Happinesstan

I'm not so sure about that, Rafa's future at the club is far from assured.

Does Messi never play in the group stages? 98 goals, all in the knockout stages is incredible. Ah right, I see now.

Has Rafa got any history of this kind of thing, just out of interest? I'm pretty sure in his career he must have encountered numerous mavericks that haven't adapted to his philosophies. Obviously the ones who disappeared into oblivion vindicate him, but I wonder if he has ever (choose my words carefully) passed on a player who went on to become a star. Disclaimer: I'm not saying Mitro will go on to be a star.

When he plays well it re-opens the discussion as to whether he has a future at the club. Blame Mitro for doing his job.

It must be time for an update on goals per minute comparisons.

Indubitably. And he would likely have done the same for Fulham if he had signed, but then he is back to the Premier where he is average (based on this season) and will most likely be moved on, which presents the problem of finding a replacement and getting the to settle. As things have turned out, if they get promoted and sign Mitrovic on a permanent deal, they have a promising youngster already ready to go.

I agree, and it is to be assumed that teams will intensify their efforts for an equaliser, but there is a stark difference to our composure at those times.

My Fulham mate is furious why we didn't let them have Mitro back in August or they must be top of the table already. On the other hand he is very pleased they dodged Gayle. Eh? It's almost like last season never actually happened. Or maybe it's like one of them is a developng youngster and the other has reached his peak. It's just a 6 month loan we're talking about, surely they want the player at their peak now? Current Mitro >>> Peak Gayle Controversial because they are playing at different levels and Mitro is playing for a team playing to his strengths. But from the perspective of the Fulham fan, would I rather we had spent £15 million for the last 3 years of Gayle's career, or have the option of getting Mitrovic at the beginning of his? It's a no-brainer, whether last season happened or not. You can’t really bash Mitro with last season as he didn’t play the same amount as Gayle. I'm not bashing Mitro. I'm supporting the view of Zero's mate, the Fulham fan. I should have probably said "the FINAL 3 years of Gayle's career".

How are we better than these? Looking at the two teams which are going to line up, I'd be struggling to see where we are significantly better in any area. Complete point in case here. Defeatist attitude from top to bottom. We are at home. We should be beating teams around us at home. It's not a hard concept. These are on an awful run and we should be getting three points at home against crap like this I'm not questioning that we are at home or that we should be looking to beat them, what I was questioning was where you were getting this idea that " we are better than these", because I don't see it. I think if anything, they have probably got better players so it's hardly going to be a given that we'll win because we are at home. The "better players" point doesn't align over the last 30 games, otherwise Soton wouldn't be in this position. We are pretty much equal on the pitch this season, with the exception of having a better manager and a squad playing above it's ability, while theirs plays well below. On paper their squad is better than ours in almost every area, but this isn't FIFA so the point is redundant. Soton are this seasons "To good to go down" cliche. Their fans also hate their GKs, don't like their CM options, want Boufal starting over Sims and play strikers that don't score... whilst playing 4-5-1 looking for draws. They didn't expect this relegation battle, we did. Pressure is on them more than us IMO. And yes it's not a guaranteed win just because it's at St James', but i'd rather be the team over achieving coming into this, than the "better" team flapping on the way down. I don't really disagree with any of that, but my problem is that regardless of the opposition, we seem to find it very difficult to win games down to not having players who can put away the chances. So I would do away with the idea that any game is a 'must win', we don't have the firepower to guarantee it. We can though, execute a game plan better than most due to having a top manager, and hopefully that will be enough to get us enough points in the remaining 9 games of the season. That's our main advantage, and it will play out over the full season, not one game. Not finishing our chances has cost us, but I would say it is more down to the team shitting itself in the last 1/4 of the game. It's at least equal, but my point is, the best manager in the world can have very little influence over either.

