Excellent Mailbox, people. Let’s keep this up __with mails to theeditor@football365.com
Winning is all that matters
Southampton had a real go at United and dominated large spells of the game. Their approach and mentality made for a great spectacle. Obviously the wrongly disallowed goal changed the dynamic of the game, as an early lead would’ve given the Saints tremendous impetus.
But credit to United, they dug deep. Having played four more games in the last fortnight, Southampton’s fresher legs were markedly evident in those aforementioned spells. Tactical changes by the United manager paid dividends in the end.
Mourinho’s single-minded approach in creating a winning culture at United has begun well. Unlike his predecessors, he’s embraced the challenge of managing this massive juggernaut of world football. He’s breathed belief back into the football club.
Performances matter little in a final. Winning is all that matters.
SK (Romeu wouldn’t be a half bad replacement for Carrick!)
…That was a really, really good cup final. I remember the FA Cup final last year being a bit drab up until Puncheon scored the first goal (thanks, LVG), but yesterday was a real treat, from beginning to end. Full credit to Southampton for putting in a superb performance – they really didn’t deserve to lose, but that’s just football I suppose.
I’m also a colossal idiot for ever having doubted Zlatan Ibrahimovic. What an absolute beast of a player! That stat from 16 Conclusions about his post-30 goal haul being more than Michael Owen’s career tally is remarkable. His ego may be enormous, but he most certainly walks the walk, and has delivered time and again this season, when we’ve needed it. We really do need to try and hold on to him beyond this season.
In a weird way, that performance was a refreshing change from United. We were by far the inferior team, but still managed to grind out the win (just like the Sir Alex era etc etc). That resilience is one of the most important things Mourinho could have brought back to the club. Hopefully this helps us kick on to win at least one more cup this season (hopefully the Europa).
DJ, MUFC (loads of deficiencies to talk about, but that’s for a different mail) India
…Not sure how we pulled that off but hugely relieved to walk off __with the win against a very impressive Southampton side.
I think we needed that to keep the momentum going and I can see us in the semis or final of the Europa league and even possibly make the top three with a decent run in the league. Given the investment though that should really be a minimum return.
Southampton deserved the game over the 90 minutes but when you have Zlatan in the team you can roll with the punches and still come out on top. His comments after the game, and antics in winding Rooney up about who would lift the trophy were as entertaining as the game itself which was a belter.
I thought Jose made an error in the positions of Mata and Lingard. Why have Lingard in the No.10 role with Mata huffing and puffing up and down the right hand side chasing after the Southampton full back and winger. I know Lingard got his goal but it looked all wrong to me.
Onwards and upwards.
Plato, MUFC
…What an entertaining match it was, and what a finish. I dread to think of where United would be without Zlatan.
Commiserations to Southampton, but I wouldn’t carp too much about the offside goal. Remember Bobby Stokes offside ‘goal’ in 1976 – what goes around comes around.
United!
Kevin, Dublin
Some final conclusions
1. First things first: enormous credit has to go to Southampton, as they were by far the better team. Their pace and movement caused us so many problems from the off and we were very fortunate to win. Southampton were better for about 90 minutes, but the final was won in three individual moments of brilliance. It’s hard to imagine that Southampton would have conceded at least two of those goals had Van Dijk played.
2. It is a huge shame that, once again, I am talking about refereeing decisions having a major effect on games. Southampton’s first goal had to stand, and would have changed the course of the game. The sooner we address these issues with the full means available (read: technology), the better.
3. I have said it before, and I will continue to do it until I’m blue in the face: Chris Smalling is a f*cking liability. His positioning, decision making and just his common sense is shocking. He’s always shirt-tugging and holding at set-pieces, and the number of times you see him trying to recover from bad positioning is appalling. He has to go in the summer.
4. But most of the team as a whole were pretty poor. For my money, only Zlatan, Valencia and probably Herrera can come out of that game with any credit. The defence was all over the place, with Smalling, Rojo and Bailly all having poor games. Even De Gea could have done better for the first goal.
5. Im starting to get slightly irked at Pogba constantly trying to run the ball out from defence. It’s not always appropriate and almost cost us a few times today. It’s great that he wants to retain possession under pressure but pick your moments.
6. How was no one else looking at Gabbiadini? He is a class act, and could easily be playing at a top-four club (no disrespect to Southampton). If only they’d had him all season.
7. What was up with Jose? He looked thoroughly miserable all day!
8. I did think Southampton were slightly lucky to keep 11 players on the pitch. On another day, Stephens could have easily seen red, and Romeu too could have seen a second yellow for the elbow on Herrera, though that would have been harsh. Lingard was also lucky to stay on after a few rash moments following his booking.
