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It isn't even necessarily combative players that are required in the middle.
What is required is players who actually take a risk with their play, who aren't happy to constantly play the safe pass, every single time. We are far too negative with 2 holding midfielders in the vast majority of games. These players often create absolutely nothing, they never make a forward run, they never drive forward with the ball, they rarely get into the box. Couple this with our poor wide players and it is no wonder we create next to £#%&! all. For all his faults, even Anderson would actually run forwards with the ball. |
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it should (but apparently doesn't) go without saying that robson would walk into any team in any era and make it better. he wasn't just "a bit combative", he was the complete footballer. better than maradona. players like hughes, mcgrath and robson would still dominate today.
however, it is also true (and a bit more practically relevant) that we have as good a midfield as any currently if our thinking-inside-a-tiny-£#%&!ing-box manager would just £#%&!ing play them. no team would look good with an ungifted fellaini half-passing to a lackadaisical mata and letting some keen second-rater get to the ball first. it is a shite system poluted by dross players. carrick and schweini might have their best days behind them, but they are not knackered and useless - they are intelligent players. but you cannot play a 1 or 2 man midfield and expect them to perform. we are overloaded in every game with unproductive and clueless attacking players. carrick, schneidi, schweini and herrera can be creative and destructive enough individually and together. mata offers £#%&! all other than a very narrow range of attacking play. fellaini is £#%&!ing hopeless in any position and makes everyone look shite. van gaal's teams are unbalanced, playing an unattractive system in an ineffective way - it is joyless to watch and they clearly don't believe in it either. we have got £#%&!y players. clearly, we miss shaw. but people don't even appreciate someone like valencia who is quick and £#%&!ing solid when it comes to fighting for the ball. he's just not a winger. or a fullback. still..... against a packed defence, van gaal's team is no less effective than most of fergie's. what you need is talented players who can beat players with incisive passes (with intelligent running getting on the end of them), dribblin skillz or simple bludgeoning - someone like hughes could do all of those. passing in a big arc around the penalty area and "lateral attacking" does £#%&! all. so - play more of our good players in midfield and either develop memphis and martial or buy a couple of proper world class forwards like aguero and ronaldo. them smalling wouldn't have to bring the ball out of defence. borthers's attitude to tackling is just fine, incidentally. |
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Anyway, I'm not disputing the merits of Keane, I was disputing saying that United haven't had a great team since Keane's prime. Plus United never really dominated on the continent with a prime midfield of Beckham, Keane, Giggs & Scholes. |
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Keane has said that as a kid growing up he based his game on Robbo.
Trying to think, who would have been a comparable player to Robbo in the Sixties and Seventies? You watch games from that era and the play/players are as slow as £#%&!. Bobby Charlton looked the business as an attacking midfielder but could he get up and down the pitch for 90 mins and tackle like Keane and Robbo? Did Robbo basically invent the role of all-action midfielder/lynchpin/captain marvel? Who were Robbo's influences and heroes? |
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