[togg]

Fuming, but let's try to get some perspective here.

We went away to Chelsea and matched them at their own ground. Then we lost to a very good counter
We went away to Everton and got sucker punched three times.
Today we had plenty of chances (including a fecking penalty) to secure the win against a team who defended with 10 men the whole game. We again got sucker punched with a very, very lucky deflection.

We have a four point lead on Liverpool who play Chelsea at SB next. Top four is secure

Hey, I understand your sentiment...but come on, we should have put WBA to bed today if we are going to be serious in playing under a small amount of pressure. Sure we will probably make top four..but this is football, bloody hell, and there is a small chance we wont' now. We could and should have made bloody sure today.

 

[Garethw]

If we get 4th or not. LVG is not the right man for the PL. clueless against shite.

Agreed.

 

[charleysurf]

Fuming, but let's try to get some perspective here.

We went away to Chelsea and matched them at their own ground. Then we lost to a very good counter
We went away to Everton and got sucker punched three times.
Today we had plenty of chances (including a fecking penalty) to secure the win against a team who defended with 10 men the whole game. We again got sucker punched with a very, very lucky deflection.

We have a four point lead on Liverpool who play Chelsea at SB next. Top four is secure

Top 4 is absolutely not secure. But we wouldn't get past the CL qualifier playing like this anyway!

 

[Raw]

God it's so depressing seeing how much we rely on Carrick. He's become the new 'Scholes' in terms of finding a replacement.

 

[The Man Himself]

This is awful and utterly depressing. We have no answer for teams which put disciplined defensive shift.

 

[prateik]

Imagine Spurs getting 4th.

 

[Cooksen]

Our plan b and subs appear to be the stuff that Giggs' son would use in FIFA.

Just get top 4 and move on to transfers

 

[emaveric]

If we miss top 4, LVG has to go. He doesn't deserve to be around for blowing it.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

I don't think we were that unlucky. Lucky to get a pen which was wasted. The goal was unlucky. But looking at many of our victories this season, the games have been similar. Us not creating much. Sometimes we've won the games. Recently we haven't. Very rarely has there been confident performance with a confident victory.

I'm not denying that we lack creativity. I mean, look at who we rely on for it. Fellini and Rooney are supposedly our link up men/playmakers, and mata and Young the wide players. That's not a very creative bunch at all. So I agree with that in general.

But we completely bossed the game today and on another with some better decision making and more clinical finishing we would have won. I mean, it's not like we defended poorly or anything. Even the goal they scored was flukey as hell.

 

[Getsme]

One of those days.

 

[BennyBlanco]

If i see that first 60minutes of idiotic, sideways, methodical shite passing around the edge of an opponents box one more time this season I'm going to move into the LvG out camp.

How how can you expect to break a team down without any incision, pace, taking on a man?

3rd game running. 0 goals playing that rubbish.

 

[Roboc7]

If we can finish fourth and given our form we might struggle it might not be end of the world finishing poorly. We arent going to win titles with the likes of fellaini, young, blind and Valencia starting games regularly.

RVP, Rooney and falcao's best days have been and gone, we need plenty of new players and that is what we need to take from this season whether we finish fourth or not, few good games only paper over the cracks.

 

[Irrational.]

On another day, we win that game 3, 4 or even 5-1.
They got battered, but their goal was coming the moment McNair conceded that FK.

The set of circumstances that led to their clean sheet were unbelievable.

Brought back memories of that FA Cup tie against Portsmouth.

WBA will never replicate that performance all season, much like Everton, Leicester or even Burnley. They seem to step it up against us. I hope they get thrashed in the last three games of the season for playing that bullshit football.

 

[charleysurf]

If you can honestly say that our attacking play was anything other than abysmal at Everton and today I'll have some of what you're smoking.

We created nothing in the last hour of play today and even less at Goodison. Turns out you need to do that to score goals.

We created nothing in the last hour? Did I imagine the penalty?

 

[Triple.Threat]

our most important signing this summer should be a top class phsyo so we can stop these ridiculous muscular injuries. Or steal Chelsea's phsyo and medical staff.

 

[SalfordRed1960]

Fuming, but let's try to get some perspective here.

We went away to Chelsea and matched them at their own ground. Then we lost to a very good counter
We went away to Everton and got sucker punched three times.
Today we had plenty of chances (including a fecking penalty) to secure the win against a team who defended with 10 men the whole game. We again got sucker punched with a very, very lucky deflection.

We have a four point lead on Liverpool who play Chelsea at SB next. Top four is secure

We got battered by Everton, is wasn't sucker punches.

