A look at the team system and the personnel involved
“A poor workman always blames his tools.”
Or at least according to accepted wisdom. All United fans know is that is has been an often laborous task as we attempt to get to grips with Ruben’s system. Far too often we have been caught out by sides who are able to exploit the room offered to them, or the attack is blunted by a lack of supply into the danger area. One of our writers has a piece on that here.
But this system was designed to fix matters and on paper it should. The problem is that we do not play on paper and results this season have been wildly inconsistent. From the heights of Chelsea to the lows of Brentford in the space of a week. And it is the latter defeat which really demonstrated the problems that we have. We currently lack the midfield and win-back personnel to play the system the manager is trying to implement.
The two midfielders expected to play in the system have not particularly nailed down a starting position. Casemiro has the presence and experience from his years at Real Madrid. His positioning and physical attributes would make him an automatic starter for most. His age is against him in terms of stamina and he can be wreckless in tackles. Manuel Ugarte has not imposed himself yet into the Premiership and has flattered to deceive in despite of his early career promise. Kobee Mainoo would be a starter for most reds fans as an academy graduate but is better suited in a midfield three.
At wing-back, the problems are greater. The position is reliant on the player being effective at defending, a strong crosser of the ball to be able to feed the attackers and have the stamina to get up and down the line. Both Diogo Dalot and Patrick Dorgu were caught horribly out of position in the Brentford game. Neither of them have overly impressed with their crossing ability either. Diego Leon is one for the future and lacks the physicality for the first team at the moment. Luke Shaw lacks the stamina for such a job and is injury prone.
The question is how to fix this without having to spend an absolute fortune. At least until the summer when we can assess our options. The reintroduction of Lisandro Martinez into the defence offers an option that few of our central defenders possess. He is comfortable with taking the ball out of defence yet astute enough to be able to make a well timed challenge. He could provide a solid base behind the two midfielders to allow them move forward.
On the flanks, the return of Noussair Mazraoui would also be a welcome boost. He is able to play on either side of the defence and is a tenacious tackler. Amad on the other side offers more of an attacking thrust. Each player are capable of switching sides depending on the flow of the game. It would also make the opposing full back second guess themselves.
Jonathan Wilson in his column stated that a system, regardless of how well it initially works, is always open to exploitation. Teams can generally work out a weak point and plan to take advantage of it. By using players who are strong in possession, a good engine on them and ability to react to situations that develop, we can finally start to seeing the best of this side.
We can but hope.
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