RAWK Goes Into Meltdown 20-18/19 Edition

[No Idea For Nickname]

Yep

Was it a shit performance? Yes it was.

Is it because our lads are spineless bottlers? No

So why people can't say the former without resorting to the latter does my head in.

Feels like self entitled whiny spoilt brats.

It's simple, when a team with Uniteds quality set up to play a low block, and you're not absolutrly on top of your game, you will struggle.

No more, no less.

low block?

 

[No Idea For Nickname]

Missed opportunity for 3 points it might be but it’s old fartford away ffs.. I think this is a point won to be honest. Nice to see our defence looking back to its rock solid best as well. Just need better service and a lot more from our front 3.

True. 4 points from United in ANY season is a good return. I'll settle for that.

That's about all you'll settle for this season

 

[Paxi]

huh? they really believe they dropped 2 points?

Is that a haiku? I'm pretty sure ive cracked it this time.

 

[RedTiger]

low block?

I don't know either

 

[IrishRedDevil]

low block?

He’s been listening to Alex Scott

 

[No Idea For Nickname]

well, well, never expected them to be objective

Quote from: PhaseOfPlay on Today at 05:14:27 PM
I think - as with most of the football world - a number of people are equating "result" with "performance"; i.e. "we got a draw, so we must have played okay" (or it's polar opposites, "we lost so we must have played crap" and "we won so we must have been deadly").

The point is a good point, away to our biggest historical rivals, who are not a bad team themselves.

The manner of performance, though, given we fancy ourselves as league contenders, and they had no subs left after 30 minutes, was bordering on dreadful - it was timid, brainless, risk-averse and inefficient.

65% possession, over 600 passes, and we mustered one daisy-cutter shot on target. I think that's what is sticking in people's craw more than the actual points dropped.

 

[Paxi]

Anyone questioning Klopp is a fecking weapon

His wife, probably. She's not seen him in weeks.

 

[No Idea For Nickname]

aaaand back to normal

We played well versus Bournemouth, which was recently.

Today was just a weird match - we started ok and then the match got disrupted with al the injuries.

If the trend continues then we can start to worry.

So lets back the team on Wednesday!

 

[No Idea For Nickname]

you'l get banned

I'd put the poor performance squarely on Klopp here. The subs and instructions were subpar - why Sturridge when he hasn't featured for a while, even Origi made more sense at that juncture.

 

[No Idea For Nickname]

i sink this one is angry

but feck me all over with a fecking razor sharp fecking scrubbing brush - we were utterly fecking abysmal in almost every fecking aspect of the game today and there's no fecking point in trying to pretend otherwise.

that was simply so infuriating I had to expel my fury somewhere as my mates appear to have gone into hiding.

 

[Paxi]

you'l get banned

In all honesty, anyone blaming Klopp would be a fecking lunatic. Anytime we play each other an away point is good. They've got 4 this season. Brilliant return.

 

[No Idea For Nickname]

who is they?

Feels like they played like most of us felt watching... nervous, agitated, and desperate not to lose.

sniff, sniff

3 wins in 9 in 2019 so far this season.

We’re not looking like a side who’s going to win the majority of the remaining games.

Considering their injuries and that they had 10 and a half men most of the game that was so poor. Subs not great either. Still a point clear but when you’ve heard the ‘we’re still x points clear’ argument slowly reduce from 7 to 1, it doesn’t give you much comfort.

 

[Klopper76]

well, well, never expected them to be objective

Echoes how I feel.

 

[No Idea For Nickname]

Pity they wont give Ole the job today, as they may have a poor run now they are so crocked. Delighted really that none of them were from our players fouling as well.

Hendo on Rashford was tasty

tasty, tasty???

 

[No Idea For Nickname]

Echoes how I feel.

You are ours

 

[montpelier]

from what I can work out, low block is something about keeping the DM's in close contact with the CBs & not ever pushing to halfway with the offside

edit - as opposed to letting their lightning forwards slaughter your team in the break

 

[No Idea For Nickname]

hey, leave Mata alone

Like everyone else on this board, I fully support Klopp and feel lucky we have him as our manager.

But he is not perfect. Nobody is.

One area that can improve is his game management once the match is underway. Sizing up the situation, and making changes.

Another is the way he is mentally preparing the team before games.

Right now, I get the sense his strategy of constantly bigging up the opposition may be backfiring.

He did it before the Bayern game. He did it before the United game. And he appears to be doing it before Watford.

Of course it is classy and diplomatic to show respect for the opposition. But I am getting worried his "nice guy" approach is rubbing off on the team in the wrong way.

