I can't see carrick deciding on his own the formation and who starts. I think carrick is just a figurehead while all the actual decisions will either be taken by the players or someone higherup in the hierarchy.
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik and Imran hold a long overdue conversation about United's awful league form with 1 win in 7. They discuss a disappointing draw at Bournemouth, a not so disappointing draw against Liverpool and a crushing defeat at Chelsea - Is time nearly over for Erik Ten Hag?
Then in a special second half of the pod, Nik welcomes Natalie ( https://twitter.com/natalie_17) to discuss the fortunes of Manchester United Women as they booked a place in the FA Cup Final after a historic first ever win vs. Chelsea.
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Any of our new permanent managers is going to start Donny. It is the lowest hanging fruit fix to improve this team. Please stay Donny!
I agree with you, it was against Watford FFS. I watched Watford's 5-0 drubbing at the hands of Liverpool and from that game, Watford could not complete a single pass under any sort of pressure.
DVB had a fair game (I wouldn't even class it as great) but it was against Watford who are ATROCIOUS. But as to whether he is light years ahead of McFred still remains to be seen.
He's a good player who has been criminally underused but just a word about his attitude.
The guy never publicly complained, always tried hard when given a chance and is just an absolute pro. Reminds me a bit of Herrera. Hope he stays and plays under the new manager.
The guy never publicly complained, always tried hard when given a chance and is just an absolute pro. Reminds me a bit of Herrera. Hope he stays and plays under the new manager.
I didn't like how he played in previous games where he refused to try difficult passes or even passes with player in huge space. But this game he was very good, played how a proper CM should be playing. Making lot of off the ball movements, winning the ball and played some very good passes. If he keeps this up then no point playing McT in midfield.
The one player in our squad who is assured when he’s on the ball. He always had the ability to pass the ball from his Ajax days, but now it looks like he is adding that extra physical ability as well.
I am maybe overreacting, but I sense so much more natural awareness when he is on the ball or goes into a tackle or duel, and that for me is a very big difference compared to Fred and McT who tackle and duel with no sense for the ball or the situation. I thought he was excellent and should continue playing, and there is no doubt that after some string of games, it will be Donny with whoever compliments him better.
Yup.
It’s why Ten Hag would be a great choice as next manager too. He’ll coach that into players and hopefully look to sign players who are similar too.
Imagine having a squad capable of dictating play, even against the big boys
I always said play him in a midfield 3 with Pogba. So obvious and Ole looks really stupid now
You aren't exaggerrating, and that's why I keep beating the drum of him being our best midfielder.
he is quick in the head which is the most important attribute for a midfielder. When he receives the ball he knows what he wants to do with it, which helps so much against sides that want to press.
His first touch is usually very solid and has a great weight of pass too. i've always preferred midfielders who are good on the ball first. Especially when you watch us it's apparent we lack technique, we can't keep the ball under pressure.
I really do think we can mould him into a Jorginho style deeper midfielder that allows Fernandes to still play higher, and put another box to box with him like Tchouameni.
From what i've seen he has every attribute required, he just needs trust in him and a run of matches.
How does this make any sense?
You use Watford as an excuse yet Mctominay got destroyed by them in the first half. if DVB made it look easy then surely he should be given a run in the side no?
So you'd rather keep benching him and playing Mctominay for what reason?
I like this too. The only problem I see is Bruno though, who plays every game. Maybe something like 4-3-1-2 or something, I don't know.
Good that he didn't play a lot under Ole otherwise his level would have fallen just like others. Joking
It probably doesn't make sense because I never said that I'd keep playing McTominay over him.
What I said was a long winded way of, it's only Watford, let's not count our chickens yet and see how he performs against better opposition
For added bonus points, Fred and McTominay have also had occasional games, against poor opposition, where they've looked good. But that doesn't make them world beaters either.
I don't think anybody is claiming DVB will be a world beater either - but he's deserved way more of a chance than he got under Ole.
Both fred/mctominay have had plenty of stinkers already this season, he proved that if given a chance he can be relied upon.
It's not like he had to do anything mega flashy either, just solid quick passing and putting himself about in a few tackles. The goal was the icing on the cake, but the rest of his performance was something I was a lot more happy about.
It might only be Watford, but we've struggled in plenty of matches like that before, if he can do it regularly against the lower teams we will win a lot more often.
That's what happens when you watch players like McT constantly.
Agreed, compared to what we have been grown to expect from McT and Fred, he is a breath of fresh air. Whether he can play the Jorginho role, I really am not sure, cause he like to push a bit more forward. Imo for him to be a part of a more solid double pivot, we need someone like Rice.
Where is he going to come in? Whether we play a 4231, a 433 or a 352, we have 3 midfield spots to choose from. Bruno occupies one of them, there is no question there, and he's completely useless defensively. That job falls on the other two whoever they are.
Matic needs a runner next to him
Fred needs somebody who can screen the defence.
McTominay needs Lothar Matthaus or Xavi.
Doing any of those jobs is either beyond DVB, or a waste of his abilities.
I'd like to see him in the team next to Fred because i think technically they are well suited but he needs to change from the player he is now to do that. When he played as a proper centre mid at Ajax he was often paired with a centre back in Martinez aka he needs a lot of support to play that role.
Matic needs a runner next to him
Fred needs somebody who can screen the defence.
McTominay needs Lothar Matthaus or Xavi.
