How good is our attack really?

[Paul_Scholes18]

We lack a top goalscorer and also creative wingers with good dribbling skills. Martial can do it, but we he is very much up and down.
I guess Lukaku could be the goalscorer, but he needs to improve and play better overall.

Rashford and Lingard are alright, but very much hit and miss.

 

[StrettyEnder07]

Agree that our attack is looking very toothless, if we do manage to get Sancho in, he can work anywhere across the line behind the striker which will give us good options, hopefully Mata/Sanchez will be gone, next year I am hopeful that we will see more chances given to Greenwood/Chong/Gomes so we should have enough options.

Not sure what has happened to Martial, it is like he is stuck in his potential phase of his game, has been very poor over the last month or two, just seems so disinterested.

Rashford needs to calm down, seems to think he is Ronaldo, last night shooting from everywhere and constantly missing the target, drives me mental, does not seem to have that maturity to his game yet.

Hopefully we will have a better pattern of attacking play after a full pre-season, a front four with choices from Gomes Martial Chong Greenwood Lukaku Rashford Pogba Sancho Lingard should be enough, you would hope, for next season.

 

[pocco]

All far too inconsistent to lead us to a title challenge. I think we need at least 2 of the 3 front positions to be top notch right now. The thing is i think they're all approaching the age where we should be seeing some sort of meaningful progress to their game, but we aren't. Not to the required level at least.

I stand by this really. It was there for all to see last night, so there should be no illusions any longer about how good we are in attack.

We also need more threat from full back and a bit of magic in midfield. I thought that would be Pogba but those performances are so few and far between.

 

[Havak]

It seems like a rarity that more than one of our six main forwards (Rashford, Lukaku, Martial, Lingard, Sanchez, Mata) are in a good run of form at the same time. Or even including Pogba in that group. Usually, we have been solid enough in games to snatch the win from a moment of magic, but on our current run it feels like none of these guys are at the races and aren't finding that one moment to win us a game or a point. It's difficult to find a way out of this, but since Lukaku went on a good run of form before the International break, it seemed like Rashford's overall play worsened. It's as if all of our offensive players thrive on being the main goalscorer but can't work as a collective unit and spread out the responsibility.

I would probably rather Ole just picked a front three and stuck with them for the remainder of the season to build some kind of cohesion. If Mata, Lukaku, and Sanchez are really discussing their futures then all three should be on the bench and our younger lads should be given the licence to play.

 

[AgentP]

None of our forwards is world class. They have periods of being very good and then go back to being ordinary. That's our biggest weakness and we did try to address it by getting Sanchez but that turned out to be a dud. Look at the other clubs.

Chelsea - Hazard
Spurs - Kane
City - Aguero, Sterling
Liverpool - Salah, Mane

Only Arsenal don't have a top forward but even their forwards are more consistent than ours. We need to get someone world class or hope one of our players goes on to reach that level.

 

[dogwithabone]

Should we be giving up on Sanchez just yet ? Let’s face it he’s the only genuine attacker we have who is or has been world class. He’s not at that irretrievable age where if you’re form goes you will never recapture it.

Surely we need to work and work on getting a tune out of him because let’s be brutally honest neither Rashford or Martial are anywhere near his class when he’s at his best.

 

[Stacks]

It's fecking shit in all honesty. Imo we can talk about our defense all day long but what really needs to be corrected and strengthened is our attack. In all honesty I just don't think that any of our forwards are good enough.

they are in select, individual games each month but never for an extended period or at the same time.

It lacks consistency, experience and quality.

yep, which makes us being a truly top team, seem like an illusion.

We lack a top goalscorer and also creative wingers with good dribbling skills. Martial can do it, but we he is very much up and down.
I guess Lukaku could be the goalscorer, but he needs to improve and play better overall.
Lukaku goalscoring is the same as Martial's dribbling. its in spurts and usually against 15th-20th in the table. Very easy to mark for Barcelona
Rashford and Lingard are alright, but very much hit and miss.

as is Martial, Lukaku, Pogba a bit less so. Its the major flaw with this team is that we have no reliable offence

 

[Patrick08]

Top 4 quality. Nothing more nothing less.

