Anderson
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik and Imran hold a long overdue conversation about United's awful league form with 1 win in 7. They discuss a disappointing draw at Bournemouth, a not so disappointing draw against Liverpool and a crushing defeat at Chelsea - Is time nearly over for Erik Ten Hag?
Then in a special second half of the pod, Nik welcomes Natalie ( https://twitter.com/natalie_17) to discuss the fortunes of Manchester United Women as they booked a place in the FA Cup Final after a historic first ever win vs. Chelsea.
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FWIW I think he's off too but I thought he was injured? He went off against Sunderland with a hamstring injury and hasn't been seen since.
IF anderson gets sold maybe we'll buy two new CMs
Can you imagine the reaction if Scholes retires, Anderson is sold and we still don't buy one.IF anderson gets sold maybe we'll buy two new CMs
I could see it happening. Powell coming through. And of course there's always Fletcher to come back. Why would we want a midfielder? He'd never get games.Can you imagine the reaction if Scholes retires, Anderson is sold and we still don't buy one.
He's not THAT fat.IF anderson gets sold maybe we'll buy two new CMs
It's clearly not official.
In all seriousness there actually is something to that. Fergie sets up in a certain way, there's no reason to believe he'll change this come next season. He has Carrick as his main midfielder and he has been very trustworthy as of late. Yesterday we saw Rooney in CM – something Fergie will no doubt experiment with further.
My take on it is this: As long as we don't have a reliable alternative to Carrick we're gambling. Imagine us with Carrick out injured for a couple of months – it's not a pleasant thought. But if Carrick stays fit and performs like he's done this season there's no reason he shouldn't play nearly every match. And then – I'm trying to look at this from Fergie's point of view – we've got Cleverley, Ando, Giggs and now Rooney to choose from as Carrick's partner.
The fact is that a new CM signing will have to be one of two: Either a modest, workmanlike type who can fill in for Carrick when needed (someone who won't mind spending a lot of time on the bench) OR someone who is too good to bench: Someone who will be first choice in the middle of the park. Buying someone who is roughly on Cleverley's and Ando's level is pointless – or so one might argue.
Now, if Fergie plans to use Rooney more and more in a deeper role, the latter signing seems unrealistic. And the former one is tricky. If Carrick stays fit this new man won't play a great deal. What many of us think – that we could use an extra DM anyway, so that we may field two more defensively capable players in certain matches – isn't necessarily something Fergie agrees with. And even if he does agree he seems to have some faith in Jones as an extra body in the middle when the occasion calls for it.
And who knows what Fergie thinks regarding the Fletcher situation? In addition to all this we know that Fergie wants Scholes to stay on for another year. Again, from Fergie's (possible) point of view: Carrick, Cleverley, Ando, Giggs, Rooney, Jones, Fletcher, Scholes – and that's leaving out Powell. All these players may play in some kind of CM role. It doesn't matter that the Caf think only a couple of them are proper CMs – and that only one of them is a proper DM – we know by now that Fergie doesn't regard the CM issue in the same way we do.
Could we see Ando go and NOBODY come in? Yes, we could, actually. I bloody well hope not – because it's hazardous to rely that much on Carrick – but with Fergie you never know.
He, now and through his entire career has never been good enough to be an out and out ball winning midfielder who can playmake.
Fletcher needs to be replaced this season. If he can't at least get on the team sheet now then he has to be replaced. Having that extra defensive player will allow for a few more combinations in midfield and give Ando a chance to play and build a run of games. Of course Fergie has to take the gamble and actually give him a string of starts in the first place.
Why when he's proven himself to be completely unreliable? He's done.
Neutrals view on Anderson:
When Anderson first joined Manchester United, little was known about him, except that he was a young talented midfield player.
He possessed incredible pace and attacking flair during his days at Porto but clearly his arrival at United was not based on his attacking potency.
Sir Alex Ferguson often played Anderson in the centre of midfield, expecting him to play the role of a box-to-box or defensive midfielder.
Nothing could have prepared him for his new role at United - and so he started to learn on the job.
Fast-forward to his current situation: he finds himself unused and unwanted at United largely due to his ineffective performances.
Is he really to be blamed for his average performances on the field?
