09 Nov 2015 03:29:13
Mourinho set to offload the players that are 'against him' in January.

ManUtd to be offered Fabregas for around $20 mill as they need creativity and Mourinho wants rid asap.

1.) 09 Nov 2015
09 Nov 2015 08:08:06
Why help them out and buy a troublemaker.

2.) 09 Nov 2015
09 Nov 2015 09:12:37
We aren't especially lacking creativity. We are playing the wrong kind of football.

Possession football is inherently defensive, concentrating on keeping the ball, since the opposition can't score if they don't have the ball.

Keeping possession means not taking as many risks, whereas taking more risks not only gives the ball away more often, but also creates more chances, and often more really good chances.

Arsenal have been showing for years that possession football can get you near the top, but not quite there in this league.

Guardiolas Barcelona team was a freak. They had exactly the right set of worldclass players to make it work. Even the current Barcelona and Bayern teams don't try to replicate that, instead focussing on knowing when to switch between pure possession and a more attacking style.

We need LVG to stop worrying about possession so much and let the players take more risks in the final third.

3.) 09 Nov 2015
09 Nov 2015 11:01:27
Fully agree with Thorne but also to add we do need some more pace with end quality.

4.) 09 Nov 2015
09 Nov 2015 11:06:56
Thorne,

The 'wrong' kind or the kind of football you don't like?

5.) 09 Nov 2015
09 Nov 2015 12:20:32
If I was made to choose I'd rather see Herrera play for us than Fabregas also I can't see either playing second fiddle to the other for to long.

6.) 09 Nov 2015
09 Nov 2015 12:53:29
The only player that I would pick from Chelsea would be Hazard. He would add a bit of pep down the wings - he will leave, but for Spain I think.

7.) 09 Nov 2015
09 Nov 2015 12:58:52
There are no risks in the final third unless the team are behaving in a reckless manner .

8.) 09 Nov 2015
09 Nov 2015 14:06:33
Fresh! Really? I would happily take Hazard, Willian, Zouma and Azpilicueta.

9.) 09 Nov 2015
09 Nov 2015 18:10:10
GDS2 - Both.

Arsenal have proved again and again that pure possession football won't work in this country, not if you want to actually win the league.

And yes, it is also the total opposite to the style of football which made me fall in love with Utd around 25 years ago, and which brought us so much silverware.

Now, times change, I know. If we could transplant our best team from, say, the 90's to the present day, I doubt they would be half as successfull. Possession has become more important. However, it is not all important.

When I watch us play now, it looks like the players are afraid of giving the ball away. They don't try playing those through balls and crosses which are not even 50-50, but which could create really good chances if they work.

Possession should be a way of running down the clock or taking the sting out of the game for a while when the other team are building momentum. It shouldn't be the entirety of our game plan.

10.) 09 Nov 2015
09 Nov 2015 18:15:41
I think it might be easier just to offload Mourinho rather than offload the players who are against him.

11.) 10 Nov 2015
10 Nov 2015 15:05:46
Thorne: "Now, times change, I know. If we could transplant our best team from, say, the 90's to the present day, I doubt they would be half as successfull. Possession has become more important. However, it is not all important. "

Deluded and insulting to the teams of the 90's, who would quite frankly romp this league year on year! You seriously telling me that the team of 99 would not have won the league last year! Get real.

What a ridiculous comment!

12.) 10 Nov 2015
10 Nov 2015 16:44:53
No BadRedDevil, I don't think they would.

The team of 99 was brilliant, and it isn't their quality that I think would be an issue, it is the style of play.

Football has evolved. I would suggest that if you took any great team of the past and moved them 15-20 years forwards or backwards in time they would struggle.