10 Dec 2017 20:59:18
I've been with Jose all the way since his appointment but even I can't defend that insipid, ponderous, dare I saw cowedly performance!
As soon as I laid eyes on the team it filled me with a sense of foreboding and Deja vu. We've seen this before and it's never worked. Have no doubts this was a defensive, negative lineup!
Martial and Rashford were always going to play as auxiliary full backs. Lingard was thrust into a No 10 role in which he's never excelled, Lukaku was always going to cut an isolated figure up front. Matic and Herrera outnumber in midfield.
A more accurate description of our formation should have read 6-2-1-1.
Rashford and Martial are both CF's! Neither are adept at playing so deep. It's square pegs in round holes. It's obvious that when two of your most attacking players are so deep it's almost impossible to get out, especially against a team like City. When Rashford or Martial get the ball deep in their own half what on earth are they supposed to do with it?
We'd played some exhilarating football at Watford and Arsenal, with Young and Valencia providing the width and Martial allowed to play in support of Lukaku. He's brilliant in the final third with the ball at his feet! When he drifts to the left and runs with the ball he's such a threat. With Lingard running from deep and Lukaku in the box we're a different animal.
The best formation for the players we have in our squad is 3-5-2! We don't need to play that every week but in the big games it simply gets our best players in their most effective positions. Arsenal was the blueprint yet he retreated and reverted to type. I don't care what anybody says we were beaten as soon as the teams were announced.
City won that game in third gear. The irony being we gifted them two goals from set pieces. Huddersfield, Southampton and West Ham gave them more of a game than we did!
10 Dec 2017 21:39:44
Well said Danny can’t argue with that.
10 Dec 2017 21:48:29
I was hoping Jose would play the same formation as he did against Watford and Arsenal. I like it. I hope we play it against Bournemouth. I suspected he'd chicken out like he did against Liverpool. Never mind. We have to look forward to the next game now.
10 Dec 2017 22:05:55
I was so so disappointed with today Park. Not just the result but the manner of defeat. I thought we'd a least give them a game but they just coasted through in third gear. We hardly made a tackle, stood off them and simply let them play. We couldn't counter as we we're so deep and I lost count of the number of times Rojo just punted it forward. Ironically our goal came from another one of his hopeful balls. Surely there's more to our team than hoping for a mistake or a set piece? In another of the games ironies they won the game in a way that everybody thought we would. It was supposed to be them that couldn't defend set pieces. Having said that when you can't even manage to string two passes together in the opposition half it's hard to get on set pieces in decent positions in the first place. Sadly we got what we deserved!
10 Dec 2017 22:27:10
Beat by the better team today.
10 Dec 2017 22:38:53
Agree completely Danny. The irony of us gifting two goals from set pieces is laughable. All I want to see is passion and determination from the players. It was a derby for Christ’s sake against our neighbours and title rivals. The players should have been harrying and pressuring city not giving them a moments rest. But instead we sat off and allowed them to play. We showed them so much respect and it is bitterly disappointing. The crowd played their part in creating a supportive atmosphere and the players and manager let us down today. What I saw today was not in keeping with the traditions of the club I love. City played the way we used to - with pace, creativity and passion. I have been Jose’s biggest supporter but today showed me that although we may win the league with him at some point, we will not do it in the United way. And that is not good enough for our great club. City have a long term plan and they are a club on the up. We have bought badly and our owners care about money. I would even say city are favourites for the champions league. What I saw today is one manager that lives and breathes a creative and beautiful brand of football. And I saw another that is happy to sit back and ‘hope’ for a mistake. That is the difference between the two sides. One manager see the beauty of the game whilst another see it in a more pragmatic way. We do not have bad players we have some fantastic skilful young players. If rashford and martial were playing under pep they would be flourishing like sterling and sane. It’s painful to admit but they have a manager who we should have signed after Fergie.
Where is our ambition? Where is the united of old? It died the day Fergie left. The club needs to take a hard look at itself if we want to get back to the top. We must invest in January and we must back the manager in the summer. I am sure after a few days I will be able to be less emotional and more objective of the situation. We must take each game as t comes and keep on winning. And then we must pray that our rivals do us a favour. Because that is what it will take for us to even have a chance.