Mkhitaryan

comment by Roy's Keen (U11635)
posted 5 minutes ago
Martial should have stayed on
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He did have a couple of moments in the first half where he looked like he might get at them. I personally would have kept him on but, again, I can understand the change.

Would have taken young off myself

Is there a rule saying martial and Rashford can't be on the pitch at the same time ?

comment by Roy's Keen (U11635)
posted 5 seconds ago
Would have taken young off myself

Is there a rule saying martial and Rashford can't be on the pitch at the same time ?
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Kind of - it's called Lukaku. If Lukaku is rested/unavailable, I guess Mourinho would play Rashford at 9 and Martial left (or vice versa). But I doubt he'll play both of them with Lukaku. It would be good to see him try it, I think, but I'm not holding my breath.

Def need replacements for Mata and Miki. On the BBC combined 11 for United - Liverpool these were the only 2 spots that Liverpool took.

Just seems odd that its so difficult for United to find these truly attacking/creative mids. City and Liverpool don't seem to have this issue.

comment by aroon1 (U7949)
posted 27 seconds ago
Def need replacements for Mata and Miki. On the BBC combined 11 for United - Liverpool these were the only 2 spots that Liverpool took.

Just seems odd that its so difficult for United to find these truly attacking/creative mids. City and Liverpool don't seem to have this issue.
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I thought we'd see a three-man midfield more this season:

Matic
Herrera Pogba

That would only really leave room on the right for one of Mata or Mkhitaryan. It's why I said at the start of the season that the squad, though full of quality, was imbalanced: two good no. 10s in a system that doesn't use them.

However, for one reason or another, we've not really seen that system yet and Mata and Mkhitaryan have had a fair bit of game time. If we did replace one or both, I'd want it to be with a wide forward, not another 10. Ozil, for instance, would probably be a mistake, though I've always liked him.

The odd thing is Mkhitaryan was dropped for a lot less at times last season.

His general play has been abysmal so far this campaign despite accumulating a decent number of assists.

The timing, weight and acccuracy of his passing has been incredibly poor. He fails to see his teammates in good positions. He really struggles to retain possession as a result of a bad first touch or overrunning the ball when trying to dribble.

He was nowhere near this bad at Dortmund. United are a graveyard for creative players. This is something that's really bugged me for a while now. They just seem to lose their ability to play football for some strange reason once they sign for us.

If he doesn't improve fast, he can't complain if he spends a bit of time on the bench.

United are a graveyard for creative players. This is something that's really bugged me for a while now. They just seem to lose their ability to play football for some strange reason once they sign for us.
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Strangely and sadly true. It was even the case under Ferguson, though some obviously did well for us.

He's been a passenger for most of the season. It's a shame as he's a cracking player

comment by ManUtdDaredevil (U9612)
posted 6 seconds ago
He's been a passenger for most of the season. It's a shame as he's a cracking player
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Agree on both counts - so what's the problem? Is it mental, on his behalf, as SE85 suggests? Is it tactical? When he hit form last season he looked great, but I don't think he got anything right today and there have been a few games like that.

Wouldn't say he's been a passenger considering he's got 7 goals/assists so far this season but his general influence info games could be better. His role is to create and score which he's technically doing, but he's still goes missing far too much.