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Eric Cantona

Cantona: Hang in there, Jose!

November 5, 2016

Scott is the editor of RoM and has a season ticket at Old Trafford. He started The Republik of Mancunia in March 2006. Follow @R_o_M on Twitter or @R_o_M7 on Instagram.

Martial is “very attached” to United fans

Preview: Swansea vs Manchester United

35 Comments

Yusuf_Israel November 5, 2016

If Lvg had still been the manager, one thing that is a guaranty is that with our current injury crisis in defense, A star will be born.
Lvg will never play Blind and Rojo together neither will he risk an unfit star player.

Tuanzebe would have definitely got his start tomorrow.

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ChiRed November 5, 2016

A man's man.

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ChiRed November 5, 2016

Well post sir Alex has not gone good.
Sir Alex was ready to retire the year before, until QPR hunting knowing they were staying up two late goals and lost by goal difference the title.
My point he told no one then both him and Gill leaving together ...
No forewarned plan, a shit first transfer market 3 years on here we sit 8th,

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Mark Reid November 5, 2016

Oh man he's got to keep these coming "ignorance is innocence "love it.

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Calvin_Drego November 5, 2016

Boro taking points of city at home.
There is really no easy game in the PL anymore.

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Zana November 5, 2016

I would play Fosu Mensah against Swansea for tomorrow, he is a tough big lad with lots of speed and power, playing Rojo and Blind will make us exposed again.

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Calvin_Drego November 5, 2016

I think you problems run deeper than CB. The defence is a problem no doubt but our CM is going to be shot next game and our strikers... well the less said the better.

Is it just me or does it look like Shaw looks a little plump the past two weeks

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Yusuf November 5, 2016

Our climb starts tomorrow...
we must have faith, we must support the players, we must support the manager.
We are not Arsenal fans, we are not Real Madrid fans.. we are Manchester United...... We are One United.. ..
there's nothing like seeing your players in competitive fixtures .. you get to see the heart of Man.. He now has an idea of who's should stay and who leaves..
Martials agent is doing the boy no favours... he's a freaking kid who's achieved nothing in football and the agent is claiming that we embarrassed him! What has this world come to?

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Dan Young November 5, 2016

anyone else getting bored of constantly seeing people saying how our squad is terrible and we need wholesale changes? its boring me to death!. yes we have some players who wouldnt necessarily deserve to wear the shirt and could be replaced by better options, some of those being from the academy .. but people are going ridiculous with it.

for me, our biggest problem, since SAF left, is that for 3 whole seasons now we have had such a slow front line, both in terms of pace and intensity.
under moyes in 2013/14 we had an ageing rvp, an ageing rooney, a slow paced mata and the only glimmer of hope was a fresh and new januzaj.
then LVG comes in and uses rvp, rooney, falcao, mata (all slow) and di maria (who started so well but came off the boil when LVG told him where he should stand positionally).
in LVGs second season he got the best out the team when using the pace of rashford, martial and lingard but given their lack of experience it was always going to be a big ask.
now with mourinho we have the tempo to our game play, but when it gets to the final third, again, there is no movement, penetration or intensity .. and that is largely down to ibra (not that its his fault, he still has plenty to offer in other ways)

... basically, im finding it frustrating how in the past 3 seasons we just keep on having some kind of negative part to our attacking set up.

mourinho is learning about his squad, and that takes time so i have no problems atall, but picking a 34 year old striker to be the focal point to our attack in one of the most intense leagues in the world is going to just keep on slowing down any progress. ibra has plenty to offer when used sparingly against lesser opposition and as a battering ram in the closing stages either to protect a win or to chase a win .. but he cant keep on getting selected for starts.

this is the 4th season in a row now we have had to compromise from an attacking perspective, its frustrating when you see how well pacey attacks are doing in the epl in recent times (leicester, arsenal this season, chelsea right now against everton! etc)

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Dan Young November 5, 2016

Right back - smalling - bailly - shaw
---------- central Def-mid
------herrera ----------- pogba
mkhitaryan --------------- Left mid
--------------- martial

personally, i think this is the start to mourinhos best team. there are a number of players who can contribute to those positions that are still not filled, but no one who has yet staked a claim. personally id have valencia (when fit) at rb, carrick at cdm and possibly mata at LM (like his valencia CF days). martial when played central was great last season, imagine what he could do with mata and mkhi setting him up for chances (both of which can contribute goals too)

Mark Reid November 5, 2016

Dan certainly worth a try.

