Ole has no system that I can see ..... or do I just need better glasses?

[The Boy]

I've read this from quite a few posters here ... people say they cannot see any system and everything comes down to individual brilliance, basically there’s no tactics coached.

But I think there clearly is, the difficulty is that because of injuries to key players, Ole has had to adapt his ideas throughout the season, though I would suggest that this shows even more tactical nous from him.

At the beginning of the season Ole wanted to build around Pogba in the 4-2-3-1 formation that he used in Norway and obviously favours. The team would press high and play with a high defence stealing the ball back early and playing quick forward passes from between the lines onto runners like Martial, James, Lingard and Rashford. The key to this was the other midfielder (McT, Matic or Fred) dropping back in between the CBs allowing the FBs to push forward either into midfield to protect against a counter or into attack to become another option for the pass forward, so effectively 4-2-3-1 would switch to 3-2-5 in attack. Pogba was key to this as he was the creative force meant to be spraying the ball about the pitch, but Pogba got injured and there was no one else in the squad to fill that role.

So he had to adapt to working with a much more utilitarian midfield. Liverpool do this by using their full backs as the creative force, but AWB wasn’t bought for this and though Shaw is capable it’s not his strongest suit either. But Ole didn’t have a huge amount of choice as the need for creativity moved out of central midfield and onto the wings, more often than not the left side with Shaw and Rashford. It still involved midfielders dropping into defence, but this now it meant a holding midfielder (often Fred) dropping into cover either LB or RB depending on who was pushing forward. With Martial, Shaw and Rashford all out at different times as well this became increasingly difficult. We all know how that worked out. Though he certainly had some successes, Tottenham and City stand out, but so do Newcastle and Norwich.

Finally with the purchase of Bruno, Ole got what he’d been missing with Pogba out, a playmaker to operate between the lines. So once again he could switch the creativity back to midfield, push Rashford and James/Greenwood out wide with Martial running through the centre. The other midfielder could drop back to create a back 3 and the wingbacks could either tuck in to protect midfield or push up to support the attack. Yes Bruno played in a more advanced position than Ole had planned for Pogba, but the idea pretty much remained the same with the idea of 4-2-3-1 switching to 3-2-5 in attack again.

These ideas aren't completely original, Ole has borrowed a bit from Klopp and Pep (who obviously play quite differently anyway) as well as others. He’s been forced to adapt throughout the season and you could argue that his tactics didn’t really finally click until that fecking Brighton game when you hammered us after lockdown (it was that game that got me thinking and reading about this)

He has also made mistakes as he and his coaches are quite inexperienced at this level, though I don’t mean he can not succeed and clearly the players don't think that either as they seem totally bought into his ideas. So to say there is no system is wrong in my mind, there has been at least three clear systems throughout the season (that's not counting the odd time he's started with 3 at the back or 4-4-2, which is another post all by itself!) as he’s adapted to the players available. Now whether you think the tactics are good enough or not is another discussion enitirely!

Interesting analysis written by cleverer people than me here.

Ole having to adapt - https://thebusbybabe.sbnation.com/2...t-ole-gunnar-solskjaer-learned-from-liverpool

Bruno makes the difference - https://totalfootballanalysis.com/p...-manchester-united-sporting-tactical-analysis

Ole’s tactics finally click against Brighton https://thebusbybabe.sbnation.com/2...s-shades-of-guardiola-as-ole-ball-takes-shape

4-2-3-1 converting to 3-2-5 in attack https://www.sports-nova.com/2020/06...unnar-solskjaer-rejuvenate-manchester-united/

tl:dr – Ole actually does have a clear system, but it has changed through the season to adapt to injuries. Saying there is no system is wrong!

 

[roonster09]

Tbh the way I see it, unless someone from mainstream media and Cox publishes N number of articles, people will always come to with no tactics, no system posts. That's the way it is.

Not saying everyone is like that but that's how the trend and narratives are set

 

[Amarsdd]

Tbh the way I see it, unless someone from mainstream media and Cox publishes N number of articles, people will always come to with no tactics, no system posts. That's the way it is.

Not saying everyone is like that but that's how the trend and narratives are set

This! Exactly! Its easier to go with the flow of a narrative than to actually critically think for yourself. I myself have been guilty of falling into that trap once in a while.

Anyway good post OP.

 

[ReddevilTinu]

To be frank Ole has had system and a long term plan. If we see the recruitment at the junior levels it is quite apparent what he is doing like Ferguson was doing when he arrived at Manchester United. Since now it has become more of a results business he needs players now.

