[lawliet354]

Who didn't even play on the right? I suppose it didn't help that our left wingers weren't playing well, nor the rest of the team. But the lack of a real threat on the right has been an obvious issue for a good while.

You think Jose would have fixed it after going one full season without one, it's really strange that he hadn't sort this issue yet, I'd play Lukaku there instead of Mata/Lingard ever again

 

[Rozay]

The other day I made a thread questioning the importance of 'big games', and it's because of shit like this. This was an important 3 points for us. We had all been so consumed with Liverpool, and have dropped the fecking ball here which could cost us.

 

[ghagua]

Disgusted.

 

[JustinC00]

We've completely lost momentum since the Liverpool game. That's on the manager.

Has as more to do with injuries and player mistakes as it does Jose.

If Mata wasn't dispossessed so easily we likely don't give up the 1st goal

If Jones doesn't go out or if Bailly is available do we give up that 2nd goal?


Hard to put those things on Jose. I mean tactics only get you so much, players still have to produce.

It's a bit ironic though that people were saying Mkhi needed to be sat for Mata because of his play which included losing the ball so easily and what happens? Mkhi is on the bench and Mata gets knocked off the ball and it turns into a goal.

Then there is the stonewall penalty we should have had. If we convert it and get a goal back that early does it push the team to get their shite together?



Then we look at the injuries, not sure a team could lose 2 of their top 3 CM that are as crucial as they have been to how we play and not be worse off for it. Herrera and Matic is just something that clearly doesn't work, which has been the pairing in the last 3 games. Yes there are other options but 1 of them is Carrick who is unavailable and 1 of them is a 20 year old in McTominay. This is where Pereira deciding he needed to go on loan is coming back to bite us.

 

[Ødegaard]

1. Individual errors.
Mata for the 1st goal, Lindelöf for the 2nd.
And that's just the obvious ones leading to goals against...

2. Bad players & set up.
We ran with no ball-play ability from CB after Lindelöf came on instead of Blind, and had only Matic in the middle able to do some passing, struggled to get through their lines with normal play and resorted to Matic trying a pass over to Lukaku or Martial trying one-twos while getting annoyed.
Herrera, Mata & Lingard were awful. Martial in a early yellow and seemed to scream for a red.
Lindelöf needs to be binned, lacks the qualities needed to play in the PL, or at the very least for a title-aspiring team.

3. Shit and inconsistent ref. (annoyance more than a reason for the result)
Penalty on Herrera, free kick to hudders when Lingard got the ball between his feet vs pass to gk when we got it "our way" later.


Positives to some degree for me was Young, Lukaku, Rashford, Valencia and to a lesser extent (did ok but not quite good enough) Matic, DDG & Mkhitaryan.
Thought Rashford did well and tried a lot, Mkhitaryan was a noticeable upgrade in supporting our attack on Lingard, Young did reasonably well & Valencia had some trouble with their 2v1 situations where they got past him but apart from that he was his old self. Lukaku I thought ran a lot and offered our attackers the support & options they could hope for from a striker, but they failed him most of the time.
DDG wasn't at fault for their goals, but wasn't doing great on that 2nd goal either, guess I'm looking for positives by putting him in here.

Spoiler: Other squad thoguhts

We really miss Pogba, and need to get in another pair or two of legs that are good at building up play, either in midfield(preferably) or in defense, and we need a new defender that can be a clear partner for Bailly as I stated during last year and wished Lindelöf would be based on what people on here said about him.
Smalling is a great squad-defender, but not a first eleven CB, same for Jones (injuries) & Rojo. None of them in my opinion are good enough to be main guys and it matters because it makes it harder to build up from the back, which seems to be our standard (we don't counter as the norm, we try to play through opponent midfield lines and then defense lines & it's done way too slow and inaccurate to be good enough).

