Football - Trouncing Matilda's.

[Raja]

Giving away completely soft goals & then dropping off after taking the lead

Making the same mistakes as last season

Partey on the right has disrupted our very good right side from last season & I don't really think it's worked.

Viera looked good though and will displace Kai if the latter's performances don't get better.

We're asking Saliba to do a lot of work and you have to wonder why Gabriel is on the bench given the way we've been defending

 

Edited August 26, 2023 by Raja

[Raja]

Also, would be nice if we weren't absolutely garbage attacking & defending set pieces

[Mexal]

11 minutes ago, Raja said:

We're asking Saliba to do a lot of work and you have to wonder why Gabriel is on the bench given the way we've been defending

This is fairly straightforward. When you invert the RB, you slide everyone over. When you do that, Gabriel becomes the central CB which he is not suited for. If you invert the LB, he becomes the LCB, which he is suited for. It's that simple. Arteta wants to invert the RB with Partey (which is not working) and as a result, it's forcing Gabriel to the bench. When he goes back to Zinchenko, Gabriel will come back in. It's not anymore complicated than that. It's just fucking stupid because Partey is not Timber and cannot play this role. Also Saka is infinitely better when he has an overlap. Arteta has to see that.

Also, Havertz at LCM is not working. You can't have a #8 who touches the ball 22 times in 60 minutes. Maybe it'll work eventually but right now, it's really not.

All that being said, issue was everyone today. No one had a good game except Viera and Eddie. Every shot was straight at the keeper. Every touch early on was completely off. No incisiveness to the passing. No attacking the box when balls went across the face. Lazy and uncertain defending. It was just a bad game. And even with that, our xG was 3 and Fulham's was .45. We should have destroyed them.

Edited August 26, 2023 by Mexal

[Consigliere]

Relieved we got the win but that performance was utter rubbish yet again. The only player who can hold his head up after that shit show is Bruno. One would have been forgiven for thinking that it was United down to 10 men in the last 15 minutes + added time. We've got no control of a game at all. Arsenal are going to embarrass us.

[Whiskeyjack]

That's a horrible draw.

Love Arteta usually, and there's plenty of blame to go around.  But feel like the lineup is just off right now.  He's trying to force Partey and Havertz in, and neither one is working. 

Could understand making use of Timber, he could replicate what we have with Zinchenko, and with added defensive ability.  But with Timber hurt and Zinchenko healthy, why keep going back to Partey at right back?  He doesn't provide the same dynamic at all, and its forcing Zinchenko and Gabriel to the bench and multiple other players out of position.  Partey doesn't make runs like White did at RB, and feel like it has left Saka way more isolated.  And meanwhile on the left, instead of Zinchenko being super active and having great interplay with pretty much everyone, we've had Tomi and Kiwior who can't replicate that same impact at all.

That's not even touching on the fact that on the first goal, when Saka passed it back, it seemed like he was expecting Partey or White to be there, but think White was wider to the right and Partey had moved up to the middle.  Yeah it was a bad choice by Saka, but feel like it also came from confusion over where people were going to be.

Also, really doubting that Havertz is what this team needs at LCM.  I've read so many things about what he adds to the game, how good he is with his movement and doing the little things, so I know there's some value to him.  But end of the day, feels like he just floats around, and even when his movement gets him into the right place, he usually can't finish.  If the idea was to upgrade from Xhaka with a more attacking player on the left, then its not working so far.  Maybe it will gel at some point, but not sure that's something we can afford given that you can't really drop points against City.  Should have signed somebody who is much more direct, especially given how much he cost.  Felt that way from the beginning, wanted to give Arteta the benefit of the doubt and hopefully it works out in the end, but so far he doesn't look much different from what he was at Chelsea.

Anyway bottom line - really hope Arteta goes back to what worked last year.  Play a back line of White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko.  If Partey has to play then put him at 6 and Rice at 8, or bench Partey and have somebody else come in for Havertz. 

[Raja]

2 minutes ago, Mexal said:

, Gabriel becomes the central CB which he is not suited for.

