Ole is unhappy that we haven't bought a CM

[Ludens the Red]

What about the £40m midfielder we just signed last year that Ole personally phoned to convince him to join that’s currently rotting on our bench unable to get a kick?

That didn’t happen. You imagined it all.

 

[clarkydaz]

It certainly wasnt his priority to sign one was it, and last week we had to lap up leaks about how MCTominnay is his Roy Keane. However, we were told there was no budget for a midfileder but sign CR7 in 24 hours

 

[Ludens the Red]

That's the crux of the issue for me. The leak claims that he wished for a central midfielder and he didn't get one. It took him 3 years and nearly 400 million to understand that he needed one, but fair enough, i suppose. The next question should be, who is this magical midfielder, or at least, what type of midfielder are we talking about?

What's most alarming about the quotes you posted is that Solskjaer is actually totally honest there. You see, it's simply surreal to suggest that another 100 million pounds on Declan Rice would make our structural issues go away. Not because he's a bad player, mostly because he currently performs well under a manager (two, if we count Southgate in) whose approach is very cautious. At WHU, Rice has a designated role, specific instructions (on & off the ball) and an area of responsibility in which he operates. On the other hand, our midfielders, as Solskjaer alludes to in the aforementioned quote, don't have designated roles, they should be #6s, #8s with a bit of a #10 in them and they should also feel comfortable anywhere on the pitch. Therefore, they should be Keanes and Robsons etc. Sadly, not only was each one of these players one of a kind, nowadays, they are in increasingly short supply.

In my part of the world, there's the saying that if you can't go through a wall, you must find a way around it, no matter how long you'll have to walk. Right now, Solkjaer deploys tactics on the pitch which create a demand for midfielders who are not available in the market. People scream on here about the need to control matches and to treat the ball better in the centre of the park, but the truth of the matter is that even if we snapped our fingers and brought Busquets and Kroos here tomorrow, they would look utterly lost and they would get ridiculed week in and week out in our version of 4231. Similarly, there were fans and pundits saying that Jorginho, one of the best deep-lying playmakers in the world, was too weak and slow to screen Chelsea's backline. Of course, when Tuchel arrived, he wasn't a madman to trade the control and the stability that the Italian brings to the table for brawn and tackles. He fixed Chelsea's abysmal defensive transitioning, and he worked on build-up tactics that would allow Jorginho to do what he does best. It can almost make you believe that this is what managers are being paid for to do at their respective clubs.

So, we don't have a world-class play-maker like Jorginho. But we do have some good options. Fred for all his brain farts, he can collect second balls, his short-passing (safe, most times) is adequate and he doesn't hide away from the action. Matic doesn't have the legs to cover the whole of the pitch, but he can still help in the build-up and his positioning is still good. Pogba doesn't do much off the ball (offensively and defensively), but he has an incredible passing range. Even VdB was a part of a side that knew how to treat the ball well by creating triangles on the pitch. McT has dynamism and vertical movement despite being very raw atm. Try something different with these players... don't just throw your hands in the air and cry "oh woe is me" because you don't have the players who will allow you to shoehorn all of Ronaldo, Bruno, Rashy, Mason and Sancho up front. I also believe it's unfair, even as a leak to protect yourself, to McFred who, despite not being midfield gods, worked their socks off to help you finish second last season and, to an extent, to Matic, who played his part in our temporary renaissance during project restart. It was something Mourinho would do.

Since for some strange reasons some people like to draw parallels between Klopp and Solskjaer's careers, the main difference between Liverpool's defence and our midfield is that, in the case of Liverpool, you would watch them on the pitch and you would think "yes, for their system, Virgil's worth the exorbitant fee". As you watch us play, can anyone come out with heart in hand and claim that "this one is the final piece to the puzzle. This midfielder will come into Solskjaer's 4231 and elevate us to 85+ points"? That's why all the made-up tables and the juxtaposition of winning percentages never made any sense. Klopp used the time and patience he was afforded at Anfield to adapt both his vision to English football and his preferred tactics to his players. You can take the few bumps on the road when you are working toward a specific goal. We just keep changing roles, tactics and formation with hope that something will stick. First we press, then we don't press. First we play with a false #9 (Lingard, Martial given a new contract), then we get classic forwards like Ronaldo and Cavani. First the inside forwards must get on the ball in the half-spaces with the FBs on the overlap, now we want them to hug the touchline with the FBs on the underlap. McFred will do the job in the midfield with their energy until we decide that we should control games with Matic-Pogba in the centre of the park. Honestly, how long did people think this could go on?

