[RedB4ndiT]

We were lucky. We should have lost 5-0 or 6-0.

 

[RedPed]

I'm getting worried about Sanchez already. He just looks too good for this team. In both games now I've seen him signalling to his team-mates where to be on the pitch and urging them forward. He's always been used to direct attacking play, even at Arsenal. I just hope he doesn't get frustrated. We just need a killer performance.

Can we just have ONE killer performance please??

 

[cletus7]

[QUOTE="Tapori, post: 22105127, member: 59307]

Martial: flashes of brilliance but should have looked up to find Sanchez for that chance.
Shaw should have started to put some fear into Tottenham on that left hand side. Poor game from Young, just stopped for a split second and Erikssen punished him.
Alexis was literally one of the few who actually battled hard along with Valencia
Lingard should have stayed on but tactics should have been different.

I won't have anyone have a prolonged go at Jones; on a yellow he ultimately played well but that midfield in front of him...
Matic and Pogba can play a 2 midfield but not against top teams most of the time. Jose should have seen it wasn't working and plugged that midfield early.

Embarrassing. Players must learn sharpish.[/QUOTE]
Having just got back from the game, I find this comment about Sánchez quite unbelievable. The idea that he wasn’t part of the problem is a fantasy. He fought for a couple of short 5 minute bursts the minute that Pogba was taken off, but o/w looked ‘too cool for school’. By all accounts he’s not a team player and just looked to be making no effort to gel from the minute he walked out. Let’s take the tinted glasses off! He’s not earning his 600k this week.

 

[cletus7]

I'm getting worried about Sanchez already. He just looks too good for this team. In both games now I've seen him signalling to his team-mates where to be on the pitch and urging them forward. He's always been used to direct attacking play, even at Arsenal. I just hope he doesn't get frustrated. We just need a killer performance.

Can we just have ONE killer performance please??

That’s just because he’s self-oriented not because he’s a football genius. He’s got nowhere near the creative ability that Pogba does and he should focus on gelling with the team. He hardly lifted a finger at points in the first half. We’d be mad to build a team around his skill set.

 

[Baby Groot]

Only players that can held head high after today are
Lingaard,
Sanchez
Rashford (should have come one insteed of Fellaini/Herrera)

 

[tombob]

The most frustrating thing is the tactics and or formation never changed. It was obvious early doors it wasnt working. Sometimes i wonder if the manager being pitchside doesn’t necessarily help as they’re too close to the action to see the bigger picture.

 

[Ananke]

Spurs were throwing everything at us...and I thought it was going to be an end to end game because we looked like grabbing a goal back. But when that 2nd goal went in everyone looked like they didn’t wanna be there. The passing went to absolute wank, movement well there wasn’t any. Honestly it was a bad mistake from jones but the whole team looked like they threw the towel in. Reminded me of Germany vs Brazil in the WC and we should have been hammered like that too.

We need some god damn leadership on the field that can snap the squad out of them glum times. Do we even have a player or do those types even exist anymore?

 

[J_Red 11]

The players were clearly not mentally prepare enough. You can tell, they seem to be mentally pressure and Jones was shocking today. You can't play in Wembley without being mentally prepare!

Another thing is we need someone who can build up the play from the back like new Ferdinand or new Carrick because today our passings from the back were clueless From Matic, Jones & Smalling and Pogba took too many touches before he releases the ball. It's very clear we need to spend the money and sign that new deeper playmaking type of player in the summer.

 

[extincti fugax hominum]

The result and the performance are not big surprise for me. You know what, Tottenham probably have a better and more balanced squad and definitely a better starting 11 than us. They didn't finish the last 2 seasons ahead of us in the league accidentally. Let's get real, aside from goalkeeping position and probably the double pivot in midfield they have clearly better players. Their center backs are probably better than ours, their striker is definitely far superior to ours and their options behind the striker (RW, LW, CAM) are also better than what we have while they actually have natural full-backs unlike us who have converted wingers instead of them.