Now I had read somewhere that united had taken a loan which surely we need to spend wisely. (Sancho, Grealish, White) will be good additions for starters who are British (European alternatives always tend to move) which will then help the current core of team. He would need additional 2-3 good transfers and youngsters like Greenwood to come good to build

 

[The Boy]

(Sancho, Grealish, White) will be good additions for starters who are British (European alternatives always tend to move) which will then help the current core of team. He would need additional 2-3 good transfers and youngsters like Greenwood to come good to build

Hands off White, he's going nowhere!

 

[Sky1981]

I don't care if Ole has a long term vision or not, he will be judged by results

I have been his supporter to get the full time job, I have been his biggest critics during our bad run, and Now that he has shown result (3rd and 3 Semi) he has earn next season. Fair is fair.

I don't buy long term, I dont think managers are looking at the next 5-10 years ahead when they're doing their job. Alex Ferguson is an anomaly, even then I doubt he'll be thinking about the next 5 years, at best he'll have a simple 2-3 years cycle and see / reevaluate every few years. One year at a time for me, if next year is better than this year then Ole's doing a good job, and only when he finished the hurdle we can properly judge what sort of plan he actually has.

For all we know Moyes might have won treble if he was given a full 6 year, but it doesn't matter, he wasn't because he's fired in his first year.

 

[Joseunited]

Hands off White, he's going nowhere!

Good read by the way.

 

[Wednesday at Stoke]

Good post, Ole has his flaws when it comes to trusting his squad and living with the results but tactical naivete isn't one of them.

Infact there is possible argument that he's been the most tactically flexible and least stubborn manager at United since Ferguson.

 

[CG1010]

He doesn't have the same philosophy as Klopp or Pep but similar to Fergie. So he will have a system but there will always be freedom given to players to show their ingenuity. And more and more the structure of how we play is getting visible. I thought the Sevilla game was a watershed too as we played Bruno a bit deeper and he helped midfield keep control. I am sure it would show up in his statistics. It gave us a bit more in passing options when they were pressing.

 

[Berbasbullet]

He doesn't have the same philosophy as Klopp or Pep but similar to Fergie. So he will have a system but there will always be freedom given to players to show their ingenuity. And more and more the structure of how we play is getting visible. I thought the Sevilla game was a watershed too as we played Bruno a bit deeper and he helped midfield keep control. I am sure it would show up in his statistics. It gave us a bit more in passing options when they were pressing.

Agreed with last part and I hope ole noticed too, I thought it might be similar to Southampton where we got pinned in but we beat the press rather easily.

 

[Brokenbeard]

I don't care if Ole has a long term vision or not, he will be judged by results

I have been his supporter to get the full time job, I have been his biggest critics during our bad run, and Now that he has shown result (3rd and 3 Semi) he has earn next season. Fair is fair.

I don't buy long term, I dont think managers are looking at the next 5-10 years ahead when they're doing their job. Alex Ferguson is an anomaly, even then I doubt he'll be thinking about the next 5 years, at best he'll have a simple 2-3 years cycle and see / reevaluate every few years. One year at a time for me, if next year is better than this year then Ole's doing a good job, and only when he finished the hurdle we can properly judge what sort of plan he actually has.

For all we know Moyes might have won treble if he was given a full 6 year, but it doesn't matter, he wasn't because he's fired in his first year.

Regarding long term, i agree with you. But it seems like long term for some man utd fans is 2 games is what you get before the axe is raised.

3rd place and champions league should earn him another season.

 

[Thepinhead]

Great post OP.

I think it is pretty obvious that we play very well at the moment as a team. We are creating loads of chances and are let down slightly by personal mistakes at the moment. We will have to figure out if those making those mistakes are good enough to improve or we have to look for upgrades.

 

[freeurmind]

Ole clearly has a system.

If we stick to the more 4-3-3 that we saw against Sevilla, then Pogba and Bruno will have to learn to be more disciplined. On both goals they were way behind the play. Would like to see Tuanzebe be given a go in that DM slot if we don't sign anyone else.

 

[EwanI Ted]

One other factor, since he’s had his first choice attacking line up available to him in the late part of the season, he’s had zero time on the training ground. Things like a coordinated press or smooth transitions from defence to attack, these things don’t happen just because the manager says so. They take hours om the training ground getting everybody to understand their roles and when to take their cues.

Since Bruno arrived we’ve had basically no time to do that. We had a couple of games, then the players were in lockdown shortly after. Then post lockdown we had games every few days where were able to do nothing more than some basic fitness work. There’s been very little chance to do any deeper tactical work.

