69 Injuries vs 115 Charges | FA Cup Final Build-up Thread

Very hard to see us winning this and not sure how we do it. My gut feeling probably wont be popular, but I'd be inclined to go (assuming some players return to fitness)

.................,......Onana.............

Dalot.......Maguire...Martinez....AWB

......................Casemiro.................
...............Mainoo.......McTominay.........

......Garnacho.....Fernandes.....Hojlund....

That's Fernandes as a false nine. In an ideal world, the rashford of last season is where hojlund is but hes just been so bad and chickened out of every one v one with walker this season.

Basically Casemiro cant make any recovery runs at all if we get behind him so he needs to sit fairly deep and then that means we need two midfielders in there to put proper pressure on. With McTominay at least youll get some physicality and energy. Out of possession Bruno can hopefully work back well enough to keep real pressure on rodri. We also need players who can keep the ball even for short spells and rashford isnt it. Obviously then we need to be a little bit more brave than we have been against them this season. Mainoo and McTominay are both good at getting forward to support, and hojlund and garnacho are both rapid.

I dont know, you need luck against them too and you need every player to have a good game.
 
Ten Hag v City:

3-6 Loss, double hat tricks
2-1 win which we all know was dubious. A draw would’ve been fair.
1-2 loss, a training session for City.
0-3 loss, a formality, we had a third of the possession, and 7 shots to their 21
1-3 loss, 3 shots to their 27, with one on target.

So not only is there a clear mental block v Pep, but the actual structure and organisation of the team when it comes to absolute basics is being called out week after week.

I respect ST holders who will go all out to buy their tickets and try to enjoy the day, but this is the most inevitable defeat of all time. I imagine it’ll be more one sided than the time we beat Millwall in the final in ‘04, and wouldn’t be surprised if the scoreline was 6-2 to them.
 
SER19 said:
Very hard to see us winning this and not sure how we do it. My gut feeling probably wont be popular, but I'd be inclined to go (assuming some players return to fitness)

.................,......Onana.............

Dalot.......Maguire...Martinez....AWB

......................Casemiro.................
...............Mainoo.......McTominay.........

......Garnacho.....Fernandes.....Hojlund....

That's Fernandes as a false nine. In an ideal world, the rashford of last season is where hojlund is but hes just been so bad and chickened out of every one v one with walker this season.

Basically Casemiro cant make any recovery runs at all if we get behind him so he needs to sit fairly deep and then that means we need two midfielders in there to put proper pressure on. With McTominay at least youll get some physicality and energy. Out of possession Bruno can hopefully work back well enough to keep real pressure on rodri. We also need players who can keep the ball even for short spells and rashford isnt it. Obviously then we need to be a little bit more brave than we have been against them this season. Mainoo and McTominay are both good at getting forward to support, and hojlund and garnacho are both rapid.

I dont know, you need luck against them too and you need every player to have a good game.
Click to expand...
I agree largely with your line up, Rasmus starts on bench for this. There is possibility Shaw is fit for for this. If Mount is too I'd swap him for Casemiro (with current form).
Anyway by 25th March we probably will have a load of different injuries to worry about
 
Bruno is routinely abysmal in games against top opposition in his best position. Playing him out of position is a recipe for disaster. Especially because, against City, you need a CF who's great under pressure. Someone who, in the very rare times they get the ball, can hold it up and basically resist the pressure of multiple City players alone as the rest of the team will be pretty much in our own box.

Bruno is terrible under pressure and incredibly weak. We wouldn't get out of our half.
 
Red Royal said:
I agree largely with your line up, Rasmus starts on bench for this. There is possibility Shaw is fit for for this. If Mount is too I'd swap him for Casemiro (with current form).
Anyway by 25th March we probably will have a load of different injuries to worry about
Click to expand...

The way we're going we'll probably be dipping into the reserves
 
RoyH1 said:
Wouldn't this mean that we actually have a good shot then? Almost lose to Coventry and then beat the allmighty, tactico data darlings City115 CyberPep team?
Click to expand...
Your potentially correct. Although the brushed aluminium cyber prick that is pep would disagree.

Recently, my predictions have been way off so in that vein, I'm gonna predict a 4-1 victory for city. :lol:
 
NotoriousISSY said:
Ten Hag v City:

3-6 Loss, double hat tricks
2-1 win which we all know was dubious. A draw would’ve been fair.
1-2 loss, a training session for City.
0-3 loss, a formality, we had a third of the possession, and 7 shots to their 21
1-3 loss, 3 shots to their 27, with one on target.

So not only is there a clear mental block v Pep, but the actual structure and organisation of the team when it comes to absolute basics is being called out week after week.

I respect ST holders who will go all out to buy their tickets and try to enjoy the day, but this is the most inevitable defeat of all time. I imagine it’ll be more one sided than the time we beat Millwall in the final in ‘04, and wouldn’t be surprised if the scoreline was 6-2 to them.
Click to expand...

Very well put.
Only way we stand a chance is if they get a red card in the first 20 minutes.
 
I've get the feeling that a certain team have had name change lately in here.
 
This will be grim. Anything less than a 4 goal deficit will be a bonus.

