I actually thought Amrabat did well for 15 minutes and then he lost the ball for them to score their third. Like the rest, he just disappeared after that.
Fix the midfield and we'll fix the team
- Thread starter Desert Eagle
- Start date
Specifically center midfielders. Our wing midfielders are at least pretty good sometimes. Our center midfielders, though, seem to be second best to any team we play. I swear, in every match I see an opposing midfielder that would help us greatly. The big problem is all teams know this so they press and force us back. They know we are unlikely to break the press with some slick passing.
Based on the preseason and some appearances last year, I think our best pure center midfielder is 18 year old Mainoo. That is ETH's fault and I believe it will cost him his job this spring or summer. Mount is not helping and I think Amrabat will be okay this year and not be permanent. He is just not slick enough with the ball.
Based on the preseason and some appearances last year, I think our best pure center midfielder is 18 year old Mainoo. That is ETH's fault and I believe it will cost him his job this spring or summer. Mount is not helping and I think Amrabat will be okay this year and not be permanent. He is just not slick enough with the ball.
It's Antony, not Anthony. It might be worth the try on the left. The problem is Rashford and Garnacho can't play on the right. If Diallo comes back, though, I wouldn't mind trying Antony on left and Diallo on right. Can't be any worse than what we see now.
Hard to even pinpoint one area of the team and think it solves most of our problems at the moment.
The goalkeeper isn't playing well.
We're conceding for fun. Both from an individual error POV, and a poor team structure and lack of work rate and protection - not just the defenders fault but they aren't helping and injuries are killing us here.
The midfield are not protecting or creating or controlling any aspects of the game.
We have a work in progress 9, and some complete underperformers out wide in attack that are supposed to be seasoned players.
Some of it is confidence and form being awful, as clearly these individuals should not be quite this bad. They might be bad but they're not this bad if playing to maximum capacity. But every area of the team needs work, and despite huge money spent it will inevitably need a lot more and the coaching needs to step up their game too.
The goalkeeper isn't playing well.
We're conceding for fun. Both from an individual error POV, and a poor team structure and lack of work rate and protection - not just the defenders fault but they aren't helping and injuries are killing us here.
The midfield are not protecting or creating or controlling any aspects of the game.
We have a work in progress 9, and some complete underperformers out wide in attack that are supposed to be seasoned players.
Some of it is confidence and form being awful, as clearly these individuals should not be quite this bad. They might be bad but they're not this bad if playing to maximum capacity. But every area of the team needs work, and despite huge money spent it will inevitably need a lot more and the coaching needs to step up their game too.
There's always this idea that it'll just take one fix for everything else to fall into place. Think we're way past that. The whole team is broken
The midfield doesn't exist in a vacuum. Winning the 50/50s, collecting second balls, keeping possession, applying pressure on the ball and covering the spaces requires team work. It's not a job for just three people.
If your defenders can only look good in a low and narrow block, it's one problem. If your attackers become less and less effective the farther away from the opposition box they receive the ball, that's another issue. And if the space in between the defence and the attack is as vast as the Pacific, no midfielder's going to be the one who will fix it for you. This is exactly the reason why we end up creating roles for workhorses like McFred, Hannibal etc.
Here's an idea. Since the midfield is, as they say, the heart of the team, don't utilize it to "fix" anything. Instead, design it to support and sustain the type of football you want to implement. Then, judging by the individual quality of the players you have, fill in the other gaps.
If your defenders can only look good in a low and narrow block, it's one problem. If your attackers become less and less effective the farther away from the opposition box they receive the ball, that's another issue. And if the space in between the defence and the attack is as vast as the Pacific, no midfielder's going to be the one who will fix it for you. This is exactly the reason why we end up creating roles for workhorses like McFred, Hannibal etc.
Here's an idea. Since the midfield is, as they say, the heart of the team, don't utilize it to "fix" anything. Instead, design it to support and sustain the type of football you want to implement. Then, judging by the individual quality of the players you have, fill in the other gaps.
I just don't understand this one or the other approach with Casemiro and Amrabaat, I fully thought Amrabaat was being brought in to help Casemiro in midfield but yet we've still persisted with this 6 & 2x 8s approach which hasn't been 2x 8's at all but rather a 6 and 2x 10's meaning the midfield is nonexistent, gets overrun and the 6 either joins the rest of the midfield or drops between the CBs for cover.
The whole system does not make sense, we bought a young target man who we don't cross to.
