Possibly! But then again, no one's salary is being withheld. So we can argue that it shouldn't stop the team from doing what it needs to do on the pitch. It is incredible to think that we are fretting playing Galatasaray. We sold Fred for £13m to a team in Turkey and he hasn't lost a game in 9. But here we are already assuming that we are no match for a team from Turkish league.
The "system" worked perfectly well last season but we were lacking a dedicated striker. This season so far we have added a striker but lost two LBs (we now have none) who teamed up very well with Rashford. Antony is (as we all agree) useless with his right foot but had/has started to build a very good understanding with Bisakka who was usually the furthest forward at the end of a move to make the cross, get in the area. We have lost a brilliant CB who also pushed forward into midfield to both break up oppo play and make play for us. Rashford has a sulk on for some reason (not helpfull). Mount and Bruno need to sort themselves out because at the moment they are getting in each others way at times. Amrabat will make a big difference when we can play him as holding mid instead of emergency LB. The start has been ****e but the reason is not the system, it needs to improve quickly because as it stands we are going to struggle to get CL next season unless we win it this season
Btw one thing that hasn't been mentioned is the way we deal in the transfer window. It hasn't helped that Hojlund and Amrabat saga dragged on and they joined so late on. Just an example of things beyond Ten Hag's control.
Very true, get them in for the pre-season tour and the team bonding and learning the system means they can hit the season running instead of feeling their way into it.
He said: “The shape from the start and the pressurising from the start, as opposed to the other night – which was a totally different team to be fair – I thought we put players under a lot more pressure on the ball. “Casemiro dropped deep and they were finding it harder to hit the passes they were hitting against us on Tuesday, and as a result it was easier for our defenders.” That was how Hodgson saw the tactics. Again, the setup was wrong from the get go against a team willing to sit back. What did we do? Casemiro had to sit back because of largely due to having Mount and Bruno up front. This is what ETH needs to sort out - the issue with Bruno and Mount.
