3-5-2 formation this season for United?

Classical Mechanic

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With Regulion looking fairly likely does this increase the prospect of playing the 3-5-2 this season more often?

Ole has used Shaw as the LCB in this formation and he’s pretty good at it. I’m attracted to it because I think it would be better for Greenwood as he can be more narrow and closer to shooting positions more.

The RWB position would be an issue but Dalot is best in that formation and it would suit Laird. Signing Bale or Perisic would work too as they can both play the position. DM would be a question but Pogba and Fernandes can play the AM positions with VDB deputising.

————————DDG/Henderson————————
—-Lindelof—————-Maguire————-Shaw——
————————————-DM———————————-
RWB———-Bruno————-Pogba——-—Regulion
——————-Greenwood———-Martial—————
 

Annihilate Now!

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I do hate when we play 3-5-2... Apart from games against City are football generally becomes a bit tumescent.
 

Nickelodeon

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Wan Bissaka is awful at RWB. And he’ll probably suck as an RCB as well. I think that’s the primary reason why we wouldn’t go for 3 at the back unless it’s one of the big fixtures.
 

bond19821982

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With Regulion looking fairly likely does this increase the prospect of playing the 3-5-2 this season more often?

Ole has used Shaw as the LCB in this formation and he’s pretty good at it. I’m attracted to it because I think it would be better for Greenwood as he can be more narrow and closer to shooting positions more.

The RWB position would be an issue but Dalot is best in that formation and it would suit Laird. Signing Bale or Perisic would work too as they can both play the position. DM would be a question but Pogba and Fernandes can play the AM positions with VDB deputising.

————————DDG/Henderson————————
—-Lindelof—————-Maguire————-Shaw——
————————————-DM———————————-
RWB———-Bruno————-Pogba——-—Regulion
——————-Greenwood———-Martial—————
All good until you said Bale or Perisic as RWB ? Seriously?
 

Bebestation

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Bale & Greenwood as RS

Martial & Rashford as LS.

Replace Bale with Haaland in a years time when he and ighalo have gone.
 

Henrik Larsson

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I've been wondering if Shaw can't simply play as the LCB in a back four against a lot of opponents we face. Nathan Aké and Daley Blind aren't better pure defenders than him and they've managed to reach a decent level playing there in the PL. Shaw's passing out from the back is actually pretty good at times as well imo.

He's got very different strengths than Maguire and then we would have AWB as the defensive fullback, Maguire as the aerial dominant leader, Shaw as the more fast and agile CB, and an attacking LB to really add to attack and create things, seems much more well balanced.
 

bond19821982

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That’s pure speculation but I’ve seen Perisic play LWB and Bale was a left full back who ended up on the right wing a fair bit.
Bale played left back almost 10 years back. Perisic has never been a LWB.

Above all, you are placing them on right wing back position.
 

flappyjay

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It would be the only way to give Greenwood a break without having to play lingard/Andreas or Mata. With Rashford and Martial as the strikers in the back 3 formation. The other way would be a midfield diamond which I personally don't like.
 

Physiocrat

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With Regulion looking fairly likely does this increase the prospect of playing the 3-5-2 this season more often?

Ole has used Shaw as the LCB in this formation and he’s pretty good at it. I’m attracted to it because I think it would be better for Greenwood as he can be more narrow and closer to shooting positions more.

The RWB position would be an issue but Dalot is best in that formation and it would suit Laird. Signing Bale or Perisic would work too as they can both play the position. DM would be a question but Pogba and Fernandes can play the AM positions with VDB deputising.

————————DDG/Henderson————————
—-Lindelof—————-Maguire————-Shaw——
————————————-DM———————————-
RWB———-Bruno————-Pogba——-—Regulion
——————-Greenwood———-Martial—————
That's a decent shout although Wan-Bissaka would be great as an RCB as Shaw would be LCB.
 

