‘Fellaini is a d**khead’ and United were ’embarrassing’

Matt Stead

Send your thoughts to theeditor@football365.com. And read 16 Conclusions.

 

The only match report you need
A strange game last night where one team didn’t bother attacking and the other forgot how to
Aidan Nugent

 

Mourinho grinds my gears
What  is wrong with just trying to look just a bit competitive with a team that man for man you are equal or better. You decide to defend all game making the team look inferior, does that really give confidence to attacking players who you want to buy from other clubs. If a few years of this is to be expected then being competitive in this league and in  Europe would be very difficult.

Am so mad right now and watching Manchester United is becoming difficult every single day.
Tony Bii
Mufc,Kenya

 

Job done, I guess
I’m going to make this brief, because that game was naff:

1. Marouane Fellaini is a d*ckhead.

2. Jose clearly came for the draw, with a hope of nicking a goal, but to do that you have to attack. And we rarely did that.

3. We were ok in the first half but second best, but shite in the second and deserved to get beat.

4. Martial and Mkhitaryan were terrible. Neither could complete even a simple dribble, and their defensive work was average at best. Much better is needed.

5. There are plenty of rumours that De Gea is off this summer, and if we do lose him he will be so tough to replace. Some of those saves were incredible.

6. If Zlatan isn’t going to be part of our plans next year then that surely changes our transfer business. Jose usually has a big physical striker as his first choice, but Rashford isn’t that. Maybe rumours of Lukaku aren’t too wide if the mark.

I would have taken the point before the game, and definitely when we went down to 10 men, so it’s not a terrible result. But the performance left a lot to be desired, and there’s clearly still plenty of work to be done with the squad. Most importantly we didn’t pick up any more injuries, so job done I guess.
Ted, Manchester

 

Embarrassing
I’ve never liked Mourinho and was gutted he became manager of the team I support. Nothing has happened since that has helped soften my stance. Tonight was an embarrassing performance for a club of our stature. I’d rather lose trying to win a game than that anti-football.

The only thing I cheered all night was Fellaini getting a straight red and the subsequent 3 match ban.
Bradley Kirrage.

 

Leave Marouane alone
Part of modern day football fandom (well part of my routine anyway), is following a dedicated fan forum at half-time and after a televised game. And such is the ‘ill-will’ that Fellaini has generated from certain sections of his own supporters on the dark recesses of the internet, that it was entirely predictable that he was going to be the scapegoat again.

As if City went on to score a late winner after he got sent off. On the face of it, a draw in the Etihad with the amount of injuries United have is a good result, both maintaining their sights on sneaking into the top four, and keeping Pep and the (not so) noisy neighbours quiet for a while longer.

Ironically, Fellaini was one the key components in securing the draw up to the flare-up with Aguero. He may look ungainly for the most part, but he is definitely not as dreadful as is percieved, and is certainly a more than useful squad player to have (and stop-gap in an injury crisis such as now).

I even heard someone call him cowardly for NOT diving on contact, while at the same branding Aguero a cheat for doing the exact same thing. I mean FFS, talk about clutching at straws just to keep up an agenda.
Brian, Wexford

 

That was no headbutt
Judging by the reaction of journalists, pundits, commentators, and pretty much everyone on Twitter I think I be on my own with this opinion but… Fellaini didnt headbutt Aguero. Fellaini should not have been sent off. Aguero should have recieved a yellow card.

When Aguero was running with the ball he cuts across Fellaini’s path to shield the ball and is clipped. Its a foul, just, and smart play by Aguero to win the free kick. It was not a yellow card offence.

Aguero then storms up and pushes his head towards Fellaini’s. The only action Fellaini makes is to tilt his head downward to meet that of Aguero’s. Despite the slo-mo replay being shown 6-7 times the pundits are still saying its a headbutt even though Fellaini never makes forward motion with his head. Aguero pushes his head into Fellaini! Its right there for you to see!

If anything Aguero should have been booked for headbutting Fellaini, or for simulation after throwing himself to the floor. But no, apparantly its “clever” and “smart play” to cheat the ref and get another player wrongly sent off. I despair.

