The Real Problem with Manchester United's Midfield

[@sirrash510]

"Scott McTominay is a good footballer, being played in the wrong position" Literally 70% of Man United players currently and in recent years.

[@TheDuncism]

Just Fred and Scotty

[@Hornbillishere]

That's a bit of a stretch. Only scoty and fred gets played out of position.

[@cloudtranquilo]

@@Hornbillishere pogba and mata getting pushed to the wing? Martial and greenwood?

[@muzammil_babar]

And that's down to the Glazers. Don't look at this transfer window. Look at the 2 previous ones. United aren't nearly spending the money we can. We earn more than Real Madrid and Barcelona

[@rezekjavic3070]

perks of being managed by Solskjær, yall dont need better players to compete for trophies, yall need a better manager

[@sld1776]

So... McTominay is either a ball-playing center back or a box-to-box midfielder, two roles United doesn't use.

[@bradleypenrith]

He must come to Chelsea

[@gregoryho9307]

Actually he would not be suitable as a ball playing center back because his natural instinct isnt to move into space to make himself available for a pass nor does he have great marking. Just like Fred, I think his skill set is more suited being further up the field.

[@lonestarr1490]

I bet he would flourish at West Ham.

[@ctapuk3754]

@@bradleypenrith 😂😂😂

[@HarryG98]

If he’s a ball playing centre back why can’t he play as a 6 and ping balls

[@ncjhood]

This explains why Steve Clark plays McTominay as an rcb in a three man defense ahead of other recognised cbs. He looks a lot better at it than cdm.

[@jacobfarrel230]

Because he and fred is not a cdm ball winning midfielder

[@mercurialthespectre1779]

he is playing in pl and ucl week in week out not some tier 3 Ireland games and thats why he's not good enough to be here.

[@jpeps_8842]

No, its because scotland have awful cb's who are terrible on the ball. Mctominay plays defense so they can play out from the back more effectively

[@jamesroberts6370]

Realistically mctominay shouldn’t even be near this squad , he’s not up to the standard in any position and never will the guy is nearly 24 and plays like a developing 17/18 yr old

[@jacobfarrel230]

@@jamesroberts6370 i think that's because he's not playing in his comfort position so he need to adapt again, and he plays in a 2 different position (cb and cdm)

[@saifchowdhury3581]

I play CB and I hate it when the RB or the CDM runs directly behind the opponent who is closing me down. The RB or the CDM pretends they are working so hard and running back but literally makes no passing lanes for me. I end up clearing the ball. Madness. I never realized that there was a name for this - cover shadowing.

[@TonyArrison]

You make it sound like like they're pretending to work hard. They are working hard they're just doing something that doesn't suit you tactically.

[@kieronparr3403]

Have you thought of communicating with them. A CB should be one of the most influential and communicative on the pitch.

[@ojikush-beats6038]

@@kieronparr3403 Maguire has left the chat

[@The-Great-Brindian]

that is called brainless football. your team mates are shyte lol play alongside more adept, skillfull footballers instead my friend. your stress will go away.

[@Timbone07]

@@The-Great-Brindian Haha, thank you. I pointed out that people should stop comparing Man United to Liverpool and City when comparing teams who press well. Liverpool won nothing without Fabinho and Can Dijk who are very intelligent footballers. Same with City when they replaced Kompany finally. Even if Klopp was coach at Man United, lazy players like Pogba will always be lazy. Klopp bought over 22 players at Liverpool. He built his team. Man United still have playeds like Smalling and Phil Jones who are Sir Alex signing. We buy forwards every year and people think we spent. We even resell them as in the case of Lukaku and Di Maria

[@winters1811]

It just worries me that every man and his dog can see our issues expect our own coaches 😐

[@rolandwoltman7835]

@@chiggsytube Nice thought... but have you seen ole up yelling at him as he does it over and over and over again? Nope. Or Carrick. Nope. Our coaches aren't elite. Or probably even good enough to teach tactics on KZbin. :-(

[@The-Great-Brindian]

LoL Ole at the wheel! XD

[@handsvsfood2781]

I always expect the unaccepted.

[@wally86_]

Cz the coaches are learning on the job.

[@missmarioss1296]

MANCHESTER UNITED DREAM'S SQUAD : Manager : Ole "the practical book" Gunnar solkjaer Keeper : lord "the freaky" forster CB : lord harry "the pinnochio capt" maguire CB : lord phil "sharp shooter" jones RB : Lord ashley "the birds mother" young LB : Lord Luke "The dying Terminator" Shaw CM : Lord "The helicopter shooter" Fred CM: lord maurone "The cristmas tree" Fellaine AMF : Lord andreas " The assist goat" perreyra LWF/SS : Lord Jesse "the dancing dog" lingardinho RWF/SS : Lord Danny "The gunners detroyer" welbeck CF : **Lord Martin "The lord goat" Braithwaite** "i already spend billions dollars to complete my dream squad, but no matter how much i have spend, i still can't bring the legenday "Lord Braithwaite" to all trafford to complete my dream team. He also the main reason why i always begging to 'philJones' to play as CF to my team. Barca so lucky to have him" - (Manchester United CEO)

[@brysonluke8]

The saddest part of this whole thing is how perfectly this still applies. Nothing has changed!

[@SkullSnax]

The other problem is the positioning of the forwards. Sometimes it feels like playing a 4-2-4 because Bruno sits so high up the pitch. You’re asking a lot of a midfield that aren’t that good. Best spells of play are when Bruno plays deeper and can link the midfield to the forwards in build up. I don’t mind when we’re up the pitch, he makes good passes with his back to goal, but in build up he’s playing up next to Ronaldo and I don’t really understand why.

[@nipplehead]

He’s desperate to have the spotlight back on him now Ronaldo is back, so much so that he will sacrifice the good of the team for it. Bruno is an utterly horrid toxic cheat

[@benlittlewood3306]

@@nipplehead or, he's doing what Ole has told him to do? Surely if it wasn't what he's been told to do, he'd have been told to stop by now

[@abdallahsaid5321]

433 is the simple answer to this mess

[@SkullSnax]

@@abdallahsaid5321 which 3 would you pick?