I'll take that over whatever we're getting with Partey on the right. So many times he's on the right channel behind Saka with nowhere to go & no one to pass to, I don't think we're getting anything from Partey inverting. It's also possible for us to try and play a game without inverting one of the full backs.

And I know Timber was fit pre-season, but we never once played a game with Gabriel on the bench.

Agreed that everyone was pretty poor first half ( except maybe Rice).

We had so many situations in the first half like you said - Kai should have had a tap in, Odegaard & Martinelli shooting straight at Leno.

It's just not good enough defensively at home, and it was similar last season.

I don't think it helps that our team has essentially been disrupted on both sides with Partey & Havertz

[Raja]

We're pretty easy to score against at the moment so I don't think United should be worried

[Consigliere]

United's forwards can't hit the broadside of a barn though. We couldn't even exert any sort of control against two sides (at home) that are very likely going to be in the bottom 8 of the table and our ball retention under even a modicum of pressure has been diabolical. It's going to be a bloodbath against Arsenal.

Edited August 26, 2023 by Consigliere

[Consigliere]

Moyes-ball in full effect - 16% possession and 32 passes completed in the first half but West Ham created the better chances of the half and are a goal up.

Edited August 26, 2023 by Consigliere

[Rorshach]

Two goals up now.

 

Well, three. And to think Antonio started out as a fullback.

Edited August 26, 2023 by Rorschach - 2
Adding a goal

[ljkeane]

There’s been a lot of talk of teams playing a 3-2-2-3 in attack over the last year or so but Brighton play a 2-3-2-3. That’s great when it’s going well but against a team playing on the counter as soon as one of their centre backs makes any sort of error they’re in big trouble. You can’t say it’s not fun to watch though.

Edited August 26, 2023 by ljkeane

[BigFatCoward]

City are going to piss it again aren't they? How utterly depressing. 

[polishgenius]

We got in trouble and Bruno dragged us out of it.

Arsenal got in trouble and Odegaard... ? 

The agenda is real. 

 

(I didn't see either game, since I was travelling, so my comments may not be based in reality)

[A Horse Named Stranger]

6 minutes ago, BigFatCoward said:

City are going to piss it again aren't they? How utterly depressing. 

That was always the most likely outcome. You have to produce a 90+ points season to challenge them. And even then it's not a guarantee that you don't get bested. Ask our scousers.

[BigFatCoward]

5 minutes ago, A Horse Named Stranger said:

That was always the most likely outcome. You have to produce a 90+ points season to challenge them. And even then it's not a guarantee that you don't get bested. Ask our scousers.

Just let us spend our bilions to make it interesting. 

[Mexal]

16 minutes ago, BigFatCoward said:

City are going to piss it again aren't they? How utterly depressing. 

Probably. 

[A Horse Named Stranger]

4 minutes ago, BigFatCoward said:

Just let us spend our bilions to make it interesting. 

Only if you spend like Boehly.

[BigFatCoward]

Just now, A Horse Named Stranger said:

Only if you spend like Boehly.

If Eddy had 900 million we would win the quadruple. So far we are winning on every transfer other than Chris Wood. I trust our recruitment completely. 

[kairparavel]

The absolute fucking mess in Spain right now. So much to unpack and despise but just a few things:

The Spanish women are world champions, but in the eyes of Rubiales, they are women before footballers in all ways and all times, even when hoisting trophies. No player on the Spanish men's national team need ever worry that the head of their federation would 'get caught up in the emotional moment' and get himself a full lip smacker.

The entitlement that a woman is there to support *your* urges in a moment that is about *her*.

The fact that his physical whim was *accepted* by Hermoso because she didn't push him off etc as opposed to realizing she was caught off guard during *her* moment of joy. And that as women we are conditioned to acquiesece through silence and not making a fuss. 

More of the men's team need to put pressure on Rubiales to quit. And the doubling down by the federation is infuriating, insulting, and gross.

[Raja]

Yeah, that man is gross.