[ti vu]

Harsh to say it worked for Pellestri because it was Leeds given he was starting in a world cup for Uruguay. He's never been given a go at United.

Antony hasn't ripped up any trees either. Haven't got a PL assist yet and it's February so all these people saying he was badly missed are going a bit OTT.

If we had started Pellestri wide right and Rashford through the middle we probably win last night. Weghorst just wasn't in the game at all.

Uruguay is very bad. Starting for them is not really.

Cavani, Luis Suarez both way over the hill were fighting to start. And they had Darwin Nunez too. Our former player Varela was their starter too.

I watched all Uruguay World Cup games and Pellistri played very meh, among that underwhelming Uruguay team. Almost feel bad for Valverde but realized Uruguay team is kinda unlikable.

I don't think anyone should be given a go. Everything must be on merit. Never saw anything from him to suggest him have what it takes to make it here.

I agreed that we had better chance to win against Leeds with Rashford up front because it's Leeds. Messed up big time by starting Weghorst negating our strength and let Leeds used their limited weapon on our weakened team.

 

[Borys]

Don't even start. Antony had feck all to do with us conceding silly goal and we also didn't struggle in creating chances.

The only positive that Antony would've provided today is that Rashy would have played on his preferred left side and we would probably have scored earlier. That's more to do with Rashford than Antony.

Its true we lost control without him but we lost far more by missing Casemiro and Eriksen and Antony wouldn't have solved that.

We went with a weak midfield and two attacking wingers who don't contribute defensively, that was the problem. Antony being a defensive/tactical winger gives us more control over midfield that's for sure.

IMO if we had Casemiro or Antony, it's very likely one of those Leeds goals doesn't happen (I don't know if they were silly, Leeds had fun against our defensive formation). Whether we score more goals is debatable for obvious reasons but I'd fancy our chances to win this game more with Antony on RW because of other things we lacked today.

 

[Bebestation]

Antony’s work rate would have had work rate in the middle with Bruno.

Deluded people think he would have offered nothing.

 

[Crimson King]

We went with a weak midfield and two attacking wingers who don't contribute defensively, that was the problem. Antony being a defensive/tactical winger gives us more control over midfield that's for sure.

IMO if we had Casemiro or Antony, it's very likely one of those Leeds goals doesn't happen (I don't know if they were silly, Leeds had fun against our defensive formation). Whether we score more goals is debatable for obvious reasons but I'd fancy our chances to win this game more with Antony on RW because of other things we lacked today.

The 3 midfielders EtH signed in the summer (Casemiro, Eriksen and Antony) and the revitalised Rashford had to change position. Any team would struggle if their midfield was gutted like that, especially if you throw in an 18 year old and a player who's only been with the team for just over a week. Hopefully Antony will be available soon and Sabitzer can settle in quickly and paper some of the cracks.

That midfield unit has been a really important part of how we've played this season and how EtH wants us to play. Not to mention the drop in overall quality from that set to what went out last night. Then there's Fred having one of those Fred games...

I agree that Antony would have helped maintain some semblance of balance in those opening exchanges and helped us keep the ball up the pitch. It was like watching a tennis match at times last night!

 

[Wheato]

We missed him last night. Him and AWB on the right have been solid over the weeks. All of Leeds goals and attacks came down that side. They were basically walking past Dalot. Unfair on him in his first match back, but he wasn't upto the pace.

 

[Real Name]

Exactly, pellistri was only OK but offered what Antony would have

Nah. As solid as he was he lost possession a few times and didnt give us so much control as Antony would.

 

[Real Name]

Finally it's great to see some support and understanding of Antony and what he brings to the team in this thread. Rather than all the negativity and bashing.

Few posters will stick their guns still.

 

[Stacks]

Been banging on about his ability to keep possession of the ball allows us breathing space and to advance the team up the field. Another example tonight of us not having control without Antony in the team.

|I see Casemiro as the main miss. Plus we have the loose Fred playing midfield constantly passing to Leeds players. In the league games Antony wasn't in the squad we have 4 wins 1 loss 1 draw (tonight)

 

[Real Name]

|I see Casemiro as the main miss. Plus we have the loose Fred playing midfield constantly passing to Leeds players. In the league games Antony wasn't in the squad we have 4 wins 1 loss 1 draw (tonight)

I think its more that when we missed Casemiro Antony would come handy. Of course Casemiro is the biggest miss.

 

[El Jefe]

|I see Casemiro as the main miss. Plus we have the loose Fred playing midfield constantly passing to Leeds players. In the league games Antony wasn't in the squad we have 4 wins 1 loss 1 draw (tonight)

Thank you! Antony might've been missed slightly but Casemiro, Eriksen and Martial were much bigger misses.

It seems a bit desperate from posters on here trying to make his absence seem bigger than it really is.