We've won 3 of our 9 matches so far in 2019. All three against teams in the bottom half of the league.

So it's gut check time now.

Does the team want to win the title, or not? Does this team have the mean streak and ruthlessness they will need to win the league or the CL?

I'm all for the hugs. Now it's time for the hairdryer.

Somebody has a hard on for Mr.Ferguson.

Managers big the opposition up in the build up to the press because doing so doesn't give the c*nts extra incentive,backfired

 

[No Idea For Nickname]

Does Klopp actually have a plan B?

Wonder where is our Plan B and why can't we be a bit sly.

A sucker punch, consistently pressurizing one side of Young or Shaw to draw fouls, playing around Utd penalty box to make them panic.

But no, we prefer to send in crosses none of us could head.

V frustrating still not sure why we freeze at OT. Thk goodness for Alisons save. Or maybe had we conceded we would've gone for it more?

 

[No Idea For Nickname]

long may it continue

The way we played that free kick in the first minutes of the first half.

Completely HILARIOUS.

Sums up how actual form...totally messed up..stressed ..worried...scared...

 

[No Idea For Nickname]

City drawing with a side they just absolutely twatted & only had one shot on target.


Bottlers or just one of those game

 

[GloryHunter07]

well, well, never expected them to be objective

Wow, POP making a good point for once!

 

[No Idea For Nickname]

Mo's poor game had feck al lto do with Milner behind him, running into blind alleys? poor free kick, muscled by fatty shaw, constantly turning with teh ball into trouble, sorry none of that was down to Milner.

fatty

 

[2cents]

Most of these quotes are sensible enough.

 

[montpelier]

1st minute blues

A free kick inside their penalty area and we've no fecking idea what to do.

After that absolute fecking shambles they should have just blown the final whistle.

 

[Trizy]

huh? they really believe they dropped 2 points?

That's fair. We were hot favorites until we lost Lingard, Matic and Martial. After that a draw would've been a fair or good result for them.

Once we lost 3 players in game, it was a must win for them. Thankfully, they were shite and will never get better luck to beat us at home again.

 

[Trizy]

3 wins in their last 9 games in all competitions?

 

[breakout67]

That's fair. We were hot favorites until we lost Lingard, Matic and Martial. After that a draw would've been a fair or good result for them.

Once we lost 3 players in game, it was a must win for them. Thankfully, they were shite and will never get better luck to beat us at home again.

We were not hot favourites. Maybe you don't know what being a favourite means? It references betting odds and Liverpool had shorter odds than us meaning they were favourites.

Maybe you favoured us over them (I did as well), but the general feeling of football fans was that Liverpool were favourites.

 

[vodrake]

3 wins in their last 9 games in all competitions?

It's seems to have gone under the radar a little, but their form since the beginning of January has once again been horrific. Seems to happen every year under Klopp

 

[No Idea For Nickname]

Thought Oliver had a top game.

You mean aside from the blatant, stonewall penalty he refused when in a perfect position to see McTominay rugby tackle Matip to the ground?

Bottled it.

He had a non controversial game. There is a difference.
why didn’t he book Herrera for the deliberate trip on Fabinho when we were breaking or the body check on Matip as he was bursting into the box?
He is the latest in a line of referees who are allowing defenders to barge into the back of Salah.
No arguments- if you slam into the back of a player it’s a foul. United were getting the free kicks for it because they were falling down at the contact.
Problem is, if Mo does that he will
A) be analysed to death
B) be branded as a diver.

---

So you’re genuinely saying Man United were the better team?!

They had more desire and urgency but lacked the quality

Did they? They played 11 men behind the ball and time wasted at home in a match they probably needed to win.

We were the better team as we dominated possession majority of the game, but they had the clear cut chances. They could have been 3 up if they took them. We created absolute feck all.

---

You can talk as much as you want that we are top of the league but feckin City will win with a margin against this shower of shite

They would know that Utd would probably never beat us so I'd expect them to be loving that result, they'll probably stroll through today as well

Okay result, horrible performance.. Salah needs to decide whether he wants to be world class or top 5 in the world. Goes missing in all big big games

A draw in probably our toughest remaining game, is not bad. It was a tough environment and they gave their all. That said, it does feel like we lacked composure and could have come away with a crucial win. We will know in a few weeks if this was a good point, or a chance missed.

Mane and Salah were both terrible. Also thought Henderson was our best midfielder, not surprised he was pissed with being taken off. We need another quality forward badly, Sturridge offers so little now.

I hope you're right but blueshite away, spurs at home will be a bigger test.

 

[No Idea For Nickname]

I don’t see what all the fuss is about with their new manager. They parked the bus at home. New is same as the old.