We’ve definitely not been as structured as City or Liverpool, for example, in our attacks this season, but that’s to be expected given the circumstances. We never had our players both fit and with time on the training ground. Even post lockdown, when we did well overall, it still led to times when our attack could get a bit shapeless. This coming season we’ll have a bit more time, despite it being a busy season, and I’d expect the system to look a lot more robust even in hectic periods in games.

 

[Fracture90]

We're a Frankenstein monster of a team. For the supposed intention of wanting to build from the back, we bought a RB tthat has, at the very best, average ball playing ability and we bought a CB that is too slow to reposition himself quickly enough to help us beat the high press. Not to mention his ball playing ability also being quite average. Only player in that backline that's comfortable enough on the ball and has enough mobility to help beat the high press is Luke Shaw.

Matic is too slow and lumbering to be effective against the high press game as well.

 

[Morpheus 7]

Investment is a must, no manager is going further with what we currently have. It's such a poor bench for top 6 side.

 

[devilish]

To be frank Ole has had system and a long term plan. If we see the recruitment at the junior levels it is quite apparent what he is doing like Ferguson was doing when he arrived at Manchester United. Since now it has become more of a results business he needs players now.

Now I had read somewhere that united had taken a loan which surely we need to spend wisely. (Sancho, Grealish, White) will be good additions for starters who are British (European alternatives always tend to move) which will then help the current core of team. He would need additional 2-3 good transfers and youngsters like Greenwood to come good to build

Brexit United.....

British players tend to be overrated and very very expensive. We can't rebuild solely (or mostly) on British players

 

[Wednesday at Stoke]

Also attacking without fullbacks in the modern era is akin to pissing with a raging boner. No matter how hard you try, it always ends in a mess.

For things to come together, there needs to at least be a starting left back purchased in the market to go along with some improvement from Wan Bissaka, Williams and whoever else plays on the right side.

 

[TrustInJanuzaj]

We're a Frankenstein monster of a team. For the supposed intention of wanting to build from the back, we bought a RB tthat has, at the very best, average ball playing ability and we bought a CB that is too slow to reposition himself quickly enough to help us beat the high press. Not to mention his ball playing ability also being quite average. Only player in that backline that's comfortable enough on the ball and has enough mobility to help beat the high press is Luke Shaw.

Matic is too slow and lumbering to be effective against the high press game as well.

I disagree on your Maguire point, he’s actually fantastic under pressure and doesn’t get the credit he deserves in that department. How often do you see him panic? He can easily play under pressure and very rarely makes mistakes with his passing I think that alongside his heading are easily his best attributes.

On AWB I do agree though, he’s quite technically limited and Is very prone to loosing the ball easily at times.

 

[Sky1981]

Regarding long term, i agree with you. But it seems like long term for some man utd fans is 2 games is what you get before the axe is raised.

3rd place and champions league should earn him another season.

It's a roller coaster, but the end result is the same converging towards averageness.

If you're 3rd you're 3rd. Luck/goodrun/badrun is part and parcell of the season. If you're on a bad run the critics is deserved at that point of time, just like praises and adulation are well deserved when things going well. The rest is just football fans refusing to admit they're wrong and the other half adamant on pointing "see I fecking told you".

If we're given 3rd + 3 semi at the start of the season everyone would agree "Yes, good season. Next year please", including me.

 

[welshwingwizard]

Also attacking without fullbacks in the modern era is akin to pissing with a raging boner. No matter how hard you try, it always ends in a mess.

Great imagery for a Tuesday morning. Very creative Haha.

 

[EwanI Ted]

We're a Frankenstein monster of a team. For the supposed intention of wanting to build from the back, we bought a RB tthat has, at the very best, average ball playing ability and we bought a CB that is too slow to reposition himself quickly enough to help us beat the high press. Not to mention his ball playing ability also being quite average. Only player in that backline that's comfortable enough on the ball and has enough mobility to help beat the high press is Luke Shaw.

Matic is too slow and lumbering to be effective against the high press game as well.

This is natural for a team in transition. You inherit players not really suited to the style of football the new manager wants to play. Weaknesses in players get magnified, not mitigated.

Maguire would be much better with a left footed pacy tackler alongside him, which would allow him to play a high line and pass the ball out more from a more natural position. Instead he's had another slow right footer in Lindelof. AWB would benefit from having a quality passer on the RW that could open up for simpler passes for him to move through the press. Instead he's mostly had James. These kind of inconsistencies are what happens when you buy over a period of time without a plan.