All in all, I’m delighted that we won the trophy and that match just reaffirms why I love the League Cup. No matter what happens with the rest of the season, we have a trophy and that’s all you can ask as a fan. Though I hope it’s not the last of the season, obviously!
Ted, Manchester
Everybody has the right to celebrate
This Sunday just past, I was meant to play a football match for the club for which I have been involved with for the past five years. As I missed most of last season as I was in the U.K. working and missed the first half of this season as I was studying in Dublin, I re-joined in January to play with the club’s ‘C’ team which as I can only commit to training every second session at best, I was happy to do.
Last Sunday was our fifth game since I returned and was also our first win. It was a hard fought game played in foul conditions in the bottom division of Limerick’s amateur football leagues, a city with a very proud amateur football/soccer heritage.
The relief in winning that one game was great and the reason any of us play or love football in the first place. During the game I was lucky to not have my nose broken in an accidental coming together with an opposition defender and left the field at full time with an almost Terry Butcher style shirt. This did not take the shine off the win and the enjoyment of the whole occasion. A fine evening was spent in the pub with my teammates discussing what to anyone that was not involved, was as inconsequential as an old episode of Neighbours.
My point is that Manchester United fans and players have every right to celebrate. It is their job, their profession. Many footballers, including the highest paid superstars, suffer serious injury in their career and suffer the extreme lows that come with it. If that is an accepted part of rhe game then is it not OK for the same players to celebrate wholeheartedly when they succeed? When they are in Wembley of all places with their hands on well and fairly earned trophy…
I am no fan of United and their monolithic tractor partner corporate business model and even less so of their current manager but to tell their players, manager, staff or fans that they have no right to celebrate winning the League Cup takes away from the very essence of the sport that we all claim to care so much about and that so may of us decry for losing so much of what made it the so-called ‘beautiful game’ to begin with.
If it shouldn’t matter for Manchester United to win a trophy at Wembley then why should it matter if my failing amateur team wins a game on a muddy pitch on a miserably wet Irish Sunday afternoon in February?
If it doesn’t or shouldn’t matter then its football as a sport that doesn’t matter anymore. We might as well all just give up and get up to speed on what’s happening on Ramsey St and watch Neighbours instead.
Kevin Walsh, Luimneach
#campaignagainstManUnited
You published this from me a few weeks ago( bless you for that):
‘Having watched in recent weeks;
Mikhitarian score when a yard offside and have it stand (scorpion)
Ibra score when a yard offside and have it stand (agst West Ham)
Rojo lunge in two footed and get away with it (agst Liverpool)
Rojo lunge in two footed and get away with it (agst Everton)
Yesterday, Mata lunge in two footed and get away with it
and given that everyone else isn’t allowed to score when a yard offside and we have seen Xhaka and Hendricks get reds for similar two-footers’
Then I can only agree with Jose when he says that the same rules don’t apply to him.
I just can’t understand what he is complaining about it. If this ‘Jose alternative rulebook’ is applied from here on out, I fully expect United to come second this season and walk the league by 10 points next year.
I’d like to submit yesterdays EFL cup final as further evidence of this trend. This is real folks – remember this is Jose Mourinho AND its Man Utd. Both masters of the dark arts. So get used to it football fans – next year that mind-numbingly boring and irritating era of Man Utd Uber alles will be back. They will walk the Prem – with a good team and 12 points a year handed to them by the refs – how could they not?
Only thing is – if you you thought Fergie’s Utd were smug, entitled and obnoxious in victory – just imagine what Jose’s Utd will be like…
Johnno
PS. If I’m right Chelsea fans – Conte is getting sacked next season – so brace yourselves.
A crying shame for Southampton
I was determined not to be a sore loser but…the referee and linesmen have a very difficult job but…if goal line technology has now been successfully introduced, it can surely only be a matter of time until a manager is able to review an offside decision that leads to a goal being either allowed or disallowed. As far as I can tell, the only argument against the introduction is the amount of time it would take to review the incident. with the quality and speed of television replays, I’m convinced this is a moot point. In fact, it’s probably quicker than having to deal with the player protests.
I initially wanted to write in to say how proud I felt of all the Saints players having battled back from 2-0 down, but then I got angry at the perceived injustice and now…and now…and now I’m crying again.
Harry, Manolo is my middle name, Devon
…Ultimately the most frustrating element of the game was that Saints turned up, put in our best performance of the season and somehow still lost. As alluded to in 16 conclusions, there was a certain inevitability about the whole thing and the metaphor that kept running through my head was we’re the nice guy and nice guys never win.
