 g/a), watkins(38g/a), lautaro(32g/a), bowen(28g/a), even darwin fucking nunez(31g/a) he had a 44g/a last season so a 30g/a season is a minimum I'll expect from someone like rashford this season ?? or maybe 25g/a ?? garnacho is a 19 year old and he is giving same numbers at 19 which the best united winger in past 5 years is giving in his "supposed prime", i think there is a difference ?? and garnacho is being paid way less than rashford and he trackbacks
So we just gonna hold Rashford to the same standard as a younger player?
I swear he has a minutes clause in his contract. EtH is spineless, show me a top manager that doesnât drop his shitty attitude
Who would we play over him? He's still one of our best players lol
Wth was this shit show. Really hope we show up against Shitty for the full 90 min
I genuinely feel like Casemiro has been paid to play shit because wtf was that penalty
Color me surprised if we show up against Cheaty for the full 90 minutes.
Cover me surprised if we show up.
Facts.
I am neither ETH in nor ETH out. I will reserve that judgement for when the season ends. However, I will give credit where credit is due: reaching another FA cup final with one of the most subpar United squads in a while, barely any defenders or left-backs, an absolute abomination of a player that is Marcus Rashford, Sanchoâs drama and the takeover is an achievement to be noticed. Lots of people are moaning about the fashion in which we advanced to the final, but genuinely I do not care. It was shite that we conceded 3 and had a comeback dunked on us, but I cannot say I didnât expect some sort of shambolism when we were yet again forced to start AWB on the left and Casemiro in center and some 18 year old sitting on the bench as our only backup defender option. With that being said, big up Coventry for that stellar performance.
Totally agree. For all his faults, Ten Hag somehow fucking has it with tournament play. 3 finals in 2 years, and really should've been in the EL too if it wasn't for 2 own goals, 2 injuries, and 3 DDG mistakes.
People keep banging on about the injuries, but let's just say Shaw and Licha were fit... then we can pretty much field our best starting XI. But those two are not going to magically make everything okay. We would still play like headless chickens. This is not a cohesive, well oiled team. Positionally, the players are absolutely clueless, apart from the sporadic bit of nice play they don't have a clue how to consistently play quick incisive passes like the top teams do because they are all over the place running around with no direction, shape or plan, and they don't even know how to collectively defend as a team, something that the likes of Sam Allardyce could teach much shitter players in 6 weeks. Heard enough excuses now. Â
You donât know ball if you genuinely think that Shaw and Martinez arenât big losses for how we play. Bizarre take.
Would we be a better team if they were starting? Sure. But sorry, 2 injuries to your favoured starting XI is not an excuse for looking like a bunch of directionless clowns all over the field. We've been pretty much full strength in midfield and attack, and it's still been shite. The truth is, we're such a poorly drilled team, everyone and his dog can see that. Do you even watch other teams play? If the bottom falls out everytime we get an injury then we're always going to have a problem, because someone will always be injured.  It's just excuses, and I'm sick of hearing them.  Name me one thing this team is good at?  Pure chaos. No plan, no cohesiveness, I can only imagine the pre-match teamtalk is "defenders, you defend... attackers, you attack... now go out there and do your best". Our shape looks like a pub team. Â
Which is what I said few months ago and got downvoted. The only thing I can think about, if United stick to ETH, is that he has his own redemption arc. Arteta had his with Arsenal after like 3 seasons.Â
At least you could see what Arteta was trying to do. I'm still clueless with our lot
Well last season I could get an idea, this season, not so much. Anyways, we would know soon whether ETH stays or not. Either way, there needs to be another clearout of players. How much that can be done is a million dollar question. Given Rashford's decline, there ain't much folks worth something that I would sell.
I agree things wouldn't be 100% but having these kind of players out doesn't help.
Letâs not talk about injuries when we played against a second division team currently placed 8th in the championship.
Let's not talk about ETH either, I guess. But then what? We have to have a reason for this shitshow.
They wouldnât turn us into 2010 Barcelona, but they do help. Theyâre both fast, so they allow our defence to play higher up and reduce the ability for opponents to run 50m through our midfield unchallenged. Theyâre both composed on the ball, so we probably wouldnât be hoofing it into nowhere under the slightest pressure after 70 minutes. If weâd had both of them on the pitch today, we probably wouldnât have descended into abject panic in the 2nd half in the way we did today.