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ifeanyiumeweni November 5, 2016

I actually have wondered why we don't ever play Mata as a left winger. Although his slow but he would offer a lot of creativity on his favorite foot let alone when he's put through on goal from the left wing.

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ifeanyiumeweni November 5, 2016

Chelsea are beating Everton convincingly it hurts to see us struggle while our rivals move forward. A convincing win against Swansea is a must tomorrow.

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Kulee_Keculah November 5, 2016

The Rent Boys look unstoppable right now.It's painful to see Chelsea improve remarkably after the poor season they had, while we continue to look spineless and confused on the pitch. Conte has really found the right formation to get the best out of his squad, and with no European distraction, they will take some stopping.

On the Swansea match, I hope Jose gives Mensah the chance to play.I think he is good enough to play in a defense as shocking as ours. We could really do with his power and pace right now. Our season is gradually crumbling as early as November. Anything other than a win will build up the pressure even more. With the international break on the horizontal, we absolutely need to win this one .

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NairobiRed November 5, 2016

The fact that united employed a Chelsea reject means we are definitely shooting for below chelsea.There is no way Chelsea have improved this much coz of Kante, he barely does shit. Chelsea were poor coz of the manager, chelsea top the league coz of the manager.
I maybe in the minority, but I believe Jose Mourinho has lost the plot. His tactics no longer work.
Is it gonna improve, no, and hell NO. He is not getting top 4 and my cure is, united can no longer say they stand by their manager, in fact united, chelsea, and Madrid are competing for the Donald trumps version of us fired every year.
United no longer have the moral authority, let alone any psychological authority they had before SAF.
United are done, its over, mid table and the occasional top 4 is what we have to look forward to.
We are shit,
we know we are shiiiiiit,
we are shit,
we know we are shit.(repeat)

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Mirain November 5, 2016

I think we just need to change attitude. But time is running out pretty fast. I honestly don't understand criticism of player quality at United. There is quality in our team. When it comes to creativity,Mata is creating about the same as Silva and Ozil. He is a worthy number 10 as far as playmaker duties are concerned. And he scores goals too.

We can have back and forths about Ibrahimovic but you can't just honestly believe he simply lost all quality by putting on the United shirt. Bad form? Definitely. Poor quality? Hell no.

Rashford. The kid is quick. But he is not in good form. More than that, the tactics of having him in a very restricted corner flag role is really not getting the best out of him. People keep saying he should play central. But he has played well wide. But I think there seems to be tactical limitations on his positioning for defensive reasons.

That's why we rarely have overlapping fullbacks. We attack through the middle with Zlatan dropping deep and Lingard playing off him. But Rashford either is tactically poor or he is being tactically shackled position wise.

Mhkitaryan. We all know the real reason he ain't playing is because he can't do a Willian or a Ramires. It's a defensive issue. You can't tell me you believe Mourinho's bull how he is not as good as Lingard that's why he can't play. Nonsense. The guy did 23 goals and 32 assists last season in 52 appearances playing in three different positions of the three attacking roles behind the striker. How the fuck is Lingard better than him.

The resources are there. Michael Carrick is being under utilized. Ibrahimovic and Pogba are being over used. Fellaini should not even be at this club. If Cobte can make Chelsea work with a midfield of Kante and Matic and an attack with Hazard and Costa, then we can't pretend there we don't have good enough players. Start Mhkitaryan tomorrow. Start Mata. Get Carrick in the midfield. Everything else sorts itself out. And stop using Fellaini

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Bonaventure_Nwaohele November 5, 2016

Mourinho has been woeful,he should stop blaming players,his tactic have been wrong,he had 6months to prepare for the job but has done nothing,if conte can make chelsea to play this way within 3months... Then mourinho has no excuse. Imagine what conte could have done with our team

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United24 November 5, 2016

Bonaventure
After hero worshipping Pep, and now he has not won 7 games ( two less than us), you have opted to go for flavor of the month, Conte.

