3 Man Central Midfield

Originally Posted by Billy Redface

His 'tearing if up' seems to consist of bringing on Fellaini.

The troubling part is us getting overrun by in midfield isn't really a surprise. If we play any decent team with a combative 3 Man Midfield, we're in trouble.

The number of times spurs walked through our midfield last night was alarming and unsurprising.

Yeah it’s not something that will work in time - it’s just a bad idea. Not a fan of Matic personally but the bigger issue is that Pogba hasn’t got the head to play deep. Lots of scorn for Souness and Scholes (from Mou) but they were top class midfielders and they’re right about him. He doesn’t see the pictures well enough or make good enough decision to be at the heart of everything.

Unfortunately we don’t have many other options at the moment, as Herrera is worse in that role. We need a brain in there. Basti was the right type; go again for it in the summer.

Replace Herrera (another turd LVG signing) and he HAS to play a 3 man midfield. No excuses.

Originally Posted by 20 times

Replace Herrera (another turd LVG signing) and he HAS to play a 3 man midfield. No excuses.

"His year, his time" according to the sages

Originally Posted by andyroo

"His year, his time" according to the sages

Probably the people who “followed his career closely” at Bilbao

Originally Posted by S/Side.Red

Yeah it’s not something that will work in time - it’s just a bad idea. Not a fan of Matic personally but the bigger issue is that Pogba hasn’t got the head to play deep. Lots of scorn for Souness and Scholes (from Mou) but they were top class midfielders and they’re right about him. He doesn’t see the pictures well enough or make good enough decision to be at the heart of everything.

Unfortunately we don’t have many other options at the moment, as Herrera is worse in that role. We need a brain in there. Basti was the right type; go again for it in the summer.

I like the job that Matic does.... but he can't do it in the current system.

Yes, Pogba just seems too immature/unwilling to do what is required in a two.

We can moan about it and try and make it work or we can sort it out, play to those two's strengths and actually start matching up some of these bigger teams we play.

Against dross, we can get away with it (and even then teams walk through us)

Herrera is inadequate, but the best of a bad bunch. I'd rather he was being shit and allowing the other two some freedom to do their jobs than the other two being rendered useless.

And no amount of attacking talent matters if the team is shell shocked from being 2 down in half an hour.

I'm not saying we need to be negative, but £#%&!ing hell we need some kind of platform to go and win a game.

Martial or Lingard to miss out becusee he won't drop lukaku .

Ugh last night was horrific. What a disappointment after the optimism the Sanchez signing had brought..

Originally Posted by sub three hours

Hmmmm. It does make you wonder if within the next couple of days the press will be covering a huge bust up between Mourinho and Pogba. The bad feeling between them was there for all to see tonight.

They’ll cover it regardless of whether it’s true or not. Bust ups happen all the time when passion is running high and things going wrong. Literally a nothing story. Manager lost temper and berated an underperforming player. Big whoop.

Originally Posted by Jammy Dodger

They’ll cover it regardless of whether it’s true or not. Bust ups happen all the time when passion is running high and things going wrong. Literally a nothing story. Manager lost temper and berated an underperforming player. Big whoop.

"With both men needing to be separated...."

Pogba deserved that. Despite his limitations in a two, there's no excuse for his attitude. He seems completely surprised and put out if anyone has the temerity to tackle him.

He's not new. He's not a kid . There's no excuse

And if he's directly ignoring instructions then Jose is right to haul him off

He's never done it before so hopefully it's s little reality check.

He was at his selfindulgent worst last night and it hurt the team

Get Fabinho in. Problem solved

It's absolutely beyond me that we're past the mid-way point of Jose's and Pogba's 2nd season at Utd and Jose is still trying to get Pogba to play as a normal midfielder in a 2

Pogba is a great talent and can be unplayable on his day but he is not a serious proper central midfielder and never will be
He just doesn't have the brain for it
It £#%&!ing infuriates me to see him jogging back while Spurs players charge through the big gap he's left in midfield but Jose should know like everyone else that that's how Pogba is so make an adjustment by adding another midfielder to compensate for it

Pogba is the symbol of this Utd side
Great individual talent but selfish, lazy and not team oriented

Sell Lukaku to AFC Wimbledon, Sanchez up front with Lingard and Martial. 3 in midfield behind.

We looked like a collection of formerly very good players, that have rocked up on a Sunday morning, met for the first time and are taking on one of the top teams in the league. We had 4 players wanting to play wide left, 3 wanting to play upfront, the older guy who was shit hot in his youth in CM, the youngest who thinks he's the man but his legs have gone alongside him, no £#%&!er wanting to play fullback and the tallest lad and the fatty at CB.

They're all good players, so when they are up against players not as strong as them they will click and occasionally produce something resembling decent football from memory, come up against any team that is a match for them man for man, and the lack of cohesion, understanding and coaching will see them come undone.

Originally Posted by Billy Redface

And no amount of attacking talent matters if the team is shell shocked from being 2 down in half an hour.

The 'response' was laughable wasn't it? No fight whatsoever. Just give Spurs the ball back as quickly as possible so they can have another attempt on goal, and occasionally lob a lazy ball up to the abandoned disused fridge up front.

Originally Posted by Zorg

The 'response' was laughable wasn't it? No fight whatsoever. Just give Spurs the ball back as quickly as possible so they can have another attempt on goal, and occasionally lob a lazy ball up to the abandoned disused fridge up front.

