Despite bad couple of games still want Baleba in summer, however need to bring in that profile of player now as wellNeed a player who has engine and can pass quick.. else it will be a long season ..
The midfield is weak.. casemiro is old.. Bruno is no midfielder..
We need somebody who is good in everything.. physical and mobile...
Good luck with that..
Think the ship sailed with Bruno staying atleast until next summer. Im worried for Amorim because lets face it if we continue with this form from last season (and its still looks like it), he wont survive this Christmas and rightly so. I want him to be successful as that mean the club is too and i dont even know which coach is to go for if he's gone. We have been flip flopping too much everytimes we rebuild.Simply put IF we had pushed Bruno to accept offer could have got Baleba with that money, still got the other signings and a Stiller/Wharton when selling Garnacho. Heck if we had Europa win maybe even got a proper RWB too.
MF needs to be considered, really i just dont know why United think so different from others when it comes to Midfield. We dont prioritise MF enough like others. It is the areas that we lack behind others the last 15 years.Feels like there's been a strange collective delusion over the summer that we can get by without a functional midfield, and as long as we have a bunch of attacking players on the pitch, the goals will naturally come. That's just not how the PL works.
United didn't need 3 attackers. Mbeumo is entirely unnecessary because he isn't a 10, and you already have players like Diallo and Fernandes who play there and are also better. It is completely stupid to invest that much money into him and not buy a midfielder, but instead shift Diallo to a wingback, which he isn't, and Fernandes to a central midfielder, which he really isn't, just to accommodate Mbeumo, who himself is out of position. And then sign another project striker on top when behind him there's no functional team. Like.. what?!
It's not even hindsight, because this was brought up by many during the transfer window. It's just brainless squad building. That's the long and short of it. "No goals? Sign a bunch of forwards. That will fix it." I wouldn't have bought either of Sesko and Mbeumo and instead brought 2 midfielders.
Do you rate Stiller higher than Wharton?A good midfield needs defensive awareness and press resistance (6), dribbling, tempo control and creativity (8), and playmaking and attacking virtues (10). But that’s 3 players. Amorim insists playing with two, which is why Baleba is the one he wants and needs.
Mainoo worked best with two other midfielders, but in the absence of that, a press resistant and engine like Baleba, to cover what he can’t (which in my mind is not ideal), is the logical must.
But I still prefer 3 midfielders. A trio of Baleba, Stiller and Mainoo would be amazing to watch.
Said this earlier this month, and I hate that I knew this was going to happen. Depressing that an idiot like me can see it, but people being paid millions cantSpending near 200M on attack, when our midfield is in shambles...is a choice. A very Man Utd one.
We all know its not gonna work. But we will see the car crash unfold anyway.
Stiller’s passing is so mint. I prefer that profile over Wharton’s which is more defensive and Baleba would already occupy. I’m no expert though.Do you rate Stiller higher than Wharton?
Every year, for seems like 7 years, I watch ungodly amount of top sides and their build up, and how they orchestrate their attack, with silky midfielders, moving the ball about, and reflecting that next summer we’re going to need that, and just that. And every year I end up wondering why we just don’t address it.Said this earlier this month, and I hate that I knew this was going to happen. Depressing that an idiot like me can see it, but people being paid millions cant
Said this earlier this month, and I hate that I knew this was going to happen. Depressing that an idiot like me can see it, but people being paid millions cant
I am desperate to at least see some solid links because alarm bells should be blaring out nowI still believe we will sign a midfielder before the window closes. I think Wharton or Stiller would be a good choice. That type of player anyway would make us much better.
Probably some players more out there with similar skills.
I could see him sacked by November international breakI maintain what I said before we went off and signed 2 number 10s and a striker.
If we do not improve our midfield Amorim will be sacked by Christmas.
Successive managers have ignored this area of the pitch and it will be our undoing. We haven’t had the requisite quality in midfield since Carrick left.
I don’t care what magical system you believe in there is simple no system that works well if you have one of the worst midfields in the league
I maintain what I said before we went off and signed 2 number 10s and a striker.
If we do not improve our midfield Amorim will be sacked by Christmas.
Successive managers have ignored this area of the pitch and it will be our undoing. We haven’t had the requisite quality in midfield since Carrick left.
I don’t care what magical system you believe in there is simple no system that works well if you have one of the worst midfields in the league
Just play compact. There are sides with worse options and they are much better in staying compact.
Ugarte,Casemiro, Bruno and Mainoo can play compact. Just stop this 3 man press at the top leaving the midfield wide open.
Formation isnt the issue. Its the way we press.
I just wanted an Ugarte replacement.Feels like there's been a strange collective delusion over the summer that we can get by without a functional midfield, and as long as we have a bunch of attacking players on the pitch, the goals will naturally come. That's just not how the PL works.
I just wanted an Ugarte replacement.
But the more I watch the more I'm convinced that shipping Bruno to Saudi is the real cure to our issues, both financially and team/fit wise. It's fecking insanity that Amorim pleaded with him to stay, especially if he knew we were going to do a full makeover of our attack (thus dropping Bruno deeper).
You are expecting players who are either past it, not up to the standard or playing in a position that they are not used to perform this task in the toughest league in the world. It just isn't going to happen.Just play compact. There are sides with worse options and they are much better in staying compact.
