Michael Oliver Not looking to call anything today. Both ways, at least he is consistent.

Edit: damn they just showed a little more video of oscars hit and he looks knocked the fuck out. Dude was weary eyed and out of it.

[Edited on April 26, 2015 at 11:54 AM. Reason : r]

4/26/2015 11:51:08 AM

He's good usually precisely because he does make big calls usually.

The first from Ospina was the only iron clad PK to me.

Also the yellow on Coq was putrid given Ivanovic has taken chunks off Arsenal legs multiple times.

4/26/2015 11:53:14 AM

Yeah that hit on Oscar was nasty. Can't believe he is back out there. Probably a sub at the half.

[Edited on April 26, 2015 at 11:59 AM. Reason : .]

4/26/2015 11:56:57 AM

nothing like watching a team turtle for 90 mins. i bet every uva basketball fan fucking loves chelsea

4/26/2015 12:53:09 PM

Mourinho wet dream. Happy for Terry. Great guy.

4/26/2015 12:55:38 PM

Chelsea piss me off. Just imagine how unwatchable the second half would have been if they got one of those penalty claims.

I understand they basically wrapped up the title but they played for a draw and celebrated like it

4/26/2015 12:58:41 PM

The Premiership is really shitty at the top. Again.

4/26/2015 1:02:43 PM

Chelsea lost to a 10 man side with a clown in central defense. Arsenal lost to a shitty French side. United didn't even get to CL.

England.

[Edited on April 26, 2015 at 1:06 PM. Reason : if Hazard played today I bet Chelsea nicks it]

4/26/2015 1:05:28 PM

What a shit season. Fuck you Premier League.

4/26/2015 2:52:36 PM

I got sick of Manchester United winning title after title, but at least they scored lots of goals

I really hope Mourinho inexplicably loses his touch sometime soon....or Roman Abramovich fires him in a fickle fit...or something

it's not right to win championships playing football like that. not in England anyway.

4/27/2015 12:38:47 AM

Watford clinched promotion this weekend and Bournemouth all but clinched promotion today. Only team that can catch Bournemouth is Middlesborugh. Their win over Brighton and Bournemouth's defeat to Charlton would have to be by a combined 20 goals for that to happen.

The promotion playoff will include Norwich as well, and then 2 of Ipswich, Derby, Brentford, and Wolves.

4/27/2015 5:01:55 PM

Chelsea/PSG in Charlotte this summer, 7/25

4/28/2015 11:47:47 AM

^^

4/28/2015 11:56:11 AM

^^I saw that. I really want to go.

4/28/2015 2:04:35 PM

So 6 points to guarantee top 4 (virtually 5 with the GD) with 4 matches left. Yea if we don't make it now then we don't deserve it anyway.

Thanks sleeper agent Bruce! Now get something of le arsenal so we can have a shot at 2nd or 3rd.

4/29/2015 9:15:50 AM

Bale, Gundogan, Hummels... Who else? That's only around £150m so I'm sure you'll spend at least £100m more. Maybe ship ADM back to Real in Bale deal?

4/29/2015 9:18:58 AM

^ Already engaging in the transfer muppetry are we?

Doubt it will be the same kind of spending spree. Gundogan should be relatively cheap if United were to get him. Certainly need another CB but I really hope Hummels isn't the guy United are targeting. Expensive and also just coming off a terrible season.

Di Maria is going no where. I don't see this insistence that Di Maria has had a bad year. He has had virtually no break since last year (CL Final, World Cup Final, EPL). No winter break this year, got hurt as well. Despite all of this I would say he has contributed well to United and deserves another year. He will probably be a much much better player next year.

Could use a striker if Van Gaal determines Wilson isn't ready to step up. Most important need is a defensive midfielder. When Carrick isn't there to dictate possession, United have no one to exploit the space in front of the midfield. So RB, CB, and CDM should be top priorities. Gundogan addresses this and someone like Kramer in defense does too. Depay, Gundogan, Clyne, and CB. That should get us a title challenge at least.

