Just one of those days - Mourinho agrees

[Irrational.]

Just think of that Lingard chance - how many times would you expect that chance to be buried? The Pogba header?

Meanwhile a rare DDG error, the ball falls kindly to them off the bar and that midgetron cnut thwacks it in.

We just don't have the luck currently. Reminds me of that Portsmouth FA Cup tie. We just weren't meant to win it.

 

[SqueakyWeasel]

You make your own luck!

Jose was saying in his pre-match presser that the bottom team of the Premier League shouldn't be there and that they are much better than that … does that sound like the message you should be sending to your players or is it getting your excuses in first?

 

[worcesterred]

We have the makings of a good team but, unfortunately, we're losing too much ground early on to realistically catch City.

Realistically we're not in the race, this season in my opinion has to be used for putting the pieces in place to create dominance again.

 

[JustAFan]

Because every team has games like this, we are moving in the right direction and we continue to play like this and we will win this game by 3 or 4 goals 99 times out of 100.

Nah we will continue to miss chances and drop points as has now become the type of team we are.

 

[BennyBlanco]

Performance in the 2nd half was pretty poor, first 20mins of the 2nd half were just woeful, I don't really like how we play in general.

 

[Snafu17]

Yeah, I'm not having that. We brought a supposedly world class striker so we won't have these days. There should be no excuses for the god awful finishing.

 

[lysglimt]

Because every team has games like this, we are moving in the right direction and we continue to play like this and we will win this game by 3 or 4 goals 99 times out of 100.

Yes every team do - but usually not against the worst team in the league at home. Games like this will cost us a top-4 position. And let's be realistic - there is nothing to indicate that we will come top-4.

 

[bosnian_red]

That performance was perfectly fine. I would much rather see us progressing in our play and have performance like these where we are unlucky but should have won, rather then keep on grinding out results even though we probably don't deserve them. The finishing touch will come and luck will even out over a season, these days happen but the important part is creating chances consistently.

 

[bleedred]

Feck this thread... We have to win all 38 games playing exciting football!!!... If we fail then its all doom and gloom....

 

[Minimalist]

I agree. Team just needs more bedding in time but it's worrying it hasn't happened sooner.

Rooney needs to feck off though and go elsewhere. Might as well field an u-18 lad instead.

 

[ivaldo]

And if my auntie had a cock she'd be my uncle. Fact is we didn't take any of those chances. It's not like Grant was making wonder save after wonder save, either - most of them were pretty routine. Fair play to him for not being overawed by the occasion but it was hardly the most spectacular keeper performance of all time. We were smashing shots wide, or hitting them straight at him. It was our own wastefulness that cost us, and I don't see why it's considered ok for us to be so shit in front of goal but it gets chalked off as "one of those days". It's been a recurring theme for years now - we have no one capable of putting chances away, almost all of our players seem to fluff their lines more often than not.

Because performance matters, DDG fecking up for the goal doesn't make him shit, Grant having the best game of his live doesn't make him amazing. The point is id be more than happy for our team to play like this every week, because almost always we would smash teams playing like this.

 

[arthurka]

feck the foundations. The worst team in the league by a mile and conceded in 16 straight games. We should be beating them. Spurs scored 5 past them easily.

Yes but we should have scored 4 but just seemed careless.. DDG just hasn't looked the same this season.. I guess he has saved us so many times he should be allowed to have one of those howlers..

 

[Bobcat]

Shit game, shit ref and shit result.

I'm not having any of "one of those days" either. We should have dominated this dreadful Stoke team, not hope too scrape past them 1-0.

Also why the feck did Jose take of Mata and Lingaard, who was our only attacking players who looked up for it today? Rashford, Zlatan and Pogba was heaps and bounds worse.

We can just forget the title and probably top four as well.

Feck this

 

[Bojan11]

We would've as well, we were not lucky. Go support City, you'll have immediate success.

We would have? We didn't.

We let the last 15 minutes of the first half and before the subs came on in the second half pass by. No urgency. We woke up again after the goal for 5 minutes.

 

[GazTheLegend]

No. We didn't.

Don't fool yourselves, Stoke are POOR and we should be beating them home and away. They looked the better side for a large portion of the match and that was very worrying. If Herrera was (rightly) sent off we'd have lost the game. It was grim at times, we only played football after Martials goal.

It's difficult times for us, our team look fragile in some ways. We COULD be a -brilliant- team but there's something not quite right.

 

[charlenefan]

You make your own luck!

This

It's not bad luck or even great goalkeeping that we didn't score first half it was poor finishing

 

[ivaldo]

Yes every team do - but usually not against the worst team in the league at home. Games like this will cost us a top-4 position. And let's be realistic - there is nothing to indicate that we will come top-4.

They may have started poor but no chance Stoke is a relegation team.

 

[Random Task]

But we didn't, so what's the point?

You can't stay a performance like this was good 'bar scoring goals' because that's the crux of the whole thing. We've had around 5-6 clear cut chances and fecked it up.

