Instructions
Pretty simple, if you took over as manager tomorrow, how would you line up once you had everyone back fully fit? Try and explain your system and rationale.
The temptation for many will be to come in and bash other people’s line ups and tell them why they wouldn’t work, but for the purposes of this thread I encourage only constructive posts with a line up and explanation. More than anything, I am interested in seeing where ideas overlap, and where new innovative thinking is present.
Preferably, I’d ask you to post basic player instructions too.
My Analysis
It seems to me that most of our problems stem from the midfield. It is obvious that there is a gigantic gap between the defence and the midfield, either because the midfielders are pushing up too high, or the defenders are sitting too deep. As I see it, the midfield has three primary roles (1) To protect and screen the defence, closing down channels and breaking up play, (2) To control the rhythm and tempo of the game, & (3) To progess the ball through transitions, carving out opportunities for attacking play. How one goes about this, whether it's by sitting deep and rapidly counter attacking, or pressing high and cycling possession and probing for openings, is a stylistic rather than functional pursuit; and most likely determined by (a) personal preference, and (b) the players at your disposal.
So when I am putting a team together, I am looking for midfield players who are competent in all aspects of this trifecta because I want my team to function as a unit. Defending as a collective and attacking as a collective.
Stylistic Approach
I am not a fan of suicidally high lines, nor am I a fan of sitting deep and parking the bus. I go for a moderately high defensive line, and keep the team compact by pressing fairly high up the pitch, but not all the way through to the goalkeeper because with the players we have, I think it leaves the whole unit far too spread out. Once the opposition crosses a certain line of engagement, then I like hard pressing, a compact unit, and when we win the ball back, my preference is to cycle possession looking for openings. In the eventuality of a counter press situation where we win the ball back and can create a fast break-away or overload, then I would instruct my team to go more direct. However, as a general rule of thumb, I would discourage too much direct passing, as it often just results in a rapid loss of possession.
Because of this, I favour players who are both positionally intelligent, and have a high work rate, however, the most important attribute I look for in a player is technical and tactical ability, especially with regards to passing and decision making. I think that for our team to work, we have to have at least one or two players who can completely disrupt the opposition tactical plan, by either (a) beating a man regularly (potentially Rashford or Garnacho), or (b) passing through the lines and cutting opposition players out of the game (Eriksen). Eriksen has deficiencies in some areas (like his physicality) but he is a player I greatly appreciate because of his ability to pass through the lines and create attacking opportunities.
My Line Up
Goalkeeper: Altay Bayindir. I'll admit that I know next to nothing about him. I am picking him in my first game simply because he's not Andre Onana. While I appreciate Onan's ability with his feet, his decision making and general shot stopping skills are really, really erratic, and I just can't have that in a goalkeeper. So Bayindir gets his chance.
Right Back: Lisandro Martinez. Yes I said it, Lisandro Martinez at right back. Why? Because I want my right back cutting inside and playing through midfield. Linking up into defensive/central midfield, and even creating underlapping situations further forwards when the opportunity presents. I think this works better when the player cutting in, is cutting in onto his stronger foot. Martinez makes any team I put out because of his competitive instincts, and from a technical standpoint he is the best passer from the back that we have. Stepping into midfield so much suits his aggressive game. He will also shift across at times, as we morph to a three man defence.
Left Back: Luke Shaw. Pretty easy one. I'd want him bombing down the left creating overlap opportunities for the LW. Likewise, he has the ability to shift over into a three man defence when Martinez is further forward.
Center-back: Rafa Varane. Despite his recent unpopularity, he is still our best defender, and he provides the aerial presence, reading of the game, and pace to play the sort of defensive line that I want to.
Center-back: Harry Maguire. Give the man some credit. Strength of character to fight his way back into the team, and he has been excellent of late. Varane provides him the recovery pace, which enables us to get the best out of Harry. His aerial dominance, his physicality, and his passing out from the back.
Anchor: Casemiro. Personally, I have to play with a positionally disciplined anchor, His role is to win the ball back, and intelligently recycle possession until the team is back in control of the ball. I don't want him venturing forward much, if at all, and I want him strong - physically and mentally - and able to drop into the defence to cover for errant center halves. His is a screening role, and his game should be focused around short passing and intelligent positioning. All of which I feel are Casemiro's strengths.
Deep CM Playmaker: Kobbie Mainoo. I said before that I prioritise technically gifted players, and I singled out Eriksen - who is very hard for me to leave out of this team. This position was a straight shoot-out between Eriksen and Mainoo, and the youngster won out because of his superior physicality, stamina, and pace. Like Eriksen, with Mainoo it is his spatial awareness, his tidyness and insightfulness with the ball that attracts me to his selection. This role in my team has slightly more defensive responsibility than the third midfielder, in that he will often drop into a double pivot with Casemiro. However, it is important to remember that I want the unit playing close to each other and moving up and down the field as a unit, so he''ll be just as close to the third midfielder as he is to Casemiro.
