Manchester United (Home) Saturday November 7th

[Btay]

On 11/11/2020 at 16:55, Palfy said:

Regardless of what leads up to the goal and I do agree with most of what people have been saying about Keane’s position and Gylfi’s lack of effort, for me Holgate unfortunately has been left as the last man who can stop or have the opportunity to stop the goal, yet he doesn't make any real attempt to cut off and stop Fernandez, we can moan about the 5-10 seconds of play that leads up to the goal, but Holgate has to leave his man and block off Fernandez for not doing that he is as guilty for the goal as anyone else, he didn't react to the development of play, and he was rightly or wrongly at that particular moment in time the last line of defence and he has to get a cross and deal with it. As harsh as that might sound because of what led up to that point he still has to deal with that danger. 

If Holgate left Martial to nod home unmarked he would be crucified for that. It’s a game of small margin so in the moment I was probably over critical but I still feel Keane is no mans land for both goals.

[Bailey]

On 09/11/2020 at 21:00, pete0 said:

At 46-48 seconds he should shift back a yard and up a little to close the gap. He's seen him, he's had almost a full three seconds and just doesn't nullify the danger. Rewatching it I'm willing him to move into the space. The worse part is he's seen him so he should know he needs to close that gap. Couple of steps across and a baby step forward and we'd not end up conceding. (Worrying thing is he's caught under the ball, which seems to happen a lot).

Sigurdsson is in panic mode but Mata is the right choice as Keane should be able to deal with Fernandez. Agree he's ran the wrong way round (not got goal side) but ultimately he's blocked the pathway. 

For the second I think Keane is too far away to do anything, if he rushed out he's he'd be leaving a massive hall that could get exposed by a simply one two. I'd blame the players as a whole for not sticking the system (assuming we had one).

 

I disagree and its because you are looking at what you see in hindsight and are not looking at all of the options that would have been running through Keane's mind when he was in that position. If Keane moves out as you suggest he should, Fernandes can run in the space he vacates because Holgate wont be able to push up and nor will Digne. Your then giving Fernandes a chance even closer to goal. No defender in their right mind will step up and out of the line in that scenario because they are giving away key space for attacking players to exploit.

Mata isn't the right choice at that moment either. At this level of the game you have to trust your teammates to do their job. He needed to trust Doucoure to do his and then react if he doesn't. If Siggy sits in between Mata and Fernandes, even if the ball gets played into Mata, Siggy can then react and close down Mata. As soon as he makes that move he is doing exactly what Utd want. They have drawn 5 men to cover 3 attackers which leaves an overload which Utd exploit.

I think you are right on the whole for the second in that the lot of them should have been further up the pitch but again our back line is all over the shop with Holgate and Digne AWOL so your system goes to shit at that point and then its all about how you react. For me Keane is just too passive which is his nature. Mina would have clattered Rashford or have been skinned. You wouldn't see a Ramos, Carvalho or even a Gabrial do what Keane did in that situation. In that moment he had to do something to affect the game but he basically let Rashford do what he wanted.

On 10/11/2020 at 19:10, Hafnia said:

 

This is why I have repeatedly said that a large part of this is down to communication and awareness. There are a number of players in both goals that aren't switched on and don't seem to be on the same wavelength. In my opinion too much focus is on where Fernandes ends up and not about how we get into that position to start with.

Whilst I don't believe Siggy has done the right thing in going to Mata as I have stated above, its disappointing that very few people are looking at the role of James, Doucoure and Coleman who all could have done a lot more to stop the ball even getting into the box. if James and Doucoure do more to start with, the chain reaction that follows doesn't occur.

 

[Hafnia]

Top and bottom of it is this:-. Not enough leadership.  

A carragher, Neville, Kean is tearing at someone for those goals.  We have too many players who are too nice. 

 

[Palfy]

2 hours ago, Hafnia said:

Top and bottom of it is this:-. Not enough leadership.  

A carragher, Neville, Kean is tearing at someone for those goals.  We have too many players who are too nice. 

 

More like to many who are not switched on to the requirements of defending. 

[pete0]

5 hours ago, Bailey said:

I disagree and its because you are looking at what you see in hindsight and are not looking at all of the options that would have been running through Keane's mind when he was in that position. If Keane moves out as you suggest he should, Fernandes can run in the space he vacates because Holgate wont be able to push up and nor will Digne. Your then giving Fernandes a chance even closer to goal. No defender in their right mind will step up and out of the line in that scenario because they are giving away key space for attacking players to exploit.

Mata isn't the right choice at that moment either. At this level of the game you have to trust your teammates to do their job. He needed to trust Doucoure to do his and then react if he doesn't. If Siggy sits in between Mata and Fernandes, even if the ball gets played into Mata, Siggy can then react and close down Mata. As soon as he makes that move he is doing exactly what Utd want. They have drawn 5 men to cover 3 attackers which leaves an overload which Utd exploit.

Fernandes is the only player if Keane gets closer he makes it more difficult. I'm not saying go man mark him, just move a metre closer, more sideways than forward. By not repositioning he's left Fernandes the space.

Could say likewise regarding Fernandes. He's trust Keane to pick him up.