**Official** English Football Season 2023/24

[Skipper Pup]

I think Casemiro hasn't really played well in a while in my view. It feels like he takes too much time on the ball and has also strayed too far forward at times, which is somewhat mystifying. Having said that, some of it is physical as well since he gets dribbled past a little too easily at the moment. I'm not sure what the reason for it is and whether it's age catching up on him or just him a bit of a slow starter to the season (he wasn't great in the first few games last season either).

I'm not sure I completely buy into the 4-1-4-1 kind of setup that ETH likes to go with these days considering the quality/suitability of players he has available in the key "1" positions. He needs to tweak things tactically as well or we'll continue to get overrun. The Mount injury potentially forces his hand, but my thinking is he could potentially go with Hannibal if he really doesn't want to change his system.

Antony is a frustrating player to watch, a little bit like how Nani was, but I'm one of very few people not ready to write him off just yet. I think if he gets a bit more accurate with his left foot, it will make a world of difference on his impact. Off the ball, he is fine.

On the positive side, I like Onana and the benefits of having him in the team are clear over what we saw with De Gea. There'll be the occasional mishap, but the positives in our general play just about outweigh that I think.

He started pretty well last season, fell off towards the back end of the campaign so you might be right about the physical side of it. We saw a similar decline in Fabinho, I genuinely think they're both still solid if you put legs around them. The issue Fabinho had last season (before TAA was redeployed into an inverted role later in the season) and Casemiro has had this season, is that they're being asked to cover every blade of grass and it exposes their lack of speed. Casemiro against Spurs was getting caught out because Mount and Bruno were pressing (both without the necessary triggers) and Spurs would just play around them. Suddenly you'd have players at full speed dribbling at Casemiro - even in his prime he wouldn't have been able to deal with that, much less now. A lot of that is down to the system rather than the individual, you can already see just how high up the field United are pressing and to do that the backline following is suit, it is only going to be exposed more too. Varane and Martinez have both had shaky moments isolated in 1v1 situations that we wouldn't have expected 8 months ago.

I suspect he'll go for someone slightly more defensive with McTominay in there now as some sort of double pivot. Fred was the exact profile they could do with there right now, maybe that explains the Gravenberch and Amrabat links. Either way it will be interesting to see if he sticks with the counter attacking style of play with two attacking mids.

I wouldn't put Antony anywhere near Nani, they are worlds apart in terms of ability, cutting edge and explosiveness. Antony is a one trick pony and elite defenders have figured it out. I'm not sure he develops that accuracy over night, it's the same reason I have my doubts on Darwin Nunez - that sort of ability is usually instinctive rather than coached. Fundamentally it comes back to their technical ability, which I think is lacking especially with the price tags.

Agree Onana was by far your best signing, he's just got some shockers in him which you'll have to put up with. There's abit of Ederson about him in how rash he is and it will get exposed without the same level of defensive protection.

It's been a poor start for you guys overall. All the takeover stuff has been drawn out, the signings have been uninspiring, the transition to the manager's philosophy looks to be stalling, and now Greenwood has added to the negativity around the club. Big test for ETH to turn it all around before it starts to cause bigger issues on and off the field.

 

[Uppercut]

United have had a lot of very poor individual performances so far. Our main attacking plan seems to be getting the ball to Garnacho and Antony in space, but they've used the ball so badly. Rashford and Mount have contributed nothing, Casemiro looks exposed. Nobody is playing above a 6/10.

The team-level problem is a total collapse in intensity after half-time in both games. Wolves and Spurs just repeatedly walked it into our box without any resistance. It feels like a lack of fitness, which can only be because they completely botched their pre-season. Even if we improve, Liverpool and Chelsea look like they'll rebound, so making the CL will be tougher than it was last year.

 

[sledger]

Mount not contributing anything probably means he is more or less meeting most peoples' expectations, and that his level of performance is consistent with his performances for Chelsea, I guess. Early days, but he's another very Spurs-y player imo. Maybe even more Spurs-y than ("Lads, it's") James Maddison.

 

[Uppercut]

Mount not contributing anything probably means he is more or less meeting most peoples' expectations, and that his level of performance is consistent with his performances for Chelsea, I guess. Early days, but he's another very Spurs-y player imo. Maybe even more Spurs-y than ("Lads, it's") James Maddison.

I didn't love the signing but he's been much worse than he was at Chelsea. At Chelsea he was mostly involved, tidy, and hard working without doing anything spectacular. Only two games of course but for United he's been absolutely anonymous.

 

[Skipper Pup]

I didn't love the signing but he's been much worse than he was at Chelsea. At Chelsea he was mostly involved, tidy, and hard working without doing anything spectacular. Only two games of course but for United he's been absolutely anonymous.

