PBP: EPL - Manchester United FC vs West Ham United FC - Aug 13, 2017 [R]

Last season there was something wrong with him. His head was in the wrong place.

He's looked better in this preseason than he did at all last year.

 

Your best post in ages.

 

Some nutters don't rate Herrera (i'm listening to united fans now online..talking about how Matic is now Herrera's replacement)...they say things like 'he's average' etc. Even though he was at worst the second best midfielder in the league last year.

The fickleness of some fans annoys me...I remember when we had probably our best performance under Van Gaal....which had Mata and Herrera linking up beautifully all game...and every fan came out and said 'these 2 are are the way forward for us'....2 games later and Mata had a mare...he was the worst player in the world again. I said Matic would be a good signing if he shows the kind of form I saw 2 years ago....but watch some of these muppets have a go at him as soon as he has one bad game.

Personally, I'm looking for consistency from players given minutes. The odd good game isn't enough. That consistency is something Herrera has shown over the course of season, in what he's been asked to do. Some players haven't been given the trust of the manager to be consistent....and others have consistently been bad but still given more minutes.

I know who I've championed as first teamers for us over the last couple of years...and the main 2 are Herrera and Martial. Herrera has proven himself...and Martial hasn't been given much of a chance to. I don't need to champion Pogba, Bailly or DeGea.....because they are first teamers anyway, so that's all good. I did really champion Miki last year...but he got a lot of minutes second half of the season and he let me down. He deserves consistent play this season as a last chance, we know the ability is there, but he needs to prove the mentality is there.

 

Yes, he couldn't believe the level of fix job required.

We were a thoroughly broken, unbalanced group with no confidence.

 

Lol they are completely different players. WTF. I would discount all other opinions by anyone who came to that conclusion.

 

Jose on United's performance vs West Ham.

www.skysports.com/football/news/11667/10987540/jose-mourinho-pleased-manchester-united-played-with-confidence-against-west-ham

 

Great win. Really good performances from some key players. However, one win does not a season make. Hopefully we can sweep August and start steamrolling through September.

Feels so great to see finishing like that again.

 

The other thing I notice is this group seem to really like each other too.

 

Karl is listening to United fans online ffs.

Are these clowns who call in to football shows?

 

who's talking about 'turning' on herrera? pogba is the creative force, matic is the sitter, herrera is their backup, and fellaini is the situational player.

i think pogba is better at creating than herrera and matic is a better holder. the offensive output of herrera doesnt justify, to me, taking an attacker out and playing a 3.

 

Shut your Goddam mouth

 

At the end of the day, we can only play with 11 players on the pitch. As previously mentioned, really not sure what is there to worry about with Herrera, for sure. He's gained Jose's trust without a shadow of a doubt last season, when he stepped up in a different position and role for him and acquitted himself very, very well, being one of United's players of the season.
Who care what some reactionary muppets have to say tbh? Matic gives Jose and United options that simply were not there last season. And we all know how Jose likes to fiddle with and change his setups, according to the situation or opponent. Herrera will have plenty of games, especially against tougher oppo.
The depth we have now on the squad is something to e cherished, not dreaded or should have people jump to the wrong conclusions. I think Jose has learned from last season when he had a squad way too small the deeper we got into the season (which caused the team to literally limp towards the finish line). We can be very confident that will not happen this year and we also have to believe that whatever decision he makes, there is a precise reason for it. I believe that Martial will see a marked ncrease on his playing time as well: Jose will have to take notice of what he did today in a short amount of time as this was arguably a perfect cameo on his part.
If some people want to freak out and push Herrera or anyone else for that matter to the side so early on, it's their deal really.
Matic and Herrera do share some base similarities in certain aspects, but they really couldn't be more different as well and there is no doubt for me we'll see them in the midfield soon and often. But also when Jose feels the need to add more attacking impetus (as was the case today), then we'll get to see a mid 2 as well, especially since Matic is a perfect match to Pogba in that function.

