From inside Old Trafford: Almiron’s first moves

Ruben Amorim arrived at Old Trafford on Monday and as he entered in a chauffeur driven Mercedes club legend Ruud van Nistlerooy was saying goodbye to the players and fans. He is not required on the coaching staff by the Sport Lisbon manager who prefers to be surrounded by his own people from Portugal. Almiron’s […]

Ruben Amorim arrived at Old Trafford on Monday and as he entered in a chauffeur driven Mercedes club legend Ruud van Nistlerooy was saying goodbye to the players and fans. He is not required on the coaching staff by the Sport Lisbon manager who prefers to be surrounded by his own people from Portugal.

Almiron’s first task is to regain some stability in the team which Erik Ten Hag struggled to achieve as he failed to impress a playing system which few at the club understood. A system which works and the players buy into is vital for Amorim to establish and this has succeeded at Arsenal where Mikel Arteta plays his mentor Pep Guardiola’s approach, Jurgen Klopp and Arne Slot have achieved this at Liverpool and even Aston Villa’s Unai Emery has surprised everyone with his clearly defined tactics which are understood by his players and has proven very effective. It is not surprising that these four teams finished in the Champions League spots last season.

Ten Hag worked a 4-2-3-1 formation which failed to ignite the team but Amorim prefers his tried and tested 3-4-3 system which he will try and implement in a team of players chosen and bought by previous managers. He has already said, “I know how I am going to play in the beginning because you have to start with a structure you know. Then you adapt when  you have assessed what kind of players have the abilities to defend and attack. I will discover our best in the next few weeks. We don’t have a lot of time before the game at Ipswich on the 23rd so I have to work with a system I know very well. Goalkeeper Onana looks safe in his position and is the best stopper at the club, Harry Maguire will get a chance to return to action as Almiron’s type of set-up suits his style of play at the back and he can command the centre. Either side of him Matthijs de Ligt and Lisandro Martinez will provide the speed and pace. This line-up could hold up Leny Yoro’s starting debut but the 18-year-old will get his chance later. Dalot, Mainoo, Ugarte and Mazraoui look likely for the midfield and could play Almiron’s two central and two out wide approach. Luke Shaw will feature when back from injury. Casemiro might find it difficult to break back into the team given his lack of pace. The three attackers are likely to be Amad, Fernandes and Rashford with one very much the striker and two out wide. 

 

Emery looks to stop the rot

Is Aston Villa’s five-game stutter a worry for Villa fans? When Unai Emery took over from Steven Gerrard, now struggling in the Saudi League, few thought the French coach could produce the results and progress at the club which has taken them into Europe and seen them regularly featuring in the top four of the PL. After three victories from three in the Champions League they were on top of the world. They were also early pace setters in the Premier League. However, since Evanilson scored a late equaliser for Bournemouth at Villa Park, Emery’s ship has been blown off course. Four defeats, nine goals conceded and only four scored have opened up cracks which were previously solid. Emery was quick to point out this week that he has several players returning from long-term injuries and his options are increasing to mix his team up a bit. Boubacar Kamara was working beautifully with Douglas Liuz until the Frenchman left for Italy but he has been replaced with Amadou Onana and they can build a solid midfield relationship now that Kamara is returning from a knee injury. Club captain Tyrone Mings has returned although not fully back to his best after a long lay-off.

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The fans were disappointed after Crystal Palace put Villa out of the Carabao Cup because they have not won any meaningful silverware in 28 years but Emery says the wheels haven’t fallen off yet and he just needs a few matches to get the team back up to speed.

 

Noni Madueke unhappy at Chelsea

The Chelsea winger was not best pleased to be replaced by Mykhailo Mudryk in last weekend’s match against Arsenal. Coach Enzo Maresca switched Pedro Neto from left to right wing and replaced Madueke with Mudryk. Madueke walked straight down the tunnel looking very unhappy. England international Madueke began impressively this season but his performances have deteriorated lately and Maresca’s recent comments imply that he sees Neto as his long term favourite for the right wing place.

His remarks this week are bound to upset Madueke, “As left wingers we have Jadon (Sancho) and Misha (Mudryk) and as right wingers we have Noni and Pedro. As attacking midfielders we have Joao Felix and Cole Palmer. As a No9 we have Nicolas Jackson, Christo and Marc (Guiu). Although we do not have a big squad we do have two players for each position. Without doubt Pedro was impressive when he switched wings last weekend and this leaves Madueke slightly out of favour for a starting position.

Many of the Chelsea players are away on international duty but staying behind for a punishing training programme are Bettinelli, Chilwell, Disasi, Badisahile, Adarabioyo, James, Dewsbury-Hall, Chukwuemeka and Sancho. Some of the academy stars will be promoted to train with the first team squad and allow Maresca to conduct a full training match.

 

City aim to return to the light from their “dark place”

Let’s be honest, losing four in a row is not something any of us expected from Manchester City this season. Ruben Dias said this week that the club is encouraging their critics to write them off in this season’s title bid because it makes them play better, try harder and fuels their desire. City are rarely the underdogs but recent results mean we cannot always expect them to win. They are five points behind Liverpool and last week Bernado Silva said that City are in a “dark place.” Pep Guardiola has talked about the club’s crippling injury list which he is praying will be reduced by the time the team run out against Tottenham on November 23rd. Dias himself has missed three matches in a row with a calf injury but I am informed through my medical contacts that he has a good chance of making the Spurs game. Dias pointed out that at the beginning of last season they went four games without a win and two defeats but they came through to win the title and the treble in the end. He said, “Please doubt us. Feel welcome to do so. When we did the treble we even called it the dark January. We had a tough period. What matters is how you bounce back from these moments. That’s why our team won so much because in moments of difficulty the characters step up and we stay together.” After suffering the worst losing run of his managerial career Guardiola has been working overtime to arrest the decline and unless Tottenham can improve on their showing against Ipswich they could be in for a bad time because Guardiola will get results.