Bringing on Defenders for Attacking Players...

ArmchairCritic said:
....to see out games. Is it me or does this never ever seem to actually help? Teams just end up dropping even deeper and lose any coherent shape and I really wonder why the feck anyone bothers with this shit. Even when teams see out the game they invariably have a bit of a shit fit at some point and give the opposition a chance. What says the 'Caf?
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It might seem that way.

However if I'm being contrary (and I usually am) I'd suggest this could be a trick of memory. While several people here can remember a time when our team brought on a defender and then conceded - can you all recall a time when our team brought on a defender then successfully held out in a really dull final 10 minutes?

Probably not, because the absence of any incident means it didn't stick in our memory. For all we know for every time bringing on a defender led to conceding possession and then a goal in a crucial game, there might be 5 times when we held on for a dull 2-1 home win against some mid-table opposition.

Presence sticks our far more than absence, even if the absence is much more common. The mistakes you make stick out more than the things you get right, especially at a club like United, where we win so many games and losses are rare.

I'm not saying this is the case by the way. Just saying that memory can be deceiving.
 
How about an example of when we didn't replace an attacking player with a defender and it fecked us over?

I firmly believe that City would still be chasing their first PL title if Fergie hadn't left Phil Jones on the bench for 86 minutes in that helter skelter 4-4 against Everton.

Was absolutely mystified by his reluctance to shut up shop at the time and still irritated by it now.
 
Pogue Mahone said:
How about an example of when we didn't replace an attacking player with a defender and it fecked us over?

I firmly believe that City would still be chasing their first PL title if Fergie hadn't left Phil Jones on the bench for 86 minutes in that helter skelter 4-4 against Everton.

Was absolutely mystified by his reluctance to shut up shop at the time and still irritated by it now.
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Think you'll find this is also Moyes' fault. Our cowardice at City was more influential IMO, ruddy awful we were that night.
 
Pogue Mahone said:
How about an example of when we didn't replace an attacking player with a defender and it fecked us over?

I firmly believe that City would still be chasing their first PL title if Fergie hadn't left Phil Jones on the bench for 86 minutes in that helter skelter 4-4 against Everton.

Was absolutely mystified by his reluctance to shut up shop at the time and still irritated by it now.
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Complacency. The way he was laughing and joking around with the 4th official at 4-2, I think he'd taken the win for granted.
 
Varun said:
Complacency. The way he was laughing and joking around with the 4th official at 4-2, I think he'd taken the win for granted.
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It was one shite run-in, this, Wigan away (which was a fecking banker every other season), City away, we flapped it.
 
ArmchairCritic said:
It was one shite run-in, this, Wigan away (which was a fecking banker every other season), City away, we flapped it.
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Yep, as good a bottle job as they come unfortunately. Complacent after going 4-2 in the Everton game and absolutely shat ourselves for the City game. I still cringe when I remember the personnel we chose and the way we played in that game. Ridiculous.
 
ArmchairCritic said:
Think you'll find this is also Moyes' fault. Our cowardice at City was more influential IMO, ruddy awful we were that night.
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Can't agree with that. We could easily have lost the game against City no matter how we set up.

The Everton game was so easy to shut out, though. Maybe you could argue that we were good value for a 5th (Evra's header off the post, arrrggh) but chucking Jones into midfield would have shored things up and closed the match out comfortably.
 
Pogue Mahone said:
Can't agree with that. We could easily have lost the game against City no matter how we set up.

The Everton game was so easy to shut out, though. Maybe you could argue that we were good value for a 5th (Evra's header off the post, arrrggh) but chucking Jones into midfield would have shored things up and closed the match out comfortably.
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Ah got my wires crossed, thought the City game was before the Everton one, it wasn't. Should have shut out the Everton game then to be honest.
 
ArmchairCritic said:
Him and Fellaini's greatest Old Trafford moment:wenger:.
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Fellaini!

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All it does is make sure that you have no 'out' ball and invite pressure from the other team.

It is a stupid tactic. A better tactic is to bring on a strong CF who can hold the ball up, bring on new MFs with fresh legs who can run with the ball away from your own goal, or bring on pacey players who can dribble.

All of those are better than taking off a striker and bringing on a defender.
 
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