Didnt Fletcher have the same sort of 'problem' about him when he was that age? Putting in good performances against Asnl but looking out of his depths against Bolton
Anderson
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I wrote a piece about this a few days ago, his performance last night was terrible. I normally back Anderson but potential and achieving are two massively different things he needs to sort himself out
He can hit them, but he plays better when hes being selective and not forcing it. Against the big teams he seems mature and switched on, but takes the lesser teams way too lightly.
I get what you're saying Top first bad game in ages, but still not an excuse to put in that shit a performance.
Easy there.
He was out best player in October, and has generally been very good this season.
He's still young, and he'll have these slurps in performance once in a while.
His game is very much based on picking the runs of the attackers, and yesterday there was zero movement from Welbeck and Macheda.
Slurps? I'm sure that's a typo but it actually works quite well.
I don't think Welbeck and Macheda can be blamed for Anderson repeatedly getting caught dwelling on the ball, poor first-touch, woefully inaccurate short and long range passing, as well as losing a number 50:50 challenges. He played very poorly and only has himself to blame.
Good point about yong and lernin though. Easy to forget he's still only 20, so is bound to have the odd stinker for no apparent reason. His overall performance this season has been much improved on last season, which is the main thing.
I didn't say they were the sole reason, I just said that his game is very much dependable on the strikers' runs, which were non existent last night.
Neither he nor Gibson had a good game, but we get that with Anderson some times, quite often in games where he's playing with the backup-players actually (like the CC game with Scholes last season).
He's not capable of grabbing a game by it's balls by himself just yet (But that'll come I reckon, the first sign of it was in his last reserves match)
What exactly are his main attributes? I reckon we've bought a gritty Brazilian midfielder. . .when most of us thought we were getting someone with Ronaldinho's skill. Mental really.
He's quick, he's strong and he will hopefully eventually find his range with his passing and start to become a bit of a creative force. He's got a great eye for a pass but his execution is very flaky.
His passing's awful. He's very strong, yes. . .not sure about him particularly quick, though. But in all honestly, I've been very disappointed with him. But I hope he develops over the next 2/3 seasons.
It's woefully inconsistent but occasionally he'll pick out an absolute peach. He's more imaginative than most of our team in this regard. Like I said, he's got a great eye for a pass but it's the execution that lets him down.
it's his ball striking in general that let's him down the most, you can see he is often close to making a great chances with a pass or a shot that is then...invariably awful sadly hopefully it improves still think he does better farther forward because instead of always going for 20-60 yard glory balls his passing is a bit more conservative yet still imaginative
Agreed!! I have no problem with his selection of passes.... he seems very imaginative! It's just about pulling them off and using them at the right time.
P.S Spooney.... He's quick.....
He reminds me of a young Edgar Davids...I know this has been said before, but he is definitely not in the Ronaldinho mould of player
Physical shape maybe but young Edgar had a terrific engine on him.
He doesn't really remind me of anybody, I don't think I've seen a player quite like our Anderson
Think people forget he is only 22.
Consistent midfield performances only come when a player is in their mid to late 20's. We should be more worried if he is still making the same mistakes at 25-26. At the moment he is allowed the odd poor performance as long as he pulls off some good stuff during the game.
Consistent midfield performances only come when a player is in their mid to late 20's. We should be more worried if he is still making the same mistakes at 25-26. At the moment he is allowed the odd poor performance as long as he pulls off some good stuff during the game.
22? Feck, thought he was younger.
I just feel he is more of a creative playmaker rather than a defensive midfielder. When he is alongside Fletcher or even better Fletcher and Carrick he hasthe freedom to run around and pick out through balls to the front 2 or the front 3 (In a 4-3-3). Whenever he plays alongside Scholes or Carrick, he has a heavy burden to run around and defend which he is pretty poor at. He is basically poor at what Fletcher does. But in a 4-3-3 or alongside Fletcher he has always been able to put in solid performances. He is bit like Lampard, I would say. When you put Lampard in 4-2-2 say alongside Gerrard or Scholes you know how rubbish he can be.
He is 21. Turns 22 in April
See, this is the stuff that confuses the hell out of me. Why the feck is he constantly compared with players like Gerrard, Lampard and Ronaldinho when he's scored one goal in his entire United career? They are all prolific goal-scoring midfielders. Anderson couldn't be less like them if he tried.
I also think the reason he tends to perform well in a midfield three is because it's the only way he can play in a team that has two central midfielders on the pitch who know what they're doing. This gives him a free role, which he tends to spend running round the place hassling the opposition, rather than doing anything particularly constructive. This is useful against really tough opponents but pretty pointless against most sides we come up against. It's also is not remotely similar to what Gerrard or Lampard do for their clubs or even what they were doing when they were the same age as Anderson.
There are clearly signs that he has the potential to develop into a really good all-round, box to box, midfielder. However, I've seen zero evidence that he is suited to being some sort of specialist attacking midfielder and I can only assume this myth is based on youtube videos of underage football (which is daft, obviously)
That's spot on.
Anderson has the vision and ability to come up with the occasional stunning pass, but his passing is very erratic.
