Amorim 3-4-3 with Post-SAF players

Valencia Shin Crosses

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A play on the other thread of "classic United players" in our new system, figured it would be fun to come up with the best Amorim XI from players from our most recent decade of teams. Assume they are at the "best" they played for us (so if you chose Alexis you're getting the shit version we signed, not the Barca/Arsenal one).

My team:

............ Onana..............

Varane.....Smalling.......Shaw
Valencia.... Pogba.....Herrera..... Young
Bruno............. Martial
Lukaku

- Went with Lukaku over Cavani as the former would probably fit better into that striker role and was genuinely quite good his first season here. Offers more mobility and pace in the channels.
- Valencia and Young fit pretty seamlessly the mould of Amorim wingbacks and I think would be quite good there. Both were past their "prime" by this point but still plenty athletic and probably fit better into wingback roles than the traditional fullback roles they eventually took up.
- Rashford is very unlucky to miss out but he just isn't a striker even at his best, and doesn't fit into the 10 role either really. As with even our current lineup, Bruno doesn't exactly fit the inside 10 role either but you probably sacrifice some of the dribbling you might get from another player there for his creativity and pure output. Martial next to him is a no brainer, ideal half space/combination player and he'd be excellent playing off of Lukaku without having to be a true winger.
- Herrera and Pogba make a good duo with plenty of mobility and technical ability to play through the press while Pogba's defensive lapses get covered far more in this system than they would in a normal pivot in front of a back 4, and he provides a ton of attacking thrust and ball carrying through the center of the pitch from deep to link defense to attack. Thought about both Casemiro and Matic, but neither is particularly mobile and both have their drawbacks going forward.
- The backline picks itself I think apart from that middle CB, as there is an argument for Maguire but I went with Smalling as he's far more athletic and won't be tasked to distribute as much so his on ball reservations are more minimal. Could have put Shaw at LWB but then it has to be Martinez in that CB spot and I'm not convinced he can defend those wide spaces well enough even at his best.

Bench: Cavani, Rashford, Matic, Mata, Casemiro, Maguire, Dalot, Blind, DDG

Think that team comfortably gets T4 this season and wins Europa. Not sure about a title challenge, would depend on the health of the backine most likely. Good technicality, enough goals, solid cover in most spots, and firepower off the bench. The hardest part would probably be "pressing cohesion", but it's difficult to account for because we haven't had a single post SAF team that pressed well so there aren't a bunch of obvious options to choose from in that sense.
 
Lukaku's first touch rules him out for me. He'd be decent in the channels but this formation needs a 9 who can take the ball under control and bring the 10's into play.

Valdes
Varane Martinez Blind
Di Maria Pogba Casemiro Shaw
Bruno Mata
Cavani
​
Those are lads I think would work well in those positions - some like Di Maria and Mata would've shone more in a setup like this than they actually did for us.
 
Players signed after Fergie or played after Fergie. You’ve got Valencia there so I’m guessing players that played after Fergie, So the like of RVP, Rooney, Carrick, Rio and so on?

DDG
Varane-Smalling-Martinez
Herrera——-Pogba—Carrick—-Shaw
Bruno—Rooney
Cavani
​


So the likes of Rio/RVP should really be walking in to these teams but fricken loved Cavani.
​
 
Andersons Dietician said:
Players signed after Fergie or played after Fergie. You’ve got Valencia there so I’m guessing players that played after Fergie, So the like of RVP, Rooney, Carrick, Rio and so on?

DDG
Varane-Smalling-Martinez
Herrera——-Pogba—Carrick—-Shaw
Bruno—Rooney
Cavani

​
Click to expand...

Yeah players that played under Moyes and later. But point being you get them at whatever version they were at that time, not their SAF era peak
 
Valencia Shin Crosses said:
A play on the other thread of "classic United players" in our new system, figured it would be fun to come up with the best Amorim XI from players from our most recent decade of teams. Assume they are at the "best" they played for us (so if you chose Alexis you're getting the shit version we signed, not the Barca/Arsenal one).