Last but not least, i wish we could avoid the sarcasm in this thread, but i'm afraid that's where the "proven CV" plays its part. OK, he may claim that he needs another 150-200 million to sign Rice/Phillips to make his system work. Which, if i'm not mistaken, will take his total spending north of half a billion Euros. Where has he shown that he can be trusted with this kind of money? Would you trust him with this kind of money when the defence looks a shambles after all his investment in it?

This guy gets it….

 

[TSE123]

All else aside, Uniteds weakest spot for years now has been the CDM. Not CM, not AM. The midfielder who is hardly ever noticed but the whole team follows (slight over exaggeration, but still true).
I agree with whats been previously written, WHY did Glazers/Woodward not sign one years ago?
A player like Kantè or Kimmisch or Casemiro or Rodri or Rice/Philips would make ALL the difference for the defensive AND the attack.

 

[Ferguson’s Hairdryer]

the nerve of the guy. Genuinely, when you think how much he’s spent. And how crap the football…. Imagine if this was Mourinho. Don’t forget the briefs a few weeks ago were that Ole didnt see CDM as a priority.

 

[redshaw]

That didn’t happen. You imagined it all.

According to Donny this did indeed happen.

Search for an interview with the Athletic.

 

[Ludens the Red]

I was being sarcastic

 

[sullydnl]

This is a bit odd, Pep spent close to half a billion ln defence and Klopp spent 200m on a CB and keeper, CDM and a CM (that one obviously flopped) to get his victory. Tuchel is the only one with a Valid argument really.

And Solskjaer has spent an absolute fortune on his team too.

Lack of spending isn't an excuse. And if our transfer dealings weren't savvy enough to reinforce such a critical area to the degree he needed to make the team function then Solskjaer either takes a portion of the blame for that or doesn't get a portion of the credit for supposedly "rebuilding" us.

But the point is that all those managers achieved things with big holes in their squad. Hell, Pep won the PL easily last year while having to rely on a DM as his principle goalscorer. So the fact that Solskjaer has similar holes in his squad shouldn't explain the shambles we're in atm.

 

[TheMitz]

Apparently we didn't buy one because a CD and RW were priorities.

So we got Sancho and play him on the left
Varane signed but didn't get rid of any of the other 5

Wanted to keep DVB, Lingard and Martial despite they not having a chance of being regular starters.

He had a perfect opportunity to sign someone by selling some squad players.

 

[Dosse]

I'm confused by the comments in this thread, are we now saying we didn't need a CM? Because I thought there was an overwhelming agreement that we did need a DM and it was naive not to buy one.

That doesent suit the negative barratives floating around atm.

 

[Castia]

They bought him Donny the year before and he hasn’t been used.

Prime Zidane wouldn’t make the starting 11 due to Ole’s love for McFred.

 

[MichaelRed]

So don't refuse money for players like Lingard, Sergio Romero, Van de Beek if you're not gonna use him etc. Don't tell the board you want to keep Mata & Jones & get their contracts extended. Ole can sling his excuses, he built this squad & claimed it was ready to challenge & that his expectations should be that we're still in title contention come April. Come November we'll probably be out of the PL race, out of the CL group, out of the Carabao cup & only still in the FA cup by the grace of not having fecking played in it yet.

 

[SER19]

We are massively underperforming with what we have but to be fair every average punter knew we needed a dm. I've lost faith it would have made a difference with ole but we needed one badly

 

[Anustart89]

Six transfer windows, £400m spent, none of it on a defensive midfielder. No leg to stand on for me.

 

[Strats]

I've had enough of his excuses

 

[lex talionis]

However valid his point may be now, the reality is that Ole had plenty of opportunities to address the midfield problem. He’s in pure CYA mode now.

 

[stw2022]

I think it’s began. Maybe the “he’s got lots of credit in the bank” response about 21 seconds after the final whistle on Saturday has given way to the manager briefing against the club possibly in a pre-emptive strike

 

[therealtboy]

Prime Roy Keane wouldn't solve our problems, yes it's a problem area but the team's problems run deeper, we have no tactical identity, if we did McFred would be easily dominating Young Boys, Villa, Villareal and Everton. I don't buy the our midfield is so crap we can't dominate those teams, SAF dominated teams with Ando and Clevs and that's because he was an actual manager with a plan. You have VDB that dominated Real and Juventus rotting on the bench and dear complain about needing a CM? Ole needs to go and we need to bring in an actual tactician.

