Our midfield....can it ever work?

UpWithRivers

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Everyone loves Fred...right? Mc Tominay is the next captain marvel. Even Pogba. He's world class. Dont forget the better than Cantona Fernandes. Yeah Ill add him to the mix even though he could be deemed more of an attacker. P.S. Matic and DVB

Problem is they are either not good enough or dont work together. Yeah against big teams on the counter we are brilliant. But when we need to control the midfield. Keep possession we cant do it. Even the likes of Brighton seem to have a better midfield than us.

Fred and McTominay are not good enough defensively as pure DM's and not good enough offensively. Oh and the passing and retaining of the ball!
Matic is just old and has got 0 pace.
Pogba. Now Pogba is class. There is the problem of him playing as a midfield 2 though. Sometimes he loses the ball needlessly. But still class player. But he does want out and he seems to have injuries all the time.
DVB - Seems nailed on what we need. Someone who can retain possession. But he must have sht in Oles trainers or something. It looks like he is not wanted so we might as well exclude him.
Now the hardest one - Fernandes. I am not going to go against his ability. The numbers speak for themselves but purely on the fact that he is a number 10. Is that a problem for our balance in midfield. There is a reason why number 10's are a dieing breed.

This is not an attack on the players per se. Just opening up to a discussion as to how do we get to a point where we have a midfield that functions correctly over a whole season against any opposition. Is it simply a case of bringing in a pure DM? Pogba--Rice and Fernandes? Can Rice and Pogba really hold the midfield and keep possession against normally 3 man midfields? Does Fernandes need to be deeper? Is it actually the fault of the defense - Not fast enough? Too deep? Is it the front 3?
 
UpWithRivers said:
Now the hardest one - Fernandes. I am not going to go against his ability. The numbers speak for themselves but purely on the fact that he is a number 10. Is that a problem for our balance in midfield. There is a reason why number 10's are a dieing breed.
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Number 10's aren't dying, they're evolving. There isn't a place for a luxury fantasista who doesn't participate in pressing and in defensive part of the game anyone — but Fernandes is our hardest working attacker, he drops deeper when we need someone to bring the ball forward and often moves out wide. It's the same with the plethora of attacking midfielders at City (De Bruyne, Foden, Bernardo) and with many players of a similar profile excluding Messi.
 
Of course our midfield can work, it just needs a decent front 3 in front of it.
 
I would like us to move from 2 DMFs and 1 AMF to 1 DMF and 2 AMF in non big games. It will make a lot of difference to our chance creation in the final third.

The problem is whether the defence will shit the bed. I absolutely don't trust them without the 2 midfielder barrier in front and I don't think Ole does either.
 
Fred and McTominay just aren’t good enough on the ball. Both have a couple strong attributes off the ball but they are reactive midfielders as they play their best when trying to nullify other big players, there’s a clear plan for them but when it comes to the other side of the game and actually having possession both are completely out of ideas.

If we were Southampton than great but they just won’t control a game the way other top sides do and it doesn’t surprise me when we can’t kill games because of that. Signing a CM is a massive priority in my eyes. We’ve sort of accepted Bruno can lose the ball cheaply because of his output, which is fine but why the heck should we accept Fred and McTominay giving it away cheaply in addition.
 
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I don’t think it’s good enough to take us to where we need to be or want to be without serious changes or developments from players.

I don’t think it’s possible to just be a counter attacking team and we are far too easy to play against as the midfield just doesn’t move the ball well enough, fast enough or smart enough. Even when they move for each other to give options for some reason they don’t pass. Or on the odd occasion they do they don’t move to make an option again.

Bruno and Pogba no doubt when on it are fantastic players but they don’t seem to be great in possesion or just doing the simple things. It’s just not how they play. Fred and McT are what they are, hard working players who give it their all.

VDB from the little we’ve seen does these things but then doesn’t get the passes in to him to be effective and positionally from what I’ve seen he’s probably the best out of all our midfield options. But right now he is a square peg in a round hole because none of the others are on the same wave length as him and I’m not sure Ole really even wants us to play that way.

My one real gripe with Bruno is sometimes I think his over eagerness to get forward can be detrimental. Sometimes I would just like to see him drop in to midfield, just try and control a game instead of always trying to find the killer ball. Just simply pass and move, bring others up the pitch and move the opposition about.