[@onelineflow]

The 4-2-4 is so indicative of Ole's tactical philosophy. He seems to see the game in terms of "defenders" and "attackers". We dont often press or defend from the front putting our defence under massive pressure. We also struggle to progress the ball. We have neglected buying a deep lying playmaker and all our attacking midfielders seem to be instructed or given licence to play like forwards. Bruno and one of our wide players should be dropping in to help the midfield.

[@sharanjanjikhel02]

Ole has stressed this many times that he wants all his midfielders to help with the attack and build up play. Bruno has been so full of confidence since his arrival that he wants to be the main man in attack, almost operating as a second striker with Cavani and Ronaldo having to play a bit wider to cover ground. I don't believe McTominay and Fred are as bad as people make them to be, it is simply the set up that isn't working to their advantage. You are asking 2 midfielders, both who can be clumsy, to solely help with breaking up play and cover a lot of area when 6 players in the team all want to attack but don't press as a unit. That leaves ample of space on our flanks and midfield open for any half decent team to counter attack.

[@chouaibbenali5201]

perfectly summed up

[@zacharyphillips7970]

Exactly dont even need to be a man u fan to realize. That folront four is too forward to reach back to defend a counter. Its almost like the opposite of what artetas asking of the arsenal frontline

[@F--B]

McTominay would thrive at a Villa or a West Ham, but I think MUFC is a little above his level. That said, MUFC are currently in the process of lowering expectations, so if he stays long enough he may end up at a team that is more his level.

[@nickc4359]

We have the weakest CDM pairing among the top 4. That itself is the main reason why this team will never be competing against those teams. And yes Fred is comparatively bad (because we're talking about competing against top teams, right?). Fred cant float long passes like Jorginho/Kovacic, nor shoot long range like Henderson/Fabinho, nor the physicality of a combative midfield like Rodri/Fernadinho. (Hell, even Tielemans is a better player). He works hard, granted, but that's it. A high pressing teams almost always have a feast playing against him. About your point, I'm not sure about Ole stressing about collective efforts to attack or defend, but I can tell you that this group of players have not been fully drilled with their passing nor working together to play. The simplest of passes in the build-up up front or in the middle of the field during counter attacks are misplaced so regularly that it's almost inevitable in games. And those misplaced passes and losses of possession have cost us so dearly. Of course our rivals have errors too but not as frequent as this supposedly world-class group of players. I think it all comes down to coaching. I was behind Ole but now come to realize that he's tactically empty. He has no idea how to break low-block teams and his best moments are when playing counter attacking which only works when United are the underdog.

[@gigstheartist682]

Spot on

[@ashtontaylor9187]

They need someone like Matic…..from 6 years ago 😂

[@albertlinggo3999]

or carrick 10 years ago hahahahaha

[@pedropierre9594]

Bro they’ve had 2 seasons to coach these two and they still the same 😂

[@justanotherfarmer7922]

Or Ndidi a season ago 😀

[@chiggsytube]

Or Santi Cazorla. When Ozil came Santi became our 6 and he was brilliant. He could always recieve, he was two footed, so he was hard to close down, and he could keep the ball under duress until the right time. With disguust I also remember Dembele from Spurs, who was very good at that role, plus diving and dirty fouls. Faugh! What a club.

[@leeleshabane1589]

They still have matic an Mata

[@jerekyox]

Wait. So McTominay has been marking the guy who is marking him? Wow...

[@jerekyox]

Coz I have noticed he tends to mark himself out of the build-up play.

[@ryanfinnerty6239]

@@jerekyox he hides because he isn’t suited as a player for build up and high pressure/tight situations

[@jerekyox]

@@ryanfinnerty6239 it is an eye-opener. Coz I always wondered what he was doing.

[@sanjeevpillai2105]

man hiding so he don't get abused like Fred

[@jerekyox]

@@sanjeevpillai2105 We still see him hiding. And I think Fred has the same problem. A CDM with McFred should be more functional. Comparable to what Liverpool do.

[@eddo8762]

It is sort of amusing in a way, his two best positions are quite different from each other. We had seen versatile players before obviously, but they are often moved so they can also take advantage of their skill set (Kimmich to CM) or just that declining physical ability meant they had to re-invent a bit (Matheus, Scholes). Him excelling as RCB and suitability as a CAM is not really do with a particular strength of his, rather is because of his adequate tackling/long passing and his running game/technical ability. In some ways, he is the perfect squad player in that he could fill multiple positions while but good enough to be able to demand to play every game.

[@kevinmccabe7263]

Yeah this pretty much sums him up. Honestly I'd sell Fred, Lingard, and Donny, buy a DM, then just use McTominay, Matic, Garner, and Mata as backups to Bruno, Pogba, and the DM. That's a well balanced, world class midfield.

[@KobiFC]

@@kevinmccabe7263 I agree with you, but the problem is that our manager doesn't seem to see this, he would prefer to bench Pogba, Matic, and Van De Beek so that he can play McTominay and Fred. We will likely lose every midfield battle doing this

[@Daniel-ko4mg]

The most important bit of this is "Fernandes has the 10 slot and that requires a double pivot". Only he doesn't play as a midfielder he plays as a striker. Which means United play 4-2-4. Bruno gets a lot of goal involvements but he breaks the midfield.

[@Justin-ml8id]

Not a United fan but honestly, where would they be without Fernandes then? When you have such a talented and impactful player you just gotta play him. Hence, I think they just have to strengthen the midfield by bringing new player(s) in and change up the tactics.

[@jpsingh2148]

Ok sir Alex

[@limofootball]

@@Justin-ml8id you missed the point. It's not about Bruno's abilities, it's about his role. Obviously this isn't his fault, it's the manager's. I'm not a Utd fan either but I laugh when I see him moving alongside Ronaldo. You're getting your no. 10 to play as a ST, you're killing your midfield especially if your wingers don't track back regularly. The point is when they lose the ball, they literally have 6 men vs 10 opponents. It's bound to be catastrophic. A team like liverpool that has attacking fullbacks or chelsea with their wingbacks will be very hard to stop for Utd. Their only route out is great counter attacks and clinical finishing. You'd need 2 ngolo kantes to have a chance at stopping 10 men.

