Manchester United Seasonal Blog 2024/25 - oh Amor

[Dr. Giggles]

Don't worry you are still everybody's favorite team to hate.

Worry?

Me??

I don't do stuff like that.

[murf]

City don't win in a few games, it's a full blown crisis.

United don't win in a few games, it's bau that elicits a shrug of the shoulders.

Speaks volumes, and not in a good way.

City don't win in a few games, they give the manager a new contract.

United don't win in a few games, the fans demand the head of the manager.

Speaks volumes, and not in a good way.

[thebillfella]

Fake news from murf again!

[thebillfella]

City don't win in a few games, it's a full blown crisis.

United don't win in a few games, it's bau that elicits a shrug of the shoulders.

Speaks volumes, and not in a good way.

Used to be the other way around not so long ago before money doping state sponsorship!

[murf]

Fake news from murf again!

seems true to me

[Darbyand]

United don't win in a few games, the fans demand the head of the manager.

Who's been doing this?

[Dr. Giggles]

RvN - he already has the gravitas to be a no.1. I hope he gets a new role and is successful.

Leicester probably wasn't what he would have had in mind.

[forestfan]

RvN - he already has the gravitas to be a no.1. I hope he gets a new role and is successful.

Leicester probably wasn't what he would have had in mind.

Well, he’s jumped at it pretty quickly if it wasn’t. A Premier League job opportunity doesn’t come around every week, not sure which better ones he was expecting to come up imminently…

[plasticninja]

His mini league is the bottom six. Leicester are currently second in that mini league. Let's see how he does.

[Dr. Giggles]

A Premier League job opportunity doesn’t come around every week, not sure which better ones he was expecting to come up imminently…

This one won't be a Premier League job opportunity come May.

[thebillfella]

Fake news from murf again!

seems true to me

Doesn't mean your opinion isn't complete bollocks though mate!

Prove that when "United don't win in a few games, the fans demand the head of the manager" or it never happens. We are literally (yes, I'm using the word in the correct way here) THE most patient fanbase of all the big teams.

I've literally (yes, correct again) heard the stadium boo their own players / managers twice in all the time I've been going - once for Pogba and once as the end of ten Hags tenure. Your opinion just doesn't stand up to any serious scrutiny.

[thebillfella]

RvN - he already has the gravitas to be a no.1. I hope he gets a new role and is successful.

Leicester probably wasn't what he would have had in mind.

I don't know, feels like an ideal level to gain more experience at tbh?

[forestfan]

RvN - he already has the gravitas to be a no.1. I hope he gets a new role and is successful.

Leicester probably wasn't what he would have had in mind.

I don't know, feels like an ideal level to gain more experience at tbh?

Yeah, he was never going to walk into a top six/eight job in the PL at this stage unless United had gone down that route. Has to keep Leicester up this season, though, or he’ll probably be on the scrapheap PL-wise (even if he could be competing with Russell Martin and Kieran McKenna for the Bayern job )

Task is to finish above the other two promoted teams and one other, but might not be that easy as some of those teams with unexpectedly bad starts are finding their feet again.

[Darbyand]

Interesting game last night. Amorim seems to have written Rashford off as a potential number 9 already so he'll be competing with a large cast for one of the number 10 roles, assuming Bruno has the other sewn up more often than not. They need another centre forward as Hojlund can't play every game and Zirkzee is toilet.

To my mind they need 3 things to happen in the short term, before we really see what's possible which are Mainoo back alongside Ugarte/Case; Yoro to add some recovery pace/cover at the back, and a left footed player (ideally Shaw) at left back.

[Dr. Giggles]

I don't know, feels like an ideal level to gain more experience at tbh?

Yeah, tbf, you could be right.

Interesting game last night.

Fascinating. Squeaking past a bunch of Norwegian nobodies. Viktoria up next. Wonder if Ruben has a Secret up his sleeve.

Amorim seems to have written Rashford off as a potential number 9 already.

Lashford should have been sold in the summer.

[thebillfella]

Interesting game last night. Amorim seems to have written Rashford off as a potential number 9 already so he'll be competing with a large cast for one of the number 10 roles, assuming Bruno has the other sewn up more often than not. They need another centre forward as Hojlund can't play every game and Zirkzee is toilet.

To my mind they need 3 things to happen in the short term, before we really see what's possible which are Mainoo back alongside Ugarte/Case; Yoro to add some recovery pace/cover at the back, and a left footed player (ideally Shaw) at left back.

