McTominay and Bruno should be used as interchangeable false 9s. Reminiscent of the telepathic Yorke and Cole partnership, albeit in their evolved and modernised trequartista roles where every player is expected to take defensive responsibilities.
Employing these players as such transcends conventional positional constraints, demonstrating a fluid and dynamic attacking strategy akin to the concept of false 9s. The concept of an old school false 9 is in simple terms a forward who drops deep to confuse defenders. Interchangeable false 9s make it doubly difficult for the opposition to defend against.
This essentially means that using McT and Bruno in this way shows a flexible and ever-changing attacking plan allowing these two to constantly shift positions and create unpredictability. Their versatile movement resemble the intricate interplay of old school deadly forward duos, yet adapted to the contemporary demands of the trequartista role, showcasing their ability to seamlessly interchange positions, deceive opposition defences, and orchestrate the team's attacking movements with astute creativity and guile. Reflective of the modern game's tactical intricacies.
You might argue McT doesn't have the technical ability to play the trequartista role in terms of being a creative outlet who can bind the midfield and attack in an effective fashion. I don't necessarily disagree and in a traditional trequartista formation I would never play him in that position. But this isn't a traditional formation. The variable in this particular equation is Bruno. Bruno's natural instinct is to drop deeper towards the ball. When he does that from a false 9 position, one of the CBs will be forced to follow, allowing McT time and space to get in behind. With Mainoo circulating possession from a traditional #8 position, along with Bruno naturally dropping deeper, the onus isn't on McT to be
the creative outlet. He can focus on making incisive runs and scoring goals.
What you get here is first and foremost attackers who will work their socks off. We won't get overrun in midfield because the two false 9s have an impeccable work rate. And then you get two interchangeable false 9s wrecking havoc with incisive passes, clever movements, and goal-scoring opportunities, mirroring the role of traditional playmakers while adapting to the modern game's demands for versatility and adaptability in the attacking third.
