Who will be our starter on the left side of attack?

Fortitude

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- Rashford is training now and will surely enter the equation shortly. He offers raw pace, shooting from distance and the direct, immediate threat that nobody else we have does.

- I think it’s fair to say that the left side of midfield/attack is Pogba’s best and most productive position; he could break assist records from the position.

- Greenwood is looking like a bona fide starter on the right, which puts a quandary on Sancho who has featured more on the left since joining us.

- Martial.

Who would you go with for the gig, and why?

Poll?
 

Bilbo

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Whoever is in form and delivering. Our attackers now know that they need to be at the top of their game to start matches. Its great for the club
 

Samid

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Whoever performs there. If you’re out of form kindly take your place on the bench. Gone are the days of automatic starters.
 

roonster09

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Don't think we will have fixed starters, Pogba will play as LW and CM, Sancho as LW and RW. So players will be rotated.
 

EtH

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I think Ole will chop and change depending on the opposition. For instance I imagine we will see Pogba on the left against top opposition as he tends to drop deep and give us an extra body in midfield. But against lesser teams I imagine it will be more of Rashford / Sancho with Pogba in midfield.
 

Deusex

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-He offers raw pace, shooting from distance and the direct, immediate threat that nobody else we have does.
Immediate threat?
I'd struggle to think of a player I'd less want one on one with the keeper.
 

dal

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In a fully fit team against the best opposition, Pogba does not start.

———————Ronaldo—————
Rashford——-Bruno—-Sancho
—————Mctominay-Fred———

Pogba, Cavani, Greenwood to make a difference from the bench.
 

RUCK4444

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This is one of the reasons why the natural progression for this squad is to gain a top level DM to partner Pogba with in the midfield two.

Many will still say it’s not possible which I believe is a nonsense. We’ve gotten through games this season already with worse midfield two’s then what Pogba and an elite DM would bring.

This allows Pogba to move into central midfield and our wing positions are left to rotate nicely for each flank. Mason and Jadon on the right and Rashford and Martial on the left.

That said you can still rotate Pogba with Rashford off the left in certain games as well.

Rashford - Ronaldo - Sancho/Greenwood
——————Bruno
———-Pogba — Top DM

In the absence of said top DM I would rotate Rashford with Pogba off the left but it’s less than ideal because we need Pogba on the pitch.
 

P-Nut

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In a fully fit team against the best opposition, Pogba does not start.

———————Ronaldo—————
Rashford——-Bruno—-Sancho
—————Mctominay-Fred———

Pogba, Cavani, Greenwood to make a difference from the bench.
Pogba will start on the left in that scenario most likely. It will at least be on form as well so if someone has a bad few weeks we don't need to play them through it and can let them work their way back in through training and sub appearances.
 

United in sin

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In a fully fit team against the best opposition, Pogba does not start.

———————Ronaldo—————
Rashford——-Bruno—-Sancho
—————Mctominay-Fred———

Pogba, Cavani, Greenwood to make a difference from the bench.
Both Pogba and Greenwood are undroppable. You start with your best players and these two have had a very good start to the season productivity wise. Sancho will come good but at the moment he doesn't make our best starting 11 for me. Greenwood is deserving of a starting berth on the right at the moment.

I agree with the views about the selection on the left changing depending on the opposition but I think a fit Rashford and Pogba will get the most minutes down the left
 

GBBQ

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In a fully fit team against the best opposition, Pogba does not start.

———————Ronaldo—————
Rashford——-Bruno—-Sancho
—————Mctominay-Fred———

Pogba, Cavani, Greenwood to make a difference from the bench.
Nah I think Pogba starts those big games, his ability to pick a pass and being able to drop back to midfield will have him in that formation. On current form it would be Greenwood on the right as well, that may change when Sancho finds his feet of course but if we had to play City tomorrow I think Pogba and greenwood would be left and right.
 

largelyworried

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By the end of the season, Pogba & Rashford will be our main players on the left, Greenwood & Sancho will be our main players on the right. Tactics, fitness and form will determine how those starts are carved out. Martial and Lingard will be occasional substitutes.
 

Brightonian

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There won't be a single set starter, that's the whole point. We have enough top talent now that only the most in-form player will be able to keep the position.

