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Man United 0 - 0 Newcastle United - 22/08/15 - Post-match reaction from page 39


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I thought Anita had a very good game, lots of tackling and very physical considering his size. Much better than Colback in any case. Perez was immense especially with the amount of defensive work he did, Obertan's contribution was pathetic in comparison.

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Couldn't believe it when Januzaj "fell" to the ground and didn't get booked for diving when he tried to get past Mbemba.

 

Rooney could have easy had a yellow for abusing the ref, not at OT though.

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Do you bring back Janmaat after such a decent back 4 performance as that? Think if someone is dropped it would be harsh, especially since Janmaat has start the season in neutral.

 

Also think that's the end of us looking at defenders.

 

I agree with you, especially as it might make players think that they're not just guaranteed a start when committing such blatant idiocy.

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Have to keep the same back 4 and see how they do again.

 

Don't agree, seeing as it was getting ripped apart for the first 20 mins. It mostly changed because of the cover it was getting afterwards not because of the individuals of the back 4 even if it had some moments.

 

Even so waiting to see if we get beat is a silly attitude to have IMO, pick the back 4 you think is the best and if that means bringing Janmaat back in which it is IMO then do it. Taylor and Coloccini did well today, but Arsenal move the ball at a much higher tempo than Man Yoo did and as usual against Arsenal they'll probably open Taylor-Coloccini up with relative ease.

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Have to keep the same back 4 and see how they do again.

 

Don't agree, seeing as it was getting ripped apart for the first 20 mins. It mostly changed because of the cover it was getting afterwards not because of the individuals of the back 4 even if it had some moments.

 

Even so waiting to see if we get beat is a silly attitude to have IMO, pick the back 4 you think is the best and if that means bringing Janmaat back in which it is IMO then do it. Taylor and Coloccini did well today, but Arsenal move the ball at a much higher tempo than Man Yoo did and as usual against Arsenal they'll probably open Taylor-Coloccini up with relative ease.

 

Agree, as good as Mbemba was generally he was uncomfortable at times defending out wide. Obviously a lot of genuine fullbacks would against Depay like. Would sacrifice Taylor despite his fantastic performance. Will probably be injured by then anyway.

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Thought we looked a good unit today, if uninspiring. We defended as a team with a game plan which is more than could have been said this time last season. Not at matches will be this defensive (thank god, it's boring as fuck), but it was nice to see us at least do it as a unified squad.

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I'm of two minds here - love the point, love the determination and what appeared to be a much more organized back 5. I didn't - and haven't - loved the 4-2-3-1 we've been sticking with and I don't think it suits us particularly well.

 

We were aided in large part by facing a sluggish, pointless Rooney and a mostly insipid attack. I thought after the first 15 minutes we were pretty sound defensively, albeit riding our luck at times. Considering Mbemba's never a RB, he did OK against Memphis and crossed it beautifully for Mitrovic's thumping header. A miraculously effective performance by Colo and Taylor, Haidara (for the most part), too.

 

I didn't like the way Colback and Anita, especially Colback, were separated so much from the back 4. They didn't really do enough working to allow us to transition effectively from defence into attack. So often we would get the ball back only to see the defenders stranded without an outlet, giving the ball back quickly - or cycling it back to Krul for one of his inevitably poor hoofs. We didn't set up particularly well to allow our midfielders any time on the ball or too many decent options to move the ball to. We never really created enough natural width to generate crosses or decent balls for Mitrovic to attack. Though Wijnaldum did well again considering what he had to work with, Perez, too. Terrific workrate from them.

 

I'd prefer to see us in a 4-1-4-1 (or even a diamond) with Anita as the DM, Thauvin and Sissoko out wide, Wijnaldum inside with Perez playing slightly behind Mitrovic. Aarons would be a natural impact sub or even a starter depending on the situation. I think that would helps us retain a little more threat while still being solid at the back. Colback's just not good enough, doesn't provide enough to be in the 11.

 

Our plan of widening the centre backs and dropping Anita or Colback to receive the ball and attempt to play it out from the back was sussed out very easily today - we didn't have a Plan B. That's a bit worrying. They pressed us high and we didn't have the cohesion to provide outlets so the ball ended up heading back to Krul far too often for aimless punts (or, worse, giving it right back to them in our final third).

 

Still, caveats aside, any point at OT is a great one. Any clean sheet, too. We've certainly got far better individual talents than we've had in years. In a few weeks, I think we'll start to see a much more cohesive product on the pitch.

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