It was a disappointing match because while we are crap, we should've gotten at least a point from the Spurs Stadium.
In a game where we actually created good chances, we couldn't take them. Thanks to our habit of making schoolboy errors and not having that concentration, we end up conceding a dumb goal and lose.
Typical United.
I don't think we are learning from our mistakes.
1. Dorgu HAS to start, and as LWB
One of the few positives from the defeat yesterday was the new signing Patrick Dorgu. The Dane played just his second match for United and this time, we also saw him on the left.
Amorim started the 20-year-old against Leicester but used him as the RWB to everyone's bewilderment. As we've needed a left-footer on the left, it only made sense for him to start as the left wing-back. Amorim decided against it in the FA Cup but thankfully, changed his mind for Spurs.
Dorgu was my man of the match for his performance which wasn't anything special but was still better than most. The elements that I liked about his game was that he gave us a balance with a natural left-footer on the left flank.
He also kept things simple and didn't try to do too much. Whenever he was in space and time, he would look to put the ball in the box which isn't something we can say of Dalot.
That early delivery gives our strikers a better chance while also not allowing the opposition defense to settle. Dorgu also made a lot of good overlapping runs yet for some reason, Garnacho chose to ignore him on too many occasions.
But just knowing that we have an actual left-footer on the left makes us feel more confident that we could make the best of him down that flank. Dalot was too right-footed, wouldn't overlap as much and always looked to cut in and play it safe rather than go down the line and put in a cross.
Amorim has to now start Dorgu as LWB.
2. Midfield
This was the ONLY midfield pairing Amorim could've used. He couldn't have picked anyone else other than youngsters and do you really want to throw them into this awful side and situation?
But we really do need midfielders to return soon. We also need to bolster that area in the summer because other than Ugarte, I've not been entirely impressed with anyone else in that area of the pitch.
The Uruguayan's partners have all not been good enough as we've seen Mainoo look much better further forward, Bruno is better as a CAM and so is Eriksen, Collyer is just a lad and Casemiro is clearly past his best.
Spurs were all over our midfield as there was no legs nor discipline for those roles. Bruno was all over the players (as per us) while Casemiro didn't have the speed required of that number 6 whilst being slow to cover ground and react.
The pair's tracking back was woeful as for the goal, a midfielder in Maddison scored and even though the defense were poor, we needed better tracking back from our two midfielders to help prevent such a stupid goal to concede.
3. Substitutions
The manager's changes in recent weeks haven't been too bad as those he brought on did end up making an impact whether it be scoring, assisting or simply improving our overall game.
I understand that with all the injuries, there were a lack of options on the bench. To have just ONE senior player on there tells you everything. That one player is someone who needs to be moved on and injury prone himself in Lindelof.
The rest were all academy players which is nice to see because we're all about the youth but for this game and in our current situation, it isn't ideal.
While the options were limited, I disagree with Amorim in that he couldn't use any of the youngsters. That game was crying out for something and perhaps an academy player could've given us a surge of energy and excitement.
Giving just Chido Obi just 3 minutes was not a substitution I would've made. At least give the lad a chance.
10-15 minutes would've been ideal in my opinion. That is enough time for someone to have that impact but not enough time for people to get on his back should his performance have been poor. It would've also given the 17-year-old a better experience and more of an opportunity to make a difference.
I don't think he touched the ball in his 3 minutes on the field.
The environment isn't great for youngsters to come into the team because we are absolutely terrible yet that shouldn't have been a reason to not use them at all.
However, on the other hand, Amorim obviously knows more than us in terms of where they're at and whether they are ready to make that step up to the first team so maybe that was his reasoning behind why he didn't use them.
If he did and they were poor, then people would start to get on their backs as you know how this fan base can be. The youngsters also don't need that negativity as it will only make them feel a lot worse about themselves.
This is pressure that they've never experienced before so we don't want to be adding any of that onto them.
With Chido Obi's talent and potential, maybe he would've been the difference between losing and drawing.
With all the injuries though, we should be seeing more of these youngsters in the future. Hopefully then, the manager is more willing to use them.
4. Defensive approach?
I felt that Amorim went a bit more defensive in this match then perhaps was needed. This could have been because of the personnel in the starting lineup but it wasn't as if we were playing Real Madrid. It was another struggling side in Spurs.
Yet I thought he went too defensive with those we had on the pitch.
At the back, we had almost a full-strength defense. The wing-backs in Dorgu and Dalot were fine, Bruno and Casemiro in midfield may not be a great pairing but they are still experienced enough and have enough quality to play a bit more on the front foot, and the front three weren't that bad either with Garnacho, Zrikzee and Hojlund.
The team had more than enough ability to be slightly more expansive as this defensive style just gave Spurs more of an incentive to be the dominant side.
The home side had 56% possession, more successful dribbles (13-2) and with 7 offsides for United to none for Spurs, it showed that we were trying to hit a bit more on the break. This isn't something that Amorim wants to do as it isn't his style.
And 7 offsides is pathetic btw. This is another example of that lack of focus from our players because considering Spurs' high line, there was no need to be offside on so many occasions.
We also had to make more tackles and gave away double the amount of corners we had further indicating that it was Spurs who were on the front foot for most of the game.
This isn't me saying that we should be playing like prime 08 United but I did expect to see a little more from us.
There were enough senior, experienced and quality players on the field for us to do so. We were also playing against Spurs who are shit themselves. United on top of all this had over a week off which makes this type of performance make even less sense.
5. Too flat
The difference between us looking flat and lifeless in this match compared to previous others was that before Spurs, the last time we played was on Friday against Leicester, nine days prior.
Over a week of no football and ample rest and training time yet we looked so dead for much of that game. I know that the injuries could've played a part in those on the field feeling a little down but they still have a job to do, they were fresh and ready so why not give it everything?
Just because we were missing some players doesn't mean that we shouldn't be trying our best. There were too many instances where players weren't busting a gut to get back, didn't apply too much pressure on Spurs and allowed them too much time and space to do what they will.
I can't understand why we were so flat. We really did look like we had just traveled to a team somewhere in Europe on Thursday and then had to play Spurs away. This lack of energy is unacceptable during those times so what's the excuse now?
Background Image: Joshua Zirkzee misses BIG chance in Man Utd's 1-0 loss to Spurs | Creator: GLYN KIRK | Credit: AFP via Getty Images Copyright: AFP or licensors via Goal