McTominay - what’s his potential?

[Mr PG]

Lot's of lads still clueless as far as McTominay. I remember Fergie telling Jose he needs to play him more and clueless posters still giving him backhanded compliments. His best games have always been against the best opposition and that's a telltale sign of a special player. His tall langy style makes him look less effective. People say he's improving but he's been good since those Jose days but fans tend to notice more the players with fancy dribbles, stepovers, long range hollywood passes etc but he's the type and was also told to keep it simple while integrating into the team
I believe he can be even better much farther forward due to his ability to hold up the ball and the clean way he strikes the ball. If we had a good deep lying midfielder ot would enable us to see his real potential upfront. My arsenal mate once asked me who was better between scott and Gendhouzi and he let out a smirk when I said Scott. Defensively I felt they were quite similar but Scott edges it by a mile going forward and I always felt he plays a bit within himself like many midfielders would when playing with Pogba. It's only natural since Pogba's skills are out of this world but his abscence for another month will allow our current midfielders to flourish.

 

[Stacks]

I watched that video but I couldn’t help but feel that with the likes of Mata, Pereira, Lingard and Rashford (as a CF) to pick out, it’s no wonder we struggled to find forwards passes in the Newcastle game (which received particular scrutiny)

I’ve never gone along with the idea that McTominay is technically limited. Certainly not when compared to players like Fernandinho, Henderson, Fabinho, Milner etc...who have all been very successful playing CM without having flashy tricks or goals up their sleeve

True. I actually think he shoots rather well.

 

[Skills]

Probably can become about as good/useful as Jordan Henderson has been for Liverpool over the years.

 

[Denis' cuff]

If Garner turns out as good we’ll be well on the way to finally fix up the mf.

 

[MrSingh2002]

What does all of this have to do with Pogba needing to have McTominay mentality or whatever else from him?

Do you feel Pogba has the mentality to become the best footballer he can be? To be clear I'm not asking whether he can win a World Cup in a squad full of generational talents.

 

[simplyared]

Probably can become about as good/useful as Jordan Henderson has been for Liverpool over the years.

Setting the bar a bit low aren't we?

 

[Stacks]

Setting the bar a bit low aren't we?

I think it's fair. Hendo was a very promising young CM and went on to have a successful career captaining the European champs. McTom ain't no Gerrard or Lamps or Carrick with the sublime technique so is more likely going to be a Hendo

 

[Dr. Dwayne]

His tall langy style makes him look less effective.

What say you, @langster ? This statement seems to besmirch your good reputation.

 

[fps]

Setting the bar a bit low aren't we?

Henderson is an excellent player, and he's got where he is through hard work and determination. Very technically and tactically sound, a real workhorse, a leader.

 

[r3idy]

Probably can become about as good/useful as Jordan Henderson has been for Liverpool over the years.

Agree with this.

Henderson was derided in his early years yet here he is an integral part of the current Champions of Europe. MCTominay has the potential to go on and be the next Gary Neville so to speak (obviously positions aside) i.e. A regular 7/10 player who allowed the more creative players ahead of him to flourish. Nothing wrong with that either. If it allows Pogba or A. N. Other to be the creative link we need in midfield, no problem from me.

Yes current social trends show him yelling at players towards the end of the Chelsea game this week. I think he has shown leadership beyond this game actually.

 

[Walters_19_MuFc]

Reminds me of Khedira, and before anyone says anything, Khedira was a decent player a few years back.

Get a deep lying plyamaker next to him in the mould of De Jong, Jorginho, Verratti and he'll boss it even more.

Think Ole has tried to, or is in the process of moulding Pogba into that player, but he likes going forward too much. We need someone to sit and dictate.

 

[JJ12]

Probably can become about as good/useful as Jordan Henderson has been for Liverpool over the years.

Awfully underwhelming if thats the case.

 

[Amadaeus]

His improvement under Ole has been incredible. When he signed his new contract early in Ole's reign, the manager spoke glowingly about his future. His performances since have completely justified that.

Even 6 months ago, I think there would be very few people who would have expected him to displace Matic in the side. He's done it so convincingly that it's not even a debate.

