Premier League 2020/21: Crystal Palace vs Man Utd Wed 3rd March 8.15pm KO

Playing too conservative, all these draws we should have risked more for the win. 3 matches 3 draws 3 points. Lose 2 win 1 is 3 points. It’s madness playing for the draw.
 
We just can't break teams down unless they're coming at us.
 
It once again raises questions of the coaching and match preparation. It has looked like the team has not wanted to win all game.
 
Playing to not lose seems to be our first priority. We counter ourselves.

One that does not help our midfield and speed the transition from defense to attack is when Bailly stops the ball dead. I hate it when does that. It allows the opponent to get close and reset. He does it all the time. Contrast that with how Matic will always keep shifting the ball: it keeps the opponent constantly guessing and running.

Beyond that we just don’t have the talent available. Fred in the side at all, James and McT being our gamechanging subs, the ghost of Cavani spearing the attack etc. etc. It’s a damn joke.
 
Dare I say it I’m not fancying us for top 4 we are sinking like a stone but we kind of know with this team they can suddenly spark and come good but that needs to happen soon.

That was rotten tonight whole team looks dead on its feet and has done for months now season just drifting away Ole needs to find a solution to it and get them buzzing again.

Bench now looks weak because of a few injuries so his options are limited to an extent not sure if fitness is an issue but McTominay has to start that game.

Up top you have to question why Bruno and Rashford are playing Europa League games they look absolutely dead.

The spotlight will turn back to Ole as time after time we have these long runs of poor form it’s so hot and cold he needs to fix that because we’ve had a pretty nice run of fixture recently and not made anything like the most out of it.
 
Robbie Earle, who normally says nothing that isn't painfully obvious, just now said that our 3 forwards today (Rashford, Cavani, Greenwood) didn't have a single shot on target between them.
 
Solskear Will say the same things he has said for 2 years team didn't start,too slow no movement,he is there to make sure all these don't happen every player has the look like they don't care a draw is fine to them.rasford is so bad how does he escape being on the bench.looks like his off field work is on his mind.fred is an accident waiting to happen and it looks like they don't practise passing in training.lockdown is bad enough without having to watch mediocrity week after week
 
jsp said:
Dare I say it I’m not fancying us for top 4 we are sinking like a stone but we kind of know with this team they can suddenly spark and come good but that needs to happen soon.

That was rotten tonight whole team looks dead on its feet and has done for months now season just drifting away Ole needs to find a solution to it and get them buzzing again.

Bench now looks weak because of a few injuries so his options are limited to an extent not sure if fitness is an issue but McTominay has to start that game.

Up top you have to question why Bruno and Rashford are playing Europa League games they look absolutely dead.

The spotlight will turn back to Ole as time after time we have these long runs of poor form it’s so hot and cold he needs to fix that because we’ve had a pretty nice run of fixture recently and not made anything like the most out of it.
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And it’s only going to get worse with the run of games in regards to Bruno’s form. He isn’t being rested against City or Milan. I know he makes the right noises about not needing a rest but there comes to a point where your play is a few percent worse because of fatigue - and the signs are there with Bruno and Rashford.
 
The right game would have been 4 up against sociedad. That may have given us an idea if they could be trusted in games like this. Bottom line is though the quality just is not there. I questioned a few weeks ago whether this was the start of the customary terrible run, seems it is.
 
jsp said:
Dare I say it I’m not fancying us for top 4 we are sinking like a stone
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I've been worried about this for a while.

We have no creativity in the middle without Pogba
 
The only silver lining is the away support not being able to spend money to travel and watch that dross.
 
Our lack of progress is obvious. We still rely on our players to make it up as they go along. Luckily, we have some good players, but without a proper plan, that approach is severely limited.
 
Is there a danger that if we buy better players the plan continues to be go out and make somthing happen?
 
O-Dog said:
Our lack of progress is obvious. We still rely on our players to make it up as they go along. Luckily, we have some good players, but without a proper plan, that approach is severely limited.
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It really does seem like the players just run around and hope something opens up in front of them. There really does not seem to be anything that would look like a tactic or series of actions to get us into scoring positions. The instructions might as well be "give it to Bruno".

I think we looked bereft of ideas and out of gas.
 
RVN said:
Is there a danger that if we buy better players the plan continues to be go out and make somthing happen?
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Maybe but if it doesn’t work then we know the problem is with the coaching staff and not the players and something is then done about it like what happened to Frank at Chelsea
 
Of course there is a plan, you don't get second by winging it.
The problem is we don't have great players, Fred is playing too many games for someone of his quality. Neither of the CM while Pogba is out are creative enough.
We're having to overplay Rashford and Bruno because there isn't much else beyond them.
Our last transfer window farce is now coming forward (summer window)
 
The plan is pretty obvious we sit off teams to draw them out then try to quickly hit the spaces they leave behind.

