12 Nov 2018 14:09:48
It may not have been good but it was as bad as I feared it might be.

Shaw has improved but he failed to track the run at the far post which led to the first goal. The second goal came directly from a loss of possession thanks to a cloddish touch in a crucial position. The third was due to Matic's failure to register the presence of Gundogan behind him, and react. In other words all 3 goals sprung directly from errors.

So, from a tactical point of view, the set up was not bad if one is working from the premise of first not losing and then hopefully scoring on the counter. Playing against City I would say that's a reasonable approach especially missing one of your only creative midfielders.

Going forward we were not good. Herrera not only lost the ball frequently but, as the commentators here in the US noticed, Martial and Rashford were making runs, but the midfielders either didn't pass or, when they did, it was too late. That forced our limited attack out towards the wings, or caused them to be in offside positions. In other words it was not the tactics but their execution that was at fault.

The players out there simply aren't good enough.

1.) 12 Nov 2018
12 Nov 2018 16:03:43
With pogba Out unfortunately any slim chance we had of winning evaporated. Looking at that midfield compared to city’s was so telling in how far away these sides are from each other. Straight away the first question was going to be who is going to play those passes to rashford and martial when they make their runs. We actually have three players in mata, pereira and Fred who all could have slotted in and replaced either matic or fellaini. The midfield that started was so devoid of any attacking ability or vision that it’s no wonder we had no Out ball. Nobody to link up the play. It’s alarming still that when pogba doesn’t play then we can’t play. City have lost de Bruyne yet the have the magnificent Bernardo silva to slot in. They even have Gundogan to come who who would walk into our midfield. And pushing it, city have foden. They are simply a much better side, with a much better squad, much better run club with a much better manager.