DJS

Yeah, I'm not sure mate. That's why I put 'apparently' - I'm hoping the team I posted is wrong. If I know the team for sure, and that's happened quite a few times, I'll say something like 'this is the team' rather than posting with an element of doubt, as I've done with this one.

The correlation between this and Lovren playing, can't surely be ignored.

Bit of a rubbish chant, to be honest.

De Gea has signed a new 4 year contract with them - presumably that's his 'head' fixed and he'll play. Brilliant...

Further to my concerns about us not playing with enough discipline, not being compact and being too emotional & gung-ho, apparently the team is as follows... Mignolet Clyne Skrtel Lovren Gomez Ive Can Milner Firmino Ings Benteke

I think he'll be gone by next summer. It inevitably ends in tears, wherever he goes. He already said from day one that he's there for 3 years, I think it'll be cut short. I could be wrong here but the way to trouble them seems so obvious to me, based on having seen all their games so far. They lack pace and tempo, there's a lack of creativity & inevitably, their biggest threat and chance of goals is lumping in the air for Fellaini. Their attacking players do have threat but they can be negated easily if you get your game plan right and execute it. The way to play them is how we played at Arsenal - United have less pace, less flair and less attacking threat, so if we're compact and don't make a balls up, they will struggle to break us down and we can pick them off on the break, because their defence isn't great either. And here's where I worry. Not having a dig at BR but I don't think he'll have both the nous & the discipline to capitalise on this. I think the onus is there on us to 'fix' things after WHU & Rodgers will try to do so in an attacking and emphatic way. We had Clyne the other day saying how we'll 'go for their throats' etc. Of course this CAN work, if we make the right decisions in their third and take our chances. But what this will also do, is give them the exact opposite of what they struggle to play against - tight, organised and compact defences. So yeah, I fear we're going to get this very wrong tactically and play right into their hands. Really hope I'm made to look stupid & have got this very wrong, come Saturday night.

I assume you won't be wearing colours. Manc police put out a statement, part of which specifies that no pubs in Trafford or Central Manc will allow away fans. Might not even be an issue of colours, pubs often make you show your match ticket before entry and once they see its visitors end, it's a no-go.

We do, we just don't do it very effectively. Which makes changing it to suit CB more, an even better idea.

It's very early and this will hopefully change in time (and maybe when Sturridge is back) but through no fault of his own, Benteke is confirming the fears I had about us signing him - that he's a very good player who doesn't suit our style of play at all. He's been a bit isolated throughout our 4 games but the West Ham game was when it came home to roost, for me. Once again, this isn't in any way Benteke's fault, but we don't make use of his strengths at all really. Playing short corners and hardly ever providing him with crosses was the story of the WHU game and if we don't play more to his strengths, we'll be wasting him (and the money we spent). As I say, hope it improves but while he's been holding the ball up and linking play well, in terms of getting the most out of him in order to get goals, we need to adapt somewhat. Not convinced Rodgers wants us to adapt to what may be required. Really hope I'm wrong.

the perseverance in that episode was indeed admirable. It served as a great lesson for kids. If at first you don't succeed, keep battering the f*cker til you kill him.

That's still my favourite moment from a World Cup

Well yeah, I think most would agree that our mental strength isn't what it could be. It's the sort of thing that happens sometimes, your target slips further and further away, so your focus and determination does with it. It's like if you're 2-0 down and get one back, it gets you up for it and determined. If it then goes to 3-1, you think "game over" and give up. It's not good but it happens unfortunately. De Gea won them points they wouldn't have otherwise got, including 3 against us. By sheer definition, that makes a huge impact on their points tally. Not saying that was why WE capitulated, but what I said was the two biggest factors in them getting 4th and not us getting it, was De Gea's performances (which won them points) and the absence of Sturridge (which cost us points).

It's not an explanation or analysis, it's just the reality. The results of competitors DO sometimes have an impact. I didn't say that was the only reason. But the biggest two factors were De Gea winning them points (putting more pressure on us) and the absence of Sturridge. Switch them both and I think we would've got top 4. You disagree?

You're missing my point. The results of direct competitors can have an impact on a team. And it seemed to at times, on us last season. That's all.

We've never been hard to beat under Rodgers, except arguably, when we had Suarez & Sturridge firing together and were liable to score 7 even if we concede 3. In terms of being defensively solid and well organised, that's never been the case under BR and never will. I've had concerns about this for a couple of years. Consistently successful teams are defensively sold and hard to beat. Rodgers teams are neither and based on that, it's hard to make a case as to why he should be our manager.

Don't you think the results of direct competitors before you play, have any impact at all? The day after we lost the Chelsea game in 2013-14, City had Palace away, a game seen as being a test for them with the pressure on. Suddenly, with us losing the day before, the pressure was gone and City navigated the Palace game smoothly and without fuss. You don't see any correlation? Still having Suarez would've probably given us a title challenge. But even having lost him, a fit Sturridge and United not winning games they shouldn't have won (often due to De Gea) would've seen us in the top 4.

We were decent in Rafa's time. Most of the expensive ones were good and most of the sh*t ones were cheap. Yep and it's hard to put the blame for this on anything other than the fact that we're owned and run by people who still haven't got a clue about how football works.

The advantage many European clubs have, and this is especially well utilised in Portugal with how close the culture is to Brazil (and the fact that the language is the same), is the non issue of having to get work permits. That's something which always has and always will put English clubs at a huge disadvantage.

Nah, of course he can be annoyed. But it's when they make out they're so badly treated or hard done by. No awareness whatsoever about what living in the real world is like and no appreciation of good they have it, compared to probably 99% of everyone else.

I've no doubt he'll fume but what option does he have apart from getting on with things and playing? He isn't going on strike. What else do people think is going to happen? He'll accept the reality of the situation and play. I don't know who I feel for most, him or poor Berahino, being forced to stay in his £3m per year job, where he has to work about 18 hours a week.

Part of the reason we fell away to 6th is because (rightly or not) we got demoralised at seeing the Mancs winning some of the harder games we didn't expect them to win and strengthening their chances of 4th, and De Gea played a big part of that. The two main factors in where they finished and where we did (and there is a correlation between the two) were De Gea being brilliant and Sturridge being injured. I wish we'd done that with Suarez, to be honest.

The fee will depend on how many appearances he has for them.

Yeah but they're also deciding that Lovren is good enough. The two clubs who did that are currently able to spend circa £150m per window at a whim, with little or no consequence. When we can do that, it'll be the same.

We'll probably buy Ilori from Villa for £18m in 2-3 years.

Hope so.