Barbara

I loved this:

No Chicha is the best news ever! Somehow we can't mark him... or he can't help and score against us, don't know what's the case. I've seen the two goals Robin scored against us and in both cases it was our defense watching him get the ball and score. He has great positioning (what does he even do bad?) and view, but I do hope we make a better job this time around. He's the kind of guy you need to have one of our CB attached to his hip. Mourinho sets defenses much better than both di Matteo and Benitez combined, but I fear he's been here for just a short time and we already have issues as Luiz has barely played so far. I don't care if it's Terry, Cahill, Ivan, a 50%-Luiz, just make sure there's someone on Robin all the time and that already reduces 60% of us conceding. It's obvious imo they'll sit deep and will rely on counter-attack and crosses to Robin, so we better repeat our defensive work against most part of the Villa match (there were a few mistakes, but honestly, those are prone to happen in every match, in every team). As for our own tactics, I hope we go with the team we played against Hull (maybe except with Luiz and Essien instead of Cahill and Lampard). I do hope Kevin starts over Mata because that's the kind of the match we need players that are nearly to their best shape. Mata was awful against Villa, but that's because he has so few minutes under his belt since the Confeds Cup. We can't afford to have a so-so-Mata against a team as ManUtd especially when we have the likes of Kevin. That first half against Hull was the best football I've seen this team playing in a long time, so we better invest in a fresh player like Kevin than an out-of-shape Mata. I think we should start with Torres and bring Lukaku from half-time already. The boy knows how to score against de Gea Lamps need to rest. He was really erratic Wednesday, having a 3rd match within 8 days will only make him less precise and more prone to mistakes passing, defending and everything else. I think we'll win 1-0, but for that we need to go a great work marking RvP

OMG I swear I haven't noticed it I only meant the positions seems like they're shitting the balls. not their balls

There's something that bothers me in all transfer threads. People say 'we should have signed X instead. For this price we should have signed Y. I can't believe we gave up on Z because of A'. This isn't grocery store, all players aren't there available for us to buy when we please and saying Falcao, de Rossi, Witsel, Lewa, Ibra, or whoever else were there and we didn't sign is naïve... who said those players were really available to sell? Who said we didn't have bids rejected? Falcao for example couldn't come to EPL because of of the group of investors behind him... so it's not that simple. I don't think we should sign Willian, but it doesn't mean because we did we are not signing Rooney or another striker. ManUtd already rejected our bid twice, signing Willian or whoever else has nothing to do with our bids for Rooney - except maybe the board is feeling more and more like we don't stand a chance. It's not so simple to sign those players, and whether this is a bad deal or not we'll find out after it's officially done and then in a few months, but let's not think because of this we didn't sign others... or that we didn't sign others simply because the board is stupid and Mourinho is crazy.

Thank you, Azpili for being the only one to crouch in a decent way. Cech and Schwarzer are also decent Some of them look so funny.

I didn't find a thread where I could fit this (maybe we should have a general thread for regular season just like we have one for pre-season? sometimes there are stuff that don't fit any thread)

I only have a ESPN Brasil link, but it seems like Arsenal is going to loan Podolski to Schalke 04. Not only they don't buy anyone, but they're now loaning their players. Oh Arsene

here the quotes, for those lost the press conference http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11668/8884736

Maybe, just maybe, we're going to take the Pep-Barcelona route and play without a proper striker... we could have the false 9 with André for now, but I think Mourinho wants Eden to play there in the future - which seems a risky bet because he's very far from what I think requires to the position, but André can easily play as a false 9. Let's wait and see. In Mou I trust - of course. And as any other human being he can make mistakes...

who doesn't need any introductions to United fans. They might have a vague idea of who he is