I tend to find at times as we move the ball forward he is often the furthest forward which kind of takes him out of the build up play and unless Martial or Pogba from the left are in the squad no one really fills the space he vacates, which I feel makes life harder for us and makes us easier to play against. Fred and McT can’t/wont really go in to that space until a later phase which often is when the opposition have set themselves in two defensive lines making it almost impossible to do anything as we aren’t good at breaking teams down.

Pogba can be the complete opposite from Bruno and take too long to make a pass or just for some reason feels like he has to beat 2 players before spotting that one perfect killer ball. Sometimes the simple stuff is the thing you need.

Was watching BARCA vs PSG the other day and I know this isn’t the great Barca teams of old but it was remarkable how there was always an option for someone and there was no delaying of passing it was almost instantaneously just popped of 5-10yards then that person moves to give the recipient another option. I just don’t see this from our midfield and maybe that is just the way Ole wants us to play.

At this point I don’t really know what to do. I quite like Fred and McT but I don’t think they get us to where we want to be, and I don’t think this idea of one DM being brought in to play Bruno and Pogba as two 8’s works. Not without huge shifts in how they and the team play, because I haven’t seen anything from either that makes me think they can play that way. Same as I don’t think magically replacing the front 3 will drastically change our fortunes. I mean Cavani is/was one of the best forwards in football and even he seems to be struggiling for what I would say are proper chances.

If this is how Ole instructs them and wants them to play then fair enough, I just don’t see long balls over a defence for your team to use it’s pace being that effective a tactic going forward and would hope a progression is planned.


Edit: upon further reflection if say we only bring in one midfielder and Pogba is staying, the one I’d probably replace in the starting line up is McT. I think Pogba was better coming off the left and I’d keep Fred for his energy to cover Pogba and I’d replace McT with Saul. Even then Saul and Pogba in midfield with Bruno playing less as a SS would certainly add quality.
 
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spiriticon said:
I would like us to move from 2 DMFs and 1 AMF to 1 DMF and 2 AMF in non big games. It will make a lot of difference to our chance creation in the final third.

The problem is whether the defence will shit the bed. I absolutely don't trust them without the 2 midfielder barrier in front and I don't think Ole does either.
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This is what I’ve been saying for about a year, we need a pure out and out defensive midfielder with lots of stamina to cover all the ground needed in order to allow Fernandes and Pogba to do their thing further forward whilst shielding the back four.

The only one we have is Matic and his legs have gone to the point he slows us down so much in how we play and ends up a lot of the time in between the centre backs, he simply doesn’t have the stamina to do what’s needed in order for us to play two attacking midfielders without one of them having to stifle their game.

This is why we play McTominay and Fred as it’s the closest we can get to having a balance but the problem then is that neither are good enough attacking wise which puts the onus solely on Fernandes every game as our only creative midfielder, problem then is opposing teams know if they stifle Fernandes they basically shut us down.

I know some people hate the idea but this is why I want us to sign Declan Rice instead of a Carrick type deep lying playmaker, Rice would simply do all the dirty work and shield the defence whilst Fernandes and Pogba played further forward unrestricted and effectively see us playing a front five and back five against teams playing low block and parking the bus.

A midfield of Fernandes, Rice and Pogba is perfectly balanced and will see us so much better against the so called smaller clubs whilst we can play McTominay and Fred with Fernandes in front of them in tough away games with VDB, Matic and Garner also around as back up when and as needed.
 
Zen86 said:
Of course our midfield can work, it just needs a decent front 3 in front of it.
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Yep.

Even if they lack certain abilities, like ball retention, it could be compensated for elsewhere.

Our problem is we compound their weaknesses with a bunch of other players who have the exact same weakness.

So either compensate for their lack of ball playing ability(see Liverpool) or replace at least one of them.

Personally I'd go for the latter.
 
We are having to play two out of position players as a double pivot due to the fact we don't have a top quality defensive midfielder at the club.
Week in, week out we are conceding the ball and territory because Bruno is playing by himself as our attacking midfield when we should have Pogba, McT or VDB starting higher up the pitch beside him.
Our two holding midfielders play so deep there is a massive chasm between them and Bruno which opposition teams control largely unchallenged - like AC Milan last week.
Obviously players like Kante are not all that common but a club with our resources should not be resorting to making the likes of Fred and McT guaranteed starters in big games and playing an overly defensive formation to make up for the deficiencies in our squad.
Playing two defensive midfielders is okay when you are away to an elite side in a crunch game but playing it relentlessly is depressing.
 
