Our front three (or variations)

Kaos

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With Leny Yoro joining, possibly to be soon joined by de Ligt and Ugarte, its pretty easy to project what our first choice defence and midfield might look like going into the season.

But I still feel a little uncertain about how we line up our attack. Obviously we've signed Zirkzee, but it seems its uncertain what his best position will be, or where Ten Hag will predominantly utilise him. Then of course we have question marks as to whether Rashford is even a surefire starter in this team anymore (or perhaps the debate can be had as to whether he should/will still be our player come the start of the season). Similarly regarding Sancho - should we fail to ship him off can he salvage a stake for himself in this new attack? Do we give Amad a proper go or will he be condemned to loan hell? Do we play Garnacho on the right? Is it even worth considering Antony or are we just accepting he's been an absolute flush? Do we entertain a dreaded false 9 setup?

Our current attacking options:

Hojlund
Rashford
Garnacho
Amad
Zirkzee
Antony
Sancho (as a wide player/false 9)
Mount (as a wide player/false 9 as opposed to a midfielder)
Bruno (as false 9)

How would you set us up?
 
I assume the back would be Onana, Dalot, Yoro, Martinez, Shaw, Ugarte & Mainoo so the question is over the front 4 surely?

Anyway not what I think ETH would do or our 4 best players but for balance and team shape I would have Hojlund (Zirkzee) up top with Nacho (Rashford) left, Amad (Antony) right and Bruno (Mount) in behind with those in brackets their sub or rotation depending on form
 
I'd go with a front three of Amad (RW), Hojlund (CF) and Garnacho (LW) but honestly it's probably gonna be Rashford on the left and Garnacho on the right.

Antony will probably have one more season to prove something.

Also you forgot about Sancho ;)
 
I’m guessing we will start by trying a front three of Rashford, Zirkzee, and Garnacho.
 
Raw said:
I'd go with a front three of Amad (RW), Hojlund (CF) and Garnacho (LW) but honestly it's probably gonna be Rashford on the left and Garnacho on the right.

Antony will probably have one more season to prove something.

Also you forgot about Sancho ;)
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Yeah I thought I'd forgotten someone, but in my defence I think that says a lot more about him :lol:

I agree that the Rashford---Hojlund---Garnacho setup probably looks the best on paper, but if Rashford continues where he left off last season (i.e. continues to be an inept passenger), then it creates a selection headache.
 
I think ETH will want a look at Hojlund and Zirkzee before picking a 'starter'. Rashford and Garnacho's form will impact on that decision too because Zirkzee will be there to create goals for them as much as score himself, whereas Hojlund will be expected to be the primary goalscorer if he is picked.

Bruno obviously.

Amad/Antony's chances are a bit up in the air. Only ETH is likely to be thinking much about playing Antony as a starter. But even if he plays well, Amad is a very different offer to Garnacho or Rashford - more creative, more build-up play, less making runs off the ball, less likely to finish off attacking moves. So if you pick one of those two, you are choosing to play an unbalanced formation with one goalscoring winger and one creative winger.
 
Rashford-Hojlund-Garnacho

This will probably be our front 3 for the first few games at least. If Rashford keeps being shit then I hope Amad will come in for him and Garnacho moved back to LW. It will be interesting to see how Zirkzee will be used, he's the big question mark for me.
 
Now we've defo sold Greenwood, we need a Right Winger.

Ideally we get one top young winger and offload Sancho anywhere that wants him.

We should start the season with:

Garnacho Hojlund/Zirkzee New RW

Backups of:
Rashford Hojlund/Zirkzee Amad
 
Overhaul FC said:
Now we've defo sold Greenwood, we need a Right Winger.

Ideally we get one top young winger and offload Sancho anywhere that wants him.
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We have Garnacho who plays very well on the right, Antony as backup, Sancho as an option and Amad in depth in case of injury crisis. We don’t really need another winger.
 
I’d like to see…
…………….Bruno
Hojlund..Zirkzee..Garnacho

But think it’ll be..
………………….Bruno
Rashford…Hojlund..Garnacho
 
It’s very hard to say, I think Bruno and Garnacho have proved themselves enough to hold onto a place.