[Edited on April 29, 2015 at 10:08 AM. Reason : .]

4/29/2015 10:07:36 AM

Gundogan is going to Bayern

4/29/2015 10:17:26 AM

Wouldn't surprise me. Everyone goes from Dortmund there.

My post was a throwaway trying to get a wall of text response and I did. Though it wouldn't surprise me at all to see United throw a shit ton at Real if Bale is indeed available (and it would be worth it).

4/29/2015 11:06:39 AM

^^^
I kind of agree with your assessment of Man U's needs there, wazza. Y'all's squad sort of reminds me of Arsenal's: a superfluity of attacking talent and a sort of undistinguished defense.

Also, United (if I recall correctly) have never really fielded a pure defensive midfielder (i.e. somebody like Busquets, Matic or this Francis Coquelin fellow). Your central midfielders have tended to be playmakers for the most part. So I guess it would be interesting to see a classic DM at the center of a Man U squad.

But in your glory days, you just had bad-ass center-backs.


[Edited on April 29, 2015 at 1:08 PM. Reason : rnsthtr]

4/29/2015 12:58:55 PM

And Roy Keane

4/29/2015 1:38:03 PM

ah yes, I forgot Roy Keane

not quite a classic DM, but about as good as one.

4/29/2015 1:55:32 PM

Well it is a different system and a system that requires a strong DM. Keane, Hargreaves, and even Scholes towards the end played this job well. More recently, Carrick has been exceptional for years now. United don't need a Roy Keane but a Makelele type of player in this system.

Keane was effective because it wasn't a possession based system. It was a system that relied on winning the ball in the transition and then quickly countering through the pacy forwards that United have always had.

Van Gaal's system calls for an efficient midfielder who will sit in front of the back four and break up attacks. Retain posession and carry it forward so that Di Maria, Mata, and Herrera can then distribute. Carrick is perfect for this role but when he is hurt no one else can do it. Blind isn't bad at all in this role, just not as decisive. Verrati or Matuidi could play it perfectly. So could Gundogan.

It will be an interesting transfer window to say the least. I am impressed with what Van Gaal has been able to do in such a short period of time. Get Falcao off the books, dump Evans, and address the CB, CDM, and RB situation. That should be priorities for this offseason.

If Smalling continues to improve and stay fit more importantly I think we can have Rojo and a new signing fight for the secondary role. Then we have McNair, Jones, and one of Rojo or a new signing to rotate between. Smalling is the key though, I can see him becoming a very good defender if he can stay fit and continue learning.

[Edited on April 29, 2015 at 1:58 PM. Reason : ,]

4/29/2015 1:56:04 PM

Don't even know why I'm posting this because it'll be immediately disregarded as sour grapes but aside from a short spell where they were very good (Spurs, LFC, Villa, City) they haven't really impressed me that much. To be fair, I haven't watched as much PL this season as usual...

Seems to me they've mostly just benefited from a sucky PL at the top and Liverpool/Spurs/Southampton completely shitting the bed in big games and they have a bad ass GK at the moment to keep them in games and save points in others. This United team doesn't even sniff the top 4 in last year's league, imho. I mean good for LVG and United for getting the job done but honestly I don't think he's working miracles or anything.

I think you're fooling yourself if you don't think United need some huge signings to compete for a title and do well in CL. It was good enough for this year but they're miles away from the top teams at the moment. Also, just wanted to point out I predicted them in the top 4 this year so this wasn't a surprise.

4/29/2015 2:09:58 PM

u rite

4/29/2015 2:20:02 PM

Sour grapes indeed. So Liverpool did amazingly well last year and the premier league didn't suck right? The double standard is hilarious.

Van Gaal's record against the top 6 speaks for itself, this also isn't because the top 6 is supposedly "weaker." Chelsea and Arsenal are certainly stronger. City is weaker sure. United aren't miles away from the top, United and Van Gaal are in 4th place only because we struggled to beat weaker teams on compact pitches away from home. That is a learning curve problem, not a squad problem.