Was the same at Arsenal when we were 2-0 up, was the same at Anfield with the score at 0-0 etc. doesn't matter that we were 2-0 down, it's all they know how to do.

Now, for me, the players, at least the first 14-15, should be capable of much, much £#%&!ing more than that shit last night, even at 2-0 down, in fact, especially at 2-0 down.

Originally Posted by ScholesGingerSheen

I think Herrera would be fine with a run of games, I think he's shit coming off the bench. I wouldn't mind Blind being given a go as a pure holding midfielder tbh, if Carrick has taught us anything it's that a smart holding player doesn't need pace.

I agree with you about Herrera, but he needs the games, he is not an off the bench impact player. His 'man marking' job on Hazard at OT last year looks like it was his high water mark, hope I am wrong on that.


We have tried all sort's of solutions but we still have not found someone to carry on Carrick's legacy?


For me "Smarts" is the answer, reading the game, anticipation, spotting the space, being available for short passes to help other players out, the occasional accurate straight ball to the heart of the opposition box, all Carrick's traits we have not yet covered.


Can we honestly name one player in United's current first team squad who has the same 'smarts' as Carrick? An age old problem SAF/Moyes/LVG & Mourhino have failed to solve!

Every @#%&! knows we need to play 3 in midfield except Mou. Strange.

Originally Posted by Zorg

The 'response' was laughable wasn't it? No fight whatsoever. Just give Spurs the ball back as quickly as possible so they can have another attempt on goal, and occasionally lob a lazy ball up to the abandoned disused fridge up front.

watching Valencia, Smalling, Jones and Young panic like novices on the ball the minute they were put under any pressure was just £#%&!ing depressing.

De Gea's kicking was absolutely £#%&!ing shocking as well.

Originally Posted by Sparky***

watching Valencia, Smalling, Jones and Young panic like novices on the ball the minute they were put under any pressure was just £#%&!ing depressing.

De Gea's kicking was absolutely £#%&!ing shocking as well.

Maybe Valencia should play in central midfield?

Originally Posted by S/Side.Red

It's not massively unusual though, to be a midfielder who needs that freedom. The position Pogba played off the left at Juve was similar to the one Zidane often played. Pogba himself must know (unlike Gerrard) that running the game from deep isn't really his thing.

Mourinho clearly thought Pogba and Matic would overpower teams. That hasn't really worked out, but as a pragmatist I'd have thought he will change it. He's been known to throw out his plans and tear it all up if it isn't going as expected. Shouldn't be a problem.

it's a forlorn hope if he has not reacted by now and, indeed, hadn't realised before he took the job.

we can afford to be "a man light" up front if we have the guile of sanchez, the brute force of lukaku, the pace of martial, etc. no matter how good our players, we cannot afford to be a man light in midfield. I like matic, but he cannot be a lone holding player. I still like herrera a lot, but he needs a role. pogba doesn't have any discipline and this needs to be accommodated properly. valencia would be better in midfield if we had an rb (tfm and tuanzers spring to mind), but the point is that a midfield need balance - the system we have makes our players look bad everywhere on the pitch - central defence exposed, fullbacks out of position, forwards getting in each other's way more than complementing each other.... and it all stems from a 2-man midfield (being generous even saying 2). I can't think of two players who wouldn't get overrun in midfield, but matic + pogba is a stupid combo.

mourinho's tactics and substitutions are shit and I feel like our team has to overcome them to win games.

Originally Posted by andyroo

"His year, his time" according to the sages

he has been very effective. it is not lack of ability. he needs coaching, direction, clarity of purpose and a run of games. maybe he will calm down. he's really not a defensive midfielder. but a midfield of valencia - matic - herrera makes a lot more sense than one with pogba in it.

Originally Posted by dunk

Was the same at Arsenal when we were 2-0 up, was the same at Anfield with the score at 0-0 etc. doesn't matter that we were 2-0 down, it's all they know how to do.

Now, for me, the players, at least the first 14-15, should be capable of much, much f***ing more than that shit last night, even at 2-0 down, in fact, especially at 2-0 down.

We're ok with a bit of space on the break. Immediately after spurs scored, we played some nice stuff and broke with numbers.....

.... but it soon fizzles out. Because there's no genuine pattern of play. We rely on individual moments of quality and good players creating combinations simply because they're good players.

We don't attack in the same way consistently. We don't attack with any real conviction in what we're doing.

We attack well when we're confident. Like the second goal at Arsenal. Brilliant because we were buzzing. If we were 1-0 down, I'd be surprised if we produced that.

So if we're 1 down after 11 seconds....2 down before the half hour mark, that confidence that we rely so much on has gone.

5 minutes in to that game we were playing nice stuff. 5 minutes from the end we were a broken mess.

Originally Posted by Billy Redface

Becoming clearer each week that this is what we need.

Pogba was such a disappointment tonight considering is recent form. Once again, he spends another big game, smelling his own farts, completely unaware of the size of the task at hand.

He can't play in a two against quality opposition.

Meanwhile, a 30 year old Matic - who isn't the quickest - is having to do two jobs. Factor in the poor management of never resting him and, low and behold, he looks knackered by February.

We basically have two midfielders who are built for a 3 Man midfield, playing as a pair. As result, we have a Big weakness and both players are compromised.

A better version of Herrera should be our no 1 priority this summer.

It doesn't matter how much we ***** on the likes of Martial, Rom and Sanchez if the game is bypassing them.

Rio said this after the game but explained it better