Team vs Man Utd

[ClaretMov]

..........................Pope

Roberts......Tarks. ... Mee......Taylor

Cornet..Brownhill..Westwood. McNeil

............Weghorst .......Rodriguez

[Lambo]

We’ll never have a better time to play United, a team in apparent disarray both on and off the field….we need to get into them and for that we need to play a system we’re used to ie 4-4-2…I understand peoples thoughts on 3 at the back but those are changes you should really make in your pre season to allow players to feel comfortable with them and not half way through a season….so for me it’s:-

Pope

Roberts Tarkowski Mee Taylor (hopefully fit)

Cornet Westwood Brownhill McNeil

Rodriguez Wout

Tough on Lennon but we need players in their most effective positions and J Rod up front will take some of the pressure off Wout….McNeil plays so much better with Taylor behind him (not a sleight on Pieters but Taylor offers more overlapping Dwight)

As I said, it’s a good time to play the Mancs but we have to perform for 90 minutes, not 20…..a win and we’re up and running, keep the faith guys, I know it’s been dire but 3 points and we may even be out of the bottom 3…UTC

[Vino blanco]

We need new ideas in midfield so I'm taking Lennon, Westy, Cork and Stephens out of the team.
Pope
Lowton Tarks Mee Taylor
Roberts Brownhill
MacNeil
Jay Wout Max

With instructions to move forward with the ball, pass and move into space, and get players in and around their box.
It won't ever happen, but I can only dream.

[Bordeauxclaret]

First things first - I think Jay has to start. Against Watford, one of our big problems was that the ball wasn't sticking with Cornet or Weighorst and we lacked a focal point to our game. That's not a criticism of either of them - Cornet isn't a centre forward and isn't well suited to wrestling for the ball with his back to goal, whilst Weighorst is on a crash course to both our way of playing and the physicality of the Premier League. You can't get away without a centre forward who can give you an outlet against United (against anyone really, but particularly a top side). Jay has his limitations these days but he's the best available option to provide that.

As for Lennon - I didn't think he was effective against Watford. I thought Watford were perfectly happy to give him the space to appear like he might be effective (they did what most teams do now and shuffled right over to choke our left side whilst giving us acres down the right), but they were proved right in that because he didn't use it. He managed a grand total of 14 passes (11 successful) and one unsuccessful cross, and no shots. For the space he had at times, especially in the first 30 minutes, that was wildly ineffective for my money.

I think the final place is probably between Lennon and Rodriguez, depending on shape. Personally, I'd probably go for Lennon and play him and Cornet wide with McNeil off Jay. Weighorst can give us an option from the bench.

Actually - those saying a back 3/wingbacks wouldn't work for us are correct in my opinion. The fact City don't do it is irrelevant. If you play that shape without being good enough in possession, it inevitably becomes a back 5, and without the extra person to work back on the outside you tend to get overwhelmed in those areas. You can just about making that work if you've pace higher up the pitch to make it a genuine counter-attacking 5-3-2, but we don't.

First things first Jay has to start but then the final place is probably between Lennon and Rodriguez and you’d go for Lennon?

[claretspice]

Sorry - last position between Weighorst and Lennon. Because I'm not sure 442 is a great idea against United. I think getting McNeil between the lines gives us a better chance.

[jrgbfc]

When was the last time we didn't play 4-4-2?

[Taffy on the wing]

What did Roberts do to warrant chucking Lowton on the scrapheap?

[quoonbeatz]

When was the last time we didn't play 4-4-2?

Last month against Utd.

[Pearcey]

I’d like to see:-

Pope
Roberts Tarky Mee Taylor
Lennon Brownhill Westy Cornet
Weghorst Jay

What I think it’ll be:-

Pope
Roberts Tarky Mee Pieters
Lennon Brownhill Westy McNeil
Weghorst Cornet

I think a rest might give Dwight a kick up the bum. He certainly needs one.

[Safron]

Pretty pointless when we all know what the formation will be, only change will be brown hill for Stephens 442

[boatshed bill]

Actually - those saying a back 3/wingbacks wouldn't work for us are correct in my opinion. The fact City don't do it is irrelevant. If you play that shape without being good enough in possession, it inevitably becomes a back 5, and without the extra person to work back on the outside you tend to get overwhelmed in those areas. You can just about making that work if you've pace higher up the pitch to make it a genuine counter-attacking 5-3-2, but we don't.

