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It Grim. The game this coming weekend against Burnley has become a must-win. It's only been two games in the EPL but I am making an early observation. Rueben Amorim needs to be more flexible with his 3-4-3 formation in order to survive this season. Whereas the players bought this transfer window are good and are an improvement to what was there, the club's financial restraints has set him back. The club went into the window hoping to get rid of the Bomb Squad early to give them the money to make key buys, but unfortunately, they are still there, with the window days away from closing. So now, he's faced with the same set of problems that all his predecessors were faced with. The squad now has three glaring problems that he has to adjust for to get some degree of positive results to buy him time.
Firstly, there is a hole in the midfield the size of the Milky Way that has been there since Carrick left. It is like herpes that keeps coming back to haunt the team. So the coach came into the summer with a clear idea of how he wants to play this season. He decided that he wanted two number 10's and that Fernandes would be playing further back. The question was, who would play alongside him in the middle. The squad, as at today, has three players vying for that position, Casemiro, Mainoo, and Ugarte. We have seen enough now to conclude that Ugarte and Mainoo are not good enough to fill that role and Casemiro, whom we already knew, is way past his expiration date. Hindsight is going to show that Amorim's three summer buys created more problems for him if he doesn't adapt his formation quickly. What he now has, is seven players who can "competently" play the number 10 position. Bruno, Cunha, Mbuemo, Mainoo, Amad, Zirkzee and Mason Mount. Mason Mount returning to full fitness has posed a major problem. His performances since his return warrants him starting. However, he is the odd man out in this formation because the striker, Sesko has to be played. The cruel dilemma that has faced Hojlund is that he joined a dysfunctional team with bad characters. The pre-season matches showed that he is a good number nine full of potential and a strong character. However, the responsibility to lead a big club the size of Manchester United is sometimes too much to ask for a youngster. It is sad that after getting rid of the bad characters and getting the proven players of the calibre of Cunha and Mbuemo, who have 14 assists between them, he is being let go by the club. In the two games that I have seen Sesko played, albeit as a second half substitute, I can already tell that he is more advanced (careful choice of word) than Hojlund in how he holds up the ball, his movements, his positioning inside the 18 and in his instincts.
Secondly, Rueben cannot go through the season playing the number 1 and 2 goalkeepers. Heaton needs to be promoted to the number 1 spot with the new goalie that they are about to buy being number 2. We have enough samples to conclude that Onana and Bayindir are not of the quality to be the number 1. That is an easy fix to get the team through the season.
Thirdly, just like the long standing problems in midfield that hasn't been fixed, he, as the coach, needs to fix the problem of conceding goals from set pieces. Whereas I believe that the defenders that we now have are not individually bad, and are good headers of the ball, their collective approach to crosses into the box are severely deficient, and that comes down to what is practiced in training. That is squarely on the coach.
If Rueben refuses to adapt his formation, then I think he should look at converting one of his defender to play the defensive midfield position. Mazouri or Martinez (when fit) comes to mind. Both have the legs, the composure and can make the passes to fill the role.
Old Trafford, we have a problem...
Firstly, there is a hole in the midfield the size of the Milky Way that has been there since Carrick left. It is like herpes that keeps coming back to haunt the team. So the coach came into the summer with a clear idea of how he wants to play this season. He decided that he wanted two number 10's and that Fernandes would be playing further back. The question was, who would play alongside him in the middle. The squad, as at today, has three players vying for that position, Casemiro, Mainoo, and Ugarte. We have seen enough now to conclude that Ugarte and Mainoo are not good enough to fill that role and Casemiro, whom we already knew, is way past his expiration date. Hindsight is going to show that Amorim's three summer buys created more problems for him if he doesn't adapt his formation quickly. What he now has, is seven players who can "competently" play the number 10 position. Bruno, Cunha, Mbuemo, Mainoo, Amad, Zirkzee and Mason Mount. Mason Mount returning to full fitness has posed a major problem. His performances since his return warrants him starting. However, he is the odd man out in this formation because the striker, Sesko has to be played. The cruel dilemma that has faced Hojlund is that he joined a dysfunctional team with bad characters. The pre-season matches showed that he is a good number nine full of potential and a strong character. However, the responsibility to lead a big club the size of Manchester United is sometimes too much to ask for a youngster. It is sad that after getting rid of the bad characters and getting the proven players of the calibre of Cunha and Mbuemo, who have 14 assists between them, he is being let go by the club. In the two games that I have seen Sesko played, albeit as a second half substitute, I can already tell that he is more advanced (careful choice of word) than Hojlund in how he holds up the ball, his movements, his positioning inside the 18 and in his instincts.
Secondly, Rueben cannot go through the season playing the number 1 and 2 goalkeepers. Heaton needs to be promoted to the number 1 spot with the new goalie that they are about to buy being number 2. We have enough samples to conclude that Onana and Bayindir are not of the quality to be the number 1. That is an easy fix to get the team through the season.
Thirdly, just like the long standing problems in midfield that hasn't been fixed, he, as the coach, needs to fix the problem of conceding goals from set pieces. Whereas I believe that the defenders that we now have are not individually bad, and are good headers of the ball, their collective approach to crosses into the box are severely deficient, and that comes down to what is practiced in training. That is squarely on the coach.
If Rueben refuses to adapt his formation, then I think he should look at converting one of his defender to play the defensive midfield position. Mazouri or Martinez (when fit) comes to mind. Both have the legs, the composure and can make the passes to fill the role.
Old Trafford, we have a problem...
Paul Marin -19 is one thing, 20 is a whole other matter. It gets even worse if they win the UCL. *groan*. 
05/18/2011.MU fans naah cough, but all a unuh a vomit?-Lazie 1/11/2015
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