United absolutely have a case to challenge the sending off, given the number of games left they might as well try.
Dave, Manchester (Miki was pretty awful, dont think he will be playing against Spurs or Arsenal)

 

Martial worse than Fellaini
It’s surprising no one seems to have picked up on how shockingly poor, bereft of ideas and unfit Martial looked throughout this game especially after his performance in the previous game where he was involved in two goals.
United normally use the left flank for width and play number 10’s on the right who like to drift inside relying on the overlap from the fullback Tony V instead.

Having the incompetent trio of Martial, Fellaini and Darmian down this flank meant we frequently had no out ball when we did eventually win the ball back.

This was where the Mourinho plan came up short and left me wondering how many potential points this drama with Luke Shaw has cost us.

Darmian put a shift in taking Pedro out of the Chelsea game but his lack of pace (coming up against the lightening quick Sterling who regularly beat him) and attacking nous surely makes him unfit for games like this where an efficient counterattack could mean the difference between a share of the spoils and a delightful smash and grab.
Dr Awachie (found myself yearning for Lingard to come on…sad times), Nigeria

 

Losing one’s sh*t over Jose
After a terrible performance where Manchester United showed little to no ambition to win the game, when you put it into perspective and conclude that after the number of games played, the fatigue, the injuries, our league position, doing our bit for equal opportunities for violent idiots who can’t play football, perhaps a 0-0 draw away from home isn’t terrible. But then Mourinho started making excuses and I’ll admit I lost my sh*t.

How bloody dare he complain about our lack of midfield options when he personally forced Schneiderlin and Schweinsteiger out of the club to facilitate his erection for Fellaini? Just as bad as LVG complaining he has no direct, attacking wingers when he forced Nani and Zaha out and sold Di Maria.
Daniel (thanks Cthulu that his left hand knows what his right hand is doing, and vice versa) Cambridge

 

More thoughts
I have to take issue with a few points in your 16 conclusions and add a couple of my own if I may?

That Fellaini deserved red isn’t an issue, that Aguero was just as culpable is, he pushed his head into Fellaini’s face then got him sent off with his theatrics, Fellaini was stupid but Aguero is a cheat, incidentally the “foul” before hand was Aguero tripping himself up.

Martin Atkinson in the first half especially was terrible, how he didn’t see Otamendi assassinate Rashford when United were breaking is criminal, Fernandhino’s constant fouling went unpunished and both Kolarov and Kompany should of seen yellow.

The narrative that United turned up for a point is fair, what you fail to point out is this was a team missing vital players who have played many games more than the opposition and were dead on their feet, if you offered me a point before the game I think most United fans would of bitten your hand off.

If we beat Swansea on Sunday we go above Liverpool, so it’s a point well won rather than 2 points lost.
Paul Murphy
Manchester

 

I am really surprised that nobody has suggested (unless I missed it) that Mourinho is fixing our defence first, like so many top coaches have said is the right way to do things. Our defensive stats were already good last year but Mourinho wants players to do things his way, and has basically changed all four starting defenders. Aslo Pogba is definitely supposed to have defensive duties in his role which he is definitely still improving on. In his defence, he is playing better and better and this has been a massive season for someone so young.

Mourinho has also made it clear he is not happy with the attackers at his disposal, can’t blame him either. Martial, Mkhitaryan, Rashford and Mata need to improve. May be that will happen next season, and I hope they are all still at Old Trafford because that could be a scary attack if it works, and they have done enough, and shown enough potential to warrant some patience. But then Mourinho. Patience doesn’t seem to be on his to do list.

Just a couple of thoughts. F365, I think you are wrong in your 16 conclusions that we had to win. I think we couldn’t lose, and Mourinho was always gonna park the bus for this game. Now top 4 is in our hands, for the first week this season, or last. Also, Mourinho has been doing a decent job but I dislike him so much, that I still want him out. Thought I’d be over it by now.
Zdravko

 

The important questions not being asked…

– if goal kicks can be passed to a player standing in the little D outside the area, what is the purpose of the D?
– if Bravo insists on trying not to save shots, how far away are we from a dominant team playing an outfield player in goal for distribution, tackling, attacking corners, if the other team have no shots to worry about?
– he may be the most handsome man, but why has Aguero shaved a small bit at the front of his hair?
– could Herrera start a fight in an empty room?
– if Fellaini ever got his mop trimmed would he need to have his height remeasured as surely no one could get past that hair to measure his actual scalp height?

