Post-Transfer Window Squad Depth, Outs and Starting XI

[brisbaneblue]

Squad Depth

Happy to be corrected but based on pre-season and Silva's comments I'd say at this moment our squad depth looks something like this:

GK: Pickford, Stekelenburg, Virginia

RB: Coleman, Kenny, Holgate, Martina, Zouma?, Browning

CB: Mina, Zouma?, Holgate, Keane, Jagielka, Pennington, Browning, Galloway

LB: Digne, Baines, Galloway, Martina

DM/CM: Gueye, Gomes, Schneiderlin, Davies, Besic, McCarthy, Dowell, Baningime, J. Williams

RW: Walcott, Richarlison, Ramirez, Bernard, Bolasie, Calvert-Lewin, Vlasic

ACM: Sigurdsson, Bernard, Vlasic, Dowell, Lookman

LW: Richarlison, Lookman, Bernard, Bolasie, Sigurdsson, Vlasic

ST: Tosun, Niasse, Calvert-Lewin, Ramirez

 

Players to Leave:

The squad is still way too big so i'd say there is probably going to be at least 6 outs.

Probably Gone: Martina, Besic, Bolasie, Vlasic (Loan?), Galloway(Loan?), Pennington(Loan?), Browning(Loan?), J. Williams (Loan)

Possibly Gone: Ramirez, Baningime (Loan), Dowell (Loan)

We're going to need to keep one of Bolasie/Vlasic/Ramirez otherwise we will have no first team wingers outside of the matchday squad as you will see below. If Zouma's deal falls through I'd say we'd need to keep Pennington at the club as CB cover.

 

Starting XI

Silva has already said he'll play a 4-3-3 this season saying last month “Depending the profile of my No. 6, I can play one and two or I can play two and one behind the striker depending on the profile of our No. 6. If we play Schneiderlin, he is a player who likes to play more alone which gives more freedom to the other two midfielders and this is the system I use more”. I think Gomes will eventually be the No. 6 in this system, relegating Schneiderlin to the bench. With Gomes (or Schneiderlin) sitting behind Gylfi I think it's going to work more like a 4-2-3-1 in possession but then a 4-3-3 behind the ball and counter attacking. So I think our full strength starting XI will eventually look like this:

 

Apart from the CB pairing, I think the rest of the starting XI picks itself. I'd be surprised if Mina is paired with Keane or Jagielka. Given his height, size and lack of pace I think Mina will need to be paired with a more mobile defender who can track back in counter attacks (in the same way that Mertesacker was always paired with Hummels or Friedrich for Germany or Koscielny for Arsenal) which will either be Zouma, the 9th fastest player in the premier league, or Holgate who also has an impressive recovery pace.

 

 

Thoughts blues?

[12ubb3rduck3y]

I think Richarlison will end up leading the line if Tosun doesn't hit the net early this season. I'm not sure if Silva is a fan of his lack of pace.

[Palfy]

For me I can see Gylfi Gana Schneiderlin and possibly Walcott struggling to keep their place in the team if they don't impress early doors. Silva will be like most managers and want to give his new signings every opportunity to stake a place in the starting line-up, after all you can bet they weren't convinced to sign by believing they would be sitting on the bench most of the time.

 

[Sir McGiven]

1 hour ago, 12ubb3rduck3y said:

I think Richarlison will end up leading the line if Tosun doesn't hit the net early this season. I'm not sure if Silva is a fan of his lack of pace.

Well either a fan or not, Tosun is the best scoring threat at the moment. Niasse is a good asset but doesn’t have the required capabilities to be a starting striker and we all know about DCL.

Another striker wasn’t the priority and as we’ve seen they all focused on the emerging positions, it was a hard work until the end of the transfer window. So, that’s what he have right now. He needs to use him, at least until the mid-year transfer window.

He said himself how strong he is in the box and he admires his finishing skills, meaning, he knows his strength. He will and needs to re-design his playbook accordingly.

On the other hand, Cenk needs to prove himself. If he can work hard on the pitch and produce goals and assists, there is no way Silva will waste him quickly and it will be a huge relief for all the fans.

