03 Jan 2024 07:39:06
{Ed's Note - Shappy has posted a new article entitled, Manchester United Can't Be Consistant Due To The Injuries

1.) 03 Jan 2024
03 Jan 2024 10:35:52
Interesting perspective, thanks Shappy!

2.) 04 Jan 2024
04 Jan 2024 11:48:58
Our forward line and attacking players are mainly not injured. I am sure by now one thinks Martial matters and the rest have been available largely.

On goal scored, we are in a relegation fight.

3.) 04 Jan 2024
04 Jan 2024 17:17:19
FGIC, Think of a team like a house. The defence is the foundations, it supports everything else. Build on dodgy foundations and everything above it collapses. That is why you hear the saying "attack wins games, but defence wins titles".

The midfield are the walls, windows and doors. They are everything a team needs to function. As well as dictating how it functions. How you arrange the walls, doors and windows fundamentally changes how you can use or live in the space. Likewise the midfield link everything together, how they do it depends on the individual make up of the midfield and the tactics to support that.

The attack is the roof. It doesn't matter how good your foundations are or the quality of the walls, windows and doors, without a roof you'll still get rained on and that's pretty miserable. The attack is the bit on top that makes the rest look good and function.

The problem with our side at the moment is that while we have a roof, we have no foundations and the walls, windows and doors are size wrong, poorly built and not functioning effectively. Meaning the roof is collapsing in on the house.

Without a functioning and effective defence, the entire structure of the team is undermined. It becomes hard to make risky plays as losing the ball will likely lead to conceding a chance to the opposition.

While the midfield is unbalanced and lacking in quality. Meaning the defence isn't offered the protection it needs, and the midfield cannot provide the attack with the support and service it needs.

Our defence was built on the foundations of Martinez and Shaw as two players who not only do the defensive work well, but they offer the ability to play passes that by-pass the midfield and create chances in attack.

Losing them has meant we have had to play defenders who are weaker defensively and offer nothing in terms of being able to link defence to attack.

That has had the knock on effect of forcing the midfield to both try and bee a more effective shield in front of the defence to mitigate the lower standard of defending they are capable of. While also taking sole responsibility for ball progression into attack.

The problem with that is that in Casemiro and Mainoo we have had the only two midfielders who are capable of being an effective shield in front of the defence out injured for most of the season. Meaning our weakened defence is being protected by a weakened midfield. That has led to us conceding far too many chances as neither have good enough defensive capabilities.

Then in terms of our midfield having to take greater responsibility in terms of ball progression for the team. Well the issue there is both Mount and Eriksen have also missed a significant amount of the season and they are the only two effective ball progressors in our midfield. While when fit Eriksen also struggles to play more than 60 minutes without a significant drop off in his effectiveness.

This is why we've seen Bruno dropping deeper than he normally would to have someone who can progress the ball forward from midfield. However, this brings its own problems due to his propensity to always look to play the risky pass. This has led to him giving the ball away deeper in midfield and in central areas which has led to teams being able to quickly counter us through the middle, while also being closer to our goal when they start the counter.

Bruno gets a lot of stick for giving the ball away, yet people often don't understand what kind of player he is. He makes more progressive passes and creates more chances than most wingers, yet typically gives the ball away LESS often than most wingers. When playing in the final third it's not a big problem when he gives the ball away as he'll almost certainly create more chances for us the goals we would concede by giving the ball away 90 yards from goal. That is where Bruno should be playing 90% of the time, in the final third. The problem this season is that he has been forced to drop deeper to get on the ball and to try and force the ball forward to have any chance of scoring. But when in those deeper area's giving the ball away is much more dangerous. Especially when we have poor quality defensive midfielders behind him and poor defenders behind them.

However, if Bruno doesn't drop deep then we create nothing at all for our forwards.

We will struggle to create chances for our forwards to have any chance of scoring until we have players like Shaw and Martinez back in defence offering an option to move the ball straight from defence into attack, midfielders like Mainoo and Casemiro back to offer quality and effective protection in front of that defence, and creative midfield options like Eriksen and Mount back fit and playing to offer ball progression from midfield.

People keep asking why we look so spineless but fail to recognise the spine of the team has been ripped out by injury.