Yeah, agree with all of this. Thought Mount did well last night with some nice touches but not sure if he has done enough to make the other no. 10 his own.

Interesting that he changed the formation to a back 4 in the second half with Dalot stepping into another ACM role when on the ball (leaving a back 3) with Garnacho being the one staying out wide left - where he got a lot more joy than inside in the first half (but you could interpolate from it that Amorim isn't convinced Garnacho gets back enough - yet - to do the LWB role he wants). Would be nice if we could swoop in to nab Alphonso Davies from Bayern before Real snaffle him but not sure if that is an option?

I think it is clear already that Amorim doesn't have the players he needs to play the formation he'd prefer and there are a few square pegs in round holes, but nice to see he is willing to spot and adapt when something isn't working as opposed to a one trick pony like Postecoglou. I could see Shaw becoming a LCB option rather than LWB longer term IF Amorim sticks with him.

[Dr. Giggles]

I could see Shaw becoming a LCB option rather than LWB longer term IF Amorim sticks with him.

I could see Shaw becoming inured, again.

[thebillfella]

When is Call of Duty 7 coming out?

[Dr. Giggles]

Good win today and a decent atmosphere at OT. But piss-poor opposition, it has to be said.

Amorim's started alright, but we'll know more over the next few weeks with some challenging games coming up.

[Frank Zito]

But piss-poor opposition, it has to be said.

Don't let Arnold hear you say that

[murf]

Good win today and a decent atmosphere..... But piss-poor opposition, it has to be said.

As a Liverpool fan yesterday I know where you are coming from

[plasticninja]

Good win today and a decent atmosphere..... But piss-poor opposition, it has to be said.

As a Liverpool fan yesterday I know where you are coming from

[forestfan]

They can beat shite teams in blue and white. Unfortunately we’ll be in our away kit next weekend…

[plasticninja]

They can beat shite teams in blue and white. Unfortunately we’ll be in our away kit next weekend…

We've got them next. I will be captaining Saka.

[hancockjr]

Luke Shaw has suffered an injury setback.

https://bsky.app/profile/bendinnery.bsk ... gkgxsrlc2u

Nice message too (aside from the use of the word (?) "gunna"). Never understood people who are less than sympathetic with injured players, they (nearly all) are keener than anyone to be fit.

[Darbyand]

I'm generally sympathetic with Shaw but on this occasion fans are frustrated he hasn't started since February, blamed the club physios for his problems then went to the Euros half fit and came back injured.

United need to move on from thinking of him as a first team regular, treat anything they do get as a bonus. Probably the top position on Amorim's shopping list.

Ps welcome back to the thread Hancockjr, always nice to have another Liverpool fan in here pointing out the error of our ways.

[thebillfella]

Is Call of Duty 7 out already?

[Darbyand]

Disappointing night. Arsenal were pretty flat though I suspect they'd have gone up a gear or two if the corners argy-bargy (including a blatant push in Hojlund's back for the first) hadn't broke the deadlock.

Rashford trying a keepie uppy clearance and conceding a corner for the second was especially moronic even by his standards.

Strange choice to bench Amad. He'll learn who he can trust in these games.

[thebillfella]

I guess he's still trying out different combinations to see what the best options are and as you say who he can trust. Rashford again shows how he can go from reasonably good to utter shite in 3 days. I think he clearly trusts Onana, De Ligt, Martinez, Bruno, Dalot, maybe Garnacho and even Mazraoui along with Amad now (and I like to think he has now seen the value Ugarte brings although he seems to be rotating him and Casemiro / Mainoo still), with the rest being shuffled around to see who is up to the task.

I thought we coped reasonably well with Arsenal though, who are clearly a better team right now as Arteta has a 5 year head start on Amorim in terms of his rebuild project. Shame we are so woeful at defending corners but at the same time take nothing away from Saka and Rice who's delivery is spot on.

We're another team that seems to have adopted the zonal marking approach at corners and it drives me mad. When did man to man marking at corners stop being the best approach? Is it because Pep does it and everyone is copying him blindly now regardless of whether it suits the players you have (Southampton continuing to play out from the back when their goalkeeper and defenders clearly aren't good on the ball under pressure is another obvious example of copying Pep when is clearly isn't the best solution for the players you have).

[murf]

Arsenal were pretty flat though I suspect they'd have gone up a gear or two if the corners argy-bargy (including a blatant push in Hojlund's back for the first) hadn't broke the deadlock.

As I saw someone suggest elsewhere, Arsenal might as well sack Arteta and just keep the set pieces coach.