My team:

............ Onana..............

Varane.....Smalling.......Shaw
Valencia.... Pogba.....Herrera..... Young
Bruno............. Martial
Lukaku

- Went with Lukaku over Cavani as the former would probably fit better into that striker role and was genuinely quite good his first season here. Offers more mobility and pace in the channels.
- Valencia and Young fit pretty seamlessly the mould of Amorim wingbacks and I think would be quite good there. Both were past their "prime" by this point but still plenty athletic and probably fit better into wingback roles than the traditional fullback roles they eventually took up.
- Rashford is very unlucky to miss out but he just isn't a striker even at his best, and doesn't fit into the 10 role either really. As with even our current lineup, Bruno doesn't exactly fit the inside 10 role either but you probably sacrifice some of the dribbling you might get from another player there for his creativity and pure output. Martial next to him is a no brainer, ideal half space/combination player and he'd be excellent playing off of Lukaku without having to be a true winger.
- Herrera and Pogba make a good duo with plenty of mobility and technical ability to play through the press while Pogba's defensive lapses get covered far more in this system than they would in a normal pivot in front of a back 4, and he provides a ton of attacking thrust and ball carrying through the center of the pitch from deep to link defense to attack. Thought about both Casemiro and Matic, but neither is particularly mobile and both have their drawbacks going forward.
- The backline picks itself I think apart from that middle CB, as there is an argument for Maguire but I went with Smalling as he's far more athletic and won't be tasked to distribute as much so his on ball reservations are more minimal. Could have put Shaw at LWB but then it has to be Martinez in that CB spot and I'm not convinced he can defend those wide spaces well enough even at his best.

Bench: Cavani, Rashford, Matic, Mata, Casemiro, Maguire, Dalot, Blind, DDG

Think that team comfortably gets T4 this season and wins Europa. Not sure about a title challenge, would depend on the health of the backine most likely. Good technicality, enough goals, solid cover in most spots, and firepower off the bench. The hardest part would probably be "pressing cohesion", but it's difficult to account for because we haven't had a single post SAF team that pressed well so there aren't a bunch of obvious options to choose from in that sense.
Click to expand...

I quite like this team, I do feel as though the current squad is actually quite well equipped in comparison and i think i'd take our current "best" starting 11 over that above, the only one i'd probably take from this lineup is Lukaku from when he first signed (or maybe Zlatan but your Cavani suggestion has merit), purely because we're lacking a striker.
 
diarm said:
Lukaku's first touch rules him out for me. He'd be decent in the channels but this formation needs a 9 who can take the ball under control and bring the 10's into play.

Valdes
Varane Martinez Blind
Di Maria Pogba Casemiro Shaw
Bruno Mata
Cavani
​
Those are lads I think would work well in those positions - some like Di Maria and Mata would've shone more in a setup like this than they actually did for us.
Click to expand...

feck sake I forgot about Di Maria. Yeah he slots in for Valencia then. I'm not sure Mata can cope athletically with this setup though. That's a pretty sluggish front 3 transitionally with him in there.
 
M Bison said:
I quite like this team, I do feel as though the current squad is actually quite well equipped in comparison and i think i'd take our current "best" starting 11 over that above, the only one i'd probably take from this lineup is Lukaku from when he first signed (or maybe Zlatan but your Cavani suggestion has merit), purely because we're lacking a striker.
Click to expand...

Ohh I disagree, I think the current team just doesn't have enough attacking thrust to compete with this side. Valencia, Young, Bruno, Martial, Lukaku, Pogba are all final third threats from their respective positions compared to what our current squad has (Bruno and Amad and a lot of prayers). I do think our current team has some good options for certain spots, but overall I think we'll struggle to score the rest of the season unless Rashford or Hojlund makes significant improvements and we get a healthy Shaw.
 
