[Bilbo]

First real disappointing performance of the season, and yes when you look at 2 points from Wolves, Palace & Soton it doesn't make good reading.

I thought the first 30 minutes were decent and it looked like we would coast to victory but without a 2nd goal the feeling emerged that we might be looking at another tough 2nd half.

Positives -
Oles signings look like our 3 best players so far this season. It gives me hope that he is the right man for the rebuild.

Negatives -
A few. Perreira isn't good enough for this team. We switch off and have really bad periods of play - Maguire aside there doesn't seem to be an obvious leader in these instances. Gaping holes in right wing again - why not give Greenwood or Chong a few starts?

Other observations -
Mata was decent at linking the play. He won't get credit for it mind being one of the cafe fall guys. Having said that......
Pogba needs to be our number 10. He loses the ball countless times and it hurts us further back. He is our best creative player and we look at our most dangerous when he breaks the lines and leads the attacking phase.

 

[MrEarl]

Another game of two halves - four times in a row speaks of weaknesses which we know is lack of depth, absence of leadership and poor tactics etc. The Chelski game flattered us but we’re a mid table not a relegation side. We’re probably going to struggle bumbling along with stupid draws and pathetic defeats or it’s going to come good. I think we lack the special spark that will turn it around.

Mason should have played earlier if not started. Rashford has defo lost his ‘sting’ and Pogba struggled to shake off his markers. The midfield needs an engine driver - these games keep exposing the loss of Ander.

Last season when Herrera was injured for a while United's form went down the tubes. We had no cover for a box to box MF. So Herrera left for nothing and was not replaced leaving United without a single box to box MF. That's why Pogba is playing so deep and, as a result, ineffectively. But to move him up today we had to play the statuesque Matic. Before that, it seemed as if Lingard was being played as a number 10 for defensive reasons. But a defensive number 10 makes no sense. Is there another team in the Premier League without two box two box MFs?

Presumably Mr. Ed does not believe CMFs and especially box to box MFs are not important. After all, they don't sell shirts.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

Yes the pressure on Rashford is insane, and it is the club's doing more than his. He's a young talented footballer, of course he wants the earth.

Isn't that the difference to United now and going back. You look how Giggs was protected and other young players back then. Now we put them right out there, so when they play badly the criticism is a lot worse.

 

[rooney1905]

Let’s see how next game goes. I am assuming barring any more injuries it will be the same squad that played against crystal palace. Today it was easy to put James on the left with Martial injury. Once Martial comes back let’s see if James plays again in his clearly better position. Ole has some tough decisions to make and I think Rashford needs to drop to right wing or the bench.

Today started fine. I thought Mata was the right player to start and he did more than Lingard. He at least moves the ball around. Helped ignite some things. Almost always picks the right option. The problem is we have nothing to change it. Ole cant change tactics mid game as that isn’t part of his wheelhouse and we don’t have the players to make impact off of he bench. Bringing on Lingard does t inspire confidence when the manager just said 24 hours earlier that the player isn’t the most prolific in front of goal.

AWB is such a beast in the back. I mean nothing gets by him on that right side. With that said he was slow in closing down the cross that resulted in their goal. He could use with a left foot as well in terms of getting down field and crossing the ball.

Ole has lots of work to do. I really want to back him but I am not okay with a throw away season to bed in youth players who may or may not come good. We still should have a minimum bar set and it appears with the summer clear out and not one replacement that the bar is below 4th.

 

[Schmeichel's Cartwheel]

Is it fair to call us a mid-table team?

 

[astracrazy]

I think we are going to live to regret not replacing Lukaku with a proper striker. These games keep feeling like we have lost points, we keep creating the chances but there is no one there to finish them.

Is it fair to call us a mid-table team?

Surely our record over the last what, 16 games, would make us easily a bottom half team. If hypothetically we were on game 16 with that record we would easily be bottom half.

 

[OleGunnar20]

Shambles of a start to the season this, so disappointing. But hey ho let's pick it up and move on I guess.

What do people think to the following going forward, with a view to keeping it for 3 or 4 games at least:

----------------------De Gea
AWB - Tuanzebe - Maguire - Shaw (fit?)
---------- McTom - Pogba
Greenwood - Gomes - James
--------------------- Martial

Rashford & Lindelof both need dropping immediately in my opinion. Rashford to give him a kick up the backside along with a chance to regroup, Lindelof as I don't think he's good enough there full stop, never have found him convincing.

