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LIVE BLOG: Sunderland vs United

October 5, 2013

Tom Coast

Follow @sardinetrawler on Twitter.

CONFIRMED LINE-UP: Sunderland vs United

VIDEO: Januzaj’s goals vs Sunderland

470 Comments

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asidfg October 6, 2013

@matty spot on! you nailed it. Most utd fans just wont accept the truth concerning rooney. mata, ozil, sylvia, gozte all play the #10 role beautifully. rooney will never cut it in that role. Utd missed a trick in not selling to chelsea and insisting on mata as part of the deal. For me in this team its either RVP/ROONEY up top. we have only one player in this team that can fill the #10 role: sinji. It wont happen though and rooney will get all the playing time and applause for chasing lost causes and spreading balls to the wings for nani and valencia to chase while RVP feeds on scraps and Sinji fucks off to BVB in january.

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CapeTownRed October 6, 2013

@matty
Spot on mate!

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bRed October 6, 2013

I could not have picked a worse time to be out of the country. Totally missed the match, and potentially the coming of age of Januzaj!

Kudos to Moyes for having the guts to start him.

What's the situation with his contract though. Little bit worried about this given our previous experience with Pogba.

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Marq October 6, 2013

Hah, now the FA wants Januzaj to play for England. Why would he want to play with the likes of Milner, Lescott and Carrol when he can play with Hazard, Kompany & Lukaku?

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samuel - united WE stand October 6, 2013

Matty - and what Kagawa done excluding his one season at dortmund (which opened up opportunity as mario gotze was injured, kagawa would have played on the left of a fluid attack) to suggest he warrants a starting place ahead of more proven match winners in van persie and rooney? Looks like you're part of those that think position is the reason why kagawa isn't hitting his strides and i'm baffled. He played there for dortmund and does so for japan, in the confederation cup, he was just japan's best attacker. He was stationed on the left but with a license to roam and create chances but also revert to his left side when off the ball, this is a tactic most top side use, kagawa isn't a dim-wit and if all cards were laid down, kagawa will admit he had a mismatch first season which was understandable, he needed to improve but he has not won united matches on a consistent basis, he is so far not a key player and a place will NOT be handed to him on a plate. Kagawa is not a limited footballer, he is technically strong and has shown his capability from that same role he gets given at united for his national team but he's not really shown consistent impact or effectiveness and if he is feeling self entitled and is following the words of fans or klopp who claim his position is the main issue then he indeed will not survive as a manchester united player. I don't think moyes has played kagawa in a basic 4-4-2 as each time, he is needed the aid of evra to come in-field and yet he doesn't make enough impact, this has something to do with confidence more so than position.

Please, don't tag false onto me, if I see quality, I will sure highlight it. Rooney is judged purely on quality and nothing else and if he dropped below what I expect, I will sure highlight it. Kagawa isn't going to waltzed into the united team and displace proven top players at an higher level, more proven than his one meagre season at dortmund in fact. The top players always tend to shine somehow and from that left side in a fluid system which i've continiously encouraged moyes to play, kagawa can show his ability. Adnan januzaj isn't an orthodox direct wide player but yet he has been given the same role as kagawa (a left side berth but with license to roam, knit play, create) and yet has conjured somethings out of nothing, the top top players will find a way some how to impact a game.

Rooney at a time was stuck on that left side and he'd still drag united on and be the key cog of the machine. You have your views and are welcome to them but It's easy to blame a player for the stuttering form of others, this is not the first time rooney has been deployed as the man behind the centre forward, during his career at the club, united have rarely lacked goals or assists, he plays his part, far before kagawa even arrived or has been heard of, i'm now baffled as to why rooney will be at fault, he isn't solely in the team to create chances, his team mates also have responsibility.

