True, Watford's better too. Let's say Crystal Palace then.
Our Midfield
- Thread starter bond19821982
- Start date
You're being a little overly negative.
Considering the pacey and fluid forward line Solksjaer is building you don't really need brilliance in central midfield, moreover legs akin to Liverpool's whereby even McTominay/Pereira/Fred can squeeze the ball from the opposition and transition quickly to the marauding forwards.
Considering the pacey and fluid forward line Solksjaer is building you don't really need brilliance in central midfield, moreover legs akin to Liverpool's whereby even McTominay/Pereira/Fred can squeeze the ball from the opposition and transition quickly to the marauding forwards.
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United neither play like Liverpool nor have the same kind of quality in their front 3 to make such a midfield a good option going forward.
- Pogba is quality
- McTominay is decent, energetic, improving and looks like he'll be very useful
- Matic needs to leave/retire/go to a much slower league
- Fred needs to go to a less intense league where he has more space
- Pereira is average and needs to go to a league where he has more space
- Garner is only 17 so can't say
- Gomes as a 10 is only 18 and tiny so won't have much of a role, but loads of talent and big potential
- Mata as a 10, not good enough to start these days and would only have use as occasional the sub or starting cup games (where I'd rather start Gomes)
Five days to save the season.
We really need two in.
Not even a top 10 midfield let alone top 6.
Give Gomes more chances. He's so much more talented than the likes of Periera and Fred.
zero creativity without Pogba and Matic is done
Fernandes and a DM needed - be lucky to get one
Fernandes and a DM needed - be lucky to get one
Not yet, but whenever you hear Solskjaer speak he talks about pace, energy and work ethic - the three tenets of any Klopp side.
Then you have Rashford/Martial/Greenwood with an average age of 20 and Dybala potentially incoming, which could surely soon form a forward line to rival Liverpool's?
Agree totally. Without Pogba we have no creativity - what are the forwards supposed to do? And not getting a proper DM is scandalous. If we had a DOF this would have been sorted. Reality will kick in fairly quickly.
I think McTominay has been has been one of the better players in pre season, he has to start over Matic.
Today showed just how ordinary our midfield is without Pogba and the same was true of the first half vs Kristiansund.
McTominay looks more confident at receiving and distributing the ball but neither of Matic or Fred have done anything to consolidate their claims in pre-season. It's bordering on negligent that nothing has been done about the midfield with less than a week left of the window.
McTominay looks more confident at receiving and distributing the ball but neither of Matic or Fred have done anything to consolidate their claims in pre-season. It's bordering on negligent that nothing has been done about the midfield with less than a week left of the window.
Shaw? I thought he played well in the latter half of the season and (finally) demonstrated his value to the team.
I agree with lots of what @bosnian_red says...
Bottom line we have to get one of Dybala or Bruno IF NOT BOTH!!
- Pogba is WC quality. he gets in most teams in Europe.... 9/10
- McTominay is a grafter. He is a decent water carrier... 7/10
- Matic is not suited to the EPL pace anymore. His best days our past but is decent cover if willing... 6/10
- Fred I am still unsure of. i would love for him to find his place but he needs to do more... 6/10
- Mata as a 10, I know I am not in the majority here, but I think he is a great player for the lower level teams who park the bus. I think he can help unlock them as we hog possession in their final third... 6/10
- Pereira sorry but I am tired of hoping this kid comes good. How do we still have him and not Herrera. Sell... 4/10
- Garner is young but looks like decent potential!! Would like to see some of him this year.
- Gomes as a 10 looks to have loads of potential!! I hope to see lots of him this year!!
Bottom line we have to get one of Dybala or Bruno IF NOT BOTH!!
Would there be any merit in getting Danny Drinkwater in on the cheap from Chelsea as a stop gap? I saw a rumor he is surplus to requirements there.
Bruno has the pressing and work rate across the pitch of Herrera while much better on the ball and shooting. We should just by this guy. We need him plus a defensive midfielder.
think you are being really kind there
if we were getting 6/10 performances from Matic and Fred I'd be delighted
we've one midfielder who would get into the City, Liverpool, Chelsea or Spurs midfields - I'd also argue only Pogba would get into the midfields of Arsenal, Wolves and Leicester
Fernandes is a must buy for me as a minimum
Could Lindelöf play defensive midfielder? 
