Really don’t get jose’s treatment of Mctomminey been absolutely quality in the games he’s played think he had one bad game which we ended up winning anyway! I’d bring Savic in and let Scott develope!
The Search for a Midfielder
- Thread starter MyOnlySolskjaer
- Start date
My guess is that we'll target a #6 as backup for Matic and a new #8 to come in as the first-choice option to play in between Matic and Pogba in a midfield three (with Herrera as his backup).
Jose's explained it a number of times now. He's definitely going to sign a replacement for Carrick, which IMHO could be someone like Ruben Neves. Someone who dictates play, has vision, good passer. If Fellaini leaves, he needs a replacement for him. That could be someone like SMS. A physically strong CM who likes to bomb forward. Someone who could compete with Pogba for a spot really. It's not about signing a back-up for Matic or whoever. It's about having different types of midfielders and having the depth of squad needed to last the season. After we sign someone they'll get the chance to battle it out with the others in training and pre-season to decide who makes the first eleven and who doesn't. Right now there's no real competition in midfield. Pogba, Matic and Herrera are almost guaranteed to start when fit. Right now if Pogba isn't up for it Mou almost can't afford to drop him because who's going to replace him? McTominay can't, he's a different type of midfielder and nowhere near as good. Fellaini isn't good enough and is likely to leave. So what options does Mourinho have when one of our midfielders doesn't turn up really? He dropped Pogba when he wassn't performing but our game suffered because of it. It was a risky move from Mourinho, and it shouldn't be like that. It's the same with our fullbacks as well.
That would be strange. Any new signing should be a starter. We need two new CM's that are an upgrade. If we sign a new player to be back up then we have not really improved. Matic-Herrera should be the back up. If they are not the back up next season it suggests the signings have not worked out.
Despite Herrera's recent form, him finding form in April won't help us win a title. He was not good enough for most of the season. Matic will be a year older and he is also not the most mobile. Fellaini's future is also up in the air.
This is correct and the fact people don’t think we even need one midfielder and can give minutes to existing players is laughable.
We dont need another giant thats for sure, however good SMS is we need to get some agile players in the midfield or else no matter how good the tall players are we wont move the ball quick enough and will be easily pressured and continue to hoof.
I think the new #6 will, if goes to plan, replace Matic as our starting player with Nemanja rotating and playing less games to conserve him so he can stick around longer. Same goes for the new #8, Herrera will be that players adequate rotation option with Scott covering all bases.
I'm disappointed Jorginho will be heading to City. He was the one I desperately wanted. Fabinho, Fred, Jean Seri and Savic are all suitable alternatives.
I think we need 4 players minimum. RB, LB, CM & DM. CB and RW would be a bonus because I expect Bailly to feature more regularly next year, Lindolof should improve and I think Axel Tuanzebe is a fantastic player that deserves to be promoted next year.
Also, if we invest in top quality midfielders and top full backs, we will have a better defensive record and we should see less errors. Full-backs and midfield are the biggest issue for me.
I would love Neves to come to utd. But that being said I think Savic is that one player who will make Utd's midfield unstoppable. He can play in Matic's role as well as Herrera's role. Matic will be 30 this year, it's better that we have someone who can shoulder his burden. Also Mctominay and TFM should be played in the midfield next year too. Ideally Utd should bring in SMS and Neves. Soler is also a very good option if we are unable to get Neves, since he can play on the right wing too.
Anyone who thinks we don't need a midfielder is mental. We need more than one. With Carrick retiring and Fellaini looking likely to leave our depth in the middle will be very poor indeed. All it'd take is a couple injuries and we'd be in a crisis.
This is my only worry about signing players like Matic. Every 1-2 years you have to replace them. We can't make it a habit of recruiting players 28+ it will create a problem every 2-3 years. Moving them on becomes difficult because they're no longer worth anything.
I don't think Mourinho is ready to move Matic to the bench quite yet.
I don't either but I think he has got 1 more season in him at best. After that I think he will struggle to keep up.
We should be looking at someone young enough to accept rotation but experienced enough to be capable of playing a decent amount of games. Personally I would go for Leandro Paredes, who can replace Carrick as a disciplined #6 with an excellent passing range and good mobility and tenacity. I'd then play a 3 man midfield with:
Anchor man - Matic / Paredes
Box to Box: Herrera / Matic / McTominay
Attacking Creator: Pogba / Pereira
Anchor man - Matic / Paredes
Box to Box: Herrera / Matic / McTominay
Attacking Creator: Pogba / Pereira
Let's not go down this route again. Herrera has one good game in the 'midfield destroyer' role and suddenly we don't need a CM
Herrera is a bang average player but even a bang average player who is fit, disciplined and committed can be useful. Clearly Herrera excels when he is asked to stop opponents, but what about the 15/16 team we play twice a season that will sit 10 behind the ball and defend?
Brian Clough once said 'anyone can put their foot through a Picasso, the real skill is in painting one" and I think that clearly applies here! We need an upgrade on Herrera, someone who can get about the pitch AND play forwards passes/contribute goals and assists
In addition to an experienced CM, I would also try and get Rueben Neuves from Wolves. Young lad with loads of potential.
What about entire last season?
Matic has probably been our most consistent player this year. The lad is 28! That's my age! I'm no pro-footballer but I'm fitter, faster and stronger than I've ever been!
