Unai Emery

[PaulWinch again]

I think there’s some confirmation bias here - I agree Mings should have started against Palace, due to their specific threat. But against Man Utd, a. to pin it on Torres is crazy and b. we should have been looking to dominate on the ball. Handily it seems to be forgotten that in other crucial games - Fulham, Bournemouth, Spurs Torres started, we won, and we didn’t concede.

[Chris Smith]

I'm worried that the fact we haven't won anything will lead to a premature departure for Emery, in that he may get frustrated with PSR and join a club that's allowed to cheat.

For all the misgivings mentioned above, like all managers, he has his blind spot(s) but what he has done is incredible. It's such a stretch to keep up with the cheats, Newcastle benefitted from that decision over the weekend so how's that for fine margins?

I really thought this was the season that we would break the trophy drought, now I believe it will be next season.

I’d be surprised if he left of his own accord. Part of the reason for him coming here in the first place was due to his perceived failure at Arsenal and him feeling there was unfinished business in the Premier League. If he walks again that perception will become the story.

[LeeB]

I think there’s some confirmation bias here - I agree Mings should have started against Palace, due to their specific threat. But against Man Utd, a. to pin it on Torres is crazy and b. we should have been looking to dominate on the ball. Handily it seems to be forgotten that in other crucial games - Fulham, Bournemouth, Spurs Torres started, we won, and we didn’t concede.

I don't want to pile onto Torres but much like Diego Carlos the team just feels weaker and more uncomfortable defending with him in the side in compared to Mings, and as much as I understand what he brings I just don't think it's anywhere near enough to make up for the weaknesses.

 

[VillaTim]

I think there’s some confirmation bias here - I agree Mings should have started against Palace, due to their specific threat. But against Man Utd, a. to pin it on Torres is crazy and b. we should have been looking to dominate on the ball. Handily it seems to be forgotten that in other crucial games - Fulham, Bournemouth, Spurs Torres started, we won, and we didn’t concede.

Mings started at Bournemouth , when he went off and Torres entered the fray the wheels came off at the back only Cash and Martinez making world class saves / clearances saved us .

[ChicagoLion]

I think there’s some confirmation bias here - I agree Mings should have started against Palace, due to their specific threat. But against Man Utd, a. to pin it on Torres is crazy and b. we should have been looking to dominate on the ball. Handily it seems to be forgotten that in other crucial games - Fulham, Bournemouth, Spurs Torres started, we won, and we didn’t concede.

Confirmation bias = using statistics that confirm facts?

[Somniloquism]

I think there’s some confirmation bias here - I agree Mings should have started against Palace, due to their specific threat. But against Man Utd, a. to pin it on Torres is crazy and b. we should have been looking to dominate on the ball. Handily it seems to be forgotten that in other crucial games - Fulham, Bournemouth, Spurs Torres started, we won, and we didn’t concede.

Mings started at Bournemouth , when he went off and Torres entered the fray the wheels came off at the back only Cash and Martinez making world class saves / clearances saved us .

Nothing to do with being 10 men during that period at all, no sirree. The 10 mins between Mings going off and the red card, they created fuck-all like they did the rest of the match.

[LeeB]

Yeah Bournemeouth was the case in point, we went from looking rock solid to shaky as soon as Mings come off and very nearly conceded from pretty much the same deep cross we did on Sunday, and that's the kind of ball that's never a threat with Mings playing.

[brontebilly]

I think there’s some confirmation bias here - I agree Mings should have started against Palace, due to their specific threat. But against Man Utd, a. to pin it on Torres is crazy and b. we should have been looking to dominate on the ball. Handily it seems to be forgotten that in other crucial games - Fulham, Bournemouth, Spurs Torres started, we won, and we didn’t concede.

Fulham and Spurs could have been found guilty of the non trying rule in fairness. Diego Carlos would have been ok against those. Mings started at Bournemouth and played really well, we went to pot at the back when Torres came on for him.

Torres did play very well against PSG that night. At his best he's a fine footballer, nobody is disputing that. But the situation we were in called for Mings.

[Somniloquism]

Yeah Bournemeouth was the case in point, we went from looking rock solid to shaky as soon as Mings come off and very nearly conceded from pretty much the same deep cross we did on Sunday, and that's the kind of ball that's never a threat with Mings playing.

Didn't we concede from the exact same ball against Newcastle at home with Mings playing?

[VillaTim]

I think there’s some confirmation bias here - I agree Mings should have started against Palace, due to their specific threat. But against Man Utd, a. to pin it on Torres is crazy and b. we should have been looking to dominate on the ball. Handily it seems to be forgotten that in other crucial games - Fulham, Bournemouth, Spurs Torres started, we won, and we didn’t concede.

Confirmation bias = using statistics that confirm facts?

clear as day it really is .

[tomd2103]

I'm worried that the fact we haven't won anything will lead to a premature departure for Emery, in that he may get frustrated with PSR and join a club that's allowed to cheat.

Although I'm not too concerned at this point, I'll admit that same thought has entered my head.  Does there come a point where he sees the financial limitations imposed on us as holding him back from.what he wants to achieve and reaches the conclusion that he's taken us as far as he can working under those restrictions?

[Monty]

Pinning the Man Utd debacle on Torres is a bit fucking demented honestly. As I said in the postmatch thread, if he rather than Cash had played that backpass there'd be nothing left of this forum but a smoking post-nuclear wasteland.

[LeeB]

Yeah Bournemeouth was the case in point, we went from looking rock solid to shaky as soon as Mings come off and very nearly conceded from pretty much the same deep cross we did on Sunday, and that's the kind of ball that's never a threat with Mings playing.

Didn't we concede from the exact same ball against Newcastle at home with Mings playing?

Yeah, we did, after Mings had headed the first ball in away. But we also won 4-1 in our best performance of the season and they didn't get a sniff outside of that, that game in particular underlines the argument.

[DB]

I think he’ll be looking at his own short-comings, trying to improve and why we dropped too many points vs teams we should be beating / why we were so poor in key matches e.g. F.A. Cup semi and Sunday.

[PeterWithe]

He's on record of complaining that too many players dont have the right winning mentality, I think we might see a bigger turnover of players than we think we need. There are still relatively few of 'his' players, we might see more next year.

On him leaving, sure it will happen some time but, his biggest successes have come at teams where every year they have to sell very good players. He's used to it.