[Rojofiam]

I'd like to see him as a makeshift RW instead of Bruno until we have someone available there other than Pellistri (not implying the latter shouldn't still get minutes). Bruno creates way more as of now and I think Mount could do the job Bruno does on the right.

Long-term, though, #8 and/or #10.

 

[Real Name]

He's a very good footballer, who would have thought.

 

[Red Shorts]

A very tidy half from him, hope he kicks off from here.

I reckon having him and Bruno rotate between no.10 and RW during fluidly during a game could be an option.

 

[Zed 101]

Showed if anything it is him or Bruno, long term I would not be surprised if he edged Bruno out as he is far less wasteful, but for now has a long way to go but encouraging

 

[Robbie Boy]

Thought he played well.

 

[astracrazy]

A very tidy half from him, hope he kicks off from here.

I reckon having him and Bruno rotate between no.10 and RW during fluidly during a game could be an option.

And with Amrabat sitting with Casemiro we are far less exposed than the start of the season.

 

[mintyred]

He's a very good footballer, who would have thought.

For me it was never about his ability, but the fact we don't need another midfielder in his mould, and if we were going to get one, it should have been someone better than Bruno.

 

[Grande]

Showed if anything it is him or Bruno, long term I would not be surprised if he edged Bruno out as he is far less wasteful, but for now has a long way to go but encouraging

I guess yesterday it was broadly Casemiro 6, Mount 8 and Mejbri 10 in terms of roles, so Bruno would take Mejbri’s place. I don’t see a huge problem with that.

What we have now is not a superfantastic first 3 midfield option, but a load of different and potentially very good options for different cases.

6 Casemiro 8 Mount
10 Bruno

6 Casemiro 8 Amrabat
10 Bruno

6 Casemiro 8 Amrabat
10 Mount

6 Amrabat 8 Eriksen
10 Mount



has different strengths an weaknesses. There are further variations.

Then there’s Mainoo, Mejbri and even Gore knocking at the door.

It’s starting to look bleak for McTominay and Van de Beek in terms of game time, even if both can do a job.

 

[Escobar]

Great long balls and an overall impressive first half.

 

[Borys]

For me it was never about his ability, but the fact we don't need another midfielder in his mould, and if we were going to get one, it should have been someone better than Bruno.

This. I said it a few days ago, I'd bet once we learn how to use him, he will be easier to fit in the future team than Bruno.

I guess yesterday it was broadly Casemiro 6, Mount 8 and Mejbri 10 in terms of roles, so Bruno would take Mejbri’s place. I don’t see a huge problem with that.

What we have now is not a superfantastic first 3 midfield option, but a load of different and potentially very good options for different cases.

6 Casemiro 8 Mount
10 Bruno

6 Casemiro 8 Amrabat
10 Bruno

6 Casemiro 8 Amrabat
10 Mount

6 Amrabat 8 Eriksen
10 Mount



has different strengths an weaknesses. There are further variations.

Then there’s Mainoo, Mejbri and even Gore knocking at the door.

It’s starting to look bleak for McTominay and Van de Beek in terms of game time, even if both can do a job.

I do see an issue with that. Amrabat was half a midfielder all game and Palace was not even trying. Mount or Bruno should be used in no8/10 role, never at the same time. If needed, one of them needs to be pushed wide.

We also need to learn how to create chances without Bruno as AM, otherwise we will never move away from 4231. Playing Amrabat and allowing Casemiro to be a bit adventorous is a good start.

 

[Escobar]

This. I said it a few days ago, I'd bet once we learn how to use him, he will be easier to fit in the future team than Bruno.


I do see an issue with that. Amrabat was half a midfielder all game and Palace was not even trying. Mount or Bruno should be used in no8/10 role, never at the same time. If needed, one of them needs to be pushed wide.

We also need to learn how to create chances without Bruno as AM, otherwise we will never move away from 4231. Playing Amrabat and allowing Casemiro to be a bit adventorous is a good start.

