"Scott McTominay is a good footballer, being played in the wrong position" Literally 70% of Man United players currently and in recent years.

So... McTominay is either a ball-playing center back or a box-to-box midfielder, two roles United doesn't use.

It just worries me that every man and his dog can see our issues expect our own coaches 😐

This explains why Steve Clark plays McTominay as an rcb in a three man defense ahead of other recognised cbs. He looks a lot better at it than cdm.

The saddest part of this whole thing is how perfectly this still applies. Nothing has changed!

I play CB and I hate it when the RB or the CDM runs directly behind the opponent who is closing me down. The RB or the CDM pretends they are working so hard and running back but literally makes no passing lanes for me. I end up clearing the ball. Madness. I never realized that there was a name for this - cover shadowing.

They need someone like Matic…..from 6 years ago 😂

Wait. So McTominay has been marking the guy who is marking him? Wow...

The other problem is the positioning of the forwards. Sometimes it feels like playing a 4-2-4 because Bruno sits so high up the pitch. You’re asking a lot of a midfield that aren’t that good. Best spells of play are when Bruno plays deeper and can link the midfield to the forwards in build up. I don’t mind when we’re up the pitch, he makes good passes with his back to goal, but in build up he’s playing up next to Ronaldo and I don’t really understand why.

Ole has stressed this many times that he wants all his midfielders to help with the attack and build up play. Bruno has been so full of confidence since his arrival that he wants to be the main man in attack, almost operating as a second striker with Cavani and Ronaldo having to play a bit wider to cover ground. I don't believe McTominay and Fred are as bad as people make them to be, it is simply the set up that isn't working to their advantage. You are asking 2 midfielders, both who can be clumsy, to solely help with breaking up play and cover a lot of area when 6 players in the team all want to attack but don't press as a unit. That leaves ample of space on our flanks and midfield open for any half decent team to counter attack.

Someone please forward this to Ole and his coaching staff..

The most important bit of this is "Fernandes has the 10 slot and that requires a double pivot". Only he doesn't play as a midfielder he plays as a striker. Which means United play 4-2-4. Bruno gets a lot of goal involvements but he breaks the midfield.

It is sort of amusing in a way, his two best positions are quite different from each other. We had seen versatile players before obviously, but they are often moved so they can also take advantage of their skill set (Kimmich to CM) or just that declining physical ability meant they had to re-invent a bit (Matheus, Scholes). Him excelling as RCB and suitability as a CAM is not really do with a particular strength of his, rather is because of his adequate tackling/long passing and his running game/technical ability. In some ways, he is the perfect squad player in that he could fill multiple positions while but good enough to be able to demand to play every game.

I think the reason Fred gets blamed so much is because hes being isolated due to all the other mids and forwards pushing up, which causes him to make more mistakes. I do think with the right midfield partner, Fred would actually seem quite capable

So, basically, McTominay, when he's not a CB, is Paul Pogba. So, United have 5 players trying for one/two positions.

Makes it quite clear why united are forced to play the same way every time. It's frustrating to see everytime seeing his positioning. Hope united buy a DM ASAP

Thank you! Been trying to tell people this! McTominay isn’t a DM, neither is Fred. McTominay, Fred, Pogba, Bruno and VDB all prefer the 8 or 10 role. We only have Matic to play DM, and he’s too slow and old to play every game. For most games, McTominay and Fred is Uniteds best option. And that’s not a top 10 midfield. Either of them would probably look twice the player next to a natural 6. Training into a new role takes time, tactics is all good and well, but unless it’s drilled in or natural, the game is too fast to think it out. Having a good partner who can guide you as it happens on the pitch will help, though.

I remember McTominay being played in an advanced role once, last season, vs Leeds. He scored a brace. Makes sense now

Grame Souness would say "The problem is Pogba"

Excellent explanation to show that Solskjær and his back room staff are clueless as to get the best and utilise the qualities of players as Alex showed in how to get the best of Scott McTominays abilities. 3 years in a billion spent and Öle still can't figure it out. Öle as a player, possibly one of the best Super subs ever and thanks for some great footballing memories but as a manager/coach he is out of depth, tactically, game management, formation, system of play, team selection etc etc🤦🏻 🤷and thanks Alex, for confirming what I have been saying season after season about Scott McTominay.

Given the lack of work their attackers do they probably have to play with two DM’s

Here, in Brasil, he would be a great Segundo Volante; pretty much like Paulinho was for Corinthians and Seleção.

It's intentional. There's no player - even in pub leagues - who doesn't know whether he is in a cover shadow or not. McTominay is _hiding,_ he doesn't want to receive the ball in that type of area. You can compare this to Matic when he comes on against the same opposition, he will always come to receive the ball/put himself into an open position almost w/o fail.

