If everyone was fit..............

comment by Vidicschin (U3584)
posted 16 minutes ago
comment by rosso says the time has come to unlock the unlimited Pote-ntial of the Fernçalvenoo triumvirate (U17054)
posted 15 minutes ago
comment by BerbaKing11 (U6256)
posted 24 minutes ago
comment by kinsang (U3346)
posted 21 seconds ago
comment by BerbaKing11 (U6256)
posted 11 seconds ago
comment by Vengeance (U23079)
posted 8 minutes ago
Onana
Mazraoui De Ligt Yoro Shaw
Bruno Ugarte Mainoo
Nacho Zirkzee Amad
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So an 18 year old that's never played a competitive game for us gets in ahead of our best player, Martinez... A player that doesn't play for us gets the nod in midfield and Amad and Garnacho swap positions to play in their second best positions rather than their favoured and best roles...

Excellent.
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Everyone can have an opinion Berba - who would you have?
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Of course! Including daft ones...

Honestly I don't know right now. We just haven't seen enough of certain players to say, nor do we know what the longer term plan is for the shape of the team and which players best suit that. As RR has said, Mount is critically important when it comes to the press but seemingly can only be accommodated in the '2' in the 4-4-2. That then leaves big question about when and where Rasmus/Zirkzee get in or whether Mount can be accommodated elsewhere.

Ask me in November!
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On Mount, just read that he performed 23 counterpressures on Friday, the most of any PL player over the first gameday.

If he stays fit, he’s going to be a key player in big games this season.
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That is all fine and it was noticeable how we became more open when he went off. However he needs to be involved in goals or he will be of little use.
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Yep.

He should have scored his chance early in the second half on Friday; but I think it’ll come.

He teed up Casemiro and Mainoo for their chances on the edge of the box, and he picked out Casemiro to play in Bruno for his one-on-one.

He is getting involved in the build up on and off the ball, if not quite enough yet, and he’s picking the right passes more often than not. ETH could get him a little more involved by allowing him to rotate a bit more with Bruno in dropping off the defensive line, but the signs were decent on Friday.

This front six has only had a couple of games together. Let’s see how it works the next couple of games (if, as I expect, ETH sticks with it for those fixtures).

In regards to the front line, I think Garnacho is a must. He just looks so threatening, he’s direct, quick, he scares defenders.

I like the balance of somebody like Amad on the other side as I don’t think we can carry two players like Garnacho and Rashford, currently Garnacho is just the better player and I only see that gap widening.

In regards to Zirkzee or Hoijlund, it’s too early to tell, but I was impressed with Zirkzees ability to drop deeper and importantly keep the ball. His goal was a proper strikers goal. I love Hojlunds enthusiasm but I feel he has a way to go.

comment by Busby (U19985)
posted 14 minutes ago
In regards to the front line, I think Garnacho is a must. He just looks so threatening, he’s direct, quick, he scares defenders.

I like the balance of somebody like Amad on the other side as I don’t think we can carry two players like Garnacho and Rashford, currently Garnacho is just the better player and I only see that gap widening.

In regards to Zirkzee or Hoijlund, it’s too early to tell, but I was impressed with Zirkzees ability to drop deeper and importantly keep the ball. His goal was a proper strikers goal. I love Hojlunds enthusiasm but I feel he has a way to go.
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Rashford vs Garnacho: for me it's too early to conclude that Rashford is in permanent decline. He's looked more sharp and confident in pre-season and the first match (and better off the ball). He also tends to score in purple patches, so he could be a goal away from being a major contributor again. Garnacho's progress is very encouraging but he hasn't ever hit the levels of productivity that Rashford has sustained three or four times during his career. I guess my view is that it's good to have both players in the squad and other options emerging - though I think Amad will end up with fewer minutes than those two if they all stay fit.