You’re very welcome.
Phil, Maidenhead

 

Best league in the world
Presume there will be few of these but look at the difference between United v City and Real v Barca. Premier league supporters are getting short changed.
Paul

 

Message to Pep: Quit being such a d*ck
Who, at Manchester City, is responsible for advising players/managers before they speak into a microphone? Because whoever it is, really needs to tell Pep to quit being such a d*ck.

I know the media in England are anal enough to drive anyone in football to insanity, but Guardiola has been looking progressively nervier, of late. His press conferences and interviews are getting frostier; when on the field, his arms have been getting flappier and knees weaker; he even said all his full backs are old f*cks who can’t run. City would be a bit mental to sack him this summer, regardless of their final league position, and would be more mental to not back him in the transfer market, too; so chill the f*ck out, Pep.

In the post-match interview:

Question: “Pep what are your views about the result?”
Pep: “Yeah it was 0-0, did you see it? Hahaha”
Thanks d*ck… want to proceed with answering the question now?

He’s probably looking at Mourinho and thinking ‘meh if he can be a d*ck, so can I’, which is fair. But Pep needs to realize Mourinho has been working on this persona for ages now… Jose’s already done all charming he needed to do. If Pep’s going to play this game, he won’t win.
EMUFC

 

Not so silver Sterling
Although Sterling has improved this season, he still comes up short at times. I have always thought it was because he takes too many touches before shooting or passing most of the time. People don’t tend to agree with me and put it down to his age though.

When you say “No player in the Premier League has more touches in the opposition box than Sterling.”, I believe this more to be he is taking too many touches in the box rather than playing quick passes and snap shots. Sterling seems to take too many touches allowing defenders and keepers to set themselves up to defend against him. Does anyone else see this or is it just me?
Stoky-Boy MUFC

 

The ref word
Firstly, an absolute dregs of a football match. Brutal from two squads which cost so much. Secondly, Martin Atkinson was atrocious. Ignoring fouls, professional fouls, mostly by the home team for about 60 minutes is not how to let a game flow.

Rather than speak to City players who were fowling Rashford for fun, and then clearly at Herrera, he opted to lecture Herrera. He’s not fit to ref.

Feillaini was moronic, but there was honestly as much in that from Aguero as there was from him. His dive was embarrassing and the two of them should have been booked.
Pete F, Eire

 

Just shows how far Spurs have come
Currently watching the Manchester derby and I am stunned by how poor the football has been.

Poor passing, ropey shooting, plenty of long balls and hoofing, no fight (not including Fellaini here), no passion and certainly no innovative flowing football from yesteryear.

When even Crystal Palace’s recent performances outshine you, you know that Manchester’s finest are on their last legs.

Something must change if they are going to make any impact next season. Change of manager? Probably not, just spend another couple of hundred million quid.

Makes the transformation at Spurs even more impressive.

COYS
Steve, Spurs, Cambridge

 

In defence of St. Totteringham and St. Arsenhole
What’s happened to the Mailbox? Why has it suddenly been infested with miserable sods? The hate for St. Totteringham’s Day ad St. Arsenhole’s Day (or whatever they call it) just boggles my mind. Maybe I’m a foreign plastic who can’t appreciate what it means to support a team properly, but the constant shit-flinging among fans is one of the best things about this beautiful game. If being a ‘good fan’ means I have to only view the game with a monocle on, count me out.

I suspect the ones who most assiduously claim they’re above all this are the ones most affected by the fact their team has finished below the hated rivals. By claiming to levitate above all of us juvenile plebs they’ve cleverly taken themselves out of the line of fire so their feelings don’t get hurt.

Graham Simons, forever the man with a clue, tells us, the slack-jawed masses, that St. Totteringham’s Day was used as a distraction for Arsenal’s failures last season. Firstly, it wasn’t since a vast majority of Arsenal fans still can’t wrap their head around failing to win the title when everyone else was so shit. Secondly, if he can’t see the hilarity of Tottenham slipping up against an already relegated Newcastle to fall below Arsenal then I fear St. Totteringham’s Day might be the least of his problems.