The only difference is liverpool are worse. So the argument could be made that the only reason that pool challenged for the title last year is because arsenal and chelsea were weaker and united were worse. You see the double standard now?

You clearly haven't seen how this team has played, I would imagine dismantling pool twice this year would have showed you something at least. United is playing a completely different system in decades. Van Gaal came in with an even bigger job at hand than Moyes had. He cut the fat and put in a completely new style of play.

Let's also not forget he was at the World Cup until the last week of the tournament. Meaning United's preseason was effected a lot. If United gets the job done against Leicester, Burnley, Sunderland, and West Brom away from home and Swansea at home we are sitting at 77 points. 3 away from Chelsea. Those results all happened in the first two months of the season. I am not even counting the losses against everton and Southampton, dropped points against villa and west ham. They happen but the 4 results mentioned earlier should have been wins.

The gulf between Chelsea and United isn't huge, United is struggling with the same problems that plagued Chelsea last year. Defensively the team has gotten progressively better. Let's also not forget the goalkeeper is part of the defense, its his job to save us points. United didn't invest 18 million and stick with him when he started terribly for nothing.

[Edited on April 29, 2015 at 4:50 PM. Reason : /]

[Edited on April 29, 2015 at 4:50 PM. Reason : ..]

4/29/2015 4:48:14 PM

Most predictable post in the history of TWW

4/29/2015 4:56:54 PM

God damn that's a wall of text.

4/29/2015 5:01:15 PM

I mean if you can't discuss without throwing around bullshit then why bother at all? Man Van Gaal must be so pissed his philosophy hasn't impressed aimorris. Clearly the football genius brenda rodgers did a better job against a much much tougher premier league last year.




[Edited on April 29, 2015 at 5:03 PM. Reason : ,]

4/29/2015 5:02:14 PM

You guys see what he did there? Took the "n" off "Brendan", to make it sound like he has a female name!

4/29/2015 5:07:11 PM

Excellent 2nd half today. Ramires' goal was a laser. 3 points away!

[Edited on April 29, 2015 at 5:38 PM. Reason : .]

4/29/2015 5:35:02 PM

Manny has a cannon of a right foot.

How was Ramires today?

[Edited on April 29, 2015 at 5:36 PM. Reason : Just bitter. Don't mind me.]

4/29/2015 5:35:58 PM

Lol, I trusted the autocomplete on my phone

4/29/2015 5:40:36 PM

Take away head to heads and the teams are essentially at the same place. Liverpool were dogshit this year but if they get anything from those two games then they're in the conversation. Ignore top 6 h2h. The top teams are weaker this year because they all dropped points against garbage teams. That didn't happen often last year.

HEY GUYS RODGERS PUT IN NEW DUMBASS FORMATIONS AND PLAYED PLAYERS OUT OF POSITION AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SEASON SO IGNORE THAT. ALSO HE DROPPED POINTS AGAINST A LOT OF SHITTY TEAMS WHICH SHOULD HAVE BEEN WINS SO IF YOU IGNORE THAT PART TOO THEN HES PRACTICALLY EQUAL WITH CHELSEA. LOUIS VAN GAL WISHES HE HAD A DICK AS BIG AS RODGERS

4/29/2015 5:43:29 PM

Haha. Someone mad. I could address your stupidity but I am not going to indulge because you clearly can't engage in proper conversation. Have fun in the Europa League. I hear sterling may actually play well against smaller Romanian teams.

4/29/2015 6:06:21 PM

4/29/2015 6:24:10 PM

Quote :

"If United gets the job done against Leicester, Burnley, Sunderland, and West Brom away from home and Swansea at home we are sitting at 77 points. 3 away from Chelsea"

"proper conversation"

4/29/2015 6:29:56 PM

Much better than this drivel:

Quote :

"Seems to me they've mostly just benefited from a sucky PL at the top and Liverpool/Spurs/Southampton completely shitting the bed in big games and they have a bad ass GK at the moment to keep them in games and save points in others."