I think Fred and McTom are decent squad players, but very upgradable. The club should always be looking to improve on every position, Matic is no competition for either.

I think it's time to move on Pogba, he had a good month recently, but is incredibly inconsistent and seems to get a lot of bad injuries recently that keep him out a long time. Those legs have played a lot of games, he's 28 in the next few days.

Assuming he doesn't play this weekend but does in the last 9 games of the season then he'll have made 44 PL appearances in two seasons.
 
Marwood said:
Yep.

Even if they lack certain abilities, like ball retention, it could be compensated for elsewhere.

Our problem is we compound their weaknesses with a bunch of other players who have the exact same weakness.

So either compensate for their lack of ball playing ability(see Liverpool) or replace at least one of them.

Personally I'd go for the latter.
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It can't
 
UpWithRivers said:
Everyone loves Fred...right? Mc Tominay is the next captain marvel.
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Not really. Fred is decent and useful. Mctominay is decent and useful. Both are good at certain things. Neither is really top class. We need to improve our midfield and these two should be rotational players. Both together is an overkill of lack of consistency in technical quality.
 
davidmichael said:
A midfield of Fernandes, Rice and Pogba is perfectly balanced and will see us so much better against the so called smaller clubs whilst we can play McTominay and Fred with Fernandes in front of them in tough away games with VDB, Matic and Garner also around as back up when and as needed.
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Rice isn’t going to happen though with Moyes talking him up as a 100+ million transfer.

Otherwise your template looks good on paper, I just don’t trust Pogba to stay fit and consistant which we’d really need to make this work. An injury to Pogba and we’re back to having no playmaker in midfield.

That’s why I think we need a Carrick-style DPL to make us more sustainable. Koopmeiners would be a sensible target for us right now, attainable, puts up good defensive numbers (albeit in a weak league) whilst also being a fantastic passer of the ball.

This way when Pogba is rotated you’re not stuck without a playmaker in the side.

Bruno - Pogba/ Mctominay
Koopmeiners/Mctominay
 
I think the template for the player to fix our midfield would be a Carrick or Xabi Alonso. Defensively sound, but good on the ball and can pass through the lines and retain possession. However, the problem is that these players seem to be the actual dying breed and I can't think of anyone we could sign that would tick both boxes.

Against the top sides you can stick Fred in next to them and you've got the graft whilst still retaining an ability to pass forward and relieve pressure by keeping the ball.

Against the lower sides you can play Pogba next to them and it relieves him from having to drop too deep to run the game, making us more fluid through the midfield and easier to link the midfield and attack, especially due to how high Bruno plays.

The problem comes if Pogba leaves, we aren't going to sign 2 central midfielders and that leaves Matic, Fred, DvBand McT for 2 spots. I don't think you can get a perfectly functioning midfield without DvB stepping up massively to fill the Pogba gap and then signing that same player as earlier.

One player I could see filling the void in a couple of years is James Garner, he plays in exactly the way we are missing, however he isn't at a level yet were I'd be comfortable with him being thrust into the team.
 
Been saying for a year that it is shit. Some decent players in it - but the midfield has only shown a capacity to work as a collective when we don’t have the ball, whereas when we do - it’s just a mix and match of players and hope. It’s worst of all when Matic plays as he has stopped playing in midfield altogether and seems more concerned with continuing whatever pub quiz he had going on with Maguire before the game.
 
davidmichael said:
This is what I’ve been saying for about a year, we need a pure out and out defensive midfielder with lots of stamina to cover all the ground needed in order to allow Fernandes and Pogba to do their thing further forward whilst shielding the back four.

The only one we have is Matic and his legs have gone to the point he slows us down so much in how we play and ends up a lot of the time in between the centre backs, he simply doesn’t have the stamina to do what’s needed in order for us to play two attacking midfielders without one of them having to stifle their game.

This is why we play McTominay and Fred as it’s the closest we can get to having a balance but the problem then is that neither are good enough attacking wise which puts the onus solely on Fernandes every game as our only creative midfielder, problem then is opposing teams know if they stifle Fernandes they basically shut us down.

I know some people hate the idea but this is why I want us to sign Declan Rice instead of a Carrick type deep lying playmaker, Rice would simply do all the dirty work and shield the defence whilst Fernandes and Pogba played further forward unrestricted and effectively see us playing a front five and back five against teams playing low block and parking the bus.

