Actually it's been a few pages of good debate by multiple posters and that's an inaccurate summary of what's been said.
Problem is there's a few posters who'll read that and take your word for it.
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Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 46
- Goals
- 28
- Assists
- 9
- Yellow cards
- 8
- Status
Actually it's been a few pages of good debate by multiple posters and that's an inaccurate summary of what's been said.
Problem is there's a few posters who'll read that and take your word for it.
Ibra and Mings both charged with violent conduct.
To be fair it's deserved. I think we'll be a shambles up top without him but oh well
To be fair it's deserved. I think we'll be a shambles up top without him but oh well
Jose will have to find solutions. We've needed others to step up in support of Zlatan all season long.
'Alleged' violent conduct?
Also - If the referee didn't see the elbow, what was he speaking to Zlatan/Rooney about?
It's not as though it's not deserved, but all this process does, is give referee's the chance to say, "Didn't see it, soz"
Also - If the referee didn't see the elbow, what was he speaking to Zlatan/Rooney about?
It's not as though it's not deserved, but all this process does, is give referee's the chance to say, "Didn't see it, soz"
Opportunity for the "we would score the same amount of goals without Ibra" brigade to prove their point.
It's fine. Last time Zlatan was suspended, we faired well against Arsenal... you know, in that game whereby everyone thought we'd turned a corner. Drawing 1-1 at home. 
Assuming he gets a 3 match ban, it will be up to the likes of Rashford/Rooney to grab the opportunity and show Jose that they can score goals.
We'll struggle against Chelsea but if we cant beat Boro(a) and Wba(H) without Zlatan then frankly that is embarrassing.
It's fine. Last time Zlatan was suspended, we faired well against Arsenal... you know, in that game whereby everyone thought we'd turned a corner. Drawing 1-1 at home.
Was it not Liverpool that he was suspended for? I can't remember.
No, Arsenal.
If Boro and WHU park the bus against us, then we will dominate possible, chances created, shots on target, etc....but fail to break them down. It's happened so many times, I now accept that if a team parks the bus, that section of the game will finish 0-0. Our only hope is that our opponent attempts to attack us.
Here's more.
Burnley, Stoke, West Ham, Hull, Bournemouth...
Still won't prove anything, since it's different games. As much as no one knows if the others would have scored Ibra's goals if given a chance. The same goes the opposite - no one can know how much Ibra could score in these "suspension games".
Hopefully they'll be able to score, because it will be needed to be able to win the Europa League. Not fair on Ibra to carry the team on his shoulders all the time. He has to be able to "fail" in some matches. But I have a feeling Mkhi will score at least 2 goals in these coming 3 games, just as long as Mata plays too, cause those two understand each other really well.
Let's hope for the best, but at the same time, not forget that whatever their performance without Ibra, he's still one of the most important in the team.
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If we each grab a wheel, we'll be fine...
Middlesbrough were really strong in their away game against the same team with Ibra. So they'll likely have the same gameplan and maybe be able to get a draw - something they deserved in the last match. The Chelsea game can go either way - doesn't matter who plays, more important to have the right mentality in the game, the right hunger. WBA will in my opinion be a tough game, especially for whoever will replace Ibra - their defence is very physical.
It's fine. Last time Zlatan was suspended, we faired well against Arsenal... you know, in that game whereby everyone thought we'd turned a corner. Drawing 1-1 at home.
should have been 1-0.
the ref allowed a goal after Jones was fouled.
We will be alright for the games he is gone. Other players simply need to step up.
https://www.eirsport.ie/ibrahimovic-and-mings-charged
looks like Zlatan will get a 3 match ban.
longer for the thug Mings.
looks like Zlatan will get a 3 match ban.
longer for the thug Mings.
Agreed.
If the rule is that you cannot be charged if the ref saw it, how in the world was he charged? Bloody ridiculous.
Because the ref didnt see it. And even if he did, he will just say he didnt, because if he admits that he saw it but did nothing, then he is effectively saying he didnt do his job properly.
He spent 5 minutes with him and Rooney chatting about god knows what. If the ref says he didn't see it, he's lying.
Has the ref also been charged for extreme incompetence? Because he should sit out for a couple of games and take some refreshment classes.
They've changed the referee report rule. Have done for a few seasons.
Yes because with him we've been cruising past these sorts of teams....
Maybe some forced rest will actually do him good. It will be interesting to see how we do without him, but either way he'll come straight back in.
Yeah I thought there was a change which is why now I think only way it isn't addressed is if ref decided it was a yellow.
Rashford and Martial please with Mikhi feeding them.
Rashford should play up front instead of Zemo (Zlatan).
Although Mickhey getting back is crucial and I can see him chipping in a goal or 2.