In relation to his potential, it's hard to tell. He is very well suited to this United side. His athleticism and energy is crucial, in particular post Herrera. He has a lot more to develop in his game, in particular his ability to control games from midfield. If he can keep up this level of progress, maybe he can do it.





Wow!

Now that Rashford has hit a bit of form, do you think he'll be better than Thierry Henry?

I have always rated Mctominay highly. It was never about hitting form. He has just continued progressing as a player as I expected he would. I have great insight into our players and I know the quality of players we have despite a lot of fans on here thinking otherwise and being overly critical of them during rough patches of form.

I might have been to young to actually see Roy Keane play, but I did recall watching some of his game. Mctominay has the ability to surpass Keane and will definitely surpass Butt and prime Fletcher as other comparison people made. I am not saying he will, surpass Keane, but he has the ability, to surpass him if he is coached properly and have a fantastic team around him.

 

[RedWat]

Do you feel Pogba has the mentality to become the best footballer he can be? To be clear I'm not asking whether he can win a World Cup in a squad full of generational talents.

This thread is about what is McTominay's potential.

For a potential to be maximised a winning mentality or mindset is a necessity. A winning mentality or mindset is the ingredient that separates players such a CR7 & Messi from just being talented world class players to being world greats. It transforms players that may be perceived to have a average skill set, to be players that are indispensable to their teams (Such as James Milner or Darren Fletcher).

These players never give up when all seems lost(i.e Roy Keane) , and when their fellow players have thrown in the towel. Scot Mctominay has this winning mentality, he wants to make the absolute most of his ability even when far more illustrious players around him who costs multiple tens of millions more than him are happy to operate in "cruise control", and are happy to blame the style of play or where they were positioned as to why they had a poor game.

Players with a winning mentality do not offer up such excuses, and here I present you the shining example of this current Utd team with such a winning victors mindset ......Scott Francis McTominay.

 

[Stacks]

Hoping he will be "as useful as Henderson has been for Liverpool" Nah he can be better than that! I'm expecting a lot more from him. Taking into consideration the qualities he's showing now, his rapid development, comittment etc and not least his goal threat. I'd say more of a Michael Ballack which is of course a couple of levels up from that geordie who, "always puts a shift in" for them scousers.

Ok. Ballack was practically the German Lampard outscoring forwards in his pomp and played in 2 CL finals. Unless you mean 38 year old Ballack I have no idea what warrants this comparison. That's akin to claiming Gendouzi will be Patrick Vieira

 

[Stacks]

I have always rated Mctominay highly. It was never about hitting form. He has just continued progressing as a player as I expected he would. I have great insight into our players and I know the quality of players we have despite a lot of fans on here thinking otherwise and being overly critical of them during rough patches of form.

I might have been to young to actually see Roy Keane play, but I did recall watching some of his game. Mctominay has the ability to surpass Keane and will definitely surpass Butt and prime Fletcher as other comparison people made. I am not saying he will, surpass Keane, but he has the ability, to surpass him if he is coached properly and have a fantastic team around him.

Tell me what parts of his game look set to surpass Keano and Fletch?

 

[langster]

What say you, @langster ? This statement seems to besmirch your good reputation.

I'd say he's talking bollocks, mate.

 

[Dr. Dwayne]

langy style.

 

[Andersonson]

I can’t take this place seriously after the abuse he got post Mourinho. It was disgusting. The lads done nothing but improve game on game as well. Really happy for him.

Imagine if this place was the transfer comitee. Jack Rodwell and Bailly would be our captains!

 

[thepolice123]

Tell me what parts of his game look set to surpass Keano and Fletch?

If compared to Fletcher at similar age, I think he has already shown better goal threat and the ability to carry the ball forward. Their passing are pretty similar but I wouldn't be surprised if he manages to develop a more expansive range. Physcially, he is on another level. He's faster, stronger and maybe a tad bit better in the air. The scary thing is he possibly not yet fully developed.

Comparisons with Keane are hyperbole at this point in time imo.