He (Ramires) was capped yesterday, he'll play for us in September 7th. Also it's all down to preferences. For some reasons Mano and now Felipão don't rate/favor Willian the same way many others were overlooked throughout the years and others made it to the NT for reasons I can't understand. Saw this on twitter. had a laugh Footy Humour ‏@FootyHumour 8h Willian. Talked with LFC, had a medical at Spurs, now in advanced talks with Chelsea. Expect him to sign for Arsenal & loaned to Man City. The transfer window is like an orgy... you don't know who is getting who, but they make sure to shoot in every possible direction. It's funny, except when it's tragic. I think if the deal for Rooney involves Mata, we're being stupid. I'm not even comparing Rooney to Mata, but just realizing how Mata is perfect for ManUtd. The style of player that does really well in their team and he would have Robin ahead of him. This is crazy. It's not how much we'll miss Mata - I don't think we'll miss him much... we played the best 45 minutes of football in a long time in a match he didn't take part. We have talented players who I believe have higher ceiling than Mata (Kevin, Oscar, Eden) and they aren't that far from taking their game to the next level. It's not about weakening us because I don't believe we'd be weakened, especially with Willian joining... but it's mainly about strengthening the competition - and such a strong competition as ManUtd. I don't like the idea of it.

nice new avi JayC and I really liked your posts in this thread. Now this is the Jay that was great since he started posted and who didn't get riled up I'm going to finish my ManUtd opposition analysis after the match, then I'll PM it to you. Thanks for all your help

made a few mistakes and flirted with danger - or a red card, but still saved the day!

that would be coming full circle :heart:

go read the posts here or in the match against ManU and you'll find it. But Mourinho is going to be dead before that happens. There's also the version that is Oscar + Willian I don't think it's a case of Oscar playing there at all. It's one thing to have a great work rate and another thing to really be effective defending against strong midfields. But I hope Mourinho does that once... only once, he won't need to do twice. dude, if you didn't say it, then okay. I never quoted your post and said you suggested it, did I?

I'm suggesting we have real DM's in the position, not CAM that although have good pass and can put an effort defending won't be able to defend 90 minutes in a competitive way. That's for when your squad is small, your DM's are injured and you have to improvise. It makes no sense to have a formation that is Oscar - Kevin Schurrle - Mata - Hazard ST NO SENSE. We'll concede goals right and left and still many think this is the ideal. Good thing we'll never see such rubbish with Mourinho management.

just one thing I keep reading in the forum - and I chose this thread to post about it randomly I guess - is that you guys insist on having the likes of Oscar and Kevin in the double pivot - some of which even suggests BOTH at the same time with tons of CAMs ahead of them such as Schurrle, Mata, Hazard, and now Willian. Do you really expect the likes of Oscar and Kevin to stop ManCity's midfield? Or Spurs'? Or even Arsenal's? And that's only in England - not to count Europe. I mean it makes no sense whatsoever! We'd be so exposed to opposition that it isn't even funny! Now even Willian is in the contest of who should play our DM. I think that's some craziness. that said, we don't need Willian. If we're buying someone for the midfield, let it be a real DLP - and not some adapted guy there like Willian (or use Oscar and Kevin there). I don't want him here, even if we offload Moses, but I understand maybe Roman wants to prevent the opposition from threatening even more our DM This deal makes no sense and I believe maybe it's Kia planting seeds to make even more money from Willian.

