Can Carrick, Sesko or Fernandes fix broken Manchester United and their dreadful press? | OneFootball

So here we are again, with Manchester United close to meltdown mode.

Anger in the fanbase. Gary Neville ripping into the club he used to play for with extraordinarily exaggerated statements. Statistics plastered everywhere without context to incite rage.

The constant hoopla and conjecture around the club probably doesn’t help and is likely quite difficult to ignore if you’re a player.

The attention on what seems to be going wrong is diverted, and all of a sudden, the anger takes over without a proper discussion of what Man Utd need to do on the pitch to wrestle the decline.

Here are some pointers…

Drop. The. Pressing. Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford are not good pressers. Even when they are enthusiastic out of possession, you rarely see them turn the ball over or push teams back close to their own goal.

If Mason Mount is in the team (like versus Brighton), Carrick can use it as a good tactic. However, he isn’t a starter, and there are too many examples of teams passing out from the back with ease through Man Utd’s press.

Man Utd don’t press teams high with intensity; it’s something that they’re doing for the sake of it.

It’s a slipshod press that’s problematic because many players in one zone get stuck wide on the byline.

Man Utd’s loose press against Ipswich

Ipswich comfortably play their way out

Ipswich and Fulham could shift the ball wide and either chip it over the top of the press or get out by using a full-back to pass it to a wide winger.

If these two teams exposed Man Utd’s soft press, imagine what the rest of the league can do.

Fulham bypassed Bruno Fernandes easily

Man Utd fail to contain Fulham while walking

The out-of-possession flaw becomes exacerbated when a full-back attempts to push up and join as they’re now out of position. There was nothing wrong with Man Utd’s mid-block whilst prioritising to compact the middle of the pitch last season and we may see that again in games where they have less of the ball.

But adding the pressing thus far has not worked.

Problems around the box The way Man Utd progress the ball now with two players – Kobbie Mainoo and Youri Tielemans – capable of evading pressure and finding space in the middle has actually been good. But once they reach the box, they are not as threatening as they should be.

Playing Matheus Cunha and Bruno Fernandes as two dropping false nines means you lose them as a threat up against the defensive line. With Bryan Mbeumo out wide, there is no central threat after Man Utd have progressed the ball.

Additionally, Fernandes is stuck in awkward positions behind the midfield and in front of the defence, used almost as a decoy for Cunha to peel off and receive the ball.

The Portuguese star is one of the best creators of all time and has been Utd’s talisman since arriving, but his lack of freedom in terms of where to receive the ball has made him less effective.

What you have then is Cunha and Fernandes dropping into neat areas to receive the ball and a lack of threat to play around after that. Does playing Benjamin Sesko solve this? Absolutely, but he can’t seem to shake injuries off since arriving.

What Carrick’s men have been doing is utilising nice progression to get into an opponent’s half and then look to go wide to play in Rashford.

Man Utd work the ball out to Rashford

The problem is, there are fewer men to aim for in the box and no target man to cross to (if Sesko isn’t playing). We’ve seen lots of these attacking situations occur where Man Utd are having to rely on cutbacks, and they have been a tad unlucky in front of goal by hitting the post six times already this season.

Rashford has no-one to aim for in the middle

This particular area of their game doesn’t need scrapping like the pressing, though, just a little fine-tuning (return of Sesko, Mbeumo in the middle, giving Fernandes a license to roam like last season).

Too many players in the centre There has been a clear change of direction from Carrick this season in wanting to have more of the ball, but against Man City and Hull City, we already have two perfect examples of why this move has made Man Utd less dangerous.

Man Utd struggle with congestion in the derby

Teams that defend deep can force Man Utd wide, as they have too many attackers in the centre of the pitch in front of the defence and behind the midfield.

Man Utd going nowhere against Hull

This plan would not be such a bad idea if it was one or two players, but almost each of them wants to receive with their backs to goal. It also, once again, makes Fernandes ineffective, and teams will be happy for Man Utd to go wide with a lack of box threat.

This could be improved with more runs in behind. If you place your forwards higher up the pitch, they can run in between the gaps of the defensive line, as well as in behind them. It forces defenders into defending.

Can he wrestle the decline? It’s extremely hard to stop the slide when it gets like this at Old Trafford. Having said that, this doesn’t yet have the same air as when things became bad with Ruben Amorim or Erik ten Hag.

There was the ridiculous offside call against City. The 40-yard screamer vs Everton with 20 seconds left to play. Lisandro Martinez’s unfortunate own goal. Brighton was bad, but it was a second-string team.

They could’ve scored more against Fulham but also conceded a couple of goals themselves. The 50/50 games United won last season, they aren’t winning this.

The mood, confidence and belief have been affected, and with massive, difficult games to come every three days from now until January, Carrick can simply not afford to continue attempting to play the way he is.

There have to be changes, or there’ll be another tombstone in Man Utd’s managerial graveyard with Carrick’s name on it.