Preseason observations

Devil You Know

New Member
Joined
Mar 21, 2023
Messages
1,225
Location
bed
What have you noticed?

Obviously, a lot of this will be due to lack of players and signings. But do you see any of it working once we start playing competitive games?

For example:
  • Antony on the left
  • Sancho as a false 9
 

SirAF

Ageist
Joined
Sep 28, 2003
Messages
37,648
Location
Antony on the left is interesting, Sancho as false 9 not so much.
 

Devil You Know

New Member
Joined
Mar 21, 2023
Messages
1,225
Location
bed
Antony on the left is interesting, Sancho as false 9 not so much.
His crossing was surprisingly good, I thought. If we can buy a CF with decent aerial ability, this might be a weapon EtH chooses to deploy.
 

wolvored

Full Member
Joined
Jul 6, 2016
Messages
9,957
Antony on the left is interesting, Sancho as false 9 not so much.
Sancho plays better on the right, so maybe we go with Antony Rashford and Sancho as a front 3 if we dont manage to bag a striker. Garnacho is still better coming off the bench at the moment, as he showed last season. TH also likes diversity in players across multiple positions, so even if we get a striker Antony may still start some games on the left if we rest players more.
 

sugar_kane

Full Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2013
Messages
3,509
Ten Hag wearing a baseball cap is an experiment I hope we don’t see again.
 

VP89

Pogba's biggest fan
Joined
Dec 6, 2015
Messages
31,767
Ten Hag wearing a baseball cap is an experiment I hope we don’t see again.
I quite liked it.

Also I felt sancho looked more bullish at going toward players and taking them on. He was in the wrong position but I actually felt he was coming into his own.
 

nakpodiareuben

Full Member
Joined
Sep 30, 2022
Messages
468
Base on our matches so far, I can say that we have really talented youngsters playing with so much confidence. After pre season last year, I thought Amadi and Hannibal won't play for us again. But we all can see how developed they have become. Great years ahead for this club
 

Oranges038

Full Member
Joined
Oct 19, 2020
Messages
12,274
He should try and combine Antony and Sancho, somehow, with science like a human centipede, or in a blender and bake in the oven at 150 for 4 hours.

Might get one decent footballer out of it.
 

georgipep

Full Member
Joined
Aug 14, 2015
Messages
2,474
Location
Not far enough
He should try and combine Antony and Sancho, somehow, with science like a human centipede, or in a blender and bake in the oven at 150 for 4 hours.

Might get one decent footballer out of it.
Why would we trade two very good footballers for one decent?
 

nakpodiareuben

Full Member
Joined
Sep 30, 2022
Messages
468
He should try and combine Antony and Sancho, somehow, with science like a human centipede, or in a blender and bake in the oven at 150 for 4 hours.

Might get one decent footballer out of it.

We still won't get goals in that hybrid
 

Eric_the_Red99

Full Member
Joined
Sep 26, 2014
Messages
1,230
Antony on the left is interesting, Sancho as false 9 not so much.
At least that experiment provided further evidence, if any were needed after last season, that we desperately need to splash out on an actual 9. I think we looked more effective going forward with Hugill in the second half against Lyon.
 

Oranges038

Full Member
Joined
Oct 19, 2020
Messages
12,274
Why would we trade two very good footballers for one decent?
In the name of science. How are we to improve as a club if we aren't willing to push the boundaries?

Everyone else can have peds, we can can have hybrids. The ultimate footballer, could run all day on 4 lungs and by resting 2 legs while they use the other 2. Two heads = 2 brains and superior onfield brain power, and 4 eyes = 360 vision for ultimate awareness. 4 arms, means they could play in goal as well when needed.
 

Lee565

Full Member
Joined
Mar 6, 2019
Messages
5,083
I'm surprised ten hag has not tried Antony in more central role as a number 10, he's not the greatest dribbler for besting his man but he has low centre of gravity, he holds on to the ball really well, his through passing behind the opposition defense is one of his strengths when he starts coming inside and it would be interesting to see how he would fare with his shooting whilst playing centrally.
 

Borys

Statistics Wizard
Joined
May 10, 2013
Messages
9,114
Location
Bielsko Biala, Poland
His crossing was surprisingly good, I thought. If we can buy a CF with decent aerial ability, this might be a weapon EtH chooses to deploy.
So far (based on last season) his crossing is surprisingly bad. His passing in general is his biggest weakness if we forget the weak foot. Also playing him on the left takes away his most dangerous weapon - cutting inside.
This is not even an experiment imo, just a running excersise.
 

bosnian_red

Worst scout to ever exist
Joined
Aug 13, 2011
Messages
58,082
Location
Canada
Antony on the left was purely because he wanted to see how Amad did, I think he's deciding whether to keep of loan. Sancho top is probably the only one that might actually happen in the season given our options.
 

georgipep

Full Member
Joined
Aug 14, 2015
Messages
2,474
Location
Not far enough
In the name of science. How are we to improve as a club if we aren't willing to push the boundaries?

Everyone else can have peds, we can can have hybrids. The ultimate footballer, could run all day on 4 lungs and by resting 2 legs while they use the other 2. Two heads = 2 brains and superior onfield brain power, and 4 eyes = 360 vision for ultimate awareness. 4 arms, means they could play in goal as well when needed.
If that abomination still counts as 1 player on the field, I'm all for it!
 

