I have to disagree about the luck issue. I don't think Sheffield were unlucky, just as I didn't think we were against Arsenal. If you don't take your chances you don't win. It really is as simple as that. And we spurned chances as well, did we not ? Soucek's miss was probably even more glaring than McBurnie's effort that hit the bar. Haller missed an easier chance than the one he scored from and Rice's header against the bar really should have been put away.Clayton wrote: ↑Mon Nov 23, 2020 9:41 amWe more then likely would have lost that game in any other season actually we have many times , the last to score a winning goal at their place was Hurst , so it was some time ago .
Another thing they could have been two up before we even got going , and they had chances throughout the match , but like us on many occasions luck was not with them on the day .
As far as playing to the level of the competition I think I have to disagree there , I see it as the opposition coming up against a solid defensive 11 man team who all know their place within it , and are fit enough to carry it out . Where it likely changes for us is how defensive the opposition are and what their attacking mindset is ( actually think we do better against the more attacking sides especially with Antonio in Moyes setup , rather then teams that do not over commit ) .
As I and many others have said before we do play better against the more adventurous sides because of the way we are set up. And imo we have to play that way because we only have one player, Fornals, who can identify and create opportunities with the so called "killer balls". Maybe in time we will evolve but we need more creativity to be able to do that effectively.
Or upcoming fixtures should give us a better indication of where we stand in the pecking order. I was certainly apprehensive about our opening fixture run but, apart from the easiest game on paper, Newcastle, ending in defeat we have acquitted ourselves well against the so called big clubs. We were crap against Fulham and average yesterday but still managed 6 points which is satisfying. Our next 3 are against clubs currently round about our level, Villa, Man United and Leeds. Let's see where we are after those 3.