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2017-18 Performances


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All 3 United

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He followed Bakayoko. What’s wrong with you? Where was Jones?
Yes he left his ******* man !!! You dont’t do that without checking another defender can pick him up, especially their number 9. Have you ever played football?
 

sizzling sausages

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It was poor defending all round tbf. Smalling has clearly been tasked with staying with Morata today and left him but he couldn't just let Bakayoko free either. Bailly was also caught between 2 men and I have no idea where Jones was.

EDIT: Matic also deserves some blame for not tracking the run. So yeah, shite all round.
 

Isotope

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Yes he left his ******* man !!! You dont’t do that without checking another defender can pick him up, especially their number 9. Have you ever played football?
Your man Jones was the fault there. It's a sum of two fecked up CB, but a chain of fecked up, started by Jones.
 

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Yes he left his ******* man !!! You dont’t do that without checking another defender can pick him up, especially their number 9. Have you ever played football?
Have you? He had no time to check who is in position behind him, he had to deal with whats in front of him else he'd be too late to do anything. We have a 3 man defence to deal with situations exactly like that, so someone can track a runner and we'll still have 2 CBs to defend the box. They didnt and it was on Bailly's side. But he's the most popular one so he'll be mentioned least.
 

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Your man Jones was the fault there.
Jones went to close the ball down. I think it was Matic that should have dropped with Bakayoko BUT Smalling should not ever have left his man. Basics. Stop trying to defend that. You sound stupid.
 

OnlyTwoDaSilvas

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If Smalling doesn't track Bakayoko, he ghosts in to the box totally unmarked, and the ball goes to Bakayoko instead of Morata, and Smalling would get the same pelters for not tracking Bakayoko, as he was the closest defender. Smalling had to track that run.

It was just terrible organisation all over. So much space, no tracking midfield runners, Azpi allowed to float in a cross with all the time i the world.
 

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Okay, so Jones half heartedly closes down Azp, but really lets him get his cross in with ease. Matic is in no man's land and has no chance of catching Bakayoko. Smalling tracks the run
 

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wtf? Matic was back peddling from Azpilacueta letting him get the cross in, so no he shouldnt be tracking Bakayoko
Jones went to close Azpilacueta. Matic jogged back when Bakayoko was sprinting into the box. Look if you can’t see that Smalling made a poor decision leaving Bailly with two and most importantly leaving HIS man. I give up.
 

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Matic does deserve blame, he was jogging side by side with Bakayoko but just didn't bother once he made a proper run.
 

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Okay, so Jones half heartedly closes down Azp, but really lets him get his cross in with ease. Matic is in no man's land and has no chance of catching Bakayoko. Smalling tracks the run
Leaving their number 9 central just outside our 6 yard box !!!!
 

Ekeke

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Jones went to close Azpilacueta. Matic jogged back when Bakayoko was sprinting into the box. Look if you can’t see that Smalling made a poor decision leaving Bailly with two and most importantly leaving HIS man. I give up.
Yup just rewatched it, thought for sure Matic was Jones. My mistake. Matic is in an even worse position somehow and completely out of it. Jones goes to close down but with no urgency whatsoever.

Smalling is the only one who looks like he has a clue what hes doing and doing it with the required effort. Yet you're blaming him
 

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Poor decision from Smalling but it is the break down in communication between Jones and Matic that creates the decision. Just a bad goal all round with a number of mistakes made.
 

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Yup just rewatched it, thought for sure Matic was Jones. My mistake. Matic is in an even worse position somehow and completely out of it. Jones goes to close down but with no urgency whatsoever.

Smalling is the only one who looks like he has a clue what hes doing and doing it with the required effort. Yet you're blaming him
He left his man who was in a far more dangerous position. Wake up.
 

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Bailly was marking a man on the back post and had no chance of covering.
Of course he did, and if he had moved when Smalling did he would have been in position. Like you said, the obvious threat is Morata and its now his responsibility
 

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Poor decision from Smalling but it is the break down in communication between Jones and Matic that creates the decision. Just a bad goal all round with a number of mistakes made.
Pretty much. All involved are partly to blame. With Matic most at blame imo and Bailly least.
 

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Of course he did, and if he had moved when Smalling did he would have been in position. Like you said, the obvious threat is Morata and its now his responsibility
Ok Smalling was faultless. I can’t be bothered anymore.
 

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Pretty much. All involved are partly to blame. With Matic most at blame imo and Bailly least.
Why Bailly least? Jones went to confront the player on the ball - although poorly. Smalling tracked the movement of a dangerous player nobody was picking up. Thats 2 CBs being active and adapting to whats in front of them, Smalling fairly well and Jones poorly. And Bailly ballwatched and wasnt switched on. The one CB who wasnt actively trying to defend the immediate situation
 

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Aftermath of the goal has exposed far deeper issues, sadly.
 