I think underestimating ManUtd just because SAF left is a capital mistake that could be other teams' downfall. But we can't deny the transition weakens the side. I agree about some of JayC ratings - others I disagree completely. Bias is not something we have total control over. Sometimes we know we're being biased, but many other we're convinced that something is true - not only our opinion - because of many facts related to that situation. So it's only natural we are biased about some of our players the same way JC was biased about some of ManUtd's players both without noticing. Every fan overrates a player or other based on their perception and moments that player granted us - moments we cherish. I'm no ManUtd expert as I try to avoid watching their matches but I've watched my share of them last year against Chelsea, RM and a few others occasions, so I may be wrong, but there's no way imo de Gea is already better than Cech and I think Cleverley vs Ramires also doesn't make much sense, but it's debatable, I'll give Jay that. Still Ramires is more creative imo, has about the same quality passing (he improved a lot this season on that) and they're also equivalent defending. Ramires is also faster imo and more versatile. Also I don't think Lamps will start and with either Essien or Mikel (I don't see Marco starting or even playing) Ramires won't be the deepest DM, that would be either Essien or Mikel. The thing is they have van Persie and that makes a whole difference. We have to play in a way we don't offer him space, double the marking over him if we must. I'm not sure Moyes will have an attacking team against us. I think he'll gamble with a more defensive formation counting on Robin to get things done for them. He knows our attacking midfield is much better and it's quite dangerous. He will try to look at what Villa did well (and that was jam-traffic the midfield, especially the center) that caused us to play so poorly compared to our first half against Hull. I hope he fails to take into consideration the problem was us mainly, not something Villa created to us. Mata was out of shape and Lampard was too tired to make his legs obey his brain. Mourinho admitted on his presser he may have made a mistake starting with only two fresh players and thanks to squad depth we have more fresh players to start Monday. Such as Kevin, Essien/Mikel and Torres (ugh). That's one fresh man in each zone and if he feels like he needs to rest someone in our defense and somehow Luiz isn't the new blood coming in, he could rest Ivan and bring Azpili or he could rest Cahill or Terry, move Ivan over and start with Azpili. I know he said he sees Ivan as a RB, it doesn't mean he will never play as a CB under Mou. I'll gamble a win for us because I think Mourinho has something special waiting for Moyes and although Moyes is experienced and a fair decent manager, he's not even close the tactician José is. Of course José could make a mistake and go with the wrong tactics. But if they both pick the best tactics, I believe José has the advantage. I don't even doubt Moyes won't play 3 CB's to be honest. I think he might do it.

more spec on him http://www.turkish-football.com/news_read.php?id=5057

you're absolutely right. It escaped me (as I copied and pasted someone before me and just changed a few players). You're point is very relevant and I think instead of that he will try Ramires + Essien. So this is the team I think Mourinho will favor (not my personal choice) Cech Ivan - Luiz - Terry - Cole Ramires - Essien Kevin - Oscar - Hazard Torres Mata must play because we need him to add minutes, but I don't think he should start. We'll probably have plenty of counter-attack chances - as one would expect Utd to attack in their own turf, but even if we don't, I think this match screams for speed and Kevin is much faster than Mata. Also I wish he'd have Azpili in the right, but I know he'll have Ivan. I have no doubts though that Torres will play again and Ba won't even feature the bench.

but I don't want to jinx us. JDY already blames me for the Benteke goal I don't want Robin to score because I want a clean sheet in Old Trafford... I want him to score against others - and for ManUtd to concede so they drop points. If all of us captain him it seems like all of us want him to score...and we don't. Sort of.

I'm not transferring anyone this week, but I've changed my subs and I'm also having a captain debate... How are Robin van Persie stats against Chelsea? Not only in ManUtd, but also in Arsenal? I didn't watch their match against Swansea... I refuse to watch Utd, but how did he go? Was Swansea really bad defensively or did he do his magic? I watched their game against Wigan - with my brother - but that can't be the parameter.