Yeah. Same furniture, different wallpaper.

Neville is trying to paint the narrative of some sort of solid defensive improvement over the previous regime, but really we were just shite going forward and let them off the hook massively. It's 2 points lost here. We didn't gain a point to go top of the league (although we literally did, I am aware).

On another note, Klopp should take some of our lot to the side and make them pass the ball 5 fecking yards in between cones or something. They need a bit of practice.

Solskjaer complaining about Liverpool fouling them....Get your hands off Salah constantly then, stop pulling players back on corners.....what a tosser

Mancs are pleased as punch with a 0-0 draw at home.

They definitely performed their gameplan better than we did ours, and their manager adjusted better to the circumstances as they unfolded better than ours did.

More shots, more shots on target, no chance of tactical subs in the second half. It wouldn't be unfair to say they were the better team on the day.

That would be reasonable if our tactics were as usual, but they clearly weren’t. We were playing no risk football and were happy with the draw ourselves, whilst trying to nick a goal from somewhere.

It’s not like we were throwing the kitchen sink at them whilst the defender heroically.

Plus you know it’s easier to set up a team to defend than it is to set up a team to attack.

Still cannot get over how crap Salah was two seasons in a row. Said betore we needed our attackers to turn up and they didnt. Awful really all round.

Completely Herrera should have been sent off in the first 10 minutes, he committed two yellow card offences, the one on Matip you describe and the very cynical one on Fabinho which was very early on when we were breaking away.

 

[Bwuk]

Can’t believe they are complaining about Michael Oliver

 

[No Idea For Nickname]

He has said in more than one interview we will be playing quicker in some games, just because we didn't do that at OT doesn't mean we won't do it in our home games.

Like Leicester yeah. Sorry Jill, but we are not playing well and this performance is quite typical of our form. Unless you have evidence to the contrary.

I’d love to know where our rock and roll football has gone
Zero pressing, hunting in packs.
Work rate has dropped off as if we are playing in 4 competitions aka city, yet they are the ones looking fresher
I don’t buy into the pressure thing, don’t think 11 games out In February you can be under pressure inline the last 3-4 games and your still in it.

It’s a very strange period recently, we look like a team during the seasons were we finished 6th / 7th

We are crying out for a silva, Jesus, sane type of player(s)

Every fecking match- 6 minutes injury time, "Fergie-time"... every fecking match... yet today it's only 2. WTF!?

Could have given us 10 and it wouldn't have mattered. We were knocking it around happy with the point as soon as the clock hit 90.

That was just fecking poor today. I'm sorry, it was. What a missed opportunity. Jurgen knows it too.

We simply can't keep pissing away these chances were getting to increase the lead at the top and put some real pressure on City.

Just read we attempted 26 crosses yesterday ??!!!

What on earth has happened to our attack .. yikes

We're top of the league and kept a clean sheet away at Castle Greyskull, United drop to fifth for an added bonus

 

[No Idea For Nickname]

No it isn't Jill. It absolutely fails to address what we did or didn't do today against a shite Man Utd side that gave us the ball back for fun.

I disagree with you.

They gave it back for fun, defended with 11 behind the ball, and tried to sucker us into over committing - nearly worked too but for a magnificent save.

Oh, and their fans were hugely behind them.

When they lost the three to injuries they tortoised and that was that.

Not too say they we played well, we didn't, but bloody hell, they were not there 'for the taking' - they were solid and well organised.

Chelsea '13/'14 looms in my mind - a game we only needed a point from and didn't get because the manager didn't have the nous to be pragmatic.

Those mancs haven't won their games since Ole by luck

If we're talking about them playing a "good" team then yes, they have.

Spurs they didn't defend well and got lucky
PSG they didn't defend well and didn't get lucky

Then there are the "bad" teams where again they needed luck such as Leicester or Fulham.

They're nowhere near our level and yet we played down to theirs which is why the result is so annoying, they didn't play up. They were actually pretty abject and granted Allison had to make 1 good save but then what? Nothing.

 

[Art Vandelay]

Wait, what's he got against Castle Greyskull? Surely that's a compliment. It's not like he called it Snake Mountain.

 

[No Idea For Nickname]

Remember when these were in a title challenge virtually every season, with a decent European Cup run every now and then?
Now, no title challenge since Ferguson went, It's no surprise if they miss out on CL. 6th place is no great shock. City way ahead of them, us ahead of them and they would rather their hatedCity rivals win the league than us.
How life has changed for them......

