2020/21 Carlo Ancelotti

[tirion]

block the divvy

alright dreamer? apologies for singling out Ancelotti in all this, the real problem is the actual club is rancid with a losing mentality etched right the way through it, its more likely they will be relegated before they win a trophy, however we might have a shot at the johnstone paints trophy when we are in league 1

 

[rochdaleblue]

Aubameyang Partey Ozil and Gabriel all didn't play. Tierney wouldn't start for us over Digne. Ceballos is crap we just have a crap midfield too. Lacazette didn't start terrible Nketiah did. Saka is all hype no substance right now. Maybe in 3 years but not now for him.

That team is crap. I agree we're ahead because of Carlo but the squad is good enough to expect us to be better than them imo. I swear I've said on here going back months now I'd be angry to finish behind Arsenal and it is still true.

And therein lies the problem. Until we address this, and bring in players of the similar quality of Allan, we will continue to struggle to dominate games.

 

[TheBigIguana]

And therein lies the problem. Until we address this, and bring in players of the similar quality of Allan, we will continue to dominate games.

I think you're missing my point. I didn't expect us to dominate tonight. But he didn't have enough cover in midfield and it exposed us. I know we can't go toe to toe with this team but you've got to properly set up to defend things and he didn't. United were a prolific shooting display away from a cricket score. We were fortunate.

 

[Daveysgingerlovechild]

Its a poor poor squad by and large. And a significant portion of the true quality we have were injured or got injured during the game.

Davies, Tosun and Bernard, christ, what a cavalry.

 

[catcherintherye]

Is he a manager good enough to make the squad better or not? Odds are we won't ever have as good a team as some of those we play. Managers need to try and make up the difference. Today he widened the gap.

I'm not saying it was an easy game to win but we were shocking for long stretches. We barely had a sniff of goal and they could have scored 4 or 5 on a day where they finished well. The level of performance matters just like it did for the last 3 league games. Sometimes the results paper over the cracks.

He's already making players better though. DCL is one of the bets in the division and Richarlinson has kicked on. Iwobi has looked better. Keane and ina have done well too.

We played one of the in form teasm in the league tonight and for 88 minutes were level with them. Probably a little fortunately, but criey we should ahev had a penalty and United down to 10 in my book. Had those decisions gone our way we probably get a scruffy 2-0 win, and it's another masterclass from Carlo whereby we have defeated a superior team.

I agreed with his analysis. We defended well for 87 minutes. I thought the shape was really good. We didn't look like conceding. Then Doucoure goes chasing a ball 20 yards out of position, and for some reason Davies drops into the backline to make another centre back. Gylfi is out on his feet and being kept on for penalties, and we have this glaring hole. They exploit it. They get the 2nd on the counter. The game is gone.

I would say no idea why Doucoure and Davies do as they do. But it's what happens when people panic under pressure. The best players maintain poise. They recognise Gylfi is dead on his feet and can't run, that Bernard is not Richarlinson filling in, Iwobi looks tired and in Doucoure case, essentially resolve to hold the centre of the pitch and not chase the ball. As for Davies, he may have been given a man marking job on Fernandes, but even if he has, common sense says you just pass him on when he takes up the spot he does. This is doubly so when you see Doucoure chasing upfieldand you know Gylfi can't get back in. It's a small mistake, and we were punished.

I'll be frank, I have no idea how he widened the gap today. We played a team who brought Martial and Rashford off the bench, to supplement Cavani up top with Pogba and Fernandes in the middle. Thats the gap. We tried to be solid.

We also didn't have Digne, James and Allan injured, Holgate rested (wrongly in my view) and Richarlinson in game. 4 first team players for us, 4 of them key players. We missed them against a good United side in form, aided by a very poor refereeing performance.

 

[catcherintherye]

I think you're missing my point. I didn't expect us to dominate tonight. But he didn't have enough cover in midfield and it exposed us. I know we can't go toe to toe with this team but you've got to properly set up to defend things and he didn't. United were a prolific shooting display away from a cricket score. We were fortunate.

