Ralf: United switching to 4-3-3

[RonaldoVII]

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Finally we're giving it a shot. Does this point to getting another midfielder in or are we banking on either Matic or one of McFred holding when it's not really their suited position? Presume Bruno will play a more withdrawn role. Hell there could even be more chance for Donny.

 

[Lemon Moon]

Yaaaaay. MCSAUCE to be the 6, hopefully.

 

[Rado_N]

Sancho, Rashford & Greenwood?

 

[Dr. Dwayne]

Thank feck somebody could see a two was not working.

 

[Adnan]

Sounds good, let's hope we see a upturn in performance.

 

[Ali Dia]

Finally

 

[Paxi]

Spoiler

 

[Plant0x84]

If this come to fruition then this is good news, and a step in the right direction tactically. Been crying out for 433 for months. I think it suits our players best as Fred and McSauce are both 8s not 6s which is probably why they look so poor in DM positions.
We need to get Marcus (left) and Sancho (right) flying and Mason can deputise for Cristiano and Edi in the 9 or cover RW with Jadon.

 

[Ollie Derbyshire]

Good, I hope this is real news. Will suit our players and give us more control in midfield which we desperately need.

 

[Andrew7582]

Who is the 6 going to be? We only have Matic who can do it for 45 minutes before he is too knackered to run anymore.

 

[mu4c_20le]

Wish he'd don it before we started dropping points left and right. It will be a scrap for 4th but it's still there.

 

[Rozay]

Sounds good in principle, but the actual midfielders themselves are not up to the task so it will make little difference.

 

[Leftback99]

It worked for half an hour on Saturday. We need a better 6 than Matic or McTominay though.

On a side note he also said Matic contract was expiring in the summer which was odd.

 

[Samid]

433, 4231, 4222, 442, 4141, whatever. It’s the same players. All this is irrelevant until we sign a fecking DM.

 

[AltiUn]

Sounds good in theory but I think it's more of a personnel issue than a system issue in midfield.

 

[bosnian_red]

Well if nothing I'm glad we're finally going with it.

I don't think we have a striker or DM that can adequately do those roles, but anyway. We'll see. Maybe he uses McTominay as the lone 6. Hope to see more of Greenwood centrally too, he needs development there IMO.

 

[Jericholyte2]

I’m going to be that guy who suggests he could put Jones at DM.

 

[KennyBurner]

Rashford, Martial, Greenwood.....back to basics!!!!

 

[Oranges038]

Spoiler

 

[KennyBurner]

Well if nothing I'm glad we're finally going with it.

I don't think we have a striker or DM that can adequately do those roles, but anyway. We'll see. Maybe he uses McTominay as the lone 6. Hope to see more of Greenwood centrally too, he needs development there IMO.

Marshall and Matic???

 

[edcunited1878]

Against Villa, it was reminiscent of a 4231 and 442/451 when defending.

Without a natural heir to Matic, having either McTominay or Fred as a 6 doesn't make sense. Neither are better as a 6. Fred needs to be an 8 to press and win the ball back higher and his work rate is needed in the middle of the pitch near the halfway line way from the backline. Same with McTominay as his runs and shots going forward are good. Matic just doesn't have the legs or mobility to play every week.

It's good to use the 433 moving forward to try to help control the game (theoretically), as you drop a winger defensively to create a 442 then push up with said winger and both 8s.

 

[joedirt87]

Love it from a tactical standpoint. Been so obvious that the midfield needs help and it’s one less spot for an attacking player which could help increase the competition for places. On a personnel standpoint we’re an injury away from not even being able to field this type of set up as intended. Probably the best way to stretch what Matic can give you would be Fred and McTominay as the two midfield 8’s.

 

[Gandalf]

Phil Jones as number 6, you know it is coming!

 

[MyBloodIsRed]

I wonder if this partially signals we either sign a number six in the window or we are going to struggle all the way to the end of the season with what we have. Does it put pressure on the board to back him?

 

[Barnslig]

433, 4231, 4222, 442, 4141, whatever. It’s the same players. All this is irrelevant until we sign a fecking DM.

Couldn't agree more. Who cares what formation we play, if the players are going to stuff up 5 yard passes, walk about on the pitch, throw their hands in the air, and scoff at each other?

 

[Barnslig]

Phil Jones as number 6, you know it is coming!

Honestly wouldn't be too opposed to trying this out, if we end up buying no one in January. He can't be worse than Matic over 90 minutes, surely.

 

[Ace]

Will we see Bruno played as one of the midfield three or as a wide forward?

 

[Mr Anderson]

As I said to a few lads, Fred higher up still plays like Fred.

Heavy touches, sloppy passes. You can flip and move player’s, but if they keep repeating the same mistakes with heavy touches and sloppy passes - the same poor results will come.

our downfall in large part is our own unforced errors. Your useless pricks need to pull the finger out as no formation play will fix that.

 

[Hugh Jass]

It worked well for about 30 minutes against Villa. I thought we had control. Much better than the FA tie to be honest.

It was our best Rangnick performance on TV. I didnt see the Palace game.

 

[giggs-beckham]

Will we see Bruno played as one of the midfield three or as a wide forward?

Good question, also pogba is back soon. Line ups guys?

 

[11101]

I've wanted us to play 3 in the middle for about 6 years, it should work well *once* we find a capable number 6.

 

[IrishRedDevil]

Two defensive midfielders couldn’t stop teams cutting straight through our middle time and time again. Watching one should be…interesting.

Worth noting that he makes the switch the week Pogba is back to full training.

 

[Long Time Red]

Good question, also pogba is back soon. Line ups guys?

I think Pogba and Bruno as the 2 8s.

 

[Ayoba]

Fina-feckING-ly!!

 

[lost7]

I think Pogba and Bruno as the 2 8s.

Pogba Bruno with any of our midfielders will be bullied by every decent midfield out of possession. Bruno is one of the most easily dribbled midfielder in the premier league and Pogba barely tracks back. It worked well during project restart but that was with a Matic who could actually cover ground. He's well out of his prime now

 

[Fitchett]

I’m going to be that guy who suggests he could put Jones at DM.

Fergie played him there.
Or Lindelof, considering he played that role for Benfica.

 

[Stobzilla]

Good question, also pogba is back soon. Line ups guys?

Henderson

Dalot
Maguire
Varane
Shaw

Fernandes
McTominay
Pogba

Rashford
Ronaldo
Greenwood

------------------------------

Henderson rather than De Gea simply because he is willing to come off of his line and deal with things, will allow us to compress the space whilst still allowing for the fact that Maguire isn't the quickest.

 

[Rozay]

I think Pogba and Bruno as the 2 8s.

Recipe for disaster.

 

[Galactic]

And we all think it’s the formation problem all along.

 

[Leftback99]

Will we see Bruno played as one of the midfield three or as a wide forward?

We already saw it on Saturday.