Oh yes United were just handed a top 4 spot, nothing to see here. Liverpool earned their title challenge last year in one of the strongest ever premier leagues while united have always just been getting lucky.

Maybe you may want to repeat english 101 but my argument is backed up by the fact that I have singled out 4 matches in the first two months of the season to highlight why we may have dropped those points, not that we shouldn't have. The 77 points is irrelevant. To say that United lucked their way into a top 4 spot because of others is laughable, then again I should have expected a comment like that.

Classic pool fans, always bitter till the end.

[Edited on April 29, 2015 at 6:48 PM. Reason : .]

[Edited on April 29, 2015 at 6:50 PM. Reason : ,]

4/29/2015 6:47:25 PM

4/29/2015 7:05:49 PM

Quote :

"I mean good for LVG and United for getting the job done but honestly I don't think he's working miracles or anything."

4/29/2015 7:08:33 PM

^ Are you just thick? Who said he has worked miracles? lol. He has done very well with the cards he was given. The team is in a much better place and more importantly the football is much better.

LVG isn't being compared to Sir Alex, he is being compared to the dire football of Moyes. Changes were made and the target was always achieve top 4, not a title challenge. He has done it with some style along the way after a tough start. Including memorable victories over direct rivals.

4/29/2015 7:10:48 PM

Quote :

"I am impressed with what Van Gaal has been able to do in such a short period of time."

Based on what he had and what he added, I am not.

4/29/2015 7:14:15 PM

^ Well good for you. I'll take him over Rodgers any day haha.

4/29/2015 7:18:59 PM

Are you 12?

4/29/2015 7:23:51 PM

Haha, love wazza putting the United hating soccer hipsters in their place lololol

4/29/2015 7:44:52 PM

Moyes did United a huge favor by avoiding the Europa League

4/29/2015 9:09:50 PM

^ Yea that is probably true. Never wanted it last year and glad we avoided the distraction.

Hate that Moyes didn't work out though. Very likable guy, just never learned to make the step up to another mentality and club. If he had worked he could have stuck around for a while too. Oh well. Glad to see he is doing well at La Real. Maybe he may get a shot to manage another big team and learn from his experience here.

Don't feel bad for him because it was his own wrong doing but he looked worse for wear around this time last year. Probably did his health a whole lot of good by recouping in the states.

[Edited on April 29, 2015 at 9:16 PM. Reason : ..]

4/29/2015 9:14:31 PM

Quote :

"The team is in a much better place and more importantly the football is much better."

All trolling aside are you being serious? You've played hoofball since the new year with Fellaini playing as a hybrid target man \ #10. Its like watching a more talented Stoke.

I mean good on you winning games but you haven't exactly been playing the beautiful game.

[Edited on April 29, 2015 at 9:16 PM. Reason : x]

4/29/2015 9:16:03 PM

^ you haven't seen United play then. Hoofball? lol. Yes that is one facet of United's attacking outlet, it isn't the overall strategy.

When Carrick isn't around to supply the ball forward on the ground then yes the direct route become more relevant. I wouldn't confuse the United performance in the first half of the season to the last 3 months. The movement has been so much better.

Also compared to last year and even under Sir Alex (during his last two years) yes this football is much better. It is also in no means a finished product just yet, just glimpses of what we are capable of once the right players are in place.

If you don't see it then that is your opinion, probably never going to change it so I am not going to bother pulling up statistics that highlight what I am saying but they are definitely out there. Tottenham, Man City, and the first half of the liverpool match are perfect examples of how United dominated possession, found overlaps in attack, and negated the oppositions midfield. City especially where the team had a disciplined shape, held a high line, and transitioned with fluidity from defense to attack.

4/29/2015 9:21:28 PM

If you, Scholes, and Giggs were stuck on a desert island would you let them run a train on you daily or just every other day? I'll hang up and listen.

4/30/2015 8:11:23 AM