 

[jeepers]

I disagree on your Maguire point, he’s actually fantastic under pressure and doesn’t get the credit he deserves in that department. How often do you see him panic? He can easily play under pressure and very rarely makes mistakes with his passing I think that alongside his heading are easily his best attributes.

On AWB I do agree though, he’s quite technically limited and Is very prone to loosing the ball easily at times.

Maguire panicked when Bergwin ran past him like he wasn’t even there, the most recent one I can remember was against LASK I believe where we were defending a corner and he didn’t know where the ball was, and tried to pull the LASK player who headed onto the crossbar.

Still maintain we should’ve kept Blind. He would be perfect to take over from Matic, as well as having him as an option on set pieces, which we are still shite at.

He could cover at CB/LB, mainly playing DLP.

Some poster above suggested to try Tuanzebe out at DM. I think we could try Lindelof there instead if Bailly can stay fit. If not sell Lindelof because there is no way we will sell Maguire since we spunked all that monies on him.

 

[OrcaFat]

Some people think football is played in a vacuum. They think Ole can simply instruct his players to follow a master plan and our opponents will stand back and let it happen.

We have no more or less of a system than Liv, City or Burnley for that matter. Getting the right players, or getting our current players to the right level, to execute tactics or strategies is the tricky part.

In the real world, you can’t have one way of playing that can freely be implemented against any opposition. You have to adapt. Ole has done this extremely well even within games despite a total lack of quality on the bench.

As for other teams that supposedly have “a system“, with time (i.e. with practice), these systems can become a little more obvious to the eye, I suppose, but there’s been many a game where Liv in particular have looked a ragged mess. And I can’t say City’s system has helped them much when it matters.

Quality of players is the key to making systems work and, more importantly, winning matches. We’ve a way to go but it’s coming together nicely.

 

[Web of Bissaka]

There is a clear system.

What people actually meant by "no system" is really no shape/structure. It's a mess therefore not "systematic".

Our system is not organized and it rely + trusts too much on the players to think for themselves on the pitch. Plenty of other top teams also have similar system I suppose eg. Bayern to a large extent is also individual based but it works because they have many players with football intelligence and maturity which are essential in this kind of individuals-based system. It's haphazard but those players will make the system organized and systematic as does maintaining the unpredicatbility and freedom of such systems.

We lacks such players. I can say with confidence only Bruno, Martial, McTominay, Matic, Shaw and Lindelof are the players with football intelligence who can make this system works, but of course there's the question of qualities and forms. Would like to see Ole play them all at least in one game.

 

[Fracture90]

I disagree on your Maguire point, he’s actually fantastic under pressure and doesn’t get the credit he deserves in that department. How often do you see him panic? He can easily play under pressure and very rarely makes mistakes with his passing I think that alongside his heading are easily his best attributes.

On AWB I do agree though, he’s quite technically limited and Is very prone to loosing the ball easily at times.

Now that you've mentioned it, how would you describe a CB panicking when he's got the ball at his feet though?

Everytime he's got the ball with an opposition player that's within the 10m radius of Maguire, I start to panic because of just how slow and lumbering he is.

This is natural for a team in transition. You inherit players not really suited to the style of football the new manager wants to play. Weaknesses in players get magnified, not mitigated.

Maguire would be much better with a left footed pacy tackler alongside him, which would allow him to play a high line and pass the ball out more from a more natural position. Instead he's had another slow right footer in Lindelof. AWB would benefit from having a quality passer on the RW that could open up for simpler passes for him to move through the press. Instead he's mostly had James. These kind of inconsistencies are what happens when you buy over a period of time without a plan.

I guess the same point can be made for Lindelof. Even though i don't rate him I reckon he'd look much better with a left footed pacy next to him, right?

 

[Lentwood]

The majority of football fans don’t have a clue what a “system” is...how many of them have played the game or coached the game at a genuinely decent level? I’d say less than 1%

Also, what I will say is that now I don’t go to games and watch on the TV, it’s much harder to discern what our shape is. I used to sit in the East Stand, Tier 2, and from there you could immediately see the shape the two teams where playing and how players fit within that. On TV, it’s so much harder because your view (for obvious reasons) changes depending where the ball goes!

 

[DickDastardly]

Also attacking without fullbacks in the modern era is akin to pissing with a raging boner. No matter how hard you try, it always ends in a mess.

You just have to lean forward and hold tight!!

One hand on the wall the other one on the cock.

