Mails: Arsenal ‘did a Jose’ on Man United
Date published: Monday 21st November 2016 3:30
You know what to do…mail us at theeditor@football365.com
Arsenal are turning into a Jose side
In the second half on Saturday, Arsenal were awful. Initially my thinking was that we are no where near good enough to win the league, but at least we ruined Jose’s day with a marvellously undeserved equaliser. I thought Wenger picked the wrong team and it denoted some lack of judgement which means he’ll never win the league again.
During 24 hours of cooling off I’ve become more charitable and optimistic for the season. Elneny-Coquelin was underwhelming and wouldn’t look out of place somewhere like Crystal Palace. But since then I have thought that of our many central options this is by far the most secure, whilst Xhaka is still finding his feet at least.
The main theme of my ruminations since the game is despite being all over us in the second half, Utd did not create many chances at all. Of course we created none, but that wasn’t the point. In this tightly contested Premier League, teams can win the league by not losing their tricky away games. Just as pioneered by Jose.
We were rubbish. We failed to control the game and were massively uninspiring going forward. When Alexis drops so deep you are never sure if this is a cause or symptom of our poor performance. One shot in the second half is derisory. But a wealth of midfield options meant we could pick a pair who suited the game, rather than playing the only fit midfielders as we have had to do before. Options off the bench too, as profited us at Old Trafford and at Sunderland.
I’m now optimistic because the combination of star players, ugly performances, lucky points, late goals and good subs are the hallmarks of Utd and Chelsea teams that I really hated. A very good sign indeed.
James Gooner
…Arsenal were diabolical at Old Trafford on Saturday but ManYoo weren’t much better.
A mate told me that I was being defensive of our poor play when I said it looked like the Old Trafford pitch had been ‘turfed up’ a little bit to prevent our passing (fine, but by ManYoo? Or maybe my mate was correct and I was trying to defend a very very poor performance!).
However, we can talk about stats all we like. ManYoo had five shots on target. One went in through a well-executed move and finish. Another was brilliantly saved by Petr. Arsenal had one and that was another very well-executed move.
Basically, what I’m trying to say, is that whilst Arsenal turned out very poor performance they weren’t far behind ManYoo and turned out the winners on the day!
Don’t get me wrong, it was so frustrating but to see José getting his knickers in a twist was wonderful.
Chris, Croydon
Ramsey: Not a winger
Good emails over the weekend regarding the Ramsey issue. I don’t agree with people saying he is a bad player. He is clearly a very good player, the Euros have shown this (he also has a better team around him now)
He is playing badly for two reasons. The first has already mentioned in here is that Arsene Wenger regularly plays him out of position. You can make all the excuses you want but he is not a winger and never will be. He hasn’t got the guile, pace or tack to get past his man and I rarely see him cross. He either wants to cut inside or get lost down the flank. This means we are forced to either play narrowly or lose our attacking threat down one flank. Iwobi, Sanchez, Ox and even Walcott all have one or more of the skills required to be an effective winger. If any of these four are fit, I cannot understand how Ramsey starts on the wing.
Secondly, he is always played when he isn’t match fit, and this was obvious on Saturday. I don’t have the stats to back this up but I can’t remember the last time Ramsey was gently brought back into the squad following injury. I rarely hear about him playing for the reserve team and he never seems to brought on a as a sub for a few games. He is almost never match fit when he comes back and it shows. He wasn’t sharp and made simple mistakes, specially around positioning.
I agree that he should only be played in midfield but to say he is rubbish and that we lose when he is in the team isn’t fair on Ramsey. On Saturday Wenger made a number of selection mistakes (Giroud and Xhaka should have started for me). I don’t place the blame on Ramsey, he is being poorly managed and that’s the biggest shame.
Rob A (what a season this is looking to be!) AFC
Credit where credit’s due to Herrera/Pogba/Carrick
Although a disappointing result for United on the weekend, I would like to point out the one shining light in the United gameplan. F365 is right in saying Arsenal should have taken more advantage of United CB pairing of Jones and Rojo, I mean how can any striker not want to play against a calamity like Jones or a yellow card waiting to happen Rojo. Sanchez should have been hanging off of the last man looking for a gap in the defence, espically with Ozil behind him.
