Antony

mu4c_20le said:

He doesnt seem like a great person either, didnt he get accused by like three girls for losing his temper and hitting them?

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To be honest, I am not a huge fan of Anthony or trying to talk him up; but nor am I his greatest detractor. Yes, his personal life is sketchy at best and it seems somewhat likely (although not certain, as in the case of Greenwood), that he hurt his then girlfriend. However, the difference between the cases is that whatever evidence was handed over did not reach the public domain. I guess that has given Anthony, rightly or wrongly, the benefit of the doubt.

My main point is that I don't think his performances have been that bad recently. He's looked even good in a few games.

The problem is that when players underperform, there is this huge overreaction from our fans, other teams' fans, and the press. Until the Newcastle game, some people were comparing Hojlund to Wout Weghorst, when Hojlund has had a reasonable season overall and is on a learning curve.

I would personally keep patience with Anthony and see if he can become a useful squad player. He's had a poor season but it's not so bad as is being made out.

Interesting note on Antony...

I was talking to a Sporting Director at a top-flight European club recently (friend of a friend) and he said the stuff about Anthony being rated at £25m etc...is nonsense and most teams across Europe were aware he was a talent - which makes sense really, when you think he did have 10+ caps for Brazil when United signed him in an attacking position (making that distinction because lots of competition for those roles as opposed to the old Fred / Roque Jnr argument).

His point waw that Antony suffers badly from being another player that United have signed without knowing how we want to use him.

He also said that Antony would do fine in a team like City, were his only job was to hold width, draw defenders, clip in little half-space crosses and occasionally cut-in and shoot. Gary Neville was ridiculed for comparing him to Mahrez, but this bloke made a similar observation.

Also pointed out that for that to work, you need an underlapping / overlapping runner, and Utd haven't had that this season from either full back position (when Shaw played vs Wolves, see the difference in Rashford).

At United, we bemoan the fact that he's not a flying winger who beats players on the outside like Giggs, early Ronaldo, Kanchelskis, Sharpe, Nani etc...but that's not on the player, he's never been that - that's on the club signing a square peg for a round hole.

I'm not saying Antony hasn't been frustrating at times, but I think the fact he has struggled so badly is on us once again signing players and using them incorrectly.

Lentwood said:

Interesting note on Antony...

I was talking to a Sporting Director at a top-flight European club recently (friend of a friend) and he said the stuff about Anthony being rated at £25m etc...is nonsense and most teams across Europe were aware he was a talent - which makes sense really, when you think he did have 10+ caps for Brazil when United signed him in an attacking position (making that distinction because lots of competition for those roles as opposed to the old Fred / Roque Jnr argument).

His point waw that Antony suffers badly from being another player that United have signed without knowing how we want to use him.

He also said that Antony would do fine in a team like City, were his only job was to hold width, draw defenders, clip in little half-space crosses and occasionally cut-in and shoot. Gary Neville was ridiculed for comparing him to Mahrez, but this bloke made a similar observation.

Also pointed out that for that to work, you need an underlapping / overlapping runner, and Utd haven't had that this season from either full back position (when Shaw played vs Wolves, see the difference in Rashford).

At United, we bemoan the fact that he's not a flying winger who beats players on the outside like Giggs, early Ronaldo, Cantona, Sharpe, Nani etc...but that's not on the player, he's never been that - that's on the club signing a square peg for a round hole.

I'm not saying Antony hasn't been frustrating at times, but I think the fact he has struggled so badly is on us once again signing players and using them incorrectly.

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I would agree with this. He doesn’t suit how we try to play.

Not his biggest fan and he needs moved on, but it’s not completely on him. We do this far too often.

LDUred said:

To be honest, I am not a huge fan of Anthony or trying to talk him up; but nor am I his greatest detractor. Yes, his personal life is sketchy at best and it seems somewhat likely (although not certain, as in the case of Greenwood), that he hurt his then girlfriend. However, the difference between the cases is that whatever evidence was handed over did not reach the public domain. I guess that has given Anthony, rightly or wrongly, the benefit of the doubt.

My main point is that I don't think his performances have been that bad recently. He's looked even good in a few games.

The problem is that when players underperform, there is this huge overreaction from our fans, other teams' fans, and the press. Until the Newcastle game, some people were comparing Hojlund to Wout Weghorst, when Hojlund has had a reasonable season overall and is on a learning curve.

