***OMT Tottenham vs Man U***

[milo]

And yet Aurier wasnt badly exposed in other games while playing the same way.

He's been up against some pretty poor sides before last night. His biggest problem has always been concentration and maybe he was just a bit more switched on in Mourinho's first few games. I don't think that you can coach concentration, so I think that he's always going to have a mistake in him.

 

[milo]

I wonder if he'll want to have a look at KWP. I'd rather have a solid 7/10 full back than one who is 9 one game and 3 the next.

 

[glasgowspur]

What if a player continually goes hiding out to the side because it's too difficult trying to trap a ball 8 yards and then pass it 5 more in a congested middle of the park?

Surely a squad that's the third best in the league would need to rely on such players.

 

[scaramanga]

You were watching a different first half from me then. United had half a dozen good chances in the first half and we were extremely lucky to be on terms at the interval. One hit the bar, Gazza made a few decent saves and several flew just wide. The 0.7 xG is nonsensical for them. Look at the attempts and attempts on target figures for the first half for a better measure.

You appear to have completely misinterpreted the point of xG.

If a team hoofs the ball at our goal from the centre circle for 90mins then they'll have a lot of shots on target but no chance of scoring. That's why xG takes more into account than the overly simplistic shot=chance. Utd had a couple of half-decent chances and some pot shots from distance - hence a low xG. We had a few chances from dangerous areas and had a roughly even xG (penalty aside).

If Gazzaniga and Sissoko had done the really basic parts of their jobs right, we would have taken at least a point away.

 

[scaramanga]

Surely a squad that's the third best in the league would need to rely on such players.

We don't. I'm just waiting for Poch and Mourinho to catch up with me.

 

[nayimfromthehalfwayline]

He's been up against some pretty poor sides before last night. His biggest problem has always been concentration and maybe he was just a bit more switched on in Mourinho's first few games. I don't think that you can coach concentration, so I think that he's always going to have a mistake in him.

While I agree with you in the main, Aurier is wildly inconsistent and prone to lapses, I didnt think he was any different last night to prior games. Defensively at least.

Offensively he had it in his head to put every cross on a plate for De gea for some reason, prior games he has been better in that respect.

 

[Baleforce]

While I agree with you in the main, Aurier is wildly inconsistent and prone to lapses, I didnt think he was any different last night to prior games. Defensively at least.

Offensively he had it in his head to put every cross on a plate for De gea for some reason, prior games he has been better in that respect.

they are all easy if the keeper isn't challenged

 

[nayimfromthehalfwayline]

they are all easy if the keeper isn't challenged

The balls were (almost all) right down his throat, challenged or not he was going to hoover them up all game.

 

[Bedfordspurs]

The balls were (almost all) right down his throat, challenged or not he was going to hoover them up all game.

Exactly

 

[Baleforce]

The balls were (almost all) right down his throat, challenged or not he was going to hoover them up all game.

if you keep challenging you might get lucky, you have to at least draw some focus from the ball, one mistake can lead to more, we saw last season how easily his confidence could be hit, if you are going to cross the ball then you have to attack it too, even the low percentage stuff has to be executed correctly

 

[nayimfromthehalfwayline]

if you keep challenging you might get lucky, you have to at least draw some focus from the ball, one mistake can lead to more, we saw last season how easily his confidence could be hit, if you are going to cross the ball then you have to attack it too, even the low percentage stuff has to be executed correctly

While I dont disagree, it helps to challenge and be aggressive, I think thats majoring in the minors.

It helps a lot more if the wide player doesnt kick the ball directly to the keeper time and time again.

 

[Gazza Dazzla]

If Gazzaniga and Sissoko had done the really basic parts of their jobs right, we would have taken at least a point away.

I think the penalty was due to Aurier completely switching off at a throw in and allowing Rashford 10 yards of space to get the ball under control and run at him, Rashford went on to glide round him at full tilt, then Aurier’s baby-sitter had to try and tidy up the dangerous situation, he couldn’t! The initial and most serious error in the sequence was Aurier’s though and it was so avoidable, that’s the annoying thing.

 

[milo]

I think the penalty was due to Aurier completely switching off at a throw in and allowing Rashford 10 yards of space to get the ball under control and run at him, Rashford went on to glide round him at full tilt, then Aurier’s baby-sitter had to try and tidy up the dangerous situation, he couldn’t! The initial and most serious error in the sequence was Aurier’s though and it was so avoidable, that’s the annoying thing.

Aurier fell asleep for the first goal too

 

[scaramanga]

I think the penalty was due to Aurier completely switching off at a throw in and allowing Rashford 10 yards of space to get the ball under control and run at him, Rashford went on to glide round him at full tilt, then Aurier’s baby-sitter had to try and tidy up the dangerous situation, he couldn’t! The initial and most serious error in the sequence was Aurier’s though and it was so avoidable, that’s the annoying thing.

That's true, but even then it was the easiest thing in the world to see him out for a goal kick - there was little to no danger at all until I saw Sissoko's shirt number and memories of the CL final came flooding back.

 

[Baleforce]

While I dont disagree, it helps to challenge and be aggressive, I think thats majoring in the minors.

It helps a lot more if the wide player doesnt kick the ball directly to the keeper time and time again.

we need to get everything right, fix the minors and the majors, the minors are the low hanging fruit

 

[nayimfromthehalfwayline]

we need to get everything right, fix the minors and the majors, the minors are the low hanging fruit

And the majors are more important and tangible.

First things first, lets get the basics right - worry about the details later.

 

[Baleforce]

And the majors are more important and tangible.

First things first, lets get the basics right - worry about the details later.

I think the details and the basics are the same thing in professional sport

 

[NoLimits01]

So two different managers and we have the same problem, so is it the managers fault or the players fault

Discuss

 

[scaramanga]

So two different managers and we have the same problem, so is it the managers fault or the players fault

Discuss

Managers.

Mourinho found the solution and then made the same mistakes last night as Poch did.

 

[StephenH]

Pity that other than dele our lot don't seem to think they have anything to prove anymore.

Maybe last night was just what the doctor ordered?
A swift kick up the arse and a wake up call from thinking ‘we must be ok we won three on the bounce’.
It was always going to happen and we all knew “the bounce” was ebbing!