Right wing
Defensive midfielder
Left back
A lot depends on the players that become available also.
Defensive midfielder
Left back
A lot depends on the players that become available also.
Which 3 Positions do we need to buy?
- Thread starter manunited1919
- Start date
Positions
Left Back | Realistic: Ricardo Rodriguez (cheap)
Defensive Midfielder |Fabinho/Bakayoko, others.
Right Winger / 10 / Striker | Griezmann
Defensive Midfielder |Fabinho/Bakayoko, others.
Right Winger / 10 / Striker | Griezmann
Over the past few months I've read a lot of talk on replacing our defenders, from Darmian to Blind and our 'flimsy' centre backs. They're not the best players to have as shown by silly mistakes they make, BUT United have conceded the second fewest league goals behind Spurs and Chelsea who are tied with two less goals conceded and the fewest in the Europa League too.
What we're struggling with isn't our defence, it's our attack. We haven't been scoring freely and we've struggled to put chances away. The pace of our attack is also quite slow. If we sign three expensive, game-changing players this Summer, we can't afford to spend money in defence.
I believe we need to give our defenders a chance next season. Darmian's only been here two years, Shaw needs time, Bailly and Rojo have done very well and the clumsy Smalling and Jones need another year to prove themselves.
We need to spend our money on the midfield and forward options. On top of clearing out Depay, Schneiderlin and Schweinsteiger, Young and Rooney have also outlived their expiration date. The highly limited Fellaini needs to go.
We need two midfielders; one box to box in the mould of Herrera and one defensive playmaker like Carrick. We also need a speedy striker/winger to replace Rooney or Young.
To compete on all fronts, we need two quality players in each position rotating, keeping the outfielders fresh, fit and hungry for matches.
Assuming we play a 4-3-3
GK: De Gea (hopefully here next season), Romero
RB: Valencia, Darmian
CB: Rojo, Bailly, Smalling, Jones
LB: Shaw, Blind
DM: Carrick, New Signing (Carrick can help bed him in his last season)
Box to Box: Herrera, New Signing
Number 10: Pogba, Mkhitaryan
LW: Martial, Lingard
ST: Ibrahimovic, New Signing
RW: Rashford, Mata
I have no clue on the status of our youth and loan players, but Pereira, Januzaj and Fosu-Mensah would be welcome to join the squad if they can contribute.
What we're struggling with isn't our defence, it's our attack. We haven't been scoring freely and we've struggled to put chances away. The pace of our attack is also quite slow. If we sign three expensive, game-changing players this Summer, we can't afford to spend money in defence.
I believe we need to give our defenders a chance next season. Darmian's only been here two years, Shaw needs time, Bailly and Rojo have done very well and the clumsy Smalling and Jones need another year to prove themselves.
We need to spend our money on the midfield and forward options. On top of clearing out Depay, Schneiderlin and Schweinsteiger, Young and Rooney have also outlived their expiration date. The highly limited Fellaini needs to go.
We need two midfielders; one box to box in the mould of Herrera and one defensive playmaker like Carrick. We also need a speedy striker/winger to replace Rooney or Young.
To compete on all fronts, we need two quality players in each position rotating, keeping the outfielders fresh, fit and hungry for matches.
Assuming we play a 4-3-3
GK: De Gea (hopefully here next season), Romero
RB: Valencia, Darmian
CB: Rojo, Bailly, Smalling, Jones
LB: Shaw, Blind
DM: Carrick, New Signing (Carrick can help bed him in his last season)
Box to Box: Herrera, New Signing
Number 10: Pogba, Mkhitaryan
LW: Martial, Lingard
ST: Ibrahimovic, New Signing
RW: Rashford, Mata
I have no clue on the status of our youth and loan players, but Pereira, Januzaj and Fosu-Mensah would be welcome to join the squad if they can contribute.
I'd say left-back and 2 central midfielders but in reality I think we probably need more than 3 players and if Zlatan leaves then centre forward becomes number one priority.
Left Back seems the obvious one, not necessarily because Jose might believe that Shaw is a lost cause but mainly because, in my opinion, the backbone of every top side is its stable defense. The goalkeeper, the back four and the defensive/holding midfielder should be sorted out by the manager and they should be the constant which will provide us the invaluable safety we need in order to be more flexible, dominant and adventurous in the middle and the attacking third. Right now, we don't only have a problem in the LB position, we have a huge hole there which creates problems in our game. Any opposition manager can put a pacey winger in that area and suddenly the whole team drops off several yards just to defend properly (the CB keeps an eye to cover the LB because he doesn't trust him, the defensive midfielder drops in the box to cover for the CB and this results to the whole team losing ground on the pitch).
