How will we line up against Cadiz?

Grande

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Maybe the most interesting thing with the upcoming tournament - apart from hearing how many other players will do like Christian Eriksen and follow Bruno’s example of speaking plain truth instead of newspeak - is that Ten Hag will be able to experiment with attacking patterns including several youngsters in a refreshedly narcissist free environment. So how may he line up against Cadiz on the 7th of December? Will any early returns be included? Unproven youth? New formations? Phil Jones?

Here is a possible possibility:

De Gea
Wan Bissaka Lindelöf Mengi Hardley
McTominay Iqbal
Elanga Shoretire Garnacho
Martial

Thoughts? Fancies?
 
Yeah, these games should be an interesting watch.

Of course, some of the world cup players might be available if they get knocked out early. However, basing it on those that aren't at the World Cup then, as well as an opportunity for game time for youngsters like Elanga, Garnacho, hopefully even Mainoo, then it's also an opportunity for ETH to have a much closer look at the likes of Sancho, VDB, Wan Bissaka.

If there's any chance for them to remain in the squad at all, then a situation like this - where they'll be working very closely with ETH, and as the senior players in the group - is surely their best / last chance to impress.

De Gea / Dubravka

Wan Bissaka
Lindelof
Tuanzebe / Mengi
Williams / Hardley

McTominay / Mainoo
VDB / Iqbal

Elanga / Shoretire
Sancho
Garnacho

Martial

There'll maybe be minutes for other youngsters like McNeill, Hansen, Forson, Jurado, etc. But it's Garnacho and Mainoo that I'm most interested to see. And to see if there's any signs of improvement from the likes of Sancho, Elanga (end product), VDB, AWB...
 
Would be good to see Mainoo amongst playing against seniors.
 
A chance for Martial and Garnacho to build some playing relationship. Put Sancho on a fitness regime so he doesn't last 30 minutes in games.

Lindelof to work on one on one defending

Degea to continue working on sweeper keeper and playing from the back.

A chance for Zidane and Savage to stake a claim
 
Sancho, Martial and Garnacho should be able to build a pretty decent front 3 relationship during the world cup. Sancho was pretty good on the right during preseason. No reason he can't be a workable option there. I won't be surprised if those 3 start the next game after the world cup.
 
Walters_19_MuFc said:
De Gea
Wan-Bissaka Lindelof Hardley Williams
McTominay
Van de Beek Iqbal
Sancho Martial Garnacho​
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Agreed.

If Iqbal is the closest one to playing, and I assume he is (though I wouldn't rule out Mainoo he's been training with the first team and seems the higher upside prospect in general from what I've gathered and seen), then yeah for me this game is 75% about Iqbal being in as simulated a first team environment as possible to see if he can be picked to give Eriksen a rest say once or twice a month, as well as being a sub for him.

Other considerations:
-Sancho getting a game on the right where he's by miles our best backup option for Antony
-Who's the 5th choice CB. I don't know Hardley, but right now I don't know if it's Casemiro or McTominay or even Shaw
-If VDB isn't definitely going in January then yeah.

Only thing I'd quibble with is maybe Williams at RB if Wan-Bissaka is out of the picture anyways. He really needs to be loaned out in January unless there's a decent offer to sell.
 
I've seen a lot of Iqbal in the U18's and U21's (and in the pre-season friendlies). For me, he can look an 'attractive player' when given plenty of time on the ball, but his game is too slow and he wants an awful lot of time on the ball - and without producing much end product in terms of hurting teams with it.

I think the slower, not particularly competitive, nature of friendlies suits his game at the moment, which is why he looked decent in the pre-season games (again, though, without hurting teams with end product). So I expect he might look 'pretty' on the ball in these slower paced friendlies in December. But that won't really mean much to me unless I see some more drive from him from the middle of the pitch, and some increased prospect of end product to his game going forward.

I'll be interested to see how he does if he goes out on loan - especially to a quite frenetic league like the Championship. If he's to play as one of a two man midfield, especially in that league or the PL, then I think he'd have to speed up his game and also be a lot more competitive in terms of midfield battles.
 
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Okey said:
Sancho, Martial and Garnacho should be able to build a pretty decent front 3 relationship during the world cup. Sancho was pretty good on the right during preseason. No reason he can't be a workable option there. I won't be surprised if those 3 start the next game after the world cup.
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He was pretty good in preseason because the games are not competitive.
The whole reason why Sancho is not the same player in England is be cause he cannot cope with the increase in intensity and until he improves his fitness and mindset he will continue to be a dud in the Premier League.
 
NoPace said:
Agreed.

If Iqbal is the closest one to playing, and I assume he is (though I wouldn't rule out Mainoo he's been training with the first team and seems the higher upside prospect in general from what I've gathered and seen), then yeah for me this game is 75% about Iqbal being in as simulated a first team environment as possible to see if he can be picked to give Eriksen a rest say once or twice a month, as well as being a sub for him.

