Romeu and Ward-Prowse are better than Fred and Matic.
How bad are our midfield options really?
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik and Imran hold a long overdue conversation about United's awful league form with 1 win in 7. They discuss a disappointing draw at Bournemouth, a not so disappointing draw against Liverpool and a crushing defeat at Chelsea - Is time nearly over for Erik Ten Hag?
Then in a special second half of the pod, Nik welcomes Natalie ( https://twitter.com/natalie_17) to discuss the fortunes of Manchester United Women as they booked a place in the FA Cup Final after a historic first ever win vs. Chelsea.
Sandikan
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Think it's Ward Prowse, unless you're making even more of a statement.Romeu and Ward-Price are better than Fred and Matic.
But this is the sort of nonsense I see.
Romeu is an average hatchet man.
Marwood
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In terms of passing yeah Neves would be an upgrade.Rice and Neves are upgrades. Rice has the leadership qualities and physique, Neves has a better pass. Pair either of them with the ever improving McTominay as No 8 and we are a better team. Neves would be cheaper and Donny will cover most of the fee. I cannot see Ole pairing Fred or McTominay with him so why keep him? We do not need cover for Pogba once Rashford returns.
I just wouldn't get hung up on this 6 or 8 thing.
Get a 6 and put Bruno and Pogba ahead of him. Is that defensively better than the current set up? I don't think so.
Focus shouldn't be 6 or 8, it should be adding passing ability to a team sorely lacking in that regard. Passing ability that knits a team together.
Cathy Ferguson
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I am not saying Romeu is quality, I am saying that Soton's midfield is as good or most likely better than Fred/Matic. Which is quite obvious since our front 4 is superior to Soton's and we drew the game.Think it's Ward Prowse, unless you're making even more of a statement.
But this is the sort of nonsense I see.
Romeu is an average hatchet man.
croadyman
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A team looking to challenge for the league should be looking for a DM with passing ability and tempo CM tooIn terms of passing yeah Neves would be an upgrade.
I just wouldn't get hung up on this 6 or 8 thing.
Get a 6 and put Bruno and Pogba ahead of him. Is that defensively better than the current set up? I don't think so.
Focus shouldn't be 6 or 8, it should be adding passing ability to a team sorely lacking in that regard. Passing ability that knits a team together.
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No secret that Utd badly need to strengthen the CDM position, ideally Ruben Neves.
Would be nothing short of a dereliction of duty by the club if they were to neglect such a pressing need, the current options are woeful, and Van De Beek is just a bizarre signing if ever there was one.
Would be nothing short of a dereliction of duty by the club if they were to neglect such a pressing need, the current options are woeful, and Van De Beek is just a bizarre signing if ever there was one.
Marwood
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I don't buy into the idea that's the only way to win a league. The quality of the CM's is more important than what type of CM they are.A team looking to challenge for the league should be looking for a DM with passing ability and tempo CM too
croadyman
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Well we could maybe get by with just one of them but to have neither well that's just negligentI don't buy into the idea that's the only way to win a league. The quality of the CM's is more important than what type of CM they are.
Wing Attack Plan R
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cf: Fred, JamesNo secret that Utd badly need to strengthen the CDM position, ideally Ruben Neves.
Would be nothing short of a dereliction of duty by the club if they were to neglect such a pressing need, the current options are woeful, and Van De Beek is just a bizarre signing if ever there was one.
croadyman
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Totally agree but the signs of it happening doesn't look goodNo secret that Utd badly need to strengthen the CDM position, ideally Ruben Neves.
Would be nothing short of a dereliction of duty by the club if they were to neglect such a pressing need, the current options are woeful, and Van De Beek is just a bizarre signing if ever there was one.
CloneMC16
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Our midfielders are clearly worse than what our title rivals have and other elite clubs. I'm making the assumption that Ole is not going to play Pogba much in the double pivot any more. He doesn't play VDB and he seems to be more of a #10. Our only options are Fred, McTominay, and Matic. I don't think those three start for another elite club. They're still better than what most of the other teams in the league have. That's not good enough for our club, but I do think some of our fans underrate them.
I would like a DM (a CM as well tbh), but not the ball winners I see people asking for constantly. From winin the PL, I see Bissouma, Ndidi, and Rice named a lot. Those three players are not going to help us beat a low block. They're good at what they do, but they're not going to help us in the type of games that we drop too many points in. If we signed any of those three, I can guarantee our fans will complain after watching them and say we signed a sideways passing merchant.
Neves is the main one I see named that I think looks good for what we need. I'm still a bit concerned that Wolves fans have been saying that he's playing better further up the pitch.
I would like a DM (a CM as well tbh), but not the ball winners I see people asking for constantly. From winin the PL, I see Bissouma, Ndidi, and Rice named a lot. Those three players are not going to help us beat a low block. They're good at what they do, but they're not going to help us in the type of games that we drop too many points in. If we signed any of those three, I can guarantee our fans will complain after watching them and say we signed a sideways passing merchant.
Neves is the main one I see named that I think looks good for what we need. I'm still a bit concerned that Wolves fans have been saying that he's playing better further up the pitch.
Son
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It’s frustrating because we haven’t replaced Scholes or Carrick since they retired or even tried to. Schneiderlin maybe was the closest we have tried possibly.In terms of passing yeah Neves would be an upgrade.
I just wouldn't get hung up on this 6 or 8 thing.
Get a 6 and put Bruno and Pogba ahead of him. Is that defensively better than the current set up? I don't think so.
Focus shouldn't be 6 or 8, it should be adding passing ability to a team sorely lacking in that regard. Passing ability that knits a team together.