I think there are a few things to consider from the match before we crucify players and manager. Last page I used probably 1000 words in a debate with Blue Army about how takes time to a manager to establish and solidify his philosophy and style of play in a team. We aren't the same Chelsea (squad wise) from 6 years ago and neither is Mourinho. So while he already knows the club, is familiar how things are handled there off pitch, he's starting over. There's little he can use from his first time here to find the team that will work best. Even the club's philosophy seems to have changed from his first spell to now. So while he's familiar with Terry, Cole, Cech and Lamps, that's too little because six years are a lot, and those players - maybe with the exception of Cech - aren't the same anymore. He needs to get to know his players, but really know them. Their weaknesses, their strengths, the areas they can improve, the areas they just can't. Then he needs to see how those players compliment each other and compensate weaknesses. I'm sure he already has a plan in mind, but there's a long distance between having that plan and reaching his goal. At some points he will have to make adjustments because plans rarely go completely smoothly. And it means he'll make mistakes, just like he did yesterday. 65 minutes to do the changes was a bit late imo (still way better than 85). I think Torres would have been more suited to the match than Ba was. Whether we like him or not, whether we want to strangle him for playing deeper than he should or not, his movement and linkups against Hull offered more space for Kevin, Oscar, Hazard and even Lampard play. That's not enough, don't take me wrong, but I think he could have done the same with Villa. We insisted on playing in the center where all their players were concentrated and when Torres goes deeper to receive the ball, he frees one of AM to go wider because there are so many players that can occupy the same zone. According to Newton 2 bodies can't occupy the exact same space, but last night we tried to challenge the physics law with the insistence of centralizing the play. I also think he should start considering a rotation with Lampard. Forget the squad rotation now, he won't rotate the squad so early in the season. he might make a few changes to try to find a better tactical result, that's experiment, not rotation. The only reason he's rotating the three strikers is because he's trying to give them equal chances before a new striker arrives, so they know where they stand in his plans. Had Rooney or whoever else been here already, I doubt he'd be trying to give the same play time for all 4 strikers. He's rotating where we are the most deficient because his better prospect is still two young, inexperienced, a tad nervous and he needs to be careful with the boy otherwise he'll damage his progress. Back to Lamps... I think it's only a matter of shape. he can't play twice a week. He will produce really well one match, but the other he'll be more prone to mistakes, just like yesterday. When you body doesn't obey your brain, there's nothing left for you to do and I hope they both recognize it soon. I agree with you guys. But if we know he's made mistakes because he has to know the team better, let's give him time to get to know his players (I'm not implying any of you isn't giving him time) He blamed himself for two reasons: 1) he was to blame 2) he protects his players for the most part. But let's not confuse him with Daddy Carlo. He protects the players, but he's also very tough on them, sometimes even in the press room - where he shouldn't. But the thing is journalists know Mourinho well and they start making questions that will lead him to talk about players when they're sub par or when he, for example, leaves Torres even out of the bench... They're baiting for a reaction, for player criticism and while yesterday the reason was tactical, sometimes it will be technical. But overall I feel like Mou protects the players that trust him and his decisions. It's the players that challenge his decisions (and consequently his leadership) that usually aren't spared in pressers. The problem wasn't where Mata played - Mazacar was as dynamic as they were under di Matteo and they exchanged positions a lot. The problem is Mata is completely out of shape and it'll take a long while for him to be at the same level as the rest of the squad. Nobody is 100% fit already. I'd say in general they're around 70-80% while Mata is I don't know 40%. Then he takes 3-4 weeks to finally be 70-80%, by then the other guys will already be 100%, but he'll still need another 3-4 weeks to reach it. So no matter where Mourinho plays Mata now, he won't deliver what he usually does and there's no way Mourinho shouldn't use him because the less he plays the longer it'll take for him to reach his ideal form and we need Mata - much less than we needed him in the last couple of years - but we still need him. You can't ignore a player of his caliber.

Cech Ivan - Luiz - Terry - Cole Ramires - Lampard KDB - Oscar - Hazard Torres This is what I think Mourinho will bring to the table. Anything else will surprise me - except Luiz who might not be completely fit and Mourinho knows that with van Persie against us we need to have the best fit defenders.

don't blame me, love. I said it myself I'd rather have points from a clean sheet rather than from Benteke. You have to pick the order of your subs to make sure the guys you favor get in first. I don't even know my points, but now that you mentioned it, I'm going to check. Now, I'm not going to deny I was lucky with Benteke Let's see if you're still breathing on my neck. I smell of fruits today, so at least it's a nice scent