PBP: FAC - Chelsea FC vs Manchester United FC - Mar 13, 2017 [R]

We need a result.No Replay please!

 

Don't believe there could be one. This will play to the finish Monday. First time this year it's done at this stage of the competitions, I think.

 

De Gea

Valencia
Bailly
Rojo
Shaw

Carrick
Fellaini

Lingard
Mkhitaryan
Martial

Rashford
---------------------------------
Sorted, no probs

"she wore, she wore, she wore a scarlet ribbon, she wore a scarlet ribbon in the merry month of May......"

 

The Thursday match is more important that the Monday match. Sad, but that's where things are for us right now.

 

Looking forward to the presser for this, no doubt Mourinho will complain about the state of the pitch, and Chelsea having an unfair advantage because it's in London.

 

I'd like to see Rashford start, but Rooney's absence yesterday makes me wonder if he'll be involved. That wouldn't automatically preclude Rashford from starting I guess.

 

With Ibra's forced absence, perhaps this:

Rashford
Rooney Pogba Mata
Carrick Herrera
Shaw Smalling Bailly Young
De Gea

Still a pretty strong side, but it would mean Pogba and Herrera playing three games in 7 days, but at their age and fitness level they should be able to cope with it. I hate to bench Fellaini after he put in a fine performance, but his unique skills won't be required against Chelsea unless we're scrambling for a late-match winner and need a knockdown ball specialist.

Win, fantastic. Lose, not a serious problem.

 

Wingers please. That's how to expose Chelsea although I'd almost prefer to reserve that for the Prem game.

 

Width, movement and speed are what Chelsea may be susceptible to, especially at the back. The team I'd go for is pretty simple under the circumstances.

Dave
Valencia. Bailly. Rojo. Shaw
Herrera. Carrick. Pogba
Lingard. Rashford. Martial

Would be tempted to go with Miki wide right perhaps for an hour like yesterday, but he's just getting over an hamstring pull and the wise move might be to leave him on the bench to start at least. A front 3 of Lingard, Martial and Rashford provided they are on it, could potentially give fits to Cahill, Luiz and Azpi.
Chelsea have been strong and organized, but I refuse to believe they can not be beaten. They got United's number last time out and surely Jose will make the necessary adjustments. I know that Bailly and Smalling have worked together primarily before but I'd rather have Rojo there Monday. And the prime reason is not because of what happened last time out (as we know Smalling was injured then anyhow), but in Rojo, we'd have someone else who is tougher mentally and would not be afraid to go toe to toe with Costa, with the hope that he can perhaps frustrate and rile him up, along with Bailly.

 

Bailly for sure, although he's off his insane form of earlier in the season.

Problem is, Chelsea just have more scoring weapons that we do. Our main scoring threat is out and our Plan Bs have been meh at best, and at times have been horrible. Instead, Chelsea have Hazard and Costa and a resurgent Pedro. It's hard to imagine us keeping a clean sheet on them, especially in their house.

Chelsea will have had a week's rest before this match starts. We, as everyone knows, will have not.

Anything can happen in the game of football, but the safest bet is that no matter how strong of a side we put out against Chelsea that they'll beat us -- I'll go with 2-1. There is no dishonor in acknowledging that we're well off the standard Chelsea have set this season, although I know plenty of supporters of other clubs who see their role very differently -- hope springs eternal and denial fills the room. One thing I really admire about most United supporters I come across in different forums is their acceptance of reality...in this case that we just haven't been very good this season and that we'll be fortunate to scrap out a CL spot either by a last gasp leap into fourth or the EL cup.

This weekend I'll take a look at what they're saying on ShedEnd and any other Chelsea forums I can find and will report my findings here. I suspect their fans will be confident but somewhat wary of a banana peel against a rival who've somehow managed to avoid a consequential loss since Chelsea beat us 4-0 back in October (?).

With 9 fingers already around the prem trophy, Chelsea have plenty of incentive to focus on this game and go for the double, which will likely be their glorious destiny this season.

 

Looked it up and for the time at the 1/4 stage, there will be indeed no replays and there will be a winner Monday. The teams will also have a 4th sub available to them should the game go into ET. That will also apply to the semi final and the final as well, should it come to it.

 

Jose said "strongest team possible" in the presser.

 

Of course he did. He's not going to mess around and take this game lightly in the least. We're in it to win it and we absolutely can do so.

 

Romero, Darmian, Jones, Smalling, TFM, Blind, Shweiny, Fellaini, Lingard, Rooney, Rashford.

That's the team we should pick.

 

Not quite that weak but something like that.

First, you gotta start De Gea. Second, you gotta start Bailly...he can handle two games in four days. Third, TFM is out of the question...that's just asking for a slaughter and we don't need that right now.

Lingard, Rooney and Rashford is fine but I like the idea of Mata stepping up for this one. His experience and guile could come in handy. Fellaini, sure. Bastian on the bench for sure, but I wouldn't start him with Fellaini and I wouldn't start him against Chelsea.

But your thinking in accepting that we're not going to beat a full strength Chelsea side at the bridge is sound and there's no reason to waste resources on this match is sound.

 

It's all win.

Chelsea will look at the team and think the game is already won. Jose can use that to motivate the second string. If Chelsea then underestimate them and we get a win or if they put in a really close solid performance it will super motivate our fringe players. Jose can also dangle the carrot that if they beat Chelsea most of those players will be used to fight the rest of the way for that trophy...this gives them a target and the first teamers a rest.

If they lose (even badly), it wont totally deflate everybody, as we didn't take it seriously, and it cuts down the amount of games against tough opposition (for the competition that is currently least important to us).

Win or lose we rest key players for the more important Thursday game.


It's all win.

 

All we do is win

 

When did we actually stop being Manchester United and fearing nobody ?

And when we appointed David Moyes is not an answer.

Jeez, reading some of the comments on here, and other United forums the last week or so you'd think we'll be facing a Chelsea side on Monday night that are at the same level as Arrigo Sacchi's AC Milan or Pep Guardiola's Barcelona.

Let's just hope we get caught up in traffic and the game has to be canceled so we're spared the obvious humiliation....

Ffs, it's a Cup match, we'll be roared on by 5500/6000 United fans who'll sing their hearts out for 95 minutes so it's game on.

 

I don't like the idea of putting out a side that weakened. Fellaini sure, but not TFM. Chelsea will be confident but not overconfident. After all, we're the cup holders and they know of our unbeaten streak. Risking an evisceration would be highly inadvisable.

Rest a few key players, but don't overdo it. We have a duty to put on a good show, but no duty to fight for the win like it's a cup final.

 

Google "evisceration"

 

Evisceration is the removal of viscera (internal organs, especially those in the abdominal cavity) and may refer to: Disembowelment, removal of the internal organs of an animal. Evisceration (autotomy), ejection of viscera as a defensive action by an animal.

 

It appears, the aptly named Brainfart, that you've been having a long night with the bottle.

Let's check out the definition of the word "metaphor":

metaphor. a figure of speech in which a term or phrase is applied to something to which it is not literally applicable in order to suggest a resemblance, as in “A mighty fortress is our God.”.​

Words like "eviscerate", "destroy", "disembowel" and many others have long been used as metaphors in different contexts such as politics and sports. When United "destroyed" Arsenal 8-2 (http://www.90min.com/posts/1668-manchester-united-destroy-arsenal) it was fully understood that Arsenal did not immediately cease to exist as a football club.

 

I'll settle for a good thrashing. I think Chelsea will spare us and United a thorough evisceration....

 

You could've just put 'destroy', we're not all educated you know