Kagawa won't last at united if he falls into trap of falling for every exaggerated remarks made about his absences, his quality is there but he needs to show mettle rather than feel sorry for himself. Position isn't the issue, a lack of confidence is and perhaps moyes also needs to employ a more fluid and flexible system. It makes me laugh though that rooney gets shoved aside as a pure work horse. I'm not one to clamour for english national team and some of its players, there's a lot of gabbage within the set up which is destined for more failure but most united players are excluded from this, rooney is proven at the highest level, he has scored or created on a consistent basis, more so than many, free-kicks are part of his repetoire, he has done it from age 16, I'm not sure how his ability gets scrutinised, his form may dip but his productivity continue to disprove claims of being a pure work-horse, he one of united's match winners, it can't be argued against.

Kagawa has shown glimpses but has not done nothing of note at united to claim he is better, he has been handed opportunities and I hope he'll get more but he will have a long way to go if he thinks manchester united owe him anything, he must carve his niche from that left side in a fluid system, it's not an unfamiliar position for him, the best tend to conjure something and kagawa has to prove it.

Silva of spain gets mentioned but he starts mainly from a left side or right for spain or the blue half, he gets given the same license to roam like kagawa to create and yet does it. Ozil is joining arsenal and he was always going to be a key figure, he is central to all they do as they don't have as much as they would like. Ozil is confident anyway and even if moved to right or left, he will make an impact, these are what quality players do and kagawa must step up his form, enough with the excuses of "english players are favoured" I could NOT give less of a fuck about the england national team, I have NO,sentimemt towards any player in the united team, I call it as I see it and kagawa's issues as of now is up to him to change. I imagine he has the right mentality, a manchester united player more often steps up and proves themselves, pointless blaming individuals and position for his displays, moyes perhaps needs to adapt his method to flexibility and fluidity but at the end of the day, kagaws must show his qualities.

Rooney and van persie have shown understanding but as of now, even dutch man can't hit a barn door, maybe it's time hernandez had more of a chance but the creativity has dimmed from all side, not one single player should be held responsible for a team lacking ideas. As a team, united have lacked confidence, the team stiill lacks key personnel in central mid and hopefully moyes has identified that and will rectify it, the team needs to improve as a whole in terms ball retention, use of it and tempo added with end product, the team must carve out chances as well as it should defend. Of course individual match winners are important, kagawa must show this regularly, in the most crucial of games in order to stake any demand. I don't doubt his quality, he is a superb footballer and I hope he comes good but I find it baffling everyone gets the blame for his poor form.

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samuel - united WE stand October 6, 2013

Marq - no chance of him playing for england, how desperate were lieneker and hodgson?... Pathetic move, they Suddenly approve a player from overseas to qualify for england, they are only doing that because it will benefit them. Where's the "little england" mentality? "They must be born and bred engleeesh mate". Hypocrites. England are not good enough and even when they have a collection of top younger players, they still are marked on to be failures. Their mentality is weak, they crumble faster than a hobnob soaked in bowl of urine, they are arrogant and have unrealistic expectation. The problems are plenty and I'm only naming a few, why would januzaj forfet a chance with an improving belgium.or an albanian side that perhaps will struggle to get intetnational tournaments but at least aren't deluded enough to think because they over-spent on a pointless national team stadium, have facilities and money are somehow guaranteed success.

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bRed October 6, 2013

@ King Eric, De Gea will be world class in a couple of years?

Come on, give the guy a bit more credit. He is easily one of the best keepers in the world already. Not just on the back of this performance. Certainty miles better than a particular "world class" Hart.

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bRed October 6, 2013

Samuel's posts are typically lengthy, but I usually enjoy reading them.

Spot in about Kagawa's situation. He needs to show he is worthy of a place and not wallow in self pity. If he gets out of this rut soon, it will show tremendous strength of character.

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Sushi October 6, 2013

What a top talent we have in our goal keeper De Gea. Class act today once again has to be one of the best saves of this season. Schmicheal was signing praises about him.

januzaj is exciting! I can't wait to see this lad take up the mantle of creativity for our team. Ed sign him up! We really have to do better with managing reserve player contracts make sure people are tied down before they start shinning in first team and weaken clubs negotiating position.

