With the benefit of hindsight we didn't have the team to 'get the job done'. For me, you have to play the best team you have for each game.
In this specific game, we're fighting for 4th (how lame is that!) And for some reason the decision was taken not to start Pogba. I just can't understand the logic of that... after a 3 month lay off! He should have been ready to go. Based on today he was good to go, but he didn't start....
If he did start, I think we would of faired much better.
Again, I would disagree.
Just because we didn't win, doesn't mean it wasn't a good selection. Football isn't exclusively about the starting 11. There's luck, or the lack thereof, theirs playing a game with very little "preseason" after 3 months, and so much other variables. The ONLY way we messed up, I think, was conceding a dumb goal, but nothing we can do about that, when we arguably have our best defense out there doing the dumb stuff and messing up.
Up front, sure you can nit pick at the poor finishing but again, it's been MONTHS since we've played, surely there will be some rustiness.
Now coming to your pint of playing "best team you have each game".
Sadly, this is exactly what an arm chair manager will say, sorry to say.
There is NO way that is possible with our last 9 games, and then the FA cup as well, especially since our players have been out for 3 months. Unless you want our players to drop like flies, you have to use your squad and rotate it wisely.
Again, Pogba for me had enough minutes. I'd rather ease him in and have him for the full final run, than play the "best team every game" and have him and many others drop to the injury table, cause that's exactly what will happen.
Look at the short turnaround between our remaining fixtures also bearing in mind its more like a start of a season (3 months is even longer) with a less than desirable preseason to get back to
match fitness:
Next game is in
4 days
JUNE 2020
Wed 24 Premier League
Man Utd v Sheff Utd
3 days
Sat 27 FA Cup
Norwich v Man Utd
3 days
Tue 30 Premier League
Brighton vs Man Utd
4 days
JULY 2020
Sat 04 Premier League
Man Utd v Bournemouth
5 days
Thu 09 Premier League
Aston Villa vs Man Utd
4 days
Mon 13 Premier League
Man Utd vs Southampton
2 DAYS - Probably will be moved, into what will still be a heavily congested fixture list. So probably another 4 day gap will be made.
Wed 15 Premier League
Crystal Palace vs Man Utd
From here Dates are TBC but you'd still think they will be close together, particularly if we win against Norwich, which will give us another game.
3 days
Sat 18 Premier League
Man Utd vs West Ham
8 days - if we win in the FA cup against Norwich. The FA Cup semi-finals will take place across the weekend of Saturday 18 July and Sunday 19 July, with the Emirates FA Cup Final on Saturday 1 August. So I full expect this 8 days to be cut in half to accommodate a semi final.
Sun 26 Premier League
Leicester vs Man Utd
If we make it to the final. Then
6 days till that match.
Then we got Europa league starting August 5.
4 days after the final, again, conditional on us managing to get there.
When you look at that, no manager worth there salt can start their best side with 4 or 5 days between games, every game. It's just impossible, even with 5 subs.
A point against Spurs is disappointing but not the end of the world.
Unleashing Pogba against Sheffield (albeit for 60 mins I'd suggest) on Wednesday is more prudent in the long term.
I also expect other players to be rested more than usual due to this run of fixtures, because injuries are a real possibility. Igahlo to start over Martial, Williams for Shaw, etc.
While fun for us, because we get to watch a glut of football, but for players and manager it's a very difficult balancing act.
So for us to just say it was a mistake to not play Pogba from the start tonight is a bit short-sighted and a tad over critical of what I truly believe was a difficult game to judge based on the unusually circumstances we faced.
Most pundits said yes on paper, United should win, but at the end of the day, football doesn't play out on paper.
Funny thing is, even if Pogba played tonight and we still drew, like we have on many occasions, people would have still found something to complain about against Ole and for me, it just feeds into this culture where us as fans think we know better, but truly we don't.
Yes we can have opinions, just like what I'm saying right now is my opinion, it may even be bollocks, but to say things in fact, as if we know better, for me at least, is a bit disrespectful to professional managers who don't have our privilege to hid behind keyboards and critize willy nilly.
This is not a slight at you, and I hope you don't take it that way, but just the culture of fans these days. It's probably always been like that maybe, but hey, guess it's part of the game too now.
Its emotional as a fan, I get that, and unless you winning the league every year at a canter like Bayern and others, we will always have turbulent times. During which, I feel it's better to give the benefit of the doubt to a manager who has, in my view done so much better than any of our preceding managers post Fergie, and results will eventually match it, we seeing it in patches, at that's to be expected, just like Fergie didn't conquer all before him in his first few years.
Again, I know you were not writing Ole off and merely suggesting Pogba should have started, but I think Ole did a good enough job with his line up and was let down by his captain and first choice goal keeper.
Spurs literally were toothless and if it wasn't for Lloris playing an excellent match, we could have won this 3-1.
Essay over.
EDIT: I do not you say best to you have. And not just best team. But again, what we see, and what he sees in practice, in consultation with his staff and the players, I don't think Ole says, nah I'm going to go with the second best team today. More that he had put out what he believes is the best team under the circumstances that largely we won't fully know.
But still, doesn't stop us from giving our opinion though.
He’s been fitter than a starting Harry Kane and Rashford.
