20 Aug 2024 09:58:21
Shappy has written an article entitled, Manchester United Player Update
20 Aug 2024 15:03:39
Lovely, I've just taken some holiday leave. So I should have some time to read it ?.
20 Aug 2024 15:18:00
Or play Casemero with Ugarte alongside Mainoo. Drop Bruno and keep the ball for a change.
20 Aug 2024 16:10:25
And have 0 creativity MancMan?
20 Aug 2024 16:13:24
MancMan, surely the problem with playing both Ugarte and Casemiro is you have two players who excel without the ball more than with it.
Two great ball winners who are average passers. Sure we might keep the ball, but only to shuffle it sideways and backwards.
While that is only a might, how well both of them do when pressed with only harder passes on remains to be seen. They could win it, only to give it away again.
Surely if you wanted to play a more possession based style and thought dropping Bruno was vital to make that work then surely you play Mainoo, Mount and one of Casemiro/ Ugarte?
20 Aug 2024 16:48:31
Cassemiro's issue is his defensive positioning and responsibility. We don't need him running up field and playing number 10. We need a player who can keep his shape and protect the back four (or 2) while kobbie, bruno and the fullbacks have license to get forward.
Often the breaks we experience are when cassemiro gives the ball away high up the pitch with a silly flick, and then he doesn't get back to recover.
Ugarte will be far more disciplined in his positioning, freeing the rest of the team.
20 Aug 2024 16:49:40
Mount is worse than bruno with the ball. He best actions were all counter pressing.
20 Aug 2024 17:49:43
No need for a thesis. Weaker no, but without a quality midfield signing I don’t think we will make top four.
20 Aug 2024 18:41:10
Is there anything in it we didn’t already know? ?.
20 Aug 2024 20:18:19
We are not a weaker team than last year lol. people throwing their toys out already. Miles better first 11, squad everything.
21 Aug 2024 08:43:01
Shappy, Casemiro is a good passer of the ball, particularly vertically. Playing Ugarte alongside him frees him up to progress the ball into forward areas. He is also a goal threat when he gets forward.
21 Aug 2024 10:31:48
Completely agree with Dodgy. Casemiro drifts upfield constantly. That’s why there’s so much space between midfield and attack. It’s about an aging player being unable to adapt. I suspect he’s being kept as backup because even Saudi teams don’t think he’s worth the money. Madrid got rid of him because they could see he was done.
21 Aug 2024 12:14:58
Dodgy, Danny, agreed. I've said a few times that Casemiro is trying to do everything, like he has something to make up for with not having Modric and Kroos in front of him. He needs to have much better discipline but it's probably too late in his career to learn it. Too many times opposition players are running past him, because he's too high up the pitch trying to be involved in play.
Matic was a good example of great positional awareness. He'd shield his centre backs when out of possession, and drop in-between them when in possession. You wouldn't catch him trying his luck from the edge of the area like Casemiro does too often.
21 Aug 2024 13:42:34
Wazza, I think trying to sign Urgate shows that Casemiro is not doing the job he was brought to do.
I see the formation in possession being Urgate and Martinez pushed toward half way, De Leigt/ Yoro sitting behind them. Full backs pushed forward allowing the wing forwards to cut inside to offer support to the striker, with Bruno and Manioo building play in the centre. That reduces the space between midfield a defence when we lose possession, and has a sweeper to offer a last line of defence.
21 Aug 2024 14:25:58
Danny I agree.
The manager and other decision makers have decided they need to spend big on another DM. The only way they come to that decision is if they've decided Cas isn't up to the job. It was clear to see on Friday when Fulham players were running past him.
I think that way of playing is achievable with one or two more signings. A DM and a reliable LB will make a huge difference. Mainoo and Bruno are having to play within themselves a little bit. They'd be much more effective with someone like Kante behind them.
21 Aug 2024 14:34:37
Who the said we were weaker than kat season squad wise shappy and ahmad?
I saw it said before we signed the lads from bayern which was probably correct at the time.
I've not seen anyone say it since they signed.
Suggesting that people feel that way is hyperbole in itself shappy.
Nobody could say the squad is weaker now than it was at the end of last season and I don't think anybody has.
21 Aug 2024 22:30:44
I think we might see something different completely with Ugarte. Bruno as a F9 with two of Mainoo Mount or Cas in front of Ugarte.
This allows you to establish numerical advantage and pushing on the FB on one side with the diamond naturally builds overloads.
This is where Ruud working with backside winger will be important to attack the backside CB becoming the defacto striker.
21 Aug 2024 22:34:24
Here you go Ken:
"20 Aug 2024
20 Aug 2024 05:46:47
Agreed. Without a CDM this window will have been a failure. We are weaker there this season than we were last.
redseven"
Literally said yesterday on a thread you yourself responded on ???.
22 Aug 2024 00:49:20
Shappy not weaker as a squad in midfield. The clue is in the word 'there' back to your hyperbole.
??.
22 Aug 2024 06:57:44
Love it!
22 Aug 2024 07:01:06
Yeah. I thought that was pretty obvious. Right now we have signed zero midfielders and have let several go (or in the case of Amrabat, not renewed his loan or made the deal permanent) . At this moment in time, our midfield is objectively worse than it was last season.
22 Aug 2024 11:04:50
I disagree that the midfield is weaker this season without any signings.
Who have we lost? Amrabat who hardly played and didn't do much when he did. If he didn't have his one good game for us in the last game of the season (the FA cup final) then I doubt anyone at all would consider him a loss.