Grow up and enjoy doing one over your rivals! Spurs have had a great year, they’ve inspired respect from basically every fan base. They might end the season without a trophy but that squad is going places and everyone knows it. Even if you don’t quite get the whole St. Wotsit’s Day ribbing stop sucking the joy out of it for everyone else. Looking forward to the derby even though there’s every chance it ends in misery for me.
Pranav, AFC

 

Chelsea youth
Read Storey’s article and find it a litle strange that he is sad and and angry because our youth players don’t get a chance.
I am wondering why anyone would have such strong emotions about this but I’m guessing it’s because this gives him less chances to build someone up just to knock them down in typical media fashion?

The youth system for Chelsea was refined a while back and is now creating great results at that level but we really haven’t produced a great player for the first team yet, time will tell if the investment is going to pay off on the field. I would love to see some of these young players come in to the side and become regulars for Chelsea but it’s a big step from youth level and I realize most of them will not make it. If you look at our bench we have full internationals that can’t get into the side but lately there are signs pointing to us at least trying to givie youth a chance with Ake, RLC, Aina, and Chalobah getting some playing time.

I have heard for a better part of decade that we have only produced John Terry from the youth team but I can only think of Ryan Bertrand, and to lesser extent Scott Sinclair, being players we helped develop actually having a decent career so having this crop of talented players is very exciting. I hope we don’t do a Man Utd and give away the best one and then have to spend a record fee buying him back. Seeing how we did similarly things with Matic, Luiz, and perhaps now Lukaku I’m not overly optimistic we won’t to be honest.

From the 38 players on loan as well as the excellent youth systems we should be able to get a few players into the squad and quite a few should have very good careers.

Cheer up Storey, the kids are alright man!!!
MJ in Los Angeles

 

Big Weekend‘s little brother
Southampton-Hull City. The reverse fixture was one of the weirdest games of the season, Hull winning a contest which Southampton dominated for 88 minutes out of the 90. The Tigers are a much tougher proposition now, but still have only five away points this season. Southampton are coming off games against Manchester City and Chelsea in which they played conservatively and were decidedly second best, and should be ready to cut loose. Sofiane Boufal started ahead of Nathan Redmond last week, but Redmond seems the logical choice here against Hull’s relatively slow right side. Fraser Forster continues to struggle, and yesterday the Southern Daily Echo even wondered whether he should be dropped. Hull have Oumar Niasse available after his red card was overturned on appeal. Will Tom Huddlestone come back into the lineup after surprisingly starting on the bench vs. Watford?

Stat: Nathan Redmond has a large advantage over Sofiane Boufal in pass completion percentage, 84.1 to 78.5.

Everton-Chelsea. On paper, the toughest remaining fixture for the league leaders (although West Brom away isn’t easy at all). They destroyed Everton’s three-man back line at Stamford Bridge, but that was during the Toffees’ worst stretch of the season. Ronald Koeman has been going with four at the back lately, and remembering what happened to Matthew Pennington at Anfield, he may be reluctant to put Mason Holgate in a three up against Eden Hazard. Without Seamus Coleman’s threat on the wing, Ross Barkley will be more important than ever in this match, hopefully providing an extra man in midfield for attacking purposes against Chelsea’s 3-4-3. Chelsea’s expected goals have them doing almost exactly as expected on defence, but continuing to overachieve dramatically in attack. If Everton get the lead, will we see another backs-to-the-wall Crystal Palace-type victory?

Stat: Marcos Alonso is Chelsea’s best in the air, winning 63.2% of his aerial duels.

West Bromwich Albion – Leicester City. A big match for West Brom. Fifty points and eighth place looked certain a few weeks ago, but the side haven’t scored in four games, the last three of them losses, the last two of them at home. The Birmingham Mail reported that never in their history have Albion gone five straight league games without scoring — can that possibly be right? Either way, the really bad news is that Matt Phillips and Hal Robson-Kanu are doubtful with hamstring injuries. Leicester played for a scoreless draw at the Emirates, but here they’re more likely to press, which means Shinji Okazaki will probably start instead of Leonardo Ulloa, who got the nod at Arsenal. Faced with Jamie Vardy up against slowish centre-halves, Tony Pulis may decide to play it tight, emphasizing the counter and set plays. A game that looks like 0-0 or 2-2, with nothing in between.

Stat: West Brom have been awarded only one penalty this year. Fittingly, it came from a set piece, on Arthur Masuaku’s completely unnecessary handball. Nacer Chadli slotted it home.
Peter G, Pennsylvania, USA