We are not "there" yet but the trend is clear to see where we are headed. Granted, it's a home game against a Championship level team but it was absolute dominance. We need to carry this over to the Newcastle game.
Erik ten Hag | 2022/23 & 2023/24
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Listening to the commentators, and reading some posts on here you'd think we were terrible.
Outside of some poor finishing in the final 3rd this was how'd you'd expect us to dominate certain Teams at home. In Another game it's a rout. The stats where so lopsided.
I thought I was going mad at times. Thank God someone else noticed it.
Savage kept commenting on the laboured play from the centre backs. Was baffling speak
Definitely felt like some sort of agenda at play. And he does tend to favour English players…
I would like to come back to this comment after playing Newcastle and Spurs. Because I think the team has improved so much. What is just lacking is speed in decision making, intensity and confidence. These will all come with games and personnel change
Could imagine Maguire playing who even slower if when trying to play at tempo, and not a peep from savage. Was ridiculous.
Jesus wept. I mean, there’s a lot wrong in that post but the bit in bold takes this biscuit.
Are you this negative in general? Like, away from football?
What the hell is this one talking about? How is the bolded even remotely negative? Did you even read? First post says we should attack at the cost of taking our lumps. Reply says we should only attack if it can be achieved without endangering the manager, otherwise play safe instead of going gung ho. You really couldn't pass up the chance to play top red you've gone and taken offense to your own misinterpretation?
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This thread is actually hilarious. Stevie Wonder could see the differences in play from the start of the season through to last from now and we’ve people making out nothing’s happening. Can only assume the obvious isn’t pointed out on Match of the Day.
Only it would be nice if we could score early goals.
Yeah. It'll take some time for players to get into sync with Ten Hag's requirements. Our finishing has been woeful, but that's been the case for a few years now. If we dominate play and create enough chances, it's just a question of bringing in a Rashford upgrade to bang in the goals.
I think for yesterday’s game, he’s pretty on point. De Jong is good at transitioning past the midfield, and yesterday we played up behind that block time after time. I don’t think De Jong would have made a huge difference. We got on Eriksen and pinned them even further back, which was natural as thei dug in, but we transgressed that line well even before that. The issues were the final ball and finishing. Many of the final balls were duds because they were to a static Ronaldo who was came second to almost every ball all might, except for the three finishes he scuppered. It could have been a game were he built on the Everton performance and showed his use in games were we dominate a weaker decide but meed goals. Instead he showed that his physicality is no match for top CB’s of the Cypriot league. I’d bet a lot that with Martial starting, we’d have a couple at least just in the first half.
It's right there in the same post but as you're not the first to ask I'll assume something was lost in translation and take the fault, cos you actually approached with reason. Poster A had a problem with ETH playing pragmatic. I'm merely trying to make them understand why we are having to play this way. The high press and attempt at control is not realistic in the first couple months, maybe not even the first couple seasons.
In fact I thought Rangnick should have done the same when it was clear it wasnt working so it's actually nice to see a manager be flexible. Back to back defensive managers have left this thing so unbalanced.
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I deleted my post when I realized I misunderstood your post. I think we're pressing against weaker opposition and it will take time till we'll be able to have more control against tougher opponents. We adapted well against Arsenal and Liverpool, not so well against City but it's obvious what ETH is trying to do and it will going to take time.
I disagree, in fact we don't have a single attacker who is in form/consistenly having good performances. I actually thought yesterday we played well as a team, moving the ball quickly what made it easier to create chances even if we were not really creative/composed.
I suspect we're not winning any trophies or even getting top4 unless we get a striker in. There are some positive changes in team cohesion after EtH came in, but our attack is not impressive. With Martial it's alright, it kinda works, with Ronaldo it doesn't.
Agree. Keep playing like that and we'll rinse teams
Shots on goal is a bit accidental statistic, but it generally seems to reflect very well the success of team tactics and results. This were our SoG-differences against our last six opponents under Rangnik:
-4, -2, -3, 1, -1, 1
These are the same under Ten Hag so far:
1, -3, 0, 1, 0, 3, 0, 2, -2, 4, 2, 12 (yesterday).
If you put this in a diagram, you’ll see a pretty consistently raising of the levels from Rangnik to early TH to last month TH, even including the City game. It also shows how unusually much we created yesterday, so it might indicate that we are heading in the right direction.
On another day we score 5 or 6. But let’s be honest, that SHOULD be the result considering the sheer gulf in quality of the respective squads - regardless of coaching. In that regard, in order to extrapolate anything from the performance on which might inform our view on ETH, it is not the goals tally that we should be looking at at all. It’s the manner we played in. Our application. Our ability to maintain intensity and really suffocate teams of possession till one of the chances go in.
In that sense I wasn’t really that impressed. We looked quite pedestrian and you could immediately notice the 4 or 5 occasions when we actually tried to step up the pace and play one touch and move quickly. We needed to do more of that. The centre halves in particular were slow and dawdling on the ball for no reason. Excitingly, it was Casemiro who seemed intent on playing things round the corner and moving the ball on quickly…which triggered some of our better phases of play.
In that sense I wasn’t really that impressed. We looked quite pedestrian and you could immediately notice the 4 or 5 occasions when we actually tried to step up the pace and play one touch and move quickly. We needed to do more of that. The centre halves in particular were slow and dawdling on the ball for no reason. Excitingly, it was Casemiro who seemed intent on playing things round the corner and moving the ball on quickly…which triggered some of our better phases of play.