Currently the only other midfielder who has left is Donny, who literally has done nothing for us ever.
Neither are a significant loss that really weakens us.
While Collyer has shown promise and looks like he is a more than adequate replacement for Amrabat.
Mainoo is a year older, and will have gained good experience with England over the summer. He will likely have a bigger impact this season.
Casemiro has come back looking leaner and better during pre-season, and has arguably been out man of the match in both the community shield and the Fulham game. If he's closer to his first season form than last year's form then that improves us on last season.
We also have Mount back and fully fit, something that we didn't have last year. He adds depth, tactical
flexibility and more quality on the ball.
Last year our options were:
Inexperienced Mainoo (who was injured for half the season and hadn't played a competitive 90 minutes for us ever) .
Awful form Casemiro.
Average Amrabat.
McTominay.
Eriksen.
Hannibal.
This season currently we have:
Mainoo with a years experience and development.
Casemiro back in good form.
Mount.
Collyer.
McTominay.
Eriksen.
Hannibal.
That looks stronger to me than what we had last season even without signing a new player (which is almost certain to happen anyway) .
Or am I missing something?
22 Aug 2024 12:47:21
Not missing anything shappy you just have a different opinion.
Amrabat is miles better and more experienced than collyer imo. I wonder who would sell for more money tomorrow?
22 Aug 2024 13:07:54
It looks weaker to me and I agree with redseven.
We’ve lost Amrabat who, as I said when we signed him 12 months ago, would be an unspectacular signing. However he is a defensive minded midfielder, something we lacked at the time, and something that we still lack today. It’s better to have him than to not have him, hence making our midfield weaker.
Casemiro is back in good form according to who? The same problems were there on Friday that were there last season. This very page has a conversation where multiple posters discuss how easy he is to play against due to his lack of positional awareness. He’s only going to decline, and that decline is playing out in front of our very eyes. Hence making our midfield weaker.
Mainoo is Mainoo. I think he’s a superstar. But let’s not pretend that he’s become the finished article overnight. His progress is linear. He will keep getting better. But he’s not yet ready to deliver the highest level of performance for 50 games a season. The one player currently improving our midfielder.
Scott was (rightly) moved further up the pitch by the manager. The down side to that is we have even fewer numbers in a defensive position.
The fact we’ve been chasing Ugarte all summer points to the decision makers at the club deciding that the midfield needs attention.
22 Aug 2024 15:32:46
What Wazza said.
This whole discussion will probably prove to be irrelevant as it’s looking more and more likely that we’ll end up signing Ugarte and maybe even another CM, but to try and argue that we have better options in midfield now than we did last year is a little bizarre.
Last season we had the same players as we do now plus Amrabat and Donny. I don’t think either of those players are big losses, but they were options nonetheless. Given our horrific injury record under Ten Haag, having options is pretty useful, even if it’s just to sub them on when we’re winning comfortably to give the starters a bit of a breather or play them in cup games against lower league opposition.
22 Aug 2024 18:17:05
Amrabat played 933 minutes of EPL football for us last season. Making 10 starts and 11 sub appearances. I'm not sure he even completed an entire EPL game for us.
He was signed as an emergency option AFTER Mount was injured.
When we look at his impact. He averaged 3 defensive actions per game, along with around 30 passes with an 88% completion rate. He scored no goals and he got no assists.
Collyer played 60 minutes in the Community shield, making 4 defensive actions, 16 passes with a 93% success rate.
Which means he performed at a similar level to what Amrabat averaged while playing against Man City.
I see no reason why Collyer this season couldn't go on to have at least the same impact as Amrabat did last season. Maybe better.
People are also choosing to ignore that while Mount was here last season he was injured for pretty much all of it. Him being fully fit and available means we have more quality options to choose from this year.
That coupled with a more in-form Casemiro, along with Mainoo being fit for all the season and not just half of it (as well as potentially improving) means that in my opinion the options we have this season are better than last season.
22 Aug 2024 18:55:23
You think collyer will appear in more than half of our games in the epl next season? ? if collyer plays 900 min of epl football this coming season we are on a real injury crises in midfield. Keep digging.
COMPARING stats from a pre season friendly 30 min if which in extra time to an fa cup final and drawing wild conclusions based on that is plain idiotic and even for you too far a stretch. Dear oh
dear ???.
22 Aug 2024 23:25:54
You missed it again Ken, I'll say it slowly for you.
Amrabat was signed as cover for Mount after Mount got injured.
Now Mount is fit and available he is the real replacement for Amrabat.
While Collyer has the ability and potential to at least match the merge input that Amrabat gave us last season.
The reality is the club choose not to make him a permanent signing because they didn't feel he offered anything more to the club than an extra body. He's still at Fiorentina who are prepared to flog him for 8-10m, and are struggling to find any buyers.
He's another Antony, looks good in another league, but not up to scratch in the EPL.
He isn't a loss and if he had been at the club for the last three years on a chunky contract he's another one the majority of fans would be calling a flop and wanting the new owners to clear him out.
Collyer will be 4th or 5th choice for one of the two midfielder positions, of course if he played 900 minutes this season then it probably means we've had a pretty bad injury crisis in midfield.
But then would Amrabat have played 900 minutes last season if Mount wasn't injured for nearly the entire season, or Mainoo missed the first half, or Casemiro only fit enough to make 25 league appearances.
I'd expect Mainoo, Casemiro, Ugarte and Mount to play more minutes than Collyer. But then I'd expect them four to play more games than Amrabat if he was the 5th choice option as well.