Fatigue - Fixture Congestion

[bosnian_red]

Was curious and decided to have a look. United, with a delayed start to the season starting a week later than most of the other league teams and barely a pre season (only City in the same boat as us), haven't had a single full week rest between games. All season. The international breaks have been the only time where we didn't follow a weekend game up with a midweek game, but those are busier then normal for those that go away with sometimes 3 fixtures being played.

Then I decided to just look up total games played for the bigger sides around europe:

1. United - 47 matches
2. City - 46
3. Arsenal - 45
4. Spurs - 45
5. Barca - 43
6. Chelsea - 43
7. Liverpool - 42
8. Leicester - 42
9. PSG - 42
10. Juve - 40
11. Milan - 40
12. Bayern - 40
13. Dortmund - 39
14. Real Madrid - 38
15. Atletico - 38
16. Inter - 37

So basically, we had a delayed start to the season by a week, have still played the most games this season in Europe, and are the only team in Europe that hasn't had a full week rest between games. It's been every weekend with a mid week fixture every single week. Of course, some of it is our own doing (dropping to the Europa League added on 2 games), but the rest we basically got screwed over by staying in every cup until the latter stages. Is it any surprise to get inconsistency from individuals and as a team when you have a crazy accumulation of fixtures? It's not like we had the luxury of rotating a lot in most of those cup games too.

This international break has come at a great time for us to get some energy back for most of them, though hopefully Bruno/Maguire/Rashford are used very sparingly as they've all been overplayed all year. But with us going out of the FA Cup, we'll finally get 2 weeks until the end of the season where we have a full week between weekend games.

This does highlight what a great season City are having, as they probably have a realistic shot at a quadruple despite the fixture congestion, but they're the only team comparable to us in terms of minutes played but are obviously streets ahead in terms of squad depth and quality throughout and having Pep there. If they don't win the Champions League, it'll probably be down to fixture congestion anyway, as they have 2-3 domestic cup games to come, the remaining league games and a potential of 5 CL games. It's also one thing handling that many fixtures and competitions on a normal schedule, and another when your season start is delayed by a month and a half after a 2-3 week broken pre season. But despite all that, I think for United it's been an excellent season and we've done really well to get to this point 2nd, and with a good shot at the Europa League.

Edit: missed the 2 club world cup games for Bayern

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Yeah, we’ve played a hell of a lot of football. A lot of the fatigue is down to us being absolutely shit if we don’t start our strongest possible XI. Even if we risk starting a game without them they always have to come off the bench to save the day. That would screw us in any normal season too.

 

[Irwin99]

The style of football we play and the lack of rotation in earlier months of the season (Matic, Mata, VDB, Greenwood at times) hasn't helped I think.

I do fear player burnout eventually, not just with United either. A lot of the players are going to have a minimal summer break if the Euros go ahead too, unless the players start next season later than usual?

 

[bosnian_red]

Yeah, we’ve played a hell of a lot of football. A lot of the fatigue is down to us being absolutely shit if we don’t start our strongest possible XI. Even if we risk starting a game without them they always have to come off the bench to save the day. That would screw us in any normal season too.

That's true. But thought it was crazy that since the start of the season, we've played twice a week, every week. That's a brutal run, and probably something only a squad like City's can survive.

 

[Smores]

We're a big club we're supposed to play lots of games and use our squad to deal with it. It's a crap excuse for poor performances but yeah 3 seasons in a row now of people crying fatigue, it's a bit much isn't it?

 

[rotherham_red]

Was curious and decided to have a look. United, with a delayed start to the season starting a week later than most of the other league teams and barely a pre season (only City in the same boat as us), haven't had a single full week rest between games. All season. The international breaks have been the only time where we didn't follow a weekend game up with a midweek game, but those are busier then normal for those that go away with sometimes 3 fixtures being played.

Then I decided to just look up total games played for the bigger sides around europe:

1. United - 47 matches
2. City - 46
3. Arsenal - 45
4. Spurs - 45
5. Barca - 43
6. Chelsea - 43
7. Liverpool - 42
8. Leicester - 42
9. PSG - 42
10. Juve - 40
11. Milan - 40
12. Bayern - 40
13. Dortmund - 39
14. Real Madrid - 38
15. Atletico - 38
16. Inter - 37

So basically, we had a delayed start to the season by a week, have still played the most games this season in Europe, and are the only team in Europe that hasn't had a full week rest between games. It's been every weekend with a mid week fixture every single week. Of course, some of it is our own doing (dropping to the Europa League added on 2 games), but the rest we basically got screwed over by staying in every cup until the latter stages. Is it any surprise to get inconsistency from individuals and as a team when you have a crazy accumulation of fixtures? It's not like we had the luxury of rotating a lot in most of those cup games too.