Its quite pathetic how much the media are falling over the "rashford was kicked" message that baby golum started. Henderson caught his leg and it twisted, im sure its painful but making out it was a tactic is a joke.
BBC even have an article about how he may miss the next match "after being kicked"

Didn't see any articles when Gomez got his leg broken after the 3rd attempt at kicking him by Burnley finally succeeded.

We didn’t even need to try and kick them, they were dropping like flies anyway. At least one of them was injured by Ole himself and his stupid substitution.

For a Liverpool/United game it was all very tame, barely a tackle worthy of the name really.

Which is why he’s going with the “Rashford was injured by Henderson” line, it’s an attempt to draw attention away from his own calamitous management.

Aside from dropping 2 points, my biggest disappointment was Herrera leaving the match before one of ours blasted the feck out of that dirty little yapping chihuahua.

That fecking incessant droning Waterfall song though

Shit band. Shit song. Shit chant.

At least it’s not a fecking nursery rhyme though, so they deserve a modicum of credit I suppose.

I think we were all expecting them to change a couple of words to “The wheels on the bus” and use that.

 

[No Idea For Nickname]

Can we trust these lot against City?

Interviewer on MOTD asked Shaw who would he prefer to win the title - City or Liverpool. He replies 'I'll duck that question but Utd fans know what my answer is'.

Think we can get his gist there.

Thought this small-time stuff was only an Everton thing, but when United players are coming out with answers like that, you have to wonder.

Of course we can't trust them.

City mean nothing to them, but we mean everything.
City are miles behind in the number of League wins so do not threaten United's total. We, on the other hand, are breathing down their necks. As a club and as a fanbase they desperately do not want us getting number 19.

I wonder if we will see the media questioning United's integrity in the run up to that game like they questioned ours in '95 before the Blackburn game?

I think we might see a change in attitude if City keep progressing in the other competitions.

The thought of their neighbours doing a quadruple to supersede their treble ( the only treble ever won by the way) would change the United mancs tune I expect.

 

[No Idea For Nickname]

So today

• Drew at home to main rivals, allowing them to go top of the league
• Local rivals won the League Cup
• Dropped out of the top four
• Suffered a shit load of injuries, mainly to the players who have been their best ones under the Goblin

And they’re absolutely buzzing

Even Moyes didn’t set standards so low

he's actually beginning to look a bit like Moyes now.
Gollum, mk2

Klopp was really pushing for Olly to get the job at his presser. Great stuff. Has to happen, according to the man himself. Will then be some craic when Woody and Olly start their charm offensive across Europe and South America for the best of the best talent to join them. No way we can ever match that. Happy days.

They'll whinge about injuries, but us having to swap Bob for Sturridge was more detrimental than them having to swap Herrera and Mata for Pereira and Sanchez-via-Lingard*, so get to feck with your excuses.

* Not sure if true or not really... Life's too short for watching mid-table footy.

A draw with McTominay, Pereira, Sanchez and Lukaku playing. I would have bet 6 figures against that being possible to be honest

And you'll be seeing more of those players on Thursday nights next season as well.

ssshhh, don't tell them that draw was against their team.

Gotta say Ole had us all in pieces wearing his fergie suit with matching jacket.

I actually felt sorry for him trying to be his clone, like some obsessed fanboy. Then they played like West Brom again.

Haha it is one shit suit, was thinking that earlier. Even Shitcoat knew better than to wear it.

eerr,I thought he looked mint, but then again, I am not fashion guru like them..
...or a poet

Periera replaced Herrera?
Tinks he's Toreirra, looks like Guererra
(And not the smackdown bearer)
Wouldna happened in the Slur era
Can't say fairer...
(Now where's me carer?)

 

[clarkydaz]

one of their vocal soldiers from the 'deafening' away end yesterday

Good that today
My first trip to there in too long a time but I’m excited by this season so had to
They were proper quiet outside of the early “sign on” and a moment in the second half when they were getting on top for a bit

 

[MrMarcello]

Is the Ox getting better and better with every dropped point?

By the time he returns he'll be up there with messi and Ronaldo

Just like Lucas before him.

 

[stevoc]

Can we trust these lot against City?

Interviewer on MOTD asked Shaw who would he prefer to win the title - City or Liverpool. He replies 'I'll duck that question but Utd fans know what my answer is'.

Think we can get his gist there.

Thought this small-time stuff was only an Everton thing, but when United players are coming out with answers like that, you have to wonder.

Yeah it's not like a big-time club with the class of Liverpool would ever half arse it against United's title rivals.

Liverpool would never just lie down and let say Chelsea beat them without even mustering a single shot on target and their captain laying on the assist for their opponents opening goal just to try and stop United winning the title.

No chance not Liverpool.