Assuming we are going to play Amorim’s style, not just any kind of 3-4-3 (for instance Conte’s or Tuchel’):

Onana

Varane De Ligt Martinez

Young Casemiro Pogba Shaw

Mata Fernandes

Rashford

Slight disclaimer in that I don’t quite remember the decline curve of the players who stayed on from Ferguson after 2013, have mostly tried to avvoid them. Taken from instant memory, so certain to have forgotten some very important ones.

De Gea is a candidate for best Man Utd Player post Ferguson for me. Stylistically though, this is a terrible fit for him. Onana is a brilliant keeper and a good fit.

Varane had one and a half very good season, which unfortunately for us is a decent spell of quality for a player post F. Bailly had a spell of three games where I thought he was gonna be the new Ronny Johnsen. Unfortunately the injuries was were mist of the similarities ended. Too short.

De Ligt is pure projection. I think he’s gonna keep on proving to be a steady piece of gold for Amorim. Masraoui is a bit similar for me, but I’m going for De Ligt on a whim.

Shaw might prove to displace Licha as LCB, or he might prove that the fall out of Moreno’s killer tackle has mostly ruined half of his carreer. His best periods has been as full back with great attacking skills, so I’ll put him there, suspecting he might turn out being the perfect Amorim CB if given the chance. Licha’s best at CB is also far better than any LWB candidate I can think of in a hurry.

Casemiro’s prime was two thirds of a season, but that was head and shoulders above anything we’ve seen of defensive MF with bonus attacking skills since Fergie. Head, shoulders and most of a torso. Matic a distant second for a while there.

Pogba was maybe the most annoying, but also probably our best and most important player for at least three seasons. With semi prime Casemiro behind him, it’s an easy choice.

Young gets the nod ahead of Valencia and Rafael also a bit because I like him, and because his versatility has impressed me more than anyone’s.

Mata would be great to watch in his Van Gaal form. Di Maria was another three game wonder who petered out early, sadly.

Bruno is perhaps our best player for longest time of all since SAF, and at his best he would be ideal for the Amorim 10 role too. Lost a tad of physical sharpness now.

Rashford has had fantastic games as CF under Van Gaal, Ole and Ten Hag. I think his best version is the best forward we’ve had post Van Persie. Martial could have been. For the Amorim striker role, Cavani might be a better fit, but I’ll go with prime Rash, may he rest in peace.

I’m sure I forgot at least three dead certs, even deciding to leave Nani, Ferdinand, Carrick, Evra, Vidic etc out of it.
 
lineup-2.png
 
Valencia Shin Crosses said:
feck sake I forgot about Di Maria. Yeah he slots in for Valencia then. I'm not sure Mata can cope athletically with this setup though. That's a pretty sluggish front 3 transitionally with him in there.
Click to expand...

That's a good point on Mata. I'm just not sure which of our wingers / no10s would suit the role. Feels weird saying it, but maybe Lingard during that purple patch of form he had under Van Gaal?
 
David de Gea
Varane - De Ligt - Martinez
Valencia - Matic - Casemiro - Shaw
Bruno - Pogba
Ibrahimovic​
 
GK: De Gea - at his absolute peak, say 2017/18, the shot-stopping alone gets him into 99% of teams in the world and wins us half a dozen points a season

LCB: Martinez - I want Shaw at wing-back so it's 22/23 pre-injury Martinez beating out Blind here
CB: Varane - past his best by the time we got him, but still the best defender we've had in the last decade
RCB: Maguire - Smalling is a better athlete and we're a little slow at the back with the three I've picked, but we're probably not playing a high line with De Gea anyway (:

LWB: Shaw - his best performances for us have been in a back four overlapping with Rashford, but assuming it's the 20/21 version, there's enough mobility to be decisive at both ends of the pitch. And the competition is Ashley f***in Young, an infinitely worse footballer in literally every way
RWB: Valencia - I can see the 2016-18 version doing quite well as a wing-back

CM: Pogba - no real competition here
CM: Herrera - beats out Casemiro for the added athleticism