Other considerations:
-Sancho getting a game on the right where he's by miles our best backup option for Antony
-Who's the 5th choice CB. I don't know Hardley, but right now I don't know if it's Casemiro or McTominay or even Shaw
-If VDB isn't definitely going in January then yeah.

Only thing I'd quibble with is maybe Williams at RB if Wan-Bissaka is out of the picture anyways. He really needs to be loaned out in January unless there's a decent offer to sell.
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Somehow I don’t think Ten Hag would be partial to letting Wan Bissaka and Van de Beek go in January when we have four potentially long tournaments to compete in. Otherwise I’d agree.
We might see McT at CB with Lindelöf to try out Iqbal and Savage/Mainoo in midfield.
Okey said:
Sancho, Martial and Garnacho should be able to build a pretty decent front 3 relationship during the world cup. Sancho was pretty good on the right during preseason. No reason he can't be a workable option there. I won't be surprised if those 3 start the next game after the world cup.
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Yes, and the main ooint for me would be to a) get more players clued up on the collective pressing mechanics, and b) hopefully start working on specific attacking patterns with Martial, Sancho and Garnacho. Van de Beek mightbe good for such drills.
 
Grande said:
Somehow I don’t think Ten Hag would be partial to letting Wan Bissaka and Van de Beek go in January when we have four potentially long tournaments to compete in. Otherwise I’d agree.
We might see McT at CB with Lindelöf to try out Iqbal and Savage/Mainoo in midfield.

Yes, and the main ooint for me would be to a) get more players clued up on the collective pressing mechanics, and b) hopefully start working on specific attacking patterns with Martial, Sancho and Garnacho. Van de Beek mightbe good for such drills.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I agree about the AWB and VDB situations. We haven't got a great depth in the squad and we face a packed schedule after the world cup (even if we lose in some of the cup competitions it's still very hectic). And if we don't get a replacement for Ronaldo in January - which I'd be surprised if we do - then that's already one senior player down.

If we're looking to offload, and replace, them in January then there's little point picking them. But if we're not going to be bringing in a RB or CM until the summer, then I think we really need to use these 6 weeks and friendlies to get AWB and VDB ingrained in the tactics and system for if, or when, they're needed. So give them plenty of minutes in the matches rather than players like Savage, who I very much doubt will feature much in first team games in the 2nd half of the season.

I'd like to see some minutes, for the long term, for youngsters like Mainoo and maybe Iqbal. But, for the second half of the season, I think it's more important that we get some game time, and confidence in end product, into the likes of AWB, VDB, Sancho, Elanga, Martial...
 
Bertie Wooster said:
Yeah, I agree about the AWB and VDB situations. We haven't got a great depth in the squad and we face a packed schedule after the world cup (even if we lose in some of the cup competitions it's still very hectic). And if we don't get a replacement for Ronaldo in January - which I'd be surprised if we do - then that's already one senior player down.

If we're looking to offload, and replace, them in January then there's little point picking them. But if we're not going to be bringing in a RB or CM until the summer, then I think we really need to use these 6 weeks and friendlies to get AWB and VDB ingrained in the tactics and system for if, or when, they're needed. So give them plenty of minutes in the matches rather than players like Savage, who I very much doubt will feature much in first team games in the 2nd half of the season.

I'd like to see some minutes, for the long term, for youngsters like Mainoo and maybe Iqbal. But, for the second half of the season, I think it's more important that we get some game time, and confidence in end product, into the likes of AWB, VDB, Sancho, Elanga, Martial...
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Good points. A point about Van de Beek is that, for all his anonymity, he knows Ten Hag’s systems fairly well. We could assume that, of course, but it’s also ecidenced by the fact that Ten Hag says he’s very satisfied with his defensive work and positioning, which the rest of the team has been slowly working on, yet that he expecta more from him in the last third, which is what the rest of the team has had little occasion to work on.

I think Van de Beek is going to be helpful when teaching the system principles to others, and that he isalso going to improve when the others get more up to Ten Scratch. Not necessarily first team starter level, but certainly better than now.
 
Grande said:
Somehow I don’t think Ten Hag would be partial to letting Wan Bissaka and Van de Beek go in January when we have four potentially long tournaments to compete in. Otherwise I’d agree.
We might see McT at CB with Lindelöf to try out Iqbal and Savage/Mainoo in midfield.
Click to expand...

I think you're right about VDB, but I think Wan-Bissaka has never been in his plans and he probably wanted him gone immediately like Telles but was either scared off from letting it happen when he decided Laird needed more loan time (or wasn't good enough). I don't really see why we'd keep Wan-Bissaka here over Williams for the 2nd half of the season and Ten Hag probably doesn't want to waver on Wan-Bissaka so he can get the yes on spending money for Frimpong or another RB he actually rates. Even has some time to review tape and reports now on RBs.

So yeah, my guess is Wan-Bissaka on loan (maybe to Palace as they're playing Clyne and Ward, or Brentford, now that Hickey and Ajer are out as right-sided defenders), even to a foreign side with us paying most of his wages, or a permanent January 30th offer from some team that's lost a RB due to injury by then.
 
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