The Midfield Conundrum

So much has been said about us "not having a midfield" and needing to add reinforcements in this area of the park...but what exactly do you guys think it is that we've been missing and need to address in this position ? We've been linked with various types of midfielders from the De Rossi's to Fabregas, so are we looking at a midfield revolution ? Or are we just looking at one addition that can make the difference ?

One may say we are just lacking and needing a supreme midfield battler/enforcer in the Keane/Ince/Hargreaves mould who will add much needed energy and grit in the centre ?

Or are we looking for a playmaker with great vision, creativity and passing skills to be the midfield protagonist and creative fulcrum of the team ie. a "Scholes replacement" ?

What about going for a midfielder who sits back in the form of a Carrick, Busquets or Arteta does at Arsenal, and cover the defence and recover possession not by hassling opponents but through intelligent positioning. Maybe we could do with a player like that to rotate with Carrick ?

The fundamental question is, are we looking for a DM to partner Carrick and shoulder the defensive duties allowing Carrick the freedom to be a deep lying playmaker will less defensive burden ala Pirlo, Alonso ? Or are we looking for someone to take on the playmaking burden with Carrick covering the defence as it was suggested where Thiago would fit in. How best do we utilise Carrick ?

Considering the players we already have and the style of football we're looking to play I'm interested to know how do you think we should add to the midfield. Using the reported transfer targets as an indicator aswell as the preseason games played. How do you think Moyes and his team are looking to shape our "problem area" ?

Experience will be the thing. Apart from Carrick and an injury prone Fletcher we dont have a midfielder who has played a lot of seasons in the specialized mid positions (well dont count the young man Giggs).
I believe Kagawa is gonna play a very important role this time around. So with other rival teams bolstering their attack mainly we need someone to counter the threats, hold possession and then supply balls to V Persie and co via Kagawa, Valencia and may be Zaha. This talk of midfield tweaking would nt have even occurred if Anderson actually did realize his potential. So with all other mids and makeshift mids being very young and inexperienced we need someone who can perform in crunch games without wilting under pressure. So in my opinion we need to get only 1 more midfielder preferably from the Premier League itself who can do the same role Carrick does. Therefore i dont actually care the type of midfielder here as we already have some lethal attackers, it wont matter even if we go for a def Mid. imo we should look for someone who has the experience of playing top division football.
Having said all those it wont at all be a bad decision if we can get somehow Fabregas as well to fill in that slot.

we need a playermaker who can take the ball and drive at the defenses of other teams and press defenses through the middle of the park, Carrick is an excellent playmaker but he is a DLP and doesn't get into the box enough to out number defenders and cause problems. and of course we need a ball winner, we see this when we play City and Yaya Toure is there best player for them every time we play, and we saw it to a lesser extent earlier in the season when we played Fulham before Dembele moved to Tottenham, he was the best player on the pitch that day.

We could develop Cleverley to cover carrick? I think he used to play LB so the defensive abilities are already there they just need to be enhanced.

I've seen some people say ball winner and some say AM. If we get both there's no place for Carrick (In a 4-4-2). Which means we would have to change the formation to accommodate all of them. So is the current formation not suited for a player like Carrick? I mean he did well last season, but would the rest of the team benefit from a 5 man mid-field rather than 4? I don't think we will change our formation. So, I think the best player to play alongside him would be the box-to-box type, I think Ramsey could of done this job perfectly if he came here.

buying a ball winner doesn't mean he has to play week in and week out but having one as a option would be nice for the big games

Oh I see what you mean. Like when we play Jones in the big games, but a better option.

Good news though looks like Fletcher will be back soon.

Doubt Fletcher will reach is 09-10 levels again. We need another ball winner. WTF did hargreaves get injured, he was perfect in every way. Mobile, work rate, good technique, energetic and pretty nippy and had 2 lungs.

I dont understand why many United fans think we need another play maker..we need to get our hands on a DM minded midfielder and let Carrick keep doing his thing. Throw Kagawa or Rooney in the number 10 role behind VP and let them run the attack.