He was having no luck though, the ball couldn’t find its way to him, this being the Arsenal have scored an average of two goals a game (with three against both Liverpool and Chelsea) but yet couldn’t get a shot on target until the 89th minute. That is poor from Arsenal, but I think credit should be put on the midfield three who defensively stopped most balls getting in behind them. The safety net that is Carrick, the non-stop feisty Herrera closing everyone down and then the strength of Pogba seemed to put an end Arsenal creativity (Ozil had 0 key passes…Pogba had 2 and Herrera 3).
This midfield three didn’t stop there, all three of them pressured at the top and created space and opportunity for each other. So many times those three had space around them to pass between them before turning a player and finding space or passing through to one of the top three. This three has been what most United fans want to see and for all the reasons this game shows.
I just wish Mourinho wouldn’t sit back in the last 5-10 minutes though, you could see that goal coming from somewhere. Sitting back just allows your oppenents to attack your goal repeatedly, all it takes is one sloppy tired piece of defending and the game is over. You wouldn’t see any other title-challenging team sit back like that (not saying United are title challenging….because they are not), sitting back is something a mid-low table mentality….sit back fingers crossed arse checks clenched.
Stoky-Boy – Still don’t like Mourinho and don’t think I ever will
Love for old-school Herrera
* Herrera is everything you always hated about United *
Herrera was one of the two best players on the pitch on Saturday (both were United players) so it made me vomit in my mouth a bit when I saw a ‘conclusion’ in today’s mailbox from ‘Matt, Arsenal fan’ (clearly) deriding him for ‘fouling people nonstop but diving whenever he gets tackled’. It’s a sad day when a CM is criticised for making tackles and, inevitably, making a few fouls! I remember a time when they were applauded for it! Keane, Vieira, Scholes…That particular part of your conclusions was sh#te mate, I really didn’t bother to read anymore of your mail after that so the rest of my mail will be and how stupid your conclusion was and why you, and the rest who share your opinion, really hate Ander.
Firstly the word ‘diving’ implies that the tackles on Herrera you refer to were legitimate and thus weren’t fouls, which is plainly false! I don’t have the stats or memory to prove it but it would ludicrous to say none of the tackles made on him were fouls.
Secondly, the only dive in the game came from Walcott when he got Darmian booked for nought. But I guess you can’t point that out because he’s English? Idiot!
Lastly Herrera is everything United players used to be, tenacious, passionate, they hated losing and were technically brilliant. It’s no wonder you hate him, its the same reason why you hated United when we were dominating your beloved teams week in week out!
Buchule, RSA (build a narrative around a player and people start pointing out stupid things to fit into it!)
He’s at the right club
Interesting to read how happy Herrera is at his current club and especially the fact that he takes a lot of pleasure from being in a league where any team can take points off the others. If that’s one of the key criteria for his happiness then he certainly chose his club wisely.
Banjo, Prague (MCFC)
And I’m a United fan…
I thought I would write in to complain about the most annoying thing in football fandom, the ‘and I am a…(insert team name) fan’. As if to place emphasis on the point they are making. I see it on the comments section of BBC posts all the time and a chap in the mailbox today. It’s mostly things like ‘I thought that Firminho goal was brilliant and I am a United fan’. It’s as if we are supposed to go wow, a United fan liked a Liverpool goal, it must be amazing. How magnanimous of them. I just wish people could express their opinions on something without having to qualify it through the rose-tinted glasses of supporting a particular club.
As if they can’t enjoy something without being a fan of their club first and foremost.
D*ckheads.
Lots of love and affection,
Kev, Warrington (I really enjoyed Children In Need the other night and I am a Comic Relief fan)
Impressed with Liverpool’s solid point
Couldn’t agree with Matt Stead’s piece more. I know prior to the international break, Southampton had slumped to a few losses, one of which was against a re-invigorated and impressive Chelsea side, but they’re a good team. They obviously feared Liverpool in the same manner as that game, that they set up very compact.
