Our Midfield

[DomesticTadpole]

longstaff has a good passing range off either foot, is gangly, breaks up play and has composure. There's quite a few similarities. Unfortunately like united teams of old we do not have the ready made proven star quality that you need to be competitive. where are the leaders, the winners etc?

It is if they will meet Newcastle's price which for someone with next to no experience is very high. I presume they are hoping Harry Maguire will be a leader for us. We have too many players who just stand around waving their arms around or looking at each other, yet nobody takes charge by organising or driving forward.

 

[MUFC OK]

It is if they will meet Newcastle's price which for someone with next to no experience is very high. I presume they are hoping Harry Maguire will be a leader for us. We have too many players who just stand around waving their arms around or looking at each other, yet nobody takes charge by organising or driving forward.

Maguire is a start, but we have the worst possible environment for nurturing the young players we have. They will be expected to perform right away.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

Maguire is a start, but we have the worst possible environment for nurturing the young players we have. They will be expected to perform right away.

I would worry about starting them as yet, but I would be quite happy having them on the bench instead of the same old faces who offer nothing. You know if these kids come on they will give their all.

 

[Stacks]

2019/20 midfield is much stronger than last year’s version.

Effectively we have 4 options for 2 (or sometimes 3) places:
- McTom is signifcantly better than this time last year - like a new signing.
- Last summer Pogba was in a difficult position with the manager and there was uncertainty about his future. He now has clarity about an exit.
- Fred is like a new 50m midfield signing. He did not get a chance to settle in the team last year. .
- In reserve we have Matic, clearly limited, but no longer taking the pressure of automatic starter. No longer EPL quality

In addition we have a better defense that will have the energy and ability to support the midfield.

Fellaini, with respect, is not a loss to this position. Herrera is a terrific player but we know his limitations and he was never going to bring us to the next level. I would sooner give the opportunity to McTominay.

The problem area remains the link between midfield and attack - we cannot rely on Pogba alone. Currently we have Lingard, Mata and Pereira. Lingard needs his best season ever.

McTOM shone in a handful of games still has it all to prove and could go either way. ideally should be a back up for our aspirations. Due to lack of performance of others he is now being propelled as "TheTruth". Truth is he isn't even a guarentee for Scotland

Pogba desperately wants to leave so motivation may be an issue. he will no doubt show frustration in games due to lack of quality players around him and over reliance. Remember the City game when 12 of our counters broke down due to poor touches and final passes? yeah that's still present in these players.

Fred was a new signing last season. Could go either way as he has some technical deficiencies and very much reminds me of Anderson. He performed 1 in 5 last season so would need a phenomenal rise this season. I won't rule him out.

Herrera was perhaps the only premier league proven player along with Matic and Fellaini. the rest still have it all to to prove as to whether they can be established reliable players at this level.

I struggle to see how our midfield is an improvement when virtually all of them underperformed last season and would need to go up 2-3 gears to be of the required level

 

[El-Manos]

McTominay, Longstaff and fast-track James Garner and we're sorted.

Sorted to 10th place. Wolves and Leicester have a better midfield for feck sake.

 

[Godfather]

McTominay, Longstaff and fast-track James Garner and we're sorted.

Probably the worst CM in the PL

 

[GDaly95]

This is just staggering. Trying not to just fling negativity onto this forum but am finding it completely impossible. I'm in disbelief that we've not gotten a midfielder.

 

[Zeno]

McTOM shone in a handful of games still has it all to prove and could go either way. ideally should be a back up for our aspirations. Due to lack of performance of others he is now being propelled as "TheTruth". Truth is he isn't even a guarentee for Scotland

Pogba desperately wants to leave so motivation may be an issue. he will no doubt show frustration in games due to lack of quality players around him and over reliance. Remember the City game when 12 of our counters broke down due to poor touches and final passes? yeah that's still present in these players.

Fred was a new signing last season. Could go either way as he has some technical deficiencies and very much reminds me of Anderson. He performed 1 in 5 last season so would need a phenomenal rise this season. I won't rule him out.

