Always nice to make you smile.
This is a really key point that so many overlook. There is undoubtedly merit in the way that Pep (for example) has a way that he wants to play and its incredibly difficult to implement that structure, but the flipside to that is that by now everybody knows how to beat City. There is a specific gameplan which works against every football team, but with a team as good as City are very few possess the right tools to get there. Its why they have struggled to win the CL. At the very top level those opponents all have the tools and the know-how and it levels the playing field.
Point being, there are certain advantages to being flexible. United were having a lot of joy in countering opponents, and last season our opponents stopped giving us the space. The result was a bunch of 0-0's against the top 4. We have to do something different, and we've added some tools to our squad this summer. Varane adds pace to the defence, Ronaldo is, well, Ronaldo and Sancho will prove to be a little more delicate around the box than our other wide forwards. What I like most about our squad building is the options it gives us. I dont want United to have a set style of play
What really hurt us wasn't the 0-0 against the top4. It was not being able to create good chances against Sheffield, Westbrom, Villareal and Leicester. Regarding the "set style" topic, see below.
Exactly. I know Ole saying "go out there and have fun" is a bit of a cliche, and some people might take it a bit to far, but there is some truth to it and there is also some merit to that way of playing.
A more structured way of playing or "patterns of play" as everyone is yearning for has its benefits, but so does playing with more freedom, and both of them also has their own drawbacks.
During the LvG years we were very structured, but that did not produce good results or even good football apart from a few notable games. Also, coaches who are very system heavy in their approach often have much stricter requirments on what players they can utillize effectively. Pep for example needs players who are techincally proficient and good with the ball in tight areas. If he tried to do that with Burnely, they would fail spectacularly as you cant play tiki-taka with a bunch of brawny thugs
Being more flexible makes you more unpredicable, and truly creative players really thrive in such systems. The drawback is that you become very dependant on those players, and if they have a bad drop in form or become injured, they are almost impossible to replace and you will struggle badly with creativity
Which is exactly what we have seen last season. And what has hurt us to a big degree. Only this should at least be a little trigger to overthink a stance that is 100% percent freedom and unpredicability. Some people undeniably thrive in it, but who know how many would thrive with more instructions, with more safety nets, less decisions to make?
Nothing wrong with being flexible. The issue arises, when you are not able to create good chances against Westbrom, Sheffield, Turkish side and for example Newcastle last year, what happened there, why is a team full of players of that quality not able to create anything of note?
I don't think, you will find many people who just want to switch to rigid patterns but rigid patterns might help more of our players than you think. I am not denying that Oles way is bringing out the best of Fernandes, maybe also the best out of Pogba as well, lets see. But we have many players who might benefit big time from having clearer instructions about what to do and how.
It is no coincidence, that we so often are described as being slow, ponderous in passing, take too many touches. This is a result of our players having to assess all options in every situation. With more instructions, players could be relieved of that - "if the LB gets the ball, one of the CMs comes short, the CB will always make sure to be a passing option, LW will make a run, Bruno will make himself available". We are doing this on the fly and it is great to watch, when it comes off but last year it didn't come off in a reliable way. That is the issue many have. You just have to watch how comfortable teams like Brighton or for example Villareal are with the ball, they move it around, move as units. Imagine what might be able with players like ours when this is possible with players of Brightons quality!
You are all are right, other teams are also not having field days every matchweek. Of course the scrutiny is bigger after watching 90min of football than after watching a 3min summary. All is completely correct, but one factor needs to be kept in mind with all that: up to now, we were never able to win the big games, this might change this season, lets hope so, but lets not act, as if last season did not have some very disappointing moments. In the big picture, these moments might not stick out for some of you, but they do for others.
And, last season is great to have a look at one thing: with all the talk of Ole and Klopp, Pep and Tuchel - If you look at the xG (and xGA) for each match, these teams are very good in creating chances and in stopping opponents to create chances. Of course this is only a fraction of the whole picture, but it is an undeniable part of it. This year, we already had one of those matches, against Wolves and we could have easily lost that. That isn't a stick to beat Ole with, but it is an indicator of something, that should be engaged with as it isn't a new issue. It was clear last year, we would need extra coaching for set pieces, we got it in the summer, I hope, we can be a bit more proactive engaging with such things.
But does it really matter if you win due to a well-oiled team, compared to a team that is so stocked with individual quality that they win big even on an off-day ?
It doesn't if you look at one game for itself. When you look over a longer period of time, I think, it is obvious that a well oiled team as big advantages. I think, this is something, that might be overlooked somehow, a lot of the criticism, that comes up (even after games like yesterday) stems from things, that have been criticised for a long time. And the inability to create good chances has prevented us from trashing Villareal whose players were physically done after 60 to 70 minutes. The inability to circulate the ball takes a big share for us not being able to control the match against Leipzig in the CL. These issues are having an effect. They should be engaged with. Pointing that out, should never be seen as negativity.