* I thought Van Dijk and Fonte were superb. The tackle on Mane was particularly impressive and as one of the mailbox contributors highlighted this morning, is there a better centre-half in the Premier League?
* Running him close in my opinion is Joel Matip. So, so impressive yesterday. Slick on the ball and genuinely imposing. Nullified the few breaks Southampton made with ease. Class act.
* Coutinho looked a bit lethargic. That was to be expected. Pre International break, he would have buried that chance. Same with Firmino.
* For me, the biggest chance was Clyne’s. How he missed is beyond me. Just one of those days in my eyes.
* It’s incredible how important Lallana has become for Liverpool. Wijnaldum and Can are too similar in my eyes and with the compact element yesterday from Southampton, the game was crying out for a bit more creativity from deep. Perfectly understandable from Klopp, not wanting to upset the front trio. Maybe giving someone like Gruijic a chance would have been a bit out of left field but it’s a possibility for the future?
* Sturridge made a huge difference when he came on and that was Klopp’s biggest error. He should have been brought on earlier. I think over the next couple of weeks he will play a major role.
* Finally, the penalty. I don’t think it was a penalty. Firmino’a theatrics didn’t help his case. The jersey tug happened outside the area, so it was a free-kick. West Ham got a penalty in the evening game for the same offence (essentially). It comes back to implementing the rule thoroughly and that is the issue. Here in Ireland in the GAA, they introduced a ‘black card’ ruling.
Essentially the player is sent off, but you can replace him with a player from the bench. The difficulties that have emerged from this have been numerous and fairly high profile. Unless every referee is going to be stringent on the grappling rule, it’s going to just cause more and more controversy.
A good solid point gained.
Miguel Sanchez, LFC, Eire (Glass half-full at the moment)
All credit to Conte
If, in late September (and at Arsenal, three down) you’d told me that Chelsea would be top of the league in mid-November – and hadn’t conceded in that time – I would have laughed in your face.
Whilst several members of the team are now back to playing near/at their peak, for me an extremely large share of the credit has to go to the manager – one who clearly understands his players, supports them from the first minute to the final moments of the game, and has fostered a more positive culture around the first team.
FAO Jose: this is how you do ‘the happy one’ properly.
Seamus (hither and thither), London
…Chelsea have now kept six clean sheets in a row, while scoring 17 goals at the other end. If that isn’t impressive enough, Alvaro Negredo’s cheeky volley attempt was the first shot on target conceded by Chelsea since Dusan Tadic’s attempt on 30th October.
Remember when everybody laughed at Chelsea re-signing David Luiz? Some cried, including me. Somehow, the man with the crazy hair has transformed into a defensive monster. Thank you, PSG (or Conte?). He can safely be called the second-best defender in the league, after Van Djik.
Also, what has happened to El Diego. Five games in a row without a yellow card and 10 goals and three assists for the season already. Did we also end up with one of the best strikers in the world?
Am I in the twilight zone? Or was that just last season?
Rac, chanting Antoniooooo Antoniooooo every morning, all the way from India
Worried about Alonso and Cahill
Chelsea has been overly brilliant in recent weeks that almost everyone seem to overlook the lurking danger in the abilities of some of our players. ‘Our’ because I am a Chelsea fan but I look beyond the performances and into what is to come. Chelsea have two weak links in two players. Marcus Alonso and Gary Cahil.
Marcus is pretty decent going forward although he lacks any ability to dribble past his marker or the pace to that on the run. What he has going for him though is his crosses into the box. Excellent crosses but yet again I’m a bit critical of its timing. It’s one thing to have beautiful cross and it’s another thing for the cross to be well timed and calculated. Both should be mixed together for maximum effects. My major fears with Marcus anyways is his defending. Very poor on ‘one on one’ situations. His pace makes it difficult for him to return back into his position in time. His only plus defending is aerial presence, a trait he shares with his fellow shaky partner Gary Cahil.
