[Malone_Post]

Both

Quite possibly

Was a very confusing performance to evaluate!

 

[criticalanalysis]

He got an assist using his right foot today..

Do you people even watch our games? Or do you just come in here to moan?

Came in here to post this myself, how are people not losing their minds? Assist and with his right foot?!

Stars aligned.

 

[Unlikely lad]

He’s not delivering enough yet, but I’m less worried about him. Decision making needs to improve.

 

[Jeppers7]

Looked a real threat all game, combine that with the workrate and you’ve got a player once the end product improves.

 

[wangyu]

Lets be real he has been very underwhelming for the price tag and hype surrounding him. He gets outshone by a younger and less experienced Garnacho. He has been useful but not good enough for the moment.
Sancho also needed time and he was also supposedly world class so I’m not automatically optmistic for improvement though it is always possible.

 

[L1nk]

Lets be real he has been very underwhelming for the price tag and hype surrounding him. He gets outshone by a younger and less experienced Garnacho. He has been useful but not good enough for the moment.
Sancho also needed time and he was also supposedly world class so I’m not automatically optmistic for improvement though it is always possible.

I would argue he offers way more a threat and much more workrate than Sancho whilst being at the club a much shorter time. He absolutely does need to work on his decision making though, I feel he’ll get better with time and it’s on his side

 

[Stacks]

Um... No. Having that combo of technique, touch, movement, press resistance and work rate is pretty rare. He has a great ability to get shots off quickly too. Needs to tighten it up but he has been close a ton of times this season. The sort of stuff that will positively regress as time goes.

His technique is mediocre. World class players have sublime ability. The only noticeable attributes he has are his workrate. What world class players are you comparing him to?

Then EtH must see something to be willing to spunk 80-100m on him.

ETH also sees something in Weghorst too

 

[SadlerMUFC]

I just don’t know how a player can be so one-footed. Even Valencia wasn’t this bad. There’s no excuse for a £90m player earning millions at the biggest club in the world to be so incapable of using his right foot. When you add in the amount of injuries he’s had, it’s starting to feel like we’ve been had.

Valencia was that bad. Difference was, prime Valencia was always taking his man wide and looking to assist. And nobody could stop him even though they knew that's what he was going to do. Antony on the other hand is always trying to come inside so he can score. He needs to mix it up because unlike Valencia, Antony is easily stopped...

 

[Isotope]

ETH also sees something in Weghorst too

EtH spent almost everyday for 2 years with Antony, while Wout was an emergency cheap non-comital loan. But yeah, other than that, you're right.

 

[BarryWinks]

I've been critical of him in the past and still not convinced by him overall but I think he is very important to our general play and starting to show this in games. In the last few games, while he hasn't scored or assisted until today, he has gotten himself into some decent positions and caused some problems.

I guess some have very high expectations of him, but I made my peace with him being a decent to good player quite a while ago and so far so good, I think he gives us a balance that none of our other wingers (who are all right footed) can provide. He's also weirdly strong and press resistant when transitioning from defence to attack which helps us as we largely play a counter attacking game. It is in the attacking phase in games where we have more of the ball where I think he is weakest and will need lots of coaching over the next season to get up there.

 

[NoPace]

Involved again. He’s a game changer for sure. Even the cushioned little pass into Bruno before the garnacho goal was class.

Honestly, I love him and can’t wait to see how he improves in his second season. His self belief is good to see, no matter how things go he never tries to play safe and we need that from a RW at old trafford especially. Teams almost always have to put two guys close to him, and he’s getting a bit better with his give and go passing. His work rate given his playing style is admirable, and I think he’ll be a mainstay of the team for the next 5 years. Has not looked out of place in his first season in the premier league at all.

Agreed with this. He's selfish but he's also a young winger. Best front 6 player on the pitch today outside of Bruno. One of the clear 7 first-choice guys next year along with Rashford, Bruno, Casemiro, Shaw, Lisandro and Varane, then it's mostly up for grabs for the other 4 spots (#9, CM, RB, GK) with maybe Eriksen (and apparently De Gea) able to hang on for one more year.

Also can't remember a winger we've had who creates better opportunities for his fullback consistently, just Wan-Bissaka and Dalot lack composure with the final ball.

 

[ManRed]

He got an assist using his right foot today..

Do you people even watch our games? Or do you just come in here to moan?

That pass can be made by 4 year old kids. It was the one later where he brilliantly dribbled past the defenders and had to find martial open with his right. He was clearly uncomfortable to hit that and made a meal of it.

 

[ManRed]

I have high hopes for him next season. The frustration is driven by how good he could actually be if he diversifies his game and improves his decision making (both will happen in time).