We had much success when Fletcher was playing and since he's been out we have lacked grit and steel other teams in Europe cant deal with

Our midfield is weak is just a myth created by disillusioned and jealous fans of other clubs who think they have a shot at achieving similar levels of success. Bring in a defensive midfielder and we will easily be marching on to another championship

Carrick is a CDM and he is one of the best from Europe. We need a versatile player who can play CDM, CM and CAM; a good example is Kroos, sad that we can't buy him.

By the way, welcome ! You should check the Man United Goal Legacy fanbase thread and introduce yourself!

Thanks man

I dont think a Kroos type of player would fit into the 2 man midfield we essentially will be playing this year. It would be a safer bet to bring in a more gritty midfielder considering Kagawa will be in the hole and doesnt have the best defensive awareness.

Of course its hard to speculate who we need because it all hinges on the style of football Moyes will look to implement and also if Rooney will be at the club next year

PJ87 wrote:Thanks man

I dont think a Kroos type of player would fit into the 2 man midfield we essentially will be playing this year. It would be a safer bet to bring in a more gritty midfielder considering Kagawa will be in the hole and doesnt have the best defensive awareness.

Of course its hard to speculate who we need because it all hinges on the style of football Moyes will look to implement and also if Rooney will be at the club next year

This Well said mate.

Carrick is more DLP then CDM....a playmaker we do need, but a lower cost ball winner is necessary for big matches....we don't need to throw out the same guys every game we could get by with a carrick+playmaker midfield against 75% of the PL easy and dominate....we need a ball winner for those big matches against possession whore teams.

this idea we have to buy a ball winner and play him every week is a myth

Its been a while since we've had a midfielder we could regularly back to hit double figures for goals. I would like to see a cheeky bid for Schweinsteiger (Bayern must be tempted to sell at the right price).

I think the ball winner in the Gilberto/Makelele role is non-existent, unless you want us to buy De Jong.

I think Arturo Vidal or Fellaini might work.

I just wish we had hung on to Pogba...

MidfieldCarousel wrote:Its been a while since we've had a midfielder we could regularly back to hit double figures for goals. I would like to see a cheeky bid for Schweinsteiger (Bayern must be tempted to sell at the right price).

I think the ball winner in the Gilberto/Makelele role is non-existent, unless you want us to buy De Jong.

I think Arturo Vidal or Fellaini might work.

I just wish we had hung on to Pogba...

Vidal hell yes, Fellaini hell no....Fellaini might be the most overrated scrub of the past 5 years

seriously July 31st can't come fast enough when his release clause can't be activated

he was moyes guy at everton, and he's not even Moyes first choice ffs, cuz he knows he's shit

B-Mac MUFC wrote:

MidfieldCarousel wrote:Its been a while since we've had a midfielder we could regularly back to hit double figures for goals. I would like to see a cheeky bid for Schweinsteiger (Bayern must be tempted to sell at the right price).

I think the ball winner in the Gilberto/Makelele role is non-existent, unless you want us to buy De Jong.

I think Arturo Vidal or Fellaini might work.

I just wish we had hung on to Pogba...

Vidal hell yes, Fellaini hell no....Fellaini might be the most overrated scrub of the past 5 years

seriously July 31st can't come fast enough when his release clause can't be activated

he was moyes guy at everton, and he's not even Moyes first choice ffs, cuz he knows he's shit

Preach, brother!!!

If Fellaini amounts to our only big signing this summer, dear me I'm gonna so hard.

like honestly there is a reason Fellaini hype train only started this year, because Moyes stopped playing him as a CM/DM and moved up up top as a CAM/SS. He was bloody invisible for 3 seasons at Everton before this year.

Fellaini, pls go!

Agreed. He is the opposite of what we need in a cm. De Rossi, Tiote, Bradley, Vidal, Martinez would be good.

I think we'll take a step backward if we got Tiote or Bradley.

I was interested in Wanyama pre Southampton

Granted, Fellaini is not in the same league as Vidal, Martinez or De Rossi, but he is actually a realistic proposition.

