Jase

Agree. Will be silly if we don't do that. But with the 3-5-2, there is a danger the play could end up being too narrow if the wingbacks are pinned back (almost like with Ancelotti's diamond system a few seasons back). A back 3 is suddenly forced into a back 5 and we might even ended up having a spare (or redundant) player at the back especially if the opposition only plays 1 forward.

Yes but the point was wanting to see us having a plan with it rather than just riding on momentum or hope something pays off from the pressure because it sure looked that way last season. Cited the Norwich game as an example (see post above).

Am aware of that since I had mentioned it as well last season when it happened. It's just that I would like to see a tad more organization to it. At times using it, we looked lost going forward, never mind being vulnerable defensively, and were just riding on momentum to turn the game in our favor. The Norwich game at Carrow Road last season was an example of that. We changed to the 3-5-2 but couldn't really penetrate Norwich and create clear cut chances. It was only when Hazard (of all people) won a header to set up a counter attack from Norwich's corner that helped turned the game in our favor.

That post deserves a LIKE!

This is not to shoot down the points mentioned above or anything but seems like every now and then, we'll have threads about our defence, midfield and strikers. Perhaps a general thread should be created for each of them...

He should take back No.11.

Chelsea winger Mohamed Salah will go on pre-season tour despite fears he must do military service in Egypt

Are people really gonna make a fuss out of this? :doh: In the year Luis' contract expires, he'll be 32 no? Yes, when the contract expires in June, he'll still be 31 since his birthday is in August but how is it even weird to just say he's 32 when we enter 2017? But if people want to go all specific/official, then by all means go ahead and think I'm weird.

I call that person 32 because he will be 32 in that year anyway even if his birthday is in December. You clearly have issues if you think that's even weird.

True but on the other hand, we also saw the issue with it. Holland struggled to break down teams that sat back against them in the knockout stage while using the 3-5-2 system. Still remember when we used it against the likes of Norwich and Cardiff last season, it was rather chaotic. The change helped us to win both games but there were issues with the organization and structure. It all felt a bit too loose and gung-ho(ish).

:blink: Your brain sure works in a VERY VERY weird way...

Hindsight is a wonderful thing and IIRC, not many wanted him when we signed him.

No Barbara. Yes, he's 28 y/o at the moment since his birthday is in August but he is basically 29 this year no? So yeah, his contract does expire when he's still 31 in June 2017 but he'll be 32 that year. I may have confused you because I generally just add a year to everyone's age once we enter a new year, even if their birthday is all the way in December, just to make things easier.

It wasn't just Daily Mail, even The Telegraph reported it.

Louis van Gaal is honest rather than arrogant, says Jose Mourinho

Only last night the English media reported Everton were 48 hours away from signing Lukaku and now we get this.

Maybe that's more gotta do with the fact that we stopped conceding silly goals, was more resilient defensively and took the lead in games without being forced to chase it. Let's not forget that against Wimbledon earlier, we went to a back 3 in the second half to chase the game.

LOL ALEX!! The clue is under his avatar..

Think the point was rather that Luis is likely only to give us 2-3 years of service before we have to go out and spend on another new LB (assuming if there's no from the academy that Mourinho likes to play at LB). Hence why some preferred the club to spend on buying Shaw because he can be the No.1 LB at the club for the next 10-15 years. For all we know, we might have to spend another 15m or more to get our next LB to replace Luis, which if add up with Luis' fee equals to the amount United paid for Shaw. And anyway, Luis will be 29 y/o next month. His contract will expire when he's 32, not 31.

*bump*

Time to play Terry upfront with Costa...

You have so completely exaggerated the point.. Anyway, agree to disagree.

May have been fun watching United fail under Moyes but this is just pathetic from them.. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2697091/Manchester-United-TV-channel-slams-David-Moyes-era-advert-new-season.html