Totally agree about Kagawa, yes he is a talent but he shouldn't expect starting position because of how much dortmund miss him or what klopp says. Facts is he struggles to dominate games and maintain presence, tends to fade away by 60th minute.

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Sushi October 6, 2013

I don't buy this nonsense that adnan doesn't rate Moyes. I mean for fucks sakes he put him in starting
Lineup in a tense game coming on the bak of a home defeat at a tough away ground. Can't think of a more emphatic statement of intent and support from Moyes.

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matty October 6, 2013

Bro you getting it wrong, with me its not about kagawa playing or not playing. Its about our lack of creating verve in the final third for awhile now. If we had an ozil sitting on the bench or been pushed to the wings to accomodate rooney in the playmaker role i'd be concerned too. Rooney is not cutting it there, he's not linking, play, he's not bringing the creativity at all, and its even more disturbing when we see danny welbeck, ryan giggs and marouane fellani been prefered in that position to a man we all know could play it very well.
You mentioned mario goetze, but let me suprise you with the formation BVB used in kagawa's first season

Weindenfeller
Pizseck. Hummels. Subotic. Smelzer

Kehl/bender. Sahin

Kuba. Kagawa. Goetze

Barrios

(lewandowski was not 1st choice no9then).

Goetze was the one drifting in and kagawa occasionally drifting out sort of like the fluid system you mentioned. But this is not david moyes' system is it?
I'll have you know that kagawa was voted the best player in the bundesliga before the winter break before an injury he picked up at the tail end of pre-winter break kept him out of most of the 2ndhalf of the season.
In his 2nd season gundogan replaced sahin and lewandowski kept barrios off the team. Goetze got injured and all of the attacking responsibility fell on kagawa, he effectively molested the whole of the bundesliga as uCL finalists(that year) bayern will attest to.
David moyes does not and doesnt look willing to play a fluid system, he wants our fullbacks and wingers to cross our opponents to death.
I say if something is not working, try another thing, wayne is not working as the playmaker, lets try out the next best option.

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scholes October 6, 2013

regarding januzaj

amazing game by youngster but something tells me his contract situation would turn ugly in future. i am not sure what is the matter with him and his agents? game time, money, starting place, add ons????
on a positive note, moyes is keen to keep him and replicating his intentions abundantly by giving him starting role against sunderland. in most cases this will do the trick

regarding kagawa

rooney is not a typical silky touch player who would dance through defenders to push through a delicious ball. does kagawa possess this quality? may be but he needs to do more.

rooney didnt run at near post for countless ground hugging crosses from either side (one attempt was offside). he needs to take leaf out of chicha's book to become a prolific poacher too

somebody mentioned jones had a torrid game. excuse me for disagreeing. apart from one mistake (which he sorted) his defending was top notch. carrick played well after couple of lackluster performances. cleverly was as usual energetic and defensively sound. if you are expecting scholes like diagonal passes or iniesta esque through balls from cleverly, fault is not his.

rafa made us tick and nani was attacking threat. RVP showed quality with his hold up play and certain twists and turns but he should have buried that opportunity.

one of the best league games we player this season (against swans we were more clinical) and hopefully it is just the beginning

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NBI Red Moyesy October 6, 2013

@ samuel - Kagwa was at Dortmund for 2 years not one and was the best player in Germany ahead of guys like Ribery. He can play but no one plays well if they keep getting benched.

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FletchTHEMAN October 6, 2013

Advert placed by FA:

Wanted: Fit bird to marry up and coming footballer. UK citizenship required. Working knowledge of Albanian a plus.

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scholes October 6, 2013

@matty

i agree with you mate. i watch lot of bundesliga matches (does not make me an expert though) and kagawa was majorly operated in center by klopp. whenever dortmund used to counter attack kagawa was shifted on left to use his vision. after passing the ball, japanese was again found in middle as he has brilliant feet (both) capable of scoring long range from either foot. he, once, single handedly destroyed bayern in der klassiker

fluid system needs player to operate and patience to succeed. complicated situation with rooney and understandably delicate approach of moyes to roo demands has left little room.

