Agree

I'm interested to see how ole handles this

I'm also glad the safety net of the city ban is gone

we've got a manager who won the CL, and various players who have played in title deciders/world cup finals and semis/CL finals.

if they can't handle the pressure of a match vs southampton for a top 4 place, they really shouldn't be at a club like united.

that said i watched some of everton vs southampton, and the saints were very good in the first half, should have been 2, 3-0 up, so they'll be a stiffish test.

This morning's City announcement should at least serve to kill any complacency that might have been tempted to creep into our players' minds.

comment by Don Draper's dandruff (U20155)
posted 4 minutes ago
we've got a manager who won the CL, and various players who have played in title deciders/world cup finals and semis/CL finals.
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So do Arsenal, so do Chelsea, Leicester have more players that have won a PL than us etc

The underdog/favourite psychology can affect players in strange ways. Tonight is our biggest test this season, imho.

We're in an excellent position, we could lose tomorrow and still get top 4 if we win all of our remaining games. It's going to take a lot for us to mess this up now.

I'd go as strong as possible tonight and then see what Chelsea and Leicester do before we play Palace.

I know top 4 is important but I'd really like us to win the FA Cup as well. Strangely enough though it may be the game against Chelsea where we can make ourselves 'weaker' without actually harming our chances much. Big week ahead but it's great that United are involved in big weeks. It's been too long!

I'm glad City are back in the CL. We should earn our place, not receive it like some sort of gift, and we will, Besides talent, we have some players of character playing tonite - I trust their will to win!

The proper mentality ultimately comes from the manager

A big test for ole and what hes learned from all those league campaigns under fergie

comment by Ji Sung Park's Cousin - Ole's joy

The underdog/favourite psychology can affect players in strange ways. Tonight is our biggest test this season, imho.
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true, we've seen lots of this over the years.

but i would add that, long-term, none of us are really that interested in being scrappy top 4 upstarts - we want to win stuff, and big stuff. so if any players are uncomfortable with the tag of favourites, they need to get over this asap, because we want this team to be favourites in 95% of the matches they play.

Our toughest test since Spurs you feel. It’ll be interesting to see if anybody is rested, they’re probably due it.

Regardless of how bad they look at the moment, I wouldn't be too comfortable about going to Leicester on the final day needing a win. We definitely need to win our next 3.

I'm confident we'll make it, but unfortunately I think todays ruling might affect our FA cup chances a bit. Had City's ban been upheld i think we would've been afforded the luxury of being able to rest a few against Palace. As it is I think that game now takes priority.

comment by -bloodred- (U1222)
posted 1 minute ago
Regardless of how bad they look at the moment, I wouldn't be too comfortable about going to Leicester on the final day needing a win. We definitely need to win our next 3.

I'm confident we'll make it, but unfortunately I think todays ruling might affect our FA cup chances a bit. Had City's ban been upheld i think we would've been afforded the luxury of being able to rest a few against Palace. As it is I think that game now takes priority.
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Ideally we'll have it sewn up before then. Even getting a draw there could be difficult as we've seen how games can change on mistakes (such as the Leicester game yesterday).

Lads, it's Southampton.

One a side note, will be interesting to see how we approach the Europa if CL is secured. We'll still be trying to win, of course, but one eye will be on the coming season and keeping certain players fit.

comment by RB&W (U21434)
posted 17 seconds ago
Lads, it's Southampton.
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Yea, and it was Burnley, Watford, Bournemouth etc

We are in a better place now, but we are not Liverpool or City

Quite frankly speaking, this will show us our mentality strength today.

It's fine we've been beating teams, but there was no expectation or serious pressure from the fans or club to be pushing for top 4, as it seemed we were far to gone.

Ole will find out a lot tonight about his players.

comment by Ji Sung Park's Cousin - Ole's joy Manticore (U2958)
posted 2 minutes ago
One a side note, will be interesting to see how we approach the Europa if CL is secured. We'll still be trying to win, of course, but one eye will be on the coming season and keeping certain players fit.
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I take it the 5 sub rule would apply?

If so we could probably use it as a mini pre-season tournament. Can't see the new season starting any later than mid-september.

Appreciate that it's not must win but it will send a strong message that we mean business!

Let's not mess around. Try and win all our remaining PL games. That's the mentality we should be adopting.

comment by -bloodred- (U1222)
posted 1 minute ago
comment by Ji Sung Park's Cousin - Ole's joy Manticore (U2958)
posted 2 minutes ago
One a side note, will be interesting to see how we approach the Europa if CL is secured. We'll still be trying to win, of course, but one eye will be on the coming season and keeping certain players fit.
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I take it the 5 sub rule would apply?

If so we could probably use it as a mini pre-season tournament. Can't see the new season starting any later than mid-september.
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I'm thinking we should go all out for the Europa as well. Winning breeds confidence. It would only be a maximum of three games anyway (I'm taking LASK as a gimme where the squad players can have a game).

I know there's a danger that players can get injured but they can get injured in any game. Players like Pogba and Rashford need game time anyway so ideal for them in a competitive environment

I don't think it will change anything. Right from the restart Ole has been saying we need get top 4. Not 5th, or EL, top 4. I wouldn't be surprised if internally the talk was always top 3. Ole's message to the players will be that we are track to achieve are target and to keep going, it won't matter whether we were outsiders or favorites. SAF was great at keeping players on task and so many years under him would have helped Ole learn those motivational skills.

comment by Diafol Coch 77 - A Reputable Poster (U2462)
posted 5 minutes ago
comment by -bloodred- (U1222)
posted 1 minute ago
comment by Ji Sung Park's Cousin - Ole's joy Manticore (U2958)
posted 2 minutes ago
One a side note, will be interesting to see how we approach the Europa if CL is secured. We'll still be trying to win, of course, but one eye will be on the coming season and keeping certain players fit.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I take it the 5 sub rule would apply?

If so we could probably use it as a mini pre-season tournament. Can't see the new season starting any later than mid-september.
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I'm thinking we should go all out for the Europa as well. Winning breeds confidence. It would only be a maximum of three games anyway (I'm taking LASK as a gimme where the squad players can have a game).

I know there's a danger that players can get injured but they can get injured in any game. Players like Pogba and Rashford need game time anyway so ideal for them in a competitive environment
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Yea, i think if we were to win either of the cups as well as getting 3rd, the belief in Ole would really go up (from the players) and, of course, belief in themselves. It would also tick a box for incoming players.

The Europa feels more winnable than the FA right now.

btw - on a side, side note... I wonder if having no crowds has actually benefitted us. Our fans don't really get on the players' back like, say, Arsenal... But it does add pressure.

I wouldn't worry about it. Whatever you need out of the last game, you'll get. Our team's shot now.

Comment deleted by Site Moderator

Ji. Perhaps the no crowds has helped us because at times we have looked a bit flaky when under a lot of pressure (especially away). I'm hoping this run though will put an end to that and, at OT at least (as the away fans always do it), I can see the crowd really getting behind the team the way they're playing now.

comment by Ban Wissaka (U5318)
posted 12 minutes ago
I don't think it will change anything. Right from the restart Ole has been saying we need get top 4. Not 5th, or EL, top 4. I wouldn't be surprised if internally the talk was always top 3. Ole's message to the players will be that we are track to achieve are target and to keep going, it won't matter whether we were outsiders or favorites. SAF was great at keeping players on task and so many years under him would have helped Ole learn those motivational skills.
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Ole said a few weeks ago he doesn't know where the top 4 talk has come from, as our target is 3rd, and two trophies.