Since we got beat 6-1 by City pretty much exactly 2 years ago our home form has been a pretty big problem compared to how good we used to be a few years back when winning as much as 95% of our home games was the norm rather than something to aspire to.
And this problem is something that Moyes has inherited yet people think he's to blame!
Since the 6-1 game, here are the games we've lost at home (in a 2 year period remember)..
Crystal Palace, Blackburn, Ajax, Bilbao, Spurs, Cluj, Real Madrid, City, Chelsea and West Brom.
Here are the games we've drawn..
Benfica, Newcastle, Everton, Saints.
Here are the games we've struggled to win but ended up scraping through ...
Sunderland, Fulham, Stoke, Galatasaray Braga, QPR, Newcastle, Saints, Reading, Swansea and Stoke.
Why is our home form so bad? It's obviously not just this season and Moyes where our creativity appears to be poor. Teams are coming to Old Trafford and having a bit more of a go knowing that perhaps if they can keep the score at 0-0 or even get an early goal the crowd will stay quiet and that neutralises a massive weapon in our armoury.
If teams set up with 2 rigid lines of 4 and defend well there's really not a lot we can do with that and the problem comes when on their rare sorties forward they grab a goal it is extremely hard to break the other side down to get not just one but 2 goals to win the game. Obviously we have had some easy games at home but people must accept that our home form has been pretty poor for a while, not just this season.
Last year it was our away form that won us the title IMO as we won at City, Chelsea and Liverpool.
Home form been terrible for a while.
posted on 31/10/13
Moyes deserves criticism when things aren't going right, I agree, just as Fergie did. At the same time he deserves praise when things have been done well.
With a lot of our fans the latter isn't applied to Moyes as much as the former as many people have an agenda against him. At the same time I agree that some people to so far the other way in their defence of him.
I like to think I'm somewhere in the middle.
I will admit I'm not nearly as critical of Moyes as I am of Fergie, and for good reason - I expected far more from Fergie than I do from Moyes, because let's be frank, they aren't comparable as managers.
If, and it's a big if, Moyes wins the league with this team he deserves more credit than Fergie does winning last year (even though it is Fergie's team).
The reason I say this is because Fergie should have been winning the league with a bit of panache in the football we play, and getting this team to win the league was impressive but assembling a squad that plays such average football was a big negative of his part.
If Moyes won the league it'd be more impressive as he's not half the manager.
posted on 31/10/13
comment by Robb : Running like Henderson. (U9808)
posted 30 minutes ago
Blackburn, Spurs, City, Chelsea.
But we drew against Newcastle and Everton while scraping wins against a vast number of teams we used to beat with aplomb.
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So we lost 5 home games in two season, that's not bad going, when you look at the teams and then situations in which we lost those games. Hasn't we already won the title vs Chelsea and City, completely outplayed Spurs, had no midfield vs Blackburn?
posted on 31/10/13
Apparently Moyes plans to replace Rafael too.
posted on 31/10/13
and Nani, Anderson and Young
posted on 31/10/13
I don't believe the stuff about Rafael.
The other three sound plausible, although would seem an odd decision to give Nani a new contract if he wants to sell him.
posted on 31/10/13
comment by BusbysBabes - Gatorade me b1atch (U9083)
posted 8 minutes ago
comment by Robb : Running like Henderson. (U9808)
posted 30 minutes ago
Blackburn, Spurs, City, Chelsea.
But we drew against Newcastle and Everton while scraping wins against a vast number of teams we used to beat with aplomb.
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So we lost 5 home games in two season, that's not bad going, when you look at the teams and then situations in which we lost those games. Hasn't we already won the title vs Chelsea and City, completely outplayed Spurs, had no midfield vs Blackburn?
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My point wasn't just about losing 10 home games in 2 years but also about how difficult to win so many of those home games were.
Can you really deny we've looked shaky at home for the past 2 years in so many games?
posted on 31/10/13
I think we've always gone into a home game not only confident, but expecting a victory. That's what's changed.
posted on 31/10/13
whats going to be tomorrow's defence of Moyes' excuse?
posted on 31/10/13
comment by It's a Mexican Rave!!!! Januzaj's Left Foot- Psychic Spies from China try to steal your mind's elation (U6687)
posted 12 minutes ago
whats going to be tomorrow's defence of Moyes' excuse?
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That sentence made as much sense as a typical Dunc article.
posted on 31/10/13
you know what i mean