Manchester United

[john316]

Moyes on Van Persie today:

"i was due to take him off after 60/70 minutes, but if I'd done that people would be saying 'what you doing?'"

Does he mean that he decided not to take Van Persie off because he was worried about the public opinion. I am sure Man Utd fans are happy to hear that their manager cares so much about what they think

The pressure is getting to him.

Unbelievable statement - imagine someone like Rafa Benitez saying something like that.

[Daffy Duck]

One other thing, how **** was Zaha yesterday? He did everything wrong, the exact opposite of what he was supposed to do and he even ****ed that up. I think he's a talented player but they need to loan him out soon. Januzaj looks miles ahead of him at the moment.

[Norbs]

Villa away

Oh dear. They're all tough at the moment

[Liverpel]

Six reasons for the crisis at Old Trafford under Moyes


Robin van Persie's injuries, a lack of summer signings, no luck, imagination or fighting spirit and too many changes to blame for Man Utd's slump under new manager


1. Failure to strengthen

The impact of Manchester United’s woeful summer transfer strategy is now beginning to be felt.

Having inherited a squad with many key players in their thirties and others who are simply not up to the job, David Moyes failed to strengthen sufficiently.

The Scot can legitimately point to an inexperienced chief executive Ed Woodward as a mitigating factor, but the buck stops with the manager and he should have been more forceful in terms of getting the players he wanted.

Why did United and Moyes dither over a move for Leighton Baines, why did they spend so long chasing Cesc Fabregas and Cristiano Ronaldo and, ultimately, why did they pay over the odds to sign Marouane Fellaini?



2. Van Persie injuries

Robin van Persie played every game for United as they won the title last season and his goals, many in the dying stages of games, turned draws into victories.

He was United’s talisman, but injuries have kept the Dutchman sidelined this term and his outing against Newcastle, when he looked short of fitness, was his first for a month as a result of a groin injury.

There has been a lack of continuity up front and too much of a burden placed on Wayne Rooney's shoulders in Van Persie’s absence.

The shortcomings of Danny Welbeck and Javier Hernandez have been exposed when United have been without Van Persie in the starting line-up.



3. No fighting spirit

After half a season under Moyes, it appears as though ‘Fergie Time’ died out when Sir Alex Ferguson vacated the manager’s office.

Once famed for securing draws or victories with late fightbacks, United have had none under Moyes and, more worryingly, they have thrown away victories against Southampton and Cardiff this season by conceding injury-time equalisers.

United appear leggy and out of steam in the final stages of games, so is that down to Moyes’s more demanding training regime or opponents sensing weakness and pushing on, rather than sitting back?

Belief has dwindled away from Moyes’s players and even the Old Trafford crowd appears to have given up judging by the vast empty spaces late on against Newcastle.



4. No imagination

Moyes had good reason to pursue Cesc Fabregas and Ander Herrera during the summer transfer window because United’s midfield has proven to be worryingly short of imagination and craft this season.

They have become predictable and the over-reliance on Michael Carrick has been emphasised since the England player underwent an Achilles procedure last month. Without Carrick, United have collected just two points from four games.

Beyond Carrick, the cupboard is bare. Tom Cleverley has made little priogress, Fellaini has endured a nightmare, while Anderson continues to offer nothing.

Ryan Giggs, at 40, has been United’s best midfielder after Carrick and that is worrying sign.



5. Too many changes

Moyes has pointed to United being in a period of transition following Ferguson’s retirement, but has he contributed to the uncertainty by making so many changes behind the scenes in the summer?

Ferguson had attempted to prepare the club for his departure by installing coaches who could remain in place to ensure a smooth transition, but Mike Phelan, Rene Meulensteen and Eric Steele were all moved on and replaced by Moyes’s Everton staff.

None of Jimmy Lumsden, Steve Round, Chris Woods or Phil Neville has coached at Champions League level and neither had Moyes, so he replaced Ferguson’s brains trust with a staff of men unproven at the highest level.

As a result, many United players have more experience than the coaches charged with improving and inspiring them.



6. Luck has run out

Blaming bad luck is usually the first excuse of the ill-prepared, but Moyes may have good reason to cite poor fortune as a factor in United’s slump.

Against Everton in midweek, United hit the woodwork twice before succumbing to Bryan Oviedo’s late goal and they struck the post against Newcastle before falling to Yohan Cabaye’s goal on Saturday.

United have lost key men such as Van Persie, Wayne Rooney and Michael Carrick for key games this season and their absences have proved decisive.

Moyes also argued that United were dealt a tough start to the season, but the counter-argument would be that Manchester United should talk themselves up rather than worry about the hand dealt to them.

http://www.independent.ie/sport/six-reasons-for-the-crisis-at-old-trafford-under-moyes-29819713.html

[Liverpel]

Moyes has revealed that Shinji Kagawa "ate too much food" and "had his stomach pumped"

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/f...t-8990474.html

I'm still trying to get my head around this. Exactly how much food do you have to eat before you need your stomach pumped?

[Roboklopp]

I'm still trying to get my head around this. Exactly how much food do you have to eat before you need your stomach pumped?

Mental innit? I've given a good go a fair amount of times. Surely you'd just chunder first?

[fidget]

http://www.the-star.co.ke/news/artic...-united-defeat

[Charly]

I never understood why Moyes was appointed by the owners. Surely they have their own vision for the future. There is no way one man who has left the club should have any say on how it goes forward.

