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ricardo

Ricardo's report v Man Utd

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It's been a busy old day today, what with it being Mrs R's birthday and having to run my great grandson out to Watton for a Sunday League match. At least we managed to fit in a nice roast dinner at Hingham on the way back before getting off to CR. It was pleasantly sunny in the morning but the gloves and woolly hat were needed this evening.

An unchanged side wasn't a surprise and we started well enough when Aarons made good ground down the right before picking out Cantwell in the box. The shot was high over the top when from a good position fifteen yards out, it really should have tested the keeper. United were looking quite sharp but City appeared to be coping well in the early exchanges, indeed we were past ten minutes before their first attempt from the left of the box skidded well wide. Then with twenty minutes on the clock Krul, was finally forced into a meaningful stop when he got his feet in the way of a low shot from the dangerous James. From the resulting corner Krul somehow got in the way of a point blank effort that the City stopper somehow conjured over the bar.

It should have been a warning but when the second corner came over from the right there was a fair amount of dither from Cantwell, giving McTominay a chance to strike a low shot beyond the static Canary defence. A couple of minutes later James, burst through and from my viewpoint seemed to throw himself into Godfrey before both players went down. The ref initially waved it away but consulted VAR. It seemed purely academic to me but I was totally stunned when after a long delay, VAR overturned it and a penalty was given. I can only conclude that I missed something but those closer to the action than me certainly didn't seem to think that it was clear and obvious. Thankfully justice was done when Krul grabbed Rashford's shot to his right.

The crowd got really loud as City came forward but more dithering on the halfway line saw James nip in and flight a long crossfield pass to the unmarked Rashford who controlled well before slotting under Krul. Dear oh dear we do continue to be the masters of our own misfortune. Aarons was having a decent game down the left and a few minutes later almost created a goal when the ball was worked inside to Pukki who gave a chance for Cantwell to strike one from twenty yards only for DeGea to palm it over for a corner.

When United came back a fierce shot from the edge of the box struck a defender before going wide. The ref signalled a corner but once again VAR overturned it and gave a penalty. Again, I was too far away to comment on that one. Unbelievably Krul was once more the hero when he went full length to his left to fist away Martial's hard low effort.

Carrow Road was a cauldron of discontent by this time and chanted VAR, VAR at every disputed decision but in truth it was hard to dispute that the visitors were well worth their half time lead and I was just thankful that it wasn't worse.

Obviously a change was needed and Farke responded by taking Cantwell and Leitner off for Steipermann and Hernandez. It almost conjured up an early goal but Pukki could only miscue from six yards when Aaron's set him up from the City right. United still looked the superior outfit but at least the home side was a bit more in the game. The match ebbed and flowed with occasional bursts from Hernandez down the left but there was nothing to really trouble DeGea. We were hoping for a City goal to spark a revival but United still looked the more likely though a couple more good stops from Krul kept the scoreline respectable.

Farke again changed it bring on Byram for Lewis but it was all in vain minutes later when nice interpassing saw Rashford slip Martial in for a delightful dink over Krul from a narrow angle. Amadou and Krul were both injured in that incident and although the City keeper seemed to recover it was obvious the big City defender was in trouble. Having used up the subs he was sent forward more for nuisance value than anything else.

In the dying embers Hernadez glow suddenly burst into flame as he ran at defenders before leaving them in a heap and slotting what was no more than a consolation goal to finally give the faithful something to cheer about.

My verdict is that this result was pretty much par for the course considering our injury problems, which may now have even got worse. It never rains but it pours.

Tim Krul magnificent today, an obvious MOM performance, good points for Max Aarons but not much else to say about the rest. Plenty of effort but we will need more than that to still be in with a chance at Xmas.

At least my great grandson's team came away with a win this morning else Mrs' R's birthday would have been a complete washout.

 

Edited by ricardo
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Not looking good is it Ricardo ? I think we must win one of the next two matches before a gap might open . 
The three teams at the bottom have by far the worst goal difference which can be a significant indicator to how the table will finish . 

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7 minutes ago, Midlands Yellow said:

Not looking good is it Ricardo ? I think we must win one of the next two matches before a gap might open . 
The three teams at the bottom have by far the worst goal difference which can be a significant indicator to how the table will finish . 

It was a struggle before the injuries to Klose and Zimmerman. We also knew that we conceded a lot of goals last season so this shouldnt be a surprise. You can't concede at more than two a game and stay in this league.

Never say never but realistically its hard to see a survival.

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Yeah, and then I'll never see us grace the Prem again in my lifetime🙃

Mind you, if today is anything to go by I can live with that....

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5 minutes ago, nutty nigel said:

Yeah, and then I'll never see us grace the Prem again in my lifetime🙃

Mind you, if today is anything to go by I can live with that....

Do you only have a few years left then ?

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2 minutes ago, K Lo said:

Do you only have a few years left then ?

Well I'm not as old as Rickyyyy and all this is a Brucie bonus for him...

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4 minutes ago, nutty nigel said:

Well I'm not as old as Rickyyyy and all this is a Brucie bonus for him...

