Strange performance. Absent in the build up, hid from the ball as always. But scored a very nice goal and could have scored another one
39
Season Average Rating
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- 3
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- 4
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Over the top nonsense
Tactically ETH no longer involves him in the build up phase
Quoting four posts to the contrary…interesting.
And this is so stunningly obvious that the whining about pass numbers becomes redundant and very dead horse beating.
When he is playing deep midfield and not getting on the ball it is a different story, when he is asked to make a ton of runs forward off the ball to create disruption in the opposition defense it feels deliberately obtuse to pretend it is the same issue.
Plenty of valid things to critique in his game, we would all be happy if we had a superior option but many of the issues people are stuck on from recent matches come from managerial instruction.
Redcafe logic is that if a player scored it must mean he played well.
Please learn to watch football as a 90 minute game and not as a momentary statistical contribution.
Please learn to watch football as a 90 minute game and not as a momentary statistical contribution.
There's nothing obvious about that imo, I personally don't believe that was the reason Amrabat was taken off.
I can't prove it of course, but he pretty much always takes Amrabat off at or just after half-time. Whether he has a yellow or not. While other players with yellows stay on (Bruno, Shaw today for example). Amrabat didn't look in danger of a 2nd yellow today. He had 1 foul in 58 mins, the yellow (which was soft too), that's it. I've seen ETH keep Hannibal on while he looked a shoe-in for a red card, until he eventually got it. ETH hasn't shown so far that he prioritises protecting players form 2nd yellows, over his tactical plan. So I'm inclined to believe the sub was made for other reasons, probably for fresh legs in DM.
Poor tonight. He doesn't know how to play as a central midfielder. Scores a few goals, but that doesn't dismiss his performance. I didn't see him for an hour. But a midfield with him and Bruno offers little protection and cannot manage a game.
We went to shit when Amarabat went off (he wasn't playing well) and really the Manioo sub should have been for McTominay to close up shop. That's on Ten Hag, but his insistance to keep using McTominay is making me question whether he really knows what he is doing.
Poor mans Lampard. He's not a central midfielder, but knows how to pop up and score.
As always, the buck stops with manager. He keeps picking Scott and not only that but he pretty much always plays the full 90. It seems that ETH likes what McTominay does.
The problem is, we don’t like a midfield with a single CM and the results also suggest that it isn’t working too well for us either. As I said, the problem is the manager.
He's basically Ten Hag's Fellaini. We can't be expected to improve as a team with him in the midfield, but he is an effective goal threat at the moment.
Looks so awkward on the half turn and in tight spaces. Good finish for his goal but I really hope we don't see another season with him as a first string choice
You're massively insulting Lampard with this.
Looks more like a Burnley player.
The fact that Ten Hag has chosen to buy slight players & we find ourselves relying on McTominay for his physicality is ridiculous.
At this point he is who he is, the fact none of EtH’s signings are either available to replace him or good enough to displace him isn’t his fault.
At this point he is who he is, the fact none of EtH’s signings are either available to replace him or good enough to displace him isn’t his fault.
An absolute myth.
This guy is a BIG liability off the ball. You never see him anywhere near it when the other teams on top of us.
He is just a big tall player. I know how this will sound but I swear a black player with his build would never get away with this guys performances defensively.
McTom has no responsibility to hold/control/solidify midfield?
His task is solely to be a goal threat? even though United play with 4 very attacking forwards?
Hard to get my head around his role in the team.
His task is solely to be a goal threat? even though United play with 4 very attacking forwards?
Hard to get my head around his role in the team.
What part of. . .
say’s he’s not a liability off the ball?
We rely on him being big & tall for set pieces along with his goal threat, I did say he’s particularly good at it.
Yes, basically. But the tactics aren’t McTominay’s responsibility, that is the fault of the manager.
He is obviously supposed to help us get a grip on midfield. So weird that people think he’s instructed to do nothing but try and get in the box and score goals.
I'm sick of the sight of him being selected in our midfield simply because he's a goal threat. He should only be deployed as a ten when we're going direct, much like how Fellaini was used.
What else should people think? ETH keeps selecting him every game, which means he is happy. And if ETH is happy, it means McTominay follows his instructions. But he is doing nothing at the same time - perhaps that’s exactly the instruction he’s getting?
His average position, based on whoscored heat maps, is higher than Bruno. That’s not a position of someone who helps get a grip in midfield.
If he’s doing that against the instruction of the manager, it’s the fault of the manager for playing him and keeping him on despite him not following instructions. If he’s doing it on the instruction of the manager, then he is obviously not there to help get a grip on midfield. Which is it?