GK : De Gea >>>> Lloris

RB : Aurier & Trippier >>> Valencia & Darmian

LB : Rose & Davies >>> Young( seems to be the first choice according to Mourinho) & Shaw

CB : Verthongen & Sanchez & Alderweireld >>> Jones & Smalling & Lindelöf

CM : Pogba & Matic >>> Dembele & Dier

RW - LW - CAM : Alli & Son & Eriksen & Lucas & Lamela >>>> Martial & Sanchez & Mata & Lingard (we don't even have a right winger, let that sink in and we have just 4 players for 3 attacking positons behind the striker if you don't count Rashford and 2 of them[Mata, Lingard] have question marks over them as well)

ST : Kane >>>>>>>>>> Lukaku


What do people really expect to see when we field the likes of Young, Lingard, Valencia etc. week in week out? Some people need to stop confusing a good run of form of a player with quality of the player. Stop overrating Lingard, Valencia as if they are world beaters. Lingard is a good squad player nothing more nothing less. This squad need a lot of quality in wide areas especially in full-back positions and RW. And our CBs need either to step the feck up of feck off to lower clubs. We had enough with these average joes. We need a leader to organize our defence.

 

[He'lmurderyah15]

De Gea- 6 Couldn't do anything with the goals
Valencia- 7 Showed fight
Smalling-5 So inept on the ball. Schooled by Kane
Jones-4 Calsmity waiting to happen
Young-5 Targeted big time by Spurs. Not suited to a flat 4 against good sides IMO
Pogba-2 Went missing. Bullied by Dembele
Matic-4 Very lethargic. Had no help from Pogba
Martial-6 Threatened in our decent 10-15 minute spell. So passive without the ball
Sanchez-6 Tried hard. Needs a freer role and not have to spend the game chasing full back. Too much ability for that
Lingard- 5 Couldn't get into it. I'm a big fan but didn't happen tonight
Lukaku- 5 Hold up play is so poor. Whats the story with him being untouchable in the team can anyone tell me?

 

[JohnnyKills]

Went to the game, had to sit with the Spurs fans and do a pretend celebration for their goals. Ended up doing a half-hearted fist in the air, it was like Alan Partridge.

Then had to queue for 45 minutes in the freezing cold to get the tube. What a shit night.

 

[Offside]

The last time I saw us get bossed like that was also at Wembley but against Barcelona in the CL final. Nobody was arsed today. Completely pathetic performance. Everyone should be ashamed apart from the goalkeeper once again.

 

[Ali Dia]

One step forward two back rinse and repeat

 

[Luffy]

Never would have imagined it turning out that way. We were shell-shocked with that early Spurs goal. We lost all composure as a result, and the lack thereof bleached every action we initiated of its potency. This was a full-blown crisis, and in crises you look to the leaders of the team to rouse the team and get them to focus back in the game. Sadly, we had no leaders in Wembley. The outcome was a disorganised midfield, a shaky defense, and an uninspired offensive display.

And yet try as I may, I cannot shake off the doubts that the result would not have been much different even if we hadn't had that calamitous start. Every time we mounted an attack I kept looking around the ball carrier, expecting our players to come bombing down the flanks, or try incisive runs through the Spurs back line, but every time we were found lacking. Such empty swathes of green, left despairingly bereft of sprinkles of red; the battle was already lost early on.

Were the opposition so good that they stopped us attempting those runs? Was the psychological impact of that early goal so deeply-felt? Or was it just failure from our part to spot good opportunities to kick-start our attacks? What about our passing? We really van Gaal era'd on that front today.

Mistakes will happen, but when you look into the eyes of the one who has erred, you should see the steely resolve on their part not to crumble from the stumble. We had that with defensive leaders such as Vidic, Rio, Stam, Bruce and Pally. I'm unsure about our current CBs. I think they should be given time, maybe one or two years, because there is definitely room for improvement, and they have not yet reached their peak. But given the opportunity to sign a genuine leader in the defense, we shouldn't hesitate.

Valencia was competent, even if his I'd have liked to see more forays into enemy territory from him today. Young was ineffective, but he did try at least.

