[Counterfactual]

- DeGea is getting close to being replaced. He has played well since his poor displays vs PSG and RBL but last night his cowardly goalkeeping appeared again. More and more opponents will start crowding him and putting the ball inside the PK mark on corners. He can't be a PL keeper unless he gets braver and stronger.

You'd think he'd just got off the plane instead of having won our player of the year four times. Finally other teams are figuring him out?

 

[gerdm07]

If Sheffield Utd aren’t a lesser team then I don’t know who is. Martial had an excellent scoring record against them which makes it all the more unfathomable why he was so poor

Good point. I guess I mean going forward. His next start should be against West Brom and that's if he plays well coming off the bench. Right now VDB, James, Mata and maybe Diallo should be ahead of him.

 

[gerdm07]

You'd think he'd just got off the plane instead of having won our player of the year four times. Finally other teams are figuring him out?

I remember early in his career teams did that to him on corners and he had problems. He improved in that area and opponents didn't target him much at all. That all changes now though and he is too blame.

I do think he was fouled on the play but he still needs to get a hand on that ball no matter what.

 

[el3mel]

Watching the goal again made my blood boil.

What the fecking feck was this crap ?

It's as if we deliberately wanted to lose this one.

 

[gerdm07]

Watching the goal again made me blood boil.

What the fecking feck was this crap ?

It's as if we deliberately wanted to lose this one.

Look at Martial standing there and not thinking about blocking a clear passing lane. And it really boils me that he was the one who lost the ball that started their attack.

 

[Counterfactual]

I remember early in his career teams did that to him on corners and he had problems. He improved in that area and opponents didn't target him much at all. That all changes now though and he is too blame.

I do think he was fouled on the play but he still needs to get a hand on that ball no matter what.

I think the foul on De Gea was subtle but effective. Sharp barged him just enough to put him off, while making it look like he was falling over. It was pretty shrewd, which is probably why it wasn't given as a foul. That's calculated gamesmanship from a 34-year old who knew exactly what he was doing. Even so, De Gea reached the ball from what I could tell, he just didn't connect as he would've done.

Regardless, he should generally command the area better on corners, and I agree that he did improve that ability, so he needs to recapture it. It's either form or confidence that's the issue with him.

 

[#25]

The defensive coaching really needs work. Maybe a change in staff. Positional problems all season, that 2nd goal says it all.

 

[el3mel]

Look at Martial standing there and not thinking about blocking a clear passing lane. And it really boils me that he was the one who lost the ball that started their attack.

The only one who made any kind of defensive effort in this is Bruno. Everyone there standing with their feet glued to the ground watching as Sheffield keep trying.

Disgusting.

 

[croadyman]

And Sunderland got a draw at Old Trafford in 05/06 when they got 15 points in the end.

Ah yes I remember that game on Good Friday

 

[BusbyMalone]

Don't know if anyone else feels this way, but it's quite mesmerizing watching that goal. There's something very impressive about it in an absurdist kind of way

 

[Nicoseth]

So many players disappointed last night. My pick of the bunch for terrible performance was De Gea. Yet again, costing us points with a massive error. He's been at the club for years and still can't come out with authority and claim a ball from a corner? He barely even jumped. Okay so he might have been nudged by the SU player, but so what - show some physicality and presence and wipe everyone out if you have to. Terrible goal to concede that changed the tone of the whole game. He's been alright this season, but he was shite again last night, in a night where he had almost nothing to do - which is impressive.

Time to drop some of these guys who are just out of form. Donny and Cavani should be getting more chances as starters and Diallo should be brought in ASAP if he's as good as we hope.

Wasted opportunity last night and an embarrassing performance. Massive game on Saturday now, created by pressure that this team brought on themselves. 3 points is a must.

 

[Siorac]

Don't know if anyone else feels this way, but it's quite mesmerizing watching that goal. There's something very impressive about it in an absurdist kind of way

It could absolutely be a piece of performance art. Something about the inherent futility of human endeavour.

