Have we been unlucky?

Hughie77

Full Member
Joined
Oct 22, 2017
Messages
4,167
But they were. Their xG was 2.2 or so, and ours was 0.96. They had almost double the shots we had, they had more than double the shots in goal than us, they had 12 corners to us 4, and they had 57% possession. They had around triple the number of touches in our zone compared to us in their zone, and they had more than double the number of passes in the final third compared to us. They were definitely far better than us.

Could we have won the match though? Absolutely. I think that Hojlund's case was more than pen than not, that Garnacho was marginally offside and that Saka could have been sent off. If even one of those decisions would have gone in our favor, we could have easily ended with 3 points, or maybe with one, despite that Arsenal were the superior team. Same as how we ended with 3 points despite that Wolves were the better team.
Stats stats stats xG this X G that.. its PlayStation bollocks imo .. they scored a goal from a foul were is the XG on that. They could have had 20 shots on target if they don't go in they don't count.. the part of the game that counted was lucky in both bits one goal ruled out and one foul not deemed one. If Evans isn't grabbed while ball is in the air he follows it and goes out to close it down.. wheres the stat on that.. yes they had the so called better chances .. in the end they were lucky to get the goal on 97 mins .....
 

Cantonagotmehere

Full Member
Joined
Feb 3, 2015
Messages
3,347
Location
Charm City, MD
I believe you tend to make you own luck, especially over time.

We are so poorly run and we rot from the top. Don't see it changing anytime soon. Dark days.
 

noodlehair

"It's like..."
Joined
Apr 1, 2004
Messages
16,385
Location
Flagg
The two games we won involved us getting a weak penalty and getting away with our goalkeeper punching someone in the head, so no.

We've also barely mustered together a competent 90 minutes of football if you combine the best bits of all four of our games, have spent 2 games playing Mount in midfield, and signed Jonny Evans to a 1 year contract and brought him on away to Arsenal. Bad luck is when something misfortunate and out of your control happens, it isn't when you punch yourself in the face and realise it hurts.

The only thing you can really hold up as luck is the injuries, but even then it's only towards the end of the Arsenal game we've really been stretched for personal, and before we were forced into changes we spent large chunks of that game for some reason deliberately keeping the ball near our own goal instead of trying to win.
 

Denis79

Full Member
Joined
Nov 2, 2014
Messages
7,777
With injuries, facing Arse and Spurs away, not getting pens and just bad luck?

Performances haven't been much to write home about but have we deserved to lose 2 games?
Neither, we should have lost against Wolves but didn't deserve to against Arsenal. I think we have the points we deserve so far.
 

IRONTUSK

New Member
Newbie
Joined
Nov 9, 2021
Messages
116
The games I have watched us in this season we have been shite. Apart from about 30 minutes of football against Arsenal....and that isn`t a solid 30 minutes either.
 

Loon

:lol:
Joined
Aug 17, 2011
Messages
9,219
Location
No-Mark
Win games uncontested. No excuses for the losers. Be better, not lucky.

Wow, I sounded like Gene Hackman in HOOSIERS (1986).
 

The White Pele

Full Member
Joined
Dec 2, 2006
Messages
4,949
In terms of points on the board based on performances I don’t think we have been unlucky. 6 points is probably about right. You could argue we have been a bit unlucky that our first two away games have been against top sides.

We have definitely been unlucky with injuries but losing Varane and Shaw shouldn’t come as a big surprise and ideally Maguire would have moved to West Ham and been properly replaced. In general we fell short on outgoings in the transfer window which stopped us from pushing the envelope on incomings.

We also need to look at our pre-season planning. We seemed to be off the pace again. Last season it was put down to lack of transfer activity but I don’t think we can use that excuse this season, although a fit striker would have made a big difference in the first two games.
 

fergiewherearethou

Full Member
Joined
Jan 9, 2022
Messages
1,613
Location
Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubuna
Supports
Erik ten Hag
The games I have watched us in this season we have been shite. Apart from about 30 minutes of football against Arsenal....and that isn`t a solid 30 minutes either.
That and some decent football minutes against Forrest, the rest were pretty bad to watch.
Injuries aside we've been shite this season, but it's just a few games. Also last season started in a similar manner.
 

sullydnl

Ross Kemp's caf ID
Joined
Sep 13, 2012
Messages
34,063
8.0 xG, 5 actual goals.
7.4 xGA, 7 actual goals conceded.