But in all that mess, Jose is definitely not blameless. Our midfield was disjointed and unbalanced. Pogba was shackled again, and I seriously don't know why he is so ineffective when not in a midfield of three, but let's go with that explanation for his poor performance today. Jesse for all his good qualities is, IMHO still much better when utilised as an impact player. His speed and positional sense are just perfect to unleash on tired legs and waning concentration. Matic was just poor, but was it just an off game for him or was he just overrun by our opponent's much better organised midfield due to poor planning from our part, I just don't know. I think the answer lies somewhere in between.

Sanchez and Martial weren't much help either. Both betrayed a lack of imagination and flair. Martial in particular doggedly kept trying the same tricks only to be frustrated by even the most half-hearted attempt to stop him. He was a like a Martian; he was on another planet.

It could be that they were both ineffective due to the paucity of options to link up with upfront, or that they just weren't played on their correct flanks, but I don't think they should be absolved of their fair shared of blame. That wasn't even the first-string defense for Spurs and they coped adequately, even if we did make it easy for them.

Hmm, there is someone I'm forgetting in this affair. Who might it be? Damn it. This is almost as embarrassing as being caught off side more times than the number of shots on target achieved. Oh well.

What did the game teach us? That we are still a work in progress. That there are no easy answers.That Jose still isn't set on what the best way to deploy Pogba is. That we need better leaders. That Sanchez will need time. That the team itself will need time. That we should work on our passing more. And, last but not least, that when a team concedes a goal, the cameraman should immediately film the reaction of that team's new signing.

 

[Farmershawn]

I missed the game Anyone can tell me how we lined up?

 

[NewGuy]

I for one cant see how people vote Jones as the lowest rated player ... Exept his own goal he was the best player on the pitch imo or atleast the most visible player

 

[RedMane]

He goes attacking against one of the strongest defence and goes negative against one of the weakest (Liverpool)

All we needed was a 3 man midfield with someone marking Eriksen. They werent even that great .

What the feck was that pressing. Sanchez was telling them this is not how you press.

No matter how we do against minnows if we cant do it against the best, then you are bad. We should try better defenders in the summer.

Well you can't play open attacking football against Liverpool it took LFC 8 mins to score 3 past City. Also Jose don't believe in playing open attacking football but he has to do that if he wants to achieve something.

 

[Fluctuation0161]

Our poor pressing of the opposition has hurt us in a few big games this season. Spurs was another. We need to learn to press effectively to win the ball back.

 

[Fergie Steps In]

Do these players ever practice through-balls or penetrating passes? I don't think so by the looks of it. The conversion rate must be abysmal if anyone can find that statistic. Need to tell Jose to work on this problem ASAP.

 

[The Firestarter]

I'm getting worried about Sanchez already. He just looks too good for this team. In both games now I've seen him signalling to his team-mates where to be on the pitch and urging them forward. He's always been used to direct attacking play, even at Arsenal. I just hope he doesn't get frustrated. We just need a killer performance.

Can we just have ONE killer performance please??

What are you worried about Sanchez? His emotional state?

 

[Antonedwin]

to be honest, their first goal was fluke , it's very rare to score in just 11 seconds.
their second goal was jones fecked up , apart of that, we were outclassed, but if the score was still 0-0 , we might be able to sit deep and break them on counter

 

[Okey]

I feel like we win some games because we have superior players to other lower place teams. I don’t think we have any kind of system which improves the players we have.

Lukaku, Martial and Pogba being the three players who IMO could be SO much better.

You spoke my mind mate...word for word. It's embarrassing. Nearly 2 seasons I can't figure out what's Jose's system. Even in most of the games we win I end up with the same complaint. Our overall team play for a top side is criminally bad. I can't see how we can stick this out for a few more seasons. Jose was a great manager and tactician. Definitely no longer that. I'd pay anything to get Poch. Hopefully he'll even bring Kane with him!

 

[Z1L3]

Dont know why he brought on Mata tbh. They were running rings around us and he is the last person you want on when you are being dominated.

