United's urge for a new CDM - warranted or unwarranted?
A central defensive midfielder can, in many ways, be described as the heart of the game. The main job is to break the opposition's play. To accomplish doing this, defensive midfielders have to be able to read the game as well as perform tackling. Operating in the center of the pitch, they are also considered as the focal point linking the defense and the attack by constantly being in a position to receive and pass the ball.
Over the years, Manchester United have operated within different formations so as to make the most of the available players within the squad and the most legendary central defensive midfielders at Manchester United have been NobbyStiles (1960 – 1971), Paul Ince (1989 – 1995) and Roy Keane (1993 – 2005). The latter is probably the most memorable to all United fans for being perhaps the epitome of ruthless aggression and unbridled passion and of course the greatest captain of all time.
Now, to be able to understand the importance of a CDM within a team formation, let us look at the qualities of a good CDM:
• Tough tackling and tenacious – These qualities were mastered by both Paul Ince and Roy Keane and they are crucial at destroying opponent’s game
• Commanding – This is not just a physical requirement but it is also a requirement in terms of personality. The CDM does not have to be just robust but should also be able to impose on his defense and his attack a certain responsiveness and composure. Some will also be very vocal, yapping at team mates if necessary.
• Ball carrier – As a link up from the defense to the attack, a proper CDM should excel in technical abilities and skills to carry and deliver the ball to any of his team mates on the pitch
• Good vision of the game – This is another vital requirement for the distribution of the ball to team mates but also for the interception of the ball from the opponents. This quality has furthermore enabled CDM to assume the play making role within a team
It is nonetheless very customary to see that not every team operates with a CDM player and the main reason for this has been the availability of other players within the team to cater for the responsibilities of the CDM. In fact, this has been the case for Manchester United ever since Roy Keane retired. Players like Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt, Kleberson, DjembaDjemba and more recently Herrera, Fred and McTominayhave had to share defensive responsibilities so as to cater for the lack of a well-established CDM within the team.
In fact, within the actual United team, while playing in its 4-2-3-1 formation, the role of the CDM is being undertaken by the two central midfielders, more often Fred and McTominay, in front of the line of defenders. But a lot of United fans have expressed their concerns on that because, even though these two players have shown a lot of progress in games, even though they have so many times shown their fighting spirit for the team, they still cannot cater for all the qualities required of a CDM. They can both of them transcend in tough tackling and tenacity but they are not really excelling in being commanding, carrying the ball and vision of the game. The qualities that they lack, are therefore being catered for by other team mates. Maguire being the more commanding, Bruno being the sharpest in vision of the game and Shaw/Rashy as the more regular ball carrier.
And this leads to the big question mark on this new generation United team. Does it need a proper and well established CDM? From several comments being made by fans and from so many articles being written on the subject, it really seems that most of the opinions are inclined towards a YES! Becauseit would make so much sense to have within a team, players striving only at what they do best without having to additionally focus on other responsibilities at which they do not or cannot excel.
Now obviously, Manchester United will be looking at the very best to suit the team requirements and the top defensive midfielders right now are:
(1) Casemiro – Aged 29 from Real Madrid
(2) Joshua Kimmich – Aged 26 from Bayern Munich
(3) Rodri – Aged 25 from Manchester City
(4) Wilfred Ndidi – Aged 24 from Leicester City
(5) Declan Rice – Aged 22 from West Ham
(6) Eduardo Camavinga – Aged 18 from Rennes
(7) Denis Zakaria – Aged 24 from Borussia Monchengladbach
(8) Ruben Neves – Aged 24 from Wolverhampton
(9) Sandro Tonali – Aged 20 from AC Milan
On the other hand, Manchester United should also take into consideration his emerging young talents from the academy and in the CDM position one that is constantly in the mind of United Fans is James Garner. The lad, currently on loan at Nottingham Forest, has been very impressive and is surely going to fit in the United Team in the near future. Garner’s remarkable traits have been his commanding and playmaking role from behind with some excellent tackling and ball carrying abilities. His ball distribution has also been exquisite.
The holistic approach that United might consider at this juncture is to bring an already established CDM right now so as keep a place for Garner in the near future.
Kevin Appadoo
Manchester United Fan
Republic of Mauritius.
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Comments
They don't make players in that position like they use to I think rice is good but I can see mctominay settling just as good with a bit more composure . just my opinion I don't think they're light years apart. I think a bit more time spent with Carrick and we will wonder where he came from !
Sorry personally don’t think Rodri should be that high up the ranking not because he’s a city player just he’s not as good as the others. He doesn’t do the DM job as well he has others around him who make his job easier not vis versa. The DM United need is in all honesty a better version of Fred high energy can disrupt opposition play/players attacks but has good passing. I think Fred is a better passer then fans give him credit for seems certain fans point out the small mistakes he does but his really good through balls or passes go un missed anyway. He not as commanding in that position really. He is good at stopping opposition attacks but need to be stronger a lot of times he stops one player but that’s it if that makes some sense he doesn’t actually stop the attack he just stops 1 player who had the ball but gets to one of the opposition team mate. Need a defensive mid who just stops the attacks and then can keep the ball carry it a little. Keane Carrick Hargreaves(when he was fit) could all do that good at stopping and starting attacks that’s what United need. Think Ndidi would be a good option but not sure who is 100% the right option
Hey buddy, good article. You forgot to add Bissouma from Brighton on your list. I didn't know Eduardo Camavinga is a CDM, with his age and skill set I prefer him over the rest. I thought he was attacking midfielder, good to know he's a CDM. My 2nd option u'd be Bissouma, he will come cheaper than Rice who's overrated yet they're at par with Bissouma.