 

I genuinely enjoyed watching Man United. Even with Rashford having an assist, I'd like to see Martial more and more, but I like what Jose is doing, he is making Martial hungry so he has to chase playing regularly.

Playing away from home is our weakness with Jose where he sits and instead of taking the game to the opposition he plays on the counter, I can't wait to see what he does against Swansea.

If anyone talks about Mata's place in this squad is having a laugh, the guy can play football pure football along with Mkhi.

 

Great full to watch

 

Was hoping Farcelona would take him off our hands but unfortunately it looks like they have opted for the cheap option in Paulinho.

 

Might be happiest for Martial. Came on and took his chance.

 

So great to be back, finally, in California!

I hope we can now lay to rest the wild claim that we "officially" had the worst summer transfer business. Matic was immense, maybe colossal. As for Lukaku, well, if all he does is score goals I'll take it.

It's just one win, but this was a great way to start the season.

 

So that was a very enjoyable match to watch. The team seem confident and motivated.

Matic played well. In particular he did better than I expected at retaining compsure and possession when under a press in tight spaces. Pogba was excellent and is revelling in the freedom to play more advanced than last year. His heat map was not hugely deeper than Matas or Mikis. Lukaku did a good job at playing his own game and to his strengths.

That being said, Westham were very poor, and made us look good. They played quite open, despite lacking the incision and the quality to hurt us. Their game plan was about the worst one you could have against us. They left lots of space, either directly on the counter or during the second phase after transition, which allowed Pogba or Miki to run through them, or left gaps for Lukaku, Rashford and others to run into and recieve through balls.

We also had some nice interplay on build up, but mostly we were so good on attack because Westham were so bad in setting up against us.

Going forwards we will have a much tougher time against teams who bunker, or who can threaten us with incision. Martial +\- a new player will be key for the former, and Herrera for the latter.

 

📷 of the day... pic.twitter.com/QHtMkpFwmI

— B/R Football (@brfootball) August 13, 2017

 

Comments were made earlier in this thread lamenting the fickleness of some United fans. That's just a fact of life when it comes to such a massive, massive club. And it's a bit of an issue here on the United as well. Just a few days ago a few posters demanded that Jose be sacked. That's not going to happen nor should it.

Nor should we lament the new signings we've brought in. Matic was a steal at 40m. And whatever one thinks of Lukaku's first touch -- and it does need work -- he's a fantastic addition to the squad. The only question mark is Lindelof, but everyone here knows it took Vidic and Evra several months to settle into the squad so the jury will remain out on him for a while.

Sure, West Ham looked poor but we made them look poor. Our pace and power were just too much for them to cope with. Seems pretty clear already we'll be in the hunt for the EPL trophy all the way, but whether we pull it off will depend largely on how well we play when key players are out with injury. As well as how well we break down parked buses.

If yesterday sent a message to upcoming opponents, it's that they have to sit deep on us and play -- and perhaps pray -- for the draw.

 

Alan Shearer's take on United's excellent display vs West Ham.

www.bbc.com/sport/football/40919572

 

You know who else had a great take on yesterday's performance? Thierry Henry

Really outstanding stuff. He praised Lukaku for what he accomplished, but in a very respectful way picked apart Lukaku's mistakes. It shouldn't be too hard to find on youtube.

 

United are riding high after their convincing win vs West Ham.

www.espn.co.uk/football/club/manchester-united/360/blog/post/3179798/convincing-victory-vs-west-ham-has-manchester-united-riding-high

 

As fantastic as this win was, I dispute the widely made assertion that this was the greatest United performance in the post-Ferguson era. For me, and I'm sure I'm forgetting an even better one (perhaps even under Moyes!), our victory over Chelsea 2-0 last season has to rank as an even better performance.

Chelsea had beaten us badly and would go on to lift the EPL trophy in a walk past the rest of the league. West Ham, well, didn't even look like a top half side.