benjii

I would rest Clyne, Bertrand, Morgan and Tadic.

Agreed. Great post.

Brilliant stuff.

Slightly worried about Alderweireld against the more physical teams. Hope he proves my concerns unfounded. I was v impressed with Gardos against Arsenal.

No.

I was gutted he got taken off as he surely would've got a goal. He played well and adds a different dimension to the squad.

I forgot Marian too. I'll have him instead of spade face Lallana.

--------------------Niemi------------------ Dodd-----Fonte---Svennson----Bridge ------------Oakley------Ekelund------- -------------------Le Tiss----------------- Bale---------------------------------Lallana ------------------Beattie--------------- Bench: Flowers, Clyne, Claus, Morgan, Walcott, Lambert, Belmadi

Sounds like Lambert's miss at Sunderland last season.

The sad thing is that Pap thinks he gets stick for his maverick, out-there opinions; because he's a free-thinker who just can't be pinned down. But no. It's because he's an odious, verbose, supercillious narcissist, dripping with self-satisfaction and remarkably free of self-awareness. Clarkson's a knob. But he knows it. And he's got a great job.

And it can hardly be said Lovren was a bad signing. He played well and was sold for 150% profit. Osvaldo though....

"your skin's too big for you", raised the biggest chuckle round our way.

I think the Hull owner is ok. "Tigers" is their nickname after all and he is trying to establish a better commercial base. Only ignorant, backward-looking, arch-traditionalists should have a problem with him. He has put them on the map.

It's rubbish. It's gormless, uninspiring, turgid and facile. If you like this, you're a spanner.

Southampton's Aubergine on the pitch and Guly's debut. Cracking day.

I do think teams could do more to defend these dynamically. Mixing things up would at least have the possible benefit of disrupting the attacker's preparation and making them think twice. For example, with the Kranjcar free kick (which was a dive and followed a clear push that should have resulted in an fk for us, but anyway.....) it was obvious he was taking it and it was obvious it would be a right footed right-to-left bender. Therefore the two people on the left of our wall were never going to do anything useful. They could drop back which then puts pressure on finding the top corner rather than just getting it "up and down".

Great thread. Never heard "celery".

Scout me up.

Do a quick fix on it?

I thought the point was that he was stood off the pitch with the physio. He could've just walked round the perimeter whilst Bertrand came on but he jogged back onto the pitch. Anyway, that aside, he was fantastic. Although he doesn't "bomb on" like Shaw (yet) he will make runs forwards when space opens up and what I particularly like is that when he gets near the box his delivery is not predictable. He doesn't just sling it in, he looks up and considers low balls, high balls, pull-backs etc. He plays like an experienced old pro which is probably one of the best compliments you can give a teenager. Our squad is so much deeper this season (other than GK) - I think it's going to be very interesting.

Does anyone still want a ticket? I have one for £11. Reply to this post with an email address and I'll get in touch. Can handover in Westminster area during day or at the ground before match. Cheers, Benjii

I have a spare ticket in Block 25 available for £11 (face value plus booking fee). If anyone wants it, they ought to reply, quoting this post, with an email address. Preferably one that looks legit and undodgy. I will email back to arrange handover. Benjii

Shaw is easily the best left back at Old Trafford and the treatment he is getting stinks, in my opinion. He is one of a very rare breed: an English footballer who could be world class. I don't much care though.

I'd make a couple of changes for this but not too many. I'd like to give Long a game in the central role and I'd also start with Mane. Long could do with a goal and if anything were to happen to Pelle with Gallagher still out we would be pretty reliant on him to play that role so it's a good chance to see how he does. I assume Aldeweireld and JWP are out. ------------------------Forster---------------------- Clyne------Fonte-------Gardos------Targett -------------------------Victor------------------------ --------------Cork-------------Davis--------------- ----Tadic--------------------------------Mane----- --------------------------Long---------------------- Bench: KD, Yoshida, Bertrand, Morgan, Reed, Pelle, McQueen/Isgrove/Mayuka Actually, I'd be tempted with a bit of Josh Sims on the bench unless McQueen, Isgrove or Mayuka have been impressing lately. I'd probably remind Davis that Cork, Morgan and Vic have all scored already this season as well.....

What a load of rubbish. GK - same. CB - assuming Gardos is better than Hooiveld we have more depth at CB. RB - Clyne/Chambers, Clyne/TA = same. LB - Shaw/Targett, Bertrand/Targett - same but with Targett a year stronger. CM - same. Striker - last season it was Lambert or Gallagher (Osvaldo for a short period). This season Pelle, Long or Gallagher could play the central role so probably stronger given Osvaldo's limited shelf life. Attacking midfielder / wing - Lallana, Ramirez, Rodriguez vs. Tadic, Rodriguez, Mane, Long. Unless Mane turns out bad we should be stronger, especially as Gaston is never fit.