Today, there were a number of things that played in to WBA hands. Rooney in midfield, playing slow, having Fellani on the park against a team that parks the bus.

If the penalty had gone it, we would be pissed, but not as much and all above still apply.

 

[George Owen]

Darren Fletcher with some nice words in the post match interview... what a class player and person. They wanted the game and they go home with the 3 points. Kudos to them, defended with their lives and scored their chance.

 

[rover]

this game exposed one more weakness of us. we are unable to penetrate in from the middle. rvp needed to drop back to do the playmaking job there in the 2nd half explains a lot.

without penetration by the middle, opponents are more easier to setup to defend from the wide. this is something that we need to address and reinforce by the summer

 

[That'sHernandez]

Bit of both, mainly the players, who were consistent in making some ridiculously shit decisions for 90 minutes.

See I think they were instructed to make shit decisions though, I don't see how we can go 45 minutes without even trying to stretch the defence by using the channels and by-line without that being an instruction. It's just mad. And then in the second half, it seemed as though our plan to get a goal was to basically do a move not dissimilar to that of Sheringham's goal in the 1999 Champions League final, where RVP would pass the ball along the floor centrally for Fellaini to have a go at swivelling and shooting. It was absolutely bizarre.

As far as I am concerned, LVG is not the manager for us. I couldn't give a damn about the good run earlier in the season, he doesn't like creative football at all. While I concede we haven't exactly been playing very creative football in recent years, that was when we had fewer creative players; we have Mata and we have Herrera now, why not bloody trust them to play the football that comes naturally to them? All this drilled attacking is nonsense, that is not what attacking is about in football. Yes there should be a good set strategy for us to fall back on when finding a goal is difficult but that strategy is our plan A and it seems our plan B is to play Big Sam football.

 

[Kraftwerker]

Mourinho'd again, by the shit Mourinho.

Unacceptable not to score with that level of dominance. Some laughable lack of composure and wastage of final ball.

Crying out for better forwards. Think we only dribbled past their defence once (Di Maria who was otherwise shit). That's how you break these teams down. They love passing in front of them.

 

[montpelier]

A lot of average performances today. Pick your scapegoat.

 

[.Phil1968]

Quite disturbing how reliant we are on Carrick, good player that he is.We are so predictable to play against and so slow in possession this team needs a hell of a lot spent on it this summer.

 

[Dobba]

Van Gaal's tactics were poor as well. Really don't like his tendency to put players into the wrong positions when it isn't neccessary, and he has far too much faith and patience when the team are underperforming and changes are needed. He needs a rocket up his arse as much as the players.

It's worse than that, in the last 2 games we've started with a team that has at least 3 players played out of their best position and our idea of a solution has been to make that into 5 or 6 players out of position. It's like punching yourself in the bollocks, stopping to put some brass knuckles on and then doing it again.

The players who start the game are no mugs and should perform better than that, regardless of where they are playing but our plan B from the bench (and I'm being extremely generous calling it a plan) is appalling.

 

[Bobcat]

If you can honestly say that our attacking play was anything other than abysmal at Everton and today I'll have some of what you're smoking.

We created nothing in the last hour of play today and even less at Goodison. Turns out you need to do that to score goals.

Just trying to get some perspective on all the doom and gloom in here. Yes, our attacking play was well under par, but it's hard to create anything against a team who plays 10 men in defense.

 

[tom33]

If we can finish fourth and given our form we might struggle it might not be end of the world finishing poorly. We arent going to win titles with the likes of fellaini, young, blind and Valencia starting games regularly.

RVP, Rooney and falcao's best days have been and gone, we need plenty of new players and that is what we need to take from this season whether we finish fourth or not, few good games only paper over the cracks.

You pick out Valencia and Young, who were about the only two who actually looked like they wanted to create something?

 

[SammyUnited_83]

If we miss top 4, LVG has to go. He doesn't deserve to be around for blowing it.

Even if he got 4th I would seriously consider pulling the trigger.

 

[ThanksBoss26]

'Pathetic' doesn't do this or the Everton game justice.

Agreed. Exceptionally poor and ridiculous just how much we miss Carrick.

 

[Luminous Lizard]

Too many average players currently in the first 11. Young, Fellaini and Valencia all need upgrading. Although I do think they're good enough squad options but shouldn't be starting week in week out for any team with serious ambition.

 

[dsch]

Feel strange about this one. Yes, it's frustrating, but we also had decent chances and should have at least got a point out of it 9 times out of 10. I think the reaction to the match itself would be a lot different if it didn't come off the back of two other frustrating performances and a Liverpool win.

