Why McTominay must be given freedom

Scott McTominay before this weekend, must have felt hard done by.

In his national shirt, he has been in the form of his life for his country. Watching him on the field for Scotland brings back memories of Dele Ali in his prime. However, the same can’t be said, when Scott is in red.

Here is why.

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When he plays for Scotland, McTominay's play is more expressive and dynamic, as he darts beyond the striker and gets into positions to score goals. In Scotland’s Euro qualifying campaign McTominay scored 6 in 5 games, an incredible return considering he had only scored 1 in 37 before 2023.

However, McTominay hasn't had the same opportunity to showcase this side of his game while playing for United.

The opportunities have been sparse, with only 3 starts in 10 appearances for the club. One of those starts, unfortunately, was during the 3-1 drumming by Brighton in mid-September—a match that didn't quite go the way anyone in the United camp had hoped for.

Let’s take a look at that game.

What struck me about the performance was the lack of freedom in the way the players “get at” their opponents. Remember before the game, McTominay gets the nod and is the form of his life for his country. Scoring goals, getting in the box, taking chances. Yet, look at this heat map.

The most cautious heatmap you could expect to see from a player scoring goals and full of confidence. He isn’t making those runs, he isn’t getting into the box to have the same impact.

I suspect the issue is that the handbrake is fully up from the manager.

This was apparent as I watched back the game this weekend against Brentford. Casemiro and Amrabat were often so rigid, ironically one of the few times they left their flat line, Amrabat tried to make some space beyond Casemiro, the ball was intercepted, Brentford did what they do in transition and Jensen ended up with the ball in the back of the net!

Of course, there are better quality midfielders at United’s disposal but the arrival of McTominay into such positions upsets the rhythm,it keeps the back-line guessing and questioning who is picking him up. Take a look at this heat-map from Scotland’s game away at Cyprus.

Therefore, it’s clear McTominay gets the nod against Sheffield United (after the international break). Providing he comes back fit, he could inject a little more unpredictability into the United attack.

I just hope that before you rush to throw him into your fantasy league teams, you consider the role he will be given at minute 1 by Ten Hag.

United clearly need to take more risks in the final third. Erik, let McTominay roam and get into the box. It’s not just to get him on the scoresheet, but to create space and pull defenders about.

The Brentford game, up until the 90th minute, was far too rigid and predictable.

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