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CONFIRMED LINE-UP: United vs Southampton - Pogba starts

August 19, 2016

De Gea, Valencia, Bailly, Blind, Shaw, Pogba, Fellaini, Mata, Rooney, Martial, Ibrahimovic.

Scott Patterson

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.

Herrera: Pogba is one of the best in the world

Thoughts on Southampton Game – Zlatan & Pogba Steal the Show on Friday Night

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ChiRed August 19, 2016

Well a win and a good game by Rooney not many comments.

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ChiRed August 19, 2016

Rooney was fine today and a win, very few posts.
Only one Rooney sucked comment
Rooney dropped deep so Pogs could go forward, he covered right for Matta left for Anthony assisted the header.
Nice 6 points 4 goals up on the difference.

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Marko Maric August 19, 2016

Hahahha i didn t see hahhaha Zlaaaaataaaaan...that guy will score between 25-30 goals this season!!!

Where are those experts to explaine that he is no good for PL? Where are they? Hahahhah

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WeAreUnitedddd August 19, 2016

"[We were] good enough to deserve the victory and to be in control," Mourinho told Sky Sports.

"I know that by the numbers they had moments of more possession but I knew that, the closed diamond is good to hide the ball from opponents but they didn't create danger and we were always in control. The result could be bigger.

"It's a natural evolution of things and it's impossible to be faster than what we are doing with the way we are playing football and the way that the team is defending because it's a different way to defend - zonal is much more difficult to defend than man to man.

"It is impossible to demand more from the boys, great spirit, everyone working hard, and I'm pleased."

Paul Pogba made his second United debut after completing a world-record move from Juventus and the France international impressed Mourinho.

"I think he was so good," Mourinho said. "Everything was so good, as an individual he was so good, collectively he is learning how to play with us, but I am really happy.

"We have to improve and one day we hope he can play more offensively but he needs the freedom that he had today. I couldn't be happier with him.

"[Marouane] Fellaini was superb, [Ander] Herrera the same, I have a top quality squad."

#wealsowantedmoregoals

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Marko Maric August 19, 2016

I dont understand how people didnt see this??? They ask if he will succeed in PL and guy is tall like devil, and have technic like Maradona. I mean, wtf are you blind??? And above all monster mental strenth. Did you see how he yells on the player to better see other players, to score???
And he is great assistant. He scores and assist. You have striker and playmaker. Is no wonder that they called exYugoslavia european brazil...great tehnic, strong players...
Guy is a M O N S T E R!

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TywinnLannister August 19, 2016

Calm down Turbo.

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Marko Maric August 19, 2016

We will kill this season..i can see that.

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ChiRed August 19, 2016

6 points 3 up in goals
Not many posts with a win and a good game by Rooney
Most people love to bitch.
Great start to the season.
Pogba is a beast with a skillful touch!
Bailly is awesome, what he gets two red cards this year!
Assist by Wazza the strike tanndom made a huge leap already!

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ChiRed August 19, 2016

Good game

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ChiRed August 19, 2016

Oops comments on newer comments repeated stuff ?

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Yusuf August 20, 2016

Like Daniel, it appeared I watched a totally different match to most of us. Defensively, I thought we were average. Offensively I thought we were great. Our swagger is back and Mourinho deserves all the credit, offensively, its like night and day compared to Moyes and LVG. We're confident, arrogant, dynamic, creative, intelligent... It's a big relief

The good

1. Pogba : we have signed without doubt the best central midfielder in the world. The best all round midfielder in the world . The best! The first touch, the strength, the dribbling ability, the eye for the pass, the pass( short and long), the pace. He looks like Yaya - only younger, better all round and with potential to get even better! 89 million? Bargain !

2. Fellaini: beast reborn ! Argument for man of the match, obviously goes to Pogba but Fella was in with a shout. He hardly put a foot wrong. Not been the big fellas biggest fan but he looks a different animal. Surprisingly composed. He was mobile, strong, defended and intercepted. Fantastic

3. Bailly : reminds me of Vida, only faster... Need I say more? ... Yes ...there's room for improvement but even if he never improves, he looks a great signing as is!

4 Valencia and Shaw: Alves, Alba... Eat your heart out! To think Valencia is 31 and Shaw is 20 recovering from a carrer threatening injury!

5. Zlatan : according to CW... Zlatrick! Well Zlatan did what Zlatan does . With that header, he should have had a hatrick. Enough said. # RVP Impact esque

6. Mourinho: Man manager, club manager, motivator, tactician, psychologist, leader... Should have replaced Fergie but like Pogba, he's experiences since Fergie have made him better. Never sat!