 

[BusbyMalone]

It could absolutely be a piece of performance art. Something about the inherent futility of human endeavour.

I'm genuinely not even angry watching it. It's obviously absolutely appalling, but when you see something so bad like that, it's almost impressive. You really have to try and be that bad, that's the thing about it. That's not bad luck.

 

[peridigm]

Look at Martial standing there and not thinking about blocking a clear passing lane. And it really boils me that he was the one who lost the ball that started their attack.

It's inexcusable. I hope he's dropped for the rest of the season but he won't be. I'm at a loss for words. I haven't been this angry about a performance since Moyes was in charge.
We're all piling on Martial but he is not the only one at fault. He clearly has something going on and needs sorted or benched.

 

[croadyman]

They got relegated though didn't they? We seem to like giving relegation threatened teams a boost.

Yeah they certainly did

 

[Siorac]

I'm genuinely not even angry watching it. It's obviously absolutely appalling, but when you see something so bad like that, it's almost impressive. You really have to try and be that bad, that's the thing about it. That's not bad luck.

It's one of those goals where if I saw it in a film I'd say the director either knows nothing about football or went out of his way to needlessly mock it.

 

[croadyman]

I cannot believe some people here are making excuses (actually I probably can). This is what we are actually like - we've been punching above our weight for a while (and so has Ole). Nowhere near good enough to make a real title challenge and I'm far from convinced we'll finish in top four. We have now lost at home to Palace, Arsenal (when they were worse than us) and Spurs, and just managed to struggle past WBA.

A game that world-class players should dominate yet once again Pogba did not, and once again when Bruno is quiet we are back to where we were 15 months ago. Just what Ole thought he was watching, I have no idea: you could see 15 minutes in that Marital couldn't hit the proverbial barn door - his touches and passing were suited to the Sunday park football at times. Meanwhile, Rashford is back to one game where he's almost unstoppable while pretty anonymous the next. Keep hearing pundits so how strong the squad in, but Ole brings on defender Shaw to save the day. What the very feck?

It's true to that the ref was utterly useless - would have been booed in the national league -- but my guess is Sheffield U will be at least two down at City after 20 mins on Saturday. Can't see us recovering in time for Arsenal.

Yeah spot on and as for that poster saying City will lose one of these games don't make me laugh, they are made of stronger stuff than us and don't fold when a team puts pressure on

 

[jeff gurr]

Don't know if anyone else feels this way, but it's quite mesmerizing watching that goal. There's something very impressive about it in an absurdist kind of way

What a great word that is !! I had to look it up. I'm now looking for an opportunity to use it.

 

[tjb]

My main frustration yesterday was the passing of responsibility. The ball moved around their area throughout the game. There were ample chances for crosses, shots, through ball etc. We should have been bombarding their area. Yet when we got close, our most forward players would pass back looking for Bruno or Pogba to create from further distances. You can blame the tempo all you want, the fact is, we were around their 18 yard box yesterday and we consistently failed to do anything. Pointless possession. The aim of the game is to provide a consistent threat to the opposition. We have a striker who wouldn't even attempt a shot unless a. He's dribbling from outside the box before he shoots b. It's a tap in. Bruno had an off game creatively...exposing how spineless our attackers actually are. People get on Greenwood for being too aggressive in trying to get his goal. That type of ambition creates threats for the opposition to deal with. Our striker only threatens the opposition when he has been spoon fed. We need more ambition from some of our players on the pitch.

 

[tjb]

I’ve said it before on here but this style of play we have just isn’t sustainable. I’ve no doubt we can finish 3rd and closer to the top 2 but we won’t ever win the league whilst our ball retention is so poor.

I’ve never seen a United team so bad at keeping possession - we lose it so easily every single game. Major problem as our 2 best players (Rashford and Fernandes) are two of the worst culprits.

Our back line also isn’t good enough. Do we really think we can win the league when we have the worst defensive record in the top 11? We’re conceding 2 in a game regularly and against shit teams. 1 in 3 of Sheffield Utd’s goals this season have come against us for feck sake.

