It's awful but at least Mourinho remedied it by putting all of his goal-scorers into the side yesterday. Mata, Miki & Zlatan have to play against any "lesser" sides for me, with Martial or Rashford on the left.
Goal scoring is a serious problem.
- Thread starter Red Indian Chief Torn Rubber
- Start date
I think Mata and Miki have to be nailed on starters against the teams who play defensively. By far our best players for playing short, quick passes to get past the parked bus.
Tbh mata's goal scoring record this season is decent,
he had a dip in form over christmas which seems to be par for the course
But otherwise he'll break 10 goals like he always does despite never really playing more than 60mins.
Its Rashford, Martial and Lingaard (and to a lesser extent Memphis) who have been disappointing and we should have got more from.
I didn't really expect Mkhitaryan to hit the ground running but hes starting to rack up goals too so that'll help, though he still has the odd stinker of a game.
Also, Mata doesn't have to run back towards his own goal against a team which plays defensively.
United just need a player like Inzaghi. Someone who's only speciality is knowing how to score ugly and scrappy goals in big games.
Hernandez
Agree that we could do with a sub that more often than not scores when he comes in.
Pogba (78 shots, 4 goals), Herrera (29 shots, 0 goals) and Lingard (19 shots, 0 goals) are the main culprits. Zlatan has improved his output recently.
I don't get this how can Mkhitaryan be considered one of the best goal scorers but Martial and Rashford found lacking.
- Zlatan: 15 goals and 3 assists, 2070 min
- Mata: 5 goals and 2 assists, 1163 min
- Mkhitaryan: 3 goals and 1 assists, 797 min
- Martial: 2 goals and 3 assists, 707 min
- Rashford: 3 goals and 1 assist, 1035 min
- Rooney: 2 goals and 5 assists, 924 min
- Lingard: 0 goals and 2 assists, 656 min
- Pogba: 4 goals and 3 assists, 2070 min
- Zlatan (115)
- Rooney (133)
- Martial (141.4)
- Mata (165.14)
- Mkhitaryan (199.25)
- Rashford (261)
- Pogba (295.71)
- Lingard (325.5)
- Zlatan (2070min)
- Pogba (2070min)
- Mata (1163min)
- Rashford (1035min)
- Rooney (924min)
- Mkhitaryan (797min)
- Martial (707min)
- Lingard (656min)
- Zlatan is the only player who has actually contributed his fair share, all the rest have been lacking so far espeically in the department goals scored, Mata has done okish with 5 goals
- Martial alltough not as good as we expect him to be is still one of the most productive players in the squad but is receiving far less playing time than other less produtive players
- Lingard is getting far too many minutes in the team if you compare it to his productivity
- Rooney has been surprisingly productive, espeically in terms of assists which is a surprise
- Mkhitaryan has not been as productive as many people are making him out to be, which doesn't mean he is playing bad
- Rashford has been disappointing but has been forced to play as a winger whilst he is a striker, I think his numbers would go up if he would be played more centrally either as a sub or as a partner to Ibra
- Pogba is really not productive enough to be regarded as a good 10 but as a central midfielder his stats would be ok*
Another open goal miss to add to the list. It's becoming as obligatory at the 70th minute Fellaini for Mata sub.
You can see why our GD is so shite. We have no business being just 2-0 up today.
Appalling again. Looks certain it won't be sorted until the summer anyway. Hopefully it won't cost us 4th because we're better than Arsenal and Liverpool in my opinion.
This could easily cost us a cl spot.
Last two games could easily have been 5-0
Last two games could easily have been 5-0
Goal difference never comes into play. We didnt lose the league in 2012 and the CL last year due to goal difference. We lost because we fecked up against teams we should have beaten. If we keep winning, it doesnt matter if we win 6-0 or 1-0.
It seems very likely we don't spend any time in training trying to fix this. Seems like we're (Mourinho) is just putting it down to luck/composure and leaving it to sort itself out.
It's a pretty big problem though which I'm baffled with, as it's been the same story all season and it's not just one or two players missing chances.
It's a pretty big problem though which I'm baffled with, as it's been the same story all season and it's not just one or two players missing chances.
tbf it has to be luck. everyone of them knows how to finish and has shown it countless times. some of the misses are just bizarre
Accepted it will be like this till the end of the season. Can't believe some don't want Griezmann. We would be higher up the table if some of these chances fell to him.
We have not lost a game in a while but we are not yet the complete package and there's still a fair few strides to be made. We have good depth in the squad but we still need a couple of world class quality additions.
Despite us playing well in most games this season, I don't feel the team yet feels fully confident of their current abilities and as a result the finishing suffers.I would actually put the poor finishing down to anxiety in front of goal.
Despite us playing well in most games this season, I don't feel the team yet feels fully confident of their current abilities and as a result the finishing suffers.I would actually put the poor finishing down to anxiety in front of goal.
Nah we missed the buck with sadio mane joining Liverpool. He should have been our man, he is an incredible player with super blistering pace acceleration directness and goal scoring ability and finishing.
Mkh playing at no 10 has really changed the dynamics of our attack, and hence improved our chances to score more goals and buy more to.e in the box to finish the chances. With mkh counter attacking from 10 position really pushes the defence backwards and thus zlatan do not have to drop deep everytime to revive the ball and bring others into play.
Griezmann can do what Mane is doing. He's got the pace and can run in behind. Mata was trying to run in behind today when Ibra dropped deep and Watford's defence shuffled over to cover. That can be Griezmann's role.
Liverpool have overpaid for a lot of dross over the last few years but Mane's brilliant and exactly what we need/ed. I wonder if van Gaal really did want him or it just papers.
