Maybe, but then he'd have to explain why a fully fit Smalling is being kept out of the side by the likes of Jones and Rojo. I don't agree with a lot of stuff Jose does but I do like to know if the player's are being workshy ****s.
I didn't even know Smalling had been injured, I assumed he'd been dropped for being so ****e against Chelsea!
Indeed! He was suspended for Fenerbace but you'd have him back ahead of Rojo usually. Not now though.
It does if you take the irony of Danny Murphy's description of Watford on MOTD... They kept making their own problems with their own naïve silly play. Sloppyness, silly back passes. Arguing in defence about who’s going to go out, who’s going to mark. Schoolboy stuff from the Watford defence. At 1-0 you think they’d learn. But no-one gets close to the ball, no-one getting any tackles in. They let Coutinho cut in onto his right foot. It’s like Watford just turned up and didn’t know what to expect in the game. They gave themselves no chance!
**** that, Watford are no doubt the best opponents Liverpool have had this season and they just swatted them. Epic performance. Our was ****e though, obvs.
I thought you knew me better than that Watford were poor. However, Shearer described Swansea's performance in the first half as the worst he'd ever seen - by any team.
The first half was great, if a bit piss take tippy tappy, and we at least scored three which should have been many more. It's a great place to watch as the ground is like a miniature of a large one and you can see everything unfold clearly and also hear a lot, given the Swansea fans make **** all noise bar a constant grumble. When it became apparent we thought we'd done the job my mind drifted off to looking at the back of Jose and Bobby Charlton's heads for most of the second half and wondering if they would have any Gower Gold left after the match.(they didn't) It's very difficult to say how well we actually played given we conceded a goal and 'lost' the second half to a side that is comfortably the worst I have ever seen in the premier league. Worse than Barnsley, Bradford, Blackpool and Burnley rolled into one. Next weekend v Arsenal will give a bit more of an idea I suppose.
Chief, would you not attribute the win at Swansea to the way United played rather than Swansea's sloppiness? I know that pundits do this especially with us.. I've got used to naratives such as - If we win 4-1 against Fenerbahce, it is only Fenerbahce. United deserved no credit. But when Fenerbahce beats us 2-1, it is absolutely the end of the world for United. It is never the same for Arsenal, Liverpool and City. Every victory is greeted with hysteria (especially Arsenal and Liverpool) and defeats/setbacks are shrugged off as glitch in the system. Are we hated that much?
We get our fair share of **** from the media. It seems they all really like Klopp, though. And yes: you are hated that much
No, Swansea were honestly that bad. Like I said, we did play very well in the first half and on that there are definite positives. But Swansea were ****e man, there's no two ways about it. I'd love to come away thinking we've hit some form but it's hard to actually gauge. Like I said post match, there were some positives and both Rooney and Zlatan were excellent throughout. Pogba looked good and Carrick did also. I also think Ashley Young deserves a mention because, whether you are pro or anti, he plays where he's asked when he's asked and he plays well. I would have the bloke at least on the bench every game to be honest. The team was set up as a 4 5 1, or a 4 2 3 1. But what I got from it was that a 4 3 3 would work nicely if we insist on not playing with actual wingers with pace, as seems to be the case. The front three would be Rooney, Zlat and Mata with the midfield three being Carrick, Herrera and Pogba. Controversial, and lacking in pace, I know and I'd like to see both Martial and Rashford play but it's not like we can say we've been flying with them in the side. There are loads of variants to 4 3 3 which would suit us really.