Same applies to Fred. He isn't a 6 and is more comfortable as an 8 where he can carry the ball forward and get closer to the opposition box.

Ole’s here watching and taking notes, because at Man Utd you apparently “learn on the job” like an apprenticeship

Love this analysis! Would love to see a piece on Youri Tielemans in this way and where his best position is and how it's evolved. In the 18/19 season he often played higher up the pitch but more recently has transitioned into the double pivot we often see at Leicester

More videos like this please! This was great. Be good to see some in game footage too which will enhance your points. I have subbed.

Love this! Very informative and useful video about United's issues without resorting to opinions and slander of the coaches.

Very interesting breakdown. Thank you! Really shows how much of an issue the squad imbalance is, to me.

Love this channel.

Nice informative video Would love to see a similar video about fred as well

I love these analysis videos. To me it seems like ManUtd's best midfield would be a midfield three of Matic, McTominay and either Pogba or Fred. Maybe with Bruno Fernandes in attacking midfield with two strikers in possibly Rashford and Ronaldo. Ole must look at himself in shame and improve how he sets up his team or this club legend will be out like Frank Lampard at Chelsea...

Guardiola made attacking midfielders like KDB, David Silva, Bernardo to press and work extra defensively, why can't Pogba(who is physicaly strong) can't do the same

Sadly, I think McTominay is just scared of receiving the ball.

glad you finally made this video. Been telling friends for years all he does is hide from the ball. Much better suited to a b2b role. Hopefully when we get a new manager in, he'll actually know how to use his squad.

Wow this video was almost prophetic if anyone watched that Liverpool game today...

My next question : why doesnt ole try to play lindelof as DM? The way I see it, he has the quality to do so.

0:40 McTominay does not leave the cover shadow. This forces Man U to try riskier passes or they will pass the ball wide, which allows the opposition to use the sideline as an extra defender. 2:45 McTominay as a right centre back. He has more time to make passes, 82% passing accuracy for 30 yard+ passes, and he can carry the ball forwards. Hence, he is more comfortable 4:33 McTominay as an attacking midfield player. He was often played there in his youth. He is effective at receiving return passes, and making progressive skill passes like back heels and one-twos. 5:48 McTominay is using him as a centre midfield. As a 6. He is 6ft 4, he is vocal, a leader, and a physical defensive presence who can tackle well. The problem is his passing game, and hence he is out of position 7:14 McTominay stats. Compared to Jorginho and Rodri. McTominay makes more progressive passes, but he gets the ball less, and the passing accuracy for when he receives the ball is less.

Great video, would love to see a similar one about Fred.

Pogba does this deliberately as well when hes playing in the pivot. Just hides in between or behind the strikers. The other thing that happens as well is Maguire often dwells on the ball, and when he get pressed or rushed, he passes it to Shaw or straight back to De Gea and puts the whole team under pressure. But I also understand that CB should not have to be ones looking to carry the ball foward. A specialist CDM sorts out all these problems for us.

Please make these t shirts available to buy! They’re so awesome!

Imagine if the players themselves watched these videos and actually improved on their weaknesses

THANK YOU! Scott is a good squad player for us. I dont think he is the quality to be starting game in and game out, but he works hard and is a good player. He is not meant to play as CDM. Been saying that for awhile now.

Excellent analysis Alex, I am learning a lot. Thanks for videos!

Agree with Alex to an extent. But it seems like the positioning is something that can be worked on in training, so I'd upgrade McT by working on his weak points he seems like the kind of guy you can work with.. I think we always look sharper with him in the team. And he can give us late runs into the box to overwhelm deep lying opponents - Fred can do this but the end Product isn't the same level.

There needs to be a proper orchestrator in Manchester united to make them atleast a title contender..

Superb video, thanks a lot!

Cover shadow 😂, we call it ‘Hiding’. Great analysis 👍🏽

Pretty much every one of uniteds midfielders would play much better alongside a proper dm

The same thing with Fred. They are both attacking midfielders

Its also interesting to note that Mctominay plays as a CB in a back 3 for Scotland. So it's not that United is using him incorrectly, but an overall wrong perception of where he will grow as a player when he got into the 1st team. Unfortunately this might mean that his ceiling as a player will be limited.

Damn, exactly what I was thinking the past few games! I think that's spot on - very easy to see!

Great video. Darren Fletcher is often a comparison point but remember Fletcher was tactically used well in certain games and was a good squad player, never the consistent starter. McTominay's long passing weight is good at times but he doesn't switch play enough for me. This video also shows how he and Fred don't move to create space. It's not the individual, it's the system at United. And it's made even worse when you have a manager who relies on individuals to win games rather than a playing style.

