TheOneChan95

Excellent game from him today.

There were plenty of situations where he could have played a defence splitting pass or be more ambitious and take a shot(he has a great one). But he's been doing much better lately on the offensive end so fair play to him. Also I love the sight of his bouncy hair when he is running hard.

I wouldn't say he's under appreciated, I think everyone recognizes his workrate. I think we are just frustrated because he is definitely capable of more.

Ah apologies then! I think we always assume its the away leg whenever we mention Barca 2012.

It's all theorycraft at this point but Ramires would probably slot in for Zouma instead and WIllian for Oscar. Obviously if Remy or Costa were fit they would be playing too. That means our pressing would be much better and its easier to suffocate them than with the team against United. And I disagree with that notion that there was no pressing. We did hound their backline whenever they were trying to play it from there, but Drogs isn't as fast as he used to be. Pressing really requires everyone in the team to do their part and putting Drogs on really doesn't allow for that now. But as the game went on there was no need to press further up because it was better to lure them in further so it would be easier for us to launch a counter. Their passing at the back didn't amount to much anyways. Although I agree it could have backfired, were you nervous when watching the match? It was much more comfortable than I expected it to be. But yeah lets just celebrate the win shall we? 1 hand on the trophy is fantastic. I'm still buzzing from the win

I disagree with that, we were absolutely desperate in Barca and it took something beyond the realms of football to get us back into the game when we were down. It was different this match simply because we dealt with them much more comfortably and were actually much more dangerous than them despite less possession. This wasn't the case with Barca where it was much more desperation and willpower to just see us through.

Good point. I'd say we were only outplayed in the opening 30 minutes or so where we just seemed kinda lost. I was honestly only panicked once the whole game when Rooney had that shot and I thought it went in for a moment. When the team settled in it was really different and we started picking them apart. I honestly wasn't that worried throughout the rest of the game and when Shaw came off I felt they just became toothless. They had the ball but it never moved around quickly into dangerous areas since we were prepared for them. . I'd say United fans should be thankful both Remy and Costa weren't fit, they would have defo pounced on that backline. Not exactly the same as our performance vs City last season but a solid one and most importantly, 3 FUCKING POINTS CLOSER TO THE TITLE.

Well tbf pundits say all sorts of stuff. Off the top of my head Ivanovic is an easy example, they talk of him as if he is this unbeatable RB all the time when he has obvious deficiencies such as not closing down a winger or a likelihood of brain farts. (Don't get me wrong I still love him) I do think Koke is a fantastic player but just not the kind we really need.

I only just realised this from reading another forum. I think Oscar is the most important member of our team for the style of football we ideally want to play. Think back to both last season and the start of this season when he was playing well. Bloody hell we looked good didn't we? As long as Oscar was playing well so were we. Is it a coincidence to think that the last great game we played so far was against Swansea when he netted twice? When his form dropped however, we started playing really turgid football and it wasn't as fluid as whenever he was on form. Of course if we played a more counter attacking style like against City then he isn't required as much. But he is definitely an important piece of the Mourinho puzzle. I really wish he could be much more consistent because if he doesn't then we might need someone else who can fill that void.

Physical but no Zouma or Ivanovic. It's a perfectly sensible move at that point. Although I kind of wonder why keepers are not used for this kinda thing tbh. I always wondered what would happen if you put someone in the NBA with an insane vertical like Dwight Howard just to launch crosses at his head. And I don't understand that bit about Shirley. He played as a striker before, and has a cold finish in him so it's not the worst idea to try playing him upfront.

I swear this forum has turned poisonous. You know what? Even if we hire one of those "attacking" coaches and they start to get some bad results, I'm damn sure you will turn on them too for not being more "pragmatic and sensible" at times. Criticism is fine but that attitude is fucking poisonous for the team you claim to support. Seriously no coach will ever be perfect. I agree with Mourinho that every fucking football fan thinks he's the best manager for some reason. If you cannot see the evolution of the team with him then you must be blind. 7 points clear at this stage with a bloody game in hand. Honestly guys have some belief in your own team and manager please. There is a reason Jose doesn't play the same approach at times and that is because he works his balls off to study the opposition and spends plenty of time with the players. Is it that hard to trust a man with plenty of experience? Contrary to belief, we CAN play good football, just look at matches like Swansea, Burnley away, Maribor, Everton away and so on. Jose just feels that we are not ready to take the same approach in the big games yet. Have some patience and faith, we are evolving and we will get that beautiful football much more consistently one day.

