Unai Emery

[eamonn]

Maybe the injuries and stacked calendar compared to Spurs having a week to prepare, meant he was happy to cede possession today, treat it like an away game and pounce in the second-half like we've often done. Obviously looks bad when it goes to rat-shit.

[Monty]

I think we are much better when we do go for it. We have a recent history when faced with these moments of being meek. I don’t want that anymore. If we fuck it up going for it do be it. But fucking it up in the manner in which we did today or have done at various points in our past is the worst way to chuck it all away. We have plenty of games left to get this right. But it has to be much better than that. It starts with Emery setting the tone of who we want to be from this point to the end of the season.

Exactly. Nobody (well, not many people) would moan if we tear into teams and get picked off in a 2-3 or even 2-4 game, but that was weakness of spirit, endeavour and execution. We can't lose like that. What's the fucking point?

Had we gone all-out and lost 0-4 there'd be so many people queuing up to blame him that the site would crash!

Maybe, but you're overlooking the crucial point that *I* wouldn't be, and the views of this guy are quite important to me!

I mean sure, I agree with you. Just that as a fanbase we've not usually been, uh, very trusting of reckless attacking football.

[Villan82]

Yes, tactics weren't the best today.

But they had to go for it. That was a must win for them more than it was for us and we have beaten them 3 times in a row. The plan went to shit when they scored but I think we would have gone for it in the final 30 minutes if it was 0-0.

[ez]

Nobody expects to win every game. I expect him to set us up to give us a chance though.

Yes that set up gave us very little chance of scoring. He set us up to not concede.

[Proposition Joe]

…and we didn't control the game. The match was controlled more or less in the plan we prepared.”

Eh? What on earth is that supposed to mean?

I think here it's a question of using the wrong tense. It looks like he's saying the plan was to control the game, but in the game didn't go to plan.

[Risso]

I think we are much better when we do go for it. We have a recent history when faced with these moments of being meek. I don’t want that anymore. If we fuck it up going for it do be it. But fucking it up in the manner in which we did today or have done at various points in our past is the worst way to chuck it all away. We have plenty of games left to get this right. But it has to be much better than that. It starts with Emery setting the tone of who we want to be from this point to the end of the season.

Exactly. Nobody (well, not many people) would moan if we tear into teams and get picked off in a 2-3 or even 2-4 game, but that was weakness of spirit, endeavour and execution. We can't lose like that. What's the fucking point?

Had we gone all-out and lost 0-4 there'd be so many people queuing up to blame him that the site would crash!

Well that's not really true. Even under Carpetheaed, when Spurs scored 4 against us with a Son hat trick. Afterwards the general, and indeed correct feeling was that we'd battered them, and we should have been 5-0 up by half time. There certainly wasn't a crashed site as a result. If we play well, and the score goes against us, well that's football. Today was just a complete shit show from the manager and all the players.

[Monty]

Earlier you described the Man Utd home defeat - where we definitely battered them and didn't deserve to lose - as 'pathetic', I believe.

[Paul.S]

I don’t think any coach can ever legislate for defending like that today.
Everything then goes out of the window and we have to chase the game and then McGinn has a head loss. Maybe, just maybe, Emery sees the players in training and can see what best fits the state of the squad.
I think Emery was let down today by terrible mistakes at the back and when you look at the bench and there’s not much there to change it. He’s not past criticism but he’s not let us down so far. Without him we’d be mid table at best.

[Chap]

I don’t think any coach can ever legislate for defending like that today.
Everything then goes out of the window and we have to chase the game and then McGinn has a head loss. Maybe, just maybe, Emery sees the players in training and can see what best fits the state of the squad.
I think Emery was let down today by terrible mistakes at the back and when you look at the bench and there’s not much there to change it. He’s not past criticism but he’s not let us down so far. Without him we’d be mid table at best.

A nice balanced viewpoint.

[brontebilly]

I don’t think any coach can ever legislate for defending like that today.
Everything then goes out of the window and we have to chase the game and then McGinn has a head loss. Maybe, just maybe, Emery sees the players in training and can see what best fits the state of the squad.
I think Emery was let down today by terrible mistakes at the back and when you look at the bench and there’s not much there to change it. He’s not past criticism but he’s not let us down so far. Without him we’d be mid table at best.

That's true...but Cash/Konsa in that setup just doesn't work. We didn't need to see it proven once more again today.

[Paul.S]

I don’t think any coach can ever legislate for defending like that today.
Everything then goes out of the window and we have to chase the game and then McGinn has a head loss. Maybe, just maybe, Emery sees the players in training and can see what best fits the state of the squad.
I think Emery was let down today by terrible mistakes at the back and when you look at the bench and there’s not much there to change it. He’s not past criticism but he’s not let us down so far. Without him we’d be mid table at best.

That's true...but Cash/Konsa in that setup just doesn't work. We didn't need to see it proven once more again today.

It worked at their place.

[Meanwood Villa]

I don’t think any coach can ever legislate for defending like that today.
Everything then goes out of the window and we have to chase the game and then McGinn has a head loss. Maybe, just maybe, Emery sees the players in training and can see what best fits the state of the squad.
I think Emery was let down today by terrible mistakes at the back and when you look at the bench and there’s not much there to change it. He’s not past criticism but he’s not let us down so far. Without him we’d be mid table at best.

That's true...but Cash/Konsa in that setup just doesn't work. We didn't need to see it proven once more again today.

It worked at their place.

Cash went off at half-time didn't he?

[Ian.]

Yep, when players give the ball away needlessly you’re asking for trouble. Konsa seriously fucked up which was nothing to do with systems or management.

He's been superb this season so I’m not going to give him too much of a hard time but he’s looked rather rusty since coming back from injury.

No excuses and we haven’t used them anywhere near some teams but we’ve struggled for a while with suspensions and injuries which isn’t a surprise really.

My only complaint is I’d rather our manager went for it today rather than decide to go the conservative approach. Again, after where he’s got us, I can’t knock him too much.

[brontebilly]

I don’t think any coach can ever legislate for defending like that today.
Everything then goes out of the window and we have to chase the game and then McGinn has a head loss. Maybe, just maybe, Emery sees the players in training and can see what best fits the state of the squad.
I think Emery was let down today by terrible mistakes at the back and when you look at the bench and there’s not much there to change it. He’s not past criticism but he’s not let us down so far. Without him we’d be mid table at best.

That's true...but Cash/Konsa in that setup just doesn't work. We didn't need to see it proven once more again today.

It worked at their place.

Cash went off at half-time didn't he?

Yeah...it absolutely did not work at their place. We were actually defensively a lot better in first half today than we were at WHL.

[Paul.S]

I was there but can’t remember,did Ramsey come in? It wasn’t a disaster as we won the game and who knows what Emery had in mind today. Whatever is was, was blown out of the water by huge individual mistakes. My point was that he doesn’t have a lot to work with and with Europe thrown in it’s not easy.
Ramsey out and Diaby massively out of form really restricted what he could do.