darrenm Posted August 12, 2013 Share Posted August 12, 2013 The whole 'without Fergie' thing is getting a bit much now. You'd think he scored 50 goals himself last season. We'll see. It's not because of his tactical genius or anything like that. It's because his defenders can get away with being overly rough without conceding a penalty. His forwards can go down easily in the box without much contact and be confident they'll get a penalty. The opposing teams then have to stand off a lot, creating more time and space. Very close games are often decided on refereeing decisions, and referees have always had to be damn sure if they're giving any against him. The manipulation of referees he's done over the years have been a major factor in their success. Without him there they'll fall away I think. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted August 12, 2013 Author Moderator Share Posted August 12, 2013 What Darren said plus more. Basically in a nutshell you could call it the fear factor around Fergie, whether it be refs, opposition players, managers or even his own players' fear of losing and facing him afterwards. Moyes doesn't have Fergie's fear factor nor does he tend to employ similar tactics to him. So not only will United not be as used to Moyes' style of play but they'll be up against teams and refs who won't be quite as scared of them as they have been up to now. Can't wait Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genie Posted August 12, 2013 Share Posted August 12, 2013 (edited) I agree Utd will be a slightly different prospect without the amount of borderline (or more) decisions that go their way. My comment was related to... I think we'll be a dangerous, dynamic team this season, and I think that Man Utd without Fergie will be pretty ordinary which reads like SAF was one of the star performers on the pitch. Edited August 12, 2013 by Tamuff_Villa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeilS Posted August 12, 2013 Share Posted August 12, 2013 I think they will still get their fair share of dubious decisions, and by that I mean the ref will still favour them in the 50-50's and big calls. I think they will still finish in the top 3, but things will be a lot closer this season. I think the thing to watch is how many late winners they get, I think that number will drop because of the lack of Fergie. That was the thing that Fergie did best, even ignoring the infamous Fergie time, his teams never stopped playing and never gave up until the final whistle. They must easily have scored more goals in the final 5 minutes of a match than any other team in the last twenty years. I have a few Utd fans at my work and was discussing their chances this season at work this morning. One was very dubious and didn't think much of their chances, and the other was very happy with their performance yesterday and thinks that they will be Champions again this season by a clear margin. Even with me trying to throw into the argument that it was only Wigan (who are under a new manager), so not the Wigan of old, seemed to phase him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genie Posted August 12, 2013 Share Posted August 12, 2013 The reason utd get so many late goals is because they are one of the biggest teams in the world and any team who find themselves winning or drawing going into the last 10 minutes sit back and offer utd on to them. It's not specific to MU, in sure Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Real Madrid also score a large about of late goals. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillaChris Posted August 12, 2013 Share Posted August 12, 2013 They'll still win plenty of games this season as a) they have IMO the best striker in the league as we saw again yesterday with two goals (there might be trouble if RVP picks up an injury though as he hasn't had one for ages) and they have great experience at the back so I can't see them suddenly letting in loads of goals under Moyes. I just don't see them getting to the 90 point mark which is usually the figure needed to guarantee the title. It's not just the late goals but the ridiculous comebacks they'd do from 2 or sometimes 3 goals down (usually against us) that won them crucial points, I just don't see them doing that as frequently under Moyes (expect against us naturally) nor do I see them winning their usual 17/18 out of 19 games at home. Just can see more draws in there which was always a problem for Everton trying to break into the top 4. Draws are pretty much as bad as defeats when you're trying to win the league/finish the top 4. This was also our problem under MON frequently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chakal Posted August 12, 2013 Share Posted August 12, 2013 by the way, have Manchester United had so many fans in England in the 70's, 80's (generally before SAF era)? They have been the most popular club in England for a long time, probably going back to the 50s and the Busby Babes. They benefited from a wave of public sympathy following the airplane crash which killed most of their first team and also from having British football's first superstar player in George Best. I think even during the era of Liverpool dominance (which was probably comparable to the level of dominance Barcelona have had over Europe in the last five or six years) United were getting 10,000 more people through the gate at Old Trafford than Liverpool were getting at Anfield. Obviously the level of armchair supporters they have gained has gone through the roof since the formation of the Premier League, but Manchester United have sold out every week for fifty or sixty years. It's not like Chelsea who were getting gates of 12-15k for home games as recently as the mid 1990s. Oh, thanks, mate for clearing that up. As a matter of fact, i found interesting stats, that confirm your words. http://www.european-football-statistics.co.uk/attn/nav/attnengleague.