United thread 2020/21

[vmsuhail]

Thought for today; in the past week......

utd have scored 12 goals and won 4 points
Citeh have scored 6 goals and won 6 pts.

As you were. Carry on.

Last season our record compared against Liverpool.
City scored 102 goals, 81 points
L'Pool scored 85 goals, 99 points

Perhaps also one of the reasons why Pep decided to fix the defence.

 

[RadcliffeRick]

Looked to me like one of Carlton's mystery injuries that will side line him for a few weeks until the weather picks up.

The hairdressers have gone into lockdown

 

[simon23]

I reckon Westbrom might only get a draw tbh.

hope so...

 

[its grim up north]

2011-12 was a bit touch & go though. It was the strongest in the world until early April.

It was the strongest even when the Ref blew for full time in Sunderland. Funny how quickly it deteriorated.

 

[Blue Mist]

It was the strongest even when the Ref blew for full time in Sunderland. Funny how quickly it deteriorated.

Why what happened ?

 

[Horlocksleftpeg]

Last season our record compared against Liverpool.
City scored 102 goals, 81 points
L'Pool scored 85 goals, 99 points

Perhaps also one of the reasons why Pep decided to fix the defence.

I agree with you, the balance seems completely out....but then didnt we also only concede 1 or 2 goals more than the best defence in the history of English football?

Even now I struggle to see how we lost 9 last season

We’ve now sacked off this double pivot but still seem rock solid at the back. I can’t put my finger on how we don’t look as susceptible to counter attacks any more despite having just as much attacking threat as the last few seasons

 

[Sir peace frog]

I agree with you, the balance seems completely out....but then didnt we also only concede 1 or 2 goals more than the best defence in the history of English football?

Even now I struggle to see how we lost 9 last season

We’ve now sacked off this double pivot but still seem rock solid at the back. I can’t put my finger on how we don’t look as susceptible to counter attacks any more despite having just as much attacking threat as the last few seasons

we still have the double pivot, but cancelo is now playing it allowing gundogan to free roam and get into the box

 

[Stockton Heath Blue]

we still have the double pivot, but cancelo is now playing it allowing gundogan to free roam and get into the box

Yep, Spit highlighted this point on MNF last night. The usual Sly insightful analysis of highlighting what we do so that other teams could maybe adapt - as if any PL team's analysts don't already know this.

 

[Akira]

I agree with you, the balance seems completely out....but then didnt we also only concede 1 or 2 goals more than the best defence in the history of English football?

Even now I struggle to see how we lost 9 last season

We’ve now sacked off this double pivot but still seem rock solid at the back. I can’t put my finger on how we don’t look as susceptible to counter attacks any more despite having just as much attacking threat as the last few seasons

We are still playing the double pivot, but we just adjusted and tweaked it more this season.

The previous double pivot was more static, with Gundogan + Rodri. This season we play more into Gundo's excellence going forward, so Cancelo comes in when Gundo moves forward, to form double pivot with Rodri.


On paper & how we normally look last season:

----LW---Striker----RW---
-------------AM--------------
-----Gundo-----Rodri------
LB----CB------CB-----Cancelo


This season when we are in possession:

----LW---Striker---RW---
-----Gundo-------AM-------
-------Rodri---Cancelo------
----LB--------CB----------CB----

A 4-2-3-1 into a 3-4-3. Movement is dictated by who is playing on the day, but this is the general gist of it.

Sometimes the attacking midfield gets to push higher up, so we get a 3-3-4.

This setup lets us match man-for-man against most defenses so we don't lose the edge in attack, and subsequently allows us to retain numbers in midfield, something Pep loves. Retaining the double pivot even as we are on the attack, also protects the team from counter-attacks.

 

[Horlocksleftpeg]

We are still playing the double pivot, but we just adjusted and tweaked it more this season.

The previous double pivot was more static, with Gundogan + Rodri. This season we play more into Gundo's excellence going forward, so Cancelo comes in when Gundo moves forward, to form double pivot with Rodri.


On paper & how we normally look last season:

----LW---Striker----RW---
-------------AM--------------
-----Gundo-----Rodri------
LB----CB------CB-----Cancelo


This season when we are in possession:

----LW---Striker---RW---
-----Gundo-------AM-------
-------Rodri---Cancelo------
----LB--------CB----------CB----

A 4-2-3-1 into a 3-4-3. Movement is dictated by who is playing on the day, but this is the general gist of it.

Sometimes the attacking midfield gets to push higher up, so we get a 3-3-4.

This setup lets us match man-for-man against most defenses so we don't lose the edge in attack, and subsequently allows us to retain numbers in midfield, something Pep loves. Retaining the double pivot even as we are on the attack, also protects the team from counter-attacks.

Thanks for that and a very good explanation. I love how pep thinks outside the box with this and how our players can transition in to different formations with/without the ball without even thinking.

Recognising tactical tweaks/changes is much harder to spot when watching on tv and especially when it’s impossible to know where Cancelo is playing ha!