Try those tomatoes in Naples, it will change your life
Scott McTominay | Napoli
- Thread starter top1whoisman
- Start date
I would have never suspected tomatoes could taste like tomatoes, glad I read that.
He is bang on about tomatoes in Italy vs the intensively farmed polytunnel Dutch crap imported to Uk/Ireland.
Most of the rest of the stuff he says is a bit odd. His best season ever? Seriously?
Most of the rest of the stuff he says is a bit odd. His best season ever? Seriously?
Has already bested his best ever league tally with half a dozen games to go.
He got real lucky with the timing of his exit.
He got real lucky with the timing of his exit.
Two well taken goals, especially the first.
What position does he play with Napoli?
Like an 8 in a 4-3-3?
We probably should've kept him instead of signing Casemiro
He solves none of our problems.
I liked him but he wasn't brilliant technically and on the ball.
But his attitude was great and he had a nose for goal
An 8/10 hybrid I suppose, he doesn't add much creatively but conte clearly recognizes his attacking potential and so he's really pushed up at times.
It was the right move to part ways, but as always we seem to lack a coherent vision on how to go about our midfield.
Maybe but also he knew how to put in the ball in the back of he net with a lot more ease than our strikers.
Still it was right for him to go though, and I'm happy for him.
Nice goal today. I miss him popping up with the odd goal here and there. Very happy for him. Scott Mctomato!
Great experience for him though in a great club and city.
He's better off away from our miserable club.
Always liked him, quiet dude who did mediocre jobs under mediocre managers. Glad he is enjoying his football now. Probably be stuck in midfield as a DM just beside another DM in front of 5 defenders here if he had stayed with iur current setup.
Loads of people are forgetting that it’s Serie A. I remember in the late 90s, Domino’s ran a promotional campaign that if you bought 2 large pizzas, you’d get credited with a goal in Serie A. You’d get an assist if you bought one for a friend. And this was the second most famous Italian pizza company. Pizza Hut was way bigger and authentic.
One of those players that's very easy to put in your squad and even XI. But the type that in any other role/with other responsibilities is a weak point. It's kind of how Victor Moses was ideal as RWB/RM for Conte's Chelsea, but think you can turn him into RB or get a successful RW out of him? Will make that period look like a purple patch real fast.
McTominay is simple. What you see is what you get. Sure, at NT level he can do a bit more, but it's kind of like how he looked like a better player at the start of seasons a few times. Teams are less used to each other, so your quicking needs to be less fast and flexible in most of those games. One of the reasons Spain dominated was that 6-8 of those players were taken straight out of Pep's Barcelona and then had to "make do" with David Silva, prime Ramos and Casillas and such for the other positions.
But if you ask him (or Fred) to be a DM or AM, sure they will work hard and sometimes play above level, but I don't need to explain to anyone why it wasn't a long term solution. Often they were the double pivot while they should basically have competed for the same 8/dirtywork/box2box position next to one or preferably two more composed midfielders. But Casemiro wasn't consistently composed or fast enough (and he wasn't exactly the Modric or Kroos in the Madrid midfield 3...) and Bruno wasn't exactly the consistently composed playmaker, either. Yet even then, Fred next to Casemiro or even Eriksen already looked much better.
Think McTominay could have been a favourite for many if he played next to prime Eriksen/Mata and Casemiro in a midfield 3. Similar to Ajax fans who preferred Donny over Frenkie and Schone. But other than that he basically only works as a chaos-game super-sub like the several times he was exactly that for ETH. The confidence following such a use will also make it easier in the odd games that he would have other responsibilities. But again, that's never been the case, at least not enough so for anyone here to recognize there is a player in there.