What do we need? A very solid left back defensively, anything else would be an extra. Someone able to defend well in 1v1 against all kinds of wide players: pacey wingers who like to hug the touch line, explosive inverted wingers/forwards whose acceleration and creativity will test the FBs ability to defend on his weaker foot and, of course, wide play makers who search for pockets of space in those areas to make things happen.
If you take Real Madrid and their abundance in talent out of the equation, most Mourinho sides are built with one of the sides, preferably the left one, assigned with the task of doing all the heavy lifting in terms of creativity in the attacking third. It's quite rigid too with the forward dropping in between the lines to play with his back to goal, the winger staying wide and the attacking midfielder moving slightly to the left. Mourinho wants from his FB to stay a bit behind and create a diamond shape with the other three in order to have more passing options. So, overlaps/underlaps and drilled crosses come as a plus in our current predicament. Don't forget that Mourinho has won things with a right footed player at LB (Azpi) or with a left footed CB (Chivu) doing the job. We've seen this being implemented with Martial/Rashford staying wide to receive the ball, Zlatan dropping deeper and Pogba moving to the left with the FB behind them.
Central Midfielder, the player in front of the back four should also be a priority. When it comes to this player i agree with the notion that we need someone who possesses the required positional awareness and the ability to read the game well in order to keep both Pogba and Herrera in check. Both Pogba and Ander become more valuable to us when they spend more time in the middle and the attacking half but for different reasons. The former has the vision and the technical skills to create while the latter's ability to press and regain possession high on the pitch can potentially become a big ace up our sleeves in modern football. They could both benefit from having another player behind them.
Where i don't agree with the majority of the Caf is that we need a defensive "monster" to play there. I think that Pogba and Herrera can provide us with the engine to win the midfield battle. What the have failed to provide thus far is creativity from deeper areas, someone who will get on the ball and play the right pass that will allow us to move the ball smoothly and quickly out of our third. Mourinho has claimed that his ambition is to build a dominant side at OT but the sheer reality of things is that most of our attacking players look much more threatening when the have spaces which they can exploit while running with the ball and not when they have to create these spaces with their off the ball movement all the time. So, my pick would be a deep lying play-maker for that role instead of a pure defensive midfielder in the mold of Makelele.
Center Half. One that can defend well in the air so when we block out all the routes down the central channels, we can be sure that we will deal with the crosses coming into our box. Also one with a nearly perfect injury record. I am not greedy and i will not ask for ball playing abilities but i will ask for someone whose clearances/interceptions will be towards areas where our players are most likely to pick up the ball. This has always been the strongest suit of the Italian CBs who have mastered the art of defending (very) deep in their half. And before you say this should not be a priority please consider that, according to Squawka, we average nearly ten more defensive actions per game than Chelsea who also defend deep and play the counter under Conte. This indicates that the ball stays at their feet of our opponents in our third of the pitch more than it probably should. It partially explains why we have problems with moving the ball quickly out of our defense too.
I can fully understand those who think that we should acquire a game changer whose dribbling skills and decision making will immediately improve the abilities of our strong left side. But Martial has more than enough talent and the club has invested a lot in his abilities. Plus Zlatan looks like he will be here next season too, so both Martial and Rashford will get playing time on the left more than anywhere else on the pitch.
Having said that, i don't think Mourinho plans on buying a new central midfielder and have him in the starting lineup. The rumors about Griezmann come on a weekly basis nowadays and we can't simply ignore them. It makes sense for Mourinho to look for a player like him who will constantly look for runs on Zlatan's shoulder whenever the latter drops deeper or look to exploit the spaces Mourinho's system creates on the right side for his attacking players.
This will put immense pressure on Herrera-Pogba to deliver the goods in the midfield. Imho it's a huge risk in the most important area of the pitch since there are no guarantees that both of them will improve their overall game (and we need both of them to to do that) but Jose sees them in training every day so i will trust his judgement, if this happens.
But i think that he will go for a LB, a CB and Griezmann as options for the staring lineup and he will play his favorite 4231. In this scenario an addition like Dier makes sense too. An extra option in the midfield who can also help the manager revert the system to a 433 should the circumstances require such a thing.
What do we need? A very solid left back defensively, anything else would be an extra. Someone able to defend well in 1v1 against all kinds of wide players: pacey wingers who like to hug the touch line, explosive inverted wingers/forwards whose acceleration and creativity will test the FBs ability to defend on his weaker foot and, of course, wide play makers who search for pockets of space in those areas to make things happen.