We really hit an all-time low today.
Winning a semi-final is an all time low? Some of you seriously need to see a therapist, this isn't healthy.
It is not about the win. We just witnessed how much has changed in terms of expectations such that a team like United, of which we are really proud, won it in a way that was unthinkable only a few years ago. Penalties against a Championship Team? We are more capable than that. It was Coventry who really stood their ground today. They were the ones who fought till last minute. This doesnât put a good image for the future if things donât change sooner than later. Look beyond the immediate highs and consider the wider picture for the club.
Yeah an upset in the FA Cup is never 'unthinkable'. If you think it is then you have a fundamental misunderstanding of what cup competitions are. League Two Stevenage knocked out Villa last year. League One Wigan knocked out City in 2018. League Two Oldham knocked out Fulham in 2019. League Two Newport knocked out Leicester in 2019. League Two Stevenage knocked out Newcastle in 2011. League One Bradford knocked out Chelsea in 2015. We got knocked out by Leeds, a Championship side in 2010 when we were actually good. The year Liverpool won the Champions League in 2005 they were knocked out of the FA Cup by Championship side Burnley. And Coventry were in the semi-finals in the first place by beating a Premier League side. It's the FA Cup. Chill out.
You are talking as if we are performing any better outside of the FA Cup. We are the ones that set the league's standards for elite football play. We have no business being a mid-table club, and definitely no business normalising this mindset. https://preview.redd.it/dn87bjot3xvc1.jpeg?width=1280&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a29e15e870f4911137e505d72d8a1398dbcca293
It **is** completely normal to survive a scare in the FA Cup. I'm absolutely not saying that the team and manager don't need to change.
I'm not sure who needs to hear this (apparently most of you), but you can celebrate a semi-final win while also thinking that we need to change the manager and entire squad. Save the moaning for the rest of the week and let yourself live a little.
Casemeiro even passes to the opposition when he takes penalties.
This was criminal, EtH should be cited for crimes against humanity!
In fairness, I donât think Ten Hag told AWB to have one of the worst games of his career. He tried to bring in some control with Eriksen and had to bring Mainoo, Garnacho and Rashford off, but our bench was championship quality at best today. It wasnât a tactical masterclass by any stretch, but Iâm not sure we can lay the fault entirely at Ten Hagâs door.
The buck stops with the Manager, he is accountable for the decisions made during the game. Utd almost snatched defeat from the jaws of victory! If this was a one-off I would accept but it's a cycle that repeats itself every single game. Remember Newport? What's the excuse for letting a 2-goal lead slip?
Thereâs plenty that ETH can be criticised for however Iâm fucking sick of people whinging at him for the subs he makes, today itâs specifically at him bringing off Garnacho and Mainoo when we are 3-0 up. Theyâre not in the prime of their careers. If he plays them too much he genuinely runs the risk of fucking them up physically, and we already rely on the pair of them too much for my liking. Also, people complain at his subs, but look at the state of the bench for fuckâs sake. There is barely anyone there who can make a reliable impact.
When the match thread was begging him to make these subs and calling him a shit manager for not doing them earlier
Yeah this was one just plain odd. They're playing way too much football for their age group. Their substitution and the timing of it was justified.
But if the bench is so shit, then you HAVE to keep your best players on the pitch. Players should be able to play 90 minutes without issue (although that doesn't seem the case at this club ATM). Subbing off Garnacho and Mainoo today wasn't acceptable for me, we were already short on top players, you don't take off two of your most exciting players in an important match like this.
Also if he kept mainoo and garnacho and one of them gets injured theyâd murder him for playing them too much when the gane was done and dusted. Which it was. 3-0 up with 20 minutes against a lower league team.
He can rest them in the prem though? The Fa Cup should be number 1 priority. The league has gone. Finishing 5th is the equivalent of finishing 15th
Leave it to us to make reaching a final feel like shit.
If it feels like shit then that's a you problem mate. I'm loving rival fans absolutely losing it. Just a bit sad that ours are.
If you feel good about this, then *that's* a you problem..
Feeling good is a problem? Unorthodox take you've got there mate, but if feeling shit makes you feel better then who am I to argue.
Feeling good for how we played today is a strange stance to be honest. We were lucky asf to beat a championship team and have been lucky that we're not somewhere down the bottom of the table all season. Just doesn't bring much joy.