Tiny sample size but those stats align with my general impressions so far. Especially as the disallowed Garnacho goal doesn't feed into them either.

Basically while we haven't been good, I think we've specifically been unlucky not to have scored a few more goals across the opening four games. And those goals might have translated to a few more points. So maybe slightly unlucky on that front.

Add in the amount of players unavailable (which even for us is an unusual amount at one time) and I think it's fair to say we've had an unlucky start to the season overall. I'd certainly expect us to better once most of Varane, Shaw, Mount, Amrabat and Hojlund are available to feature regularly.
 

Jakoby

New Member
Newbie
Joined
Sep 4, 2023
Messages
17
Considering we were lucky to win the opening match against against the Wolves and unlucky to lose on Sunday, I guess it's all even. They can only blame themselves. We should have put the Spurs away after 45 mins - that match should have been 2-0 or 3-0 at the break. And should have kept the foot on the gas after Garnacho's goal was disallowed. Instead started to play timid and hope for a draw. It was only a matter of time after that that Arsenal score.
 

Lash

Full Member
Joined
May 3, 2012
Messages
12,224
Location
Buckinghamshire
Supports
Millwall, Saint-Etienne
Someone actually did the stats prior to the offside goal.


Obviously doesn't matter now, but I think it does show it was a far closer game than last year and could have easily swung the other way on another day.
 

croadyman

Full Member
Joined
Mar 9, 2018
Messages
34,836
You deserve what you get , bitching about luck is such a small time mentality outlook. Big characters win big games , our record in these games does not lie.
Yeah we clearly lack character away from home,just maybe Amrabat & Hojlund could help change that but may need more than them
 

jesperjaap

Full Member
Joined
Jun 23, 2014
Messages
5,751
Cant see how we have been unlucky, we actually have more points than we have deserved so far.

Deserved to lose agains Wolves - Won
Deserved to lose against Spurs - Lost
Forest - Probably our best performance but we were still fortunate to win the game, they had plenty of chances
Arsenal - Again we were secobd best, maybe unlucky with the offside and conceding so late but we deserved a pont at best

We are maybe a point or two ahead of where we deserve to be so far.

Also think people are being too positive abotu the Arsenal game. Arsenal desptie results havent started off great, they have struggled to get over the line in majority of there games. I think against us they were a little timid and Saka wasnt on it. Even so we were secodn best most of the game and whenever they did commit pplayers forward we looked in trouble.

The only thing we have been unlucky with so far this season is injuries. Hoijlund obviously a big loss and Mainoo too but we at least now have Aramabat, as well as Varane, two of these are key players let alone all the othe rinjuries and Mainoo can become one
 

Yagami

Good post resistant
Joined
Jan 27, 2013
Messages
13,545
I said if we didn't bring press resistant players in it would potentially cost ten Hag.

Unfortunately, we didn't bring them in, and it's looking grim for Erik as a result.
 

AndySmith1990

Full Member
Joined
Oct 2, 2021
Messages
6,274
You make your own luck by playing well. When we were winning everything with Fergie everyone called us lucky, especially when we'd score late stoppage time goals. But that's not luck, it's giving your all and playing well until the final second and reaping the rewards. Right now we're an utterly shit team, and some find it easier to blame bad luck rather than face reality
 

evil_geko

Full Member
Joined
Dec 31, 2005
Messages
5,920
We didn't "destroy" them, but we had more than enough chances to lead by a goal or two, this season is just unlucky af.
 

JG3001

Full Member
Joined
Nov 30, 2016
Messages
1,268
10 years later and we still haven’t sorted midfield, is it really that hard to find two decent centre mids who can run, pass and press? Asking for basics, not a miracle.
 

TheNewEra

Knows Kroos' mentality
Joined
Jan 20, 2014
Messages
8,282
10 years later and we still haven’t sorted midfield, is it really that hard to find two decent centre mids who can run, pass and press? Asking for basics, not a miracle.
Replacing Scholes and Carrick is like Barca trying to replace Xavi or Iniesta though.
 