The problem is when you play a team who won't come out of their "bunker" we don't really have a plan for smashing our way through. That is where the weakness is the ball moves slowly around the pitch before someone inevitably gives it away (Fred) and we don't really seem to have good movement combined with the quick accurate pass to burst through the small gaps. This is where City are miles ahead and at their best Liverpool too because the way we play allows the opponent to dictate the way the game is played not us top sides from minute 1 are on top of you saying this is the way the game will be played you need to deal with that.

Utd will never win titles playing counter attack football we have to become a team that totally dominates the ball again and more importantly has skillful players who can inject the speed and accuracy into a move to open up defensive sides. There are signs of progress this season with Bruno especially but again that feels like us relying on the brilliance of the individual not the strength of the collective.

City lost De Bruyne for 6 weeks and didn't even bat an eyelid imagine if we lost Bruno for 6 weeks to an extent we are seeing it with Pogba. That side remains a house of cards take one away and the whole thing collapses whereas City is like a Jenga block you can remove a lot of pieces before the structure crumbles.
 
I thought one of the commentary team/Pundits made a very good point last night in that, the fact there are no fans in stadiums kindof allowed that game to fizzle into the boring non event that it was. Can you imagine a packed United away end last night, they would of been going bonkers and trying to get the team up for it. especially in a time when you have some very tired legs.
 
jsp said:
The plan is pretty obvious we sit off teams to draw them out then try to quickly hit the spaces they leave behind.
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If that's the entirety of our tactical planning, no wonder we're struggling.

So we 'draw a team out', then what? And who's responsible for making it happen?

If we manage to 'quickly hit the spaces', then what? How do we convert that possession into a chance?

What do we do if the opposition won't be drawn? As you point out, we have no idea.
 
If we lost Bruno for 6 weeks we would be facing the likes of Derby County next season. That is how crucial he is and how far away the next big player is. Pogba can add spice but he’s not a game changer.
 
Pogba proved a few times this season he's a real game changer. West Ham and Fulham spring to mind.

As for losing Bruno, many times recently you wouldn't notice if he wasnt playing. He pops up with a magic moment but this dip in form has been going on for a while. I'd actually look at dropping him for a game.
 
I do think there is an issue when players don't feel any pressure for their position. What really happens to Rashford, Bruno or Maguire if they don't perform. Nothing. They need the back ups to at least push them for their places. With the form they're in all 3 could have reasonably been dropped for poor form recently. Even De Gea. The starting 11 are too comfortable in their positions and Ole needs to make some changes. You can say the people coming in aren't good enough but at the moment they'd struggle to be worse. That's 300 minutes of football without a goal. Donny and Diallo couldn't go backwards on that number.
 
IDFD said:
I do think there is an issue when players don't feel any pressure for their position. What really happens to Rashford, Bruno or Maguire if they don't perform. Nothing
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I 100% agree with this
 
What is startling is how much we miss a genuine striker. Someone like Van Nistelrooy or Solskjaer himself - someone who will always score you goals when the games are tight. Even we could do with Hernandez right now. Cavani is doing his best but he’s 34 at the end of the day. Rashford, Martial and Greenwood all lack that striker instinct right now. I pray we can get in Haaland but I fear that could be a forlorn dream.

Granted we need the service which is again where we are lacking with Bruno and Rashford out of form. We have badly missed Pogba and this bad run has coincided with him being out.

We need to see the City game as a way to redeem ourselves but we have to be on it from minute one or we are going to have our pants pulled down.
 
Haaland, Sancho and Varane, then I'll forgive them for last years window. Oh and resign Pogba

Not much is it.
 
SuperRash said:
What is startling is how much we miss a genuine striker. Someone like Van Nistelrooy or Solskjaer himself - someone who will always score you goals when the games are tight. Even we could do with Hernandez right now. Cavani is doing his best but he’s 34 at the end of the day. Rashford, Martial and Greenwood all lack that striker instinct right now. I pray we can get in Haaland but I fear that could be a forlorn dream.

Granted we need the service which is again where we are lacking with Bruno and Rashford out of form. We have badly missed Pogba and this bad run has coincided with him being out.

We need to see the City game as a way to redeem ourselves but we have to be on it from minute one or we are going to have our pants pulled down.
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Dreaming of Haaland but you'll end up with Danny Ings.
 
Assume everyone has seen the video of Rashford and Maguire. At least they seem to be showing a little bit of passion.
 

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