Bayern started the CL final with Thiago, Goretzka and Muller as the midfield 3. Not a DM in sight. It's actually not that bad.
Thiago Alcantara | Pool bound
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik (@Rood) was joined by comedian Ali Woods to look back at the best and worst moments of a rollercoaster season with the annual United Hour Awards.
Has Ten Hag been sacked yet? We're not sure and we hope not, but it's looking more likely as the days pass.
Who should replace him and why is it taking so long to make a decision?
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I'm on the opinion that good players will adapt.
They said Rooney Tevez won't work. But they did
They said Carrick Scholes was too weak defensively. But they're weren't
If Thiago comes. I'm pretty sure he and Pogba or whoever will partner him in midfield will find a way to make it work
They said Rooney Tevez won't work. But they did
They said Carrick Scholes was too weak defensively. But they're weren't
If Thiago comes. I'm pretty sure he and Pogba or whoever will partner him in midfield will find a way to make it work
Not convinced that there is genuine interest, but it is not a question of whether he fits in or not. Players can adapt, and we will likely tweak a few things to suit our players.
Hope there is some truth to this, a player of his quality for 30m is a very good deal. Can't believe Liverpool are being cheap about this. Do they have financial issues ??
Hope there is some truth to this, a player of his quality for 30m is a very good deal. Can't believe Liverpool are being cheap about this. Do they have financial issues ??
Alright, Craig David, let's think positively! When CFBayern tweets about Germany-based players (especially Bayern ones), you know it's got substance. Let's just see.
"Biblically"
we are 100% not playing the diamond with Wan Bissaka and Shaw as our full-backs
Thiago whenever I've watched him has been immune to the press. I rate him above Matic for the DM position. Not to mention if he joins us, he'd be the best player in our team.
Is a midfield trio of Thiago, Bruno and Pogba good enough defensively against the top teams? Probably not, but why is that an issue? Thiago as the deepest midfielder will definitely work in games where we dominate possession against deep blocks. Ole played Fred as the deepest midfielder in our last 2 games (one against a Sevilla side who are better than the majority of teams in the premier league) and the two goals we conceded in those two games both came from poor marking on behalf of our defenders as opposed to because we were cut open through the middle. Thiago is significantly better than Fred defensively and infintely better than him at almost everything else. Games at home against the weaker teams in the league we could definitely play Thiago/Pogba/Bruno and in the games where we can't or shouldn't then we have players like Matic and VDB to fill in. It's a 60 game season and injuries/fatigue are inevitable.
I'd understand the confusion and dismissal if we were talking about 99% of midfielders in Europe who don't play in the ilk of Matic as an anchor given we have just signed VDB but Thiago is probably in the top 3 best CMs in the world right now. I wouldn't like either sitting on the bench but the reality is he's better than Pogba and Bruno and is supremely gifted at almost everything you'd like a midfielder to do, a proper world class, rolls royce of a player who we all just watched stand out as the best player on the pitch in the Champions League final on a pitch with Neymar, Mbappe, Lewandowski, Muller etc. I don't think we'll get him but IF we have a chance we should be all over it. He's been very underrated on here.
Also reminder - the last time we won the league we played a midfield of Carrick, Cleverley and Rooney for the most part, are they legitimately better than a 3 of Thiago, Pogba and Bruno defensively?
I'd understand the confusion and dismissal if we were talking about 99% of midfielders in Europe who don't play in the ilk of Matic as an anchor given we have just signed VDB but Thiago is probably in the top 3 best CMs in the world right now. I wouldn't like either sitting on the bench but the reality is he's better than Pogba and Bruno and is supremely gifted at almost everything you'd like a midfielder to do, a proper world class, rolls royce of a player who we all just watched stand out as the best player on the pitch in the Champions League final on a pitch with Neymar, Mbappe, Lewandowski, Muller etc. I don't think we'll get him but IF we have a chance we should be all over it. He's been very underrated on here.
Also reminder - the last time we won the league we played a midfield of Carrick, Cleverley and Rooney for the most part, are they legitimately better than a 3 of Thiago, Pogba and Bruno defensively?
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He's a very very good player that plays in Bayern's well oiled machine. A well oiled machine that has very good wide receivers (fullbacks) who provide a out.