 

[Kamau77]

Cover it up with wise tactics on Wednesday
Degea

Wan-b Bailly matic

Lindelof
Dalot Fred lingard telles

Pogba
Ronaldo

 

[Luffy]

To be fair, his coaching ability would have instantly been vastly improved if he had acquired that midfielder.

 

[NotoriousISSY]

Every top 4 team in the league has a glaring hole in their first team or squad.

This is shit PR from United and Ole.

 

[IrishRick]

That's the crux of the issue for me. The leak claims that he wished for a central midfielder and he didn't get one. It took him 3 years and nearly 400 million to understand that he needed one, but fair enough, i suppose. The next question should be, who is this magical midfielder, or at least, what type of midfielder are we talking about?

What's most alarming about the quotes you posted is that Solskjaer is actually totally honest there. You see, it's simply surreal to suggest that another 100 million pounds on Declan Rice would make our structural issues go away. Not because he's a bad player, mostly because he currently performs well under a manager (two, if we count Southgate in) whose approach is very cautious. At WHU, Rice has a designated role, specific instructions (on & off the ball) and an area of responsibility in which he operates. On the other hand, our midfielders, as Solskjaer alludes to in the aforementioned quote, don't have designated roles, they should be #6s, #8s with a bit of a #10 in them and they should also feel comfortable anywhere on the pitch. Therefore, they should be Keanes and Robsons etc. Sadly, not only was each one of these players one of a kind, nowadays, they are in increasingly short supply.

In my part of the world, there's the saying that if you can't go through a wall, you must find a way around it, no matter how long you'll have to walk. Right now, Solkjaer deploys tactics on the pitch which create a demand for midfielders who are not available in the market. People scream on here about the need to control matches and to treat the ball better in the centre of the park, but the truth of the matter is that even if we snapped our fingers and brought Busquets and Kroos here tomorrow, they would look utterly lost and they would get ridiculed week in and week out in our version of 4231. Similarly, there were fans and pundits saying that Jorginho, one of the best deep-lying playmakers in the world, was too weak and slow to screen Chelsea's backline. Of course, when Tuchel arrived, he wasn't a madman to trade the control and the stability that the Italian brings to the table for brawn and tackles. He fixed Chelsea's abysmal defensive transitioning, and he worked on build-up tactics that would allow Jorginho to do what he does best. It can almost make you believe that this is what managers are being paid for to do at their respective clubs.

So, we don't have a world-class play-maker like Jorginho. But we do have some good options. Fred for all his brain farts, he can collect second balls, his short-passing (safe, most times) is adequate and he doesn't hide away from the action. Matic doesn't have the legs to cover the whole of the pitch, but he can still help in the build-up and his positioning is still good. Pogba doesn't do much off the ball (offensively and defensively), but he has an incredible passing range. Even VdB was a part of a side that knew how to treat the ball well by creating triangles on the pitch. McT has dynamism and vertical movement despite being very raw atm. Try something different with these players... don't just throw your hands in the air and cry "oh woe is me" because you don't have the players who will allow you to shoehorn all of Ronaldo, Bruno, Rashy, Mason and Sancho up front. I also believe it's unfair, even as a leak to protect yourself, to McFred who, despite not being midfield gods, worked their socks off to help you finish second last season and, to an extent, to Matic, who played his part in our temporary renaissance during project restart. It was something Mourinho would do.

Since for some strange reasons some people like to draw parallels between Klopp and Solskjaer's careers, the main difference between Liverpool's defence and our midfield is that, in the case of Liverpool, you would watch them on the pitch and you would think "yes, for their system, Virgil's worth the exorbitant fee". As you watch us play, can anyone come out with heart in hand and claim that "this one is the final piece to the puzzle. This midfielder will come into Solskjaer's 4231 and elevate us to 85+ points"? That's why all the made-up tables and the juxtaposition of winning percentages never made any sense. Klopp used the time and patience he was afforded at Anfield to adapt both his vision to English football and his preferred tactics to his players. You can take the few bumps on the road when you are working toward a specific goal. We just keep changing roles, tactics and formation with hope that something will stick. First we press, then we don't press. First we play with a false #9 (Lingard, Martial given a new contract), then we get classic forwards like Ronaldo and Cavani. First the inside forwards must get on the ball in the half-spaces with the FBs on the overlap, now we want them to hug the touchline with the FBs on the underlap. McFred will do the job in the midfield with their energy until we decide that we should control games with Matic-Pogba in the centre of the park. Honestly, how long did people think this could go on?