I'd put Pogba at #10 but feel Gomes deserves a chance, and it's important we avoid losing him on a free. Also with Pogba at 10 who comes in behind him? Fred? Pereira? Garner? Maybe the following would be better:

McTom - Fred
------Pogba

 

[Lee565]

That is relegation form.

This, is it totally out of the realm of possibility that we may end up a tually flirting with relegation for most of the season? A better Chelsea side with a better manager in Mourinho were doing so until he he got the sack, we have a God awful manager that has no businesses managing in such a competitive league and a team that has been stripped bare relying a little on raw youth and players like mctominay, lingard, mata, matic, pereira who are not getting into any top 6-8 teams starting line ups

 

[Buster15]

Well of course it's relevant. It shows a disturbing pattern of form from a team under the same manager. That's not to say i want the manager gone by the way before people jump on that. But it ain't a great statistic. And no, it's not the same as pre season is it. That's daft.

It is of course relevant.
By now we should have halted the downward spiral and be levelling out.
But. Really is that the case.
We have to be honest and admit that the gap between us and the top two (at least) is still getting wider.
And it is quite possible that Leicester City and Wolverhampton could overtake us. Maybe Everton too.

 

[Maticmaker]

We've lost 7 points across four games and the only game we looked liked we might get 'bossed' at some stage, we win 4-0... as our cousins across the pond say "Go figure".

I know Matic is slow now, but he's a wise head and surely with him and McTominay (being the legs) holding in middle field Ole can push Pogba into the final third where he can do most damage? Don't know what's up with Fred, but he must be bad to be unable to oust Pereira!

 

[Buster15]

Is it fair to call us a mid-table team?

Not only fair but increasingly likely.

 

[noodlehair]

De Gea - Suspect he prevented a lot of problems by not giving our players the opportunity from goal kicks to calmly pass the ball to Southampton players on the edge of their own area.

Bissaka - I really like him, but he clearly has no idea what to do when defending crosses. It's embarassing how often in games you see evidence of us just not being drilled or coached on how to do things. I mean actually embarassing. Like being assessed on how well you know your job and having to admit you spend every day sitting at your desk doing nothing because no one has told you what your job is.
Blindelof - I mean, Maguire has his issues, but watching Lindelof is like watching a little child pretending to be Maguire.
Maguire - Good on the ball today. Likes to point at things instead of actually defending them. If he picked his nose from a corner Lindelof would probably just copy him.
Young - An extra 10 minutes should be added on to each game Young starts to account for the time it takes him to remember how to take a throw in.

McTominay - At least he was getting involved today.
Pogba - I know he isn't a holding midfielder. You know he isn't a holding midfielder. He knows he isn't a holding midfielder. My mum's cat knows he isn't a holding midfielder. An entire team of Man United coaching staff are still apparently figuring it out.
Mata - Did better than Lingard...though this was achieved in the second minute when he succesfully controlled the ball one time.

James - If 21 year old Ronaldo put in that performance you wouldn't be complaining.
Rashford - If 35 year old Emile Heskey put in that performance you probably would be.
Pereira - He isn't a right winger. I'm not really sure what he is but if this is our plan whenever one of our front three get injured, it's time to think of a better plan.

Subs:
Matic - I know everyone hates him now but this sub made sense. He gave us an ability to build play in the middle and probably should have come on in the second half last week to do the same.
Lingard - Immediately tackled himself after coming on
Greenwood - Did fine. I worry we're gooing to be constantly bringing him on in these situations and he's just going to be trying too hard due to the pressure on us to score.

Ole - PRACTICE DEFENDING CROSSES AND SET PIECES IN TRAINING. FOR FECK SAKE.

Martin Keown specials
- "Redmond there, who's been left out of the England squad, can't think why" as camera shows Redmond sitting there with a giant cast clearly on his leg.


We are drawing and losing games againt teams we are better than due to not doing basic things. You have Bissaka shutting down 90% of Souhtampton's attacking threat. Daniel James giving pretty much the best example you'll see of a player single handedly destroying the opposition defence...by the end he is literally just running up the pitch wiith Southampton players collapsing behind him. We end up not winning because we can't mark one player in our box from a cross, and have no idea how to get on the end of countless dangerous crosses one of our players puts in at the other end. We lost last week because we had no plan and because one of our players couldn't jump for a header. It's pretty shocking. People can moan about the quallity of the players but these are things you will simply not see teams with far worse players than us. Get the fecking basics right.