Playing him in our team as the deepest midfielder wouldn't work against the very best teams IMO because our style places a emphasis on fast transitions rather than controlling possession. A style that doesn't require a quarter back styled holding midfielder. I'd love to sign him but for me he would be competing with Pogba for a role in the team or in the place of Fernandes in a 4-3-3..
He's the most press resistant player in the world, with great vision, dribbling, passing, tackle, interception.
To be honest, he's exceptionally good at everything.
His only weakness: him apparently deciding he wants Liverpool.
To be honest, he's exceptionally good at everything.
His only weakness: him apparently deciding he wants Liverpool.
I hope this type of signing wouldn't jinxed us. We were too exited with the signing of Schneiderlin and Schwenstiger while we still had Carrick and Herrera. Then we end up splashing a transfer record for Pogba.
I know we need a squad depth now, but we will have 8 central midfielders.
I know we need a squad depth now, but we will have 8 central midfielders.
I can see Thiago deployed in a midfield similar to Pirlo back when he had Pogba, Marchisio and Vidal in front of him.
we could have Thiago behind Pogba, Bruno and VDB. In that case, an attacking wing back like Reguilon would make sense, plus he’s relatively cheap for a player voted best LB in La Liga.
Both would cost a total of 55 mil. Then we would need to go get a left footed CB and an attacker that is cheaper than Sancho.
we could have Thiago behind Pogba, Bruno and VDB. In that case, an attacking wing back like Reguilon would make sense, plus he’s relatively cheap for a player voted best LB in La Liga.
Both would cost a total of 55 mil. Then we would need to go get a left footed CB and an attacker that is cheaper than Sancho.
This is strange. He was underwhelming at Barcelona, struggled initially at Bayern Munich then became a consistent key player but was largely under the radar and now all of a sudden, he is hyped up again.
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I don't think that he was ever underwhelming. More like had problems with injuries, and at times, Bayern prefered Kimmich and Goretza whom despite not being as good as Thiago, they were more available.
Every time Thiago had a run of games not hampered by injuries, was in the conversation for the best midfielder in the world.
Yeah the guy is top drawer and nothing would delight me more than snatching him from under the scousers noses,but pretty confident he is only interested in joining them unfortunately
Happy Thiago day.
Don't buy into what the ITK's are suggesting about Bayern not being happy with Liverpool's approach for this deal, obviously I would love this to be true and we could step in but just don't see it happening
If we go the Thiago route, I feel this would make best use of of players.
Agreed, to compete on all fronts you need 15-16 outfield players of first team quality.
I actually feel Solskjaer thinks we have enough in attack and adding sancho will give us 4 first teamers for 3 positions.
We need a backup for the creativity of Bruno as this was the real great catalyst to our season. VDB would give us that through the centre and sancho would provide this on the right.
Solskjaer is building a squad which can utilise different tactics effectively and one which has a certain robustness to deliver when the inevitable injures occur.
He needs to be ruthless to get us back to challenging. His desire to put United first will aid this, a long way to go but it just feels our stable machine is starting to find it’s wheels again.
Or even play our normal 4231 and play Pogba in Rashfords position, I’ve always felt he could play it.
This way we buy two players for the Grealish fee and have a player who can cover multiple positions and who is better, namely, Pogba.
If we sign Alcantara, I feel that would mean no Sancho this year. We would probably shift to a 4-4-2 or a 4-2-2-2 with Martial and Rash leading the line
As someone mentioned above, IF he were to come to us, it would be a Pirlo type signing. Someone with experience and class.
He won't necessarily be bought to be playing against the top team, which he obviously could play against depending on the system, but for those low blocks we struggle against. If you watch our games, our forwards make some great runs and get into space but aren't always found. He could.
He won't necessarily be bought to be playing against the top team, which he obviously could play against depending on the system, but for those low blocks we struggle against. If you watch our games, our forwards make some great runs and get into space but aren't always found. He could.
And I did say in my post there is a risk with every transfer.
I disagree with your last point, there’s far more to consider, and in this case it’s the players injury record.
Again not saying it won’t be a good transfer, but I would proceed with some caution, and just because a player is available is not a reason to buy.
