strong centreback

Agreed, having a man like didier in the dressing room is something not to be underestimated I believe if we had managed to get him back as assistant under guus we may of got and extra win or two since start of jan, I personally think he is that much of a presence in general and even more so at our club, true leadership is a quality that cant be taught you either have it or you dont.

I think its one thing to be mates with someone and its another to give him a job in your place of work, theres a media circus where ever mourinho goes, most of it brought up by himself on purpose to take the pressure off his players in the main which is a tactic not all employers are gonna be happy about, Im not saying that utd are on some kind of pedestal but im sure they believe themselves to be upon one and I can see why they might think its best avoiding him if they can get someone in who is at a similar level (simeone?) or simply following through with they supposed longterm plan of putting giggs in charge.

Minor adjustments can make a difference when your that bad, by putting mikel in and with him sitting so deep whilst also getting the defence to sit deeper it gave us some more defensive stability, then that relieved some pressure on the team so they could play with abit more freedom, snowball effect from there on out (albiet on a very gentle hill)

first incident under guus wasnt it? barry had been kicking him all game but he managed to keep his relative cool and seemed to stop himself from seemingly biting barry which looked the way it was going, the guy needs managing and handling to keep him focused on the game in hand and his aggression just needs to be kept in check by the manager is all.

Apparantly conte is very tactically flexible but is a fan of strike partnerships and wingers from what ive read, id be happy with him dropping the 4231 back for the 433 with a defensive minded midfielder and high wingers, youd get the best out of fabregas as well giving him a couple of players to help cover his deficiencys and maximimise his qualities, with wingers that stay further forward too it would help keep the opposition pegged back abit more trying not leave themselves open to the counter, and with the 'makelele position' it would give the defence more cover, basically like the ranieri/mourinho team of 2005 is my ideal as it covers all the areas on the pitch and has players inbetween the lines too.