CDM or Centre Back Priority? | Poll added

Which is the higher priority?

  • New Defensive Midfielder

    Votes: 125 53.9%

  • New Centre-back

    Votes: 107 46.1%
  • Total voters
    232
CB for me. I cant handle watching Lindelof flipping around the incoming cross for another season, man is so allergic to jumping. we can have Kante in our midfield but it wont help Lindelof to deal with high ball.
 
For me we can enter next season depending on Maguire and Lindelof but we absolutely can't enter it depending on Scott and Fred as double pivot. That's why midfielder is more important for me.
 
AWB Varane Maguire Shaw
Bruno Fred Pogba

Is stronger than:

AWB Lindelof Maguire Shaw
Bruno Kante* Pogba

*And that's not even considering the fact that there is no certifiable CM quality out there available. Both are not optimal choices but Fred is a better midfielder than Lindelof is a defender. Therefore a CB replacement improves the overall quality of the squad.
 
criticalanalysis said:
AWB Varane Maguire Shaw

Fred Pogba Bruno

is stronger than

AWB Lindelof Maguire Shaw

Kante* Pogba Bruno

*And that's not even considering the fact that there is no certifiable CM quality out there available.

Both are not optimal choices but Fred is a better midfielder than Lindelof is a defender. Therefore a CB replacement improves the overall quality of the squad.
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Except Fred - Pogba double pivot will be shit. Two players who are careless with possession. We are almost asking for trouble the entire game.
 
el3mel said:
For me we can enter next season depending on Maguire and Lindelof but we absolutely can't enter it depending on Scott and Fred as double pivot. That's why midfielder is more important for me.
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Correct.

forcing 1 or 2 of McFed to play as DM (which is not their natural position as their both ball winning CMs who press the opposition) because we don’t have anyone capable of playing there compounds it’s effects on different levels of the team/players around them. Only Matic is the true DM and he’s too old to play regularly. McFred, as frustrating as they’ve been at times, you can only applaud for trying their best.

...they are better off having a proper DM behind them for that added line of defence between them and the back line. It’s why when Matic plays you usually see the best overall performances as it has an effect on the whole team. McFred offer too many limitations and as a result squad & tactical restrictions. We simply lose creativity for things we can and cannot to make amends for not having a reliable DM. That causes more problems than just a CB imo which we want to tidy things up over Lindelof.
 
criticalanalysis said:
AWB Varane Maguire Shaw
Bruno Fred Pogba

Is stronger than:

AWB Lindelof Maguire Shaw
Bruno Kante* Pogba

*And that's not even considering the fact that there is no certifiable CM quality out there available. Both are not optimal choices but Fred is a better midfielder than Lindelof is a defender. Therefore a CB replacement improves the overall quality of the squad.
Click to expand...

Whole heartedly disagree. Have you seen some of the defences Kante has carried at Chelsea and Leicester? A proper DM goes a long long way.

and that’s the key word. Fred is a better “midfielder” than Lindelof is a defender BUT Fred is not a better “DM” than Lindelof is a CB. Context matters. We aren’t in it for a CM (which Fred is and can play), we are in it for a natural DM which we don’t have a part from Matic who can’t play regular football at this stage in his career.
 
el3mel said:
Except Fred - Pogba double pivot will be shit. Two players who are careless with possession. We are almost asking for trouble the entire game.
Click to expand...

CanadianUtd said:
Whole heartedly disagree. Have you seen some of the defences Kante has carried at Chelsea and Leicester? A proper DM goes a long long way.

and that’s the key word. Fred is a better “midfielder” than Lindelof is a defender BUT Fred is not a better “DM” than Lindelof is a CB. Context matters. We aren’t in it for a CM (which Fred is and can play), we are in it for a natural DM which we don’t have a part from Matic who can’t play regular football at this stage in his career.
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Well to be fair the hope will be that with Sancho onboard (a playmaker and goalscorer on the right), Ole will try to reign Bruno in for a more balanced midfield. With Varane and Maguire behind them, there would less back tracking and imo less energy/momentum wasting defending of zonal space that occurs because we have Lindelof, who is adverse to 1 vs 1s duels and chooses not to engage. Then we add the experience and superior ball playing Varane brings.

As for the bolded bit, when on form, Kante is sensational but he has not carried any defences himself. He's been part of functional teams that has utilises his strengths very well; Chelsea playing 5 defenders under Tuchel's heavy possession tactics is exact proof of this. Besides the biggest issue is that Kante isn't available, neither is there a proven DM/CM out there capable of being this defensive beast, whilst being a very adept progressive passer.

There are compromises on both ends of my hypothetical squads but all things considered (availability/Ole's realistic formation/playing personnel etc), I believe a CB is preferable to a CM in priority. Of course having replacements in both would be ideal.
 
