Yes but when you describe how Messi, Ronaldo etc played, you would mention their creativity, goals, movement etc. working hard would be low down in terms of valuable contribution. With Lallana, working hard is his number 1 attribute. And Lallana is not a one touch player - he gets the ball, does a couple of needless turns and then plays it. He's incredibly slow and it then slows down the attacks. I'm not surprised that some fans rate him becUse there is actually a fine line between top class and average. Lallana looks like he's a top player because he has a style which is easy on the eye. But the better players, the one who should be at this club, the top 4 quality players are the ones who have substance. Coutinho wasn't brilliant today but what he has is intent. You can see that he's always looking forward and will try things. Lallana looks like he wants to try things but his execution is poor or he ends up simply going back because he holds onto the ball for far too long and the options are gone. I guarantee that if you get Markovic back at RWB and push sterling up, our attack will be far more cohesive.
And I think we need either sterling or Mario up top to partner Sturridge because he is isolated and little space. Plus Sturridge cannot run and lead the press because he will physically break down.
110% agree And as much as Allen deserves praise for getting fit the time he takes to get a ball under control at this level shows why I call him average. He was out of his depth today
When the team is struggling and end up losing, there tends not to be too many positive things to say about a player. usually the main aspects that stand out are whether or not the player dug in, worked hard and never gave up. That is why I said Lallana worked hard, he simply didn't submit defeat, he kept going and tried to make something happen. If the one touch pass is on then Lallana take sit nine times out of ten. If not, he tries to maintain possession until he has that pass. He's possibly the most two footed player we have in the squad and only Coutinho has better ball control IMO. Lallana's finishing and creativity are what let him down. I think Lallana could get a hat-trick of goals and assists every single game and you'd still criticise him, you just don't like him. I'd pick Lallana ahead of Markovic without hesitation.
I don't agree on this. If our team was properly set up today with sterling and coutinho about to press up in safety then we would not be saying this. Personally I'd rather have a second striker not mario badontelly Whatever system best fits next years squad, this year 3-4-3 worked but right now the right side is gone to pot
He was nowhere today Lallana was poor and if it's a direct choice I'd pick markovic rwb and sterling rf.... Nobody else... Lallana would be my reserve only
He may get goals and assists but that's not what I judge players on. Stevie got goals and assist last year but I was his biggest critic. It's not a case of Markovic vs Lallana because Marko will play as RWB (although I prefer his higher up). It's bwtween Lallana and Sterling for that advanced role and sterling wins that hands down. Lallana would not play as RWB because he does not have the attributes - he doesn't have the pace to carry the ball, he can't beat a man and despite his hard work, he's actuslly poor defensively - yes he's quick to close players down but one drop of the shoulder and he's beaten so easily.
Our attack has been poor with just one striker. And we're not creating enough clear cut chances. The attacking unit is struggling. We've been relying on worldy strikes recently. The only times we have looked threatening is when Mario comes on, and you can definitely see Sturridge looking more up for it and pulling out wide because he knows someone else is in the middle. Agree that long term it won't be Mario, but Sturridge cannot play as a lone striker.
Wow a lot of opinions. Let me wade in Mito - mata was superb so was hererra carrick blind and smalling and mop head won all the defensive set pieces. Rooney was pants, worse united player. Held ball up better in second half but was anonymous and kept losing the ball. Lallana. Looks good, good feet lovely cruyff turn both footed but not for me. Doesnt have a footballing brain and loves to dally on the ball too much. Maybe should be an am but at rw he doesnt have the blistering pace liverpool have had that causes panic, or dribbling skills to go past a player or that super shot. Sahko. Looks brilliant. Great on the ball. Strong in the tackle. Positionally for me though looks a bit suspect. I know moreno got blamed but as lcb its a combination between him and moreno to deal with mata. They are both responsible in my eyes and sahko for me should be taking charge if alberto is out of position (more for the 2nd goal 1st goal is more morenos fault) Skrtels challenge i defended when costa stood on skrtel and said you cant 100 percent be sure. Same with skrtel. Looks a little bit naughty but cant say for sure Overall man u wanted it a lot more. As for your pressing game its just unfortunate that van gaal has mastered tippy tappy a bit like brenden in that you guys are typically great in possession but struggle to break teams down. Your pressing game was nullified by United being able to pass it about comfortably at the back to keep possession. United have been doing that all season but cant break anyone down and even today didnt really create any chances against you guys
Good but.... Makes him look too good I'd have to go for some sort of "do you suffer from premature ejection" type ad
Someone else posted a similar one, but added "less than" before the 60 seconds as it was only 30odd seconds until he got the yellow... Again keep up
You may want to re-read what I put A on form Sterling would win that RF role hands down agreed. When was the last time we saw a on form Sterling though? I'm not criticising Sterling too much there though since he's been moved around. He's suffering from two things at the minute IMO; being versatile and Coutinho's form.
