vs. Manchester City (H) (PL) - Sat 12/12/20 17:30 GMT

[Rustin Cohle]

One day before the derby and we still don't have a thread, shows how much apathy there is in our fanbase right now. Especially considering we even did the league double over this lot last season, and they're hardly setting the world alight ATM, so you'd think there is reason for optimism.

[Rustin Cohle]

www.football365.com/news/premier-league-preview-manchester-derby-reguilon-arteta

Big Weekend: Manchester derby, Reguilon, Arteta, Villa

SPOILER: Click to show

Game to watch – The sodding Manchester derby

The entire reign of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as Manchester United manager can be boiled down to a single week around this time last year. The club sat mid-table in the Premier League after consecutive draws with Sheffield United and Aston Villa, their only wins in nine games coming against Norwich and Brighton. The pressure was such that the manager held a supposed ’emotional’ meeting to inform the squad that his fate could be decided by their next two games: against Tottenham before a Manchester derby over the course of three days.

“I’m good, absolutely no problem,” he said at a press conference to start such a decisive week. “Sometimes you laugh when you read stories about what I’ve said, but at least I know the sources are not sources and are just made up, blatant lies.”

Everyone knows the pattern by now. United won both matches in impressive fashion to rise to 5th. Solskjaer vanquished Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola, two of management’s greatest minds, in less than half a week. Then a draw with Everton and defeat to Watford ensured any turned corners were met only with dead-ends. Repeat (m)ad(enning) infinitum.

It remains to be seen which category this game falls into, whether United will excavate further or climb triumphantly from their latest self-dug hole. No result can be particularly surprising with a team that beat a Champions League semi-finalist 5-0 24 days after losing 6-1 at home to its previous manager.

Manchester City only exacerbate that sense of uncertainty, Pep Guardiola’s shiny head reserving a rent-free space especially for Solskjaer. Three Premier League meetings have produced two wins for the Norwegian and some baffling City no-shows.

They are the better team and he is the better manager. They are also in much better form, even if titular books are traditionally thrown through windows for these fixtures: five consecutive clean sheets since that poor defeat to Tottenham; six goals conceded in 15 games since that woeful loss to Leicester. A point separates them in 7th and United in a respectable 6th, despite both possessing the baton of big club crisis at numerous stages throughout the season.

Not since September 2014 has there been a Manchester derby with both teams outside the top four. It is the first such meeting at this stage or later since November 2004, and will go far towards telling us which club – if either – is in a false position.

[safariRed]

Couldn't care if we win or lose. I had my heart set on decent champions League run and that's over.

0-0

[Bestie]

Dec 11, 2020 10:21:08 GMT Rustin Cohle said:

One day before the derby and we still don't have a thread, shows how much apathy there is in our fanbase right now. Especially considering we even did the league double over this lot last season, and they're hardly setting the world alight ATM, so you'd think there is reason for optimism.

All winning does is buy the manager some extra excuses to not just do the honourable thing. Possibly winning isn't actually a cause for optimism. Think that's why a lot of us are so apathetic.

[king nothing]

I'm still in shock that we are out of the CL. At the moment, I couldn't give a rats ass about the fucking lot of them.

[ratbag]

My apathy is growing by the day...

I'd love us to win because I always want us to win and this is against one of our more mortal enemies...

However, I am also aware that this just buys Ole and the board more time to vacillate and that makes me a lot more ambivalent than I would otherwise be...


...and that hurts...

[alt]

Completely ignoring the fact that we did well in these games last season. Given how shit and slow we are starting games, I fear the worst for this, and these won't crumble like West Ham and Southampton did.

Whatever the result, just please let it be his last game in charge.

[ratbag]

Dec 11, 2020 12:56:56 GMT alt said:

Completely ignoring the fact that we did well in these games last season. Given how shit and slow we are starting games, I fear the worst for this, and these won't crumble like West Ham and Southampton did.

Whatever the result, just please let it be his last game in charge.

It won't be and I think in your heart, you know it...

[Paul]

Its at home aswell so even less confident. This is the sort of game we'll get a result aswell with the up and down season we've had so far.

Just not looking forward to seeing us set up defensively with two DM's. Not a team you want to be on the back foot against.

[oscared]

How can we be so shit at home what's happened to our club?... NOT expecting much from now on I'm sick of feeling like we`ve turned a corner only to get tripped up in the next game. I would like to see Lindelof permanently left out of the squad but thats not going to happen.

[kstandhand]

We will get beat,reckon Marhez & co will get in behind Maguire & Lindelof far often.

[Tatty]

Same day as the Joshua fight. In December. Saying 2-1 to us.

[Paul]

Dec 11, 2020 16:14:56 GMT Tatty said:

Same day as the Joshua fight. In December. Saying 2-1 to us.

Let's hope history repeats itself.

[juanveron]

I hope we win. Don’t care if it buys Ole and Ed more time to dick around.

[bushy1987]

Perfect sat we get beat and ole gets sacked, Joshua gets knocked out too