The way we discussed matters related to football has changed a lot recently, as tactical plans, numbers and statistics have become the one who tops the scene. However, there are still some simple facts that must be taken seriously, especially when you come from someone who has tremendous experiences at this level. So, when Graim Sonis reminds us that “the team that reaches the ball first is the one who wins”, so we must give that the same amount of the attention we give when we hear any talk about pressure on the ball bearer and methods of creating opportunities, for example.
Certainly, the most committed players to reach the ball first are, such as Sonis, midfielders. Although there are other influential factors outside the field, the lack of players who have been able to do so for a long time is the main reason behind Manchester United’s weakness in recent years. This was not lost on the mind of Manchester United coach, Robin Amorim. After a negative tie with Leeds United recently, the Portuguese coach said: “The gaps between our lines were sometimes very large, and we lacking speed, especially in the middle of the field, and you can feel the difficulty of achieving us to win and acquire the ball.”
However, the problem is due to Amorem more than a decade – which is surprising, especially since Manchester United has always had a number of the greatest midfielders in the world. The famous team of Manchester United, known as “players in captivity”, was a midfield consisting of Jackie Blancheor, Denkan Edwards, and Eddie Coleman; While the club’s team in the sixties of the last century included Nubian Styles, Badi Kirand and Bobe Charlton, then the Sir Alex Ferguson team, who moved smoothly from Brian Robson, came to Paul Innis to Roy Kane – who was playing alongside Paul Scholes, surrounded by David Beckham and Ryan Giggs, who were playing deep in the field.
But things changed completely after the acquisition of Manchester United in 2005, when Ferguson, bound by the debts of the American Glyzer family, focused on how to prevent the reception of goals on the one hand, and how to score goals on the other hand. The team, which won the Premier League and the Champions League in the 2007-2008 season, had one of the strongest defense lines and attack lines throughout the ages, but the midfield was a clear weakness – Barcelona exploited in two final for the Champions League, and clearly excelled in the midfield, to put tremendous pressure on the Manchester United defense and suffocates the trio of the attack and completely isolated it from the rest of the team.
During the period between contracting with Owen Hargrves in 2007 and Ferguson retired in 2013, the Scottish coach contracted with only one player in the midfield, mourning Nick Powell, who can be easily classified as a second striker. Instead, Ferguson contracted a large number of wings and attackers from various levels so that they have the ability to resolve difficult matches. The numbers and statistics indicate that in the last season of Fergson at the Old Trafford, Manchester United won 16 league games by one goal difference.
In the 12 years that followed, Manchester United contracted with all types of midfielders with large sums of money, namely: Marwan Fellaini, Angel de Maria, Daly Blind, Wandir Herrera, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Morgan Schneidery, Paul Pogba, Nimania Mattich, Farid, Bruno Fernandez, Deni Van de Pick, Cristian Eriksen, Cassimero, Masson Mount, Manuel Ugariti, with Marcel Sabitzer and Sufyan Amrabat joined on loan. So far, it can be said that Bruno Fernandez is the only one of these players who achieved great success with the team.
Football, the midfield was the largest failure of Manchester United; Even the team that was playing under the leadership of Oli Gunnar Solskaire, who was the best in the post -Sir Alex Ferguson years, was dependent on rapid counterattacks, not the possession of the ball. In fact, things worsened completely when Solskaire tried to change the way of playing so that the team was more imminent on the ball, and controlled the rhythm of matches, because in the aftermath of the European Cup 2020, its quadruple defense line collapsed and the team was lacking in the midfield players who were able to protect him – Mattich and Pogba lacked the ability to reach the ball first because of their suffering from extreme fatigue. Things could have been going differently if Manchester United spent the money spent on Harry Maguire in contracting with Diklan Rice, but that did not happen, the team’s defense became very open, and the front line is isolated, given the inability of the midfield to control the course of the matches.
In fact, there are different ways to do this. Manchester City coach, Josep Guardiola, not only relying on midfielders in the middle of the field, but also relied on some of them in the defense and attack lines as well, while the former coach of Liverpool, Juergen Klopp, relied on physically powerful players to outperform the midfield competitors, while relying on two advanced backs who do offensive tasks. But once Klopp tried to try something different, by involving Thiago Alcantara, the balance immediately disturbed.
In fact, Liverpool has not succeeded in restoring this balance completely so far, and even winning the Premier League title last season relied heavily on the Egyptian star Mohamed Salah; At a time when the Reds received 41 goals, the highest number of goals has been received by the champion of the competition since Manchester United in the 2012-2013 season. In the Champions League, Paris Saint -Germain took advantage of Liverpool midfield. Although the team’s ranks are strengthened with distinguished players at a high cost this summer, the lack of strengthening the midfield – so far – will give competitors an opportunity to exploit the clear weakness in this center.
However, Manchester United cannot venture in the same way. Manchester United under the leadership of Amorim as a team was unable to create opportunities, then developed and became chances, but he remained unable to translate it into goals, which represents a qualitative leap forward. So, it is logical that the club’s priority this summer is to increase the number of goals, but after already strengthened the offensive line by contracting Matius Konya and Brian Mbumo, the club must now give priority to strengthening the midfield. However, this does not mean that the team does not need an explicit striker. But there are not many distinguished attackers in the transfer market, and the way Amorim prefers, which depends on two in the midfield while the majority of competing teams depend on three players, leaving a gap that is difficult to overcome. Ferguson faced himself this dilemma, first when English clubs returned to participate in European championships, then again against Bayern Munich in 2001, then in 2007 against Milan.
The mutation that occurred in the physical fitness of the players means that things have become more difficult since then. Although the way Amorim prefers depends on the defenders, the backs and the attackers deep in the stadium in order to pressure competitors and create chances of scoring, he still needs huge physical strength in the midfield – especially after he decided to rely on Bruno Fernandez in the center of the attacked midfielder and not as a playmaker. Casemiro is no longer that player who is able to do this task, while Ugariti – who was replaced by Paris Saint -Germain using the wonderful player Joao Nevis – lacks the ability to control the midfield, and he does not have the character who enables him to lead the team’s performance in this part of the field.
Based on all of this, if Manchester United contracts with the appropriate midfielder, this will be better for him than contracting with an explicit striker. In fact, the Brazilian phenomenon Ronaldo Nazario himself would suffer severely if he was playing with a team unable to acquire the ball and supply him with balls in front of the goal! Joshua Zerkzi, Rasmos Hilond and Chido Ope showed great potential, and in the event of creative players from behind them and a strong midfield that has the ability to spoil the competitors’ attacks, they will have more registration opportunities, and they will have opportunities for development and growth so that one of them becomes a key player in the front line – and therefore, there is a need to contract with a better midfielder than Ugariti and Cassimero.
As a result, the center of the midfield should be the only priority for Monsim – Manchester United cannot spend on strengthening the midfields and attacking at the same time, and if that happened, he may contract with non -good players enough in both positions! Manchester United must sign the best midfielder available, provided that this player is suitable for the way of playing, and then thinks about strengthening other positions, although the team still urgently needs to sign Ayman’s wing. The bottom line, if Manchester United does not contract with a midfielder who is able to reach the ball first, it will not simply be a good team!
* “The Guardian Service”
