Once and for all: what do we do to counter the press?

[Beachryan]

A long time ago, we signed a certain anthropomorphised cleaning mop with the clear intention of giving an option for moving the ball from our box to somewhere, anywhere else on the pitch. Unfortunately said mop was not very good at football, but what an option it was. The last trophy we won was largely due to said mop.

Today, we lack a mop. And anytime a team with a decent high press come and do said press, we crumble. We could have conceded twice before Brighton's first goal yesterday. We'll concede chances to Brentford for the same reason. We are undeniably the worst 'major' team in European football at countering the press. Our fellow top 6 teams are all better at it than us. So. From an entirely uneducated, just watching what is going on analysis, here we go:

What are the problems and potential solutions?
Prob: Teams can pin us back by isolating the full backs with the ball. Shaw is actually pretty good, AWB was the worst I've ever seen and Dalot is hardly better.
Solution: Buy a RB that is confident on the ball, and able to play a good ball up the line to Sancho, OR a good ball back towards the middle. Or perish the thought, beat their man.

Prob: Our CBs are relatively good on the ball, but have no one but the full backs to pass to. Typically, only one of our CMs comes back, and is closely marked. Neither of McFred can turn a man - indeed Brighton's first goal was from Scott failing at this.
Solution: Buy Frenkie. Or - and stay with me here - bring BOTH CMs back like every other team on Earth playing 4231. Force the opposition to commit its entire central midfield up the pitch, leaving space behind.

Prob: Bruno Fernandes. If McFred ain't helping don't worry cause our technical number 10 is coming! Right? Well, no. For one, he only ever helps on the left side. No idea why. Two, he's more likely to f*ck things up then help, because he'll try an outside of the boot trick shot volley off the cross bar to De Gea before he'll play a simple one-two like a normal footballer. Or he'll feel a brush of air on his back and crumble, leaving us entirely exposed.
Solution: Coach. Bruno. Fernandes. To. Stop. Being. A. Wasteful. Footballer. I refuse to believe this is impossible. You want to play Bruno? You lose the ball 5 times in your own half and you don't play next week. You want to play Bruno? Pass completion in your own half over 90%. Oh also, for the love of God go help out on the right side sometimes.

All that kinda points towards just not faffing about with the relatively new idea of tiki-taka-ing from the keeper. I'm actually down with this - our best years post Fergie have been with us more direct. We also concede a ludicrous number of stupid goals this way. But, one more problem:

Prob: We have the worst forward line in the league at retaining a long ball. Sancho is great, but tiny and I'm not sure if he knows he's allowed to jump. Rashford is awesome at jumping and heading the ball 20 yards from a teammate. Ronaldo doesn't do holdup play, unless it's the one backheel per match as per the contract.
Solution: Have Ronaldo - who despite all his flaws is a monster in the air - be the target to knock it through to a rushing Rashford. Basically the Drogba 'house' model. Or, buy a CF who can play as a CF.

So all of this is pretty obvious. But since Jose's approach, not one manager has sorted it out. If we can't buy solutions, SURELY there is coaching that can be done to alleviate this. My biggest solution - and it must be harder than it looks - is do the Spanish approach that works against us - bore the opponent out of the press. Bring back everyone but 2 fast wingers into our half, and just pass it short in triangles for 2 minutes, til the little buzzing bees get tired. Be patient, don't feel like we need to rush.

But something needs fixing for sure.

 

[Cascarino]

This is based on the Brighton game. It's tricky, because your team is pretty vulnerable to it. A keeper who can't really function as a sweeper, on Sunday two mids who are both vulnerable to being pressed, as you said they can't turn a player and they lack an expansive passing range. Sancho is very technical, but lacks the physicality to act in an individualistic manner and if they're not creating overloads it's going to be hard for him. Fernandes looks like he has zero confidence, and he's not someone who can really carry the ball. Eriksen can't be a false 9, looked far more comfortable as a deep midfielder.

