The feeling inside Manchester United heading into the new season is one of cautious optimism. Cautious being the key word here.
Once the dopamine of a £200million transfer spend on a new attack wears off and the cut and thrust of the season takes hold, some familiar problems will still hold true.
But from Ruben Amorim and his coaching staff to the playing squad – who were in high spirits as a near complete group including Joshua Zirkzee, Andre Onana and Benjamin Sesko trained on Sunday – there is a belief that things can, must, and will improve, starting on Sunday against Arsenal.
Goals were Amorim’s biggest source of frustration last season and the clear lack of them en route to finishing 15th in the Premier League, their worst season in 51 years. They sat 16th for goals scored per match (1.2) and 12th for shots on target (4.6).
United had just one player in the top 56 Premier League scorers from open play last season – Amad Diallo with eight. They ranked dead last in the league for headed goals scored (4), ranked 19th in shot conversion with a rate of 8.33 per cent, despite taking the seventh-most shots (528). Only two United players made it into the top 50 for chances created.
The statistics made for galling reading and did not require much further examination from director of football Jason Wilcox, CEO Omar Berrada and minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe to know the urgency with which it needed to be addressed.
Too often last season Manchester United just could not score enough goals
United have spent £210million this summer with the sole aim of fixing their lack of goals
It explains why United’s three signings this summer have all come in one area: the forward line. Insiders are quietly confident in the new arrivals, brought in for a combined £210m. Expensive, for sure, but Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko scored more goals combined across all competitions last season (58) than the front threes of Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham respectively.
And in Cunha and Mbeumo, who both arrived early enough to travel on the pre-season tour of the United States, they have two players who were also in the top 20 for Premier League chances created last season.
But caution is required, that much is clear from a pre-season that showed many positives – particularly in a 4-1 blowout win of Bournemouth – but also many familiar weaknesses.
There were moments in the 1-1 draw against Fiorentina that showed a tendency to continue with a 5-2-3 press that overly exposed a midfield that is an unnatural fit. A worrying expose of set pieces once again reared its ugly head for Fiorentina’s goal. Failure to address set pieces would land at the feet of assistant Carlos Fernandes.
Bruno Fernandes and Amad, arguably United’s two best performers last season, are both best suited to playing in one of the No 10 roles and yet this season Fernandes will operate deeper in a midfield two and Amad as the right wing-back.
For all their upside, both present problems tactically for United, most pertinently the midfielder that plays between them given Manuel Ugarte, Casemiro and Kobbie Mainoo have, at times this pre-season, all struggled.
Interest in Brighton’s Carlos Baleba comes as no surprise as Amorim seeks greater pace, power and intensity from the two midfielders tasked with anchoring his entire setup.
That 5-2-3 press can be the root of a huge problem if the front three are bypassed easily – as Arsenal might on Sunday when creating a big overload with the likes of Martin Zubimendi, Declan Rice, Martin Odegaard and Myles Lewis-Skelly all moving into a central area. As soon as that bypass happens, those four names will only have two midfielders to get through – and one of them, Fernandes, is not in the side for his defensive contribution. So a tweak may well be needed.
Casemiro and Manuel Ugarte have both struggled at times in pre-season
In Amorim’s first game in charge away against Ipswich Town it was visible how he was having to direct players to be in positions he wanted. There was some confusion, he said later. That confusion is still present in some phases of games.
A key part of his plan for the season ahead is that no European football equals one game per week and a greater level of time on the training pitch is afforded to him and the players as a result.
This is important not least to ingratiate new players into the setup but also for Amorim to hold more of his detailed tactical walk-throughs. Players are physically moved into very specific positions for phases with and without the ball. It is vital his messaging now translates into games.
‘The big thing that I like the most is now there’s going to be no excuses,’ Diogo Dalot, one of the newly-appointed six-man leadership group, said last week.
‘Ultimately, the thing that will define us is what we do on the pitch. I think what is going to bring joy to the fans, joy to ourselves is winning games.
‘We’re getting all the conditions (at Carrington) to put us in the best position to win. And then we just have to make that final step.
‘I think we will reach a point, hopefully, where we can almost play with our eyes closed. We know where everybody is going to be on the pitch.’
There have been green shoots of life in his coaching. Leny Yoro, 19, has improved significantly since becoming a mainstay in the team, while Patrick Dorgu was one of the biggest winners of pre-season and looks set to offer better balance and attacking threat at left wing-back than he was able to show in his first six months at the club.
Leny Yoro is blossoming into a fine young central defender, and will be key to what United do this season
Patrick Dorgu was one of the biggest winners of pre-season and looks set to offer better balance and attacking threat at left wing-back than he was able to show in his first six months
Fitness has improved immeasurably – the use of STATSports’ Apex 2.0 GPS performance tracker vests worn by the players serves Amorim and his staff with extremely detailed information on who is and who isn’t running hard.
GPS data from training sessions is fired back to an iPad for Amorim, his coaches and analysts to lean on in real time leaving players with no hiding place. Those falling short of standards are being called out in front of the entire group. But what hasn’t been shaken during the summer is that a lack of fluidity and an over-reliance on creating ‘moments’ through individual brilliance still exists.
United ranked first in the league last season for successful passes in their own half, making 8,845, a symptom of using a flat back five and playing at a pace that was no threat to opponents. It was a further sign that they struggled for creativity and ideas in possession.
The idea this time around is for a fitter squad to have a clearer idea of a 3-4-2-1 system that Amorim has no plans to shelve any time soon. It’s to play on the front foot with attacking wing-backs in Dorgu and Amad, and be able to move quicker in transition through Cunha and Mbeumo. Each of the three new arrivals are expected to address a dreadful team conversion rate in front of goal.
But a goalkeeping unit that doesn’t inspire confidence, slow build-up play and an unconventional midfield pairing that too often proves easy to play through will give Arsenal plenty of hope that Sunday may not be the brave new dawn many United fans are holding out for.
‘I can feel the improvements in the environment now that the right details are in place to help us all to be better,’ Amorim wrote in his programme notes at the weekend. ‘The players we worked with last season are looking stronger, and we have made some important additions to the squad. We can all see that the confidence in the group is growing, and we feel like a different team already.’
Come Sunday afternoon against an Arsenal side that are under massive pressure themselves, the proof will be in the pudding.