A midfield of Fernandes, Rice and Pogba is perfectly balanced and will see us so much better against the so called smaller clubs whilst we can play McTominay and Fred with Fernandes in front of them in tough away games with VDB, Matic and Garner also around as back up when and as needed.
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I still think playing one of McTominay/Fred behind Pogba/VdB and Fernandes as dual attacking midfielders would be better than having Fred and McTominay playing together. Even if Fred and McTominay aren't perfect DM I think the benefits outweigh the flaws they have.

One thing I think we could also benefit from in this system is that Van De Beek seems to get in the box a bit more than Bruno. So having them on the field together gives Bruno an extra body to find in the box.
 
With Fred and McTominay starting we really should be playing a proper high press. They have the energy for it while it may hide their lack of positional discipline when we play deeper.
 
amolbhatia50k said:
It can't
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I'd prefer to solve the actual problem and just sign a centre mid who can really play.

But you could compensate for Fred and McTominay by having guys around them who really look after the ball and allow them to do just what they're good at.

Imagine they had Scholes as a No.10, prime RvP up front, Beckham on the right, Giggs on the left. Those two could just do their thing.

Instead we've surrounded them with other players who can't string 5 passes together. I include Bruno in that as well.

That's been our transfer strategy for ages though. Buying players who don't compliment each other.
 
Zen86 said:
Of course our midfield can work, it just needs a decent front 3 in front of it.
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I feel the total opposite. If we had a decent midfield our front three would thrive.

Fred, good at breaking play & plenty of energy, but can't pass or shoot & isn't very disciplined in staying in his position. Not good enough for regular 1st team spot.

McTominay, isn't good at tackling, isn't good at tracking his man, not a good passer but he can strike a ball & has a lot of energy. Again not good enough for 1st pick every game.

So we have a double pivot who can't pass a ball & we wonder why martial, cavani & greenwood aren't scoring more goals.

Also brunos dip in form (for his standards) coincides with teams realising we have nothing in midfield creatively so they're freezing Bruno out of the game.

We need 1 top DM & keep Pogba then we can have Pogba playing in the role he plays for France next to a kante type player & Bruno at 10.

It would make so much difference to us to have a top DM
 
Some very good points in your post. Thursday showed our squad weakness in my opinion, Milan had a similar number of players out, but certainly looked more of a team than we did.
The point you make in the last paragraph, about the long ball, is exactly the tactic that Milan used to force our backline deeper, and subsequently create more space in midfield where they could overload us, so it is something that can be used (we did v Real Sociadad successfully from Henderson), but as a surprise element.
The make up of the midfield is interesting, assuming Bruno is our playmaker then how do we form the rest up. Do we have three in midfield, relieving Bruno of any responsibilities, thereby weakening our forward strength, or stick with two?
I think our first procedure should be to get a CB in place who has pace, therefore we can push our defensive line higher (I think on Thursday we could have stayed in a higher line and Baillie swept up behind, as they were looking to run in past Maguire utilising his lack of pace, but Maguire was dropping deeper when Milan got the ball). I can see Fred leaving the club after next season, but McTominay can improve (especially in his defensive duties in and around the box) and would like to see him making runs into the opposition box, like he did against Leeds. I think Mejbri will start to get one or two games off the bench before the end of this season, and Garner is looking good at Forest, but perhaps a 6 or 12 month loan in the summer may be right, but I guess we'll know after the pre season friendlies. Matic is a decent player, but lacks the legs to compete in the midfield, and I'm not sure what's happened to Mata, but I think he will go. Pogba I believe should go, and I'm still on the fence with VDB, not enough matches to form an opinion. I would like to see Levitt and Galbraith given the opportunity in the pre season friendlies, as Shoretire certainly will be, but I still think it's s little early for him, as talented as he looks, perhaps a loan for him next season?
Rice is a decent shout if we are looking to bring someone in, but I'm not completely taken with him, and he would cost a fair bit.
 