I think the blueprint to deal with this was shown in the second half, when Eriksen dropped back and Ronaldo came on (albeit with the context of being 2-0 down). Eriksen can't really beat a man but has a much more expansive passing range than McTominay or Fred, makes him trickier to press because he can find those wide balls regularly and expose the opposition. It's a tricky job for ETH and he'll need time, and additions.

For fun, this is how I would lineup United if the transfers come through

De Gea
Laird Maguire Martinez Shaw
FDJ
Fred/Rabiot Eriksen
Sancho Ronaldo Rashford

A 4-3-3, Laird would play very high and wide, while Shaw would function far more centrally with Rashford providing width and penetration. FDJ would be the deepest midfielder, and would be expected to progress the ball vertically when possible, with positional freedom. With Laird playing high and wide, Sancho would function far more centrally as a pseudo cam. Ronaldo would function in his typical fashion while Rashford would be an out to in forward. Lots of passing options, but the team would probably struggle on the defensive part of the game.

 

[Lentwood]

The main problem is that teams who can't play out against a press don't try to do it, they go long or hit the channels.

We have created this perfect sh*tstorm for ourselves were we pig-headedly insist on trying to play through the press despite having at least 4 or 5 players who are average/below-average on the ball.

We basically play into the hands of every team we play and don't pose them any real headaches. We're probably the easiest team to play against in the league.

I really feel what we need to do for now is drop back into Ole's 4-2-3-1 counterattack shape, or this season could get really, really, really bad

 

[m1tch]

The main problem is that teams who can't play out against a press don't try to do it, they go long or hit the channels.

We have created this perfect sh*tstorm for ourselves were we pig-headedly insist on trying to play through the press despite having at least 4 or 5 players who are average/below-average on the ball.

We basically play into the hands of every team we play and don't pose them any real headaches. We're probably the easiest team to play against in the league.

I really feel what we need to do for now is drop back into Ole's 4-2-3-1 counterattack shape, or this season could get really, really, really bad

I'm with you on that. No one can say that playing counter attack football is beneath us right now. We need to be pragmatic, and slowly transition away from hitting the channels when we've the personnel to do so.

 

[PieCrust]

Our player's are not technically sound enough to play under pressure. GK distribution is awful. Fred is just as likely to one touch a pass to the opposition, setting up a scoring chance for them. McT actively hides from the ball. If we do string together a pass or two, the movement up front is often lacking or we won't take an obvious forward pass and instead cycle it back to our deep laying playmaker Maguire. And since none of our forwards can offer any type of decent hold up play, we'll as often or not likely to lose a long pass and just turn over the possession.

 

[tomaldinho1]

A keeper who isn’t great at the sweeping role, 2 highly vulnerable CMs and one CB. That’s the majority of ‘out’ balls already at high risk. No Sherlock Holmes hat needed here to see the issue.

 

[Lentwood]

I'm with you on that. No one can say that playing counter attack football is beneath us right now. We need to be pragmatic, and slowly transition away from hitting the channels when we've the personnel to do so.

Yeah in essence, we're an average team trying to play like a good team - and in doing so making ourselves a bad team.

That's why we suffer ridiculous results like 1-4 to Brighton and Watford...because the other average/bad teams who play Watford/Brighton etc...don't play right into their hands by trying to play progressive football. They get in a low/middle-block and move the ball forward quickly when they win it.

 

[Crashoutcassius]

Think the soln is build a squad over time that can keep the ball and carry it through lines. Takes time.

 

[The_Midfielder]

Hoof it to Felliani

 

[BusbyMalone]

Was reading an article about how easy it was to pin United back in that Brighton game on the weekend. Obviously, not the only time a team has had success doing it to us, but here are a few examples from said article for anyone interested.

