28 Jan 2021 08:23:55
Some questions from last night.
Is Cavani our best striker? Thinking back to SAF's teams, we always had a proper striker. Not a forward but an out and out striker. Hughes, Cantona, RVN, Berba, RVP. We improved when Ibra signed and we've improved since Cavani signed. Martial needs to go and be replaced by a proper out and out striker who will be out first choice for the next 5+ years. I can't help but feel disinterested when Martial plays, he's so off the pace and not the required standard for a team wanting to win the PL.
What do Mata and VDB need to do to get some proper game time? Last night was crying out for some craft and guile. But Ole once again picked his favourites and tried to play the same way against a team with 11 men behind the ball. As a result we barely had a chance.
Will we ever see consistency from refs? De Gea is a wet lettuce we all know that. But Sharp intentionally shoved him with no intention to play the ball. So while DDG is a wimp, the offending player made an intentional foul. Then just minutes later we see something not too dissimilar is disallowed. VAR is meant to solve this inconsistency.
The ref blew his whistle, but how is that any different from the referees assistant flagging in the city game just 24 hours earlier?
Credit to Sheff Utd. Their row of 5 and 3 was solid. It's not pretty but it asks questions of the attacking team and our failure to have a Plan B and Ole's blind faith in underperforming players ultimately meant the better side on the night won. They had a clear plan, regardless of how ugly it was, it worked.
Finally jred, you asked a week or two ago how many goals we've conceded from corners as you countered that we're not that bad. We've conceded 14 from corners, more than any other side.
We have Arsenal next, the side I'm always more confident of beating more than any other. I consider them the weakest side in the league when it comes to fight and have done for some years. We need to see a big response from our players now and Arsenal is the perfect opportunity to show we've still got plenty of fight left. The big question is how will Ole react. If Martial starts (an Arsenal player if ever I've seen one) we need to be asking serious questions.
28 Jan 2021 11:55:44
Wazza,
Have you seen Arsenal recently? Unbeaten this year in the league and playing well, we usually struggle at their place these days so no idea why you would be confident.
28 Jan 2021 13:29:21
GDS2 I'm always confident when we play them. I rarely see them offer any threat. The last time I can remember them doing any damage to us was when Sanchez last played for them. They're a side that can turn up and be beat by anyone if the match becomes physical.
28 Jan 2021 14:12:12
Wazza are you mean 14 corners at League alone? If not do you remember how much corners did we concede at League alone? Because i agree we concede too much from corners frwe kicks etc.
28 Jan 2021 18:42:17
They beat us at OT earlier this season and we haven’t beaten them at their place since 2017. I hope you’re right on Saturday but your memory of previous game is incorrect.