 

[BulgarianDevil91]

Southampton are bang average, we shouldn't need any transfer windows to beat them. Our best player today has 3 PL starts under his belt. How is this not an issue? The lack of urgency is just ridiculous, we play with no tempo whatsoever, it doesn't look like we're trying to execute any sort of game plan at all.

How can we go from thumping Chelsea so convincingly in our first game, bar the first 20 mins its was one of the most comprehensive performances from a United team in a long time, to this? This looks like it could get real ugly real soon. I really hope I'm wrong, but bar the Chelsea match and the first half against Wolves we've had very little to be positive about so far.

I'd disagree, there's plenty of positives, just the negatives from the previous season are still present. I too agree we're far from what we need to be showing week in - week out, but I still think it's the lack of signings in midfield that would hinder our performances.

Southampton are average, true, yet they managed to give Liverpool a tough game, being very unlucky not to get a point, even three out of their game. The gap between the top six and the rest has closed significantly in the past few seasons, so to still be part of the top, we need to strengthen good, which, again, requires more transfer windows.

I might be very wrong about how I see things, but in my opinion time is of utmost importance for Ole.

 

[It's B Rubble]

Kinell the doom and gloom on this thread is boring. “Ole out rashford out pogba out lingard out”. Yawn. You lot want instant success and gratification and if we’re not playing like City then we’re the shittest team in the league. Glad the caf wasn’t up when Frrgie started.

 

[Summit]

Toothless, but I've come to realise that this is us. We are mid table at best and we are showing it.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

Nothing new. We're a disorganised and mismanaged mess. Until we find the right man, we'll continue to disappoint in amidst false dawns.

 

[Summit]

Kinell the doom and gloom on this thread is boring. “Ole out rashford out pogba out lingard out”. Yawn. You lot want instant success and gratification and if we’re not playing like City then we’re the shittest team in the league. Glad the caf wasn’t up when Frrgie started.

Put a sock in it ffs and stop comparing the Fergie era with now. Ask yourself how much we have spent on players since fergie has left and then come back and compare to when fergie started. The amount of money we've spent and we are still at the very start of a rebuild. It's a fecking shambles and fans have the right to feel a bit upset about the direction we are going.

 

[momo83]

Ole has very few options (or is there any option) in the midfield so I have some sympathy for him. United should have targetted at least one creative midfielder. But anyway, we got what we got.

Problem I see is Ole is too loyal to his first selection so much that he doesn't change it until its too late. Greenwood is a poacher. Agree he is just 17. But playing him only for 10-15 mins is preposterous. If he is going to be a sub then he should be there from 60-65 mins, and when Rashford is playing so, I mean so really bad then Greenwood should come on at half time.

I would like Ole to experiment bit more now that there is zero chance we even finish top 4. Bring Dylan Levitt in the midfield as no. 10. That kid is far more ambitious in passing than any of the current united midfied, even better through passer than Pogba. What worse could happen? Play him please.

Lastly I feel for Pogba. Yes sometimes he is good, sometime he simply disappears. As a united supporter I like him to stay and be motivated. But if I put myself in his shoes then I don't blame him if he lost his motivation and wants to go. I fully understand. He can't carry that burdon all the time when there is hardly any support in midfied, when there is no forward who can convert his idea into a goal.

He sold Fellaini in January, not as if he didn’t have time.

 

[Esquire]

Well, at least Ole should have learnt that putting Lingard on as a sub hasn't worked either. If nothing else performances like this will encourage Ole to give Chong, Gomes and Greenwood a go because ultimately the seniors have yet again disappointed.

One thing we do know about Ole is that he will make hard decisions when it comes to the starting eleven. Wouldn't surprise me if in the next few weeks we start seeing him use our youngsters more as the seniors disappoint.

Oles biggest weakness is his ingame management though. It's really bad. If we do persist with using Ole we should employ someone on the coaching team to help him with it.

I think we all know the squad is not good enough but the level of investment is not down to Ole. It’s clear that management is crap and won’t go over a certain level of spend any given year. I am interested in your statement about in-game management. People said Lingard was crap, so Ole dropped him and started Mata. I am not so sure he can help Pogba jogging around and losing balls the entire game, Andreas being a waste of space or Young being over the hill and can’t cross. I am not defending him but really do want to know what in-game management we could have implemented here to breakdown Southampton. It’s clear that Rashford is overrrated and we are weak on RW (James should play on the left) and midfield. The change I would make next game is push Pogba upfront cause he is garbage in front of the back 4. Start Matic and McT. We can’t do any worse. We will get into the top 6, that’s about it this year.

