Playing out from the back when we don’t have Martinez

[golden_blunder]

I hate it, constantly we put ourselves in trouble.

 

[Marcelinho87]

Because he is excellent under pressure and his positioning is second to none.

 

[cyril C]

Martinez is not the only requirement, but obviously you need Casemiro, Eriksen (but not Fred), Varane on 4 points to ensure ball protection, passing with composure, reaction with calmness without giving away free kick.

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

I don't think Shaw is worse than Martinez on the ball.

It was just a poor decision by Casemiro during the play.

The biggest issue in playing out from the back in our back line is DDG and then AWB when he starts.

 

[bosnian_red]

I don't think Shaw is worse than Martinez on the ball.

It was just a poor decision by Casemiro during the play.

The biggest issue in playing out from the back in our back line is DDG and then AWB when he starts.

Martinez is much better at passing through the lines from deep while Shaw is much better at running with the ball. Both class though

 

[amolbhatia50k]

I don't think Shaw is worse than Martinez on the ball.

It was just a poor decision by Casemiro during the play.

The biggest issue in playing out from the back in our back line is DDG and then AWB when he starts.

Shaw’s touch and ball carrying are great but Martinez’s distribution is different class

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

Shaw’s touch and ball carrying are great but Martinez’s distribution is different class

They're both excellent, so Shaw fills Martinez's role with different qualities.

The pressing issue we have from playing out the back is a GK completely unsuited to it.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

They're both excellent, so Shaw fills Martinez's role with different qualities.

The pressing issue we have from playing out the back is a GK completely unsuited to it.

The biggest issue is indeed not having a ball playing keeper. But Martinez is a significant upgrade when it comes to playing out from the back. Ball carrying and first touch are more important up the field whereas passing and using it to get out of tight areas is key and Martinez is superb at it.

 

[HaliRed]

My only issue with it is when De Gea or Maguire are involved. I will not feel safe playing out from the back with either of those two in the team.

 

[pratyush_utd]

Martinez just change the way we play. I never thought a CB can have such a huge impact on our attacking game. If we had Martinez playing today, Rashford would have wreaked havoc, attacking the space between Alonso and Alba

 

[sullydnl]

He certainly makes a big difference, which is a good thing as it shows how much even one player can matter. Hopefully we bring in more players in the summer with similar impact so we're not quite so dependent on him in that regard.

For example if you swapped De Gea, AWB and Fred out of our squad for three players better in possession, we'd look a different team playing out from the back.

 

[Big Ray]

Martinez is not the only requirement, but obviously you need Casemiro, Eriksen (but not Fred), Varane on 4 points to ensure ball protection, passing with composure, reaction with calmness without giving away free kick.

Martinez is most definitely better than Shaw on the ball.

 

[Mcking]

Lindelof should be at CB with Shaw at left back when Martinez is unavailable. Shaw should always be at LB when he is starting. We are just weakening two positions for no reason, when it could be one.

 

[city-puma]

I hate it, constantly we put ourselves in trouble.

If we can’t replace DDG, we will always struggle and invite the wave after wave pressure every time taking goal kick.

 

[Strelok]

Martinez is most definitely better than Shaw on the ball.

Agree especially his through the lines and long passes. It's like having a deep playmaker. Shaw does a decent job on the ball but he just can't do the above consistently like Martinez.

But imo the most important thing is the calmness and stability he brings to the side. How he read the game both offensively and defensively too.

 

[Globule]

It does make me squirm at times, but Ten Hag insisting on us doing it is a good thing in the long term. Let the system expose the players.

 

[golden_blunder]

Lindelof should be at CB with Shaw at left back when Martinez is unavailable. Shaw should always be at LB when he is starting. We are just weakening two positions for no reason, when it could be one.

Satan!
Lindelof is as guilty as Maguire of passing sideways and giving the fullback a hospital ball

 

[Champ]

Lindelof should be at CB with Shaw at left back when Martinez is unavailable. Shaw should always be at LB when he is starting. We are just weakening two positions for no reason, when it could be one.

Whilst you are going to get pelters in here for having a sensible opinion, I agree with you here.

Lindlegod is a very underrated ball player on this forum for whatever reason, he should be the one dropping in as you say.

 

[Mcking]

Satan!
Lindelof is as guilty as Maguire of passing sideways and giving the fullback a hospital ball

Shaw at LB is one of our best options in the build-up. He is way more valuable for us there than at CB. Malacia replacing him means a massive drop in quality going forward. It's completely unnecessary moving him when we could easily replace Martinez with another CB.

 

[Glorio]

Whilst you are going to get pelters in here for having a sensible opinion, I agree with you here.

Lindlegod is a very underrated ball player on this forum for whatever reason, he should be the one dropping in as you say.

Of our CBs (not counting Shaw), after Martinez, Lindelof is our best passer

 

[Adisa]

All teams that play out from the back make mistakes, Even City do. Playing out from the back has to be cultural within a team. You can just say because x is missing you turn into a long ball after long ball.

 

[11101]

Of our CBs (not counting Shaw), after Martinez, Lindelof is our best passer

Agreed.

But Martinez brings aggression and leadership which ETH seems to not want to lose with Lindelof. Shaw isn't much better there but his pace gets him out of trouble.

 

[sullydnl]

Lindelof should be at CB with Shaw at left back when Martinez is unavailable. Shaw should always be at LB when he is starting. We are just weakening two positions for no reason, when it could be one.

It's not for no reason, having a left footed vs right footed LCB matters to ETH and is something he's cited more than once as one of the reasons for signing Martinez in the first place. Shaw maintains that balance in the team while Lindelof doesn't.

 

[eire-red]

I don't understand why Martinez or Shaw or whoever is playing the LCB position passes the ball to De Gea, who then has to pick the next pass. Only Shaw/Martinez should be the first receiver.

I remember even against Arsenal where Martinez was playing, he played the ball to De Gea, who passes it to AWB and we lose it and concede.

Playing out from the back is fine, but it needs to be to our players who are actually comfortable on the ball.

 

[golden_blunder]

All teams that play out from the back make mistakes, Even City do. Playing out from the back has to be cultural within a team. You can just say because x is missing you turn into a long ball after long ball.

Did you watch the match yesterday? Or any match where Martinez isn’t playing? It would trigger a heart attack! Even my 10 year old was saying “they’re taking too long, they’re going to get caught out”

 

[Strelok]

All teams that play out from the back make mistakes, Even City do. Playing out from the back has to be cultural within a team. You can just say because x is missing you turn into a long ball after long ball.

ETH has been here like, 8 months and you ask him to build such culture here? Or make Maguire capable of? Do you know why Pep kept buying new CBs, FBs and GKs in his first years at City? Because the ones he inherited simply couldn't play such football. Like Hart for example.

It takes years and a process of cleaning out the ones who are not suitable and can't adapt, and bringing in the ones who are so even your backups can play that style. Then you can have that cultural shit of playing out from the back despite missing some. We're simply not there yet.