For the purpose of this thread attacking players refer to all players aside from the back five. So if I were to simplistically break these players down into two types in attack I'd go for:
A: possession based players who control games and provide an average amount of creativity. Think Scholes on the World Class level and Carrick on the very good level.
B: output players who often lose the ball a lot but they are the ones who contribute the most direct goals and assists. Think Bruno on a World Class level and Nani on a very good level.
Now we have freaks who go beyond this like Ronaldo and Messi but they are another much had conversation.
The purpose of this thread is that I think a problem we have as a team is that we lack balance in this department. So for a team that wants to be the best the idea is that not only do you have a good mix of these players but that they are very consistent in what they do. Think 08-11 Barca. In Busquets, Iniesta and Xavi you had the best of A and in Messi, Villa and Pedro you had the best of B.
In regards to us right now I think we are much heavier in the B column. Bruno is World Class in this category, while at their best Rashford, Martial and Greenwood (only young) all fall in the same category, however aren't as consistent as Bruno is in terms of output.
I look at category B and I really can't think of anyone we have in these 6 positions that fits into it. Pogba can at times but for me he's an enigma in that he kind of flits between the two from game to game. Anyway I feel like looking at our team we are disjointed in that we need some good category B players to compliment the category A ones. Whether this be in midfield or a winger or even a striker who can link play well.
I know its an awful way of putting it, no doubt, but basically our performances in the big games this season suggest that the problem isn't necessarily with the output (may sound crazy considering our 1 goal from a penalty so far) but with the fact that we don't have the players to control games like this enough in possession which is what ultimately brings our output down.
For what its worth I don't think Ole plays these games looking for a draw or to sit back but rather our lack of players good in possession and overload of risk and output players makes it basically impossible to do anything different from what we are. However I do think that good coaching could change that as players aren't stuck in one type of ability.
Fergie seemed great at creating this mix. He always had consistent ball players like Carrick in the side, knowing how important they were to an attack even if they weren't directly affecting the scoreboard.
A: possession based players who control games and provide an average amount of creativity. Think Scholes on the World Class level and Carrick on the very good level.
B: output players who often lose the ball a lot but they are the ones who contribute the most direct goals and assists. Think Bruno on a World Class level and Nani on a very good level.
Now we have freaks who go beyond this like Ronaldo and Messi but they are another much had conversation.
The purpose of this thread is that I think a problem we have as a team is that we lack balance in this department. So for a team that wants to be the best the idea is that not only do you have a good mix of these players but that they are very consistent in what they do. Think 08-11 Barca. In Busquets, Iniesta and Xavi you had the best of A and in Messi, Villa and Pedro you had the best of B.
In regards to us right now I think we are much heavier in the B column. Bruno is World Class in this category, while at their best Rashford, Martial and Greenwood (only young) all fall in the same category, however aren't as consistent as Bruno is in terms of output.
I look at category B and I really can't think of anyone we have in these 6 positions that fits into it. Pogba can at times but for me he's an enigma in that he kind of flits between the two from game to game. Anyway I feel like looking at our team we are disjointed in that we need some good category B players to compliment the category A ones. Whether this be in midfield or a winger or even a striker who can link play well.
I know its an awful way of putting it, no doubt, but basically our performances in the big games this season suggest that the problem isn't necessarily with the output (may sound crazy considering our 1 goal from a penalty so far) but with the fact that we don't have the players to control games like this enough in possession which is what ultimately brings our output down.
For what its worth I don't think Ole plays these games looking for a draw or to sit back but rather our lack of players good in possession and overload of risk and output players makes it basically impossible to do anything different from what we are. However I do think that good coaching could change that as players aren't stuck in one type of ability.
Fergie seemed great at creating this mix. He always had consistent ball players like Carrick in the side, knowing how important they were to an attack even if they weren't directly affecting the scoreboard.