[@bento_silva]

Let's not forget that this shape is mostly when united are pressing, Bruno have freedom to find the best spaces to create chances, don't matter if it is higher up the pitch, on the flanks or deeper. By the way, United plays a very high line, IF Bruno had to play in this "number 10" role it would be lurking outside the box behind the striker and it would not be suitable, we saw how Leicester managed to deal with him by overloanding the areas that he is effective. Leicester was so concerned dealing with Fernandes and Cristiano that Rashford was free to run and score the second goal

[@MrMilla103]

@@Justin-ml8id Bayern play with almost a 424 at times, but they have a functional pressing system and the best midfield combo in the world in Kimmich and Goretzka

[@thineeshalchandrasegaran204]

Someone please forward this to Ole and his coaching staff..

[@whitesaladchips]

I dont think he will understand all this stuff.

[@xcaliber302]

Too late 😂 😂

[@NmpK24]

So if McT doesnt play there who does? Thats the problem, they havent got anyone. Matic is past it, Fred isnt good enough and every other midfield player is better in attack. Would be the same whoever the manager was.

[@linhza501]

@@NmpK24 The problem is a systemic one. Ole doesn't seem acknowledge this huge problem in the midfield and doesnt seem to adapt his tactics for said problem. The board and recruitment meanwhile splurged all their money for attackers and forgetting all about the midfield. They spent all summer chasing Sancho and brought Ronaldo in last minute just because they feel like they had to. There's Van de Beek rotting on the bench, which could be a solution but Ole seems like he completely neglects his presence.

[@aarontan2197]

@@linhza501 thank u

[@jrgenb8107]

Thank you! Been trying to tell people this! McTominay isn’t a DM, neither is Fred. McTominay, Fred, Pogba, Bruno and VDB all prefer the 8 or 10 role. We only have Matic to play DM, and he’s too slow and old to play every game. For most games, McTominay and Fred is Uniteds best option. And that’s not a top 10 midfield. Either of them would probably look twice the player next to a natural 6. Training into a new role takes time, tactics is all good and well, but unless it’s drilled in or natural, the game is too fast to think it out. Having a good partner who can guide you as it happens on the pitch will help, though.

[@Timbone07]

Our wingers are not ball progressors either since we use wide strikers

[@kevinmccabe7263]

Essentially we have 3 backups for Pogba (Scotty, Fred, and Donny), two backups for Bruno (Mata, Lingard), and no backups for Matic, who is the only midfielder that genuinely needs a backup. And I don't even know where Garner fits in all this. He's more of a Carrick type so maybe he could backup Matic and partner Pogba in a double pivot, but then that means that you have 3 very good players that only get on the pitch when Pogba is injured and I don't think Ole could stomach benching all 3 of them.

[@Timbone07]

@@kevinmccabe7263 I disagree. The issue is the wingers and number 10. No one drops deep to receive a pass and create number superiority or make a triangle with the double pivot. We play with 4 strikers who are running ahead. Even Liverpool play with only 2 strikers

[@Kakhsa]

I was preparing a full comment on this very thing 😂. I agree 100%. Fred for Brazil wears and plays the no 8 and he is very effective there

[@micayahritchie7158]

@@Timbone07 Bruno used to go deep and form triangles all the time

[@efwhyai]

I remember McTominay being played in an advanced role once, last season, vs Leeds. He scored a brace. Makes sense now

[@ansh52922]

Makes it quite clear why united are forced to play the same way every time. It's frustrating to see everytime seeing his positioning. Hope united buy a DM ASAP

[@susbedo9258]

Man Utd doesn't have money

[@Jacob-eg7sn]

Tbh even tho van de beek has low physical he still has the ability to play as a dmf or more like a box to box. He will come to score but also help out a lot when United are in possession

[@anandja8544]

@@Jacob-eg7sn dvb is talented enough to adopt.

[@alohatigers1199]

@@Jacob-eg7sn Also, he is press resistance, which is one of the main traits of a DM. Well, he comes from Ajax so possession is his play style so obviously he’s not going to turnover the ball as much as Fred or Scott. So why can’t ole play him?

[@Jacob-eg7sn]

@@alohatigers1199 ole is too conservative especially when they play Ronaldo. He can't press for 90 mins straight so ole needs a workhorse in mid and the mids with highest workrate at utd rn are fred and scott. If the attackers start pressing a bit more effectively and bruno dosent play as a 4th attacker all the time maybe they can balance with vdb

[@dude99844]

I think the reason Fred gets blamed so much is because hes being isolated due to all the other mids and forwards pushing up, which causes him to make more mistakes. I do think with the right midfield partner, Fred would actually seem quite capable

[@jrgenb8107]

I think both Fred and McTominay will look quite good with a world class natural 6. Problem is that they’re both out of position, and both like to attack more. Same reason Pogba doesn’t look good in the double pivot.

[@lovejoy3347]

Isolated or not, there's no excuse at the ease with which opposition midfielders just breeze past him. He's not physically gifted enough to play for an elite Club in the Premier League, whether he plays with the wrong or right midfield partner.

[@3m287]

He does well for Brazil next to Casemiro or Fabinho

[@jrgenb8107]

@@lovejoy3347 that’s the point. He shouldn’t have that role. Bruno, Pogba, McTominay, Fred, VDB, Lingard is all CAM (either 8 or 10). So United don’t have any natural CM or DM’s (except Matic who’s old/slow). I believe they tried to get Rice to have a natural DM and bring more balance to the team. That one signing could make a huge difference (doesn’t need to be Rice, but a class DM).

[@lovejoy3347]

@@jrgenb8107 Solskjaer will get the sack for spending £73 million on Sancho, a player we never needed, and not spending that money on Declan Rice. It is absolutely absurd he spend the summer thinking McFred was the way forward this season but Greenwood/James needed resting/moving on. Top priority should have been sorting that CDM position out after getting Varane in.