I would personally keep patience with Anthony and see if he can become a useful squad player. He's had a poor season but it's not so bad as is being made out.

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On individual level he's not playing worse than last season. We could all see him being poor previous year, but it was covered by other players performing and reasonably good results. Just because we're playing shite as a team now exposes Antony as a player.

kouroux said:

That's your highlight and it's a crazy one to focus one.

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I know. It’s crazy because it’s true.

Lentwood said:

Interesting note on Antony...

I was talking to a Sporting Director at a top-flight European club recently (friend of a friend) and he said the stuff about Anthony being rated at £25m etc...is nonsense and most teams across Europe were aware he was a talent - which makes sense really, when you think he did have 10+ caps for Brazil when United signed him in an attacking position (making that distinction because lots of competition for those roles as opposed to the old Fred / Roque Jnr argument).

His point waw that Antony suffers badly from being another player that United have signed without knowing how we want to use him.

He also said that Antony would do fine in a team like City, were his only job was to hold width, draw defenders, clip in little half-space crosses and occasionally cut-in and shoot. Gary Neville was ridiculed for comparing him to Mahrez, but this bloke made a similar observation.

Also pointed out that for that to work, you need an underlapping / overlapping runner, and Utd haven't had that this season from either full back position (when Shaw played vs Wolves, see the difference in Rashford).

At United, we bemoan the fact that he's not a flying winger who beats players on the outside like Giggs, early Ronaldo, Kanchelskis, Sharpe, Nani etc...but that's not on the player, he's never been that - that's on the club signing a square peg for a round hole.

I'm not saying Antony hasn't been frustrating at times, but I think the fact he has struggled so badly is on us once again signing players and using them incorrectly.

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Yeah, he's never going to be an 80m player or whatever and had a shocking season on the whole (I think some of which has to be attributed to the personal issues), but if we were playing actual possession football and controlling games, I think Antony would be a solid contributor and Amad could flourish.

Neither of them are suited to what we're trying to do at the moment, which is probably why we looked best this season when we had Rashford and Garnacho on each wing. Even though both have been inconsistent at best themselves, the setup is tailor made for them.

statpadder said:

I know. It’s crazy because it’s true.

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It's idiotic is what it is.

Sure he might’ve been the one who lost the possession in the first place, but… The first defensive winger since Kuyt.

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

Oh, shut up already

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

None of the players actually post that shite.

I wonder how motivated he'll feel when Ten Hag tells him to play LB again.

Shane88 said:

None of the players actually post that shite.

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Yeah seriously, this needs to be reposted every time a Twitter/IG post or "like" from a player's account gets brought up.

Gabriel Djemba-Bebe said:

I wonder how motivated he'll feel when Ten Hag tells him to play LB again.

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His record as left back is 1 win (Liverpool Fa Cup) and 1 loss (Arsena PLl), which means we will draw against City after extra time and Antony will score the winning penalty.

Lentwood said:

Interesting note on Antony...

I was talking to a Sporting Director at a top-flight European club recently (friend of a friend) and he said the stuff about Anthony being rated at £25m etc...is nonsense and most teams across Europe were aware he was a talent - which makes sense really, when you think he did have 10+ caps for Brazil when United signed him in an attacking position (making that distinction because lots of competition for those roles as opposed to the old Fred / Roque Jnr argument).

His point waw that Antony suffers badly from being another player that United have signed without knowing how we want to use him.

He also said that Antony would do fine in a team like City, were his only job was to hold width, draw defenders, clip in little half-space crosses and occasionally cut-in and shoot. Gary Neville was ridiculed for comparing him to Mahrez, but this bloke made a similar observation.

Also pointed out that for that to work, you need an underlapping / overlapping runner, and Utd haven't had that this season from either full back position (when Shaw played vs Wolves, see the difference in Rashford).

At United, we bemoan the fact that he's not a flying winger who beats players on the outside like Giggs, early Ronaldo, Kanchelskis, Sharpe, Nani etc...but that's not on the player, he's never been that - that's on the club signing a square peg for a round hole.

I'm not saying Antony hasn't been frustrating at times, but I think the fact he has struggled so badly is on us once again signing players and using them incorrectly.

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This may have been true in the Woodward years but Ten Hag signed him and will have known exactly how to use him. Maybe this top club can buy Antony from us if he's as fine as argued?