Schmeichel's Cartwheel

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Ole is not going to drop Rashy. We also don't have enough quality centre backs to play 3 of them every game. Hell, we don't even have 3 centre backs who can stay fit.
 

starman

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Whether it was due to injuries and lack of personal available but it got used against all the top teams last season bar Spurs and Arsenal....
James and Rashford or Martial were played upfront for the counter

So I expect it to be used.
 

el3mel

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Please no. I think 4-2-3-1 suits us perfectly at the moment. Regulion will be a good squad option that has the potential to bench Shaw in the near future.
 

Dante

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I've been thinking about this since the VdB purchase and the Reguilon links. I think it would suit the existing players well, if we tweak the squad a tiny bit. The biggest issue for me is going to be the reliance on Williams/Laird at RWB.
 

Lee565

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It's a shame we have such an inept right full back on the ball otherwise we could have gone with a diamond which would have allowed us to play vdb, pogba and Fernandes all in the same first 11.
 

UNITED ACADEMY

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With Regulion looking fairly likely does this increase the prospect of playing the 3-5-2 this season more often?

Ole has used Shaw as the LCB in this formation and he’s pretty good at it. I’m attracted to it because I think it would be better for Greenwood as he can be more narrow and closer to shooting positions more.

The RWB position would be an issue but Dalot is best in that formation and it would suit Laird. Signing Bale or Perisic would work too as they can both play the position. DM would be a question but Pogba and Fernandes can play the AM positions with VDB deputising.

————————DDG/Henderson————————
—-Lindelof—————-Maguire————-Shaw——
————————————-DM———————————-
RWB———-Bruno————-Pogba——-—Regulion
——————-Greenwood———-Martial—————
We might should just play 442 diamond and get the best out of Van de Beek in midfield with Pogba and Bruno if that’s the case.
 

bosnian_red

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It might be used occasionally, but no chance it'll be the main one. Main will be 4-2-3-1/4-3-3 with Rashford, Martial and Greenwood/new signing as the front 3, pogba, bruno and a DM behind those 2 and then AWB, Maguire, Lindelof and Shaw/Reguilon (if we sign him) at the back. Absolute necessity to sign Reguilon and the 4th attacker though IMO, season will be a shit show if not.
 
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I do hate when we play 3-5-2... Apart from games against City are football generally becomes a bit tumescent.
I actually love it as a formation. Some of the most entertaining teams in history have played 3-5-2...but AWB just completely kills our ability to play it in an effective, entertaining way. The wing-backs have to be creative, 1v1 dribblers who - above all - are extremely press resistant...and that's pretty much everything that Wan-Bissaka isn't. Our game against Southampton really showed other teams just how vulnerable he is when pressed. Hassenhuttl even called it out as a deliberate strategy, although it was obvious just by watching. Chelsea followed that up a few weeks later by very, very visibly using him getting possession as a pressing trigger. I imagine a lot more teams will be doing the same this season. It's actually one of my biggest concerns about our expected Starting XI.

Reguillon would thrive in a 3-5-2. Shaw actually plays the position pretty well, due to being extremely press resistant; but he's even better as the left centre-back.

Maybe Laird will come through and surprise us.

Tariq Lamptey gave a masterclass tonight against Chelsea in how to play the position. He looks like a potential star. Ridiculous pace and stamina, fantastic trickery and close control, nice passing and interplay, good positioning offensively and defensively and a to top it all off a consistent, wicked, whipped cross.
 
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pratyush_utd

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AWB is the biggest issue in 3-5-2. Not sure why people are so against this lineup. We don't have natural right winger incase we don't sign Sancho and this makes use of every other key player in their correct position. Enables us to play without a DM as well.
 