He was never meant to be a tough-tackling, ball-winning, box-to-box midfielder. If fans watch his performances for Porto, they would realise that he did possess exceptional pace and flair. He was able to dribble and weave through opponents and make clever passes to his team-mates in the final third of the pitch.
If he was to play in his natural role, he should be playing as an attacking midfielder, just behind one or two strikers depending on the formation of the team.
To take a creative attacking player and attempt to re-train him in a defensive role was the biggest mistake United made. In doing so, they have completely destroyed his natural talent and the abilities that came along with it.
He is not as quick as he used to be; instead he has more weight on him now to suit the combative environment in the middle of the park. His long passing and through balls have improved slightly - once in a while fans get a glimpse of his superb defence-splitting passes but not too often given he hardly has the chance to do so. Whatever dribbling ability and confidence he had has greatly dwindled.
As a player who is still struggling to fit into his given role, and as a person who appears to have lost his natural ability, Anderson is now pretty much a ruined player whose talent has been wasted.
Had his qualities been identified and put to use much earlier in his United career, the Red Devils may not have needed to sign Japanese playmaker Shinji Kagawa to add creativity to the attack.
Fans and neutrals will never know what could have been - only what has been done.
Either way, Anderson's time seems to be coming to an end at Old Trafford and hopefully he is able to reignite his career away from England.
A player who came to the Theatre of Dreams with such huge potential - he may now never realise his true potential.
When Anderson first joined Manchester United, little was known about him, except that he was a young talented midfield player.
He possessed incredible pace and attacking flair during his days at Porto but clearly his arrival at United was not based on his attacking potency.
Sir Alex Ferguson often played Anderson in the centre of midfield, expecting him to play the role of a box-to-box or defensive midfielder.
Nothing could have prepared him for his new role at United - and so he started to learn on the job.
Fast-forward to his current situation: he finds himself unused and unwanted at United largely due to his ineffective performances.
Is he really to be blamed for his average performances on the field?
He was never meant to be a tough-tackling, ball-winning, box-to-box midfielder. If fans watch his performances for Porto, they would realise that he did possess exceptional pace and flair. He was able to dribble and weave through opponents and make clever passes to his team-mates in the final third of the pitch.
If he was to play in his natural role, he should be playing as an attacking midfielder, just behind one or two strikers depending on the formation of the team.
To take a creative attacking player and attempt to re-train him in a defensive role was the biggest mistake United made. In doing so, they have completely destroyed his natural talent and the abilities that came along with it.
He is not as quick as he used to be; instead he has more weight on him now to suit the combative environment in the middle of the park. His long passing and through balls have improved slightly - once in a while fans get a glimpse of his superb defence-splitting passes but not too often given he hardly has the chance to do so. Whatever dribbling ability and confidence he had has greatly dwindled.
As a player who is still struggling to fit into his given role, and as a person who appears to have lost his natural ability, Anderson is now pretty much a ruined player whose talent has been wasted.
Had his qualities been identified and put to use much earlier in his United career, the Red Devils may not have needed to sign Japanese playmaker Shinji Kagawa to add creativity to the attack.
Fans and neutrals will never know what could have been - only what has been done.
Either way, Anderson's time seems to be coming to an end at Old Trafford and hopefully he is able to reignite his career away from England.
A player who came to the Theatre of Dreams with such huge potential - he may now never realise his true potential.
Fanboi drivel.
It's getting really tiresome the way so many modern football fans fall in love with individual players and will then try to blame anyone but the footballer himself for not living up to hype/expectations.
I particularly liked this bit:
Pretty obvious that. A lot of Caf folk said years and years ago that converting him to a box to box or whatever was a bad idea.
It's a crappy article though.
It's a crappy article though.
A "box to box or whatever", also known as a central midfielder.
The whole concept that someone as goal-shy and lacking in finesse as Anderson should be a specialist attacking midfielder was, and is, ridiculous. It could only have been dreamed up by people who watched too many youtube highlight videos when we first signed him.
The one thing he consistently does really well is drive the team forwards. A bit like Yaya Toure without the goals and consistency of passing. Force him to play further forwards and you take away his greatest strength.
Yup.
