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Match Day Thread Crystal Palace v Manchester Utd

Discussion in 'Manchester United' started by Matth_2014, Mar 1, 2018.

  1. Chief

    Chief Northern Simpleton
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    Was a reasonably enjoyable last half hour after a laughable first hour. We were ****e, couldn't pass to our own players.

    I still maintain that our real problems stem from the fact our centre halves are ****. Once Bailly is fit then the big issue is finding an absolute top drawer partner for him. The ones we have in the squad are, to a man, not good enough. With the possible exception of Phil Jones but he just can not be relied on to be fit for half a season, let alone a full one.

    We were appreciably better once Rashford and Mata came on. Not rocket science that really. Rashford runs at defenders at pace = causes problems.

    I don't see why Mata can't play in a midfield three with Pogba and Matic myself? Mourinho has obviously decided McTominey is a better bet but, while he's a very decent prospect, he's wrong. We need Mata's brains in midfield as Pogba clearly doesn't have any.

    That leaves Lukaku as the centre forward and Sanchez, Martial, Lingard,and Rashford vying for two places either side.

    On the face of it, that should be a great prospect. Sadly though, it isn't and that comes down to our esteemed manager and no one else.
     
    #61
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  2. Swarbs

    Swarbs Well-Known Member
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    Pogba just doesn't have the discipline to play any withdrawn role in a midfield. If Mata plays, he will need to be at the top of the three to get the space to dictate the game but that would require Pogba to play a more controlled role which he just doesn't seem to be able to do.

    That's the main reason McTominay plays imo - he has the discipline to do a job in CM and allow Pogba to get forwards without worrying about defensive cover. Mourinho has invested too much in Pogba to drop him in the long term, so Mata is being restricted.

    I'd prefer to see Matic, McTominay and Mata in CM with Pogba in one of the wide roles, probably replacing Sanchez atm. Or Matic and McTominay with Lingard at no 10 and again Pogba out wide.
     
    #62
  3. Shwan71

    Shwan71 Active Member

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    As Much as I love McTominay, but facing weaker sides , he is not helping us with 2 defensive minded midfielders
    the moment he has been replaced with more attacking minded player the difference was clear in our style of play .. Facing weaker side Mata should start ahead of him
     
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  4. Chief

    Chief Northern Simpleton
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    They way I see it, maybe naively, is that we have a three man midfield and only one of them is withdrawn, that being Matic. He plays in front of the two centre halves.

    The other two, one left/one right, are both of an attacking midfield ilk.

    We then have three forwards; Lukaku at the spearhead with one either side. At this absolute point in time I would say Rashford left and Lingard right but we all know fine well it'll be Sanchez filling one slot with AN Other the other. A good alternative front three would be Martial left, Rashford centre, Lingard right.

    I see no reason why we need two DCM's ever, left alone against weaker teams?!?
     
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  5. cytrax

    cytrax Well-Known Member

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    That's the point that escapes me as well. So we need 6 defensive players to play? Makes no sense. That's exactly why the two halves are so contrasting in that game. We had no shoots on target in that first half. Then we racked up six on target in the second half scoring three. Surely, Mourinho must see that even if we assume that he is blind.
     
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  6. King Shergar

    King Shergar Well-Known Member

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    Why should McTominey be the guy to make way for Mata. I would agree that Mata should be starting, but he can play in Pogba or Sanchez's position, 2 players who deserve to be dropped the way they are playing.

    McTominey is playing well, and is a youngster pushing his way into the first team. He's the type of player we should be giving opportunities to. We shouldn't drop him just because it's the easy option to take.
     
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  7. Diego

    Diego Lone Ranger

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    Quite right, so far Sanchez has done nothing but lose possession every game (we know Pogba can play well when right),.
    McTominay has played very well for his limited experience, he wins the ball back often, rarely gives it away and makes himself available for an easy out-pass for other players, he also covers a lot of ground.
     
    #67
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  8. King Shergar

    King Shergar Well-Known Member

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    I also think he has alot more quality than Matic with the ball at his feet. Matic is good at what he does, but he's very much a player that does the simple things well(nothing wrong with that every team needs one). McTominey though has abit more about him, and can play the more difficult passes forward, so I think he compliments Matic well as his midfield partner. Herrara is to similar to Matic, and we just end up sideways passing all game with no cutting edge.

    I've noticed Lukaku's service has improved a lot since McTominey has been introduced to the team.

    When Lukaku was running the channels before, the through passes where rarely coming, and when they did they weren't finding him, but since McTominey has been in the side, he's been finding Lukaku for fun, and is a big reason why Lukakus form and confidence has improved a lot recently.

    So for me McTominey should be one of the first names on the team sheet at the moment, as he's playing well and improving other players around him.
     
    #68
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  9. Diego

    Diego Lone Ranger

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    Don't let Matth read this <yikes>
     
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  10. Chief

    Chief Northern Simpleton
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    Because you're not going to drop Pogba, simple. When in form, Pogba is the best CM we have, head and shoulders above everyone else, and should be allowed the freedom in midfield to do that.

    If you play Mata in midfield then he, Pogba and Sanchez all get to play. If you play McTominey, one misses out.

    Matic plays as the DCM, simple as that..
     
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  11. Swarbs

    Swarbs Well-Known Member
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    We don't need DCMs - Pogba will never be a DCM. But you do need some discipline and positional awareness to play in central midfield. No matter how attack minded your CM is, they still have to play an important role within the team, as part of the team.

    Scholes was the epitome of that - an ACM who was always looking forwards and trying to attack, but was also always in the right position to launch attacks, although admittedly sometimes out of position when defending! Pogba would be caught out of position or not paying attention when the ball was lost, and too often out of position when the ball was won and he needed to launch the attack through intelligent passing, not route one Hollywood balls like against Palace.

    I absolutely agree with you that Pogba is one of our best sources of creativity and attacking flair. But to achieve that, imo, he should be out of CM entirely and given a properly attacking role, either number 10 with a two man CM behind him or one of the wide attackers.
     
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