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Comparing this side with the one that played last year under Moyes is totally futile.

 

A few weeks ago they started with Fletcher-Cleverley in the middle, as well as Keane and Blackett both at the back at the same time.

 

Now they played Rojo, Blind, Herrera, Falcao, di Maria and Shaw is also fit to play, it's a totally different team - so why are people talking about last season?

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I think today's performance was a lot more relevant to what the rest of the season will look like than their previous games. Lucky for those teams that faced them before that £100m worth of players became available (I hate the summer window being open during the season). 

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i think the point was that they were shit last year and still had a couple of good results, 1 good result today doesn't mean they aren't shit now...

 

not sure what their target is, im assuming 4th (anything higher is taking the piss) and i dont think that defence is good enough, too early to judge, need to wait until they play the others that are battling for 4th, everton and liverpool dont look particularly brilliant so far either

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They have thrown the best part of £150m at the team since Moyes left, they should be stronger than last season but I guess the question is will it be enough?  I think it goes without saying that Chelsea and Manchester City will finish above United.  Arsenal probably will too.  That leaves them fighting with Liverpool, Spurs and Everton for 4th.  If I were Liverpool and Spurs I'd fancy my chances of finishing above this lot again. 

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They have thrown the best part of £150m at the team since Moyes left, they should be stronger than last season but I guess the question is will it be enough?  I think it goes without saying that Chelsea and Manchester City will finish above United.  Arsenal probably will too.  That leaves them fighting with Liverpool, Spurs and Everton for 4th.  If I were Liverpool and Spurs I'd fancy my chances of finishing above this lot again. 

 

Suarez has left Liverpool, if he played yesterday you just know he would have done something to hurt us at least twice. They were extremely toothless without Sturridge, and they don't have any cover for him. Balotelli is dangerous on his day, but his consistency has never existed. Also, Liverpool are not very impressive at the back - not anywhere near the ability and stability of Chelsea/City. Do they have a better defensive unit than United? Not in my opinion. When fit, United have De Gea, Shaw, Rojo, Evans, Smalling, Jones and Rafael to choose from - as well as Blackett. Sure they lack that outstanding central defender like Kompany or Hummels, but in no way do Liverpool have a great defensive unit.

 

Liverpool will get extra games in the middle of the week because of Champions League, and have to rest players + and/or play with jaded players over the course of the season. Everton have the Europa League, which is always a huge liability.

 

I think United have a better squad and without a doubt more exceptional match-winners compared to Liverpool and Everton - and their squad is bigger. Mix in the fact that they don't play in Europe + Capital One Cup, and they have a huge advantage. On the bench today, United had Valencia, Januzaj, Shaw, Falcao and Fletcher to choose from. Players like Fellaini, Young and Carrick are also more than capable on their day. Look at Liverpool, except from Sterling (who would usually start every day) they had to put on Rickie Lambert. Not exactly the best player in the world.

 

I don't really care much, except for the fact that I love to see Liverpool suffer, but I feel people are still judging United based on last season under Moyes. Now they have van Gaal and a few more exceptional players. Herrera is very tidy and Blind looked very good in his role today, doing everything simple and efficiently. Over the course of a season, Everton will draw too many games at home and lose away to weaker teams. As always. Liverpool will not score as many goals without Suarez and they will still let in more than United because of their gung-ho approach.

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Man Utd are still a bit dodgy at the back. Other than that they are very strong now on the wings and up front.

 

 

Van Persie, Rooney, Falcao - this three is as good any in the top four. Also youth option James Wilson if one gets injured. Better than Liverpool's attack. With the right support behind them they could support a title challenge. However, they'd don't.

 

Herrara, Di Maria, Blind, Mata, Janujaz, Valencia, Fellaini -  Exceptional attacking midfield but dodgy in central and defensive midfield. who is going to control and win the ball? Herrara and Blind helps there but will they start to struggle for fitness in the new year? They have no good replacement for defensive midfield unless Fellaini suddenly becomes world class. Also, are they really better than the central midfield of Arsenal, Man City and Chelsea? Need another world class DM to challenge for 3rd place let alone the title.

 

Rojo, Shaw - still not convinced by the Man Utd defence. Evans does not convince me and Rafael gets sent off too much. For a title challenge they need more world class defenders, and personally I'd only slightly but really would take Arsenal's defence ahead of Man Utd's at present.

 

De Gea - still looking dodgy occasionally, such as today's mix up that QPR forward should have scored the open goal from. I wouldn't be surprised if Van Gaal sold him. 

 

 

Conclusion: Man Utd are now a bit better than Liverpool but are far behind Chelsea and Man City and will probably end the season 4th behind Arsenal. 

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Comparing this side with the one that played last year under Moyes is totally futile.

 

A few weeks ago they started with Fletcher-Cleverley in the middle, as well as Keane and Blackett both at the back at the same time.

 

Now they played Rojo, Blind, Herrera, Falcao, di Maria and Shaw is also fit to play, it's a totally different team - so why are people talking about last season?

 

Quite a few new players in this Villa team- are we still talking about last season aswell? ;)

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Mata played really well yesterday, and the team was set up to allow him to play in his best role. I think people may have made a mistake in assuming he's the one whose role is most at risk. Personally, I suspect it's Van Persie.

Rooney is capable of playing the role Mata played. I think we'll see more of a van Persie/Falcao and Mata/Rooney rotation for a bit, with Falcao being rested occasionally. It's a great rotation to have, and especially with RVPs injury record I can't see any player dropped for long enough to start complaining.

Of course, there's talk of Mata being used for a deal with Strootman in January.

It's a good thing man Utd's defence is so bad, because as midfield and attack goes there's probably only Chelsea who can rival it. They won't struggle this year, they'll finish at least 4th and get CL again. Sadly.

Edited by Qwpzxjor1
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Mata is excellent.

 

He's played nearly every game since he joined United and has just under a 1 in 2 scoring record from midfield (well... attacking midfield). As well as 4 assists (in 19 games)

 

Not bad really. I can't see LVG being in a hurry to drop him.

Edited by Stevo985
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