PL Matchweek 8

[Havre]

Always said Xhaka is captain material.

He is a DM that is not a DM and just too slow/not agile enough to play anywhere else.

 

[hatterson]

Oliver has not had a good game. Missed several very obvious calls including what should have been a penalty just now on Sigurdsson.

 

[hatterson]

BHA go ahead and 7 minutes later Everton get a penalty on what should have been a red for Bruno. Rooney puts it away to level.

 

[hatterson]

Wow, I had missed the earlier challenge too. So that was two straight reds that were given as yellows instead. BHA very lucky.

 

[Havre]

Got to wonder what Bruno was thinking. If that isn´t a direct red I´m not sure what would be a direct red. The ref sees it as he gives a penalty, but then ends up with a yellow. A bit lost for words.

Bruno should have gotten a 10 games ban.

 

[njdevsfn95]

I didn't see the incident but generally speaking the idea of "the ref saw it so therefore we can't review it" is a bit ludicrous.

Refs get 1 chance and 1 angle to see a play. Adjust the call and rescind cards or punish if required.

 

[Havre]

I didn't see the incident but generally speaking the idea of "the ref saw it so therefore we can't review it" is a bit ludicrous.

Refs get 1 chance and 1 angle to see a play. Adjust the call and rescind cards or punish if required.

Fully agree.

 

[hatterson]

I understand not wanting to second guess every single one of the officials calls, and giving their opinion the most weight since they're the ones managing the game, but in the case of red cards it shouldn't really matter.

No idea how Oliver could look at that and not give a straight red. Bruno looked directly at the attacker and threw a forearm at his jaw.

 

[Jussi]

Everyone plays the same the schedule every year. And as I said it’s not an excuse. But it is unbalanced.

Check how many points United lost last season against the teams they've faced so far.

 

[Savant]

Check how many points United lost last season against the teams they've faced so far.

United also improved themselves more than any other team this summer. Kudos.

 

[njdevsfn95]

Considering we got a point and none of the staff threatened traveling supporters I am content with the point today at Southampton

 

[hatterson]

Check how many points United lost last season against the teams they've faced so far.

I was curious, so I looked it up.

Dropped 2 points against West Ham, Swansea, Southampton. 4 against Stoke, Everton and Liverpool.

This year they dropped 2 against Stoke and 2 against Liverpool.

So in 8 games against those teams this year they dropped 4 points. In 16 last year they dropped 18. That's a 10 point difference if they keep the same pace this year, which would have made the difference between finishing 6th like they did, or 3rd a point ahead of City.

 

[Jussi]

United also improved themselves more than any other team this summer. Kudos.

Define "improve".

 

[Jussi]

Danny Mills made this point:

If you have seven days to work with your team you can work on creativity, fluidity and attacking intent.

If you've got two days after an international break then it's simply a case of getting solid as a unit.

Don't know about Liverpool but definitely applied to United's play on Saturday.

 

[hatterson]

Danny Mills made this point:



Don't know about Liverpool but definitely applied to United's play on Saturday.

It's not like Mourinho just showed it. It's been the same group of players for 2 months now.

Being defensive was a conscious and intentional decision by Mourinho. I'm not saying it was the wrong one, but I think it's disingenuous to somehow say he was forced into it.

 

[phisherman]

I don't know why people try to defend Mourinho. We all know his go to tactic is parking a bus.

 

[Savant]

Define "improve".

They got better players trading Rooney for Lukaku. Getting Matic fixed their shape. Coaching got better too via the whole Year 2 Mourinho thing.

 

[Chimaera]

For what it's worth, when Klopp said that what Jose does wouldn't be tolerated at Liverpool, I probably agree. Certainly, some will respond with the 'well they certainly wouldn't complain about winning trophies', and I would agree, but at some point, the Kop wouldn't stand for not playing football for 90 minutes.

I can't say that I feel Old Trafford is going to tolerate it forever when they spend what they spend each summer.

 

[YNWA14]

I think as it is with most teams if you're winning trophies playing that style then the fans will tolerate it. If you're not winning anything it sours quick and it's why those managers end up getting the boot fairly quickly when it does go south. If you're a team playing for results rather than style first and you're not getting results...I would say playing a better style of football just gives you a bit longer of a leash and more support.

Though it would seem at the end of the day in this landscape it's harder and harder to play nice soccer when there's so many defensive teams and the athletic players that are getting churned out.

 

[Jussi]

It's not like Mourinho just showed it. It's been the same group of players for 2 months now.

Being defensive was a conscious and intentional decision by Mourinho. I'm not saying it was the wrong one, but I think it's disingenuous to somehow say he was forced into it.

Not forced but it's normal. This wasn't the first time United has played poorly after an international break. It was clear that several players were "off" when you looked at the quality of passes , or rather lack of quality.

 

[Howie Hodge]

Leicester drew West Brom at home Monday. Third from the bottom of the charts, 2 points from getting out of the relegation zone.

Yes the schedule has been tough; but one win in 8 matches isn't cutting it.

I said it before; Shakespeare will not make it through the season if they don't turn it around soon.

 

[Chimaera]

and he's gone.