This international break has come at a great time for us to get some energy back for most of them, though hopefully Bruno/Maguire/Rashford are used very sparingly as they've all been overplayed all year. But with us going out of the FA Cup, we'll finally get 2 weeks until the end of the season where we have a full week between weekend games.

This does highlight what a great season City are having, as they probably have a realistic shot at a quadruple despite the fixture congestion, but they're the only team comparable to us in terms of minutes played but are obviously streets ahead in terms of squad depth and quality throughout and having Pep there. If they don't win the Champions League, it'll probably be down to fixture congestion anyway, as they have 2-3 domestic cup games to come, the remaining league games and a potential of 5 CL games. It's also one thing handling that many fixtures and competitions on a normal schedule, and another when your season start is delayed by a month and a half after a 2-3 week broken pre season. But despite all that, I think for United it's been an excellent season and we've done really well to get to this point 2nd, and with a good shot at the Europa League.

Edit: missed the 2 club world cup games for Bayern

If you go back even further to the first lockdown, I think the gap between us and City gets bigger as well.

EDIT - let's also not forget that City only really clicked into gear after they got their impromptu week break at Christmas.

 

[rotherham_red]

We're a big club we're supposed to play lots of games and use our squad to deal with it. It's a crap excuse for poor performances but yeah 3 seasons in a row now of people crying fatigue, it's a bit much isn't it?

The problem isn't the squad. We've always had the numbers, perhaps even more numbers under Jose, but it's the quality of that squad. We sorely needed to improve the depth in our squad by adding first team quality which would have pushed the likes of McFred down the pecking order.

What we did instead was just buy more players to flesh out a squad that was already big in numbers but low on quality. So what you're seeing now is a continuation of last season, but perhaps not as bad as the likes of Fred and McTominay have stepped up even more from last season and we haven't needed to play the same first XI every game.

If we don't get the first team players in, then Top 3 is this side's ceiling. It really is that simple, and a new manager would only get the same with a squad that is as imbalanced as ours has been. We needed that RW. We needed a CB. We needed a DM and CM who could ease the burden on Bruno and Pogba. None of those came in sans VdB and he's flattered to deceive after a good start.

 

[bosnian_red]

We're a big club we're supposed to play lots of games and use our squad to deal with it. It's a crap excuse for poor performances but yeah 3 seasons in a row now of people crying fatigue, it's a bit much isn't it?

We literally have more games played than every other big club and are the only club in Europe who have played every possible weekend and every possible midweek. The only club to not have a full week rest between games to train and recover. Oh and all this while having a delayed start to the season with a smaller pre season than others, bar City.

It's a bit different than any normal big club schedule.

Also how is it 3 seasons in a row? This season is very different from the others, apart from the 2 months post lockdown last year. That relentless schedule has been this season for the entire season for United, whereas every other big team has had considerably fewer fixtures to play with a week longer to play them.

 

[Marwood]

The problem isn't the squad. We've always had the numbers, perhaps even more numbers under Jose, but it's the quality of that squad. We sorely needed to improve the depth in our squad by adding first team quality which would have pushed the likes of McFred down the pecking order.

What we did instead was just buy more players to flesh out a squad that was already big in numbers but low on quality. So what you're seeing now is a continuation of last season, but perhaps not as bad as the likes of Fred and McTominay have stepped up even more from last season and we haven't needed to play the same first XI every game.

If we don't get the first team players in, then Top 3 is this side's ceiling. It really is that simple, and a new manager would only get the same with a squad that is as imbalanced as ours has been. We needed that RW. We needed a CB. We needed a DM and CM who could ease the burden on Bruno and Pogba. None of those came in sans VdB and he's flattered to deceive after a good start.

Yeah completely agree. I actually was ok with buying a few for the future, those who added numbers in theory without giving us much right now.

That has to end this summer though or we'll be complaining again about fatique next season.

Regarding fatigue I thought it was an overplayed excuse earlier on in the season. The international breaks were a decent period of rest for quite a few of our players, much more than generations gone by when practically the whole first XI would disappear for two week.

It really has got a bit much since the turn of the year though and should be factored in by fans and media when judging a team.