Mount was a fantastic attacking mid at Chelsea, his best season in 21/22 when he was getting into the box while also getting his head up and playing decisive passes. He's played much deeper of late and finds himself between the halfway line and the box rather than in and around the box. There is that role in this United side but it's Bruno's which makes it awkward to watch them play together as they both want to occupy the same space.

I wanted Mount at Liverpool cause he's a very industrious player, his press is one of the best and he is a great recycler of the ball, but there's no way he should be used the way he currently is where his creativity is being nullfied. He needs to be active in the final third.

Mount not contributing anything probably means he is more or less meeting most peoples' expectations, and that his level of performance is consistent with his performances for Chelsea, I guess. Early days, but he's another very Spurs-y player imo. Maybe even more Spurs-y than ("Lads, it's") James Maddison.

Maddison is a great signing for Spurs. He's exactly the sort of profile Chelsea could do with right now in their midfield. I loved the stick he was getting from rival fans when he first signed, it was always only ever a matter of time before he made them look stupid. Luxury player of course but Spurs can afford that while they have Bissouma and Sarr doing the donkey work behind him.

 

[Socerer 01]

Maddison getting **** on here and social media is the weirdest thing ever

he isn’t a world beater but he’s good enough for a top club

 

[sledger]

If he was then he would have been bought by a top club

 

[Socerer 01]

If he was then he would have been bought by a top club

he would have easily been bought by City now if still on the market besides the obvious haha Tottenham not big club joke in here

 

[sledger]

It wasn't a joke.

 

[Socerer 01]

It wasn't a joke.

depends on what you call a big club i guess

point still stands on Maddison since his move there had other factors, is Laporte not good enough now because no top club ended up buying him for eg

 

[HeathDavisSpeed]

Maddison getting **** on here and social media is the weirdest thing ever

he isn’t a world beater but he’s good enough for a top club

There’s tons of Arsenal fans on here. In general, I find parochialism tedious wherever it arises but it reaches whole new levels when it comes to football.

 

[flibbertyjibber]

I personally think Maddison and Barnes are the 2 best deals of the summer. Value for money and both will provide goals and assists for their new clubs. Can't understand the hate for Maddison on here.

 

[Furball]

Can remember similar things happening with Sven during his tenure as England manager too.

When things were going well, and everyone was in a fairly good mood (so, from the 5-1 up to around the end of Euro 2004 I guess), all the MotD pundits would chummily refer to him as "Sven".

But when things became a stodge around the 2006 WC they all suddenly just started calling him "Erikson".

Edit: Tbf this one may not have had anything to do with Sven's nationality, I seem to remember similar things happening with McClaren and Hodgson, but it's a useful example how a slight change in terminology/language re: how people are addressed can have a notable insidious effect when it comes to discrediting their competency/treating people with respect imo.

That's a very English public schoolboy thing to do. Outsiders get called by their surname whereas those in the chummy old boys club get the courtesy of being called their forename.

 

[andruid]

Maddison getting **** on here and social media is the weirdest thing ever

he isn’t a world beater but he’s good enough for a top club

Modern day Lee Bowyer

 

[sledger]

There’s tons of Arsenal fans on here. In general, I find parochialism tedious wherever it arises but it reaches whole new levels when it comes to football.

lol yes, like that well known Arsenal fan uppercut

 

[HeathDavisSpeed]

lol yes, like that well known Arsenal fan uppercut

I’m well aware of that. It doesn’t invalidate my point which was specifically made in more general terms. I read this thread all the time but barely post in it (mostly about Colchester when I do) for the reason I mentioned.

 

[sledger]

I’m well aware of that. It doesn’t invalidate my point which was specifically made in more general terms. I read this thread all the time but barely post in it (mostly about Colchester when I do) for the reason I mentioned.

Fair enough. My point was more that the general derision towards Spurs is by no means exclusively within the purview of Arsenal fans.

 

[sledger]

depends on what you call a big club i guess

point still stands on Maddison since his move there had other factors, is Laporte not good enough now because no top club ended up buying him for eg

Laporte has spent the last five years playing for one of the best teams in the world, and in so doing winning upwards of ten major trophies. Maddison is a player who, despite getting good write ups from various people for across roughly the same period of time has never had a big club come in for him, has won nothing, and has barely managed to get selected for his national side. The two are not really comparable.

As I've said before I don't even dislike him. He's perfectly ok. It's just that as mentioned before, Spurs is absolutely his level.

 

[HeathDavisSpeed]

My comment wasn’t only relating to Arsenal fans; other than the observation that there are a disproportionately high number of them on here.

 

[sledger]

My comment wasn’t only relating to Arsenal fans; other than the observation that there are a disproportionately high number of them on here.

Yeah, fair enough. Though tbh I think there are only three of us these days, unless I am forgetting someone. (Furball doesn't count).