₦airaland Forum

afrodoc2:
That Bruno sub was funny. At that point Mainoo and Case had started escorting midfield runners, yet ETH removed Bruno and left them on.

That ETH can be so daftt

Leyqute:
I’ll put it down to coaching naivety.

It was clear and obvious that they were going to play a high line and there are textbook strategies to beat it. Even more, we had the talent and quality to put them to the sword.

I just didn’t understand why United didn’t do more to hurt them, create dangerous chances, put the fear of God in them and make the players doubt the capability of their rookie manager.

Watch other teams brutally exploit that high line this season.

If na Ole catch that extremely high line ehn…
Even under eth we have ate running behind high lines.
I don’t know why we were playing possession football when that high line was there for the taking
Either passers delaying pass or runners not timing their run
Our attackers are daft but there’s some coaching deficiency in that lack of cohesion too
I would expect some input from RVN in this regard

afrodoc2:
I did not say it was our only problem. I also said we struggle to create clear cut chances which is not directly linked to playing out from the back (although they are related in an indirect way).

I just highlighted playing out from the back because it is one of the easier things to address on the training pitch. If after 3 seasons we are still doing it in such a hit and miss fashion, then what can we expect in terms of the more difficult issues like breaking down a low block and creating plethora of chances. I expect more fluidity in our passing and off the ball movement.

Another recurring problem is ETH's inability to either select the right players or make the right subs. With the way Brighton plays that suicidal high line anybody with even basic football knowledge should have known that False 9 was not the way to go. Before the match i warned that the False 9 will soon lazzident, and it did. Evan Rashford down the middle would have worked better than the Bruno/Mount combination.

With that high line conventionally united should have had a feast. Even on our worst days we love high lines. I don’t see how playing a striker especially if it’s Rashford makes a difference. We just needed the attackers running in behind to time their runs and stay onside and for those passing to release the ball timeously. We did neither yesterday despite several opportunities. Again, lack of cohesion in the final third

afrodoc2:
I did not say it was our only problem. I also said we struggle to create clear cut chances which is not directly linked to playing out from the back (although they are related in an indirect way).

I just highlighted playing out from the back because it is one of the easier things to address on the training pitch. If after 3 seasons we are still doing it in such a hit and miss fashion, then what can we expect in terms of the more difficult issues like breaking down a low block and creating plethora of chances. I expect more fluidity in our passing and off the ball movement.

Another recurring problem is ETH's inability to either select the right players or make the right subs. With the way Brighton plays that suicidal high line anybody with even basic football knowledge should have known that False 9 was not the way to go. Before the match i warned that the False 9 will soon lazzident, and it did. Evan Rashford down the middle would have worked better than the Bruno/Mount combination.

Bruno / Mount helped press Brighton and tbh to good effect esp. in the first half. I remember we won the ball high and in dangerous positions. But I have said this too many times I probably now sound like a broken record, our lack of cohesive play upfront is going to be the end of us

I don’t know what eth was thinking with the subs tho. Bruno off for ghostominay to play as a number 10 when it was obvious Kobbie and case were tired. Brighton just jejely brought on Adingra, Baleba and Enciso and it was obvious we were going to concede. Also subbing Maguire for MDL also made zero sense at that point. You are either bringing on a defender as an extra defender or you leave the ones that started

I’m frustrated too

Jokerman:
Of course... He's a mid coach.

1st season - blame Ronaldo, Sancho

2nd season- blame Maguire, De Gea and injuries and Structure

3rd- What's the explanation for this season?

Rudd Van Nistelrooy is the right man?

It appears a lot here are in favour of ETH being sacked and RVN being appointed, abi?

😂😂😂

afrodoc2:
What did i say that is not true?

1) We are not creating enough clear-cut chances.

2) Onana and Maguire caress the ball for too long.

P.S I know why Onana caresses the ball but often times the result is not what we want. He caresses the ball and draws pressure, but our defenders and midfielders are often not in the proper positions to exploit the gaps created. If the coach does not set them up properly the caressing of ball will be for nothing.

Maguire just caresses the ball for caressing sake even when there are obvious passing options.

* ETH is not coaching them well enough on the positions to take and the angles to create when building up from the back. I have seen the way City, Assanal, Spurs, Brighton etc do it, and we are not doing it as effectively. We should be better after a 3rd pre-season.

