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Another Manchester United game; another lesson in the art of invisibility by Scott McTominay.
United limped to an abject 2-0 defeat at the hands of West Ham today. They played reasonably well at times but West Ham’s incisive forward line of Jarrod Bowen, Mohammed Kudus and Lucas Paqueta ultimately proved the difference between the sides, combining to score two goals in the space of six minutes.
Ten Hag’s side had no answer to going one down, let alone two. But the match was characterised by the same disjointed midfield performance United fans have grown painfully used to seeing this season.
At the heart of this fundamentally weak heart? McTominay.
The Scottish international’s ability to float through ninety minutes of football, in central midfield, and contribute as little as he does, on or off the ball, defies belief. Yet it’s a choice Erik ten Hag continues to make every week, with the exact same results. What is the definition of insanity again?
A quick statistical analysis of McTominay’s performance – 3/4 ground duels won, 4/4 successful aerial duels, 5 clearances, 3 tackles, 89% pass success – suggests a reasonable one. A combative game in which he was accurate with the ball and a force without it.
But this is where the old adage of ‘lies, damned lies and statistics’ rears its pertinent head.
McTominay is incapable of playing central midfield at a high level. He lacks the technical ability, spatial awareness, speed of thought or courage to operate there. He cannot receive the ball under pressure nor can he execute basic progressive passes when pressed.
If this was countered by an elite defensive presence, McTominay’s inclusion would make sense. But he is positionally poor and increasingly incapable of utilising his powerful frame to impose himself on the opposition midfield. Against Newcastle a few weeks ago, the 27-year-old was bullied by Joelinton; the next week Goretzka handled him with ease for Bayern Munich.
While McTominay was not overrun physically today by a West Ham side, who appeared to be biding their time before striking, his inability to do anything meaningful with the ball was abysmal. Alongside a similarly poor Bruno Fernandes, the experienced pair left the youthful Kobbie Mainoo alone to offer a semblance of a midfield performance. Which he did.
While Mainoo made an unfortunate error for West Ham’s second, he was excellent outside of this. The academy graduate demonstrated the exact selection of skills which McTominay lacks. If Ten Hag was to deploy an actual midfielder next to Mainoo, instead of one he’s forced to babysit, we may see an even better version of the 18-year-old.
We’d likely see a much better version of United as well.
Quite simply, McTominay plays because of his attitude and because he offers his side their biggest goal threat, despite his technical shortcomings. Ten Hag has created a paradoxical situation where McTominay’s inclusion makes his team play worse but simultaneously more likely to score. It’s a contradiction which may prove fatal to his time in Manchester.
When Scott the Scot does not score, you are left with nothing; just as United left the London Stadium with nothing today.
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