I'd just like to see what United fans would prefer to see next season, formation wise.
Everybody put their prefered starting 11 in the formation they'd like to see and we'll see which one is the most popular. Instead of including players that don't play for us, just put NEW CM for example or NEW LM, otherwise it will turn into a "he's better suited to us" type of article instead of a formation one.
I'll start......4-3-3.
--------------DDG
Rafael---Rio--Vidic---NEW LB
------Carrick---NEW CM
-----------NEW CM
----Rooney--RVP--Kagawa
Rafael is one of the best attacking right fullbacks in europe for me. He's improved so much over the last 18 months. If we can find a similar player for the left hand side, I don't think we need to play with orthodox wingers anymore. And let's be honest, they are not that good anyway.
The midfield 3 speaks for itself. Carrick and one other being a bit more disicplined and the other one being more box to box.
As for the front 3. I'd like to see them incredibly fluid, constantly moving around. They'd be a nightmare for a defence to handle.
Debate on formations for next season
posted on 23/6/13
Everyone seems to have different ideas. A lot of them interesting ones.
You just know that 4-4-2 will be the one we see though. The one that has held us back against top class opponents since 1999.
I'm sick of watching Young. I'm not being funny here but a lot of you guys don't fork out over a grand per season to watch this team like I do. I want to watch players that are fit to wear the shirt. And Young in particular and 1 or 2 others simply shouldn't be at the club.
posted on 23/6/13
Similar player to Rafael? Really cant think of anyone
posted on 23/6/13
Agreed Stretford Ender...
When I was a season ticket holder between 2007-2010 when I lived in Stoke-on-Trent I was constantly wowed time after time watching us tear teams a new one.
Now, as much as I love United, I'm not so sure that if given the chance to live up North again if I would buy a season ticket.
Respect to you though.
posted on 23/6/13
You wouldn't believe the amount of people last season who were complaining about the standard of football.
We won the league at a canter but we did it with very little style. It was more our never give up attitude that did it for us.
posted on 23/6/13
Next season the effectiveness of the tactics we use will be dependent on whether Rooney stays or not.
For me Rooney works best in a 4-4-2. if we wanna play a true 4-2-3-1 Rooney is better out as the inside left. Hopefully he wants to do that as he seems pretty sure he wants to play through the middle.
posted on 23/6/13
You just know that 4-4-2 will be the one we see though. The one that has held us back against top class opponents since 1999.
••••••••••••-•------
Yea, all those pots won since 99 is being held back. Wonder what has been holding arsenal, Liverpool and every other team who have nit come close to what we have won. Arsenal has been playing 4-3-3 for donkey years and it has not led them over us.
Do not confuse fergies poor management The last few years through his massive underutilisation of the squad to dismiss the only thing we do with any success.
posted on 23/6/13
I said against top class opponents, ie Europe.
We've not won nearly enough BIG matches and European Cups as we should have done under Fergie. The players we've had and teams we've had, he should have won more than just the two.
Two many times have we persisted with a 2 man midfield against a 3 man and paid the price.
it's been our friend in the PL but our enemy in Europe.
posted on 23/6/13
I agree that we haven't won as much in Europe under Fergie as we should have, although I'm not sure it's all down to playing 4-4-2.
After '99, with a midfield 4 of Scholes, Keane, Giggs and Beckham, we should have won at least one or two more CLs, I don't think we will have a better midfield than that one. I think it was the departure of Schmeichel and then Stam (and bringing in Blanc) which exposed our defensive frailties during the next few years and our attacking prowess couldn't overcome those defensive weaknesses.
In recent years, with Scholes past his best, the absence of Hargreaves and more recenlty Fletcher, the experiments of playing Giggs and Rooney in midfield, Anderson and Cleverley not quite up to the mark, then our midfield has been short of quality, leaving Carrick exposed as our one quality midfielder. In both finals lost to Barca, we were overexposed in midfield, and definitely required the extra man in there, although I'm not sure if we would have won even then, but it would have been tighter for sure.
I think we became more defensive in the CL, which doesn't necessarily mean we became more tactically astute - we no longer had the midfield to play an attacking game similar to '99, but we seemed to just cram the midfield rather than put some real thought into it.
posted on 23/6/13
From 2007 to date Sir Alex has largely done a fine job in Europe (United didn't lose an away game from Milan in the 2007 semi-final till the defeat in Munich in 2010), apart from 2012 where he underestimated the group and his bizarre selection in the 2011 final.
Even the season just gone, tactically he had Real Madrid under control.
The years preceding 2007 however were littered with tactical mistakes.
posted on 23/6/13
Agreed Always
Tactics in Europe is something that can't be used as a weapon against Sir Alex over the past 6 years or so.