BBC rumour page is linking him with a swap deal for Cavani at PSG. I truly hope that this is bollocks.
7
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 32
- Goals
- 4
- Assists
- 13
- Yellow cards
- 3
- Red cards
- 1
- Status
They have it from the Daily Star Sunday page. Need I say more...
Ah. That's reassuring then lol.
So what's the consensus? Personally I think he can be a success as either a midfielder or winger. I'd keep him in the hope he can regain his form. If he can get to his top level and stay relatively consistent he'd be like a new top class signing.
My preferred alleged formation would be:
De Gea
Coleman/Rafael Ramos Smalling Shaw
Herrera Schneiderlin Di Maria
Mata Rooney Young/Depay
Subs: Valdes, Rojo, Valencia/Rafael, Jones, Carrick, Blind, Pereira, Fellaini, Janujaz, Hernandez/RVP, Wilson
Signing Schweinsteiger/ Gundogan for the first team would further improve this again and possibly consign Di Maria to the wing. Even without them this looks like a very strong side if every player is fit and in form. I'd give us a great chance of winning the League and if the players were to play to their best in the Champions League I'd put us only behind Real/Bayern/Barca and level with PSG/Chelsea/Juve/City and possibly Atletico.
I just don't seethe point in getting rid of him yet unless he wants to leave. If he does we either need to go all out for a player like Reus/Bale or else find someone to play that midfield role he's capable of. Probably be easier to take the chance keeping him than finding a ready made, equally as talented replacement (Pogba is the only obvious target for that midfield role).
My preferred alleged formation would be:
De Gea
Coleman/Rafael Ramos Smalling Shaw
Herrera Schneiderlin Di Maria
Mata Rooney Young/Depay
Subs: Valdes, Rojo, Valencia/Rafael, Jones, Carrick, Blind, Pereira, Fellaini, Janujaz, Hernandez/RVP, Wilson
Signing Schweinsteiger/ Gundogan for the first team would further improve this again and possibly consign Di Maria to the wing. Even without them this looks like a very strong side if every player is fit and in form. I'd give us a great chance of winning the League and if the players were to play to their best in the Champions League I'd put us only behind Real/Bayern/Barca and level with PSG/Chelsea/Juve/City and possibly Atletico.
I just don't seethe point in getting rid of him yet unless he wants to leave. If he does we either need to go all out for a player like Reus/Bale or else find someone to play that midfield role he's capable of. Probably be easier to take the chance keeping him than finding a ready made, equally as talented replacement (Pogba is the only obvious target for that midfield role).
He was brilliant the season before last, excellent at the world cup & now he is very good at the Copa.
Was last season's slump because of Manchester, Van Gaal or Angel himself?
Was last season's slump because of Manchester, Van Gaal or Angel himself?
Last edited:
He was actually poor at the World Cup but I'm delighted for him for his performances in the semis last night. Two goals, some quality crossing and a quality performance in the biggest match he's played this year.
this guy can only play on the left?
Disagree. He had a very good world cup, no way he was poor.
It's this big myth that has somehow developed over time, that Di Maria had a very good World Cup. He was a pale shadow of his normal self and incomparable to the one that was key to Madrid's CL. Most of argentina's attack was poor at the wc.
I saw him in each and every game at the world cup, I don't believe in myths. He had a good world cup, his pace and industry were a plus for Argentina. In fact, they missed those two attributes in the final.
The group stage hero was only Messi. AdM got an assist akin to the assist he got for the falcao goal vs Leicester. He took a shot which hit the post and fell to Messi who scored. And the Swiss game he scored a goal but he was really poor. United style poor. Think he attempted 36 crosses and all of them failed or something. Then he got injured in the first half of the Belgium game.
He had a brilliant friendly game vs Germany though which was mainly why people started this notion that had he started the final Argentina would have won. In my opinion it wouldn't have made a lot of difference.
I didn't say that they would have won the final.
Anyway, what I am really interested in is the reason his form dipped so badly that he couldn't even displace Ashley Young, and then he goes to play for Argentina and looks the same player again.
First season in a totally new environment?
The managers tactics?
Burglary or what ever?
Couldn't get over the disappoinment of not signing for PSG?
Anyway, what I am really interested in is the reason his form dipped so badly that he couldn't even displace Ashley Young, and then he goes to play for Argentina and looks the same player again.
First season in a totally new environment?
The managers tactics?
Burglary or what ever?
Couldn't get over the disappoinment of not signing for PSG?
He gave them pace, yes, because he has pace. But other than that he was average.