"He's not playing often enough"
"He's not playing in the right position"
"He's not playing with the right players"
"Everyone else played badly, why single him out?"
"Player X has been playing shit for weeks, so, er, you know....."
"He's world class when he's not injured"
Massive fecking yawnfest. Whether injuries are the reason or not he has little or no reason to feel hard done by, IMO.
Article has a point. We did try to make him into something he isn't. Fergie tries that sort of thing now and again but it doesn't work every time. I don't know why people act so defensive when someone dares to suggest it's not entirely Anderson's fault the way he is now.
Ok then. What is/was he?
I believe he played in the Ronaldinho's position at Gremio (left forward) and as and attacking midfielder at Porto. Something like Kagawa at Borussia Dortmund. It's in the article above but it may also be false. I only watched Anderson once before he joined us and it was for Brazil in a Copa America game or a friendly, can't remember. He played as a left forward sort of thing. And was a bit shit.
People think Anderson is a number ten, IMO he would be average at best in that position for us.
Can't say I watched him much at Porto either. Although I do remember him being decent in a game against us.
If you look at style of play and productivity, though, he couldn't be less like Kagawa. Kagawa scored and assisted almost every other game and excels at operating in tight spaces and slipping the ball through to forwards with perfectly weighted passes (something we haven't yet seen a lot of at United).
According to this website, Anderson got 2 goals and one assist in his entire career in Portugal. Which makes sense having watched his struggles to trouble goalkeepers and wildly overhit passes throughout his time at United.
I still like Anderson and when he's on form he brings a drive to the team that nobody else does. What I will never understand is how anyone can have watched what he does and doesn't do well, then conclude that he should have been played as a number 10.
Whenever someone have a different opinion from you the usual Pouge attacks starts. Never a attempt to find consensus or a polite answer. Welcome back Pogue, good to see that you haven't lost your hallmark.Fanboi drivel.
It's getting really tiresome the way so many modern football fans fall in love with individual players and will then try to blame anyone but the footballer himself for not living up to hype/expectations.
I particularly liked this bit:
Regarding Anderson its sad that he couldn't live up to his potential, but he's still young so maybe he can restart his carrier somewhere else.
I said it before and I'll say it again: Anderson never had the tools to be a number 10. His passing has always been incredibly erratic, all too often he tries the hollywood balls and fails; his "through balls" have a tendency to land in the stands or to hit the corner flag.
His best performances at United invariably featured 1) doing the simple passes well, 2) carrying the ball forward from deep positions at pace. He's not creative, intelligent or subtle enough to be a number 10 but he could have been a good midfielder. The constant injury problems, the subsequent lack of stamina and his utter lack of reliability, however, mean he's not going to be good enough for Manchester United imho.
His best performances at United invariably featured 1) doing the simple passes well, 2) carrying the ball forward from deep positions at pace. He's not creative, intelligent or subtle enough to be a number 10 but he could have been a good midfielder. The constant injury problems, the subsequent lack of stamina and his utter lack of reliability, however, mean he's not going to be good enough for Manchester United imho.
Will be interesting to see what's going to happen with him. It was certainly another pretty dissapointing season. Although I like him I have to say I wouldnt care too much if he left. If he does we have to get a CM. (we do anyway but then we really have almost no options left for CM).
How long before his 6 month update is released? you know the one where he admits to not performing but wants to put it all behind him and show the fans what he's all about. Not heard it since before Christmas.
Pretty certain his time at United is up this summer, id be amazed if he's still with us next season. Shame because he was truly one of the best youngsters in Europe when we bought him, probably the equivalent of singing somebody like Isco in todays market but it just didn't work out, time to move on for both himself and the club I think.
Pretty certain his time at United is up this summer, id be amazed if he's still with us next season. Shame because he was truly one of the best youngsters in Europe when we bought him, probably the equivalent of singing somebody like Isco in todays market but it just didn't work out, time to move on for both himself and the club I think.
While we did convert Anderson into a midfielder, it was the best thing to do for Anderson. We already had Rooney occupying the role that is allegedly Anderson's best position and when you compare the 2 of them and what they can bring to the team, Rooney wins all day, every day. For a supposed attacking midfielder, Anderson's passing isn't consistent, nor has he ever shown himself to be a goal threat. By putting him in midfield, in theory we should've been able to give him plenty of game time because at the time he signed, our midfield consisted of Carrick, a curly haired crock, Fletcher and Scholes who we were starting to try to phase out.