It’s also ridiculous when Barcelona played us off the pitch twice in 2009 and 2011 and we never learnt a single thing from them.
It’s how fast you can move the ball not how fast or powerful your midfielders are at running in the biggest games.
Red Indian Chief Torn Rubber
Thus says Kemo
having a match un fit martial on pitch more than half the game was a huge factor in drawingI am not saying Romeu is quality, I am saying that Soton's midfield is as good or most likely better than Fred/Matic. Which is quite obvious since our front 4 is superior to Soton's and we drew the game.
Marwood
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Yeah agree.It’s frustrating because we haven’t replaced Scholes or Carrick since they retired or even tried to. Schneiderlin maybe was the closest we have tried possibly.
It’s also ridiculous when Barcelona played us off the pitch twice in 2009 and 2011 and we never learnt a single thing from them.
It’s how fast you can move the ball not how fast or powerful your midfielders are at running in the biggest games.
I think a certain level of athleticism is still needed but yeah, first touch and passing ability always main requirement in that part of the pitch.
Can’t wait to sign Camavinga and watch the cameras cut to him rotting on the bench next to Varane and Sancho…
Danish Wizard
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Midfield is not as bad as some make it sound like.
But on the same time it's no where near good enough to secure the title. A signing there would lift us to be real title contenders I think. So stop making it sound like our midfield is Championship level..
But on the same time it's no where near good enough to secure the title. A signing there would lift us to be real title contenders I think. So stop making it sound like our midfield is Championship level..
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Considering our midfield usually consists of McTominay/Fred and occasionally Magic I’d say we’ve arguably the worst of the top 6.
Vaibhav Raj
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A team needs a mixture of aggression and control to be truly consistent. There's a lot of aggression in the current Manchester United team but little control. Our best players are creators like Bruno, Rashford, Pogba and they are all excessive risk takers or players who like to express themselves through their skills. There's little element of control or tempo management in their game. But such is their attacking output that they justify their play style. So, it appears that the control has got to come from midfield. And, in that sense, yes our midfield options are bad. In tougher fixtures, we can maybe afford Bruno/Pogba giving the ball away trying to create something (or maybe being too clever for their own good) but we cannot afford to compound that with our midfielder not passing well, not being press resistant, not being available to take the ball from defence and pick the right passes or not being able to dictate the tempo of the game.
We have attackers who are very good at taking risks but are not capable of offering control. We have midfielders who are good at winning the ball back and pressing but are not capable of offering control. We need to alter something to fix this, adjust the slider if you will so we have more control. No one will ever suggest altering our attacking player play-style because they are so good at what they do (at least when they are allowed to do it). It is the midfield for me that needs to be tweaked.
We have attackers who are very good at taking risks but are not capable of offering control. We have midfielders who are good at winning the ball back and pressing but are not capable of offering control. We need to alter something to fix this, adjust the slider if you will so we have more control. No one will ever suggest altering our attacking player play-style because they are so good at what they do (at least when they are allowed to do it). It is the midfield for me that needs to be tweaked.
Mickson
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This has become a thing. Ruben Neves is mediocre and there's a reason he's still at Wolves. United will not and should not buy him. Just let it go.No secret that Utd badly need to strengthen the CDM position, ideally Ruben Neves.
Would be nothing short of a dereliction of duty by the club if they were to neglect such a pressing need, the current options are woeful, and Van De Beek is just a bizarre signing if ever there was one.
laughtersassassin
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Not looking good is it?
Hard to see how we get anything other than 4th with our current Midfield.
Hard to see how we get anything other than 4th with our current Midfield.
Nevilles.Wear.Prada
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Give this team to a capable manager and i believe he can extract more out of them.
laughtersassassin
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What I don't get is the club stance is we need to sell to buy or even loan as our wages are too high.
To me it just seems a cheap excuse.
Like think about.
1. We have kept Mata and Grant for a player/coach role when his wages could have been out towards a Midfielder
2. Kept Matic for a very limited squad role. Hasn't played many games for years.
3. Overvalued Lingard (Will we lose him for free now? He will contribute next to nothing to us)
4. If all else failed why not just sell James who has suitors? Like our attacking depth is really really good. Our Midfield depth for the pivot is terrible. So to keep all these players instead of buying or even loaning a CM just doesn't add up.
How can we go into the season with Fred Matic and McTominay as our only Midfielders that Ole plays in the two?
It really is unexplainable. There will be a ready made excuse built into the season once again.
He will then be forced to play Pogba along Fred or McT who will once again be scapegoated despite the fact if he is in a two he needs a DM beside him. Same for VDB, would be better beside a DM.
It all strikes me as upsettingly predictable.
To me it just seems a cheap excuse.
Like think about.
1. We have kept Mata and Grant for a player/coach role when his wages could have been out towards a Midfielder
2. Kept Matic for a very limited squad role. Hasn't played many games for years.
3. Overvalued Lingard (Will we lose him for free now? He will contribute next to nothing to us)
4. If all else failed why not just sell James who has suitors? Like our attacking depth is really really good. Our Midfield depth for the pivot is terrible. So to keep all these players instead of buying or even loaning a CM just doesn't add up.
How can we go into the season with Fred Matic and McTominay as our only Midfielders that Ole plays in the two?
It really is unexplainable. There will be a ready made excuse built into the season once again.
He will then be forced to play Pogba along Fred or McT who will once again be scapegoated despite the fact if he is in a two he needs a DM beside him. Same for VDB, would be better beside a DM.
It all strikes me as upsettingly predictable.