Yeah that does not solve the problem, in our attack we have two players capable of beating a tight marking and a trap, Martial and Rashford; one less than the other. The problem is Rashford is not very good at RW and decent at LW while Martial is good at LW and probably not good at RW, so we can not play them together on the wings. Neither are ready to play as a 9 so far. Apart from these, everyone needs space to operate and that makes it easier for teams to choke that one outlet or carrier.
That's why I, for my part, would favor a guy like Inaki Williams or Carrasco, guys with speed, strength, versatility and goals in them, to provide the team with more options upfront and on the right as well. Not many ready top quality dribblers, touchline hugger types anyway out there right now apparently.
Yeah, that is a common assumption mistake that comes with dribblers, they do not need to be touchline traditional wingers. The recent dribbler we had Nani was never a touch line hugger, neither is Messi or Neymar or Hazard. Being comfortable out wide is a bonus but the main job is break through a marking, displacing opposition. When a dribbler goes through a player, a 2ndary defender activates and a 3rd defender is pulled into a position, the whole team is dragged and that creates space. Not too sure about naming names but we need one.
Not really saying that dribblers are necessarily touchline huggers. Just mentioning that those types of players don't seem to be running the streets and teams can make do without them, so long as they get players who possess different attributes that can make them useful and dangerous offensively. Hence the guys named above as examples of guys I wouldn't mind having if dribblers are not available.
We can fiddle with tactics all we want, but unless we improve our finishing none of it will matter. Clean up the sloppy finishing -- Mata with an open net from the pk spot -- and we're cruising to 3-0 on most days, regardless of tactics and regardless of how many dribblers we have on the pitch.
Fiddling with the tactics puts out players in a better 'position' to finish in terms of higher percentage chances, in space and not at the end of a long run from deep. Think of Welbeck. When used wide (and deeper due to his defensive tracking) he would regularly make lung bursting runs or dribbles into a shooting position only to fluff his lines because he was gassed.
NO, NO, NO!!! Consider the Mata miss against Stoke. There's no tactical excuse on the planet for him missing that shot, or an upgrade on tactics that would have enhanced his ability to make that shot. The ball was served on a plate and the mighty Spaniard missed it. It happens and I don't want to be too hard on the man but the fact that he missed it had nothing to do with the tactics on the day. You allude to a concern with being at "the end of a long run from deep". I'm sorry to break the news, but finishing after a long run is part of the bargain when you play football at this level. Going on long runs and being able to finish on glorious chances is what Mata gets paid (guessing now) $150/week to do. There's definitely room for a discussion about tweaking our tactics but whatever your tactics may be your forwards have to be able capitalize on the chances that your tactics enable. We're creating chances but not finishing on them. Dat's a fact! The issue with Welbeck is his lack of ability, not the tactical scheme in which he is deployed. He's a fine squad man for a top club but he'll never be an elite striker of the caliber or Ibra or Aguero.
If you demand your attacking players cover an extra 30 yards to even get into a shooting position as a result of playing deeper then when the shooting opportunity arrives you have a tired player more prone to miss.
Manchester United’s José Mourinho warns Anthony Martial to improve https://www.theguardian.com/footbal...mprove?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Copy_to_clipboard
The Telegraph is reporting that despite the rumors of unrest with Martial, Jose has made it clear that Martial will not be allowed to leave under any circumstances this month. Not surprising and more proof of how he must be valued in Jose's eyes and like with Miki or Shaw, he wants keep working on developing him.
In his press conference Mou essentially said Martial is one of 5 competing for the 2 wing-forward positions and recently his performances have put him behind others. This isnt the whole story though as Rashford and Martial are also our backup #9s - it is just that for Mou the #9 position seems to have no rotation at all and also not sure Mou sees Martial that way (which could be another source of friction). For footballing reasons he should have some rotation at #9 (even if it is just late subs) but needs it to keep squad happy too.
We need a two dribblers so we can move Martial and Rashford up top backing each other up. We need a Carrick replacement. This is it for me.
Does that not beg the question as to why a Spanish NT footballer would be "tired" after running 30 yards? I really don't want to be too hard on Mata. I really like him and am happy he's a United man. But the only excuse for him missing that shot is that it sometimes happens to even the best strikers. We've all seen Messi and Ronaldo miss sitters too. Mata missed a sitter. And there's no tactical explanation that can justify it.
Mkhitaryan, Mata, Martial, Rashford, Young ? Mata is not a wing forward Young is useless and should be out. Rashford is not a wing forward, not a very effective one over a 90 min game at least. Mkhitaryan techincallly is not one either, he can play on the wings but that is very superficial. We only got Martial as an outlet and Jose refuses to play him.
One dribbler is fine, one CM two if Jose does not trust either Mensah or Perreira, RB and maybe a CB.
We agree that Young is past his sell-by date and has been uselessly (but brilliantly) hoovering United cash for years. Mata serves a useful role as a squad man, however you want to classify him. What Rashford "is" is not yet clear. He's actually been quite productive since his introduction last season as a "wing forward". He gives us something coming off the bench that makes life difficult for opposing defenders. But no, he's not the polished gem just yet. I think he emerges as a pure 9 over time but I'm not sure of that. And he's not going to be elbowing Ibra any time soon, so a bit of work in a "wing forward" is perfectly in order. I don't know what Miki "technically" is but he came off the blocks brilliantly for us in December. He's had a couple of meh performances in January but I expect that his contributions in the next few matches will be positive. But no, he's no mazy dribbler in the mold of Giggs or Best, which may be what you're looking for. Such players are very hard to find. Who knows what's really going on between Jose and Anthony, but it's a good bet that it's nothing more than managerial discipline. Martial fell off a bit in the second half of last season and has been less than his best in the first half of this season. A bit of reckoning was perfectly in order.
Totally forgot about him, lets not include a player who most fans call to be taken off when he starts.
So you are agreeing with me but trying to appear not to ? I just said he is a not starter wing forward and does not have a threat at that position for 90 mins. Mata is still a 10, reserve or squad role does not matter, he is not a wing forward. Already said about Mkhi in the same thread. So we have only Martial as a real ball carrying threat and outlet, not enough.
Yes and no. You can't judge Marcus Rashford by the same measuring stick you would judge, say, Juan Mata. Marcus is only 19 years old. Let us not judge the boy too quickly as to what he "is" and is not. I'm not sure what Mata "is" either, but for United at least he's been more effective as a "wing forward" than as a "10", yet there's no doubt that Mata is no true winger. There can be no serious complaints with Miki but I certainly regard him as a "ball carrying threat". I like you, Syed, but you seem obsessed with the idea of having a "dribbler" on the squad. I love dribblers and stood in awe of what Giggsy did for over a decade. And what Best did. And what Maradona and Messi did. But dribblers of that quality are extremely rare and when they are found they're going to Real, Barcelona or Bayern. We really shouldn't hold our breath waiting for the next George Best. We would die of suffocation. The game just doesn't produce dribblers as it used to. Get over it. The right way to think of the situation we're in is asking whether Rashford, Martial and Miki can play at a consistently stellar level next season. So while I'm not in great disagreement with the grains of sand of your argument, I am in disagreement with what seems to be (please forgive me if I'm mistaken) your broader argument that what we really need is a dribbler.
Balderdash. I can't be sure of the time in the match when Mata missed the sitter, but it was definitely in the first half, long before fatigue ordinarily would set it.
Dribblers aren't that rare of a breed. Hell Zaha was a fantastic dribbler all things considered. Dribblers with end product however, are extremely rare.