 

[rollingstoned1]

This will only dawn on most of us when the season is over and in the cold light of that day we can see that we achieved what we needed to this season. The squad we have isn't at the level and depth to go deep in every competition and dominate which is what many here seem to expect. In fact our squad is probably what will help us finish the season strongly imo considering that the depth this season is much better than what it was last year which would have ensured that we ran out of gas completely by now. I'm prepared to cut a lot more slack than is needed to the players and Ole just for this fact.

 

[DWelbz19]

The style of football we play and the lack of rotation in earlier months of the season (Matic, Mata, VDB, Greenwood at times) hasn't helped I think.

I do fear player burnout eventually, not just with United either. A lot of the players are going to have a minimal summer break if the Euros go ahead too, unless the players start next season later than usual?

I find it insane how much football all players are having to play since lockdown. The fact they’re straight into the Euros and then straight back into domestic and European football is crazy.

 

[DWelbz19]

There was a thread on here a while ago that had Maguire as the player who had played the most minutes in football in 2020. Lindelof and Fernandes made the top 10. It’s mental stuff.

 

[OL29]

Doesn’t help that rotation is non existent.

 

[bsCallout]

We're a big club we're supposed to play lots of games and use our squad to deal with it. It's a crap excuse for poor performances but yeah 3 seasons in a row now of people crying fatigue, it's a bit much isn't it?

"We're a big club so should do X" is nonsense.

There are other clubs around us that are much better, have been for a long while, have bigger squads and have played less games.

Yet because we are a big club that doesn't matter.

What a load of tosh.

 

[bosnian_red]

"We're a big club so should do X" is nonsense.

There are other clubs around us that are much better, have been for a long while, have bigger squads and have played less games.

Yet because we are a big club that doesn't matter.

What a load of tosh.

Yup. Literally in the starting post, shows the rest of the big clubs have played on average roughly 40 games this season, while we're at 47 and City are at 46, with both having a delayed start compared to other premier league/bundesliga/Serie A/la liga teams (with only a few exceptions who were in the same boat as us). No other club has had to play every single weekend and every single midweek game apart from United.

 

[Irwin99]

Doesn’t help that rotation is non existent.

This is an issue for me; Yes our squad depth isn't the best in terms of quality but we're not exactly West Brom or Brighton level either. There are games those players really didn't need to play in or who could have been left out once in awhile just to catch a break, especially in the cup comps.

 

[Leftback99]

Anyone saying its just an excuse is clueless or has an agenda, probably both.

It's been a crazy schedule for what isn't a great squad. Just hope we get over the line and qualify for the CL.

 

[Zlatan 7]

Anyone saying its just an excuse is clueless or has an agenda, probably both.

It's been a crazy schedule for what isn't a great squad. Just hope we get over the line and quality for the CL.

That’s where I am and it’s why I think Ole has done a good job this year, afraid to say it too loud though.

 

[city-puma]

We need to take the league cup less seriously. We need to be more realistic about the domestic cup competition. They drain too much from the squad.

 

[Dr. Dwayne]

The FA taking great care of English clubs as usual. Kudos, feckfaces.

 

[AaronRedDevil]

Even worse for us since it seems like we only have 13 players in the entire squad. Ole simply just won’t give players a rest either, so he’ll keep picking his absolute best 11 every time with just 1 rotational position. We have no players or backup it seems.

 

[bosnian_red]

We need to take the league cup less seriously. We need to be more realistic about the domestic cup competition. They drain too much from the squad.

For sure. FA cup is fine but I remember saying before the season that we should straight up play youth players or exclusively reserves and not even use key players as subs for it. It comes at the awkward time in the first half of the season where the fixture congestion isn't as bad, but not having that congestion at that point will lead to a huge benefit for the latter half of the season where you didn't over exert your squad.

 

[city-puma]

For sure. FA cup is fine but I remember saying before the season that we should straight up play youth players or exclusively reserves and not even use key players as subs for it. It comes at the awkward time in the first half of the season where the fixture congestion isn't as bad, but not having that congestion at that point will lead to a huge benefit for the latter half of the season where you didn't over exert your squad.

Exactly!
Europa league is another source which drains our squad. It involves many long distance traveling and fixtures on Thursday. Hope we won’t compete in it anymore.

 

[Cutch]

Doesn’t help that rotation is non existent.