Mount dropped deep and started our build up. I have confidence that he can transition in such a role, he has the intelligence and passing range for it

 

[jamesjimmybyrondean]

There was a point in the game where he was on the right flank and combined well then whipped in a cross. Makes me curious to see what he’d do on the right wing

 

[Ali Dia]

But.. but... he cost 60m and wears the 7 shirt! Surely that makes it okay to whinge whenever he doesnt score, assist and also wont dribbles past 3 opponents every game?

But yes i agree, its been weird to read so much moaning about a player that hardly played for his new team. Atleast give him a chance before writing him off.

Im convinced that around 75% of the posters on here are intentionally hysterical, clueless or being kind at the very least more than happy to make the same mistake over and over in expecting something to click straight away and a new player or manager to turn us into city after one transfer window. “Look how far standards have fallen” would you ever fck off like! Fergie always signed or played steady players like Mount if he had a chance. It’s when we started signing past it and mercenary players on huge money that we truly began to fall off. Players those same fans probably really wanted.

We are in transition with messed up owners and a toxic element in our dressing room. We need hard working but technically good players like Mount who just get on with it and give you 7/10 every week to bring balance back to something resembling a serious sporting organisation again. This signing was a no brainier when the competition is McT who regularly drops the most awful invisible performances a starter here ever could and yet still keep getting played because there was nobody else.

 

[OverratedOpinion]

There was a point in the game where he was on the right flank and combined well then whipped in a cross. Makes me curious to see what he’d do on the right wing

Does well on the right usually. He is a genuienely excellent crosser of the ball.

 

[Ish]

Onwards and upwards

 

[gaffs]

This is extreme overreaction to a League Cup game but it's hard to see anything but this as our first choice lineup for this season:

LW-----------#9-------------------
-----------Mount--------Bruno
-----Casemiro-----------------
Shaw------Amrabat--------RB
--------Lisandro-Varane--------
--------------Onana-----------------

with the obvious 3 competitions for those last 3 spots (I think Ten Hag rates Martial enough that it's a real battle even if Martial leaves for free this summer and we replace him with someone reliable).

Hannibal's running and defensive work has obviously pleased Ten Hag and that's presumably a good chunk of the reason he wanted Mount.

So Mount's real competition might well be Antony. Bruno isn't getting dropped and I think we need Amrabat to help with the buildup and defend, would be surprised if a Mount-Casemiro-Bruno midfield works apart from chasing a game or trying to break open a tied one at home.

I dont think Bruno is going to get pushed out to right forward, just to accommodate Mount.

 

[zaafi]

I dont think Bruno is going to get pushed out to right forward, just to accommodate Mount.

It's not "just" to accommodate Mount.

Mount is a very effective player to use in midfield as he's incredibly intelligent, makes quick decisions, can bring the ball forward on the half turn, excellent at switching play, can pass to players on the first touch and is pretty good at one-twos which opens a lot of space in the opposition half. He is also a more effective presser than Bruno when it comes to high intensity presses and offers more physicality which is more important in midfield rather than on the wing. It will also help us as it doesn't expose Bruno's weaknesses as much.

 

[Member 109952]

Im convinced that around 75% of the posters on here are intentionally hysterical, clueless or being kind at the very least more than happy to make the same mistake over and over in expecting something to click straight away and a new player or manager to turn us into city after one transfer window. “Look how far standards have fallen” would you ever fck off like! Fergie always signed or played steady players like Mount if he had a chance. It’s when we started signing past it and mercenary players on huge money that we truly began to fall off. Players those same fans probably really wanted.

We are in transition with messed up owners and a toxic element in our dressing room. We need hard working but technically good players like Mount who just get on with it and give you 7/10 every week to bring balance back to something resembling a serious sporting organisation again. This signing was a no brainier when the competition is McT who regularly drops the most awful invisible performances a starter here ever could and yet still keep getting played because there was nobody else.