Hojlund was hot and cold but I still expect him to start the season, with Zirkzee coming on from the bench.

So I think gameweek 1 (if everyone is fit and no other attacking signings arrive)

Hojlund
Rashford-Bruno-Garnacho

But I hope that Zirkzee, Sancho and Amad can push themselves into the starting eleven sooner. Especially if Rashford stinks the place out again.

Antony is awful and should be loaned to Nice.
 
I’ve been mentally experimenting with how it would look if we set up in a 3-4-2-1.
Like this:
——————-Højlund———————-
^——Zirkzee——— Bruno————^
|——Mainoo———Casemiro——|
Shaw——————^—————Dalot
——Martinez - De Ligt - Yoro——
———————-Onana——————-

Obvious problems is no dedicated winger position, which would be weird for a United team. Garnacho and Rashford could both play inside forwards though.
Got following players for the different positions up front:
Striker: Højlund - Zirkzee - Rashford - Bruno - Sancho - Wheatley
Inside Forwards: Rashford - Garnacho - Sancho - Zirkzee - Amad - Antony - E.Williams


It would leave us with a problem in central midfield though, where i think we already are very thin. Mainoo/Mount for one side and Casemiro/Ugarte for the other? McTom a bit of a square peg in this formation. Collyer understudy for Case side. Hannibalnot making it here imo, and its too esrly fir Fletcher i think.
Also we’d require another LWB as i don’t think Shaw/Malacia is enough. Think Antony could cover Dalot/AWB on the right, so should be fine there.
All in all would be a weird change with our current personell, but could help explain why we want another CB, even if we don’t sell any more in top of Kambwala.

Anyways, i think it leaves with a problem fitting enough of our attacking players in the 11. maybe an option for certain games? Then again it might be too disruptive for patterns to be a good option.

I dunno, just needed to write it out, to see if it made any sense at all.
 
RuudTom83 said:
It’s very hard to say, I think Bruno and Garnacho have proved themselves enough to hold onto a place.

Hojlund was hot and cold but I still expect him to start the season, with Zirkzee coming on from the bench.

So I think gameweek 1 (if everyone is fit and no other attacking signings arrive)

Hojlund
Rashford-Bruno-Garnacho

But I hope that Zirkzee, Sancho and Amad can push themselves into the starting eleven sooner. Especially if Rashford stinks the place out again.

Antony is awful and should be loaned to Nice.
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Assuming a loan would meet the same UEFA problems that Todibo transfer did?
 
Sarni said:
We have Garnacho who plays very well on the right, Antony as backup, Sancho as an option and Amad in depth in case of injury crisis. We don’t really need another winger.
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So, Amad is 4th option behind Antony and Sancho now?
 
My prediction is that after the first couple of weeks of the season, we settle into a bit of a pattern of starting with Rashford and Garnacho flanking Zirkzee, and subbing the latter two for Hojlund and Amad/Sancho after the hour mark.

Hojlund is better run at/beyond a tired defences than Zirkzee, who himself is better at combination play. The change of winger compliments the change at centre forward.

Ten Hag had plenty of disagreements with Antony last season so, aside from the fact that his attacking game has been poor since September 2022, he has a lot of work to do to get back in the team. He might still be the preferred option to come on and help defend a lead even now though.
 
I'd have Garnacho x Zirkzee x Amad as the starting 3.

Rashford/Hojlund off the bench.
 
I’ve got a funny feeling we have bought Zirkzee to play in Hojlund. Think they both might start. Not sure what that formation looks like though!
 
Amad should start at RW and Garnacho left with Hojlund up top. Zirkzee as the first sub option. Perhaps Rashford can work his way in if he decides to play this year.

Rashford and Garnacho simply does not work. They are too similar and too predictable, and are not looking for a pass to Hojlund. We had last season to see ample evidence of that.

Antony should get Europa and some cup games.

Sancho can rot on the bench.
 
So we've got..

Hojlund and Zirkzee for ST position
Rashford and Garnacho for LW
Amad, Antony and Sancho for RW (Sancho possibly also for LW)

We won't be able to sell Antony (wonder if there are loan offers until window closes) and seems like no club has enough money for Sancho, not even those feckers at Dortmund after all the tweets bigging him up etc.
 
