You can't write off losing 3-1 at home to Palace on the first day of a new season. We're a mess.
Best to write yesterday’s game off as irrelevant
- Thread starter Classical Mechanic
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They had 6 games under their belt, we had one where even then many players didn’t feature. Being physically well short absolutely was a factor yesterday.
Who in their right mind would ever be content with writing off an opening game of the season... baffling...
And another season we lost it by one point, and further down the road we missed out on top 4 on goal difference. There is no such thing as irrelevant matches in this league.
What has last season got to do with this new season? If you want to bring in last seasons fantastic run, let's talk about how bad teams were and now they have improved, yet we haven't.
Yesterdays defeat was more than just a fitness issue, it was a "we have not improved and closed any gap" issue and a "the other teams competing for top 4 won't make it easy as they did last season" issue.
Some fans will spin anything into false positives.
Palace actually have a decent record against top sides.
I was looking for an article I read yesterday, but cant find it, but basically VDB couldnt understand how slow our buildup is in the 2 games we have played compared to how fast it is in training. Is it more a mental thing than the actual physical side?
It showed that we desperately need a RW, that there is something wrong with Rashford and has been since the end of last season, that our CB pairing is wrong. Either Maguire with a quick partner or Lindelof with a quick partner. Other teams came back and we always seem to be the ones with fitness issues. Well look into it and change the fitness regime. Playing Pogba when he said he wasn't going to because he has been in isolation for Covid, Ole he wasn't ready. Ole made a lot of mistakes yesterday. Praying that Luke Shaw can stay fit, because we really don't have a proper backup. Think they went out thinking they could win easily and got a shock and couldn't pick it up as well. That happens quite a lot. Every game is important, the manager should be making sure they realise that.
I would be sending them out against Luton, they do need match sharpness. That would get them up and running for Brighton. It will be just as likely he will send out a reserve team of players we want shot of and then moan about match sharpness if Brighton turn us over. I always think if you keep telling people they are tired, then they will feel tired.
I’m inclined to want to agree with you, the day after. They were definitely sharper than us and that counts big in this league. But the way the transfers or lack of them have been handled, yet again, together with the team selection played big parts in that awful performance and result.
Its not tiredness when its the usual players playing bad
It can be argued that 3 pts against CP at home should be automatic, but we got completely annihilated by CP yesterday. More so the only chance we created was Mason's header.
The reporter still tried to turn into a positive by asking if it's a fitness issue luckily VDB didn't see it that way as you should never use fitness as an excuse.
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Thanks. Just like I thought. Most of us can't see any cohesion. His fans just insult those who can't see it. Without being able to explain anything.
'I messed that one up, can I start again?'
Do you realise that Liverpool have lost 4 Premier League games over the last two seasons?
Thats what we're up against now. The days of being able to write off a loss, of building up fitness in the first few games, of being relaxed because the transfer window is still open for a couple of weeks, are over.
Thats what we're up against now. The days of being able to write off a loss, of building up fitness in the first few games, of being relaxed because the transfer window is still open for a couple of weeks, are over.
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Because we’re all looking forward to another second-half of the season chasing top four and falling short... We aren’t good enough to write the first half-a-dozen matches off the in the season to indulge in the summer. What’s going on at the club to have the decision making that resulted in yesterday’s farce?
The fact that our manager and coaching staff had our team showing up for a league match in that state is nothing short of incompetence. If they wanted to give some of our busier players an extended break than they could have done that, but we should have had a primed team ready to play yesterday with a proper pre-season behind them. Rashford, Martial, AWB, Bruno, Matic and Maguire: fine, plan a programme so they are primed for Spurs at home in October , with a couple of friendlies and some lower league cup sub appearances, ensuring that they have no international commitments until then. Everyone else should have been engaging in a proper pre-season to earn their spots and ensuring our season gets off in a manner that we want it to continue.
The arrogance to throw a team out there with less than 45 mins of pre-season each on average is staggering. We created absolute feck all and were wide open the more the game went on. We were absolutely outclassed by Palace and were simply not ready for professional football.
Townsend and Zaha got 5 league goals between them in 62 league appearances last season. They got 3 in one match yesterday.
Ole came in with big talk about we weren’t fit enough and how he’d have us the fittest team in the league, but we are back to Mou’s third season and that takes months to build up.
feck the talk about transfers. You could sign anyone and everyone, but it would mean jack shit if they were indulged to sit on the beach for pre-season. I’ve given Ole a lot of support after thinking committing to him was a mistake, but his negligence has pretty much entirely eroded that.
Just write off the whole season.
The dog shit people spout to excuse Ole is ridiculous.
The dog shit people spout to excuse Ole is ridiculous.
That performance and result are anything but irrelevant. It was horrific and very worrying. Day one of the season and we've given ourselves a lot to be concerned about. Pressure on the next game now.
I like how in 2007-2008 season we haven't won a game till matchday 4 and even then we needed a 30 yard shot to take a slight deflection of Palacios's head to win it. Still ended up winning the double that year.