Eight minutes: Brighton press United back to De Gea. Gross leads the press, Welbeck is on the right:

Spoiler

Gross arcs his run to force De Gea left:

Spoiler

The second line of pressure (Trossard and Welbeck) is positioned to pounce on short passing options (red arrows).
De Gea’s only feasible short pass is Fred. Trap set:

Spoiler

De Gea plays into the trap and Fred has to release in one touch given the pressure from Lallana. Trossard anticipates the pass to Dalot and intercepts in the box:

Spoiler

Sixteen minutes: Dalot is once more pressed back to De Gea:

Spoiler

Brighton press with four again. Gross leads once more with Welbeck marking Fred, and March on the right:

Spoiler

Gross’ arced run forces De Gea to play a left-foot wedge pass. This goes out for a Brighton throw-in — high turnover again:

Spoiler

 

[Cascarino]

Was reading an article about how easy it was to pin United back in that Brighton game on the weekend. Obviously, not the only time a team has had success doing it to us, but here are a few examples from said article for anyone interested.

Eight minutes: Brighton press United back to De Gea. Gross leads the press, Welbeck is on the right:

Spoiler

Gross arcs his run to force De Gea left:

Spoiler

The second line of pressure (Trossard and Welbeck) is positioned to pounce on short passing options (red arrows).
De Gea’s only feasible short pass is Fred. Trap set:

Spoiler

De Gea plays into the trap and Fred has to release in one touch given the pressure from Lallana. Trossard anticipates the pass to Dalot and intercepts in the box:

Spoiler

Sixteen minutes: Dalot is once more pressed back to De Gea:

Spoiler

Brighton press with four again. Gross leads once more with Welbeck marking Fred, and March on the right:

Spoiler

Gross’ arced run forces De Gea to play a left-foot wedge pass. This goes out for a Brighton throw-in — high turnover again:

Spoiler

Sir this is a jam thread

I'm joking it's actually an informative post

 

[El Zoido]

It’s based on personnel, we don’t have enough technically proficient players to counter it. DDG, Maguire, McT, Fred, all are easily pressed. Can’t teach ‘em, just need to get better players. Unfortunately they form the defensive spine of our team so we’re slightly fecked.

 

[Crashoutcassius]

Yeah in essence, we're an average team trying to play like a good team - and in doing so making ourselves a bad team.

That's why we suffer ridiculous results like 1-4 to Brighton and Watford...because the other average/bad teams who play Watford/Brighton etc...don't play right into their hands by trying to play progressive football. They get in a low/middle-block and move the ball forward quickly when they win it.

Ye true. I thought going into last season, I wish ole would keep playing on the break. And then with Ralf I thought... We are in the rebuild, forget results and instill the press... And now, we can't quite forget results, but we should be doing as you say above, taking risks that are a bit above our ability to execute, in order to grow over time

 

[pocco]

A) Buy players that are incredibly good on the ball and can evade people/play quick, slick pass and move to beat the first press (defenders and CMs).

or

B) Go long, as Brighton did to Welbeck. I think McTominay was probably supposed to be this for us also, in his advanced role. Probably why we're looking at the likes of SMS, Rabiot etc.

 

[pocco]

Was reading an article about how easy it was to pin United back in that Brighton game on the weekend. Obviously, not the only time a team has had success doing it to us, but here are a few examples from said article for anyone interested.

Eight minutes: Brighton press United back to De Gea. Gross leads the press, Welbeck is on the right:

Spoiler

Gross arcs his run to force De Gea left:

Spoiler

The second line of pressure (Trossard and Welbeck) is positioned to pounce on short passing options (red arrows).
De Gea’s only feasible short pass is Fred. Trap set:

Spoiler

De Gea plays into the trap and Fred has to release in one touch given the pressure from Lallana. Trossard anticipates the pass to Dalot and intercepts in the box:

Spoiler

Sixteen minutes: Dalot is once more pressed back to De Gea:

Spoiler

Brighton press with four again. Gross leads once more with Welbeck marking Fred, and March on the right:

Spoiler

Gross’ arced run forces De Gea to play a left-foot wedge pass. This goes out for a Brighton throw-in — high turnover again:

Spoiler

In that first clip, Maguire looks such a good option for Fred. Quick flick/one touch pass and Maguire leaves 4 of their players out of the game. I and probably many/most of you would have done exactly that. It's honestly mind boggling the decision supposed top end pros sometimes make (not saying I'm a better player, but decision making can be questionable).

