Man United Vs Tottenham: Match Thread

[DaSpurs]

We have conceded 14 goals in six games, please do not tell me (or anyone with a brain bigger than a Goldfish) that we don't have a problem with our full back or center half's. It has bugger all to do with who plays in front of the back four.

Football is not as simple as "we can't score, therefore our strikers are weak; we can't defend, therefore our back line is weak." While it's true we could do with improvement along the back line, that doesn't absolve the players ahead of them in their responsibilities for shielding the back line, especially in a high line format.

 

[jezz]

If you haven't had one meaningful attempt on their goal after 60 minutes, it's not really full backs, center halves, or DMs that are the problem. It's our attacking play. And bringing on lamela as a potential game changer is laughable. We did nothing worthwhile going forward because we left Kane toiling away in isolation. Potch's plan B is an issue, or at least his instruction to the field to address where things are going wrong with plan A, the only plan.He could have done worse than put adebayor up top with Kane as number 10 much earlier to get a better foothold, and put their defense out of their comfort. Smalling looked like a bloody world beater against us.

Until Potch puts a run together of five or six wins on the trot, as Jol and Redknapp did, I'll be skeptical of his longer term suitability for us. Having said that, those two did and were still booted out.

So Laughable he created the best chance we had. Made more tackles than everyone bar rose.
Laughable being the correct term for your post.

 

[cookiemonster]

Never!
SP versus the negativist towel thrower inners:

That's right

Give it up

I seem to remember you writing long thesis on how we have a great chance of finishing ahead of the goons in 11-12 & 12-13

That did not happen

And it will not happen now not with a defence as leaky as this one is

 

[Spurs_Bear]

I only watched 70 mins but Danny Rose did well

Did well is a huge exaggeration. Not one of our players played to a good level.

 

[stemark44]

We have conceded 14 goals in six games, please do not tell me (or anyone with a brain bigger than a Goldfish) that we don't have a problem with our full back or center half's. It has bugger all to do with who plays in front of the back four.

We concede too many goals regardless of the personnel.....this is a problem caused by poor organisation.There are plenty of teams in this league with worse defenders than we have,yet they have better defensive records and they don't have Lloris in goal.

 

[only1waddle]

Lvgs experience my ass this was a simple case of spurs yet again providing a springboard for other teams rather than taking the leap themselves

I actually said it was a combination of both us being shit and LvG getting it right.

 

[carpediem1906]

We were actually on top for the first 5 to 6 mins, and Jones started way shaky and we looked up for it...

But a combination of the following and we were done for

For them
1) valencia and blind always given time and looking to play the long diagonal to fellaini
2) fellani being unbeatable in the air / on the day in the first half
3) carrick being calm and composed under possession giving them both possession but also settled their early nerves
4) rooney's off the ball running & control was incredible on the day, and the right balls were played to both him and fellani

For us
1) Walker had a nightmare. Not sure why but him being a bag of nerves / mistakes in big games is getting too predictable
2) Nobody talked to Walker, nobody calmed the team down and talked to each other when they dominated from minute 7 to 20. i.e. no Leadership
3) the nerves of Walker somehow rubbed off onto Dier, Bentaleb, Andros, Mason and Kane (all the young players) who made many basic mistakes you wouldn't normally see them doing like miscontrolling passes, mishit passes, falling down etc... Did they go together on a night out or something?
4) when we play a team that can and likes to play long and mix it up, together with players who can retain possession under pressure (like City, Liverpool and yesterday against United)... our pressing game seems too random, often leaving many gaps in midfield whenever players overcommit to press... poorer teams will pass nearby and our pack can usually nick it off them or force them into a mistake... my observation yesterday, and the aforementioned opponents, are that we press, but they play 20-30 metres passes back to their gk or to their opposite flank or more likely than not, forwards to fellaini. this totally cuts 3-5 players of ours out of the game and them having to chase back that 20 to 30 metres more than a few times in the first half also created a situation where in the 2nd half, for once, we saw Kane cramping, Eriksen and Chadli immobile from 60 mins onwards.

The only player who walked away with any credit and was really trying (and succeeding a little) but let down by his team mates and final ball is Rose.

 

[Monkey boy]

What performance? United didn't have to do much to win that. They started the game nervously, typified by the Jones mistake.

We were exceptionally poor today. Line up was wrong but make no mistake we absolutely gifted that game to United.

Neville is so wide of the mark with his assessment on the game IMO.

I'm not even bothering watching the first hour of MNF tomorrow night. Its almost as if Gary was thinking ahead to that with his eulogy in mind.

Absolutely spot on. There was nothing great about the Utd performance at all, we totally gifted them the game and collectively to a man were shocking of every aspect of the game. Never have I seen so man passes totally mishit in one game.

 

[neptunes]

We were sh*t from the tunnels!! Let alone our play. Cannot but mention one player that got it right. So so disappointed. Ah well, maybe we get EL again, but am not sure how it will pan out with league placings and domestic cup winners. Will not post anything more on yesterday's game as am so frustrated and mad I might get kicked out from the site.