Adamsk7 said:
I’ve got a funny feeling we have bought Zirkzee to play in Hojlund. Think they both might start. Not sure what that formation looks like though!
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Honestly a 4-4-2 with Bruno off the right isn't inconceivable or a bad idea at all.
 
I do hope that it's Garnacho - Højlund - Amad as a starting trio with Zirkzee potentially replacing the Danishman up front for some games.

Fat chance, I know, but I still hope that it's our go-to plan. Sancho is back apparently so he can compete for that right wing spot and Rashford is not going anywhere, so let's say that he can be the first sub on the left.

Realistically it's going to be Rashford - Højlund - Garnacho though unless Zirkzee (or, less likely, Sancho) hits the ground running.

Højlund - Zirkzee - Garnacho is another interesting combination with as a more free-flowing attacking unit. Højlund will get to run into the channels more (he excelled at it at Atalanta) and Zirkzee will drop deeper and use his great link up skills to set the wing-forwards up. Attack the space™
 
Well looking at our front four there are loads ofoptions:

AM - Mount, Bruno
LW - Garnacho Rashford
RW - Amad, Antony, Sancho
CF - Hoijlund, Zirkzee

Iamgoing to be hyper critical and admitedly overly critcal,but forgetthe names on paper, injuries and remember this is one addition to a side so far theretha wasnt creating chances....andhe may be a second choice option.

Any combinationof these players as a first choice starting eleven....isnt at the momentat least comparable with the best premiersip sides, let alone European ones.

As promising asour window looks at the moment we NEED to sign another top attacking players this summer or its this summers big error.

Regardlessof the obvious situation and fat they havent worn the shirt for a longtime, we have just sold the one true attacking star beenhere in quitea while in Greenwood whohad to go....so does Sancho.

But dare I say it, to fund an attacking signing (and maybe add money to getting a full back), we should makea big sale additionally fromthisgroupof players....Bruno, Rashford or Antony....and lets face it ANtony isnt happeing.

Ideally offloading Rashford and his wages if able for £50m+......buys virtually any attaianable talent and there are several, Williams an obvious one....Doue a genuine future world star.

I like Garnachco, I like Amad and want to see him get more opportunities......but mostly I want a true top top talentto start...not a misfiring Rashford or Antony, not a Fernandes that is poor for a good 1/3 of every season, or Mount.

Really think such a signing helps usbe one of the quality top four sides, not doing the signing....we still struggleto break the top four again.

Maybe a gamble but we have exciting seond choice options....still not convinced consistentlyover a seasoninany of the first choice ones,Wshouldmake abig saleandwe also havea few youth players to padout the squad possibly...Shea Lacey being one that could well make a break through this seasoninour attack.

Im happy with what we have done so far,if we get Ugarte thatis the three supposed priorities sorted....I know full backs seem wanted butfor me....another attacker is thenext priority and Doue canplay allof them bar striker intime to a FAR higher level openingup the pitch and beating opposition players thanany of the above options...I was surprised no premiership clubsbid for Caqueretlast summer (including us), but this is a different level....Im stunned no premiership club has yetbid for him as Ive not seen anybody with the potential to be a star since Mbappe broke through
 
Garnacho and Rashford both playing is a bad idea in my opinion. At least one winger has to be more of a creator than a scorer.

hopefully amad or even sancho can break through this year and give ETH more options
 
I think it's totally up to who performs at the moment. No one has really put down their market as a guarantee, maybe Garnacho.
 
Rashford ---- Zirkee ---- Sancho

and

Hojlund ---- Bruno ---- Garnacho


are both pretty tasty
 
If we absolutely can't buy a left winger, then I would go with:

LW: Garnacho (Sancho)
RW: Amad (Garnacho/Antony)
ST: Hojlund (Zirkzee)

This is assuming that we play three up front, as I expect there will be times when we play both strikers.
 
Rashford and Garnacho will be the first choice side players. Hojlund and Zirkzee will rotate depending on opponent and form. Amad and Antony will stay since there's nobody in for Antony, and we'll get rid of Sancho somehow (ten hag won't play him regardless).