Luckily 4-4-2 is working a treat.
If it's not broke........

[Blatherwickstattoo]

Pope

Roberts
Tarks
Mee
Pieters (Taylor N/A)

Cornet RW
Brownhill
Westwood
Lennon LW

McNeil AM

Wout

[Iloveyoubrady]

Same again for me. Not a bad side at all just need to play better!

[Top Claret]

Any update on Taylor, will he be fit for Tuesday?

[claretandy]

Any update on Taylor, will he be fit for Tuesday?

Nope, not ready.

[bumba]

Last month against Utd.

We played 442, he played Lennon up top with Wood

[buzzclarets79]

Have it on good authority we going to play 4-4-2 tomorrow, with a style of play of pass it to one of the CB’s who will then just hit the ball as hard and high as possible. If that doesn’t work after 10/15 min, we’ll just carry on, please though don’t tell anyone as we don’t want the opposition to find out our tactics so they can prepare for it…. Hush hush lads.

[CnBtruntru]

Most of the Utd team will be out with Covid by tomorrow, the are running scared

[KlyBfc]

I’d go

…………………..Pope
……Roberts Tarks Mee Pieters
…….. Brownhill westwood Mcneil
……..Jay. WW. Cornet

Lennon could play for Jay but I’d start Jay to work his heart out on the right and provide us with an aggressive outlet that we could hit and get DM and WW near at times. I’d have McNeil in the centre flicking between the lines, rotating with Westwood picking the ball up off the back 4 but also with him getting up the field as well

[Elizabeth]

Sorry - last position between Weighorst and Lennon. Because I'm not sure 442 is a great idea against United. I think getting McNeil between the lines gives us a better chance.

You’d go for Lennon before Weighorst ? Wow we really are a confused lot. If Dyche does something as ridiculous as this we are a lost cause !

[spt_claret]

Not sure to be honest. I'd be tempted to play Roberts at right midfield for his crossing but it's not really something he's done before.
Either:
.........................Pope
Roberts.........Tarks.......Mee.......Pieters(Taylor if fit)

...........Brownhill...Westwood...McNeil
Lennon/Jay..................................Cornet
.......................Weghorst

With McNeil sometimes drifting into the attacking hole behind Weghorst/between the wingers, or moving wide left while Cornet moves there

Or

...........................Pope
Roberts/Lowton...Tarks...Mee...Pieters(Taylor if fit)

Lennon/Roberts...Brownhill...Westwood...McNeil
.....................................Cornet
.......................Weghorst

Which is not much different from Saturday.

Our squad is painfully thin.

[Lowbankclaret]

Lennon was the best player on the pitch for the first 30 mins yesterday.

Missed the first 10 minutes due to the turnstiles issues, after 5 minutes I was saying Lennon was hiding and he did diddly squat. At his age to become effective he needs to become transgender and play for the women’s side.

[boatshed bill]

Missed the first 10 minutes due to the turnstiles issues, after 5 minutes I was saying Lennon was hiding and he did diddly squat. At his age to become effective he needs to become transgender and play for the women’s side.

Kinell

[Sleeping Cat]

....................Pope
Roberts - Tarks - Mee - Pieters (Taylor if fit)

McNeil - Brownhill - Westwood - Cornet

..................Jay - Weghorst

[jojomk1]

................................POPE..........................
.....ROBERTS........TARKS..........MEE.........PiIETERS
..............................STEPHENS......................
....CORNET.....BROWNHILL....WESTWOOD....McNEIL
.................................W W...........................

[claretonthecoast1882]

Pope
Lowton Tarks Mee Pieters
Cornet Brownhill Cork Westwood McNeil
Wout

[AlargeClaret]

Taylor’s out so I’d imagine is our strongest line up

Pope
Roberts Tarks Mee Pieters

McNeil Brownhill Westwood Cornet

Jay Weghorst

[Mala591]

I think Dyche might go 4-4-1-1 tonight
Lowton or Roberts at RB, little to choose between them
Cork ‘full on’ for 70 minutes then Stephens

———————Pope
Lowton——Tarks——Mee——Pieters
Brownhill Westwood Cork McNeil
———————Cornet
——————Weghorst

[Zenwisdom]

Pope
Roberts Tarks. Mee. Pieters
Brownhill Stephen’s
McNeil
Jay WW Cornet
Cork on standby Roberts will be tested if Rashford turns up

[Sleeping Cat]

................................POPE..........................
.....ROBERTS........TARKS..........MEE.........PiIETERS
..............................STEPHENS......................
....CORNET.....BROWNHILL....WESTWOOD....McNEIL
.................................W W...........................

