Anyone else picked up the fact that we finished in the top half of the League on goal difference. If we had attempted to take Man City on instead of defending like mad then I would contend we would have lost more heavily than we actually did meaning our goal difference would have been worse resulting in our not finishing in the top half. Haven’t noticed any of those criticizing Rafa at the time remembering their criticism or recognizing that he actually knows football better than they do.
Wrong, wrong, wrong ..Gary Neville was absolutely correct when he delivered his considered and astute judgment about Rafa's disgraceful tactics while frothing at the mouth and screaming in a high pitched, outraged, whine for all 90 mins (plus the added time) (tonally ...very much like a scouser on speed ..tbf) Rafa has to fully understand and appreciate that Sky want..nay, demand, that all teams outside of the top 4, succumb in a goal frenzy ..ideally by playing 10 u-17s and a dog. Are you happy that Rafa and the lads stopped Sky ****ing furiously, live and on air, over how many goals Man Citeh should of, by right, scored? Deep down we all know we aren't ..Rafa didn't just let Gary down, he let Sky down Will no one think of Sky's bank balance? They need goals ..more goals.. even more goals ..goals and boobs..goals, boobs and beer .. Ker-ching please log in to view this image
Does it matter At the end of the day. We might as well Of put a white flag up. In the center circle that night
It’s a bit of stretch to defend the tactics of one by game by pointing to a stat governed by performance 38 games. Some would say it’s a very stupid thing to say.
One thing I would say is that other sides such as Huddersfield, Brighton etc ended up with far less possession and far fewer shots on/off target against Man City yet I don't recall a massive overreaction from the media when this happened.
To be honest I completely stand by what I was saying at the time, just off the back of nearly our WORST EPL FORM EVER. Results and performances vs think it was Everton, West Brom, Palace and Bournemouth in that run were AWFUL - a severe lack of attacking ambition, whether that was the quality available to the squad at the time but that run was horrendous. Can't argue with the end result though and looking back in hindsight it is very easy to say 4-2 on aggregate vs City was probably better than the majority of teams this year.
No I wasn't. I thought he maybe went too far one way. however it kept us in a game against a side who will have spent 600m in 3 seasons by the time the summer is out. Sometimes you have to cut your cloth. In the 2nd half I think he realised he was inviting way too much pressure, got them out a bit while maintaining the structure. We could have nabbed an undeserved point so I don't think you can question the method too much.
Can't question the method at all unless dense I reckon. If I recall correctly Gayle had a chance right at the death to grab a point against them. Statistically the best team there's been in the Premiership and who were at the time destroying all in their path. We were shank at that time and it was the start of a turn-around for us, it also highlighted (to me at least) that the players were willing to work their hardest for an entire game following exactly Rafa's instructions. Fans can question him if they want but the players don't look like they are - that's what matters to me and the main reason we finished 10th.
Dress up it anyway you want, but, that game was surrendered. Luckily it never came back to haunt us. No club in the PL should surrender the way we did that night. ps - thank **** for Pouchy's sanity
I just wish Heed was here. He’d put you right. That man’s a deep thinker and he knows what he’s talking about. Unlike someone i could name.
An interesting debate, and to be fair, I can see the merits of both sides. However, looking at it now, I would ask the question, did it actually do any harm. It could reasonably be argued that the defensive performance was the catalyst of what was to come over the following months. Perhaps the team became a more solid unit that night and started to believe in themselves.