I'm sure you similarly moved on from Pochetino this year and probably Klopp (when he struggled ) last year...

Our woes will be over soon.
Stand by the club!
Mourinho will succeed here, whether you like him or not!!!

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harry_dobson November 6, 2016

Saying Mourinho will succeed really is complete and utter nonsense, in 2012 Jose signed a new 4 year deal with Madrid and was canned within the year Jose himself calling it 'the worst of my career, then he went back to the rent boys and got very lucky 2 seasons ago probably playing the ugliest football a premier league champion has ever played for close to half a season.Last season the same group of players Conte has playing well were in relegation trouble at one point after just winning the league,disgusting way he treated the doctor should have disqualified him from this job
Now he shows up at Utd gets the club to spend another 150 mill and it's one of the worst starts we've had in premier league history
He's already made many bad decisions and alienating players already blaming everybody but himself
He's a quick fix artist with no soul or depth who's only solution is to spend money but he never survives anywhere because of who he is,Utd should've never hired him it was a panic hiring.He's not a Man Utd manager Sir Alex knows that that's the reason he never wanted him,Jose is a used car salesman who overspends everywhere he goes divides dressing rooms and normally leaves a path of destruction

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harry_dobson November 6, 2016

I really don't understand how we've all seen what a twat he's been all his career and already how he's started here yet some just want to pretend non of that happened,he doesn't give a fuck about anyone but himself
He needs to change his whole approach understand the Utd way or fuck off and he needs to start owning it instead of blaming players

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United24 November 6, 2016

Moron!
If Mourinho succeeds, the club succeeds.
What's your f*cking problem?
What will you rather I say. That he and by extension the club will be utter failures.
You are truly a hypocrite.
You are not the self professed "true Red".
You just love certain players and managers, majority of whom are mediocre...
Now crawl back into whatever hole you came out of. We can do without your BS.

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harry_dobson November 6, 2016

You just guaranteed success under Jose fuckface,nothing to do with if he's successful the club is,2 completely different things.Not a self proclaimed true Red at all that's just what lying little cunts like you have given me
I've been supporting Utd for 50 years so people can make up their own mind but I will tell you one thing not 1 person from my Era likes the way this club is headed and not 1 would want Maureen as our manager
So you go fuck yourself phony shallow lying fuck.
Lying about me having a breakdown after you got me banned is probably the most under hand things anyone has ever done and goes to what a little fucking cockroach you are,send me your phone number i'll come on holiday we'll meet

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harry_dobson November 6, 2016

My favorite all time player is George Best the only person ever I truly idolized and too this day whenever I discuss him with anyone get goosebumbs.I love Sir Matt,Sir Bobby,Sir Alex,Denis Law, love players who love Utd and respect what the club is about,i love that we're hated by everyone who isn't Utd.I love the Red Army and at one point although the club were struggling we were still one,i loved the fact we were different had pride,unity.i loved we did things different while all the other cocksuckers were scrambling in the gutter to sign cunts we didn't want because all they cared about was a paycheck
If we become what i've always laughed at and hated then we're no longer Utd and if people don't get we're i'm coming from you've no fucking clue what being Utd is
So people can come at me as much as they want but I really do despise shallow cocksuckers who don't get it,so fuck you all

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Bonaventure_Nwaohele November 6, 2016

Belive it or not mourinho has not improve us at all

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Bonaventure_Nwaohele November 6, 2016

With van gaal we attacked big teams with mourinho we defend against big teams

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Hendrix knightsmith November 6, 2016

Bona,

Van Gaal bored everyone to death, the only time I've know the team booed off the pitch .