Agreed! It's his general attitude I think. He is that kind of player that remains unfazed by whatever opposition or hostile crowd against him. He isn't the best but he won't admit defeat. You could see it in his eyes that he has this belief that we would make it and I think it's infectious. That bloody boot thing just raised my respect for him even more. How many players would actually soldier through that? Then he goes on to score the winner. The match was crappy tbh but we made it. As long as we win the next 4 games I don't really care how we do it right now. Oscar definitely had a positive impact in this game and we looked better when he was on. Courtois is my MOTM though, he really kept us in it.

Splendid performance from him this game. He has great confidence in himself and I think he bounces from mistakes really quickly. I do think we look a bit nervier with him in goal instead of Cech, but probably cos he isn't so comfortable in marshaling an experienced backline yet since he is new to the team.

Tbh with the way we have been playing lately I can't really blame them. I don't think we will be so lax defensively like City + Fab and Matic don't have to fear suspension anymore so hopefully we will put up a better performance. We definitely need Remy for this. I think we might set up like a 4-3-3 for this one. I'm hoping for Luis to play (although I highly doubt he will) to give Hazard some space and threaten them more. But I think he is more likely to switch off than Azpi and Fellaini heads it in the back post. Courtois Iva Cahill/Zouma Terry Azpi/Luis Rami Matic Cesc Willian Remy Hazard

Our offense defo looked better when he came on. Fair enough played his part for the goal and hopefully he keeps on making a good impact in games.

I think Zouma needed more tactical work early on tbh. He was always out of place in pre season but it seems like he has been working on that.

Damn he was truly atrocious in the first half. I remember he blasted an indirect free kick and it probably hit a low flying aircraft, he definitely redeemed himself though. Anyways all keepers will make mistakes at some point in the season. I only hope he doesn't try something like that again if his hunters are that close to him. Great mental toughness from him to pick himself up and shrug that mistake off

I think G.Nev said it clearly. The players just lacked energy and urgency when we should be completely suffocating them. I can understand Man City since the red card happened late and it's hard to change things up at that point. But surely everyone should have done better here. Oscar was just atrocious to me. But my main concern is that we seem to have 0 composure. I mean seriously we seem to panic whenever they press us harder.

Or we might have dropped points from a lame refereeing mistake / Cahill brainfart like in other games when we were only 1 goal up. We probably wouldn't have lost to Tottenham had we not gone 2 behind before the break which forced us to be ultra offensive.

While I don't think passing it to Willian was a bad idea, I think he probably should have taken that shot. I'm pretty sure if that sort of chance came to Ronaldo he would have twatted it into the corner.

I think he will score 22. The important part is whether the next few goals are crucial ones (winners, sealing the win) rather than a fourth in a stomp. We haven't been at our best lately, but if he can stick a few more in to grind out results then I think he would have done his best. I think he exceeded most of our expectations (which are fairly low considering our strikeforce last season). So about 5 more winners in the league and 2-3 more in the CL if we reach the latter stages should be attainable for him.

I agree this is ridiculous. I'd rather they get slapped with a 2 match ban and fined 2 weeks of wages or something. Dangerous tackles are the thing that really need to be cut out

I wonder if we could put a cheeky bid in for him

I think this game really showcased how much Matic is missed. Zouma wasn't anything special but understandable given that he was out of position. Many scares tonight but we managed to pull through. At this stage of the season we really just need to keep grinding out 3 points. Courtois MOTM for me although I think we seem so much nervier whenever he plays instead of Cech.

I guess the opposite is true for most western food in Asia too tbh. Haven't been to Southern China before, how different is it from Beijing and Tianjin? If I'm not wrong different regions have different styles and influences. I couldn't really adjust to the food in Tianjin but Beijing was more suitable for me.