 

[#07]

It’s based on personnel, we don’t have enough technically proficient players to counter it. DDG, Maguire, McT, Fred, all are easily pressed. Can’t teach ‘em, just need to get better players. Unfortunately they form the defensive spine of our team so we’re slightly fecked.

This is the crux of it.

People cannot really think Ten Hag cannot coach a team to play out from the back, surely? That's literally the basics for him.

What happened against Brighton was the team, literally, went to pot.

It was actually a textbook example of how, when under stress, people default to their ingrained habits. The stuff they've done over and over and over.

Very easy to play out under pressure in a no stakes game somewhere in Australia. Very different to keep your head and do the right things in a real match.

We saw all the old behaviours we've seen under every coach on Sunday. Players hesitating, taking too many touches, hiding behind markers instead of moving into space to receive the ball, being too stretched out. All the stuff we saw in preseason went out of the window. Whatever habits Ten Hag thought his training drills were putting into players were quickly overwritten by their default responses.

Ten Hag is more than capable of teaching players to play out. The question is: Are the players we have so inclined towards not doing what's necessary that they'll never pick it up from him? I think that's a very difficult question to answer. Last season Rangnick said of many players that they couldn't translate what they did in training to real matches. I think that points to a mentality issue, which may be beyond Ten Hag or anyone to just fix.

We may just need new players untainted and uninhibited by past failure.

 

[Teja]

Hoof it to Felliani

This is the way.

Or give it to Valencia and let him bulldoze through the press.

 

[Skills]

Play through it. It's not that hard

 

[Powderfinger]

ETH is facing the same problem Arteta faced when he arrived at Arsenal - he wants to implement a new, modern style but he doesn't have the right players to do it. There's going to be a tension between trying to build something as part of a long-term project and trying to get results in the short term, because when you play out of the back or play a high line without the right players, it can go very badly.

I also think that lower and mid table teams have just gotten better and better at pressing in the PL. Unless you have the technical ability of City, you have to really work on your ability to go long under certain conditions. For example, look at Liverpool against Fulham or Arsenal against Palace. After City, those are probably 2 of the 3 most technical sides in the league (alongside Chelsea) and both of them were going long a lot in those matches.

But the broad answer is that you need to be able to do both. Going long as an alternative is fine but it has to be an alternative, not your default. No matter how well you train at it and no matter how good your forwards are in the air, no team can go long and retain the ball the majority of the time, because there will always be more defenders fighting for the second ball than attackers in those spaces. So if going long is your default plan, you won't be able to keep the football. Top teams like City or Liverpool will squeeze you to death while midtable teams like Brighton and Palace will just completely disrupt your ability to control the match and apply pressure on them.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

It’s simple. Buy better players.
Look at Haaland’s second goal. Grealish (yeah, the “flop” we all laughed at last season) had the confidence and ability to hold onto the ball just outside his box, draw in a few players then release it to a team mate in space. Next thing you have De Bruyne on the ball against a high back line. The result was inevitable.

Which also shows you don’t need to be constantly sitting deep to play counter-attacking football. You just need a team full of good players, who are comfortable in possession. Not a huge ask for a club that aspires to be one of the best in the world. But, sadly, we’re absolutely miles away from that situation right now

 

[Longshanks]

Buy a GK who is willing to push up and act as a third CB in the build up phase allowing the actual CBs to split further helping the full backs to be further up the pitch in the initial build creating more options and angles making it harder for the opposition to block the passing lanes.