Personally in the ~ 10 times I watched Mount at Chelsea and England, he never did anything, hence not really rating him. If he was say £35m sure it's a good deal, but for £60m you can get a genuinely top quality midfielder like Szoboszlai, not someone who no one's really sure what role he'd suit. Will he work? We'll see, but the first couple of games made people realise he's not the box to box that people initially thought. If the bar is 'well he's better than mctominay' it's not really a high one.

 

[bosnian_red]

I dont think Bruno is going to get pushed out to right forward, just to accommodate Mount.

1) we don't have a RW
2) it gets all our best players in the team
3) gives us great balance on and off the ball

Bruno on the right can focus on creating which is his best point. Nobody cares if he gets 50% pass accuracy from that area. He's in the front 3, the others can progress and keep the ball, he'll be there to pump it into Hojlund and Rashford. Get Dalot overlapping effectively and there's no reason why it can't work. Bruno as a 10 is fine when he has more space. In big games his lack of dynamism gets exposed and he gets pressed out of the game.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

Personally in the ~ 10 times I watched Mount at Chelsea and England, he never did anything, hence not really rating him. If he was say £35m sure it's a good deal, but for £60m you can get a genuinely top quality midfielder like Szoboszlai, not someone who no one's really sure what role he'd suit. Will he work? We'll see, but the first couple of games made people realise he's not the box to box that people initially thought. If the bar is 'well he's better than mctominay' it's not really a high one.

What has Szoboswhatever won or achieved in his career to be considered a genuinely top quality midfielder?

35m for Mount

 

[DJ_21]

If it’s Mount, Casemiro and Bruno then I’m not sure it works. It worked yesterday with Mount and Casemiro as we also had Amrabat that was drifting into the middle and helping out. I’m wondering if ETH is thinking a diamond when Shaw is back at LB. Case, Mount, Amrabat and Bruno. With Rashford and Hojlund upfront.

 

[gaffs]

1) we don't have a RW
2) it gets all our best players in the team
3) gives us great balance on and off the ball

Bruno on the right can focus on creating which is his best point. Nobody cares if he gets 50% pass accuracy from that area. He's in the front 3, the others can progress and keep the ball, he'll be there to pump it into Hojlund and Rashford. Get Dalot overlapping effectively and there's no reason why it can't work. Bruno as a 10 is fine when he has more space. In big games his lack of dynamism gets exposed and he gets pressed out of the game.

More interested to see what happens when Anthony comes back.

 

[zaafi]

Personally in the ~ 10 times I watched Mount at Chelsea and England, he never did anything, hence not really rating him. If he was say £35m sure it's a good deal, but for £60m you can get a genuinely top quality midfielder like Szoboszlai, not someone who no one's really sure what role he'd suit. Will he work? We'll see, but the first couple of games made people realise he's not the box to box that people initially thought. If the bar is 'well he's better than mctominay' it's not really a high one.

You've watched Mount 10 times for Chelsea, and I'd guess around half of those are for England where everyone plays shit except Kane and you concluded he never did anything.

Genuinely top quality midfielder like Szoboszlai? Are you being satirical? How is Szoboszlai a top midfielder, while Mount is not, when one has done three times as much in his career than the other? fecking hell.

I guess it's all about the new names that sound exotic, rather than players who have shown it at the top level even if their name is boring.

 

[bosnian_red]

More interested to see what happens when Anthony comes back.

We play enough games that we'll be able to rotate and rest when needed. Swap Antony with Garnacho or pellistri, same applies. Amrabat can come in tougher games or to rest casemiro, mount can be in the trio to rest Bruno or against teams we can dominate without the 2nd deep option, or we use Bruno wide if no Antony. We can always have a bench option or rotate around to keep everyone fit and motivated for their spot. Eriksen can also come in for the easier games where we can dominate more of the ball.

We have a very good squad, it's decimated by injuries and we play twice a week over the season, so we are a long way off actual selection issues. If we drop out of every competition, then we have an issue with a bloated squad. As of now, we can use Mount, Amrabat, Bruno, Casemiro normally whether they are all starting or 1 is always on the bench.

 

[RuudTom83]

Great player to have in a fluid system, can play a few roles well...let them play...it would be a nightmare to defend against if they were changing positions more often.