He brought in Mata because, up to that point, Alexis was the only player who could hold the ball for two seconds and not lose it. Martial is incredibly frustrating to watch because he loses the ball all the time, and when he has chances to make a key pass or score, he still loses the ball or makes a poor pass.

 

[ForeverUnited93]

I am SO SICK of watching us look like a Sunday league team when we play against a rival or top 6 side, it’s pathetic. Even when we beat Arsenal 3-1 away they had 30 shots at goal and dominated play, 30 SHOTS!!! And Arsenal are gash!!

Our big name signings don’t show up in the big games, Pogba, Lukaku, Martial, Matic, all go missing, these games is what they should be thriving on, looking to play their best!!

Mourinho has to fix this some how, I put the blame on him firstly because our tactics in big games is shite, sitting back and defending is not the way to go these days, it’s not 2005 anymore ffs Jose!!! Long gone are the days of a good United comeback with excitement, as soon as we go 1-0 down might as well turn the TV off, we ain’t winning.

Pathetic!!!

 

[LilyWhiteSpur]

I'm getting worried about Sanchez already. He just looks too good for this team. In both games now I've seen him signalling to his team-mates where to be on the pitch and urging them forward. He's always been used to direct attacking play, even at Arsenal. I just hope he doesn't get frustrated. We just need a killer performance.

Can we just have ONE killer performance please??

He needs to play on the left or middle.

 

[Paxi]

 

[svastian99]

It is true that the first goal was a hard blow, but what one expects is that the team has a reaction ... I saw very little of that yesterday. Playing 4-2-3-1 without a consistent midfield is a suicide and even more so against teams that play very well on counterattack.
Alexis should only play as LW when Martial is injured. Martial lost the orientation the first time. Sanchez in the middle the second time had to start from far behind to generate football, connecting with a Lukaku was impossible because he had to go through the midfield, which was our weakness yesterday. In a moment I saw him defending very behind, the effort is appreciated.

I would like to see him as RW, he could combine very well with Valencia, they both speak spanish.

Lukaku was very isolated and was never a real threat, he has to learn to press.

"MOTM": Valencia.

 

[It's B Rubble]

Pathetic. Still in 2nd. Lingard may need to Milly Rock back on to the bench. Sanchez was bought to play on the left? Disturbing Pogba - Fellaini - Herrera sub. Stevie Wonder could see Herrera for Lingard at halftime. Martial should get a game as a 9, Lukaku is a bloody doofus. Midfield stilllll the problem. Jones and Smalling had no help from the mid. Not an excuse to poo yourself everytime Kane or Alli has the ball. Broke my phone bc of these idiots not moving and needing Sanchez to direct them. On to the next!

 

[Super Nani]

Reading all these comments makes me genuinely happy I missed the game today. Sounds horrendous and very concerning considering the nature of the defeat, I suppose it is a reality check though if we needed one that the league is 100% over and we simply aren't catching City now. To be so far behind them with 4 months left of the season to play is very depressing.

It was must win for us tonight, everyone was hoping the buzz from signing Sanchez would give the team a boost, not make them play like a hungover pub side. These guys are on hundreds of thousands of pounds a week and this is the effort they put in? It's insulting to the fans who travelled down to support them and there's no excuses at all.

Anyway, let's just hope Mourinho learns from this and addresses the issues that are so glaringly obvious so it doesn't happen again. Not playing Shaw was a mistake, there's just no way Young should be starting instead of him. Jones and Smalling aren't really good enough but we're stuck with them until Bailly comes back. Very important we aim for a big win in the next game to get some confidence back after that tumescent display.

 

[Foxbatt]

Jose has to be fully responsible for this fiasco. He needs to stop listening to pundits about attacking football etc and concentrate on what he knows best that is to park the bus away against good opposition. He should never have played Pogba and Matic alone in midfield. Either he should have gone with a back 3 and 5 in midfield or at least 3 in midfield.
The two CBs are not football players. Smalling specially knows how to hoof it up and when things go down you can actually see his head drop.
I know Jose has signed a new contract but he needs to get this team to start winning. We all used to have a go at Mike Phelan as assistant manager to SAF when things don't go right before so why is now Rui Faria getting a free ride?
He needs to take responsibility too.