While very different types, it's similar to many other specific players. I love Ganso, but if he can't play as a classic 10 you just have this slow guy that ocassionally makes a great through pass with his heel, while never sure if that was skill or luck. Or Zirkzee now, are his good passes and dribbles his skill or "just random"? Some players can (more quickly) adapt to multiple roles fairly easily, but some are more specific puzzle pieces, especially the higher the level you need them to do so. Some need a lot of time, but some will take a lot of time to think differently enough to suit another role. And turning players like Fred and McTominay into a consistently composed holding midfielder isn't really something I'd expect them to do outside of PES. Even Casemiro I wouldn't see as a long term solution.
But I'm not surprised to see Conte trust McTominay either. The man likes his puzzle pieces.
McTominay is simple. What you see is what you get. Sure, at NT level he can do a bit more, but it's kind of like how he looked like a better player at the start of seasons a few times. Teams are less used to each other, so your quicking needs to be less fast and flexible in most of those games. One of the reasons Spain dominated was that 6-8 of those players were taken straight out of Pep's Barcelona and then had to "make do" with David Silva, prime Ramos and Casillas and such for the other positions.
But if you ask him (or Fred) to be a DM or AM, sure they will work hard and sometimes play above level, but I don't need to explain to anyone why it wasn't a long term solution. Often they were the double pivot while they should basically have competed for the same 8/dirtywork/box2box position next to one or preferably two more composed midfielders. But Casemiro wasn't consistently composed or fast enough (and he wasn't exactly the Modric or Kroos in the Madrid midfield 3...) and Bruno wasn't exactly the consistently composed playmaker, either. Yet even then, Fred next to Casemiro or even Eriksen already looked much better.
Think McTominay could have been a favourite for many if he played next to prime Eriksen/Mata and Casemiro in a midfield 3. Similar to Ajax fans who preferred Donny over Frenkie and Schone. But other than that he basically only works as a chaos-game super-sub like the several times he was exactly that for ETH. The confidence following such a use will also make it easier in the odd games that he would have other responsibilities. But again, that's never been the case, at least not enough so for anyone here to recognize there is a player in there.
While very different types, it's similar to many other specific players. I love Ganso, but if he can't play as a classic 10 you just have this slow guy that ocassionally makes a great through pass with his heel, while never sure if that was skill or luck. Or Zirkzee now, are his good passes and dribbles his skill or "just random"? Some players can (more quickly) adapt to multiple roles fairly easily, but some are more specific puzzle pieces, especially the higher the level you need them to do so. Some need a lot of time, but some will take a lot of time to think differently enough to suit another role. And turning players like Fred and McTominay into a consistently composed holding midfielder isn't really something I'd expect them to do outside of PES. Even Casemiro I wouldn't see as a long term solution.
But I'm not surprised to see Conte trust McTominay either. The man likes his puzzle pieces.
Long term wise he would still probably have moved but I reckon like last season, if he stayed he'd have won you some points.
The only player in midfield who’s played at a similar level to him this year is Bruno. He’d be starting every game.
If he was here I actually think there’s a good chance he’d be at 9. He’d be better than Hojlund.
Probably, might have been the difference between finishing 9/10th and wherever we will finish. It would have been marginal gains for a player that didn't fit any system under previous managers and definitely wouldn't fit Amorim's system. We got a good fee for a mediocre academy product who is loving his football and this new moment in his career. The club has fecked up relentlessly over the past decade, but selling him definitely wasn't one of those feck-ups.
Oh yeah, I agree, it would be another papering over the cracks situation.
Because Amad got injured. Though converting him into a striker outright is something Amorim might have tried
Fundamentally the problem was you had a whole bunch of attackers and no decent midfielders outside a 19 year old. So of course it was the right move to sell one of said attackers. That he's probably better than some of the guys you kept/signed is another matter
Fred outperformed him in every game. But keep on crying, we are so missing his 25 attempted passes per game. People are really stupid. He's playing in a different position and much poorer league. Of course he will score some goals. And if he was a better option to Hojlund? That's a big if, Hojlund prior to this season looked okay. Noone knew he would turned into complete shite. That means we should keep absolutely average player who could be sold for decent money. Absolutely no. Grow the feck up.