Our midfield is absolutely terrible. I still cannot fathom why we didn't renew Herrera's contract yet give Lingard an extension and pay rise.
Matic is finished. His legs are gone. They were gone last season. Andreas should be a backup. Fred isn't good enough.
That leaves Pogba and McTominay. Honestly I think we need two midfielders. Bruno Fernandes or Milinkovic-Savic are essential in my opinion. I would buy both.
If we go into this season with the midfield that we have we will do absolutely nothing.
Matic is finished. His legs are gone. They were gone last season. Andreas should be a backup. Fred isn't good enough.
That leaves Pogba and McTominay. Honestly I think we need two midfielders. Bruno Fernandes or Milinkovic-Savic are essential in my opinion. I would buy both.
If we go into this season with the midfield that we have we will do absolutely nothing.
Yep. Gomes has always had more vision than Pereira. Pereira is a bit like Herrera. Even when played as a 10, Pereira would rather create space for himself to shoot than really look to create. That's why I preferred Januzaj as a 10 over Pereira at the time.
The only reason why we shouldn't try Gomes there is if we're worried about the midfield protecting the back line, in which case it just means it's all the more stupid that we haven't tried to buy a DM with legs.
i'm bricking it now
we're relying on McT and Pogba staying in form and being fit all season, which is bonkers
the rest of them can't be relied upon at all
we're relying on McT and Pogba staying in form and being fit all season, which is bonkers
the rest of them can't be relied upon at all
How's Matuidi these days? We should be enquiring about him if he's still up for the job. We badly need more nous in midfield. It's criminal that we've not signed a midfielder this summer and it'll be or undoing.
For me it wasn't a case of needing one or two from a list of RB, CB, CM and RW...we needed to sort them all. Whether that is through using youngsters or signing players. We've ticked two boxes, RW may be covered by youngsters at times this season, but we've lost Herrera and Fellaini this year, Matic has grown old before his time and others aren't delivering. We absolutely needed midfielders this summer. Signing Dybala won't patch over this major issue.
Today was a major reality check but unfortunately it's come right at the end of pre season. Worst thing is, it looks like we didn't have any sort of plan at all right now for who we would sign this summer after AWB and James. Especially in midfield and attack.
For me it wasn't a case of needing one or two from a list of RB, CB, CM and RW...we needed to sort them all. Whether that is through using youngsters or signing players. We've ticked two boxes, RW may be covered by youngsters at times this season, but we've lost Herrera and Fellaini this year, Matic has grown old before his time and others aren't delivering. We absolutely needed midfielders this summer. Signing Dybala won't patch over this major issue.
Today was a major reality check but unfortunately it's come right at the end of pre season. Worst thing is, it looks like we didn't have any sort of plan at all right now for who we would sign this summer after AWB and James. Especially in midfield and attack.
We are really going to miss Herrera and Fellaini if we don't get any CMs in. Feel like we need someone who can play holding and box to box rather than an attack minded player like Bruno. Other than their versatility in midfield they were two of our most experienced players.
Who is available in the market now? Among defensive midfielders
Partey has a low release clause, but who else?
Partey has a low release clause, but who else?
Really? During Fergi era we were quick right? Did we suffer when Scholes retired? What happened when Carrick was not available? Under 4231 we can do without Pogba, but DECENT MF are still paramount. Do you call Matic, Fred, McTom decent? They are gone, DOA and Infancy.
Herrera must be replaced. Doesn't need another 150m MF, but someone can run non-stop, can pass, can shoot. Caring more about the team than his image right, kind of MF.
We have some good potential midfielders in our team at the moment, risky to believe them but they can do good job this season.
Although, we are lacking depth since we lost both fellaini & Herrera but if the formation we are going to play is 4231, Mctominay & Pogba should be okay in midfield 2 with Fred as backup. Fred deserves a chance as he looks promising against PSG & Barcelona.
But what concern me is that we are going to play Matic. His leg is gone & all he can do is being passenger and our manager seems to believe he can do the job. If we end up playing him next to Pogba in midfield 2, it’ll be disaster. We need a high work rate midfielder to play next to Pogba. Not some lazy & ball watching midfielder.
Although, we are lacking depth since we lost both fellaini & Herrera but if the formation we are going to play is 4231, Mctominay & Pogba should be okay in midfield 2 with Fred as backup. Fred deserves a chance as he looks promising against PSG & Barcelona.