Pretty straight forward, 2 players per position that I don't see changing. The midfield depth is currently a big question mark in my mind.
 
Maybe Rashford will start off strong now that Shaw is back. Him missing 2/3 of the season didn't help. Having to put RBs on that left hand side was a big mess. He would still be my #1 choice. Ideally Garnacho would be out there on the left since that is where he's at his best, but a Rashford in form is our best attacker and we should hope he hits the level of ETHs first season again, or at least close to that. If he stinks up the place it would be Garnacho - Hojlund - Amad for me, but Rashford - Hojlund - Garnacho is the front 3 we should start off with. Could easily switch Hojlund for Zirkzee tbh, that CF spot is up for grabs. I might even prefer him but I haven't seen enough to say he should get the starting job immediately.

Like others have said the midfield is the biggest problem now. If we have stability there our attack will instantly improve.
 
Sarni said:
I think he will be, yes. I don’t think ETH rates him or likes him much.
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Why did we reportedly reject a 30 Million bid and about to offer him a new deal if he is going to be the 4th choice going forward?
 
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So far, the only one of our attackers that's showed the required level for a top 4 challenge is Rashford. So long as he looks sharp in pre-season, he has to be a nailed on starter on the left for me.

Up top, I have no preference between Zirkzee and Hojlund, though I suspect Zirkzee and Rashford will compliment eachother well.

The right-hand side is a difficult one, as I don't see any one player that can provide the required quality across the bulk of a season. Amad and Garnacho are good talents, Antony is crap and a motivated Sancho doesn't exist. On that basis I'd just say I'm happy to rotate Amad and Garnacho across the season, but I'd start with Amad.
 
Sarni said:
I think he will be, yes. I don’t think ETH rates him or likes him much.
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If ETH doesn't rate Amad, he needs to be sold.

He should be 2nd choice on the right wing behind Garnacho, and considering Garnacho is young himself and will play some games on the left, Amad should get plenty of games.

However if we end up keeping all of Rashford, Sancho and Antony, then it's pointless keeping Amad as he's not going to get the games ahead of more senior established names.
 
Lewnited said:
So far, the only one of our attackers that's showed the required level for a top 4 challenge is Rashford. So long as he looks sharp in pre-season, he has to be a nailed on starter on the left for me.
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Whilst true, you also have to look at it that he's had 2 awful seasons in the last 3, and 1 great one... We're getting to the point where we're more likely to get a stinker of a season out of Rashford than we are to get the good version of him.

And last season, I don't know, there seemed to be very noticeable physical decline in terms of his main attribute - his speed. If his speed is declining, and his attitude on the pitch is temperamental to say the least - it's not looking good that he's our star attacking player.
 
I have to say attack is a major concern, though I guess every area of the team is a concern given how bad we were last season.

We don't really have any established reliable top class players in their prime.

- A couple of young talents in Amad and Garnacho who aren't anywhere near their peak.
- A couple of relatively unproven young strikers in Hojlund and Zirkzee who aren't yet a reliable source of goals
- A couple of players who just haven't been anywhere near good enough in Sancho and Antony, and they aren't young enough to use inexperience as an excuse
- One player who has had some very good seasons in Rashford, but has also had 2 dreadful seasons in his last 3, is a known sulker and only really strives in counter attacking play.

I wouldn't be disappointed to see us be really bold and move on Rashford, Sancho and Antony, and sign 2 new attackers. I understand they're very difficult to move on though due to their wages, and potentially taking a loss on their book value in the case of Sancho/Antony. We're going to have this same problem for years to come though, so the earlier you find a way to get them out the door the better.
 
I am sure this same thread was started last week or was it just under another title :boring: :boring:
 
From what I'm reading / hearing from Rashford over this summer, it seems like he's going to be highly motivated and determined this year. If Shaw can stay fit then that left side will be strong again. I think Amad can make an impact against weaker teams but imo his ceiling is fairly low and he'll never be a regular starter for us

It'll be this imo

Højlund (Zirkee)
Rashford - Bruno - Garnacho (with Mount, Sancho, Amad, Anthony coming in as and when)
 
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