17 Mar 2026 04:08:01
Midfield is critical.
Just sign Anderson and Tonali on day 1 of the window and be done with it.
Drop the 200m that is required to fix the problem.
17 Mar 2026 10:33:18
So, two right-footed 8s?
17 Mar 2026 11:42:47
Literally does not matter what foot they are, what a stupid view.
17 Mar 2026 13:33:18
Agreed, WhiskeyRed. Made the same comment elsewhere. There's far too much fixation on 6/8. Two box-to-box midfielders that complement each other is what is needed. As I said then, if we analysed Keane on his Forest days, like Anderson, we'd say he was an 8, which no one would say after his career finished.
17 Mar 2026 14:01:33
Mmm, like the right-footed Keane and Scholes.
Or like the right-footed Iniesta, Xavi and Busquets. Or De Bruyne, Rodri and Silva.
How on earth did they win all those CL and league titles and trebles? If only they had left-footed 8s, they would have won the World Cup, the Grand National and Wimbledon too. ???
17 Mar 2026 15:51:06
Whilst unlikely, I think these 2 would improve the overall central midfield drastically.
Tonali has the ability to play holding midfield on his own if we try 433, and can play alongside Anderson in a 4231.
We would then have Mainoo as part of the rotation for central midfield, or Bruno, especially as we will have lots more games next year.
Not sure how real, but we are apparently looking at Casado from Barcelona as part of the Rashford deal if they can't pay the money. Still raw, but looks like a quality player for us and, like Mainoo, could form part of the rotation group.
17 Mar 2026 19:58:40
No doubt, we all have our particular favourites as to who we would like to sign, and would have to say my 1st choice would be Anderson.
It would seem the major stumbling block would be, if as being reported, City want him, then it could be difficult because of the wages we would offer.
Given the new wage structure we are operating, City could blow us out of the water, would hate to lose him that way, but on the other hand, discipline in our wage structure has to be a good thing. It's OK to pay big buck's, but they have to have justified it by performing for us.
17 Mar 2026 20:48:40
It is imperative we have a wave structure, and those who earn an elevated salary at the top end of that structure have stood the test of time and earned it.
If Anderson wants a payday, let him go to City. He would be stand out number 1 in centre mid for us.
17 Mar 2026 20:50:05
Brad, Bruno can never play midfield again. He is a 10, and a good one at that. Leave him there, no more square pegs.
Mainoo as back up, along with one more midfielder like Gomes from Wolves, who gets mentioned a lot.
17 Mar 2026 21:48:16
Jimbo, it made perfect sense to play Bruno in CM with Licha out. This stuff about round pegs isn't sensible. That isn't what was happening. People seem to be trying to argue it into fact, but ignore we're playing Mbeumo as a striker!! Bar Bruno, name one player who was out of position.
And, a full back or a winger as a wing back clearly does not count.
17 Mar 2026 21:57:13
We agree on a lot, DonRed, and especially in the RA tenure, but I have to say, Amorim's stubbornness to play Bruno in the middle, and not where he could be more influential, cost us points.
I don't think Mbeumo should be a striker when you have Sesko, who is actually contributing to outcomes on the bench.
On the other points on fullbacks/wingbacks, etc, we clearly did not have the cattle to play Amorim's preferred way.
What do you do in that situation.... find a way to get through and slowly build the team to suit the way you play, or do you stick to your guns?
I like that he stuck to his guns, and there were times when it was working, and I could see where he wanted them to get to. But the fact remains, the cattle were not appropriate for his system. The players, on the whole, were incapable of playing that way.
17 Mar 2026 21:59:03
Bruno has to play as he's been doing recently... as a proper number 10.
My concern is if he gets injured for a while. We have nobody as creative as him.
17 Mar 2026 22:12:49
I think it was a mixture, Jimbo. I think he needed to learn the league, and that he definitely needed a couple of players. We still need players, though. I find it hard to gauge where we are. I feel we've regressed in our play in general, but our results are obviously better. There are two ways to view that: either we've just been lucky, or Carrick understands the ebbs and flows better and has the team set up to punch at the right time. Or it's a mixture of the two.
But I see very little of the difference as having to do with the formation. I see as many people in the wrong positions now as I did before, and see that we continue to have to play 2 or 3 players that aren't really at the level we need to progress in every game.
I thought we were better at progressing the ball under RA, but less efficient in taking our chances. And that summarises the pros and cons of where Bruno was playing. Nothing to do with anyone else or the system being played.
But back to Bruno. I definitely prefer him in the 10. I do agree with you about that. But I understand why he was put in the middle. Against Villa we actually saw him rotated into the middle a lot. He did that in the second half because we had no tempo setter. Again, in the absence of Licha, I think it's perfectly sensible. But I'm definitely not advocating that as a long term position.
17 Mar 2026 22:35:45
While I agree that you don't need a right foot/left foot combo in midfield, I do want to call out a clear error in this thread.
Both Bernardo Silva and David Silva are, in fact, left-footed, so did give some balance when playing alongside the right-footed Rodri and KdB.
18 Mar 2026 12:31:41
Jimbo, I should have been a bit clearer in my post. I am anticipating Maionoo being part of the central midfield rotation, whilst also covering for Bruno in the 10 role. I am yet to be convinced which position best suits him, but definitely feel he will be important next year.
Will be interesting to see our summer window (hopefully with a manager in place), and what type of players they are looking for. Anderson sounds like he may be City-bound, so we need to ensure we have good options.
18 Mar 2026 16:50:21
Agreed, Brad. Mainoo to play understudy to Bruno, Anderson, and Tonali. He could learn a lot from that midfield!
18 Mar 2026 17:53:25
Mainoo will throw his toys out if he becomes an understudy again. He is much better in his own head than in reality, but it won't go back to being an understudy, that's 100%.
19 Mar 2026 17:13:24
If he isn't happy with that role, Je Suis, then he should be sold, because he isn't good enough yet. He may never be good enough. I question if he has the application to put in the effort where his skillset is lacking.