[Ryan57]

The former Everton manager has previously talked about a side who are capable of winning the Premier League and Champions League, but now appears to have his own doubts about their quality. "I think a lot of people thought Manchester United [winning the title] last season, that it was probably the form of the other teams that was poor," he said.

WTF?! Doubting his own words now.

[Ryan57]

Hernandez has had to wait until the end of September for his first start of the season, playing fourth fiddle to Wayne Rooney, Robin van Persie and Danny Welbeck.

It must be a source of confusion for Hernandez, who last season scored eighteen goals in just 22 starts. Wayne Rooney scored sixteen in 31. Welbeck two in 23.

Hernandez is on a par with the most clinical finishers in Europe. He has 35 international goals in only 55 appearances for Mexico. That is a better international goals-to-game ratio than Cristiano Ronaldo (43 in 106) and Lionel Messi (39 in 78).

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/foo...o-Ronaldo.html

I really wish he was given more games.

[bbfan1991]

United team to start vs West Bromwich Albion at Old Trafford:

De Gea, Jones, Ferdinand, Evans, Buttner; Nani, Carrick, Anderson, Kagawa; Rooney (C), Chicharito.

Subs: Evra, Welbeck, van Persie, Valencia, Fellaini, Amos, Januzaj.


Come on United.

[Brother Leon]

Buttner and Anderson....we are definitely conceding.

[bbfan1991]

I think he has the Shaktar Donetsk game in mind tbh.

[Ryan57]

Anderson needs a run. If he gets it, the fat sh-it may do well. Whereas Buttner is just abysmal.

[Ryan57]

Moyes and United head to Ukraine to take on Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League this week.

And Moyes has already warned that the squad he inherited from Sir Alex Ferguson might be the reigning champions of England - but aren’t good enough to conquer Europe.

Moyes said: “To win the Champions League you have to have five or six world-class players.

“If you look at Bayern Munich, they have five or six really world-class players, and to win it you might have to have that in your squad.

“Look at Barcelona, who had it in the past, and Real Madrid have maybe got it now.
“That’s the level you have to get at to win it. We’ve not got that yet. What we have got is experience and several players who are in that category or close to it.”

What on earth is wrong with this man. So pessimistic. And in public as well. His interviews are just painful.

Nice pick, Fergie.

Moyes makes it incredibly hard to back him when he doubts his OWN 'effin team. Needs to S T F U.

[Brother Leon]

Jesus. That man management

[Ryan57]

Really am concerned. The way he talks, I wouldn't be surprised if one player reacts badly and the rest follow. There was the rumour that RVP wasn't happy with him.

I've never known a manager be so negative. He needs to shut up in interviews.

[Brother Leon]

It's all just making me appreciate how Fergie handled things even more. Moyes is way too candid and media friendly for my liking.

[Legend killer]

Does it make you appreciate the utter **** Fergie left Moyes with as well???

BRB Young and Tony as your first choice wingers
BRB One DECENT centre mid
BRB 2 of your top 5 players wanting to leave
BRB Did **** all to convince Gill to see the window out

Beyond belief the state Fergie left this team in. EVERYONE knew the amount of pressure the new manager would be under and Fergie DID **** ALL to help the matter

Before you talk about winning the league last year let's not act like the PL was the poorest league in world football last year and apart from Madrid got embarrassed in pretty much every big game

AS I SAID BEFORE THE SEASON we were never gonna win the league this year and should prioritise cup football this season and allow Moyes to sort this joke of a team out during the summer

[Legend killer]

Does it make you appreciate the utter **** Fergie left Moyes with as well???

BRB Young and Tony as your first choice wingers
BRB One DECENT centre mid
BRB 2 of your top 5 players wanting to leave
BRB Did **** all to convince Gill to see the window out

Beyond belief the state Fergie left this team in. EVERYONE knew the amount of pressure the new manager would be under and Fergie DID **** ALL to help the matter

Before you talk about winning the league last year let's not act like the PL was the poorest league in world football last year and apart from Madrid got embarrassed in pretty much every big game

AS I SAID BEFORE THE SEASON we were never gonna win the league this year and should prioritise cup football this season and allow Moyes to sort this joke of a team out during the summer

[Brother Leon]

The squad was one midfielder or two away for challenging in Europe. Don't try it. Moyes is the one who wanted Fellaini and deemed him more important than someone like Herrera or even Ozil as a 10 and didn't go for both.

[Ryan57]

Moyes' attempts at sorting this team were pathetic. Him and Woodward were absolute twats this summer.

Admittedly, Fergie left behind a dire midfield however, Moyes should of fixed it. Instead he failed to do so. Pathetic bids, talking in public about Fabregas (most embarrassing thing to happen all summer was the useless pursuit of Fabregas), and banging on all summer about how good the team was yet now decides it isn't good enough, and is basically diverting the blame from himself.

Its also been reported today that Fergie pleaded with Moyes to keep the staff on. Moyes ignored him. If true, what an even bigger arsehole. Gets rid of good staff to bring in the most embarrassing coaching staff I've ever seen a top team have.

