Tony should be benched after recent performances then moved on in the summer if we can get a decent ST
Let's take a close look at our passing!
- Thread starter OleTheGreat
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Nik (@Rood) and Imran (@Annihilate Now!) discuss United's fantastic win away against Athletic Club in the semi-final of the Europa League.
They also pick out the positives of United's 4-3 loss away at Brentford, and Nik reviews a day out at Old Trafford watching Manchester United Women qualify for the Champions League.
Tony should be benched after recent performances then moved on in the summer if we can get a decent ST
I agree and I love AM but he's not earned the spot. I'd actually keep him as backup LW, keep Cavani & Greenwood CF and have Diallo RW.
We need better than him in the summer but frustratingly we have three positions in such dire need that has to take priority in the next window and even all that won't be sorted then either
How can we be predictable at the same time as having no system/patterns of play? It doesn't make sense.
Our problems when we play badly, which has been a consistent problem since 2013, is the lack of movement off the ball. Every time we play like shit it's when nobody is moving. If there's no movement, there's less passing options and it becomes an almighty struggle.
Our passing was predictable under SAF. I could tell you where the ball was going next at almost any part of the pitch. The difference was that players were supporting each other with movement and we also had better passers of the ball in midfield.
Our problems when we play badly, which has been a consistent problem since 2013, is the lack of movement off the ball. Every time we play like shit it's when nobody is moving. If there's no movement, there's less passing options and it becomes an almighty struggle.
Our passing was predictable under SAF. I could tell you where the ball was going next at almost any part of the pitch. The difference was that players were supporting each other with movement and we also had better passers of the ball in midfield.
This is exactly what I've been saying. Our offensive play is horrendous and I'm sure that we'll get dispossessed if it's not in quick transition. We don't have a way of getting out of a strong press. We are so slow in our build up, it is painstaking. So predictable and easy to defend against. I don't understand how people, coaches, journalists think we are a threat to the title. Breaking down smaller teams this way is impossible.
Absolutely shambolic today. Disgraceful.
The passing is really poor.
So slow and ponderous. We seem to think we have all day on the ball.
That was just sloppy. The amount of careless giveaways was infuriating. Matic, Fred, Maguire, Shaw, Wan Bissaka all culpable of it today.
Let's not.
Our midfielders are absolutely shite. There must be at least ten sides in the league with better midfield pairings.
Matic was awful today and he’s usually the only defensive midfielder we have that can pass the ball. Pairing him with Fred was a mess. Far too many stray passes. I like Fred but he’s not good when we try to pass at a quicker tempo
Passing is so terrible. Championship level stuff out there today. We seem to be able to pass well only on counter attacks where there is ample of space. Passing in tight areas almost always end up in interceptions.
It's a fecking coaching issue. How many more excuses are going to be made. You have teams with far inferior players who are a lot quicker and less predictable in their passing. The reason some of our players dither on the ball is also because of the shite movement off the ball - another coaching issue. The fact that our 'press' consists of Bruno sprinting from CM to a goalkeeper, all by himself, is also a coaching issue.
I wonder when people will realize this.
Have to agree with this.
The passing was well off today. So sloppy.
There was a point in the game where we were deep in our own half and Fred under no pressure had what seemed like a simple 5 yard pass to Shaw who was standing on the touch line but instead passed it straight out of play giving them a throw in, summed up right up today.
FFS get someone in there who can actually pass it properly before it's too late this season
By his own admission, coaching isn't Ole's strong suit. So it's on people like Carrick and McKenna, it's actually them that coach this team and after 3 years - we still seem a level or two below the best teams out there in terms of movement, dealing with pressing, keeping the ball and variety of attacks in the final third (making runs into the box).
maybe another 300-400mil could do it
We need more experienced coaches FACT
We're Carrick and Mckenna thrust upon ole, I doubt it. The great man also knew his limitations but got the right people beside him to compensate.
Nothing new here.
Our structure is terrible.
Ole and our coaches don't really care about possession. We're so bad at moving the ball at times. The only time we truly move the ball quickly is during transitions and counters.
In possession, our movement is still lackluster and static. I'm not buying the crap midfield excuse. The midfield has Bruno, Pogba, Fred and Matic.
However you feel about Fred, his passing completion % is in the mid 80s and he starts for Brazil. Plenty of teams with inferior players in midfield can pass better than we can.
Our structure is terrible.
Ole and our coaches don't really care about possession. We're so bad at moving the ball at times. The only time we truly move the ball quickly is during transitions and counters.
In possession, our movement is still lackluster and static. I'm not buying the crap midfield excuse. The midfield has Bruno, Pogba, Fred and Matic.
However you feel about Fred, his passing completion % is in the mid 80s and he starts for Brazil. Plenty of teams with inferior players in midfield can pass better than we can.
