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Gary Pallister claims Manchester United’s defence should be “able to adapt” to the three-man defensive system favoured by new Red Devils boss Ruben Amorim as it can be “easier for the defenders” to play in.
In an exclusive interview with The Peoples Person, hosted by Lucky Block, the former United star believes there will be a “change” in defence as “Amorim likes to play five at the back” which will be “interesting to watch”. He is adamant there are “good centre-backs” at Old Trafford who the Portuguese coach will be able to work with, however.
Pallister describes Leny Yoro as “highly-regarded” and a “talent” following the 18-year-old’s blockbuster transfer in the summer from LOSC Lille. Yoro’s return from injury is expected to come in early December with Amorim’s first match as United manager on November 24 against Ipswich Town.
There is widespread expectation the French starlet will be a key player in Amorim’s system moving forward, given its reliance upon the technical ability and physical dominance of the centre-backs in the back three – two areas Yoro thrives in.
United’s other centre-halves – Matthijs de Ligt, Lisandro Martinez, Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof and Jonny Evans – will likely be fighting for selection alongside Yoro, with De Ligt and Martinez the two strongest candidates, though Maguire has extensive history in a three-man defence for the England national team.
Pallister believes this cohort are “good players” who “should be able to adapt” to a back three if they’re “playing at the level” of Manchester United as the system “does make it kind of easier I think for the defenders”.
Pallister also identifies the injury crisis which has besieged the Old Trafford dressing room, with the backline hit particularly hard, as a reason why United have struggled defensively in the last fifteen months given Erik ten Hag was unable to “get them playing together regularly”.
“Unfortunately last season, Martinez had injuries, Harry [Maguire] had injuries and loss of form [and] Lindelof has been in and out,” the 59-year-old recounts. Similarly, De Ligt has “come in as a new signing and now there is a little bit of pressure on him”.
But consistency in selection will prove key to Amorim acclimating his new squad to his system. “It’s about getting a settled back four, or a back five with Amorim coming in, and getting them used to playing with each other because the more and more you’re having different players [in defence] the tougher it gets,” Pallister contends.
One key attribute for a centre-back in Amorim’s system is mobility, particularly for the two outside defenders. The Sporting coach likes his side to push high up the pitch to suffocate the opposition with an aggressive press.
Naturally, this leaves considerable spaces in behind the defence, without traditional fullbacks to cover the wider areas. This requires the three-man defence to defend both aggressively and proactively, and be able to control large gaps on the pitch in transition.
Ousmane Diomande and Gonacalo Inacio, defenders who have both been strongly linked with moves to United, have thrived under Amorim at the José Alvalade Stadium as the RCB and LCB in this three-at-the-back system.
Yoro is a strong fit for the RCB in Diomande’s place with the two young defensive starlets demonstrating similar profiles. Inacio, however, is more athletic than Martinez (the most likely candidate for the LCB role), clocking a top speed nearly 2km/h faster than the Argentine while standing 10cm taller.
Pallister does not believe speed is essential to be a top centre-back; instead, the former England international believes intelligence and awareness are king. “If you can read the game, you can save yourself split seconds in decision-making and understanding the ebbs and flows of a game.”
The 59-year-old does concede that pace “helps” but reaffirms “it is not pivotal”: “It’s nice to have in your armoury but it’s not a pre-requisite.” He references Bobby Moore, describing the World Cup winner as “one of the finest centre-backs in history” who could “read the game” to an elite level, despite not being the fastest.
Sir Alex Ferguson, who brought Pallister to United from Middlesbrough in 1989, once described the centre-back as the fastest player over 100m in the Scot’s time at the helm at Old Trafford. And while Pallister does believe you can “gamble a little bit” if you have speed to fall back on, ultimately the ability to read the game can compensate for this.
Given both De Ligt and Martinez are not blessed with pace, and neither are Maguire or Evans, United’s centre-backs will need to sharpen their abilities to read the game if they want to join Yoro on the pitch under Amorim moving forward. If not, the 39-year-old manager may be revisiting the Portuguese capital in the summer to to bring Diomande and Inacio back with him to Manchester.
Featured image Octavio Passos via Getty Images
