Isn't that insightful?
We were thinking the youngsters were blessed of getting experience mentors like Cavani and Ronaldo. Now we are finding out the younger players don't want to.

Remember a month or two ago where all the media were targetting Ronaldo for making United worse and he doesn't press?
Looks like a media attack now from the dressing room camp using their PR tools.

This post has been edited by statikinetic: Jan 13 2022, 11:45 PM

The other half of the story is if the strikers need to drop deep, it also means that the Sancho/Rashford/Greenwood line isn't doing their job of getting the ball to the forwards.
How many passes do our forwards receive and how many chances per game does the team generate for the forwards?

There is a possibility that RR is sending a message to the dressing room.
I think people are being dropped but given the public excuse of being injured.

We'll take a goal!

Team looking more cohesive. Cavani seems a natural fit as a pressing forward.
Look at Cavani leading the line with pressing traps and triggers. The second line of Elanga and Fernandes much more willing to press.

United suddenly no longer pressing, but allowing Villa to pass the halfway line before engaging.

Less comfort zone players more like.
So happens the players having a holiday at the club are the English core according to rumours.

Hanging on, just get to halftime to reorganize.

Denis Zakaria rumoured to be in discussions right now.
Will be around 6M as he is out of contract in the summer but he has a fair amount of clubs going in for him. United really need a DM now.


On a separate note, I am not too worried about team performance yet. I remain hopeful.
We can't be going in on Rangnick every time we don't get a win. So let me break down what I saw in the Villa game and where the club is at :

- Manchester United are a club in dire need of tactics, of new culture and of new direction when RR came in. That hasn't changed.
- Ronaldo's interview basically confirmed what the fans knew, there are dressing room groupies at United that has been allowed to apply a sub-standard ethic and mentality for the past 3 years and they control the dressing room.
- Has RR made any changes to tactics or culture in the past 2 months? Yes for tactics.
- To quote posters here, it is apparent that Rangnick was the team playing his way of football but they don't seem to have the fitness to do it across a football game. United keep reverting back to type late in the first half and the second half. The lack of fitness plays into some players treating United as a holiday home all these while and still getting selected.
- Is Rangnick changing the culture? Yes but slowly because he has to deal with dressing room rebels and doesn't get the respect he should as boss because he is interim. That makes it difficult for him and where players like Ronaldo wants the change.
- Suddenly, we have the entire English core "out injured" coincidentally. Whatever the reason : Maguire, AWB, Shaw, Rashford, etc isn't starting. So maybe the manager is making the difficult decisions to bench players who are not ready to play the way he wants.
- You remove the core of the players starting for United the past 3 seasons, it will impact team performance. It looks like short term pain for hopefully long term gain. What you are seeing is some players no longer getting automatically selected every week and the team learning to play without them.
- Varane & Lindelof look decent as a partnership. We are very obviously lacking that midfield steel but that has been a problem for the past 2 years.
- So with all to do, I think RR is doing the things he can but United are such a big pile of shit that it will take time. Ronaldo has said it will take time. Of course, everything must be time bound and I will stick to my guns and say March earliest or end of the season to judge.


This post has been edited by statikinetic: Jan 16 2022, 09:25 AM

I think there both sides are technically correct. Without insider info, this is what I think happened.

Due to current negotiations of an impending loan deal, Martial may have informed Rangnick he preferred to be left out. So in this Rangnick is right.
Martial denies he refused to play for United. He is also correct because he was not asked to play and then refused it.

Personally I think Martial wants out already.

Sevilla does not want to pay 250k per week so United may have to pay part of his wages to play for Sevilla.
If Martial doesn't go, he doesn't play for United anyway and his transfer value tanks.

Part of United owners running United like FM2022. Giving Joel Glazers favourite player 250k per week.

Ole trying to emulate Sir Alex in creating a British core of players.
Unfortunately, by looking at nationality we missed the point if players are good enough.

Is Maguire really worth 80M?
Is AWB really worth 50M?
Is Sancho really worth 80M?
Is Daniel James worth 15M?

Glazers can point out we spent a lot of money but where is the accountability from the transfer team on the targets?
The whole "British transfer policy" can go down as a corporate failure.

AWB and Sancho make good discussion points.

AWB's value is skewed when viewed from the lens of the modern fullback in 2022. In a previous time, his value would be perceived as much higher due to his defensive prowess. Defensively, he is stronger than his comparable peers especially in a one on one situation. By peers, let's go with Liverpool's TAA or Chelsea's Reece James. Today, the fullback is required to provide attacking thrust and these are the areas TAA and James excel in. Are TAA and James worth 50M? I would say yes. AWB either has to move his attacking prowess up a few more levels, or hope that the tactical meta shifts towards defensive fullbacks.

Sancho is not really a winger although people seem fond of putting him there. Neither is he an out and out flank player. He is a player capable of holding the ball further up the field in tight spaces. In this, I would argue he is more similar to City's Grealish or Mahrez. A bit of an inside winger who plays almost like a number 10. To build play and provide supply to the forwards, Rashford or Greenwood who prefer to go for goal rather than build are poor partnership choices for him. One possible pairing is a VDB-Sancho pairing behind the forwards but I just don't see Fernandes being left out for this.

We need a new catalyst in midfield quick. Clock is ticking and if there is a deal going on, it will be in the final days of the window. We can see almost every game we cede control of the middle too easily. That was a symptom from at least 2 seasons back.

RR has made the brave decisions so far.
He's benched the British core which Ole would never do.
He has taken CR7 off and handled the situation maturely with Ronaldo and in the post match interview.

That midfield though will be his undoing if the club doesn't add anyone new in Jan.

Rice will not be sold this season regardless of the cost, West Ham put that out there. And there doesn't seem any club wanting to challenge that stance.
Next season onwards, the price tag would be north of 100M. So the question then goes, are there better players for that money?

There are negotiations going on with Denis Zakaria right now on a possible transfer. Monchengladbach will definitely let him walk for around 6M as he is out of contract in the summer but whether the player wants to come is another question.

And if we wait for the summer, there are certain players like Milan's Franck Kessie available on a free transfer.
We all know we want ice cream, but what flavour?

That's the thing with Greenwood playing behind the strikers.
He is a number 9 who prefers to go for goal. He doesn't naturally look to provide for the strikers.

United looking much more comfortable and fluid when in possession.

United are looking more comfortable in possession.
The hollywood passes to attempt to open up play is still present, a relic from the past season or two when we had no creativity and wanted to force the issue.
The best passages were when the team started give and go sequences. That looked new. They would pass one two and make the runs. Dalot got open a couple of times this way.

Here we go. Two forwards in.

GOOAAAALL!!!