Last but not least, i wish we could avoid the sarcasm in this thread, but i'm afraid that's where the "proven CV" plays its part. OK, he may claim that he needs another 150-200 million to sign Rice/Phillips to make his system work. Which, if i'm not mistaken, will take his total spending north of half a billion Euros. Where has he shown that he can be trusted with this kind of money? Would you trust him with this kind of money when the defence looks a shambles after all his investment in it?

That is one of the best posts I have read. Great points and really well made. Brilliant post

 

[pocco]

That's the crux of the issue for me. The leak claims that he wished for a central midfielder and he didn't get one. It took him 3 years and nearly 400 million to understand that he needed one, but fair enough, i suppose. The next question should be, who is this magical midfielder, or at least, what type of midfielder are we talking about?

What's most alarming about the quotes you posted is that Solskjaer is actually totally honest there. You see, it's simply surreal to suggest that another 100 million pounds on Declan Rice would make our structural issues go away. Not because he's a bad player, mostly because he currently performs well under a manager (two, if we count Southgate in) whose approach is very cautious. At WHU, Rice has a designated role, specific instructions (on & off the ball) and an area of responsibility in which he operates. On the other hand, our midfielders, as Solskjaer alludes to in the aforementioned quote, don't have designated roles, they should be #6s, #8s with a bit of a #10 in them and they should also feel comfortable anywhere on the pitch. Therefore, they should be Keanes and Robsons etc. Sadly, not only was each one of these players one of a kind, nowadays, they are in increasingly short supply.

In my part of the world, there's the saying that if you can't go through a wall, you must find a way around it, no matter how long you'll have to walk. Right now, Solkjaer deploys tactics on the pitch which create a demand for midfielders who are not available in the market. People scream on here about the need to control matches and to treat the ball better in the centre of the park, but the truth of the matter is that even if we snapped our fingers and brought Busquets and Kroos here tomorrow, they would look utterly lost and they would get ridiculed week in and week out in our version of 4231. Similarly, there were fans and pundits saying that Jorginho, one of the best deep-lying playmakers in the world, was too weak and slow to screen Chelsea's backline. Of course, when Tuchel arrived, he wasn't a madman to trade the control and the stability that the Italian brings to the table for brawn and tackles. He fixed Chelsea's abysmal defensive transitioning, and he worked on build-up tactics that would allow Jorginho to do what he does best. It can almost make you believe that this is what managers are being paid for to do at their respective clubs.

So, we don't have a world-class play-maker like Jorginho. But we do have some good options. Fred for all his brain farts, he can collect second balls, his short-passing (safe, most times) is adequate and he doesn't hide away from the action. Matic doesn't have the legs to cover the whole of the pitch, but he can still help in the build-up and his positioning is still good. Pogba doesn't do much off the ball (offensively and defensively), but he has an incredible passing range. Even VdB was a part of a side that knew how to treat the ball well by creating triangles on the pitch. McT has dynamism and vertical movement despite being very raw atm. Try something different with these players... don't just throw your hands in the air and cry "oh woe is me" because you don't have the players who will allow you to shoehorn all of Ronaldo, Bruno, Rashy, Mason and Sancho up front. I also believe it's unfair, even as a leak to protect yourself, to McFred who, despite not being midfield gods, worked their socks off to help you finish second last season and, to an extent, to Matic, who played his part in our temporary renaissance during project restart. It was something Mourinho would do.

