Manchester United Thread 25/26 - Teamtalk/Transfers/Gossip Mod Note in OP 26.09.24

Ninthlife

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123239630#Comment_123239630

Dalot carried the ball a further 10yds..Rasmus ahead of the defender hits the 6yd box and Dalot cuts back..Sociadad regroup..United lose possession

Rasums and Amorim lost their sgit and rightly so

Clip here:

https://twitter.com/TheOpenChain/status/1897743613871993125?t=wlCnqOxpTYm-GDZT5fJdCg&s=19

AidoEirE

It's been worked on with the head up looking for the cut back.

Mirror image for Zirkzees goal.

AidoEirE

Looking for the cut back.

Ideally first time in to the box

Toranaga

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123239630#Comment_123239630

A chance was created from the move which Dorgu did nothing with. Dorgu particularly awful this game.

Dalot and Hojlund had an exchange afterwards which Dalot basically put up his hand dismissing him. I've seen Bruno in recent times look at Hojlund and not make the pass so would be thinking there's a lack of trust there for him to actually do anything with the passes so there's hesitation.

Not a great situation to be in from a team perspective.

StringerBell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123238811#Comment_123238811

You could say the same thing every week, he is just dreadful with his finishing and decision making more so. Højlund was angry after the Dalot one in the first half, he looked like a fella had given up on the Nacho one in the second.

Mitch Connor

There was speculation a few weeks ago that - from some journo iirc - that some players had lost faith in Hojlund and were hesitent in passing to him. I don't know whether that Dalot inaction yesterday points to that rather Dalot just absolutely brainfarting.

Brendan Bendar

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123239614#Comment_123239614

He would have missed it….thats why Dalot didn't pass….have we not learned anything from the last 18 games boys?

Edit… didn't see Mitch's post before posting myself….agree totally.

sorry M

SteM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123239942#Comment_123239942

How many of that type of chance has hojlund missed in the last 18 games? How many has he actually been given? If that's a decision that dalot made then he should be thrown out of the club, he's been awful this season anyway. It's not a decision for him to make. He should be making the cross and giving the striker the chance.

Brendan Bendar

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123239968#Comment_123239968

I have watched Hojlund closely recently …for a so called 'striker' he is extremely low on any …I repeat any… influence

in the penalty area..very few touches, very few headers…very few attempts at goal very few shots on target .

Spends most of his time on the ground or running up to opposition ball carrier and stopping.

I would love to see him doing well but its time to call a spade a spade and say it as it is.

To assert that he would have scored from a Dalot cross given his scoring history is madness.

PARlance

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123239907#Comment_123239907

I would hope that it was a complete brainfart because if there was any conscious decision to not play the most obvious of passes to Hojlund, then it's a clear disregard for what the manager has asked for.

Hojlund has been muck but Amorim (and most supporters I think) also recognise that quality ball into him has been an issue.

Edit: What SteM said.

SteM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123239997#Comment_123239997

It's a very simple question. How many of those chances from crosses has he missed in the last 18 games that you outlined.

NITRO95

If we have a group of players that have decided amongst themselves that they won't pass the ball to Hojlund then that group need to fuked out with the rest of the rubbish. People talking about Hojlund like he misses 5 glorious opportunities every game, I don't think he's had 5 decent half chances in the past 18 games. Yes there are things he need to work and improve on himself but Gerd Muller would struggle with the lack of service this team currently creates. Last night was an improvement IMO but the Dalot non-cross was absolutely shocking, just says it all about the level of quality of Dalot.

Mitch Connor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123239997#Comment_123239997

While a don't disagree. It's not that we can say hojlund would have scored, but we can opine that he absolutely should have been given the chance to miss it.

