Opinions should be challenged, reflected upon and revised whenever the variables that a belief is placed upon changes, otherwise it's just an emotional reaction to an event and therefore dismissible. So with United going on to win 2-1, a lot of your original half time points are null and void.
My mistake (one of many, I am sure) was indeed to make the thread at HT so that it became reactionary and viewed as an emotional response. The point I was trying to make however is from observations over the entire season, not just yesterday's game.
Not trying to attack you, but you suggest of our goals are from individual brilliance(that requires plenty of technical ability and then another 1/3 from counterattacks(that usually requires basic technical ability). Finally you mention set pieces(which again requires basic technical ability).
So how can you state we lack basic technical ability if you think most of our goals are essentially tied down to the players themselves showing technical ability on a basic level?
Don't think you're being contradicting with your statement?
As for the bold: Why is that entirely down to the players and not the structure implemented by the coaching staff and Ole?
There are a lot of different facets of "technical ability". We have players like Bruno and Pogba who are capable of hitting incredible 50-yard passes. We have players like Greenwood who is a fantastic finisher. This isnt what I was referring to, I was referring to the basics that you have to do for 80 minutes, not the clever creative stuff you get to do for the other 10.
The reason counterattacking works is because the opponents are typically out of position, that you can use physical attributes (mainly speed) to create a numerical advantage, and because usually there arent
that many decisions that need to be made, or many passes etc that need to be executed.
Similarly, set pieces are a learned, practiced routine.
The area that I believe we struggle with is simply having standard possession. We struggle to play out from the back, we struggle to maintain possession against pressure, we struggle to break down organised defences in any systematic way. In my view, these areas can all be linked to our players not being comfortable enough on the ball, not being able to execute simple passes or control the ball
reliably well. If I am playing a simple 10 yard pass to a teammate, it makes a huge difference if I put the pass a yard behind them vs a yard in front. The pace that I put on the pass also makes a massive difference. These are not technically complex passes, they are the bread and butter.
The pass Pogba played to Fred, leading to Brighton's goal yesterday is a convenient example - the ball was underhit and it allowed the opponent to nip in and challenge for it. That time we got punished for it, but this happens far too many times in any given game. We are our own worst enemies.
We play better without the ball than with it.