I'm fairly sure that Matic (who doesn't eat kebabs three times a week or sit down the pub all weekend) might also be in decent physical shape with some of the world's best physio's, dieticians, fitness instructors and doctors helping him monitor and maintain his already freakish physique daily!
Why do we write-off anyone over 25 as some ageing dinosaur about to crumble into a pile of ash! It's bizzarre!!
What what about the entire last season? I remember Herrera having one standout game - Chelsea at OT
I'm not necessarily advocating binning Herrera but we won't win a title with him playing regularly
He's 29 mate, past it.
Agreed! I think Matic will be instrumental for us for at least another 2 seasons. He turns 30 in August btw
What do you mean treatment? Its fecking football and he is still young.
He’ll be 30 by the time next season starts and it’s one thing being able to keep up on the pitch, it’s another being able to recover in time for the next game, especially with how many games we play in a season.
I didn't write him off. He has had a good season but has never been the most mobile player. Signing players 28+ plus means they will have to be replaced more frequently. We are going to lose Carrick and possibly Fellaini also. I think signing 2 midfielders must be a priority.
Good point. Also have to factor in we are competing with City who will invest again and are looking at players like Jorginho. We will have invest in better midfielders to be able to mount a serious challenge for a title.
We gave him Player of the year for 1 game?
Memory can be short...but non existent?
Player of the year for one good 'stopping' performance, being dedicated to the cause and not being quite as sh*t as some of the absolute no-hopers we have is more accurate, I would say.
I could probably name 6/7 players who contributed more to the season than Herrera, we all know PotY isn't just about being the best player
So we've got a minimum of 3 seasons then in my opinion before we need to consider a replacement. That's a long-time in football!
I don't see there being any issues with recovery, it's 2018 players are conditioned like machines!
I've never understood people saying the manager isn't getting the best out of the squad. Did I miss us being in 5th place or something?
We are on course for 80+ points, knocked out at the r16 in the CL and in the FA cup final. That's about right for the squad we have.
Were people expecting us to challenge the PL points record, get to the semi finals of the CL and win the league cup and FA cup this season?
Anything below winning everything comfortably would lead to people having things to complain about. That’s how unrealistic our expectations are.
I agree that we need two midfielders, but I do think one of them might end up being a younger backup/rotation option to compete with (rather than replace) Matic - someone like Villarreal's Rodri would fit the bill. The other will be a #8 to play between Matic and Pogba.
Samuel Luckhurst that we're really pushing to sign Fred of Shakthar. Guess it's time to go on YouTube.
We finished 6th last season under the same manager. People were expecting to at least challenge for the title properly instead of giving up on it before New Year. Also, progressing further in CL ( knocking Sevilla out) was quite a realistic expectation as well. After having bought 6-7 players was it not? What if we sign more players and spend more that City this summer and still fall short in the league, will it be acceptable too? If we are having a decent season, then Pool are having a brilliant one.
Luckhurst is not reliable at all. Simon Stone, Di Marzio, Henry Winter, Bouhafsi, Fabrizio Romani, Ornstein. These are the generally reliable ones.
If Matt Law says something about Chelsea it's probably true, the same goes for Sam Lee and Man City.
Bear in mind I think we are actually in for Fred because multiple sources have linked us with him including the club itself. But Luckhurst saying we are in for him would not sway me one bit.
Would be delighted to with this.
Depends on the position. Lots of DMs play well until 32-33 like Gabi, Thiago Motta and many others, but wingers less often. And I do think Matic's lack of pace is already an issue at times so that will only become a bigger problem as he ages. Not a huge one, but not nothing either.
I'm not sure we'll sign 2 CM's even if Fellaini does leave as surely McTominay's emergence counts as one of the two outgoings replacements?
You may be right and Mourinho might be looking to sign someone that is of the quality of Fellaini rather than a midfielder who could actually compete against Herrera. If that is the case, that would be bad management of the team. Competition is good and if Fellaini does leave as indicated by the statement Mourinho supposedly made, I believe Mourinho should target a b2b midfielder who can compete for a starting role in the team.
Carrick was barely a competition for Matic this season, but you are somewhat right. I believe Blind(if he stays) and Herrera(played the cdm role to well effect before) could provide cover for Matic and even competition for Matic. I do not know why Mourinho does not rate Blind, he is as intelligent as Carrick with the ball, but lacks the mobility or aggression to fight for a starting role. Other scenario is that we switch to a two man midfield and add Mctominay into the equation as potential cover for Matic. Those are three option right there and maybe more of our academy product will show the capability to fight for a spot in the first team. These options are better than signing a Drinkwater esque kind of player in my own opinion.
For what its worth, I'd prefer we did look for a quality CM to compete with Ander/Pogba/Matic. But thats not really what I got from Mourinho's comments here about replacing Carrick and only signing one more if Fellaini goes. However he did also say in previous weaks that midfield is where we need to improve so that could point to wanting to sign a first team CM.
Hope so, we'll see him in pre-season again to see if he has future with us but he has to earn himself in first-team first. Pereira to me is more box to box player, one of his strongest ability is crossing.
Scott seems more like a Matic successor, that's point of Jose expecting United to evolve with the likes of Martial, Rashford, Gomes, Chong, Axel, Mctominey, Joel Pereira and Andreas Pereira.