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1) It seems a little unfair to present it in this way, but it was never supposed to be like that. Manchester United appointed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as interim manager until the end of the season because he considered him the ideal man to make fans and players smile. The idea was that the results would improve automatically depending on the mood changes, but that they were almost of secondary importance.
With 2018/19 almost a reduction given the gap with the top four, Solskjaer would rid the club of the fog imposed by Jose Mourinho. He would then retire and let the club's long-term choice intervene, whatever it may be.
But Solskjaer's performance in charge has given Ed Woodward a lot of thought, because no one had seen him coming. Beating lower-ranked teams in the Premier League could be seen as a mere counterpart a posteriori, but Mourinho could not handle it himself. Beating Tottenham at Wembley and Arsenal at Emirates gives more weight to the idea that Solskjaer keeps this post beyond the end of the season.
Continue like this, and what choice does Manchester United have? If Solskjaer filled the gap of 11 points with the top four and won the FA Cup, his replacement would be under enormous pressure to get him back into gear.
2) But there is no huge secret behind Solskjaer's methods. He simply took advantage of treating Manchester United players as equals. Suddenly, a midfielder who "could not pbad the ball ten meters"Play as a dynamic unit. Defenders who have flopped and beaten are safer. The strikers who had so little confidence in them shoot again.
After the victory of Arsenal, Romelu Lukaku addressed the media after being named Man of the Match. He had created two goals, his best game was better than in the last six months of Mourinho. He had a simple explanation.
"The manager gives everyone confidence. He talks to everyone, you know when you're going to play and when you're not going to play. When you do not play, he tells you why. It's a big difference. "
Lukaku went on to say that he would not criticize Mourinho, but that the last line still hangs in the air like a stench. Mourinho has absolutely understood this, and he must surely change his style of human resource management to succeed again. Sergeant Sulky's major act simply does not stand up any longer. Mourinho does not command the respect – or the aura he once had – for it to work.
3) Manchester United vs. Arsenal have produced a number of iconic goals over the last 20 years, a quarrel forged by the two dynastic leaders of English football: Marc Overmars, who won the title at Old Trafford; Ryan Giggs FA Cup semifinal waltz; Wayne Rooney sealed the win that ended Arsenal's undefeated 49-game series.
But for me, it's the radical counter-attack of 2009 when Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo put Arsenal in the sword. This goal featured the best of United – a thrilling, thrilling counter-attack football – and the worst of Arsenal, left exposed with captured circles at the top of the pitch.
United spent most of the next decade trying to replicate this captivating style. Arsenal spent most of the next decade trying to get rid of this frozen vulnerability. Friday night was proof that Solskjaer was getting closer to David Moyes, Louis van Gaal and Mourinho, and that Arsenal's defense problems were unlikely to go away when Unai Emery cleared the door.
4) Newcastle was a deliciously malleable opponent, but this weekend was a new proof of Watford's strength. For the second time in a row, Javi Gracia made 11 changes to his team and watched their 2-0 away win.
Beat Woking was little more than expected, but winning against another Premier League team with a full reserve is impressive. Watch those who have started: exciting young English players (Nathaniel Chalobah, Will Hughes, Ben Wilmot), potential foreign stars (Domingos Quina, Isaac Success) and reliable players who play a vital role in a team that is experiencing a strong rotation staff.
Watford may not win the FA Cup, but with the security of the Premier League badured, this should now be their goal. By choosing twice the reserve options and watching them impress, the competition for places has never been better.
5) If Watford is a club that is heading resolutely in the right direction, Newcastle opts for an emphatic contrast. Rafael Benitez said this week that his bosses should impress him if he wanted to stay beyond the end of his contract. It seems less and less likely.
On Friday, a loan agreement for Jordan Lukaku failed the last hurdle. Newcastle informed the player that the player had failed a medical examination, but reports in Italy indicate that the stumbling block was the wage demands. Even if Newcastle is right, that does not explain the dreadful deal of transfers in the last 12 months. Maybe they had not left it until the last week of the window, these problems would not arise.
Benitez did not hide his ambivalence with regard to an FA Cup Cup, his goal being to stay in the Premier League. You can not really blame him for that, given the small paper size available to him. But that sums up the misery of the fans when all they can hope for is to succeed in a fight against Cardiff City and Huddersfield Town to stay up, followed by their best manager years spent in summer. So the mutiny must come.
6) Does Marco Silva have a problem?? Farhad Moshiri admitted on Jan. 9 that the position in the Everton league was unacceptable and he hoped for improvement before the end of the season. Since then, Everton have defeated Bournemouth at home, but lost to Southampton and then dropped from the FA Cup against championship opponents.
The defense is that he was only appointed last summer, but it's a hard argument for Silva. If you're building a reputation for a short-term maniac, asking for patience becomes much more difficult. Must do better.
7) Everton was miserable against Millwall, but he was still drunk by a diabolical arbitration decision. One of the ridiculous elements of this strange drift in the VAR rather than the pure and simple introduction is that some FA Cup matches use technology, while others do not.
It becomes foolish when Millwall's second goal – a clear handball – is immediately rebroadcast on the big screen at the den and all fans on the ground can see the offense. You can understand Silva's frustration that officials can literally see that they've made a mistake, but they do not have the power to change it. This semi-arsée solution only adds to the confusion.
8) Pep Guardiola does not laugh at national cup competitions. Manchester City scored 28 goals in the FA Cup and EFL Cup alone. He has again chosen a surprisingly strong team, especially since he will play a Premier League game Tuesday night.