Since for some strange reasons some people like to draw parallels between Klopp and Solskjaer's careers, the main difference between Liverpool's defence and our midfield is that, in the case of Liverpool, you would watch them on the pitch and you would think "yes, for their system, Virgil's worth the exorbitant fee". As you watch us play, can anyone come out with heart in hand and claim that "this one is the final piece to the puzzle. This midfielder will come into Solskjaer's 4231 and elevate us to 85+ points"? That's why all the made-up tables and the juxtaposition of winning percentages never made any sense. Klopp used the time and patience he was afforded at Anfield to adapt both his vision to English football and his preferred tactics to his players. You can take the few bumps on the road when you are working toward a specific goal. We just keep changing roles, tactics and formation with hope that something will stick. First we press, then we don't press. First we play with a false #9 (Lingard, Martial given a new contract), then we get classic forwards like Ronaldo and Cavani. First the inside forwards must get on the ball in the half-spaces with the FBs on the overlap, now we want them to hug the touchline with the FBs on the underlap. McFred will do the job in the midfield with their energy until we decide that we should control games with Matic-Pogba in the centre of the park. Honestly, how long did people think this could go on?

Last but not least, i wish we could avoid the sarcasm in this thread, but i'm afraid that's where the "proven CV" plays its part. OK, he may claim that he needs another 150-200 million to sign Rice/Phillips to make his system work. Which, if i'm not mistaken, will take his total spending north of half a billion Euros. Where has he shown that he can be trusted with this kind of money? Would you trust him with this kind of money when the defence looks a shambles after all his investment in it?

Excellent post and highlights some obvious issues with the whole "we need a DM" idea. Everybody should read this post before claiming that, because there are other questions to be answered before we decide exactly what we need in midfield.

The first question is why can't we get more out of what we've got? I've been convinced for ages that a Tuchel, Pep or coach of their ilk, a true coach and tactician, would make our midfield work. We have some players in there that have shown they are capable on multiple occasions, they just lack direction and are pulled apart by teams with clear direction. Maybe we ultimately will need a midfielder to compete at the very top, but we shouldn't be this bad where we don't even look functional. The two are very different.

Anyway, good post.

 

[big rons sovereign]

Understand it 100%. CM is a key area and we are paper thin there. None of our current options are top quality there and none of them are good at defending. Question is why it wasn´t a priority in the summer?

We had 3 areas in need and covered 2. I can only assume he had to make a choice and make do.
Ronaldo was a vanity signing to stop him going to city.
Tbh though, you can be sure that if he'd gone for midfielder rather than a winger of defender, he'd be getting hammered for that too.

 

[Sylar]

We do need a DM, that's obvious.
The general feeling is we won't win any titles without one but should still compete far into trophies with the squad we have

We're out of one where we have reached semi finals, and got a few tricky CL games, and are 5th but have lost points without playing anybody above us

I reckon Ole wanted Rice and has his sights on him and haaland

The teams above us bar Spurs is what I expected
However the football and results so far isnt bar Leeds and Newcastle

 

[Brophs]

If nothing else, it’d just be nice to see someone new jogging back, 20 yards behind play as the opposition run unchecked at our back four.

 

[pocco]

We had 3 areas in need and covered 2. I can only assume he had to make a choice and make do.
Ronaldo was a vanity signing to stop him going to city.
Tbh though, you can be sure that if he'd gone for midfielder rather than a winger of defender, he'd be getting hammered for that too.

Apparently Ronaldo told people a month before that he was coming here. I don't think it was as last minute as it looked. But that signing almost made Sancho redundant as we then had a raft of CFs and had to keep Greenwood on the right. Basically we're going to have one of Rashford, Sancho or Greenwood on the bench, along with the likes of Lingard. Plus we had James at the time too. Ridiculous situation when we apparently needed a CM.

And that's without going into the situation with VDB, which only makes Ole look even worse in his planning and management of the squad and the money he has been lavished with. Total chequebook manager and to hear he's still not happy now is just laughable.

 

[hobbers]

Tbh though, you can be sure that if he'd gone for midfielder rather than a winger of defender, he'd be getting hammered for that too.

Only if he then whined about it in the media as if the positions we targeted and the signings we made were all enforced on him.

And it's simply not the case that we signed Sancho and Varane and so couldn't sign a midfielder. We couldn't sign a midfielder because Ole prioritised keeping all of Martial, VdB, Lingard, Grant and Mata at the club, in the squad list and on the wage bill, despite none of them featuring in his plans or even being good enough to make the bench with everyone fit. A multitude of feck ups largely on him and his poor man and squad management. Mr. Nice Guy who'd rather give you a big fat new contract and let you sit in the stands than tell you to pack up and find somewhere else to play.

