There were mitigating circumstances here. The international break and wear and tear from our very long season had limited variety in team selection. WBA have been hard to break down all season and had just beaten Arsenal. But still, fuck off. Thankfully I had a party later this evening so I didn’t have to dwell on one of our worst performances of the season. I’m almost glad that my dodgy stream kept cutting out as it gave me some respite from some of the most insipid shite imaginable.
Ok maybe I’m over egging a bit. But ANOTHER home draw against
a team who shouldn’t be able to compete with us. Mourinho was flabbergasted
that Conor Macnamara had suggested that the two teams had cancelled each other
out, and while he was right that only one team was trying, had all the possession,
and one team ventured out their half about 5 times during the game… it was very
much sterile domination. The worst of LVG. In most of the other home draws it
was amazing that we didn’t score, but not this time. We were shit. Or did WBA
defend well? Does it even matter, as our top 4 hopes were extinguished?
 |
| The depressing tale of the tape of the points dropped at home this year |
The team pretty much picked itself. Zlatan and Herrera were
banned, Schweinsteiger had finally left for Chicago Fire, Pogba was still not
fit, and the international break had accounted for Jones and Smalling (which at
least meant not more 5/6 at the back) and most crushingly, Mata out for the foreseeable
future after groin surgery. This after he wasn’t named in the Spain squad, so instead
of having a fresh player for challenges ahead, we were missing one of our best
creators.
The whole team looked sluggish, just waiting for something
to happen, and it almost did near the end as Marcus Rashford almost won the
match. First a fiercely struck shot from 35 yards out was brilliantly saved by
Foster (One of three ex reds to have a good game as well as Fletcher and Evans)
before a free kick from a similar range was heading for the top corner before
Foster’s intervention. But that was about it (At least we now know young Rash
can take free kicks). The forwards deserved the criticism dished out by
Mourinho post-match, and it’s becoming clearer how reliant we are on Pogba and
Zlatan to create and finish. 75% possession, 18 shots, but only 3 on target. The
farcical nature of the game was summed up when in the last minute Rooney and
Fellaini got involved in handbags with Yacob instead of trying to score.
United (4-2-3-1) De Gea 6, Valencia 6.5, Bailly 6, Rojo 6.5,
Young 6, Carrick 7, Fellaini 7; Lingard 7, Mkhitaryan 5.5 (Rooney 74, 5),
Martial 5.5, Rashford 7.
Manchester United 1-1 Everton (Ibrahimovic 90+4 pen)
(Jagielka 22)
Fucking again.
What actually is the point of discussing this game, I
wonder? For it was just the same as all the other home draws this season. At
what point do we say that Mourinho is doing a substandard job, seemingly unable
to win matches at Old Trafford? United fans have seen that game about 10 times
this season. I’m tired of the profligacy, tired of the excuses, tired of the
slow build up until we fall behind or subs come on.
3 changes were made from the boring 0-0 vs West Brom. In
came Blind for Valencia (who we really missed) and Zlatan and Herrera made a
welcome return from suspension for Mkhitaryan and Martial. We started alright
against a good team, remember, one that would leapfrog us in the table if they
won. But having lost the Merseyside derby on Saturday as well as missing about
5 of their key players (Coleman, Funes Mori, McCarthy, Bolasie, Schneiderlin),
surely we could assert ourselves a bit more in the first half, in particular,
and why did Jose feel that we needed to play 3 midfielders when we can’t score
goals as it is? Rashford looked sharp up against the broken Coleman’s
understudy Mason Holgate, but the half soon petered out a little as our
midfield and ponderous back 4 exchanged passes across the halfway line for
minutes at a time. We did create chances- Zlatan didn’t shoot quickly enough
when played in, Youngy, making a very rare forward run, ran onto a Herrera pass
before whipping a cross across the box that was missed – but not enough.
We went behind, typically from Everton’s first attack. Blind
switched off allowing Mirallas to win a corner off De Gea. Jagielka converted
from point blank range through De Gea’s legs after weak defending from Rojo.
For fucks sake.