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FletchTHEMAN October 6, 2013

Don't know why people go on an on about how Kagawa played 2 years ago in a different league..
Fact is Fergie found him wanting and Moyes as well.
Fact is he can't play where United need him and can't last 90 minutes.
Fact is he himself seems to admit he isn't cutting it.

I rate any United player to step up and fight for his place and I back Kags to come good.
But to fans who continually slag the manager about this just need to open their eyes and reflect that he just hasn't shown a consistent impact on games.

When compared with the likes of young Januzaj coming in and making an immediate impact, you just have to look at yourself.

Hope Kags makes good, but the number of great shifts he's put in are still numbered on one hand. Don't think he will leave in January, but also not convinced he is missed when he only makes the bench.

Time will tell. Come on Shinji! Show us what you're made of son.

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John October 6, 2013

Victory over bottom table Sunderland side with a point only and they looked worthy to take all 3 for most of 1st half and the corners at end seemed as nerve wrecking as 1999 cl final..13th place on the table and 1 kid where Barcelona has dozens and more such...GOD!! Plz rescue my club from THE CLUELESS ONE and The LEECHES(GLAZERS)..

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John October 6, 2013

By the look of most of the players don't want to play for Moyes..sudden dip in form of van and vida says it all..I URGE ALL UNITED FANS TO VACATE OLD TRAFFORD AND DON'T BUY TICKETS TILL GLAZERS DON'T BACK UP..THIS IS THE ONLY WAY TO SAVE OUR CLUB FROM BALD HEADED DICKS (GLAZERS)...

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Ash October 6, 2013

First I have to get this out of my chest, I am just in love with our away kit. It looks awesome.

Now to our game, This was the first game of the season which I missed but saw the highlights and my love for janujaz is growing. He is a talent. He reminds me of Young Kaka. I always love players like him. Now as expected no one is giving credit to moyes for playing a 18 years old. As much as I love and Miss Sir alex in past few years he has not given young players chance, so Moyes in his first 10 games starts with Janujaz says a lot. Jose would have never done that. This is what I want. I prefer to win or lose with young players than Lose with Ashley Young in the side. He will be looking at his mistakes and learn from them. Give Moyes time. He will keep on improving.

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Kings October 6, 2013

Fuck off Woy you cunt, Adnan will not play for that shower of shit that is Ingerlund. Don't want to see his career ruined before it's even started.

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King Eric October 6, 2013

bRed. Oh I agree on De Gea, loved and sided with him from day one when certain folk on here wanted Craig Gordon. He's top drawer and shits on that over rated error strewn toff cunt Hart. Still room for improvement though but he is up there yes.

Samuel. Spot on. Big posts like mate ha. Get sick of this shit from foreign folk on here " You English" only rate Rooney blah blah. What if I said " you foreigners" I would be slaughtered for being racist. I digress I'm on about your post on Rooney and Kagawa.

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evil_warrior October 6, 2013

Man United just have to wait and see how many players (top ones) remain in January, Moyes will have a hard battle to fight this season if the board keeps him, and United can forget 'bout even being in the top four or in the Europa, this time it will be a battle to avoid relegation it seems. Rooney will surely start to look elsewhere, while Van Persie may be questioning his decision on leaving Arsenal too early, whereby their team has blossomed into a very high class one, and are already impressing, while United's trying to scrap a win here and there, or even a point, with Van Persie looking lost in attack and not finding his marks, while another one who is more likely to move is Kagawa, not used by Moyes, and BvB looking to get him back to bolster their midfield once more. Mind you, if City do send Januzaj a "creamy" contract, then he'll jump ship in a blink of an eye...

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King Eric October 6, 2013

Samuel. Ha " they crumble faster than a Hob Nob soaked in a bowl of urine" Fucking quality.

John. Bore off you prick.

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brett1985 October 6, 2013

De Gea worldclass now in my view. Compare to error prone Joe hart who is casually placed in that bracket. Apart from commanding his box on corners where are the deficiencies.