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CDM. A good CDM will make Maguire, Lindelof and Bailly better. A good CB does not help our CDM situation. A good CDM also makes everyone around him better.
 
Sancho, Varane, Camavinga, someone cheaper than Trippier for right back, re-sign Pogba.
 
I think either positions being strengthened would be good for us. Whichever position we can sign the best player for first. Varane at CB is more important than Rice in midfield.
 
The right CDM would allow us to play Pogba in central midfield with a license to go forward. Hopefully. Just thinking about Pogba on the left wing is depressing.
 
CB for sure. Strong defences win you trophies. SAF won a few league titles with a mostly makeshift midfield but he got away with it because of our impenetrable defence. Its also no coincidence that Liverpool won the title after signing VVD, and subsequently defended it dismally after he picked up his lengthy injury.

McFred isn't the most inspiring partnership in the middle, but our major issues last season have been failing to break teams down (which we'll hopefully remedy with Sancho) and conceding goals on the back of comical defending. Though I sincerely hope we target both areas this window.
 
CB then CDM. With a solid centre-back partnership, Ole will have more confidence in playing Pogba +1 in his preferred 4-2-3-1 formation.
 
Personally, I'm torn myself if I had to prioritize. I think there's good opportunity in the market for value in getting a proven world class CB in Varane who would sort out our defense for the next three years. But I know that we've played at our dominant best with a fit Matic beside Pogba in the double pivot.

To me, the CDM is the more crucial position to sort based purely on what our players need to up their team performances. A great CDM improves both attack and defense. Lindelof, despite his big weaknesses and the stick he gets, is a good defender. Maybe not top, but good. Fred is a better midfielder than Lindelof is a defender, but Lindelof is a better defender than Fred is a CDM.

Yet nobody reasonably on the market at CDM approaches the level of proven quality on offer with Varane. But if we get a French speaker in Varane and Pogba in the pivot, then a teenage French midfielder with great defensive qualities like Kamavinga ought to bed in quickly and Pogba will be delighted to sign a contract and stay in such a set up.
 
I want a CDM more - but I think CB is more important.

It’s because I think McFred is more useful than Lindelof.
 
CDM definitely. Our CBs get exposed so easily because the ball just glides through midfield without anyone blocking it.

If the club had any common sense, it will try to get both. Doing half things will just help no one
 
If rumours are to be believed, you're looking to pick up both Varane and Camavinga.

I think given Bailly's injury record and the slow progress of Tuanzebe's development you need a commanding CB, like Varane, a medium injury to Maguire at the moment could easily ruin your season. If Bailly was also injured suddenly your defence is looking very inexperienced. So I can see why Ole is targetting that.

The midfield is an interesting one, because you tend to play 4231 an out and out DM is not what you need, if Ole is looking to switch to a 433 then a specialist DM is needed, but there is no hint of that. Camavinga is excellent defensively, but progresses the ball well too, but he's also 18 and though he has plenty of first team experience he is still very young and can be dispossessed if forced onto his right. He is more of a long tern purchase packed with potential rather than nailed on starter, though I would expect him to get a lot of minutes. But a midfield choice of Fred, McT, Camavinga, DvB and Pogba gives you world class depth for the formation Ole prefers.

Henderson
AWB Varane Maguire Shaw
Fred Camavinga
Sancho Bruno Pogba
Cavani
​
Subs: DDG, Lindelof, Telles, McT, DvB, Greenwood, Martial, Rashford

That's a hell of a squad

​
 
CB for me.

Pogba + Fred is a good enough starting midfield for next season. Regardless of who we buy at CM, we won't be able to simply play through the Pool / City press, that's on Ole and co to figure out and get the tactics right. Against basically every single other team (including your Chelseas or Real Madrids) a CB is far more valuable than a DM.
 
McFred is not top quality but they can do their job of solidifying our midfield. Offensively imo Bruno, Sancho, Cavani, Rashford, Greenwood and maybe maybe Martial is quite enough to unlock most of the defenses in the league as the last season has showed.

However having Lindelof is a pure liability against those strong and fast fowards, which the PL has plenty. So CB for me, if we really want to give the title a serious challenge this year.
 
Its so so close but I'd say a top CDM.
 
For me it's CB. We obviously need both but at least we have players who can play in that midfield 2 even if both of McFred is injured. Pogba, Matic, VdB and even Bruno can drop deeper if needed. Maybe even Garner if he sticks around this season.

