Can you ever imagine this group of players being good in possession?

[KingCavani]

Mourinho's most glaring feck up here was signing Matic over Fabinho. It was obvious even at the time.

I don't think it's necessarily the fault of McFred - I actually think both guys are being played out of a position in a sense. They're better when they have more licence to push forward and press. They need a genuine holding guy next to them or a change in formation. Neither can sit effectively, they don't have the positional sense for it.

We need better technical players all over the pitch. A guy like Fernandes who takes risks is fine but you need some consistency around him to compensate and there just isn't. It's laughable how sub-par the ability on the ball is and speaks to the shocking recruitment that's taken place over the years.

 

[Lentwood]

Not with Fred and McTominay in CM unfortunately. Neither of them are aware enough and technical enough to retain possession against a press.

McTominay to me looks like someone caught between CB and CM. He looks OK going in straight-lines, or when he is playing the way he is facing, but he really struggles to play on the half-turn, like a proper ball-playing CM.

 

[Abraxas]

No. I think we could be better, but probably not good relative to our competitors for major honours. At the moment we look deficient compared to worse squads than ours which is what a top manager could possibly help to rectify with a good structure. But there are still one too many individuals the ball bounces off to think it is going to be exceptional. And no it's not just about McFred, our play breaks down all over the shop - that is far too simplistic.

However it probably doesn't matter as it is quite obvious we're at the start of another rebuild. Players are aging, contracts are expiring and players are underperforming and /or have proven ill-suited to the club. That all points to upcoming transfer windows seeing 3-4 signings minimum and possibly more, so there could be a completely different side out there and only half of this lot remaining key players in a couple seasons time.

 

[Springchat]

Once we buy some proper midfielders our possession will be better. Until then, expect more of the same

Who should United try to sign in midfield?

 

[Giggsy13]

Who should United try to sign in midfield?

There’s plenty of decent options available. Zakaria, Kessie, Rice, Ndidi to start. Also look into giving Garner a bigger role next season.

 

[sparx99]

There’s plenty of decent options available. Zakaria, Kessie, Rice, Ndidi to start. Also look into giving Garner a bigger role next season.

I didn't see the whole of Forest against Arsenal in the cup but I would recall Garner right now based on the part of the game I saw. He just looks so much more comfortable on the ball than what we've got in the squad.

 

[Giggsy13]

I didn't see the whole of Forest against Arsenal in the cup but I would recall Garner right now based on the part of the game I saw. He just looks so much more comfortable on the ball than what we've got in the squad.

Im going to go a bit crazy here but I think he can be the natural successor to Michael Carrick. That’s the type of midfielder our team is screaming out for.

 

[danamann]

That's not true, Liverpool have been averaging 60% and more in possession for the last 5 and half seasons.

The only season Chelsea averaged more than them was 18/19 when they had Sarri.

The percentage itself doesn't count for much. They will obviously have the ball against smaller teams who sit back in a low block, that's inevitable. It is more about the approach to creating chances which is very direct and not very much reliant on keeping the ball for longer periods of time. Chelsea and City play similar in a way that they circulate the ball a lot, switching sides and looking for openings. For Liverpool it's usually a long direct ball towards Mane and Salah once they win possession. This is still their dominant way to create chances, although Klopp has realised this is not sustainable over time which is one of the reasons he brought Thiago in.

 

[Amadaeus]

having more talented players doesn't mean you can do better than Ajax at their game. The Ajax squad is full of players that can fit in the system or can be trained to fit into the system. That's the reason Ajax does well, besides of course the whole academy being focused on developing players for that system.

It actually does. Like I said before, if we have more talented players, we just need a manager that can imbue his philosophy in those player and get rid of the players that doesn’t suit his style. It is not an overnight thing especially after the disaster of the last administration. It will take awhile and I m sure if ten hag or Pochettino is giving time and freedom to shape this team to their vision, we will see the result wanted by the original poster.

 

[Giggsy13]

It actually does. Like I said before, if we have more talented players, we just need a manager that can imbue his philosophy in those player and get rid of the players that doesn’t suit his style. It is not an overnight thing especially after the disaster of the last administration. It will take awhile and I m sure if ten hag or Pochettino is giving time and freedom to shape this team to their vision, we will see the result wanted by the original poster.

I’ll never forget Sir Alex getting a functioning midfield of Jones and Giggs or of Rafael and Park. Sometimes you just need well drilled players to get the best out of any system. Fred and McT aren’t worse than Rafael and Park they just don’t have a clear idea of what the feck they’re doing.

 

[Terranova]

It actually does. Like I said before, if we have more talented players, we just need a manager that can imbue his philosophy in those player and get rid of the players that doesn’t suit his style. It is not an overnight thing especially after the disaster of the last administration. It will take awhile and I m sure if ten hag or Pochettino is giving time and freedom to shape this team to their vision, we will see the result wanted by the original poster.

not it really doesn't. Talent isn't distributed equally. You're basically saying that if a defender is talented enough he could become a world class striker. Not gonna happen. You can't really develop football intelligence, sure you can make players pass a bit better. But somethings aren't really trainable. Same goes for thinks like speed, sure a minor increase is possible, but after that, not so much

 

[kouroux]

I know but lets not fool ourselves thinking they are the problem, if fixed solves things. It really doesn't. We have seen different combinations that don't work. The only reason McFred are always ahead of the pack is because they bring energy and intensity that no other players bring to the team.

Matic is too old and cant get around the pitch, Pogba is very inconsistent and Donny isnt trusted. We need 2 CM's who can be control that area for us.

I dont know why but when I watch us play, it always feels like we are playing with 1 man short, its really frustrating to see how teams pass around us and we cannot get near the ball.

I really hope Ralf can see the importance of a midfielder and we get one.

They're part of the pb for me. They do what they can and it only be commended but ultimately it's not enough and never will be

 

[MartinRed]

Yes they are, they show it against Newcastle.In my opinion they are just not into playing right now.

 

[Abraxas]

I’ll never forget Sir Alex getting a functioning midfield of Jones and Giggs or of Rafael and Park. Sometimes you just need well drilled players to get the best out of any system. Fred and McT aren’t worse than Rafael and Park they just don’t have a clear idea of what the feck they’re doing.

I understand the thrust of your point but I think the game has actually progressed quite a bit from the days of having O'Shea and Jones in a midfield. Midfield battles are far more competitive against all sides now. We don't have it easy even against lower sides so it's not just about drilling, it is about quality and handling the ball against very fit, structured sides.

Also Park and Giggs were very good footballers so I don't think that is highly surprising that they could do a job at times. It's a bit of a distinction between that and Jones in a midfield which would just be asking for trouble these days. Doesn't mean they'd be able to win the league in midfield in current times. Maybe if the rest of the squad was exceptional but ours isn't exceptional anywhere on the pitch.

 

[Walters_19_MuFc]

Yes.

Van Gaal did it with Fellaini and Rooney in midfield. Its about how you set your team up. At the moment, RR has not really changed much from when Ole was in charge. He wants control but isnt playing a system designed to do that, in my opinion.