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foxinthebox October 6, 2013

Pretty rubbish ! We made Sunderland look good. Altidore bullied Vidic, who is uncomfortable with different partners in defense - there's no stability of a solid back 2 . Our front players constantly lost the ball. Cleverley keeps passing sideways.

2 good things were Januzaj and Nani to some extent. Moyes is truly out of his depth here. I stil stand by my initial feeling - He is not good enuf to take us to the next level. We are playing sh!te, our defense is in tatters, RVP is not looking motivated , Moyes doesn't know our best team , forget rotation.

I don't agree with ppl who say that due to replacing Fergie , Moyes will take time to understand the team. Load of cr@p. How long has it taken Ancelloti to replace Mourinho in RM, or Guardiola replacing Hecknyes or Rudi Garcia at Roma! Sure early days but they are getting the results that matter under high pressure too.

It takes 3-4 years for a manager to stamp his approach on a team - that's what I feel. But Moyes is not good enough. He is taking us backwards rather than forwards. We don't grab games by the scruff anymore. We are looking weak

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King Eric October 6, 2013

John. You're bit behind old boy. That boycotting games bollocks was attempted three or four seasons ago with cunts turning up in Norwich city scarves and laden down with Megastore bags. You even go games? If not stop telling folk to go, we'll do what we fucking want you knob.

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King Eric October 6, 2013

fox in the box. Ancelotti not doing that well, lost last week. Drawn a couple. Ronnie bales them out week in week out. Fucking Roma? I'm fourteen stone and smoke and I could turn out for them. Can't compare it to United and the size of club and pressure. Was Roma manager there 26 years? Shit comparison.

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Sparkz October 6, 2013

Still not at our best but we picked up in that second half, hope we can kick on from here.

Adnan has got quality all over him, what a player he could be. HAVE to get him signed to a new contract, I don't know why we insist in letting players get into the last 12 months of their contract.

I was really excited by that frontline before the game, so much flair. Unfortunately Januzaj was the only one of the four who really performed, but I hope Moyes continues with that sort of frontline.IMO our attack should generally be any 4 out of Nani, Rooney, RVP, Januzaj, Kagawa, Welbeck. All technically good players, all flexible. We can really tear up defences if those guys play regularly. The likes of Chicharito, Valencia and Young should be a plan B.

I'm not sure why Smalling keeps getting dropped after every good game. We need a settled backline and he deserves a regular run next to Vidic (who was awful yesterday, but hopefully the international break has come at a good time for him). Smalling gives us some much needed pace in there as well.

I actually think Rooney's performances have dipped in the last 2 or 3 matches. Not creating enough from open play and his touch is like the Rooney of last season. RVP also looks seriously out of sorts. These are 2 world class players though and if they can get their act together we could be lethal.

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AntiScouser October 6, 2013

Never mind Kagawa, what about Chicharito? One of the best players in 2010/11, didn't complain when he was consistently benched in 2011/12 to make room for Welbeck, was our second best striker last season with a very limited playing time, doesn't need much space to score, loves the club and has a brilliant attitude. That's the one I don't get.

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slim October 6, 2013

Not sure what Mexico's upcoming internationals are like but i reckon he's in for some game time. RVP's a little off the boil a bit and needs some freshing up. You also have shinji needing some game time too. A little switch up top allows us to give these guys some games.

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slim October 6, 2013

Can't believe the FA want Adnan. I swear i smell disaster here. Its got all the ingridients, not with the contract situation and all. 2 things need to happen and i'll be right as rain. One, Adnan signs a contract and Two, tells the FA to fuck off.

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King Eric October 6, 2013

Sparkz. Hello mate. Noooooooo don't include Danny in your line up, plenty on here think he's shit. Fucking idiots.

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Maltamanc October 6, 2013

Sparkz... Welbeck ? Technically good ? Saying Welbeck should start before Chicharito is pure madness.

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Hans October 6, 2013

@slim
I fully agree with you. What message does this tell about English youngsters for the future.
For Adnan the dilemma is simple: Belgium where he was born and raised or Albania for his family background.