 

[pocco]

We do need a DM, that's obvious.
The general feeling is we won't win any titles without one but should still compete far into trophies with the squad we have

We're out of one where we have reached semi finals, and got a few tricky CL games, and are 5th but have lost points without playing anybody above us

I reckon Ole wanted Rice and has his sights on him and haaland

The teams above us bar Spurs is what I expected
However the football and results so far isnt bar Leeds and Newcastle

We probably do, but to play with who? Tactically, do we need a Rice? Or more of a Carrick/Xabi Alonso? A player like Rodri or Jorginho?

There's far more to it than "we need a DM". Signing any old player without thought as to who he will supplement won't get us anywhere. Rice and McTominay or Fred would be tragic, in my opinion.

 

[Sylar]

We probably do, but to play with who? Tactically, do we need a Rice? Or more of a Carrick/Xabi Alonso? A player like Rodri or Jorginho?

There's far more to it than "we need a DM". Signing any old player without thought as to who he will supplement won't get us anywhere. Rice and McTominay or Fred would be tragic, in my opinion.

Of course there's more to it, but it's a part of the issue we have. We can address other areas like a set tactic, style of play or whatever you want to call it, but IMO and for most, we need more than what we have in Central midfield.

Even if we had Klopp or pep, we would still need a cm whether it's a workhorse who gets around, gets the ball and passes it on to better players or a deep lying plag maker like you mentioned.

The issue we have is our three man midfield is not a three man midfield. It worked for Ole when he played Matic, Herrera and Pogba when he first came in as Pogba was free but Herrera helped Matic in pressing.

Bruno is clearly an upgrade on Herrera in terms of ability and Matic/pogba/bruno worked during project restart as we had the luxury of five subs which we were using to keep players fresh (until they limped over the finish line)
Also helped Europa League was basically a mini tournament after the league

Now Bruno plays much higher almost as a second striker, and I'm sure he gives away the ball more than Herrera, and that's an issue when we are under pressure. Matic is two years older. Pogba is Pogba and we've never constantly got the best out of him. Fred tries but cos he tries he's exposed a lot. McT is decent as a squad player but he hides which is a concern.

We have an issue with the manager and style (or lack off) along with how we retain the ball, and press. But for sure we need a midfielder and the issue is who?
Maybe it would be clearer if we had a set way of playing. I still don't know what Oles favoured formation and lineup is?
Is it three in the middle? Who starts on the left? Is Mason on the right by default?
Pogba seems best when he has mcfred (eh) behind him and he's free on the left, but that requires Shaw of last season.

Anyway I've just put a whole load of crap, sorry

 

[rcoobc]

Should have never started
Ain't that the way it always ends?

 

[RooneyLegend]

These managers must think we have a bottomless pit. He's lucky he got so many players regardless of COVID. It's never enough for these guys, apparently they can't even spot a bargain.

 

[Lash]

And Solskjaer has spent an absolute fortune on his team too.

Lack of spending isn't an excuse. And if our transfer dealings weren't savvy enough to reinforce such a critical area to the degree he needed to make the team function then Solskjaer either takes a portion of the blame for that or doesn't get a portion of the credit for supposedly "rebuilding" us.

But the point is that all those managers achieved things with big holes in their squad. Hell, Pep won the PL easily last year while having to rely on a DM as his principle goalscorer. So the fact that Solskjaer has similar holes in his squad shouldn't explain the shambles we're in atm.

I'm not using it to say Ole has an excuse. Just thought it was a weird example to try and hold those managers up in this example. Klopp didn't win anything with big holes in his squad, that's the point, when he plugged them he actually won. Sure he got closer, but who really cares. Rodgers, Tuchel, heck even Arteta won something without spending big. Probably better examples.

 

[DarkXaero]

The entire fanbase has known for a long time that we have a desperate need for at least one defensive midfielder. Instead Ole chose to spend near 40 million on a CM he doesn't want to play (and VDB is not a DM). It is utterly pathetic of Ole to now use the media to blame the board for this when it has been evident that Ole has not prioritized signing a DM for two years now. If he did, we would have a DM option by now. We had credible links to Camavinga this summer and he didn't want to come here, but we didn't have any alternatives lined up. Now we have strong links to a move for Declan Rice next summer, who is a good DM option but will be ridiculously overpriced and it's too late because the need for a DM here has been long overdue. Ole had his chances to get a DM for two years and he didn't. He's now paying the price as this is the most talented squad we've had post Fergie but we have that glaring hole in the squad with lack of DM options.