Herrera was perhaps the only premier league proven player along with Matic and Fellaini. the rest still have it all to to prove as to whether they can be established reliable players at this level.

I struggle to see how our midfield is an improvement when virtually all of them underperformed last season and would need to go up 2-3 gears to be of the required level

I would not disagree with your analysis of where we are vs the required level. But I still think that we are better placed in midfield than this time last year. And there is potential in there. A little stability in the midfield could prove much more beneficial than rolling the dice on a big money signing.

And better defense will help immeasurably.

 

[Irwin99]

We played a 4-2-3-1 at times last season where Pogba dropped deeper and we still had no control in the games. We're placing a lot of faith in Mctominay and Pogba carrying us this season and it just seems incredibly risky.

The combinations we can have for those two central midfield spots look pretty unbalanced whichever way you spin it.

 

[Mugiwarared71]

Our midfield is terribly poor problem is how do you expect that midfield lets say without a Pogba to compete with City Liverpool Chelsea Spurs we will be outrun and out played in the middle of the park.

The other problem you find is that matic takes about 4 touches before he's ready to pass slow and doesn't use his tall physique and plays very badly guess what ole loves him and plays him even when he's off form and injured thats another thing ole plays people even if they are out of from .

Lets hope we scrape through this season into CL and i hope we get Neves to replace Pogba and Ndidi .

 

[Dante]

We played a 4-2-3-1 at times last season where Pogba dropped deeper and we still had no control in the games. We're placing a lot of faith in Mctominay and Pogba carrying us this season and it just seems incredibly risky.

The combinations we can have for those two central midfield spots look pretty unbalanced whichever way you spin it.

We set up very differently in preseason versus what we did last year.

Pogba was positioned at LAM last season. Shaw and Martial both played close-by, and together they formed a triangle which we used to build up slowly up the left side. On the right side, by contrast, the whole flank was covered by the RB (Young/Dalot/Valencia), with Lingard drifting central to help out the aforementioned triangle.

Effectively, we were a possession based side up the left, and a direct counterattacking side on the right. It was a deliberately lopsided formation, intended to force the opposition to adapt to our strengths or else risk getting dominated on one flank.

What's different in preseason is that Pogba is the RCM. Martial is a lot more central and Shaw higher up; AWB and Lingard are mirroring those two on the right, so it looks as though Ole no longer wants a lopsided formation. For the first time since the Nani/Valencia days, we'll be balanced on both flanks. Another very drastic new tactic appears to be our high pressing. As a result, the midfield's job is going to be a total departure from what's come before.

The upshot of all this is that we're massively different from back-to-front and also from left-to-right. McTomminay and Pogba in a midfield 2 will have a different support structure around them this coming season. I see us being a significantly better team.

 

[LuisNaniencia]

Is there any debate that our midfield is worse than last season? Matic in decline (he actually started last season well), Pogba unmotivated, Mctominay good but as good as Herrera?

And last season, that midfield was good enough for 6th. It's hard to be positive.

 

[Toddler]

Dybala and Eriksen could have not been very high on our list of midfielders to buy ~ considering the fact that Dybala was probably not available at the start of the transfer window and Eriksen interest seemed to come after Dybala case was over? Who else, of same qualities we have been after? Baffles me, we needed midfielders. And we still need. Oh well, maybe next year. Or after next year.

 

[Dante]

Is there any debate that our midfield is worse than last season? Matic in decline (he actually started last season well), Pogba unmotivated, Mctominay good but as good as Herrera?

And last season, that midfield was good enough for 6th. It's hard to be positive.

Midfield and attack was less than stellar, but we scored about the same as Chelsea and Arsenal. But a high press can transform a front 6 without any new additions. I'm not pessimistic about them at all.

Where we were most shit was in defence. That's now been fixed.

 

[MalcolmTucker]

Is there any debate that our midfield is worse than last season? Matic in decline (he actually started last season well), Pogba unmotivated, Mctominay good but as good as Herrera?

And last season, that midfield was good enough for 6th. It's hard to be positive.

No our whole team was good enough for 6th.

