Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville has weighed in on the debate surrounding a change of formation during the Red Devils' 4-4 draw with Bournemouth at Old Trafford. The crowd was taken aback when viewing the match, as the initial line-up seemed to suggest a five-man defence, but the team transitioned into more of a four-man backline during the game.
This is despite head coach Ruben Amorim's insistence over his first year in charge that he would not alter his tactics, having previously expressed his firm stance in the media about shifting from a five-man to a four-man defence. He previously said: "No one. Not even the Pope will change [his tactics]. This is my job. This is my responsibility. This is my life. So, I will not change that."
Neville reflected on these comments in the latest episode of the Stick To Football podcast, before offering his thoughts on the alterations United made during the match.
He said: "So, basically, he's saying that he's never going to change the system. On Monday night, that's the average positions, that's the graphic. On Monday night, the average position.
"I mean, look, my eyes, to be fair, at times thought they were deceiving me because I couldn't quite work out what he was doing. It was in no doubt at the end, but it was no doubt he was in 4-2-4 at the end, but he was also during the game; something was different on Monday night.
"Has he changed it...? The last 20 minutes he was definitely 4-4-2, 4-2-4, but in the first part of the game, there was something definitely different that had been identified earlier in the week.
"Apparently, United are a bit annoyed, basically it's leaked out that he's gonna change to a 4-4-2 or a 4-3-3. He was emphatic about not changing, and we've all asked for him to change and be agile. Where are we now in respect to, there's no doubt on Monday he changed."
There were moments during the match when United resembled the side of old, before the patterns of recent seasons crept back in, but it's an encouraging sign for many that the manager is prepared to make those minor tactical adjustments.
Whilst many felt there were alterations, Bournemouth head coach Andoni Iraola appeared less convinced, as he remarked after the match: "I think it's the same system they always play, but they adapt depending on who you put to mark them. In the end, it's a very flexible system.
"Depending on the players, the outside players, depending if you mark them with a full-back, they will go lower, and then with a winger, they go higher.
"Also, with the positions in the middle, the six and eight, Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes and - even us - we were changing, it's two against two, but it's not two against two.
"Until we match up well for us, I think we suffer in the first 15 or 20 minutes, something like this and after when we put Alex [Scott] there, we felt much more solid without the ball. And when you feel solid, normally you also attack better."
With United facing absences due to AFCON commitments, questions remain over whether these tactical adjustments will become permanent fixtures or simply represent a one-off modification unlikely to resurface.