Cahill is another danger, I am always afraid when he is in posession. Cahill has no bit of confidence in him and most of his decisio- making are overly poor. Ends up most times playing short passes back to the goal keeper and putting the keeper under unnecessary pressure. The fact that Cahil plays as a left central defender makes that part of Chelsea very weak combined with the shaky Marcus.
Hopefully come January and one or both issues will be addressed.
Before then though let our good form continue and these two should continue riding their luck.
Ugo Kaine, Cfc fan, Nigeria
A word on Harry Kane
Picture the scene: it’s the 89th minute of the game, you’re 2-1 at home to one of your most bitter rivals, your team is playing badly and you haven’t won for seven weeks. All of a sudden, a goalkeeping error leaves you with an open goal which you gladly take, slotting the ball into the back of the net. Now, do you a) run around celebrating like a mad man, considering the circumstances, or b) grab the ball, round up your teammates and head back to the centre circle to try and grab the unlikeliest of wins in stoppage time?
If you answered B), then you are probably Harry Kane, as that’s what he did on Saturday and I thought it was worth highlighting, as it’s yet more evidence of his brilliant attitude.
As this video shows…
Never f*cking give up! #COYS @hkane28 pic.twitter.com/fmwVj2T9Mj
— Luka B (@Brooksbizzle) February 22, 2015
…he has previous for his never say die attitude, with the video displaying him telling himself “never f*cking give up” repeatedly after a similar two-goal comeback against West Ham in the dying stages to steal a point that time (It’s happening again…).
The boy really is a superb talent, and it’s refreshing to see such a good role model for the youngsters – many other pros could learn lessons from Harry Kane, even if he is a one season wonder/two season wonder/penalty specialist/tap-in specialist (delete as applicable).
What a man.
Luke, Manchester
Weekend thoughts from Peter G
* You can’t sit back against Spurs. Even with every advantage – Diafra Sakho to provide counter-attacking pace, the opponents struggling with match fitness, Pochettino hobbling his side with an unfamiliar 4-4-2, a Mike Dean grappling penalty, West Ham still lost. You can’t sit back against Spurs.
* Swansea at least showed up this time, which by itself was almost worth three points against a very poor Everton. Budding chef Gylfi Sigurdsson served up Penalty Shout à la Vardy, and Martin Atkinson swallowed it whole. I still haven’t figured out how Seamus Coleman’s equaliser found the net. But you wonder if something’s going on at Goodison Park; that’s twice in a row the Toffees have been seriously subpar.
* If I were a Southampton fan, I’d be a bit worried. It’s no shame to be outplayed by Chelsea and Liverpool, even at home. But the Saints have been completely smothered both times, and a fortunate point this weekend can’t disguise a failure to compete. Virgil van Dijk was over-the-top wonderful, but even he buckled a couple of times under the pressure.
* Daryl Janmaat may be a key man for Watford this year. If he plays on the right of a back four, that leaves Nordin Amrabat free to attack. The winger is looking like one of the revelations of the season.
* Aside from the madness at White Hart Lane, match of the week was Stoke City – Bournemouth, a rollicking affair even more fun because Roger East had obviously failed to read the manual on Match Control. Bournemouth spent most of the time attacking Stoke’s left, and since Marko Arnautovic decided he didn’t feel like playing defense that day, Erik Pieters manned the bridge alone, registering a quite remarkable eight tackles and six interceptions. The Potters ran up and down and up and down, and looked likely to score any minute now, no seriously, they really did…but even a soft penalty award wasn’t enough. Sign of the Apocalypse: Charlie Adam came within 30 seconds of going three full games without a yellow card
* One more point about Bournemouth. When Nathan Aké stepped onto the pitch and Roger East blew his whistle for kick-off, a truly astonishing streak came to an end. Somehow, in the year 2016, in the Premier League, the Cherries had played 29 consecutive complete matches with a back line consisting solely of Englishmen.
Peter G, Pennsylvania, USA
And from Ed…
* Well done to Manchester City for their deserved win. In the grand scheme of things, losing to a team of their quality by only a single goal will not make a big difference to the season as a whole. That said, we’re still f###ed.