Who would you want him to put into the midfield? We are missing Allan and Delph. It shows.

 

[blue to the bone]

alright dreamer? apologies for singling out Ancelotti in all this, the real problem is the actual club is rancid with a losing mentality etched right the way through it, its more likely they will be relegated before they win a trophy, however we might have a shot at the johnstone paints trophy when we are in league 1

Womble ccok

 

[Gilbert..]

Its a poor poor squad by and large. And a significant portion of the true quality we have were injured or got injured during the game.

Davies, Tosun and Bernard, christ, what a cavalry.

The problem is ancelloti has got us floating around far bigger and better squads and its gave people hope. Difference tonight is one of them clubs played the ace we dont have. Virtualy an entire different expensive team for a cup competition.
But of course. We've got them on here tonight. The we want that turd polished every single game brigade.

 

[Egil Olsen]

And therein lies the problem. Until we address this, and bring in players of the similar quality of Allan, we will continue to struggle to dominate games.

A midfield with Allan (6), AD (8), JR (10), Richarlison (11) and Iwobi (7) is a pretty strong midfield. At least in a 4-2-3-1 formation. The problem is the depth of the squad.

 

[TheBigIguana]

Who would you want him to put into the midfield? We are missing Allan and Delph. It shows.

Any three players. He had Sigurdsson, Davies, Doucoure and Gomes. Play three of them in midfield. When the extended highlights come out I'd encourage people to try and track where Doucoure and Gomes and then Doucoure and Davies are positioned. Watch how often they end up miles apart including right before they score. We needed the third guy to close these gaps.

 

[Saint Domingo]

Got to be honest I think we have a better team than Arsenal. They are an utter mess.

You cant include Ozil, he doesn't even play for them!

He’s in the squad. Arteta is choosing not to ply him. He’s better than any player in our team apart from perhaps James.

 

[catcherintherye]

Half of you probably haven’t seen Simms play a single minute. If the answer is ‘he needs to play Gordon and Simms’ then we’re asking completely the wrong question. They’ve just brought Martial and Rashford off the bench to add to Pogba Cavani Fernandes Van Der Beek FFS.

Get real. It’s the cold hard facts of squad quality. Davies Tosun Sigurdsson Keane Bernard Coleman are bottom half premier league players. This has been proven under many different managers now and yet people expect them to win all 4 games in against Chelsea Leicester Arsenal and United.

We have 5 top quality players in Allan Digne James Richarlison DCL.

We then have some good players to support them in Holgate Godfrey Doucoure

Everyone else isn’t at a top 6 standard.

You therefore can’t take 4 of those top quality players away, and expect to beat a United team who have some of the best players in the world in their team and on their bench.

Until Carlo has enough windows to get rid of Coleman Kenny Davies Sigurdsson Bernard Tosun from the squad and replace them with top 6 standard players who can be rotated with our top players then lo and behold we probably won’t finish in the top 6!

Everton fans keep expecting managers to work miracles with a squad of utter trash littered with one or two super stars. Same with Martinez, Lukaku Barkley Stones then a sea of trash, Koeman just had Lukaku, then Silva with Digne and Richarlison. Ancelotti has finally brought some more in but as usual they’re all injured. We can’t just keep relying on a player or two because they lose form or get injured and then we’re absolutely screwed.

By my reckoning we have the ninth best squad in the league behind the sky six Leicester and Wolves yet if we finished 9th some fans on here would be fuming and they are legitimately expecting a top 6 challenge from Carlo. To have us in 4th with these players is massively over achieving, they’re so bad, watching the likes of Keane Iwobi and Coleman trying to put passes together in that game was genuinely painful.

Carlo is our only hope of redemption at this basket case of a club. Every one of his signings had improved the team massively.

‘yeah but why he is he not playing Simms’

As always very well balanced post mate. If he did anything wrong tonight, it was resting Holgate, but again we don't know his general fitness level.