If you take Real Madrid and their abundance in talent out of the equation, most Mourinho sides are built with one of the sides, preferably the left one, assigned with the task of doing all the heavy lifting in terms of creativity in the attacking third. It's quite rigid too with the forward dropping in between the lines to play with his back to goal, the winger staying wide and the attacking midfielder moving slightly to the left. Mourinho wants from his FB to stay a bit behind and create a diamond shape with the other three in order to have more passing options. So, overlaps/underlaps and drilled crosses come as a plus in our current predicament. Don't forget that Mourinho has won things with a right footed player at LB (Azpi) or with a left footed CB (Chivu) doing the job. We've seen this being implemented with Martial/Rashford staying wide to receive the ball, Zlatan dropping deeper and Pogba moving to the left with the FB behind them.
Central Midfielder, the player in front of the back four should also be a priority. When it comes to this player i agree with the notion that we need someone who possesses the required positional awareness and the ability to read the game well in order to keep both Pogba and Herrera in check. Both Pogba and Ander become more valuable to us when they spend more time in the middle and the attacking half but for different reasons. The former has the vision and the technical skills to create while the latter's ability to press and regain possession high on the pitch can potentially become a big ace up our sleeves in modern football. They could both benefit from having another player behind them.
Where i don't agree with the majority of the Caf is that we need a defensive "monster" to play there. I think that Pogba and Herrera can provide us with the engine to win the midfield battle. What the have failed to provide thus far is creativity from deeper areas, someone who will get on the ball and play the right pass that will allow us to move the ball smoothly and quickly out of our third. Mourinho has claimed that his ambition is to build a dominant side at OT but the sheer reality of things is that most of our attacking players look much more threatening when the have spaces which they can exploit while running with the ball and not when they have to create these spaces with their off the ball movement all the time. So, my pick would be a deep lying play-maker for that role instead of a pure defensive midfielder in the mold of Makelele.
Center Half. One that can defend well in the air so when we block out all the routes down the central channels, we can be sure that we will deal with the crosses coming into our box. Also one with a nearly perfect injury record. I am not greedy and i will not ask for ball playing abilities but i will ask for someone whose clearances/interceptions will be towards areas where our players are most likely to pick up the ball. This has always been the strongest suit of the Italian CBs who have mastered the art of defending (very) deep in their half. And before you say this should not be a priority please consider that, according to Squawka, we average nearly ten more defensive actions per game than Chelsea who also defend deep and play the counter under Conte. This indicates that the ball stays at their feet of our opponents in our third of the pitch more than it probably should. It partially explains why we have problems with moving the ball quickly out of our defense too.
I can fully understand those who think that we should acquire a game changer whose dribbling skills and decision making will immediately improve the abilities of our strong left side. But Martial has more than enough talent and the club has invested a lot in his abilities. Plus Zlatan looks like he will be here next season too, so both Martial and Rashford will get playing time on the left more than anywhere else on the pitch.
Having said that, i don't think Mourinho plans on buying a new central midfielder and have him in the starting lineup. The rumors about Griezmann come on a weekly basis nowadays and we can't simply ignore them. It makes sense for Mourinho to look for a player like him who will constantly look for runs on Zlatan's shoulder whenever the latter drops deeper or look to exploit the spaces Mourinho's system creates on the right side for his attacking players.
This will put immense pressure on Herrera-Pogba to deliver the goods in the midfield. Imho it's a huge risk in the most important area of the pitch since there are no guarantees that both of them will improve their overall game (and we need both of them to to do that) but Jose sees them in training every day so i will trust his judgement, if this happens.
But i think that he will go for a LB, a CB and Griezmann as options for the staring lineup and he will play his favorite 4231. In this scenario an addition like Dier makes sense too. An extra option in the midfield who can also help the manager revert the system to a 433 should the circumstances require such a thing.
A centre back
A creative forward
A Midfielder
(Possibly a left wing back if jose wants to play three at the back?)
A creative forward
A Midfielder
(Possibly a left wing back if jose wants to play three at the back?)
No.1 requirement - CDM to replace Carrick eventually and share the job in the meantime if Carrick stays another year. Could do with another midfielder as light in case of injuries/suspensions
A goalscoring forward
If Shaw gets back to his real capabilities, him and Blind can be sufficient for LB, otherwise a left back as well
Need a hard man centre back especially if Jones and Smalling continue to be regularly injured
A goalscoring forward
If Shaw gets back to his real capabilities, him and Blind can be sufficient for LB, otherwise a left back as well
Need a hard man centre back especially if Jones and Smalling continue to be regularly injured
If you want instant improvement and a big amount of progress with only three signings then I reckon CF, DM are probably the two key areas right now.