I think he will improve next season as well. Also Amad will be a good competition for him as he is coming back from a successful loan.

 

[Borys]

I honestly don’t know whether to give him credit for constantly getting into the right positions or criticise him for constantly messing them up. His selfishness and desire to look for the shot and ignore all options around him until it’s too late is absolutely infuriating though. He should have had three comfortable assists and a goal in that first half and all he came away with was one assist. Its that kind of decision making that has cost us all season long. It’s not difficult to see why his output throughout his career has been so low though. Unbelievably frustrating player.

This.

Said it before, you can say he's having decent first season only if you ignore the chances (to score/assist) he missed.

Put anyone in his position and I'd expect to get at least the same G+A return.

Definitely deserves to get more time to sort out his decision making but also I am afraid his decisions are driven by lack of trust in his passing ability. That is a strong reason because I don't trust it either.

 

[Remember the geese]

At times I watch him and can see that there are signs of a real player in there somewhere. There are also moments where I'm left questioning myself. Ultimately though, I do think that he's improving. There were times earlier in the season where he was flat out refusing to take his man on down the outside. He's doing that more often now. He is fast, just not electric Rashford levels of fast. His appetite for defensive work is really good. I just hope that he continues to improve. Particularly his decision making and his right foot. I still remain cautiously optimistic that the signs are there. However, I'm a big Amad fan so would love to see the two of them battle it out against eachother next season.

 

[tenpoless]

I was expecting him to shoot with his left... but he passed the ball with his right. Mental.

 

[Wumminator]

I think he’s absolutely class me. He’s developing really well.

 

[Matt851]

I honestly don’t know whether to give him credit for constantly getting into the right positions or criticise him for constantly messing them up. His selfishness and desire to look for the shot and ignore all options around him until it’s too late is absolutely infuriating though. He should have had three comfortable assists and a goal in that first half and all he came away with was one assist. Its that kind of decision making that has cost us all season long. It’s not difficult to see why his output throughout his career has been so low though. Unbelievably frustrating player.

The selfishness and poor decision making are frustrating particularly when his shooting technique is also really poor

 

[DavelinaJolie]

Only seen the highlights but Antony appeared to be at the centre of most things happening, couple of better decisions and that game is probably 4-0 and a lot more comfortable.

 

[Amar__]

So he assessed the situation and made the correct decision? I don’t understand this trend of making up imaginary scenarios to get annoyed about and criticise players, whilst failing to mention even any of the positives, it stinks of a lack of balance.

He didn't asses the situation, he did the only thing he could do. It's not making out imaginary situation, it's making logical assumption based on his previous 20 1 one 1 situations in which he mostly decided to shoot from similar situations.

For example this is very similar situation:

https://youtube.com/shorts/5mSpcdB9k0g?feature=share

 

[Nou_Camp99]

I do think people are going overboard a bit. He was decent yesterday nothing more and obviously his performance was far less worrying than Sancho again so there is that in his favour.

It was only his 2nd assist of the season. He's got 1 PL goal and 2 assists since his first 3 game run in September.

He's a long long way away right now but at least he puts a shift in and looks bothered. I can live with that improvement time as long as he is trying.

As for Sancho.....I don't think he even seems like he wants to be on the pitch. The guy looks done at this club.

 

[jesperjaap]

Well for one, Sancho was genuinely world class creatively for Dortmund and also a decent goalscorer in a tougher league, so people had more patience. Antony, again, is terrible creatively and is really just a volume shooter currently. He’s also quite average as a dribbler carrier, so regardless of “being patient” or giving him time for the sake of it there needs to be areas that you can clearly point to and say “yeah he’ll certainly improve”. Garnacho is a great example: he’s raw as feck but at the bare minimum provides elite take on skills and burning pace with an okay eye for goal for an 18 year old. Antony doesn’t provide either of those, so his contributions have to be more technique driven. And I haven’t seen anything to think he suddenly becomes an elite creator (or even good one), he’s one dimensional as a finisher, and is supremely one footed (which also doesn’t just magically get better when it’s to this extent)

I think people need to learn that there’s a time to give players more patience or games and there’s times where you can evaluate what you have and pretty quickly figure out what the ceiling is.

Fair enough, so why do you think ETH signed him having worked with him day in and day out and missed all these very obvious things you have concluded far quicker than him?

 

[simplyared]

A lot of posters giving him slack. "He's not the end product", "only 23", he'll come good next season", "world class potential" etc.
What if he already believes he's world class? The mind boggles.

