Man Utd (A) Sun 24/2/19

[JoeBuck1]

One of the upsides about yesterday/ this season is that the two big Spanish Clubs won't come sniffing around Salah nor Mane any time soon  as both are very good players in a regimented style of play, but are yet to be world class - unlike a Hazard for example. 

 

Means we can keep this side together and build on it , unlike 09 and 14 when we lost a key world class star to the Spanairds.

 

[TheDrowningMan]

You’re absolutely right and that puts us in a much better position than having to sign an Aquilani or Balotelli to replace a departing star, but the lingering downside is that unless we’re prepared to substantially outspend the two Manchester clubs, they’ll throw the kitchen sink at their squads in the summer and probably improve at a faster rate.

 

I mean, I doubt that will turn United into overnight contenders because the Solskjaer experiment won’t pan out as they hope if he gets the job permanently, but City with an even bigger lead in terms of squad quality won’t get any easier to overcome.

[johnsusername]

Keita taking some stick there considering he didn't even get on.

[Dr Nowt]

 

1 hour ago, aRdja said:

We started the game with our regular starting attackers, who would’ve been fresh as they only had two games in 2 weeks prior. They had no excuse not to perform yesterday. Bobby had half an hour, so I’d be okay to let him off, but Salah and Mane had the full 90 minutes. The former was so bad, he was destructive to our play and Klopp had to take him off the pitch. Those are the players more deserving of our wrath, and trying to deflect it to the back-up just seems a bit... for the lack of a better word, cowardly to me. I agree that we need a better back-up, but that’s more a discussion for the Summer 2019 Transfer Window thread IMO.

 

[aRdja]

22 minutes ago, johnsusername said:

Keita taking some stick there considering he didn't even get on.

These mental gymnastics on display to blame everyone else have been quite impressive I have to say.

[Grinch]

1 hour ago, JoeBuck1 said:

One of the upsides about yesterday/ this season is that the two big Spanish Clubs won't come sniffing around Salah nor Mane any time soon  as both are very good players in a regimented style of play, but are yet to be world class - unlike a Hazard for example. 

 

Means we can keep this side together and build on it , unlike 09 and 14 when we lost a key world class star to the Spanairds.

 

Hazard is world class and Salah isn't?   Based on Salah not affecting some games? 

 

Hazard goes bloody months doing fuck all.   It's why his overall numbers are always shit for a supposed world class player. 

[Guest Alex_K]

1 hour ago, johnsusername said:

Keita taking some stick there considering he didn't even get on.

Precisely the problem. Or did you expect Henderson and Wijnaldum - with all respect to him, given the season he’s had - to be in the team in the games that matter ahead of our 60 mil pound midfielder come almost the beginning of March?

[Lario]

2 hours ago, aRdja said:

We started the game with our regular starting attackers, who would’ve been fresh as they only had two games in 2 weeks prior. They had no excuse not to perform yesterday. Bobby had half an hour, so I’d be okay to let him off, but Salah and Mane had the full 90 minutes. The former was so bad, he was destructive to our play and Klopp had to take him off the pitch. Those are the players more deserving of our wrath, and trying to deflect it to the back-up just seems a bit... for the lack of a better word, cowardly to me. I agree that we need a better back-up, but that’s more a discussion for the Summer 2019 Transfer Window thread IMO.

 

So you're saying Salah didn't get the full 90 minutes?

[aRdja]

3 minutes ago, Lario said:

 

So you're saying Salah didn't get the full 90 minutes?

He would’ve had he shown any semblance of the player he is. He had a woeful game and we know he’s normally a good player. 

[johnsusername]

22 minutes ago, Alex_K said:

Precisely the problem. Or did you expect Henderson and Wijnaldum - with all respect to him, given the season he’s had - to be in the team in the games that matter ahead of our 60 mil pound midfielder come almost the beginning of March?

I agree. I would have liked to have seen Keita (or Shaq) come on instead of sturridge, who doesn't have an hour of decent footy in his legs.

 

Dunno why. Strange decision by Klopp. Also a strange decision to take Henderson off when he did.

 

We're trying to win a league while throwing on Sturridge and Origi. Reminds me of Ngog in 2009 and Aspas in 2014. 

[Pureblood]

1 hour ago, aRdja said:

These mental gymnastics on display to blame everyone else have been quite impressive I have to say.

No mental gymnastics.  Sturridge was shit.  

[Heinze]

2 hours ago, johnsusername said:

Keita taking some stick there considering he didn't even get on.

Invisible...get rid!

[aRdja]

3 minutes ago, TK421 said:

No mental gymnastics.  Sturridge was shit.  

I agree he wasn’t great. He wasn’t better or worse than our starting players; Bobby, Salah and Mane. To blame the failure on the back-up is at best dishonest, at worst cowardly. 

[Pureblood]

Just now, aRdja said:

I agree he wasn’t great. He wasn’t better or worse than our starting players; Bobby, Salah and Mane. To blame the failure on the back-up is at best dishonest, at worst cowardly. 

No it isn't.  You just have such a hard-on for Sturridge that you can't come to terms with the fact that he had an hour to actually do something yesterday, and he was fucking shite.  

[an tha]

3 hours ago, aRdja said:

We started the game with our regular starting attackers, who would’ve been fresh as they only had two games in 2 weeks prior. They had no excuse not to perform yesterday. Bobby had half an hour, so I’d be okay to let him off, but Salah and Mane had the full 90 minutes. The former was so bad, he was destructive to our play and Klopp had to take him off the pitch. Those are the players more deserving of our wrath, and trying to deflect it to the back-up just seems a bit... for the lack of a better word, cowardly to me. I agree that we need a better back-up, but that’s more a discussion for the Summer 2019 Transfer Window thread IMO.

