Майкл Каррикийг ажлаас нь чөлөөлсний дараа Маурисио Почеттино Манчестер Юнайтедын дараагийн дасгалжуулагчаар томилогдохоор боллоо.
Майкл Каррик гурван сарын турш багийг удирдсаны эцэст албан тушаалаасаа чөлөөлөгдлөө. Түүний удирдлага дор Манчестер Юнайтед Премьер лигийн хүснэгтийн 18-р байрт бичигдэж, улирал эхэлснээс хойш ердөө нэг удаа ялалт байгуулаад байна. Шинэ дасгалжуулагч Маурисио Почеттино итгэл алдарсан, сэтгэл зүйн хувьд хүнд байдалд байгаа бүрэлдэхүүнийг хүлээн авч, багийн амжилтыг эргүүлэх сорилттой нүүр тулж байна.
Почеттиногийн нэн тэргүүнд шийдэх асуудал бол багийн хамгаалалтыг сайжруулах явдал юм. Манчестер Юнайтед энэ улиралд Премьер лигт 19 гоол алдаад байгаа бөгөөд сүүлийн таван тоглолт дараалан дор хаяж хоёр гоол алджээ. Үүнтэй холбоотойгоор хаалгач Сенне Ламменсийн сэтгэл зүйн итгэлийг эргүүлэн олж авах, багийн хамгаалалтын шугамыг тогтворжуулах нь чухал байна.
Түүнчлэн багийн гүйлт болон талбай дээрх эрч хүчийг нэмэгдүүлэх шаардлагатай байгааг мэргэжилтнүүд онцолж байна. Өмнөх дасгалжуулагчдын үед баг өндөр даралттай тоглолт үзүүлж чадахгүй байсан нь бэлтгэлийн эрчимтэй холбоотой байж болзошгүй гэж Юри Тилеманс дурджээ. Почеттино Тоттенхэмд ажиллаж байхдаа тоглогчдын гүйлтийн хэмжээг нэмэгдүүлж, системтэй тоглолтыг хэвшүүлж байсан туршлагатай.
Довтолгооны шугамын хувьд бэртэлтэй байгаа Беньямин Шешког аль болох хурдан талбайд эргүүлэн гаргах нь нэн тэргүүний зорилт болоод байна. Түүний эзгүйд Жошуа Зиркзее үндсэн бүрэлдэхүүнд итгэл хүлээж чадаагүй тул Брайан Мбеумо, Матеус Кунья нарыг төвийн байрлалд туршсан нь үр дүн муутай байв. Почеттино нэгдүгээр сарын солилцооны цонхоор хамгаалалтын төв болон довтолгооны байрлалд шинэ тоглогчид авч, бүрэлдэхүүнээ бэхжүүлэх шаардлагатай байна.
Дэлгэрэнгүйг эх сурвалжаас харах
↓Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
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Mauricio Pochettino looks set to become the latest manager of Manchester United following the sacking of Michael Carrick.
Carrick’s permanent tenure lasted just three months and he departs the club with United 18th in the Premier League having won just once in the top-flight since the start of the season.
Should he take on the role of head coach, Pochettino will inherit a bruised and battered squad lacking in confidence and in dire need of inspiration in order to turn around their fortunes.
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Pochettino’s possible first match is a trip to Liverpool and the performance at Anfield could be the catalyst for an uptick in United’s fortunes.
There are plenty of problems facing Pochettino when he arrives at Old Trafford, both on and off the pitch, but he must tackle these five in the short term to rebuild confidence in his squad.
1) Shore up the defence
The most immediate problem facing Manchester United is the amount of goals they concede. They have conceded 19 times in the Premier League this term with only Ipswich Town (20) and Crystal Palace (24) letting in more goals than them. Each of their last five fixtures have seen them concede at least twice with teams, Como, Bournemouth, Roma and Aston Villa netting three or more times against the Red Devils.
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Pochettino’s first job is to assess his most effective back line and stick to it. During his tenure at Tottenham, the Argentine was not against utilising wide full-backs as both attacking and defensive options and doing so at United would provide the stability of three centre-backs. Diogo Dalot has shown his fallibilities playing out of position at left-back and with Luke Sahw still injured so perhaps the time is right to promote from the youth set up and give Harry Amass a run of games while Dalot and Noussair Mazraoui rotate at right-back?
In central defence, Harry Maguire and Matthijs de Ligt bring experience but Leny Yoro and Ayden Heaven offer pace and are no more prone to making mistakes than their older counterparts. As for Lisandro Martinez, Pochettino will need to decide whether it is worth trying to rehabilitate him in the eyes of the supporters.
2) Rebuild Senne Lammens’ confidence
This one comes hand-in-hand with the first problem as Senne Lammens has been stable presence between the sticks since signing for the club only to see a downturn in form and confidence over recent weeks. Conceding so many goals and facing a consistent barrage of shots from all quarters in seemingly every game will batter the confidence of even the most impressive goalkeeper and fixing the issues in defence will lend a hand in rebuilding Lammens’ belief in his own abilities.
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Combining both problems into one solution and making United a team that is trick to score against would set a much-needed platform for the team to build on as they look to propel themselves back up the Premier League table.
3) Get the team running
Pochettino’s tenure at Tottenham was built on a high pressing game which required his players to push up the pitch and win back the ball high up the field but also be available to track back quickly and help out the defence should the opposition beat the press. This style requires a lot of energy and discipline from the players which is something United lack as has been evidenced by successive managers such as Carrick and Erik ten Hag struggling to impose pressing discipline on the players.
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Youri Tielemans, who only signed for the club this summer, spoke about to Rio Ferdinand about the club’s pre-season training and admitted that there hadn’t been a focus on running saying “When you come back from the World Cup, you don’t do lots of running.”
Pochettino turned Spurs into a hard-working team on the pitch with his players covering an average distance of approximately 114.8 km per game during the 2016–17 season. To get United challenging against the better teams in the league, he needs to get the players to cover more distance and with more urgency especially when they are out of possession.
4) Get Benjamin Sesko fit as soon as possible
It’s perhaps a touch cliche to say that there are problems at both ends of the pitch but with Man Utd it is true. Deciding not to strengthen at the top end of the pitch last summer has hurt the team following Benjamin Sesko’s injury and Joshua Zirkzee has not been trusted to lead the line during his absence.
Instead, Carrick preferred to play Bryan Mbeumo, and sometimes Matheus Cunha, in central positions which neither player excel in. Mbeumo favours the right wing and bursts of speed with Cunha more suited to coming off the left of operating as a No.10.
Sesko scored 11 times in 30 appearances for United last season and was a great target man. who knitted the front three of Mbeumo, Cunha and Sesko together brilliantly. His shin injury looks likely to keep him out until 2027 at the earliest but any acceleration to get him back on the grass will bring a welcome boost to an under-firing forward line.
5) Recruit well in January
This one is probably out of Pochettino’s hands given the structure of United’s powerbrokers but his recommendations will be key.
The club cannot afford to waste time in the minutia of deals and must recruit quickly once the January transfer window opens. A prominent and commanding centre half will bolster the back line and bring stability to the younger players while a clearly-defined striker is required in case Sesko suffers an injury setback.
The main rebuild of the squad will take time and money but if Pochettino can convince the board and the owners to sign a couple of experienced players in key areas once January rolls around it could fire United to a successful second half of the season.