While we were busy doing everything right, winning possession, corners, shots with high energy and style. United were behind the bike shed having a fag, with their feet up before Zlatan strolls in stage right, grabs the girl and rides off into the sunset. Sometimes there is just no substitute for style.
I could go on to write several points about how sh*t the ref was, but ultimately when you consider how many errors a professional player makes, it’s inevitable that the officials make a few as well. The fact that this was goal number eight that has incorrectly been given as offside in United’s favour this season is neither here nor there. Instead I want to draw attention to an incident that yet again, by being the nice guys, shows how we shot ourselves in the foot.
Mid way through the second half, Lingard tries to hack down Redmond to stop a break. Through his own ineptitude at fouling, Redmond is only clipped and just about stays on his feet, we get advantage and the games carries on. It’s a small footnote quickly forgotten. If Redmond does what about every other player in the league would do and goes down there, it’s a 10000% a second yellow and an early bath for Lingard. Against 10 men with the momentum behind us, I think we go on to win the game. For me that was one of the key moment of the final.
Diving is a blight on the game, but decisions like that where a clear foul occurs explain why the risk/reward balance completely favour a player diving or going to ground. There is simply little tangible reward for staying on your feet and everything to be gained as shown by Herrera trying to get Romeu sent off by play acting the slightest touch with all United players gathering around the ref.
Tom Saints (Matt Le Tissier is an absolute legend, loved his indignant rage at half time)
Don’t forget Sol
‘He might just be the best free transfer in Premier League history.’
I know he’s a bit of a d**k now but are we seriously discounting Sol Campbell and his achievements? One of the best English defenders of the modern era leading the Invincibles to a level never reached again. Monumental for multiple title wins and the best defensive run in Champions League history. Zlatan is incredible but he still has some way to go before he can be mentioned as the best free transfer in league history.
Also, despite the incorrect offside decision being ‘simply a bad call’, is it any wonder why the reaction to it has been so emotional and visceral given the importance of the first goal in cup finals? Add to that that this is definitely not the first offside call that has gone in United’s favor this season (seriously, how many times is that now this season?) and that this was the biggest match in over 40 years for Southampton, you really have to give Claude Puel massive credit for not having a bigger moan post game. They were much the better team, played some lovely football throughout the match and were somewhat unfairly rewarded by an inept refereeing performance.
Falooda in NY
Non-cup final weekend thoughts
* Remember Cesc Fabregas? He started only his sixth game of the season on Saturday, and was ridiculously good. When Chelsea expect to face a packed defence, he has to play.
* At Selhurst Park, Aitor Karanka found himself with only one healthy full-back, so he went 3-5-2, which would have been fine if 1) 32-year-old Stewart Downing didn’t have to play wing-back; 2) Daniel Ayala didn’t have to play wide central defender; 3) they weren’t up against a team that attacked at pace on the wings. The first half was a trip to Ibiza for the hosts, and Boro’s lack of firepower meant they couldn’t take advantage of a shaky Palace right side.
* Right now the most underrated player in the league is Ben Foster. He’s played a lot of second fiddle in his career, but this year he looks like lead singer and guitarist, and someone in charge should be wondering whether he should start ahead of the Chin in Turin.
* For those of us who love the glorious sport of manager-watching, Saturday was El Clásico: Walter Mazzarri vs. Slaven Bilic. Mazzarri opened the scoring with a clinical afraid-to-watch-the-penalty back turn, but afterwards relied too much on his usual repertoire of disgust and exasperation. Bilic equalized in the second half by nearly drilling a hole in the fourth official’s chest with finger pointing, then seemed to have put the match away with repeated over-the-top refusals to believe his side hadn’t been given a penalty. But Mazzarri rallied with some surprisingly subtle tightly-balled-fist action, and sealed the draw with a perfect one-time smash to the dugout wall.
* Lee Grant of Stoke City has got the Le Sulk look down pat, and given the way Ryan Shawcross played yesterday, it’s no wonder. P.S. Say it very quietly, but I think Jon Moss is becoming a decent referee.
* Anyone else here looking forward to the Chelsea – Manchester United quarterfinal?
Peter G, Pennsylvania, USA
Thoughts on Chelsea v Swansea
– There have been real days when I’ve felt, ‘you know what, I’d be ok if we sell Hazard this summer (of course for a sum near Bale’s fee or likely more)’. Those are the days when for a few minutes he’d put a performance to match Messi at his heyday but inevitably be uninterested or showing some flashy dribbles without ruthlessness in the remaining time. Saturday epitomized Eden Hazard. At times he was unplayable, other times he wasn’t playing. Come on Eden, be more ruthless. Be the person you’re meant to be.