Devil You Know

New Member
Joined
Mar 21, 2023
Messages
1,225
Location
bed

So the experiment with Sancho wasn't just about making up the the numbers. It was to test whether it would work in the PL! It hasn't looked very good so far.

Let's not forget EtH won the Eredivisie playing Haller as orthodox #9 one season and then Tadic as a false #9 the next. So it's a tactic he definitely likes. If I recall, he even attempted it briefly with Eriksen for a little bit last season.

I wouldn't be surprised if we see more attempts at this - either with Sancho again, or maybe a different one of our attacking midfielders.
 
Last edited:

Big Ben Foster

Correctly predicted Portugal to win Euro 2016
Joined
Mar 19, 2008
Messages
12,862
Location
BR -> MI -> TX
Supports
Also support Vasco da Gama

So the experiment with Sancho wasn't just about making up the the numbers. It was to test whether it would work in the PL! It hasn't looked very good so far.

Let's not forget EtH won the Eredivisie playing Haller as orthodox #9 one season and then Tadic as a false #9 the next. So it's definitely a tactic he definitely likes. If I recall, he even attempted it briefly with Eriksen for a little bit last season.

I wouldn't be surprised if we see more attempts at this - either with Sancho again, or maybe a different one of our attacking midfielders.
I had interpreted it as a message to the club: get me a striker, we have nothing to work with
 

Devil You Know

New Member
Joined
Mar 21, 2023
Messages
1,225
Location
bed
I had interpreted it as a message to the club: get me a striker, we have nothing to work with
I doubt the powers-that-be at the club are paying too much attention to the intricacies of tactics during a preseason friendly.

But if EtH picks Sancho there in a major competitive game, then I'd agree with you.
 

Devil You Know

New Member
Joined
Mar 21, 2023
Messages
1,225
Location
bed
  • AWB in a free role up the entire length of the pitch like some kind of hybrid between rightback and trequartista
  • Bruno on the right
  • EtH sticking stubbornly with the 4231
 

Champ

Refuses to acknowledge existence of Ukraine
Joined
Jun 17, 2017
Messages
9,888
Pretty clear that EtH is now making a point regards the striker position by playing Sancho there.

Said as much after the game.
 

Bubz27

No I won’t change your tag line
Joined
Aug 17, 2009
Messages
21,592
What did he say?
"I'm playing Sancho as a striker because I don't have a striker. Sign me a fecking striker you Glazer cnuts and sell the fecking club too you little parasite fecks!"
 

AndySmith1990

Full Member
Joined
Oct 2, 2021
Messages
6,262
Our attacking unit is still pretty bad. Not having a striker is obviously a huge glaring issue. But even then I don't have much faith in Antony and Sancho. Our wings aren't elite. The wing play is predicatable. Antony and Gernacho repeat the same thing over and over with almost always the same results. Martial will return soon only to end up injured begore the first PL game. As it stands we're relying on Rashford to replicate 30 goals in a season or we're in the shit
 

Ayoba

Poster of Noncense.
Joined
Feb 2, 2021
Messages
8,541
Pre season observations: we're a rashford injury away from our season turning to shite
 

Raw

Full Member
Joined
Oct 31, 2013
Messages
25,435
Location
Manchester, UK
Our attacking unit is still pretty bad. Not having a striker is obviously a huge glaring issue. But even then I don't have much faith in Antony and Sancho. Our wings aren't elite. The wing play is predicatable. Antony and Gernacho repeat the same thing over and over with almost always the same results. Martial will return soon only to end up injured begore the first PL game. As it stands we're relying on Rashford to replicate 30 goals in a season or we're in the shit
As it stands it's probably the worst among the big 6, and I'm not sure Hojlund is gonna change that.. Even Chelsea with all their troubles have Nkunku and Jackson who look good so far, though it is only pre-season.
 

Lights Out

New Member
Newbie
Joined
Jul 20, 2021
Messages
832
If we spank Real Madrid 4-0 in pre-season then everyone at the club thinks we have enough with the current squad to be title contenders.

A little wake-up call like this in a meaningless friendly is probably a good thing.
 

Doracle

Full Member
Joined
Mar 6, 2017
Messages
3,018
  • AWB in a free role up the entire length of the pitch like some kind of hybrid between rightback and trequartista
  • Bruno on the right
  • EtH sticking stubbornly with the 4231
I thought we’d purchased Mount for a 4-3-3 formation?
 

Champ

Refuses to acknowledge existence of Ukraine
Joined
Jun 17, 2017
Messages
9,888
What did he say?
When asked if the missed chances highlighted the need for a striker he said 'absolutely' and 'we need to be more clinical' and other words to that reasoning.
 

Zebs

Clare Baldings Daughter plays too much Wordscapes
Joined
Feb 7, 2008
Messages
17,028
If we spank Real Madrid 4-0 in pre-season then everyone at the club thinks we have enough with the current squad to be title contenders.

A little wake-up call like this in a meaningless friendly is probably a good thing.
Can a loss be a win klaxon.
 

pogbasformerbarber

Full Member
Joined
Jul 23, 2022
Messages
446
I’m sure I’m in the minority but I am really curious to see if Sancho might work as a striker. I’ve felt this for a season and a half now…I hope we stick with it a bit.

IMHO it’s always seemed like his best attribute has been being clinical in front of the net. It’s been him getting there that’s been the problem…