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2016-17 Performances


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Kill 'em all

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Herrera would be a good midfield option if he stopped making those silly fouls which end up slowing down the match. :(
 

DomesticTadpole

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He is very useful winning the ball back, which he did a number of times today which got us back on the attack.
 

Rozay

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I thought he was excellent today, and really hope he can establish himself in the first team now. He has a bit of everything, he can dribble, score, tackle and keep it moving nicely. He and Pogba alongside a more defensive player would be a good blend if possible.
 

Fortis Mente

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He is much more suited to Jose's system, so I am sure he will be a lot better next season.
 

Iron Stove

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I like him (who doesn't?) but he always makes me think of the expression "the road to hell is paved with good intentions". It's as if he has good vision but doesn't have the technical ability to pull off all those fancy through balls and ends up hurting the team by giving the ball away. A bit like myself when I'm playing FIFA.

I really wish for him to be a success this season though. Hopefully he was just getting mindfecked by the last boss.
 

Devil may care

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I thought he looked refreshed today, more confident on the ball than he has in a while.
 

ReDDHDevilS

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He needs to get a bit stronger. It's his 3rd year and he still gets outmuscled by players who shouldn't be outmuscling him. Nonetheless, Herrera is another player who should thrive under Jose.
He can press, can pass and move, can tackle, can score - so if he gets a bit stronger and stops committing silly fouls there is no reason why he shouldn't be getting more game time under Jose.
 
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JackRed

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Am I the only one who thinks those blue position charts in the OP are all over the place? AM is a CM, CM is a DM, and DM is a CB :lol:

To keep it on topic, I like Herrara, he should probably be starting for us based on our current midfield options but preferably he would be a squad player. A very good squad player if we can improve the midfield enough to have him as an option off the bench.
 

criticalanalysis

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I like him (who doesn't?) but he always makes me think of the expression "the road to hell is paved with good intentions". It's as if he has good vision but doesn't have the technical ability to pull off all those fancy through balls and ends up hurting the team by giving the ball away. A bit like myself when I'm playing FIFA.
I know what you mean lol but I thought he had a very decent first half where he played good several first time through balls (to Lingard/Mkhiti). The problem came when he over complicated some passes with some lofted balls on the edge of the box from a 1-2. In those situations you can't force a final ball.

Defensively maybe he was a bit suspect but then that's what happens when you're playing in a 2 (despite how it looks on paper, it's still basically a 2 man midfield).

I enjoy the zip and technique he has on the ball. He just needs some consistency and I think that comes with playing time and getting accustomed to his team mates. I said it in last years thread but I think he's gonna to become one of our top performing players this year. I honestly believe he has all the tools in his locker to become a proper midfield stalwart.

In a system like today, he'll do well with any midfield partner not named Carrick (not because he's not good enough but because he hasn't got the legs we'll need).
 

Striker10

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Hopefully he has a great season
 

Devil may care

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Hopefully he has a great season
He'll have a good chance to impress Jose against Dortmund and City, of all the players to be neutered by LvG Ander seemed to suffer the most, it will be interesting to see if he can rebound under Jose.
 

Bwuk

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Think he'll struggle for game time if we sign Pogba to be honest. It looks like it'll be 4231 and he's probably one of the least likely partners for Pogba deeper, and he isn't really a #10.
 

charlenefan

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Didn't appear to feature on Jose's Magic whiteboard, fear for him more than Mata to be honest
 

DWelbz19

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Didn't appear to feature on Jose's Magic whiteboard, fear for him more than Mata to be honest
He could've been on the right side of the midfield, or further forward as a name on the no.10 role. Think he has less to worry about than Schweinsteiger at the very least.
 

FujiVice

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I hope he hasnt had his ability coached out of him. His instincts just dont seem the same as they were when he first arrived. I remember in 2013, people in Spain were saying "4 years time he'll be a terrific player." I hope these last two years havent done any long term damage to his progression as a player.
 

Mike09

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Think he'll struggle for game time if we sign Pogba to be honest. It looks like it'll be 4231 and he's probably one of the least likely partners for Pogba deeper, and he isn't really a #10.
Didn't appear to feature on Jose's Magic whiteboard, fear for him more than Mata to be honest
He could've been on the right side of the midfield, or further forward as a name on the no.10 role. Think he has less to worry about than Schweinsteiger at the very least.
I won't be worry too much on that whiteboard. It can changed if a new player is coming (Pogba).
If Pogba is coming I can see two midfield will be on their way. Schweinsteiger may be the first one and may be replaced with Pereira. The other one is between Mata or Herrera or Fellaini. Mata is possible since Pogba can play as no10 so if Rooney is injured, Jose might push Pogba further to no10 which mean Herrera might stay.

