But how is that valid? The players aren't strangers who meet for the first time just before the game. They're members of a squad who train and practice together every day. They're all supposedly attuned to the "philosophy" of the manager, so I can't see how swapping one player for another is "hurting" us. That's the very purpose of a squad, is it not? One player should be able to replace another with no effect on performance. Other clubs seem to manage it.
Lack of urgency
- Thread starter Señor
- Start date
Starting to think Carrick should play CB when Blind comes back. The passing game from the back is amateurish.
Its completely valid in that the players we field on the pitch need to train AND play together in competitive matches in order to gain a bit of momentum and learn one another's ways. If the likes of Di Maria, Falcao, Carrick, Rafael, and others haven't been available for lengthy overlapping stretches, its highly unlikely were are going to perform at anything near our peak level. Our ideal starting XI players need to play together more before that happens.
Agreed.
LVG seems to think Carrick is the CB from among those 2, but we have a better option at RCB than LCB right now in that Jones is doing okay (goal was somewhat his fault today, though) but Evans has struggled and Rojo has been out. Maybe we'll see Blind at LCB and Carrick at DM when Rojo is out and Carrick as the sweeper with Rojo at LCB and one of Smalling or Jones at RCB when Rojo is back.
Can't agree with that at all. Carrick isn't, never has been and never will be a centre back. He's a fill-in, nothing more. We need to buy at the very least one technically capable centre back, more probably two.
I think the problem is a little more complex than simply that. It's beginning to make itself quite obvious that we don't have the players at the back who are technically capable of playing the football LVG wants them to play. That's why they're constantly just passing the ball across the field to one another or just humping it long instead of moving it confidently into midfield. No amount of playing together will fix that.
Basically, let Di Maria come back so that Rooney can go back to his preferred position.
The team is set up to control games and allow moments of brilliance to win away games. It's a strategy that I feel only works 30% of the time, and about 15% of the time without Di maria
We have not had a fully squad to choose from in a long time
Wasn't giving my opinion. Just predicting LVG's upcoming course of action.
There's nothing worse than watching our back three pass it among themselves from one end of the pitch to the other in a straight line.
That's what gets to a lot of people. The mantra of Utd has always been "pace and power". We could just overwhelm teams. The like of Stoke, Leicester etc. wouldn't know what hit them. Now they just stand and smirk while our back 3 have a nervous breakdown, just interminably passing it to one another before one of them either humps it long or passes it back to DDG.
We are unable to build up constant pressure and it's frustrating to watch. When we pass it back all the times, the other team can always organize themselves and we hardly find a way through. Under Fergie, we didn't play exciting football but we were able to create pressure and urgency until the other team cracked
Our midfield and attack is one of the slowest in the league (even with di Maria), we can't play with any pace or urgency because we just don't have it. There is also a lack of width, hardly anyone who can beat a man, a lack of balance and a negative formation so it's no wonder we often look pedestrian and are easy to defend against.
If teams pack central areas and play a high line we find it very difficult away from home and end up just playing it round at the back, there is a lot of work to do and I don't see drastic improvement until next summer when we can bring in new players. If LVG doesn't address these problems in the summer then he will be open to criticism but at the moment I think he is just trying to make the best of what he has and get us back in the champions league.
If teams pack central areas and play a high line we find it very difficult away from home and end up just playing it round at the back, there is a lot of work to do and I don't see drastic improvement until next summer when we can bring in new players. If LVG doesn't address these problems in the summer then he will be open to criticism but at the moment I think he is just trying to make the best of what he has and get us back in the champions league.
We're missing two of our key players in Blind and Di Maria.
Carrick is being expected to bring the ball out of defence, keep possession, find some space and play the incisive balls all in one go. Good as he is, he is not good enough to do all that, especially at 33. He stays in midfield and is not running into space to put passes on a plate for our defence, who are so unsure on the ball that they need it on a plate. Because they don't have that option, they're passing it amongst themselves or aimlessly belting it forward. Blind drops back and can keep possession under pressure better than Carrick, allowing Carrick to find himself the space to receive the ball from Blind and play it forward.
Di Maria is our one player who everyone bricks it when he's on the ball. He creates space for others purely by being there, not to mention his pace.
Carrick is being expected to bring the ball out of defence, keep possession, find some space and play the incisive balls all in one go. Good as he is, he is not good enough to do all that, especially at 33. He stays in midfield and is not running into space to put passes on a plate for our defence, who are so unsure on the ball that they need it on a plate. Because they don't have that option, they're passing it amongst themselves or aimlessly belting it forward. Blind drops back and can keep possession under pressure better than Carrick, allowing Carrick to find himself the space to receive the ball from Blind and play it forward.
Di Maria is our one player who everyone bricks it when he's on the ball. He creates space for others purely by being there, not to mention his pace.
Journeymen Brits in the squad (and the changing room) from SAF's cozy final years need to be ditched. LVG will eventually learn that not every player he coaches can be improved, or coaxed from their comfort zone into competence and drive. It's becoming a trial and a bore to watch such complacency and ineptitude.
My goodness Steve, that is scathing from you. You are usually so upbeat.
Oof. You alright Steve?
Don't worry, chief - I'm known for my rubbish opinions.My goodness Steve, that is scathing from you. You are usually so upbeat.
EDIT: There's no anger in my last post, only resignation. Despite our improvement under LVG as compared to Moyes, I've the feeling that little has truly changed; these 'part of the OT furniture' players are still around.
We have had little tasters of how they could play in games, but the need to play 3-5-2 is killing our attacks. Yes we are on an unbeaten run, which is great, but there are far too many draws in there. We don't trust our defence, we aren't creating anywhere near enough chances and when we do we aren't putting them away. I am not too bothered about the latter as not all chances do get converted, but the fact we should be creating more, the more chances, the more goals. They seem too satisfied in some games with it ending in a draw, which is not good enough. We should be going for wins.Don't worry, chief - I'm known for my rubbish opinions.
EDIT: There's no anger in my last post, only resignation. Despite our improvement under LVG as compared to Moyes, I've the feeling that little has truly changed; these 'part of the OT furniture' players are still around.
I agree with many of the above points, however I do feel that once we get back to playing four at the back regularly then we can start to add constant pressure back into our game. It probably doesn't help that we play with four in midfield and two strikers whilst most other teams play five with a lone striker.
You are right about that. He won't drop RvP, he is trying to get Falcao fit and then shoehorns his captain into midfield.
This is becoming a bit of a recurring feature of the United team this season.