I'm aware Antony is excellent defensively and is good in possession but if he played tonight with the other three missing, the game could have gone very similar as we'd still have Wout up front and the horrendously open midfield pairing of Fred and Sabitzer. Like i said earlier, the biggest benefit of having Antony in the side was that Rashford would have been on the left. That's more to do with Rashford than Antony.

 

[Godfather]

Thank you! Antony might've been missed slightly but Casemiro, Eriksen and Martial were much bigger misses.

It seems a bit desperate from posters on here trying to make his absence seem bigger than it really is.

I'm aware Antony is excellent defensively and is good in possession but if he played tonight with the other three missing, the game could have gone very similar as we'd still have Wout up front and the horrendously open midfield pairing of Fred and Sabitzer. Like i said earlier, the biggest benefit of having Antony in the side was that Rashford would have been on the left. That's more to do with Rashford than Antony.

It's rather a bit of a joke that he gets shit on every week when he's actually the only decent outlet we have on the right and you saw that yesterday, which is what people point out. He brings composure to our game even when pressed. We were a chaotic mess yesterday so eh would have been handy.

 

[The Corinthian]

We really missed him on the right last night. Just shows how vital he is to our style of play.

 

[glazed]

The “physical stuff” started with the blatant foul. That was the trigger. So yes you are being unfair. Most people would react to such a blatant attempt to clean you out.

I suppose. Feel like if it wasn't for the slope of death making a bad tackle much worse and his lack of self control, it wouldn't have kicked off.

 

[glazed]

Finally it's great to see some support and understanding of Antony and what he brings to the team in this thread. Rather than all the negativity and bashing.

He's just a bit of a work in progress is all. Talented though. EtH will get him there.

 

[ForeverRed1]

He would have loved that game last night. He loves a scrap and is a huge wind up merchant. He would have got at them I reckon.

 

[RuudTom83]

The flip flopping on the Cafe never gets boring.

Happy for Antony to get some positive reviews…even if he was sat at home on his sofa hehe.

 

[Matt851]

He would have loved that game last night. He loves a scrap and is a huge wind up merchant. He would have got at them I reckon.

When was the last time he got at anyone in an attacking sense? Seems like the classic case of a player getting better in their absence

 

[Vaibhav Raj]

Apparently he is out of Barcelona game. We could have really benefitted by having someone with his skillset against a technical side away from home. Keeping control of the game and not giving the ball away cheaply can matter a lot in such games.

Against Leeds, during the first fifteen or so minutes of the game Varane was making passes to Dalot and Dalot was just passing back to De Gea who would then pass to Varane again. It happened over and over again. There was no outlet on the right side of midfield . We looked bereft of ideas and lost possession every time someone tried to advance the ball down the right side.One of those instances led to a goal against us.There was clear imbalance in our play on display and it wasn’t something we had seen recently in other games. Antony’s absence probably had something to do with it.

 

[Glorio]

Apparently he is out of Barcelona game. We could have really benefitted by having someone with his skillset against a technical side away from home. Keeping control of the game and not giving the ball away cheaply can matter a lot in such games.

Against Leeds, during the first fifteen or so minutes of the game Varane was making passes to Dalot and Dalot was just passing back to De Gea who would then pass to Varane again. It happened over and over again. There was no outlet on the right side of midfield . We looked bereft of ideas and lost possession every time someone tried to advance the ball down the right side.One of those instances led to a goal against us.There was clear imbalance in our play on display and it wasn’t something we had seen recently in other games. Antony’s absence probably had something to do with it.

Is there a source for this?

 

[Vaibhav Raj]

Is there a source for this?

There are quotes from EtH doing rounds on twitter that Antony is unlikely to feature in games vs Leeds and Barcelona.

Edit: On a second look it appears that these are not direct quotes from EtH. Most likely some journo posted about it and others picked up on it. I for one would be glad if the reports are not true.

 

[criticalanalysis]

Apparently he is out of Barcelona game. We could have really benefitted by having someone with his skillset against a technical side away from home. Keeping control of the game and not giving the ball away cheaply can matter a lot in such games.

Against Leeds, during the first fifteen or so minutes of the game Varane was making passes to Dalot and Dalot was just passing back to De Gea who would then pass to Varane again. It happened over and over again. There was no outlet on the right side of midfield . We looked bereft of ideas and lost possession every time someone tried to advance the ball down the right side.One of those instances led to a goal against us.There was clear imbalance in our play on display and it wasn’t something we had seen recently in other games. Antony’s absence probably had something to do with it.

Is there a source for this?

First two questions.

 

[NoPace]

Apparently he is out of Barcelona game. We could have really benefitted by having someone with his skillset against a technical side away from home. Keeping control of the game and not giving the ball away cheaply can matter a lot in such games.

