18 Nov 2020 11:34:39
We talk here a lot about the need for a right winger and a couple of first choice central defenders.

I think though we also need a top quality defensive midfielder; a metronome, a player who keeps the team ticking over, sets up attacks with forward passes and puts us on the front foot. A quarterback type.

I think it especially important in big games where we need to better at ball retention.

Who do you all think could be good in that role for Utd? Did the club miss a trick with Partey and Alcantara? Could Bruno or VdB be effective in that role?

1.) 18 Nov 2020
18 Nov 2020 13:15:23
I agree that we need a proper holding midfielder to replace Matic long term. Matic struggles to play twice a week and isn't getting any younger.

McTominay and Fred for me are better as box to box destroyers, However, you often want to pair such a player with a creative holding midfielder.

For me a prime Michael Carrick would be nice. However, these players are few and far between. Finding one to sign in January will be near impossible I think.

2.) 18 Nov 2020
18 Nov 2020 13:20:08
Shappy, normally you have at least half a dozen candidates to suggest. What's happened?

I don't think Matic is the type of player I am talking about. He isn't the conductor like Pirlo or Scholes.

3.) 18 Nov 2020
18 Nov 2020 13:59:11
Manc man. The issue we have there is that our coach doesn't play with that sort of player. Bruno plays that role but much further up the pitch.
Ole prefers to play 2 behind 1. Or that's as far as i can make out. 2 hard working players in there in his system work best. He gets his best returns when fred and mctom play behind bruno.
We don't dominate possession against the better sides and we are not looking to control the tempo of the game so if you put veratti in our side he would probably be less effective than Sean longstaff.

4.) 18 Nov 2020
18 Nov 2020 14:05:14
Matic is the closest we have to that sort of midfielder. He is a ball playing holding midfielder, he just isn't as renown for his passing. His passing is less creative and more about keeping possession.

Players you could consider would be Sandro Tonali, Reuben Neves and Marc Roca are the names of the ones who stand out.

Slightly older players like Jorginho, Verratti and Kroos are possibly available but are either aging, not tested in a tough league or playing for a rival.

None are as good in my opinion as Pirlo, Scholes or Alonso from the generation before. I would even argue that there are none available who are as good as Carrick was, at least not yet.

5.) 18 Nov 2020
18 Nov 2020 14:09:10
Is pogba not that type of player?

6.) 18 Nov 2020
18 Nov 2020 14:24:07
Is pogba any type of player?

7.) 18 Nov 2020
18 Nov 2020 14:25:27
Pogba is not a player. Show pony.

8.) 18 Nov 2020
18 Nov 2020 14:28:51
Ken, While a lot of Ole's best results have come with two defensive midfielders (mostly Fred and McTominay) . He has tried numerous times to move away from two dedicated holding midfielders. He played both Pogba and Bruno at the end of last season and at the start of this season. So he clearly wants to try and play with less defensive midfielders. Yet often when his backs against the wall and the team is performing poorly the players need that extra security.

Personally I feel the problem is Pogba and his lack of defensive awareness. While he is good going forward and he has the right physical attributes to be good defensively, he too often switches off and doesn't realise the danger until too late. The best creative deep lying playmakers would still know where to be defensively and how to stop space. Pogba moves into space to free himself up to receive passes which is a good trait to have, but he is always looking to be free and he doesn't move back to defend the space when the ball gets turned over.

Personally I feel Donny alongside McTominay or Matic could be a very good midfield option and would provide a better balance between attack and defence.

9.) 18 Nov 2020
18 Nov 2020 14:44:56
I agree on pogba And Donny shappy.
Jred pogba can look that sort of player at intl level. But he does not carry out that role well for united. The game is very different in the epl. I think most hoped he would be the same player us that he is with France or was with and the truth be known he probably is, but the game is different.

10.) 18 Nov 2020
18 Nov 2020 14:46:12
My choice would be Saul Niguez, Denis Zakaria or Declan Rice to partner Bruno and VDB in a midfield three.

11.) 18 Nov 2020
18 Nov 2020 16:48:01
Liverpool and City didn't have too much trouble in finding that type of player in fabinho and rodri.

Maybe the coaching team don't want a player like that in the team and would prefer more combative midfielders in the team like mctominay and fred who their best jobs off the ball and are limited in their ability on the ball.

12.) 18 Nov 2020
18 Nov 2020 16:55:03
Bit of a left field option but I think Harry Winks could do a job there, nice passing range a Carrick sorr of underrated playet.

13.) 19 Nov 2020
19 Nov 2020 12:13:26
mb78, I'm not sure he is good enough. Kalvin Phillips of Leeds looks an interesting player.

14.) 19 Nov 2020
19 Nov 2020 12:29:20
Defensive midfielder -there is definitely needed to replace Matic.

I think Ole likes Kante - and if we can get him he can do a job and so could Rice.

Other options include Axel Witsel from Dortmund who seems to be a United style od player or Joshua Kimmich at Bayern would fit the bill if they become available, We need to look around and seewho we can get. I also think Fosu Mensah could be an iterim solution as he has the right credentials.

15.) 19 Nov 2020
19 Nov 2020 14:18:19
Motz
What credentials does tfm have?
When was the last time he played in midfield?

16.) 19 Nov 2020
19 Nov 2020 18:54:41
Prob got more chance of landing Messi than Kimmich. He will be at Bayern for a long while yet.

If ole is sticking to his young British theme then I think Rice is the ideal option.
I was critical of him last year because I thought his first touch was awful, meaning he was always lunging for the ball or losing it but he’s pushed on and its looking like he could cement a place in the England midfield.
Another one, who would be hard to get would be Nicolo Barella at Inter. He’s having a good season, great at breaking up play in front of defence and has a great pass on him. Battling box to box is more his style but he’s quality and would be a great addition.

17.) 20 Nov 2020
20 Nov 2020 12:49:55
Some great posts here and they illustrate that there are some good ball playing midfielders out there.

My view is that we should be trying to inject some more culture and creativity into our midfield. Two battlers doesn't give enough balance between attack and defence. To my mind it can be counter productive as a defensive tactic because I think if you have players who can pass well and keep the ball this is a great form of defence and you get the best of both.

If we look at what we have I would like to see either VDB or bruno alongside one of Matic, Fred or Mctominay. I think we have to try to get dvb and Bruno on the pitch at the same time.

Again, this is a problem with Solkjaer because he is too conservative when the better players in the squad can attack and win football matches.