16 Sep 2016 10:22:36
Well last night didn't go to plan. Many thought with the line up that we would play something closer to 433/ 4141, but the reality was Herrera and Pogba both played far too deep, Mata cut in off his line, in fact I doubt he had an ounce of chalk on his boots when he left the field. Darmian is solid defensively but offers nothing going forward. Rojo put in the worst performance I've seen from a United defender in a long time. Schneiderlin put in a solid but unspectacular performace in front of the back four, but then you don't really want your defensive midfielder to be the star of the show.
I think the two main issues we had last night were a lack of width, and the midfield playing too deep. Having Martial on one wing, a player who likes to cut in onto his stronger foot paired with a player like Mata who likes to cut in narrowed the pitch making it easier to defend. What we needed was width to come from the full backs. But none did. This along with our midfield sitting so deep left Rashford isolated, I kept thinking he needs to pass, but everytime he had no option to pass to, and had at least two players to beat.
That is the second game where we have lost, and one of the biggest factors to us losing was our own poor set up.
16 Sep 2016 11:03:08
One thing i don't get in recent times all our attackig players we have bought they are failing miserably.
Is that because of tactics or is that because of the pressure of playing for Manchester united as we are massively lacking in the goals department.
16 Sep 2016 11:16:32
We were just 10 yards too deep all over the pitch which meant Rashford was effectively 30 yards away from the play. Had we played the game in their half like we used to do against teams then you would find the attacking players all of a sudden come to life. The amount of time Pogba had the ball near our area and cornerflags was ridiculous. You can't pay 90m for someone then have him cover your left back.
Also we didn't press which after the City game is a worry. I don't want to get too carried away with an unimportant loss but it does make me think the squad isn't quite what I thought it was.
16 Sep 2016 12:02:38
we needed Shaw and Rooney they were missed badly but maybe better for the prem Watford have been playing well but the team should feel fresh with so many having the rest, roll on sunday hard game a must win in all honesty but we will bounce back.
16 Sep 2016 12:43:45
Singh, with the exception of Martial I think we have been buy the wrong forward players. We have always been a pacy direct team, yet since being beaten twice by Barcelona in the UCL finals wr have been looking for "clever" forward players. Players like Kagawa and Mata ect. They don't really fit into the Manchester United ideology.
Manchester United fans have certain expectations of how our team should play. We crave entertainment. We have spent too much time and money trying to adapt to a "new" "modern" way of playing. Obviously we need to adapt, but we should do it within the ideas of our club rather than trying to copy what others are doing. The two most successful players we have had play as No.10's are Rooney and Cantona, both were more second strikers rather than offensive midfielders and both were strong physically as well as good technically. This idea that we need a small nimble No.10 to be able to compete with the best teams in Europe is false.
None of our European cup wins have been achieved with such a player.
I think the reason we have struggled with our offensive play, and with the players we have signed for this area of the pitch is due to having no clear vision and a muddled idea of what we need to do to be successful.
16 Sep 2016 13:27:10
Thats right and i think that's what Mourinho needs to do to give the team a clear instructions in terms of how to play.
We definitely need a pacy forward like Bale or Greezman and if either of those comes we will look like a different team.
16 Sep 2016 15:57:24
its was 433, but formations are only important to fans its all about the tactics.