On another day that scoreline would look very different. It was simply a case of their keeper playing a blinder combined with our lads missing a hatful of chances. Just one of those games.

The performance, result aside, was very encouraging. The attackers linked up very well and the movement was outstanding (Mata in particular).

 

[ivaldo]

Yeah, I'm not having that. We brought a supposedly world class striker so we won't have these days. There should be no excuses for the god awful finishing.

So he's not world class, DDG is worse than Grant?

 

[bosnian_red]

But we didn't, so what's the point?

You can't stay a performance like this was good 'bar scoring goals' because that's the crux of the whole thing. We've had around 5-6 clear cut chances and fecked it up.

It's more important for the grand scheme of things that we have good overall performances like today where we are creating loads of chances. This shows way more in signs of progression rather then grinding out a boring 1 or 2-0 win where we don't create much. Luck and finishing like today evens out over a season, and you just have to accept these days in front of goal happen and you move on. 90% of the time, games like this with the chances we created would end 4 or 5-0. Shit happens sometimes.

 

[bleedred]

The whole point of football is scoring goals. You need to beat the worst team in the league currently. A good performance should be the standard against Stoke at home.

Yeah, Like this has never happened in our club's or for that matter any other clubs history...

 

[Scholesy]

This

It's not bad luck or even great goalkeeping that we didn't score first half it was poor finishing

Their keeper made 2 "worldies", one from Zlatan and one from Lingard.

 

[bosnian_red]

Yeah, I'm not having that. We brought a supposedly world class striker so we won't have these days. There should be no excuses for the god awful finishing.

These days happen to Barcelona on occasion. Even with Messi, Neymar, Suarez up front. It happens to everyone

 

[Kostur]

On another day that scoreline would look very different. It was simply a case of their keeper playing a blinder combined with our lads missing a hatful of chances. Just one of those games.

But it still doesn't really mean that the performance was 'good' for me.

 

[ash_86]

Was happy with our performance, shame the result does not do justice. This Definitely is the team to go forward with Rash on right and Martial on the left.

 

[Kubalionzzale]

We would have? We didn't.

We let the last 15 minutes of the first half and before the subs came on in the second half pass by. No urgency. We woke up again after the goal for 5 minutes.

On another day we would have and Spurs would not have had.

So thats 30 minutes out of the 90 that we didn't press them and create chances? Oh dear we are shit, we can't even play fast paced football for 90 minutes straight, should sell them all

 

[JustAFan]

Sounds like the three previous seasons where a group of posters all say game after game that things are not so bad only to have to admit come May that yes things really are bad and we are not very good.

 

[charlenefan]

Their keeper made 2 "worldies", one from Zlatan and one from Lingard.

No he didn't. They were nothing more than good saves

 

[ivaldo]

Mourinho agrees, good to see him talking sense.

 

[11101]

Herrera needs another man to cover the defence and let Pogba roam and Ibrahimovic needs someone running into the box when he drops back and gets the ball. Both would be solved by a 433.

 

[Bojan11]

On another day we would have and Spurs would not have had.

So thats 30 minutes out of the 90 that we didn't press them and create chances? Oh dear we are shit, we can't even play fast paced football for 90 minutes straight, should sell them all

You need to learn to read. No wonder you still in the newbs. Glad you only got a few more posts left to make.

 

[drdoityourself]

I just wish they would be more sensible....giving away a needless foul every other minute for the first 25 mins of second half. Totally killed momentum. Other than that I'm fine with that performance, should have been a comfortable win.
The atmosphere however was really flat.

 

[Scholesy]

No he didn't. They were nothing more than good saves

If DDG had made those saves, they would be more than "good saves"

 

[RedPnutz]

It's not like our shots were wayward and off target. We had quite a number on target but for the keeper's brilliance.

It IS one of those days. Remember last few Seasons when DDG was MOTM many times? That's how the other teams felt at that time, like us today.

 

[Ephrem]

As long as we play with Herrera and Pogba in a two man mid we will looks fragile in the mid . Pogba would do his fair share of defensive duties and Herrera will battle with all energy he will have but thats not enouhg . We need a more of assured passer in between them , an assured reader of the game and someone who will protect the defense always.

I think Mourinho should have taken out rashford in place of lingard . First half all of attacking good movements came via Lingard and I didnt saw rashford until that cross in the dying moments.

 

[Snow]

A lot of people seriously don't have a clue about football and went in anger and frustration at the first sign of adversity because that's the only way they know how to react.

 

[horsechoker]

We're going to win a few games playing absolutely shite so it will even itself out. I fear for our title chances, we need City to hit a bad patch which I don't think they will.

 

[PlayerOne]

While we did play well in periods, we seem to have those days quite often. We lack mental toughness

 

[Kubalionzzale]

You need to learn to read. No wonder you still in the newbs. Glad you only got a few more posts left to make.

So that's what you come up with? Smart.

 

[Aporkalypse]

They looked the better side for a large portion of the match and that was very worrying.

Which game did you watch?