Borys
Statistics Wizard
I've been analyzing yesterday game vs WBA, one thing that is quite obvious is how heavy is our left wing compared to right wing. It's common knowledge but just take a look at the heatmaps:
Bruno, Rashford, Martial separately
Bruno, Rashford, Martial combined - they are all occupying similar space. Even if they take positions on the right, it's very deep and with little attacking intent.
Wide attackers and fullbacks combined, you see our right wing is not even getting close to the box
Last pic - All front 4 combined. Wan Bissaka and midfield adds nothing to the right side while attacking. On the left Telles should be included but that would blur an image.
Now I see a lot of people criticizing midfield for not being offensive enough. However, I believe what we should focus on how to bring balance back between left and right wing. It's very easy for opposition to congest center and left side while defending, because there is no threat coming from the right, and if we want to improve, we need to address this issue first and at least try to stretch opponent defense formation.
Possible solutions:
EDIT:
To all those wise asses, buying a proper right winger IS NOT AN EASY FIX. I remind you we're in November 2020 and we've failed to get one in the summer, so if anything it's the most difficult solution.
Bruno, Rashford, Martial separately
Bruno, Rashford, Martial combined - they are all occupying similar space. Even if they take positions on the right, it's very deep and with little attacking intent.
Wide attackers and fullbacks combined, you see our right wing is not even getting close to the box
Last pic - All front 4 combined. Wan Bissaka and midfield adds nothing to the right side while attacking. On the left Telles should be included but that would blur an image.
Now I see a lot of people criticizing midfield for not being offensive enough. However, I believe what we should focus on how to bring balance back between left and right wing. It's very easy for opposition to congest center and left side while defending, because there is no threat coming from the right, and if we want to improve, we need to address this issue first and at least try to stretch opponent defense formation.
Possible solutions:
- start Cavani at CF, and shift one of Martial/Rashford to the RW. It's not ideal as neither of them seems comfortable playing there, but it might be beneficial for the team. Both of them are struggling to put the ball into the net, so not a big loss.
- wait for Greenwood (whatever is happening), and play him from the right. He likes to roam around, and is left footed but he seems like a threat wherever he plays. His defensive contribution is weak so it's 1to1 Mata replacement.
- switch to back 3 with McTominay as RCB, play Fred and van de Beek in front of the 3 defenders. Donny seems quite comfortable on the right, unlike Bruno & Pogba he doesn't have natural inclination to move to the left. Makes no sense to play him in midfield two as it'd limit his license to push forward. This would be my preferred approach as we have one too many attacking midfielder.
survive until winter transfer window and splash the cash for a proper right winger. This is not happening considering the way we do business.Lets pretend we're not considering that option, otherwise we'll end up with another muppet thread
EDIT:
To all those wise asses, buying a proper right winger IS NOT AN EASY FIX. I remind you we're in November 2020 and we've failed to get one in the summer, so if anything it's the most difficult solution.
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