@FletchTHEMAN 7:27

There is a small Albanian-Kosovan community in Manchester, so soon enough he will have suitable candidates circling around him. If he cannot find anything there, there is a bigger pond to choose from in London!!! But anyway, he should tell Roy Hodgson to continue to pick scouse no hopers!

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parryheid October 6, 2013

King Eric

Ah the days of the good old gang culture on here Eh.Is'nt it fortunate I am not any good on computers and therefore able to go fully back in post time rather than selectively because the person was doing a bit of the baiting at the time so stopped short of the original.

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slim October 6, 2013

Maltamanc

i disagree. Actually saying "Saying Welbeck should start before Chicharito is pure madness." is madness

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WeAreUnited October 6, 2013

@Marq mate

No I get you, I really do, and agree in many points BUT
Januzaj ain't your average joe and that's why we have to treat him differently. 80000 would be of course too much and I don't think that's what they're asking, but if they are and the likes of Barca and city are willing to pay that then we simply have to do it also, because after a while if he's not signed than we will sign someone with that amount and it will br the same.

So why not give the money ti the future rathen buying someone older who's not the same. Would you noy have paid Messi or Ronaldo that amount? When you spot a future great than the job is to show the money. We bought nani at 19 and ando with alot of money and probably wages so why not Januzaj.

And look as much Ilove the macheda moments and respect him aleways for that but he has not had the same impact as Januzaj, also different players.

Anyway mate, I hope we tie him up.

Ps. Januzaj is from kosovo and because fifa don't allow them to play, usually kosovan players go play for albania or of coutse for the country they have lived.

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dannysoya LOVES USAIN BOLT October 6, 2013

@Samuel absolutely agree with all your posts concerning Kagawa. At the beginning, I called for Kagawa to start immediately for United but after seeing the three games he played in, it's pretty fucking clear why Moyes did not start him. He's not on his best form right now. If Kagawa wants to start, he has to PROVE IT. I can totally understand calls for Chicharito and for Januzaj to start because when they got their chances, THEY TOOK IT. Chicahrito was awesome against Liverpool in the cup, Januzaj has been superb since July in the pre-season. Kagawa for some reason has not exactly lighted up the league. Maybe he's not a kind of player for our system, maybe he's still trying to recover from an injury who knows?

Also this Kagawa is FAR FROM the same Kagawa who played at Dortmund for those two years. That Kagawa would have absolutely CEMENTED a starting spot by now. That kagawa was forward thinking, strong on the ball, not sluggish at all. It's why when I see this Kagawa i'm a little bit surprised. He's not the same person. I don't know why. Maybe he's not settled in well. Who knows? I really hope he comes good because on his day, he is a brilliant footballer to watch.

Let me just state again that this has NOTHING to do with position. The 4-2-3-1 we play is not a rigid system either. Did you not see that Januzaj and Nani switched wings a couple of times and Rooney wasn't always down the middle? It's a fluid 3 behind Robin. Kagawa just has to put his head down and make it work.

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friveluss October 6, 2013

Hello everyone,
I am well aware that I never post anything. I mostly just read the comments posted as many of them reflect my own thoughts and sentiments. Always a pleasure getting varying perspectives. I agree with a lot of what's being said about the teams uninspiring performances but for ME the BIGGEST concern is that David Moyes is HAPPY with performances such as our game yesterday. "I thought we played really well" and "I thought we played some really good stuff" were just some of the comments he made about yesterdays game. This doesn't sit well with me at all. Our game against shaktar was another where moyes labelled it a good performance and perhaps defensively it was. But is a club of uniteds stature expected to sit back against ukranian opposition?

Perhaps I'm missing something. I'm not blaming moyes, I'm not slating the team or the players in this time of transition but how good can we possibly get if yesterdays performance is one that pleases moyes? Is anyone else concerned by Moyes's lack of expectation? It shows not just in his words but his tactical approach. Are we expected to lower our expectations as united fans to align our ambitions with our manager?

