Post match wash-up/rant thread

[knockers]

I thought (and it's difficult to see on TV so I may well be wrong) that, knowing he's poor on the ball, Man Utd gave Sissoko time and space which allowed them more scope to pressurise Alonso.

If that's how good teams are going to play against us then Momo's limitations are increasingly going to be a problem.

Momo's inability to play a simple ball to a team-mate were obvious today, too may simple passes went to Utd players. I love his tackling but his passing needs to improve dramatically.

[Kopite_Colin]

In the grand scheme of thing it means very little.

Our league campaign ended months ago, and even had we beaten them today they were still likely to win the league.

What's frustrating is that Rafa hasn't improved us as an attacking force since he's arrived. And I'm talking about degrees here.

I'll stop short of declaring that this summer if make or break for Rafa, but it's pretty close. And it's not just about signing the top players we need. He's got to look at his his tactics and beliefs and decide whether they fit the approach needed for a successful league campaign. I'm not sure he's gotten it yet, in Europe it's different.

Rafa has no excuses now.

1) he's been here 3 years - the squad is now HIS squad
2) now the takeover's done , he's got the cash he's needed for a while
3) he needs to spend well.
4) he also needs to improve our style of play,once we've got the winning habit. Still too many long balls.

[FowlerLeftFoot]

True. and i want to maintain my opinion that he has not been useful this season.

Another point is that for much of the game Alonso wasn't at the races.

[alunevans]

i'm not going to read this thread properly because a quick glance shows a shocking amount of negativity. we were great today. the only thing we didn't do was score.

sure thats not an accident because i dont believe we have a top class forward line.

but i expect that to change in the summer.

if we dominate games like that but have top class finishers we won't go far wrong.

the only thing to moan about today is the result.

[Revo]

anyone else think gonzales should of stayed on today?

[Kopite_Colin]

Not sure. I would have taken Momo or Alonso off earlier, and put Crouch on, and Bellamy to right midfield, with Stevie in the middle.

[blacky]

Lads, we dominated a game against the league leaders (winners). Nothing to be ashamed of losing this way. United were lucky and have been for the best part of the season and to be honest we have had a lot of similar luck in the past (i.e the owen fa cup final). If rafa is allowed compete for the top end players in the summer i.e torres, villa, alves etc etc we will be a force next season. No point in blaming certain players or substitutions. Let's just focus on barca and winning the CL.

[knockers]

anyone else think gonzales should of stayed on today?

I thought he should of stayed on, maybe Rafa thought 2 densive minded left sided players would stop fake Ronaldo from making the difference.

[Kopite_Colin]

Agreed. But this is where Rafa needs to earn his money. He really needs to step up to the plate now and prove he can spot, sign, coach, handle and motivate a top, top true goalscoring striker. Because his record to date in signing strikers and getting the most out of them has been average to say the least.

[Red_Al_77]

Living up to your tag I see.

:bird:

[TheStig]

Rafa needs to keep it simple this summer.

Buy a goalscorer, a proven one.

Buy a couple of wide midfielders who can create and score.

Currently we lack goals from midfield, especially with Garcia out injured, apart from Gerrard nobody else scores with any kind of regularity.

In the league Gerrard has to play in the middle.

[Icon]

They could have had a pen they didn't deserve either.

So they didnt actually get the penalty they didn't deserve?

Hmmm

[CharlieMansonsSquint]

I agree with much of what you say but I do think our attacking play has improved a fair bit (although maybe that's what you meant about "degrees"). We've got more options, we aren't entirely set up to play on the break and we can beat poor teams who sit back and defend for 90 minutes more often and more easily than before. Having said that, it's obviously not there yet.

What I meant was that our attacking play is certainly better than it was under Houllier. But in terms of degrees the bar has been raised since Rafa arrived, even more so this year. Last year we got 80 plus points by being solid in defence, only Chelsea were better and scored more. This season we've been good defensively, but the scum have been just as good but have scored over 20 goals more than we have. Bottom line is that we haven't made any progress in the league since Rafa's arrived.

But to a certain extent the same problems remain fom the Houllier era; we look too rigid at times, lack of movement from midfielders especially getting beyond the ball - Gerrard and Garcia excluded, certain players (too many) aren't comfortable in possession, in general we lack creativity and pace in certain positions. Perhaps new players will remedy this, only I have doubts about Rafa's tactical approach in this league.

[tomasjj]

i reckon mascer on for momo wouldve been good. also sg behind bellers and pennant on the right, kuyt is off form

[FowlerLeftFoot]

but momo played a lot better in the 2nd half though, the first half his passing was awful!!

i reckon mascer on for momo wouldve been good. also sg behind bellers and pennant on the right, kuyt is off form