I like this.

[nyclaret]

We’ll be playing 4-4-f****** 2.

17C64B61-31E5-4531-9CED-D512D931093A.jpeg (42.09 KiB) Viewed 2855 times

[claretspice]

You’d go for Lennon before Weighorst ? Wow we really are a confused lot. If Dyche does something as ridiculous as this we are a lost cause !

It's not a like for like decision. I said I thought we could only play one up front and that that should be Rodriguez because he's better suited to giving us the sort of platform we need.

Of course, just a month ago Lennon had a tidy game at Old Trafford, which means that (whilst I thought he was pretty average on Saturday) it's not such a leap to play him. But if you prefer, you could play an extra midfielder and Cornet and McNeil wide, or even play Brownhill narrow on one flank.

[claretspice]

You’d go for Lennon before Weighorst ? Wow we really are a confused lot. If Dyche does something as ridiculous as this we are a lost cause !

It's not a like for like decision. I said I thought we could only play one up front and that that should be Rodriguez because he's better suited to giving us the sort of platform we need.

Of course, just a month ago Lennon had a tidy game at Old Trafford, which means that (whilst I thought he was pretty average on Saturday) it's not such a leap to play him. But if you prefer, you could play an extra midfielder and Cornet and McNeil wide, or even play Brownhill narrow on one flank.

[Elizabeth]

For me the better option for the team is Rodriguez supporting our new signing , who we bought to score goals not to sit on the bench . Lennon who offers nothing in an attacking sense can happily sit on the bench for me. Of course if you want to defend all the match then play Lennon , but not at the expense of Weighorst.
I do prefer McNeil wide and playing like he used to play.

[FCBurnley]

Pope

Lowton. Collins Tarks. Mee

Roberts Brownhill. Westwood. McNeil

Weghorst Cornet

We need Roberts and Collins to play and get experience. Mee is excellent on left side of back four. Lowton did not deserve to be dropped. Roberts in place Lennon if only for his energy and long throw. McNeil wide left. Just beat your man and get crosses in. Why was Cornet taking corners v Watford ??? Front two need to press tighter than they did Saturday. Prefer a 3-5-2 with wing backs but it will be 4-4-2. Hopefully a better display than Saturday but it sounds like another vile weather night at Turf Moor. UTC

[Stayingup]

We’ll never have a better time to play United, a team in apparent disarray both on and off the field….we need to get into them and for that we need to play a system we’re used to ie 4-4-2…I understand peoples thoughts on 3 at the back but those are changes you should really make in your pre season to allow players to feel comfortable with them and not half way through a season….so for me it’s:-

Pope

Roberts Tarkowski Mee Taylor (hopefully fit)

Cornet Westwood Brownhill McNeil

Rodriguez Wout

Tough on Lennon but we need players in their most effective positions and J Rod up front will take some of the pressure off Wout….McNeil plays so much better with Taylor behind him (not a sleight on Pieters but Taylor offers more overlapping Dwight)

As I said, it’s a good time to play the Mancs but we have to perform for 90 minutes, not 20…..a win and we’re up and running, keep the faith guys, I know it’s been dire but 3 points and we may even be out of the bottom 3…UTC

Totally agree about Taylor and McNeil. McNeil looks lost without him. Unfortunately Taylor is still out injured according to Dyche

[Hedontplayforyou]

Pope

Lowton. Collins Tarks. Mee

Roberts Brownhill. Westwood. McNeil

Weghorst Cornet

We need Roberts and Collins to play and get experience. Mee is excellent on left side of back four. Lowton did not deserve to be dropped. Roberts in place Lennon if only for his energy and long throw. McNeil wide left. Just beat your man and get crosses in. Why was Cornet taking corners v Watford ??? Front two need to press tighter than they did Saturday. Prefer a 3-5-2 with wing backs but it will be 4-4-2. Hopefully a better display than Saturday but it sounds like another vile weather night at Turf Moor. UTC

Ben Mee would get absolutely murdered at full back in this league.

