It’s a funny old game

Funny! Nobody was laughing at the end of the Spurs/ United game. In fact, I can think of a more robust word to use, but because of decorum, and it wouldn’t get past the censors, we’ll leave that to word to one side.

The day started with me being with the players, they were feeling on top of the world. And don’t forget that they (or we; using a collective) had already beaten United – on their ground – this season. So, what can one do away, what one can’t do at home… and the same could be said about Wolves, but that was just a blip (they do happen).

So, right up until Rashford scored we were positive, him scoring didn’t stop us being even more positive, however, that bloody United goalkeeper got in the way of our enthusiasm and determination. Couldn’t you just throttle somebody right now? Or even then. What a time to have such an outstanding game.

We had 61% of the possession, 11 shots on target to their 8 and 7 corners to their 4, but we still couldn’t get past De Gea. God knows what he had been drinking or eating before the match, but whatever it was I wouldn’t mind some of it. There was talk of some fans using a Black type coupon code to try and tip United to keep a clean sheet, in fact, he should have passed it around to our goalkeeper (who, also had a good game, apart from letting that one goal in). I said in a previous article that a godsend is what we’ve been having this season, that is apart from this game, where it had deserted us.

Pochettino said he was proud of the way the team played, the best this season. Well, maybe we should have played as bad as United and we might have got something. Nobody remembers those that finished in second place. All the papers, all the TV talk was about United and their goalkeeper, the talk about us was how we are slipping further back… back to the point of ending up in the lavatory… and the only thing that is good for is having a… anyway, you get my drift?

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer may have equalled Sir Matt Busby’s all-time record of winning his first five league games in charge of Manchester United, but our talk was over us losing consecutive home Premier League games for the first time since May 2015. That is not the talk we wanted.

We’ve lost four home league games this season – double the amount we have lost at home in our previous two Premier League campaigns combined. These sort of statistics are not title challenging ones. They are more “I am Arsenal” type qualities. At least they lost this weekend; let us smile, it is something!

Did you know that Harry Kane had seven shots in this match – he last had more without finding the net in a Premier League game in January 2018 (8 vs Manchester United). OK, I’ll stop now. No doubt you will want something to cheer you up with. Well, we are still in third place, a point above Chelsea, and seven points above Arsenal. And of course, the two Red-meat-packer-fiends are equal on points (41). And may they stay there; both battling for a place in the Europa League, or even better still, allow those below them to climb over them so that they settle further down the league table (wouldn’t that be jolly!).
You can guess how things went after the players all walked off the pitch; their mood wasn’t very pleasant. Only Pochettino could see something positive to come out of this match. But to be fair, what else could he say other than try to lift the players up for the Fulham and Chelsea games. Which will be followed by Palace away in the FA Cup 4th Rd.

Sometimes you just don’t know what you want to do; cry, see the positive side or just put your head in the clouds and dream of possibilities to come once we’ve moved into our new stadium.

It’s a funny old game, as Jimmy Greaves said (and God bless him!).