Jay007

His goal was a lovely finish, but some of the others were poor (particularly the one from James' ball, which looked like it was harder to miss.) Still, he's in good form at the minute and he's on a good goal-scoring run. Hopefully it continues.

Well, this thread is certainly a low point in the history of MUT/TMU anyway.

Watching his free-kick was certainly a surprise - they're usually pretty abysmal, so seeing him hit one so sweetly left me a bit stunned. It reminded me of Ronaldo's free kick against Portsmouth. The change in system and Martial's return have definitely had a positive impact on his form, as it now allows him to play a role and in positions which suit him much more than being the main, central striker. It would be good to see him being left out of the team on occasions though, because playing so often will take it's toll on him. He's one of the players who always seems to play. Even when he's left out of the starting 11, he's often brought on. That's mainly due to injuries to other players and a lack of cover up front, but it's something we need to address.

Another impressive performance from him, solid for most of the game. Away at Stamford Bridge is a difficult game anyway, but considering how isolated he was left up against Chelsea's wide men he did a great job. He's got such a great attitude, and last night in particular we saw that he's got some fire in his belly. Great to see, especially after recent years.

Only saw the MOTD2 highlights, but it looked a good performance. Yes, it was only Norwich who were poor, but we played some good stuff and it was good to see us play well and be more clinical. Some of the link up play between Martial and Rashford was wonderful. I don't think the opposition matters too much in regards to that because playing weaker opposition doesn't just automatically make things click, so it will apply in other games (even if the execution will be harder to pull off.) It was also a nice finish by McTominay, who played well again apart from one mistake at the end. There were still players behind him who should have done more as well, so that's one concern from the game. That's now two away wins in a row, albeit against relatively weak opposition, but hopefully it'll boost the confidence of the players and it'll be enough to see our form pick up for a little while.

He's certainly been impressive in his two starts so far, both his ability and mentality. I think it's right to ease him into the team to start with rather than just throwing him in, but he'll certainly get more chances. Who knows though, the LB spot is certainly up for grabs, so if he continues in the same fashion then he could make it is.

Not a convincing win at all to say the least, but we secured the win and are close to qualification. I'm not that bothered about the performance in the circumstances. Even with our 'strongest' team we haven't exactly been a cohesive team playing great football, so a team full of players who are (either or a combination of) fringe players, young players, players who aren't match fit etc is never going to be pretty.

It was a good goal yesterday, good movement to evade the defender and get onto the end of the ball. Aside from that, his overall performance was much improved and he was a danger. The type of game yesterday where he will have more space suits him, as did his role in the team. He'll never be the main central striker, he's much more suited playing from the left or in a pair when he's allowed to drift out wide, rather than being the focal point and/or playing with his back to goal. Hopefully Martial can come back strong and stay fit for a decent period, as that'll suit him and us much better.

I would definitely have taken a draw beforehand, but conceding a goal so late in the game makes it feel like a defeat. It was the same old story in some respects - not being able to kill a game off and take chances when we're on top. Despite that, it was a much improved performance. I thought we were excellent in the first half, pressing them high up the pitch, not giving them a second on the ball,. We also did a lot better on the ball and gradually became more dangerous as the half wore on and got our rewards with a good goal. My concern was always that, because we weren't making the most of our superiority, we were always going to end up under pressure. Liverpool were going to start playing a bit better, but the main issue was that we were always going to tail off. We were never going to be able to keep up the first half performance for the whole game. Their goal came from one of, if not the only, time we switched off. We could perhaps have done with fresh legs earlier, but I'm not sure we had players on the bench who were suited to coming on in those circumstances. It was good to get the point and stop their winning run, but this game will only matter if we follow it up with continued improvement.

Sad state of affairs at the England game tonight. I can't see the whole second half being played now.

I think you have to consider the importance of having a solid spine, and we don't. Even considering the stronger options we've got, I think we've got too many weaknesses. Marshall is a decent goalkeeper but not fantastic, and he's probably the best we have from what I've seen of the rest. At CB, we're not just weak but pretty atrocious I'd say. Our midfield (along with wingers) is probably our best position with good options, but inexperienced at this level and we're struggling to find the right blend I'd say. Up front we're also weak imo - Griffiths is our best striker , but has been unavailable. And admittedly I haven't seen McBurnie regularly, but when I've seen him at both club and international level he's not impressed me. He's always looked pretty average. We're also weak at RB, which we could probably get away it if we had better options elsewhere. Then you've got a problem that some of the players who do so well at club level don't replicate their form, a lot of which is down to state that the national team is in. Robertson would be the best example, he gets quite a bit of flak for his performances for Scotland because he's often very poor. But the same applies to others as well. Also, this may be harsh to say without knowing the players personally, but I do wonder if the players aren't as bothered about playing for Scotland as previous generations when you consider that many of them fit into one or more of the following a) playing at a higher level b) playing for successful club teams or c) getting paid more handsomely. They're maybe not as keen on slogging it out for Scotland when they're able to enjoy playing for their club team (insert joke about McTominay playing for a shit club team here ). Certainly their individual performances are very flat, which obviously makes the team performance very flat.

The only way we can salvage anything vaguely respectable from the season would be changing manager -> the players suddenly raising their game to try to avoid having to accept any kind of responsibility for anything that's happening on the pitch -> get to January and make a couple of signings who can walk into the team and make a difference. If we're relying on this group of players to have a respectable season we'll be waiting for a long time.

He has to go unfortunately. I don't think it'll make a significant difference in the medium-long-term without radical change at the club because there's certainly no argument that can be made to say he is the only problem. But today feels like it should be a defining day. There's too much water under the bridge and I really can't see how he can turn it around.

It's hard to say anything about him without sounding like a broken record, but he's not a central striker and never will be.

"The Midnight House" by Alex Berenson. Members of a former interrogation unit are murdered, and an ex CIA agent is persuaded to investigate. Described as a thriller but more like a crime novel I'd say, as it's more intrigue than action packed. Nothing groundbreaking but a decent read. My Manchester United Years by Bobby Charlton. I've had it for a long time but never got round to reading it. Really enjoyed it, obviously he's got some powerful stories to tell since he's been through so much.