The reason is he was appointed is that he was hand picked by Slur Alex. Well, we all know he is a bitter and twisted old cunt. I reckon he knew Moyes would be crap and not respected by the players who have won it all, and in fact structured the team so it would fall apart shortly after he left, because he does not want anyone to follow in his footsteps. He wants to seal his legendary status at the club, while putting back as he found it... out the back next to the dustbin.

[rodo]

the chosen one

[rodo]

go ed love
[ame="http://youtu.be/U1PKAqIBNuI"]"We Are Going Down!" | Manchester United 0-1 Newcastle | FanCam - YouTube[/ame]

[Roboklopp]

go ed love
"We Are Going Down!" | Manchester United 0-1 Newcastle | FanCam - YouTube

[RichC]

Brilliant

[Darkon]

the chosen one

Tbf. he was chosen - just very poorly

[Darkon]

go ed love
"We Are Going Down!" | Manchester United 0-1 Newcastle | FanCam - YouTube

That sounds like some(one) on this board after the Hull defeat

[dom9]

A really strange article:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/25283459

David Moyes: Manchester United manager thankful for home support

By Chris Bevan

Not an awful lot is going David Moyes's way at the moment so you can understand why the Manchester United manager is grateful that many of his team's fans remain on his side.

A few boos rang out around Old Trafford when the final whistle blew on Saturday's deflating defeat by Newcastle, and it is also true that some supporters had voted with their feet and already left.

But, significantly, most of the Stretford End had stayed and were on their feet to applaud the Scot and sing his name as he headed for the tunnel to contemplate another disappointing display and a second home setback in a week.

It was a meaningful message: while the reaction to the loss from United's millions of followers on social media was predictably poisonous, inside the stadium - where it matters the most - Moyes still has the majority of supporters behind him.

Moyes was quick to thank them in the media conference that followed, saying: "I think the United fans have been great. Great to me, and great to the club.

"They understand there is a big transition going on here. I don't think they, or me, expected us to have lost five games at this time of the season but I think they understand totally there is a change going on."

He is right. Nobody has seen the scale of that change more than the fans who have watched United go from a team that won the title in a canter under Sir Alex Ferguson last season, to an outfit floundering in mid-table this time around.

Moyes was particularly fortunate to retain their backing after such an insipid display because it is not as if his side gave them much to be positive about against the Magpies.
When the Red Devils fell behind to a Yohan Cabaye goal there was still 29 minutes of normal time to be played.

But, other than a Robin van Persie effort which was ruled out for offside, there was not even a sniff of the kind of late onslaught that, in Ferguson's day, would have been the fate of any team who had the audacity to take the lead at Old Trafford.
Manchester United players look despondent

Magpies boss Alan Pardew, who incidentally backed Moyes to eventually get things right, inadvertently highlighted how much things have changed in the space of a few months when he answered a question afterwards about whether winning at Old Trafford was his side's best result of the season.

Newcastle had already beaten Chelsea, and overcome Tottenham at White Hart Lane but Pardew said: "This is above those, because this is a difficult place to come, in terms of the stadium, the aura of it and how you have to concentrate for 90 minutes.
"We came here in December last year and we were 3-2 up with 19 minutes to go and we lost 4-3 after a couple of errors in that period cost us. Today when we scored, that was what I was most concerned about.
"You have to concentrate and play every moment to win here, and we did that. I hope the players get the credit they deserve."

United are seven points off rivals Manchester City who sit fourth. The last time they finished outside the top four was in 1991.

Pardew is half-right, because his team did perform well on Saturday. But this time, in contrast to 12 months ago, Newcastle were almost completely comfortable.

And the problem for Manchester United is the "aura" which Pardew describes is disappearing fast, as other teams are picking up landmark wins too.

Before this season, Newcastle had not won at Old Trafford for 41 years, West Brom for 35 years and Everton for 21. All three have left with three points, while Southampton got a draw.

Even so, there is still no serious suggestion Moyes's job is at risk, something reflected in the mood in the media conference after the Newcastle game.

And despite the fact his side are ninth and could be 15 points adrift of Arsenal by the end of the weekend, Moyes is still being asked about the title race, which he insists his side can still be a part of.

He has evidence to back that belief up, like November's win over leaders Arsenal, or the 5-0 Champions League demolition of Bayer Leverkusen in Germany just 11 days ago, but he can ill-afford many more off-days otherwise the fans - and the questions - might turn nastier.

Not that Moyes is getting an easy ride from the media. His relationship with his squad is under almost as much scrutiny as results at present as people look for any evidence of disharmony in the camp.

Rio Ferdinand's claims this week, for instance, that his manager's policy of naming his team at the last moment turns him into a 'madman' were hardly helpful but they are nothing compared to the rumours concerning United's most important two players.
When he started his Old Trafford tenure, everything Moyes was asked seemed to be about Wayne Rooney's future. Now he is having to contend with speculation over Robin van Persie too.

When quizzed after the Newcastle game about comments from BBC Sport's football pundit Mark Lawrenson that Van Persie is unhappy, Moyes paused for thought, looked visibly annoyed for the first time, then responded forcefully, saying: "That is absolute nonsense.

"I don't know what harder or tougher word I could say to you than that. That's as good as I've got."

If more defeats do follow, it is vital for Moyes and United that situation does not change, and talk of any dressing-room friction remains fiction.

Because, although Moyes may well come in for more stick from more fans next time they lose at home, if he loses the backing of his best players, his problems will truly begin.

He was booed off the pitch.