Well, Antony can be very fast as well. This was shown when he scored the incredible goal against Burnley. He can also improve in his passing and shooting.

If Sancho, Martial, Greenwood and Rashford are leaving in the near term, then it make sense to keep Antony. Pellestri is not of the same level as Antony while Amad can play a more central role.

Dr. Dwayne said:

This may have been true in the Woodward years but Ten Hag signed him and will have known exactly how to use him. Maybe this top club can buy Antony from us if he's as fine as argued?

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I always found that peculiar but when you think we were after De Jong and how we set up in out first two games under EtH we seemed to be a side that wanted to be more possession based, which Antony would probably suit. It seemed that the plan was quickly abandoned though.

And then came the stuff about being the "best transition/counter team" in the world and, well, I don't think Antony suits that style at all. Seems weird planing to me.

Lentwood said:

Interesting note on Antony...

I was talking to a Sporting Director at a top-flight European club recently (friend of a friend) and he said the stuff about Anthony being rated at £25m etc...is nonsense and most teams across Europe were aware he was a talent - which makes sense really, when you think he did have 10+ caps for Brazil when United signed him in an attacking position (making that distinction because lots of competition for those roles as opposed to the old Fred / Roque Jnr argument).

His point waw that Antony suffers badly from being another player that United have signed without knowing how we want to use him.

He also said that Antony would do fine in a team like City, were his only job was to hold width, draw defenders, clip in little half-space crosses and occasionally cut-in and shoot. Gary Neville was ridiculed for comparing him to Mahrez, but this bloke made a similar observation.

Also pointed out that for that to work, you need an underlapping / overlapping runner, and Utd haven't had that this season from either full back position (when Shaw played vs Wolves, see the difference in Rashford).

At United, we bemoan the fact that he's not a flying winger who beats players on the outside like Giggs, early Ronaldo, Kanchelskis, Sharpe, Nani etc...but that's not on the player, he's never been that - that's on the club signing a square peg for a round hole.

I'm not saying Antony hasn't been frustrating at times, but I think the fact he has struggled so badly is on us once again signing players and using them incorrectly.

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There seems to be a pretty significant number of fans who see that as the only kind of winger. There always seems to be more scepticism about guys like Mata, Sancho, Amad and Antony and questions about whats the point of them if they wont take a player on.

Lentwood said:

Interesting note on Antony...

I was talking to a Sporting Director at a top-flight European club recently (friend of a friend) and he said the stuff about Anthony being rated at £25m etc...is nonsense and most teams across Europe were aware he was a talent - which makes sense really, when you think he did have 10+ caps for Brazil when United signed him in an attacking position (making that distinction because lots of competition for those roles as opposed to the old Fred / Roque Jnr argument).

His point waw that Antony suffers badly from being another player that United have signed without knowing how we want to use him.

He also said that Antony would do fine in a team like City, were his only job was to hold width, draw defenders, clip in little half-space crosses and occasionally cut-in and shoot. Gary Neville was ridiculed for comparing him to Mahrez, but this bloke made a similar observation.

Also pointed out that for that to work, you need an underlapping / overlapping runner, and Utd haven't had that this season from either full back position (when Shaw played vs Wolves, see the difference in Rashford).

At United, we bemoan the fact that he's not a flying winger who beats players on the outside like Giggs, early Ronaldo, Kanchelskis, Sharpe, Nani etc...but that's not on the player, he's never been that - that's on the club signing a square peg for a round hole.

I'm not saying Antony hasn't been frustrating at times, but I think the fact he has struggled so badly is on us once again signing players and using them incorrectly.

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Well truthfully I feel sorry for whichever club has that sporting director. The criteria he seems to be using is that Antony had 10 caps for Brazil. That's probably the same thing we used, and it's a terrible criteria.

These sporting directors need to do actual scouting and actually watch players. I saw his assists, goals and take ons in his final season at Ajax, and Watching two 10 minute videos of those tells you all you need to know about him, because those are his good bits.

- Never once took a player on the outside. Always cuts in. The only time he went on the outside was when he was already sprinting.
- Very rarely beat a player from a standing start (similar to Sancho).

