Jay007

Late to this post but I agree with the gist of this. There are certainly things that the Glazers can be criticised for, but a lack of investment over their time here is not one of them. We made plenty of big signings between their takeover and Fergie's retirement, and that has only escalated since then. We've spent a phenomenal amount of money since Fergie required, only outspent by City I believe. Then you can add in the fact that we have regularly finished near the top of the 'wages league' and I think it's obvious it's not a lack of spending in that time that has led us into this position. I would argue, in some respects, that we have over invested in some areas. We've been held to ransom when it comes to transfer fees, which has led us to being caught in a vicious circle that we probably can't get out of, and when it comes to wages we've been held to ransom, rewarded failure and been too hasty in throwing big wages/pay rises at players who haven't done enough to earn it. The biggest problem we have is a lack of football knowledge in the Board Room, or at least with the people/person who is making the big decisions. Our whole strategy over the years has been an absolute mess and completely disjointed to say the least - managerial appointments that haven't worked out, a transfer policy which hasn't made much sense half the time, a scouting system which doesn't seem to work any more or which isn't being listened to, a PR strategy which has focused on "style" rather than "substance." I like some of what Ole is doing/saying and have big concerns about other bits, but I don't think we'll ever be able to judge him completely fairly because of the mess we're in and how big a job it is. Whether or not he does end up being replaced, I'm not convinced it will make a huge difference in the medium term because of the lack of faith I have in the Board and because of everything else that I think needs to happen. People talk about us needing to rebuild the team, which is certainly true, but we really need to rebuild the club and the whole philosophy (for want of a better word.) If the Glazers/Woodward do want to reduce the wage bill then I don't really have a problem with that in itself, depending on what happens next, because we really have to get things back under control. I'm not trying to say that we're struggling financially, I'm talking about what it's led to in terms of the players' attitudes, squad cohesion, complacency, the standards we've set etc. I think if we want to be back at the top, we need to make decisions that might be seen to be quite drastic and start again.

I think he should have done better with the goal last week, but I don't think he has a chance of winning many aerial duels at set-pieces against players who are more physically imposing than he is. He probably needs to try to be a bit more clever, blocking runs and making challenges in the air to put the opponent off rather then winning the header.

I agree with that. I'm in the middle of the spectrum of opinion with Rashford. He's got the potential to be a very good player, but he isn't going to be World Class or the brilliant player that some think he's going to be. He's never going to be a 25-30 goal a season striker. He doesn't have a striker's instinct imo. I've always thought he should be developed into a left-sided forward. You do have to wonder how much better a player he is than when he broke through and I think the answer to that is he's not much better, if he is at all. I don't think it helps than he's never had any serious competition, because I think he's become far too complacent. ...and this is something that annoyed me today. It doesn't just apply to him, but to most of the attacking players and midfielders we have. I can think of 3 occasions (two from James, one from Wan-Bissaka) when a great ball was played across the face of goal, yet not one player had the nous or hunger to gamble. One of the occasions Rashford wasn't too far away from it, yet made very little attempt to get onto the end of it. Even though we weren't great today, if we had a player who was able to sniff out the chance of a goal then I think we'd have won. And I don't even mean a really top class striker - even a poacher who's been a consistent goalscorer in the Premier League, like a Defoe, Chicharito etc.

Another fantastic finish today. He's certainly one bright spark for us. He's raw, but his pace is frightening and he's a danger for the opposition. His attitude and work ethic are also fantastic. We certainly have some players who could learn a thing or two from him in that regard.

Strange and surprising move really, if it comes off. I think he's the least worst of the CBs who are further back in the pecking order (basically the others apart from Lindelof, Maguire and Tuanzebe,) so I would have preferred the rest to go first. They all have to go eventually though, and considering how many CBs we currently have we need to start letting them go asap, I'm not that bothered.

I didn't realise he was available, but think that might be a decent option actually. He's not brilliant by any means, but can be a handful and would offer us something that we don't have. Signing him for a year on a free is a no-lose situation I think.

I've only seen highlights so I don't have the full picture, but what I did see is along the same lines as everyone else. We might have had a lot of shots, but very few were great chances. James' goal was a wonderful finish, and the defending for both goals was woeful, including the goalkeeping. The first two games were decent performances, so how they respond to today is a big test. Usually we should expect to see a reaction to this. Based on their track record I'm not confident about that at all, to say the least.

I would start him in the next game, as I don't think we should be too hasty since we're just into a new season. But if his form continues the way it has been for a while then we should question whether he deserves to keep his place in the team. His performances were abysmal at the end of last season, and that was another howler today. It should have been a straight forward save.

I've had my doubts about whether Rashford could be a 25-30 goal a season striker for two main reason. Firstly, his lack of composure, albeit he has shown more composure in spells over the last year. Secondly, I don't think he is ruthless enough, which was the problem last night. Considering he scored twice last week, one of which was a penalty (on top of scoring a high pressure penalty in the CL last season), that penalty should have been his as soon as it was awarded. He gave in far too easily and wasn't in any way strong enough to make it his.

I can see where you're coming from with this. He does have a languid style to say the least so he'll never look like he's working that hard, but I don't think his overall performance was brilliant yesterday. Better than last season certainly, but that's not a high bar. One of the things that really annoys me about him most, actually, is how hesitant he often is. He seems to always want to slow the game down, taken even more time, take extra touches etc. He needs to make decisions more quickly and speed up his play. He certainly has the ability to be direct and he should take that chance more often, as he does lose a lot of opportunities because he lets opposition players get settled into their positions. On the plus side, it was good to see him get a goal in the first game, so hopefully this will give him confidence and drive him on.

Nice way for him to start for us, and it obviously meant so much to him. Everything that I've seen about him so far suggests that he's so humble and he feels honoured to be here. I'm interested to see more of him as the season progresses.

Great to see him hit the ground running. He's always going to cause problems with his pace and dribbling ability, but it was particularly great to see him show such great composure to get his two goals. He and Martial both have a big responsibility this season, so for them to both get goals on the first day of the season is a great start and should give them a lot confidence.

Fantastic debut performance. He's a great athlete, solid defensively and such a great tackler. It's brilliant to have a such a quality full-back again after such a long period. His attacking play doesn't look up to much just now, but that's not a huge concern for me. We need to improve an awful lot defensively from where we were last season, so we need him to be solid defensively first and foremost. Anything on top of that will be a bonus.

I certainly wasn't expecting that scoreline. I was fairly confident that we would win, but as I predicted a 2-1 win in the predictions thread I thought it would be a close scoreline. You can't get much better than a clean sheet and 4 goals to start the season. Performance wise it was more of a mixed bag - we took a long time to get going, in the first half they were walking through the midfield and we rode our luck with the amount of chances they were creating. But we saw some great individual performances, we improved in the second half, were clinical and able to control the game, and our two strikers were able to get off to a good start with goals. Some positives with some areas of improvement, but a great start to the season.

@CelticDevil I'm here for you if you need me, bro.