I do believe we need to get rid of some bad & decent/good players to make a place in the squad for the quality needed to up our game in the long run.
Lindelöf clearly is just not good enough, Blind while versatile (and great for a player on the bench) doesn't have the pace to play for a stretch of time and should be replaced in the squad with someone more likely to do the work. Carrick is old and can't play often, doesn't bring much these days anyways, Lingard lacks any sort of edge to be a attacking player, and doesn't have it in him to play in central midfield.

I'd like to see Tuanzebe (for Lindelöf), TFM (for Carrick) & Pereira (for Lingard) get a chance to get a place in the squad, but if they manage that we'd still need to get in a good first eleven CB for Blind (pushes all of Rojo/Jones/Smalling into squad-options, which is needed with all our injuries...), a first eleven left-back(Shaw can be a option until his contract runs out, we get a good offer or he finds good form, we shouldn't have a shit left back situation to wait for him anymore), a alternative playmaker to Pogba so we aren't fecked over when he's out & likely a proper right-wing or left-wing player for Mata so we have more pace to attack with if we're "breaking down teams" like we seem to aim to do now.
(Mkhitaryan offers more defensive balance and has more flair, so is more usable in a 4-3-3)

Honestly, we've had some great performances and we're not that far off the top, it's still early in the season & other teams will also lose points and have bad periods. My points are more how and where I'd like to see us upgrade the squad and which players I'd like to see be given a chance as opposed to those I'd prefer to cut lose if we go for upgrades in those positions.

 

[BusbyMalone]

This the first time we conceded first, too?

Intersting considering all our wins this season has come from us scoring first and then waiting for the opposition to come out and chase the game while we picked them off.

When it's the other way around, we fall into the same trap as last year, where we're unable to break down a defence that has something to defend. Absolutely no cohesion in our attacking play. Slow and monotonous.

Think we've read that script before...

 

[M Bison]

Today was a reality check and a reminder that top 4 is still a challenge, frightening to think how far off city we are

 

[DomesticTadpole]

I don't think he's garbage but I think he's utterly redundant in a team with Matic in it. He's too defensive and not good enough at linking midfield and attack. Arguably, Herrera's best qualities come from what he doesn't do on the ball (breaking up play etc), not what he does with it.

Think he can be good threading little balls into the box for the forward players, but not sure we even have the movement up front for that to work. He did well his first season, created and scored goals, then LvG froze him out, yet he still did something good to get us to a cup final and LvG a trophy.
Then he was good for Jose last season, was his captain on the pitch, the press presumed he would be made captain when Rooney went. So Jose gets Matic and makes Valencia captain, even though he cannot always play and cannot really speak English. I just think he is having a crisis of confidence and the injuries in midfield are not getting him through it.

 

[Son Of Sam]

Lingard has right ideas but he's not quality enough to pull them of.

Lingard has no common sense. He is actually very deceiving to the naked eye cos he makes you think he’s busy. However, he’s busy doing nothing of note.

In a 2v1 situation where a 1-2 ball can effectively take the marker out of the equation, Lingard is not interested in completing the 1-2 ball.....and the most annoying thing is he hangs around behind the ball instead of pushing into the box to add as an extra body.

He’s a liability!

 

[arthurka]

Anyone seen the post match interview from Mourinho?

 

[devilish]

Couldn't see the game for obvious reasons. How did ice man performed?

 

[paulscholes18]

Makes the performance V Liverpool even more unjustified

 

[Summit]

Couldn't see the game for obvious reasons. How did ice man performed?

Like a block of ice.

 

[Canagel]

Anyone seen the post match interview from Mourinho?

Apparently he questioned the desire of the players and said they should come out and explain why their attitude was poor.

 

[Android1974]

Maybe Mourinho is to blame for the attitude, because, after the Liverpool unambitious display, he forced the players to believe Benfica were better than they were, and now the same call for attention failed concerning Huddersfield.

