themanupstairs

Lukaku's physique is unreal. None of the big men in the league are filled out to the extent he is. And Lejeune was pushed in the back when jumping, pretty hard to fight against that.

I think he means the tussle for the ball in our half. The only one Lukaku actually won. The type of tussle that favours a big striker running forward shielding the ball over a big defender having to check backwards.

Got absolutely no problem with his work rate and dedication so don't like being overly critical but sadly you just know his contribution in an attacking sense will be minimal. He often loses possession due to inability to compete physically and hasn't got the pace or guile to really hurt teams. We really needed an upgrade in his position as much as we needed a new striker in January.

I respectfully disagree. I reckon he could be a very good foil for Slimani.

I'd take a draw now if it were offered. Otherwise I think we have what it takes to win there and take revenge for that awful defeat in the reverse fixture. We did it at Swansea, West Ham, Stoke and should have done it at Palace. No reason why we can't get 3 more points on the board.

0-2 Lascelles and Atsu

Classic centre half stuff today. Love him.

 

Indeed, won every header asked of him today, some of which were very awkward namely a freekick they had in the second half. What a defender he is.

The one he cleared under the bar for a corner? Time seemed to stop for him as he charged around the box to get to it. Superb stuff.

If he isn't scoring then the least he could do is put in a shift for the team at both ends of the pitch. He did that to great effect yesterday.

We were lucky.

This is where he should make some subs, always leaves it to late

Seriously

Heres where rafa tells them to sit on the lead, like we do every game and we end up losing/drawing.. but for now some positive

Where are these regens coming from?

Perez was excellent today?

 

You have to be kidding me. Or you didn't watch the match. One of the two.

Neither. He held the ball up really well and made some very intelligent runs going forward. Had Gayle or Kenedy found him with 2 simple passes he would have probably had 1 if not 2 goals. His defensive work from the front was also first class.

Superb today and deserved to be on the winning side. That little dink at the end near their corner flag 

Keys berating Southampton for going at Liverpool and conceding twice on the break instead of keeping things tight

Bellend knows no shame.

He has got better the last couple of games. Hopefully turned the corner for the remainder of the season.

Excellent today. Should have been played in twice by Kenedy and Gayle for 1 on 1's with De Gea. Would have probably scored both too.

Can't think of a better captain we've had. Probably ever!

He gave them no time to breathe. Had Pogba, Sanchez and Lingard in his pocket as well as any other fucker who even dared to saunter into his territory.

Superb finish for someone who hasn't scored all season. Can't stand him but he was brilliant today!

Anyway I want to see 4-3-3 tomorrow, all out attack. I hope he has the players watching the 5-0 dvd.

Straight from the alan pardew playbook

Interesting that he made it very clear that by managing the game at 1-0 he means getting the second goal and not inviting pressure.

 

So why do the players simply drop into some kind of shell and treat the ball as if it’s a grenade? If that’s not the intention then something isn’t working because they do it quite often and while you could argue it’s because they aren’t good enough, well they have been good enough to take a lead and to play very well against the other team. First half against a Palace for example, Swansea at home etc.

Oh aye. I'm sure Rafa specifically sets out to win every game 1-0

It's an incredible podcast. Rafa addresses most if not all the issues people have criticised him for. If you listen to this and still have an problem with him being our manager then you really deserve mediocrity like Ashley/Pardew/McLaren etc..

Just had a look at the podcast is now up for download.

 

Get in!

 

It’s a very good podcast.

 

Rafa explains why he took Kenedy off against Palace and why he had to make the changes he did.

 

We are so lucky to have him. It kills me that he’s not being backed properly by Ashley, we could really do something with this man in charge.

 

So why?

Palace changed formation and stuck Zaha out wide and Kenedy was too shagged to keep up with him. Needed fresher legs.

It's alright. He's still learning.

Just had a look at the podcast is now up for download.

Get in!

If we get relegated, will Rafa be the first manager to get us relegated twice?

 

No because he hasn't got us relegated before. That's on Mike Ashley and Steve McClaren.

 

If he had gotten us the points we needed, he would have saved us. He didnt so we got relegated... Tomato-Tomato

Exactly. We were heading there well before he rocked up, so no, he didn't relegate us.

His results are poor = fact? I'm not convinced you can present this as fact. I mean you can look at points on the board and our results across a season and say that is poor. But is it not more complicated than that? The ability of our playing squad makes what at face value can be argued 'poor' results become considerably more reasonable.

 

Similarly, the argument about our playing squad being a lot better last time is not just as simple as saying well I don't agree. I mean if you were to look at the transfer value of that squad compared to this squad the difference in quality would be pronounced. Would any one of our players if sold (at a time of greatly increased fees) merit a transfer fee of £23 million?

Exactly. It's like saying Pardew was the reason we finished 5th that season and ignoring any other circumstances involved.