Personally, I reserved judgement on the quality of the team despite the successive bad performances against Palace, Brighton and Spurs because it was clear that for whatever reason, we weren't fit enough to compete.
Now that we're up to speed, I can see us picking up where we left off from last season but with improvements to the depth of the squad and possibly some better solutions tactically.
The team had done really well in the 5-2-1-2 system but it was noticeable how much control and authority we gained with Pogba's introduction and the associated change in shape.
What I found encouraging, was having Bruno in that no.10 where he belongs but also Pogba playing in a playmaking role (and doing it very well) away from that deeper role which doesn't fit his strenghts at all.
Is this 4-3-1-2 shape a good solution going forward? (with Pogba playing a bit higher on the left of the 3 than Fred on the right of it).
Also, I've noticed and commented in the past that United's back line hasn't moved up and down the pitch effectively together for sometime and despite Maguire being the captain he hasn't marshalled this properly (perhaps his own lack of pace and agility concerned him enough to not want to push up).
Last night that changed, it was great to see Lindelof and Tuanzebe really do this effectively in a back 4(with Lindelof organising the back 5 and 4 superbly throughout) helping to set the tone for the team to push for the winning goal. I think Maguire is a very good defender but it will be very interesting to see what happens if Tuanzebe and Lindelof can get a run of games together....
Overall there were numerous positives, no-one had a bad game but the defensive unit including De Gea and Fred really had a top night, it was great to see.
Tuanzebe in particular was a real bonus for us, if we can keep him fit there's a lot to be excited about for his future.
Encouraging signs.....
posted on 21/10/20
Telles looks a decent player
and I actually think Shaw is better in that 5-3-2 formation
posted on 21/10/20
Discuss all of the above on my article pls thanks
posted on 21/10/20
The shape when Pogba came on yesterday I don’t think we’ll see again in a hurry.
It was a situational adjustment which worked really well, but it was super lop-sided: McT and Fred maintained their roles in a flat, central shielding two and Pogba basically had a free role off the left. Even Bruno stayed central.
I’ve seen people describe it as a diamond already, but it wasn’t close to anything of the sort. A quadrilateral, sure. But probably not even a trapezoid quadrilateral.
posted on 21/10/20
comment by rosso - it’s not good enough to be right... (U17054)
posted 1 minute ago
The shape when Pogba came on yesterday I don’t think we’ll see again in a hurry.
It was a situational adjustment which worked really well, but it was super lop-sided: McT and Fred maintained their roles in a flat, central shielding two and Pogba basically had a free role off the left. Even Bruno stayed central.
I’ve seen people describe it as a diamond already, but it wasn’t close to anything of the sort. A quadrilateral, sure. But probably not even a trapezoid quadrilateral.
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I agree it wasn't a diamond more of an inbalanaced 4-3-1-2 but that doesn't necessarily mean it can't work for us...ultimately we are searching for the the best system to get the most out of the team based on the opposition and our available options.
You may be right in saying we won't see much of it, but based on how Fred, Pogba, Bruno, Rashford and Martial all prefer to operate (this system fits them all very well), I hope you're wrong
posted on 21/10/20
comment by AlwaysUnited (U4063)
posted 8 minutes ago
comment by rosso - it’s not good enough to be right... (U17054)
posted 1 minute ago
The shape when Pogba came on yesterday I don’t think we’ll see again in a hurry.
It was a situational adjustment which worked really well, but it was super lop-sided: McT and Fred maintained their roles in a flat, central shielding two and Pogba basically had a free role off the left. Even Bruno stayed central.
I’ve seen people describe it as a diamond already, but it wasn’t close to anything of the sort. A quadrilateral, sure. But probably not even a trapezoid quadrilateral.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I agree it wasn't a diamond more of an inbalanaced 4-3-1-2 but that doesn't necessarily mean it can't work for us...ultimately we are searching for the the best system to get the most out of the team based on the opposition and our available options.
You may be right in saying we won't see much of it, but based on how Fred, Pogba, Bruno, Rashford and Martial all prefer to operate (this system fits them all very well), I hope you're wrong
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I think it might eat situational use again, but I think the difference last night is that we knew the FBs would have to hold defensive position when we switched to four at the back, and that the central two DM shield was going to stay.
Using it from the start of games is a bit of a defensive approach. I think we’ll see a reversion to 4-2-3-1 at the weekend, and, if not, the 3-4-1-2 that we started with last night used again.
posted on 21/10/20
Put it this way: if Ole was going to change his system to try to get the best out of Pogba (i.e. give him more or less the role he played last night regardless of whatever anyone else is tasked with doing), he’d have done it a long time ago.
posted on 22/10/20
When we beat PSG 1-3 it was our 9th consecutive away win. This time when we beat PSG it was our 10th consecutive away win although one was in Extra Time.