His first three months in charge have been shocking.

Also, what cup competitions are you referring to LK? FA Cup and League Cup I take it?

Edit: The negativity about your own team in public basically sums up how out of his depth Moyes is right now.

[Legend killer]

Yes keeping Phelan should have been a priority loool

[Ryan57]

Originally Posted by Legend killer

Yes keeping Phelan should have been a priority loool

Not Phelan of course. Well, he's probably better than Steve Round.

Also, what does 'BRB' mean? I always understood it to mean Be Right Back.

[Brother Leon]

Tbf to Moyes..he did want Rene to stay apparently. My main problem was the pathetic window(Woody's fault mostly) and the fact he has ruined a brick wall defensive partnership by playing Rio 20 times a week when it was clear he couldn't do this. Maybe the fact Zaha hasn't been given a go when Young and Valencia have been meh. Still think he will come good, but it is stupid to say he inherited a poor squad. Very stupid. He has no excuses, he needs to figure it out soon and deliver. Match goers have been great to him and I'm sure he will pay them back.

[Ryan57]

Originally Posted by Brother Leon

Tbf to Moyes..he did want Rene to stay apparently. My main problem was the pathetic window(Woody's fault mostly) and the fact he has ruined a brick wall defensive partnership by playing Rio 20 times a week when it was clear he couldn't do this. Maybe the fact Zaha hasn't been given a go when Young and Valencia have been meh. Still think he will come good, but it is stupid to say he inherited a poor squad. Very stupid. He has no excuses, he needs to figure it out soon and deliver. Match goers have been great to him and I'm sure he will pay them back.

Yeah, I personally don't see a whole lot wrong with the squad. The midfield is dire, but Moyes should of fixed it. Instead he pissed about all summer. No wonder Everton fans called him 'Dithering Dave'.

[bbfan1991]

Glad we are back to winning ways, our first half performance was awful and we were fragile at the back but we improved in the second half and WOW at Adnan Januzaj.. What a talent, two goals on his first start in the Premier League and MOTM too.

His second goal was quality. DDG's save in the first half was quality too!

David Moyes will be pleased after the faith he showed in Adnan Januzaj.

Hopefully this win will be a morale and confidence booster, but there needs to be more improvement by the lads.

[Ryan57]

From the Guardian (article on John Beck by Daniel Taylor)

Each to their own, you might think. René Meulensteen, formerly of Manchester United, has a pretty good reputation throughout the game. He is being tipped to replace Martin Jol if there is a change of manager at Fulham and his absence from Old Trafford has been identified as one of the factors to explain United's erratic start under David Moyes.

Yet Per Nielsen was the captain at Brondby when Meulensteen was manager and tells the story in his autobiography about how the Dutchman used to jump out in front of his players and shout "boo!" to prepare them for the noise of the crowd. Meulensteen changed walls from yellow (Brondby's colours) to green "to give the team hope" and there is another passage that conjures up some delightful memories of Gareth Cheeseman's self-motivational speech, into the bathroom mirror of his Travel Inn, before the Microsell '95 conference.

Meulensteen, according to Nielsen, prepared for a European tie against Frankfurt by standing in front of a whiteboard and asking his players to decide which animal they wanted to be. Nielsen went first, mostly to break the awkward silence, and asked to be a snake. Meulensteen did not like snakes. "Snakes are slow animals, we cannot have snakes in our defence, the Germans will outrun us." So Nielsen suggested a tiger. "That's perfect! Tigers are brave, fast and strong. That is exactly what we need from a captain." By the time he was finished, Meulsensteen had a crocodile, a fox, an elephant, a giraffe and pretty much half of Noah's Ark. "We are smart, fast and clever animals, we cannot lose." Nielsen remembers looking at the board and thinking: "We are sending an entire zoo on the field."

Rene. What a legend.

[bbfan1991]

Sunderland 1 United 2

http://www.manutd.com/en/Fixtures-An...ch-report.aspx

[bbfan1991]

Moyes wants to strengthen

Manchester United manager David Moyes admits he is still on the look-out for top players but is not convinced that January will be the right time to conduct such high-level business.



The Reds strengthened in the summer with the acquisition of Marouane Fellaini from Everton on deadline day and speculation has been rife ever since the window closed that others could follow the Belgian into Old Trafford next year.

As Moyes is impressed with the depth of the squad already at his disposal, he only feels one or two new faces are required to enhance the side.

"Look, the quality of the players here is really top-end," he stated. "They are great players to work with but, undoubtedly, we will, in time, try and make that better - the job is to make progress at Manchester United.

"They won the league last year but I want to try and progress on that, try to win it again and try to win the cups if possible as well. We'll also look to add to the squad if the right players become available."

When quizzed specifically on the prospect of entering the market in the New Year, the boss was happy to outline his current thoughts on the subject.