I have quite a bit of patience and understanding for some of our lethargic and poor displays this season, particularly Sunday given we were playing a very good side with only 2 full days recovery after Milan away. However the above is on Ole. Why the feck could he not have gave Brandon Williams, Tuanzebe, Van De Beek, Mata etc some more of those minutes. All have been poor but they've had nowhere near enough action to play themselves into sharpness and form

 

[bsCallout]

I have quite a bit of patience and understanding for some of our lethargic and poor displays this season, particularly Sunday given we were playing a very good side with only 2 full days recovery after Milan away. However the above is on Ole. Why the feck could he not have gave Brandon Williams, Tuanzebe, Van De Beek, Mata etc some more of those minutes. All have been poor but they've had nowhere near enough action to play themselves into sharpness and form

Probably because we've been playing catch up since the start of the season due to our poor start.

 

[Crashoutcassius]

Outrageous. We need a far stronger squad than we have to compete on all fronts. Europa has been good for getting a few different players minutes but for me ole played too strong a team often

 

[Cutch]

Probably because we've been playing catch up since the start of the season due to our poor start.

We were top of the league start of January so had caught up and we've continued to run the same players into the ground ever since. It seems like we've learnt nothing from the end of last season, especially with the schedule this season being even worse

 

[Hughie77]

We need to take the league cup less seriously. We need to be more realistic about the domestic cup competition. They drain too much from the squad.

I do think that as well, but this season no FA cup replays, or LCup 2 semi legs, made comp smaller, like you said I would take league cup less seriously than rest , but UTD CIty never do

 

[lex talionis]

I have quite a bit of patience and understanding for some of our lethargic and poor displays this season, particularly Sunday given we were playing a very good side with only 2 full days recovery after Milan away. However the above is on Ole. Why the feck could he not have gave Brandon Williams, Tuanzebe, Van De Beek, Mata etc some more of those minutes. All have been poor but they've had nowhere near enough action to play themselves into sharpness and form

Exactly.

A bit of poor season-long squad management by Ole, but in fairness it does look like top four is secure now.

 

[bsCallout]

We were top of the league start of January so had caught up and we've continued to run the same players into the ground ever since. It seems like we've learnt nothing from the end of last season, especially with the schedule this season being even worse

Going top coincided with us also getting injuries. We've not been able to rotate as we should. The only problem in my opinion was playing our best players in the league cup and fa cup.

 

[Lost bear]

Was curious and decided to have a look. United, with a delayed start to the season starting a week later than most of the other league teams and barely a pre season (only City in the same boat as us), haven't had a single full week rest between games. All season. The international breaks have been the only time where we didn't follow a weekend game up with a midweek game, but those are busier then normal for those that go away with sometimes 3 fixtures being played.

Then I decided to just look up total games played for the bigger sides around europe:

1. United - 47 matches
2. City - 46
3. Arsenal - 45
4. Spurs - 45
5. Barca - 43
6. Chelsea - 43
7. Liverpool - 42
8. Leicester - 42
9. PSG - 42
10. Juve - 40
11. Milan - 40
12. Bayern - 40
13. Dortmund - 39
14. Real Madrid - 38
15. Atletico - 38
16. Inter - 37

So basically, we had a delayed start to the season by a week, have still played the most games this season in Europe, and are the only team in Europe that hasn't had a full week rest between games. It's been every weekend with a mid week fixture every single week. Of course, some of it is our own doing (dropping to the Europa League added on 2 games), but the rest we basically got screwed over by staying in every cup until the latter stages. Is it any surprise to get inconsistency from individuals and as a team when you have a crazy accumulation of fixtures? It's not like we had the luxury of rotating a lot in most of those cup games too.

This international break has come at a great time for us to get some energy back for most of them, though hopefully Bruno/Maguire/Rashford are used very sparingly as they've all been overplayed all year. But with us going out of the FA Cup, we'll finally get 2 weeks until the end of the season where we have a full week between weekend games.

This does highlight what a great season City are having, as they probably have a realistic shot at a quadruple despite the fixture congestion, but they're the only team comparable to us in terms of minutes played but are obviously streets ahead in terms of squad depth and quality throughout and having Pep there. If they don't win the Champions League, it'll probably be down to fixture congestion anyway, as they have 2-3 domestic cup games to come, the remaining league games and a potential of 5 CL games. It's also one thing handling that many fixtures and competitions on a normal schedule, and another when your season start is delayed by a month and a half after a 2-3 week brok en pre season. But despite all that, I think for United it's been an excellent season and we've done really well to get to this point 2nd, and with a good shot at the Europa League.

