Manchester United pre-match thread

[suffolk fox]

Hey as a couple others I'm a United fan that has joined recently. 

 

I agree with the other poster that said Blackett has been one of our best players this year which surprised me a bit because he was poor on loan at Birmingham last season. But he seems to relished going up a level and done well in pre-season and has carried it on. 

 

I think the match will be close. It will be interesting to see how we cope with teams pressing us. We haven't done too well in the past but with a few new players and a change in tactics I hope we will cope well. 

 

I watched the match vs Arsenal which I think you should have won and saw highlights of the Everton and Chelsea games. Hopefully we can get the win and the QPR game wasn't a false dawn!

Hi,

Just want to say we certainly will not give you the time and room your midfield had against Qpr last Sunday. We will press you, and try to break up your midfield play. One thing we cannot do against you is give you time and space on the ball (qpr certainly did). I can't wait for Sunday as has been mentioned already how refreshing it is to converse with sensible quality opposition fans in the premiership and not idiots from nobody's like Watford, Forest, Derby fans etc.

I wish you well after Sunday of course, rather you win it than the Scousers.

[LCFC FOX]

Hopefully Di Maria stays on De Laet's side and not onto the other wing against Koncheskey

[Guest ttfn]

I think that the keys to this game from our perspective are twofold:

 

1) Stop Blind getting on the ball.

 

2) Stop di Maria getting on the ball.

 

Now this has the potential to be a massive problem for us. With United likely to be operating with a diamond, the only way I can see us combatting this is with a 4-4-1-1, with Hammond nominally picking up di Maria and Nugent stationed on the defensive midfield distributer in Blind, as he has been to great effect on many occasions in the past. A 4-3-3 would put a lot of pressure on the most advanced midfielder (presumably Drinkwater) to stop the supply coming through Blind.

 

The problem is that this will nullify a lot of our own threat. Selecting Hammond and Nugent (given that Ulloa is not going to be left out) effectively means that one of Drinkwater and Cambiasso won't play, and probably means that Vardy won't either. Arguably we are sidelining 2 of our 3 most important players just to cope with the opposition's tactics, which is not exactly ideal.

 

You could squeeze all of Drinkwater, Cambiasso and Vardy in and have a presence at the back and front of the midfield, but there are 3 main issues with that:

1) Nugent will be on the wing, where despite doing ok in the Championship for Portsmouth, he has been bobbins for us.

2) As said above, it puts Drinkwater, rather than Nugent, on Blind.

3) By and large previous experiments with 4-3-3 have not been an overwhelming success.

 

I think if we are going to press United Hammond has to be in there, because otherwise there will likely be a big hole between defence and midfield. If we are going to sit off them I don't think he is needed and a 4-4-1-1 with Drinkwater and King or Cambiasso as the midfield pair becomes a possibility, albeit we would have to have 2 pretty compact lines of four in front of the keeper to deny di Maria space.

 

Personally I would favour the latter and to be looking to hit United on the counter attack:

 

Schmeichel

 

De Laet

Morgan

Moore

Konchesky

 

Mahrez

Cambiasso

Drinkwater

Schlupp

 

Nugent

 

Ulloa

 

subs: Hamer, Vardy, King, Hammond, Knockaert, Wasilewski, Albrighton

[ScouseFox]

"hi firstly just like to say well done on promotion i've been wanting leicester to get promoted for ages now!" 

 

is what every fan who signs on here says. why? why does everyone want us to get promoted? or are they just lying? 

[Julian Joachim Jr Shabadoo]

It's a better in than "Look I know nothing about you but let's be honest we're going to batter you small-time 2nd-tier-standard nobodies. Leicester 0 - Mighty Mighty Man United 7"

Even if that's what they might be thinking!

[veezeeblue]

well i still cant believe it but i am gonna be there on sunday

i am gonna actually see our us live in this huge game - over the fookin moon

 

- singing along

 

OH OH OH He´s magic you know !

..........................................

Ohhhhhh his name is Leonardoooo !

..........................................

[Union FS]

Quick preview of the United game available here for anyone who's interested.

 

Sunday can't come around soon enough!

 

[Haydos]

"hi firstly just like to say well done on promotion i've been wanting leicester to get promoted for ages now!" 

 

is what every fan who signs on here says. why? why does everyone want us to get promoted? or are they just lying? 

 

There have been a lot of positive comments about us on Reddit since the start of the season. I think a lot of people are either nostalgic and enjoyed the 90's Premier League or they genuinely see us as a honest club that plays good football. A lot of people seem to feel the same about Forest, Derby, Leeds etc as well.

[Corky]

"hi firstly just like to say well done on promotion i've been wanting leicester to get promoted for ages now!" 

 

is what every fan who signs on here says. why? why does everyone want us to get promoted? or are they just lying? 

 

Wouldn't be the fact that Man United have beaten us in each of our last 9 league meetings at all?

[Leicesterpool]

I think 1-3 United sadly, i think one or two of the new united stars we start to settle in, it won't be a walk over for United I do think Leicester will create a few chances and score. No shame in losing to United    

[Eddie Big Balls]

"hi firstly just like to say well done on promotion i've been wanting leicester to get promoted for ages now!" 

