Time to stop being nice guys

[Khalekan]

Didn't effect us last year, or even under Moyes.

You are making their case for them, Doug.

We won squat last year and squat squared under Moyes.

 

[bainesontoast]

Where did you find those stats mate?

http://www.whoscored.com/Regions/252/Tournaments/2/England-Premier-League

All available under the team statistics tab

 

[mrb85]

4th in possession stats and 4th in passing success - but only two sides have less success in the air. Probably explains why we've conceded so many goals from crosses at one end and not looked at all dangerous from our own.

 

[John77]

Agreed. I hate nice guys on the football pitch. You're there to win, not make friends.

Get in the officials' heads, get in the opponents' heads, clip heels off the ball, stand on toes, insult people, put in snide tackles when necessary, claim for everything and apologise for nothing.

I actually saw Baines or someone tell the ref not to book an opposition player a while back. Swerve that. It could be the difference between winning and losing.

I hate all that stuff, and like the fact that we don't really do it. But increasingly this attitude is going against us, because it does influence the officials. I mentioned on another thread that we need someone to do what the captain across the park does, by getting at the ref the whole game. Cynical and nasty but it seems to work for that lot, Chelsea, Arsenal etc. If we'd surrounded the ref last last week the way Stoke did, Walters would probably have got his red rather than a yellow. Sad but true.