Edit: missed the 2 club world cup games for Bayern

I think this is a really good post. You can see the exhaustion in many of the players, and in my view it has been visible for some months. Those posts slagging off Bruno and Rashford for being total shit are pretty ridiculous, and whether the players deny it or not, they are obviously knackered. That is why we get performances like the one against Leicester, at least mainly why. I still don't think Ole is up to the job, by the way, but please let's have a bit of compassion for the players- they are human beings after all.

 

[city-puma]

I do think that as well, but this season no FA cup replays, or LCup 2 semi legs, made comp smaller, like you said I would take league cup less seriously than rest , but UTD CIty never do

Right. I feel our fixtures in the domestic cups have been quite touch these two years. We have been paired with the stronger EPL opponents too often. That’s one reason that I think we could not easily go for less serious approach. Against pool, Everton, and etc.

 

[Bilbo]

I'd been tempted to start a thread on this as I've been posting loads about the schedule, but ultimately figured it would be a waste of time. As has happened here, people would just start going off about squad rotation or something rather than accept that our schedule has in fact had a significant part to play in our season.

Its been apparent to me for some weeks now how much this schedule has affected us not only with fatigue, but also in terms of how we are setting up the team. I think we've managed this pretty well, and has a lot to do with our approach to pressing, and sprinting, and why we tend to create chances in bursts. The team are conserving energy whenever possible during matches.

 

[VivaRonaldo85]

It feels like we’ve either got multiple players approaching total burn out (Bruno, Rashford, Shaw, Maguire, AWB, Fred etc) and an equal bunch fresh as a daisy but remain hardly used as not deemed suitable or good enough. It’s poor squad management to find ourselves in that position.

The overplaying of first team regulars in early round cup ties or more meaningless second legs has been concerning too.

 

[Bastian]

The schedule is beyond daunting and more punishing to United than teams not playing in European competitions and those who did manage a tiny pre-season. But this is where good squad management comes in.

Fatigue explains a lot, not least with players like Bruno whose work rate is exemplary and he plays all the time. But there have been opportunities to rest players here and there, which have not been taken. And it seems like the squad is not trusted enough, like Tuanzebe, Williams, Mata (prior to that mystery injury), and Donny. You don't retain Mata on huge wages just to be a nice dressing room influence. We shouldn't stop Williams going out on loan if we're not going to play him (wonder how knackered AWB is). The centre backs are maybe different, but still, playing 2-3 times a week, or 3 times every 10 days, is asking quite a lot, and Tuanzebe also needs games to develop.

I don't think we have enormous depth, but I do think it's third best in the country, behind City and Chelsea.

At least this season it is a little bit more understandable than last season when players really were run into the ground, needlessly. But the rotation could be better, and more carefully considered.

 

[Rood]

Doesn’t help that rotation is non existent.

Ole's major weakness is squad management and rotation - last season he didnt have many options but this season he does.
Fatigue and burn out is an issue for all those 4 in particular, I dont think those stats include international minutes either - at least AWB gets a rest now.

players like Mata, VdB, Tuanzebe could have played a lot more minutes this season which would have kept those 4 fresher

 

[bosnian_red]

I'd been tempted to start a thread on this as I've been posting loads about the schedule, but ultimately figured it would be a waste of time. As has happened here, people would just start going off about squad rotation or something rather than accept that our schedule has in fact had a significant part to play in our season.

Its been apparent to me for some weeks now how much this schedule has affected us not only with fatigue, but also in terms of how we are setting up the team. I think we've managed this pretty well, and has a lot to do with our approach to pressing, and sprinting, and why we tend to create chances in bursts. The team are conserving energy whenever possible during matches.

Yup. I remember saying before the start of the season that it wasn't entirely realistic to develop a proper quality play style this year, or really progress and "look" great. That it would be a grind and slog of a season. The fact that we are pretty deservedly 2nd in the league and have a good shot at ending the season with a trophy is a huge plus for this season and would make it a massive success. My aim before the season was top 4 and aim for a trophy. Finishing 2nd with a trophy would be an excellent season.

 

[NZT-One]

Was curious and decided to have a look. United, with a delayed start to the season starting a week later than most of the other league teams and barely a pre season (only City in the same boat as us), haven't had a single full week rest between games. All season. The international breaks have been the only time where we didn't follow a weekend game up with a midweek game, but those are busier then normal for those that go away with sometimes 3 fixtures being played.