I find that post confusing. First you say we could've scored 5 or 6, but then you say you were not impressed that we couldn't "maintain intensity and really suffocate teams of possession till one of the chances go in"? After a game with 30shots and 80% possession?
I do not think we looked pedestrian at all. I actually think we kept calm until the end and it paid off. We certainly did suffocate them though.
Teams cannot be buy
I’m saying that with the gulf in class between the two squads the score should have been and could have been much higher - regardless of who was coaching both teams or what tactics either side deployed.
I am then saying, break down the performance and there was a lot of slow and pedestrian passing. Shots on goal my arse. Out of 30+ shots our xg was 4. That tells you about the quality of the positions we got ourselves into to take those shots.
we worked an handful or really good chances well- as a result of us playing quicker and not dwindling on the ball. I’m saying, against a team like Omonia, I would have liked to see us playing with more urgency from the outset, closing down and panicking the opposition into mistakes. Moving the ball quickly without taking 4 or 5 touches first. We look good when we do that…we just didn’t do it enough.
That’s my point. We were too calm…almost…pedestrian at times.
I agree. His ability to adapt is one of the things I like the most. And it's something Pochettino does not have IMO and a big reason I did not want him while supporting ETH.
The gulf in in class was closed by Omonia goalkeeper. It happens. We created a lot of good chances and many more half chances.
Fair enough, you can always expect more from the team, I just can't see if you'll ever be happy because it is unlikely we'll get a higher xG this season.
If you watched the game yesterday and think we looked pedestrian you need to get a check up.
We lacked quality balls into the box, good finishing and just some luck.
I expected Sancho to start over Rashford. Rashy did really well except he didn’t score. Some of his efforts were atrocious.
With Sancho we had more penetration into the box. In games like this with bodies packed in the box, that is what is needed.
On another day Rashy would have put two away in the first half.
We lacked quality balls into the box, good finishing and just some luck.
I expected Sancho to start over Rashford. Rashy did really well except he didn’t score. Some of his efforts were atrocious.
With Sancho we had more penetration into the box. In games like this with bodies packed in the box, that is what is needed.
On another day Rashy would have put two away in the first half.
It's obvious that we have more of a structure and a style to our play now. The main issues remaining are that we still have a weak mentality due to being repeatedly humiliated last season, and we lack competent finishers apart from Ronaldo who is physically finished and Greenwood who will likely never play for us again.
Except finishings yesterday's performance was wonderful. We were moving the ball swiftly with intent. Created chances against a team sitting back for counter.
I am convinced this team is just one very good striker away from challenging for trophies. Of course, reinforcement at othet positions always welcome but our next top priority has to be a forward, a very good one.
I am convinced this team is just one very good striker away from challenging for trophies. Of course, reinforcement at othet positions always welcome but our next top priority has to be a forward, a very good one.
ETH has worked extremely hard with the squad and we can see it’s starting to pay off. Yes we should have put last nights game to bed much sooner, but the quality of passing and attacking movement looked very impressive and had Omnia scrambling around in their own half for the entire game.
As mentioned, I think we’re literally one or two players away from being a title challenger, and Ten Hag should be credited for that.
As mentioned, I think we’re literally one or two players away from being a title challenger, and Ten Hag should be credited for that.
I don’t get that perspective from them that with 20 mins to go in a football match it’s like you’ve already failed if you haven’t scored. It’s like they want to peddle failure as early as they can, abit like Merson when after 4 games of a season he says things like, “lose this and they ain’t making top 4 for me, I’m serious”. The last 20 mins is still the actual football match. It’s weird.
One Hag!
Spot on. I’d say we’re two or three players away from being a title challenger, not one or two, but the underlying point that we’ve seen a dramatic improvement in our performances under ETH is undeniable.
Yeah and ideally in January but sadly those leeches will make him wait until the summer
Apparently Cundy went for him on Talkshite last night and said it's no different to Solskjaer
that's funny at best anyone criticizing him right now....that match yesterday was a perfect example of how he's building this team to play
you have a team sitting in basically a block of 8 and rarely coming out of it yet we created 34 shots, created at least a dozen very good chances...the finishing isn't on ETH it's on Rashford, Bruno, Ronaldo for missing the target or not putting the ball in the back of the net in clinical moments. To say that should easily have been 5-0 isn't an exaggeration yet he gets the criticism for some sort of non alleged style of play?
you have a team sitting in basically a block of 8 and rarely coming out of it yet we created 34 shots, created at least a dozen very good chances...the finishing isn't on ETH it's on Rashford, Bruno, Ronaldo for missing the target or not putting the ball in the back of the net in clinical moments. To say that should easily have been 5-0 isn't an exaggeration yet he gets the criticism for some sort of non alleged style of play?
Think it's no coincidence that the time Martial has been on the pitch has coincided with our most cohesive link up play. Nobody else knows how to receive the ball in a central position, hold, turn one way or the other and link up with somebody else. Everyone else forces things way too much and lack composure. Martial, or a striker like him, is like the glue to our attack IMO. If they aren't there, it'll look disjointed because we're missing the vital cog.
man how badly does this team need a Saha or RVN as our number 9...ffs
Yeah, you can see that certain moves are being worked on in training and it's leading us to dangerous positions around the box. We just need a bit more composure but that'll come in games once the first goal goes in.
They all need shooting as Brian Clough would say.
Good post. I can see quick fluid football and us moving the ball quicker. Some good one and 2 touch football. Movement in final 3rd being better.
As you said not on ETH if players can't put the ball in the back of the net and put chances away. Created plenty of chances last night to win that game by lot more.
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