He shouldnt get used to fast playing football with freedom for attackers, we dont do that over here !
I have come down from 'excellent' to' very good', you have raised it from 'poor' to 'average'. Can we settle at 'good'?
What do you think was the reason he spent half the season on United bench, amol?
I still think he's a much better version of Nani. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Is that wrong? Personally I'd prefer Mata in the starting eleven over Angel if we were to choose one.
I'd add injuries to that, but only to a point. Boring answer, but I'd say a mixture of all three. Van Gaal playing him as a centre forward one or twice wasn't bright. Settling in Manchester isn't always easy, plus his home being broken into should be taken into account. Di Maria himself has to bulk up I reckon to succeed in England.
if adm plays like what he did in the friendly game against germany, he will start every single game for lvg
when he tried too hard to prove himself by trying to dictate the play under his own feet, when he was not able to deliver just like what he did by his last season with real, and constantly lost out possession too cheaply, and this not happened just once but repeatedly, then lvg put him on the bench when young come out and caught his chance to prove his value in a rat race
adm was the only player once allowed of full freedom to do anything he wanted in upfront sometimes during the mid season. so he was rated by lvg but lvg needs him to play his game
when he tried too hard to prove himself by trying to dictate the play under his own feet, when he was not able to deliver just like what he did by his last season with real, and constantly lost out possession too cheaply, and this not happened just once but repeatedly, then lvg put him on the bench when young come out and caught his chance to prove his value in a rat race
adm was the only player once allowed of full freedom to do anything he wanted in upfront sometimes during the mid season. so he was rated by lvg but lvg needs him to play his game
Hah, let's just to agree to disagree, slightly.I have come down from 'excellent' to' very good', you have raised it from 'poor' to 'average'. Can we settle at 'good'?
What do you think was the reason he spent half the season on United bench, amol?
Ah, so many reasons.
For one, adapting to the premiere league is a process that can often take a fair bit of time. See Vidic. See Evra. See in particular, Didier Drogba. And unlike at least two of those three, and most likely all three, Di Maria has always been a bit frail, unlike someone like Sanchez who enjoys the physical side to the game. Di Maria is like Nani is this one sense, he feels contact more easily than most. Also refs in England do enjoy not protecting flair players so it can make them feel helpless at times. Nothing he can't conquer of course. His performance in the last two copa America games, a tournament that has brutal physicality, and in Classico games with insane pressing from Barcelona, prove that, as does his body of work. So he's got it in him. Will just require a bit of will to fight it.
Then, I think us not sticking with him is another reason. We've stuck through some regularly terrible performance from a lot of our players, whether it be Valencia or even Rooney. We stick with them particularly the latter because we know how good he is. With Di Maria, Lvg put the need for immediate results ahead of a star player gaining his confidence and quality. Rightfully so I reckon but one of the reasons for it was..
Thirdly, Di Maria has to make adjustments in his game. From lvg's comments this seems obvious. And this seems to be why he wasn't given the patience that someone like Rooney was. If he plays like usually self always he might struggle under Lvg. What these changes he has to make are, requires further insight. But on face value, Di Maria isn't even a possession based player, so maybe there are some things with regards to his erratic and gambling nature that Lvg demands him to change, before he becomes HIS player.
Both. He started the season off really well and then suffered that injury. After he came back from the injury, LvG had him playing different positions which affected his form. Towards the end of the season, it looked like he was not even trying. From my observation, he would lose the ball every time he had possession and the look around in amusement.
Angel will be tearing up the league come next season. Mark my words.
Actually he can join Barcelona this Summer, only cannot be registered.
Di Maria played poorly, but he delivered the numbers.
Moyes' team played poorly, and he delivered feck all.
Di Maria had won the CL, La Liga, Portuguese league and even went all the way to the final of World Cup only to miss it, and his absence was believe to be the main reason Argentina lost.
Moyes finished 4th with Everton. Once. In 11 years.
Of course if you think they are comparable at all, feel free to do so...
I hope you're right. The idea of a peak trio of Di Maria-Rooney-Depay sounds mouthwatering if they're all comfortable in their positions.
What position has he been playing for Argentina?
If he's playing along side players like Depay, Herrera and hopefully Schneiderlin in midfield, then he'll flourish.
Our transfer targets this summer promisingly indicate that we're trying to get out of this zombie football rut since we're going for Schneiderlin and a ball playing CB in Ramos.
Our transfer targets this summer promisingly indicate that we're trying to get out of this zombie football rut since we're going for Schneiderlin and a ball playing CB in Ramos.
Part of the front three along with Messi & Aguero.
