I would say Blind is the ready made replacement for Carrick, I think his distribution is very under rated, and whilst people have raved over Carrick's distribution, it isn't anything special it's simple. By which I mean, it isn't what is often referred to as highlight reel stuff. It's simple passes that are effective. Let's not forget whom Carrick took the number 16 shirt off, and how we bemoaned him as a replacement for said player. We altered our style and built the team around Scholes and Carrick. We can alter our style again to suit Blind in that position.

As for your final comment, why? why tempt fate?

I defended Moyes to the last, and don't think he had a fair shot at the job, but the press are blowing up comments today which will stir up emotions among the fans no doubt. Were the comments from his press conference? If not, I wonder how blown up the comments are being made. The press are certainly angling it as if he's bitter and twisted against the club. Yet, getting sacked is part and parcel of the job these days and managers don't tend to hold grudges as they are making out here. I'm sure that it's only going to ramp up the fans at OT to go for a win, which has worked against us at times.

So apparently we have all four centre-backs fit for the next match, do we alter the Jones/Rojo partnership that has been doing very well as of late or not??

It is a tough one as Bailly is our best centre-back, but I think it is important to go with form in these situations, so I would for the moment keep things as they are, why disrupt something that is working well, is my thinking on this.

Hope it doesn't come back to bite me, but I'd doubt the difference between a good and bad result against Sunderland would be the choice of central defenders. It's much more likely to be down to how many chances we create and take so I don't think it matters to large extent. We could change things up and be quite confident that it's not going to cost us imo.

That said, with the Middlesbrough and West Ham matches so close together I reckon we might as well keep things the same for Sunderland and make the changes then when we're probably going to need to anyway due to tiredness or stiffness. That could be pre-emptively for 'Boro or reactionary for West Ham.

Sorry to bring it back to Moyes,but he really is making himself sound silly.

He's moaning about how United have lost tradition by spending lots of money on players,yet he's said United bid more than Real Madrid did for Bale....he wanted fabregas & Kroos was signed,they wouldn't have come cheap.

Moyes chose to do it his way and he failed. He removed a winning backroom staff and replace it with nobodies. Getting knocked out of a champions league qualifier doesn't count as champions league experience!

Moyes did dither in the transfer market-he knew fellaini had a buy out clause but chose to wait till after it expired before bidding for him.!

There's nothing wrong with wanting to asses the players already there,Victor Mosses is a good example of someone who needed the right coach, however Moyes fell out with the team almost immediately-"we need Rooney in case Van Persie gets injured"

The main trouble with Moyes is the things he says to the press ",Liverpool are favourites" No manager would admit their main rivals are favourites,it's just suicide!

Agree but I'd put it even simpler than that. It's going to be mainly down to how many chances we put away. Chances - plenty. Goals? More than one I hope because any team can score a goal against any other in any match.

He gave it a go and it proved too much for him, there's no shame in that and better managers than him would and have found it difficult.

However he's doing himself absolutely no favours at all with his continued bleating and refusal to accept any responsibility for how things panned out. He appears to be completely lacking in self awareness.

Apparently he thinks even Klopp and Mourinho would have failed when taking over after Fergie.

Succeeding someone like him isn't easy, but it's not supposed to be and was never going to be easy. Mourinho or Klopp would've made better uses of his resources and would've commanded more respect from the players.

It's not impossible to succeed after a great manager like SAF, to be the man that follows him. Bob Paisley managed it well enough.

I don't think we've seen enough of Bailly to say he's our best CB, but he's certainly been very impressive when he has played.

I think keep the momentum going with Jones/Rojo. Another reason to do that is that Bailly will be off to the AFCON in January any way - no point in bringing him in for a game or two.

I was about to come on and have a moan.

Seems everyone has got here before me.

The more he talks the more bitter he sounds. And the more anti-Moyes I become.

I pride how we tend to give returnees a good reception, but Moyes can swivel as far as I'm concerned.

Moyes is at his level now

I think he's just guaranteed himself a hostile reception from the fans on Monday.

The best reception we could give him would be total indifference, like any other manager of a team near the bottom of the table would get.

I hope we batter Sunderland......i know thats what everyone eants as a united fan but i hope we destroy them.

David moyes is an idiot in my opinion. His comments recently just stink of sour grapes and being deluded.

I was actually a fan of his till he said what he said.