 

[Señor]

I blame Angus McMaria.

 

[stevoc]

David Moyes did not even go three games without a win. Van Gaal need to get sacked

Moyes went on runs of not winning for 3 games in a row 3 times last season.

He also lost 3 in a row once last season.

 

[SalfordRed1960]

Our plan b and subs appear to be the stuff that Giggs' son would use in FIFA.

Just get top 4 and move on to transfers

You mean bringing on attacking players when we need a goal. What a clueless manager.

 

[Water Melon]

We were unlucky ,but LvG has been naive today. He needs to know that a team fighting to avoid relegation will park a mega-bus. He needs to have plans B and C. One more defeat and Woody will call Klopp's agent unless he is already.

 

[NJM78]

Bag of shite. Fellaini up top with Van Persie and Rooney in midfield. Wow. We are doing our utmost to finish 5th it seems.
Read 1989 was last time we lost three in row without scoring so it's very worrying and a huge example of why we need at least five top class additions to starting 11 if we want to challenge again.

 

[Castia]

We had 2 strikers in midfield, a midfielder upfront and a winger at left back....another winger at right back and a #10 on the right wing

The squad is a complete mess. I could even add Herrera who was played in DM, again not his proper position.

 

[sunama]

80% possession!!!!
At some point we are going to hit the 90s...and still lose.
Surely, any decent striker (not great, just decent) would be able to have many chances to score, with that much possession.

IMO we are great in the first two-thirds of the pitch.
In the final third we are atrocious.

And for those using the name of Carrick - our midfield was not the problem today. We had huge possession (almost a record) and the ball was being constantly pinged in or just outside the box. Its upto our strikers to convert these opportunities into goals. Are you expecting Carrick to score goals and penalties? If you want to blame anybody, blame our strikers.

Lets not forget their goal keeper was fantastic today.

 

[Red Stone]

We created nothing in the last hour? Did I imagine the penalty?

I don't know if kicking the ball into a players arm at the very edge of the box counts as creating something. It's not something I'd want to rely on for goals.

 

[Snow]

I'm not denying that we lack creativity. I mean, look at who we rely on for it. Fellini and Rooney are supposedly our link up men/playmakers, and mata and Young the wide players. That's not a very creative bunch at all. So I agree with that in general.

But we completely bossed the game today and on another with some better decision making and more clinical finishing we would have won. I mean, it's not like we defended poorly or anything. Even the goal they scored was flukey as hell.

It lacks unpredictability. LvG wants this instead of playing Di Maria and/or Januzaj who both will lose the ball more and waste it but are also both more likely to beat their man an create something from a stale position.

This kind of football made Fellaini look good in some games but his presence is a hindrance to me. Don't like him there at all, especially with Rooney playing behind him.

West Brom hardly made any mistakes. Myhill saved RvP's shot poorly in the first half but Young, incapable of passing/shooting without taking a touch first, fluffed that chance. RvP put it wide after some good play from Young. McNair headed it wide. Penalty miss and countless shots hitting the first man in the way. West Brom even managed a very good chance with a header from Lescott and another one shortly after that from Mulumbu when neither Herrera or Rooney were tracking him. With 80% possession there should be lot more to the football and a few chances like that.

We'll beat Crystal Palace, because they play football, we might get something against Arsenal and we'll probably get something against Hull. We'll finish 4th. Liverpool won't win the rest of their matches. Their program is more difficult than ours. Wouldn't surprise me to see Spurs finishing ahead of them.

 

[togg]

We were unlucky ,but LvG has been naive today. He needs to know that a team fighting to avoid relegation will park a mega-bus. He needs to have plans B and C. One more defeat and Woody will call Klopp's agent unless he is already.

I think after the position he got us in, if he doesn't make it, then yes, there will be questions asked...but I still think he'll be here next season regardless of what happens in the next three, is it?, matches

 

[Jaapster]

To be honest the defence seemed good, the midfield just wanted to pass it sideways, up front we had no power no desire
no nothing, di maria i just dont get it? he crossed three times and they all went out for a goal kick , i did suggest to my son that he looked like a player that wanted out.

My conclusion is that certain players didnt give anywhere close to 100% they are the reason we lost this game .

 

[CassiusClaymore]

I personally can't wait for all "we must do better" platitudes from the players that seems to follow every performance like this.

Yeah no shit lads. Enjoy your £250k though by all means. Stealing a living some of this lot.