But it's all part of Guardiola's strategy. Last season, City won the matches before they started, psychologically breaking the managers and opposition teams by the reputation of their goals. This air of invincibility was lost during the defeats of December and Guardiola wants to recover it. Trampling teams at cup matches is his way of putting pressure on Liverpool.
The same goes for the defense of Guardiola, who played six games without conceding. After winning their last six games out of a total of 28-0, there is no doubt that City is purring again.
9) If you have forgotten that Shrewsbury Town vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers is a fierce local rivalry, join the club. But on Saturday you produced in Shropshire scenes that you stereotypically badociate with Millwall or West Ham. The presence of the police was important, but it did not prevent the two groups of supporters from throwing objects at each other and fighting on the roads near the stadium after there. to have gone full time.
There was an element of "pwopa nawty" in all of this, Shrewsbury troublemakers, in particular, visibly young. But such scenes will receive little attention from the West Midlands police, as a recovery is expected in ten days.
10) But if there are unsavory scenes in Shrewsbury, it's nothing compared to the dreadful behavior of South London. Everton and Millwall supporters were both guilty of having fought far from the stadium before the match, but that is Millwall who deserves the most blame for the fans' behavior on the field. They were recorded chanting "I'd rather be a P * ki than a Scouse" on the outside.
This racism has no place in football and Millwall would have no reason to complain if he was eliminated from the competition. This is an excellent club that does more than most for the local community, but it is certain that they attract a type of supporters who must absolutely be banned from all terrains. As long as the club has not managed to eradicate their behavior or presence, this reputation will lose around Millwall as an ill-fitting cloak.
11) FA Cup shocks are supposed to follow a script. The members of the lower ranks take the lead and then clung annoyingly, barely trying to push after gaining their valuable advantage. The humiliated high flyers, miles away from home, miss luck after opportunity, but still miss to score.
AFC Wimbledon did not receive the memo. The only teams West Ham has conceded four or more times in the last ten months were Liverpool and Manchester City, but Wally Downes' team felt a weakness and decided to continue and exploit it. Wimbledon has at least satisfied a cliché: if we did not tell you before the draw that was the Premier League team, you would never have guessed that it was West. Ham.
Manuel Pellegrini was naturally furious After the game. He accused his players of having a bad common attitude, even going so far as to admit that he was "ashamed" of it. Marginal players can use these opportunities to improve their chances in the Premier League during these incursions into the national cup; The eleventh usual departure from West Ham can sleep in bed.
12) Pellegrini may not regret his reprehensible remarks after the match, but Accrington's manager, John Coleman, had at least the decency to admit that he had gone too far. After losing to Derby County after being reduced to ten men in the first period, Coleman criticized the officials.
"I want to do my part. I want to go see the president, "said Coleman. "I will not do it but 90% of my body wants to go:" Listen, I have enough, I can not stand it anymore. "
He added that Jon Moss "potentially cost us £ 250,000 because of a dreadful decision," before adding, "I feel physically sick, I do not know if it's because he is a Premier League referee, he thinks he can make the law.It is disgusting.Everybody was gorgeous today, except for one person.I went to see him in the living room – and we are m & # 39; He's thrown out, his arrogance is incredible. "
On Sunday afternoon, Accrington issued a statement in which Coleman apologized for choosing his words.
"I watched the game back and I feel like I need to say something," he said. "It's not Jon Moss' fault to have lost the match, I should not blame him and I'm sorry for some of my comments after the game." I was always frustrated after decisions were opposed to us in Charlton last week – with our red card canceled – and I think that was a factor that explains why I was so upset yesterday. "
Congratulations to him for his mistake, but it would be nice if, in the future, the directors were not so eager to blame the referees' feet. It is hard work – and largely ungrateful – as it is.
13) The problem of promotion of the game by football has gained a lot of visibility lately, and rightly so. But damn it, there's something lamentable about a Big Six member twisting their starting lineup and badociating a bookmaker with a link to the gaming markets. I do not know why, but it really touched me.
#THFC: Gazzaniga, Trippier, Sanchez, Foyth, Vertonghen (C), Walker-Peters, Dier, Skipp, Nkoudou, Lucas, Llorente. @ WilliamHill rating (18+) – https://t.co/G5iS0zDzWs #COYS pic.twitter.com/geR4yNYXBV
– Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) January 27, 2019
14) Whatever Kieran Trippier's contract with the devil was to enjoy a wonderful World Cup campaign with England, how much do you think he would pay for it now?
15) The FA Cup's romantic stories are usually reserved for lower league teams, but Connor Wickham raises his hand and clears his throat. The striker has had a bad luck with injuries over the last three years and started his first match since November 2016.
Some supporters believe that injured footballers might like to be paid for doing nothing but recovering. The truth can not be further away: wounds, especially those that require lengthy rehab, can break the player's mind. They may feel worthless, useless and hopeless. Being an unused part can make team sport the most solitary place of all.
Watch Wickham's face as he celebrates his goal. The instinctive joy gave way to pure, angry relief that he had been forced to wait so long. The attacker fell to his knees in gratitude. The only hope is that this is the first goal of many.
16) Finally, congratulations to Doncaster Rovers. Their victory over Oldham Athletic was not really the glamorous match of the fourth round. Impressive print of Portsmouth with QPR – but that means Donny is participating in the fifth round of the FA Cup for the first time in 63 years.
Daniel Storey
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