That made me go back and read your last post and i concur, excellent post and thoughts....
I read with interest the comments of Kevin DE Bruyne and Pep G after their 3-1 win midweek. They adopted a false 9 tactic to swamp our weak midfield and stifle our counter attacking options. It worked amazingly well in the first half, they simply blew us away provoking comments of Men V Boys etc.
We simply couldn’t cope with their pass and move and they cut us open time and again and it could easily have been 5-0 at half time.
Another city player commented they completely eased off us in the 2nd half too save their legs.!!
I do wonder if Ole has the technical intelligence/experience to coach more advanced tactics to exploit or nullify the oppositions threat. Pep G is the master at it, Ole, a mere novice at it but managing one of the biggest clubs in the world???
Cheers.
I believe KdB's words were a slight dig more than anything else. It's a city rivalry in which they have gained the upper hand lately. We defeated them at their ground fair and square and they bounced back with "only 15 minutes of practice on the training ground" by showing who's the boss in Manchester. The truth is Pep put serious thought in his tactics going into that game. This is a plus for Solskjaer because it indicates that he gives the opposition managers, especially the ones at big clubs, something to worry about. Therefore, a case could be made regarding the sheer lack of options and the need for reinforcements. The main issue is that our best tactical plans don't work well enough when we have to generate space with our off the ball movement. There doesn't seem to be a plan B in place which creates additional issues because it makes us one dimensional in our approach. And the right synergies between the players still seem to be missing.
I'll try to explain what i mean and answer the questions you raise in your last paragraph by starting with our games against City, as they seem a good example because we've tasted both triumph and humiliation in them, and move toward the bigger picture. So please bear with me.
Let's start with the league game last season: We went into this one with a 532. It wasn't a random choice, there's a logic behind it. We wanted the two forwards upfront because we aimed to bypass City's high press by playing long-balls in behind their defence and, in particular, attack the spaces their constantly overlapping FBs leave behind. We had three midfielders to match City's three men in the centre of the park and the three men at the back would make it difficult for City to create numerical advantages in our third. It also suited our pressing tactics. We didn't press as high as City but we did want to have a pressing game because we are at our best when we can hit disorganized defences between transitions and there are spaces to exploit. It meant that we could push our lines a bit higher with the relative security the extra defender provides should City find a through ball between our lines. When we had to make something with the ball against an organized City defence, our goal remained the same but, instead of going direct, we tried to create numerical advantages on the left side. You see, our left CB was Lindelof (the ball-playing one) and the LCM was Pogba (our most creative player). The plan was for Lindelof to push a bit higher when we had the ball in the midfield. This would push Pogba to a more wide position on the left and with Shaw overlapping and Rashford cutting inside the left half-space, it would create a rhomboid shape on the left side and give us a potential 3v2 or 4v3 numerical advantage.
City needed to win and they looked rather nervous in the first 45 minutes. They had the possession, they were the more proactive side but the game could have gone either way if City hadn't found the solution to the problems with presented them. We weren't allowing them spaces to exploit and our midfielders were doing a good job at not allowing City to take advantages of the weaknesses of the 532 in the wide areas defensively. What changed the balance of the game was the introduction of Sane in the second half. He would not stay out wide to receive the ball like Sterling but he would tuck inside, create a 4v3 advantage in the midfield and, most importantly, allow City's midfield to create openings in the wide areas for the ball to move forward. This resulted in our midfield being forced very deep and our pressing game being nullified. For that, we didn't have an answer but City were very clinical too and relied a lot on the quality of their attackers.
Pep carried this thought into his second encounter with Solskjaer. His usual build-up revolves around his FBs playing more centrally. Not this time because he instructed them to stay wide and support the midfielders by creating numerical advantages in the midfield, bypassing our press and, subsequently, dominating the midfield. But Solskjaer anticipated this too. He abandoned any thoughts about altered formations and pressing. But, unlike Mourinho, he did try to keep his side as active as possible without the ball. Rashford and James ran their socks off to close down Walker and Angelino respectively while Lingard was keeping Rodri in check. We didn't push our lines higher, the plan was to remain as compact as possible. We were constantly closing down the aforementioned City players in the build-up phase when they were the first attackers (on the ball) and we used McT and Fred's energy and aggression to generate press traps against KdB and Silva and hit on the counter. These two did a tremendous job too at covering the half-spaces (the channels between the FBs and CBs) and not allowing Silva/KdB to make runs in the box. The plan was the same as in the first game, to exploit the spaces in the wide areas between transitions. We were far more effective because our tactical plan was better.