THE BAD

1. Wayne Rooney: he needs to better or leave simple as! Great field Marshall but his football ability is diminishing.. His fans will highlight his 1 goal and his 1 assist in two games as evidence of his contribution . I could only imagine how better our attacks would be with Herrera, Mikitaryan or Mata as our number 10. More fluid, faster... But is Wayne, our captain and our talisman... Not good enough

2 JUan Mata: inconsistency personified. Probably because he's playing out of position ..

3. Anthony Martial: seems out of sorts. It's to be expected with his age ! Yes he played better in the second half but so did the whole team. His composure in front of goal is abysmal. I think he deserves to be criticised. I think Depay must be given a chance sooner or later if these performances continue.

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Zana August 20, 2016

I sink(sorry I think) i love it when jose talks his usual accent. The higlights of this season so far:

Pogback
Zlatan is God
Baily is a beast
Shaw, the wounded lion

All this......and we are a quarter gear all the way, dont mention
Mikhytariyan, rejuvenated Rooney and still hoping something very tangible comes from Fellaini. Lingard and Marcus(the secret weapon)

Mata(doesn't matter who is the opposition, he is in for a decent touch).

Couldnt ask for more, premier league will embrace us this season.

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m09538061 August 20, 2016

Did anyone else have a bad journey to
the game?
Took me 5 hours to drive 140 miles.
Nightmare on the M1 and M6.
Was worth it to see the Swagger back!
3 points clear and 6 more than Arsenal.
Long may it continue!

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Kulee_Keculah August 20, 2016

Great result today with some brilliant individual performances but I still think we need to improve a lot with our combination play and the speed of our transition from defense to attack.It's too slow and imprecise.Like the last game, we played much better today after the first goal with lots of spaces to exploit.Our defensive shape looks much better but I thought we give Southampton too much time and space to get crosses in our box.I can't wait to see Mkhitaryan playing a prominent role in the team.His pace,skills and quick speed of thought in combination play could improve a lot of our attacking problems right away.He showed glimpses of his brilliance in the few minutes he played.I think we will need him and Martial firing on all cylinders to take us to the next level in terms of attacking speed and unpredictability.I'm also waiting to see how the team reacts to falling behind in a match.It's a big test of character for any new team.Lastly, I'm a bit disappointed that Rashford was again not involved today.I thought Jose had opportunities to give him at least a few minutes in our last two matches but didn't.Young attackers thrive on confidence so I hope we will not end up draining his confidence out of him because some players can struggle to recover from it.However, there are many things to be positive about.Already looking forward to our next match.

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m09538061 August 20, 2016

Mourinhos attempt at trapping the ball
in the technical area was better than
Rooneys on the pitch!

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Marq August 20, 2016

To be fair, I feel Rooney was playing more like a no.8. To judge him as a no.10, he would have scored low, but if I see him as a no.8, he did decent. His saving grace is that whoever replaces him will have to contribute more like a no.8, because Pogba is going to get forward and leave gaps.

The alternatives to Rooney, be it Mata or Mkhitaryan, both in some way loses out to Rooney in terms of tracking back. So Rooney will be playing, purely to balance things out. Looking at it, Herrera is the closest thing to replacing Rooney, because he does track back, hence his involvement in games, possibly to keep him sharp.

And you can actually see Rooney is trying harder here, now that he knows he is surrounded by quality that is above his current performance, so much so that he was knackered by the 70th minute mark.

It was a good result, and in most part, a good performance mostly in the second half. Southampton had plenty of chances to hurt us, and another day, a better team will. But its still early days, and we have 3 weeks before the noisy neighbour visits. There will be a definite improvement (hopefully)

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ChiRed August 20, 2016

10/8 exactly! He needs to loose 5 pounds. Get his game sharpness back , not just tracking back for Pogba cover for the wings when they come to the middle.

Dwayne O Linn August 20, 2016

marq

That is a good analysis of where Wayne is currently at. He is almost a link between defence and attack. It is a difficult role to fulfill. As you say he has to cover for Pogba at certain times, while also having to offer support for Zlatan. so in a way it's thankless role, that won't offer many goals and he will have to do lots of tracking back.

Other than that, I have to eat a slice of humble pie regarding Pogba and Zlatan. I said Zlatan would only score 10-15, forgive me Zlatan I know nothing. I questioned Pogbas price tag, but it will indeed prove to be a snip.