Then I decided to just look up total games played for the bigger sides around europe:

1. United - 47 matches
2. City - 46
3. Arsenal - 45
4. Spurs - 45
5. Barca - 43
6. Chelsea - 43
7. Liverpool - 42
8. Leicester - 42
9. PSG - 42
10. Juve - 40
11. Milan - 40
12. Bayern - 40
13. Dortmund - 39
14. Real Madrid - 38
15. Atletico - 38
16. Inter - 37

So basically, we had a delayed start to the season by a week, have still played the most games this season in Europe, and are the only team in Europe that hasn't had a full week rest between games. It's been every weekend with a mid week fixture every single week. Of course, some of it is our own doing (dropping to the Europa League added on 2 games), but the rest we basically got screwed over by staying in every cup until the latter stages. Is it any surprise to get inconsistency from individuals and as a team when you have a crazy accumulation of fixtures? It's not like we had the luxury of rotating a lot in most of those cup games too.

This international break has come at a great time for us to get some energy back for most of them, though hopefully Bruno/Maguire/Rashford are used very sparingly as they've all been overplayed all year. But with us going out of the FA Cup, we'll finally get 2 weeks until the end of the season where we have a full week between weekend games.

This does highlight what a great season City are having, as they probably have a realistic shot at a quadruple despite the fixture congestion, but they're the only team comparable to us in terms of minutes played but are obviously streets ahead in terms of squad depth and quality throughout and having Pep there. If they don't win the Champions League, it'll probably be down to fixture congestion anyway, as they have 2-3 domestic cup games to come, the remaining league games and a potential of 5 CL games. It's also one thing handling that many fixtures and competitions on a normal schedule, and another when your season start is delayed by a month and a half after a 2-3 week broken pre season. But despite all that, I think for United it's been an excellent season and we've done really well to get to this point 2nd, and with a good shot at the Europa League.

Edit: missed the 2 club world cup games for Bayern

Very interesting post, thanks for gathering the data together. It is suprising for me to see, that our European counterparts played quite a few games less this season. Playing two times a week is a crazy schedule, and our staff seems to be doing a particularly good job keeping our players relatively healthy. Somebody pointed out the international tournament this summer, I guess next season after that event will be a very interested one due to the best players probably being extra tired and non-rested.


Ole and the team certainly should be credited for achieving what they achieved under these circumstances. But for all the complaining that the negativity is spreading across threads I find it interesting, so many feel the need to point out that our achievements have to be considered as awesome and the troubles we had must mostly be down to players being either weak or strong but fatigued. I mean, that is inviting answers isn't it? It's like baiting ^^

My take is this: the way we play, with a strong emphasis on improvising in attack, obviously works best, if you play with the best players available, asking these to come up with something good or great. As soon as they struggle or replacements have to come in, you drop one or two level if there is big skill and/or form gap. And thats one of the stories of the season. Knowing, that there is a particular playstyle we usually struggle with, the pressure on the players increases even more and as fatigue obviously influences the output of individuals as well, that is one hell of a cocktail.

There should be a few ways to engage that issue, adding more players surely being one of them, but as I said, keeping a high quality squad happy and in form is a science in its own. Hoping for that seems a bit too optimistic for me. There are more ways to tackle that, ways that have the potential to get more out of available players like system adjustments. For example I always thought, a combination of Mata, VDB and Bruno or Rashford has the potential to be quite formidable in attack. Surely, it isn't dream team material but having three ballers together on the field, I have certainly believe in them coming up with a good piece of play. To me it feels like our managers often tries to force it and who could blame him, having the most inform-player of the last year available, an awesome talent in Greenwood and based on last season to pretty dangerous strikers in Martial and Rashford. But at the end, he is the only one to make a call and I feel, it would have been worth a shot, trying to mix it up late in a game especially if before we witnessed our team struggling.

 

[Isotope]

Been drumming this for ages. It's pretty silly to go hard on EVERY competitions available. Ole needs to prioritize competitions he's in, whatnot with a thin squad (in terms of quality) he has.

And also City is good in ball retention, thus their players don't need to press much. Compare to us, we couldn't keep the ball more than 10 seconds before losing it. Then players have to run around like a dog chasing ball, trying to defend/press. The later is 3 times more tiring.

 

[meamth]

Doesn’t help that rotation is non existent.

That must be very punishing...and the amount of recovery training for them, must be mentally tiring.