 

[El Jefe]

I still think ETH is playing him too high up. His best bits of play come in the half spaces between the oppos box and the centre circle, particularly the half space closer to the wing.

For us he's been pushed up very high making runs really close to the striker. He's not that great of a goal scorer so I'm not sure why we do this.

We're yet to see how good he can be in transition because he's ahead of the play a lot of times.

Saying that it was his best performance for us and the more we play as a team the better Mount will look.

 

[Grande]

This. I said it a few days ago, I'd bet once we learn how to use him, he will be easier to fit in the future team than Bruno.


I do see an issue with that. Amrabat was half a midfielder all game and Palace was not even trying. Mount or Bruno should be used in no8/10 role, never at the same time. If needed, one of them needs to be pushed wide.

We also need to learn how to create chances without Bruno as AM, otherwise we will never move away from 4231. Playing Amrabat and allowing Casemiro to be a bit adventorous is a good start.

Amrabat was half a midfielder as a LB because that is what Ten Hag wants from at least one of his full backs. Yes, CP were weak, but we played with a defence with 1 first chice returning from injury, 1 second choice, 1 3rd choice and one midfielder who never played for us before. Up front we were down to 2nd, 2nd and 4th choice maybe, so it’s not like this midfield was bailed out by other parts of the team.

I welcome options and rotations for Bruno, but I think the idea of him as a hindrance rather than a lynchpin is seemingly held by no serious coaches in the world, but a lot of speculating amateurs (like I am, though I don’t hold that view).

My point is that for a large number of situations, Case/Amra behind Mount and Bruno will be sufficiently balanced and the optimal chooce, and there will not be one constallation but several. We’ll see.

 

[Ali Dia]

Personally in the ~ 10 times I watched Mount at Chelsea and England, he never did anything, hence not really rating him. If he was say £35m sure it's a good deal, but for £60m you can get a genuinely top quality midfielder like Szoboszlai, not someone who no one's really sure what role he'd suit. Will he work? We'll see, but the first couple of games made people realise he's not the box to box that people initially thought. If the bar is 'well he's better than mctominay' it's not really a high one.

He’s not just a bit better than McT though is he? He’s been captain and player of the year at our direct rivals and a very important member of a CL winning team. It would have been like us selling Fletcher or Carrick. He’s technically 3 times the player McT is and that’s not an exaggeration who himself was valued at above 30 million yet people are still crying about the fee? It’s just the usual melodramatic talk because he hasn’t come in and transformed us in two games or single handed lead England to victory in the few games at tournaments people actually fully watch. Mount is creative and hardworking, two footed and a steady football first personality. At PL level you don’t get the chance to sign players like this very often at all these days.

I also personally think it’s imperative we keep a strong U.K. and Irish core in the dressing room but with players who are going to start and contribute positively on and off the pitch and set high standards. That’s the bedrock a serious and competitive Man Utd team has always had. We probably missed a trick with Kane but we’ve been stung a lot by players entering their later years and I would prefer us to bring the age of the squad down. Fred to Mount does all the above.

 

[theyneverlearn]

 

[Ali Dia]

Invisible! Terrible player who does nothing well. Imagine we’d lost last night? This thread would be absolutely jumping!

 

[Walters_19_MuFc]

What’s he like?

He's a good lad.

 

[ShinjiNinja26]

You've watched Mount 10 times for Chelsea, and I'd guess around half of those are for England where everyone plays shit except Kane and you concluded he never did anything.

Genuinely top quality midfielder like Szoboszlai? Are you being satirical? How is Szoboszlai a top midfielder, while Mount is not, when one has done three times as much in his career than the other? fecking hell.

I guess it's all about the new names that sound exotic, rather than players who have shown it at the top level even if their name is boring.

The usual from certain posters on the caf, big up our rivals signings while shitting on our own. Hilarious he’s used Szoboszlai as an example of “top quality” when he’s looked bang average since joining Liverpool.