If Van Gaal "attacked" how do you explain the paltry toll of 49 goals on our premier League matches ?

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ifeanyiumeweni November 6, 2016

Van gaal didn't have an iron man defender in Bailey, an all action central midfielder in Pogba, bundesliga's most creative right winger in Miki and an experienced center forward in Zlatan and two of his first team fullbacks where injured most of the season. What really got me excited at the start of the season is that Jose identified all our personnel problems and fixed it so I was really optimistic about our chances.

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Hendrix knightsmith November 6, 2016

Ifean,

Very impressed with Baiiey I must admit, shame he's out of action, then the African Nations cup.

Hopefully he will be the new "Vidic".

I was optimistic also, but have no confidence at all now .

I think in January Jose might buy another striker and centre back .

Use Mikki and another winger, inject some pace, and just attack !

Surely we must win today

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Hendrix knightsmith November 6, 2016

Canatona's advert at the top is really irritating !

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Hendrix knightsmith November 6, 2016

"Cantona"

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United24 November 6, 2016

Ifeanyi
Van Gaal made his choices.
His "iron man" was Jones, despite being familiar with his fitness record.
He also chose to convert Blind to a central defender...his choice.
He bought Schneiderlin and Schweini for his "all action" midfield to supplement Carrick , and was quick to drop Herrera.
His wing wonder was Memphis, but it did not pan out.
His experienced undroppable striker for the season was Rooney ( in comparison to Zlatan)
He gave Martial as many chances wide initially , as Jose is giving Rashford noW

The major difference between the two is the pace of forward passing and possesion. Our results are not great this year (so far) but the football has been enjoyable most times. Edge of seat, creating chances, shots attempted or on target etc rather than snooze time...

Like you and Mirian keep reminding us, if we continue like this, the results will follow.

I just hope these set backs do not tempt Jose to go back to the template of a Zlatan/Rooney strike force or Fellaini plus one midfield. If he does, it will get even worse for us (and him)....

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Hendrix knightsmith November 6, 2016

UNited 24,

"Iron man" and "Jones " in the same sentence, brilliant.

I take my hat off to you !

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United24 November 6, 2016

Hendrix
You got it :)
It was tongue in cheek lol

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Mirain November 6, 2016

United 24

Your obsession with results blinds you tbh. We can't be talking about results this early on. What matters is direction. As much as Pep has had inconsistent results lately, his team still play like there is a coach who knows what they are doing. Conte has quickly adjusted tactically to the PL and his team is already playing football with direction and purpose and precision. Even smaller clubs are playing like tactically and tragically technically well drilled teams. Like there is a tangible and comprehensible system and plan in place. That's not the same situation at United is it?

Long term results matter more than flip flopping opinions every weekend. Pep has a very clear plan. And we can all see this translate on the pitch. Win, lose or draw. Same as Conte,Klopp,Pochettino and even Wenger. What they are all working on now is consistency in terms of results. And they are all clearly on the right path. There'll always be one winner between those five. We don't know who that winner is.

United is not even in the picture because no one knows what plan is in place. We are tactically all over the place. Our results are consistently bad or mediocre but we can't even be consoled by having a working tactical system. You can't even talk about Pep or Conte. They are galaxies away. Those guys are criticized on another dimension completely. The dimension of world class football. We are still being criticized on basic football dimensions. Basic tactics. Basic team selections. If every football fan in the world knows Fellaini is absolutely not feasible at United, why are we will having a "world class coach" selecting him for games? As if that's not enough, we have known this since David Moyes. Moreover unqualified fans have called for Fellaini to be dropped and have consistently been proven right. So believe it or not we are dealing with very basic problems that club of United's perceived stature should not even be having. Forget results. Even though our results are actually bad. We are tactically incompetent.

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United24 November 6, 2016

Mirian
WTF was that rant about.
I was actually commending you and Ifean for insisting we stick to attacking football and the results will follow.

The double standards with Pep is unbelievable. He has won 2, lost 3 and drawn 4 of his last 9 games, yet you are giving him a pass...