 

[POF]

I have always rated Mctominay highly. It was never about hitting form. He has just continued progressing as a player as I expected he would. I have great insight into our players and I know the quality of players we have despite a lot of fans on here thinking otherwise and being overly critical of them during rough patches of form.

I might have been to young to actually see Roy Keane play, but I did recall watching some of his game. Mctominay has the ability to surpass Keane and will definitely surpass Butt and prime Fletcher as other comparison people made. I am not saying he will, surpass Keane, but he has the ability, to surpass him if he is coached properly and have a fantastic team around him.

That explains it. Roy Keane is the best central midfield player in the history of the Premier League and easily the most influential player in the Premier League in the decade between 1995 and 2005.

McTominay has been a first team regular in the Premier League for a few months.

Talented he may be but he has a long way to go to and needs a lot to go his way to be half the player Keane was.

 

[ClaytonBlackmoorLeftPeg]

I have always rated Mctominay highly. It was never about hitting form. He has just continued progressing as a player as I expected he would. I have great insight into our players and I know the quality of players we have despite a lot of fans on here thinking otherwise and being overly critical of them during rough patches of form.

I might have been to young to actually see Roy Keane play, but I did recall watching some of his game. Mctominay has the ability to surpass Keane and will definitely surpass Butt and prime Fletcher as other comparison people made. I am not saying he will, surpass Keane, but he has the ability, to surpass him if he is coached properly and have a fantastic team around him.

McT has the potential to be an excellent player.

However, Keane was the finest midfielder I’ve seen in 30 years. If it wasn’t for a couple of serious injuries he would have had an even better career - which is hard to imagine.

It’s a silly comparison to even mention them in the same breadth.

Let’s just see how the lad develops, not put too much pressure on him, and not shit on him when he has a bad few games.

 

[RamblingRebel]

He'll be a great servant for Utd if he can be as good as Fletcher that last season just before he got ill. Seems to have a good mentality too. Liked in the post match interview last week when he said something along the lines "he's a Man Utd striker, its what's expected" when asked about Rashfords finish after missing the penalty, and kept driving the point home how its important to stay humble and keep improving.

 

[Roboc7]

I have always rated Mctominay highly. It was never about hitting form. He has just continued progressing as a player as I expected he would. I have great insight into our players and I know the quality of players we have despite a lot of fans on here thinking otherwise and being overly critical of them during rough patches of form.

I might have been to young to actually see Roy Keane play, but I did recall watching some of his game. Mctominay has the ability to surpass Keane and will definitely surpass Butt and prime Fletcher as other comparison people made. I am not saying he will, surpass Keane, but he has the ability, to surpass him if he is coached properly and have a fantastic team around him.

He has nowhere near the potential to surpass Keane, this is the kind of nonsense that sets players up for a fall.

Keane was an incredible player, better than Mctominay at pretty much everything by some distance. Could Mctominay end up as good as Fletcher or Butt, possibly. Keane not a chance.

Worth remembering a few weeks ago Mctominay was being bossed by the Longstaffs, few weeks later after two good games he’s a future Captain and massively over hyped.

 

[Adnan]

He won't even come close to Roy Keane. McTominay Is a workhorse type of midfielder who lacks quality on the ball. He's done well up until this point but in a strong Manchester United he will struggle to make the bench.

 

[Raees]

Lot's of lads still clueless as far as McTominay. I remember Fergie telling Jose he needs to play him more and clueless posters still giving him backhanded compliments. His best games have always been against the best opposition and that's a telltale sign of a special player. His tall langy style makes him look less effective. People say he's improving but he's been good since those Jose days but fans tend to notice more the players with fancy dribbles, stepovers, long range hollywood passes etc but he's the type and was also told to keep it simple while integrating into the team
I believe he can be even better much farther forward due to his ability to hold up the ball and the clean way he strikes the ball. If we had a good deep lying midfielder ot would enable us to see his real potential upfront. My arsenal mate once asked me who was better between scott and Gendhouzi and he let out a smirk when I said Scott. Defensively I felt they were quite similar but Scott edges it by a mile going forward and I always felt he plays a bit within himself like many midfielders would when playing with Pogba. It's only natural since Pogba's skills are out of this world but his abscence for another month will allow our current midfielders to flourish.