PL was just abit fast for him. Now in Italy he has all time.
Great first goal like Leeds one.
Great first goal like Leeds one.
He is scoring a few goals for a better team in a worse league. It's great for him, but we are not missing him. If he was here he'd be in the rather large group of players that are clearly not good enough or fit for purpose. And this notion that he could be turned into a striker is just Football Manager logic.
Spot on.
The worse we become (& the more we waste money on shite replacements), the more (part of) our fanbase struggle to let go of players clearly not good enough. DDG, Fred, McT being a few. I hope we never get to the point where some of our fans yearn for the day to get Victor f'n Lindelof back!
Anyway, very happy for Mctominay. Would have been a decent squad option, but he wanted something more guaranteed - and possibly to be deployed closer to goal. Hope he wins Serie A but it will be difficult to surpass Inter.
I am assuming he is playing as a more attacking midfielder with all his goals. That is the role he performed best in here too, we tried to pigeon hole him into a deeper midfield player and it was never going to work.
You’re spot on. That’s exactly how I feel. Long term he didn’t have a future at United, but he’s a good player and deserves to be at a club where he’s considered a starter. I’m glad he’s happy at Napoli and thriving. He would most definitely have improved our goal output this season, but his sale made sense.
He has 9 goals in 30 games. I think none of our players has that many.
But yeah, it was a great decision by ETH to sell him. At least, it was great for McTominay! He is having fun in Napoli, trying to get a trophy and enjoying the sun. If he had stayed in Manchester he'd probably be blamed for our problems, because of "his limitations".
Next, we'll sell Bruno. I often see posts about "his limitations", for example he loses the ball too often, he is emotional, he is not "captain material", and so on.
But yeah, it was a great decision by ETH to sell him. At least, it was great for McTominay! He is having fun in Napoli, trying to get a trophy and enjoying the sun. If he had stayed in Manchester he'd probably be blamed for our problems, because of "his limitations".
Next, we'll sell Bruno. I often see posts about "his limitations", for example he loses the ball too often, he is emotional, he is not "captain material", and so on.
This isn't true at all. Look at his goals in his last season for United
The problem was you spent years playing an attacking player as a holding midfielder. Your managers were morons, nothing to do with the PL being too fast or McT not being a good player
How we miss his goals this season… selling him was a huge mistake by Ten Hag when you have a versatile squad player who is passionate about the club you keep him right ??
Conte actually pushed him to score more as he hadn't scored in awhile. His goal record isn't different to here
To be fair, I hated tomatoes til I had them in Italy. I still hate the shite they call tomatoes in Ireland.
No we shouldn't have.
Relax.
Can McSauce bench Bruno? No.
How many attacking midfielders positions can you create to accommodate McTominay?
This is just pure revisionism. He had a patch where he came on and got a few goals but he also had a lot awfully ineffective performance.
He was never going to play an attacking midfield role ahead of Bruno under ETH. But hard not to wonder if he might have been a decent option as one of Amorim’s 10s? Although spilt milk etc
Amorim has talked about how he likes one of his CM being able to step in as a more advanced midfielder. I think, with three CBs, he would work similar as a CM for Amorim as he is currently at Napoli. The system with three at the back would give him more attacking freedom.
I saw someone mention him as possible player of the year in Serie A this season. Incredible to think that Pearson and Rothwell would have done the same if they had just been given the same chance.
I think you are right. One should not cry over spilt milk. But I cant help thinking it was so typically Man Utd of late selling him when we finally (were only a few months away) from having a system that would play to his strenghts.
Precisely. It was a sale you had to make
You could question whether you might have been better off keeping him instead of signing Zirkzee, but at the end of the day you have better players than him already
I think even though he could never displace Bruno Eth agreed to his departure because it meant more spending money. He seemed to value mctominay. Psr means we will be probably be selling academy players more frequently that we did before.
He's Ballon D'or contender for me. Better than Bellingham.