I thought today was the day we start scoring goals. What happened?
The fact that Luke Shaw has been getting the edge for MOTM on the Cafe says a lot about what our end product has been. Yes, we did have a few decent chances and Rooney looked onside for the goal but if Mitrovic hadn't hit the bar or if that cross over the 6 yard in the last minutes of the game had someone on the end of it, the result might've been a loss and we would be a lot less philosophical about it.
Outside of the first 20 minutes and the last 15, we were really in second or third gear and getting outplayed. When you get an opponent looking that off-balance at the start of the game, it is imperative that you score or keep pushing on until you break through. Newcastle got a major let-off and for the middle part of the game we looked sloppy.
While we did cycle well, we spent most of the time with 9/10 men in front of us and continually relying on Memphis to work some kind of magic, which is unreasonable to expect from him in every game at his age. We obviously need a right wing with the same kind of makeup who can get us into dangerous areas, which is why us failing to sign Pedro especially hurts. The formation ATM is no better than when we had Young in Memphis's place (though Memphis is undoubtedly a better player), as there is no one on the right to take emphasis off of him and also help Rooney by stretching the defenders across.
I also really don't know why we played with two holders in a home game against Newcastle. Herrera is simply not going to be used and he is about the only player who can make a fast transition from the backline to the key points of attack. LVG is thickheadedly sticking with Mata as a pivot, who makes the smart play but is so bloody ponderous with his ball handling and decisions to pass that it becomes impossible to catch opponents out of position. Mata is too damn slow and I think he's killing our attack more than people will admit.
We got another clean sheet but I don't think our defence was quite as good as the previous three games. Newcastle did get a few looks and Blind, to me, looked like he was hanging by a thread a couple of times. Shaw and Darmian put in decent games but they looked seriously tired.
I can't give this performance any more than a 4 out of 10. We need a striker, a right wing, and a CB.