Our problem isn't ball retention, it's ball progression and regaining possession. Look how bad we are at moving the ball up the pitch in the big games. Neither Bruno or Rashford even see the ball at times due to that. Our build up is poor, because the players who build up our play are not composed, aware or have good enough technique to progress the ball quick enough. Watch other teams move the ball and you can see this. Bruno being aggressive creatively has nothing to do with why we don't keep good possession.

 

[tjb]

Watching the goal again made my blood boil.

What the fecking feck was this crap ?

It's as if we deliberately wanted to lose this one.

De Gea and Tuanzebe were completely useless in that. Tuanzebe was actually blocking Maguire and getting in the way without actually doing anything. De Gea should have cleared that.

 

[Shane88]

Christ, I just see now that City have them at home on Saturday.

Watch how a proper side deal with them.

 

[croadyman]

Christ, I just see now that City have them at home on Saturday.

Watch how a proper side deal with them.

Yeah they will show us how it's done and put 4 points on us with a game in hand just to really rub it in

 

[croadyman]

Our problem isn't ball retention, it's ball progression and regaining possession. Look how bad we are at moving the ball up the pitch in the big games. Neither Bruno or Rashford even see the ball at times due to that. Our build up is poor, because the players who build up our play are not composed, aware or have good enough technique to progress the ball quick enough. Watch other teams move the ball and you can see this. Bruno being aggressive creatively has nothing to do with why we don't keep good possession.

Have you seen how much we give it away in games

 

[RedDevil@84]

I couldn't believe what happened with Sheffield's second goal, so I re-watched it.

If you look closely, you'll see that several players care less about clearing the danger than the glory of our next counter-attack.

Martial is stood waiting for the ball, as is Cavani, as is Bruno. Rashford is out of shot, so is presumably waiting on our right hand side.

Pogba is in the penalty box, but stands there doing nothing, like his job is to feed Martial, Bruno, Rashford or Cavani, not defend.

It's as if all those players are already thinking about our counter-attack, because Sheffield are so far up the pitch, that's the time to pounce.

That's why seven Sheffield players could pass it so easily around our five actual defenders (the defence + Matic)

We didn't clear the danger. We got punished.

Next time, defend first, counter-attack second!

Ya. It was funny. It seemed like about 7 players or more lost their collective heads.

 

[USREDEVIL]

Keystone cops defending. Bring back my Bailly.
Absolute shit show that was.

 

[theklr]

Dunno how people think we were going on a unbeaten run rest of the season.... Needed to rotate the defence because of injuries and lots of minutes, and it was a logical gamble against the worst opposition in a while. Just didnt pay off.

 

[TheRedHearted]

Martial should be dropped for VDB with Rashford and Greenwood up front

 

[croadyman]

Martial should be dropped for VDB with Rashford and Greenwood up front

The trouble is if Tony wasn't in the squad Ole would get cornered pre match by the media and not know how to get out of it, therefore can safely say there is no chance of that happening at all.

 

[nainaisson]

I noticed Bruno had to drop into central midfield a lot to do Pogba/Matic's work for them, so maybe it'd be a good idea to try Bruno as an 8 and start Van De Beek as the 10, against the low block at least.

 

[ExoduS]

This game was huge punch in the gut. I didn't even want to write anything yesterday as I was so angry. Pathetic display, pathetic effort. I hope we bounce quickly as game like this can have chain effect on the moral.
One thing to add: This was brewing ahead of this game. Our form was definitely going backwards and other teams figured out how we play. Some games we just look so disorganized it is scary. As if we go into the match with no plan A and plan B.

 

[tjb]

I noticed Bruno had to drop into central midfield a lot to do Pogba/Matic's work for them, so maybe it'd be a good idea to try Bruno as an 8 and start Van De Beek as the 10, against the low block at least.