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Mr C October 6, 2013

An England sign up would be very attractive to Adman....fame, megabuck financial rewards and all the Page 3 models you handle, whereas all Belgium has to offer is beer and chocolate:)

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frankie October 6, 2013

What bugs me is why we haven't tied up Januzaj's contract a long time ago instead of waiting for it to run its final year. Anyone that watched the U21 last year, as I did, knew that he was an incredible promise. Leaving it for the last months strikes me of the same kind of muddle thinking that blighted our transfers in the summer in which, if you believe the press, we were making half hearted last minute bids for about everybody that is anything in Europe. Believe me Januzaj is already popping up in the sport pages all over the world and if I was him I would have no incentive to sign a contract right now, knowing that the closer it gets to the end the more bargaining power he has and that he can set up an auction among the top European clubs in which we don't have much chance of winning.

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Sparkz October 6, 2013

@King Eric - How's it going mate? Yeah tell me about it...and it's weird because I've noticed over the last few years that it's the Academy products who seem to get the most shit from fans.

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WeAreUnited October 6, 2013

http://www.manutd.com/en/Fixtures-And-Results/Match-Reports/2013/Oct/sunderland-vs-manchester-united-premier-league-video-highlights.aspx

just look at this video and thell me that Januzaj will leave, if Moyes starts him every second game we have nothign to worry and RVP Giggsy will whisper into his ear, not to mention SAf etc, scholesy etc, don't worry guys.

Also I don't get why welbz and cleverley aren't liked here? they are our youth products just like lingard januzaj and others. We have to be glad that we have youth playerso n our team and not pick them up. Welbz is 22 and after maybe rooney going off to his age and rvp also, Welbz will step up with the likes of WillKeane. So hold your horses.

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The Truth October 6, 2013

Danny the stat man has finally lost his grip on reality. Claims I predicted we would lose this game (I predicted on we would win 2-1) and claims I went into hiding after the game (I posted half an hour after the game ended!) Also claimed Jones deserves to be singled out for his amazing performance when he nearly cost us two goals! Stick to possession stats Danny boy, you know fuck all about football.

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frankie October 6, 2013

We Are United

I think that Welbeck and Cleverly are very good young players that can only get better. Cleverly is a one touch highly mobile modern midfielder that always makes good use of the ball. I think he played very well yesterday and it is certainly the best complement to Carrick of all the midfielders we currently have. It concerns me that Wellz is no having the chances to play regularly as a striker for United. It is also funny that you always expect him to score for England but does not score regularly for United.

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Jesmonta (Malta) October 6, 2013

We played well yesterday. Though Adnan stole the show with his performance, we need not forget that De Gea made a world class save, Cleverley ran his socks off for the whole 90 mins and Nani,Rafael ,Carrick ,Evra and Rooney also played their part. A bit disappointed by RVP, Vidic and Jones. Hope we keep this momentum and team for our next match against Southampton.
Hope that what I read this morning regarding Valencia + cash swap for Baines is not true . We do not need Baines, we need a proper Center half at the back to replace our aging old guard and to help our merging youndg ones succeed . Remember that players do not last forever and Vidic second "assist" in four days worries me a lot.