 

[ricky-romeo]

no true leader in the team. not even a single one. someone who can just shouts and barks instructions or just to get out that extra 5-10% from his teammates. not only the shouting of course but to lead by example as well.

we used to have schmeichel, robbo, bruce, keane, cantona all the way to rio and vidic. i cannot think of even one in this current squad. loads of talents but no big spirit especially in these kind of tough games.

 

[ash_86]

Atleast we could all forget the stupid stat what we've never lost a PL game Pogba played in. Our backside got whipped last night.

 

[WR10]

Early goal deflated us. What lost ya the game was the horrible tactics in the first half. We should have lost 5-0

 

[amolbhatia50k]

I'm getting worried about Sanchez already. He just looks too good for this team. In both games now I've seen him signalling to his team-mates where to be on the pitch and urging them forward. He's always been used to direct attacking play, even at Arsenal. I just hope he doesn't get frustrated. We just need a killer performance.

Can we just have ONE killer performance please??

No chance. In the first half when we actually played well Martial was much better than him. Lingard was better too.

 

[SteveJ]

I missed the game Anyone can tell me how we lined up?

--------- De Gea ---------

--------Clowns--------

--------The walking dead--------

 

[amolbhatia50k]

Reading all these comments makes me genuinely happy I missed the game today. Sounds horrendous and very concerning considering the nature of the defeat, I suppose it is a reality check though if we needed one that the league is 100% over and we simply aren't catching City now. To be so far behind them with 4 months left of the season to play is very depressing.

It was must win for us tonight, everyone was hoping the buzz from signing Sanchez would give the team a boost, not make them play like a hungover pub side. These guys are on hundreds of thousands of pounds a week and this is the effort they put in? It's insulting to the fans who travelled down to support them and there's no excuses at all.

Anyway, let's just hope Mourinho learns from this and addresses the issues that are so glaringly obvious so it doesn't happen again. Not playing Shaw was a mistake, there's just no way Young should be starting instead of him. Jones and Smalling aren't really good enough but we're stuck with them until Bailly comes back. Very important we aim for a big win in the next game to get some confidence back after that tumescent display.

It was strange in the sense that our general play in the first 30-35 mins was actually very good. Martial was playing surprisingly well on the right albeit drifting into the middle. Lingard seemed to be linking up well. And we looked lively in attack and were able to pin them back.

But on the other hand our comical defending for the two goals killed us, and we were abysmal once the second went in. It didn't help that Pogba was shockingly bad all games (even others were performing). And one has to wonder what impact Jose had. I mean, we looked shambolic in the second having played some decent stuff in the first.

 

[Water Melon]

Mou's tactics cost us the game. Sometimes he wins us sometines he costs. Yesterday's 0:2 flattered us. Wrong tactics, wrong formation, clueless and gutless performance. Credit due to Poch, another lesson to learn before big games for Mou. We are a top 4 team, but not realistic title contenders for any major cup (CL or EPL), hopefully just yet.

 

[suhaylah]

Jose will be crying out for a lack of investment sooner rather than later. With his tactics and style of play, i don't think this team will go a long way under him for the years to come.

 

[Class of 63]

Don't worry peeps, Sevilla would've had four or five scouts there last night, Mourinho knows what he's doing.....

 

[Scroto Baggins]

I dont understand how we could be so unprepared, it's not like Spurs have suddenly changed their playstyle. They have been playing like this for the last two seasons. Their forwards get up and press/harry anyone dawdling on the ball or on a fast turnover. They have a really physical midfield without a lot of ball playing skill in Wanyama, Dier, Dembele, the most physical midfield in the league? And their CB's have good skill with the ball at their feet, was a couple times Sanchez or Vertonghen dribbled out of a press. Their wing backs usually play one up one back, usually Trippier on the right but if he drops back Davies will push up.

Felt like we got played off the park despite knowing exactly how Spurs were going to play.