I like Anderson and think he can contribute to our team, but to suggest that him being moulded into a box-to-box midfielder, rather than constantly being injured is the main reason why he hasn't lived up to his potential is ridiculous.
I like Anderson and think he can contribute to our team, but to suggest that him being moulded into a box-to-box midfielder, rather than constantly being injured is the main reason why he hasn't lived up to his potential is ridiculous.
Ando has some tools. We all stipulate to that. But he has a very hard time deciphering when to be nimble and when to be forceful. He's a bit of bulldog all the time, even with a light touch is all that's needed. But that's a trait that can be sorted out in time, with experience.
Fitness is a more serious issue for me. For a professional footballer even in a lower league, it is simply intolerable to break down into mush after 60-70 minutes, with the exception of a much older player like Giggs or Scholes. But a footballer in his physical prime like Ando? Not acceptable.
Fitness is a more serious issue for me. For a professional footballer even in a lower league, it is simply intolerable to break down into mush after 60-70 minutes, with the exception of a much older player like Giggs or Scholes. But a footballer in his physical prime like Ando? Not acceptable.
Out of interest, would there many posters wanting Ando to leave IF we were definitely not to replace him? I.E. Yes you can sell Ando, but you will have one less player unless you promote youth...
Just interested if people feel he is taking up a place in the squad for someone better or if they just do not want Anderson here anymore...
Just interested if people feel he is taking up a place in the squad for someone better or if they just do not want Anderson here anymore...
I have no problem with Anderson staying here whatsoever even if we were to sign someone else.
I do think he has found a level of consistency to the point that he'll give us a 6/10 or better whenever he plays, instead of us not having a clue which Anderson will show up that day. He has also hasn't been injured as much lately which is a positive. Considering how much we rotate, we need numbers in midfield, so I couldn't see any positive in selling Anderson.
Out of interest, and I ask as I'm unsure, but my feeling is he hasn't had many games in a row, and that doesn't make up for his average performances when he gets the nod, and I may be incorrect, but it can't be easy for a young lad, see Clev struggling now, whereas towards the beginning of the season where he ha a few back to back games, he did pick up some form...
Obviously I am not saying that with Ando, and SAF must not see enough when does play to trust/warrant extra games.... just to me, he should be given 4/5 games in a row and reviewed, as though he were at work. My boss could see what I can do in a few days and make a good decision, I Just find it hard to believe that after 5/6 years that SAF isn't sure.. I think he has made up his mind, that he is a squad player, no more, unfortunately.
I'd rather give Powell game time than Anderson, I think he's abit of a lost cause now. Unfortunately. Moments of brilliance but no consistency.
In the past, we had to let go Rossi, a more talented youngster (where Italy and US NT were fight over him), just because we couldn't guarantee enough games for him over a season. Fast forward 5 yrs or so, many want to keep the like of Anderson just to have enough 'body' in midfield.
The claim that this United side isn't as good as before does have a leg to stand on.
The claim that this United side isn't as good as before does have a leg to stand on.
It is a terrbie article though isnt it? I dont see why people get so emotionally attached to some players. Especially one who simply hasnt delivered for the club in the manner that we require. Sounds like his sister wrote it...
Surely it's more about staying fit & lasting 90 mins for him.
People can bash or back Anderson as much as they like but one thing that is certain to me is that he seems unfit to last a 90 minute match. There is NO ONE to blame for this but himself.
He's not taking up a place of anyone better but I'd bet on Powell becoming a better player.
When it comes to midfield, i would rather build on what we have than overhaul. The club will have to compensate for those that leave, but there really is a lack of rotation in midfield at times. Cleverley has played too much football and could be suffering from burnout now. We should add more reliable players and let form dictate it as is the case with every other position
You have to consider though, that Anderson does not want a squad role with the World Cup coming up. Now would be the best time to leave, and going back to Porto could line up some form of trade.
The problem is form doesn't dictate anywhere at all.
Players play a lot of games, because of rotation, regardless of whether they are playing well.
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