By the way griezman will cost us world record money, and for a world record money he really should get 30 plus goals a season that too in a more harder league in terms of pushing a player's physical boundaries. In big games winning first and second balls and acceleration while counter attacking are the moments which decide the match in the end. That's why teams with players like mane and n golo kante are super successful in epl. Mane reminds me of our very own ji sung park who's workrate energy pace and acceleration made united ruthless counterattacking and hardworking side up an down the pitch, while as I feel griezman costing us so much money would still have to adapt to this league like Mkh had to and is still adapting to reach his Dortmund levels. I mean just watch mane in the epl he's incredibly fast and direct and costs 60 m less.
When it clicks, and it will, we are going to absolutely smash somebody this season.
Well, no. His buyout is less than the world record.
Big Chances Missed (from Premier League website)
Man United 34 (top)
Arsenal 27
Liverpool 25
Man City 24
Spurs 23
Everton 22
Chelsea 20
Players:
Zlatan 14 (top by 6)
Pogba 5
Mata 4
Lingard 3
Mkhitaryan 2
Rashford 2
Rooney 2
Martial 1
Valencia 1
Big Chances Missed Compared to PL goals scored
Zlatan 14 missed 15 goals
Pogba 5 missed 4 goals
Mata 4 missed 6 goals
Lingard 3 missed 0 scored
Mkhitaryan 2 missed 3 goals
Rashford 2 missed 3 goals
Rooney 2 missed 2 goals
Man United 34 (top)
Arsenal 27
Liverpool 25
Man City 24
Spurs 23
Everton 22
Chelsea 20
Players:
Zlatan 14 (top by 6)
Pogba 5
Mata 4
Lingard 3
Mkhitaryan 2
Rashford 2
Rooney 2
Martial 1
Valencia 1
Big Chances Missed Compared to PL goals scored
Zlatan 14 missed 15 goals
Pogba 5 missed 4 goals
Mata 4 missed 6 goals
Lingard 3 missed 0 scored
Mkhitaryan 2 missed 3 goals
Rashford 2 missed 3 goals
Rooney 2 missed 2 goals
Wow Zlatan has a pretty shit conversion. As a striker he really isn't lethal.
Do those numbers include the goalkeeper's saves?
To be fair, big chances include the likes of Heaton's ridiculous save from his overhead kick vs. Burnley, or the header yesterday which was saved by Gomez. Or even the chest turn volley vs. Leicester.
Remove those 3 and you're closer to a bunch of other strikers in the Prem.
The stats simply don't tell you the full story at all, you need to look at each "big chance" in isolation for each player.
That's what I was thinking. It's better to watch the games and form an opinion. And my opinion is that Ibra has overall had a strong season with a few matches where he's been "sloppy" with the addition of a whole lot of goalkeepers making world class saves. The important thing is that he creates a lot of chances - on a specific day both he and the team will explode and Ibra could for example score 3-4 goals in one game. I can't imagine all of the goalkeepers constantly playing their "life's greatest game" against Manchester United and Ibra and his teammates constantly being "unfocused and sloppy".
He's defo missed a few great chances*, but then he's also been unlucky with some incredible goalkeeping or bad luck.
As you say, he's getting the chances & his output is comparable to anyone else in the league. He's been a great signing and I'm amazed that not everyone is delighted with him.
*If you watch Sanchez, Lukaku etc, they also miss some cracking chances, all strikers do.
That can only be the fact that he wasn't their preferred signing and so they take every chance they get as soon as Ibra does something less than perfect. Some players get praise all the time (or avoid criticism when having an off day) and some get critique all the time (even when it's unwarranted, having done a lot of good things during a match or a period of time, but only seeing the "bad").
Which is odd as I'm certain that Zlatan signing was extremely important in convincing Miki & especially Pogba to join. Players want to play with top players & Zlatan is a big draw.
He always occupies defenders with his size, he scores as much as anyone else in the league, he creates, he leads and he's a big big name. What's not to love about his signing?
This is what's great about him, he's not just a goalscorer but does a lot of other things, but some just focuse on the fact that he sometimes misses the chances or that the goalkeeper makes a fantastic save (but that mean Ibra misses a sitter). For instance, the game against Watford, bad day as a scorer, but his overall game, really good. It's like they don't see that he draws the defenders towards himself and therefore can create space for the others, even when he drops deep.
Agree about Ibra as a name was a big deal - means the team is still a force to count on. When winners like Ibra and Mourinho are there, other players feel that they want to join the "party". But Ibra has always had people "against" him, even when playing for the NT and scoring a whole lot of goals - some claimed that the team would have been better without him.
Well even just by watching him this season without stats he's been very wasteful. He usually misses bunch of chances before scoring.
He should have been scoring hattricks in some games.
He's not quite ruthless.
How many players score every chance they get? They are not robots.
Thing is, I think you'd be saying the same about whoever we choose to replace him. Strikers miss chances.
Both Martial & Rashford have hardly been "ruthless" this season.
And then when you remove all the great saves the others have had against them and he is back behind them. You can't just do that, it's an utterly ridiculous way of justifying something in the face of contrary evidence.
That's because those fecking bus parking wanker teams have to then attack.
Why did you completely ignore the last paragraph of my post that you quoted which tackled exactly that @Dion ?
Because that's still not justification. Unless you have serious doubts about why one player might have had more big saves against them you can't just say "ignore all Ibra's". You have expressed no methodological criticisms what-so-ever.Why did you completely ignore the last paragraph of my post that you quoted which tackled exactly that @Dion ?