Who said that Barca team couldn't run? anyway, they were an extremely unique team, NOBODY pressed better than they did. None of them had to run further than 10 metres.
Eriksen was literally dead a few years ago and plays with a playmaker, it's astonishing he's even got back to this level. It's not unfair to say though he struggles when the game is played at a higher intensity now.
It was actually the Spanish side that battered Italy 4-0 under Del Bosque. Hardly the pressing machine Pep's Barça was, but their positioning, vision and passing were exquisite. They dominated NT tournaments by forcing the opposition to do all the running by chasing the ball all around.
I'm not disagreeing with you on how important Fred's contribution to this side, under certain circumstances. I'm just not fond of sweeping generalizations when they're presented as ancient truths. Football isn't a running game. It's not a possession game, either, for that matter. First and foremost, football is a game of spaces: How you try to control and exploit them. I know it doesn't say much, but that's all there is to it.
Someone wrote a couple of pages back that it's not Fred's fault when the game and the tactics don't suit him. If this is the case, no player would ever be criticized. I mean, it's not Maguire's fault that he can't play in a high line or Lindelof's that he can't defend in the air. Yet, we didn't stand still. We looked for players who can serve the manager's plans better. It doesn't mean that they don't have their uses or that the internet mob has the right to shite on them after a bad pass. The point is, you can have players who can "do the job" and still think that the team should look to add more qualities to their positions on the pitch.
There's a reason why Fred rarely left the bench while Eriksen was available for selection. There's also a reason why we try so hard to ease a limited footballer like WW into the side. It doesn't have to do with running, physicality or energy. The side was planned with Rashford as its main attacking force, coming from the left side to attack the spaces in-behind. We were also designed to have Martial dropping between the lines to receive the ball and spread play, with Bruno coming from deep to attack the box. On the right (the "weak" side) we can have Antony as a "possession safe" player (something that led to Dalot being preferred to AWB as an overlapping/underlapping FB) or someone who can either create or go 1v1 (Bruno, Rashford have been tried there and due to the nature of their game, the more defensive AWB has come to the fore again).
In the set-up with our best attacking players in their best roles on the pitch (Rashford/Martial), the midfield areas get congested and we expect from the deep midfielders and Martinez to find the right passes and there's also the FBs (mainly Shaw, who's a beast at carrying the ball through the lines). The WW loan is an attempt to not stray far from Plan A midseason. We can admit that Fred's not in his element in these conditions. He doesn't "see" the spaces most times, he doesn't react well when he's not afforded time on the ball. But when Rashford goes up front to stretch defences, and when both wingers are being aggressive and try to keep the opposition FBs in check (especially when Garnacho gets subbed in), Fred's tenacity and work rate can be very useful to us. So, if someone argues that Fred's been essential to our season with Martial always absent and WW being a championship player, hardly anyone would disagree.
But, last night, we happened to see the player ETH actually wanted for the role in our midfield. Especially in the last 15–20 minutes, it was plain for all to see why he did. The Catalans were chasing the game, they couldn't cope with our pace, they had trouble establishing control... and they were still getting constantly in our third. It wasn't because Fred is "chaos" and all the other malarkey. It was FdJ getting on the ball and carrying forward in the attacking half. Again, and again, and again... This is a skill that can be invaluable to us. In modern football, it's worth more than being "tough" or running up and down the pitch for 90 minutes. Eriksen doesn't possess the ability but he has the vision and the passing range to make up for it (not always, but you get the picture). ETH is a team builder, he always tries to see the bigger picture.
Who knows? Maybe Garnacho will make the LW spot his, Rashford will be moved to the centre, the whole plan will change and the role for the #8 position will have requirements that suit Fred's skill set better. Then, he'll be given a new contract and he'll probably have a more active role. But there is a discussion to be had without the player being scapegoated. There was another, more daring thread, about Bruno. The title didn't do it much justice, truth be told, because it was all about the best way to move forward in the near future. The OP got ridiculed, but with the reintroduction of Sancho to the side (and before that), we see that the manager himself is actively trying to create midfield combinations without Bruno. It doesn't mean it will happen, but it wasn't outlandish to think about it.