We’re not winning this.
 
Not letting them score in the fecking first minute will help a great deal. And wrap Garnacho up in cotton wool for a month, we are going to absolutely need his runs, threat and energy to go at this City team. He’s the only one in our team who can do this
 
United 3 - City 2 aet, (Rashford 2, De Bruyne 28, Foden 56, Antony 93, Martial 122)
 
Doubt we will win the final based on our season.

Just play whoever, pick names out of a hat at this point pick a random formation and just pray for the best.
 
As long as we can be at least 15 goals up by the last 20 minutes I'm confident we'll be able to see the game out.

This simply requires us to score from 300% of our likely shots on goal and for Man City to score from 0% of the 30 or so they will have had by that point.

By the time the game comes around our injury situation should also have improved to us having roughly -6 outfield players fit. Only around 2 of whom ETH will have fallen out of favour with

There are plenty of reasons to be optimistic. For example, insanity, being a city fan, or placing a large bet on us to lose heavily.
 
SER19 said:
Very hard to see us winning this and not sure how we do it. My gut feeling probably wont be popular, but I'd be inclined to go (assuming some players return to fitness)

.................,......Onana.............

Dalot.......Maguire...Martinez....AWB

......................Casemiro.................
...............Mainoo.......McTominay.........

......Garnacho.....Fernandes.....Hojlund....

That's Fernandes as a false nine. In an ideal world, the rashford of last season is where hojlund is but hes just been so bad and chickened out of every one v one with walker this season.

Basically Casemiro cant make any recovery runs at all if we get behind him so he needs to sit fairly deep and then that means we need two midfielders in there to put proper pressure on. With McTominay at least youll get some physicality and energy. Out of possession Bruno can hopefully work back well enough to keep real pressure on rodri. We also need players who can keep the ball even for short spells and rashford isnt it. Obviously then we need to be a little bit more brave than we have been against them this season. Mainoo and McTominay are both good at getting forward to support, and hojlund and garnacho are both rapid.

I dont know, you need luck against them too and you need every player to have a good game.
Click to expand...

We've got plenty of time to wring our hands and moan about the ritual animal sacrifice we're about to be subject to, but there's no real downside to clinging to hope, so hope it shall be.

Of the back four, I thought Martinez was out through the end of the season but I see that there is hope that he'll be fit. If so, he must get the start. Onana and the back four of DD, MH, LM and AWB is clear.

Casemiro and Mainoo (I'm told it's properly pronounced "Mah-Noo", not "May-Noo") are nailed on starters, as are Garnacho and Fernandes. I'd say Hojlund is a 95% sure thing as a starter, but would ETH have a trick up his sleeve by starting McTominay at striker? And does ETH go with Rashford or Mount (assuming he's fit) at RW?

And if Martinez is not fit, could we see McTominay start at CB?

My XI:

Onana
ABW/Maguire/Martinez/Dalot (I vastly prefer AWB on the right)
Casemiro/Mainoo
Fernandes
Mount/Hojlund/Garnacho (but you can bet the house that ETH will go with Rashford no matter how shit is form is)

Save McTominay for when he's needed later in the game. We're going to be sitting back on City and McTominay doesn't have the pace Hojlund has to counter effectively. Nor does Mount, but Mount is a more intelligent footballer than Rashford, who can be brought on if either of Mount or Garnacho is ineffective.
 
Unlike LvG, ten Hag will be leaving after a Wembley pasting. City with no CL final to worry about will annihilate our poorly coached clowns.

Luckily I’m away in Barcelona when the final is on so won’t be watching.
 
James35 said:
Unlike LvG, ten Hag will be leaving after a Wembley pasting. City with no CL final to worry about will annihilate our poorly coached clowns.

Luckily I’m away in Barcelona when the final is on so won’t be watching.
Click to expand...

Hopefully your flight doesn't get cancelled so you don't have to suffer like the rest of us.
 
lex talionis said:
We've got plenty of time to wring our hands and moan about the ritual animal sacrifice we're about to be subject to, but there's no real downside to clinging to hope, so hope it shall be.

Of the back four, I thought Martinez was out through the end of the season but I see that there is hope that he'll be fit. If so, he must get the start. Onana and the back four of DD, MH, LM and AWB is clear.

Casemiro and Mainoo (I'm told it's properly pronounced "Mah-Noo", not "May-Noo") are nailed on starters, as are Garnacho and Fernandes. I'd say Hojlund is a 95% sure thing as a starter, but would ETH have a trick up his sleeve by starting McTominay at striker? And does ETH go with Rashford or Mount (assuming he's fit) at RW?

And if Martinez is not fit, could we see McTominay start at CB?

My XI:

Onana
ABW/Maguire/Martinez/Dalot (I vastly prefer AWB on the right)
Casemiro/Mainoo
Fernandes
Mount/Hojlund/Garnacho (but you can bet the house that ETH will go with Rashford no matter how shit is form is)

Save McTominay for when he's needed later in the game. We're going to be sitting back on City and McTominay doesn't have the pace Hojlund has to counter effectively. Nor does Mount, but Mount is a more intelligent footballer than Rashford, who can be brought on if either of Mount or Garnacho is ineffective.
Click to expand...

