Lush Vlad

Obviously in that order. We’re not winning the league any time soon and the FA Cup is no easier or harder to win than the League Cup, IMO. Even if it has more prestige. Nobody will remember or care about Arsenal finishing 2nd or all the times Liverpool pushed City close with record points totals. We have won fuck all for so long. I think we need to get that monkey off our back and some joy back in fans lives. If it was some hypothetical deal which was finish top 4 for say, 4-5 seasons on the spin or this 17th and the league cup. Then I’d take the former. As it would help the club grow and mean we are closer to becoming a team that wins things. But as a one off, give me the cup every fucking time. Sounds absolutely ridiculous reading that scenario back. But you know what I mean

I do. I actually think we don’t create enough or trouble the opposition keeper anywhere near enough. Especially with some of the attacking players we have. The build up from the back and how we try to open teams up is often lacking IMO. On the flip side of that. How many games this season have we relied on Pope to make save after save, heroic defending or really bad finishing to get us a result? Bournemouth in the first half, maybe? Do we give up loads of chances, it doesn’t feel like we do. Individual mistakes have been a worrying trend, mind. It’s almost like we are in this transition to a new style/playing a different way because of who is available and it’s not really working overall.

A few thoughts on that without any actual research. Teams respect us a lot more (or have figured us out) sitting a lot deeper. Meaning we find it harder to break teams down. We don’t have the technical players to do so. Last season we seemed to go gung ho. Once we realised we were no good at defending, the press wasn’t working with the lack of rotation and the injuries. Not sure what that passing stat per defensive action said last season. But we did not have control or play well a lot of the time at home. It resembled basketball at times. Is it really a big enough sample size? 4 games?! Considering the games in question are the below: Southampton love passing for passing’s sake and we had 10 men for an hour or so. Spurs had a lot of the ball and we really struggled with possession that game. We were poor and kind of lucky to win. They didn’t create loads despite loads of shots. We then had Man City….. value for the point. Did they create loads? Trappy game. Brighton I have no idea what the numbers say and we did at times look a bit clueless. But fuck me, we really could and should have scored at least a couple. I don’t care what xG or any other stat says on this one. I’m using my eyes

He did seem to come back really quickly from injuries last season. Hopefully the same this time. I’m guessing he misses out tomorrow. Back for Arsenal or Forest.

How could I forget them. Absolute route one merchants!

“I think we have a set play analyst who is very good, Kieran [Taylor] does a lot of work with Jason [Tindall] regarding our set plays," Again, not expecting him to say they've been crap and that the coaches haven't been good enough. But the evidence suggests they are not very good. We could at least attempt some variation or work the odd short corner or free kick now and then. Especially if like Howe says in that piece, we are missing some key players that help with corners. Sort of related, but I always find most of our free kicks to be dreadful and have been since he joined. First season I was fine with it, we were fighting for survival and he was new into the club part-way through the season and maybe the players suited it. But they haven't massively improved the whole time he has been here. If we get one anywhere near the halfway line. We always load it up for the lofted ball up the middle or a long diagonal to one of the CB's. We take an age to set it up and it feels very Stoke. I wouldn't mind if it was effective, but it really isn't. I can't think of many other teams in the league that do it regularly other than Brentford and maybe Forest, at times?

Surely you look bigger picture, though? Did you genuinely think what he was doing was sustainable? Did you think you were going to build on the previous seasons and improve year on year? Your goal dif and performances have been terrible a lot of the while, no? I know plenty of Man U fans and not just the usual glory boys. Our office is in Ashton, so quite a few actually from the area So many of them were fed up with it, the style or lack thereof. Baffling decisions with certain players, getting results you didn't really deserve. Ironically this season, when I've seen you. I actually think you've been quite unlucky at times. But the results have gone against you. Felt like a dead man walking for months and was only a matter of time.

On the left, Gordon on the right. The same argument about Gordon 'not looking good enough' on the right. Can be applied to Barnes. I don't think we have seen it enough to really know. But as I've said numerous times. You can't tell me it will be worse than having Almiron/Murphy on the right and Gordon left. Moot point, though. As nothing Howe has done suggests he will do that or that he trusts or wants to give Barnes a run of starts on the left.

I don't mean change the players. They are the best midfield 3 by some way if we persist on playing with this formation. Hence why I mentioned adjustments and not changing personnel. If we changed formation slightly, then I can't have Joelinton playing as the deeper midfielder or in a 2, at all. So then I think there is an argument for bringing other players in. Like TRon alludes to above. If we carry on playing high and wide in and out of possession with the two 8s and having Bruno as the only player available to receive passes from the back 4. Then we are going to carry on getting exposed on and off the ball.

Hardly doubt with how guarded he is at press conferences. That he will come out and say "yeah, the midfield hasn't been working at all. I'm going to change formation and maybe drop certain players". If he genuinely thinks we don't need to make adjustments and he carries on as it is. Then I think we'll eventually come fully unstuck and he'll be replaced.