Have 2 wingers than love to cut in and shoot against 2/3 defenders instead of looking for options.
Dalot is terrible at both boxes now and Reguilon rarely makes overlapping runs, which I think is due to this new flavour of the month fullback inverting to midfield approach that's been working so well
EtH needs to revisit what worked last season and how to replicate it to get the team into some kind of form because at the moment we look lost, unorganised and like we've never played together before.
It wouldn't take a brain surgeon to work out why the system isn't working, how to correct it, cover the weaknesses, and get us playing like a team again.
The whole system does not make sense, we bought a young target man who we don't cross to.
Have 2 wingers than love to cut in and shoot against 2/3 defenders instead of looking for options.
Dalot is terrible at both boxes now and Reguilon rarely makes overlapping runs, which I think is due to this new flavour of the month fullback inverting to midfield approach that's been working so well
EtH needs to revisit what worked last season and how to replicate it to get the team into some kind of form because at the moment we look lost, unorganised and like we've never played together before.
It wouldn't take a brain surgeon to work out why the system isn't working, how to correct it, cover the weaknesses, and get us playing like a team again.
We dont seem to have functioning midfield since forever now
Heroes! What a throwback.
This is exactly what we need. Preferably one in a Kaftan uniform, no cape required and the superpower is feck you money.
He has the physical presence and pace neither of those teams have, Watkins and Nketiah have pace but easily brushed off the ball, as soon as we build a team to help him he’ll be in the top 5 strikers in the league easily. The glimpses against Galatasaray shows you his upper limit is much higher than those you mention. Put him in Brighton team and well rushing to spend £125m on him.
Wrong environment for the boy to thrive and develop.
Regardless what we intend on paper Bruno essentially forces us to play with a 2 man midfield. You can't actually count him as a 3rd. He takes up midfield positions but isn't a midfielder. We need 2 class midfielders to compensate but we can barely find even one.
The front line is a vast more serious weakness than our midfield. Let the names be written.
Rashford, Martisl, Sancho and Antony all need to go. They won’t go anywhere as the cash is oh so sweet and no club would touch them. Between the four of them they haul in probably close to 1.3m weekly.
Garnacho and Hojlund are ones for the future.
Facundo and Amad are intriguing prospects at best.
Our front line is our most serious deficiency by some distance.
Rashford, Martisl, Sancho and Antony all need to go. They won’t go anywhere as the cash is oh so sweet and no club would touch them. Between the four of them they haul in probably close to 1.3m weekly.
Garnacho and Hojlund are ones for the future.
Facundo and Amad are intriguing prospects at best.
Our front line is our most serious deficiency by some distance.
We lack a ball carrier midfielder. We are pretty much the only team out there without a single midfielder able to carry the ball, gain yards and dribble through the middle on a constant basis. These type of players open up so much space once they get past the opposition's pressure zone.
Some people say 'there's no quick fix' but look at what Liverpool just did.
Signed 4 Midfielders in one Summer window, Szoboszlai, MacAllister, Gravenberch & Endo, and they look like a fantastic team again, that will be challenging for top honours.
United's recruitment, and I include player sales in that, is just an incompetent shambles.
Signed 4 Midfielders in one Summer window, Szoboszlai, MacAllister, Gravenberch & Endo, and they look like a fantastic team again, that will be challenging for top honours.
United's recruitment, and I include player sales in that, is just an incompetent shambles.
But this is the point, this is on ETH...its his idea to have the single pivot, the four offensive AMs, the direct football...its all part of HIS plan. I find it baffling beyond belief that someone could think this was OK in the Premier League...but then, this is the man who loaned Wout Weghorst and proceeded to select him at CF week-in, week-out.
Exactly Casemiro was what the club lacked positionally in a Keane yet the teams still dreadful. Eriksen supposedly reinforced play from deep areas (Carrick) and it's not working. Fernandes in my honest opinion isn't good enough during the phases of play but his stats gloss over what is nothing other than a dysfunctional attack.
Many of those issues are coaching related the transition from Potter to De Zirbi massively increased Brighton's goal output without an influx of new signings. The primary issue I believe with United is the team doesn't create enough chances and the chances created are seldom clearcut. As you said these are corrected on training field, if you don't have clinical players than you must play a game of ratios. 11 goals scored in the league.