But Pep did react, again. Walker and Angelino tucked inside, Rodri pushed higher up the pitch and so did KdB and Silva and our midfielders were basically sandwiched between them. We were forced very deep but we remained very compact thanks to Fred and McT's resilience. City dominated possession, they pinned us down but they were also forced to play the ball wide and put crosses in our box more often than they would have liked. Their switches of play though managed to create a numerical advantage on the right side but AWB was outstanding for us in that game.
Not surprisingly, Solskjaer, as Pep previously, carried his successful tactics into the next meeting with City. Thus the choice to start Pereira in the midfield for the energy levels he provides. But Pep, in turn, anticipated him. The Rodri-Gundogan and Silva-KdB "square" in the midfield created the "sandwich" we talked about earlier on and generated a 4v3 in the midfield for City. There are some very good posts on here about this game that offer much insight and mine is already a long post. Let's just say that Pep threw the gauntlet at Ole: "If you want to use press traps against my play-makers and FBs, you'll have to abandon your compact shape". Lingard was outnumbered 1v2 against Rodri-Gundogan, one of the midfielders was always dragged wide and Silva-KdB were constantly 2v1 against the other. Game over.
So, Solskjaer isn't being paid 7.5 million p/y just to smile on the bench. There are things we want to do on the pitch. We understand the need to press/close down in order to hit between transitions. We want to create overloads on our left side or use James/Greenwood's pace on the right to generate chances. The problem lies with the choices we make in order to get there.
Solskjaer wants an energetic midfield that can cover lots of ground because it's essential to his pressing tactics. Solskjaer also wants to build the attack around Rashford and Martial. Finally, he wants a back-four capable to contribute in the build-up. Sounds about right? Let's try to dissect it into little pieces. All the energy in the world will not make a functional midfield when your midfielders lack positional awareness, vision and an adequate first touch. Why? Because on most occasions they will receive the ball from the CBs with their backs to the goal (and attempt a half-turn) or (as we have organized our build-up) they will receive a square pass from the FBs. Anyhow, the first one-two touches are crucial. I don't know about you but i always hold my breath when Fred attempts a half-turn. McT is probably the best of the lot because he actually gives a toss and tries to position himself in an angle that offers the CBs a passing option. But his passing skills still need honing, lots of it.
The (not so) funny part is that we saw that coming and that's one of the main reasons why allowed nonchalantly Smalling to leave and spent 150 odd million on AWB and Maguire. Because the ball-playing defenders have the luxury of seeing all kinds of movements ahead of them. But when you go with this option, you need attackers with the ability to compress the space until they receive the ball and then bring others into play. But Martial and Rashford aren't very good at this (yet). They thrive on the spaces behind defences, not in congested areas away from the box. This leaves the #10 with a lot of work to do. The result? Our lines are ridiculously far apart and our players on the ball have limited options. It works against the "possession-based" sides because our lines are very close to each other by design, our midfielders can get on the ball while facing the goal more easily and the attackers have dropped very deep because they know they can hit on the counter. Against organized defences, we want Rashford closer to the box and trying to link up with Martial and we want the #10 ready to make a run in behind or move to the left side to create an overload. But this means that the midfielders will actually have to produce something with the ball at their feet. But we also don't want to lose the energy levels they can provide. Stalemate.
I stand by what i said in my earlier posts. We have to create the right balance by maximizing our players' strengths, not by projecting what we wish them to become in the future. Lukaku's first touch hasn't improved under Conte but he plays in a system where he's not isolated and chasing shadows against defenders. He bullies the opposition centre-halves and creates space for Martinez who's silky skills make everything happen for Inter. Ronaldo thrives when there's another player (Tevez, Benz) whose movement creates pockets of space for him to attack. Try to shoehorn him with (a forward like) Raul and you'll get less impressive results. A midfield of Carrick-Scholes/Giggs can accommodate an ageing defence when the plan is to defend very deep and very narrow by minimizing the spaces the defenders have to cover. This tactic (the very low block) removes the need for a ball-winning midfielder and maximizes Carrick/Scholes/Gigg's passing skills and vision. How? By utilizing players(Nani-Valencia-Young etc.) who are comfortable receiving the ball in the wide areas and then cutting inside and not vice-versa. Also, by having two attacking FBs in Evra and Rafael who will overlap when the wingers cut inside. And by stretching the field horizontally, you create pockets of space for your forwards. That's how a lacklustre side on paper can run away with the league. Compare it with what we are doing now.
LvG failed because of his bad dealings in the market. Mourinho failed because of his arrogance. Solskjaer will fail because he's very idealistic for his own good. He's already introduced/improved three youngsters (McT, Williams, Greenwood), he's already led Martial and Rashford to have their most productive seasons and his three signings are seen as successes. That's six players, four of which are constant starters. Despite all that, we only have the odd win in the big games to show for. Why's that? Food for thought...