Based on their highest level, it's Rashford. Before his injury he was absolutely unstoppable in that position, reminding me of a young Ronaldo for us. But he'll be very rusty when he comes back and after a couple of years of persistent injury trouble there's no saying how his pace, which is such a key part of his game, will have been affected.

Right now, it's probably Pogba left and Greenwood right, on form. Sancho will increasingly challenge for one of those spots as he settles in.
 

Bobcat

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Whoever is in form and delivering. Our attackers now know that they need to be at the top of their game to start matches. Its great for the club
Whoever performs there. If you’re out of form kindly take your place on the bench. Gone are the days of automatic starters.
This. Unlike the last two seasons, we actually have an abundance of options up front now and won't be forced into playing players who are struggling with bad form and/or knocks and niggles

Right now, i'd say its hard to displace the current front 3 of Pogba, Greenwood and Ronaldo since all of them have performed very well so far.
 

sullydnl

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The type of player Sancho is suits the team at RW more than Greenwood does, so if/when he hits form that should hopefully be his primary position.

As it stands Pogba would be at LW, with Rashford possibly displacing him if/when he hits full form.

In reality though it's horses for courses with plenty of rotation, especially given Pogba will no doubt drop into CM on occasion too.
 

Eddy_JukeZ

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Rashford is my preferred starter on the left and the option I'd go with in a massive must-win game.

That said, we have plenty of options there.
 

kafta

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I want to see how Rashford returns. If he is playing at his best, he is such a goal threat, and he should start there.

Problem is we're stacked, and its worse as McFred will always play, meaning Pogba, Sancho, Greenwood, Rashford, Martial and potentially Ronaldo are all up for two positions.

If everyone is fit and on form, id like to see: Sancho Ronaldo Rashford
 

CG1010

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I feel Ole would go for two goal scorers (runners) and two creators (passers) in the front 4 with Bruno and Ronaldo being generally constant. This leaves space for one goal scorer (Greenwood, Rashford, Cavani, Martial) and one creator (Pogba, Sancho). Obviously Rashford, Greenwood and Sancho are generally quality and can do both creativity and goal-scoring but classifying them based on their dominant attribute.

This would have an implication for our midfield too as probably Pogba would play CM when he is not on the left.
 

tomaldinho1

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Ole found it really hard to drop Rashford at all last season even when he was clearly not fit. I’d expect him to be first choice even in bad form.
 

Hughes35

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I think it depends on the game and obviously who is in form.

I can see it getting to a stage where against the "Lesser" teams it's this:

---------------------------------------------------De Gea-----------------------------------------
AWB---------------------------Varane----------------------Maguire---------------------Shaw
----------------------------------------Mctom-------------Pogba----------------------------
Greenwood--------------------------------Fernandes-----------------------------Sancho
------------------------------------------------------Ronaldo---------------------------------


And in the big games:


---------------------------------------------------De Gea-----------------------------------------
AWB---------------------------Varane----------------------Maguire---------------------Shaw
----------------------------------------Mctom-------------Fred----------------------------
Sancho---------------------------------------Fernandes-----------------------------Rashford
------------------------------------------------------Ronaldo---------------------------------


The first team has a bit more creativity in tight spaces and the second gives the back 4 more protection, with more pace on the break when we aren't dominating possession.

In either scenario, if everybody is fit and performing, some big names need to be benched! It will be difficult and interesting to see how Ole handles it. (We haven't even mentioned Lingard or Cavani who could be knocking on the door).
 

TwoSheds

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Rashford assuming he's properly fit and ready to go. Pogba only if the tactical situation requires it e.g. they don't have much attacking threat down their right side so defensive qualities don't matter and/or they're a big threat from set pieces or have a teeny tiny RB that Pogba can bully.
 

eire-red

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I predict Rashford will reclaim that spot once he's back to full fitness. 20+ goals in back to back seasons, and bags of assists to go along with those numbers.

Who would leave that kind of wide threat on the bench? Furthermore, he can beat a player and commit the opposition, something our attack is currently lacking.
 

Josep Dowling

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We have to be the only club to sign a player for £70m plus and then a youth prospect is performing better than him. Sancho has been incredibly poor so far. Obviously early days but he really needs to step up. Does make you wonder had we used that money to sign a DM instead, how our title challenge would look this season.
 