Advanced CM Playmaker: Mason Mount. Whhhhaaaattttttt? I hear you say..... But Mason is made for this role. He is a hardworking midfielder who doesn't have the positional awareness to play the deeper of the playmaking roles, but in a slightly more advanced position gives you most things you need. Great teamwork, enthusiastic pressing, he's a good passer of the ball, and he's press resistant. He also has was the Spanish call "llegada". He "arrives" in goalscoring positions.
Right Forward: Bruno Fernandes. People might think this is a waste. But putting Bruno out on the right gives me several things in my team. Firstly, you get what you always get with Bruno, a tremendous work rate. You also get a right footer on the right side, which enables us to swing deliveries into the box from wide positions. I see him playing the role more in the mold of a Beckham than I do a Kanchelskis. He's not skinning anyone on the outside, but he is playmaking from out wide, working his socks off, switching play, getting into goalscoring and goal creating positions, and swinging genuine crosses into the box. By virtue of being right footed, and leaning more towards going on the outside (something I want to happen to create more width and stretch the play), he leaves space for the left footed Martinez to cut inside.
Left Forward: Marcus Rashford. Mr Popular. A polemic figure, even by United standards. But he's the only true genuine top class forward we have. He only player really capable of lighting it up on a regular basis and being a virtuoso performer. He's having a stinker of a season granted - but lord knows what is happening behind the scenes. All I remember is that he carried us on our backs last season and was fecking brilliant. I would instruct him to go inside and go at them, looking for overlapping runs from Shaw.
Center-Forward: Rasmus Hojlund. He's hardly hit the ground running, but with a functioning unit behind him, I think he will come good. He has all the attributes. Technically good. Strong, quick, powerful runner. Tremendous work rate. I believe he would thrive on the service from Bruno out wide.
Well, that's my team. I think it would be hard to beat. Five of that front six (Casemiro, Mainoo, Mount, Bruno, Hojlund) are all very hard workers in terms of their pressing, or hard to get past. I think that out of the gate this makes us a very hard team to beat. Which is important. It's also a team that has a ton of technical ability. The unorthordox placement of Martinez on the right, is admittedly controversial; but it is something I would try. Martinez has to make the line up because of his multiplying effect on those around him. Ideally I'd play him as an inverted left back, but Shaw is too good to leave out, so I have moved him to the right. Martinez has operated in DM before, and I don't think he'd have any issue playing as a hybrid full-back/defensive midfielder. From a technical perspective, his passing is excellent. Plus, defensively, he is as hard as nails. The closest thing we have to a Keane like character, and I think that's a big boost to all around him. A right side of Martinez and Bruno is extremely competitive and determined, if not a little weird looking on paper.
My key substitutes would be: 1. Lindelof (I see him able to play Martinez's role, or as cover at CB) 2. Dalot (Able to play either full back role) 3. Eriksen (The man I didn't want to leave out, and the first player I would bring on if I felt we weren't keeping the ball well, or were struggling to play through the opposition). 4. Garnacho (I still think he's better as an impact sub. His decision making is dreadful on the whole, but he has oodles of technical quality, a good work rate, and is especially dangerous against tired legs). 5. McTominay (He's the sort of squad player every squad needs. Willing runner, has decent "llegada". Technically limited, and tactically stunted, but the sort of player you turn to when you need to win ugly. 6. Antony (Has his qualities, in that he's very press resistant, he's good at keeping possession, and he's a very hard worker. He has absolutely no end product though, and so not a player I would bring on if I was chasing games. More a player I would bring on to replace tried legs and see a game out).
Amad and Hannibal are interesting because of their age profiles and potential, so would get some minutes when the rotation allows. The rest of the squad is much of a muchness.
I am aware there are some controversial prospects here; but this is what I would go with if my job was on the line. If I was accountable for results and decisions. Would I stay playing that way if it didn't work? No, of course not. I would make adjustments. Would I have to move Bruno more centrally? Maybe. Would I have to pick a more traditional right back? Perhaps. Or even put a right footed CB at right back, like Lindelof? It's very possible. But when I look at the way the game is played today, how I would want my team to play, and more intangible factors like personality and character - elements which make us really hard to play against - then this is the line-up and set up I come up with. Even if it does require seeing players in positions we aren't use to seeing them in. At the end of the day it is all about the collective, not individuals. I don't care, for instance, if Bruno's numbers go down as a result of him playing on the right (I don't think they would in this system), as long as the team's numbers go up.
So what would you do if you were made manager tomorrow?