[@barrydoyle8636]

Excellent explanation to show that Solskjær and his back room staff are clueless as to get the best and utilise the qualities of players as Alex showed in how to get the best of Scott McTominays abilities. 3 years in a billion spent and Öle still can't figure it out. Öle as a player, possibly one of the best Super subs ever and thanks for some great footballing memories but as a manager/coach he is out of depth, tactically, game management, formation, system of play, team selection etc etc🤦🏻 🤷and thanks Alex, for confirming what I have been saying season after season about Scott McTominay.

[@sbam4881]

It's intentional. There's no player - even in pub leagues - who doesn't know whether he is in a cover shadow or not. McTominay is _hiding,_ he doesn't want to receive the ball in that type of area. You can compare this to Matic when he comes on against the same opposition, he will always come to receive the ball/put himself into an open position almost w/o fail.

[@hntr-j2323]

He isn’t hiding, he’s trying to drag players out of position to create a passing lane for the CB’s - sometimes successfully, sometimes it isn’t as effective and this will make him look as though he’s “hiding”.

[@tee_viii]

@@hntr-j2323 noooo he's hiding. I play in MF myself. I would never do that, you hold your position, let them press, then offer to the side of the pressing player. So simple.

[@jeremielaviolette9141]

@@hntr-j2323 lol he is hiding end of

[@UnKnowmanNumber2]

I'm a midfielder. he's hiding. No two ways about it

[@lakersouthpaw]

Yeah in basketball we would call this "hiding from the ball" because a player isn't confident with it.

[@Thepedrohhh]

Here, in Brasil, he would be a great Segundo Volante; pretty much like Paulinho was for Corinthians and Seleção.

[@nahushmodi9269]

What is segundo volante?

[@gabrielcorreia6584]

@@nahushmodi9269 It is the midfielder, here we call volante the defensive midfielder, and segundo volante the midfielder, the player who acts between the attacking midfielder and the defensive midfielder.

[@Dkmo94]

@@gabrielcorreia6584 so a Connector in a B2B role? In Brasil do they normally connect through passing or dribbling?

[@lucasvinicius-xo1ko]

@@Dkmo94 it depends on the style of play of the team and the technical ability of this segundo volante. But in general a good segundo volante has good passing, good dribbling and good defending

[@lRub3l]

Segundo volante is box to box midfielder

[@youngclueless7364]

Same applies to Fred. He isn't a 6 and is more comfortable as an 8 where he can carry the ball forward and get closer to the opposition box.

[@Yeah.316]

Agreed he is actually pretty damn good when he plays for brazil

[@RafsanS15]

he's an AM that forced to play as a DM. Not everyone could be Pirlo

[@mrsoftnessful]

@@RafsanS15 the thing is, he actually has a good ping on him. He can switch play with long balls with either foot. Problem is that he cannot do it under pressure he needs time to make these passes. In Brazil, he is partnered with Fabinho or Casemiro that will take charge of screening and build up play, while Fred roams around and dictates the play. Big problem with Man Utd is that Fred is constantly isolated in the midfield because McTominay basically hides in the games and Bruno likes to press very high up, so there is a big gap in the midfield which causes him being isolated in a counter attack vs 2-3 midfielders.

[@witty_comeback]

Love this analysis! Would love to see a piece on Youri Tielemans in this way and where his best position is and how it's evolved. In the 18/19 season he often played higher up the pitch but more recently has transitioned into the double pivot we often see at Leicester

[@azac9627]

The Real Problem IS OLE GOLLUM SOLSKJAER!!!!! and his BULLSHIT 4 - 2 - 4...

[@tee_viii]

glad you finally made this video. Been telling friends for years all he does is hide from the ball. Much better suited to a b2b role. Hopefully when we get a new manager in, he'll actually know how to use his squad.

[@Wreckedandruinedand]

Meanwhile, two managers later... (Three if you count Carrick)

[@hugocf6394]

Given the lack of work their attackers do they probably have to play with two DM’s

[@kw91]

So, basically, McTominay, when he's not a CB, is Paul Pogba. So, United have 5 players trying for one/two positions.

[@otto_jk]

Grame Souness would say "The problem is Pogba"

[@rtxmax8223]

hahahahahaha

[@stevenhaas9622]

Pogba does make the problem worse though because when he's in the team United are even more unbalanced and fragile in midfield and united end up looking more like a 4-1-5.

[@celtic69]

weirdo also fancies the queen

[@selormvan]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@deewagarbaskaran9397]

@Kozy as a Liverpool fan, I find this racist statement.

[@donragnar8430]

Ole’s here watching and taking notes, because at Man Utd you apparently “learn on the job” like an apprenticeship

[@rolandwoltman7835]

If he's here to learn, there needs to be an addition to the vid that explains how teams that press, run more then the other teams... United is just about dead last in the Premier League in yards ran. Just be lazy already. Tighten up on d against good teams... 10 behind the ball... well 9.5 with Bruno defending... and be a counterattacking team. do it. And we'll win way more often.

[@ayandasokhela4617]

Pogba does this deliberately as well when hes playing in the pivot. Just hides in between or behind the strikers. The other thing that happens as well is Maguire often dwells on the ball, and when he get pressed or rushed, he passes it to Shaw or straight back to De Gea and puts the whole team under pressure. But I also understand that CB should not have to be ones looking to carry the ball foward. A specialist CDM sorts out all these problems for us.

[@adityakavathekar5811]

Nice informative video Would love to see a similar video about fred as well

[@efanferdiantowibowo9610]

My next question : why doesnt ole try to play lindelof as DM? The way I see it, he has the quality to do so.

[@sharafathhussain9723]

Pep might have lol.

[@jrgenb8107]

Lindelof isn’t strong enough, he keeps on getting turned by anyone who’s remotely physical. Wouldn’t work well in the midfield.

[@UberNorwegianBastard]

Didn't he sometimes play as a DM at benfica?

[@SoundzCool]

I quite like the idea, if he isn't going to get in the team ahead of Maguire and Varane I'd give it a go as his range of passing is pretty nice.

[@h3NtRiX]

@@jrgenb8107 that makes no sense. Those are things that would be much worse for a CB than for a CDM. There have always been less physical CDMs anyway, and those flaws would be less exacerbated by playing in a double pivot anyway.