 

[MooseTheMooche]

Pathetic. We don’t look like league winners. What annoys me most isn’t the personal errors that led to Huddersfields two goals, but the lack of effort to turn it around. Why is the plan B to hoof the ball? It has been like that ever since Fergie left. We don’t create anything while in hoof-mode, and we haven’t done that for the past 4 years either. It’s just absolutely pathetic. City can have their title, we don’t deserve it.

Mate, I think that hoofball is not the plan B now, but rather plan A.

To be honest, our team is mediocrity at its finest. Smalling, Jones, Herrera, Mata, Lingard, Lindelof are all bang average players. As long as we tolerate that mediocrity, we won't achieve anything. What is more worrying however, is the fact we play the same one-dimensional shite under third manager. Yes, I agree that Mourinho wasn't the man in the first place to make us play breathtaking football, but FFS give me a break, this was reminiscent of LVG approach

 

[Godfather]

We bought so much dross the last couple of years it's unbelievable. Our scouting department needs a slap in the face

 

[vanderpants]

so with pogba out, are we a one man side. The title is citys to lose

 

[sewey89]

Like a block of ice.

That’s not fair on blocks of ice.

 

[haram]

We have spent hundreds of millions on this team and who do we have to speak of ?
Lukaku - fair enough
Martial
Rashford (academy product)

This is just shocking.

Well De Gea is the best keeper in the world and Pogba and Bailly are injured so...

 

[DomesticTadpole]

Mourinho's not happy
He’s suggesting the players should explain themselves.


Follow
Samuel Luckhurst

✔@samuelluckhurst

Mourinho: 'Herrera is in the interviews saying the attitude and desire was poor,. My God. They should all go to the press conference.' #mufc

5:12 PM - Oct 21, 2017

 

[Dex_Utd]

None of Young, Valencia, Mata, Mkhi, Lingard, Hererra should be starting for a club like us. A few should have been sold off and others are at best only good enough for the bench.
Caf is also strange. During the transfer window we find fault with everyone (Bale, Perisic, Ronaldo, Aurier etc) and somehow forget how shit some of our players are. Also there are some who thought selling Rooney will solve all our problems while it has been clear for a long time that our problems run far deeper.

 

[arthurka]

Apparently he questioned the desire of the players and said they should come out and explain why their attitude was poor.

Windy and rainy they were not up for it, Mou is well in to question that..

 

[LoneStar]

Well De Gea is the best keeper in the world and Pogba and Bailly are injured so...

DDG was bought before Fergie retired. I was talking about the money spent after he retired, and more particularly the attack.

 

[Bestietom]

First shot on target in the 76th minute. We still have a lot of deadwood to get rid of. Too many players go hiding when we come up against the physical teams. Lingard and Mata and Martial were far too shy to mix it. Young caught out too often, we need to get that left back position sorted out quickly. Some of our academy players would have been better than some on show today.

 

[redshaw]

While the players didn't show much fight for 70 mins, a few injuries and we're back to the ineffectual attack of Mata and strikers as wingers, and lets hope this pass makes it to a red shirt Lingard.

City fizzled out the last two seasons but they now have even more players. We look to be missing a Perisic or two. Our attack is woeful, we've made Huddersfield, Benfica and Liverpool defenders look like Maldini and Baresi.

Lindelof looks more like Lintelof the way he went for that route one goal kick.

 

[haram]

DDG was bought before Fergie retired. I was talking about the money spent after he retired, and more particularly the attack.

Well Pogba is our best outfield player and we miss him a lot.

 

[NotoriousISSY]

That was shit.

But in the absence of Pogba and Carrick we don’t have a player who can’t pass the ball with any purpose.

Between the attacking and supposedly creative players, they looked like strangers to each other. We need to go back to basics and start again.

 

[vanderpants]

if something doesn't change quick we can kiss the top 4 bye bye, even spurs went there and hammered them 3 nil. Every game over the past month jusr seems a struggle and the players going through the motions.

 

[bond19821982]

fecking garbage. They were so nervous and yet we were in no mood to score in first 15 mins. Once they scored they really tightened things up in the back.