Revan

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If Rashford goes back to his best, this won't be a debate. He is comfortably better than any of our attackers except Ronaldo and Bruno.
 

Lynty

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Rashford will regain the spot.

As good as Pogba is, Rashford legs is something we've missed.

Pogba will get plenty of gametime in rotation on the LW and in CM against teams who will sit back.
 

Mihai

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I think Ole will go for Pogba and McTominay in midfield with Marcus on the left.
 

Chicharo

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I honestly don't know.Rash is the best when he plays on the left flank, but Pogba can't be benched. How we'll manage this, I have no clue (for the 600th time we needed a DCM).
All I know is that Martial in his current form shouldn't be nowhere ear the starting lineup.
I would like to see just for one game

MCT, Pogba
Greenwood (Jadon), Bruno, Rash
Ronaldo

But I don't think it will happen,Fred will always be a starter when fit
As for 4-1-3-2, forget it, it'd be a suicide

Edit:
@Mihai.We practically wrote the same thing regarding our wishes about the starting lineup, but as I stated I think it won't happen
 

Lynty

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We have to be the only club to sign a player for £70m plus and then a youth prospect is performing better than him. Sancho has been incredibly poor so far. Obviously early days but he really needs to step up. Does make you wonder had we used that money to sign a DM instead, how our title challenge would look this season.
Pretty much the same, possibly worse.

A 19 year old shouldn't and won't be relied upon in a title challenge. His form will dip and Sancho will come in and relieve the pressure. If we spent Sancho money on Rice for example, Dan James would still be here and our RW would still be abysmal whenever Greenwood is out of form.

A DM could very well take just as long to settle.
 

DWelbz19

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I think Marky Marc is Ole's number 1, assuming he comes back well, but I wouldn't be surprised to see numbers like City's attack last season.

Player / PL Starts:
Sterling - 28
Bernardo - 26
Mahrez - 23
Jesus - 22
Foden - 17
Torres - 15
 

Devil may care

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With Ronaldo as the centre point of the attack Pogba makes the most sense as he's primarily a creator, but Ole loves Rashford so it's hard to say, the knock-on issue is Pogba in a midfield 2 doesn't work so playing them both against top half of the league teams is a risk.
 

Fortitude

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Immediate threat?
I'd struggle to think of a player I'd less want one on one with the keeper.
Rashford can breach a defensive line in a flash and be through to take his shot on goal before anyone has clocked; whether he then flubs the chance is irrelevant, fact of the matter is he always presents that threat for the opposition and they always have to take it into consideration. He’s our only attacker who is ever present in that regard. Tactically, it makes a difference to how teams set up against him/us.
 

Ødegaard

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Ronaldo plays up top.
For now Greenwood plays on the right, but Greenwood, Sancho and Rashford can be rotated on the wings.

In the future Rashford - Greenwood - Sancho.
 

RedRonaldo

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If we play Greenwood on the right, will prefer Pogba on the left.

If we play Sancho on the right, will prefer Rashford on the left.
 

Redlyn

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In a fully fit team against the best opposition, Pogba does not start.

———————Ronaldo—————
Rashford——-Bruno—-Sancho
—————Mctominay-Fred———

Pogba, Cavani, Greenwood to make a difference from the bench.
Sancho has done nothing yet to bench greenwood.
 

justsomebloke

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- Rashford is training now and will surely enter the equation shortly. He offers raw pace, shooting from distance and the direct, immediate threat that nobody else we have does.

- I think it’s fair to say that the left side of midfield/attack is Pogba’s best and most productive position; he could break assist records from the position.

- Greenwood is looking like a bona fide starter on the right, which puts a quandary on Sancho who has featured more on the left since joining us.

- Martial.

Who would you go with for the gig, and why?

Poll?
With at least seven players with a reasonable claim to starting regularly in four positions (Rashford, Pogba, Bruno, Greenwood, Sancho, Ronaldo and Cavani), and Lingard and Martial in addition to those, it's a different situation than last year, when there were just five (plus Martial and James).

The question is if it's still feasible to think in terms of a regular starting XI. I can't see how we can avoid employing some sort of rotation scheme.