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Why Bailly least? Jones went to confront the player on the ball - although poorly. Smalling tracked the movement of a dangerous player nobody was picking up. Thats 2 CBs being active and adapting to whats in front of them, Smalling fairly well and Jones poorly. And Bailly ballwatched and wasnt switched on. The one CB who wasnt actively trying to defend the immediate situation
I think Jones was stupid for pushing out a small bit but still doing noting to actually prevent the cross.

Smalling was in an impossible situation but should know Morata was the danger, plus he was clearly tasked with marking Morata all game.

I'm not sure if Bailly had enough time to react to get to Morata once Smalling closed down Bakayoko, the cross was played a second after Smalling moved.
 

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I think Jones was stupid for pushing out a small bit but still doing noting to actually prevent the cross.

Smalling was in an impossible situation but should know Morata was the danger, plus he was clearly tasked with marking Morata all game.

I'm not sure if Bailly had enough time to react to get to Morata once Smalling closed down Bakayoko, the cross was played a second after Smalling moved.
How is he clearly tasked with man marking Morata?
 

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How is he clearly tasked with man marking Morata?
I'm basing this on the fact that he was the closest defender to him all game and the fact he's by far the best aerially of the 3 so it'd make sense for him to be on Morata. Bailly was marking Hazard mainly and Jones seemed to be the free man usually.
 

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I'm basing this on the fact that he was the closest defender to him all game and the fact he's by far the best aerially of the 3 so it'd make sense for him to be on Morata. Bailly was marking Hazard mainly and Jones seemed to be the free man usually.
Yes, usually they will come up against each other because Smalling is in the middle of the 3. But its not like he's following him all over the pitch man marking him. Unless Mourinho told you something :D but the back 3 needs to work as a reactive unit, one moves, the other covers. Failure to do that and the system fails. Jones is out of position, so Smalling has to cover the space, so Bailly needs to move and cover that space. Then Valencia needs to be tracking back to deal with the back post.
 

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Haven't seen someone give him as hard a time as Morata did today.
 

Isotope

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Jones went to close the ball down. I think it was Matic that should have dropped with Bakayoko BUT Smalling should not ever have left his man. Basics. Stop trying to defend that. You sound stupid.
Ok, clever man.

Look like Jose saw Jones as the liability one, and rightfully kept Smalling.
Jose + Isotope >> All 3 United. Isn't it?

ANyway, it was a beautiful and powerful header by Morata, right into the corner.
 

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Yes, usually they will come up against each other because Smalling is in the middle of the 3. But its not like he's following him all over the pitch man marking him. Unless Mourinho told you something :D but the back 3 needs to work as a reactive unit, one moves, the other covers. Failure to do that and the system fails. Jones is out of position, so Smalling has to cover the space, so Bailly needs to move and cover that space. Then Valencia needs to be tracking back to deal with the back post.
:lol: If Mourinho ever read my posts about him on here the only thing he'd be telling me is to feck off!

I pretty much agree with what you say and I'm not saying Bailly is faultless, I've said above they all deserve some blame, I just don't think it was possible for him to get to Morata in time. Not that he actually tried though tbf.
 

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Left morata with a free header. Basic decision making. Probably cost us the game.
He had to. It was the right decision for him, otherwise Bakayoko would have been free and the ball might not be a cross to Morata but a pass to Bakayoko. Jones has to take the blame for being out of position and Smalling was just covering Jones.
 

17 Van der Gouw

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Ok, clever man.

Look like Jose saw Jones as the liability one, and rightfully kept Smalling.
Jose + Isotope >> All 3 United. Isn't it?
Surely he took Jones off because he was on a yellow, and still his fouls were totting up. He looked like a sending-off in waiting. Over the course of the season he's trusted Jones over Smalling much more.
 

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:lol: If Mourinho ever read my posts about him on here the only thing he'd be telling me is to feck off!

I pretty much agree with what you say and I'm not saying Bailly is faultless, I've said above they all deserve some blame, I just don't think it was possible for him to get to Morata in time. Not that he actually tried though tbf.
Yeah its definitely not all on Bailly. Its more of a system mistake because if one person fails, the whole idea fails. Jones really didnt cover himself in glory with the "pressure", I doubt that cross is even the slighest bit different if Jones wasnt there. Great cross. But at the same time I consider that Jones is actively trying to deal with the current situation, which is what he should be doing. Just a lot better than he did.

Bailly is hanging out at the back post with players who arent involved and never become involved and isnt actively trying to defend the current situation. So I'm slightly more concerned about him. But theres probably not much in it between Jones and Bailly's contributions, neither are up to scratch there.
 

Isotope

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Surely he took Jones off because he was on a yellow, and still his fouls were totting up. He looked like a sending-off in waiting. Over the course of the season he's trusted Jones over Smalling much more.
And would you sub a good and better defender on big game, just because he was on yellow?
 
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