- Joined
- May 3, 2023
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- 709
Impossible to predict as football changes so fast. The new Jim/Glazer combo might be a huge success and it could be a in few years or it might never happen again.
City will reach 21 before United
Look what's happened to our fanbase...I might put a bet on this. I think it's extremely likely.
I read this and thought “why not? Stranger things have happened.”This year
We’ll do city 6-1. Arsenal will do Arsenal and fold against themselves and Liverpool will do a month either Jan or Feb without points. Spurs will revert to type, Newcastle will show the lack of strength in depth.
Results will always paint a picture in peoples minds about how good or bad the situation is currently. But if one takes a step back and attempts to understand what the problems stopping ten Hag from implementing his strategy are, then it's easy to see that those issues are easily rectified by players returning from injury and with the ownership providing the funds for additional players to arrive via the transfer market.
Ten Hag wants his team to play the game in the opponent's half. So the vision is set in stone and we have to try and understand where the weaknesses are and what needs to be done to make us a team that has the capability to play in a compact high block high up the pitch. And imo there's three things that have to be taken into consideration when creating a team to play the game in the opponent's half within the positional principles . Those three things are.. 1. having the ability to play to play out from the back. 2. having the ability to press high in a compact high block as a team. 3. having the ability to control defensive transitions in larger spaces.
1. Our play out from the back should be improved now that we have Amrabat available with Mainoo hopefully not far behind. Not having the aforementioned options for different reasons has caused us problems imo.
2. We've improved a lot at pressing high in comparison to what we saw under Mourinho and Solskjaer. With the only problem being that we don't commit both our fullbacks to the high press which seems to be a instruction from the manager.
3. We're the worst team at controlling defensive transitions because our CBs are not good at all at defending a large space hence our high press isn't as effective as it could be. Varane is our best player in that regard with Martinez being the best in possession. But we need CBs who are good both in possesion and out of possession in a higher defensive line to enforce the high press and control larger spaces against quick attackers.
If we can add 4 players to the starting 11, then we will have taken a big step towards being a very competitive team imo. This is the first time since Fergie retired where I can see a direction taking shape that correlates to the modern day reality of creating a team that plays a dominant brand of football. That might not make a lot of sense to people who are overly focused just on the results and how many points have been accrued. But I'm expecting us to build the team around the 3 principles mentioned above. And if we do that, it won't take as long as many think to challenge for the league.
And whatever one may think of Ratcliffe and INEOS. They have a lot of money and have the potential to make a real difference on the football side of the club.
Not for a very very long time, City will more than likely be fine when Pep leaves, Newcastle will be there in a few years time, Qatar will probably buy another team in the Prem.
So by the time the Glazers are completely gone that'll be at least 3 teams that will be way ahead of us, probably even more. Only way I ever see us challenging again is if we somehow get the next Pep/Fergie/Klopp before they're snapped up by the oil clubs.
You're correct about the instability in the back line which imo has caused a problem for ten Hag due to the players missing through injury. But I do believe that once Shaw, Martinez and Varane are fit again, we will see a more functional team with both Shaw and Varane having the ability to control/contain the wide channels on the left and the right in defensive transitions. Shaw imo should be utilised as the left back who tucks inside to form a 3 man defence now we have options at the base of the midfield. But the only worry is how many points will we drop in the time in-between both Shaw and Martinez being fit.I’m behind this analysis. I also think that point 1, 2 and 3 affect each other heavily, such as when a back five of De Gea - Wan Bissaka - Varane - Martinez - Shaw managed oppositional counters fairly well for most of last season, but then we’re suddenly playing with Onana - Dalot - Maguire - Lindelöf - Reguilon one day and Onana - Dalot - Varane - Evans - Amrabat the next, we neither have the personell nor the relations to control defensive space in transitions. Nor to develop a safe and quick play out from the back. This again affects heavily the collective nerve to press high consistently, for fear of being caught out.
Regardless of this, we’ve had periods in most games where we have managed to press high and create chances from it. That is to me a good sign, as long as the club and the players are able to weather the storm without going at each others throats when outside critic builds.
You're correct about the instability in the back line which imo has caused a problem for ten Hag due to the players missing through injury. But I do believe that once Shaw, Martinez and Varane are fit again, we will see a more functional team with both Shaw and Varane having the ability to control/contain the wide channels on the left and the right in defensive transitions. Shaw imo should be utilised as the left back who tucks inside to form a 3 man defence now we have options at the base of the midfield. But the only worry is how many points will we drop in the time in-between both Shaw and Martinez being fit.
The key for me is the 3 principles I outlined earlier about developing a team that has the capability to play out from the back, press high in a compact high block and control large spaces in defensive transition. I think if we stick to those principles we will get back to competing for the league. I don't think anyone can say when we will win the league but you sure as hell can plan the development of the team with a set criteria in mind. So the question I ask myself is, when will we compete for the league again? And imo we will compete for the league when we stick to the aforementioned principles. And if do that you will see a big difference in one year
But our biggest problem is information in the tweet below which I've known for a long time. And if Ratcliffe can provide more clarity by having control of the football side, then whoever the DoF and head of recruitment is, will have the foundations to thrive and can plan the transfer window ahead of time.
Mourinho got himself fired and it had little to do with budget imo. When you have a manager who goes to a club and wants control on the football side of the club, then it's imperative to look to develop the existing structures at the club. Mourinho didn't do this and Woodward had inadvertently created a massive problem by hiring a manager who wasn't willing to work with the existing recruitment structure after a massive overhaul had taken place where numerous scouts had been brought to the club. The club had even appointed Javier Ribalta to oversee recruitment at first team level to help Mourinho, but Mourinho was hell bent on trusting the judgement of his own scouts. And Woodward was then forced to create a transfer committee where the scouts and Mourinho were at loggerheads with each party having a veto.To be clear - what you have known for a long time and you say this tweet backs up: Is it that Glazers have wavered on what resources are available for recruitment, such as sayng ‘yes’ to get Mourinho in the door, ‘no’ when they are uncertain about Mourinho’s third season, ‘yes’ when it’s about securing CL spots, ‘no’ when it’s about taking the next step, ‘yes’ when it’s about securing famous brand Ronaldo, ‘no’ when it’s about the need for a different kind of CB to Maguire (like Kim?), ‘yes’ when we’ve lost two games on the trot under a new manager’ ‘no’ when we have lost two games on the trot during a managers second or third season … that sort of thing?