As for Hojlund vs Zirkzee, didn't Hojlund have an exceptionally high shot:goal ratio last season? Zirkzee (though his finish against Fulham was great) doesn't come to United with a reputation as an excellent finisher. I suspect the relative game time those to have will depend on what we're trying to do tactically. Zirkzee's ability to drop deep is fine, but if we're trying to stretch a defence with a striker who stays high and/or play through-balls, Hojlund is the obvious choice. If we're looking to play in Rashford and Garnacho, then Zirkzee (or Bruno) could be the best number 9.

The way football is going having 'finishers' in games will be as important as the 'starters' IMO. It'd be good to have 16 players in every matchday squad that we can change around and not weaken the overall picture.

comment by Diafol Coch 77 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 (U2462)
posted 24 minutes ago
The way football is going having 'finishers' in games will be as important as the 'starters' IMO. It'd be good to have 16 players in every matchday squad that we can change around and not weaken the overall picture.
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Definitely. If I may risk excessive wokeness, Sarina Wiegman's England is a good example of this: sometimes playing an hour with a more attritional XI and game plan, then bringing on more attacking quality toward the end of the game.

comment by Red Russian (U4715)
posted 1 hour, 2 minutes ago
comment by Busby (U19985)
posted 14 minutes ago
In regards to the front line, I think Garnacho is a must. He just looks so threatening, he’s direct, quick, he scares defenders.

I like the balance of somebody like Amad on the other side as I don’t think we can carry two players like Garnacho and Rashford, currently Garnacho is just the better player and I only see that gap widening.

In regards to Zirkzee or Hoijlund, it’s too early to tell, but I was impressed with Zirkzees ability to drop deeper and importantly keep the ball. His goal was a proper strikers goal. I love Hojlunds enthusiasm but I feel he has a way to go.
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Rashford vs Garnacho: for me it's too early to conclude that Rashford is in permanent decline. He's looked more sharp and confident in pre-season and the first match (and better off the ball). He also tends to score in purple patches, so he could be a goal away from being a major contributor again. Garnacho's progress is very encouraging but he hasn't ever hit the levels of productivity that Rashford has sustained three or four times during his career. I guess my view is that it's good to have both players in the squad and other options emerging - though I think Amad will end up with fewer minutes than those two if they all stay fit.

As for Hojlund vs Zirkzee, didn't Hojlund have an exceptionally high shot:goal ratio last season? Zirkzee (though his finish against Fulham was great) doesn't come to United with a reputation as an excellent finisher. I suspect the relative game time those to have will depend on what we're trying to do tactically. Zirkzee's ability to drop deep is fine, but if we're trying to stretch a defence with a striker who stays high and/or play through-balls, Hojlund is the obvious choice. If we're looking to play in Rashford and Garnacho, then Zirkzee (or Bruno) could be the best number 9.
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All fair points, I guess the conclusion is it’s a good problem to have options for key positions.

I guess the conclusion is it’s a good problem to have options for key positions.

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Definitely a better situation than being one injury in any position away from fielding a player who isn't capable of doing the job required.

Slightly off topic - but annoyingly Lucas Bergvall's cameo for Spurs last night was really good - looks a talent. We were apparently very close to signing him a couple of years back and were only prevented by facking Brexit laws. He'd be adding a bit of depth to our midfield right now.

If everyone was fit..............

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comment by Red Russian (U4715)
posted 2 hours, 49 minutes ago
comment by Diafol Coch 77 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 (U2462)
posted 24 minutes ago
The way football is going having 'finishers' in games will be as important as the 'starters' IMO. It'd be good to have 16 players in every matchday squad that we can change around and not weaken the overall picture.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Definitely. If I may risk excessive wokeness, Sarina Wiegman's England is a good example of this: sometimes playing an hour with a more attritional XI and game plan, then bringing on more attacking quality toward the end of the game.
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Yes, the likes of Zirkzee, Amad and Højlund might have to get used to the idea of being second-half subs quite a lot. Still a massive role to play.