01 Apr 2025 23:27:25
Is Anorim Portuguese for Allerdyce? Get the big lad up front. Ugh.
02 Apr 2025 00:48:49
Almost worked didn’t it? They had 5 at the back including 3 centre backs, they used their spoiling tactics faking injuries and taking 2-3 minutes to take every goal kick, they cleared everything, Maguire almost got the equaliser, people complain Amorim only has one way of playing so can’t complain when he tries something different. I can’t believe we lost that game to be honest, had more than enough chances to win 3 games, but sums up both teams this season.
02 Apr 2025 06:35:02
I honestly thought that’s the best we had played for ages, but having a toothless attack is always going to be a problem.
Ugarte was very poor as was Mazzouri, Dorgu was not great either, but our strikers/ goal scorers are abysmal, anyone who still thinks Garnacho is a work in progress …. well as for Rasmus just as useless
The only one of the above you can cut some slack is Dorgu, being new signing and missed games, the others just get rid, nowhere near good enough.
02 Apr 2025 06:56:18
Having to put Harry up top is something SAF would also have done, but it’s a damning indictment of our forwards. Zirkzee and Hojland are not goal scoring forwards and it’s ridiculous we were left in this position. A club that once had four top strikers now has none.
I thought we actually played some really nice football and dominated the game. The stats are very one sided. Garnacho was awful until switched to the left, improved but still not good on the night.
I still saw a good structure and hope, but it needs someone to put the ball in the net. Harry looked more likely in ten minutes than H and J have all season.
02 Apr 2025 07:44:45
Can’t say the writing wasn’t on the wall, a side that struggles to score vs statistically the best defensive unit in the league with most clean sheets. But saying that, one half decent striker and we’d win that three times over.
02 Apr 2025 09:53:05
We had chances GDS but Garnacho had 6 (0 on target), Dorgu 4 (1 on target), Casimiro 3 and Hoijland 1. Of course Harry had the best chance. But the point is I guess that our strikers had 1 shot on target between them. I'm not sure if the problem is them or the service but it needs to improve.
02 Apr 2025 11:13:49
Banjos
I won’t excuse Garnacho last night but the two strikers movement and danger in the box is non existent. Seen some good and great strikers down the many years and our present two don’t create danger in the box. It’s poor.
02 Apr 2025 12:11:53
If we had Harry Kane up front he would have scored 20 goals this season, the service isn’t great but the movement and finishing is horrific so they never look like scoring.
02 Apr 2025 12:48:25
I hate that I'm even asking this but should Maguire play up front for the rest of the season?
He can't be any less effective.
02 Apr 2025 13:44:56
Haha mancman I was laughing with the lads on the way home from Nottingham last night saying it would be funny if we started the derby with Maguire up top.
02 Apr 2025 13:51:47
Guys it’s basic maths, Hoijland‘s shot accuracy is good, it’s greater than 50%, in his first season his shot conversion % stats were the best in the league. He gets approx 1 shot per game, which is terrible. We had 24 shots on goal yesterday most of which were outside the box. We do not have a striker issue, we have a chance creation issue. Salah and Haaland get over 3.5 shots per game, go and look at the French league the two highest scorers, Dembele and Greenwood have the highest shots per game at around 3.5.
Let’s look at Amourims striker at sporting, Gyökeres, 4 shots per game. Trincoa is the next highest in the league on 3 HOWEVER he also has the top assist stats in the league with 11.
We have greedy players who shoot from distance rather than look to play the attacker in. A shot from distance is a very low probability shot. You could put prime Brazilian Ranaldo up front, he’s getting 1 shot a game and will score chuff all, its basic maths.
This isn’t new, we’ve had this for years, literally probably 10 years of the wide players cutting in and shooting outside the box, Bruno shooting outside the box.
Defensively we look much better, Dorgu looks like a player, considering he’s new that’s some achievement. We need to get more penetration on the right, which Amad did a great job of. Changing the two 10 positions to players that look to play in rather than shoot will transform this team.
02 Apr 2025 14:48:24
Not sure how Yates didn't even get a booking last night, acting a complete c**t the whole game. Pushing Bruno then falling over as if he'd been hit, taking out Bruno on a counter, why does he not get booked? It would have been looked at.
The keeper who took an age everytime was able to just continue doing the same, small steps. place the ball down, pick it up again, put it down . Some of the throw ins, freekicks were mind boggling for those given and those not given. The referee as I see more often just submits or plays up to the crowd.
02 Apr 2025 15:40:32
Rewz
Why does Hojland only get one shot? Look at his presence, his movement, his positioning in the box, not good enough. I watched more action from the young Obi to get himself away from defenders in our sub appearance than a season of Hojland.
Try getting to the game early and watch Hojland warm up. Unless improved from last season, it was not impressive.
Maybe he is young and inexperienced but he isn’t getting himself into positions, forcing errors. He isn’t showing he is good enough as yet.
02 Apr 2025 16:24:21
That's an interesting take on things Rewz and I don't disagree.
Utd have spent £73 million on Hojlund so I'm not sure he can or should be easily discarded.
It's true that he needs more opportunities to score. He needs more coaching to make sure he makes the right runs and he definitely needs more supply from the players around him.
I think Hojlund deserves some credit for keeping going when he must be frustrated and his confidence must be shot.
In my view Fernandez shouldn't be playing at 10 and I'm running out of patience with Garnacho. He's great at getting himself into good positions with the ball but his shooting is terrible and his decision making is poor. I don't know if improvements in those areas can be coached into him. If a decent offer comes for him I say Utd should sell.
02 Apr 2025 16:35:59
Today's interesting fact doing the rounds, that had it appeared yesterday one would assume was an April Fool: Harry Maguire accumulated more xG in added time against Nottingham Forest than Rasmus Hojlund has in his last 15 appearances.
03 Apr 2025 23:19:47
Although I don't necessarily disagree that Garnacho needs to look up more, I'm not convinced greed is the sole cause of the players more often than than not opting for a long shot. They don't have the eye for the clever pass, and they don't trust the option waiting for them if they do find someone. I'd probably take a punt myself if I looked up and Hojlund was unmarked in the 6 yard box!