Martinez MIGHT work if he had a real powerhouse, with pace, next to him. But there's no way we can play him and Maguire and be a high line, high press team. It just wouldn't work. I don't like to cite other teams, but Gabriel and Saliba are the prototype modern CB. Powerful, physical, fast, nasty - neither are great on the ball, but they don't need to be.bman2 wrote: ↑1 month agoRegarding Martinez, I think that quality passing from the back has been key to Carrick’s tactics. Our play was more aimless without him.JoelfuckingGlazer wrote: ↑1 month agoThe one time we did it, enforced, he was quality. I'd try it in the last came or two - why not? But I'll be honest, if someone came in and put 40-50m on the table this summer, I'd take it. His availability record is a problem and whilst he's quality on the ball, I don't think he's good enough defensively. i.e. not consistent enough. He's pulled out some mega performances and kept Haaland in his pocket, but he's had too many flaky games too. He'll get targeted in the CL next season.
Regarding Casmiro, I think we could actually improve on him in a tactical sense by getting someone really energetic and mobile. But he has that match winning X factor that has helped repeatedly us get results much better than our performances. He’s basically pulled us back into the CL I could see us replacing him with someone like Baleba, and then have the outcome that our performances improve but our results get worse.
Completely agree on Casemiro. We'll miss his leadership, his character, his goals from set pieces - but its a huge opportunity to get someone more mobile and press resistant into the team.