But surely these four players are in danger since their contract are expired in 2 years. If we keep them until next season the price will be dropped drastically.

And also, keeping them in summer doesn't mean they will be saved in winter since Mourinho doesn't fear to let players leave during winter (Mata, Schurle, Cuadrado).
 

11101

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He's the best we've had on the ball this game, seemingly the only one who can control the damn thing.
 

JoaquinJoaquin

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Feel like it's been one of them games for Herrera in which he has done ok, but not really contributed anything either. He has too many of them for my liking.
 

Trigg

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Looked a lot like the Herrera we know in the last 2 pre season games. Think he's had a decent game.
 

Devil may care

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Next to Shaw I thought he was our best player today, showed great energy and used the ball well.
 

Nighteyes

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Dunno what's happened to him. Looked so good in his first season but doesn't look half the player thee days. Doesn't really do anything worthwhile but always seems to have a couple of stupid moments per game. Think we horribly overrated him in that first season.
 

DomesticTadpole

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Think he looked better playing with Carrick than Blind. He got a good 90 minutes under his belt. Dortmund were way ahead of us on match fitness levels.
 

TwoSheds

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Thought he was average. Some good moments, some very sloppy passing.
 

Walters_19_MuFc

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Ander's strongest attributes are his pressing and his ability to keep the ball moving. However, as I said before, he is very simple with his passing. It's very rarely more than 10 yards, and against a team such a Dortmund today, where they press in numbers, all it needs is a switch of play, which normally results in taking out 3 or 4 players.

I think he's going to be a very useful player for Mourinho. Not sure he'll start, but due his energy and pressing, which I think is brilliant, I could see him coming on to kill a game off.
 

DomesticTadpole

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Ander's strongest attributes are his pressing and his ability to keep the ball moving. However, as I said before, he is very simple with his passing. It's very rarely more than 10 yards, and against a team such a Dortmund today, where they press in numbers, all it needs is a switch of play, which normally results in taking out 3 or 4 players.

I think he's going to be a very useful player for Mourinho. Not sure he'll start, but due his energy and pressing, which I think is brilliant, I could see him coming on to kill a game off.
I think that might be the case, get the goals, then as you say kill the game off. We still need someone who can do the first task though. I hope 100m Pogba is it.
 

Boycott

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Well of course, but can you imagine if next season we get the usual calls he is a waste of money.
Tbh we will never be able to shake that off even if he becomes the best player in the world. Why? Because we already had him on the books once so for that reason in technical terms he will always be a waste of money.
 

DomesticTadpole

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Tbh we will never be able to shake that off even if he becomes the best player in the world. Why? Because we already had him on the books once so for that reason in technical terms he will always be a waste of money.
True, but the way the agent seems to be doing this deal I am not entirely surprised SAF wanted rid. Not Pogba, the agent. Juventus know we are desperate and Raiola wants his substantial cut.
 

m1y2

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at least looked sharp and as he can control the ball, which is a good sign, he moves the ball quickly too, with dortmund pressing, we needed to shift the ball quickly, I believe he's creative player too but right now he's playing it the way Van Gaal wanted him to play, being reliable passer, that's not only important for LVG, I believe Mou who himself is very pragmatic will acknowledge that, however Ander needs to build on that so he can start and I believe he can do that, people may see him as an average palyer so far but we know he has it in him but he needs to go step by step, he knows that doing everything on his own palying "hollywood" passes will not guarantee him a place in mourinho side, he needs to play along another sitting midfielder who will be there to stay so Ander can make runs through the midfield and link up with players, that's also one of his strengths.. not sure if he can play with Pogba in a sitting role himself, I believe he did really great job agains chelsea last season in that deep role, we just lacked the cutting edge in the final third, so maybe he can do it but he's more suited to midfield three..
 