I am starting to worry about our attacking play. Jose is unable to get the best out of Martial,Lukaku,Rashford, Mata and Mikhi.

 

[LoneStar]

Well Pogba is our best outfield player and we miss him a lot.

Yes, he is our best player. But are we so bad, that without him, we look like headless chickens? Surely no team should be that dependent on a single player.

 

[RoyoftheRavers]

It is possible to win the league by drawing the top 6 matches and winning against the small teams...you just have to make sure to, you know, win against the small teams.

Exactly. How pointless (literally) does it now look going to Liverpool to kill the game and get a supposedly valuable draw, but subsequently installing such a negative mindset that the players can't put in a decent attacking performance a week later. Whatever about the defensive errors, we really lacked quality going forward today.

 

[haram]

Yes, he is our best player. But are we so bad, that without him, we look like headless chickens? Surely no team should be that dependent on a single player.

Well, Fellaini is also injured. Matic - Herrera doesn't work.

 

[Tapori]

So, zombie passing... Why has it returned? How long will it last? I would like to think that it was a bad day today but we've seen zombie passing for 3 games on the bounce now and it was probably most blatent in our win against Benfica. This slow, zombie football is more of a concern to me than the points dropped.

Oh it's back. With a vengeance.
It's a combo of being scared and trying to find the best pass. The problem is slow in thought means you telegraph passes. The point of good attack is to keep the ball moving and players moving so the other team cannot defend because your moving them with your quick passing.

Every time the midfield got the ball the passing was stale and as soon as a play was on for the wing the ball took ages to arrived esp. in the second half.

 

[dileno]

Never seen this much parroted bollocks spread suddenly across the forum before but use whatever stick you want to beat Jose with lol

You're just rude man. Just read other replies, many think the same.

 

[Tapori]

why the feck can we not play with a 3-5-2?

we did and it led to more shakiness at the back in the 2nd half.

 

[dileno]

Stop saying nonsense like this. The players have to take responsibility for their own stupidity.

Mata is a veteran at this point in his career. He ought to know that he could not afford to lose the ball in that position on the pitch. Either whack the ball to row Z or take one for the team and foul his marker. He did nothing.

Their second goal was a long goalkick from their goalkeeper and Lindelof couldn’t make a simple clearance with a ball that travelled more than 7 seconds in the air. If Jose had deployed the same tactics against Liverpool here, we would have won.

Stop blaming the manager for the stupidity of the players.

It's down to the manager as well as the players. It's not just our players do mistakes, it's more than that.

 

[TimScoreboard]

That is nowhere near acceptable; when every away game is a cup final, we have to turn up ready to compete and we were nowhere near it. That makes spurs a must win next week, so team news for Swansea should be interesting.

 

[reddevil702]

Huddersfield were up for playing United and United weren't. Seems like the players expected things would happened without having to fight for it. Perfect example of hard working beating talent when talent isn't working hard. Let's hope we use this as a wake up call. Midfield is struggling to create anything, our attackers are having to rely on going one v one against the defenders to create, which the complete opposite of what brought us success this season. All in all we won't be the invincibles this season, on to the next one.

 

[Klopp_De_Klown]

Why is the plan B to hoof the ball? It has been like that ever since Fergie left. We don’t create anything while in hoof-mode, and we haven’t done that for the past 4 years either. It’s just absolutely pathetic. City can have their title, we don’t deserve it.

The long ball is one thing but we dont even do the follow up presssure game to exploit effectively. So its even more of a waste.

We have got to either decide we play the wings mostly and try get behind teams or we carve them in the middle. Both we can kinda do well enough but usually if one is boxed off the other is more on. And when you expose teams wide they then try to block off the channel thus creating space somewhere else.

We just dont ask enough questions, often enough and consistant enough to get them to come out of their shells. You usually have to earn the right to play football and we do not do that. We always seem to look for the spft option and often its out wide and pick a man with the cross not just ping it to an area and not just knocking at the down the middle or the width of the box. Its too easy to shut that door.