Donatello

Bingo!

The difference being Clyne and Schneiderlin? Oh, and Forster, known for his ability to run teams ragged, of course.

I'm content with the performance, if only because we (I) were in desperate need of a solid defensive performance (far more important than offensive performance for moi at this stage). The quote in bold is what provides me with real optimism, i.e. this formation with the correct personnel (those you mention) will be effective. 4-2-3-1 simply isn't working for us at present with Targett/Yoshi/Davis/the two DMs, so something needed to change. Incidentally, I thought Caulker was appalling in the first half (improved second half). And Wanyama was lackadaisical throughout.

Why do you not? (unless I've inferred incorrectly)

Wingbacks simply aren't high enough up the pitch (for whatever reason - hesitation, tactics, inability, nativity, etc).

Caulker needs to wake the F up. Looks lazy.

Kevin De Bruyne to City is looking likely for between £50m-£55m, which would take their summer spending to around £153m, according to The Guardian. http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/aug/21/kevin-de-bruyne-manchester-city

Which he is. Sorted then.

4-3-3 for moi (I.e. JWP-Wanyama-Romeu). Need to regain our defensive stability, and playing without an AM will allow the midfield to better protect the full-backs, shifting across more easily (without pulling the entire midfield to one side of the field).

Nicolas Otamendi to Man City for £32/34m, depending on your source. ~£73m on two CBs. The mind boggles. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/34002463

The Mane leak has quickly supplanted the Pedro story as the headline story on many football news sites.

Absolutely this. The Pedro situation would've created unbelievable amounts of fan pressure/talk (i.e. complaints). By all accounts, they are interested in Mane, but the timing of this leak is transparent. How often are United made to look like complete suckers where transfers are concerned? They've set a record this year by being 'done' twice (Pedro/Ramos).

Good. Ignore it

As above (Pedro), http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/33989090

Cheers.

Where did you source this information, please? Would like to read, not fact-checking.

Berahino: Tottenham bid (£15m) rejected (predictably). http://m.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/33980471

This.

No, because you're not going to convince him, ha. It's near as damn it unanimous that we improved as a team with Romeu on.

For real?

Absolutely a balance issue. Obviously certain players deficiencies are evident, but the system simply served to highlight them further (as it did at Newcastle). Never again can Davis be played as part of a CM pairing - that decision beggars belief when the personnel in the back four is taken into consideration. If Romeu couldn't last 90 mins, then 3 CMs should've played. Never mind. The Romeu/Wanyama pairing looks promising enough though - I was actually fairly happy with the performance in the second half.

Frankly, it's an almost arrogant (for lack of a better word) line-up, perhaps based on our performances last season with this formation. Certainly a reality check - Davis & Wanyama cannot cope in a 2 man midfield, period. With Yoshida and Targett behind, why not opt for Caution to begin with for Christ's sake (I.e. 3CMs).

Too attacking a line-up, just like Newcastle. Need 3CM with the players at our disposal. Oh, 2-0 now.

It's all very odd. So much so, that it makes me suspicious that it may happen. But perhaps that's just my way of preparing myself, post Adkins/Lambert scenarios, I.e. shock, instant dismissal, transpires that it's true.

You can read that Swansea are changing their default formation, and Cork is potentially behind Shelvey and Ki for the two CM births. Will still get plenty of game time though (Ki went off injured),