If that's his top speed I would hate to see him walking. Anyway, to much Bailey's must be slowing him down.
I should of added this to my novel of a match review, but I'll say it here briefly. We closed down, chased and harassed so well yesterday. It was almost like we were better without the ball than with it. Never let them settle, and even seeing Hughes in prime form at the start with three really good tackles. Even Deeney tracking back and winning headers was so great to see. Utd got the ball, we had at least two players on them. Really, really good.
I've stuck up for Success in the past and had hoped that he could become the replacement we need for when Deeney goes, but yesterday was just pathetic. It looked like he either didn't know what to do or just couldn't be bothered, either way it was a proper shower of sh!t. I'm quite happy for him to leave next month, if he can't come on and put some effort in for the last 5 minutes of a game then he can sod off.
Hold on. Before the last couple of games the conventional wisdom on here was that Mariappa wasn’t good enough for the Premier League and would be a disaster at full-back. Now he’s “better at full back than at centre back”. Well done Aidy. Keep proving ‘em wrong.
Completely agree. When he came on l thought at least this guy will put himself about, big guy that he is. How wrong it turned out. What a waste of space. Strolled around, not looking interested at all and without any tactical awareness. In the past he has spent more time on the floor. I mean both the dance floor and the pitch. His only claim to having put any effort in to something is his interest in 'Hookers' . I am sure NP made some notes yesterday and hopefully he will be cut loose in January. The night clubs in mainland Europe will be rubbing their hands with glee.. They will be the only ones who will be shouting "Success".
I can excuse him being sh!t, we've watched a lot of it down the years being a Watford fan. But the lack of work rate really stood out yesterday and he was only on for 5 minutes! As you say, I'm sure Pearson has noted it and his days could be numbered unless he reacts to a kick up the backside.
The conventional wisdom used to be that "luck evens itself out over the season" in the new world, does that apply to VAR errors as well?
Well we will soon know won't we? If he is in either the squad for Sheffield United or Villa then he did what he was told to do (apart from the bad pass mistake) which would have been when we are in possession receive and hold the ball up and out of possession sit back just inside our half and block the space off to stop a forward pass and make it difficult for them to create a late chance. That's what he did.
I think this being a little disingenuous towards Sarr - look at the goal in slow motion from the side angle - he imparts massive topspin on the ball, which is almost certainly why De Gea mis-handled it.
My take on it is the same as most, Thought our back four done very well. On paper Rashford lining up against maps looked very daunting but united failed to utilize him to full effect. Rashford first touch was immense but thankfully that was his only real contribution. Kiko is making that LB spot his own but he still managed to screw the simple things up gave the ball away when it looked easier to play Deulofeu in or play a simple 1-2 and over lap. Kaba is fast becoming my favourite player this season and if he can keep these performances up he will be looking at pots. Hughes Capoue and Doucoure all done the closing down and put in real shifts. Professional fouls taking one for the team all at good occasions. I wouldn’t of had Deulofeu as motm he done well tracked back and worked hard but he’s better than that, Sarrman finally settling in and made me a nice $2k by being 1st scorer and winning. Troy still looks a bit off the pace but made life hard for their cb’s winning headers and throwing himself about. Pearson has made an exceptional start and seems to be a master stoke appointment hopefully not to late. The performance at Anfield was better but who cares we got the 3 points Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I thought the same thing. The ball took ages to come down and he was under pressure from the defender. He hits it into the ground with a lot of spin on it. De Gea thought it was a routine save but was deceived by the movement of the ball. If De Gea had realised what was happening to the ball he'd probably have saved it cos he'd have been more focussed. He thought it was routine but he lost track of the ball as it spun towards him.
I also saw Hughes dishing out that mouthful to Success, didn't look like he was holding back. Great to see.
I only saw the sitting back in our half bit - he scarcely moved or touched the ball or did anything that helped his team mates
Worth a watch...a little behind the scenes. Masina's a character and Deeney winding up Joao Pedro about his watch.
No he did not. He just strolled around looking clueless. Same as Chalobah, his impact on the game? Zero. Slow and cumbersome. He is finished at Premier league level.
I am not a fan of Mariappa on the pitch. At centre half he is too short and gets out jumped easily by shorter players. At full back, he has been solid, no risk, just launch it out of danger. It is not the kind of full back many other clubs desire in the Premier league, but for us right now it is what we need. He is not Premier league level as a centre half. Championship at best.. He is doing an ok job at right back for us .
You're joking aren't you? The one time he had to hold the ball up he passed infield to a United player creating a counter attack, instead of going for the corner. He also constantly failed to stay with his man when defending and Pogba (I think) stroll past him without a hint of a challenge. It really was a pathetic cameo and I like I say, I've generally been a fan of him. I don't think Pearson would have given him a bollocking, I think he will have made a mental note that this guy hasn't got what it takes to help us for the rest of the season.
Fine, so you're saying he will drop him so as I said, we will see over Xmas won't we? I agree that if he didn't do what he was asked to do in the few minutes he was on the pitch, he will be dropped from the squad but if he did do what he was asked to do, he will stay in the squad.
I do. If we ever see young Isaac again, it will be because he's satisfied Big Nige that a substantial attitude adjustment has taken place.
Coming to this late due to an enforced absence. Well hb1, you are notorious for not changing your opinion. However, I congratulate you on having done so on this occasion and I agree with you on the reasons for having done so, now reinforced by Sunday's result. The 'Pearson effect' is indeed now with us and here's hoping the 'Joao Pedro effect' and hopefully a couple of new ones will be with us next month too. A very merry Christmas to you and yours.
We don't need to target anyone. We just need to win football matches. The rest takes care of itself. If you really need a 'target' then how about top half?
Of course, but the games against the teams above us are six pointers. If you could only have 3 points from the next two games it would obviously make sense to have those 3 points against villa rather then Sheffield Utd. We should clearly be trying to win every game, but the games against those immediately above us are twice as important.
I think the '30 second rule' is now a bit historical. They've never played it abroad particularly and now it looks like we're not either. Otherwise your arithmetic is fine!
Agreed. It seems a bit strange, or even pathetic, to me to barrel into a bloke for one misplaced pass. Isn't that what's just called 'a mistake'? Of course I agree with most others that 'big Isaac' hasn't exactly fulfilled his initial potential. When he arrived he was an absolute beast. Others have mentioned his performance against Muff at home when he came on and scored with a flicked header and I also remember Burnley away and Arsenil at home when he frightened them both to death. Obviously he's lost his Granada potential a bit around maybe Bailey's, hookers, not playing very much and a strange country. This ain't Nigeria. But there has to be a big, strong, skilled footballer in there somewhere still. That doesn't just disappear at the age of 23. Pearson is correctly concentrated on the collective and pulling your weight. But he'll also be well aware of treating players as individuals in order to get the best out of them. Unlike the amateur commentators on here with their 'one size fits all' give up mentality. Pearson could easily make a revelation out of Isaaac in the New Year so we wouldn't need to go spending silly money on anyone else. Watch this space.
