What we did better today, than at any point this season, is players chasing down every player & every ball when not in possession. = Work rate.
Almost forgotten what it's like to feel that atmosphere in the ground at the end of a game. All these players that seemed to be so lacklustre for so long now showing a real passion and commitment. Really working as a team. Hopefully we are seeing the beginning of a new era with Pearson and Shakespeare. Now seems even more bizarre that we appointed QSF ... let's hope that decision will just become a distant bad mistake rather than one that ruined the season ...
People who continue to carp about Deeney have no understanding of how you win games ... he gave a defender who cost £80 million a hard time, and really disrupted his concentration and application, and Maguire was losing it towards the end... vital part of the game... need to do that against Tottenham in January ...
Including Tranmere, we’re winning our next 5 games on the bounce. We will be out of the relegation zone come the end of January.
Fair enough, he did that today. No doubt about it. That said, I don’t think it’s unrealistic to expect our main striker to be somebody who does upset the opponents, and also carries more than a remote goal threat. He was decent today, but we need more.
Wow has genuinely forgotten what it was like to score and win a game . That was more like it . Brilliant togetherness and work rate , even if a bit lacking in quality . And we had a bit of luck for once with the de gea fumble, but nonetheless well deserved . We looked as if we had united on the ropes at one point looking for The third goal . Still worried about our lack of cutting edge in the box but I’m just gonna enjoy this for now !
Well, sort of. He was rubbish until the first goal and Lindelof and Maguire had their feet up. It almost seemed like he appreciated the importance of going ahead and was determined not to let it slip though. All of a sudden he won a header that led to the penalty, did well to compose himself and score and that was it, he was like a man possessed for the rest of the game and showed the leadership and quality that was entirely missing for the first 55 minutes.
That’s because it’s all he can do though. And more often than not he ends up in the defenders pocket and not the other way round anyway. It’s not like we have other options right now, so the moaning is relatively pointless, but a strikers job is to score goals which he does not do. If we had any of the strikers at the clubs immediately above us in the table we’d be comfortably mid table.
Although he didnt make any worldie save, Foster was faultless today as well, certainly compared to the over rated spanish clown at the other end.
Yep, he did everything he needed to do absolutely faultlessly. He looked decidedly dodgy for a while but seems back to his best again.
Think you're being picky. Deeney was good today and I dont think you can judge him negatively on that performance. He's not a forward who hangs about in "goalscoring" areas for the tap ins. He's integral to the flick ons, pressing, hassling defenders and link up into the last 3rd. He occupies defenders which should give Gerard and the rest a bit of space. People have been refering to Ings, saying if we had him we'd be mid table. That's *****, we would have created next to nothing for him to get on the end of.
Hughes is so good, what a player we have there. I’ve been a critic previously but this season, even with our poor form, he’s been a shining light. More of the same please.
I've wished many times this season that Gerry would take on one fewer player and passed instead of having a shot. Nige must have had a word
That really isn’t true though is it? We’ve created plenty of chances, the problem has been tucking them away. Deeney ain’t involved in everything is he, he was out for a large part of the season, we still created chances without him we’ve just had nobody to convert them.
Back home, I missed the first two minutes of the match because I thought I had sharted, a quick check in bogs and all was ok. Lucky phantom shart.
Needed a change of position. Think his development has been hampered massively by asking him to play out wide. I counted about 5 tackles in the first 15 mins, and it set the stage for us minimising the threat Utd posed. For me it's him over Doucoure at the moment
Well since Doucoure' is suspended for the next game for that yellow card, let's see how Hughes can further cement his place at Sheff Utd.
We needed a bit of luck in front of goal - have had none so far- Sarr’s goal was a pure fluke but who gives a ****
I don`t want to take anything away from reborn Hughes, but this is a team sport. Very seldom You have just one player who can carry the team by himself. Hughes was put to a new position and it has obviously suited him well. But we have to remember, that at the same time, it has allowed for example Doucoure to play in a different role aswell. He may not have been succesfull in finishing, but I am sure he will still score some vital goals this season, as he seems to be able to be in the right place quite often. What I am saying is, that all the changes seem to have backed each other and that is why a single player(s) is/are flourishing and we are better team (with the basically the same players in the team).
Great win today. Mariappa, l not a fan of his at all, but at right back looks ok. Good game today. Hughes, did really well. Doucoure, not so good again. Chalobah, not a fan of his. Did he do anything when he came on? Success, Christ! All the physical attributes, but what a pile of dog turd he is. Delefeou, very good l thought Deeney, out muscled the centre halves. Foster, not a foot wrong today Man Utd had chances but we looked up for a game today. Excellent result for Xmas. Just need to continue and who knows what may happen.
Absolutely. He was throwing himself into challenges, being a nuisance and harrying Utd all afternoon. I thought he was a creative/forward thinking midfielder only - such a pleasant surprise to see him getting stuck in.
Very good performance from start to finish. We got a trifle fortunate with the first goal, but given our luck deficit across the season as a whole we had to get something eventually. No luck about the penalty though. There was a lot of commitment on display today and we looked nothing like the side from 5-6 games ago. I've said more than one that I don't think we'll go down and the team is better than it's showing. Right as I was wavering on that front due to having QSF in charge/the wake of the Soton result, in comes Pearson. The rapid removal of QSF gave us a chance again (he really is a hopeless head coach), and it looks like Pearson is coming in swinging. He's done what none of our other coaches of recent times have managed: to play squad members in areas that suit them. Hughes is not a crap player. Hughes will, however, be crap if you try to use him as a winger. The changes in the way Hughes is being deployed have led to changes in the way other players are being used, also benefiting their game. Many people on here have commented on players being used wrong; thankfully, our current head coach agrees. The way we played at 2-0 up was marvelous. Confidence visibly surged back into the team. Everything was being fought for: lost causes were chased. Unforced possession turnovers contested and won back. Every player in red was harried when they had the ball (often from three sides at once). Pleasingly, we didn't sit back when ahead; we kept going....against a team of Man Utd's pedigree, no less. Pearson stands out among our recent head coaches as being the only one who recognises that sitting back and defending a lead merely invites the pressure that will inevitably lead to you conceding. I hope that's a permanent fixture, not a fluke. Everything changed today. Boxing day is crucial; get another win and we'll transform the season.
This is one thing in football that I’ve never understood, and it so often doesn’t work, even when it does work who knows if you would’ve still won by continuing to play the same way anyway? You’ve set up in a way that has worked and has got you the lead in game so you decide to change that, invite more pressure on yourself and give you less attacking outlet at the same time. It rarely makes sense to me. Sure, you can be a bit more conservative when sending men forward, you can time waste a bit and slow play down, but actually changing formation and the players to be more defensive generally always leads to the opposite outcome. On a slightly related note, I hope Success gets an absolute shoeing from Pearson for that absolutely ridiculous pass he did to lose possession towards the end.
The only negative from a great performance was success who contributed nothing to the cause when he should have been giving everything - time to get rid
I've just watched an analysis from the game from the EPL Show. Glenn Hoddle and Michael "fat face" Owen. Wow. Just wow. Hardly any talk on how we played, all about how bad Utd were, how they should of scored the early chance, how much they are still a good team, how good Pogba was... etc There are TWO teams in a football game guys. Tongues up Ole's arse for 30 mins. Pathetic.