 

[pocco]

Of course there's more to it, but it's a part of the issue we have. We can address other areas like a set tactic, style of play or whatever you want to call it, but IMO and for most, we need more than what we have in Central midfield.

Even if we had Klopp or pep, we would still need a cm whether it's a workhorse who gets around, gets the ball and passes it on to better players or a deep lying plag maker like you mentioned.

The issue we have is our three man midfield is not a three man midfield. It worked for Ole when he played Matic, Herrera and Pogba when he first came in as Pogba was free but Herrera helped Matic in pressing.

Bruno is clearly an upgrade on Herrera in terms of ability and Matic/pogba/bruno worked during project restart as we had the luxury of five subs which we were using to keep players fresh (until they limped over the finish line)
Also helped Europa League was basically a mini tournament after the league

Now Bruno plays much higher almost as a second striker, and I'm sure he gives away the ball more than Herrera, and that's an issue when we are under pressure. Matic is two years older. Pogba is Pogba and we've never constantly got the best out of him. Fred tries but cos he tries he's exposed a lot. McT is decent as a squad player but he hides which is a concern.

We have an issue with the manager and style (or lack off) along with how we retain the ball, and press. But for sure we need a midfielder and the issue is who?
Maybe it would be clearer if we had a set way of playing. I still don't know what Oles favoured formation and lineup is?
Is it three in the middle? Who starts on the left? Is Mason on the right by default?
Pogba seems best when he has mcfred (eh) behind him and he's free on the left, but that requires Shaw of last season.

Anyway I've just put a whole load of crap, sorry

Not a whole load of crap at all, it all is valid and I agree. But it proves what I'm trying to say. To simply just say we need a DM is just scratching the surface.. Like you pointed out, there are plenty of issues that mean just signing a DM won't solve things. Should we move to 3 in midfield? What sort of DM would we need depending on who will be our first choice partners for them? Can better instruction see somebody like Fred or McTominay find a better role in the team?

Having Ole and his simple tactics has got everybody thinking the wrong way. There's more to this team then Ole has them showing. I would bet that under a proper coach, a couple of Fred, McTominay, VDB or Pogba would surprise everyone and find their place here and perform well. Ole is like a fecking anchor around their necks.

 

[Garethw]

He knew how stingy the Glazers are in the transfer market when he agreed to become manager. Can’t turned round and be shocked he hasn’t been backed financially now.

I hate the Glazers with a passion, but they have backed Solskjaer to the tune of over £400 million in three years. Not many world class managers get that kind of backing, let alone a championship level one.

 

[pcaming]

There is no one midfielder out there that would fix our defence and attack and possession capabilities.

 

[Ferguson’s Hairdryer]

We do need a DM, that's obvious.
The general feeling is we won't win any titles without one but should still compete far into trophies with the squad we have

We're out of one where we have reached semi finals, and got a few tricky CL games, and are 5th but have lost points without playing anybody above us

I reckon Ole wanted Rice and has his sights on him and haaland

The teams above us bar Spurs is what I expected
However the football and results so far isnt bar Leeds and Newcastle

The media briefings before was “Ole is very happy with the window, United looked at CDM’s but it was not a priority” if it was an upmost priority Ole would have told them, last year people said “RW” and then judge ole, now he’s got the right winger he wanted he barely plays him or plays him on the left.

Think of the greatest CDM ever, he could join at his peak. And there will be no tactical and team improvement.

 

[Yagami]

Give Mejbri a chance then. Or Galbraith when he returns from his loan. At least they can pass and keep the ball under pressure.

 

[Ronaldo's Love Child]

I'm not sure I even agree with the narrative anymore that OGS has succesfully "rebuilt" the team. What he has done is spent money that was available to him but anyone of us could add new players to the squad.

It is when you start to analyse the transfer reasoning rather than get caught up in the hype that it all seems to fall apart a little.

We are overloaded with options up front and under served with options in midfield.

McT, Fred and Matic are all competing for the double pivot positions (a tactic that OGS thus far has been wedded to). Up front, we have Rashford (inside left), Martial (inside left), Cavani, Ronaldo, Sancho, Fernandes, Lingard, Mata, Greenwood and Pogba...............and DVB (forgot about him). That is 11......ELEVEN attacking players and only 3 defensive/holding midfielders