We've been in such a fantastic form recently, beating the "stronger" opponents one after another. Probably one of the best spell we have had in years.
It's pretty much the same 4-5-1 formation that we used for most of last season and early this season. But why do we seem so much better without Blanc/Rio (in defense) and Keano/Becks (in attack)?
I'm not sure if it's just coincidence. But it does seem to me that Fergie has put together a very effective team with very good team chemistry.
The partnership of Brown & Mickey is a masterpiece. Both quick, one right-footed and one left-footed complement each other so well (though it seems we are more vulunerable when defending corners or dead balls into the box). Five consecutive cleansheests speaks for itself.
In our midfield, basically Ole replaced Becks and Phil/Fortune replaced Keano. When Becks, Keane and Veron all in the same midfield, all of them tend to drop deep, hold the ball and pass it around. You begin to wonder who else is there to receive the passes (don't forgot Scholes sometimes like to drop back as well)?
Ole is a very differnt player than Becks. He has more all-rounded skills and is more comfortable taking on defenders. Also he is a striker so he tends to go forward naturally. He gives us more width (especially compared to Becks who tends to move inside a lot nowadays), an extra target upfront and an extra dimension in our attack.
Phil/Fortune are very displinary players (though they are in no way near the Keane's class). They concentrate on doing the dirty works in front of the back 4 and this allows Veron to focus on his midfield holding role, passing the ball around and moving forward more confortably. I think that is one of the reasons Veron played so much better in the last few games (in other threads there are discussion on the impact on Veron when Keane/Becks get back into the team which I think are real concerns).
After the recent games it proved again playing 4-5-1 is an effective tactics against big opponents. But which players in what positions matters even more.
Apparently it's a dilemma whether we should put our star players straight back into the team. Even so they should probably try to learn something from our "standby" heros? Your thoughts??
It's pretty much the same 4-5-1 formation that we used for most of last season and early this season. But why do we seem so much better without Blanc/Rio (in defense) and Keano/Becks (in attack)?
I'm not sure if it's just coincidence. But it does seem to me that Fergie has put together a very effective team with very good team chemistry.
The partnership of Brown & Mickey is a masterpiece. Both quick, one right-footed and one left-footed complement each other so well (though it seems we are more vulunerable when defending corners or dead balls into the box). Five consecutive cleansheests speaks for itself.
In our midfield, basically Ole replaced Becks and Phil/Fortune replaced Keano. When Becks, Keane and Veron all in the same midfield, all of them tend to drop deep, hold the ball and pass it around. You begin to wonder who else is there to receive the passes (don't forgot Scholes sometimes like to drop back as well)?
Ole is a very differnt player than Becks. He has more all-rounded skills and is more comfortable taking on defenders. Also he is a striker so he tends to go forward naturally. He gives us more width (especially compared to Becks who tends to move inside a lot nowadays), an extra target upfront and an extra dimension in our attack.
Phil/Fortune are very displinary players (though they are in no way near the Keane's class). They concentrate on doing the dirty works in front of the back 4 and this allows Veron to focus on his midfield holding role, passing the ball around and moving forward more confortably. I think that is one of the reasons Veron played so much better in the last few games (in other threads there are discussion on the impact on Veron when Keane/Becks get back into the team which I think are real concerns).
After the recent games it proved again playing 4-5-1 is an effective tactics against big opponents. But which players in what positions matters even more.
Apparently it's a dilemma whether we should put our star players straight back into the team. Even so they should probably try to learn something from our "standby" heros? Your thoughts??