So many odd and wrong decisions from Moyes
Some believe Claret and Hugh has been much too harsh on the manager over the last new months but sadly last night only served to show why. There were so many odd and wrong decisions from Moyes not to believe he was right and his critics wrong writes Hughie Southon.
So many odd and wrong decisions from Moyes
I had watched Liverpool beat Sparta Prague 5-1 by playing attacking football in the extreme and Roma doing the same to Brighton scoring four along the way. Then we arrive on the scene and until the 81st minute are heading for the first goal-less draw of the seven games being played against an obviously weak Europa League team with a “park the bus” philosophy back some have called an outstanding policy away from home at this level.
Oh well, that’s up to them.
The point is Freiburg are not a very good team and had nothing to offer at the cutting edge of the game which at best was dour and, at worst, dreadful to watch.
It was clear from kick off that we were in Germany to get a draw although we had three good chances to score – all spurned whilst Freiburg were never short on attacking intent on their own ground.
So many odd and wrong decisions from Moyes
But what made it so much worse was that even as we went one down the manager chose to bring on a defensive midfielder in Phillips for Ward-Prowse when we needed a goal badly, ignoring Michail Antonio until extra time when it was all to late. WHY, I ask again WHY? What was the man thinking about?
Additionally, why wasn’t Soucek pushed into a much more advanced role a lot earlier on a night when Paqueta was sadly off form and the team suffered badly as a result.
I’m regularly told we should be supporting the manager and the squad but, look, I love the theatre and if I watch my favourite actor in plays that regularly fail to entertain me, criticism is allowed given I pay the money which helps pay the wages of playwrights and actors.
Football is part of the entertainment business and if we we are not being entertained just how long do we allow the manager to get away with it given our season ticket money is helping pay his wages?
Frankly, I believe Moyes is currently getting away with murder!
We have seen this coming for so long, but those in power, don’t seem to, the home game is now a real breaking point.
Moyes has never been good when to substitute players, seemingly influenced by the score and not how a players performing.
It’s no good Moyes moaning that we should have had a penalty after his tactical approach to the game. It was the same when we played Sheffield United, a team bottom of the table,
yet had 22 shots against us .
Next game is Burnley a team we should have no problem defeating, however if Moyes proceeds the game the same defensive way, again it will be a struggle.
Unquestionably the manager has to carry the can for last night. There was not enough variation in the set up to make the opposition have to think too hard. Was there a specific instruction not to continue pressuring a goalkeeper that we knew from the last two games was suspect on the ball? That has to be the only explanation why Bowen and Kudus weren’t getting right up to him when he had the ball at his feet. Why there was no attempt to change the team on the pitch and make use of the substitutes towards the end, especially when it was clear that Lucas Paqueta really couldn’t carry on with any effect, I can’t explain. Bringing Antonio on with, say, 15 minutes left, would have given their defence something new to think about, and could well have opened more space to exploit.
All that being said, Thursday has to be the point where everyone gets behind the team. I saw someone claiming to be one of us comment on BBC Sport that because of the divide between “Moyes In” and “Moyes Out”, the crowd will be quiet on Thursday, which is the biggest load of horse hockey I’ve heard in a long time. Thursday is the time when we need to roar the team on, just like we did against Sevilla. If they come out against Freiburg like they did against Brentford, we’ll win the game and the tie.
The biggest ‘wrong decision’ for me, is the amount of time we spend in training on our passing. We’re awful at it!
Freiburg were pinging the ball around beautifully, with pace and accuracy – especially in the opening 25 minutes – yet whenever it comes to our players, they receive it with their back to goal rather than on the half turn (suggesting they’re not aware of what’s around them), take two touches when one should be enough, then squander possession with an inaccurate or under-hit pass! So frustrating.
What exactly do they work on in training when they can’t even get the basics right?
Perhaps how to manoeuvre a large bus expertly on the 18 yard line…?
Another way to look at it is that Brighton went hell bent for leather and are now likely out of the tie. Maybe if they had treated it like a 180 minute match and this halftime, they would have given themselves a better chance at The Amex. Their keeper made a great stop on Bowen and there was the superb defensive play to deny Paqueta. We are down 1-0 at halftime, with 90 minutes to play at home. I’ll reserve judgement on his tactics until next Thursday.
They WERE playing a slightly better team!