[@AndrewHerlinger123]

0:40 McTominay does not leave the cover shadow. This forces Man U to try riskier passes or they will pass the ball wide, which allows the opposition to use the sideline as an extra defender. 2:45 McTominay as a right centre back. He has more time to make passes, 82% passing accuracy for 30 yard+ passes, and he can carry the ball forwards. Hence, he is more comfortable 4:33 McTominay as an attacking midfield player. He was often played there in his youth. He is effective at receiving return passes, and making progressive skill passes like back heels and one-twos. 5:48 McTominay is using him as a centre midfield. As a 6. He is 6ft 4, he is vocal, a leader, and a physical defensive presence who can tackle well. The problem is his passing game, and hence he is out of position 7:14 McTominay stats. Compared to Jorginho and Rodri. McTominay makes more progressive passes, but he gets the ball less, and the passing accuracy for when he receives the ball is less.

[@onsideobsession5412]

This is even more accurate now with the difference between Casemiro and Eriksen and McFred

[@3fhw]

Sadly, I think McTominay is just scared of receiving the ball.

[@ImDraSss]

He's a man

[@sammoniz9582]

@@ImDraSss you never know these days

[@hviettan]

Fred too. He likes to pass the ball right away when he receive it. Sometimes, when near the 16m50, those quick passes became dangerous and opening up plays strikers to run, but in the midfield, those passes become risky and opponent can take it to counter attack. But I think he has no choice because he cannot control the ball. Poor MU.

[@metcalfe92]

Love this! Very informative and useful video about United's issues without resorting to opinions and slander of the coaches.

[@saehoonahn4800]

Imagine if the players themselves watched these videos and actually improved on their weaknesses

[@welowee7610]

Nah, they’re too busy playing tiktok

[@jdgormo9686]

Ah yes, watch a random KZbin channel even though they have access to world class coaching and information at the absolute highest level

[@rohilthomson]

Players train every other day of the week when they're not playing. Guess what else they do? Listen to the coaches and staff's analysis of previous games and upcoming opponents. They have dozens of analysts who do this for them and compile them for the manager and players.

[@JAffa91989]

Its also interesting to note that Mctominay plays as a CB in a back 3 for Scotland. So it's not that United is using him incorrectly, but an overall wrong perception of where he will grow as a player when he got into the 1st team. Unfortunately this might mean that his ceiling as a player will be limited.

[@ProZombieVeteran]

I love these analysis videos. To me it seems like ManUtd's best midfield would be a midfield three of Matic, McTominay and either Pogba or Fred. Maybe with Bruno Fernandes in attacking midfield with two strikers in possibly Rashford and Ronaldo. Ole must look at himself in shame and improve how he sets up his team or this club legend will be out like Frank Lampard at Chelsea...

[@Adeptzj9]

Guardiola made attacking midfielders like KDB, David Silva, Bernardo to press and work extra defensively, why can't Pogba(who is physicaly strong) can't do the same

[@maroon_child.5344]

City press as a unit. Whilst Pogba will never be the greatest when it comes to the defensive side of the game being in a coherent unit would cover a lot of his weaknesses. You can say that for almost everyone at United atm, the players are suffering because the coaching is poor

[@smortg]

Ngl if I played with Ngolo Kante, Blaise Matuidi in a team where Benzema has to be marked Id take coverage for granted too

[@oldskoolmusicnostalgia]

@@maroon_child.5344 Exactly mate. United still haven't developed a coordinated press the way Klopp and Guardiola have with their clubs, or even Thomas Tuchel. It's one dude (generally Ronaldo, but Martial does it too) chasing the opposition defenders and getting bypassed easily, thus leaving his teammates outnumbered in areas where it matters the most. It's been a long-standing issue in their game under Mourinho and Solskjaer, and the last thing you need when facing this kind of issue is adding Ronaldo to the squad.

[@adityapandey3639]

There needs to be a proper orchestrator in Manchester united to make them atleast a title contender..

[@bolai1727]

Isn't van de beek one? Sorry I haven't watched a lot of him

[@rohilthomson]

@@bolai1727 I think he means on the sidelines... definitely not Ole.

[@adityapandey3639]

@@bolai1727 van de beek is not an orchestrator.. He was mostly a 10 in his Ajax days..

[@bolai1727]

@@adityapandey3639 hero ball?

[@jkmusingss]

Very interesting breakdown. Thank you! Really shows how much of an issue the squad imbalance is, to me.

[@ronanfitzpatrick1261]

Agree with Alex to an extent. But it seems like the positioning is something that can be worked on in training, so I'd upgrade McT by working on his weak points he seems like the kind of guy you can work with.. I think we always look sharper with him in the team. And he can give us late runs into the box to overwhelm deep lying opponents - Fred can do this but the end Product isn't the same level.

[@duncanip8402]

Another problem hardly anyone address is AWB never can bring the ball upfield, he is trigger shy now and always passes the ball backwards, don't know what the coaches did but he has been going backwards instead of improvements.

[@goodputin4324]

And only 1 dimensional

[@gPjunior5]

Love this channel.

[@seanmccafferty2296]

Noticed this when Scotland played Czech Republic in the Euros. He never seemed to find the half spaces or take the ball on the half turn. I found myself really frustrated watching him, for a Manchester United centre midfielder, you expect so much more. Changing to McGregor and Gilmour has been absolutely game changing for Scotland, as deep lying playmakers they have transformed the way we play. It's actually a real pity we didn't see them in that first game - would have made a massive difference.

[@jamesmilligan6654]

Pretty much every one of uniteds midfielders would play much better alongside a proper dm

[@davidelliott1400]

More videos like this please! This was great. Be good to see some in game footage too which will enhance your points. I have subbed.

[@jdodger1091]

Can't we just agree it's Ole not being good enough to know how to deploy his best team

[@tab7782]

Part of the problem. The board not seeing that OLE is kinda very short in the tactical department .....

[@jdodger1091]

@@tab7782 "kinda very short" he's practically an oompa loompa

[@hbabe7652]

💯

[@yuriydee]

Wow this video was almost prophetic if anyone watched that Liverpool game today...

[@ProfessorRiverSong16]

Please make these t shirts available to buy! They’re so awesome!

