Top six will be a good step forward. Importantly, if we can continue to see improvements from formation of the system Amorim is trying to implement, especially scoring more goals, we will move higher up the table. Events at City illustrate winning starts in the middle of the park. A strong midfield is what wins games. Great teams can survive not having a solid number 9, but a weak midfield will make a solid number 9 look average at best and put more pressure on the defenders. This is why I expect Hojlund will have a much better scoring record under Amorim.
Top six, a tilt at the Europa Cup, a clear style of play emerging and the grifters shown up and moved on would all stand us in good stead for next season. Nobody in that squad can't say that haven't been given a chance either.
They have all indeed been given a chance. I sense there’s a lot of pressure in the squad at the moment. You can see it the body language. They know if they don’t perform, they won’t make the next team. Hopefully at some point when everyone knows their role and the system, they can actually start to enjoy playing together.
The wingbacks are so exposed! I keep asking about the insistence with 3-5-2, I do not believe it is a system that works with the players in the squad. It is a single point of failure for teams with dynamic wingers to exploit as Bournemouth has done today.
Dalot is not good enough, I've always said it and it was shown again today. He flies under the radar as he's a trier, but we really need players of higher quality that he is. It's great he puts the effort in but that's not enough. I think Amorim has to stick to his principles and replace the players. Not the other way round. It's patently obvious that a good few of them are not good enough, and he's finding this all out. Martinez was **** again, what the **** has happened there? Currently that back three has to be Yoro, Maguire and De Ligt.
The principles are all fine and well, but if we don’t have the players to execute, do we simply keep sacrificing points because of one man’s principles? What would be the point of that? Amorim needs to readapt his principles around the players that he currently has to meet the dynamism of the league. If the team can’t score a single goal at home, then the setup and game preparation are wrong regardless of the principles.
It would seem that Amorim has a tight budget with which to operate so it makes sense for him to evaluate each and every player in the squad before making a decision as to who he wants to keep or shed. Rashford, Shaw, Malacia, Mount, Eriksen, Casimero, Antoni and Zirkzee all look likely candidates to go - as does Martinez on current form - that should bring in sufficient to bring in players to fit Amorim's style of play - but it will take several years, and where have we heard all this before.
The idea of changing so many players is missing the point of having a director of football structure. In Amorim’s case, playing this 3-5-2 in every match is clearly not something that suites the players. Therefore, he has to adapt the system to fit the resources at the club because the other option will take far longer. Long ago, we actually used to have two systems - one for Europe and the other mostly in the league. Premier league is particularly physical compared to most other leagues, and one system simply doesn’t fit all the opponents. They will find you out.
People need to start realising the those players we are supposed to build a system that suits them around, are the actual ****ing problem. This season is ****ed, he needs to stick to the way he wants to play and wheedle out all those players who aren't capable of playing in it. This includes Bruno. If you can't be disciplined enough to be one of a front three, leave. Or one of a midfield three, just not central, or trying to be everywhere and achieving being nowhere. I've said before and I'll say again, Shaw is absolutely key. If he can just be fit to see out the season, he is clearly someone who could fill that LWB role. Mazaroui on the right. It's obvious that Dalot and Malacia aren't up to scratch, but then they wouldn't be as full backs either so why change the bloody shape? Going back to a shape that previous managers used, and failed, is not a way forward.
But Chief, the reality is there is no money kicking around to just cherry pick a set of new players to fit into a 3-5-2. Moreover, a system is a means to an end it should never be the end. Simply playing some fancy 3-5-2 system is counterintuitive versus developing a system that will get the best out of the team we have. Sure, that can be modified in the future as more players become available. But tanking the season in the name is fitting into a 3-5-2 will not only damage the players, it will damage Amorim’s future credit as well. We cannot afford chasing a system that excuses losing 3-0 at home to any fkin team. Absolutely not! This is exactly how we ended with Onafkina in the first place. We took on a player that could kick the ball about in the back but completely unless at actually keeping out simple goals. Football has been made into such a complicated chess game. Last point I’d make is re Shaw; he should never be the key to anything meaningful going forward. Why would we even suggest a man made of glass is the key to success? Shaw needs to be first name on the list to leave. The manager needs to find a system that will get the best out of the players at his disposal and kick on from there.
He's not the key to long term success, but he's the key to making this formation work in the immediate term. You look at this, today's team, and you think yeah, that's decent enough. Bar one. Dalot. He is none of the following; a wing back, a defender, a winger, left footed, competent in any way shape or form on the left. He's just the most patently obvious square peg in a round hole. Hence, Shaw is key right now. Until the end of the season, which is when he needs to be replaced.
Well, another fkn miserable capitulation to another ****e team, obviously RA is the messiah, just look at the progress we´ve made since ETH was fkd off. All fkn talk, no progress and no possible sign of it with this guy unless we buy the whole Sporting side. he's another SAF, but only in the sense that he built Sporting in his image, every facet of the club was under his control - here he's just another spoofer.
Yep, ****e managers who INEOS imagine that, because they can do it with dominant teams in inferior leagues, mistakenly believe that same success can be exported to Manchester United - it can't, and how many times are we going to make the same fkn mistake. None of the (other) top clubs in Europe have Mickey Mouse managers - they invest heavily in the real deal.
The one thing here is ETH is largely to blame for how bad these players have become. Every single one of them deteriorated over the years due to lack of coaching. HOWEVER, Amorim is extremely stubborn with that fkin system. Worse part is that teams have quickly readapted to it while we remain rigid on fkin principles. We don’t have the players to play it and it shows. The longer he persists with it, the worse we will become and that will be his fault. I dare say ETH would have got a result today.
Which winning side did he inherit? They were actually starting to struggle last year with most of their players getting older. Moreover, he has had zero investments in the team.
