Unai Emery

[TheToffnar]

I am truly baffled by his recent selections and in game management.
We have seen Emery adapt to different teams, different in game circumstances.
We have also seen him get it spectacularly wrong.
But this is the first time when he seems to not recognise the problems the team is having with how he has set them up and continue to play players that are not up to it.
Last night was yet another example, the first half was like a basket ball match, we were so open that Chelsea attacked at will , but we were a goal up we didn’t need to play into their hands.
It’s been obvious for weeks that the 2 in midfield is not enough , that we are unable to get out of a high press and that our centre forward is woefully out of form and confidence.
But he still persists with the same players in the same system getting the same outcomes.

Maybe a 451 type setup for Old Trafford with Bogarde in the middle. Rogers on one wing and one of Bailey or Buendia on the other. But the form of several players has collapsed. Maybe back to Lindelof & Torres at the back, Lindelof definitely deserves a chance in any case.

Lindelof deserves a run out against Lile. Love Konsa, but his heads clearly gone and he needs a break.

[luke95]

I'm beginning to wonder if Emery's head is already elsewhere.
I really hope not, not for another 2-3 years anyway

[teamvillage]

I think we have short memories here. Unai had a team playing very poorly in August/early September and his method was to play the players he trusts back into form.

It might not work this time but it worked pretty spectacularly well last time, so I can see why he's minded to try it again rather than tear it all up and make huge changes. It's not a sign of him losing interest to me, at least.

[TheToffnar]

I've no doubt that if certain fine margins had gone our way in the past few weeks, we wouldn't be having these sorts of conversations now. Everything has gone against us.

Players out of form
Going up against teams finding something
Shocking refereeing displays
Injuries
Stubborn managerial decisions

This team has surprised us too many times for me to just write them off, I won't do that until it becomes impossible, but I won't grope for positives where there are none either.

[PaulWinch again]

Three absolutely killer decisions from yesterday:

- playing Mings not Torres and continuing to try and play out of the back. That is just entirely the wrong selection.
- starting Buendia and Bailey in the same team. Quite apart from form and capability, we simply can’t compete physically if they both start.
- Bringing on Bogarde for Cash. Firstly wrong player in terms of it didn’t make us defensively more robust, and at the same time removed any ability to carry the ball forward. But more that it was just swapping a player, rather than tactically addressing Chelsea were getting on top. We needed a tactical shift at half time, it didn’t happen and sure enough within a few minutes the inevitable third was scored.

There were other lesser calls (e.g. Tammy on far too late). But the above were all decisions that absolutely stuffed us.

[SamTheMouse]

We're going to be shit until our midfield returns.

We haven't just lost our three best players - their absence has affected everyone else.

Being without them has caused the rest of the squad to lose their shit. They all look like they've got imposter syndrome.

[Stinkin_Thinkin]

We're going to be shit until our midfield returns.

We haven't just lost our three best players - their absence has affected everyone else.

Being without them has caused the rest of the squad to lose their shit. They all look like they've got imposter syndrome.

you can get away with losing one, but all three was catastrophic. I don't know what the solution is? change shape,  flood the midfield with bodies? We have to adapt fast with the money at stake for UCL qualification.

[brontebilly]

I think we have short memories here. Unai had a team playing very poorly in August/early September and his method was to play the players he trusts back into form.

It might not work this time but it worked pretty spectacularly well last time, so I can see why he's minded to try it again rather than tear it all up and make huge changes. It's not a sign of him losing interest to me, at least.

Those players included likes of McGinn and Kamara. Proven performers in that narrow midfield four. It simply isn't working any longer and hasn't since Newcastle away.

Going to have to try another body in midfield and give up on Mings.

[PaulWinch again]

There’s a load of underlying detail to this, but I think ultimately my view is:

With all of our key players fit Unai got us in a place where we were competing for the title and that was fantastic, overachievement. Without everyone fit I think our level is competing for that last Champions League place.

However, since the injuries our form is now bottom four in the league, that is underachieving with what we have available. A drop-off was to be expected with the injuries but it shouldn’t be below midtable form. This isn’t a blip either we’ve been playing badly for weeks.

Currently we net out roughly where we should be, because of the overachievement in the middle of the season. But we’ve pretty much eroded all that contingency - we now have to correct course and do something different or we’re going to end up underperforming. Don’t sit on your hands and hope please Unai.

[TheToffnar]

I think that's ultimately the most irritating thing and highlights the importance of context in football.

Yes, every single one of us in early September would have taken where we are now, but going from a position of seemingly impossible strength at the start of the year to this is quite frankly a little embarrassing, given who've we've played and how we've performed.

I have every faith that we'll come out of this rut at some stage. I've lost count the amount of times this teams looked dead and buried, only to come out fighting again. But if it happens too late and we end up falling short, I think we'll all end up feeling that it was wasted effort with outcome ultimately being a really, really horrible Summer. 

[brontebilly]

One thing that's he's unlikely to change but I wish he would is his tolerance of Morgan Rogers. I don't think it does anybody any favours when Rogers is having a stinker like he was last night by leaving him on. Bailey, Buendia, Watkins are getting plenty of grief but Rogers was by far the worst of our front four last night. I was keen to see how he would go on the left for a change. But he was a disaster, gave the ball away constantly and didn't try a leg without it. One of their goals came because he couldn't be arsed tracking a run.

He's struggling for form for weeks, 1 goal in last 11 flashed up last night on screen, the team is all over the place which isn't his fault obviously. But he didn't put it in last night and Emery should have addressed that early in the second half instead of taking the easy option.

[Skipper_The_Eyechild]

People talk about what's the point of replacing Bailey with Sancho, who the fuck are we replacing Rogers with? I absolutely see why he keeps Rogers on, no alternative is better even if he is playing shit.

[DB]

Hopefully vs Lille he will rotate and give Tammy, Barkley and Alysson a run out and they can put in a performance

[TheToffnar]

Where's the quality for him to play off? It's as simple as that for me. Yeah, he's looked flakey the past few weeks and there's always something you're star player could do better, even when they're in form, but Buendia has been a complete waste of space next to him.

We could compensate for a lack of creativity on the left when Tielemans was playing, but what's Rogers meant to do when his side of the pitch has been completely void of anything for almost 2 months and your striker who you feed at least two good chances per game isn't finishing?

[Rudy Can't Fail]

Just mentioned on the match thread but may as well repeat it here, what worked at the beginning of the season when we were crap was down to Unai insisting in the belief of his system and tactics. It doesn't work with lesser quality players unfortunately.

He needs to adapt to what he has to play with. He's done it from Day 1 and for the life of me I can't understand why he keeps insisting with something that just doesn't work. I hope he's not feeling sorry for himself because I can tell you, after another shit performance I only have enough sympathy for myself.

If you keep doing what you are doing you will keep getting what you are getting.

Absolutely. I said before the Wolves game it was Einstein vs Unai and we all saw insanity lost. Last night was just a repeat of insanity this time with bells on.