[AlargeClaret]

Sure Dyche said Taylor’s not ready . Apart from that strongest XI picks itself

[Hedontplayforyou]

The only change I think he will make is Brownhill for Stephens , although I’d prefer it to be Brownhill for Lennon. 3 in the middle releasing Cornet from the right and keeping Dwight left to whip balls in like we know he can

[HahaYeah]

Pope
Roberts
Tarkowski
Mee
Pieters
Lennon
Brownhill
Westwood
McNeil
Weghorst
Cornet

[Belgianclaret]

Predictable...

[FCBurnley]

Is Roberts better than Lowton ?

[jojomk1]

The only change I think he will make is Brownhill for Stephens , although I’d prefer it to be Brownhill for Lennon. 3 in the middle releasing Cornet from the right and keeping Dwight left to whip balls in like we know he can

Sadly doubt it will happen

[Pearcey]

Happy with that team!

[TheOriginalLongsider]

Has the team been announced?

[Shaggy]

5D7FA164-7215-4B8A-B168-567680A889AB.png (1.36 MiB) Viewed 2162 times

Yep was announced 20 mins ago

[Gaia]

MUFC lineup, Ronaldo on bench

De Gea, Dalot, Varane, Maguire, Shaw, McTominay, Pogba, Fernandes, Rashford, Sancho, Cavani

[TheOriginalLongsider]

Shocking. Why only one keeper on our bench ?

[tiger76]

MUFC lineup, Ronaldo on bench

De Gea, Dalot, Varane, Maguire, Shaw, McTominay, Pogba, Fernandes, Rashford, Sancho, Cavani

On paper that looks frightening, however the game isn't played on paper, Cavani worries me though with his clever movement, and if he gets a chance he'll likely bury it.

Teams have shown you can get at Utd's defence, but the question is do we possess the required firepower to give them problems.

[Long Time Lurker]

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result ( possibly attributable to Einstein )

Happy with the line up, if we are finally giving Cornet a try out on the right and keeping McNeil on the left where he is far more effective.

Watching the Watford match was incredibly annoying. We started out well and looked reasonably decent in the first 15 minutes, backed up by a passing game that was noticeably crisper than usual. Normally our passing is woeful. Then we rapidly regressed and we started to look worse and worse.

Our tactical solution was to bring on Jay, another big forward, and then move Dwight to the right - effectively cutting off all the supply to our two big forwards. It was the very definition of insanity. The best cross from the right wing in the last 20 actually came from Jay, one of the blokes who should have been on the receiving end of crosses.

Nobody needed a passing map to recognise what was happening and what has been happening all season. Dwight no longer pushed forward to the by line, he no longer tracked back as far and every time he had to pass he stopped and turned to get it on his left foot. To make things worse most of these passes weren't the progressive passes that he contributes from the left. They were either backward passes or dangerous passes through the centre that were more likely to connect with one of their players than Dale " huff and puff " Stephens.

What makes Dwight extremely effective is his ability to notch up the progressive distance by carrying the ball and playing forward passes. That is what puts our opponents under pressure. The impact is amplified when Taylor is on the pitch, providing overlaps. Playing Dwight on the right will still produce the same carrying distance stats ( or close to them ). However, if you carry the ball forward 300 yards and then pass it backwards 150 yards you have in effect only carried it 150 yards. It would be better to simply carry it 150 yards, save some energy and make the pass under less pressure.

The only negative is that our opponents know that the left wing is our primary creative outlet when both Dwight and Taylor are playing. What we needed to do in the Winter window was sign a creative right winger. That would have increased the number of chances for our forwards, taken the creative pressure off Dwight and Taylor and made us less predictable - with chances being generated from the left and right.

Instead we chased after another inverted left winger with no re-sale value who would have dictated a formation change.

Touch Wout ( not Wood ) and hopefully this line-up will work better for us and signify the end of Dwight on the right. Just a shame we are trying it against one of the stronger teams instead of trying it against Watford as we should have done.