Ideally we get a very good DM. Someone mid 20s experienced, who can pass well as well as tackle. DLP. We could let Fred and Matic go and promote from within. VDB can be given game time. If we sell Pogba then a CM will obviously be needed as well. We would then have McTom and the promoted lad as backup. If he doesnt greatly improve next season, I would move McTom on as well.
Saying that I dont expect any of this to happen. Fred and Matic will still be here next season unfortunately
 
wolvored said:
Ideally we get a very good DM. Someone mid 20s experienced, who can pass well as well as tackle. DLP. We could let Fred and Matic go and promote from within. VDB can be given game time. If we sell Pogba then a CM will obviously be needed as well. We would then have McTom and the promoted lad as backup. If he doesnt greatly improve next season, I would move McTom on as well.
Saying that I dont expect any of this to happen. Fred and Matic will still be here next season unfortunately
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You would be getting rid of our best midfielder in terms of defence with Fred. It is not even close. I don't think that would be the best idea. Having a player like him with almost limitless energy and being only bettered by Ndidi interms of tackles and interceptions per 90 (equal to Kante) is very useful. Even if people don't rate the other parts of his game.

Mctominay is the one I question the most. He has a good shot, but only tends to score in games that are very open, which doesn't happen much. His passing is pretty poor and he isn't particularly good defensively, being covered for quite a bit by Fred. I think his use is actually more limited.

I think Pogba will leave, so we will definitely have to sign someone. I doubt we would sign two midfielders in one window, so I would probably stick with Fred and the new cm as our first team next season.

We need someone who plays further up the pitch and is far better at passing than Mctominay. I think if you have Fred behind Fernandes and the new CM, it would make things a lot better. We should have more possession and be more comfortable with it.
 
Not if we want to be strong in possession. Our CMs simply don't have the skills.
 
Our midifeld is crap on the ball. Simple as that. When Pogba is out we don't have a single player in the two who can dictate play at all.

For this reason is sign a CDM who can pass over a CB this summer.

Atleast they'd help both defensively and with our ability to play football because as it stands we can't play football.

If Pogba left we'd be beyond fecked and would need two midfielders but our club has no ambition so that won't happen
 
For Ole I think the long term midfield is McTominay plus one, with Bruno as the AM, improving that one position next to McTominay alone surely won’t be enough to make a functioning midfield capable of running games imo, you’re basically looking someone capable of doing everything McTominay can’t, which is most aspects of being a midfielder
 
Steve Bruce said:
I feel the total opposite. If we had a decent midfield our front three would thrive.

Fred, good at breaking play & plenty of energy, but can't pass or shoot & isn't very disciplined in staying in his position. Not good enough for regular 1st team spot.

McTominay, isn't good at tackling, isn't good at tracking his man, not a good passer but he can strike a ball & has a lot of energy. Again not good enough for 1st pick every game.

So we have a double pivot who can't pass a ball & we wonder why martial, cavani & greenwood aren't scoring more goals.

Also brunos dip in form (for his standards) coincides with teams realising we have nothing in midfield creatively so they're freezing Bruno out of the game.

We need 1 top DM & keep Pogba then we can have Pogba playing in the role he plays for France next to a kante type player & Bruno at 10.

It would make so much difference to us to have a top DM
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Fred and McT are certainly better at their jobs than our practically non-existent CF and RW
 
We look for problems where none exist. MF being the least of it. The problem right now is a leaky defense and a strike force that misses sitters on a regular basis.
 
RedDevilzFox said:
We look for problems where none exist. MF being the least of it. The problem right now is a leaky defense and a strike force that misses sitters on a regular basis.
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Or maybe we just have lots of problems. When Pogba is for the problem is much less.

McFred though has no ball retention or passing ability. It's certainly A problem. Can argue how bad it is of course.

If Pogba left there is no way we could ignore it
 
Kessie who's not exactly a world class player looked like a prime Vieira compared to McFred on Thursday. I've said it many times in the past and will continue to say, we'll never go anywhere with such an average midfield that wouldn't look out of place in any midtable club
 
The players we have can't work together in an every game sort of thing. There is not trio group that has the right blend of defensive solidity, work rate, control and creativity. Nothing wrong with Bruno as the 10.

Fred is not really a defensive mid, but hes a deep lying midfielder that presses like a box to box player, but doesn't have a very good touch and his passing is pretty shit. McTominay is a very strong and energetic box to box who doesn't provide creativity or anything when it comes to passing but just safe options. So in a deeper midfield 2 with them, you have 2 players who press really well and have incredible work rate, but 0 ball progression in terms of getting the ball to the attacking players and not loads of talent on the ball to control games. No passing range to spread the ball around easily, no vision to play it forward consistently and effectively. It doesn't matter who the 3 in front are, you need some passing range and vision in midfield to open the pitch. So if we plan without Pogba, there isn't really a midfielder out there that would make one of Fred or McTominay as a perfect partner. They will always be squad player level at best.