It's great to have the optimistic back around the place again and the players look so happy. We are coming for 21

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Lims August 20, 2016

Made the same point earlier about transition from defence to attack. Needs working on and most will say, drop Rooney, I'm all for that but you suspect Jose likes the effort he's putting in and to be fair it does give some kind stability. The problem comes when he needs to do something with the ball to release those ahead of him or drive forward.
I've always seen zlatan as a poser, nothings going to change that simply because that's how he is, but poser aside his football over the years has been impressive. When he moved to PSG I thought last swan song but when Jose signed him I wasn't too sure his body was up for it. He was everything to PSG, a PSG team that relied heavily on him for years but it looks he's taken care of himself. Pogba looked boss but that's not surprising ,I've watched him for years, from reserves to first team to Juventus but I was still a little worried how he'd take to OT and new teammates after 4 years. He did good, needs to keep it up. The optimism around the place was gale of fresh Arctic air. It was refreshing

anderrains August 20, 2016

Dwayne,

We'd also have to wait and watch how we line-up when we are chasing the big games or the 2nd half of games when we are defending a 1-0. Surely Mou will revert to his defensive midfield . Guess fellaini/schnedierlin ,herrera , pogba in midfield will eventually become a regular sight.

Hendrix knightsmith August 20, 2016

As I said to Dwayne earlier (Humble Pie were a great band by the way).

We have now got awesome height and physical power in this team too. Ibra, Martial, Pogba, Fellaini, Bailly.

The days of teams bullying us are over .

ABU's eat your hearts out

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Yusuf_Israel August 20, 2016

Yusuf, are you serious?
This is the freaking premier league and we played a team that causes upset to any top team. They definitely will create chances just that I was pleading for degea to make atleast a save but their was nothing to save and because our defenders were busy blocking, clearing or intercepting every ball and you call that average, compare that to when degea had always been man of the match after we loose 2:1 and degea makes ten world class saves.

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Hendrix knightsmith August 20, 2016

First time we've beaten them at home since SAF retired

anderrains August 20, 2016

This is a team that is recovering from the sale of Mane, Pelle and Wanyama. And Koeman moving was a massive blow. Yes, we did lose to them in the past but this isn't the same Southampton team. I agree that we did well keeping them out but there were a couple of moments where they ran into unmarked channels. Jose will surely work on these details which may require fine tuning.
De Gea must have felt weird not having to do much. Hope he gets used to it :)

Marko Maric August 20, 2016

And we still have world class goalkeeper.
Mo also said that we were to slow in transformation from defence to attack...so no worry, he is aware of our problems

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ifeanyiumeweni August 20, 2016

There is no need to worry about the speed of our transition from defence to attack, if the boss wants that rectified all he needs to do is change the line-up. We had at least 4 counter attacking players who where not in the starting line-up. What impresses me most is the physical and aerial threat we now have in the team. Thinking back to the way we got bullied by west ham in that deciding match I'm happy we have addressed that issue.

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ChiRed August 20, 2016

Wazza ultimate team player, he's fine with 15 goals 15 assists ran his ass smaller ? Has a football IQ high enough to cover back for Pogba , cover for the wings when they come inside and push up also go up front when Zlatan drops deep!

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United24 August 20, 2016

Another nice win.
Pogba was pure entertainment.
Zlatan is made for the Premier League!
Bailly was immense literally (still showed few lapses not unexpected. Didn't cost us. He will learn )

Good start to the season by Valencia and Fellaini (credit where it's due).

Nothing wrong with the team picking itself. It's scary what we still have in reserve.

Onwards and upwards, lads!

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ChiRed August 21, 2016

WAU , CR and others who in the last few day's.
Jose plays fewer players in his rotation then SAF or other big roster, club's.
He has in the past for BIG GAMES gone more defensive. 2 holding mf's
12 years ago Jose had a very specific task for each position, contrary to so called total football. In the last 5 years he still has specific tasks for each position, he lets them interchange now way more often.
Wazzas football IQ is so high he can rotate the 18 and 8 with Pogba as well as rotate with the four attaching possisons. Zlatan loves to drop deep as well leaving space for Martial to be the 9 or Wayne or any other front 4 player's.
Pogba a true complete midfielder so he can be more defensive in big games partnership of Fellaini for big games. Rooney as a deep stoping 10 as well for big games imo.

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ChiRed August 21, 2016

United 24
Zibbie here SO FUCKEN TRUE, THE TEAM PICKS ITSELF!! That's so very hard for most to understand that if the never played a team sport.
Fellaini played for Moyes, LVG, Jose 3 Belgium Gaffers. Like TonyV Rooney effective vs flash. On a team you need parts that combined.
Jose said I pick the side by, 1) Form of player first then his skill set as they fit the tactics vs the opponent.

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