DomesticTadpole

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at least looked sharp and as he can control the ball, which is a good sign, he moves the ball quickly too, with dortmund pressing, we needed to shift the ball quickly, I believe he's creative player too but right now he's playing it the way Van Gaal wanted him to play, being reliable passer, that's not only important for LVG, I believe Mou who himself is very pragmatic will acknowledge that, however Ander needs to build on that so he can start and I believe he can do that, people may see him as an average palyer so far but we know he has it in him but he needs to go step by step, he knows that doing everything on his own palying "hollywood" passes will not guarantee him a place in mourinho side, he needs to play along another sitting midfielder who will be there to stay so Ander can make runs through the midfield and link up with players, that's also one of his strengths.. not sure if he can play with Pogba in a sitting role himself, I believe he did really great job agains chelsea last season in that deep role, we just lacked the cutting edge in the final third, so maybe he can do it but he's more suited to midfield three..
Think some were saying Pogba is better in a three, not sure if I read right. You wonder how Jose will react if Wayne starts dropping deep and starts the old hollywood passes. He isn't even good at it. We will need to see what happens when the season starts.
 

criticalanalysis

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However, as I said before, he is very simple with his passing. It's very rarely more than 10 yards, and against a team such a Dortmund today, where they press in numbers, all it needs is a switch of play, which normally results in taking out 3 or 4 players.
That's easier said than done because he was the only real outlet for the defenders/midfielders/attackers, who were getting pressed.

I.e he would offer himself as a option, control the ball very well and then move it along. In his position he would literally have to drop a shoulder and dribble from deep every time (because he absolutely wouldn't have the time to 'switch' play) and basically be a playmaker when the team is simply not set up for that.

If we had 5-6 players that was capable of good feet AND movement, then we'd be great at breaking down opposition's pressing. You need players, who are nimble, good first touch, can move AND pass the ball. Through out the game on the pitch at any given time there was only 2-3 players capable of that (Shaw, Miki and possibly Mata in the first half and Januzaj and Rashford in the 2nd half).

Herrera's problem is that he's a great fit in a proper midfield 3 (one deep lying, Herrera in the middle and a creative but defensively disciplined advanced midfielder in front of him). He's not a specialist but a great glue guy. What he does is underrated but because Utd are expected to dominate most games, we only need two defensive minded midfielders sitting deep and basically have four attackers. We'll never be able to build a proper philosophy or be able to control matches at our own pace against the top top teams. We'll just revert to playing it safe i.e defensively disciplined and compact where there'll be no room for the likes of Herrera.
 

Walters_19_MuFc

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That's easier said than done because he was the only real outlet for the defenders/midfielders/attackers, who were getting pressed.

I.e he would offer himself as a option, control the ball very well and then move it along. In his position he would literally have to drop a shoulder and dribble from deep every time (because he absolutely wouldn't have the time to 'switch' play) and basically be a playmaker when the team is simply not set up for that.

If we had 5-6 players that was capable of good feet AND movement, then we'd be great at breaking down opposition's pressing. You need players, who are nimble, good first touch, can move AND pass the ball. Through out the game on the pitch at any given time there was only 2-3 players capable of that (Shaw, Miki and possibly Mata in the first half and Januzaj and Rashford in the 2nd half).

Herrera's problem is that he's a great fit in a proper midfield 3 (one deep lying, Herrera in the middle and a creative but defensively disciplined advanced midfielder in front of him). He's not a specialist but a great glue guy. What he does is underrated but because Utd are expected to dominate most games, we only need two defensive minded midfielders sitting deep and basically have four attackers. We'll never be able to build a proper philosophy or be able to control matches at our own pace against the top top teams. We'll just revert to playing it safe i.e defensively disciplined and compact where there'll be no room for the likes of Herrera.
I'm not just talking about the game vs Dortmund, though. There's been times when teams have sat back against us and stayed really compact, where again, one switch of play would stretch the opposition.

I agree with you that he is the glue. I did mention that one of his better attributes is keeping the ball moving. However, he does lack that passing range to play in the deep role like for example, Kroos, Fabregas, Pogba, etc.
 

Dec9003

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He did alright yesterday but he had the same problems he's had constantly for us. He can move the ball around really well in midfield which is all well and good but his killer ball remained shite. If he can sort that he could be a decent option in midfield for us but he needs to improve and fast. If not then his spot will most likely be taken next season by someone who can.
 

legball

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He's Ok, good enough to have in the squad, nothing more, massively overrated here.
 
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