 

[Paul_Scholes18]

they are in select, individual games each month but never for an extended period or at the same time.

yep, which makes us being a truly top team, seem like an illusion.


as is Martial, Lukaku, Pogba a bit less so. Its the major flaw with this team is that we have no reliable offence

Yeah I think Lukaku could be the man as he has shown before in the premier league. Although we need a top quality winger. I guess we got spoiled with Ronaldo, but we could need a Sterling, Mane, Salah or Hazard quality player really or even someone like Mahrez would be good for us.

 

[bosnian_red]

Statistically in terms of "xG" if people want to look for a stat that looks at shot quality over a long period of time, we're 3rd in the league for xG scored (both overall including Mourinhos time, and if you only look at our time under Ole, main difference is we are closer to Liverpool since mid December). Our problem is our lack of control and ability to dominate games through the middle, pretty awful end product from the full backs, getting getting beat by the distinctly average defence we have.

Our attack obviously lacks a right winger to complete it, but in terms of chances we create on a regular basis, it's fine all the same. A right winger could put it up around Liverpool/City level, but the midfield and defence is sorely lacking and we cant sustain pressure like they can, cant build up like they can and can't dominate like they can. 2 top midfielders would make a world of difference, if they're the right type, as would a centerback or right back.

In terms of front 4, Martial, Rashford, Pogba and a new right winger is perfectly fine going forward. All young, all will improve to varying degrees but over a season and with the current depth we have, that's fine. The right winger needs to be complete the attack basically, and it is flawed until that player is signed. Get a better foundation behind them though and the attack can get the ball more frequently in good positions and just get more chances to show their quality because the rest are better.

 

[FootyGirl88]

None of our forwards is world class. They have periods of being very good and then go back to being ordinary. That's our biggest weakness and we did try to address it by getting Sanchez but that turned out to be a dud. Look at the other clubs.

Chelsea - Hazard
Spurs - Kane
City - Aguero, Sterling
Liverpool - Salah, Mane

Only Arsenal don't have a top forward but even their forwards are more consistent than ours. We need to get someone world class or hope one of our players goes on to reach that level.

Spurs have Son too!

 

[Stacks]

Yeah I think Lukaku could be the man as he has shown before in the premier league. Although we need a top quality winger. I guess we got spoiled with Ronaldo, but we could need a Sterling, Mane, Salah or Hazard quality player really or even someone like Mahrez would be good for us.

Lukaku has always been streaky and NEVER been a threat to the top sides. His goals to game is similar to Yakubu. And yes we allowed all the very good wingers to go to our rivals. We have ones who are good but none that are very good. Kidding ourselves that Martial, Lingard or Mata can provide the same sort of threat. That said we are not far behind on goals scored. Ours are just too streaky

 

[11101]

We need one top, top forward. Rashford and Martial both have the talent but they need someone to help them reach the next level. If we can find someone like Suarez or Salah for Liverpool who can score, assist, create space for others and generally occupy defenders, those two will find another gear I'm sure of it. Look at Sturridge. A fairly good striker turned into a world beater when he had Suarez in the team with him.

We don't necessarily need to go and spend 100m+ on a ready made world class forward either if we can find that Suarez level player coming up through the ranks. I know it's easier said than done, but Liverpool and Spurs have done it a few times in recent years.

 

[AndyJ1985]

It's Europa league standard. We're never going to get close to winning the two trophies we really want while we have the likes of Lukaku, Lingard and Rashford stinking out the place. Yes I included Rashford, he's been terrible for months.

 

[Sayros]

We need one top, top forward. Rashford and Martial both have the talent but they need someone to help them reach the next level. If we can find someone like Suarez or Salah for Liverpool who can score, assist, create space for others and generally occupy defenders, those two will find another gear I'm sure of it. Look at Sturridge. A fairly good striker turned into a world beater when he had Suarez in the team with him.

We don't necessarily need to go and spend 100m+ on a ready made world class forward either if we can find that Suarez level player coming up through the ranks. I know it's easier said than done, but Liverpool and Spurs have done it a few times in recent years.

Luka Jovic is your man. He will be expensive but he's the one that I think will have a huge impact and most likely to be obtainable unless Milan is crazy enough to sell Piatek.

 

[TMDaines]

One thing that seems to be creeping into our game is players looking for the pass rather taking an obvious shooting opportunity. Yes, there is patience in passing the ball round to create a chance, but when one is presented, don’t pass it up. There were a number of times today when players should have pulled the trigger, including Martial for the pen, and failed to do so. You can’t always wait for a better chance or a better moment to shoot.

