[cyberman]

We had 2 shots on target all game.

A shot doesn’t have to be on target to be threatening. You can feck up easy chances with wild finishes and still be threatening.

 

[Salus Populi Suprema Lex]

Why is the bar so low? I don't want ETH sacked, but top 4 is up for grabs, we spent a lot more, we should expect more.

We aren't good enough. City, Chelsea, Spurs and Arsenal will be more consistent, and Liverpool will improve. We will drop silly points all over the place.

 

[PoTMS]

Maybe it looked better on TV but I can assure you that was a cowardly performance from our lot today. Fred and Ronaldo in particular deserve binning.

 

[Real Name]

Get ready for worse to come.

It was absolutely criminal on EtH's part not to rest the squad on Thursday with the week we have ahead.
He showed both insecurity and short sightedness with that decision.

Eriksen, Varane, Shaw, Sancho, all got to rest and we needed to make sure we won that one anyway.

 

[PlayerOne]

We aren't good enough. City, Chelsea, Spurs and Arsenal will be more consistent, and Liverpool will improve. We will drop silly points all over the place.

Doesn't matter, we should expect more from this team and manager. Spurs are playing poor but getting results, it won't last but we won't be there to take an advantage because there is zero belief from this team and manager.

 

[JeffFromHK]

I think some people just log onto the Caf searching and looking for every opportunities to write tired drivel. Anyone claiming we were unthreatening and dull need to give their head a wobble.

we just lacked the drive to run that extra yard to find the opporunity to score until the last 10 minutes, it's like this most of the games.

 

[eire-red]

You can see the imprint of ETH's style on the team in that second half with the way we moved the ball and worked our positions between the lines from back to front.

What's the clear issue for this team to me is that we lacked quality in key positions, and decision making in the final third.

We didn't create enough chances, but bar that chance for Joelinton, Newcastle didn't create anything and we dominated them in the second half.

Fred, Bruno and Ronaldo were especially poor I thought. Rashford was very good when he came on, but that miss at the end effectively shuts him down as ever being the No.9 for this club. It's LW or bench for me.

 

[sparx99]

I’m sick to death of us putting together any meaningful football when we’ve barely got any of the game left.

Such a shite mentality.

This! It’s like we don’t play for 70 mins. This team wouldn’t even think they could score in the first 5 mins. That’s just for knocking the ball around.

Same thing happens in games where we do get a goal. We stop going for the throat and invite pressure. It feels like every team in the league has a game where they get 3-4 goals but we just don’t seem capable of it because we don’t want to thrash teams.

 

[Real Name]

I don't think it's too early to question what exactly it is Ten Hag does in training.

You're just gonna continue with overreacting?

 

[Thom Merrilin]

I actually think we played quite well. Dominated possession and defensively solid apart from corners and freekicks. With slightly better finishing we could have scored 2 or 3 very easily.

 

[Pickle85]

Maybe it looked better on TV but I can assure you that was a cowardly performance from our lot today.

Disagree. We lacked cutting edge and some inspiration in the final third and the passing was a little pedestrian but I'm not sure what was cowardly about it. On balance, I think nicking a one nil would have been fair.

 

[Josh 76]

I think we can all agree.... Ronaldo would have scored that

Yawn

 

[Himannv]

Caught the second half. Why didn’t Eriksen play?

 

[OmarUnited4ever]

If I say we weren't good enough to win and not bad enough to lose, does that make sense?

This is how it felt, we did well at times but didn't capitalize and not so well at times but did not capitulate..

 

[Wheato]

Take Erikson out of this team and we are back to last season all over again. No final ball today. They were making the runs, but nobody had the ability to find them.

 

[Jazz]

Had a bad feeling about this match and thought we would lose so a point is better than nothing. Sounds like we didn't play badly, but the lack of composure in front of goal is a big mental block. How have we not addressed this? The mental aspect is 50% of it. I'm hoping the manager and whomever will put something in place, because we need it, even if we get a striker, as the circumstances surrounding the club won't change, and immense pressure is still going to be there.

Can only hope Martial comes back for Wednesday. He at least makes others around him play better.

As for the ref, he can feck off. However, I blame the clubs for allowing the FA to get away with hiring substandard referees. If the clubs got together and made a stand, what the could the stupid FA do? It shocks me, because bad decisions mean you could lose points, and that obviously affects your position in the league. With that in mind, why the feck don't the clubs make a stand?

 

[Josh 76]

Top 4 over

Over before it started

 

[Jippy]

Caught the second half. Why didn’t Eriksen play?

He was ill.

 

[Dominos]

This game is the exact reason I wasn't happy with the performances against Southampton, Leicester, Everton while so many on here were pretending we played well. You need to be winning games convincingly to be reliably putting winning runs together. If you're constantly scraping close results then you're going to inevitably drop points in games like this.

So many brainless players, poor passes and poor decisions.

 

[Kopral Jono]

You know what, I'm alright with that. If it wasn't for fecking Pawson we'd have won. Fred and Dalot are terribly average footballers.

 

[Salus Populi Suprema Lex]

Doesn't matter, we should expect more from this team and manager. Spurs are playing poor but getting results, it won't last but we won't be there to take an advantage because there is zero belief from this team and manager.

I agree. It seems to be one step forward and two steps back just now: it's hard work. We can only hope ETH gets the team playing as he wants in the coming months, and we start to see the fruits of that.

 

[sparx99]

You can see the imprint of ETH's style on the team in that second half with the way we moved the ball and worked our positions between the lines from back to front.

What's the clear issue for this team to me is that we lacked quality in key positions, and decision making in the final third.

