Quote:
Originally Posted by jem
that is fair enough. what is not fair enough is failing to use the ball quickly to deliver it accurately to men making runs into space and taking the easy option instead. it's not that we aren't giving the ball away recklessly, it's that we aren't creating chances when we could because our mindset is wrong. that and the fact that valencia isn't beckham.
in fact, our possession football isn't safety first, because our midfielders are constantly having to jink around with players on their backs. it's just that schweini and herrera are quite good at it.
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I dunno, I'm not sure the movement and showing for passes was great. As we've seen, United have no problem being quick and instinctive when there's space on the field. The goals last weekend; the counter attacks against Liverpool. But when the space is squeezed, as it so often will be against deep defences, you're obviously relying on individual quality or sharp combination play to open them up.
Martial is the only player atm who looks like beating a player; hopefully Memphis will soon. So we need better combination play. Rooney is a problem there, both on and off the ball, but it also doesn't help that the team is still searching for cohesion. How many different set-ups have we seen already this season in the last third. Fair enough to experiment at this stage, while we are adapting several new players, but I don't think our tempo will have a sustained improvement until we get a relatively settled side across a couple of months.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dunk
I understand that, it's that the first touch is to take/turn them backwards, not have a touch/look as to what's available going forward, a default turn backwards and protect the ball. Which is fine, it just seems a little prevalent at times, I'm hoping it's just a symptom of the team/manager still searching for a bit of safety in lieu of full attacking confidence.
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Yes, I think that's more prevalent with certain players, tbh. Not so much Herrera and Martial, for example. But again if you feel the space is compact and there isn't a pass on, you will naturally protect the ball. The combination play isn't sharp enough anyway; the movement often isn't there. That usually comes with playing together. Perhaps not too shocking that a Martial-Rooney-Lingard frontline wasn't that in tune with each other, and as you say is searching for a bit of fluidity and confidence as a group.
Playing Basti last night remains a funny one. I guess trying to fast-track the extent to which he controls the tempo. Didn't really work
Still, we've played alright in Europe and have become much more of a goal threat in the league over the last month. It's not so bad, really.