I hope whoever plays up front will show up and score goals to prove we're not too reliant on Zlatan.
Personally I would like to see Martial up front but I can't see it happening.
Although Mickhey getting back is crucial and I can see him chipping in a goal or 2.
I hope whoever plays up front will show up and score goals to prove we're not too reliant on Zlatan.
Personally I would like to see Martial up front but I can't see it happening.
I don't know if anyone thought of it but I have a feeling that if Rashford would score a lot of goals during his suspension it will actually be a good thing for Ibra. We all know that he's playing his best football, when he's angry or has something to prove. So if he's feeling that his position might be "threatened" he'll likely want to show who the "boss" is (probably doesn't worry about his position, but will still like to show). So I see this period as a very positive one, and if Rashford or the others can't score then there's not going to be a difference anyway, Ibra will still be seen as the leader.
I think it's an overstatement, IMO we've seen too little of Rashford's best football to raise such assumptions. Other than his marvelous spell last year I don't think he has shown enough to make me confident about him leading our line. Of course I hope he will smash a few, especially past Chelsea, if he's given a chance as a 9. I'm just not sure if he'll be able to shine in the Zlatan-oriented system, unless Jose convinces the lads to play completely different football.
Thing is, Zlatan played so many games this season that it's nearly impossible to tell how will we play without him. Here's hoping Jose will pull a United and surprise us with few consecutive wins.
It was difficult for me to believe someone else uses the same logic as MadMike, obviously I was wrong. Yes, our two best players are the main culprits.
It's undeniable at this point. Ibra scored goals and we won matches. He also fluffed many chances and we're now having unusual high number of draw games. Stat backs this up. Our eyes back this up.
Silver lining is we've got the chance to play new system for 3 matches so Mourinho can see what he will really need in a summer.
No, it's not opportunity for that. That will be proven in other seasons. When you bench RvN you won't automatically get more goals but if the team could be changed to a more mobile, more fluid attack with no focal point (Rooney, Ronaldo, Tevez) it could achieve that. In fact we already saw glimpses of it with link plays between Mhiki & Martial in some of our games.
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Big chances missed:
To compare it to other teams, Deigo Costa(7) missed most big chances for Chelsea, Sanchez (7) for Arsenal and Kane(7) for Spurs.
Edit: Sorry if this has already been posted.
- Zlatan Ibrahimovic 17
- Paul Pogba 5
- Juan Mata 4
- Jesse Lingard 3
- Wayne Rooney 3
- Marcus Rashford 2
- Anthony Martial 1
- Henrikh Mkhitaryan 1
- Antonio Valencia 1
To compare it to other teams, Deigo Costa(7) missed most big chances for Chelsea, Sanchez (7) for Arsenal and Kane(7) for Spurs.
Edit: Sorry if this has already been posted.
I am happy that he is available for EL. Getting top 4 in PL is almost impossible with the mentality we showed in last few months.
So all eggs in the EL basket it is.
So all eggs in the EL basket it is.
So all the points won with their goals and chances created is something we could have done without them? Cause that's what you're assuming if you think the others could have done better because they're more clinical.
You say stat's back your opinion up, then please explain in which way they do that. The poster who posted the stats couldn't do it, despite me asking several times.
How do you know he will play a new system and not just replace him with Rooney?
You really think they have the capability to get to the level of those 3? I think that's quite deluded. There's a much bigger chance that if our youngsters don't improve soon they won't even be here by the time Ibra is gone. That's without even considering Mourinho likes a big man upfront.
Big blow with him out, Rooney isn't at the level anymore, people seriously overrate Rashford if they think he's ready to start for us but our options are limited.
Rashford scored against Arsenal, City, West Ham last season. He might not be ready to lead the line for full season but he is good enough for few games.
Nobody downplayed Ibra contributions this season. I always said we won games because of him. If you check my rating you'll see I rated him higher than the CAF average.
But it's time to look for other options. Not this season but it's time to ponder about it for the future. This season we can't change anything. We can only hope he will turn up in games we want to win (like Southampton game for example) but we can't expect him to be consistent on goals like RvN. That's the fact. And yes, stat backs that up.
If it (fast, mobile, fluid attacking) is a system we want, we will find players suitable for it. Mhiki can play in this system so that's one. Griezmann can too despite not being the quickest player so that could be two.
Whether it's what Mourinho want or not is entirely up to him but the fact is we can't play like that with Ibra. He's too immobile. The fastest counter attacking we played this season happened in FA Cup game when Ibra wasn't on the field. That is not coincidental.
You understand that our entire gameplan is set in order to accommodate Zlatan and provide for him, right?
Do you expect us to pull a MSN level of performance with an completely new gameplan and attack?
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