We didn't create enough chances, but bar that chance for Joelinton, Newcastle didn't create anything and we dominated them in the second half.

Fred, Bruno and Ronaldo were especially poor I thought. Rashford was very good when he came on, but that miss at the end effectively shuts him down as ever being the No.9 for this club. It's LW or bench for me.

Yeah, that’s a fair assessment. We have looked much better in the limited Minutes Martial has had. We really do need a striker.

We had pretty limited options on the bench today as well. I know some want to see Garnacho and Iqbal etc. We need to get some players fit to provide competition for places.

 

[Jazz]

Danish pundits criticize referee and VAR. They believe that Ronaldo's goal should count and it is a clear refereeing error. They also do not understand that Sancho did not get a penalty kick.

Good pundits. Makes a bloody change from the clowns we have over here.

 

[vanrooney]

Shit match. Worse ref. No idea why Ronaldo started.

cause everyone else wasnt fit

 

[Giant Midget]

I don't think it's too early to question what exactly it is Ten Hag does in training.

Might need a trip to Specsavers mate, if you can't see the complete difference in patterns of play compared to last season.

 

[Mr. Robot]

Patience is required, not dramatics. There are clear signs of improvement. Ten Hag will build a good team which plays entertaining football but he needs time.

Klopp and Pep’s first teams were pretty bad and yet their fans & owners stuck by them.

ETH still needs to sell players who aren’t good enough and replace them with quality. We will finish around 5th this season as we’re in transition. These results will happen, our fans need to stick with the manager and players.

 

[Jazz]

Caught the second half. Why didn’t Eriksen play?

He's ill

 

[tomaldinho1]

Top 4 over

 

[cyberman]

I don't think it's too early to question what exactly it is Ten Hag does in training.

Pretty sure we’d be 2-0 down while creating nothing and being overran since that’s exactly how this team has played over the last 18 months.

 

[TheReligion]

That was an absolutely abysmal performance. Again. Honestly, I watch Championship teams play better than the dull football we play. Seriously thinking if it's worth coming down to watch this shite anymore.

What an idiot of a post

Go and have a lie down and take your frustration out on a wall.

 

[Real Name]

This game is the exact reason I wasn't happy with the performances against Southampton, Leicester, Everton while so many on here were pretending we played well. You need to be winning games convincingly to be reliably putting winning runs together. If you're constantly scraping close results then you're going to inevitably drop points in games like this.

So many brainless players, poor passes and poor decisions.

You can't go on from the last season to win convincingly every game this season over night. We're a work in progress.

 

[GMoore23]

Eriksen, Varane, Shaw, Sancho, all got to rest and we needed to make sure we won that one anyway.

Varane was just back from injury and not risked.

Shaw had only just gotten back into the team and is being rotated with Malacia. He wasn't rested.

Sancho was not rested either, he was dropped for being shit.

Eriksen was the only player truly being rested in that game.

 

[justsomebloke]

We're in an interesting place.

If you look back to the first games this season (not just the first two either), it's very obvious a lot of things are functioning quite a lot better. Defending our box was a constant state of panic, now it looks quite secure and confident. We were so bad at playing out from the back that against Liverpool we literally didn't try. Now, we mostly do it well, even against a strong press. The midfield was chaos, now it mostly processes things well. And pretty much ALL of our offensive game was fast breaks. Now we are pushing opponents back, keeping the ball in the final third, applying sustained pressure.

Is what we're seeing now that we've reached a plateau? Because clearly there's a lot of work left to do when it comes to getting something out of all that final third possession. It doesn't really feel like bad luck or a lack of clinical finishing either - watching them it looks predictable, not dangerous.

The game itself: Not a bad performance, all things considered. We were defrauded of one, possibly two, penalties in my view. Shaw, Fred and Ronaldo were negative standouts for me. Shaw; kept getting caught out of position defensively and lacked drive, precision and courage going forward. Fred; just one of those nights of his where he does 2 bad things for every good. He seemed like a mismatched cog in the machine (which is good I guess, in the sense it's been a long while since I had any sense of there being a machine to not fit into). Ronaldo; just generally ineffective, and too much of a focal point with too little to justify the focus. We got better when Rashford came on. And this is the second time in the past couple of weeks he wrecks an excellent offensive situation by engaging in the play after trotting out of an offside position he had to be aware of. Seriously - if you can't be arsed to run back to an onside position, then at least stay away from the ball!

Casemiro is the man in CM, and right now Antony looks pretty much what we've got going for us in the attack.

 

[TheReligion]

I don't think it's too early to question what exactly it is Ten Hag does in training.

And another one

 

[sparx99]

Take Erikson out of this team and we are back to last season all over again. No final ball today. They were making the runs, but nobody had the ability to find them.

I’d say the general play and defending has taken massive steps forward. We forgot how to play football last season.

 

[Strelok]

cause everyone else wasnt fit

Ok thanks must be the case then.

 

[The Irish Connection]

Two huge misses from Fred (even though rashford might even have gone for goal) and Rashford. We’ve been consistently missing chances and being sloppy in the final third. Caught us out today.

 

[altodevil]

We ain't getting top 4 due to results like this.

On paper we shouldn't be anywhere near top-4.

 

[Salus Populi Suprema Lex]

Of course, it isn't over in October, but it will be come the end of the season. We won't make it.

 

[siw2007]

We need to win our home matches so to come away with a draw this afternoon is a disappointing result. The performance was alright, not many poor performers out there but there just wasn’t enough quality to show for it. Two bad misses at the end make it a sore one, Marcus played well when he came on but he’s going to get some stick for that header there.