Southampton vs Manchester United (11.05.2014)

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Watching our collective positioning and off-the-ball movement is like watching a mediocre high school team. So few passing options, so long distances between the players... It's actually disgusting to watch.
 
The squad is not bad enough to be languishing in mid table. When you have a mediocre manager in Moyes and a man (Giggs) who hasn't even obtained all his UEFA badges coaching you, this is what can happen. We need better players everybody knows this, but we shouldn't be where we are in the table with the players we have. Mata, Januzaj, Kagawa and RvP should be sufficient to at least take a game to an opponent but you can see that the very basics of half decent football are non existent on the pitch. We need a good manager first of all.

I'm not claiming we don't need a new manager, I'm happy Moyes is gone, but there were plenty of deluded people here who thought that the job can be done by anybody-bar-Moyes. Those games show that it's utter bullshit and our squad is massively underperforming. SAF was a magician.
 
This has been dire. We've hardly had any of the ball. Whenever we have, we've been poor, Kagawa, Januzaj and Welbeck being the main culprits.
 
We could do with Carrick, more shape and composure in the middle. I'd like to see Hernandez on at some point, but I don't think we'll take off RVP or if we can make it work with him.
 
Wow that was pretty bad. Not fully surprised though, mata/kagawa aren't cm's, they don't have the discipline to play there. Everyone wanting far too much time on the ball as well. Get Carrick on and take off Kagawa imo.
 
Awful game from us, completely outplayed, we're not even close to them. The sooner van gaal comes in to give us a rehaul the better. Moyes wasn't the whole problem, but he was a huge part of it and we weren't going to improve with him in charge. Giggs has 3 and a half games behind him so you can't expect him to change it all either. We need a top manager like van gaal to change us completely and give us a midfield finally.
 
Pathetic half, will be glad to see a select few told they've no future here and fecked out.
 
I really wish we'd stop using Smalling at fullback. So easy for the other team to just double up on our wingers knowing that Smalling provides no support.

The boy Clyne would offer better cover on both full back positions for us. The energy we lack is frightening and we offer very little pace. We need to sign a couple of very mobile players imo. Lucas M from PSG would be ideal, Shaw would be great and a mobile player in the middle of the park.
 
That was crap. I thought the ref was shocking though.

Kagawa just isn't a CM.
 
Simple the back 4 is either old or out of position and we lack a midfield.

But you'd think we still would be able to muster SOMETHING up just based on individual attacking talent alone.

I agree that the back four just looks past it right now. Those lads might as well have retired along with Fergie the way they have been playing this season.
 
So basically we're just as shit as we were under Moyes. Not saying he shouldn't have been sacked, just saying what I've said all along: our squad isn't good enough. Riddled with over the hill players, mediocre players, and very poorly balanced.

Sacking Moyes was never going to solve any of our core problems.
 
Take Rio or Vidic off, put Smalling there and bring Valencia on. Adnan is getting zero support and it's all too easy for Southampton.

I honestly just want to season to finish already, it's terrible.
 
Welbeck off, Rooney on. Maybe sub off Januzaj, he looks a bit disheartened and play a midfielder (Carrick is our only option) in his stead.

Something like:

8I6GO.jpg
 
is that the worst half of the season?
As shocking as that was, the games against Liverpool and city were worse, as was Newcastle at home (although that was close). We've had some truly disgraceful performances this season.
 
We need some energy in our team. Hernandez for van Persie, valencia for Kagawa/Januzaj, then scholes for Fletcher. Or Fellaini on, just to make this game more humorous and throw out some flying elbows.
 
You don't say?

If Lawrence can get a sub appearance and play on Wednesday then so can two other youngsters, why not take the chance to give them time? Spurs are winning we're out of Europe.

If Lawrence isn't starting on Wednesday then why not start him today?

If Lawrence plays then he probably won't start on Wednesday.
 
We are well on our way towards losing third of the games this season. It's like David Moyes brought the plague with him and infected the players. Hopefully the next manager brings along a cure.
 
Januzaj and Welbeck have had some half decent moments going past their players. Mata hasn't been in it at all and neither has RVP. Kagawa has been awful, like watching Bebe in midfield.

Welbeck and Januzaj have been on the ball a bit but their final balls have been poor. Mata and RVP simply haven't had any of the ball.

Yeah, Kagawa has been dreadful.
 
So basically we're just as shit as we were under Moyes. Not saying he shouldn't have been sacked, just saying what I've said all along: our squad isn't good enough. Riddled with over the hill players, mediocre players, and very poorly balanced.

Sacking Moyes was never going to solve any of our core problems.

Hiring him was never going to improve us. One bit. It was fixing a problem with a bigger one. It doesn't work like that.
 
Welbeck off, Rooney on. Maybe sub off Januzaj, he looks a bit disheartened and play a midfielder (Carrick is our only option) in his stead.

Something like:

8I6GO.jpg

Two years ago most people would have said that would be a team only imaginable in a video game.

Yet its become a reality for us but somehow we are facing our worst ever season in 20 odd years.
 
Welbeck off, Rooney on. Maybe sub off Januzaj, he looks a bit disheartened and play a midfielder (Carrick is our only option) in his stead.

Something like:

8I6GO.jpg
Rooney's not on the bench
 
Clearly an awful performance but I'm not sure it says anything about the strength of the team as a whole. It's an awful setup which was always going to fail. Kagawa and Mata in midfield is utter madness. They're two very good players but they're spending all their time trying to defend with fairly embarrassing results, neither is adept at intercepting the ball or winning it. Whenever we did get the ball our two most creative players were stood a couple of yards away from our defenders. Of course we've been shite.
 
It's all well and good playing good technical players in the centre of midfield to try and keep the ball, but we are struggling to force turnovers. We collectively aren't pressing the ball well enough for our midfield to make interceptions.
 
What a drab team and performance. No energy whatsoever in the midfield and players like Mata and Kagawa should be ashamed of how little they've passed the ball forward when they've had the chance. Still, team selection must have played its part too.
 
Watching our collective positioning and off-the-ball movement is like watching a mediocre high school team. So few passing options, so long distances between the players... It's actually disgusting to watch.

Some people seem to think this is due to coaching; it's not. Poor coaching may make it worse and good coaching may make it better, but players with brains are players with brains. No amount of poor coaching will make City or Arsenal play like us.

It's due to having a bunch of players who don't have a clue about where or how to move. A few of them do, but most don't. And it's something that's natural.
Walcott (for example) still looks clueless off the ball despite years under Wenger: You either have it or you don't.
We desperately need to by proper footballers this summer (especially in centre midfield.)

Throw Toure or even Ramsey into the side, and they wouldn't look clueless due to 'tactics'. Top players don't need to be taught how to move off the ball properly.

A couple of centre midfielders who actually know where to move to and, crucially, have the balls to receive the ball under pressure, will transform this side.
 
The scapegoating of Kagawa is hilarious:lol:

Yes, he's been bad, but he's not been worse than Mata and Fletcher. By the looks of it, he's covered more distance than the two of them combined. At least he's trying, but it's not easy when you have to cover the whole field. Our collective play is absolutely awful.
 
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