 

is what every fan who signs on here says. why? why does everyone want us to get promoted? or are they just lying? 

 

 

Well I think it's 2 things - 1) a little arse licking so that you say nice things back

and 2) Leicester are a seriously big club and I would much rather you guys in the league than the likes of Fulham, Cardff, Swansea, Wigan, Stoke etc that we've had in the last few years. Added to that you have a lovely stadium (I've said on here before that my only ever United away was to you guys in the first or second season I think, when it was the Walkers' stadium? On top of that there's an added attraction for United fans in that you have a lot of United youth products in your team and you play an entertaining style of football, unlike most of the teams who have come up in recent years, and you not only do that but you manage to do it with no little substance too, which is where teams like Reading have fallen down in recent years.

[ScouseFox]

Well I think it's 2 things - 1) a little arse licking so that you say nice things back

and 2) Leicester are a seriously big club and I would much rather you guys in the league than the likes of Fulham, Cardff, Swansea, Wigan, Stoke etc that we've had in the last few years. Added to that you have a lovely stadium (I've said on here before that my only ever United away was to you guys in the first or second season I think, when it was the Walkers' stadium? On top of that there's an added attraction for United fans in that you have a lot of United youth products in your team and you play an entertaining style of football, unlike most of the teams who have come up in recent years, and you not only do that but you manage to do it with no little substance too, which is where teams like Reading have fallen down in recent years.

 

haha fair enough. 

 

yeah i guess i get all that, just wondered because fans of every decent team we've played so far (see what i did there stoke, you're not decent) have said similar. i'd always kinda assumed that to "the big boys" we were just a nothing club, yoyo club, bit boring but occasionally make headlines (knockaert vs watford etc) to remind people we're still a club. a pleasant surprise that most fans that i've read comment on us genuine seemed pleased and interested that we're back up. 

[johnny the fox]

haha fair enough. 

 

yeah i guess i get all that, just wondered because fans of every decent team we've played so far (see what i did there stoke, you're not decent) have said similar. i'd always kinda assumed that to "the big boys" we were just a nothing club, yoyo club, bit boring but occasionally make headlines (knockaert vs watford etc) to remind people we're still a club. a pleasant surprise that most fans that i've read comment on us genuine seemed pleased and interested that we're back up. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruB_AkIvS9Y  sounds like they are mad for it..

[Carl the Llama]

haha fair enough. 

 

yeah i guess i get all that, just wondered because fans of every decent team we've played so far (see what i did there stoke, you're not decent) have said similar. i'd always kinda assumed that to "the big boys" we were just a nothing club, yoyo club, bit boring but occasionally make headlines (knockaert vs watford etc) to remind people we're still a club. a pleasant surprise that most fans that i've read comment on us genuine seemed pleased and interested that we're back up. 

There's a simple explanation for that: Stoke are very much threatened by our presence, but the Arsenals and Evertons won't feel that right now.  Their attitude to us will be different in a few years when we're fighting for their spot in the table.

[shailen]

they are still the biggest club in the world, and unlike Chelsea and City their success came through their youth system. Dont think we can hold them so i am going for a 2-0 loss.

[UnitedRoad]

The reason why I wanted your lot back in the PL was mostly down to nostalgia. When I was growing up, Leicester were a proper PL established club. The late 90's were a good time for me and it's almost like having a part of that back with Leicester back in the Premier League after so many seasons out. It's better than bloody shite Welsh teams like Cardiff and horrible little Burnley coming up too.

Don't take this wrong way but I won't care too much if you get relegated (doubt you will anyway tbh) but it's nice to have you while you're here. Hope Charlton and Ipswich get back up as well for similar reasons, Forest and Leeds too due to them being big clubs yet floundering in the Championship as sleeping giants. Also it's always nice to pummel Leeds once or twice a season.

[veezeeblue]

ducking and covering

[KFS]

Helmet firmly placed on!

[cjslcfc]

The reason why I wanted your lot back in the PL was mostly down to nostalgia. When I was growing up, Leicester were a proper PL established club. The late 90's were a good time for me and it's almost like having a part of that back with Leicester back in the Premier League after so many seasons out. It's better than bloody shite Welsh teams like Cardiff and horrible little Burnley coming up too.

Don't take this wrong way but I won't care too much if you get relegated (doubt you will anyway tbh) but it's nice to have you while you're here. Hope Charlton and Ipswich get back up as well for similar reasons, Forest and Leeds too due to them being big clubs yet floundering in the Championship as sleeping giants. Also it's always nice to pummel Leeds once or twice a season.

 

Nooooooooooooooooo.

 

No No No No No.

 

Obviously the argument about the size of a football club is a common one. Do you measure it solely by trophy success? or by things like fanbase, time in the top tier etc... as well?

 

I do, however, dislike the term "sleeping giant". It's a ridiculous overused term which suggests that these clubs deserve their place at the top because of their history. It suggests that they've always been successful and that at the moment they are suffering a low period. It suggests that if they woke up and were promoted, they would be challenging right at the top. All of this is rubbish in relation to Nottingham Forest and Leeds.

