Football

How United’s style of play is about to change

Published

7 years ago

July 23, 2019

Manchester United intend to start playing out from the back as part of a more possession-based style under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Luke Shaw has revealed.

Solskjaer enjoyed a prolonged honeymoon period following his appointment as caretaker manager in December as United claimed the scalps of Tottenham, Arsenal, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain away from home.

Although Solskjaer introduced a more aggressive approach, United were heavily reliant on the counter-attacking tactic and were unable to master a more controlled style.

United won two of their final 12 games of last term, a run which coincided with a number of unsuccessful experimental formation changes by Solskjaer. United have only added two new signings to their squad in Daniel James and Aaron Wan-Bissaka but the intensity of their pre-season performances has stood out and Shaw is encouraged.

Also, Former United midfielder Paul Ince has criticised four of the club’s attacking players for their performances last season.

“You’ve got Marcus Rashford who scored 11 goals last year and gets a new contract,” Ince told BBC Radio 5 live.

“Jesse Lingard was diabolical last year, he really, really was.

“There’s Alexis Sanchez. They got nothing out of Sanchez whatsoever.

“So as much as we’re talking about Chris Smalling and Harry Maguire, surely we’ve got to be looking at who’s going to be playing up top.

“We need to be looking at that because attacking-wise they’re not great.

“Martial? He’s a fizzy drink. He pops now and then. One moment he’s great, one moment he’s not.”