Well Doc given our obvious problem with playing out the back in previous seasons I’ll say playing out the back was the least of our problems yesterday. We evaded Brighton’s press too many times. Too many. What we did with the ball from the midfield to the final third is where I see several issues

Our play out from the back is not perfect yet but there’s marked improvement

afrodoc2:
By not creating and scoring enough goals we are asking our defense to be perfect in every game, which is not realistic.

The improved pressing is good, but we need more structure on the ball as well. Onana and Maguire caressing the ball for extended periods before passing it is disgusting to watch. And our midfielders Case and Mainoo have to do more to make themselves available for the ball and create angles and options for the backline to pass to them.

The on the ball structure is not as bad you paint it. Moves usually fell apart even the ball got to our wingers, who I keep saying need to improve the most

Onana holding onto the ball is to allow potential receivers assume good positions and also bait pressing attackers to leave gaps in the opponent’s structure. The less said about Maguire, the better

metodman:
Our first half performance was good, bar those two wingers. I can't really blame Amad, he did what he could based on his capabilities. Based on how ETH wants to play, I think the wingers must be fast, dynamic, explosive and intelligent. I don't think our wingers have those qualities in them.

Also, I see the reason why he doesn't like taking out Bruno cos he's the livewire of that team. When he's poor, it affects the team... and yet we haven't found a younger player that can play that role well enough. I'm not a coach though but it doesn't seem to me that he knows his priorities. Or we have too many dunce in that team... yet, it does seem like we are replacing average players with more average players.

Bruno is a world class player and finding someone like him might be difficult
But we need to start finding someone close. We brought on Mctominay and he could not hold on to the ball for two seconds despite being fresh. He also did not assist a tired Casemiro and Kobbie out against Brighton’s energetic fresh legs

metodman:
100% my thoughts and you couldn't have said it better. It's exactly why players like Rashford and Martial were given crazy contracts.... few good games, they are 'rewarded'. It just seems like the club as a whole is suffering from low self-esteem... I know it's a crazy thought but I think it's true. We should do better.

I was surprised how well we played against Brighton to be honest cos we normally look like a league one side against them. But with impotent attackers scoring becomes rocket science

I fit count how many chances Amad alone blow today. But he is young and it is his first season at the highest level. So wetin we go do. Na Una say Una no wan see Antony again it must be Amad. So you must let Amad develop. Same with Garnacho

Not to talk of Rashford being absolutely useless as usual

That first half alone we suppose dey lead with the openings wey we get.
Make we even excuse Mr Maguire that most of you said deserved to start because of a few 5.5/10 performances

Jamiuokolaa:
Last season, na injuries be the excuse...

This season, you want to make it about strikers...

No be here we dey when ETH plus the "structure" wey you dey ask for, carry money buy that Orobosa boy ?

All these one wey you dey talk no concern me bros
Make we face facts na him be my own
Expect more of d same this season
Hopefully we get top four

metodman:
Our attack is light-weight for me. One of the problems we have in this club is that we get carried away by occasional individual brilliance and then view average players as world-class.

We might not concede a lot this season but we may not score enough. Many winnable games like this may turn to a draw or loss

It only takes an objective person to see clearly
The main reason I said we cannot challenge for the league earlier this week is I look at our attackers and none of them is top class. The best we have are prospects that we hope can come good(Hojlund Amad Garnacho)
Yet we keep deceiving ourselves here everyday

Our attackers are half lethal and we win both Fulham and Brighton today comfortably

Jamiuokolaa:
Wait

If we are still talking about striker issues in the 4th season of a manager, is it not an indictment on the manager himself?

Couldn't it not mean that the man is satisfied with his current options?

Remember this same manager has spent close to 130m to bolster that same position you are talking about

I don’t know sir
The only thing we can all authoritatively talk about is what we see on d pitch

A decent performance today
Evident that Last season issues were noted and worked on at least
I maintain that none of our attackers is reliable at this time
Absolutely none of them

metodman:
Whoever says Ugarte is all we need to perform well this definitely not seeing right. I'm definitely not satisfied with those wingers we have... and we don't have a striker as well. Amad is a squad player at best.... Let's not talk about Rashford at all, yet he starts.

And the coach...hmmm

Our attackers ain’t shit
But somehow, we are supposed to win the league this season because our manager is in his 4th season

When y’all came here last week and started praising Maguire for having an average game I was quick to point it out
Or maybe the standards are now so low for him that an average performance needs to be hyped

afrodoc2:
You might have a point with one of the full backs being inverted to help Ugarte with that.