 

Now, this is not me saying we are a bigger club than Forest and Leeds. I'm not. I think they are bigger clubs, mainly down to the fact they've won the top division/European cups/FA Cups a few times, had more time in Europe etc... . I'm sure very few on here would dispute the fact that they have been more successful and are bigger clubs. However, I like to call them clubs who overachieved for a while.  For both clubs the majority, if not all, of their honours came in one period of time, whether it be Don Revie for Leeds or Brian Clough for Forest, and apart from that they have spent time wandering between leagues for half of their history as a football club. Just look at the all time top tier table below:

 

1. Liverpool 96 3830 1773 953 1104 6283 - 4669 4499

2. Everton 108 4214 1717 1046 1451 6594 - 5883 4480

3. Arsenal 94 3830 1715 994 1121 6291 - 4846 4424

4. Manchester United 86 3474 1634 862 978 5975 - 4502 4130

5. Aston Villa 100 3880 1603 916 1361 6427 - 5761 4122

6. Manchester City 82 3316 1244 823 1249 4995 - 4949 3311

7. Newcastle United 80 3198 1249 784 1165 4895 - 4608 3282

8. Tottenham Hotspur 76 3090 1238 758 1094 4818 - 4420 3234

9. Chelsea 76 3094 1211 808 1075 4656 - 4449 3230

10. Sunderland 80 3112 1208 713 1191 4908 - 4777 3129

11. West Bromwich Albion 73 2842 1027 689 1126 4322 - 4546 2743

12. Blackburn Rovers 71 2682 1009 644 1029 4258 - 4270 2662

13. Bolton Wanderers 72 2764 1007 635 1122 4110 - 4390 2649

14. Sheffield Wednesday 66 2582 980 612 990 3976 - 4020 2572

15. Wolverhampton Wanderers 62 2384 938 536 910 3990 - 3870 2412

16. Derby County 65 2468 906 585 977 3764 - 3910 2397

17. Sheffield United 60 2356 871 560 925 3531 - 3762 2302

18. Middlesbrough 60 2400 813 601 986 3399 - 3713 2227

19. Leeds United 50 2060 846 523 691 3079 - 2784 2215

20. Nottingham Forest 56 2178 800 549 829 3069 - 3171 2149

21. West Ham United 54 2206 751 546 909 3150 - 3494 2048

22. Burnley 52 2020 792 453 775 3205 - 3239 2037

23. Birmingham City 57 2306 724 583 999 3049 - 3656 2031

24. Stoke City 55 2106 698 504 904 2775 - 3285 1900

25. Preston North End 46 1720 671 390 659 2701 - 2569 1732

26. Leicester City 46 1900 603 500 797 2796 - 3247 1706

 

 

So, in terms of time in the top tier, both are bigger than us but not by that much. No one refers to Wolves, Bolton or Blackburn as sleeping giants do they?? 

 

Even if the argument is in terms of fanbase and potential I think we have just as much as at least Forest. No one refers to us as a sleeping giant! We now have well over 300,000 in Leicester and the ability to draw for all of the counties around us. Nottingham has a smaller population. Leeds does have around 800,000 and not so may large clubs around that area, so you could argue they do have the potential to have a massive massive fanbase. However, going back to the history argument they've been around for under 100 years. How long do you have to be sleeping?

 

Sorry for the rant but "sleeping giant" does my head in.

[DANGEROUS TIGER]

We've been a "sleeping giant for" far too long.     

[BlackburnClaret]

Great points made by cjs. Looking at that table, and all the stats, I find that a town with a population of only 70,000, that is in within 45 minutes of Liverpool and Manchester, and many more top clubs, Burnley's record is hugely impressive. Even though I do say so myself.

[filbertway]

For me, a sleeping giant is a team with an already decent fan base/stadium that is ready made for Premier League football and comfortably beats the majority of teams in their current division. Though the size of fan base seems to be less and less relevant with the amounts of money companies are willing to spunk on televising the Prem.

[ousefox]

United fans on redcafe seem a very decent lot. Better than all the fake fans I have met over the years.

[Haydos]

For me, a sleeping giant is a team with an already decent fan base/stadium that is ready made for Premier League football and comfortably beats the majority of teams in their current division. Though the size of fan base seems to be less and less relevant with the amounts of money companies are willing to spunk on televising the Prem.

 

Bang on, hence I would say Leeds are definitely.

[BlackburnClaret]

For me, a sleeping giant is a team with an already decent fan base/stadium that is ready made for Premier League football and comfortably beats the majority of teams in their current division. Though the size of fan base seems to be less and less relevant with the amounts of money companies are willing to spunk on televising the Prem.

But surely if they were beating the majority of teams they wouldn't be sleeping. The Wolves side of the mid eighties were always described as sleeping giants, and seemed quite fair.

One club that I've always though had the potential to be much bigger are Bristol City. With the size of the catchment area etc, I'm surprised no one has taken them further.