Zomp said:Nice win. Oliver was outstanding today. Rooney and Fellaini were the only United players who played well, aside from De Gea who isn't human.
blueline said:Arsenal haven't won at OT since September 2006. Fabregas assist to Adebayor 1-0.
One monkey at a time, I guess.Morgan's Magic Snowplow said:
That is crazy (and sad).
Winning at both Manchester clubs is a huge step forward in terms of getting that kind of monkey off our backs.
I just wish we hadn't fucked it up so badly in Champions League but oh well...
Not sure as I thought Shaw and Herrera were both bright spots. Also while Januzaj may be very talented his decision making needs to improve for him to be considered a full time starter. I'm starting to get flashbacks of Nani.Morgan's Magic Snowplow said:
Thanks Zomp. I thought you guys were the better side in the first half and that the lineup with Rooney up front and Fellaini also pushed forward continued to work well, really much better than the various lineups with RVP and/or Falcao in there. I don't know whether those half-time subs were injury related but I don't understand the logic of them.
Are you kidding me?ConigliarosPotential said:I'm over the moon about the win - and can't quite believe Arsenal felt almost comfortable toward the end of the match - but I fear that Ozil's performance will be used as further ammunition with which to undermine him. Monreal's goal came in spite of Ozil's pass, not because of it: gifted acres of space and an opportunity to drive into the box, he took one touch in that direction before spraying a weak, slightly backward pass to the right wing and Oxlade-Chamberlain (who luckily showed far more attacking intent). And on several other occasions he also seemed to have found great positions near the goal and tried to do anything but shoot. I know several NBA analysts have have called Dennis Schroeder "the German Rondo", but on tonight's evidence that crown seems to belong to Ozil.
I agree. I was very impressed with Oliver rightly calling simulation. That takes guts, but it's exactly what we need from refs nowadays.Zomp said:Nice win. Oliver was outstanding today. Rooney and Fellaini were the only United players who played well, aside from De Gea who isn't human.
sachmoney said:You know, these kits aren't half bad.
Coincidence?blueline said:Arsenal haven't won at OT since September 2006. Fabregas assist to Adebayor 1-0.
Stanley Steamer said:I agree. I was very impressed with Oliver rightly calling simulation. That takes guts, but it's exactly what we need from refs nowadays.
And kudos to you Zomp for your magnanimity.
sachmoney said:Are you kidding me?
Morgan's Magic Snowplow said:
That is crazy (and sad).
Winning at both Manchester clubs is a huge step forward in terms of getting that kind of monkey off our backs.
I just wish we hadn't fucked it up so badly in Champions League but oh well...
teddykgb said:
All the English sides have looked amateurish in the CL. The Pot system has allowed Chelsea and Arsenal to have a better go, but nobody from England has been covering themselves in glory in Europe over the past few seasons. I honestly wouldn't be particularly negative on Arsenal, I don't think the PL is played at a level necessary to really have a go at the best sides in Europe right now. It's sort of depressing given all the money spent, but the results seem to speak for themselves.
Morgan's Magic Snowplow said:
True enough, although I'm not sure about the PL not being played at a high enough level as the reason. Actually, the general futility of English teams in Europe in the past few years is somewhat mysterious to me and probably deserves its own thread. The typical excuses for English teams sucking - not enough technical quality in the players, too many naive English managers, etc - don't really wash. Its one thing when we're talking about losing to Bayern/Barca/Real. But they don't really help explain why English teams can't beat the likes of Monaco, Besiktas, and Fiorentina.
teddykgb said:
I'd love to debate it. I don't think it's technical quality so much as continental football generally evolving on a high pressing style that the English league just doesn't seem to have adopted for whatever reason. I feel that for all the bluster about English football being about work ethic and played at a faster pace, it is actually in some ways played at a slower pace, or at least one with more time on the ball than you see in nearly any league except Italy. England remains the home of the heroic, physical defender while most of Europe seems to be moving toward high lines and teams that compact the space in front of the defenders so that they need not be heroic. I feel almost dirty pointing to a difference between continental and English football, it's like the oldest trick in the book, but I do honestly believe that the top Prem teams just aren't accustomed to playing the style of football that they're facing on European nights. I know for a fact that my team doesn't, maybe I'm projecting it onto others, but I tend to think it's more or less the same for Chelsea and Arsenal as well.
Morgan's Magic Snowplow said:I don't know. From what I understand, pressing and generally very high paced football has become relatively widespread in the Bundesliga, but I'm not sure that's true for Serie A, La Liga, or Ligue 1. Maybe I'm wrong (its not like I watch those leagues much, especially the lesser teams) but everybody always talks about there being much more time on the ball in Italy and Spain.
blueguitar322 said:
I typically see the opposite. I distinctly remember an article when Ozil came (and I think another when Sanchez came) where Cazorla talked about how much more time he has on the ball in England than he did in Spain. It didn't really make sense to me, but he would know way better than I would.
Morgan's Magic Snowplow said:Its also possible that its just the Anna Karenina principal and that every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way: ie, City has been performing poorly for reasons specific to their tactical setup, Arsenal has been performing poorly for reasons idiosyncratic to Wenger's approach to management, Liverpool did poorly this year due to young players that hadn't gelled yet, United is going through a bad patch in general, Tottenham had a manager that was completely new to European play, etc.
Luis Taint said:Cazorla has unreal these last few months.
ConigliarosPotential said:On the other hand, the Ox is now out for four weeks:
http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/mar/12/alex-oxlade-chamberlain-arsenal-england-injury