What I meant is that playing in midfield 2 is different to playing in midfield 3. In midfield 2 you need to be more discipline in the task, be more aware of what around you & positioning must be spot on. It's more difficult to play in the role compared to midfield 3 as you got extra man in midfield.
The main reason why Jose, Deschamps & Ole play Pogba in that pivot 2 of 4231 is because they need a player who can go deep to get the ball and to have player who can play long passes. Adding variety in the game and Grealish isn't special for it.
It's not something we should spend 40m-60m on the player to adapt & learn at 25 years old. Your comparison on Dembele & Modric is totally lazy just because they are attacking mid but ignoring player's playing style.
Dembele was converted from a striker to midfield at Fulham, it's not a type of club that desperate for success, it's a club desperate to survive and they are willing to take a risk of it and it worked because he has shear strength to hold the ball very well.
Modric is completely different to Grealish. Not everyone playing no 10 have the same style, Modric is more identical to Scholes who can play different kind of passings, a true dictator in midfield, different to Grealish's playing style.
I’m aware of what you meant and I reject it. I’ve rebutted the notion that a ‘midfield 2’ is a totally different animal to a ‘midfield 3’:
Typically, settled and well-functioning teams set up with a no.6-no.8-no.10 dynamic in that central area, regardless of the specific shape - so both in a 1-2 midfield format (4-3-3 - what you have described as a midfield three) and a 2-1 format (4-2-3-1 - what you have described as a midfield two). I would say that generally, a player who can play in one of the roles in one format can also play in the equivalent role in the other format.
Grealish played in a midfield with McGinn last year - a player who likes to get around the pitch, press, make runs, empty midfield and get in the box, and excels with the freedom to do so. By all accounts, Grealish - on the left of a 4-3-3 with McGinn right - typically operated a bit deeper looking to get on the ball and excelled. And you could call that the equivalent of the role Pogba has probably most often found himself in at United - alongside or just in front of, and in support of, a holding midfielder, and alongside or just behind, and in support of, an advanced midfielder, effectively the link between the two.
I’m saying that playing as part of a midfield two, as the player alongside a holding midfielder, has been the one Pogba has found himself in most often at United. And that there isn’t necessarily much of a difference at all between playing as the no.8 in a midfield two and as the deeper no.8 in a 4-3-3, and by extension the positions occupied by Pogba this season and Grealish last season.
I’m not assuming we will move back to a 4-3-3, I’m just of the opinion that both Grealish playing in a midfield two or us shifting to a midfield three are possibilities if he comes in, and that the difference between those options is negligible.
The idea that you need to be more disciplined in what you have been tasked with, more aware of what’s around you, better positioned or that it’s more difficult to play in a ‘2’ is rubbish. There is no ‘extra man’ in a ‘3’. For one, in a 4-2-3-1 there is still a midfield three - the ‘2’ and the player in the middle of the ‘3’. More broadly, teams are made up of eleven players who will be drilled in both transitioning from attack to defence and in organising into a set defensive shape - they defend as a team, not as isolated groups. Lingard and Pereira, and now Fernandes, have their role and responsibilities defensively just as
Pogba, Fred, McTominay and Matic do, all as part of a collective whole.
Playing a 4-2-3-1 doesn’t mean two holding midfielders or, conversely, two box to box and therefore no holding midfielders. It CAN mean either of these things, but it usually means one holder and one box to box/ link player. Similarly, playing a 4-3-3 usually means one deep no.8 and one advanced no.8. Playing as a no.6 in a 4-2-3-1 is virtually the same as playing as a no.6 in a 4-3-3, playing as a no.8 in a 4-2-3-1 is virtually the same as playing as the deepest no.8 in a 4-3-3, and playing as the no.10 in a 4-2-3-1 is virtually the same as playing as the most advanced no.8 in a 4-3-3.
Grealish could come in and adapt to fit our current shape. Or he could come in and our current shape could be tweaked to accommodate him. Or, most likely, some combination of both. We are talking about very minor changes.
The reason all those managers have opted to play Pogba in a midfield two is because of his ability to progress the play. Grealish doesn’t have Pogba’s range of passing, but he is fantastic at carrying the ball, either to evade pressure or attack space, and building the play through that. He is special in that sense.
My comparison to Modric and Dembele is not lazy at all and, contrarily, is based on their playing styles. Both have that similar ability to bypass opposition pressure with their dribbling, and just like Grealish they never look rushed or panicked on the ball. Time slows down when these players are in possession and it’s a lovely watch.
I don’t think there’s a player Grealish reminds me of more than Dembele, in his power, technical quality and elegance, and how he uses those strengths. The type of club Fulham are is irrelevant, and moving Dembele from an attacking player into midfield was not a gamble and not something which required time to adjust to or anything like that. It was perfect for him, to the extent where you could say he was wasted prior to that playing higher up the pitch.
Feck me. At what?
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