My Fulham mate is furious why we didn't let them have Mitro back in August or they must be top of the table already. On the other hand he is very pleased they dodged Gayle. Eh? It's almost like last season never actually happened. Or maybe it's like one of them is a developng youngster and the other has reached his peak. It's just a 6 month loan we're talking about, surely they want the player at their peak now? Current Mitro >>> Peak Gayle Controversial because they are playing at different levels and Mitro is playing for a team playing to his strengths. But from the perspective of the Fulham fan, would I rather we had spent £15 million for the last 3 years of Gayle's career, or have the option of getting Mitrovic at the beginning of his? It's a no-brainer, whether last season happened or not.

Haven't heard the 'sign on' song for donkeys. I always thought it was ironic. It came about when Liverpool were one of the best football teams in the world, and when you went to Anfield you knew you were going to be beaten. 'sign on' was just a reminder to them that, in reality, we are all made of the same shit.

My Fulham mate is furious why we didn't let them have Mitro back in August or they must be top of the table already. On the other hand he is very pleased they dodged Gayle. Eh? It's almost like last season never actually happened. Or maybe it's like one of them is a developng youngster and the other has reached his peak. It's just a 6 month loan we're talking about, surely they want the player at their peak now? They wanted Gayle on a permanent transfer. He may well have got them promoted, but going forward, and with the benefit of hindsight his performances this season suggest he's on a downward spiral.

My Fulham mate is furious why we didn't let them have Mitro back in August or they must be top of the table already. On the other hand he is very pleased they dodged Gayle. Eh? It's almost like last season never actually happened. Or maybe it's like one of them is a developng youngster and the other has reached his peak.

Let's not forget that one of the most important moments of the Man U win was Gayle's double block when back helping defend for our lives. Even if Shelvey was shifted to a No 10 role, I don't think Rafa would've told him not to worry about defending because of that, and I don't believe Shelvey is that thick to think otherwise himself. Gayle's were completely different, like. He was in positon to defend a corner.

A thunderous effort from inside his own penalty area.

So you think tossing a coin twice doubles your chance of being right? Shelvey should have scored and Perez should have scored. In that they would expect to finish from those positions/circumstances more often than not. I thought Shelvey’s was worse, also the whole hands on knees thing pointed out on MotD looked embarrassing, like he may have been feigning exhaustion because he couldn’t be arsed to chase his man. The hands on the knee thing looks awful, but wasn't it not long after his lung-busting run into the opposition's box? If Gayle is still on the pitch then Shelvey doesn't have to do that.

He seemed to be missing from the left wing on a few occasions. Just an observation.

If you watch back, especially on slow motion, Atsu’s pause prior to passing makes Cook (no. 3) overrun the ball and leaves a gap to Shelvey. On the other side of the box, Ake catches up to Shelvey in that couple of seconds, but his so called ‘magnificient challenge’ doesn’t get there/ is still too late and is more a lunge to block, but his foot never gets in front of the ball/ Shelvey’s. Meanwhile (in Goalmouth City) Begovic had set himself for a shot by Atsu and is frantically scrambling to get across the goal line. If Shelvey had hit the target, anywhere other than pinged at the keeper, he wasn’t saving it and we’d be talking about Atsu’s clever delay/good peripheral vision. I'm not having a go at Atsu, his final ball was actually spot on. And if Gayle had been in the place of Shelvey it would have been game over. But it wasn't Gayle, and it was Shelvey. It's possible that Atsu didn't see Shelvey running from deep, straight away, in which case he did the right thing in holding it up, but given the way Begovic was playing I think a low shot back across the box would have been the correct choice. Just based on percentages.

To be fair to Rafa, he should be able to make a substitution at 2-0 without expecting the sky to fall in.

I didn't get a good look at Shelvey's miss, but it was clear as day that Atsu should have passed sooner, once he failed to make that decision it was his responsibility to shoot.

It seems quite clear that we defend better when our attackers focus on attacking.

A valuable point, but not as valuable as the two we threw away.

Aye but if you're the one grafting to create those chances, you've more right to complain than if you've watched it on match of the day.

He's worth more to us than £60mil. Should be spending that on building a team worthy of his leadership. Not that this group haven't performed admirably but this guy deserves to be captain of a team that is capable of challenging.