Fred and Mctominay simply do not have the brains to play as deep lying midfielders, You dont need pace nor physicality, just look at Michael Carrick. He was able to control that midfield solo even after Scholes retired coz he had a good reading and understanding of the game.

Well said, same applies to pogba in terms of attacking... Bottom line we need a 433 with 1 cdm only and we could then use our many CMs like Mctominay, Pogba, VDB, and Bruno has to do that role as well for the benefit of the team, I'm sure he can do it. Ole just needs to understand football and have a vision or flexibility or balls or whatever.

True Ole Post-match Interview after Liverpool game: (Smiles) Amazing performance by the lads, I mean after the first half, 0-4 down, I was thinking maybe they can hit 5 more, but brilliant performance from the trio: McGuire at the back and McFred in the middle, Just top class. (about pogba) you know he's not a big player, here. You can see how he got the red card, absolute bizzare but good thing Fred and McTominay linked up well. These 2 can be the next Scholes and Carrick for Utd ( giggles) Hope we can achieve the same at Tottenham next week.

Bro Ole is just clueless the guy has no idea what he's doing

Can't we just agree it's Ole not being good enough to know how to deploy his best team

Brilliant video !

There are some issues with the comparisons. The double pivot has different asks of players compared to the single pivot, so the numbers of McTom and Rodri etc are bound to differ. A more attacking contribution is a must from a mid in double pivot and McTom is good at this; Fred is improving as well, creating and finishing (shooting) more and more chances. He needs to improve at finding the right space for the pass, like you've pointed out.

Why don't United try out James Garner in that role. It surely can't be any worse than what we currently have plus from what I have heard about him while playing in the championship for Forrest, he's been more than decent. If it goes wrong, he will have time to develop and if it goes right, you may have a fantastic DM who will be at the club for the next 10 - 15 years.

I've noticed that during Ole's reign when Fred, McTominay and Bruno play without Pogba they normally win games for Man United and we normally play well and win with those three in midfield if Pogba is not playing. The problem is Pogba is more talented than all of them but the least hard working and therefore makes it difficult for his midfield teammates who are often left isolated and then exposed, when Pogba plays. Pogba is not consistent and often lethargic on the pitch, especially when he plays in a two man pivot. Best thing to do is to sell Pogba and bring someone in who is hardworking, talented and makes players around him better

this is interesting, I never knew that about Mcsauce Our team is so unbalanced its ridiculous

Noticed this when Scotland played Czech Republic in the Euros. He never seemed to find the half spaces or take the ball on the half turn. I found myself really frustrated watching him, for a Manchester United centre midfielder, you expect so much more. Changing to McGregor and Gilmour has been absolutely game changing for Scotland, as deep lying playmakers they have transformed the way we play. It's actually a real pity we didn't see them in that first game - would have made a massive difference.

To me even Donny would fit better at cdm cause he has great movement and good positional play. Mctomminay is like Fred they are not good at cdm because of bad positional play.

It's 2021 and they're still saying Jose Mourinho like he's from Spain. Unbelievable.

They have 2 World Class CAM'S in Pogba & Fernandes. They have 3 Almost World Class CAM'S in McTominay, Van De Beek & Lingard. The Team is Unbalanced, 2 of these Players needs to Go. They should then Buy 1 World Class CDM & 1 Almost World Class CDM.

This is a great video, thankyou What program do you use, it would be a great tool for us coaches Thankyou

talking about united midfield even tifo couldn't decode fred what a baller

McFred aren't the greatest of footballers, but it does seem like they aren't being coached properly.

I have concerns over the system and its changes; in the sense of United could shift their formation in every phase. A 4-3-3 in the beginning of the build-up, so as they can progress the ball easily, and so on and so forth. I think Bruno would enjoy running from behind and being close to Pogba and Bruno too.

Very interesting thanks. I hadn't noticed that he doesn't make himself available in deeper positions as much as he should. I take your point about his background and the roles he is more comfortable in but surely this skill can be coached?

nothing about Lord Fred?

graeme souness is shouting at his laptop right now about how its somehow pogbas fault

McT could play his current role successfully. But it needs a solid predictable back line that is relatively error free. Part reason he ends up in the cover shadow is partly poor coaching cos it can easily be worked on. The other is that he often is preemptively going to mark the player because there is such low trust in the defence's ability to successfully transition the ball. At that level surely you need assured defender who can confidently play out. Both Maguire and Lindelof are too indecisive in possession and that unsettles the midfield. Which is why Fred should always patrol in front of cb's to receive the ball and then feed forward, They can do it, but they need to train on that pattern and it needs more assured center backs.