Bailly needs more game time, I'm far more inclined to let Rojo and Jones play on till the cup game with Reading and then give Bailly and Smalling some game time then.

Don't really see much wrong in what Moyes has said the culture of the club has changed for worse, and it is losing its roots becoming what Houllier described as a factory rather than football club which is a big shame. Moyes is obviously cut up about his time at OT for his own reasons, because A- the players didn't buy into his ideas, B- He inherited an average squad, C- He didn't get the time to implement the changes he deemed necessary for the squad and D- the players he sought out didn't want to come. The whole climate and landscape of football has changed from a time where managers where given more time to make a difference in clubs, he felt Manchester Utd were a club that were traditionalist and stood by those principles. Having said that, I'm happy we have the Special One now - the commercialisation of the game is for the worse.

That's his problem, and his alone. The good mangers get anyone onside.


This one gets banded about quite alot - but this squad won the Premier League with relative ease only a few months earlier.


He presided over absolute failures in signings. He chased targets that everyone could see were impossible. Most of them were clearly playing him off for better deals elsewhere.

So then he had little choice but to panic buy for uninspiring targets. He paid over the odds for a player he knew (Fellaini) - yet couldn't actually get anywhere near the best out of him.

He also complains that we have become a big spending club. We always were when we needed to. And then he has the gaul to complain that we didn't spend big for him.

When you look at it - he actually was given ample time for anyone in any job with targets.

He should have just put his hands up - be grateful for the opportunity - accept he didn't do well - and move on gracefully.

Re. A) Players may not have bought into his ideas at least in part because of who he is - someone with no track record or experience at the highest level and that was IMO his downfall.
B) It was a high quality championship winning squad - albeit ageing, so changes were needed.
C) Time is of the essence in this day and age, even Mourinho will have to 'perform' far faster than SAF did.
D) Top players were probably reluctant to come because of A)

I supported him for most of the season but eventually when it was clear that we were not on an upward curve, agreed he had to go. Incidentally, we are now 2 points ahead of Moyes at this stage in his season, though still behind LVG's 1st season. Win our next 2 matches and we catch up with LVG's best as well.

I actually felt sorry for him when he was sacked. I was glad it happened but the way he found out was extremely poor imo.

However it's the constant bleating from hard luck Dave that is seriously pissing me off since he left.

The journos don't help, they are fishing for digs and he needs to refuse to give them any.

It makes him look a very bitter individual who refuses to accept any kind of responsibility.

Rip Rick Parfitt... Come on you Reds featuring Status Quo is one of the best footy songs.

Disagree on your B response, I think it's been evident in how much of the title winning squad have left. Fergie and RVP were the difference makers that season.

That was a classic tune and brings back fond memories from a golden era at United.

RIP Rick Parfitt.

Sad, sad, sad, sad times, 2016 gets another one, it failed with Carrie Fisher, but very sadly got Rick. So very sad.

That tune is still one of my favourites, footie song or otherwise.

As for Moyes complaing that we have changed, as we didn't used to try and spend big, did I wake up in a different dimension, or did we not break the transfer record on s fair few occasions under Sir Alex?? Pallister, Keane, Cole, and Veron, were all records or neigh on I think were they not? So once again, he is talking mumbo jumbo, just to try and aportion blame elsewhere for his, and his alone failings.

100% this, I hope this is the game where we vastly up our GD.

He shouldn't be shown any fondness, just indifference.

Yep, you're right, we've always spent big and imposed ourselves in the transfer market, obviously Fergie became more cautious with his spending, in his latter years, but he still spent big on "statement" signings when he needed to (Van Persie being the recent example). So I'm not sure what Moyes means when he says "United have lost their traditions". Welcome to 21st century football where clubs spend ridiculous amounts of money to compete with each other, United have to do it to stay with the big boys in Europe. Simple as that.

I think Moyes is just looking for excuses. He's been saying the same thing for 3 years, in some ways I don't blame him for being bitter about his exit after only 10 months, but he should have known his days were numbered when he failed to make Top 4 and finished 7th.

He's even complained that we "tended to pick British managers" but don't hire them anymore - yes, we use to hire them when there were some decent British managers around. But there aren't any at the moment who are good enough to manage United or any top 4 club. Why should we hire a British manager just to please traditionalists? Moyes should count himself lucky that he even got the job in the first place.