We've improved our defence considerably. As for the rest of the team, we need the likes of Rashford, Martial, Pogba and McTominay/Fred to step up.

We have a good young team, but this season really is a litmus test for a few players.

 

[Stacks]

Midfield and attack was less than stellar, but we scored about the same as Chelsea and Arsenal. But a high press can transform a front 6 without any new additions. I'm not pessimistic about them at all.

Where we were most shit was in defence. That's now been fixed.

Its really not as simple as that. What are you basing this on? Who behind them is going to create the chances? Is the high press going to magically cure poor touches, poor final balls, inconsistent finishing?
Is Pogba going to score 16 again and get so many penalties, especially playing deeper? Lukaku is on his way out and he was our second top scorer. all the pressure is now on Rashford and Martial.

 

[ice-bionic red]

Probably the worst CM in the PL

People are happy with this for Manchester United ffs!

 

[LuisNaniencia]

Midfield and attack was less than stellar, but we scored about the same as Chelsea and Arsenal. But a high press can transform a front 6 without any new additions. I'm not pessimistic about them at all.

Where we were most shit was in defence. That's now been fixed.

What's your front 6 for the high press?

 

[Smores]

Midfield and attack was less than stellar, but we scored about the same as Chelsea and Arsenal. But a high press can transform a front 6 without any new additions. I'm not pessimistic about them at all.

Where we were most shit was in defence. That's now been fixed.

We scored 8 less than Arsenal for a start but it's hardly a brag to be as shit as the other struggling teams anyway.

We only scored 4 less than Spurs in our 2nd place finish season but our attack was apparently a disgrace then.

 

[bond19821982]

Midfield and attack was less than stellar, but we scored about the same as Chelsea and Arsenal. But a high press can transform a front 6 without any new additions. I'm not pessimistic about them at all.

Where we were most shit was in defence. That's now been fixed.

To be honest, I am not really impressed with our pressing either. Lacks cohesion (based on our preseason) . While 2 of our front 3 is pressing, the third one doesn't have a clue where to go.

Given that we started training how to press last Dec, that's a long period of learning.

 

[#07]

Scott McTominay and Paul Pogba, lose either for a long period of time and our season is sunk. You just can't trust Fred, Matic or Pereira to take the ball off our defenders from deep and set the tempo of our play. All are likely to make mistakes when pressed, Pereira probably the least but Burnley showed the rick he's got in him. There's no Busquets, Alonso, Carrick figure in this squad who you can trust to set the tempo of our play. We won't be able to properly implement Ole's tactics without one.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

Scott McTominay and Paul Pogba, lose either for a long period of time and our season is sunk. You just can't trust Fred, Matic or Pereira to take the ball off our defenders from deep and set the tempo of our play. All are likely to make mistakes when pressed, Pereira probably the least but Burnley showed the rick he's got in him. There's no Busquets, Alonso, Carrick figure in this squad who you can trust to set the tempo of our play. We won't be able to properly implement Ole's tactics without one.

Think they will have good games, but there is just no consistency there, not even with Pogba. To challenge, your midfield needs to be firing on all cylinders and if anyone's form drop you have to have people of a similar level to come in. We don't have that.

 

[Escobar]

We have Pogba. Thats it. If he fails to perform, we are in trouble

 

[fps]

We have Pogba. Thats it. If he fails to perform, we are in trouble

Perhaps the penny will drop for him that he shouldn't be looking to others for more, but needs to inspire others more. I reckon this will be his best season for United by a mile, goals and assists, and he will then be off to Madrid. Ole has quite possibly persuaded him to get United back into the CL where they belong and then he'll let him go. Also Madrid have no money.

 

[Leftback99]

Moving to 4-2-3-1 is fine, but when this means it's going to be Pogba in a two (doesn't defend) and Mata playing more games (when he's been finished for 4 years) it's worrying.

 

[Roboc7]

Moving to 4-2-3-1 is fine, but when this means it's going to be Pogba in a two (doesn't defend) and Mata playing more games (when he's been finished for 4 years) it's worrying.