"I think I'll look at January but I wouldn't want people to have big expectations of what we would sign or do in January," he replied. "Because I don't think January has, in the main, been a great month to sign really at the top [level].

"I think if you're in trouble near the bottom you might [sign players] as you're desperate for something. But where I think we will be with Manchester United is looking for [only] the top players."

[bbfan1991]

Carrick: Adnan has it all

Michael Carrick says Adnan Januzaj can "be anything he wants to be" but doesn't expect the 18-year-old winger, who won United three vital points with two goals against Sunderland on Saturday, to be affected by his match-winning display.



Januzaj has impressed in three outings already for the Reds this season, but his first Barclays Premier League start was a step above his past performances.

United fell behind against Sunderland after just five minutes but in the second half Januzaj hit two beautiful strikes to earn United victory.

"He's done it on the big stage now," says Carrick. "It takes a lot of things [to do that on your first start]. He's got so much ability, he's got a great attitude too. He can be anything he wants to be. He's that good, he's got that chance.

"It's just the start for him. I'm sure he's not going to get carried away with it. But his two finishes... the first was on his weaker foot, you would think. His second one was just a terrific volley. We've got a lot to thank him for."

Januzaj played with the fearlessness you expect with a young player, and Carrick revealed that he gave Adnan some half-time advice to be confident about getting into shooting positions.

"I was telling him at half-time to get in the box because there were chances for him," Carrick told Sky Sports. "It was two great finishes, so he's won us the game."

Good praise for Adnan. I'm sure Adnan won't get carried away and will keep working harder to improve, he seems a humble and nice guy too!

[bbfan1991]

Moyes: United merited win

David Moyes expressed pride at the way his Manchester United side came from behind to notch an invaluable victory over Sunderland.



The manager was delighted with the way the champions maintained composure, despite losing an early goal, to find a way back into the game thanks to two wonderful Adnan Januzaj strikes.

Moyes told MUTV: “I was pleased with the reaction of my players to going 1-0 down. I didn’t think we deserved to be 1-0 down, albeit we could have been 2-0 down at one point if it wasn’t for a wonder save from David De Gea.

"I thought we made a real mistake to give them a goal but I thought after that we controlled most of the game, albeit I didn’t think we forged enough chances. We had lots of crosses and balls into the box but nothing really which was telling enough to get us a goal."

Although the manager admitted he would like his team "to have scored a few more goals," he felt the outcome was still a fair reflection of how Saturday's game panned out.

“I thought today’s performance merited a victory," said Moyes. "That was an important thing for me. I thought we merited it. We played with more speed and there was a better intensity to our game."

[bbfan1991]

Moyes hails Januzaj impact

Manchester United manager David Moyes hailed Adnan Januzaj's dream full debut after the teenager scored both goals in the 2-1 win at Sunderland.



The Reds trailed to Craig Gardner's early strike but turned things around in the second half with a couple of superb strikes by Januzaj, his first competitive goals for the club. By starring for the Reserves in their Manchester Senior Cup win against Bolton on Monday, the promising youngster proved he was pushing for inclusion, particularly after not making the long trip to Ukraine in midweek.

"I remember giving Wayne Rooney and Ross Barkley their debuts and Adnan is certainly in that quality," enthused the manager.

"Starting Adnan certainly wasn’t a gamble for me. I see Adnan in training every day, I saw him on tour and actually he’s even got better since coming back from the tour. I would have probably put him in the team three or four weeks ago. There were a couple of games when I was going to start him. I just felt that until we got a bit of momentum into our play, I thought we had to wait. As it was, he’s looked as good as anybody in training so I thought he deserved to play.

“His goals were great. Two different types of goals. As well as that, I think he had another two shots in the first half which were very close as well. They were good efforts. His second goal was a great one. The timing of the volley, the technique... I actually really enjoyed the first one. He got hold of it, played it out wide, followed it into the box and ended up scoring from about the penalty spot.

He’s a really good talent but Manchester United will keep his feet on the ground. Anybody who watches MUTV will have seen him play in the Reserves on Monday night against Bolton. And we’ll do that, we’ll try to bring him on at the right speed."

When asked how he will try to manage the increasing media attention on Januzaj, the manager said: “I’ve had that experience with Wayne and one or two other players. We’ll just make sure he’s not treated any different and try not to get the media too hyped up about him. But it’s difficult not to talk about a boy when he puts in a performance like that and he scores two goals. But he deserves it. He’s a really humble boy and grounded boy. I’ve not got too many fears about him."

Januzaj was certainly a big talking point in Moyes' post-match press conference, including the topic of which senior international team he could turn out for. The United youngster has yet to commit himself with a full cap for Belgium, the country where he was born and the team he has played for at youth level.

"I think he’s got a choice of countries to play for, probably three or four," said Moyes. "He’s been called up by Belgium several times and has chosen not to play for them at the moment. He’s wanted by Albania, Croatia and a few others as well. He can play for several countries, including England. I think there is some way he could qualify for England. I think it may have something to do with his residency."