Really spot on

This is spot on regarding McToms positioning in the build up. It's like he's too scared to receive the ball in his own half and opts in being an extra body just in case United lose the ball and get countered.

the real problem is that either fred or mctominay knows the defensive midfield role, drop back between the two cbs and pick up the ball. only matic does that

oh boy, that sounds like exactly how I feel on my indoor team. We have some better attackers upfront but not enough quality in defense so I end up playing in from of the defense but also don't feel comfortable to "receive pass facing my goal" all the time 😥

This is even more accurate now with the difference between Casemiro and Eriksen and McFred

The main problem is that mc tominay and Fred just aren't man utd level. Specifically with mctominay, he is not technically good enough to be the player utd need there and isn't comfortable as a sitting cm or cdm because he doesn't have good enough awareness of the game going on around him and doesn't particularly like receiving the ball in tight spaces or facing his own goal. In a marauding box to box role he can excel because of his physicality but utd don't really play a system where he'll get to play like that like that every week. As a Scotland fan, I really don't trust him as a defender, especially against any half decent team. He can play a bit which does allow us to play out the back when we are facing the likes of Moldova and work as an attacking unit which he is good for sometimes especially comin out and driving up the right side. Positionally, however, he doesn't understand the role of a central defender and frequently gets dragged out of position, caught ball watching and loses his man. He has some strengths as a footballer but honestly I wouldn't normally start him even for Scotland in any match that we needed to win (which may surprise some english fans I know (and i am aware he did just score a 94th minute winner for Scotland in the last break)) unless it was a game against Spain or something where we basically were expecting the other team to have 80 % possession. Scotland do sometimes just need someone to tackle, chase and harry for 90 minutes because we have a pretty limited squad in comparison to the "pot one" type nations and McTominay's size, strength and stamina are something that we can definitely benefit from having when we play those teams. When we want to try to play football and control a game though, imo in mcgregor, gilmour and mcginn we have 3 central midfield players who are all much more comfortable on the ball than him and like passing it about and we kinda rely on keeping a decent amount of possession in games against teams more of our stature because we need to supply inefficient forwards with enough chances to get us a goal. Honestly I think if it's even a debate about whether he makes the Scotland team (and again, for me it genuinely is in some games) then definitely shouldn't be one of the first teams on the man utd team sheet. He is probably a mid table prem player at best and maybe a utility man at a team like Utd.

Bang on! Both McTominay & Fred are really 8’s being shoe-horned to play as 6’s. Utd should play 4-3-3 with Bruno dropping deeper as an 8 alongside Pogba and a true no.6 behind them. VDB immediate no. 8 bench player with Fred & McTominay more squad rotational roles.

Jose called this shadow cover thing 'being not brave.' Ander Herrera excelled at being there. I hate it when players don't show for the ball and this is 100% on the coaching staff. They allow it to happen.

Great video - Ole, take note!

I think he would be fine actually if he wasn’t in the midfield with Fred. If he had a Declan Rice beside him, he could perform a similar role to Soucek, and pretty effectively I think.

Ironic I'm watching this after Liverpool just beat Utd 5-0

Alex Stuart First time seeing your face Great video though great insight never knew the wide positions were easy to press

Thank you 🙏

Mctominay playing as a striker in youth teams definitely shows with his shots on goal, he's a good finisher for a midfielder. Got a boot.

>finding out your only real CDM under age 33 is actually a striker things just went from bad to worse for Man Utd fans.

Great video, I was really hoping you guys would address this! Question: What´s your top 3 - targets Man Utd should (realistically) be looking at?

This video was much better pregame analysis than the bickering on Sky. It helped me understand what to look for yesterday. Good shit.

After this video: Newcastle united buys Scott mctominay for $100m as a striker

30 seconds in to the video and im nodding along

Mctominay as half-back droping in as RCB. Where he can shuttle the ball with Maguire. Varane or Bailly covering. VDB as a Anchor/ DLPM. Using his movement, ball retention and passing ability. AWB tucking in as almost Inverted Wing-back to help Donny bulk up the midfield. Sancho stays wide on the right. Bruno shifts slightly to the right to assist Sancho. Rashford/Pogba/Lingard shifts slighty more centraly. Shaw hold the width on the left. Would be a 3-2-4-1/ 3-4-2-1 shape in attack/pressing. Something like that could really work IMO.

What he's saying makes sense, because when Jose gave him his debut, he played him with matic and pogba in midfield, and he had license to occupy more advanced positions of the pitch, but defensively would help matic close the space ahead of the defence. So box-to-box

United are terrible in the first phase. A Partey/Rice type of pivot player who can progress play in buildup was needed. Expected Matic to be that type of player but unfortunately it hadn’t worked out.

fred does exactly the same though ... sits in the shadow....

This is a great analyses 👌🏾👌🏾👌🏾 on point. In my opinion at least 4 other players in defense and midfield should be replaced Shaw, McGuire, and both wingbacks

spot on