RW: Fernandes - have to fit by far the best attacker of the last decade into the team, and this is probably the best position for him
LW: Martial - like OP said, the 19/20 version would be amazing playing this role without needing to be the focal point up front or putting in the work as a winger

CF: Cavani - cheating a little here to say "the best" we saw of him - the last few months of 20/21 - can be stretched to a full season of staying fit
 
DDG
Varane Maguire Blind
Valencia Pogba MaticShaw
Di Maria Bruno
CR7
 
Assuming everyone is fit to play, which is a concern for some of the picks but when available they had some better seasons than the other options

DDG

Bailly
Smalling
Blind

Rafael da Silva
Ander
Pogba
Shaw

Bruno
Di Maria

Ronaldo
 
Valencia Shin Crosses said:
feck sake I forgot about Di Maria. Yeah he slots in for Valencia then. I'm not sure Mata can cope athletically with this setup though. That's a pretty sluggish front 3 transitionally with him in there.
Click to expand...
DiMaria over Valencia as a wingback? Really? If there is one player totally suited to be a wingback it’s Valencia
 
Bastian said:
We've really been shite since 2013.
Click to expand...
Correct. Appointing Moyes, signing Fellaini for more than his release fee; that was just the start of hell. We're still living in it all these years later. Not really one player in this period we've brought in (not leftover SAF player) other than Bruno Fernandes I've really thought was a top top player at the peak of their game when they signed for us. Everyone has been on the downslope - Sanchez, Di Maria, Mata (I liked him) Matic, Schweinsteiger, list goes on and on. No wonder we are where we are. Doompost of the day.
 
If we're going by when players (post Fergie) we're at their best for us

DDG

Varane
Martinez
Smalling

Valencia
Casemiro
Herrera
Shaw

Pogba
Bruno
Zlatan


Amd actually that's a garbage system for those 11 players as there's no pace at all up top, but I struggling to put Rashford anywhere he actually fits.

Any midfield position with defensive responsibility Pogba would be a disaster in but I'd want to use his creativity and power.

I also think Maguire deserves a spot over pretty much any of the defenders, but he's too slow.
 
If we are basing it on the players we had post fergie but also what they did after they left united and fit with amorim style and work ethic to press then...

________onana
varane_blind_shaw
Valencia_herrera_fred_young
___di maria__bruno
_______cavani
 
It's depressing reading some of these teams
 
De Gea

RWB Valencia or Rafeal

RCB Rio (Played one season post Fergie )
CB Vidic (same as Rio )
LCB Martinez

LWB Shaw (especially before the leg break)

CM Herrea
CM Pogba

CAM Bruno
CAM Greenwood

ST Zlatan
 
Onana
Mazraoui Varane Martinez
Di Maria Herrera Matic Shaw
Bruno Pogba
Cavani

I’m not including any players who played under Ferguson otherwise Rooney and Van Persie at their best would be a shoo-in.

Not that these players were all at their best here; that’s not what I’ve gone for. Casemiro, Blind and Mata would be good options in this formation. I imagine a younger version of Alexis Sanchez would have been quite the player in one of those roles slightly behind the striker.

We’ve had some brilliant players at the club over the past decade. A real shame how many of them were either completely finished or unable to rise above the constant malaise.
 
You all know you can center text like this?

Name-Name-Name
Name-Name-Name-Name
Name-Name-Name
Name​

Instead of these "Frankensteined" variations:

----Name-----Name----Name-----
--Name---Name---Name---Name--
----Name-----Name----Name-----
------------------Name--------------------

You can also set it up like you actually would on a tactics board, with the team attacking upwards/forwards instead of downwards/backwards:

Forward-Forward-Forward
Midfielder-Midfielder-Midfielder-Midfielder
Defender-Defender-Defender
Goalkeeper​

This is a more intuitive way of setting up and viewing a formation, rather than doing it backwards like this:

Goalkeeper
Defender-Defender-Defender
Midfielder-Midfielder-Midfielder-Midfielder
Forward-Forward-Forward​
 
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