You put in a Lewa or Suarez into this side and suddenly we would look a more dynamic and threatening side. Not saying we get them but getting a dynamic forward talent of that calibre and threat would take the side above Arsenal/Spurs etc Getting in a proper DM would enable us to go toe to toe with sides in midfield battles again.
The third signing is a toss up between RW or LB.
You put in a Lewa or Suarez into this side and suddenly we would look a more dynamic and threatening side. Not saying we get them but getting a dynamic forward talent of that calibre and threat would take the side above Arsenal/Spurs etc Getting in a proper DM would enable us to go toe to toe with sides in midfield battles again.
The third signing is a toss up between RW or LB.
Striker, left back, CB, but we need a lot more than 3 players though, wont mind a more attacking right back and an a DM
Two midfielders and a striker/wide forward.
2 midfielders (to compliment Pogba)and the central defender position (Bailley looks good) need upgraded but in reality Griezmann and Lukaku or Mbappe would have us challenging for the league so if forgo these positions to sign just Griezmann and one of the others as our defence and midfield can cope another season as is.
CM
Right winger
Striker
In reality we need to buy for more than three positions, but those would be more priority.
Right winger
Striker
In reality we need to buy for more than three positions, but those would be more priority.
Is left back really necessary? Are we giving up on Shaw then?
Simply:
Attacker
Midfielder
Defender
Attacker
Midfielder
Defender
Even if we assume Shaw will come good (I still think he will), our backup options for left back are pretty bad.
Striker and MF.
That's basically correct, you are missing a really strong spine in the side imo. Zlatan is great but hasnt got much more seasons in him, there is a gaping hole in your midfield imo and you could use a top class centre back (with experience).
DM, AMC, CB
I think Blind is good enough cover and Darmien and Young can do a job there too (Not Rojo though)
Basically i think it is a position we could improve on but i'm not sure it should count as one of the 3 positions we need to improve the most. Centre forward, centre midfield and possibly a centre back are more urgent imo
knowing Mourinho and also are lack of a really good CDM we will go all out for a top player in this position and its a must before any other department IMO, he needs to be big and powerful and can get about the pitch putting out fires everywhere, which is why Bakayoko has been heavily linked and someone I would like to see come in
Another attacker, Griezmann or someone of that calibre we need to unlock defences better and score more goals he will bring all that in abundance and make sure Zlatan remains at the club
I know you said 3 players but in defence I think we need 2 players, A centre half and a Left back, speed height and power required
Another attacker, Griezmann or someone of that calibre we need to unlock defences better and score more goals he will bring all that in abundance and make sure Zlatan remains at the club
I know you said 3 players but in defence I think we need 2 players, A centre half and a Left back, speed height and power required
CB, DM, FC.
Midfield is lacking depth badly despite the buy of Pogba.
None of our centre backs are guaranteed starters by their ability or performances and that's a problem. We need a real leader and a top centre back.
That French lad playing in Spain to round it off.
Midfield is lacking depth badly despite the buy of Pogba.
None of our centre backs are guaranteed starters by their ability or performances and that's a problem. We need a real leader and a top centre back.
That French lad playing in Spain to round it off.
I hope not but its hard to say with Mourinho.
Im not sure what my answer to the OP is but I dont think LB would be one of them. I think a striker, a right winger and a centre mid - Carrick replacement. If we can find a pacey striker who can play on the right wing until Ibra goes id be more inclined to get a centre back than a left back.
---------- De Gea -----------
Tony -- Bailly -- CB -- Shaw
------------- DM -------------
----- Herrera --- Pogba -----
Micky ------- CF ------- Martial
Tony -- Bailly -- CB -- Shaw
------------- DM -------------
----- Herrera --- Pogba -----
Micky ------- CF ------- Martial
Some people on here, feels like, would love to throw away the entire squad and buy new one - which will be of the same mould, if not worse.
Majority were delighted with "Rojones", one penalty and an injury and everyone says Jones should be out. Everyone wanted to see Fellaini go, 3-4 good games and now he could be kept for squad player. People are so easily swayed by temporary form, rather than overall season performances.
I can't believe I read a post slating our entire group of center backs. Even Bailly and Rojo, who have been the most consistent and Bailly showed great potential to develop as one of world's top defenders.
People are happy to throw away Zlatan, because we are too reliant on him. Sure yeah, let him go, so next season we have Martial, Rooney and Rashford joint top scorers with 10 goals. Some people need a reality check. This is not FIFA, nor Football Manager.
