Like what?
People mention the 6-1 loss vs Spurs but in that game we had Martial - who to no surprise people are happy to complain about his effort as a United player and he got a red card.
The game against Liverpool we lost 4-2 with Bailly and Lindelof as our CB'S - that's hardly the same as a 5-0 loss where Liverpool were ending up playing chess with a football in the last 30 mins of the game because we literally couldn't do shit at all after the first half.
Listen - I'm not saying that we are a perfect Manchest United team with the best defensive ability and then suddenly that Ronaldo has come and this perfect defence has turned to shambles.
I'm saying that as shown in tactical videos even before Ronaldo joined, and videos nothing to do about United or Ronaldo - any club that plays a 4231 - the number 9 has to press the 2 opposition CB'S, if he can't do that; then he has to atleast position himself in front of them so the ability for them to play the ball across their defensive line stops.
If he doesn't then the opposition CB'S (say van dijk) has all the time in the world to wait until our midfield opens up to play a pass that goes straight through to their midfield.
The only way we can counter this if we decide not to press is for us to basically park the bus and have everyone behind the ball so that day Van Dijk passing the ball to the midfield means shit all.
However we do not park the bus as a club under Ole. We don't do it under Liverpool and we are not going to do it against Everton or Leicester. This means Van Dijk has all the time in the world to pick the perfect pass because no one is pressing (especially the player closest to him aka the number 9) - and since our players are aiming to play aggressively rather than parking the bus- the ball is able to cut through straight through to the area of our deepest midfield.
Have you seen how easy balls are being played and getting cut through our midfield like it's simply not there? It's because it's not there.
That's why people are complaining saying we play a 424. The opposition are able to get past the first 4 players completely with a simple pass because Ronaldo doesn't stretch and press. What would happen if he did? What would happen if he stretched a bit and pressed? We wouldn't look like a 424 - we would look like a 4231 again.
Then the opposition defenders have 2 layers to get through before getting down to our deepest midfielders. Again the only alternative to not pressing like this is literally parking the bus, where they can have all the time in the world but it doesn't matter because all of our players are mostly by our half anyway.
"Like what?"
Conceded 4 to Liverpool, and 7 across two games against Roma.
And another example, Wolves cut us completely open (turns out to be our only clean sheet because they can't finish), but we didn't have Ronaldo there either and a team like Liverpool would have still beat us 3,4,5-0 on that day.
"The game against Liverpool we lost 4-2 with Bailly and Lindelof as our CB'S"
Always another excuse isn't there, that's pathetic.
"I'm not saying that we are a perfect Manchest United team with the best defensive ability and then suddenly that Ronaldo has come and this perfect defence has turned to shambles."
Good, because that would totally be incorrect anyway, he hasn't turned it to shambles because this issue was already arising at the back end of last season. That 1 clean sheet in 20 spans to back before Ronny joined.
"The only way we can counter this if we decide not to press is for us to basically park the bus and have everyone behind the ball so that day Van Dijk passing the ball to the midfield means shit all."
There are many other systems, hell, this obsession with pressing wasn't even in the game 10 years ago. Games evolved but pressing isn't the only tactical setup in the world, and it won't be the last
revolutionary setup either.
"and since our players are aiming to play aggressively rather than parking the bus- the ball is able to cut through straight through to the area of our deepest midfield."
Like I have mentioned in a previous post, according to reports no players were happy to play aggressively and press that game, their lack of practice with the setup is more of the issue with that than just bloody Ronaldo.
"That's why people are complaining saying we play a 424. The opposition are able to get past the first 4 players completely with a simple pass because Ronaldo doesn't stretch and press"
If you think Ronaldo is the sole problem with that formation you are deluded. It's not the fact he isn't pressing, it's the fact that all of Ronaldo, Bruno, Rashford, and Greenwood are ahead of the ball when we are defending, leaving a massive gap for teams to overload us. You highlight that yourself (
The opposition are able to get past the first 4 players completely ) and then fully blame Ronaldo for that, like what? It's all 4 fecking players, jesus.