Far too often he'll try to force the passes - for instance, if he spots a pass, he'll just drive it and either over-hit it, play it too early, too late, etc. It seems like he gets so excited when he spots an opportunity he just launches it.
But the vision and ability is there; he just needs to improve on his decision making - when to make the pass, how hard should he hit it, etc. And to a lesser extent, his technique still needs improving in his passing (and needless to say, his shooting). Once he perfects these things, he will be quite a creative player.
Time is on his side - the lad is just 21.
Well I do agree he hasn't scored any goals, but he hasn't really had the chance to go forward a lot either when he plays in a 4-4-2. I've noticed many times when he plays alongside scholes, he stays back instead of bombing into the box. I don't know whether he has been instructed to stay back or if he is just lazy, but thats the main reason he hasn't scored many goals.
That and the powerful magnetic attraction of Row Z, which has been the final resting place of most of Anderson's attempts on goal.
There's more to playing that role than just scoring goals. Obviously it's a huge bonus and it's something he would need to work on, but it's not an absolute necessity. Plus he'd never be pushed forward as much as Gerrard and Ronaldinho, they've often played immediately behind the striker. Iniesta is probably a better comparison (or Giggs when he plays that position). The most advanced player in a three man midfield, but very much still a midfielder rather than a deeper-lying attacker.
True. The Giggs and Iniesta comparison is a better one. I'm not sure he will ever the guile and composure to do what they do though. Hopefully I'm wrong.
Right now, if someone told me he would get close to what Davids used to offer (no, not just the dreds) I'd be delighted.
Absolutely, Davids was a class act.
I still believe Anderson is going to start scoring goals fairly regularly at some stage. But this is perhaps evidence that I am completely dellusional. Added to the fact that I collect tin cans and spend my weekends wheeling them around in a Tescos trolley, things really arent looking great for me.
Said it before, and I'll say it again. Midfielders seem to need more time to really shine. The likes of Fletcher, Lampard, even Xavi or Pirlo got so much better when they gained good experience. It will take time. He's at a very young age for a midfielder. Not a lot of players are like Fabregas.
Yes, but Giggs has assists to show for it. I'm not dissing what you're saying because I think he is a good footballer but I just think that he is more a jack of some trades master of none. Doesn't have the productivity of an attacking Mid nor the movement and awareness of a central mid.
Also, the goal thing is important if he is going to be our thrust forward. I think its becoming a caf mentality but any threads about Rooney, Berbatov, Anderson end up with something like "yeah, but goals aren't everything. Look at his other contributions." But then who is going to score for us?
Does any of our CMs last few seasons score a lot for us? That's your answer.
I agree he doesn't really have the 'productivity' of an attacking midfield player. Not yet. But with the way he plays the game, I find it much easier to see him starting to get those assists and delivering the final ball than i do seeing him develop the discipline and movement to play in a two man central midfield. Of course he can already to it at the moment, but it's only when we're up against the top teams and we are looking at him to do a lot of defensive work. He needs to develop his attacking game if he is going to play that position.
Obviously, the problem is that with Rooney and Berbatov we don't really need someone to play that position.
It is a problem if Rooney and Berbatov aren't scoring. Not so much with the attacking midfielder in a 4231 and 433, as long as he is driving at defenders and forcing play with the other attacking players bringing the goal threat.
Someone mentioned that he seems a much better player when United play 3 in the midfield. This is a fair point. Against Chelsea I thought he was MOM, he seemed to have more freedom. Against Besiktas he he was a marked man and he struggled combing his defensive duties with getting forward. But again, he's still only very young and is learning his trade in argubly the most difficult position to play at.
He was great today, I'd love to see a 'miles run' stat, he was everywhere, no wonder he was jaded at the end.
He was very good but Spurs were shading the midfield battle until we went 433.
As soon as Carrick came on and Anderson had more of a free role, he really looked exceptional. We also completely bossed midfield for the first time in the game.
As soon as Carrick came on and Anderson had more of a free role, he really looked exceptional. We also completely bossed midfield for the first time in the game.
I don't think he was that good. His passing was terrible. He tries to force too many balls over the top. He is young though, and I suppose he'll learn when to keep it simple like Carrick and Scholes do so well.
Like I said in the Gibson Thread, what a midfielder does off the ball is crucial, and Anderson has a lot to learn especially on the defensive side of his game.
It looks good when you're running around a lot and flying into tackles, but it's really not so good when you're being pulled out of position and leaving massive gaps at the back.
Like I said in the Gibson Thread, what a midfielder does off the ball is crucial, and Anderson has a lot to learn especially on the defensive side of his game.
It looks good when you're running around a lot and flying into tackles, but it's really not so good when you're being pulled out of position and leaving massive gaps at the back.
That's a bit harsh bit agree with the general point. He looks so much more effective when we've two other CMs on the pitch making sure that midfield holds it's shape.
When that happens he has more space to go off on all his marauding runs and has a crucial extra second to pick passes. I thought he was really impressive towards the end of the game.
Thought he did well tonight but he really needs to spend some time working on his passing range, he seems to put 50% more power than required into almost every pass.
I thought he was great, got about the pitch and never stopped running. He passing can be wayward at times but he does try some impossible passes at time the silly sausage.
I really can't help but like him.
I really can't help but like him.
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