Why would a player with such pedigree decide to join you lot, then? Makes no sense at all. Given his skills and matching silverware and the fact that he's still in a midfielders age prime, he would and should be only looking for the highest of challenges. Also, he needs routine. I don't think he'd ever join a club if it's made clear up front that he won't have the status of a first XI player, since he knows he's one of the very best (top 3-5) midfielders on this planet. His will to find a new challenge most likely stems exactly from this point, since he didn't feel untouchable at Bayern anymore, after there were injury problems and he didn't always get in to the starting XI. It's no coincedence he's trying to find a new team given these circumstances.
That is why I put next to my statement, it would depend on the system.
The PL is a very demanding league. There is no doubt Thiago could play in the PL against the top clubs, it would just depends on how he adapts and what system Ole is thinking of using.
And no doubt he will be brought in to play majority of the games, however, with his injury record, we all know he will not be playing all games.
Yeah not a single one except for Thiago and Goretzka.
Lets wait and see what happens but I think people harping about him going to Liverpool are overestimating the situation. If they decide to pay up for Thiago then yes he goes there but if they don`t do people think he`ll just sit in a condo and wait till 2030 for them to finally firm up interest? He wants to leave now and to a PL club if LFC dont come for him he`ll just go to the next team. Timo Werner`s case suggests that if The Bin Dippers are genuinely being stingy(over 27m LMAO) we stand every chance provided we meet Bayern`s price. We are still one of the biggest clubs in the world, we have Champions League football which he`ll defo want to play in, our project will be a big draw to him and he`s still very good friends with De Gea our chances are not that slim but only if we want to pay up.
Bayern play an exceptionally high defensive line which contricts space in midfield. This in turn reduces the amount leg work required of their midfielders. I'm not saying Thiago is defensively weak, but our system requires a specialist DM. If Thiago comes in, his competitor for the starting midfield position would be Pogba.
Zero chance of this happening now we have VdB. Off to Liverpool no doubt.
But neither is an actual DM. And anyway, the post I was replying to was on about us having no DM if we played with Thiago.
Don't really think we need him as he's not the type of player we need... as long as we have Pogba there.
I'd rather spend his money (tranfer + wages) on another CB or paying the full Sancho price.
I'd rather spend his money (tranfer + wages) on another CB or paying the full Sancho price.
Fair enough. But my point remains: Thiago has shown his best for us as DM. For Goretzka I don't see a better job description either.
Goretzka is far more disciplined than Pogba. Thanks for clarifying my point for me.
Totally disagree. We need a deep lying playmaker who has good defensive attributes, to take over from Matic.
We also need as many good players on the ball as we can get. After all, the best form of defence is ball retention.
I don't think we are in for Thiago and I doubt that he wants to come here. He seems to want to go to Liverpool, and that is understandable.
I don't really see that they need him or that he necessarily fits their way of playing though. They seem to play through the full backs or directly from VVD in behind the oppositions defence a lot, so not sure having a ball playing DM suits them really.
I don't really see that they need him or that he necessarily fits their way of playing though. They seem to play through the full backs or directly from VVD in behind the oppositions defence a lot, so not sure having a ball playing DM suits them really.
I think people just assume; press-resistant midfielder who has a fantastic range of pass = cannot be a DM. It’d probably be the same sort of thing if we were linked with Verratti, who is quite similar.
I think we are at least trying to get a right winger, who wouldn’t fit in to that system
If we go the Thiago route, I feel this would make best use of of players.
That wouldn't work. No width at all.
If we go the Thiago route, I feel this would make best use of of players.
Rashford - Martial - Greenwood
Pogba - Thiago - Fernandes
Shaw - Maguire - Lindlöf - AWB
De Gea
Edit to clarify something: I don't think we're in for him.
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Probably, but they would cover different positions.
I can't see us adding him to Pogba, Bruno, Fred, DVB and McTominay.
Would make perfect sense if we were to get a big offer for Pogba's, as I think Thiago is more suited to our needs with his decision-making, intelligence and playmaking abilities.
With van de Beek coming in, it does seem overkill unless one or two central midfielders are leaving. That said, if you have the chance to sign a world-class player at a discounted price, I think you should generally take it. He'd be our best midfielder and would improve our possession play a lot.
With van de Beek coming in, it does seem overkill unless one or two central midfielders are leaving. That said, if you have the chance to sign a world-class player at a discounted price, I think you should generally take it. He'd be our best midfielder and would improve our possession play a lot.
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