For all the 'progress' we've made in the last 3 years, this remains so true. It has to be coached. No other way. No other explanation for much inferior players pinging the ball around way better than us.
Well it would help if we got good coaches in.
Fergie would go and seek out the quality coaches he needed. He brought Carlos and Rene to the club. Right now it feels like our coaching staff is effectively the man utd retirement home.
Carrick had just done his badges and brought people in from lower coaching roles within the club. So long into Oles time and i don't see us defending as a unit, attacking as a unit, pressing as a unit.
And don't get me started about the urgency on the pitch. In fergies time if we were losing with 20 mins to go we were relentless. The few times we got the ball in the last 20 mins today, you could see 2-3 players playing with urgency and the rest trotting forward.
Oh to have a Keane or Robson on the field to rip into these guys and tell them in no uncertain terms what wearing the United shirt means
Fergie would go and seek out the quality coaches he needed. He brought Carlos and Rene to the club. Right now it feels like our coaching staff is effectively the man utd retirement home.
Carrick had just done his badges and brought people in from lower coaching roles within the club. So long into Oles time and i don't see us defending as a unit, attacking as a unit, pressing as a unit.
And don't get me started about the urgency on the pitch. In fergies time if we were losing with 20 mins to go we were relentless. The few times we got the ball in the last 20 mins today, you could see 2-3 players playing with urgency and the rest trotting forward.
Oh to have a Keane or Robson on the field to rip into these guys and tell them in no uncertain terms what wearing the United shirt means
Eh, I'm seeing this argument, but I see absolutely no interest from him on his part to make any changes to the coaching staff. Also - I feel like the old, man manager type isn't really the most effective these days. The best managers are all head coaches, with a set identity and play style, with coaches that come in to assist with their approach. See Klopp, Pep etc.
With Ole - we basically have a DOF for a manager who is either scared or cannot identify where the issues with coaching are. It's just a constant circle.
People say he's kind to them on camera but in the dressing room he's giving them hair dryers. But you look at the way we used to play with minutes to go, that was the managers passion filtering through his style his heart, and then we see the last 20 today.
Fred ain't the problem. Or at least not all of the problem. His passing is sometimes erratic but he has 88% completion and the only player with higher passing numbers is Matic who however is very reserved with it and plays very deep.
McTominay's passing is worse than Fred's not just in stats, but also visibly. Fred attempts more long balls and switches and more ambitious through balls. McTominay however runs with and carries the ball more.
The problem for me is primarily coaching and secondarily that between them we don't have a good playmaker in CM. By the second point I mean that Fred and McTominay don't complement each other very well, yet it's still better than either of them with Matic.
This is what I've been saying. Remember when Chelsea replaced Lampard with Tommy T? How quickly their structure and style changed. Ole's good vibes can only get you so far. Eventually we'll have to bring in someone who knows how fecking coach.
Spending another £300m won't win us the league, we need proper coaches. I wonder if they can just bring in a consultant to help. A bit like normal businesses do, when they lack a certain skill set within the team.
Yes some of our fanbase can actually see how dreadful his coaching levels really are and understandably fed up of him constantly acknowledging the issue but still doing absolutely bugger all about it. Our board are utterly clueless because any club either needs a man manager with proper coaches or a tactical mastermind but we ended up with neither.
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The thing that hurt most in this result, and has been a constant during ole's time here was the lack of urgency after we equalised. It was like we just expected them to roll over and die. This is definitely a management issue. There are a couple of players who play with urgency e.g. Bruno and Cavani due to their personalities. The majority however, I feel are just mirroring the manager's personality.
We've been poor in possession for a number of years now.
Mourinho had no interest in improving it and Ole doesn't appear to know how to improve it, so it just stays the same, year after year, regardless of personnel.
Mourinho had no interest in improving it and Ole doesn't appear to know how to improve it, so it just stays the same, year after year, regardless of personnel.
What do you mean 'poor in possession', genuinely? Like wasteful, or not capable of keeping posession?
Todays stats:
| Southampton | 1-1 | Man Utd |
| 8 | Shots | 15 |
| 3 | On Target | 4 |
| 36% | Possession | 64% |
| 69% | Pass% | 79% |
| 1 | Chances | 2 |
| 2 | Yellows | 3 |
| 7 | Corners | 7 |
| 0 | Offsides | 2 |
If anything we had decent possession today and had 15 shots. We hit the bar, different game if that goes in so fine margins. Our passing was decent enough too, some sloppy mistakes from one or two players that resulted in them getting in because players were getting caught out of possession. I think it was mainly Matic that was doing that.
I was surprised not to see Greenwood starting through the middle again after last week. I thought he led the line well at Old Trafford against Leeds.