And of course we concede again. Our ability to defend a lead, and just our defending in general this season, is absolutely pathetic. And another Onana error. Get him off.
The thing about Onana is that he hasn't shown himself to be consistently good at anything. Like De Gea was a nightmare on corners and claiming crosses when he arrived, but his shot stopping was always top notch, but he was also 21 when he arrived so had a lot of potential to develop. This is all Onana will be
After our poor transfer window and with the injuries I judged we would be in the CL for long - so not worth the investment
i mentioned this in the transfer thread in the summer. once his passing goes there isn't much else. this is what ten Hag has traded. shot stopping for floor passing
well it was a very good start, maybe just about good overall but we've lost two 2-goal leads again. just not good enough at this level. not upset as i was resigned to our fate since last matchday. i guess this keeps some slim UEL hope alive. not that this would be good enough there either
Don't get to watch the other leagues much - so I assumed if he was a modern keeper who can distribute, it would also mean he also plays further forward in the sweeper-keeper mold and also could command his area. So far in many games for us he has sat back on his goal-line as much as DDG did, which has surprised me (and not in a good way!).
i'm quoting Chaz as well because i think this ties in nicely and he among the very first to question ten Hag to answer your main point simply yes - he's elite at distribution for a keeper, but that's about it. he was never a top tier shot stopper. besides that, the distribution thing only works when your goal is to actively build from the back. at Inter it was fine because as i said re: Pavard the 3-5-2 offers the defensive stability and generally more options to pass out to without disrupting the shape entirely. ten Hag has come out and said we can't play like Ajax and are more suited to direct football. well there goes Onana's big plus. surely this has to be questioned - how is it the MORE Ajax/ former ten Hag philosophy players we buy, the LESS we look or play like Ajax? why? also, i'll reiterate - IF you're going to go down the route of familiar players only or ex-Ajax only recruitment then they HAVE to be home runs or solid performers at least. but particularly with Amrabat and Mount we can't even say he's given up on them because he's never given down on them by giving them any sort of chance. anyway, all that to say that as long as we go direct or counter attack heavy we're going to waste Onana's spike and if we don't defend well we won't see much sweeper keeper stuff and possibly more gaffes
It makes me wonder if @benni... is right about Dutch managers in the PL. After a full season, does he realize he won't be able to implement a full Dutch style here? Does he realize the pace of the PL is too fast for his original approach? Why was he able to implement his style in the CL with Ajax and have such good success? Why are Ajax in shambles since he left? Stay tuned for all this and more on the next episode of Dragon Ball Z.
Not that it really matters; If three or more defending players form a wall... all attacking players must remain at least one metre from the wall until the ball is in play. GALATASARAY'S GOAL SHOULD NOT HAVE STOOD! #beINUCL #MUFC pic.twitter.com/Wj4wJjz03r— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS_EN) November 29, 2023
Europa League, here we come again. Edit: I thought we were on 5points but looks like no Europa either.
that particular indicent was in minute 92 when we had one last corner and needed a winner (odd he'd call on Maguire) but your point is also valid
He's incapable of stepping up. He knows if he does he'll be exposed for pace. Maguire would be fine for a team that wants to sit back and defend deep but he'll never be capable of playing a high line or stepping up. He's too slow and his positioning/scanning is too shit.