Classical Mechanic

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AWB is the biggest issue in 3-5-2. Not sure why people are so against this lineup. We don't have natural right winger incase we don't sign Sancho and this makes use of every other key player in their correct position. Enables us to play without a DM as well.
It puzzles me too. It's a solution to a Sancho-less window if we want to go back in for him next summer. I think it would be better for our forwards and if at full strength we'd have Greenwood, Rashford or Martial to come off the bench. Personally I think we'll see it a lot more next season. The schedule is intense this season and the 4-2-3-1 necessitates using all our best players. I think the 3-5-2 would allow use to rotate more effectively.
 

gajender

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Liverpool have best attacking full backs in the league and they don't play 3-5-2 formation and neither should we , Lb is needed because of Shaw's injuries concerns and depth issues which becomes problem if we utilise him in back 3. Stick with 4231 and get Sancho next season no need to rip up the whole structure and start the season with new formation which has has hardly worked for us.
 

RedTechsture

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Its not 3 5 2 when 2 of your midfield are defenders, thats 5 3 2.
And no way should we be looking to go in to games with that sort of defensive mentality.
 

Patchbeard

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Liverpool have best attacking full backs in the league and they don't play 3-5-2 formation and neither should we , Lb is needed because of Shaw's injuries concerns and depth issues which becomes problem if we utilise him in back 3. Stick with 4231 and get Sancho next season no need to rip up the whole structure and start the season with new formation which has has hardly worked for us.
Liverpool don't really need 3 at the back because their 3 man midfield is more balanced towards defending, so they can cover for their CBs (Henderson, Milner, Fabinho etc.), whereas we would be playing Pogba+Bruno who both can't defend.

Its not 3 5 2 when 2 of your midfield are defenders, thats 5 3 2.
And no way should we be looking to go in to games with that sort of defensive mentality.
It isn't necessarily defensive...it can be, but the way that some teams play it the "wing-backs" effectively play like wingers whilst the R or LCB push forward like a regular full-back because there is still two CBs. This notion that 3-5-2/5-3-2 is a "defensive" mentality is a complete myth, 4-2-3-1 can also be defensive, it all depends on the manager and how it is implemented.
 

Patchbeard

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I think it could be great for us IF we didn't have AWB as our main RB. Seeing as he is a 50m asset and he's not really suited to playing RWB or RCB we aren't going to be playing it apart from in a defensive mentality unfortunately.
 

AngeloHenriquez

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I've long thought actually AWB suits the RCB more due to his pace and tackling ability, could be a great partner for Maguire so a back 3 of AWB_Maguire_Shaw

3 centre mids, none of which need the same level of defensive responsibility so could play Pogba, Fernandes with VDB and up top 2 of Martial, Greenwood, Rashford & Ighalo.

Wing backs have been the issue for us but if we put Williams back on his original flank, we could look at:

----------------DDG
---AWB--Maguire--Shaw
Williams---Pogba----Reguilon?
----Fernandes---VDB
------Martial----Rashford
 

Schmeichel's Cartwheel

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I've long thought actually AWB suits the RCB more due to his pace and tackling ability, could be a great partner for Maguire so a back 3 of AWB_Maguire_Shaw

3 centre mids, none of which need the same level of defensive responsibility so could play Pogba, Fernandes with VDB and up top 2 of Martial, Greenwood, Rashford & Ighalo.

Wing backs have been the issue for us but if we put Williams back on his original flank, we could look at:

----------------DDG
---AWB--Maguire--Shaw
Williams---Pogba----Reguilon?
----Fernandes---VDB
------Martial----Rashford
AWB’s shit in the air & has horrible positioning. He’d be a shocking centre back. If we’re playing 3-5-2 he’d be at wing back or on the bench

DDG
Lindelof Maguire Shaw
AWB Pogba Matic Reguilon
Bruno
Rashford Martial

I don’t like it. I feel like we’re asking Rashford to essentially be a striker & a winger, to cover AWB’s limitations going forward. We’d look too narrow & flat. I don’t think it’d work. Maybe away at Liverpool & City.
 

JPRouve

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The thing that I don't get is that the CMs that are on the bench are far better players than the CBs that people are trying to force into a starting XI, so why people don't simply imagine a 4312?