[@blahqwe]

yes!!!

[@Obetv01]

McT could play his current role successfully. But it needs a solid predictable back line that is relatively error free. Part reason he ends up in the cover shadow is partly poor coaching cos it can easily be worked on. The other is that he often is preemptively going to mark the player because there is such low trust in the defence's ability to successfully transition the ball. At that level surely you need assured defender who can confidently play out. Both Maguire and Lindelof are too indecisive in possession and that unsettles the midfield. Which is why Fred should always patrol in front of cb's to receive the ball and then feed forward, They can do it, but they need to train on that pattern and it needs more assured center backs.

[@MrJuma95]

Why don't United try out James Garner in that role. It surely can't be any worse than what we currently have plus from what I have heard about him while playing in the championship for Forrest, he's been more than decent. If it goes wrong, he will have time to develop and if it goes right, you may have a fantastic DM who will be at the club for the next 10 - 15 years.

[@robertpowell3634]

He will be in the future, he's not ready for the Prem yet but is getting closer. I say he will be in the future, that all depends on who they bring in whenever Ole goes, if it's Conte or Zidane then no chance that will happen, they either won't play his role or they will want to buy world class ones instead

[@emmanuelalagbala9590]

you're underestimating the speed of epl play. Give him 2-3 years

[@gambit0913]

Not good enough

[@98753741963]

he'll get overrun in the epl. give him time to mature physically.

[@SteezyKyung]

Since Sir Alex, United signed Juan Mata, Ander Herrera, Fred, Morgan Schneiderlin & Pogba & litetally played everyone of them out of position. Schneiderlin is the only natural defensive midfielder & LvG played him in a pivot with a CDM behind him next to Di Maria😂

[@michaelt9511]

I've noticed that during Ole's reign when Fred, McTominay and Bruno play without Pogba they normally win games for Man United and we normally play well and win with those three in midfield if Pogba is not playing. The problem is Pogba is more talented than all of them but the least hard working and therefore makes it difficult for his midfield teammates who are often left isolated and then exposed, when Pogba plays. Pogba is not consistent and often lethargic on the pitch, especially when he plays in a two man pivot. Best thing to do is to sell Pogba and bring someone in who is hardworking, talented and makes players around him better

[@normanjoshua6950]

True

[@kwchalky02]

Agree totally. Pogba is very talented in some aspects of his game and so you are desperate for him to do well. He has so much potential but is so frustrating because he is so inconsistent, gives the ball away a lot and never works hard. Yes, he can create things with brilliant moments, but overall he doesn't pull his weight and it's detramental having him in there. I'd definitely get rid of him. I'd pick McTominey rather than McTominey every time, although I agree with the analysis about McTominey's strengths/weaknesses in the video.

[@michaelt9511]

@@kwchalky02 FACTS!! I fully agree with this. I do think the Man United midfield needs an overhaul and should try to bring in Tchouameni, Tielemans and Bellingham in asap, along with McTominay, Garner and Hannibal that is strong midfield for the future

[@wingweng]

There's no need for a tall, physical DM when utd have 2 centre backs that are great in the air. Fred is great at recycling possession and being a passing outlet, play him as a 6 and have Bruno play a more positionally disciplined 8 role alongside McT or Pogba. It would create a lot more passing triangles especially with wide forwards like Sancho and Rashford, and would solve McT's cover shadow problem, playing to his strengths with him and Bruno taking turns to join the attack or sit back.

[@agbasidifu1971]

This would work but the front line need to press to compensate for the lack of physicality in the middle .

[@Kayavenues]

Fred and Mctominay simply do not have the brains to play as deep lying midfielders, You dont need pace nor physicality, just look at Michael Carrick. He was able to control that midfield solo even after Scholes retired coz he had a good reading and understanding of the game.

[@boyka356]

I know I'll get slaughtered for this, but Carrick was bang average mate.

[@Kayavenues]

@@boyka356 He looked average coz he didn't do fancy stuff. He was one of the best Regista players back then but was underappreciated. You don't find many English players that plays in the Regista role now. Kalvin Philips from Leeds is prolly the closest.

[@alkeegan9915]

They also just aren't very good footballers. There isn't a single top end team in the world that would be interested in signing either of them.

[@pyrotgr3204]

@@boyka356 Carrick is a more tactical player than a fancy passer. You’ve to be look at him from tactical perspective and maybe go through some classes to see that Carrick had a huge role in United setup

[@Nicklimmh]

@@boyka356 i think this guy got slaughtered

[@mytime991]

Teams like Juventus and Manchester United need to know that an actual Defensive Midfielder is crucial to have in the team, no matter what type. Bayern Munich is the only exception to because Kimmich and Goreztka are exceptional Box to Box midfielders and they can actual defend as well as they go forward.

[@georgeogbuma1472]

To me even Donny would fit better at cdm cause he has great movement and good positional play. Mctomminay is like Fred they are not good at cdm because of bad positional play.

[@matthewsmith2298]

Mctominay as half-back droping in as RCB. Where he can shuttle the ball with Maguire. Varane or Bailly covering. VDB as a Anchor/ DLPM. Using his movement, ball retention and passing ability. AWB tucking in as almost Inverted Wing-back to help Donny bulk up the midfield. Sancho stays wide on the right. Bruno shifts slightly to the right to assist Sancho. Rashford/Pogba/Lingard shifts slighty more centraly. Shaw hold the width on the left. Would be a 3-2-4-1/ 3-4-2-1 shape in attack/pressing. Something like that could really work IMO.

[@jakethewoz]

It's 2021 and they're still saying Jose Mourinho like he's from Spain. Unbelievable.

[@georgeogbuma1472]

Please can you make a video of analysing Donny van de Beek

[@Amd2405]

The same thing with Fred. They are both attacking midfielders

[@jordanboze113]

THANK YOU! Scott is a good squad player for us. I dont think he is the quality to be starting game in and game out, but he works hard and is a good player. He is not meant to play as CDM. Been saying that for awhile now.

