Stones has pulled out of the England squad today with a muscle injury.
Stones, Cherki, Foden, Gvardiol, Kovacic all potentially out.
Injuries going into the City game
- Thread starter Raoul
- Start date
Stones has pulled out of the England squad today with a muscle injury.
Stones, Cherki, Foden, Gvardiol, Kovacic all potentially out.
I'm quite confident Cunha will play. And I felt like we missed Dorgu, I don't think Dalot was that good despite of his assist... so hopefully we can field our strongest 11 (on paper)
I'm quite confident Cunha will play. And I felt like we missed Dorgu, I don't think Dalot was that good despite of his assist... so hopefully we can field our strongest 11 (on paper)
I'd be surprised if he plays since his injury seemed more serious than Mount's, which seemed closer to precautionary than anything. If that's the case, we may well see Mount replace Cunha. Also, Mazraoui looked in very good form at the weekend, so I suspect we may see him in a starting role, which would have Shaw replace Dorgu to clear space for a third defender on the right.
I've yet to see any benefit of using Dorgu. Yes, he can "drive up and down the pitch", but there's zero end product by way of crossing, shooting, or contributing otherwise in the final third; nor is he a particularly good defender. He simply needs more time to develop before being thrown into the fire like that. Shaw is far more experienced, attacks with a football brain and defends well, so I would use him on the left over anyone else.
Not sure it’s the best we have on paper. Shaw is no longer the one he’s once beenI'm quite confident Cunha will play. And I felt like we missed Dorgu, I don't think Dalot was that good despite of his assist... so hopefully we can field our strongest 11 (on paper)
Shaw has been fantastic at CB. I don't think we have anyone better to replace him.
Agreed, although with Mazraoui fit again and looking like he's in good form, i suspect he could play as a RCB, which could push Shaw into a LWB role. Dalot, who started in our last win against City, will probably also be in contention (despite him leaving the Portugal squad this week).
LWB needs a Duracell bunny type lad, Shaw is great at LCB but LWB could feck him up. If Maz has no game time i cant see him suddenly getting a start just yet here but he would be useful off the bench. I like Dorgu but i understand the need to rotate him as a youngster.
Shaw can't do a wingback role
Agreed. Would be utterly asking for trouble trying to play him there.
He's probably one of the few players this system suits in his current position.
He is constantly on the wing up and down which something Shaw has question marks over him. He pushes the team up because a few times he has managed to break through the line despite no end product.
I agree he’s not offering the end product but he’s the only player in the squad that actually does the wingback role.
I think quite a few do, all our defence and wingbacks for example.
Being up and down the wing is only a small part of his job of playing a hybrid position of needing to be a good defender and attacker, where Dorgu is neither. He's simply not developed enough yet to be playing a starting role.
Athleticism is possibly the biggest minimum requirement for that role.
If we're being charitable, Dorgu is adept at creating width. He's neither a superb crosser, nor very good at effectively driving buildup play, nor at defending. That's not a dig at him; just an observation that he's a young player who is still developing and definitely isn't yet for a consistent starting XI spot.
The only reason he is a United player is because Shaw was injured and Amorim found himself underwater after a terrible holiday run during which he was having to rotate Mazraoui, Dalot, and Malacia at LWB.
Under any normal conditions, a player like Dorgu would be an understudy to an experienced starter so he could develop slowly - not as an immediate starter at Man United.
Agreed, and the same goes for Höjlund and Sesko I am afraid.
Completely different than the specific need we have at LWB. Sesko is brand new and only just now beginning to get settled. Hojlund would still be here if he contributed more than 4 league goals last year.
Not sure I follow. Höjlund and Dorgu were never considered great talents such as for instance Rooney and Shaw, the technical ability just isn't there. To make Höjlund our no 9 at an young age without PL experience says everything you need to know about this malfunctioning club. Dorgu was much cheaper but was still brought in instead of Ait Nouri or Kerkesz to be a starter. Limited technical ability and no PL experience.
Let's see about Sesko and if we made a similar mistake as with Höjlund. I don't consider Sesko to be a great talent, but too early to tell how he adopts to life in the PL.
Sorry, I misunderstood your previous point. Completely agree on Hojlund and Dorgu. In past years, both would be considered developmental players who would be brought along slowly behind experienced starters. Rooney's comparison of Hojlund with David Bellion was probably a bit over the top, but the overarching point that these players require a stable system with experienced players ahead of them to develop, was well taken.
It’s nice to have the ability to field a different starting 11 that isn’t an obvious downgrade. Feels like it’s been a while!
We definitely have options though.
Absolutely - I believe an upgrade on Dalot is a must in the next summer window.
Unfortunately, too many holes to fix this time around.
Dalot definitely isn’t good enough to be a starter in case we have ambitions to be a top 4 team.
Honestly surprised he’s lasted this long in the side.
Ok, I didn't say otherwise.
I think people who don't like players like Mount, Shaw or Dalot are going to have to manage their expectations since Amorim likes each of them and will continue to use them on a regular basis.
As for not finishing top 4 with Dalot, we've already finished third twice and second with Dalot as a United player.
He was the starting LWB for our win against City in December, our FA cup win against Arsenal, our draw against Pool in Jan, and our draw against Arsenal in March, so we already know we can be successful when he plays LWB.
I agree he isn’t good enough yet and it may never be. But at this moment in time, he’s the more athletic wingback with Dalot being second better than Shaw. Shaw does not have that intensity required, would be a big risk considering his age and injury situation. Young Shaw maybe? I’d be willing to give Shaw a try however I don’t think the city game is the one.
You also need to consider getting up and down is one of the requirements. It gets the team up the pitch and you can help the team defend. Especially with City’s attackers being good with the ball at their feet.