 

[FootyGirl88]

Kinell the doom and gloom on this thread is boring. “Ole out rashford out pogba out lingard out”. Yawn. You lot want instant success and gratification and if we’re not playing like City then we’re the shittest team in the league. Glad the caf wasn’t up when Frrgie started.

Stop your nonsense, we played poorly against an average 10 man Southampton. What do you expect people to say?

 

[BusbyMalone]

It is of course relevant.
By now we should have halted the downward spiral and be levelling out.
But. Really is that the case.
We have to be honest and admit that the gap between us and the top two (at least) is still getting wider.
And it is quite possible that Leicester City and Wolverhampton could overtake us. Maybe Everton too.

Yeah i don't get why people dismiss that stat. It is absolutely relevant. There's a chasm between us and Liverpool and City so i'm not even thinking about that. And, as you say, Wolves and Leicester are closing the gap. Our confidence is obviously at rock bottom at the moment.

 

[Leftback99]

Put a sock in it ffs and stop comparing the Fergie era with now. Ask yourself how much we have spent on players since fergie has left and then come back and compare to when fergie started. The amount of money we've spent and we are still at the very start of a rebuild. It's a fecking shambles and fans have the right to feel a bit upset about the direction we are going.

Money we've wasted in the past is pretty irrelevant to the rebuild now. If anything the money we spent in the summer looks well spent so far.

 

[Esquire]

Never replaced Herrera or Lukaku. Not sure who expected any different this season. Nothing will change while the parasites remain at the top. Doesnt matter who is managing us.

Completely agree. Ole has his faults but man you give this squad to Pep and I don’t think he does any better. Parasites at the top. Amen.

 

[tony54]

I think we are going to live to regret not replacing Lukaku with a proper striker. These games keep feeling like we have lost points, we keep creating the chances but there is no one there to finish them.

/QUOTE]
Those crosses today are what kumari would have thrived on. He would have got a goal today

 

[Tincanalley]

Stop your nonsense, we played poorly against an average 10 man Southampton. What do you expect people to say?

Good post. The life and fire has gone out of the debate. There’s a lot going in that’s not very bad, but not very good either. OLE’s tactics, Rashford’s decision making, DDG distribution. Still the same board and CEO. Still heading for 6/8 position in the league. Ho hum.

 

[Drz]

I agree. If this really is a rebuild then people have to be patient. There were a lot of positives and things to see during the game, which were useful for our future development as a ream.

1. Daniel James is more effective and consistent in creating chances for both himself and others on the left than either Martial and Rashford have been for the last three years. They both have periods in a game where they create chances, but have never been reliable consistent threats in the way James seems to be.

2. If we decide to keep Pogba deep, Mata is a viable option for the no.10 position. Particularly in home games. His passing and off theball movement, creates a link between midfield and attack.

3. Pogba should be pushed up the field. He is very effective there, and a real defensive liability deeper in the field. We should sell him next season for another no.10 ( and buy a defensive midfielder). His presence in midfield, forces mctominay to be a defensive midfielder, which nullifies his skillset and highlights his deficiencies.

4. We really need a right winger. Periera was horrible again, lingard has been horrible there, and neither rashford or martial have shown themselves to be willing to play there. Wan bissaka is having to create chances in isolation, which he shouldn't have to do since its his biggest weakness. He needs help in that position offensively. Greenwood can be a temporary fix ( he will be the team's striker once he gets comfortable with the team), Gomes or chong should be given a chance there, at least until we can identify and buy a suitable solution. Who knows, one of them could fill it permanently if they prove good enough.

5. We may need to experiment with Tuanzebe coming in for Lindelof. Lindelof is still shaky and represents the one defensive weak link in our backline. Tuanzebe brings pace and physical strength, and with time and given room would always have pipped Lindelof to the starting 11 position overtime. We may need to consider starting now.

The big move would be to get a defensive midfielder in January, not necessarily world class, but one who can play the role and allow mctominay and pogba play their games.
In the summer, we should sign another defensive midfielder ( with more class), a right winger if still necessary and Pogba's replacement in attacking midfield. By that time hopefully, Daniel James and Martial are competing for the left wing slot, Greenwood/Martial are producing up front, the right winger is class and Pogba's replacement is effective. It's a long way, but it could be finished by next summer.

Agreed with your points. Though I don't see us getting a stop-gap for defensive midfield in January. Whom would you have in mind for Jan and the summer?

 

[Random Task]

Money we've wasted in the past is pretty irrelevant to the rebuild now. If anything the money we spent in the summer looks well spent so far.