[@Cantona77-08]

Great video. Darren Fletcher is often a comparison point but remember Fletcher was tactically used well in certain games and was a good squad player, never the consistent starter. McTominay's long passing weight is good at times but he doesn't switch play enough for me. This video also shows how he and Fred don't move to create space. It's not the individual, it's the system at United. And it's made even worse when you have a manager who relies on individuals to win games rather than a playing style.

[@tucomtyler]

What he's saying makes sense, because when Jose gave him his debut, he played him with matic and pogba in midfield, and he had license to occupy more advanced positions of the pitch, but defensively would help matic close the space ahead of the defence. So box-to-box

[@keiongarnett1825]

Bro Ole is just clueless the guy has no idea what he's doing

[@fuadanjasmara]

The truth is Man United need to play VDB as CDM and use 4-3-3. Mc Tominay and Fred is better in attacking roles, but it's better to be rotation to Pogba or Bruno. I think this will fix one problem in defense and build up, but the tactical need to solve the CB and WB miscommunication about covering the penalty area when attacked. The key is fixed role when defending, although the flexibility role on attacking based on the OGS's style. The manager has the obligation in tactical and the players has the obligation to work hard in the pitch.

[@benjaminshapiro7959]

Mctominay playing as a striker in youth teams definitely shows with his shots on goal, he's a good finisher for a midfielder. Got a boot.

[@Arthur_Kizito]

They have 2 World Class CAM'S in Pogba & Fernandes. They have 3 Almost World Class CAM'S in McTominay, Van De Beek & Lingard. The Team is Unbalanced, 2 of these Players needs to Go. They should then Buy 1 World Class CDM & 1 Almost World Class CDM.

[@eden5707]

talking about united midfield even tifo couldn't decode fred what a baller

[@vigneshsun5]

I think Mata should be brought into midfield, just like David Silva was brought into central midfield by Guardiola. Mata stays calm, is a good passer and likes to keep possession. AWB should be used as a RCB, he can excel there as he is amazing in tackling. A 3-4-3 setup should do wonders.

[@zuphie9680]

the real problem is that either fred or mctominay knows the defensive midfield role, drop back between the two cbs and pick up the ball. only matic does that

[@bri1085]

It's almost like they are being played out of position

[@zuphie9680]

@@bri1085 don't be a smartass here. What I meant was they didn't do the simplest task, drop from the deep and pick up the ball. Other box to box midfielders like Goretzka, Thiago, Frenkie De Jong always drop deep and advance the ball forward. The problem was not they're out of positions, but the task to pick up the ball from the deep.

[@bri1085]

@@zuphie9680 those aren't exactly B2B midfielders more holding midfielders than anything. Except Goretzka

[@zuphie9680]

@@bri1085 yeah fair enough but De Jong always bombs forward though and I didn't really watch Goretzka tbh but Thiago is correct. He's more like a deep playmaker nowadays.

[@daftbanna7202]

THIS WAS 9 MONTHS AGO HOW HAVENT WE SORTED IT YET

[@cerebralpalsy3182]

graeme souness is shouting at his laptop right now about how its somehow pogbas fault

[@valdxo5942]

this is interesting, I never knew that about Mcsauce Our team is so unbalanced its ridiculous

[@warungimajinasi876]

This is spot on regarding McToms positioning in the build up. It's like he's too scared to receive the ball in his own half and opts in being an extra body just in case United lose the ball and get countered.

[@att3121]

There are some issues with the comparisons. The double pivot has different asks of players compared to the single pivot, so the numbers of McTom and Rodri etc are bound to differ. A more attacking contribution is a must from a mid in double pivot and McTom is good at this; Fred is improving as well, creating and finishing (shooting) more and more chances. He needs to improve at finding the right space for the pass, like you've pointed out.

[@mynameisjudge4386]

Do mannutd even have scouts. They haven't unearthed anything even quality for a while. Vidic, Evra, Park, Chicharito.... that kind of signing?

[@EverydayOrdeals]

Back then United was one of a handful of clubs capable of doing that, today like 16/19 pl clubs do this, there's other clubs in other leagues as well, there's too much competition lol.

[@Kaisar011]

They always seems tailing every City rumored signing, Always try to outbid them when City almost signed the player. So far not worked for them.

[@r3zaful]

@@Kaisar011 a lot players rather to go to smaller clubs first like leicester, villa or west ham to get game time. Leeds James for example He Rot on the bench

[@harrymcmullen2227]

Incredible that the team Liverpool put to the sword on home soil last week are a decent defensive midfielder away from title contention. That's an oversimplification but still. Imagine they could play McTominay and Bruno Fernandes as free 8s, ahead of a Kalvin Phillips/Declan Rice/Ibrahim Sangaré, and a front three of Rashford, Greenwood and Sancho. Teach the talented young lads what exactly a cover shadow is, give the players behind them a week on positional play in training, and give them all Tifo IRL homework. If you get stuck, there's Pogba, Cavani and Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench. Easy peasy.

[@Glashome]

The main problem is that mc tominay and Fred just aren't man utd level. Specifically with mctominay, he is not technically good enough to be the player utd need there and isn't comfortable as a sitting cm or cdm because he doesn't have good enough awareness of the game going on around him and doesn't particularly like receiving the ball in tight spaces or facing his own goal. In a marauding box to box role he can excel because of his physicality but utd don't really play a system where he'll get to play like that like that every week. As a Scotland fan, I really don't trust him as a defender, especially against any half decent team. He can play a bit which does allow us to play out the back when we are facing the likes of Moldova and work as an attacking unit which he is good for sometimes especially comin out and driving up the right side. Positionally, however, he doesn't understand the role of a central defender and frequently gets dragged out of position, caught ball watching and loses his man. He has some strengths as a footballer but honestly I wouldn't normally start him even for Scotland in any match that we needed to win (which may surprise some english fans I know (and i am aware he did just score a 94th minute winner for Scotland in the last break)) unless it was a game against Spain or something where we basically were expecting the other team to have 80 % possession. Scotland do sometimes just need someone to tackle, chase and harry for 90 minutes because we have a pretty limited squad in comparison to the "pot one" type nations and McTominay's size, strength and stamina are something that we can definitely benefit from having when we play those teams. When we want to try to play football and control a game though, imo in mcgregor, gilmour and mcginn we have 3 central midfield players who are all much more comfortable on the ball than him and like passing it about and we kinda rely on keeping a decent amount of possession in games against teams more of our stature because we need to supply inefficient forwards with enough chances to get us a goal. Honestly I think if it's even a debate about whether he makes the Scotland team (and again, for me it genuinely is in some games) then definitely shouldn't be one of the first teams on the man utd team sheet. He is probably a mid table prem player at best and maybe a utility man at a team like Utd.