I just don’t understand the love of pace. Some people have it some doesn’t have. Some people score regardless, some people can’t. Cenk is a great finisher and he has shown it during his limited time so far and I have no doubt he’ll show more. Question is, will it be enough? That’s what we are going to see and discuss during the season. Give him and new transfers time to adapt and get used to their teammates, they’ll all show what they have. Without patience, in every transfer window you’ll be shouting for new transfers which will lead you to the doom. The money is not infinite, even in EPL.

I am really pleased with the latest transfers. They arrived a little bit late and it will cause some problems in early season but it will be ok, hopefully.

[12ubb3rduck3y]

5 minutes ago, Sir McGiven said:

Well either a fan or not, Tosun is the best scoring threat at the moment. Niasse is a good asset but doesn’t have the required capabilities to be a starting striker and we all know about DCL.

Another striker wasn’t the priority and as we’ve seen they all focused on the emerging positions, it was a hard work until the end of the transfer window. So, that’s what he have right now. He needs to use him, at least until the mid-year transfer window.

He said himself how strong he is in the box and he admires his finishing skills, meaning, he knows his strength. He will and needs to re-design his playbook accordingly.

On the other hand, Cenk needs to prove himself. If he can work hard on the pitch and produce goals and assists, there is no way Silva will waste him quickly and it will be a huge relief for all the fans.

I just don’t understand the love of pace. Some people have it some doesn’t have. Some people score regardless, some people can’t. Cenk is a great finisher and he has shown it during his limited time so far and I have no doubt he’ll show more. Question is, will it be enough? That’s what we are going to see and discuss during the season. Give him and new transfers time to adapt and get used to their teammates, they’ll all show what they have. Without patience, in every transfer window you’ll be shouting for new transfers which will lead you to the doom. The money is not infinite, even in EPL.

 I am really pleased with the latest transfers. They arrived a little bit late and it will cause some problems in early season but it will be ok, hopefully.

I'm a Tosun fan its just it will be interesting to see if he puts Bernard on the left and Richarlison upfront for somegames. I agree  i'm super excited should finally get to watch some good football the number of times i flicked over to goal rush because it was making my eyes bleed last season was far too many.

[nogs]

When do we know what the official 25 is? 

[nogs]

3 minutes ago, nogs said:

When do we know what the official 25 is? 

Ah, found it, 1st September according to The Mirror... So presumably we can play whoever we want up until then? 

And what's the rule on youngsters? 

[Peter H]

Bernard will play if he is match fit. I think Tosun might start on the bench. Richarlison will probably start in his place and Bernard will take the left wing.  Mina will be our main threat on set pieces.

I can't see how we can fit in Bernard, Richarlison, Gomes, Walcott and Siggy on the pitch if we don't drop Tosun. 

[Romey 1878]

3 minutes ago, Peter H said:

Bernard will play if he is match fit.

He hasn't had a club, so he won't have had any sort of pre-season will he?

[Peter H]

1 minute ago, Romey 1878 said:

He hasn't had a club, so he won't have had any sort of pre-season will he?

your probably right, might not start in the first month.

[Paddock]

I don’t think we’ll see any of the deadline day signings for at least 2-3 games. Bernard will need to get fit, the others will need time to bed in. I’m not moaning I’m honestly not but this is the problem with an influx of important players on deadline day- they need time to settle in.

[Bailey]

9 hours ago, brisbaneblue said:

Squad Depth

Happy to be corrected but based on pre-season and Silva's comments I'd say at this moment our squad depth looks something like this:

GK: Pickford, Stekelenburg, Virginia

RB: Coleman, Kenny, Holgate, Martina, Zouma?, Browning

CB: Mina, Zouma?, Holgate, Keane, Jagielka, Pennington, Browning, Galloway

LB: Digne, Baines, Galloway, Martina

DM/CM: Gueye, Gomes, Schneiderlin, Davies, Besic, McCarthy, Dowell, Baningime, J. Williams

RW: Walcott, Richarlison, Ramirez, Bernard, Bolasie, Calvert-Lewin, Vlasic

ACM: Sigurdsson, Bernard, Vlasic, Dowell, Lookman

LW: Richarlison, Lookman, Bernard, Bolasie, Sigurdsson, Vlasic

ST: Tosun, Niasse, Calvert-Lewin, Ramirez

 

Players to Leave:

The squad is still way too big so i'd say there is probably going to be at least 6 outs.

