The good , the bad and the ugly

comment by Pride of the North (U6803)
posted 4 minutes ago
Our midfield had an off night, none of them were at the races. Bar shaw our defence wasn’t great either.
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Think you have to credit southampton though, they also did well against cities midfield recently.

Comment Deleted by Site Moderator

We didn’t go straight to defensive mode.

Pogba was brought off because he was tired and lumbering around and is more prone to making defensive errors than Fred. I’m not sure who you’d have replaced Pogba with when he was taken off, but we didn’t change the shape or approach when Fred came on. At this point we’d already lost control of the midfield. Ole acted to try to break Southampton’s play up and get a better grip on the game.

Williams then came on for Shaw by virtue of Shaw’s injury. Still we’re playing 4-2-3-1 with Bruno high up the pitch with Martial.

After 84 mins, McT comes on for Bruno, and James for Greenwood. At this point Fred goes to number ten. We’re still set up in a 4-2-3-1. Fred isn’t dropped back into the midfield until Brandon comes off and we’re playing with ten men.

The fact of the matter is that Southampton played well, with discipline and a higher energy than we could muster through the second half. This shouldn’t be a great surprise. They’re a good, well disciplined away side and we haven’t rotated a single player for five (?) games despite two games a week.

I thought Ole should have made changes to bring more energy to midfield earlier and gone to 4-3-3 to try to get control of the game. The fact that he stuck with Bruno up high until the 84th minute says to me that he wanted to kill the game off, not shut up shop.

Credit to Southampton. They deserved and earned a point with a very good performance.

At this point Fred goes to number ten.
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And we didn't score again?

comment by Clockwork Red (U4892)
posted 45 minutes ago
At this point Fred goes to number ten.
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And we didn't score again?
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I did laugh when I saw him station himself in behind Martial

comment by rosso is done with this (U17054)
posted 11 seconds ago
comment by Clockwork Red (U4892)
posted 45 minutes ago
At this point Fred goes to number ten.
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And we didn't score again?
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I did laugh when I saw him station himself in behind Martial
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Rosso do you think oles in game changes and the timing of them are a weak point for him

comment by Roy's Keane (U11635)
posted 2 minutes ago
comment by rosso is done with this (U17054)
posted 11 seconds ago
comment by Clockwork Red (U4892)
posted 45 minutes ago
At this point Fred goes to number ten.
_____________

And we didn't score again?
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I did laugh when I saw him station himself in behind Martial
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Rosso do you think oles in game changes and the timing of them are a weak point for him
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I should add that he hasn't got much wrong since the restart but prior to lock down it was a source of frustration at times for fans

comment by Roy's Keane (U11635)
posted 20 minutes ago
comment by rosso is done with this (U17054)
posted 11 seconds ago
comment by Clockwork Red (U4892)
posted 45 minutes ago
At this point Fred goes to number ten.
_____________

And we didn't score again?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I did laugh when I saw him station himself in behind Martial
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rosso do you think oles in game changes and the timing of them are a weak point for him
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In terms of substitutions, I think a good proportion of them are sensible and fairly well timed. I think his tactical rigidity is a bit more of an issue.

As for yesterday, I thought he waited too long to bring on fresh legs to try to wrest back control of the midfield, and should have dropped Bruno, or a replacement for Bruno, back in to make a midfield three rather than sticking with the rigid 4-2-3-1 when Soton took control half way through the second half. That way, even if you can’t keep control of the ball magnificently, you can at least prevent the opposition from doing the same.

To be fair to him, despite what some have said, he *didn’t* go defensive yesterday until we were down to ten men. And those fans who used to go ballistic at Mourinho for pulling ten men right back behind the ball when we had a one goal lead should be very happy to see us trying to kill games off rather than shut up shop.

He does have something of a problem with quality when making like-for-like swaps - as does every single manager in the league, including Pep - but these substitutions *have* to be made sometimes. I don’t care who we’re talking about; players cannot play 100 mins of elite football twice per week, every week, and maintain the very highest of standards. No matter how much fans moan about the fact (and it is a fact).

Bruno needs rest. Pogba needs rest. Martial will need rest giving the pressing role he has alongside Bruno now.

How Ole manages that in rotation and in-game management is his biggest challenge for the rest of the season, comfortably.

We need a better right back. AWB doesnt do anything with the ball. The new Smalling? Could be a very expensive flop.

comment by aroon1 (U7949)
posted 49 minutes ago
We need a better right back. AWB doesnt do anything with the ball. The new Smalling? Could be a very expensive flop.
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Can always count on you to post a moronic comment