 

[Chris12]

If you haven't had one meaningful attempt on their goal after 60 minutes, it's not really full backs, center halves, or DMs that are the problem. It's our attacking play. And bringing on lamela as a potential game changer is laughable. We did nothing worthwhile going forward because we left Kane toiling away in isolation. Potch's plan B is an issue, or at least his instruction to the field to address where things are going wrong with plan A, the only plan.He could have done worse than put adebayor up top with Kane as number 10 much earlier to get a better foothold, and put their defense out of their comfort. Smalling looked like a bloody world beater against us.

Until Potch puts a run together of five or six wins on the trot, as Jol and Redknapp did, I'll be skeptical of his longer term suitability for us. Having said that, those two did and were still booted out.

Attack can't do much if midfield and defenders can't win the ball back.

 

[shelfboy68]

We concede too many goals regardless of the personnel.....this is a problem caused by poor organisation.There are plenty of teams in this league with worse defenders than we have,yet they have better defensive records and they don't have Lloris in goal.

Good coaches can organise the team to defend properly see pulis at palace and West brom for evidence of this.
Everytime we step out onto the pitch i fear we will concede no matter who we play be it a champions league team or a conference side we constantly give cheap goals away.
If the management and team dont get a handle on this quick it will have an effect on team morale for the rest of the season, in fact it may already have.

 

[nightgoat]

Well at least we know now that champions league is not gonna happen. Better to know early in the long run I suppose. Thats the only positive I could fathom from today....

I wouldn't say it's definitely out of the question. Unlikely, yes, but over the next few weeks Man Utd play Liverpool, Man City and Chelsea, Liverpool also play Arsenal, while our next four games are Leicester, Burnley, Villa and Newcastle. In three or four weeks time we could be back to within a couple of points of 4th.

 

[Wheeler Dealer]

We looked totally unprepared to deal with United. We didn't anticipate their shape, their intensity and their desire. We looked shocked and punch drunk from start to finish. Yesterday also highlighted our weak-links:- Townsend, Dier, Chadli, Mason and Walker.. You can get away with one player having a shocker, but 6-7 is a recipe for disaster.

 

[shelfboy68]

We looked totally unprepared to deal with United. We didn't anticipate their shape, their intensity and their desire. We looked shocked and punch drunk from start to finish. Yesterday also highlighted our weak-links:- Townsend, Dier, Chadli, Mason and Walker.. You can get away with one player having a shocker, but 6-7 is a recipe for disaster.

When dier came in at the start of the season he looked good for a while then he was dropped, now the last few games he looks like a spurs defender in that he is a bag of nerves under pressure, cant do the basics and looks lost.
Mason a similar story came in did well for a while but again his form for a while now has been poor, gives the ball away far too often and always looks out of position.
I keep hearing that we will be better once we get a CM that shields the defence, but poch had MS at southampton last year and they did the same started well but then started to concede goals as the season went on.
So is it the system that doesnt work over a long haul that being players run out of legs or teams by passing the set up too
easy.
Whatever it is poch now has his first problem of sorts with this team sorting out the shitty team defending.

 

[Kiedis]

Man United pretty simple tactical choice of placing Fellaini more or less between Dier and Walker with Rooney occupying Dier and Young stretching Walker wide left Fellaini with acres of space to receive long balls and as we saw, even acting like Michael Owen in his prime to score.

We need some on field-leadership to adjust the team shape when things like that occur. But as we all saw, we were all over the place collectively for the first goal. And after that we didn't have the sufficient nutsack to pick ourselves up.

Frustrating, since we saw a very nervous Man United until they got that goal.

 

[Wheeler Dealer]

Frustrating, since we saw a very nervous Man United until they got that goal.

I think most United fans can live with looking nervous for a massive 9 minutes, as the remaining 81 minutes they sat back and smoked a cigar..

 

[littlemandefoe]

So Laughable he created the best chance we had. Made more tackles than everyone bar rose.
Laughable being the correct term for your post.

You really like Lamela, don't you?

 

[TheChosenOne]

To lose at OT to Man U isn't a disaster, they are a top club perhaps in transition.

The perennial problem for me is the losses at home to Newcastle, WBA and Stoke - all the hard won and
Inspiring victories on the road are devalued - 9 poxy points at home and a couple of draws against 'middling' teams is the difference between 7th and 2nd - sickener for me

 

[Gilzeanking]

2) Nobody talked to Walker, nobody calmed the team down and talked to each other when they dominated from minute 7 to 20. i.e. no Leadership
.

Yep many times this gets mentioned , very true . A critical example from yesterday being the early Townsend corner . It came through awkwardly to Kane 2 yards out.... If the Spurs player behind him free and with only a tap in could have screamed at him ' LEAVE IT', we'd have been a goal up after 5 mins .

The defence doesn't communicate enough ....we need someone gobby to teach the players to talk .

Basic stuff .Eg A Spurs player receives the ball in midfield facing his own goal . He doesn't know he's in space and may do a typical Spurs move by passing the ball straight back . If someone shouts the universal signal 'TURN'...he knows he has space and can move onto the attack.
We learned this at fucking school for christ's sake .

 

[SteveH]

Too many players froze.

The most important thing is, we learn.

They need to get people to learn react to situation on the pitch, Walker was left to hang, very poor from Townsend.