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Voinjama Posted August 12, 2013 Share Posted August 12, 2013 (edited) So since 1967, there have only been 5 seasons where they did not have the highest average attendance. Absolute monster of a club, I wasn't expecting them to of been getting higher crowds than Liverpool in the 1970s and 1980s. In the mid 70s they got relegated too, Denis Law? backheel. Edited August 12, 2013 by Voinjama Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Rev Posted August 12, 2013 Share Posted August 12, 2013 In at least one of those seasons (namely 1992/93) the reason why Manchester United didn't have the biggest gate in the country is because half of Old Trafford was closed for building work. Looking at it on paper (or on the web, but whatever) makes it look strange that they would have an 8k drop in average attendance the year they won the league for the first time in a quarter of a century but ongoing stadium improvements were the reason why. It did mean that Villa Park was the biggest ground in the league for a short while and I believe we even held the Premier League attendance record for a few months when we got 46k against Liverpool for the Holte's last stand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 Missing out on those players has led to fears among some United supporters that the new manager lacks the pulling power Alex Ferguson had. That is to forget how often Ferguson himself missed out on high-profile signings. Alan Shearer joined Blackburn and then Newcastle, Marcelo Salas joined Lazio, Ronaldinho joined Barcelona, Harry Kewell joined Liverpool, Arjen Robben joined Chelsea, Mesut Özil joined Real Madrid, Samir Nasri joined Manchester City, and last summer Lucas Moura joined PSG. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PussEKatt Posted August 13, 2013 Share Posted August 13, 2013 ManUre will not be the same strong team that they have been under Fergie BUT you have to remember what Moyes did at Everton.There was a season, not too long ago when he had nothing at all in the transfer kitty yet he still managed to keep Everton in the top half of the table.I dont expect them to finish outside the top 4 but I think that after 3/3 seasons Moyes will have them playing good football again ( just a different style ) thats all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinker Posted August 13, 2013 VT Supporter Share Posted August 13, 2013 He will not get 2-3 seasons though, man u need to rebuild this year or next at the very latest,he hasn't brought one player yet. I still think they will be top 4 but I can't see them getting near Chelsea or Man City and I can also see a few heavy defests. I think he will get a season and a half and then he will go. The fans and the owners of man u are not as patient as the ones who gave Ferguson his chance. UTV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 Oh dear Mr Moyes , might have to reevaluate my opinion on you Coming out today saying that the opening set of fixtures for manure are the hardest in 20 years and insinuating the draw was a fix because manure won the title so well last season. Get your excuses in early son. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOF Posted August 15, 2013 Author Moderator Share Posted August 15, 2013 Oh dear Mr Moyes , might have to reevaluate my opinion on you Coming out today saying that the opening set of fixtures for manure are the hardest in 20 years and insinuating the draw was a fix because manure won the title so well last season. Get your excuses in early son. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shillzz Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 Oh dear Mr Moyes , might have to reevaluate my opinion on you Coming out today saying that the opening set of fixtures for manure are the hardest in 20 years and insinuating the draw was a fix because manure won the title so well last season. Get your excuses in early son. Just read this on the BBC website, amusingly stupid comments from Moyes. He should take a look at our opening fixtures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 (edited) apologies BOF WHY WONT URL LINKS WORK???? http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/23710359 Manchester United manager David Moyes has criticised his side's opening to the Premier League season, describing it as the "hardest start for 20 years". Among their first five games, the champions play Jose Mourinho's Chelsea at home and travel to Manchester City and Liverpool. Moyes is unhappy with the way the fixtures have come out for his side. "I find it hard to believe that's the way the balls came out of the bag, that's for sure," said the Scot. "I hope it's not because Manchester United won the league quite comfortably last year [that] the fixtures have been made much more difficult." Moyes also refused to be drawn on whether Wayne Rooney, who has been linked with a move away from the club, would feature in Saturday's season-opener at Swansea. Rooney missed Sunday's Community Shield win over Wigan with a shoulder injury but was fit enough to start England's international friendly victory over Scotland on Wednesday before being replaced by match-winner Rickie Lambert. "It was great for Wayne to get fitness and he played for 65 minutes or so, so overall I was really pleased with the outcome," said Moyes, who was at the game to watch Rooney and his club-mates Danny Welbeck and Tom Cleverley. "Hopefully when I get back to Old Trafford I will be able to tell you how he is and how his fitness is so. Until I assess that I can't say any more." Edited August 15, 2013 by Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dudevillaisnice Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 "I hope it's not because Manchester United won the league quite comfortably last year [that] the fixtures have been made much more difficult." Oh dear.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVFCforever1991 Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 Already starting with the excuses before the season starts.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zatman Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 Fergie does it its mind-games Moyes does it its throwing a tantrum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarewsEyebrowDesigner Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 They really needed to get a few midfielders in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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