I like the idea of mount starting, we definitely need some passing composure. I think you can beat city with a small amount of possession, but really its hard to win a game with less than 35% or so. We definitely need to improve how much we keep the ball against them, while accepting that keeping an organised low block for much of the game will mean they have the vast majority. In a world where we have a very mobile dm and a rapid central defence, we could go higher, but we dont.

Been looking at some stats today, sadly city dont seem to concede from set pieces at all really, 2 all season in the league. Which is a good way to try score in games you're up against it. Probably unsurprisingly, the most common way they concede is on the counter attack - in fact theyve conceded the highest number of counter attack goals in the league this season (also makes sense given how high they play) - but this is the risk they're prepared to take. You simply have to set up to try exploit it.
 
Last edited:
SER19 said:
I like the idea of mount starting, we definitely need some passing composure. I think you can beat city with a small amount of possession, but really its hard to win a game with less than 35% or so. We definitely need to improve how much we keep the ball against them, while accepting that keeping an organised low block for much of the game will mean they have the vast majority. In a world where we have a very mobile dm and a rapid central defence, we could go higher, but we dont.

Been looking at some stats today, sadly city dont seem to concede from set pieces at all really, 2 all season in the league. Which is a good way to try score in games you're up against it. Probably unsurprisingly, the most common way they concede is on the counter attack - in fact theyve conceded the highest number of counter attack goals in the league this season (also makes sense given how high they play) - but this is the risk they're prepared to take. You simply have to set up to try exploit it.
Click to expand...

There really are no tactics we can come up with to defeat City. We need to find a way to help City defeat themselves. If we can somehow degrade their mental strength through effective instead of waste counterattacks early in the game maybe we can rush them beyond their normal probing and passing game. Everyone needs to come up big, starting with Onana.

The one player who I would say, at least as of right now, should start on the bench is Rashford. Even if one were to argue that he's simply unlucky, he just hasn't done enough to be a focal point for a counterattacking game. And on the few occasions when we string together 10-12 passes Rashford is a weak link in a passing/control attack. I would even start Garnacho/Amad if Mount isn't fit, and I would sub on Antony first over Rashford if we need another attacker to replace a defender.
 
Cheaty is vulnerable on the counter, so what we need to do is minimize their chances and maximize utilizing the space they give up behind their press.

Our defense will need to be at its best, we need alert players who cover for each other.

If we still have to line up with a make shift back four, we can Mourinho them (park the bus).
 
Camy89 said:
This will be grim. Anything less than a 4 goal deficit will be a bonus.

We’re not winning this.
Click to expand...

What about a comeback from 3-0 down to score in the 120th minute only to have it wiped off for offside and then lose in a shootout? Respectable, but brutal
 
I'd say we need to go 5 at the back but we'll probably not have 3 fit centre backs.
 
Which injured players have a realistic chance of being fit before then?
 
9-men behind the ball in a 5-3-2

Rashford and Hojlund as 'split' CFs

Gameplan based on clinging on desperately, getting the ball to Bruno, punting it forward for the quick forwards to chase behind the full backs.
 
Lentwood said:
9-men behind the ball in a 5-3-2

Rashford and Hojlund as 'split' CFs

Gameplan based on clinging on desperately, getting the ball to Bruno, punting it forward for the quick forwards to chase behind the full backs.
Click to expand...
feck Rashford.
 
I wonder has Ten Hag the balls to make a bold choice like Fergie did in dropping Jim Leighton and bringing in Sealy to win his first trophy.

Would Ten Hag have the nerve to drop Rashford, who seems to only play well during contract negotiations, and bring in the likes of Shea Lacey for the rest of the season?

There's an opportunity here to blood in some new young players and give them game time so we aren't lining up with the same XI and same tired formation in the final.

There seems to be no consequences at United for dire performances every week as long as you're on a big contract.
 
Pexbo said:
feck Rashford.
Click to expand...

I agree...but the only time (and I mean the only time) he is ever half-useful is against teams who are likely to dominate the ball, push us back AND he can play as a psuedo-forward off the flank with no/limited defensive responsibilities and no real requirement to be a focal point.

IF all of those very specific conditions are met, he can be a threat.

I think that's why his record against bigger clubs is half-decent actually. They leave space for him to run into and we're playing counter-attacking football (as opposed to high-press / possession which don't suit)
 
Rashford has been a disgrace for most of the season and I'd be happy to sell him.

However he is very good in big games, or at least he's good at scoring in the big games. Even this season when he's been pathetic and barely scored he's still got goals against Arsenal, Spurs, City and Liverpool.

I can see why some would want him to start this game.
 
Last year all the pressure was on City, with the prospect of doing the treble hanging over them, which I can imagine was a pretty massive weight.

With that out the window this year, they'll be able to relax and enjoy their football in this. It'll be a training session for them.
 
Whatever chance United have of producing a big upset win will rest on Martinez,Shaw and Varane available for this game. Stranger things has happened that made of glass Martial plays and scores the winner?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.