As for the match against Man Utd, having slept on it I’m ok. Frustrating, but it happens.
We were dominant, and the way they set up showed they were very happy with a point, while we were gutted. On our end, we didn’t create enough clear cut chances to go with the dominance.
MacAllister probably would have helped there, with his passing. We were taking too many low percentage shots too. Some days you need a scalpel, not a sledgehammer.
Overall I’m not ready to say we will put in a strong title challenge, as we are still a work in progress. With that said, you never know! We are up there, and we all know we can play better than this.
Arsenal are a much better side than Man Utd, but strangely it might suit us, as they will fancy their chances to beat us, and won’t be happy to pack men behind the ball and hold on for a famous point. So we can look forward to a good footballing contest with two teams going for it. Bring it on.
Roy Keane’s job as a pundit, first and foremost, is to promote the merits of the game we love, and ensure it remains an enticing product to all.
What his job should not entail… is to defend the dire ‘park the bus’ performance, served up by a club that is hanging on by its fingernails to remain relevant in what is becoming an elitist PL.
He needs to call it as it is… Ten Blag is under immense pressure at that club because his talents as a manager to perform, are being stretched beyond his capabilities. They had no intention of going toe-to-toe with us, which is a compliment to Jurgen in itself… but Ten Blag makes a very good living from this sport, the least he can do is participate in a manner that makes the game entertaining for the fans… Win, Lose or Draw…!
Wouldn’t surprise me if they asked Keane to say something stupid as there was nothing to fill the hour after the game with as nothing happened during the match.
I really think this is a game where the narrative changes dramatically with just 1 goal, especially as that 1 goal would likely led to more, and we were not too far from scoring that one we needed. Utd have been shit this season, but a lot of the defensive frailties have come from tactics leaving them desperately exposed. That was not the Utd who turned up yesterday. They came to do a completely different job and one that focused everyone on the areas 35 yards from their goal.
Like I’ve said before, they showed up with 3 defensive midfielders and dropped their striker so deep that he was effectively a 4th. Their attacking FBs barely left their own half and when they attacked they did it with 1 player, maybe 2. Despite that we still had 5 or 6 opportunities where we were just a fraction from scoring. We definitely could have been better with the ball and I’ sure we would have been with Mac at the 6 instead of Endo, but I dont think you can expect to create many more decent chances while still at 0-0 against a side so stacked with top internationals and so committed to doing nothing more than defending.
Unfortunately, Keane’s job, as understood by him and his employers, is to say the controversial confrontational stuff. At this point he is just playing a character.
I saw a call for Diaz to leave the pitch earlier, but in fairness the was the only one who actually provided some movement in the final third.
When Jurgen’s first subs were made, suddenly you saw the game open up a bit and we had a few chances as the tactics changed. Then, the second set of changes just killed it
Nunez was a pylon for most of the game. he doesn’t drop in to collect the ball, he doesn’t interchange with the wingers well. I really don’t think he’s a good #9 in this system and should be shifted to LW to change things up. Diaz is no Mane but he’s trying to get back into his old form pre-injury.
that was thoroughly boring trying to attack a bus for 90min. All these years and Jurgen still hasn’t solved this one.
Stacked with top internationals? Dalot, Shaw, McTominey and Hojlund? Varane who is well past his prime? We allowed them to settle down and defend exactly how they wanted due to the insipid passing, non-existent movement and idiotic decision-making. Szoboszlai and Salah spent the first half trying and failing to pass to each other even when they were 5 yards apart, completely unmarked.
Not saying that United’s setup wasn’t extremely negative and defensive but if this is the best we can expect in similar situations, we’re done.
As is thiago silva, but is still excellent when used in a way that allows him to play properly, which is what Ten Haag did with his side yesterday. Utd have been conceding goals this season but not because their defenders are bad, but largely because they had an incoherent tactical approach. They dropped that yesterday, allowed their defenders to just defend and do so in small space, and bolstered that with 3 combative DMs supplemented by a striker dropping in to make it a 4th.
The two other factors we’ve seen this season contributing to Utd’s failures are lack of effort, which was never going to be the case yesterday, especially with Bruno suspended. And secondly, their erratic goalie gifting goals. We were one of the few unfortunate sides who didnt benefit from that generosity.
I mention many times in the, in game thread, that our wide men are too predictable and therefore it is easier to setup to play against us as they always go inside.
If they do go outside it now gets the defender/defenders 2nd guessing and therefore causes confusion. Most of us have played and when defending it is always easier when a player only goes one way.
It is more understandable with an overlapping fullback/midfielder, but a lot of time we aren’t having that, especially on the right and then the opposition is so compact inside that there is no room to play. We see it when Joe comes on and plays an orthodox RB position, we then look more threathening as he overlaps Mo and now causes confusion in the opposition defence as we can now go both inside and outside.
