New season, same old Louis Van Gaal's United, at least we fortuitously came away with the three points. After the four Summer signings I'd allowed myself to get at least a little excited about the new season. But watching the pre-season friendlies knocked that out of me. They were only friendlies, so not too much should ever be taken from them, but the same old possession based " philosophy " looked like new players stifled by the same way of playing.
And after a quarter of an hour of Saturday's game it was obvious that we were back where we were at the end of last season. Tottenham are a decent team so it's still a useful three points, and it's obviously a far better start than last season. But for me, this season is as much about our style of play as it is where we come in the league, so Saturday was pretty depressing.
Saturday also showed, as if we didn't know already, that we are still short at centre back and I'm afraid I really don't think Wayne Rooney is going to be that much of an improvement as the main man as centre forward. It's hard to see how we are really that close to competing for the title or god forbid, the champions league, until we fill those two positions with real top class quality. The Summer saw us finally deal with central midfield, but there's still plenty of work to do.
I seem to be in a minority, but to me if you took Ashley Young out of that side on Saturday then we would have had almost nothing going forward. That forward line is just so slow and the lack of flair, creativity and imagination is a little soul destroying.
Of the new boys, I was impressed with Darmian, he looked like a good acquisition, especially being able to play right or left. Once Schneiderlin got into the game and felt at home, he increasingly looked the part. He definitely gave us a physical presence we haven't had in years there. If he improves as I expect him to, we have got a real player on our hands there. I don't know what to make of Memphis, I'm not going to judge him on one game, but I was expecting a bit more of a burst of pace. He never really looked to take anybody on in that way. He didn't look entirely comfortable in the middle behind Rooney either. The one time he seemed to come to life to me, was the one occasion when he got the ball wide on the right during the first half, it was if his natural instincts took over and he knew what he was about.
Schweinsteiger looked overweight and off the pace, for all the guff I have seen on social media. He may have had a commanding presence, barking orders, but his one meaningful contribution to the game was to give it away in a very dangerous position that Spurs completely failed to capitalise on.
As for Spurs, they were slightly disappointing, but if they'd converted that early chance that Kane provided for Eriksen who knows how the game would have panned out. And a final thought, If Tottenham are ever willing to let Kane go, I'd hope United are in for him, because he really is a proper centre forward. If he isn't England's number one striker by the end of this season, reputation's really do count for everything, because he's far better than Rooney for me.
And after a quarter of an hour of Saturday's game it was obvious that we were back where we were at the end of last season. Tottenham are a decent team so it's still a useful three points, and it's obviously a far better start than last season. But for me, this season is as much about our style of play as it is where we come in the league, so Saturday was pretty depressing.
Saturday also showed, as if we didn't know already, that we are still short at centre back and I'm afraid I really don't think Wayne Rooney is going to be that much of an improvement as the main man as centre forward. It's hard to see how we are really that close to competing for the title or god forbid, the champions league, until we fill those two positions with real top class quality. The Summer saw us finally deal with central midfield, but there's still plenty of work to do.
I seem to be in a minority, but to me if you took Ashley Young out of that side on Saturday then we would have had almost nothing going forward. That forward line is just so slow and the lack of flair, creativity and imagination is a little soul destroying.
Of the new boys, I was impressed with Darmian, he looked like a good acquisition, especially being able to play right or left. Once Schneiderlin got into the game and felt at home, he increasingly looked the part. He definitely gave us a physical presence we haven't had in years there. If he improves as I expect him to, we have got a real player on our hands there. I don't know what to make of Memphis, I'm not going to judge him on one game, but I was expecting a bit more of a burst of pace. He never really looked to take anybody on in that way. He didn't look entirely comfortable in the middle behind Rooney either. The one time he seemed to come to life to me, was the one occasion when he got the ball wide on the right during the first half, it was if his natural instincts took over and he knew what he was about.
Schweinsteiger looked overweight and off the pace, for all the guff I have seen on social media. He may have had a commanding presence, barking orders, but his one meaningful contribution to the game was to give it away in a very dangerous position that Spurs completely failed to capitalise on.
As for Spurs, they were slightly disappointing, but if they'd converted that early chance that Kane provided for Eriksen who knows how the game would have panned out. And a final thought, If Tottenham are ever willing to let Kane go, I'd hope United are in for him, because he really is a proper centre forward. If he isn't England's number one striker by the end of this season, reputation's really do count for everything, because he's far better than Rooney for me.
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