Is it? I personally wouldn't want Joelinton playing in a midfield 2. He already plays some kind of hybrid role and I don't think he is anywhere near good enough on the ball to play more centrally in a deeper 2 man midfield.

@PauloGeordio slipping with the Twitter updates.

Weren't you actively looking for managers and it was an open secret that Ten Hag was basically on the way out? Then nobody they wanted actually wanted the job. So Ten Hag stayed? Or did every media outlet and supposed ITK just make that up? Also, how incredibly short-sighted to want to keep him off the back of a cup win. When you had game after game across league seasons where performances were all over the place and you had no recognised, discernible style or play and were often incredibly easy to play against. Might work out in the long term, though. If you get Amorim and say he wasn't interested or not available in the summer, but now he is. Then in theory, that was worth keeping ETH around for a bit longer.

Can't say I have seen much of Sporting. Bar the constant Gyokeres highlights. But I'd be really interested to see the 3-4-3 in the PL and if it work and if so, how many teams follow suit trying similar. The same way so many teams started doing the box midfield with the full backs coming inside after Pep did it. Or how Arteta started playing 4 CB's after Tony Pulis did it Actually looks like they have the right kind of squad for it, as well. Onana to build from the back. Martinez is good on the ball. Dalot is a great attacking full back. Mainoo and Ugarte holding. Plenty of attacking options further up the pitch. Might even get the best out of Rashford....... Annoying that it looks like he is going there. As it is an exciting appointment. @Froggy how come you weren't in for him in the summer when West Ham and Liverpool were heavily linked? But now after 9 more games of awful Ten Hag ball and buying more of his players. He is seen as the right man for the job? That seems a bit odd, to me?

Very small sample size and it was early on in his time here. But I think he played in the deeper role against City in the cup and I also have someone else in my mind where he played as the '6' (hate that term). He certainly wasn't press resistant and didn't have the Bruno ability to find space in a phone box, turn and start an attack. Don't think it would hurt to at least try it at times. As what we are currently doing isn't particularly effective. I also agree with @CPL about him taking some set pieces. They have been the worst we've seen in a long while and he took pretty much all of them for Milan, didn't he?

We're not winning the Prem any time soon. The FA Cup will be just as hard as the League Cup, really. As we're going to end up playing the top sides at some point. We don't play in Europe and unless it was the Conference League. I can't see us winning the Europa or CL as it stands Trophy snobbery from this place. Well I never. That Fairs Cup is not really comparable to the other major European trophies. Surprised we count it, really.

Palmer plays in the 10 and seems to have a free role. He hasn't played wide for them this season as far as I can tell. He has that uncanny knack of standing still and letting the space find him. Easier said than done to mark him out of the game. Especially when we don't have mobile CB's to engage him or a recognised defensive midfielder. That said, it's hardly just us that has had trouble stopping him. He wasn't great at Liverpool, but he seems to have an impact on every game he plays.

Yes. We've been winning so many pots of late. This tinpot one can wait. Shittiest competition we're in. Pointless. Not point in the Europa Conference League, either. I'm glad we didn't end up qualifying for that and all.

He obviously is a top player based on his time at Milan. But despite some very promising games for us, for what we have paid. He spends long spells of games not being involved. Our midfield is a bit like that at times, though. So that is more of a system issue, as the same thing happens to Willock and Longstaff. Bruno has to be involved as all of our play goes through him in the middle of the 3 and Joelinton is always involved as he likes barreling into people The price tag isn't his fault, either and I think people, myself included, are probably expecting him to be contributing a lot more. I think/hope he is just still a bit rusty after so long out.

Yeah, subbing him against Brighton seemed a bit mental. He was totally ineffective on Sunday. So not even that arsed about the sub. I suppose the argument could be that as the game opens up. Who has more chance of making something happen on the ball, Longstaff or Tonali? That said, I'm sure they are looking at the fitness data and there are good reasons he isn't doing a full 90 yet.

Never gets a run of games as a starter and it always seems like he gets subbed off after 60 odd minutes, anyway. However good, bad or indifferent he is on the day. Hard to fully judge him as a starting player IMO. As he is in and out of the team every 5 minutes. He was not good on Sunday. Although Gusto was decent against him, plus he did get away with numerous fouls on him. Well, in the ref’s view whenever it was someone else doing it they were I still thought we managed to get him 1 v 1 a few times and it was often promising. Just one too many touches or the attack breaking down. I’d like to see him get a run on the left if Gordon is out for a while. It’s hardly like we have many goals in the team as it is.

Yep. Said when he first signed I was surprised how quick and mobile he was. He hasn’t been anywhere near that for quite a while and last season he was miles off where we needed him to be.

This is also true.

Agreed. I also think that Vinicius Jr and Real Madrid throwing their toys out the pram sums it up. Would barely be top 10 in some of the previous golden years.

A more rounded striker than Isak, FFS. If he is worth say £80-100m. What would a better/more rounded striker cost