And yet the caf wants me to believe that we're going to fight relegation.
Football is a confidence and conditioning sport. Sometimes a win at the right time can make or break your season. We are not at the point yet. Relax and enjoy the ride.
This result puts immense pressure on the board to complete some signings right now so in a way it might be a blessing in disguise.
And yet the caf wants me to believe that we're going to fight relegation.
Football is a confidence and conditioning sport. Sometimes a win at the right time can make or break your season. We are not at the point yet. Relax and enjoy the ride.
This result puts immense pressure on the board to complete some signings right now so in a way it might be a blessing in disguise.
One reason to start getting worried is that it looks like history repeating itself.
A season of accomplishment and slight over-achievement followed by a chaotic summer which squanders the positivity and puts us back to square one.
COVID-19 is the perfect excuse, but we've seen the same disastrous pre-season and transfer strategy multiple times in the last decade.
I agree that the performance and result yesterday shouldn't be seen in isolation, but we can't write it off as irrelevant. It's the predictable result of being massively under-prepared for the opening game and having probably the poorest pre-season in the league.
But it was. There were 3 points on the line and we played poorly despite some dreadful ref decisions. I'm ok with us losing a match but not where there is no urgency while being 0 1 down for almost an hour.
Was not beyond the realms of possibility that Palace were better prepared and more match sharp. I mean go back to the Europa League thread and there are plenty of The Caf saying we should have thrown the towel in on that so we can have the best prep possible for the start of this season. Cake and eat it anyone
That said losing to Palace in that manner is just not acceptable. Piss poor defending for their first goal and only got worse after that.
That said losing to Palace in that manner is just not acceptable. Piss poor defending for their first goal and only got worse after that.
Do we play a lot of the first team against Luton to get more match fitness on Tuesday?
Have a feeling we'll be 'writing off' a lot of games this season.
The great thing about the title is that it can be used the day after every match.
Think you will find we have a pretty spectacular team that year, this one is nowhere near.
The content in the OP cannot be used after every game, however.
I would or where do we get any before Brighton. Can you imagine the furore if we lose our first two PL games to CP and Brighton.
The league winning total in 07/08 was 87 points. In the last 3 seasons the league winning points totals have been 100, 98 and 99. The league is a very different place to where it was a decade ago. Comparing results and points totals then and now are pointless and irrelevant.
If it was just yesterday’s game in isolation then, yes, you would have a fair point.
Yes I agree. I do not want to sacrifice another PL game so I'd get them out there on Tuesday. Pre season games are usually frequent so I don't see a problem.
I am talking about yesterday’s game in isolation.
Of course we won't be fighting relegation, but in 2007/08 we had a great side and a genius manager. It's very different times.
feck off.One loss is no big deal, especially to a team that has found a way to cause quite a few upsets against the big guys in the PL. What is worrying though is that when we play badly, for whatever reason, we still churn out dreadful performances. This is what upsets some people. Much has been said about the state of the squad Solskjaer inherited and about what Woodward has done (or hasn't done for that matter) and i agree with most of it. But after one and a half seasons, this debate should revolve around the ceiling of the squad more than anything else. The disparity between our lowest and highest points, performance wise, remains great and it still looks like a chasm. This should be a cause for concern. After one or two full seasons, you can't just put in performances like that and just point the finger at Woodward because he didn't give you 100-200 million to spend. This is exactly the reason why Mourinho was kicked out of the club.
At the moment there should be only be a few one threads that most people be looking at and the main one are the Glazers & Woody & OGS (tactics/capability). However, unless we resolve the former then the whole cycle will repeat (in share dealing its called rinse and repeat). We can bang on about gaping wholes in positions across the team and quality but unless change can be forced the club is doomed to nothing.
Many have understandably given up - why because there is no coordination in a dispersed fanbase. Hi media profile figureheads along with fans and cash is required to cause max damage from an image, brand perspective = falling share price and coffers hit. Twitter alone is not going to do anything.
Many have understandably given up - why because there is no coordination in a dispersed fanbase. Hi media profile figureheads along with fans and cash is required to cause max damage from an image, brand perspective = falling share price and coffers hit. Twitter alone is not going to do anything.
There is only 1 positive to take from yesterday’s game, and that’s VdB’s debut. Enough of this fitness stuff, and I said as much pre-game, despite stupidly predicting a 2-0 win.
The preparation for this season has been an absolute joke and we are already playing catch up going uphill. Lacking fitness, no meaningful strengthening of team, Ole still doing mental shit like playing a just-recovered-from-covid Pogba over VdB. Top 4 will be a more difficult task this year than last where we will be slugging it out with the teams below us rather than above, and we start that fight dropping 3 points.
So no, writing it off as irrelevant is only best if you want to cover your eyes and stick your fingers in your ears.
So no, writing it off as irrelevant is only best if you want to cover your eyes and stick your fingers in your ears.
3 points dropped at home to Palace isn’t a write off.
A loss in the league is never irrelevant, unfortunately. If it was a Carabao Cup game or whatever maybe.