Bruno is out best player and his effectiveness in his role is why we are where are. Why would any decent manager sacrifice his movement for VDB , who can't even move the ball on a counter with space ahead of him. Mr stop and wait for more capable players to move up the pitch. Point being VDB has a lot to prove before even being considered for that no.10 role

 

[nainaisson]

Bruno is out best player and his effectiveness in his role is why we are where are. Why would any decent manager sacrifice his movement for VDB , who can't even move the ball on a counter with space ahead of him. Mr stop and wait for more capable players to move up the pitch. Point being VDB has a lot to prove before even being considered for that no.10 role

That's why I mentioned against the low block, where we have most of the ball and rarely an opportunity to counter. I think Van De Beek is very Mata-like with his intelligence in tight spaces and would work very well with Cavani. Bruno is better, of course, but if he keeps moving into central midfield, it defeats the purpose of having a 10 at all.

 

[Robindinho]

A result like last night has been coming.

We’ve not been convincing against literally any opposition this season (other than Leeds). We never seem to have control and the game ends up being a slog - one goal lead and hanging on for the last 5 minutes or so.

Conceding first and expecting to come back wasn’t going to continue to happen - the sluggish starts finally caught up with us.

The way we play though against teams who sit 10 behind the ball is shocking - far too slow and static. Would have been nice having Diallo on the bench to perhaps add a spark/x factor. Saying that, he’d have only come on anyway with 5-10 minutes left - something Ole must change going forward.

 

[DSG]

It’s always nice to come into the Caf after a bad loss and watch the entire Caf lose their mind.

in my mind, with this packed fixture schedule and a pretty thin squad when you come down to it, we were due a bad loss.

I don’t think we were as bad as most are saying, but there were moments where you could question the desire — second goal stands out. I think Ole got the midfield selection wrong — it should have been McFred, because you need physicality and work rate to match Sheffield United’s grit and passion. Just watching Matic take a halfhearted step towards the winger on the 2nd goal tells you all you need to know, really.
We’ll be fine.

 

[croadyman]

It’s always nice to come into the Caf after a bad loss and watch the entire Caf lose their mind.

in my mind, with this packed fixture schedule and a pretty thin squad when you come down to it, we were due a bad loss.

I don’t think we were as bad as most are saying, but there were moments where you could question the desire — second goal stands out. I think Ole got the midfield selection wrong — it should have been McFred, because you need physicality and work rate to match Sheffield United’s grit and passion. Just watching Matic take a halfhearted step towards the winger on the 2nd goal tells you all you need to know, really.
We’ll be fine.

Tony being the worst of the lot but yet no punishment

 

[McGrathsipan]

It’s always nice to come into the Caf after a bad loss and watch the entire Caf lose their mind.

in my mind, with this packed fixture schedule and a pretty thin squad when you come down to it, we were due a bad loss.

I don’t think we were as bad as most are saying, but there were moments where you could question the desire — second goal stands out. I think Ole got the midfield selection wrong — it should have been McFred, because you need physicality and work rate to match Sheffield United’s grit and passion. Just watching Matic take a halfhearted step towards the winger on the 2nd goal tells you all you need to know, really.
We’ll be fine.

We'll see tomorrow won't we. I've a horrible feeling

 

[croadyman]

We'll see tomorrow won't we. I've a horrible feeling

Yeah we have been awful in this fixture since Dec 2017

 

[Mike Phelan's Former Tash]

It's going to be very difficult to have some real sustained success in winning the big trophies with a goalie who is as cowardly as De Gea.

Now Ole has improved the team he is the weak link who gets targeted by teams on set prices because they know he's not brave enough and he's easily bullied.

Stays on his line far to much which impacts the mentality of the team and doesn't claim crosses that he should.

 

[sunama]

Watching the goal again made my blood boil.

What the fecking feck was this crap ?

It's as if we deliberately wanted to lose this one.

It's almost as if the plan was for them to score. We keep making slow moving easy passes to their players and repeatedly goad them into scoring.
And eventually to our players' relief, they scored.