Both are excellent talents but Ghendouzi is a phenom ... people are sleeping on that guy, he’s a Barca player in the making.

 

[tenpoless]

CafResident#1 : Next Captain!
CafResident#2 : TRUE leader! Can be as good as Roy Keane!
CafResident#3 : Best player so far

One game later

CafResident#1 : Shit player
CafResident#2 : Shit player
CafResident#3 : My hand is a dolphin, shit player

 

[amolbhatia50k]

He won't even come close to Roy Keane. McTominay Is a workhorse type of midfielder who lacks quality on the ball. He's done well up until this point but in a strong Manchester United he will struggle to make the bench.

Yeah I think some perspective is needed on McTominay. He deserves a whole lot of credit for imposing himself on the first team and producing some very good peformance. However comparisons to Roy Keane and other elite midfielders are some way off the mark, and it is important to analyse his game in a balanced manner.

Firstly it has to be said that he has a strong physical presence about him, he gets stuck in well and his pressing/harrying/reaction to loose balls is very good. These in themselves are useful qualities. However you wouldn't say he is immense defensively. He isn't someone who provides such protection it the backline that he frees up the rest of the team to bomb forward. So he's not a defensive midfielder and hence there would be an expectation from him in attack as well.

Now in attack too he has improved quite a bit. He is now definitely capable of producing the odd moment of quality whether by way of a great strike or a driving run. However I don't think anyone would call him brilliant on the ball. Forget the playmaking CMs. Even the top box to box ones like Keane had immense composure and intelligence coupled with a strong and consistent passing ability. Like we saw in yesterday's game (and this isn't a knee jerk reaction), Mctominay has a long way to go as far as on the ball and passing quality.

Of course given his improvement thus far nobody knows how far he can go. But my hunch is that the Fletcher comparison is an apt one. He's all action CM with energy, physical presence and a bit of explosiveness. Will be a solid asset for us going forward but I don't see think I see a top midfield talent yet (but could be better than Fletcher )

 

[Adnan]

Yeah I think some perspective is needed on McTominay. He deserves a whole lot of credit for imposing himself on the first team and producing some very good peformance. However comparisons to Roy Keane and other elite midfielders are some way off the mark, and it is important to analyse his game in a balanced manner.

Firstly it has to be said that he has a strong physical presence about him, he gets stuck in well and his pressing/harrying/reaction to loose balls is very good. These in themselves are useful qualities. However you wouldn't say he is immense defensively. He isn't someone who provides such protection it the backline that he frees up the rest of the team to bomb forward. So he's not a defensive midfielder and hence there would be an expectation from him in attack as well.

Now in attack too he has improved quite a bit. He is now definitely capable of producing the odd moment of quality whether by way of a great strike or a driving run. However I don't think anyone would call him brilliant on the ball. Forget the playmaking CMs. Even the top box to box ones like Keane had immense composure and intelligence coupled with a strong and consistent passing ability. Like we saw in yesterday's game (and this isn't a knee jerk reaction), Mctominay has a long way to go as far as on the ball and passing quality.

Of course given his improvement thus far nobody knows how far he can go. But my hunch is that the Fletcher comparison is an apt one. He's all action CM with energy, physical presence and a bit of explosiveness. Will be a solid asset for us going forward but I don't see think I see a top midfield talent yet (but could be better than Fletcher )

Agreed.

 

[Boznich]

Pogba is one of best midfielders in world football. He doesn’t need anything form McSauce.

Having a great attitude and some determination then giving 100% every week are couple of things Pogba could learn from Mctominay.