Buy an actual ball playing number 6 who is comfortable taking the ball under pressure and Is capable of playing on the half turn.

 

[Oranges038]

Really need players who are better technically, more intelligent and comfortable on the ball.

1. A keeper who can pass.

2. At least 2 new starting full backs, Shaw, Dalot, Awb and Telles all need to go.

3. Get rid of Maguire for a defender who is more mobile and better on the ball.

4. A whole new midfield, players capable of taking the ball under pressure and moving it forward.


Really need someone to do the job like Edu at Arsenal, doesn't matter who you are, if you're not going to fit or adapt you are out. It'll take time but it has to be done.

 

[M Bison]

It drives me mad that we try and play out of defence when we simply don’t have the ability.

What we do have are 2 quick wingers/wide players, why don’t we play the ball over the full back and have Sancho and/or Rashford pushing them back and at least get their defence turning? It’s not the prettiest way to play football but we bring pressure on ourselves by playing it out and losing the ball in bad positions and close to our defence.

it’s not a long term solution of course but we simply don’t have the ability to try and play through midfield, so why on earth do we persist with it?!

 

[Beachryan]

Was reading an article about how easy it was to pin United back in that Brighton game on the weekend. Obviously, not the only time a team has had success doing it to us, but here are a few examples from said article for anyone interested.

Eight minutes: Brighton press United back to De Gea. Gross leads the press, Welbeck is on the right:

Spoiler

Gross arcs his run to force De Gea left:

Spoiler

The second line of pressure (Trossard and Welbeck) is positioned to pounce on short passing options (red arrows).
De Gea’s only feasible short pass is Fred. Trap set:

Spoiler

De Gea plays into the trap and Fred has to release in one touch given the pressure from Lallana. Trossard anticipates the pass to Dalot and intercepts in the box:

Spoiler

Sixteen minutes: Dalot is once more pressed back to De Gea:

Spoiler

Brighton press with four again. Gross leads once more with Welbeck marking Fred, and March on the right:

Spoiler

Gross’ arced run forces De Gea to play a left-foot wedge pass. This goes out for a Brighton throw-in — high turnover again:

Spoiler

Thanks for this, really helpful. What I find fascinating in every clip here: where the hell is Scott? Or Bruno!?

 

[tenpoless]

Counter the counter press

 

[In Rainbows]

This is the crux of it.

People cannot really think Ten Hag cannot coach a team to play out from the back, surely? That's literally the basics for him.

What happened against Brighton was the team, literally, went to pot.

It was actually a textbook example of how, when under stress, people default to their ingrained habits. The stuff they've done over and over and over.

Very easy to play out under pressure in a no stakes game somewhere in Australia. Very different to keep your head and do the right things in a real match.

We saw all the old behaviours we've seen under every coach on Sunday. Players hesitating, taking too many touches, hiding behind markers instead of moving into space to receive the ball, being too stretched out. All the stuff we saw in preseason went out of the window. Whatever habits Ten Hag thought his training drills were putting into players were quickly overwritten by their default responses.

Ten Hag is more than capable of teaching players to play out. The question is: Are the players we have so inclined towards not doing what's necessary that they'll never pick it up from him? I think that's a very difficult question to answer. Last season Rangnick said of many players that they couldn't translate what they did in training to real matches. I think that points to a mentality issue, which may be beyond Ten Hag or anyone to just fix.

We may just need new players untainted and uninhibited by past failure.

This was my reading of the performance. A bunch of players who threw out Ten Hag's preseason instructions by being so nervous and lacking confidence in their own ability. I felt like it started with McFred, Dalot, end de Gea being nervous. Eventually most of the team suffered from those four causing chaos to what had been a habit taught by Ten Hag for much of the summer.