He needs to stop hoofing long balls all over the place for a start. English teams tend to sit back and park their buses as though its a free parking day.
He will be much more effective dribbling and playing short passes with other players than crossing balls where none of our strikers are actually specialize to attack it.
He will be much more effective dribbling and playing short passes with other players than crossing balls where none of our strikers are actually specialize to attack it.
Great run and finishing on his first goal.
If he can get back to his best form next season, could turn out to be our best "signing" really. He's a world class player when on form and one of the top 3-5 in the premier league, but he didn't show that last season apart from that first month or 2. Next season our whole team should be more settled and play with more freedom, and with the additions of Depay and other players giving the team more solidity, we should have more attacking freedom to let Di Maria do his thing. He'll definitely be better then last season I think, just a matter of what level he will get to. A Di Maria at his best, supporting Rooney, Depay and Mata is pretty wankworthy though.
Where was he playing position wise, looked like out wide front 3? This is where personally I think his best position is. Argentina playing some great football in those highlights.
Looking forward to watching him again this season. Think he'll be back. Not fully sure what happened last few months of last season when he was dreadful. But think he'll be back from August.
Looking forward to watching him again this season. Think he'll be back. Not fully sure what happened last few months of last season when he was dreadful. But think he'll be back from August.
So has he played well against the teams that are better than the likes of Paraguay and Jamaica? I haven't been watching this tournament.
It's a confidence booster for him helping to wipe a team out.
It's a confidence booster for him helping to wipe a team out.
But but but isn't he being wasted unless he's played in central midfield?!?
Personally I think he's far better in the midfield. His best performances in his career have been in midfield. He can play out wide but he isn't as effective.
All in my opinion.
So what about the rumours about us selling AdM to Bayern? They don`t seem to go away - even after Douglas Costa signing for them.
I for one hope they are nonsense.
I for one hope they are nonsense.
I'd be shocked if they were true, I mean why would we spend €60m for one season? I don't even think we would include him for a deal for Mueller. It just doesn't make sense.
Bayern don't spend that much for a single player, they paid 28m Euro for Martinez as their record. I doubt they want to spend over 75m Euro (weak Euro) on Di Maria.
I think that's an opinion the majority of the Café agree on, if I remember one poll ages back.
For me though, he gives the ball away a ridiculous amount of times in centre mid and can get bullied and hassled off it.
Out wide, he's got the space for his incredible pace, and in theory should be a stunning winger. Van Gaal mentioned we didn't have a top winger last summer, then specifically name checked him as one such player.
I would say that all three things played a part in di Maria's performances last season. At the start, van Gaal gave him total freedom to play as a left winger/wide central midfielder, and he flourished in such a role. When van Gaal changed to a 4-3-3 formation, though, di Maria played a more restricted winger role whilst not getting much support from the midfielders, which made it tougher for him to perform well. This was when we had Fellaini in the side and wanted to take advantage of his aerial strengths. It was during this period when he faced more physical challenges from opposing markers, and he struggled to deal with them. His confidence dipped as he was beaten by his marker more often, and his performances dipped as a result. I wouldn't really say that van Gaal was the primary cause of di Maria's dip in performances in this period as di Maria himself had yet to adjust to the physical nature of the Premier League, and he was bound to face more of these physical challenges anyways once other teams got to know him better.
After he came back from his November injuries, van Gaal tried to fit him into a role where he was given all of the attacking freedom and no defensive responsibility. Seeing that di Maria struggled with the physical challenges from opponents, he tried to put di Maria into a role where losing the ball wouldn't hurt us that much. This was when he played up front for us in the 3-1-4-2, then as an attacking midfielder in a diamond, and then on the right wing similar to his Benfica, Real Madrid (under Mourinho), and Argentina winger roles. During this time, di Maria's confidence was low, and that showed in his inconsistent performances (moments of brilliance + several chances created followed by poor deliveries, losing the ball easily, and moments of frustration).
I believe di Maria's performances last season were more down to his adjustment to the Premier League and a lack of confidence resulting from that adjustment. All of this culminated in him being benched, and during this time, his confidence was shot down even more. I doubt that he's faced this many physical challenges ever in Portugal and Spain, and I doubt that he was ever benched for a couple of months due to inconsistent performances outside of England. However, as we've seen in the Copa America, he's learned from his first season here, and he now deals with the physical challenges better. His confidence is back, and he's playing at his best once again. After adjusting to the league in the first season, I believe that di Maria will be a much better player for us in the second season, and I'm sure that he'll be more of a consistent threat than he was in the first season.
- Status