 

[RedUnited86]

Who'd have thought Chelsea's player of the season for two consecutive years was actually a good player?

Some real fecking eejits in this place I swear.

 

[lex talionis]

Decent shift. More to come. Onward and upward.

I'm still not sold on why Mount was our #1 priority (unless it's to phase out Bruno) but here we are and we have another tool in the shed, no pun intended, to call on.

Bruno, Mount, Casemiro, Amrabat, Eriksen and Mainoo is a solid crew of midfielders to call upon. Yes, McTominay is there as well but he's a blunt instrument of chaos, not a surgical instrument to perform surgeries.

 

[Teja]

If it’s Mount, Casemiro and Bruno then I’m not sure it works. It worked yesterday with Mount and Casemiro as we also had Amrabat that was drifting into the middle and helping out. I’m wondering if ETH is thinking a diamond when Shaw is back at LB. Case, Mount, Amrabat and Bruno. With Rashford and Hojlund upfront.

I think the system was always the same - LB inverts, Martinez, AWB become the outside CBs with some responsibility for running with the ball from deep, Varane becomes the middle CB in a sweeper role. Fitness issues, new tactics (in Shaw / Martinez's case) caused problems. Everyone's trying to do a 3-box-3 (maybe apart from Ange). I think when everyone adapts to their new roles and we have the full XI back we'll be fine.

 

[CM]

I think it's a bit of a blessing for Mount that Antony is currently unavailable. He had the license to push higher last night without having to worry too much about what's going on behind him with both Casemiro and Amrabat there to cover. I'm not sure that will always be the case if/when Antony, Fernandes and Rashford are all back in the equation.

I imagine it'll be Fernandes back on the right in place of Pellistri on the weekend so hopefully we can keep that structure in place behind him for the coming games.

 

[Lost bear]

I guess yesterday it was broadly Casemiro 6, Mount 8 and Mejbri 10 in terms of roles, so Bruno would take Mejbri’s place. I don’t see a huge problem with that.

What we have now is not a superfantastic first 3 midfield option, but a load of different and potentially very good options for different cases.

6 Casemiro 8 Mount
10 Bruno

6 Casemiro 8 Amrabat
10 Bruno

6 Casemiro 8 Amrabat
10 Mount

6 Amrabat 8 Eriksen
10 Mount



has different strengths an weaknesses. There are further variations.

Then there’s Mainoo, Mejbri and even Gore knocking at the door.

It’s starting to look bleak for McTominay and Van de Beek in terms of game time, even if both can do a job.

And it’s starting to look rather better for Utd.

 

[bosnian_red]

If it’s Mount, Casemiro and Bruno then I’m not sure it works. It worked yesterday with Mount and Casemiro as we also had Amrabat that was drifting into the middle and helping out. I’m wondering if ETH is thinking a diamond when Shaw is back at LB. Case, Mount, Amrabat and Bruno. With Rashford and Hojlund upfront.

Nah the diamond is shit.

But mount, casemiro and Bruno trio works for some games, other games you want amrabat in. Til we get actual RWs, I'd imagine Bruno will just be on the right most of the time.

 

[quadrant]

I think the system was always the same - LB inverts, Martinez, AWB become the outside CBs with some responsibility for running with the ball from deep, Varane becomes the middle CB in a sweeper role. Fitness issues, new tactics (in Shaw / Martinez's case) caused problems. Everyone's trying to do a 3-box-3 (maybe apart from Ange). I think when everyone adapts to their new roles and we have the full XI back we'll be fine.

I wonder if we might try a mirror image of the formation Barcelona did last season where they had Pedri as a "false left winger"? He'd defend the left side, but in possession would come into the middle to make the box along with Busquests, De Jong and Gavi. Then Raphina was wide right and Lewandowski up front. Left sided width came from the full back. We might try that but with either Mount or Bruno doing it from the right instead. That would give us a box of Amrabat-Casemiro-Bruno-Mount, which I think would be pretty effective.

 

[USREDEVIL]

Played really well. Hope this gets him into his top Chelsea form.