I remembered we dominated half of the first half. They did for the other first half. Either way, there is no fix formation. Ole is flexible and has many in his locker to choose.Didn’t RBL dominate the first half though? Bruno changed the game more than anything
But it was a diamond, right?
Tonight it was clearly a diamond yes, still not agreeing about PSG.will he finally admit it?
Haha, fair enough.Tonight it was clearly a diamond yes, still not agreeing about PSG.
Yeah it’s a tough choice, but gives us good flexibility in future matches. If pogba plays like that though he can play next to Fernandes with Fred behind them no problems.If it's a choice between playing MMM up front or a diamond which gets the best out of Pogba I'm not picking the later
Okay mate, let’s agree to disagreeTonight it was clearly a diamond yes, still not agreeing about PSG.
I’ll agree with that! Best performance I can remember for a long time. We genuinely looked so silky, I’ve wanted us to play with that sort of tempo and movement for ages and it just finally clicked.Haha, fair enough.
Just glad we won. Absolutely buzzing!
Oh you just know we willI’ll agree with that! Best performance I can remember for a long time. We genuinely looked so silky, I’ve wanted us to play with that sort of tempo and movement for ages and it just finally clicked.
why are we such a bunch of game raising wankers?! We better not give a half assed performance on the weekend.
Well, this is it. In order to take us to that next level, we need to be a lot more consistent, because we've shown that we can beat amongst the best teams in Europe on our day.I’ll agree with that! Best performance I can remember for a long time. We genuinely looked so silky, I’ve wanted us to play with that sort of tempo and movement for ages and it just finally clicked.
why are we such a bunch of game raising wankers?! We better not give a half assed performance on the weekend.
Yep, we genuinely can beat anybody. We thrashed sevilla but couldn’t put the ball in the net and they had an easier game against bayern in the super cup.Well, this is it. In order to take us to that next level, we need to be a lot more consistent, because we've shown that we can beat amongst the best teams in Europe on our day.
Not really. They did have a lot of the ball but they didn't do that much with it.Didn’t RBL dominate the first half though? Bruno changed the game more than anything
It's no panacea but with our current strengths and weaknesses I think we need a formation that utilizes our best players and covers for our weaknesses.The diamond is no panacea to all of our problems; it has a time and a place. Just appreciate the fact that we have the players to shift from system to system with increased ease.
Interestingly we've seen it do well against strong opposition.It won't be appropriate in every game, but I do hope we start playing this formation more frequently, especially against weaker opposition. It suits so many of our players, and there's actually not quite the width problem I was worried about.
Teams that attack us leave room for the counter. Maybe now with the added creativity we have in mid, we had that bit extra to break down plucky teams intent on parking the bus.Interestingly we've seen it do well against strong opposition.
Arsenals 3-4-3 should counter it pretty hard so it'll be interesting to see how we play on the weekend.Playing a formation a few times against specific occasions is fine. But to make it the default one is a completely different game. Teams will start adjusting to counter it which would be to overload the wings. I am not convinced that this should be our staple formation in the PL.
If pogba looks good on the left why can't he look good on the right. We don't need another good player on the left.Play Pogba on the left of a diamond, nearer the touchline, when he plays in the middle he is pressed from two or three directions with his back to goal. Laurie made a good point in The Athletic that the touchline removes a direction from which he can be pressed.
He looked like a £90m WC midfielder. I mean, he looked unreal. Those performances have been few and far between and shows where he needs to be played. Keep him close to the forwards, transition through Midfield, and play the killer pass.
Fred and Matic behind him works because Fred has the legs and Matic has the screen. Matic on his own with Pogba in a double pivot, is left with too much to do. Diamond is great. Three at the back is great.
Depends on what you mean by dominated? I didn’t really feel like they were going to score, how about you?Didn’t RBL dominate the first half though? Bruno changed the game more than anything
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bl...se-lingards-false-9-role-under-solskjaer/amp/Have we played this formation under Ole before or has he somehow stumbled upon it given who was available etc?
Considering Arsenal play deeper with long balls in the channels to hit teams on the counter, I expect us to play the 4-2-3-1 with Tuanzebe having a personal assignment on Aubameyang and McTominay to cover the gaps behind. Not sure if Cavani is ready to start as ideally I'd want him to start with Rashford and Mata on either side and Greenwood on the bench. Fred seems to have an endless energy capacity and expect him to start with Bruno in his usual position too. Fred will probably be tasked to bite at Ceballos, Xhaka and Saka's heels.Arsenals 3-4-3 should counter it pretty hard so it'll be interesting to see how we play on the weekend.
Think we might adjust it to be a bit flatter more like a 4-2-2-2.
It was def a fairly flat 433 off the ball in the first half. Maybe like a 4312, as VdB was usually a hair behind the front two. It stretched into the diamond once we got out of our half. At least that's what it looked like to me, but I was consciously trying to see what was happening after discussion on here. Fairly apt in the personal sense, as a few hours before, I'd confused myself trying to write a post about whether we should go diamond or 4312 and realising they're very close anyway. Just goes to show that numbers on paper aren't the be all and end all I guess. It can get murky very quickly, and boils down to roles if anything.That was not a typical diamond, VDB was so far ahead that it was almost 4-3-3 pushing forwards very wide.
That way we sorted lack of width from fullbacks and pushed Pogba in his favorite channel on the left. VDB also acted like a false 9 in attack.
We played this often at the start of Ole's tenure with Lingard in that role upfront, but de Beek is obviously a massive upgrade. Very nice tactic to have and makes us pretty unpredictable in the attack. Not sure it should be set in stone for this team, but we should definitely play it more often, especially since Bruno can play in it without any problems.
Yep, especially considering how de Beek operated. One of the reasons I liked it I guess as it gives a sense of unpredictability to our team with him constantly switching from midfield to attack.It was def a fairly flat 433 off the ball in the first half. Maybe like a 4312, as VdB was usually a hair behind the front two. It stretched into the diamond once we got out of our half. At least that's what it looked like to me, but I was consciously trying to see what was happening after discussion on here. Fairly apt in the personal sense, as a few hours before, I'd confused myself trying to write a post about whether we should go diamond or 4312 and realising they're very close anyway. Just goes to show that numbers on paper aren't the be all and end all I guess. It can get murky very quickly, and boils down to roles if anything.
This is exactly what happened with that 4-2-3-1Playing a formation a few times against specific occasions is fine. But to make it the default one is a completely different game. Teams will start adjusting to counter it which would be to overload the wings. I am not convinced that this should be our staple formation in the PL.