- 90% of his goals and assists were cutting in, and having a shot/crossing the ball. For most of them, the defense in front of him was poor / the goal keeping was poor. I.e. most of his goals and assists would not be transferable to the PL with more pyhsical and structured defensive shapes. The other 10% of goals were him in the box with no one around him. Someone like Mahrez is a bad comparison - Mahrez is someone I advocated for on this forum before he went to City, why? Because he can get away from a player with his acceleration, can go both ways, can pick a pass and can finish. Antony can only do the later two, and even those he messes up more often than not.

caid said:

There seems to be a pretty significant number of fans who see that as the only kind of winger. There always seems to be more scepticism about guys like Mata, Sancho, Amad and Antony and questions about whats the point of them if they wont take a player on.

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What three of those (except Amad, can't judge yet) lack is acceleration. Yes you can make it as a wide player without acceleration if you're excellent on the ball (e.g. Bernardo Silva, albeit in a possession heavy team), but a lot of being a wide player is about being able to get past the defender quicker. Doku, Grealish all have fast acceleration when they dribble. Ferran Torres doesn't, and he's gone. Can you imagine a slow acceleration version of Vinicius, Saka, Ousmane Dembele, Mane, Salah, Robben, Neymar, Nani, Messi, Ronaldo? They would be half the player. And that's what the likes of Mata, Sancho, Antony are.. technically good and great for leagues where the defenders cost £1m and will give you space, but against the best defenders they're not a threat. If you're someone like Ribery you can make it work.. but these are greats playing for a great dominant team.. you can't just use the excuse for every other slow player and say 'well if he played for prime Barca he'd look good'.. well yeah so would pretty much everyone. Good players like Bruno look good regardless.

caid said:

There seems to be a pretty significant number of fans who see that as the only kind of winger. There always seems to be more scepticism about guys like Mata, Sancho, Amad and Antony and questions about whats the point of them if they wont take a player on.

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Mata wasn't a winger and TBH neither are the others, I'd classify them along with Rashford as wide forwards, the only real winger United have is probably Garnacho

marktan said:

Well truthfully I feel sorry for whichever club has that sporting director. The criteria he seems to be using is that Antony had 10 caps for Brazil. That's probably the same thing we used, and it's a terrible criteria.

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Agreed. Anybody who has followed Brazil at any point in the last 15+ years will have realized we hand out caps like candy, especially for friendlies and easier qualifiers where we have opportunities to experiment.

marktan said:

What three of those (except Amad, can't judge yet) lack is acceleration. Yes you can make it as a wide player without acceleration if you're excellent on the ball (e.g. Bernardo Silva, albeit in a possession heavy team), but a lot of being a wide player is about being able to get past the defender quicker. Doku, Grealish all have fast acceleration when they dribble. Ferran Torres doesn't, and he's gone. Can you imagine a slow acceleration version of Vinicius, Saka, Ousmane Dembele, Mane, Salah, Robben, Neymar, Nani, Messi, Ronaldo? They would be half the player. And that's what the likes of Mata, Sancho, Antony are.. technically good and great for leagues where the defenders cost £1m and will give you space, but against the best defenders they're not a threat. If you're someone like Ribery you can make it work.. but these are greats playing for a great dominant team.. you can't just use the excuse for every other slow player and say 'well if he played for prime Barca he'd look good'.. well yeah so would pretty much everyone. Good players like Bruno look good regardless.

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Red in STL said:

Mata wasn't a winger and TBH neither are the others, I'd classify them along with Rashford as wide forwards, the only real winger United have is probably Garnacho

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I guess i'm quite partial to guys like Nedved or Bernardo Silva. You absolutely need pace and acceleration in a team and the ability to beat a player. I dont think it all needs to be located on the wing necessarily. I dont think a variety of options and being able mix it up is a bad thing. Not all of the players i listed deserve much love but i do think united fans are just a hell of a lot more enthusiastic about fast dribblers than any other profile player

caid said:

I guess i'm quite partial to guys like Nedved or Bernardo Silva. You absolutely need pace and acceleration in a team and the ability to beat a player. I dont think it all needs to be located on the wing necessarily. I dont think a variety of options and being able mix it up is a bad thing. Not all of the players i listed deserve much love but i do think united fans are just a hell of a lot more enthusiastic about fast dribblers than any other profile player

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You're not wrong there but these kind of players have largely disappeard from the PL now

Red in STL said:

You're not wrong there but these kind of players have largely disappeard from the PL now

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I don't know about that. I'm not sure its encouraged as much or theres as many chances to make use of it. Teams build up slowly and pin teams back. Counters are cut out with professional fouls before it gets to your Garnacho's. People moan more about attackers taking risks. I just think tactic's have shifted a bit.

caid said:

I don't know about that. I'm not sure its encouraged as much or theres as many chances to make use of it. Teams build up slowly and pin teams back. Counters are cut out with professional fouls before it gets to your Garnacho's. People moan more about attackers taking risks. I just think tactic's have shifted a bit.