Meanwhile Joel Robles, who was chucking them in vs
Liverpool, briefly turned into Gordon Banks when brilliantly saving from a
Blind free kick – from which Herrera hit the bar from a tight angle- before
tipping a left footed Herrera long ranger wide.
A friend I was watching the game with logically thought our
chances created would lead to goals and predicted a 3-1 final score. Having
watched this shit all year, I knew better and predicted 0-1 (ok, I need to be a
little more optimistic).
The return of Pogba for Blind at the interval led to a big improvement.
The £89m man instantaneously headed against the bar from a Young free kick
pushing up his woodwork total to fucking umpteen. Everton started to get
dirtier, cynically fouling… but it’s up to us, c’mon….
After all the crap that he said this week (About Shaw’s poor
mentality and fitness: "I cannot compare the
way he trains and commits, the focus, the ambition. He is a long way behind [Blind,
Darmian, and Young]") it was in a way typical Mourinho that he
brought on Shaw for his first game since Bournemouth in a tough situation.
Although it was pleasing to see the kid back, could Martial really not have been
used instead? This season, Lingard and Mkhitaryan have both been used at left
back when chasing the game, and it was a mystery to me when 1-0 down at home
Jose felt able to do without Martial, who seemed to me to be an essential sub. Especially
as again there was a load of chickenshit hesitation from us as usual when we
got into the final third. The pattern of play needs serious work, as too often
we rely on individual brilliance or a long ball game for goals.
Regardless Shaw played quite well, his crossing ability tying
in neatly with the two pronged attack of Fellaini and Zlatan. Havoc was created
in the area, but chances were still wasted; Fellaini hitting wide on the
swivel, Williams putting in blocks, and then two identical headers over from
ten yards out. Pogba with a world class ball to Rojo, Rashford to Zlatan, same
result. A similar type of move did lead to a goal, but Zlatan was flagged
offside when heading in. Replays suggested he was on, but with the luck we’ve
had this season we couldn’t complain. It almost got worse as we attacked, but
thankfully a combination of Barkley/Lukaku wastefulness and brilliant recovery
defending from Eric Bailly (who was tremendous) meant it remained 1-0.
In the 93rd, a shanked effort from Shaw (Shaw’s
shanked redemption) was saved by Ashley Williams, handing the MOTM a red card,
and Zlatan tucked in his 16th league goal of the season. So a 1-1
draw, we obviously should have won, and there were a small amount of boos at
full time. Jose responded by going for Shaw again, saying that it was Shaw’s
body but his brain, and he had no football intelligence. Jesus he’s getting
tiresome. I know it was a penalty, but it still was another 90 minutes where despite all the chances, no one else but Zlatan scored. Even if it wasn’t a good display from him, his pedigree ensures his importance, and that’s true even more so for Pogba, a classic case of not-knowing-what-you’ve-had-till-it’s-gone-kind-of-thing. Not for me, that is. Just the cavalcade of morons who somehow think Zlatan and Pogba are problems (!!!) in a side where Ashley Young receives regular game time.
For the third consecutive home game, top 4 is officially gone. Or so I thought. True enough, for the 3rd consecutive game week we were let off, as on Wednesday Liverpool drew against Bournemouth and City lost at Chelsea (Last 3 games for City btw: 1-1 Liverpool (Aguero) 2-2 @ Arsenal (Sane, Aguero) 1-2 Chelsea (Aguero). 1) How clutch is Aguero. 2) That’s 3 excellent results for us that we haven’t capitalised on. 3) Not many difficult games for City now) A win for Arsenal put us back in our spiritual home of 6th, but somehow we’re still in it. But with Spurs, Arsenal and City away to come, plus Chelsea at home, two points from WBA and Everton is a proper disgrace. It’s all Europa now…
United (4-3-3) De Gea 6; Young 5 (Shaw 65, 7), Bailly 8,
Rojo 6, Blind 5 (Pogba 46, 7); Herrera 6, Carrick 6.5 (Mkhitaryan 65, 6),
Fellaini 6; Lingard 6.5, Ibrahmovic 6.5, Rashford 6.5.