So we put Pogba in who has that on the ball ability and vision. But he doesn't have the defensive solidity, positioning that you need next to 2 essentially box to box players, so you want his partner to be a really good defensive mid who can organize the midfield. If we're using a midfield of Bruno and Pogba, someone like Ndidi is essential. Fred or McTominay can't provide that defensively so one of them next to Pogba would never work. McTominay and Fred next to each other would never really work either as they lack the ability on the ball and the vision to control games and progress the ball for us. Matic as you say is old, but a peak Matic is the only true defensive mid we have so he would've worked.
 
sparx99 said:
I still think playing one of McTominay/Fred behind Pogba/VdB and Fernandes as dual attacking midfielders would be better than having Fred and McTominay playing together. Even if Fred and McTominay aren't perfect DM I think the benefits outweigh the flaws they have.

One thing I think we could also benefit from in this system is that Van De Beek seems to get in the box a bit more than Bruno. So having them on the field together gives Bruno an extra body to find in the box.
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This.

Bring in a CF who can finish the chances Bruno, Pogba and VdB create and we can have a conversation about competing for the PL.
 
GlasgowCeltic said:
For Ole I think the long term midfield is McTominay plus one, with Bruno as the AM, improving that one position next to McTominay alone surely won’t be enough to make a functioning midfield capable of running games imo, you’re basically looking someone capable of doing everything McTominay can’t, which is most aspects of being a midfielder
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Think you are right but I can't help feeling that Scott and Fred should be squad players but unfortunately we aren't in a position for that ever to become possible, quite frankly I find it staggering that DM is not further up the priority list for what we need this summer and if Pogba does still leave we need a CM too. I am starting to get those midfield neglect vibes from Ole that we also saw from Fergie from 2009-2013 and that is worrying to say the least.
 
RedDevilzFox said:
We look for problems where none exist. MF being the least of it. The problem right now is a leaky defense and a strike force that misses sitters on a regular basis.
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If the midfield constantly gives the ball away and you also have the likes of Fred giving silly fouls away, then the defence will be under pressure.
 
lex talionis said:
This.

Bring in a CF who can finish the chances Bruno, Pogba and VdB create and we can have a conversation about competing for the PL.
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Couldn't we also play a 4-2-2-2 with Bruno/Pogba/VDB as the attacking mids, Fred/Mctominay/Matic as defensive mids, and Rashford/Greenwood/Cavani/martial as forwards. I feel like the squad is perfect for that since we lack a solid RW.
 
MU655 said:
You would be getting rid of our best midfielder in terms of defence with Fred. It is not even close. I don't think that would be the best idea. Having a player like him with almost limitless energy and being only bettered by Ndidi interms of tackles and interceptions per 90 (equal to Kante) is very useful. Even if people don't rate the other parts of his game.

Mctominay is the one I question the most. He has a good shot, but only tends to score in games that are very open, which doesn't happen much. His passing is pretty poor and he isn't particularly good defensively, being covered for quite a bit by Fred. I think his use is actually more limited.

I think Pogba will leave, so we will definitely have to sign someone. I doubt we would sign two midfielders in one window, so I would probably stick with Fred and the new cm as our first team next season.

We need someone who plays further up the pitch and is far better at passing than Mctominay. I think if you have Fred behind Fernandes and the new CM, it would make things a lot better. We should have more possession and be more comfortable with it.
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Yes but as I said if we can sign a proper DM who can tackle and pass well, you wouldnt need Fred. I only said keep McTom and give him a final season to up his game, as he does have goals in him. Fred doesnt.
 
It seems like the midfield area is a never ending problem for us. First Pogba was the answer then Bruno was the missing piece of the jigsaw, now it seems we need a top class DM and if/when Pogba leaves that’ll be another midfield spot needing filled. :lol:
 
I think all of us get nervous when Fred, McT and Matic (maybe a little less so for him but as said, no pace) get the ball in tight spaces. This says it all IMO. When I watch other matches I'm confident players like Kante, Fabinho, Veratti, Rice, Busquets are going to make good decisions and have the skill to execute.

I believe a good passing DM would jump us another level and allow us to compete with MC. Right now we can't.
 
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