28 Oct 2019 04:19:29
How refreshing it was to see a Utd team play with some attacking intent and imagination for a change.
The pace, movement and interplay between Rashford, Martial and James was promising and hopefully provided a glimpse of the future.
Whilst talk of recovery is premature we now have a run of fixtures of very winnable games and if we can keep key men fit we might just begin to see some evidence of this teams potential.
Ole has been besieged by injuries which have undoubtedly hindered our progression however our squad in clearly threadbare and unable to compete when key men are absent.
This team now needs to find some rhythm and consistency over the next few weeks and hopefully with some diligent and intelligent recruitment in January we can look forward to witnessing some better results and performances.
It's been a terrible start but this team does have potential and is capable of playing some decent stuff on occasion. Avoiding more injuries and keeping key men fit will be the difference between a mid table finish or a top 4 challenge. A run of good form now will see us shoot up the table and hopefully our season isn't dead just yet. Having said that I could be tearing my hair out again by next weekend I suppose we just don't know which Utd will turn up. At least we have something to feel optimistic about for a few days anyway and it's nice to be able to watch MOTD for a change.
{Ed047's Note - you guys have said pretty much this after every win, but to be fair you did best the mighty Norwich. 😉
28 Oct 2019 06:18:52
I know Ed I keep asking myself when will I ever learn? Underestimate Norwich at your peril 😉.
{Ed047's Note - exactly! 😂 which ever way you look at it though, it’s 3 points and a move up the table. ðŸ‘ðŸ¼
28 Oct 2019 09:28:53
There were positives for sure and Martial's presence is definitely felt, the team felt a little flat again when he was subbed.
I do get annoyed though when the team just seem to give up and attempt to pass the ball around the back instead of maintaining pressure. That Norwich goal would never have happened if they were still on the offensive. I don't grasp why Young, after around the 60 minute mark, never seems to want to get forward. I mean, Norwich had three injured players on the pitch in the last 15 minutes, yet they dominated, that is worrying.
28 Oct 2019 09:56:59
After every win?
It’s our first league away win for 8 months so I think there is reason to be cautiously optimistic but wary that there will be a lot more bumps in the road with this squad.
28 Oct 2019 09:58:29
I'm not sure it was such a good performance to be honest.
A big improvement on the recent state of things but a solid 6.5-7/ 10. Penalty misses are a pathetic and highlight the lack of concentration in the team.
28 Oct 2019 10:05:08
I think Martial adds a constant goal scoring threat to our side. When he plays he doesn't drop deep for the ball or go looking for it, he stays high and on the shoulder of the defender waiting for that chance. He is a true striker.
Rashford however likes to be involved more in the build up, so when he plays he often drops deep looking for the ball which restricts our space vertically and blunts our attack.
Rashford, James and even Andreas Pereira hugely benefited yesterday because of Martials positioning and all had more space to play and move in because of that.
28 Oct 2019 11:51:03
It was a good performance without being phenomenal. Funny though, had we scored those penalties and won 5-1 it certainly would feel like a much better performance when in fact the only difference would have been the precision of two kicks of the ball.
I think the penalty misses highlight the fragile confidence of the side and shows that recent results might be weighing heavily on the players. On the back of 7 or 8 wins both penalties would have probably been scored. This shows the importance of getting a run of results together now. We have a tough game against Chelsea next but the 4 games after look on paper very winnable.
29 Oct 2019 09:20:40
It was an encouraging performance.
Let's hope for a good run.