I agree the summer signings have likely been best contributors so far this season, but not to invest in the midfield was a clear and obvious mistake. Woody needs to take responsibility for that.

 

[Esquire]

Yeah it’s all Lindelof’s fault that he lost out on a header against a towering 6’6 defender. He hardly put a foot wrong otherwise.

How’s about blaming Rashford for being utter shit. For having to bring on Lingard and Matic to trying to win a game.

Agree. Not sure what Lindelhof could have done there against a 6’7 guy who had a running start on the jump. Rashford was utter wank. He is not a 9. Not replacing Lukaku was absolutely negligent.

 

[Summit]

Money we've wasted in the past is pretty irrelevant to the rebuild now. If anything the money we spent in the summer looks well spent so far.

Comparing the Fergie era (once in a lifetime manager btw) to this era is equally irrelevant too and that's what I was replying to.

 

[Tom Cato]

Honestly, how are anyone watching this game and not thinking that we should have won this one comfortably? We have the players we have.

 

[Maticmaker]

WDLD… like all fans not happy with the results, but nobody (except perhaps Chelsea at times) has 'bossed us' in any of the games. Our own lack of concentration and some sloppiness at times is what is doing for us, we could and should have won all four games.

Its not (for me anyway) a question of sacking Ole, but he has to decide soon on whether to use Pogba as an all out, all the time AM, or as a some time/part time DM, and then choose the other midfielders to support that decision. Playing him first half as a DM you could argue got us the goal, but playing him further forward, eventually just behind front three, made for more opportunities (although none were taken) in the second half.

Clinical finishing is something we haven't seen on a regular basis, but we know Rashford and Martial are capable and it looks as if James might develop this skill, getting this right is a crucial factor. Lukaku looked and acted like a 'lump' at times, certainly in trying to lead the line, but he did finish pretty well in those clinical situations, i.e. those tap it over the line ones, that we missed three of today...just a thought!

 

[DomesticTadpole]

I agree the summer signings have likely been best contributors so far this season, but not to invest in the midfield was a clear and obvious mistake. Woody needs to take responsibility for that.

Think not investing up front is hindering us as well. The fact we struggle to get that second goal to give us breathing space. I am enjoying us attacking more, but it is pointless if you do not have a clinical striker on the end of the line. Think we badly missed Martial who may have made a difference.

 

[Fletcher94]

Is that the Man Utd that we know ?! Really disappointed by the result of the game. I don't see any good points from today. Rashford should leave, Perreira should leave, lot of players are not good enough to play for us, it's like we're playing like a D2 team. We must buy some players, otherwise, we'll finish 8th or 9th.

 

[Random Task]

Good post. The life and fire has gone out of the debate. There’s a lot going in that’s not very bad, but not very good either. OLE’s tactics, Rashford’s decision making, DDG distribution. Still the same board and CEO. Still heading for 6/8 position in the league. Ho hum.

It's atrocious and costly.

Between him and Lingard, the sheer amount of attacks that come to nothing because of a poor decision is mind-boggling. Ole and the coaching need to address thr problem asap.

 

[RedSky]

I think we all know the squad is not good enough but the level of investment is not down to Ole. It’s clear that management is crap and won’t go over a certain level of spend any given year. I am interested in your statement about in-game management. People said Lingard was crap, so Ole dropped him and started Mata. I am not so sure he can help Pogba jogging around and losing balls the entire game, Andreas being a waste of space or Young being over the hill and can’t cross. I am not defending him but really do want to know what in-game management we could have implemented here to breakdown Southampton. It’s clear that Rashford is overrrated and we are weak on RW (James should play on the left) and midfield. The change I would make next game is push Pogba upfront cause he is garbage in front of the back 4. Start Matic and McT. We can’t do any worse. We will get into the top 6, that’s about it this year.

Well if you're struggling to break down a side you don't take off your creative player in Mata. That imo was very stupid and you dont therefore bring on a player who has the attacking ability of a potato in Lingard. Putting on Matic was ok because at that time we were being a bit overwhelmed in the middle so I could relate to that sub. But bringing off Mata and bringing on Lingard imo was not good. He also left the 3rd sub far too late.

As soon as Danso got sent off that was the point we should have brought on Greenwood. Alternatively, we'd have brought him on in replacement to Lingard and then we'd have had the option of either Chong or Lingard to throw on as the 3rd sub (i'd have gone with Chong myself).

