That's composure by Cavani.
Could have easily snatched at the chance and taken the shot but slid it to Rashford for the tap-in.

Cavani's the difference here.

Gotta say Cavani and Martial subs had an impact as the shape changed.
That was pivotal.

Martial was effective in advancing the ball in that left side of the final third. He's made more chances for the team when he came on. Wondering where was Sancho though. Martial on the left and Sancho/VDB on the right to feed the forwards instead?

Varane is the best defensive player we have.
Just player cam watch him during the game and how he adjusts his position throughout. Quietly excellent.

Thank you for the news.

Reverse angle of Greenwood opting to shoot.

During times like this, you can't help but feel Ronaldo has a point on going in on young stars who refuse to learn.

Let's talk about progress.

Yes, RR has come under fire from certain quarters especially after matches we did not win.
He has since played 10 matches with the same team Ole had.

- In 10 games, he has 6 wins, 3 draws and 1 loss. Strength of the opposition may be a talking point but you can only play who you have in front of you. The results are a positive in us trying to get Top 4.
- He is shaking up the dressing room. Underperformers can now be benched regardless of nationality instead of being guaranteed starters. In this, we have seen some players step up when given chances. Dalot for example.
- He is showing big name management. CR7 could have been a drama in itself but he handled it well and reminded Ronaldo everything was done for the team.

Slowly, we are showing progress. A lot will depend if we get midfield reinforcements in Jan. We may also bleed some players who I like that were not given a proper chance (VDB), but at this point I just want the club to be set on the right track for the remainder of this season. We will re-evaluate in the summer on how RR does.

This post has been edited by statikinetic: Jan 24 2022, 12:23 PM

Yes. There is that tactical change after the team did not adapt to the 4-2-2-2 system.
Most likely the team is more used to a 4-3-3 in comparison. At least the manager is willing to change if things aren't working.

In the fight for Top 4 so I guess things have improved. I won't put it all on RR's doorstep if we fail to get Top 4.
If we fail to get Top 4, I put the main factor on the United Board on being slow to respond to the League sequence of fixtures below.

0-1 loss to Villa
1-1 draw with Everton
2-4 loss to Leicester
0-5 loss to Liverpool
3-0 win against Spurs in El Sackiko. But that meant United stuck with their manager while SPurs made immediate changes.
0-2 loss to Man City.
1-4 loss to Watford.

Martial, so much potential back then.
I remember him scoring on his debut vs Liverpool, it was Henry-esque. A story of what could have been.

If we do not get a midfield reinforcement in the next few days, that's basically why we won't get Top 4.

I am of the opinion a rebuild can be done for much less than that. Around 150 - 200M tops. Plus big names available on free every window.
The only reason United spend so much is not because we bought the best but because our transfer negotiation team is massively overpaying for a British passport. Maguire is not 80M. AWB is not 50M. Sancho is not 75M.

In my opinion, all we need are two top tier midfielders and we are good to go.

Agree. As a midfielder, Herrera is heads and shoulders above Fred and McTominay.
The only reason he left the club was because club management utterly botched the contract renewal. Once Herrera was confirmed as leaving, they then tried to use a media PR campaign to vilify Herrera to cover their incompetence.

I call Top 4 the Arsene Wenger trophy.
For those who get it.

Greenwood is young.
Fame that early in life hits hard. I have some sympathy for how this will affect his career. Looks like Ronaldo's comments on youngsters not being focused are ringing loud.

I followed the Ronaldo case.
The woman was a bona-fide gold digger who knew exactly what she wanted to do.

It doesn't mean he didn't rape her. It doesn't mean he did either.
They can be guilty, but they can also be innocent.

I follow United for the football. Not for the off the pitch drama.

Still waiting for a CDM.

Missed Zakaria. Don't hear news of any other CDM candidates.

Club has only offloaded players which means a weaker squad for the rest of the season. While rivals strengthen. We've got it all to do now.

And Phil Jones turned down what I thought to be a great opportunity to reignite his career.

What are the odds of Jones getting another contract extension after his current 5 year one is up? Wouldn't put it past the board.

With no new entries, wonder if we have gone back to the cost reduction maximise dividends strategy.

The leaks on Greenwood look pretty real. One thing different from Mendy is that the boy is 20, that's juvenile court IINM. All things considered, he should be out for the season as this thing develops so Sancho is the only real option at RW. If Sancho still can't get a start, nothing can help him.

There were rumours that the club helped to cover an incident involving Greenwood a year or two ago. Never confirmed.

Now everything is coming out of the woodwork. If this is true, his United career looks over. Footballing wise, he may still make it in another country with a fresh start if he keeps his head straight.

My opinion of the Newcastle Lingard fee is a bit of tit for tat. The last time we went in for a Newcastle players, Newcastle slapped a ridiculous 50M fee on Sean Longstaff.

Now they have their knickers in a twist and need our player, we then put an absurd price tag on it.