He is more than capable of filling in a role alongside Carrick and is a big improvement on our current stock.

He fits in with the philosophy of buying young players we can mould. His best years are ahead of him - the same cannot be same for an ageing De Rossi. Vidal and Martinez may be out of our reach financially.

[EDIT - I would be disappointed if Fellaini was our only signing this summer too, I would personally like to see him and Fabregas arrive at the club. Money much better spent on the two of those than another centre back]

B-Mac MUFC wrote:Carrick is more DLP then CDM....a playmaker we do need, but a lower cost ball winner is necessary for big matches....we don't need to throw out the same guys every game we could get by with a carrick+playmaker midfield against 75% of the PL easy and dominate....we need a ball winner for those big matches against possession whore teams.

this idea we have to buy a ball winner and play him every week is a myth

Surely Fellaini is that lower cost ball winner?

MidfieldCarousel wrote:

B-Mac MUFC wrote:Carrick is more DLP then CDM....a playmaker we do need, but a lower cost ball winner is necessary for big matches....we don't need to throw out the same guys every game we could get by with a carrick+playmaker midfield against 75% of the PL easy and dominate....we need a ball winner for those big matches against possession whore teams.

this idea we have to buy a ball winner and play him every week is a myth

Surely Fellaini is that lower cost ball winner?

Fellaini is not a ball winner....he is useless as a DM/CM for that very reason he is a awful tackler, hence why moyes moved up further up the pitch last year

Its very naive of you to suggest that the only way the ball can be won is through tackling.

For a number of years we've seen a great ball winner in Michael Carrick with a very high rate of interceptions but so few tackles.

Fellaini is a great ball winner when the ball is in the air.

Which brings me back to my point of how many tackling 'ball winners' do you see nowadays in the top teams?

Busquets, Carrick and Alonso aren't exactly reknowned for their tackling. Makelele and Gilberto have gone, and De Jong, Parker and Gattuso are slowly being phased out as possession football becomes the more traditional way of playing. Why do you need a tackler when most players take so few touches?

Fellaini would provide some steel to an otherwise lightweight midfield whilst also having the energy to get from box to box and plug a hole alongside Carrick. He also has potential to hit double figures. Something we have sorely missed from a midfield player since Scholes was at his peak and CR7 was strutting his stuff.

[EDIT - A classic example is at Barcelona where Mascherano (arguably the best midfield destroyer at present) was converted to a CB as there is no real need for tacklers in midfield anymore. Now at Bayern, Guardiola talks about moving another tackler Javi Martinez into central defense. If a tackler was crucial to a midfield, why would the most successful manager over the last 5 year decline to employ one?]

your insistence that Fellaini could play CM/DM tells me you have not seen him play CM/DM.....honestly, he is useless. he is all media/paper hype, will be a massive flop if United signed him trust me.

he played as a CAM/SS last year ffs

It is obvious you have no appreciation what a central midfield role entails. Fellaini could do a good job for us there, and nothing you have said addresses any point to the contrary

MidfieldCarousel wrote:It is obvious you have no appreciation what a central midfield role entails. Fellaini could do a good job for us there, and nothing you have said addresses any point to the contrary

i have a complete understanding what a central midfield role entails, you come here 8 posts in and start criticizing other posters knowledge of the game, pls go find a everton game where he is a CM/DM and watch him, then come argue how brilliant he would be ffs

you want a player used as a target man from last year to play as a CM ffs

Its irrelevant how many posts one has on this forum. Do you suggest that everyone with zero posts has zero knowledge of football? But I'd rather put those unpleasantries to one side as i joined this forum to discuss football - a game i have extensive knowledge about.

Theres your link. He is positionally good, if not completely well disciplined. He shows his obvious strength on the ball. And wins headers around the box and from longer balls. He's occasionally too strong in the tackle and goes chasing the ball, but hes young and has time to develop. He supports his fullbacks well and helps to double up against the wingers. He keeps the ball ticking over when Everton are in possession and makes probing passes when required. I think he looks very solid and is not to be sniffed at at a price of £25m