 

[pascell]

Isn't that the difference to United now and going back. You look how Giggs was protected and other young players back then. Now we put them right out there, so when they play badly the criticism is a lot worse.

The criticism can be overboard, I admit that. But Rashfords performance today warrants the criticism, he asked for astronomical wages, yet performs like he's just been promoted to the first team.

What has he actually improved since he came into the first team? People wanted Lukaku gone because he broke down our attacking play more often than not, Rashford did the exact same today. Because of this, we couldn't get the ball to stick up front and it ended up coming straight back at us, playing like that we will get found out most games, as we are now.

 

[Buster15]

Yeah i don't get why people dismiss that stat. It is absolutely relevant. There's a chasm between us and Liverpool and City so i'm not even thinking about that. And, as you say, Wolves and Leicester are closing the gap. Our confidence is obviously at rock bottom at the moment.

I agree with you about our lack of confidence.
Confidence is a highly complex issue. But there are two obvious causes.
Poor results - success breeds success.
Lack of belief in the leader. When things are not going well, it is important that you believe in the process and believe that if you continue with what you are doing things will turn around.
Q. Do our players really believe in Ole?

 

[tony54]

De Gea - Suspect he prevented a lot of problems by not giving our players the opportunity from goal kicks to calmly pass the ball to Southampton players on the edge of their own area.

Bissaka - I really like him, but he clearly has no idea what to do when defending crosses. It's embarassing how often in games you see evidence of us just not being drilled or coached on how to do things. I mean actually embarassing. Like being assessed on how well you know your job and having to admit you spend every day sitting at your desk doing nothing because no one has told you what your job is.
Blindelof - I mean, Maguire has his issues, but watching Lindelof is like watching a little child pretending to be Maguire.
Maguire - Good on the ball today. Likes to point at things instead of actually defending them. If he picked his nose from a corner Lindelof would probably just copy him.
Young - An extra 10 minutes should be added on to each game Young starts to account for the time it takes him to remember how to take a throw in.

McTominay - At least he was getting involved today.
Pogba - I know he isn't a holding midfielder. You know he isn't a holding midfielder. He knows he isn't a holding midfielder. My mum's cat knows he isn't a holding midfielder. An entire team of Man United coaching staff are still apparently figuring it out.
Mata - Did better than Lingard...though this was achieved in the second minute when he succesfully controlled the ball one time.

James - If 21 year old Ronaldo put in that performance you wouldn't be complaining.
Rashford - If 35 year old Emile Heskey put in that performance you probably would be.
Pereira - He isn't a right winger. I'm not really sure what he is but if this is our plan whenever one of our front three get injured, it's time to think of a better plan.

Subs:
Matic - I know everyone hates him now but this sub made sense. He gave us an ability to build play in the middle and probably should have come on in the second half last week to do the same.
Lingard - Immediately tackled himself after coming on
Greenwood - Did fine. I worry we're gooing to be constantly bringing him on in these situations and he's just going to be trying too hard due to the pressure on us to score.

Ole - PRACTICE DEFENDING CROSSES AND SET PIECES IN TRAINING. FOR FECK SAKE.

Martin Keown specials
- "Redmond there, who's been left out of the England squad, can't think why" as camera shows Redmond sitting there with a giant cast clearly on his leg.


We are drawing and losing games againt teams we are better than due to not doing basic things. You have Bissaka shutting down 90% of Souhtampton's attacking threat. Daniel James giving pretty much the best example you'll see of a player single handedly destroying the opposition defence...by the end he is literally just running up the pitch wiith Southampton players collapsing behind him. We end up not winning because we can't mark one player in our box from a cross, and have no idea how to get on the end of countless dangerous crosses one of our players puts in at the other end. We lost last week because we had no plan and because one of our players couldn't jump for a header. It's pretty shocking. People can moan about the quallity of the players but these are things you will simply not see teams with far worse players than us. Get the fecking basics right.

I agree, the long and short of it is that we have lost one and drawn a game because a central defender can't jump and has no strength. How many more goals do we have to lose to sort this problem out. Let tuanzebe have a go and get the central defender on jumping exercises and playing with a bit of grunt.

 

[Stubble]

I think Fred has to be given another chance now.
Lingard/Pereira are just MEH..

 

[Ventura]

Our guys tried hard, but they are simply not good enough. Young, Lingard, Matic, Pereira are barely PL quality if at all, McT, Lindelof and others are mid-table players. Fred is neither, it seems. It's going to be hard with a squad like this. Start some youngsters instead of players who are proven to be inadequate.