Scott McTominay has often been the centre of negative attention within the last two years. He’s been described as a limited player who wouldn’t still be at the club if he wasn’t an academy graduate. Similarly, the name ‘McFred’ has been used by numerous United fans, discrediting the pairing in a double-pivot without understanding each players individual roles. However, Scott must be doing something right for every manager to continue to play him!
It’s first key to realise that there are many different roles that a midfielder can play, there’s no such thing as the ‘typical’ midfield role, whilst some share the same jobs. Lots of football fans do not notice this, and expect players to be doing things that aren’t a part of their role, such as McTominay constantly playing 40 yard passes and controlling the game like Paul Pogba and Paul Scholes would.
Visible Weaknesses
This leads onto my first point, Scott McTominay is NOT a high volume passer. In the 21/22 season, he ranked in the 48th percentile for attempted passes (47.14 per 90), and this season he ranks in the 25 percentile. However, Erik ten Hag has combatted this issue perfectly by signing Christian Eriksen who sits next to McTominay and dictates play. So far this season, Eriksen averages 54.85 passes attempted this season, ranking in the 68th percentile, much higher than McTominay.
Another weakness shown by McTominay is, ironically, his lack of showing for the ball in the first stage. This was a problem last season as he would often shadow the opposition forward or midfielder. Whilst this would open up other passing angles for United’s centre-backs in possession, it was definitely an issue against some opposition. This issue has been fixed by ten Hag by moving Scott further up the pitch in the first phase of the build up rather than having him collecting the ball. Now, Eriksen drops in to collect and progress the ball, and the pair swap positions from there.
McTominay is further aided by Malacia playing as an inverted fullback who also offers progression from a wider angle. Seen in the tweet below, McTominay is able to remove Jesus from the game and buy time for United’s back line on the ball who can progress it wide and then inside to Eriksen.
Why is McTominay suited to the system?
Now onto McTominay’s strengths and how he is able to shine in ten Hag’s system. Scott’s primary role in the system is as a ball winner. He’s engaged against dribblers in 8 situations, winning 4 of his tackles, the highest success rate of those attempting 5 or more tackles. He’s also won the most out of United’s midfielders, highlighting his importance. McTominay is also top for pressures (84) in the United squad, using the most of his physical presence.
He’s key in the role as he’s able to stop opposition transitions when United’s forwards lose the ball. This was highlighted especially against Arsenal when he won the ball back from Gabriel Jesus in the attacking third, he found himself unlucky that the referee blew for a stoppage due to a head injury. Similarly, against Liverpool Scott won the ball back on the halfway line, he played an excellent line breaker to Fernandes which almost resulted in a goal.
An underrated part of McTominay’s game is his ball carrying, or dribbling ability. This is definitely the most undervalued part of his game with people often making it out to be terrible. Out of the Manchester United squad, Scott McTominay ranks top for successful dribbles (8) and also top for successful dribbles % (80%); these numbers have him ranked 27th and 18th respectively in the Premier League amongst all players.
As United continue to develop, Scott’s incredible ball striking ability will be very useful in the right half-spaces. He often acts as the link between Dalot and Sancho (or Antony) down the right side, so when Eriksen is back or Malacia is inverted, Scott is able to take up this high position as he does in this photo. We saw this on numerous occasions in pre-season and we also saw him manage to get off lots of shots, one of his main strengths having been a centre-forward in his youth days.
For obvious reasons, McTominay won’t be in this position a lot as he is often deeper than Eriksen when in possession of the ball, but it’s good that ten Hag has this asset from this player.
Finally, the most noticed part of McTominay’s game, and arguably the most important given this current Manchester United side is his physicality. There are a lot of areas in which his physicality helps out, and coincidentally it’s the areas that he excels in. As described above, his ball carrying is very good, but that’s only possible due to his tough physique which allows him to muscle his way past the opposition; the same applies for his play in defensive transitions as he is able to outmuscle his opponents and get his body between them and the ball.
In what is a relatively short Manchester United side, Scott provides an aerial presence which should be valued, both in defensive and offensive scenarios. He’s contested for the most aerial duels in the squad (27) and won 16, ranking him in the 93rd percentile for aerials won per 90. The importance of this was actually highlighted in the first half against Brentford when Manchester United went 4-0 down away from home, and McTominay wasn’t on the pitch. Brentford found it easy to score their 3rd from a corner with both United players losing their aerial duels.
The most important feature of Scott McTominay in Manchester United’s midfield is the balance he brings. Utilising two playmakers in Christian Eriksen and Bruno Fernandes can be very risky, however ten Hag as ensured that McTominay isn’t holding the line by himself and is utilising him to his strengths, minimising his weaknesses on show. Scott and Eriksen have formed an unstoppable partnership this season, and Erik ten Hag will hope that it will continue that way!
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