An unexpected bonus indeed.

A pity to see it drift away again due to injuries.

I still question whether a free agent centre back might not have been an idea when we knew we would be without Klose and Zimmerman for most of the season. If Amadou is now out surely we have to make a move.

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1 minute ago, ricardo said:

An unexpected bonus indeed.

A pity to see it drift away again due to injuries.

I still question whether a free agent centre back might not have been an idea when we knew we would be without Klose and Zimmerman for most of the season. If Amadou is now out surely we have to make a move.

Well, you're the stats man. Has anybody ever conceded 24 goals in the first 10 games and stayed up?

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2 minutes ago, ricardo said:

An unexpected bonus indeed.

A pity to see it drift away again due to injuries.

I still question whether a free agent centre back might not have been an idea when we knew we would be without Klose and Zimmerman for most of the season. If Amadou is now out surely we have to make a move.

With our growing reputation for breaking CBs, we might struggle to attract one. 

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3 minutes ago, nutty nigel said:

Well, you're the stats man. Has anybody ever conceded 24 goals in the first 10 games and stayed up?

Dunno havent looked but if we don't win the next two we will be in the less than a point a game after 12 games theory that signifies a 80% chance of relegation.

Its possible to come back from here but I wouldn't bet on it.

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I just wanted a better go at surviving than that attempt by Neil and crew. At the moment I'm not seeing it, even taking into account the injuries, which looks as though they could get worse if Krul and Amadou aren't fit for Brighton.

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1 minute ago, Midlands Yellow said:

Very frustrating that Sheffield and Villa look so much better than us so far . Is it the obvious that they both spent the money ? 

Sheff utd had a far superior defence than we did last year.

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6 minutes ago, ricardo said:

Dunno havent looked but if we don't win the next two we will be in the less than a point a game after 12 games theory that signifies a 80% chance of relegation.

Its possible to come back from here but I wouldn't bet on it.

I think the best course of action is to get behind them and try and get them over the line. Would a free agent really help? That was the sort of thing 'arry Redknap  would do.

If people really expected us to get a result then they should get their bumps read. I didn't enjoy the game today simply because of the ridiculous VAR situation. VAR hasn't levelled it up. It just meant that those big teams get more reviews rather than more awards.

If we manage to stay up then it will be the same next season. Getting to the prem is where the action is.

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5 minutes ago, ricardo said:

Sheff utd had a far superior defence than we did last year.

How many new defenders do they have this year?

 

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10 hours ago, nutty nigel said:

How many new defenders do they have this year?

 

They were good enough last season, we were barely adequate. The fault was glossed over because we had a very good offense. We were never going to score at that rate in the Prem. 

 

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I'm going to get behind them and hope it comes good. I have no desire to be one of the first to throw in the towel just to be proved right. And if they manage to stay up at least I won't have to eat humble all summer while trying to forget what I said in the autumn.

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8 hours ago, ricardo said:

They were good enough last season, we were barely adequate. The fault was glossed over because we had a very good offense. We were never going to score at that rate in the Prem. 

 

Last year , Away from home we conceded 23 goals, the lowest goals conceded away from home in the division. Sheffield United conceded 24. We were much tighter away from home than people gave/give us credit for. It was our home goals conceded that was the issue. We let in 34 goals at home (and scored 51) - Sheff Utd let in 17 at home. Even the Binners let in less at home than us. 

What this does suggest is that we did actually have a "Plan B" which people say we didn't.  We must have played differently away from home to achieve such a swing. 

Edited by Graham Paddons Beard
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It is what it is.

Although the squad didn't look the most capable promoted side we have ever seen, we did look to have cover in every position. That we have lost two important CB's as well as Hanley was not foreseeable.

And in fact, personally, I thought the real position that would trouble us was if Pukki was injured or suspended. And that may yet happen of course.

But the deed is done and we go with what we have. And after ten games I am not throwing in the towel either. 

I have never been a fan of the EPL. Of course if you play well and win you will end up in it. But I don't worship at its altar. And should we be relegated then so be it.

I just do not want us to be hammered game after game. And as much as I love our attacking style, I think even DF must be considering some way that we can hybrid our system to do better. Sunday was awful and not what the home supporters wanted after the Villa game.

The next three games would, after four or five games, been considered winnable. That looks a forlorn hope but just to compete in these games must give us a chance. And I am not one just to blame the defence. The midfield is awful at the moment and not giving the defence a chance.

Playing Onel must be giving Teemu a bit of hope and I think we have to be sensible and realise that if one of our favourites is not doing it then they have to be replaced.

I never thought I would advocate Emi being dropped but he is off form and his temper is getting the better of him. Roberts is available and with Onel would present something different rather than what we have been doing. And Tom is sat waiting patiently on the bench.

And I don't remember United scoring any headers so maybe Sam can come into defence if Amadou is out.

We have to keep the faith although it has little bearing on the playing performance in reality. But we certainly do not want the crowd turning as we are trying to plat properly but being outplayed at the moment. And that happens to many teams who come up, as we well know.

 

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