If Maguire is injured, our defense falls to pieces as we saw at the end of last season. If Bailly and Tuanzebe are having their annual injuries at the same time, We'd have to put McT in CB and hope for the best. And no, Jones is not an option.
 
criticalanalysis said:
AWB Varane Maguire Shaw
Bruno Fred Pogba

Is stronger than:

AWB Lindelof Maguire Shaw
Bruno Kante* Pogba

*And that's not even considering the fact that there is no certifiable CM quality out there available. Both are not optimal choices but Fred is a better midfielder than Lindelof is a defender. Therefore a CB replacement improves the overall quality of the squad.
Click to expand...

i totally agree, when i think of Lindelöf the first thought that comes into my mind are usally Zaha running at him or that westbrom striker getting across him to head home, Taorre scored a wonderful goal at villa park because he refused to stick a leg out that would have blocked the shot, Sevilla scored both goals 1st cause again he failed to tackle and second he failed to position himself properly, let's not talk about the final with Villarreal, there are so many scenarios that exposes Lindelöf, he needs to be upgraded far more than Fred.
 
Hopefully we manage to get both in. I think I’d prefer a CB as someone as already mentioned, defence wins you leagues and if you have a solid defence then we’ve got players at the top end of the pitch who will always get you goals and win you games. But I think a quality CDM will improve the way we play and could help us have more control in midfield.
 
For those that want a CDM first, think what would happen if Maguire gets injured. Our options are Lindelof that most agree is not good enough, an always injured Bailly and a Tuanzebe that is just as capable of a very good game (PSG) as he is a disaster one (Istambul) plus questionable injury record.

While the options in mid might not be fantastic, we at least have good numbers for the double pivot in Fred, McTom, Matic, Pogba, DVB.
 
CB for me purely because Sancho coming in adds a new creative dimension to the team. The issue I had with McFred is that they aren’t the creative sort.

With Sancho on the right, Pogba on the left, Bruno down the middle...that’s enough vision and creativity with McFred giving a solid enough base.

An upgrade on CB would be the smarter move IMO. Plus we have more options in the middle of the park.

Both would be ideal!
 
A-man said:
I’m 100% of the same opinion. It’s easy to see all the shortcomings of your own players and then you mainly watch the rest through highlight material without the forensic view. I believe we need another CB, mostly because our two backups have problems staying fit.
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Which will be Lindelofs thing to do when we replace him
 
Before the end of last season, I would have said a defensive midfielder, seeing how we fell apart without Maguire though showed just how short we are back there. So CB for me. But only if it is a true upgrade on what we have, not just buying a player for the sake of it.
 
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Also my dislike of Lindelof as a defender aside,
We know conclusively that Bailly can’t stay fit, Tuanzebe picks up a lot of knocks too and rumour is that he wants out for regular first team football, ad Maguire has just come back from an injury. Lindelof is the only one reliable this season from a fitness point of view and even he is carrying a back injury.

we can’t not get a CB. It’s not even a question.

i think we will get both. But even if we don’t the cover at cb is much greater than several sick notes
 
For me it’s CM/DM. I think we have a really strong starting 11 especially with the addition of Sancho. The obvious weak link In the starting 11 is McTominay. He’s simply not good enough on the ball for Utd and not good enough off the ball to make up for it. We desperately need a Carrick style midfield controller who can set the tempo of a game and pass between the lines, whilst offering good positional awareness. Every top team has that player but unfortunately it’s probably one of the hardest players to find. Would love Verrati.
 
RedDevil@84 said:
CDM definitely. Our CBs get exposed so easily because the ball just glides through midfield without anyone blocking it.

If the club had any common sense, it will try to get both. Doing half things will just help no one
Click to expand...

Agree with this.

Not only does our CB's only just get exposed but a lack of a top level CDM really impacts us going forward, we have McFred who mainly pass sideways and struggle to find the penetrating pass, which means Bruno and others get marked tighter.

It would mean we can dominate games on the ball.

Teams that win leagues have a top class DM, you can get away with a weaker CB but not a weak CDM.
 
CDM without a doubt.

Our CB pair is decent, but not stellar. It will have to be upgraded eventually in order for us to be really great. But CDM is the more urgent issue and should be addressed first.
 
jackal&hyde said:
For those that want a CDM first, think what would happen if Maguire gets injured. Our options are Lindelof that most agree is not good enough, an always injured Bailly and a Tuanzebe that is just as capable of a very good game (PSG) as he is a disaster one (Istambul) plus questionable injury record.

While the options in mid might not be fantastic, we at least have good numbers for the double pivot in Fred, McTom, Matic, Pogba, DVB.
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This is the problem with our CBs and has beeN for a while. When we have played Lindelof -Maguire we have got good results. I would prefer top money on a DM and medium money on a well established PL CB who doesn’t need to be top notch on the ball, but has proven to be good at defending and staying fit.
 
CB all day long. Take away the stupid goals conceded last season and we would’ve been pushing for the title until the end.
 
CDM for me. Lindelof has his deficiencies - particularly from set pieces - but our system provides too little protection from midfield and it causes tons of problems.

However it's also true that we generally need another defender for depth/Maguire cover. Bailly isn't that player. Neither is Tuanzebe but he's a good 4th choice.

So, yeah, both?
 
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