This formation will be ditched in no time, Pogba isn’t suited to playing in a 2 and Mata will be dross as a number 10, we’ll get completely overrun in midfield regularly, starting from Sunday.

 

[chromepaxos]

We don't have the players to play 4:2:3:1 because neither Matic or Pogba can reliably defend, nor do they have the acceleration needed. Against a 4:3:3 in which midfield is flooded, they're just going to drown.

Against top 6 teams we have to play 4:3:3 but we don't have the players for that either.

And in the meantime we have watched other teams sign Thielemans and Ndombele...

 

[Bastian]

This formation will be ditched in no time, Pogba isn’t suited to playing in a 2 and Mata will be dross as a number 10, we’ll get completely overrun in midfield regularly, starting from Sunday.

What I think as well. If we really do not at least at one midfielder in the next day or so, we'll likely go 433 until we pick up an injury in midfield and will be forced to play 532 with a #10.

 

[reddevil702]

If we're going with a 4-2-3-1 then we should be fine with the midfield we have. Yes, an injury to Pogba will really hurt us but that could be said going into the last 2 seasons. Mctominay seems to have really gone up a level this summer and imo he's a perfect partner for Pogba. If we fully commit to the press, this will take pressure of midfield in comparison to last year when we sat back and tried to counter. Sure, we might struggle with the likes of Liverpool or City but we all know we're a tier below them at the moment. There's more pressure on our front 3 to produce goals than our midfield being able to cope.

 

[Krakenzero]

So... with Pogba as a CM, for each position (plus replacement):

CM: McTominay (Matic)
CM: Pogba (Fred)
AM: Lingard (Pereira/Mata/Gomes)

With Pogba as an AM:

CM: McTominay (Matic)
CM: Fred (Pereira)
AM: Pogba (Lingard/Mata/Gomes)

Doesn't look balanced at all, also far too reliant on Pogba and McTominay to not pick up suspensions and injuries which is unlikely.

 

[Zilla]

Our midfield should be fine against the lower half of the table teams. (Provided we press and keep possession).

My worry is against the top 6 teams. They won't let our midfield players have the ball for long, and we will end up passing backwards or passes going astray.

There are not much midfield enforcers in the game today who could dictate games like before.

Hopefully our forwards like martial, rashford are able to find space to run onto to receive the balls.

Not expecting much this season. Secretly hoping that we can clinch 4th place or even 3rd with some luck.

 

[Patrick08]

If we have couple of injuries we wont even have a balanced midfield in the team.

 

[bond19821982]

Pretty sure we are going to be fielding a 4231 . So 4 midfielders for 2 positions .

 

[bond19821982]

Think we were wide open in first half. Need an extra midfielder against good teams.

Whole midfield wasn't connecting in the first 20-30 mins or so. McT is very young and he will have his low moments.

 

[In Rainbows]

The problem is what I've been hammering about for a while. The midfield needs more of a defensive specialist and also needs someone who can run a game through their passing. We have nobody to do that.

Types like Gomes and Garner, except older and in their prime.

 

[Bondi77]

Midfield was poor today but the stats say two assists to Pogba and one to Andreas so we rode our luck.
All three just have to be better in possession: I realise to create chances you have to take chances but it is the simple balls just moving up the pitch or the stupid flashy touches in the centre of the pitch which put the team under so much pressure that have to be eradicated from our game.

 

[Will Singh]

Midfield is our weak point which will cost us, we can't rely on MCT as he's still young and its unfair to be thrown into the deep end.

 

[Red Dreams]

Think they will have good games, but there is just no consistency there, not even with Pogba. To challenge, your midfield needs to be firing on all cylinders and if anyone's form drop you have to have people of a similar level to come in. We don't have that.

If we lose one or both of Pogba and McT we are screwed.

We should have got Bruno and one more at least.

 

[Frank Grimes]

Our inability to control games in midfield still makes me sad. We always seem to get outplayed there.

 

[Hawks2008]

They seemed to just breeze through our midfield at times and against stronger teams that will cost us. Still can't get my head around not signing a midfielder or two.