Yes mate, Goalie trying to settle into a new team struggling for confidence, defense all over the place which in turn effects the keeper and the attacking play, no energy or nous in the midfield and no help for a struggling defense from the midfield, one of the biggest problems for me though is the lack of goals, Rashford and Bruno have stopped scoring, Hojlund trying to settle and getting very slim pickings to feed off, Antony will never be a goalscorer, Martial is done. We are so far off it that it is really hard to see where and when we will start performing better.
You're right, I misread your post as getting into their starting elevens. Apologies.
Having said that, I still disagree. He publicly called the manager a liar after being dropped for not training well. We can only take the manager's word for it, but no manager in world football would stand for such obvious insubordination from a player who's contributed so little.
Fixing the midfield took Liverpool over 200 million I think. Chelsea's still isn't fixed despite spending more than that. It is probably the most difficult position to fix after striker.
Szoboszlai £61m
Endo £16m
Gravenberch £34m
Macallister £35m
Total £143m or in United terms Antony & Mount
This is why when a Declan Rice becomes available, you offer him and his club whatever it takes to bring him to your club instead of watching him go to one of your rivals.
If we could go back in time and take Rice instead of Mount and Hójlund, I'd do it in a heartbeat, and we'd be better off than we are right now.
If we could go back in time and take Rice instead of Mount and Hójlund, I'd do it in a heartbeat, and we'd be better off than we are right now.
Palhina Casemiro
Neto Bruno Rashford
Höjlund
Sell Sancho and Antony and whoever it takes.
Neto Bruno Rashford
Höjlund
Sell Sancho and Antony and whoever it takes.
Not sure it’s just a personnel issue, though that could be better, more structural.
We basically play with one midfielder while everyone else pushes up. It leaves the one guy exposed and acres of space for the opposition to waltz into.
Often last night, Amrabat was on the ball and Mount and Hannibal just charged ahead, leaving him with no option to either go backwards or try and thread the ball through the eye of the needle to play forward.
Midfield could be a hell of a lot better organised than it is now.
We basically play with one midfielder while everyone else pushes up. It leaves the one guy exposed and acres of space for the opposition to waltz into.
Often last night, Amrabat was on the ball and Mount and Hannibal just charged ahead, leaving him with no option to either go backwards or try and thread the ball through the eye of the needle to play forward.
Midfield could be a hell of a lot better organised than it is now.
The original midfield they built was a bit of a bargain bin - Wijnaldum, Henderson, Emre Can, Milner, The Ox - all were relatively cheap signings but all are hardworking, decent technically and Klopp obviously is a great coach. People always point to Salah/VVD as changing their level but it was also the window after that when Alisson and Fabinho arrived that they then won the CL then PL.
Even hojlund and mount combined is almost the same amount as liverpool new midfield, two players that have contributed sod all
Rashford and Garnacho can’t play on the left either at the minute, they’re both awful. We must be the only club in the world with five or six wingers and a combined value, or market value, of what £400m, who can‘t beat a man, can’t cross, can’t assist, can’t score. Right now, I’d offer all of them to Brighton for Mitoma and Ferguson.
I feel the current midfield is trying to compensate for the 2nd or 3rd string back 4. Without our proper first choice back 4 we will continually expose the new keeper and not be able to build from there to the midfield. the mid of Scott and Co are in to sure that up but they aren’t playmakers. get back from injury the back 4 we know and the dynamic changes immediately.
that said, I hate Bruno on the right. I hate the continual use of Rashford when he’s clearly not on form. I donot know why we can’t try two up front with 3 or 4 behind them with Bruno in the middle and garnacho on the right if we need to persist with Rashford on the left. Then have Scott if you need to over mason but at least we have some movement in the middle with the others. Right now I dont see anything that will get us moving forward from any part of the pitch.
the injuries have ruined the plan for this season so far. We’ll have to see if ETH survives and when his preferred back 4 are back, see if anything changes.
that said, I hate Bruno on the right. I hate the continual use of Rashford when he’s clearly not on form. I donot know why we can’t try two up front with 3 or 4 behind them with Bruno in the middle and garnacho on the right if we need to persist with Rashford on the left. Then have Scott if you need to over mason but at least we have some movement in the middle with the others. Right now I dont see anything that will get us moving forward from any part of the pitch.
the injuries have ruined the plan for this season so far. We’ll have to see if ETH survives and when his preferred back 4 are back, see if anything changes.
Could play three at the back to allow freedoms for a No.10. Either that or a diamonds which creates overloads in midfield