But what concern me is that we are going to play Matic. His leg is gone & all he can do is being passenger and our manager seems to believe he can do the job. If we end up playing him next to Pogba in midfield 2, it’ll be disaster. We need a high work rate midfielder to play next to Pogba. Not some lazy & ball watching midfielder.
We need Bruno and Longstaff coming in. Utter shambles in the middle. This banker better address this or he himself is throwing the season down the drain.
No
I agree that Matic's legs have gone.
You'd think in pre-season they'd measure for all of this.R ecovery rates, sprints after jogging. Heart rate, oxygen levels etc. I dunno, someone with better sports science skills can tell us.
So are we miss-reading it with confirmation-bias or did they miss it. Or are we so desperate we have no choice.
You'd think in pre-season they'd measure for all of this.R ecovery rates, sprints after jogging. Heart rate, oxygen levels etc. I dunno, someone with better sports science skills can tell us.
So are we miss-reading it with confirmation-bias or did they miss it. Or are we so desperate we have no choice.
Maguire and Dybala will improve the 11 a lot if the deals go through, and with AWB we've another hole but our midfield will hold us back. Still think top 4 is doable but our defence will be under pressure quite a bit if it's Matic that's shielding them.
Agree that we need midfield signings but we will need to sell players to make up wages and transfer fees.
Asking the caf readers, is there
Any reason not to sell Pereira? (knowing you have Gomes on the books)
Any reason not to sell Lingard? (if we are getting Dybala)
Need to move Darmian on.
Need to sell Jones and Rojo.
Should have moved Mata and Young on.
I think we could pay for a midfield signing in transfer fees and wages if we were to sell Lingard and Pereira.
Bruno is more of a Fellaini replacement positionally.
We definitely need the Herrera replacement more if we are signing Dybala.
We need signings but let's not get hysterical.
Asking the caf readers, is there
Any reason not to sell Pereira? (knowing you have Gomes on the books)
Any reason not to sell Lingard? (if we are getting Dybala)
Need to move Darmian on.
Need to sell Jones and Rojo.
Should have moved Mata and Young on.
I think we could pay for a midfield signing in transfer fees and wages if we were to sell Lingard and Pereira.
With AWB, Maguire and Dybala; we have a first xi that should comfortably finish top 4 as long as Solskjaer is a decent manager.
Bruno is a 10. Herrera was a 8, who sometimes played as a 6.
Bruno is more of a Fellaini replacement positionally.
We definitely need the Herrera replacement more if we are signing Dybala.
Pogba alone makes it a top 6 midfield.
We need signings but let's not get hysterical.
Juventus fans hate Matuidi as much as United fans hate Matic. Legs gone and terrible first touch.
If Pogba left right now and our remaining midfield options were McTominay, Matic, Pereira and Fred...
That would comfortably be bottom half of the league in terms of ability, both the starters and as a collective.
That would comfortably be bottom half of the league in terms of ability, both the starters and as a collective.
Been saying it for some months.
The midfield has not been addressed at all.
Even if Pogba stays, he will be off the following season.
Madness.
The midfield has not been addressed at all.
Even if Pogba stays, he will be off the following season.
Madness.
Boom boom boom boom.
Our midfield.
Is a minefield.
The end.
Our midfield.
Is a minefield.
The end.
Our midfield is poor in comparison to our rivals. McTominay, Pereira and Fred are nothing more than squad players IMO. Matic is a shadow of his former self and will be targeted by the opposition if he starts games.
We need to sign at least one midfielder before the window shuts, preferably two.
We need to sign at least one midfielder before the window shuts, preferably two.
Yeah sorry my ratings were not so much game but overall, bit confusing really. Bottom-line is without Pogba we are bang average or even worse. We really do need both Dybala and Bruno.
We need two quality CM immediately.
Can't see why we didn't try and pick up tielemans for the number 8 role. Felt like a no brainer.
That's fine, at least it gives an additional season to address the creativity problem if he stays. The DM position is an absolutely immediate need if the defence has to survive the season.
We face parked busses all the time so paxe of the front three is not very much of use , or don't see enough ball against top teams and just give it away and struggle to win it back and easily carved out in the middle. Plenty of reason to worry.