Come to think of it, that's exactly how we play.

 

[Skåre Willoch]

Good OP.

 

[Smores]

There is a clear system.

What people actually meant by "no system" is really no shape/structure. It's a mess therefore not "systematic".

Our system is not organized and it rely + trusts too much on the players to think for themselves on the pitch. Plenty of other top teams also have similar system I suppose eg. Bayern to a large extent is also individual based but it works because they have many players with football intelligence and maturity which are essential in this kind of individuals-based system. It's haphazard but those players will make the system organized and systematic as does maintaining the unpredicatbility and freedom of such systems.

We lacks such players. I can say with confidence only Bruno, Martial, McTominay, Matic, Shaw and Lindelof are the players with football intelligence who can make this system works, but of course there's the question of qualities and forms. Would like to see Ole play them all at least in one game.

I'd disagree slightly on your terms, all we have is a shape/structure. The issue is the tactical implementation not in setup but in how the players fulfil their roles and combine.

Case in point Bruno was shunted up high but there was clearly no system in place as to how he was best utilised there. Incidentally plenty pointed this out only for the Ole indoctrinated to get upset and insist it was right. Surprise surprise he changed it for Seville, which is great that he assessed and corrected. However, game by game corrections show a lack of a system in the first place.

I'm not worried about our attackers, Bruno will end up telling them what to do. The midfield and fullbacks however don't have a clue what to do half the time.

 

[romufc]

Tbh the way I see it, unless someone from mainstream media and Cox publishes N number of articles, people will always come to with no tactics, no system posts. That's the way it is.

Not saying everyone is like that but that's how the trend and narratives are set

I agree with this. We have seen it alot with the players like Martial in the past, the media kept saying we need a ST and the theme was set on here too.

The Pogba agenda.

We need to watch the game, you don't get into 3 semis and 3rd without any tactics, I am sorry but this is professional football. A team with no tactics will not even be in the PL.

 

[devilish]

He's got a system

a- Pace and trickery upfront with striker and inside forwards constantly swapping roles
b- Bruno and Pogba spraying through balls to the forward line
c- A dedicated DM to keep everything together
d- a strong defence focused on defending

That doesn't mean he doesn't make mistakes

a- you don't spend 80m on a slow right footed CB when most of your CBs are right footed CBs and slow
b- you don't spend ridiculous amount of money on players mostly based on nationality when you've got such a huge rebuild at hand.
c- Natural LBs who are fit week in week out are important. Buy one.

There seems to be this notion with United that we'd rather struggle then not buying/giving 2nd/3rd/4th chance to British players. It seems like we owe the British national sides something. Its crazy.

 

[UpWithRivers]

I agree Ole has had a difficult time because of injuries and simply not having the players. So yes we are in transition so there is an excuse. However we quite obviously dont have a defined system like if you look at City or Liverpool you know exactly what their tactical plan is. We have played a variety of systems (our latest one with Pogba and Brunohas onely happened post covid ) and we still have so many questions.
1) Where is the width coming from? Ole bought Wan B so he must have known that he is not the best attacking FB. He also knows our wingers cut in and do not provide width. When is the last time you saw someone drive down the line and put a cross in? Never happens. A lot of the tactical analysis above is talking about our fulbacks creating the width. This just will not happen.
2) Can Pogba + Bruno work together. The jury is still out on this one for me. Yes against Seville with Bruno a bit deeper the midfeild played well. But all I see is players being allowed to get at out defence over and over. All the bigger teams or teams like Southampton that press have owned this midfield 3 even though they have played really well. Tactically it exposes our defence. We have all seen the images of one midfielder - Pogba in the center with 3 opposition midfielders around him. This cannot continue. Especially when we play champions league or the bigger sides. We will get battered.
3) Pace - We bought Maguire knowing that he does not offer pace. So is this what we were after? The tactics above say we are going to press. But how do we hold a high line when the defence doesnt have the pace?

Its all weird. Yes we sometimes it works. But there are glaring flaws and our system is still in evolution. I agree thats because we dont have the players but I still dont see Oles overall plan. Also I dont see a Ole having a Plan B midgame. Thats another major flaw. Yes he doesnt trust his subs and there is merit for saying I trust my first 11 but he needs to be more proactive than reactive during games.

 

[EwanI Ted]

I guess the same point can be made for Lindelof. Even though i don't rate him I reckon he'd look much better with a left footed pacy next to him, right?

That would be a better fit for Lindelof too, certainly. In the end I think the plan is to ditch Lindelof, I suspect Ole just couldn't find, or afford, two centre backs in the same summer, so we stuck with him for another season.