Probably Gone: Martina, Besic, Bolasie, Vlasic (Loan?), Galloway(Loan?), Pennington(Loan?), Browning(Loan?), J. Williams (Loan)

Possibly Gone: Ramirez, Baningime (Loan), Dowell (Loan)

We're going to need to keep one of Bolasie/Vlasic/Ramirez otherwise we will have no first team wingers outside of the matchday squad as you will see below. If Zouma's deal falls through I'd say we'd need to keep Pennington at the club as CB cover.

 

Starting XI

Silva has already said he'll play a 4-3-3 this season saying last month “Depending the profile of my No. 6, I can play one and two or I can play two and one behind the striker depending on the profile of our No. 6. If we play Schneiderlin, he is a player who likes to play more alone which gives more freedom to the other two midfielders and this is the system I use more”. I think Gomes will eventually be the No. 6 in this system, relegating Schneiderlin to the bench. With Gomes (or Schneiderlin) sitting behind Gylfi I think it's going to work more like a 4-2-3-1 in possession but then a 4-3-3 behind the ball and counter attacking. So I think our full strength starting XI will eventually look like this:

 

Apart from the CB pairing, I think the rest of the starting XI picks itself. I'd be surprised if Mina is paired with Keane or Jagielka. Given his height, size and lack of pace I think Mina will need to be paired with a more mobile defender who can track back in counter attacks (in the same way that Mertesacker was always paired with Hummels or Friedrich for Germany or Koscielny for Arsenal) which will either be Zouma, the 9th fastest player in the premier league, or Holgate who also has an impressive recovery pace.

 

 

Thoughts blues?

I think the centre of midfield will be interesting. From the small amount of clips I have seen I dont see Gomes as the sole 6 and given our preseason with two sat alongside each other I still think we will see him alongside a holding midfielder and then a battle for the attacking midfield slots which is realistically between Siggy, Bernard, Walcott, Richarlison and Lookman with the likes of Dowell and Sandro looking for minutes if they stay at the club. Its not going to be straight forward for Silva.

[Peter H]

18 hours ago, TallPaul1878 said:

Gomes is on loan. He is currently injured and is a young prospect. If he has a wonder season we will see him go straight back to Barca. I wouldn't put too much hope in him being a major player for us this term.

Hopefully he does really well and demands Barca allow the move to be permanent.

Thought there were a buy clause? So if he does really well we already have a set price

[StevO]

                          Pickford

Coleman       Jags    Mina       Baines

                       Schneiderlin 

                   Gylfi            Bernard

Walcott                                   Richarlison

                          Tosun

 

lets not forget that the lads who have just come in will have to earn their places. The likes of Digne and Zouma will have to force their way into the team by out playing Jags and Baines, thats no easy thing to do. 

[MC11]

Pickford

Coleman Zouma Mina Baines

Mogan Gomez

Walcott Bernard Richarlison

Tosun

 

[Aidan]

On 11/08/2018 at 13:00, StevO said:

                          Pickford

Coleman       Jags    Mina       Baines

                       Schneiderlin 

                   Gylfi            Bernard

Walcott                                   Richarlison

                          Tosun

 

lets not forget that the lads who have just come in will have to earn their places. The likes of Digne and Zouma will have to force their way into the team by out playing Jags and Baines, thats no easy thing to do. 

It is when they're getting sent off!

[StevO]

2 hours ago, Aidan said:

It is when they're getting sent off!

Haha can’t disagree with that. Expecting maybe Mina to get a chance on Saturday. 

[Aidan]

2 hours ago, StevO said:

Haha can’t disagree with that. Expecting maybe Mina to get a chance on Saturday. 

I'm hoping so!