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That's a huge understatement, and not for the better IMO

marktan said:

Well truthfully I feel sorry for whichever club has that sporting director. The criteria he seems to be using is that Antony had 10 caps for Brazil. That's probably the same thing we used, and it's a terrible criteria.

These sporting directors need to do actual scouting and actually watch players. I saw his assists, goals and take ons in his final season at Ajax, and Watching two 10 minute videos of those tells you all you need to know about him, because those are his good bits.

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You have written a long-winded response based on a false premise (read it again, the 'caps for Brazil' part was never mentioned by this chap) and you have then gone on to arrogantly claim that Sporting Directors 'need to do actual scouting' before claiming that you have watched two ten minutes YouTube videos, so you're more qualified to have an opinion.

You then go on to say that you noticed he never beats a man on the outside, again, seemingly entirely missing the point of the first post.

We know that he rarely beats a man on the outside. Every man and his dog knows that. The point was about the fact that United historically have always had wide-players who can beat a man on the outside and our fans / team in general haven't adjusted well to inverted wingers who want to come inside.

Still feel that at 25m he'd be considered a decent signing. There's something to him on the pitch - he's brave, always shows for the ball, has an excellent first touch and is superb at his defensive duties. I really agree with the posters saying he's just not a 'Manchester United' winger, he's a small, technical wide-forward that requires other players being close to him.

I've made a list of players that have looked good on our right wing with AWB as their main support:

It's funny, he's actually really similar in role and skills to Amad, so in theory if our system suited it, they'd be really interchangeable.

But we barely have a system, so I think the only wingers people can imagine are individualistic ones like Garnacho.

Of course if we keep ETH it's clear that HE can't get the most out of Antony, so it's a bit of a pickle. But if we get a new coach, I think you give him a chance.

Can't believe what I am reading. There is zero reason to discuss whether he would have been a good signing if he was cheaper or if we played differently.
He would have flopped in any tactical set up. He's just not EPL quality. He is a massive flop, period.

B20 said:

At least he can appreciate a good clown show

https://x.com/Davolaar/status/1792591460916686883

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£85.6m fecking unbelievable

Any chance Ajax take him back ….£10m? £5m? loan?

Get rid of this moron as quick as is physically possible.

Beachryan said:

Still feel that at 25m he'd be considered a decent signing. There's something to him on the pitch - he's brave, always shows for the ball, has an excellent first touch and is superb at his defensive duties. I really agree with the posters saying he's just not a 'Manchester United' winger, he's a small, technical wide-forward that requires other players being close to him.

I've made a list of players that have looked good on our right wing with AWB as their main support:

It's funny, he's actually really similar in role and skills to Amad, so in theory if our system suited it, they'd be really interchangeable.

But we barely have a system, so I think the only wingers people can imagine are individualistic ones like Garnacho.

Of course if we keep ETH it's clear that HE can't get the most out of Antony, so it's a bit of a pickle. But if we get a new coach, I think you give him a chance.

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Eth is one of the few coaches who has coached him for years and knows him best.

Amazing at how much positivity there was around him in the first couple of pages of this thread.

Turns out all he is good at is cutting inside and shooting with his left foot….that Brazilian football DNA certainly eluded him.

Lentwood said:

Interesting note on Antony...

I was talking to a Sporting Director at a top-flight European club recently (friend of a friend) and he said the stuff about Anthony being rated at £25m etc...is nonsense and most teams across Europe were aware he was a talent - which makes sense really, when you think he did have 10+ caps for Brazil when United signed him in an attacking position (making that distinction because lots of competition for those roles as opposed to the old Fred / Roque Jnr argument).

His point waw that Antony suffers badly from being another player that United have signed without knowing how we want to use him.

