Football News: What would you do with Manchester United?

A lot has been said about style of play/ how the manager sets up the Manchester United team.

So what would you do?

Personally the way I'd like to see us play is with a possession based dominate side that looks to control the game but that plays with quick transitions, moving from a slower build up to suddenly playing very quickly once the opposition get lulled into a false sense of security.

To do this with our squad, I'd look to set up in a 4231 that becomes a 3223 in possession. You have your back three solid base with a double pivot in front to support controlled possession and build out from the back, then the two advanced midfielders create a box midfield to give the numbers advantage centrally allow control and creativity. Then two wide players to stretch play and create space and a central striker who can press, occupy defenders, link play and score himself.

There are many different ways to get this shape, you could have one full back stay deep and the other either invert into the midfield double pivot or press high as the wide player on that side. Or you could have both fullbacks move forward, with a CDM dropping deep between the CB's to form the three. One full back inverts and the other pushes high.

The trick is making sure that however you get this shape, it works best with the players you have. Personally, I'm not a fan of inverting a fullback into midfield as I feel that is the most important area of the team and where you want your best, most reliable players.

What I'd look to do at United is have one fullback stay deep and form part of the back three (most likely Shaw who is best suited to this), then have a RB who pushes high to provide the width on the right. My ideology revolves around getting your most talented, technically gifted and tactically intelligent players playing centrally where they can have the biggest impact and pose the most threat.

For me, full backs tend to be either lacking something from a defensive point of view, which is why they don't play centrally or lacking something offensively which is why they don't play as a typical winger. Maybe defensively they are fine but lack in height or physicality to play CB. Therefore, unless you have a player like TAA who is unusual for a full back, I'd be looking to play them in the wider roles, either advanced or deep.

I'd want both my players in the double pivot to be special-ist midfielders who can control and dominate that space in front of the back four and severely limit the opposition from being able to get chances centrally. While also offering control on the ball and the ability to dominate games with the ball. Ideally, I'd go with a passer/ carrier combination with one of them being an expansive passer to break the lines of pressure and the other to be a dominant dribbler who can just run through the lines and break through the press.

I'd have a No.10 who drifts slightly left and the starting RW would be a wide playmaker who looks to com into the inside channel to create and to form the fourth midfielder in the box midfield. This would allow space for the RB to overlap and form the wide option on the right to stretch play. Again, this means a more technically gifted player is playing closer to goal and the role of stretching play is left to the player who offers less threat on the ball.

If everyone was fit, I'd probably play Onana, Dalot, Varane, Martinez, Shaw, Mainoo/ Amrabat, Casemiro, Bruno, Mount, Rashford, Hojlund.

With the areas needing addressing being RB (Frimpong / Vanderson), RCB (Todibo), and ta couple of CM/ CDM (maybe something like Andre and Khephren Thuram). You could probably get those players for under 130m. Then it's looking at squad depth, with another CB or likely two needed to give you 4 good options, another midfielder to play with Mainoo and the other two giving you again four solid options. a back up striker to rotate with Hojlund and another playmaker capable of playing as either the No.10 or from the right and tucking in.

I make that 9 players needed to have a really solid squad that can grow and develop together into a top class side. I wouldn't go chasing the big names, but look for smart signings who can continue developing while at the club.

What would you do?

Written by Shappy December 15 2023 14:53:03