[markjazzbassist]

looking like

 

gk pickford stek virginia

rb coleman kenny

lb baines digne

cb zouma mina holgate keane jags

cm gana schneiderlin davies beni mccarthy (he even alive?)

acm gylfi gomes dowell

lw richarlison bernard

rw walcott lookman

f tosun dcl niasse

 

 

[brisbaneblue]

6 hours ago, markjazzbassist said:

looking like

 

gk pickford stek virginia

rb coleman kenny

lb baines digne

cb zouma mina holgate keane jags

cm gana schneiderlin davies beni mccarthy (he even alive?)

acm gylfi gomes dowell

lw richarlison bernard

rw walcott lookman

f tosun dcl niasse

 

 

I thought letting Sandro go out on loan was a mistake. We've only got 2 natural wingers remaining in the squad outside of the starting XI and if Lookman leaves as well then we are down to just Bernard. It's going to pain me when Calvert-Lewin or Dowell inevitably gets subbed on as a winger at some point.

[aaron]

McCarthy suffered a horrible leg break, he isn'tt dead MJB!  I saw his leg flopping about when it happened, trust me it was a bad break, he will be back next year I would presume.

[EFC-Paul]

7 hours ago, brisbaneblue said:

I thought letting Sandro go out on loan was a mistake. We've only got 2 natural wingers remaining in the squad outside of the starting XI and if Lookman leaves as well then we are down to just Bernard. It's going to pain me when Calvert-Lewin or Dowell inevitably gets subbed on as a winger at some point.

I get your drift but Sandro isn'tt a winger 

He doesn't have the pace or footwork to cut it out there imo so wouldn't be much different from DCL etc but hopefully it doesn't come to that 

[Wiggytop]

46 minutes ago, EFC-Paul said:

I get your drift but Sandro isn'ttt a winger 

He doesn't have the pace or footwork to cut it out there imo so wouldn't be much different from DCL etc but hopefully it doesn't come to that 

What was Sandro? I don't think we ever saw enough of him to know where he was best suited, on the times we saw him on the field last year he looked like a head less chicken, a bit like Niasse, but no ability to find the back of the net.

as for the squad, I'm OK with it and would like to see the U23,s used if needed rather than having a bloated squad of players who aren't good enough ( Martina, Klaasen, Williams spring to mind ) and it's a certainty that we will add in the Jan window as Marco and Marcel with had half a season to see the squad and how it has gelled, which so far after 3 PL games is looking good.

[markjazzbassist]

1 hour ago, aaron said:

McCarthy suffered a horrible leg break, he isn'ttt dead MJB!  I saw his leg flopping about when it happened, trust me it was a bad break, he will be back next year I would presume.

He’s out this whole year?  Wow didn’t realize that.  Silva never talks about him so i didn’t have any idea.

[EFC-Paul]

1 hour ago, Wiggytop said:

What was Sandro? I don't think we ever saw enough of him to know where he was best suited, on the times we saw him on the field last year he looked like a head less chicken, a bit like Niasse, but no ability to find the back of the net.

as for the squad, I'm OK with it and would like to see the U23,s used if needed rather than having a bloated squad of players who aren't good enough ( Martina, Klaasen, Williams spring to mind ) and it's a certainty that we will add in the Jan window as Marco and Marcel with had half a season to see the squad and how it has gelled, which so far after 3 PL games is looking good.

Striker/forward a very poor man's Sterling if you will 

Shame United are strangely trying to tie Martial down on a new long term deal I would have loved him and Lozano here in January 

Fully fit squad and we'd be looking the part big time, definitely need another striker in January though Kevin Volland would be a great punt from Leverkusen can play out wide if needs be as well 

[Bill]

Be surprised if McCarthy does come back.

[Wiggytop]

6 hours ago, EFC-Paul said:

Striker/forward a very poor man's Sterling if you will 

Shame United are strangely trying to tie Martial down on a new long term deal I would have loved him and Lozano here in January 

Fully fit squad and we'd be looking the part big time, definitely need another striker in January though Kevin Volland would be a great punt from Leverkusen can play out wide if needs be as well 

Very very very poor man I'd say !

[Shukes]

20 minutes ago, Wiggytop said:

Very very very poor man I'd say !

Bloody back of Asda Jippo.

Seriously though. Looked good for this ONE match!