Swedish_Plumber

Full Member
Joined
Jan 23, 2021
Messages
5,051
Location
Edinburgh
We’re just shite. Players ain’t good enough and the mentality is so so bad. Seriously, the amount of times we see a player not do the very basics right is shocking.
 

JG3001

Full Member
Joined
Nov 30, 2016
Messages
1,268
Replacing Scholes and Carrick is like Barca trying to replace Xavi or Iniesta though.
We don’t need a new Scholes and Carrick though. Plenty of teams cope using much cheaper and consistent midfielders than our current lot. I genuinely believe most fans on here could do a better job scouting out players than the club.
 

bosnian_red

Worst scout to ever exist
Joined
Aug 13, 2011
Messages
58,098
Location
Canada
Today? No we have been garbage and it's down to coaching again. We have a shit system. We don't know how to progress the ball, we don't know how to create chances, we don't know how to take chances, and we are horrible at defending set pieces. Yes at some things individuals should do better, but we aren't coached well. Can point your fingers at a lot of things but the coaching issue needs to be addressed asap. Either ten hag has an idea that doesn't involve "always having a miles better starting 11 than the opposition", or find someone that can.
 

BorisManUtd

Full Member
Joined
Nov 4, 2013
Messages
3,937
I think we've been unlucky at times this season - Spurs away (well we were good in first half at least), Arsenal away and today in not getting anything. Also lucky to beat Wolves on the opening day. But most important thing to me is that we haven't been good enough.
 

Augustus Gloop

New Member
Newbie
Joined
Sep 13, 2009
Messages
266
Location
UK
Thought we were lucky today, actually. Fortunate that Casemiro and maybe Amrabat didn’t get sent off.
 

Red Star One

Full Member
Joined
Jan 4, 2017
Messages
5,233
Location
Barcelona
Terrible recruitment and coaching has nothing to do with luck, today another proof of that. One or two dodgy decisions don't change this
 

Harry190

Bobby ten Hag
Joined
Apr 18, 2010
Messages
7,619
Location
Canada
Unlucky today methinks. At least one shot should have gone in. Zidane would have been proud of that Andersen goal.
 

Roboc7

Full Member
Joined
Mar 31, 2014
Messages
6,688
At times we’ve been unlucky but the games we’ve won we rode our luck at times.

We just aren’t a very good team, if Rashford isn’t on top form we have virtually no goal threat. It’s going to be a long and very disappointing season by the looks of it.
 

croadyman

Full Member
Joined
Mar 9, 2018
Messages
34,836
Nope we are lucky it's not 7 defeats because haven't played well in any game yet. Only Everton,Burnley & Sheff U have more losses
 

U.N.C.L.E

New Member
Newbie
Joined
Dec 1, 2020
Messages
161
Location
Melbourne, Australia
The sooner you idiots realise we are a Glazer’s-run merchandise company that also happens to play football a couple times a week the easier life will become.

MUFC stopped Being about titles and cup runs a long time ago.

By the way, have you seen our latest range of branded cat litter, it’s tres chic’
 

Care_de_Bobo

Full Member
Joined
Mar 28, 2010
Messages
2,375
Unlucky today methinks. At least one shot should have gone in. Zidane would have been proud of that Andersen goal.
And Titus Bramble would have been ashamed of letting the ball reach him in the first place. Wonder strike or not, the defending was poor.

Bruno scored a wonder goal last weekend, surely by that logic we have been lucky ourselves. The only bad luck we've had this season is getting shafted constantly by the referees, but our performances haven't really been good enough to justify calling our results and points total unlucky.

Arsenal were very lucky to beat us, but Wolves were very unlucky to lose so it kind of evens out in the end. Palace didn't exactly deserve to win, but United didn't really do enough to do so either.
 

Jev

Full Member
Joined
Apr 7, 2008
Messages
8,079
Location
Denmark
We were lucky last season when we won a bunch of games by one goal. When you create as little as we do, the consequence is that fine margins will decide games. They fell our way last season and haven't done thus far this season. We could have had a win more but roughly we're where we should be, as the underlying stats show.