 

[VeevaVee]

One thing that seems to be creeping into our game is players looking for the pass rather taking an obvious shooting opportunity. Yes, there is patience in passing the ball round to create a chance, but when one is presented, don’t pass it up. There were a number of times today when players should have pulled the trigger, including Martial for the pen, and failed to do so. You can’t always wait for a better chance or a better moment to shoot.

There is some shitty decision making in the squad. Taking touches when they need to just shoot, or not taking touches when they should, not passing at the right moments etc.. Terrible instincts.

 

[kouroux]

One thing that seems to be creeping into our game is players looking for the pass rather taking an obvious shooting opportunity. Yes, there is patience in passing the ball round to create a chance, but when one is presented, don’t pass it up. There were a number of times today when players should have pulled the trigger, including Martial for the pen, and failed to do so. You can’t always wait for a better chance or a better moment to shoot.

Even Pogba hesitated to hit it first time inside the box

 

[12OunceEpilogue]

One thing that seems to be creeping into our game is players looking for the pass rather taking an obvious shooting opportunity. Yes, there is patience in passing the ball round to create a chance, but when one is presented, don’t pass it up. There were a number of times today when players should have pulled the trigger, including Martial for the pen, and failed to do so. You can’t always wait for a better chance or a better moment to shoot.

It's appalling when this man is your manager:

Spoiler

But it's not just failing to take shots on at the right time, we're not taking the right passing option when we should, look at Martial today when he could square for Rashford. It's sad to see United players second-guessing themselves, I hope Ole can get them back to their lethal instincts soon.

 

[shabz]

Our midfield is the real problem when it comes to attacking. We constantly dwell on the ball instead making a pass straight away, by the time our attackers receive the ball, the opposition have got everyone behind the ball. That's if our attackers get the ball as well, as we must have one of the worst pass completion rates for a 'top' team in the opposition half. This is also the reason why we get countered with such ease, we make runs and commit men forward only for someone to take an age with the pass and get caught in possession, or a pass to go stray which put the opposition on the front foot and ourselves chasing back from the final third almost every attack. We have a shaky defence as it is, the last thing our team needs is for the defence to be put under unnecessary attacks almost every time we lose the ball.

We are in desperate need of players who have the vision to pick out passes as soon as they are available. We will be able to sustain pressure on the opposition and undoubtedly our attackers will prosper more. There's a reason why the best teams create many chances and score many goals and currently we don't have the personnel that can elevate our game to that level.

 

[edgar allan]

It's Europa league standard. We're never going to get close to winning the two trophies we really want while we have the likes of Lukaku, Lingard and Rashford stinking out the place. Yes I included Rashford, he's been terrible for months.

You left out Martial on that list

 

[Amadaeus]

None of our forwards is world class. They have periods of being very good and then go back to being ordinary. That's our biggest weakness and we did try to address it by getting Sanchez but that turned out to be a dud. Look at the other clubs.

Chelsea - Hazard
Spurs - Kane
City - Aguero, Sterling
Liverpool - Salah, Mane

Only Arsenal don't have a top forward but even their forwards are more consistent than ours. We need to get someone world class or hope one of our players goes on to reach that level.

Manchester United - Pogba, Lukaku, Sanchez

It just has not worked out for us. All of these players are supposed to be at that world class level. Pogba may go on to be, Lukaku has the chance to be, whereas Sanchez was already at that level with Arsenal but needs to find that level again if he can.

Heck you can even put Martial in there as his contract had a ballon d’or clause in it .

 

[El Zoido]

The moment-to-moment decision making of our attacking play is godawful. Don’t know how much is down to coaching or whether it’s just the responsibilities of individual players, but they always seem to do the wrong thing. It’s bizarre really.

 

[NoLogo]

We always looked our best when we played with tempo and put in some real team effort into pressing. We look stale ever since we started sitting back and hoping for mistakes again, teams in the PL simply don't make that many mistakes if you don't force them. But there is also another problem which I think is our fitness level. We simply can't keep upr enough pressure and a high tempo for a long enough period of game time. If it's due to a lack of fitness or attitude I really can't say but it's noticeable that almost all teams seem to "outwork" us.