StringerBell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123239942#Comment_123239942

Jesus

El Gato De Negocios

Has Raz ever missed gilt edged chances? From memory, when he is presented with a good opportunity in and around the 6 yard box he does well. We know he can finish, it's the lack or opportunity to even try to finish that's a big part of the problem. Obviously he's not adding much in terms of build up / link up play and that's a big problem for the manager to solve but overall it's not as though he's a donkey like nunez for example and screwing up multiple clear cut chances every month.

ngunners

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123239614#Comment_123239614

It was. He should have passed to Hojlund 100% but Hojlund's run here was very poor too. He needed to move more towards the front post in my opinion.

Toranaga

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uzOLuxnmWZs

At 1:33 we see a ball put across to Højlund by Dorgu and he gets the run on the defender and is nowhere near the ball while actually trying to go for it.

It doesn't excuse Dalot not crossing but his reaction afterwards and as I said earlier, previous evidence from Bruno would make me think there is a lack of confidence in him.

PARlance

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123239654#Comment_123239654

To try to take something positive from that. I think we are slowly (very slowly) starting to see glimpses of what we expected to see from an Amorim team.

Maz being brave and breaking the high press, an excellent ball to the wing back who was offering width in an advanced position… the rest is history. Small signs of what I expected anyway.

Dorgu got a lot of flack last night. Maybe my expectations have gotten so low that I was less annoyed by his errors and more encouraged by his overall positioning. He was well advanced and offering width, and found himself in good positions on several occasions. We didn't sign a world class LWB, we signed a LWB with some potential... He's not going to be the finished article anytime soon.

Seeing Dorgu and Dalot at least make it a front 5 at times may be a very low bar to get encouragement from, but it's starting to happen a bit more often now.

It gives me some hope that the addition of a quality RWB, striker and proper 10 to fit the system during the summer will see a significant improvement in our play.

IncognitoMan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123237433#Comment_123237433

Yeah look 100% there will be things we need to make sure we investigate before going in for those players.

I can't say I'm up to speed on potential personal issues with each and so on. Also yes a couple of injury records to be taken into account.

But I do think we should be able to look at that list and find 2/3 that we can get in to mould the squad to suit Amorim a little better but also offer him some different options to adjust tactically.

Currently he's stuck to the same players even if they are under performing because what is behind them is either non-existent or way off the level needed

Mitch Connor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123240197#Comment_123240197

Yes - I think in glimpses we do see attacking patterns and the creation of either chances or openings that should turn into chances, but execusion is consistently letting us down.

I do think of Carragher talking about the signing of Torres and how much of a lift that gave the entire squad to have a player of that quality lead the line - and wonder if we could see similar at United. Not to the extent that one striker would (in effect) turn us into a challanger - but if we have a striker that the team are confident in playing the ball to (to hold up, link up or get an attempt off of) how much that would improve the play and build up behind that position.

The oobvious worry in that being… who? Beyond Osimhen I don't see a striker that is immediately trusted in that guise. And if you drop down the money ladder to 40m/150k range… who the hell is there? Delap? I like the look of Delap but he's no guaruntee.

As you say - a RWB, 10 also massively elevate us. We can see how much more dangerous we look with Garnacho in the 10 spot, and he isn't even good in that position - but his ability to create shooting opportunities is massive for us.

IncognitoMan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123239075#Comment_123239075

Focus needs to be on the Europa, is the only competition that can give us a massive boost for next season.

Also, it is another European trophy. We haven't picked up nearly enough of them

Mitch Connor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123240242#Comment_123240242

I just don't see what 'focusing' on it will get us.

Our squad is so devoid of quality either because of the players being poor, playing poor or the manager not maximising them, I just don't think we have enough to beat Spurs if it comes to it. and would worry about the Italian sides. and that is even if we manage to beat La Real next week, which is far from certain.

But, to you point, does that focus come into play in saying we need Garnacho, Zirkzee, Ugarte for that match - so none of them should start vs Arsenal? Especially looking at Ugarte. Missing last night through injury - even if he is passed fit for Arsenal do we hold him back for the EL game?