I’m fairly sure he’s getting picked because a) he’s a fairly consistent goal threat while our forwards can’t score for shit and b) the competition for his place are all injured or not playing anywhere near well enough to make it worthwhile to take his goal threat out of the team.
It’s a shite state of affairs but Mainoo eases the situation slightly. Ditto Amrabat playing reasonably well today. If he settles and starts looking decent - and our forwards start scoring - then ETH can bench a player he doesn’t want in the squad anyway.
I haven’t seen these heat maps but Bruno makes a huge contribution in central midfield every game he plays.
And Scott doesn’t. Yet he plays the full 90. I can’t see your point, sorry.
What the feck! This is a guy who gives 100% every time he plays. He doesn’t moan or hide he’s always available and yet we fans seem to hate him. I don’t understand it. Him, Maguire, AWB - we all wanted them out. Look where the De Gea hate got us - a poor man’s barthez !
The squad is a shambles ETH has to take some of the blame. But there’s a lot of blame to go round. Scott is not the problem. He’s better than mount for a fuxkin start. I’ll fight anyone who says different!
The squad is a shambles ETH has to take some of the blame. But there’s a lot of blame to go round. Scott is not the problem. He’s better than mount for a fuxkin start. I’ll fight anyone who says different!
100% of nothing is still nothing, that’s the problem.
Pretty obvious, no? If McT’s heat map is similar to Bruno’s then he is at least operating in areas of the pitch where he can influence the midfield battle. So if he fails to do that, it’s an individual failing rather than tactical instructions.
What do these heat maps look like anyway?
It’s not obvious because McT is not Bruno. Like putting Lindelof at LB is not the same as having Shaw, just because they are “operating in the same areas”. Different players can give different things. McTominay can’t help the midfield when he’s playing that advanced. Bruno can.
McTominay playing for full 90’, game after game, when he is doing absolutely nothing to help the midfield is endorsement from the manager. Which means his purpose is not help get a grip in midfield.
Heatmaps and average positions are here:
https://www.whoscored.com/Matches/1...eague-2023-2024-Galatasaray-Manchester-United
I’m on phone, I can’t easily capture and upload the images.
Exactly this.
None of our players would get anywhere near these teams !
Good performance from McTominay.
Was playing an advanced role and did that very well.
Nice to spot a couple of posts rightfully commenting positively and deservedly on McTominay's performance.
Was playing an advanced role and did that very well.
Nice to spot a couple of posts rightfully commenting positively and deservedly on McTominay's performance.
Still brilliant at hiding from the ball. Great goal though. No tracking back, supposerly the fittest player at the club. Also, looked terribly slow out there tonight.
I think when you look at how we have deployed Mount, Scott, Sabitzer and Eriksen it's pretty obvious that the manager likes his 8s to be very high. That's not on Scott, it's on the manager and the problem is that he doesn't seem to realize that we have neither the physicality nor the technical capacity to implement his tactical vision which in itself is a major indictment of his recruitment.
If you look at City, they look off colour a bit this season, but you can see Stones/Akanji spending the majority of his time in midfield even advancing high up the pitch to influence play, City spend the majority of the game with a midfield box. We don't have a CB effectively doing that so when we deploy Bruno and McTominay/Mount up the pitch we become too open.
Another issue is how careless both our advanced midfielders are with the ball, I don't think you can play this system if you are not prepared to spend lots of time on the ball.
Those two last minute goals against Brentford were certainly joyous at the time.....and McTom has been a regular since then...
If you want him in the Fellaini role, then play him in the Fellaini role. I don't get why he starts as one of the midfield two. Another head scratcher from our latest Dutch genius.
If you want him in the Fellaini role, then play him in the Fellaini role. I don't get why he starts as one of the midfield two. Another head scratcher from our latest Dutch genius.
I think a few would TBH.
Shaw
Mainoo
Garnacho
Bruno
Hojland ( providing his upward trajectory continues )
Maybe not starters but 100% they would be competing.
The rest I think would struggle starting for West Ham and Brighton.
He's a substitute, sent on with 20mins to go if we need a goal. SMT doesn't have the ability to play CM. He needs to be given a clear role. Scotland use him perfectly as he has John McGinn and Billy Gilmour beside him. All he has to do is make himself busy and look to arrive in the box. That's great when it compliments a system. But he cannot, simply cannot be trusted in our system. He cannot keep the ball, seems to be scared of being a ball player, that's obvious. He's a Palace, Everton player etc.
He’s awful. Scores a few goals, which make you question your opinion, then you see he typically has about 40 touches per 90 in CM and you return to your senses.
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