Pretty simple, if you took over as manager tomorrow, how would you line up once you had everyone back fully fit? Try and explain your system and rationale.
The temptation for many will be to come in and bash other people’s line ups and tell them why they wouldn’t work, but for the purposes of this thread I encourage only constructive posts with a line up and explanation. More than anything, I am interested in seeing where ideas overlap, and where new innovative thinking is present.
Preferably, I’d ask you to post basic player instructions too.
My Analysis
It seems to me that most of our problems stem from the midfield. It is obvious that there is a gigantic gap between the defence and the midfield, either because the midfielders are pushing up too high, or the defenders are sitting too deep. As I see it, the midfield has three primary roles (1) To protect and screen the defence, closing down channels and breaking up play, (2) To control the rhythm and tempo of the game, & (3) To progess the ball through transitions, carving out opportunities for attacking play. How one goes about this, whether it's by sitting deep and rapidly counter attacking, or pressing high and cycling possession and probing for openings, is a stylistic rather than functional pursuit; and most likely determined by (a) personal preference, and (b) the players at your disposal.
So when I am putting a team together, I am looking for midfield players who are competent in all aspects of this trifecta because I want my team to function as a unit. Defending as a collective and attacking as a collective.
Stylistic Approach
I am not a fan of suicidally high lines, nor am I a fan of sitting deep and parking the bus. I go for a moderately high defensive line, and keep the team compact by pressing fairly high up the pitch, but not all the way through to the goalkeeper because with the players we have, I think it leaves the whole unit far too spread out. Once the opposition crosses a certain line of engagement, then I like hard pressing, a compact unit, and when we win the ball back, my preference is to cycle possession looking for openings. In the eventuality of a counter press situation where we win the ball back and can create a fast break-away or overload, then I would instruct my team to go more direct. However, as a general rule of thumb, I would discourage too much direct passing, as it often just results in a rapid loss of possession.
Because of this, I favour players who are both positionally intelligent, and have a high work rate, however, the most important attribute I look for in a player is technical and tactical ability, especially with regards to passing and decision making. I think that for our team to work, we have to have at least one or two players who can completely disrupt the opposition tactical plan, by either (a) beating a man regularly (potentially Rashford or Garnacho), or (b) passing through the lines and cutting opposition players out of the game (Eriksen). Eriksen has deficiencies in some areas (like his physicality) but he is a player I greatly appreciate because of his ability to pass through the lines and create attacking opportunities.
My Line Up
Goalkeeper: Altay Bayindir. I'll admit that I know next to nothing about him. I am picking him in my first game simply because he's not Andre Onana. While I appreciate Onan's ability with his feet, his decision making and general shot stopping skills are really, really erratic, and I just can't have that in a goalkeeper. So Bayindir gets his chance.
Right Back: Lisandro Martinez. Yes I said it, Lisandro Martinez at right back. Why? Because I want my right back cutting inside and playing through midfield. Linking up into defensive/central midfield, and even creating underlapping situations further forwards when the opportunity presents. I think this works better when the player cutting in, is cutting in onto his stronger foot. Martinez makes any team I put out because of his competitive instincts, and from a technical standpoint he is the best passer from the back that we have. Stepping into midfield so much suits his aggressive game. He will also shift across at times, as we morph to a three man defence.
Left Back: Luke Shaw. Pretty easy one. I'd want him bombing down the left creating overlap opportunities for the LW. Likewise, he has the ability to shift over into a three man defence when Martinez is further forward.
Center-back: Rafa Varane. Despite his recent unpopularity, he is still our best defender, and he provides the aerial presence, reading of the game, and pace to play the sort of defensive line that I want to.
Center-back: Harry Maguire. Give the man some credit. Strength of character to fight his way back into the team, and he has been excellent of late. Varane provides him the recovery pace, which enables us to get the best out of Harry. His aerial dominance, his physicality, and his passing out from the back.
Anchor: Casemiro. Personally, I have to play with a positionally disciplined anchor, His role is to win the ball back, and intelligently recycle possession until the team is back in control of the ball. I don't want him venturing forward much, if at all, and I want him strong - physically and mentally - and able to drop into the defence to cover for errant center halves. His is a screening role, and his game should be focused around short passing and intelligent positioning. All of which I feel are Casemiro's strengths.
Deep CM Playmaker: Kobbie Mainoo. I said before that I prioritise technically gifted players, and I singled out Eriksen - who is very hard for me to leave out of this team. This position was a straight shoot-out between Eriksen and Mainoo, and the youngster won out because of his superior physicality, stamina, and pace. Like Eriksen, with Mainoo it is his spatial awareness, his tidyness and insightfulness with the ball that attracts me to his selection. This role in my team has slightly more defensive responsibility than the third midfielder, in that he will often drop into a double pivot with Casemiro. However, it is important to remember that I want the unit playing close to each other and moving up and down the field as a unit, so he''ll be just as close to the third midfielder as he is to Casemiro.
