25 Nov 2019 13:23:34
My Sunday league team showed greater tactical understanding than what United did yesterday.
I just don't get how we can go from playing a decent brand of football one week, to looking abject crap the next.
We were proper mugged off yesterday. We were that mugged off, some of the players are still looking for their belongings.
I don't know. Depressing state of affairs.
25 Nov 2019 14:01:09
We had no midfield.
Your midfield are the base of all your attacks and the shield for your defence. It's the most important area on a pitch. Control the midfield and you control the game.
In midfield we have McTominay, Fred, Pogba, Matic and possibly Andreas Pereira then a couple of young kids who have played less than 180 minutes of first team football between them.
Yesterday only Fred and Pereira were available. Pereira is a decent back up No.10 if you want a hard working No.10 who'll close down and press. But he isn't good enough as a No.8 or No.6 as he isn't aware enough or has good enough decision making.
Sheffield have this season dominated midfield against far better midfields than ours by the simple trick of our numbering teams in the middle. Starting off with a midfield three, with full backs pushing up making it 5 across the middle often with an added CB stepping up when attacking allowing the full backs to push further forward and a CM to push up slightly giving them 5 players in attack and 5 in defence. A very well balanced unit.
We didn't have the midfield options to control the game against them.
25 Nov 2019 14:13:41
it's depressing when you try to think back to the last time we had a really top class midfield at the club. The fact that we missed Scott McTominay so much says a lot. He's a decent young player who should hopefully keep improving but he's a lot more Darrren Fletcher than a Keane or Scholes.
25 Nov 2019 14:26:53
The only midfielder we had yesterday was Fred and he's not the greatest. McTom is a big loss. Pogba doesn't want to be here. Nor does matic, who's past it anyway, going on his social media. We're already one down with not replacing Herrera, two if you count fellaini. And Pereira isn't a centre midfielder. Actually I'm not sure what Pereira is apart from not good enough. Its not really a situation to be throwing teenagers into.
25 Nov 2019 14:29:55
Our lack of midfield options is a direct result of our failings in the summer window. Regardless of Ole’s responsibility for these failings, he rubber stamped them by publicly declaring that we had an excellent window.
Yesterday two of Ole’s big starting 11 decisions backfired: Jones was completely off the pace leading to the first goal, and Periera’s lack of positional awareness gifted them a second. Fred played better on his own than with Periera alongside him. The fact of the matter is that at 18 Garner is already a better option in midfield than Pereira.
Then when Ole made a good tactical change getting us in front, he immediately undermined this by going back to the strategy that failed in the first half, only this time with Lingard in the midfield two. It was all over the place. 10 minutes of good football in between 80 minutes of absolute dross.
25 Nov 2019 14:41:29
The score line would have been embarrassing if not for De Gea's stunning saves.
25 Nov 2019 15:21:12
Anyone else thinks DDG should have done better for the second goal?
25 Nov 2019 15:47:25
@Shappy:
Where was the sense in playing a two man midfield that was comprised of Fred and Pereira, and a back three that included Phil Jones? Don't the coaching team have access to a TV. Sheffield United play a midfield three who play narrow and compact. They have CF's who are strong and direct. (anathema to United's defence) They were always going to smash us with a midfield two comprising of Fred and Perreira, and take the mick out of our defence with calamity Jones and Lindelof, part of a back three.
There seems to be so many school boy tactical errors that I have to question the competency of the coaching staff.
25 Nov 2019 16:19:25
not really becks I thought the 3rd he could have done better with though.
25 Nov 2019 18:43:18
Tuor, I said when the team was announced that we would struggle if Jones was in defence rather than midfield.
That said Jones in midfield is a terrible prospect in itself.
Yet who would you have played in midfield other than Fred and Andreas Pereira?
The only other fit options were two 18 year olds with less than 120 minutes first team experience.
Would it have been a good idea or fair to throw them into a game against a team that battles so ferociously in midfield? Physically and tactically Sheffield United isn't the team to give young 18 year olds a game.
Remember that only in the last 2-3 months have both of them become old enough to not be required to be in education in this country.
The best we could have done was either stick a defender in midfield or play both Lingard and Pereira narrow in front of Fred and get them the press and harass Sheffield's midfield. I still think we would have lost the midfield battle but at least there would have been a battle rather than allowing them to waltz through at every opportunity.
25 Nov 2019 19:14:59
Danny, I'd say it was more than just last summer's failings. We've had numerous windows to build a strong midfield, and haven't.
25 Nov 2019 19:39:36
Tuor
What line up should he have played then? Who else was available from the start that could have improved the midfield or defense?
25 Nov 2019 21:33:46
@ Shappy:
I would have played Garner in a midfield three. I know he is young and raw, but he gets about the field and has energy. Even played Fred in the holding role, and Jesse in a the middle. There were other options available. It isn't rocket science to set up compact and narrow against a team like SU.
We need a CM, big time. I would definitely take Emre Can.
@DodgyBanter:
I would have gone 4411: DDG. WB, AT, HM, BW. DJ, F, JG, MR. AP, AM.