– That said Fabregas had a 10/10. Comfortably his best performance in a Chelsea shirt. What was striking was he played two roles. Before Matic’s introduction, he took turns with Kante to be a box-to-box and some of his runs were Lampard-esque. The best part is Cesc boasts technical skills Lamps never had! Once Matic came, he did the Pirlo role, something I’d implore Conte to try out more often.
– But the real point is the evolution of Fabregas as a player. I’ve seen him in his Arsenal (and to a lesser extent Barcelona days), he had those phases of insane assists+goals and then vanishing towards the end. Over the course of this season, Antonio has slowly but steadily changed Cesc. For starters, his positioning is top class now, he no more gets caught upfield. He knows when to press, when to tackle, when to drop back and stop an opponent’s passes. Not at the level of Makelele or Kante, but definitely far improved to what he was before. There was only one thing lacking in Fabregas’ game – tactical discipline. And now he’s winning Conte by improving on it. I shudder to think what would happen must he continue and succeed in this path.
– That brings me to Kante. I’ve stressed this a million times since summer window. Again, the signing of the summer all over the world. 30m is peanuts in the market for Kante. The best part is he’s not a commodity. There’s only one piece of such a player and that is N’Golo Kante. The only other version is retired and now coaches at Swansea. He’s omnipresent in the pitch. Unassuming guy by nature. What a player! Thank you for choosing Chelsea Kante. It’s indeed a previlage to watch you play. Another 10/10 performance.
– On the game itself, there’s a small issue with Chelsea. Conceding headed/set piece goals is the symptom. The real issue is that our back five is still a temporary stitch on a torn cloth than a proper fabric itself. Our back 3/5 is makeshift at its best. We have players playing out of position. The only thing keeping it going is some black magic by Conte creating the synergy. Moses is defensively suspect. For all his improvements, he simply does not have that defensive instinct to read danger, especially in far/back post or when marking a forward. Alli’s two goals, this goal by Llorente are examples. Azpilicueta on the other hand is limited by height. More than saying Chelsea suffer in long balls crossed, the actual issue is to (a) stop the source, crosses/not giving free kicks and (b) fix the defense in the summer.
– I was one of the first (coincidentally along with F365) to point out how Pedro is under rated. Forget about his contributions this season in terms of goals and assists, but since he joined us, Pedro has always been willing to run, press, work hard as long as he stays on the pitch. His commitment and desire has always been minimum 100%. And I’m so glad to see him reap the rewards for his commitment. He’s a phenomenal player and any day more intelligent than Willian. He does Kante’s job up field every time he’s on the pitch by winning ball back or harassing opponents. Add to it he has a brilliant off the ball run and finish. Another 8/10 performance.
– Jose recently whined (he’s doing a lot isn’t he?) about how Conte’s Chelsea play like how his teams of prime did. There’s merit in his argument that our inherent strength is still to bully or counter attack to score. However, Conte has started something else also, which was appreciated by Pep recently and was evident last night. For the first time in Abramovich era, Chelsea have a structure to attack/defend. Our build up (which Pep appreciated) has been very sophisticated. We try to build from the back with movements and patterns that Conte has imbibed from day one. This is only a start and give Conte a few years (hopefully) and Chelsea’s play would have changed big time. Evolution is a slow process and what I’m seeing now is only good. From Thibaut whose passing has definitely improved to our defenders and midfielders, there’s a structure and plan about how to keep the ball and attack spaces. Take Cahill out and put a better defender and our performances in big games will be much better.
Aravind, Chelsea fan
Hull have a home ground disadvantage
Here in my place of employment in Oz, we have a Hull native on our shift. For that reason, even before the appointment of Marco Silva, I have always had an interest in how “Ool” are travelling.
I have watched a few of their games this season, but against Burnley the other night, I was struck by the poor condition of the pitch. I realise most of today’s pitches are amazingly good compared to the old days, yadda yadda yadda, but if Hull stay up it will be in spite of their home ground, not because of it.
I am not saying that Burnley did not deserve their point by any means, but that surface has to be working against the type of football Silva is trying to get them to play. Some passes turned more than a Shane Warne wrong’un. There must have been a record number of games of ‘head tennis’ played out during the match, not from lumped clearances, just from balls bouncing all over the place.
It has been shown here in Australia that any time a pitch is used for anything other than football, it more or less ruins it for football, I suppose it’s sort of hard to believe that it happens in the Premier league.
Jeff Sims, Australia