 

[#07]

This was my reading of the performance. A bunch of players who threw out Ten Hag's preseason instructions by being so nervous and lacking confidence in their own ability. I felt like it started with McFred, Dalot, end de Gea being nervous. Eventually most of the team suffered from those four causing chaos to what had been a habit taught by Ten Hag for much of the summer.

It started half a minute in with Dalot kicking it into Trossard under pressure. From there on out we looked shaky, even in the parts where we were doing well early on in the first half.

You could see all the old habits creeping in. Maguire being spooked by Welbeck and not knowing how to deal with the runs in behind, which leads him instinctively to drop back and stretch thirds of our team out. De Gea being basically pinned to his line even when he needed to sweep to cope with Welbeck's movement and the need for the team to get compact and move together.

Its nothing we haven't seen before 100 times and that's, as I say, because when people are under stress they go back to habit. There's a lot of bad habits in our squad. Can they be trained to overcome it? In a vacuum, probably. But we're not in a vacuum.

What happens if it keeps going wrong before they're able to 'get it'? What happens if they make the same mistakes against Liverpool and lose horribly like last season? We know. We've seen it before. They lose even more confidence. They get even more wound up, less able to play calmly and do the things they need to. They start losing faith in what the manager tells them to do. Next thing you know we've lost 4 or 5 games and the seasons massively on the slide. Now the coach is under pressure and you get whispers from agents about whether its worth trying to keep doing the stuff Ten Hag wants cos he might get fired at the end of the season.

This is not a script we haven't seen before at Man Utd.

That's why this summer we needed open heart surgery and we needed it to be done in a systematic, well thought out way. So that, out of the transfer window, the start of a well put together set of puzzle pieces could emerge.

Not Man Utd though. That's just not the way we do things.

 

[moses]

We could assassinate journalists like the Saudis do.

Edit - sorry not that sort of press.

 

[clarkydaz]

Was reading an article about how easy it was to pin United back in that Brighton game on the weekend. Obviously, not the only time a team has had success doing it to us, but here are a few examples from said article for anyone interested.


Gross’ arced run forces De Gea to play a left-foot wedge pass. This goes out for a Brighton throw-in — high turnover again:

Spoiler

quite important that last shot, this was around the 15 min mark and when the groans in the crowd started. I was taken aback as it was so early but showed how pent up the crowd are. DDG was moaning to the players at it

 

[Rozay]

Better footballers and time.

 

[Lentwood]

I have to say....and it's going to sound like I am just defending Maguire here again...but I don't understand where this notion that he isn't good on the ball comes from? If you look above, there are so many posters talking about him as being part of our problem against a press, I really don't see that

I actually get why some people don't rate Maguire as a defender. Where they see someone who is cumbersome, I see someone who is exposed far too often by a poorly-structured team and a badly-organised press.

Where some people see someone who dives into tackles, I see someone who is aggressive and plays on the front-foot.

Nevertheless, I get it's a game of opinions...so I can see the other point-of-view here, even if I don't agree with it.

However, what I don't get is where the 'Maguire isn't good on the ball/is easily pressed' has come from?

Take any passing statistic you like, whether it's progressive passes/forward passes or just basic completed passes...Maguire comes out well/absolutely fine against many of his peers.

For me, you can't look past the GK, the two CMs and the RB as being our major issues here. Imagine for a second you're playing in THIS United side and you're Maguire/Lindelof/Martinez/Varane etc...would YOU have any confidence in passing the ball to Fred? Or McTominay? Or De Gea?

 

[Ekeke]

Keep the ball away from Fred in our own half

 

[TheRedDevil'sAdvocate]

Thanks for this, really helpful. What I find fascinating in every clip here: where the hell is Scott? Or Bruno!?

Where they were supposed to be, really. Taking up positions in between the lines to receive the ball, and then, to beat the second line of press. It's not their fault, in this particular case, that the ball never got to them.