We seem to be at crossed purposes.

 

We all know the first choice forwards had a poor game yesterday anf have been a bit up and down lately.....nobody is really on it every single week (maybe Messi and that preening prick at Juventus aside)

 

The problem is that when our first choice attackers are struggling or are out we have nothing in reserve, because the back up is always shite, because it adds nothing.

 

It is totally incompatible to how we like to play, it is miles off the level we need and it lets us down time and time again.

 

We know the front 3 will have poor games/be out at times/need a rest etc.....we should be able to expect something from their replacements - their replacements offer us nothing and have offered us nothing far too many times.

[Guest Alex_K]

9 minutes ago, johnsusername said:

We're trying to win a league while throwing on Sturridge and Origi. Reminds me of Ngog in 2009 and Aspas in 2014. 

Yep. Most painful is that - even with those deficiencies - we will probably get to 90 points or thereabouts. Which is insanely good in the context of our bench being led by 2 strikers whose most recent spells were at West Brom & Wolfsburg, and a 7 mil signing crlm Stoke who - to be fair to him - has done alright in some isolated games.

 

27 games into the season and I’ve got no idea what Keita is. A lightweight box to box midfielder with 0 goals and 1 assist in 25 appearances. It’s a laughable return. If the team around him hasn’t been so spectacular for so long he’d seriously be plumbing Aquilani type depths at the moment.

[aRdja]

4 minutes ago, TK421 said:

No it isn't.  You just have such a hard-on for Sturridge that you can't come to terms with the fact that he had an hour to actually do something yesterday, and he was fucking shite.  

I’m in agreement with you that he was shit. The bigger problem to me was that (fit and well-rested) Salah and Mane were equally as bad if not worse, and they both would have had the full 90 minutes. I’m not sure why a lot of posters are too scared to say that.

[magicrat]

29 minutes ago, aRdja said:

He would’ve had he shown any semblance of the player he is. He had a woeful game and we know he’s normally a good player. 

Shaquiri and Sturridge arguably did worse when they came on. Poor as our front three were and hard as it might be to accept Utd defended well ( Smalling in particular was very good ) and De Gea had fuck all to do all afternoon.  If not for Allison we would have lost that game. All said and done we got a point which many of us would have taken before the game.

[VERBAL DIARRHEA]

Sturridge and Origi offer little from the bench, and less starting. A couple of goals from Sturridge and one from Origi, all important but nowhere near enough.

Throw a kid on the bench, what is to lose, upsetting two forwards who aren’t performing who will both be off in the summer?

And we cannot play that sterile midfield again, functional won’t win it. 

4231 put Shaqiri or Keita in basically a free role in midfield and hold with Fabinho and Wijnaldum. If Firmino is out play Salah central, Shaqiri wide and Keita free.

[Dr Nowt]

23 minutes ago, aRdja said:

I’m in agreement with you that he was shit. The bigger problem to me was that (fit and well-rested) Salah and Mane were equally as bad if not worse, and they both would have had the full 90 minutes. I’m not sure why a lot of posters are too scared to say that.

 

[El Rojo]

20 minutes ago, VERBAL DIARRHEA said:

Sturridge and Origi offer little from the bench, and less starting. A couple of goals from Sturridge and one from Origi, all important but nowhere near enough.

Throw a kid on the bench, what is to lose, upsetting two forwards who aren’t performing who will both be off in the summer?

And we cannot play that sterile midfield again, functional won’t win it. 

4231 put Shaqiri or Keita in basically a free role in midfield and hold with Fabinho and Wijnaldum. If Firmino is out play Salah central, Shaqiri wide and Keita free.

Origi also banged one in against Wolves in the FA Cup game that Jurgen probably didn’t want anybody scoring in.

 

He’s clearly limited but he actually scores goals. Mad if Sturridge - who looks to have retired on a high months ago with that goal at Chelsea - starts over him on Wednesday.

[Ben Sherman]

I wasn't that shocked that Salah was shit. He's mainly poor against the big clubs. The bigger shock to me though was how bad Mane was. He's been pretty good lately but yesterday he couldn't complete a 5 yard pass. Robertson looks really tired, shocking that we have only Moreno providing cover. Our squad depth is non existent. Moreno, Sturridge, Lallana offer nothing and Origi although willing, isn't up to it. We really needed to hold onto Clyne and recall Wilson from Derby.

[El Rojo]

Agree that Robertson looks a bit gassed, hasn't been near his usual great standard over the last few games.

[aRdja]

19 minutes ago, Ben Sherman said:

I wasn't that shocked that Salah was shit. He's mainly poor against the big clubs. The bigger shock to me though was how bad Mane was. He's been pretty good lately but yesterday he couldn't complete a 5 yard pass. Robertson looks really tired, shocking that we have only Moreno providing cover. Our squad depth is non existent. Moreno, Sturridge, Lallana offer nothing and Origi although willing, isn't up to it. We really needed to hold onto Clyne and recall Wilson from Derby.

Milner provides cover too in fairness.

[The Golden Eel]

Srurridge is really just a last throw of the dice player who you think might stick on in the last 10 minutes of a game because he can occasionally score a goal out of nothing , unlike anyone else in the squad. Over 60 minutes, I'd take Origi every time despite his obvious limitations.