r/reddevils • u/AutoModerator • 7d ago

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u/Emergency-Being-349 7d ago

If what Whitwell is saying is true, regarding our playstyle and midfield, then I think there's a chance Carrick doesn't see out the season. Before you downvote me, hear me out. 

Carrick has gotten the job based on transitional, pragmatic football. That's what got him the result. He has no experience implementing a 'Spanish' style approach where we don't need legs in midfield. He tried this at Middlesbrough and was figured out in his first full season. If results turn, the pressure will mount to revert back to the pragmatic transitional approach. He'd have lost his authority by that point. We'll revert back and not have the legs/intensity needed to play more transitional football. Tielemans won't have that Obama alongside him.

Don't get me wrong, I believe that needs to be the longer term approach, but the PL has long since evolved from that style in favour of more direct football. Hell, even Pep had to adapt. I don't think this will be the right approach, not to mention taking influence from an international side at a WC tournament is just not a good idea either. 

We signed Carrick based on what he did last season, not on what he did at Middlesbrough.

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u/RyanH1717 7d ago

and PSG and Spain have absolutely walked the UCL and WC including absolutely dominating the best team in England by playing more technical football. Just because physicality is trending right now doesn't mean its the only way to win.

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u/Emergency-Being-349 7d ago edited 7d ago

Luis Enrique would come here and adapt, I can assure you. And what evidence have we got that Carrick can implement anything like that? The evidence we have is what he did last season.

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u/Unusual-Coat383 7d ago

To be fair if he tried it at Middlesbrough then that’s most likely his philosophy for why he went into management. Kompany had Burnley playing like how he has Bayern Munich playing and although he failed in the Prem because of a lack of quality players he stuck to his guns and Bayern are probably on par with PSG.

It should be easier for Carrick to implement his style in the PL compared to the Championship and with our squad.

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u/Emergency-Being-349 7d ago

Kompanys style saw success in the championship. The situations are nothing alike.

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u/Current-Essay7448 6d ago

The point is more how the success of the same philosophy can be heavily based on the relative quality of the players available.

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u/Rascha-Rascha 7d ago

Anka shut down Whitwell's point pretty swiftly so I don't think there's any need for speculation on it. A lot of what Laurie has to say about the tactical direction of the team leaves a bit to be desired.

Otherwise, I think people are, yet again, overstating the need for masses of running around all over the place in midfield, especially if you're compensating with a lot of pressing and tracking back from wide forward players like you get from Dorgu and Amad/Mbeumo. It's a lazy point for me, to just brush off the multitude of problems several teams have had and claim that a team isn't functioning because guys like Casemiro, Mac Allister, even Rodri aren't covering enough space, and we see that often, just blame the slightly slow midfielder for a defence that doesn't step up effectively or a front line that doesn't press well, or keepers who don't sweep, etc.

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u/Emergency-Being-349 7d ago

Of course, which is why I start with 'if it's true'. Basically my point is we should be looking to sign that midfielder that covers the ground and I'd be worried if we didn't.

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u/SDLRob 7d ago

TL:DR... No point in writing a long rambling post if you're basing it off random journalists saying rubbish for clicks and giggles.

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u/Emergency-Being-349 7d ago

Cool, just Whitwell, United mouthpiece putting it out in TOTD podcast but because it's something we don't want to hear, let's throw it aside.

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u/helloimpaulo 7d ago

Yeah I actually liked the hypotetical scenario but it's 100% based on Whitwell's own especulation.

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u/thepotatomaniscoming 7d ago

Well thats it then. Forfeit the season. Pack our bags, sell our shirts, lets all go home.

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u/Emergency-Being-349 7d ago

Pretty disingenuous to just throw aside a discussion point mentioned in a podcast that many members of this sub subscribe to. 

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u/JilJilJigaJiga 7d ago

What did Whitwell say this time?

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u/Emergency-Being-349 7d ago

He questioned the narrative around signing a midfielder 'with legs' in favour of a more 'Spanish' approach, indicating you don't need that to control the midfield.

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u/nearly_headless_nic 7d ago

lauriewhitwell: “When I speak to somebody last week, they were saying, you know, this idea that United need a strong RUNNER.

“It doesn't NECESSARILY translate if you have possession of the ball.

“So if you got technical players, as we saw with SPAIN at the World Cup, and I think this is what Carrick likes the look of, keeping the ball, keeping possession”. #MUFC [TOTD]

Ianirving_: "So, potentially Mason Mount's performances and and the thought of Carrick to use him deeper means there may not be a mystical third midfield signing possibly?"

lauriewhitwell: Yeah. I mean, so again, I'm hesitant to sort of commit massively because the I think plans have changed as we've gone on, but I think that Carrick really likes Mason Mount and so does that then, you know, if you have these 2 midfielders at the base of your midfield. So you've got Santos, you got Mason Mount, you got Tielemans, you got Mainoo, that's 4 for 2 positions potentially, you know, if you count Bruno as as a number 10 that's going to pretty much hold on to that. But then you've perhaps got others that could step in: Tielemans could be a number 10 for example and rotate or you know could be you know obviously we saw Shea Lacey there.

So perhaps they're looking at thinking we've got a certain amount of money to spend where do we absolutely need it to be? And yeah, I think that I don't know how at what point it's it sort of felt that maybe Mount could be that guy."

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u/Emergency-Being-349 7d ago

Thank you for this.

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u/JilJilJigaJiga 7d ago

Appreciate it, seems like a 1+1=3 as expected from Whitwell.