We were using all of our back-four in the first phase of the build-up. We had the numbers to beat the press (potentially 6v4). There's no need to bring all 10 outfield players back into our third. In fact, that was straight out of Bielsa's book of how to beat the press (he did it against both Liverpool and City). Normally, the ball would've reached Shaw, who, in turn, would've played it into the half-spaces to either Bruno or Eriksen, while Rashford (mainly) and whoever was centrally would have made the run in-behind to receive the ball from your play-maker.

It's clear as daylight which player Brighton have identified as the weak link in our build-up in that example. And it's not Fred, McT, Bruno. It's not even Maguire.

 

[kunal18]

Play Garnacho, Martial, Ronaldo, Eriksen in the same team, give them the ball.
Although young I think Garnacho is the only player in our team who can take on players at speed and push back the opposition.
Martial and Ronaldo can trouble the opposition too and cut through the oppositions press. Eriksen can find the lot of them one touch, two touch.
Sancho, Rashford and Bruno have been underwhelming and unable to provide the outlet for the defence and midfield who are already bereft of ideas.
Beating the press is not as tough as breaking a low block I think, with moderately talented footballers we should be able to pass quick
and with accuracy to counter the press

 

[DWelbz19]

Sign players who know how to play under it. It’s really not something that can be taught to such a fundamental level where the core group of our current players (McFred, De Gea, Dalot, Fernandes, Rashford etc) will be able to do it.

 

[Longshanks]

Thanks for this, really helpful. What I find fascinating in every clip here: where the hell is Scott? Or Bruno!?

The issue in all those clips is how deep de gea is. He needs to be further forward and being proactive and coming to the ball not staying deep and the waiting for the ball to come to him, it just gives the pressing side time to really squeeze you, also means his passing options are further away making them harder and more risky to complete. He dosent act like he wants the ball at all in those situations.

Iv been banging the same drum all summer that De gea is one of our biggest problems among many admittedly, but I honestly see no other player we could quite easily replace that would make such a vast difference to the way we play.

 

[Canagel]

The reason we can't beat the press is because De Gea and Fred (as a DM) are pressing triggers and all of our midfielders and front players are weak as feck. We need players that are physical and are able to use their body to protect the ball and can turn away from a marker. Sancho, Rashford, Bruno, Ronaldo, Elanga etc.. it doesn't matter they are all weak players that get pushed off the ball with ease.

These players are all physically weak players and Ralf said it last season. There is nothing that can fix it but the transfer market.

 

[Abraxas]

Not an easy question to answer. We've been fumbling under pressure for many, many years. If there was one simple answer, one signing, one manager, one player in one position, I think we probably would have landed upon the formula already by luck.

There is some kind of deeper malaise in terms of the squad composition, and the lack of continuity between managers and players. I think a lot of it comes down to the randomness of our squad. There isn't really a thread you can identify. We don't have a core of technical footballers that are proven in a pressing system themselves. We probably also fundamentally lack quality through poor assessment of players in recruitment, and then you're expecting something that just isn't likely from the player.

There isn't a magic button ETH can press. He has made a few signings that can help as Eriksen and Martinez are known for their ability to handle the ball more than anything else. But I think you have to have it everywhere. The keeper has to be on board, you need your backline to handle the ball, you need midfielders that can take it and turn, that have personality. It has to stick up front. So it's not about one particular area.

 

[BusbyMalone]

Thanks for this, really helpful. What I find fascinating in every clip here: where the hell is Scott? Or Bruno!?

The man is a ghost. I was saying in another thread, that we have McTominay who's completely anonymous throughout the game, never really involved in anything. Then we have Fred, who's seemingly involved in everything, but that just gives him more opportunity to feck things up. He's having too much of the ball, which is in part due to the fact that McTominay hides away from it. So yeah, a great duo we have there.

 

[joedirt87]

New keeper new midfield. passing back to de Gea is a death sentence. Eriksen at this moment outside of trying the two kids (Savage and Iqbal) is the only one technically good enough to be the player that helps us get out the disaster of being pressed up the pitch.