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Jones October 6, 2013

@Matty

Totally agree. I can't stand people,whose only colors are black and white. Moyes prefers Rooney over Kagawa. Not because Rooney is the best in that position,but because he is a less sophisticated player in that position. Both Moyes and Ferguson failed to figure out how to play him because to be quite blunt,they don't possess the dynamic technical acumen adopted by continental coaches. It's a painful fact but it remains a fact. Berbatov in order to be top scorer,he had to adapt and become a more traditional striker and be more physical. Ferguson actually admitted at one point of not being sure how to play him. The same theme can be seen with RvP. At Arsenal he saw a lot of the ball and the ball barely left the ground. He was also an outlet for all the other players in the same way Lewandowski,Benzema and Ibrahimovic are for their respective teams. But at United he seems to be a player barely involved and is feeding on scraps. It's in the way we play. It's very rigid and predictably structured. The distances between the forwards,wide players and midfielders are so great that we resort to long ball football and continuous crossing. That's why it seems so hard for us to score from open play. 4-4-2 is not the problem. It's the way we play it. Traditional wide play is obsolete and should be done away with. We need versatility from our wide players. The Valencias of this world are really not the required calibre of wide players. Januzaj's indiscipline in maintaining the wide left position is actually how we should allow the wide players to play as a standard. So from this backdrop we begin to look at Kagawa. He very far from being a winger and I,mean very far. I actually agree that he can play basically across the attacking spectrum. For Japan he is usually employed on the left side,not of midfield but of attack. There is a massive difference. Left side of attack is something the likes of Hazard,Nasri or even Neymar do. It's different from the left side of midfield like Young or Valencia or even Di Maria and Ribery though the latter two do cut in frequently. The issue is about the general team tactics. At Dortmund before Gotze's injury,Kagawa was played from the left side of attack in the exact same role as Marco Reus is playing for Dortmund now with Mykitarian central. Just like Japan's system,it is very fluid and there is a lot of dynamic movement. So this is what Moyes is failing to figure out. The only way you are going to play Kagawa in the team and gain results is by actually adopting more sophisticated tactics. You can't employ traditional wing play and long ball catennaccio style football and get the best out of players like him. Same situation arises when you have players like Ozil or Iniesta in your team. The wrong tactics will make them look ordinary. Kagawa can only work if we employ a more fluid system of passing and interchanging with quick dynamic movemnt in close quarters. That is,the players have to be close to each other and move in one tight attacking group,passing quickly on the deck. That's how Kagawa begins to show his worth. Rooney on the other hand is very much a more physical and less cerebral number 10. Noone is actually even considering the fact that he is the one designated with creativity and opening up the defences. I don't know about anyone but from what I've seen, he hasn't done a good job the way, Ozil or Coutinho have done for Arsernal and Liverpool. You can see he is doing a lot of things,but he can't link up with RvP at all. Welbeck has actually been doing a better job at linking up with RvP. So as much as Rooney can run all day,his lack of sophistication is the reason we are playing poorly upfront. But he can score goals and so I believe if we keep him upfront with Kagawa more centrally,we can gain something.

Bottom line here is,it's not Kagawa or RvP that are in poor form,it's the poor tactics being employed. We can,play Kagawa,Nani,Rooney and RvP in the same team and reap the rewards. They just need to be played within the right system. And this means let's just concede that wide football is not worth it and let's play a passing game

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scholes October 6, 2013

moyes has every right right to say we played well and he also never fails to mention that improvement is needed. it is up to us which one of his comment we like to slate

obviously all of us have favorites. be it players, manager, coaching staff or even owners

cleverly is a typical energetic MF who will always gives 100% without being magnificent. i really like to see midfield combo of anderson and cleverly given a game. they dominated 4-5 games couple of season back.

i may be the odd one out but moyes is starting to impress me with his bold team selections. nani and januzaj in the same team!!!

for all those who suddenly want moyes not only to win but also to play in a manner so that others teams just stand up and admire, it is utter desperation and wishful thinking, to say the least. we didnt dominate sunderland, so what? we dominated liverpool at anfield (second half), utd was the only team trying to win against chelsea, had more chances against west brom but did pool, chelsea and west brom complain?

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ini October 6, 2013

@ eric hey FOOL i repeat my self swap dump moyes for klopp after managing seven games nothing to show for.the club the idiot left is doing just perfectly and even more that he did.aston villa had a very tough start still triumph they managed to beat city and arsenal what a great coach but our dump moyes could not even win one big match what a coach.he has no plans he's tacticless

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ini October 6, 2013

the only thing moyes is good at is talking and complaining.he complained about 5 world class player, how many world class players did chelsea use in carrying champions league last two season how many world class player do bayern have or even dortmund or have you ever seen dortmund sign any world class player.klopps signs an average player and bring the best out of the player.as far as i am concerned the only team with world class player is barca and madrid.moyes do your job and stop complaining after they gave you money to buy players but you refused to buy