Ugarte,Casemiro, Bruno and Mainoo can play compact. Just stop this 3 man press at the top leaving the midfield wide open.
Formation isnt the issue. Its the way we press.
I'm not that confident. But it just doesn't make sense to plead for your 31 year old midfielder to stay, instead of taking 100m for him, if you're just going to play him in a position he's a poor fit for. Not only does it make your team worse, but the opportunity cost of not cashing in is huge as well.That is somewhat of a surprise for me as well. I’d rather see Bruno as a creative 10. We all know how good he is at that position.
I am confident both Ugarte and Casemiro would be much better with someone else in front of them than Bruno.
You are expecting players who are either past it, not up to the standard or playing in a position that they are not used to perform this task in the toughest league in the world. It just isn't going to happen.
Midfield is a critical area of the pitch in the premier league. Just look at how City fall apart without Rodri.
Our rivals have spent big (Chelsea, Arsenal, City etc.) or spent smartly (Liverpool, Newcastle, Tottenham etc.) on this area of the pitch. The only large or intelligent investment we made in midfield since Carrick left was Pogba and then we followed up by not investing in midfielders that complemented Pogba's skillset.
During our successful period we either had the best midfield or at least a midfield that was competitive. Now we have Dumb and dumber in midfield.
I'm not that confident. But it just doesn't make sense to plead for your 31 year old midfielder to stay, instead of taking 100m for him, if you're just going to play him in a position he's a poor fit for. Not only does it make your team worse, but the opportunity cost of not cashing in is huge as well.
Who do you play if you can’t sign both Belaba and Wharton or two similar players?Makes no sense for me either. It might be Amorim and Bruno himself are confident of him mastering the deeper position.
You might be right that a player like Baleba would make everything better. But I suspect that Bruno would still not be used right in the deeper role. I would love to see Baleba and Wharton, or a pair of similar players.
Yeah Wharton and Baleba is the dream. I've really grown to love Wharton, he feels like the closest thing I've watched to Carrick in a long time in how he's just constantly progressive and quick minded with how he moves the ball. Doesn't need a ton of touches or a lot of space to fire in those balls between the lines, and can do so with both feet. Rare type of player.Makes no sense for me either. It might be Amorim and Bruno himself are confident of him mastering the deeper position.
You might be right that a player like Baleba would make everything better. But I suspect that Bruno would still not be used right in the deeper role. I would love to see Baleba and Wharton, or a pair of similar players.
Where is the athleticism is my problem, also we badly need someone capable of keeping ball too which isn't BrunoBruno our best player unarguably of last few years is one of the midfielders out of choice by Amorim.
If he is starting 100% then one out of Casemiro, Ugarte, Mainoo partnering him is hardly the worst options in the league as some are pointing out.
It is only Amorims choice of Bruno as indispensable midfielder that will be his downfall.
Yeah simply have to sign him or Stiller next summer, unfortunately will have to make do on that profile of player until then which is highly frustratingYeah Wharton and Baleba is the dream. I've really grown to love Wharton, he feels like the closest thing I've watched to Carrick in a long time in how he's just constantly progressive and quick minded with how he moves the ball. Doesn't need a ton of touches or a lot of space to fire in those balls between the lines, and can do so with both feet. Rare type of player.
MentalityWhy weren't we overrun in the middle against arsenal? In fact I think we controlled the game, they had a couple of breaks through the middle sure, but we outpassed them, had far more possession and didnt look nearly as hopeless as the weekend. I understand arsenal had a lead to protect but they didnt sit back for 75 minutes after scoring. Tactically, can anybody explain why we looked so poor in the middle against fulham, compared to one week earlier against a far better team
Who do you play if you can’t sign both Belaba and Wharton or two similar players?
You play Baleba and Mainoo/Casemiro?
Or Wharton and Mainoo/Ugarte?
I think Bruno should be moved on but I also see that we lack real options in the middle. Maybe you don’t move him on so quickly when you don’t have options
Would have been better if Ugarte actually turned out to be good
I don’t like Casemiro/Ugarte Wharton at all. Because neither Casemiro or Ugarte take care of the ball and Wharton won’t be able to cover them anymore than Mainoo canBaleba - Bruno/Mainoo will probably not work, but it would be better than today.
Casemiro/Ugarte - Wharton. Might actually be very good.
Mentality
If we were playing 433, you'd be confident going into games with Bruno, Mainoo and and say Baleba or even someone like Wharton. Hell, we might even see something from Ugarte playing like that. The formation is where the problems lie. Even if you signed two ultra athletic players for that position, they're still getting outnumbered 2 v 3 and we will still have a RWB and a LWB that are playing out of position which makes the whole thing unbalanced.
Any team that has made this formation work has also had a strong middle centre back that can help the midfield and make it a three when needed. Our defence is still work in progress and the lack of certainty with the keeper probably makes them less confident about taking any risks.
I maintain what I said before we went off and signed 2 number 10s and a striker.
If we do not improve our midfield Amorim will be sacked by Christmas.
Successive managers have ignored this area of the pitch and it will be our undoing. We haven’t had the requisite quality in midfield since Carrick left.
I don’t care what magical system you believe in there is simple no system that works well if you have one of the worst midfields in the league