Arsenal will likely wipe the floor with us no matter what team we put out imo, because we just aren't good enough - but because it is arsenal we will likely see more effort and intensity from the side (sigh) which in turn could have a negative impact on the game next Thursday.

PARlance

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123240233#Comment_123240233

I don't think the importance of a top striker can be stressed enough. I think it holds true at all levels of football, if you have a guy in the team that you know will grab you goals... the whole team plays with more confidence. I certainly wouldn't expect us to be challengers if we got one, but a top striker transforms the team imo. Top strikers make sure they are getting the right ball from their teammates… just by their presence alone really. As you say, the problem may be that there aren't too many out there that are realistic targets for us at this stage.

But ya, overall, I think there are signs of encouragement. I expected those signs way earlier in Amorim's tenure tbh, but it does at least give me some hope that with a decent summer, we might start to see some serious improvements.

cosatron

Can someone explain why Dalot didn't cross the ball to Højlund. Is it lack of vision, stupidity or something else. It looked so bad.

Mitch Connor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123240298#Comment_123240298

Osimhen is the only 'TOP' striker I can see that will likely move this summer - but I dont think we are in the race for him unless we make the CL (europe in general but CL is the only possibility now) and I have zero expectation that we will win the EL; so i am crossing him off my list of possibilities.

Delap, Samu are other guys linked - and have been linked to other sides. Both are promising but I don't know if either elevate us in the short term if if they do perform better than Hojlund (whihc is the lowest of bars). Gyokeres seems another likely target - but I reckon his cost isn't much less than Osimhen all told, so if we can't go for Osimhen I think he is out too.

Mbeaumo being linked but I don't think he is the answer at all - I think he would be much better than what we have, and a great squad player but I would put him in a similar bracket to Wilson at Newcastle, maybe unfairly. We'd quickly be wanting him to be an important (and productive) squad player rather than our first choice.

The striker market in general looks very, very weak.

PARlance

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123240360#Comment_123240360

Not too many viable options alright. I think Jonathan David will be the second target if Osimhen can't be got. Not sure if he is more of a risk than Delap, Samu etc but given our situation, a free transfer will be very appealing. His record is decent and at 25, a decent age profile. Was surprised to see that Mbeumo is also 25, I had him down for being a lot older in my head.

If a top striker can't be got then I would be going for David on a free and putting as much money as possible into getting a 10 who can be a serious goal threat as well.

ericzeking

Doesn't Hojlund typically outperform his XG? If he gets a chance he generally sticks it away, but he gets hardly any chances, either through poor team play or his own poor movement/play. But neither is the case for this instance. So Dalot not playing him in there is unforgiveable but not unexpected. The number of games Dalot plays is symptomatic of where we are. The term brainfart was mentioned, the guy is a walking brainfart at both ends of the pitch…..but he is deadly at high fives.

FourFourRED

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123240266#Comment_123240266

Focussing on it might end up with a trophy and Champions League qualification. We could beat Spurs, we could beat Real Sociedad, we could beat the Italian teams. We don’t know until it comes to it.

Most posts pre-match were about how much we would lose by. I said 1-1 because I wasn’t expecting a dominant performance from them. It could have been a win. It wasn’t and we have a job to do next week, I know.

The team has been poor but in knockout competition there’s always a chance. Just like the FA Cup last year. Not focussing on it would be strange.

Miley Byrne

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123239907#Comment_123239907

I wouldn't be giving Dalot the credit of actually working out for himself in that situation that his best option was to not play the obvious ball because he had no faith in the striker. I get the distinct impression from watching him play for the last few years that he wouldn't be the sharpest knife in the drawer. He is what we'd call a bungalow. Not a lot going on upstairs.

Toranaga

Dalot has played a sickening amount of games the last couple of years. More than any player in Europe I believe.

Even last night he was probably United's biggest attacking threat most of the time. The pile on because he didn't play the ball that one time is completely out of whack.

He played a perfect ball to Bruno a few minutes after that was very intelligent. Set him up at the weekend too. More likely he just has faith in one and not the other.