 

[Adcuth]

Not convinced by martial as a striker. He doesn't seem to play that we'll with his back to goal. Maybe in a front 2 as the one running in behind. With the right formation he does well from the left. Our overall attack though is miles behind Liverpool or city. Rashford has done well but is he gonna progress to aguero levels, I'm not sure, and that is the level we need. I love Dybala as a player but whether he is obtainable is questionable. Sancho has had one good season so buying him for the price mentioned is a massive risk. I think Douglas Costa should be targeted, he'd be a great addition to our right side. What we haven't had for a while is that player that guarantees a goal almost every game. Ronaldo, Ruud, Torres in his day, Salah last year. Nobody comes close to that in our team

 

[AgentP]

Manchester United - Pogba, Lukaku, Sanchez

It just has not worked out for us. All of these players are supposed to be at that world class level. Pogba may go on to be, Lukaku has the chance to be, whereas Sanchez was already at that level with Arsenal but needs to find that level again if he can.

Heck you can even put Martial in there as his contract had a ballon d’or clause in it .

I was talking about forwards. So Pogba doesn't count. The other two are not even close. Sanchez is well past it. Lukaku is a poacher and has numerous flaws in his game. Martial might have the potential but he doesn't have the work ethic to reach that level imo. The names I've listed are genuine world class players over the last 2 years.

 

[sam147]

Lingard is relegation standard. Rashford is currently midtable standard. Mata is past it. Martial is a top 6 player when he isn't injured. Lukaku is our best attacker and he gets the most hate from the fans out all the others. The reality is a player like Lingard shouldn't be a 2nd choice winger. Even Spurs have Moura as back up. City have actual top talent like Sane as back up. Lingard isn't half the player. Lukaku is our best forward and he is also inconsistent. The reality is we need a RW and a ST this summer because Lukaku wont play second fiddle to Rashford and Rashford isn't good enough to fire a team to a title. If it wasn't for Pogba all our forwards would look even worse. The guy holds off 2 players when he has the ball and is the only one with some sort of creative spark.

 

[Sparky Rhiwabon]

It’s not good. None of our attackers is “top level” let alone world class in their position. Martial is on his day but his day is not that often and he can go long stretches of being really bad.

We rely on Pogba being on his game and, when he’s not, we are really poor.

 

[Amadaeus]

I was talking about forwards. So Pogba doesn't count. The other two are not even close. Sanchez is well past it. Lukaku is a poacher and has numerous flaws in his game. Martial might have the potential but he doesn't have the work ethic to reach that level imo. The names I've listed are genuine world class players over the last 2 years.

Sanchez was not passed it when we signed him and may not be passed it now. However, I do agree that he may be at a point of no return as we have given him so much money that he can buy his own city in Chile. It seems that He can’t be arsed to play anymore. However, Sanchez is 30, Ronaldo is 34 and Aguero is 30 and the latter two players are still performing at a high level. If Sanchez is arsed, he may regain that top level of performance. I always wanted to see him as a striker, but we have not utilized him much in that role. Maybe that will get the best out of him.

Lukaku was bought to be our world class striker. His record at Everton showed that he could have been that, but as I stated it did not work out.

The point I am getting at is that we have players with world class potential in our attack, but they have not lived up to expectations yet. Maybe if we have selected a top manager, these players would be world class or still be world class right now.

 

[laughtersassassin]

Sanchez was not passed it when we signed him and may not be passed it now. However, I do agree that he may be at a point of no return as we have given him so much money that he can buy his own city in Chile. It seems that He can’t be arsed to play anymore. However, Sanchez is 30, Ronaldo is 34 and Aguero is 30 and the latter two players are still performing at a high level. If Sanchez is arsed, he may regain that top level of performance. I always wanted to see him as a striker, but we have not utilized him much in that role. Maybe that will get the best out of him.

Lukaku was bought to be our world class striker. His record at Everton showed that he could have been that, but as I stated it did not work out.

The point I am getting at is that we have players with world class potential in our attack, but they have not lived up to expectations yet. Maybe if we have selected a top manager, these players would be world class or still be world class right now.

Sanchez is past it now mate. It is clear as day. Rooney like decline. Some players just age terribly. He is one of them.

No way back to the top of football for him no matter who he plays for.

 

[Van Piorsing]

Lukaku being changed to right winger really tells the whole story.

No proper distribution from the wings is killing Rom's best striker ability which so far he can only use in international games.