Why has ETH gone so open?

[Borys]

You thought we were decent defensively in pre season?

But agree with you the problems start all over the place not necessarily at the back.

I don't think we were good but it doesn't matter, the way we lose possession in dangerous situation (with 5 players high up the pitch), we would need to be absolutely WORLD CLASS at the back to defend against those counters. Which is why I don't criticize Casemiro, Martinez and Shaw. They are not in perfect form but they are facing impossible task.

 

[Crashoutcassius]

I don't think the line has much to do with it. A higher line should result in a more compact set up. We're not getting beat with balls in behind, we're literally just seeing teams carry the ball through the middle of the pitch.

But how do we blame de gea for our midfield if this is true? You didn't think this post through

 

[GueRed]

The first three games reminds me of Ole's final season where we were open as feck.

So many gaps all over the pitch. ten Hag has some work to do and decisions to make..

 

[Smores]

Personally think his setups at Ajax demanded pressing as a unit and working as a team to be in the right place during transition.

We have key players who won't press and are too individually minded in their play. End result is a poor implementation of his system with possession lost easily and the midfield walked through.

Rashford is both a problem and our match winner. We should treat him like Ronaldo and adjust the rest of the team to him, replace Antony with a proper playmaker would be a start. Mount has to act as cover and the entire team needs to play narrower so we can't be walked through.

 

[groovyalbert]

It's not totally dissimilar to how we started last season. We're open because we're supposed to be better in possession. That's how EtH wants us to play.

I think he thought we had developed more than we have, but the reality is - without a massive overhaul - we're not going to be a Man City style team. Not only are our lesser players unsuited to that style, our top performers aren't either.

We are a team that is at its best when playing quick transitional football, it's where the likes of Bruno and Rashford excel. They are not going to be effective in a prolonged build-up system.

I think we'll revert to type sooner than later.

 

[Appletonred]

Maybe he's Glazers out and decided to introduce wrecking ball tactics....

 

[NLunited]

We are open at times because players aren’t consistently following the rules. It has nothing to do with midfield composition, it has to do with positioning, tracking back and winning your duels.

When in attack, part of the team has to anticipate at all times the possibility of a ball loss. Don’t do that, and we look open like we did against Wolves.

Better is not misplacing passes, and winning our duels more often, which means we don’t lose the ball in the first place. 81 ball losses against Wolves is abysmal.

 

[Lentwood]

When the plan is to press, one forward not doing their job effectively can be the difference between swarming all over a team and ETH being declared a genius or looking wide-open and the ETH out threads popping up across the site.

I've said it before, I'll say it again...for me, Rashford can only be a bit-part player in a top team because he lacks the consistency, the work rate, the attitude and the bravery to play in a high-pressing team.

Not solely blaming Rashford here but feel he's the weak link in that pressing unit currently