Well said. Would you agree, that this characteristic is something, that we carry with us at least since the Ole days? That is my feeling, but it isn't the most fashionable thing to point out.
That is my feeling as well. Once it clicks, our team will be a very different beast. We have seen the slightest glimpses of it in some games where we actually forced errors very high up the pitch. Could imagine, it might take the league a while to realize and then to adapt.
All this being said - and even if I am not the biggest fan of Bruno - I feel the need to point out that his contribution this season has been very good. To play such volume is impressive and his eagerness and courage to play those risky balls over and over again is really a great natural talent to have. Add the readiness to play in different starting positions and even adapting to a different role for a few games - credit where credit is due.
It's definitely a characteristic that we've been unable to overcome with Solskjaer. Under Solskjaer we finished second and third by playing quick transitional football by defending in a block of 6 and attacking with four. And when you have players in the attack like Mason, Rashford, Bruno and Martial who carry a big goal threat, you'll score goals but you won't develop a dominant play style where you can play through the thirds and press high effectively with the players we had occupying positions in the first phase.
So finishing third and then second in the table was good but it was never going to be enough to topple Man City who have the most dominant first phase play in the league with their keeper, CBs, RBs and deeper midfielders being excellent on the ball. And that then connects the back 6 with the front 5, hence they create rondos (triangles) and overloads in the opponent's half due to the volume of players they commit in the final third in a high defensive line. And they've won the league without having a conventional #9 due to how elite they're in possession which is backed up by how good they're without the ball. They're a proactive attacking team with all 11 players expected to both attack and defend. It obviously helps that they've had the luxury of spending 200m on just fullbacks and wasting money on CBs, which was money that was absorbed by their owners.
I've said for a long time that we need to work towards being a proactive attacking team. And to be a proactive attacking team, we need to dominate the game with and without the ball straight from the goalkeeper. Because a striker will help us win a few more games and score more goals but he won't help us to play out from the back or raise the defensive line and we'll carry on playing reactive football as soon as we come up against a top quality team. And then the question will be repeated about why our passing is garbage.
Erik ten Hag's biggest test is to transition the team towards playing a dominant play style. And if he can do that, he will get United competing for the title. But along with a striker, we need a GK, CM, RB to raise the technical level in the build up phase. We probably won't have enough money to buy all four, so it'll be interesting to see what positions are prioritised.
Since