innervisionscm wrote:
Clrnc wrote:
They have now gone a long way to be a solid unit and can let their front players play.
flobaba wrote:
now they've got Schwein and Schnei to do the grunt work for him, releasing him to focus on attack.
I'm not sure I follow this logic. You don't attack with 3 or 4 players unless you're a Jose Mourinho side (and it's only successful when you have top talent like Hazard, Costa, and Fabregas). Typically you need the entire team to contribute to the attack. Midfielders can get the attackers the ball in dangerous areas or make threatening runs in behind, fullbacks can provide width and end product, center backs move the defensive line up, and so on. The idea of a midfield that "holds down the fort" while the forwards lay siege to a defense ignores the contributions that the entire XI must make to have a successful attack.
I agree with you, and that's how a LVG side normally plays. They didn't play with a dedicated DM last season either. Dutch coaches normally believe in their own totalist philosophy.
What I meant was that United lost out greatly in midfield battles leading to their defence being very exposed. Signing those players goes a long way to providing solidity, especially in big matches where games are normally lost or won through midfield control. Schneiderlin is a very good all rounder, Schweinsteinger is a fantastic B2B midfielder to have either. His defensive midfield masterclass in the World Cup Final last year is still vivid in my mind. They now have plenty of variety and different midfielders to pair up centrally and they will be delighted with their options.