[@energywiz]

Man United please give this guy a job and pay him well.

[@theflyingdonkeypunch]

McFred aren't the greatest of footballers, but it does seem like they aren't being coached properly.

[@Charlie_Alpha_Lima]

Jose called this shadow cover thing 'being not brave.' Ander Herrera excelled at being there. I hate it when players don't show for the ball and this is 100% on the coaching staff. They allow it to happen.

[@FisayoRun]

Bang on! Both McTominay & Fred are really 8’s being shoe-horned to play as 6’s. Utd should play 4-3-3 with Bruno dropping deeper as an 8 alongside Pogba and a true no.6 behind them. VDB immediate no. 8 bench player with Fred & McTominay more squad rotational roles.

[@MubzxayStar]

Thought I was the only one who thought this!

[@justtestingonce]

3:50 that’s exactly what Matic does

[@patrickwilson1394]

I think he would be fine actually if he wasn’t in the midfield with Fred. If he had a Declan Rice beside him, he could perform a similar role to Soucek, and pretty effectively I think.

[@abhinavrajput4278]

True Ole Post-match Interview after Liverpool game: (Smiles) Amazing performance by the lads, I mean after the first half, 0-4 down, I was thinking maybe they can hit 5 more, but brilliant performance from the trio: McGuire at the back and McFred in the middle, Just top class. (about pogba) you know he's not a big player, here. You can see how he got the red card, absolute bizzare but good thing Fred and McTominay linked up well. These 2 can be the next Scholes and Carrick for Utd ( giggles) Hope we can achieve the same at Tottenham next week.

[@StenGilles]

Timing

[@abdallahsaid5321]

Well said, same applies to pogba in terms of attacking... Bottom line we need a 433 with 1 cdm only and we could then use our many CMs like Mctominay, Pogba, VDB, and Bruno has to do that role as well for the benefit of the team, I'm sure he can do it. Ole just needs to understand football and have a vision or flexibility or balls or whatever.

[@damiennaidoo7401]

United are terrible in the first phase. A Partey/Rice type of pivot player who can progress play in buildup was needed. Expected Matic to be that type of player but unfortunately it hadn’t worked out.

[@lonestarr1490]

Rice would be a game changer at Manchester.

[@HarryG98]

I think matic works well but unfortunately he’s a bit leggy now and he hasn’t got a suitable player to start next to him

[@messigoh6061]

matic is still that same player its just that hes old slow and also gets dribbled past more

[@kevinmezue1802]

Cover shadow 😂, we call it ‘Hiding’. Great analysis 👍🏽

[@shabaanmarijani8447]

nothing about Lord Fred?

[@jiansenpi7311]

Scot mac needs a quality manager who is tactically pretty good to guide him . He has the talent to do better

[@Timbone07]

Exactly

[@fishyfish6510]

Needs a loan to West Ham like Lingard

[@benellis-moat6247]

30 seconds in to the video and im nodding along

[@markw4613]

The biggest problem that Utd face in progressing the ball is the gap between the 2 holding midfielders and the front 4 - no wonder McTominay isn't eager for a pass into feet facing his own goal. He knows 9/10 he is isolated with no outball so is destined to lose the ball and be the fall guy. A really defensively sound DM is required so that we can play with an 8. If we aren't getting that then either Bruno needs to be holding his position more and dropping back to be involved in the build up play, or we need one of the wide men to be playing more of a wide playmaker role. Bruno is too effective at creating chances to ask him to drop deep and be more of a build up player. So the two solutions are either sign a defence first DM or sign a wide playmaker - given that we just bought Sancho (a big name signing that doesn't give us anything different if you ask me) I would hazard a guess we would not be looking to go that route. So a DM is the only answer. The clear answer is Wilfried Ndidi. Ndidi holding. Pogba on the left 8. Bruno on the right 8/10 - but really with a license to roam. Playing more on the right will also help to get Bruno into those positions to deliver a deep cross into Ronaldo that we don't get from AWB.

[@aaronsempa5820]

So in other words Scot is not a DM and is trying to be "forced" or rather moulded into that position yet what Ole should have done was to buy an actual DM

[@aaronsempa5820]

@Wizzer yeap

[@lonestarr1490]

@Wizzer In other words, Manchester's midfield consists solely of players who haven't been good enough to play elsewhere. Neat.

[@gambit0913]

@Wizzer Fred isn’t a CAM either at Shaktar…he plays deeper but more as playmaker who contributes defensively with his pressing and movement

[@doug2279]

The real problem is city have about 5 skilful little midfielders where united have only bruno. They have too many fast pacey strong wingers and a lack of the little skilled players. That is why sancho was a silly signing since they needed another bruno not another rashford

[@ethanharris1376]

This is so true. Why would you buy Sancho when you have rashford, Greenwood, martial, and Lindgard. How are you going to play all 5 of them. Stupid

[@mightymoeish]

>finding out your only real CDM under age 33 is actually a striker things just went from bad to worse for Man Utd fans.

[@maha10k]

This video was much better pregame analysis than the bickering on Sky. It helped me understand what to look for yesterday. Good shit.

[@notyourfriend1634]

Get him to west ham, mctominay, rice, soucek. moyes would be in dreamland with that midfield

[@richardhp77]

I'd say the other issue is Pogba has everything in that department in an attacking sense, he can do everything mctominay can't in terms of receiving the ball under pressure, linking play, distributing etc. But his defensive position becomes a liability in that role. So you're then forced to put Pogba up the field but bruno is sat in there so there's nowhere for Pogba to play if bruno is on. So either Mctominay has to get better on the ball or Pogba has to learn to defend, or they have to ship them both out and bring in someone who can do both.