 

[FatherWolff]

Good post, Ole has his flaws when it comes to trusting his squad and living with the results but tactical naivete isn't one of them.

Infact there is possible argument that he's been the most tactically flexible and least stubborn manager at United since Ferguson.

I wouldn’t call it a flaw. I would call it a realistic assessment. We have all seen what “the squad” can do, and it nearly cost him his job. Suddenly people have forgotten?
I’m very happy when he said we have to strengthen the squad, because this squad needs replacing.

 

[EwanI Ted]

That doesn't mean he doesn't make mistakes

a- you don't spend 80m on a slow right footed CB when most of your CBs are right footed CBs and slow
b- you don't spend ridiculous amount of money on players mostly based on nationality when you've got such a huge rebuild at hand.
c- Natural LBs who are fit week in week out are important. Buy one.

Just on this point, I think Ole decided that actually none of our CBs were good enough and wanted to buy a new pairing. The first suitable one that came along was Maguire, which led to some awkward pairings this season for the reasons you mention. In the end though, it won't matter if he can find a suitable partner in the near future. As I mentioned above, these awkward fits happen when you transition from one team to another. Its a problem, but an unavoidable one.

 

[devilish]

Just on this point, I think Ole decided that actually none of our CBs were good enough and wanted to buy a new pairing. The first suitable one that came along was Maguire, which led to some awkward pairings this season for the reasons you mention. In the end though, it won't matter if he can find a suitable partner in the near future. As I mentioned above, these awkward fits happen when you transition from one team to another. Its a problem, but an unavoidable one.

that is naive tbh. First of all, a manager can't build a defence from scratch. That isn't humanely possible. We're talking about 4 players all of which would cost between 40m and 80m. What a manager can do is nudging it to the right direction. To successfully do so he must have analyse what he has and build around that up until he's in a position to finally get rid of the bad apples and bring new players.

Spending 80m on a slow right footed CB whose decent but not WC in a defence which is filled with right footed CBs that lack pace is a poor piece of business. Maguire is not a great leader like good old Vidic was, he's not a one man army like Stam was and he's not this incredibly talented CB like Rio was. He can do well in a system but this system need to be tailored for him and our defence is clearly isn't. United still need at least 1 LB and we can't have Maguire partnered with a slow CB so we're talking of 2 CB. That's a huge spending spree in a defence that had already spent 130m in defence already.

 

[EwanI Ted]

that is naive tbh. First of all, a manager can't build a defence from scratch. That isn't humanely possible. We're talking about 4 players all of which would cost between 40m and 80m. What a manager can do is nudging it to the right direction. To successfully do so he must have analyse what he has and build around that up until he's in a position to finally get rid of the bad apples and bring new players.

Either the players are fundamentally good enough, or they're not. If they're not, they need to be replaced or you put up with substandard players. Not sure what other options exist.

Spending 80m on a slow right footed CB whose decent but not WC in a defence which is filled with right footed CBs that lack pace is a poor piece of business. Maguire is not a great leader like good old Vidic was, he's not a one man army like Stam was and he's not this incredibly talented CB like Rio was. He can do well in a system but this system need to be tailored for him and our defence is clearly isn't. United still need at least 1 LB and we can't have Maguire partnered with a slow CB so we're talking of 2 CB. That's a huge spending spree in a defence that had already spent 130m in defence already.

If there had been a world class, pacy, left footed centre back on the market that we'd ignored in order to buy Maguire then that might been a mistake, but I dont recall there being one. You can only buy what's on the market, which means sometimes you buy people in the "wrong" order. That's why it takes time and patience to fully build a new team.

 

[Tibs]

The fact he shits himself when having to make a substitution before the 85 minute mark is a big problem. Maybe the system he has in mind would be better seen if when a player isn't having the best game, he's willing to make the change, with enough time to see it work.

 

[hmchan]

Now that you've mentioned it, how would you describe a CB panicking when he's got the ball at his feet though?

Everytime he's got the ball with an opposition player that's within the 10m radius of Maguire, I start to panic because of just how slow and lumbering he is.


I guess the same point can be made for Lindelof. Even though i don't rate him I reckon he'd look much better with a left footed pacy next to him, right?

Maguire "looks" composed and not panicking all the time, I'll give him that, but this doesn't mean he's fantastic on the ball and he's keeping the ball well. How many times have we seen him stop the ball, think for a few seconds, and pass it straight to the opponents? Almost every other game, and also don't forget this: