Post Match EPL Man U (H) 1-2 Sunday 4:30pm Oct 19th

[BishBashBosh]

To be fair, Bruno punted that cross back in very quickly. Didn’t give us much chance to react. And if Harry didn’t score there were two behind him who would have. It’s just one of those

We easily deserved to win today. Let’s see what Slot can do with this.

If you watch the passage of play back, Jones shit houses out of the space where the ball goes with an instinctive “the balls gone back forwards push up to the edge of the box”

Instead he’s not reading the game to see the ball is likely coming right back in. We have too many players that like the ball at their feet but not enough who read danger and live and breath winning those situations.

 

[Gerry_A_Trick]

One of the commentators mentioned at this point last year we had conceded 5, and we've conceded three times that already. We shouldn't need three goals at home to beat United. We have got to sort out the defence, and our ability(or lack of ability) to keep clean sheets, first and foremost.

 

[mom]

I’ll be honest with you, even if we had won this the way we had played up until all the attacking subs came on, I’d still be concerned for the rest of the season. The match fitness excuse has gone.

 

[MomoWASright]

Pathetic. Cowardly. Rudderless. Idiotic. I could keep going on. No way Mac and Isak should be starting today. Nor Salah.

Seeing that Ibiza tanned prick throwing is head back in disbelief made me wish it was being launched in to the Mersey. He fucked that up yet again. That’s pretty much every game this season. 4 defeats on the bounce, conceding first every time, three times levelled it and still lose late on.

 

[Number21]

That was so easily predictable wasn't it?

Wrong team, wrong tactics, poor performance & then just throw all the attackers on & hope for the best.

Saw it coming a mile off although that wasn't exactly hard. It doesn't matter who we play it'll be hard work because this manager is aimlessly flapping around.

 

[LarryHagman]

The gulf in class between the full-backs we have now versus Trent and Prime Robbo is massive. I think this is the main reason we're toothless, too much pressure on the MF to create and they're not up to it. The amount of ball Kerkez gets and does fuck all with is criminal. Bradley is so-so and Frimpong is not Prem standard.
Macca should be nowhere near the team. Of course, neither should Salah.
Slot said we can judge Isak fairly now, ok, he was shite.
Szobo was great again but he's no 10. He needs to be alongside Gravy in centre mid.
I keep reading about people pleading for time, after the next game a quarter of the season is done. The profile of the players we signed, with their price tags, they shouldn't need a quarter of a season to at least contribute something.
And Slot needs closer inspection, I'm starting to question his nous. He was just adding bodies there, I half expected him to try and bring Rushie on.

 

[peekay]

One of the commentators mentioned at this point last year we had conceded 5, and we've conceded three times that already. We shouldn't need three goals at home to beat United. We have got to sort out the defence, and our ability(or lack of ability) to keep clean sheets, first and foremost.

Read @dmishra's excellent post earlier in this thread. By no means am I excusing our defenders, but we are making life difficult for them by putting them increasingly in uncomfortable situations. Anyway, after every performance, it appears there are 10 things wrong. Depending on anyone's bias or what they watch, they are choosing to focus on a couple of aspects which annoy them the most - IMO, all of them are to a certain extent correct. We can blame Salah, fullbacks, Konate, MacAllister, Wirtz, and Gakpo - rearrange and pick your poison. When too many things are incorrect, often that is a sign of a lack of preparation, and that falls on the manager.

The more time he spends with the team, the worse the performance appears to get. Since around February, there seems to be a lack of cohesion in our play - the footballing identity is not clear.

 

[peekay]

The gulf in class between the full-backs we have now versus Trent and Prime Robbo is massive. I think this is the main reason we're toothless, too much pressure on the MF to create and they're not up to it. The amount of ball Kerkez gets and does fuck all with is criminal. Bradley is so-so and Frimpong is not Prem standard.

That is on the data crunchers, though, and not on Slot. Trent and Prime Robbo were exceptional passers and playmakers who could pin back defense with their threat on the ball. We have replaced them with runners.

Bradley shouldn't be playing this much. He is no Trent, but he could develop into a solid PL fullback or an option from the bench. But his minutes have to be managed. Putting him into the spotlight is not helping him or the team.

Frimpong - I am not even sure why we bought him.

Agree with everything else you said.

 

[darkstarexodus]

The gulf in class between the full-backs we have now versus Trent and Prime Robbo is massive. I think this is the main reason we're toothless, too much pressure on the MF to create and they're not up to it. The amount of ball Kerkez gets and does fuck all with is criminal. Bradley is so-so and Frimpong is not Prem standard.
Macca should be nowhere near the team. Of course, neither should Salah.
Slot said we can judge Isak fairly now, ok, he was shite.
Szobo was great again but he's no 10. He needs to be alongside Gravy in centre mid.
I keep reading about people pleading for time, after the next game a quarter of the season is done. The profile of the players we signed, with their price tags, they shouldn't need a quarter of a season to at least contribute something.
And Slot needs closer inspection, I'm starting to question his nous. He was just adding bodies there, I half expected him to try and bring Rushie on.

I'm reluctant to blame Kerkez when we're not playing to his strengths. At Bournemouth he looked like prime Robbo, bombing up and down the flanks and getting crosses in.

We're having him play as a third CB, step into midfield to assist our interior buildup, and make decoy runs so Gakpo can cut in and shoot.

It's a similar challenge Wirtz is facing: learning a new role in a side that hasn't traditionally had that role.

It's mismanagement and tactical errors more than deficiencies from the player. Maybe it works in the long run, but it's costing us now and surely has to be taxing the players' confidence.

 

[tomasjj]

1- drop the one's out of form - macca, isak
2- drop favourites - salah, gakpo
3- play to the strengths of all the good players we have ffs - wirtz, the full backs
4 - play grav and szob/jones at the base of mf

stop faffing about

 

[LarryHagman]

I'm reluctant to blame Kerkez when we're not playing to his strengths. At Bournemouth he looked like prime Robbo, bombing up and down the flanks and getting crosses in.

We're having him play as a third CB, step into midfield to assist our interior buildup, and make decoy runs so Gakpo can cut in and shoot.

It's a similar challenge Wirtz is facing: learning a new role in a side that hasn't traditionally had that role.

It's mismanagement and tactical errors more than deficiencies from the player. Maybe it works in the long run, but it's costing us now and surely has to be taxing the players' confidence.

He bombed up and down the flank loads of times today, the space he had was incredible. Did fuck all with it.

If what you say is what's happening, there's something not right about signing players for mega bucks and then asking them to do something different. Either, they weren't the players we should have signed. Or, asking them to do something different is completely idiotic.

 

[MomoWASright]

He bombed up and down the flank loads of times today, the space he had was incredible. Did fuck all with it.

If what you say is what's happening, there's something not right about signing players for mega bucks and then asking them to do something different. Either, they weren't the players we should have signed. Or, asking them to do something different is completely idiotic.

I’ve been banging this drum for a good few weeks. Why buy Frimpong and Wirtz when they looked decent in a structure which is not like ours? Why buy Kerkez to do a different job? Why buy Isak when we already had Ekitike? Our transfer strategy looks a complete fuck up.

 

[Beamrider]

Every time I watch Kerkez in a red shirt I find myself thinking that Iraola is an even better manager than I thought he was. There's a good player there, but Slot isn't getting anything like the performance out of him that Iraola did. When you think of the players he lost in the summer, the man has worked miracles to make Bournemouth as competitive as they are. They are above us in the table with, on paper, a vastly weaker squad.

 

[mom]

Makes you wonder just how much pressure Slot will be under soon…

 

[MomoWASright]

A quick player review.

Marmadashvili - Look uncomfortable at times. I think it’s harsh to say he should’ve done better with the goal. He did get a touch to it, just not enough. His distribution was meh.

Bradley - Looked spritely but hampered by a lack of chemistry with Mo. No yellow. He seems to be an easy target for Slot to take off no matter what.

Konate - Maybe could’ve done better with both goals, but should have had an assist for Isak. Best out of our back four today.

Van Dijk - Looked lost, slow and laborious today. Maybe he should be thinking about quitting International football. He didn’t really need to go for that ball for the first. Other times looked off it mentally and physically.

Kerkez - Overall, I think he did well. Never overly worried with Amad. It’s like we are clipping his wings in an attacking sense. I would like to see him overlap more than under.

Gravenberch - Probably the best of the middle. Seemed everywhere at times. I hope his ankle isn’t fucked.

Szoboszlai - Please stop moving him around. He didn’t hit the lofty heights of earlier in the season. A good few passes didn’t come off, but showed his class at times. Needs to put in better corners.

Mac Allister - Wank. As predicted before kick off. Out of form. Not fit. Probably the last to come back from international games. Should be nowhere near the starting XI.

Salah - I can’t wait to read Dreamy’s review on his performance. He should be giving me £400k a week to sit through that.

Isak - Still not fit. Should’ve scored one. Seems to be playing more on the right and deeper than at Newcastle. But that could be because they never had such a deep lying opposition.

Gakpo - Scored a goal. Loved hitting the woodwork like Darwin. Should’ve scored that header towards the end.

Subs.

Jones - Made some driving runs from midfield which was a breath of fresh air and then we stopped doing that.

Ekitike - Tried a few shots then disappeared as it got more congested as the game headed towards the end.

Wirtz - Found the ball in spaces. Then I don’t remember much from him. All fur coat and no knickers.

Chiesa - worked hard. Won a nice tackle to stop a counter. Got an assist. Yet still won’t get a meaningful start ahead of Salah.

Frimpong - Another who should be in contention to replace Salah. Completed more take ons in 4 minutes than Salah all season. Put it on a plate for Gakpo.

 

[MomoWASright]

Every time I watch Kerkez in a red shirt I find myself thinking that Iraola is an even better manager than I thought he was. There's a good player there, but Slot isn't getting anything like the performance out of him that Iraola did. When you think of the players he lost in the summer, the man has worked miracles to make Bournemouth as competitive as they are. They are above us in the table with, on paper, a vastly weaker squad.

I’d have him ahead of the stubborn cunt we have in charge.

 

[Gerry_A_Trick]

Read @dmishra's excellent post earlier in this thread. By no means am I excusing our defenders, but we are making life difficult for them by putting them increasingly in uncomfortable situations. Anyway, after every performance, it appears there are 10 things wrong. Depending on anyone's bias or what they watch, they are choosing to focus on a couple of aspects which annoy them the most - IMO, all of them are to a certain extent correct. We can blame Salah, fullbacks, Konate, MacAllister, Wirtz, and Gakpo - rearrange and pick your poison. When too many things are incorrect, often that is a sign of a lack of preparation, and that falls on the manager.

The more time he spends with the team, the worse the performance appears to get. Since around February, there seems to be a lack of cohesion in our play - the footballing identity is not clear.

I agree, this is a system or organization thing, it's not any individual in particular, there's too many under performing for that to be the case. I have put it down to too much change, too quickly, but we need to find some solution pretty quick to get us performing and getting the best out of our best players soon. Maybe it's from the front three, I don't know, I just see that we're exposed too much and making it far too easy for teams that we shouldn't be letting.

The point still stands, we should not be letting United score three goals in Anfield. The biggest problem is not missed chances, or final balls, it's that we're too easy to score against. If we didn't concede so early, it'd have been a totally different game.

 

[Sculptorini]

Fuck off

😂😂😂

 

[LarryHagman]

I don't want to bag Macca if he's carrying an injury, but I can't fathom why he's in the team. I mean, even when he's fit, he looks fucked after 5 minutes but obviously he oozes class. End of last season and so far this, he's been a ghost. He found himself with some space today and took off running forward, well, I felt embarrassed for him. I'm 55 in March and I reckon I'm quicker (I'm not joking). Wtf is going on?

 

[darkstarexodus]

If what you say is what's happening, there's something not right about signing players for mega bucks and then asking them to do something different. Either, they weren't the players we should have signed. Or, asking them to do something different is completely idiotic.

I'm not sure which of the two is true but I'm certain that at least one of them is.

 

[peekay]

I’ve been banging this drum for a good few weeks. Why buy Frimpong and Wirtz when they looked decent in a structure which is not like ours? Why buy Kerkez to do a different job? Why buy Isak when we already had Ekitike? Our transfer strategy looks a complete fuck up.

I feel bad for Isak. One of his wingers has lost the ability to take on defenders. Another one never had that ability and always cuts in and shoots. We have minimal threat out wide, so teams can crowd the middle, making Isak ineffective. Not excusing Isak's performance, but again, it seems that the system isn't playing to players' strengths.

 

[Farkmaster]

I feel bad for Isak. One of his wingers has lost the ability to take on defenders. Another one never had that ability and always cuts in and shoots. We have minimal threat out wide, so teams can crowd the middle, making Isak ineffective. Not excusing Isak's performance, but again, it seems that the system isn't playing to players' strengths.

Neat. He should have scored.

Wirtz can work with isak, but Isak should be on the bench until he's sharp.

 

[Modo]

I feel bad for Isak. One of his wingers has lost the ability to take on defenders. Another one never had that ability and always cuts in and shoots. We have minimal threat out wide, so teams can crowd the middle, making Isak ineffective. Not excusing Isak's performance, but again, it seems that the system isn't playing to players' strengths.

This is what I've been saying. Isak is useless with two wingers who just cut inside and shot or float the ball to the opposite flank.

 

[tomasjj]

This is what I've been saying. Isak is useless with two wingers who just cut inside and shot or float the ball to the opposite flank.

It reminds me of the set up at Man U the last couple of seasons. Two so called wingers who like to finish themselves, a striker in the middle who never gets played in, thus deemed a failure.

 

[mark1975]

He bombed up and down the flank loads of times today, the space he had was incredible. Did fuck all with it.

If what you say is what's happening, there's something not right about signing players for mega bucks and then asking them to do something different. Either, they weren't the players we should have signed. Or, asking them to do something different is completely idiotic.

It's costing us in the short term, but we're probably trying to do too much at the same time. Grav was a similar experiment that no one predicted, and look how that turned out. Klopp did it with players too. One goal came from a set piece, our marking has been wrong from set pieces for ages now, look at the League Cup Final. The other goal came from indecision and poor officiating. We have problems elsewhere, but we lost two goals that had little if anything to do with new players.

 

[MomoWASright]

It's costing us in the short term, but we're probably trying to do too much at the same time. Grav was a similar experiment that no one predicted, and look how that turned out. Klopp did it with players too. One goal came from a set piece, our marking has been wrong from set pieces for ages now, look at the League Cup Final. The other goal came from indecision and poor officiating. We have problems elsewhere, but we lost two goals that had little if anything to do with new players.

We’ve kept 4 clean sheets since we played PSG. It’s a piss take.

 

[Red Bird]

What does it take to drop Salah utterly useless

I’ll warrant he was hooked with Wednesday in
mind not because he was useless.

 

[Best Believe It]

I wrote in the match thread that I don't understand why we've become shit, because there doesn't seem to be an obvious fix anywhere (apart from playing Chiesa). We've stopped pressing, which can only really be a deliberate policy, but it means we never win the ball high up the pitch, and our high line has less protection as a result. We don't seem to be able to hold onto the ball, or pass it particularly well. None of our players seem to beat a man (though Gakpo seemed to be taking Amad more in the game and trying to cross, rather than just cut inside). Our full backs don't overlap in the same way.

It's not obvious to me what Slot is trying to do with this team at the moment. If it was about just bedding new players in, that's one thing, but the tactical approach/setup seems to have completely changed, and I'm no longer sure what the hell we're trying to do. Slot's post-match comments are adding to the confusion, because he doesn't seem at all pissed off. And we don't seem to be gradually improving at all.

 

[MomoWASright]

Salah will not play on Wednesday and people will point, ooooo he’s been dropped. It seems meaningless unless it’s a league game. Dropping him for Galatasaray only to let him back into the team is taking the piss out of everyone.

 

[mark1975]

We’ve kept 4 clean sheets since we played PSG. It’s a piss take.

I agree, but it doesn't change my point, we lost because of bad defending, it wasn't something you can direct specifically at being because of the new players.

Like I've said elsewhere, we haven't played particularly well in 2025, we might have put the title to bed, but we've been dire to watch and like I mentioned in my post, if you watch the League Cup final, that was exactly as flawed as we have been this season and as we have been at other times during the year. The balance is wrong and the style of play is non-existent.