Advanced CM Playmaker: Mason Mount. Whhhhaaaattttttt? I hear you say..... But Mason is made for this role. He is a hardworking midfielder who doesn't have the positional awareness to play the deeper of the playmaking roles, but in a slightly more advanced position gives you most things you need. Great teamwork, enthusiastic pressing, he's a good passer of the ball, and he's press resistant. He also has was the Spanish call "llegada". He "arrives" in goalscoring positions.
Right Forward: Bruno Fernandes. People might think this is a waste. But putting Bruno out on the right gives me several things in my team. Firstly, you get what you always get with Bruno, a tremendous work rate. You also get a right footer on the right side, which enables us to swing deliveries into the box from wide positions. I see him playing the role more in the mold of a Beckham than I do a Kanchelskis. He's not skinning anyone on the outside, but he is playmaking from out wide, working his socks off, switching play, getting into goalscoring and goal creating positions, and swinging genuine crosses into the box. By virtue of being right footed, and leaning more towards going on the outside (something I want to happen to create more width and stretch the play), he leaves space for the left footed Martinez to cut inside.
Left Forward: Marcus Rashford. Mr Popular. A polemic figure, even by United standards. But he's the only true genuine top class forward we have. He only player really capable of lighting it up on a regular basis and being a virtuoso performer. He's having a stinker of a season granted - but lord knows what is happening behind the scenes. All I remember is that he carried us on our backs last season and was fecking brilliant. I would instruct him to go inside and go at them, looking for overlapping runs from Shaw.
Center-Forward: Rasmus Hojlund. He's hardly hit the ground running, but with a functioning unit behind him, I think he will come good. He has all the attributes. Technically good. Strong, quick, powerful runner. Tremendous work rate. I believe he would thrive on the service from Bruno out wide.
Well, that's my team. I think it would be hard to beat. Five of that front six (Casemiro, Mainoo, Mount, Bruno, Hojlund) are all very hard workers in terms of their pressing, or hard to get past. I think that out of the gate this makes us a very hard team to beat. Which is important. It's also a team that has a ton of technical ability. The unorthordox placement of Martinez on the right, is admittedly controversial; but it is something I would try. Martinez has to make the line up because of his multiplying effect on those around him. Ideally I'd play him as an inverted left back, but Shaw is too good to leave out, so I have moved him to the right. Martinez has operated in DM before, and I don't think he'd have any issue playing as a hybrid full-back/defensive midfielder. From a technical perspective, his passing is excellent. Plus, defensively, he is as hard as nails. The closest thing we have to a Keane like character, and I think that's a big boost to all around him. A right side of Martinez and Bruno is extremely competitive and determined, if not a little weird looking on paper.
My key substitutes would be: 1. Lindelof (I see him able to play Martinez's role, or as cover at CB) 2. Dalot (Able to play either full back role) 3. Eriksen (The man I didn't want to leave out, and the first player I would bring on if I felt we weren't keeping the ball well, or were struggling to play through the opposition). 4. Garnacho (I still think he's better as an impact sub. His decision making is dreadful on the whole, but he has oodles of technical quality, a good work rate, and is especially dangerous against tired legs). 5. McTominay (He's the sort of squad player every squad needs. Willing runner, has decent "llegada". Technically limited, and tactically stunted, but the sort of player you turn to when you need to win ugly. 6. Antony (Has his qualities, in that he's very press resistant, he's good at keeping possession, and he's a very hard worker. He has absolutely no end product though, and so not a player I would bring on if I was chasing games. More a player I would bring on to replace tried legs and see a game out).
Amad and Hannibal are interesting because of their age profiles and potential, so would get some minutes when the rotation allows. The rest of the squad is much of a muchness.
I am aware there are some controversial prospects here; but this is what I would go with if my job was on the line. If I was accountable for results and decisions. Would I stay playing that way if it didn't work? No, of course not. I would make adjustments. Would I have to move Bruno more centrally? Maybe. Would I have to pick a more traditional right back? Perhaps. Or even put a right footed CB at right back, like Lindelof? It's very possible. But when I look at the way the game is played today, how I would want my team to play, and more intangible factors like personality and character - elements which make us really hard to play against - then this is the line-up and set up I come up with. Even if it does require seeing players in positions we aren't use to seeing them in. At the end of the day it is all about the collective, not individuals. I don't care, for instance, if Bruno's numbers go down as a result of him playing on the right (I don't think they would in this system), as long as the team's numbers go up.
So what would you do if you were made manager tomorrow?
