He's our best player in and out of possession which says it all really. The only competition for the former is MGW. There is no competition for the latter title. Being a football club's best player out of possession at 21 should be a cause of considerable embarrassment for the rest of the squad.
Davies was targeted for Wilder's back three for several reasons I'd suggest: his quality vertical passes that can get you up the pitch quicker allowing you to play out from the goalkeeper and through the thirds - rendering the opponent's high press redundant. His ability to read the game and sweep up behind dominant defensive partners. His relative pace compare to most left centre backs. He never had the skill set to play in a four next to Egan, although I have to point out the very limited protection they both get from Norwood or Fleck.
If you play four at the back you need different attributes: physicality, strength, height and excellent heading ability are pre requisites (all the attributes Davies lacks). You cannot have a player that lacks in these areas in a back four, because the two are covering more space than the three both on the ground AND in the air. Our four has the additional problem that Egan himself is not one of these monsters either; he's a shortish guy lacking in the physical department. He's better in these areas than most people with his body type, but NOT a natural when it comes to that stuff. In a back three for United he was outstanding; in a back three for Brentford they were happy to see him go to United. Enough said.
Fitness is a huge issue at United. Maybe the biggest and for me heads should roll. The pre season was amateur hour and in the space of 12-18 months we've gone from arguably the fittest team in England to arguably the least fittest. We're a disgrace. These guys aren't capable of playing three, nay, even two games a week at the required intensity of Championship football players. That's the long and the short of it. These are the patterns you will see: one half maximum is played at the requisite intensity, unless we have a one game week in which case you may get two. They either phone in the first half or phone in the second. At Millwall it was the first; yesterday it was the second. I agree Mousset has been a disgrace. He's first hour or lst thirty mins, nothing more until his conditioning is worked on. Maybe we should take him out and work on him and bring him back in the new year? Or do you just accept he is what he is and use him as an impact player?
It's no surprise that these shocking errors continually happen in the second half of games when we're cooked. Stevens has been rushed back from injury six weeks early. At Barnsley he spent the last 35 minutes of the match playing centre back because his legs had gone and the manager didn't sub him off despite him not engaging his wide player. Yesterday, we decimated the left side when he put Didzy in front of Stevens whilst taking our only legs off (Osborn). Until these lads can get fitter, the manager has to have a plan from the bench to increase the basic physical levels required in any football team. If we don't have any midfielders in the squad he has to look at the U23s to the likes of Slater who made a bit of a name for himself as a defensive, grafter type. If not, teams will continue to run all over us. The other option is to pack the midfield with numbers (the more bodies the less running required).
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