You can see glaringly what is missing and what isn't. Once Richarlinson goes off we are a much poorer team. Bernard just doesn't have the same influence on the game. Gylfi is exhausted, and it's a case of he can't rather than won't do much more. I'd throw Iwobi into the 2nd list we've got, with better players around him is ok, but you put Bernard, Sigurdsson and really Gomes around him and it drags him down.

Each window we are getting better. Players are improving, but we can't afford to lose 4 or 5 starters, as the lads coming in aren't good enough. Doucoure is trying to do 3 jobs at the end, rather than the one he's in to do.

It's frustrating, but to some degree United are an example for most teams. Ups and downs with OGS, but they have held their nerve and not scked him, and they look like they have a way of playing and improve after each window.

As a slight aside, I think Mina and Keane are also on the 2nd list.I can't complain about either tonight. They have limitations, and we won't challenge for leagues with them, but they are ok. You can't carry 3 or 4 players of the quality we were playing tonight, and have to go against some awful officiating.

 

[ah11984]

He must feel like crying when looking at the bench lately... jeez it is absolutely horrendous.

 

[riddick]

Id really like an answer to this. School him how? Given the two line ups. The 8 internationals they brought in fresh legged. Explain how this schooling works?

He's a significantly better manager then OGS or are you debating that?

Must have been forgetting that we played them with pretty much our first 11 last time and got ruined by terrible defense.

But, yeah, tell me about how much better this United team is than us.

 

[TheBigIguana]

He's already making players better though. DCL is one of the bets in the division and Richarlinson has kicked on. Iwobi has looked better. Keane and ina have done well too.

We played one of the in form teasm in the league tonight and for 88 minutes were level with them. Probably a little fortunately, but criey we should ahev had a penalty and United down to 10 in my book. Had those decisions gone our way we probably get a scruffy 2-0 win, and it's another masterclass from Carlo whereby we have defeated a superior team.

I agreed with his analysis. We defended well for 87 minutes. I thought the shape was really good. We didn't look like conceding. Then Doucoure goes chasing a ball 20 yards out of position, and for some reason Davies drops into the backline to make another centre back. Gylfi is out on his feet and being kept on for penalties, and we have this glaring hole. They exploit it. They get the 2nd on the counter. The game is gone.

I would say no idea why Doucoure and Davies do as they do. But it's what happens when people panic under pressure. The best players maintain poise. They recognise Gylfi is dead on his feet and can't run, that Bernard is not Richarlinson filling in, Iwobi looks tired and in Doucoure case, essentially resolve to hold the centre of the pitch and not chase the ball. As for Davies, he may have been given a man marking job on Fernandes, but even if he has, common sense says you just pass him on when he takes up the spot he does. This is doubly so when you see Doucoure chasing upfieldand you know Gylfi can't get back in. It's a small mistake, and we were punished.

I'll be frank, I have no idea how he widened the gap today. We played a team who brought Martial and Rashford off the bench, to supplement Cavani up top with Pogba and Fernandes in the middle. Thats the gap. We tried to be solid.

We also didn't have Digne, James and Allan injured, Holgate rested (wrongly in my view) and Richarlinson in game. 4 first team players for us, 4 of them key players. We missed them against a good United side in form, aided by a very poor refereeing performance.

It's a pretty large understatement. We had no business being within a couple of goals much less level after 15 minutes.

You've already replied to my other post but both times we've played United they've tried to pull our midfielders out and attack the gaps. By only having two in there it was entirely too easy and so regardless of what we tried to do we were not solid. And that's the problem I had. His tactics whether it was because we didn't have enough in midfield or because they didn't execute their roles correctly or whatever else took us from tough game to unwinnable game.

And I will be honest he could have moved the third man into midfield and we still could have lost but at least it would have made United go away from plan A. Especially when if Plan B is crossing it plays into the hands of our backline.