He also said that Antony would do fine in a team like City, were his only job was to hold width, draw defenders, clip in little half-space crosses and occasionally cut-in and shoot. Gary Neville was ridiculed for comparing him to Mahrez, but this bloke made a similar observation.

Also pointed out that for that to work, you need an underlapping / overlapping runner, and Utd haven't had that this season from either full back position (when Shaw played vs Wolves, see the difference in Rashford).

At United, we bemoan the fact that he's not a flying winger who beats players on the outside like Giggs, early Ronaldo, Kanchelskis, Sharpe, Nani etc...but that's not on the player, he's never been that - that's on the club signing a square peg for a round hole.

I'm not saying Antony hasn't been frustrating at times, but I think the fact he has struggled so badly is on us once again signing players and using them incorrectly.

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Sorry but this reflects really badly on your Sporting Director friend.

If I understood this correctly, he believed Ten Hag signed Antony without knowing how to use him; this is beyond crazy. Ten Hag was his manager at Ajax.

Antony had 2 starts and 8 sub appearances for Brazil when United signed him. Transfermarkt valued him at 35m euros in their summer 2022 update. Given his productivity for Ajax, their record in games he missed through injury and the price they signed him for (just under 16m euros), 35m euros is a perfectly reasonable valuation.

Seriously, look at the scores in the Eredivisie games Antony missed or was an unused sub: 5-0, 5-0, 5-0, 9-0, 2-0, 1-0, 3-1, 2-1, 1-0, 3-0, 2-2, 5-0, 2-2.

Not convinced ? How about the Eredivisie games he came on as a sub in last 20 mins: 1-0 (finished 2-0), 3-0 (finished 3-1), 2-0, 2-1, 3-1.

During the 20/21 season two Eredivisie players were bought or sold for values above £25m (one of them being Donny van de Beek £35m, the other Hakim Ziyech marginally higher price). In 21/22 just one player (Donyell Malen 30m euros) went for a fee above £25m. In 22/23 Antony + 5 others went for fees above £25m. In 23/24 four players sold for fees above £25m. If you ignore transfers involving United, 43m euros has been the absolute top of the market for Eredivisie players over the last 4 years. £25m is a high valuation for an Eredivisie player regardless of whether you use real transfer fees or Transfermarkt valuations.

Of the 12 other players sold for fees above £25m, the Transfermarkt valuation was either within 5m euros or too high, apart from one transfer to United and one to Chelsea. The performances of the three high priced Eredivisie transfers (Donny, Ziyech, Malen) in the two years prior to Antony's move, in their new leagues, did not suggest that Eredivisie players were a bargain; if anything, they hinted at the opposite.

Lentwood said:

You have written a long-winded response based on a false premise (read it again, the 'caps for Brazil' part was never mentioned by this chap) and you have then gone on to arrogantly claim that Sporting Directors 'need to do actual scouting' before claiming that you have watched two ten minutes YouTube videos, so you're more qualified to have an opinion.

You then go on to say that you noticed he never beats a man on the outside, again, seemingly entirely missing the point of the first post.

We know that he rarely beats a man on the outside. Every man and his dog knows that. The point was about the fact that United historically have always had wide-players who can beat a man on the outside and our fans / team in general haven't adjusted well to inverted wingers who want to come inside.

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No I'm just saying the sporting director saying he's worth more than £25m or would do better in a different team is deluded, because you only need to actually watch him to realise how limited he is. "He'd look good at City" is a terrible argument as they can play anyone out wide and still win just because of how good the rest of the team is. Which isn't too dissimilar to his role at Ajax, playing in a dominant team against cannon fodder.

5 Premier League goals in two seasons (3 of those were in his first 3 PL games).

3 Premier League assists in those two seasons.

That's one hell of a dry spell for such an expensive player. Our worst transfer of all-time!

Lentwood said:

Interesting note on Antony...

I was talking to a Sporting Director at a top-flight European club recently (friend of a friend) and he said the stuff about Anthony being rated at £25m etc...is nonsense and most teams across Europe were aware he was a talent - which makes sense really, when you think he did have 10+ caps for Brazil when United signed him in an attacking position (making that distinction because lots of competition for those roles as opposed to the old Fred / Roque Jnr argument).

His point waw that Antony suffers badly from being another player that United have signed without knowing how we want to use him.