* I thought Crystal Palace played well, all things considered. Manchester City managed just 10 attempts on goal, of which only four were on target, compared to 8 and 2 for the Eagles. Wilfried Zaha had another good game, in the way that many a jinky winger these days has fun against Aleksandar Kolarov. Manchester City also committed more fouls, and had two players booked to Palace’s one. The home side could not be faulted for effort, but the gulf in quality was always going to be too big to bridge.
* Palace lined up in a 4-2-3-1, with Wayne Hennessey making his first league start in ages. Christian Benteke started up front on his own, and then at half-time (I’ve not bothered researching but I’d be surprised if anyone has made more substitutions at the start of the second half than Palace), withdrawing England’s Andros Townsend for Connor Wickham and moving Jason Puncheon to the wing, in a 4-4-2.
This is something Alan Pardew has done several times this season, often when trying to turn a game around, and it has, on occasion been effective – most notably against Sunderland, but it looked good against West Ham United too (even though we lost). This just makes it all the more puzzling that he isn’t willing to try it from the start, especially against defences who could be physically bullied. Vincent Kompany’s ability makes him an excellent defender, but his fitness makes him a weak link, and while it isn’t the most chivalrous pursuit, it would have made sense to put him under pressure. Two big centre-forwards to battle Kompany and Nicolas Otamendi – who had flown to South America and back in the week – could have proved fruitful, either leaving Kompany exposed or dragging other players out of position to help him and leaving space.
At the very least, Connor Wickham, who scored, deserves a chance to start, and who knows, a football equivalent to the NFL’s jumbo offence could prove effective.
* This might be a bold call by someone who’s biased but Wickham’s goal was the best counter-attacking goal of the weekend. It started with a goalline clearance by Joel Ward, and culminated with Wickham outpacing (yes, really) a defender and firing home over Claudio Bravo’s shoulder, while he was standing up.
* This flew under the radar a bit, but Dominic Fifield in Saturday’s Guardian reported that Pardew was summoned to New York to meet with Palace’s American investors, David Blitzer and Josh Harris. Perhaps Peter G could advise what the closest American idiom to ‘buck your ideas up’ is, but you’d have to imagine that was the basic premise. It already feels like time is running out to get this turned around Pardew is talking about spending in January but even then it feels like that might be too late. In their next three games the Eagles face Swansea City (a), Southampton (h), and Hull City (a). That’s two of the bottom three and a midtable side who lost to Hull City recently. Anything less than seven points from these games and it’s hard to see how the malaise is ever going to go away.
* Pardew blamed “individual errors” for this result. This is understandable, but at the same time, who has been encouraging Martin Kelly to play the ball square in that situation rather than welly it down the field? Also, another goal went in from a set-piece. That’s more than half the goals we’ve conceded this season. There is plenty of scope for watching film and analysing how Manchester City want to attack corners. The whole team seemed to be certain there would be a shot from the near post, and everyone was taken by surprise when the ball was passed to Yaya Toure.
He also mentioned Palace being in something of a “false position”. I suppose he’s correct, because we should really be bottom of the table.
* Other than racists, hooligans and other troublemakers, is there a more annoying species of fan than the person who says ‘don’t know how some people can claim to support the team but not the manager’? This is infuriating for several reasons.
Firstly, the team – perhaps more importantly the club – is more than just one person. This was raised in the context of people like me grousing about Pardew, but a degree of criticism is justified. Secondly, this ‘let’s just support the team’ relentless positivity is arguably more damaging to the club than the flaming-torch-and-pitchfork-braying-mob, because it’s not doing anything to hold people to account. Thirdly, this has undertones of ‘he’s one of us so let’s support him’, a mentality that leads to all kinds of trouble. It’s a slippery slope from there to the worst excesses of blind tribalism. On the other hand, Manchester United fans are entitled to still consider Jose Mourinho incredibly odious, because many of the rest of us do; likewise, any supporter who has ever benefitted from a goal scored by Ched Evans, Lee Hughes or Marlon King may have had mixed feelings about exactly who they were cheering on.
Ed Quoththeraven
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