Scott McTominay is a nice problem to have. But despite being Manchester United’s top scorer this season with five goals, the midfielder is still a problem. Not for anything he has done particularly. The Scotland international has generally been diligent this season, is credited as a leader in the dressing room and his goal output is second-to-none at Old Trafford. But tactically he poses questions that manager Erik ten Hag struggles to answer.
In recent weeks, Ten Hag has decided to lean into the strengths McTominay has shown for his national side. McTominay, who turns 27 today, has become Scotland’s biggest goal threat. He had 1 goal in 37 caps coming into 2023. This year, McTominay has seven goals in 10 outings.
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McTominay has routinely found himself miscast at Old Trafford. Due to his size, standing a powerful 6’4, he has often been viewed as a defensive midfielder. Given United’s struggles in filling this role in recent years, the academy graduate has been slotted in there often.
But the issue is McTominay does not suit a deep-lying role. He is not disciplined enough defensively or a particularly effective tackler, despite his physical dimensions. Even when starting games in a nominally defensive role, Scott has always had a tendency to drift. The reason consecutive managers persevered with his ‘McFred’ partnership with departed Brazilian Fred was because their strengths and weaknesses complemented each other.
Alone, neither was an effective holding midfielder. But together, McTominay’s wanderlust and Fred’s relentless worked well. Fred wasn’t a gifted attacker but could run for days. McTominay was poor at reading danger in United’s third, but could cause havoc in the opposing danger zone. ‘McFred’ operated more like ‘McFrankenstein’, with United essentially sewing together two midfielders to make one ideal player.
Ten Hag is less enamoured than the likes of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick were with make-do-and-mend conservatism. Fred was shipped off to Fenerbahce this summer, with the long-time pivot already broken up last season by Casemiro’s arrival. Ten Hag didn’t see the sense in asking two men to do the job of one, and the former Real Madrid midfielder took over defensive midfield duties.
An injury to Casemiro has seen the need to reshuffle. Sofyan Amrabat, on loan from Fiorentina, was envisioned as the man to take the burden. But with Christian Eriksen also on the shelf, he’s needed a partner. 18-year-old Kobbie Mainoo has impressed in the role, but there is a wish not to overburden him at such a tender age. Therefore, Amrabat and McTominay have partnered up.
This has had positive and negative implications. The positive has been that McTominay has mastered the art of the late arrival into the box. The midfielder has become United’s most potent attacking threat, causing havoc with delayed runs that catch opposition defences unaware.
But the problem with McTominay’s marauding is the gaps it leaves behind him. Fielded in the base two of Ten Hag’s 4-2-3-1 formation, his runs into the opposing box can leave United exposed. Even against Chelsea, United’s midfield was easy to play through. Cole Palmer’s goal came from an absence of resistance in midfield, leaving Victor Lindelof to flail one-on-one with the ex-Manchester City star.
Ideally you would play McTominay with two defensively-minded midfielders behind him. But the problem in this strategy is that United’s talisman is Bruno Fernandes. An attacking midfielder by trade, attempts to field him out of position on the flank have been fruitless. If he’s fit, Bruno has to play and he has to do so centrally. This means that fielding another attack-leaning midfield piles pressure on the sole defensive operator. Despite frequent experiments to the contrary, McTominay is certainly an attacking midfielder.
McTominay could find himself a soldier without a war, if Ten Hag takes steps to shore up his defensive midfield. But for now, the birthday boy looks set to remain a vital cog in the United machine. With the likes of Rasmus Hojlund and Marcus Rashford misfiring, frankly his goals are necessary.
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