 

[FootyGirl88]

CafResident#1 : Next Captain!
CafResident#2 : TRUE leader! Can be as good as Roy Keane!
CafResident#3 : Best player so far

One game later

CafResident#1 : Shit player
CafResident#2 : Shit player
CafResident#3 : My hand is a dolphin, shit player

The truth is somewhere in the middle

 

[Mcking]

He's the typical run-of-the-mill Premier League midfielder that wouldn't look out of place in the Championship, and I don't see him getting away from that level because he simply doesn't have the talent. His quality is an accurate reflection of the team's current situation, and since he became a regular, our results has been mostly average.
He'd struggle to make the bench in an acceptable and competitive Man Utd team, and until we get to a point where he's no longer good enough for a starting role, then the team will never be acceptable nor competitive.

 

[Mainoldo]

Having a great attitude and some determination then giving 100% every week are couple of things Pogba could learn from Mctominay.

There’s players in league 1 doing that. Hasn’t got them nowhere or won them a World Cup. Pogba’s fine mate. Only some United fans require more and we are mid table. Maybe we should settle ourselves. Like how we do with the owners and the manager.

 

[ariel]

I like him a lot. Keeps improving and surprising me.
Strong player, good shot and does the defensive part well.
However, the offensive part definitely has to improve. Unless it is a short pass, and not always successful at that, I feel he lacks the ability of any creative pass.
I really hope he improves in this aspect. That is the difference between a top player and a good squad player.

 

[Denis79]

I love his attitude and heart, he's done really well so far and I can see him becoming an important part of our team, that said he wouldn't be more than a squad player in the better teams we used to have in the past.

 

[Kemizee]

Reminds me of Khedira, and before anyone says anything, Khedira was a decent player a few years back.

Get a deep lying plyamaker next to him in the mould of De Jong, Jorginho, Verratti and he'll boss it even more.

Think Ole has tried to, or is in the process of moulding Pogba into that player, but he likes going forward too much. We need someone to sit and dictate.

Of course he was. Not as flamboyant as Ozil or Kroos but was a solid cog in the German midfield then.

 

[Walters_19_MuFc]

Of course he was. Not as flamboyant as Ozil or Kroos but was a solid cog in the German midfield then.

Yep. We could do with an Ozil and Kroos (well in their prime) now.

Fabian Ruiz and James Maddison be nice.

 

[andy dufresne]

Football is,of course,the game we all love and opinions are what makes the world go round and indeed,differences of opinion even more so.I have to give mine though on McTominay and add some sense to the posters who are clearly going overboard on where his talent actually lies and if he is actually good enough in the first place to be playing centre of midfield for Manchester United.I think not.I know it is silly to compare him to the likes of Bryan Robson,Keane and Scholes because let's face it, he can't lace their boots however every time I see him,he reminds me of a kid at school who is so keen to play but when the team gets picked,he doesn't contribute a great deal.He is having a decent run in the team and is playing well,that I will admit but for me,he lacks class and quality and that ability to see a pass which is vital in the midfield area for a successful side.I cannot fault his effort and enthusiasm and feel sure he wears the United Shirt with pride though I do also feel he would not get anywhere near the engine room for the top clubs in England and Europe because of that lack of what I call,pure footballing talent which some players have and some simply do not!

 

[Sky1981]

I like the guy. But tall order to become united midfielder. At best I'd say between being our new nicky butt or darren fletcher.

 

[Sky1981]

This thread is about what is McTominay's potential.

For a potential to be maximised a winning mentality or mindset is a necessity. A winning mentality or mindset is the ingredient that separates players such a CR7 & Messi from just being talented world class players to being world greats. It transforms players that may be perceived to have a average skill set, to be players that are indispensable to their teams (Such as James Milner or Darren Fletcher).

These players never give up when all seems lost(i.e Roy Keane) , and when their fellow players have thrown in the towel. Scot Mctominay has this winning mentality, he wants to make the absolute most of his ability even when far more illustrious players around him who costs multiple tens of millions more than him are happy to operate in "cruise control", and are happy to blame the style of play or where they were positioned as to why they had a poor game.

Players with a winning mentality do not offer up such excuses, and here I present you the shining example of this current Utd team with such a winning victors mindset ......Scott Francis McTominay.

Mentality can only take you so far though. Keane is actually really talented to start with, passion is what makes him special. You still kinda need the talent at end of the day