He also said that Antony would do fine in a team like City, were his only job was to hold width, draw defenders, clip in little half-space crosses and occasionally cut-in and shoot. Gary Neville was ridiculed for comparing him to Mahrez, but this bloke made a similar observation.

Also pointed out that for that to work, you need an underlapping / overlapping runner, and Utd haven't had that this season from either full back position (when Shaw played vs Wolves, see the difference in Rashford).

At United, we bemoan the fact that he's not a flying winger who beats players on the outside like Giggs, early Ronaldo, Kanchelskis, Sharpe, Nani etc...but that's not on the player, he's never been that - that's on the club signing a square peg for a round hole.

I'm not saying Antony hasn't been frustrating at times, but I think the fact he has struggled so badly is on us once again signing players and using them incorrectly.

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Let's be honest even I would look a better footballer at City than at us.
Antony is a one trick pony like D James, 2-3 good games until he was found out and that's over for him. Only problem is that Antony was more expensive that Haaland.

I have no idea how to assess the precise monetary worth of a footballer but there is no justification whatsoever for Antony commanding one of the highest transfer fees in football history. As for how to use Antony, a fundamental attribute of any winger is to be willing to take on a defender, beat that defender and then make a pass to a teammate. Antony struggles with this basic requirement of this position.

There is a decent footballer underneath his skin but he needs to develop his game beyond his predictable cut-left-and-shoot-from-distance move that makes him an easy mark for a defender. If he doesn't and he keeps being the predictable Antony who opposing left backs lick their lips when they see him with the ball his career won't amount to much other than hoovering vast unearned wages from United.

van Nistelrooy said:

5 Premier League goals in two seasons (3 of those were in his first 3 PL games).

3 Premier League assists in those two seasons.

That's one hell of a dry spell for such an expensive player. Our worst transfer of all-time!

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If he had those numbers (5 goals + 3 assists) in his first season then it would've been promising for this as it's not bad numbers for 22/23 year old coming in league. But 8 G/A in 2 league seasons is basically 4 G/A a year and Elanga or James would have more comfortably. Hojlund has had a mixed season but he still showed us promise and scored a good amount of goals for someone who is 20.

I'd say goal vs Arsenal, goal vs Barca, goal vs Liverpool to keep us in the Cup and that assist at Chelsea were 4 good moments. Not much than that though it were goals in some very important games.

Imagine paying 85 million for Dan James.

P.S. - Dan James was way better than Antony will ever be.

I was pretty hopeful mid-season when he stated he was practicing using his right foot (a pretty surprising admission for a Premier league winger to have to make). If he could his right foot crossing/passing to a decent standard then he'd improve a lot as a player. However no signs of him remotely trying that.

Lentwood said:

Interesting note on Antony...

I was talking to a Sporting Director at a top-flight European club recently (friend of a friend) and he said the stuff about Anthony being rated at £25m etc...is nonsense and most teams across Europe were aware he was a talent - which makes sense really, when you think he did have 10+ caps for Brazil when United signed him in an attacking position (making that distinction because lots of competition for those roles as opposed to the old Fred / Roque Jnr argument).

His point waw that Antony suffers badly from being another player that United have signed without knowing how we want to use him.

He also said that Antony would do fine in a team like City, were his only job was to hold width, draw defenders, clip in little half-space crosses and occasionally cut-in and shoot. Gary Neville was ridiculed for comparing him to Mahrez, but this bloke made a similar observation.

Also pointed out that for that to work, you need an underlapping / overlapping runner, and Utd haven't had that this season from either full back position (when Shaw played vs Wolves, see the difference in Rashford).

At United, we bemoan the fact that he's not a flying winger who beats players on the outside like Giggs, early Ronaldo, Kanchelskis, Sharpe, Nani etc...but that's not on the player, he's never been that - that's on the club signing a square peg for a round hole.

I'm not saying Antony hasn't been frustrating at times, but I think the fact he has struggled so badly is on us once again signing players and using them incorrectly.

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Nah, Mahrez also played in a Leicester side where he was the main outlet along with Vardy and was world class there too. It's a terrible comparison besides the fact that both are left footed RW that hold the ball well.

And I don't even buy that he'd be good at a machine like City. He'd essentially do a Grealish impersonation on the right but he's not near the passer/crosser Grealish is so it isn't the same effectiveness.