https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5294650/2024/09/06/erik-ten-hag-tactics-debunked-manchester-united/ My complaint is that we constantly want some tackler in midfield. You guys celebrated Casemiro's signing. Everyone is celebrating Ugarte's signing becase they can run and tackle. WHAT ABOUT THE FOOTBALL? Why is everyone ready to sacrafice skill for work ethic when there are a million players who have both? They are not water carriers though. They sit him deep, but his game is not that of a water carrier. Same as Macallister, who is a no. 10 initially. They have three guys in there who can run and play. They dont need specialist tacklers.
I dont believe anyone has said any of that. The mantra every window ever since before we signed Matic was we wanted a _mobile_ DM. We always wanted the Glazers and Woodward to buy younger players too. We always wanted them to find someone at the skill, passing level and age to follow the Robson, Keane and Carrick eras. We all wanted FdJ but reality of him being on >£500k pw meant was never going to happen. Suspect we all would prefer top targets in the position like Joao Neves this window but with no CL football etc we are not the biggest draw any more. They dont sign who we want and we have to make do and you know that. For example though we wanted FdJ, if you have McT playing as DM we were relieved they at least signed Casemiro (esp having lost 3 opening games with McFred midfield). When you have Maguire you will be relieved they signed Varane (even though for example I wanted Pau Torres) etc. Has been going on for years, eg we wanted Fabinho we got Matic. With this club and owners (even the new ones) there is always a degree of compromise. Ugarte is better (esp mobility) option than Casemiro even though not top pick at DM. So realistically it is what it is. Huge amount if context.
@Sofabloke agree, we celebrate Ugarte because he is better than Casemiro. It's not ideal but a better version of what we have. We should be looking to sign someone like Rodri or Fernandinho. or Carrick.
i don't really see anyone celebrating Ugarte. glad to have him in place of McTominay but i haven't seen anyone ecstatic about it. not that it matters, as it's minutia. the more concerning thing for me is the extended trend of not being able to control much less dominate games, not playing a solid 90, not dealing with adversity well and a lack of coherence and optimisation of our pieces. we've already been through the gamut of excuses from players quitting, to their lack of ability, to their legs going, to the owners, to VAR and referee conspiracies etc. now granted we have a few new guys in the team and fitness is not there but i don't see much difference so far. and while some youtube guys can point at micro moments in games where something works or seems different, on a macro level the same problems still persist. i'll give it a bit of time since it is a new season but so far it does not look promising
I get where you are coming from. Ugarte may prove to be too big a compromise and maybe he will struggle on the ball. Supposedly his long passing is pretty decent (& unlike Cas he tends to put height on his long passes - so harder to intercept). Will have to wait and see, but having some defensive mobility at long last should help us. Key thing for me is EtH getting the team more compact to give the midfield a chance, in particular the spacing between the backline and midfield. Liverpool, City & Arsenal press high but play their backline high. Doesnt matter what midfield it is if the gap is as huge as ours has been. The Liverpool game was concerning bc the backline sat deep yet again and that was with the more mobile de Ligt & Martinez (ie no Maguire). The other thing I hated in the Liverpool game was how high Collyer was clearly told to play when he replaced Cas which left Mainoo isolated when he dropped deep. Love Bruno but him playing so high and disconnected is also causing us issues. Other midfield threes just look so much more connected. Casemiro poor mobility a reason, but far from the only one. There is a lot of work for EtH to do and if he doesn’t fix this next few months he deserves to go.
Malacia has been included in the UEL group stage squad list. apparently the club believe he will be back playing before Jan. we'll see how that goes
He was good (backup to shaw) when we initially signed him, not sure how much injury has regressed him.
i think we made it through the international break with no additional injuries. good news with 7 games in 22 days. hopefully it goes well for the team or is a mixed bag at the very worst. multiple losses piling up so close to each other won't look good
No injuries but certainly not great news on de Ligt performances, hopefully that doesn't affect him for this weekend
No idea where to put it, some changes been made under INEOS. 🚨🚨🚨BREAKING 🎥🔴 Manchester United unveils NEW recovery equipment and machines, designed to boost player recovery by an average of 25% faster than usual conditions. #MUFC pic.twitter.com/Wzl6Yr96xW— MANUTD ADDICTS (@Manutd_addicts) September 10, 2024
Don't tell anyone but they're actually Swiss Euthanasia pods, no more waiting for big wage uneeded players contracts to expire
Will be interesting to see how ETH balances the squad going forward. How does Garnacho get into the starting 11 - Amad has looked solid and Rashford had a good game against Southampton and looks like is getting played to get into the groove. How do you get Højlund into the starting 11 while keeping Zirkzee there for his link up play - who drops assuming Mainoo and Ugarte as the double pivots. Does Mount get back in for his pressing and if so who drops. Good problems to have honestly.
We haven't had real depth and competition for places in ages. Iron sharpens Iron. I wish we had our FB options healthy too but that will come. We can legitimately compete for 4th as well as EL and FA Cup.
I think rotation, if ETH actually does it, should be somewhat easy. Hojlund will need to be slowly worked in anyway. He's had several muscle injuries. Casemiro can be managed and maybe play more of an 8 role. Were already losing in the build up department with the personel we have. So I dont think it would be a huge loss. Bruno never wants to rest, so Mount is SOL. Mainoo and Garnacho need to have their workload reduced.
Obvs lots to do, some iffy performances, small sample size etc but for those who are unable to see the progress relative to last season (especially the end); This season the results haven't been fully there, however the metrics and underlying data shows a lot of progress for #MUFC. Compared to other teams in the league here is how Man United rank:Shots conceded - 6thTackles - 1stInterceptions - 1stShots on Target - 4thXG - 3rd… pic.twitter.com/DEShTEuLOo— Benjamin Hunt (@JustAFootyFan_) September 15, 2024
From the BBC: United have the second-highest xG (expected goals) in the league, at 9.53 from their opening five games, but have only managed to score five times. Only Southampton, who sit 18th, are underperforming their xG by more.
Carabao Cup fourth-round ties Brentford v Sheffield Wednesday Southampton v Stoke Tottenham v Manchester City AFC Wimbledon or Newcastle v Chelsea Manchester United v Leicester Brighton v Liverpool Preston v Arsenal Aston Villa v Crystal Palace
I think you need to give Ugarte a chance. He's got that xfactor grit that a lot of the so called leg breaker defensive minded South Americans come with. With some time he's good to refine really well in the next year.
When I lived in Finland we covered our hands head, feet and genitals and went and laid in the snow for super fast cooling. Free
Story of the season so far for me is that structure, performances and defence better. Offensive creativity ok. Finishing is woeful. That is despite getting in Ruud to work with the strikers and wide forwards. Fact is that what Ruud has to work with is the very inconsistent Rashford as our only “experienced” striker we are reliant on inexperienced relative youngsters. The main one of which started the season injured. Pre-season a lot of pundits added up the likely season goal contributions and said we wouldn’t score enough. So far they are right.
Good breakdown of the stats so far on united compared to last season. It’s clear we are playing better at both ends and IF / WHEN they can start finishing off some of these chances being created we should go on a run. https://www.skysports.com/football/...de-are-premier-leagues-biggest-underachievers