Yeah, it's gotta be Rashford up top, Casemiro and Sabitzer in midfield, Bruno as a #10 and then you just have huge questions out wide really. Garnacho doesn't seem ready to start, Sancho is just getting back but I think will have to at LW, and then I'd probably play Pellistri out right for some balance. Maybe we'll see Bruno out wide at the Nou Camp and Fred and Sabitzer as 8s with Sabitzer moving right and Bruno moving central, or Dalot higher up and more of a back 3 with Shaw sitting back more.

 

[Berbasbullet]

Yeah, it's gotta be Rashford up top, Casemiro and Sabitzer in midfield, Bruno as a #10 and then you just have huge questions out wide really. Garnacho doesn't seem ready to start, Sancho is just getting back but I think will have to at LW, and then I'd probably play Pellistri out right for some balance. Maybe we'll see Bruno out wide at the Nou Camp and Fred and Sabitzer as 8s with Sabitzer moving right and Bruno moving central, or Dalot higher up and more of a back 3 with Shaw sitting back more.

I think Sabitzer is banned for first leg? Could be wrong.

 

[charlenefan]

What injury does he have?

 

[Chief123]

What injury does he have?

Rumoured to be a broken heart.

 

[Irwin99]

His goals/assists/chances created might not be that impressive but I think we're a better team with him in it and we have more of the ball on that flank.

 

[Bondi77]

Rumoured to be a broken heart.

Thought he would be over Ronnie leaving by now.

 

[tenpoless]

He doesn't like the weather in Spain could be the reason why he won't play against Barca. He prefers Manchester, the mad lad.

 

[zenith]

Right now, still think Sancho is a better option when we need to break teams down or need a goal. He is better when we need to defend and keep possession

 

[nainaisson]

Rumoured to be a broken heart.

That's why the owner of a lonely heart is much better than the owner of a broken heart.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

Apparently he is out of Barcelona game. We could have really benefitted by having someone with his skillset against a technical side away from home. Keeping control of the game and not giving the ball away cheaply can matter a lot in such games.

Against Leeds, during the first fifteen or so minutes of the game Varane was making passes to Dalot and Dalot was just passing back to De Gea who would then pass to Varane again. It happened over and over again. There was no outlet on the right side of midfield . We looked bereft of ideas and lost possession every time someone tried to advance the ball down the right side.One of those instances led to a goal against us.There was clear imbalance in our play on display and it wasn’t something we had seen recently in other games. Antony’s absence probably had something to do with it.

Ah feck

Well probably have to soak up a lot of pressure against Barcelona.Without Martial, Eriksen and Antony our possession retention will not be great.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

Thank you! Antony might've been missed slightly but Casemiro, Eriksen and Martial were much bigger misses.

It seems a bit desperate from posters on here trying to make his absence seem bigger than it really is.

I don’t think people care nearly as much about dick waving about the impact of player misses as you do. Fact is that for whatever faults Antony has he is very hard to dispossess and players like him and others who help control games being out is a negative.

 

[croadyman]

I think Sabitzer is banned for first leg? Could be wrong.

Nope you are right

 

[Pogue Mahone]

I like Antony. And think he gets a lot of unfair stick. But I’m starting to get worried that he’s a bit of a sick note. Been injured a fair bit this season. What was he like at Ajax?

EDIT: 23 league games for Ajax last season. So he missed about a third of their games? Not a great record, is it? 32 games the season before.

 

[sullydnl]

I like Antony. And think he gets a lot of unfair stick. But I’m starting to get worried that he’s a bit of a sick note. Been injured a fair bit this season. What was he like at Ajax?

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Feels like he’s been unavailable for more than just 5 games this season? He’s definitely had more than one injury. Before the current one there was the longish one before the World Cup. And maybe another one before that?

 

[sullydnl]

Feels like he’s been unavailable for more than just 5 games this season? He’s definitely had more than one injury. Before the current one there was the longish one before the World Cup. And maybe another one before that?

I assume it doesn't include his latest injury as that hasn't come to an end yet. He was injured in the 3-0 against Sheriff and there were five games between that and the world cup, so those must be the five games. And I think he played minutes in every PL game he was available for up to then. So unless he missed some cup games in between? Can't remember if there were any other knocks around then.

Might just seem like more because he wasn't here for the first five league games and then the World Cup took place too.

 

[Rightnr]

What is with Antonys and being stupidly injury-prone and slow to recover? One is bad enough

 

[croadyman]

What is with Antonys and being stupidly injury-prone and slow to recover? One is bad enough

Yeah we are putting voodoo curse on them

 

[simonhch]

First two questions.

To be fair he also said he’s not 100% certain they are all out for Barca, but that he didn’t expect them to be fit. That must indicate they are all nearing a returning, otherwise he’d say they are definitely out. A ray of positivity to be found.