"They Wanted It More"

[Marcus]

We didn't want it enough in the end against Palace too. Last 10 minutes we looked content on a draw, was infuriating.

Yes I noticed this. Were we afraid of conceding? A bit cowardly. Even Licha was just keeping it very very safe. Must have been under instructions.

 

[doubleohseven]

Yes I noticed this. Were we afraid of conceding? A bit cowardly. Even Licha was just keeping it very very safe. Must have been under instructions.

I'd wager he would be given the profligacy of the forwards.

Mentality issues have been evident long before EtH and I'd imagine they'll continue. The (real) remit at United is title races and the business end of every cup competition. Top quality in every department, hungry to win.

The lads know top four and the League Cup justify their bonuses.

Berrada has given a date for the next EPL which may temper expectations, but will also let the lads know they aren't expected to win the league yet.

Not sure it's a good idea or not.

 

[Bondi77]

We pay big money on transfer fees and we pay big wages to established players that have come in on the back of those fees.
We also pay big wages to our own once they start to fulfil their potential.
So all in all the players get paid a shipload of money and yet when an opponent shows fight our lot start shitting themselves and make mistakes.
It just has to come down to the mental strength of the individual and it just seems to me that they know they are on a fortune regardless of a win or loss and cannot be arsed.
Check out the videos of them training...you can't take the smiles off their faces.

 

[Jock Steins Boots]

Its a get out of jail comment. It should never be used as an excuse.

Imagine the police turning up to a bank robbery, surrounding the building then sitting back as the robbers drove off with wads of cash simply because 'they wanted it more'.

Pathetic excuse.

 

[JJ12]

I'm not sure how you come to that conclusion. We didn't have good enough players on to do much against them and they were very well organised with their press and defense. Just because we didn't make many chances doesn't mean we didn't want it.

This is such a silly way of looking at things.

You thought you we pushed for a win in the last 10 then? We didn't put any pressure on them, at all.

 

[Bright_Eyes]

Its a get out of jail comment. It should never used as an excuse.

Imagine the police turning up to a bank robbery, surrounding the building then sitting back as the robbers drove off with wads of cash simply because 'they wanted it more'.

Pathetic excuse.

I don't really like the term either as it's an overused oversimplification that's almost impossible to prove right or wrong. But "wanting it" is basically referring to motivation to win. Motivation is an important part of sports psychology and player motivation can be affected by how good a man manager the head coach is, the working environment, how much of a sense of progression is being felt, dressing room harmony, belief in the manager, signings, general morale, professionalism, who you are and who you're playing against, and so on. So "wanting it more" is a thing, but I think it's hard to tell if that is the main factor for a bad performance, and commentators often just throw it out there and confuse it with just not playing well or fatigue etc because it's difficult to prise apart what's going wrong.