Doing any of those jobs is either beyond DVB, or a waste of his abilities.
I'd like to see him in the team next to Fred because i think technically they are well suited but he needs to change from the player he is now to do that. When he played as a proper centre mid at Ajax he was often paired with a centre back in Martinez aka he needs a lot of support to play that role.
Im sure Carrick has the solution
That would be more than welcome and probably the only way to play football at the moment if you want to win trophies.Yup.
It’s why Ten Hag would be a great choice as next manager too. He’ll coach that into players and hopefully look to sign players who are similar too.
Imagine having a squad capable of dictating play, even against the big boys
None of this is true because you are assuming a particular playing style. If you have inverted wing backs, then 2 of the 3 midfield can afford to be more attacking, it's all about the transition/ cover to afford the player(s) with the most creation/ output. It's how everyone is instructed to play (Or not instructed) that's the issue.
Martinez is a CB but not the United type of CB. He probably contributes more to the build up and distribution than Fred does and is very aggressive and dynamic. Not some sort of holding, static defensive midfielder.
In a 433, I can see Donny, Bruno, Fred/Scott/Matic working and hopefully Rice next season.
But we have two of the most one footed full backs in the league. How are they going to come and play more centrally? Inverted full backs need a player out wide to give them an option and avoid the pitch getting too narrow. I dread to think of AWB having to look beyond a 180 degree field of vision.
Agreed on the personal, I think Shaw when in good form is up to it but I take your point, I was simply suggesting one option where it could work. We can play with 3 at the back and 2 full backs with the central defender given a license to step up when not in possession and press or we had a used a Dan James type (Hardworking) to allow the wing back to overlap and he tucks in to bolster midfield etc
Point is, there are plenty of options but I think we need to pick our best few players and build around them and get the best out of them to get some form but give clear instructions with/ without the ball.
This is my hope. Carrick can immediately appease fans by dropping some players who haven't been good for a while but is he strong enough?
- Pogba & Lingard should be out of the matchday squad, they shouldn't be getting minutes as they will leave in the summer.
- VdB should get a run, even if it proves he is not good enough, he deserves to start back to back games for a while.
- Maguire & Bruno should be dropped, even if just for a game to prove there are no favourites anymore. Bad form = bench. Same for AWB, Shaw...whoever.
Would be very happy with this. Lots of problems have come in recent weeks from players out of form and a change might just help freshen them up.
I won't criticise Ole too much but it was getting a little bit weird at the end seeing him keep playing Shaw, McTom, Bruno and Maguire.
AWB is probably the hardest to drop considering the lack of options at RB.
Yep, as long as players think it's a fair setup I think their level will really ramp up again, agree on AWB but Dalot is fit and it's more about the message.
I have a sneaky feeling that Carrick won't start VdB tomorrow!!
It wasn't only Ole's decision not to give him a run in the side, knowing how Ole worked and depended on his coaching staff's input, Carrick & McKenna probably didn't advocate for him to be giving more minutes, so Carrick and the other coaches might want to stick with the McFred combo.
It wasn't only Ole's decision not to give him a run in the side, knowing how Ole worked and depended on his coaching staff's input, Carrick & McKenna probably didn't advocate for him to be giving more minutes, so Carrick and the other coaches might want to stick with the McFred combo.
If we get a CDM specialist like e.g. Rice we surely could play Donny next to him. He has a good work rate and his defensife work is not as bad as some say. His positional sense going backward is not great - I agree on that, but he looked pretty decent next to Matic.
Message is great and all but we do need to win today. Dalot has been an absolute disaster every time he's played this season.
This is something Beek evidently needed to improve upon.
Weirdly enough we could control games and the midfield whenever Donny and Matic played next to each other without any sort of match rhythm.
You'd hope Carrick recognizes this.
I think Donny is so good around the box, it makes sense to play him a little further up and Bruno really doesn't get into the box a whole lot for a no 10, it makes sense to try a 4-3-3 when we get that DM. McFred aren't holding midfielders either.
Yh I wouldn’t play him today - AWB I rate and think he just us always needed intensive coaching. Dalot is there for when he next has a shocker and a pivotal CL match isn’t the time.
Bruno has already been run into the ground (again), Pogba is already out (again) and the mess said about McFred, the better. Even for those who think Donny is shite, now is when he has to play. This is why we carry a large squad.
Bruno hasn't been run into the ground. He's been rested during all 3 international breaks.
He looks clueless on the pitch and just needs some guidance.
I doubt this is gonna go well at #10 with Fred/McT behind him.. People will going to expect creativity and play making from him.. Thats not the player he is.. If you have a playmaker like Frenkie/Verrati or something it could work, but not like this. There is no creativity in this midfield and people will expect Donny to be the one to bring it..
This wont go well...
This wont go well...
A start in our biggest game of the season so far. Every touch will be hyper-scrutinised.
I think its a 433. He will be playing with McT and Fred in the middle. Might work quite nicely.
To be fair, he came on at the weekend and showed more creativity than any of our midfielders.
Yeah our biggest problem is getting the ball past the defence and double pivot, transitioning from defence to attack quickly. VDB's biggest asset is exactly this, one touch quick penetrating passes from deep into an attacking player. I feel like that will be wasted with him playing the no.10 role, where he'll be making aggressive runs into the box expecting to be found by the likes of Fred and McTominay. We'll have to see though, Carrick may have implemented a new system.
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