There are 4 positions in our team where we've lacked quality/consistency. LW, LB, RW and CM. Left wing we have players with potential and Mourinho's happy to help players develop - we lacked consistency but there is quality. RW we have players who don't fit so much the position even if they done a great job - we need to improve the quality. CM has lacked consistency (citing Pogba) and LB we've been missing both consistency and quality.
LB, RW and CM are the three players on top of the target list that will join next summer. CM - clearly as we are a body or two short of what we should have.
Our defenders have done more than decent job. Zlatan has been outstanding along with Mikhi. We are only waiting on Martial, Pogba and Rashford to start deliver more often, even though Pogba has had really good games.
Majority were delighted with "Rojones", one penalty and an injury and everyone says Jones should be out. Everyone wanted to see Fellaini go, 3-4 good games and now he could be kept for squad player. People are so easily swayed by temporary form, rather than overall season performances.
I can't believe I read a post slating our entire group of center backs. Even Bailly and Rojo, who have been the most consistent and Bailly showed great potential to develop as one of world's top defenders.
People are happy to throw away Zlatan, because we are too reliant on him. Sure yeah, let him go, so next season we have Martial, Rooney and Rashford joint top scorers with 10 goals. Some people need a reality check. This is not FIFA, nor Football Manager.
There are 4 positions in our team where we've lacked quality/consistency. LW, LB, RW and CM. Left wing we have players with potential and Mourinho's happy to help players develop - we lacked consistency but there is quality. RW we have players who don't fit so much the position even if they done a great job - we need to improve the quality. CM has lacked consistency (citing Pogba) and LB we've been missing both consistency and quality.
LB, RW and CM are the three players on top of the target list that will join next summer. CM - clearly as we are a body or two short of what we should have.
Our defenders have done more than decent job. Zlatan has been outstanding along with Mikhi. We are only waiting on Martial, Pogba and Rashford to start deliver more often, even though Pogba has had really good games.
Striker
2xmidfielders
I'd say they are priority. We can probably muddle through with the rest of what we've got.
After that.
RB
CB
RW
2xmidfielders
I'd say they are priority. We can probably muddle through with the rest of what we've got.
After that.
RB
CB
RW
I'm struggling to narrow my choice down to just three positions, which shows just how many areas need attention. Midfield is the biggie for me. We've already lost our Schmidfielders, Carrick will be another year older (assuming he stays on like I hope), and then there's Fellaini, so whereas the other positions could benefit from being upgraded, the midfield is actually pressing. TFM and Pereira are waiting in the wings, but it remains to be seen whether Mourinho will fully trust them. And even if he is, how dependent on them does he want to be, because we're just an injury away from having to put them in for a run of games.
I wanted to say LB, but I'm hoping Shaw can become the player we wanted him to be. And if he can hold down a first team spot, Rojo and Blind are adequate replacements. I think defensively we could do with a more assured, more experienced (and hopefully less injury prone) CB that will get the best out of Bailly.
Lastly, an attacker of some variety. We're not short in any position, but most could do with an upgrade. What we're missing is a consistent spark. Martial, Mata & Mkhitaryan have provided moments, but none of them have done it consistently.
I wanted to say LB, but I'm hoping Shaw can become the player we wanted him to be. And if he can hold down a first team spot, Rojo and Blind are adequate replacements. I think defensively we could do with a more assured, more experienced (and hopefully less injury prone) CB that will get the best out of Bailly.
Lastly, an attacker of some variety. We're not short in any position, but most could do with an upgrade. What we're missing is a consistent spark. Martial, Mata & Mkhitaryan have provided moments, but none of them have done it consistently.
I find it perplexing that so many fans rely on TFM. The guy has played only in a few games last season. This season he played a few minutes and was horrendous, though this is to be expected from a teenager.
The point I am trying to make is that you can't brand a teenager who barely plays, as "good enough for the first team". Most likely, TFM will never been a first team starter and at the very worst, he'll either be loaned or sold off to a lesser team.
CB - In terms of what we need, given that Smalling/Jones are mostly injured, we need at least 1 CB, but preferably 2.
ST - A prolific striker - someone who can be phased in, while Ibra is phased out.
LB - when we are playing the likes of Darmian or Jones in LB, I think its pretty obvious we need a specialist LB, to be rotated with Blind. Unfortunately, Shaw just hasn't got the luck/mentality to play for a big club like MUFC, aiming to finish in 5th, so next season when we aim for 1st place, Shaw probably won't even make the bench. A young, promising player should not be spending his time on the sidelines, like has has for us, for 3 seasons in a row.