We never got going and Everton just smothered us. Should have been 2 or 3 nil if they had kept some composure.
Sadly doing nothing to alleviate concerns that our away performances will cost us top 4. Gutted.
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We never got going and Everton just smothered us. Should have been 2 or 3 nil if they had kept some composure.
Sadly doing nothing to alleviate concerns that our away performances will cost us top 4. Gutted.
Shite. On we go.
Didn’t expect much out of this game. Poor all round - especially Monreal and AMN who were consistently exposed.
Still, nothing’s changed, so we’re bang in the hunt for top 4.
Last season we got 47 points at home, 16 away (63).
This season it’s 44 so far at home (50 maximum) and 19 away so far from 15 games.
As much as our away form is lamented, it has improved from last season and is largely the reason we are where we are right now.
No doubt it has to get better to push on, but it’s been ok enough to get us here.
Some credit to Everton - a very energetic performance which if they’d taken their chances would’ve been a drubbing
We gave the ball away all over the park – for us, I think only Leno came out of it with any credit
We were so lacklustre for most of the match and I do question starting with Guendouzi and Elneny.
And now we have lost Sokratis for two games – I can’t see us getting anything from our away games at Watford, Wolves or Leicester on this performance
If anyone thinks this pile of shit is getting 4th, think again. That was like a Wenger defeat.Quote:
Originally Posted by Marc Overmars
Maitland-Niles :rolleyes: Is he related to Gus Ceaser?
The way the fixtures have been fallen, it is arguable that having had more chances to accumulate points at home than our rivals have, is the reason why we are where we are.Quote:
Originally Posted by SMatthews
I don't think we will be finishing 3rd when you compare our fixtures with Spurs' and the only reason I think we have a shot at 4th is because United and Chelsea still have to play each other on top of City and Liverpool, plus a couple of other banana skin type fixtures like we have remaining.
Perhaps but Chelsea and Man Utd can't both win when they play each other, Chelsea still have to go to Anfield too. It's a failing for us but it's not necessarily terminal.
Yeah there's definitely an opening for us but we have to get our shit together, quickly.
Emery visibly animated and annoyed at everything the whole game and I can see why. Utterly turgid performance. Guendouzi his ponderous, excessive touch taking inaccurate worst. Mhki should have started the game on the right and Iwobi should have come on at half time on the left.
Laca didn't play like a guy who recently said he wants third place and we barely troubled Pickford who has been prone to a clanger all season.
Mustafi needs to be fired out of a cannon. I never want to see him play for us again. Leno was virtually the only starter deserving of any real credit.
We should be able to presume we will always have a good record at home, which we usually do. Whenever we played those home games, we’d be expecting to win in most cases, so those points are already there. There’s advantages and disadvantages throughout the season when it comes to fixtures - a look at ours over this month is a case in point. Third would’ve been an even bigger bonus, but I’d take 4th without a problem.Quote:
Originally Posted by Marc Overmars
It is just irritating when we've seen so much good this season only to have it undermined by past failings that still appear to be lingering.Quote:
Originally Posted by SMatthews
We’re largely going in the right direction I think, that’s what we all wanted to see. It’s good to be back in this position at least. But as we’ve all said dozens of times, whether we get back into the CL or not, what happens with the squad over the summer is crucial to us continuing our momentum. Otherwise those old failings will continue to be there.
Hopefully Xhaka’s back for the next game and Torreira will hopefully have his legs back as he hasn’t played in a month, not even during the international break. Guendozi has exceeded my expectations this season but he’s 19 and has played a lot, and it’s shown in the past couple of games.
Was Ozil trying to hit Emery with his jacket..... :blink:
still think we are in the box seat for a top 4, because Spurs still have city to play and united have Chelsea and City to play I think. So we don't have to win all our games. However we are going to have to pick up some points from Watford, Wolves and Leicester and playing like that yesterday we aren't going to.
The difference between home and away form boils down to character and mentality. This team is too flaky for that. Hard to believe how we are even in the hunt for 4th really.
Seems like it’s the last remnant of Wenger that we can’t seem to truly shake off.
Hopefully what Emery takes from it is that you can't be so cautious away from home if you want top four - Ian Wright spotted it as did I and others on here, that starting with Guendouzi and Elneny was a mistake - Ramsay should have started and he immediately made a difference when he came on, but by then Everton had our number and for once couldn't Ramsay quite save us
there may yet be salvation if Emery fields a more attacking side at Watford - i'm willing to bet even this far out that Deeney and co may not be looking to go in too hard with an FAC final appearance at stake...
I was surprised Ramsey didn't start but Emery said he wasn't fit enough to. They were playing it safe because of his recent groin strain and given the amount of muscle injuries he's had over the years and the amount of games we have this month, it makes sense.
yes i just read the press conference so it's kind of fair enough - and there's no question we are missing Torreira atm and, however reluctantly, i must admit Xhaka alsoQuote:
Originally Posted by SMatthews
let's just hope this was a blip but we really will have to up our game in a week's time
i thought AMN was really poor yesterday, a shame after the way he's generally improved - Mhki also - having said that everyone was below par
other than Leno, the only plus point was Ozil throwing his coat - good to see a bit of what passes for aggro from him :lol:
Both AMN and Monreal didn’t cover themselves in glory - although I’m not sure Kola offered too much going back yesterday either, which badly stretched our defence.
The defence just seemed to shit itself everytime Pickford lumped it forward. Sokratis was probably the pick of the bunch but even he struggled.
If Ramsey was an injury risk I do have sympathy in that Guendozi and Elneny were his only other realistic CM options.
I think it was a mistake to start both Ozil and Mhiki though, for a physical away game that was never going to end well. Iwobi did more in 10 minutes than the other two did all game.
I think it was an obvious result from the starting line up. Awful selection tbh.
And again Auba is on the bench when we all know him and Laca should be starting together for maximum effectiveness.
One step forward, two steps back :rolleyes:
We are still in the mix, but we need to get as many points as possible and days like yesterday are foolish when we can just as easily slip down the table as well as finish higher up.