Our game management today

Skills

Snitch
Joined
Jan 17, 2012
Messages
43,013
I can't remember us ever looking so comfortable while holding a lead in the post Fergie era.

There was a moment, where Shaw and Bruno kept knocking it between each other to suck the Spurs forwards in. Then they just slowly recycled it back all the way to the keeper, killing time and also frustrating Spurs. Excellent work
 
So many instances of things like that in this game. Things that surprise me when I see them with this group. The one touches in traffic for example. Even with dense groups around them.

I do think this attack has a weakness, that being any time they need to rely on the air to soften things up. But that is countered by the strength of our back line, their speed and skill that so nicely supports the build.

If and when they get the forwards sorted this team is going to be exceptional. Because with Case settling in now they are incredibly smart and tough on the back end. And to that end, if we find ourselves without Ronaldo, what I would do is try Antony as a false ten. I know people will give me grief here. But he possesses well and passes well. And he would be in the middle portion of the field more to favor his left foot usage on goal. And lastly it would allow for playing Sancho again on the right wing. He is capable of holding the wide side, it's not ideal but the way we move the ball now he would have others to play off.
 
I always felt like if I were a player under a manager would I listen to them?

Put it this way, if you are a player, would you run through brick walls for that manager? Would you be scared of letting them down?

I would with Klopp, Ancelotti, Conte, Jose and Klopp. But I wouldn't under Moyes, Ragnick, Ole.

ETH has that character where if you feck around you are dropped. He will show you videos of what you did wrong at a game and expect you to fix it.

Prime example, look at Sancho. Strolling back against City (I think it was), he got benched. ETH clearly spoke to him about it, now Sancho since Newcastle runs back and helps with the press.

They aren't on holiday anymore like under Ole, and Ragnick was very intelligent and spot on with a lot of his assessments but he was effectively a substitute teacher nobody listened to.
 
This type of game is the sign of a good team. Low scoreline but kept the opposition quiet throughout. I saw us play the cannon fodder teams under Ferguson and win only 1-0 when everyone was expecting 5-0. The scoreline and game as a spectacle was disappointing but watching the game itself, you saw said cannon fodder never lay a glove on us, never once looked like scoring and United barely phased despite it being only a one goal lead.

The Solskjaer era version of this game would have involved Spurs constantly looking like a threat and us holding onto the seat of our pants for most of the game, and the 2-0 would have almost certainly come in the last 5-10 minutes when Spurs committed a ton of people forward based on them gaining confidence and momentum in getting an equaliser, they feck it up and we score from the counterattack and the 2-0 flatters us rather than them.
 
The use of the word team work over and over again by ETH makes me think he actually knows what he is doing. It's been translated in the pitch. He needs more time to implement his ideas and vision but that game management is really starting to show. There has been ups and downs as we always were told by Ole but thus time, there actually looks like a plan instead of passing the ball to Bruno and letting him shoot from 50 yards.
 
We all knew he was an up and coming top manager, its no surprise we look better than we did under Ole and others. The one touch passing to waste time and keep them at bay, whilst incredibly simple, only happens with a team that's properly coached. We also have a lineup consisting of players who can do those quick one touch passes, even one out of sync ruins it for all of them. Maguire for example.
 
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