Or even Mainoo dropping deep to partner the inverted full back when we are building from the back while Ugarte pushes forward. Then when we are off ball the roles are reversed.

🤝

afrodoc2:
The medium and long range passing stats look good but 1st phase passing is more about short and medium range passing.

From the clips I saw he seemed to struggle with short range passing when pressed.

His off the ball work looks excellent though.




I hope he does well overall (off the ball and on the ball) when he comes.

If I’m right about what I think ETH’s plan is..
Last season we suffered from that midfield gap because Casemiro’s off the ball abilities literally went to zero.
I think ETH wants a younger destroyer that can cover that space on his own allowing the attackers to play his high pressing style
I also think he will use Dalot as his first phase passer as we have seen glimpses of that before. Mazraoui also appears to be a little press resistant
And then maybe I’m wrong and we’ll still have problems even after signing Ugarte🤡

afrodoc2:
Looks encouraging. What is his short pass % ?

Don’t know
Not top three obviously but can’t be bad
Just saying maybe passing won’t be an issue with him
I think the main reason he’s our main target is for his work off the ball anyway

Oasis007:
....when asked about Jadon Sancho

"We will see. We have a squad and I hope we will have a squad with double positioning. When we go into the season after 1 September, then that also means you can't select all the players for a game. But we need all the players throughout the season because this will be a season of survival of the fittest.

"We have to manage it but also the attitude of the players is important. Sometimes they will be disappointed but they have to deal with it. You don't win with 11, you win as a squad. The prizes are decided next May so, until then, we need all the players in the squad and we need a high level of high motivation.

"That is not an expectation, it is a demand from the club and the manager. It is the squad over everything and that will always be more important than just one individual."

- Erik Ten Hag

Almost forgot this fraud still plays for us
Sancho Antony Rashford are the kind of attackers we are supposed to win the league with

Afrodoc2 what dyu say?

odizeey:
How many league goals did Saka score last season?

I’m sure you can find the stats
Arsenal have multiple attackers reaching double figures for G/A in the past two seasons they’ve challenged
Liverpool are serial title challengers. Salah is still the best goal scorer in the PL since 2017
But you that has not had a title challenge since 2013 and your “best attacker” has 3 good seasons in nine wants to win for the league after your worst ever season

No further comments on this league discussion
If you believe we can or should win, fine
You might even laugh in our faces when we do win at the end of the season

odizeey:
This one says we can't fight for the league because our attackers can't score 20 league goals. Please help me ask him how many league goals Arsenal's and Liverpool's top league scorers had last season.

cc Afrodoc2

You are just clowning at this point

afrodoc2:
Mr A: ETH should make sure we play good football and fight for Top 4 this season.

Mr B: Mr A that is rubbish! ETH must make sure we put up a good showing this season.

Mr C: Mr A that is rubbish! We need to start seeing consistent good league performances this season.

Agenda go gend wella this season😂😂
Brace yourselves

odizeey:
Expectation no dey kill person, at least not me. I for don die since the last 10 years.

Put in a decent show this season.

FIght for league next season or get lost.

This is not different from what I said
Be like Ten Hag don collect your babe before

odizeey:
So which material is not available?
Is he the one he used to buy Mount or Antony?

No need to drag this further
If you believe we can win then it’s between you and your expectations at the end of the season

spillo1:
Did you think Arsenal could fight for the league when they did last two seasons? Erik has been backed more than Arteta who is fighting for the league. What exactly is stopping him from fighting for top 2?

No para
United for the league✊🏽

odizeey:
See am.

How will you hire a coach and not expect him to win league in his 10th season?

I wan believe say you dey pull my legs ni sha 😂
What I meant is if the materials are not available a coach will not magically win the league even if he has spent 10 years

noobody:
Available in Abuja,
2M

16/512gb.

Call/WhatsApp:08100115319

If a few years back someone said we’ll reach a point when smartphones cost 2m, most of us would say we’ll never buy it

Sam768:
MOFI salary then was too big to the extent that they warned their staff not to reveal it. To me it is better than the rest. But i don't know about other packages like allowances and co. Maybe that's where NNPC will swallow it alive...

MoFI uses a different salary scale from other ministries?
Or you mean the allowances and “runs” money big