 

[johnnyteutonic]

He didn't asses the situation, he did the only thing he could do. It's not making out imaginary situation, it's making logical assumption based on his previous 20 1 one 1 situations in which he mostly decided to shoot from similar situations.

For example this is very similar situation:

https://youtube.com/shorts/5mSpcdB9k0g?feature=share

Oh yes, I remember that one. Absolutely criminal that he didn't pass then.

 

[Drizzle]

I do think people are going overboard a bit. He was decent yesterday nothing more and obviously his performance was far less worrying than Sancho again so there is that in his favour.

It was only his 2nd assist of the season. He's got 1 PL goal and 2 assists since his first 3 game run in September.

He's a long long way away right now but at least he puts a shift in and looks bothered. I can live with that improvement time as long as he is trying.

As for Sancho.....I don't think he even seems like he wants to be on the pitch. The guy looks done at this club.

Yes exactly. Antony isn't where we want him to be yet. Decision making is poor and to me he looks like a player who is not rounded out - instinctively reverts back to his favourite tricks and cop-outs in key moments. Let's see what coaching can do for him.

Sancho is far far worse, and he's had 2 seasons and an individualised 2 month bootcamp, and he's still barely in any game. Do a sofascore comparison of their games yesterday. Antony, for all his faults, is at least always present on the pitch.

 

[Jeffthered]

Involved again. He’s a game changer for sure. Even the cushioned little pass into Bruno before the garnacho goal was class.

Honestly, I love him and can’t wait to see how he improves in his second season. His self belief is good to see, no matter how things go he never tries to play safe and we need that from a RW at old trafford especially. Teams almost always have to put two guys close to him, and he’s getting a bit better with his give and go passing. His work rate given his playing style is admirable, and I think he’ll be a mainstay of the team for the next 5 years. Has not looked out of place in his first season in the premier league at all.

This is the problem. I have no idea where the standards are now at Manchester United. Antony will probably be a little better next season, but so what?

Saka is miles, miles ahead of him as a footballer for example.

Antony is a limited player and it's almost as if we are willing to just keep players who aren't that good. He's ok, but no more than that. He stays at the club but he is a squad player, because we aren't going anywhere with him as a starter. Antony would not start for ANY top club in Europe. Yet some feel we should just keep him as a first XI starter.

No way. He needs to work on his game.

 

[Bestietom]

He has definitely got past his marker on the outside. He hasn't done it enough, but he's shown he can do it. Having an attacking minded right back he can work in tandem with will be a huge boost to his game.

I haven't seen him beating a full back on the outside this season and I have seen most games. He certainly needs to do it much more before he is classed a good winger. The price we paid for him is ridiculous.

 

[flappyjay]

This is the problem. I have no idea where the standards are now at Manchester United. Antony will probably be a little better next season, but so what?

Saka is miles, miles ahead of him as a footballer for example.

Antony is a limited player and it's almost as if we are willing to just keep players who aren't that good. He's ok, but no more than that. He stays at the club but he is a squad player, because we aren't going anywhere with him as a starter. Antony would not start for ANY top club in Europe. Yet some feel we should just keep him as a first XI starter.

No way. He needs to work on his game.

I thought I was going crazy at least I see one other person who shares the same sentiments as me. If striker, cm wasn't such a worry rw would on be the list for positions to address in the summer.

 

[redcucumber]

I haven't seen him beating a full back on the outside this season and I have seen most games. He certainly needs to do it much more before he is classed a good winger. The price we paid for him is ridiculous.

Thankfully I've been at OT countless times and have seen him do it with my own two peepers. As I said, not as often enough as you'd like but he can do it and I'm sure as he refines and develops his game we will see him do it more often. I mean, he literally blitzed past his man on the outside yesterday. The final ball to Martial was the wrong one, but he created the opportunity by going on the outside and using his balance, pace and dribbling to do it.

 

[RedSky]

I haven't seen him beating a full back on the outside this season and I have seen most games. He certainly needs to do it much more before he is classed a good winger. The price we paid for him is ridiculous.

Agreed. The problem I have with Antony isn't his effort, he clearly tries. The problem is that when the majority of attacks during the game comes down his channel, he needs, no he HAS to deliver more end product. There were numerous counter attacks yesterday where we had more players than Wolves and yet every single one was fecked up by his poor decision making. Immediately after we scored he showed some swagger with a needless trick. Don't fecking showboat after we score in a must win game. This isn't an 18/19 year old youngster, Antony should have the experience by now to be able to know and handle big game situations.

It's a big concern for me that his decision making hasn't improved this season. What did show me signs of encouragement was the run he made where he out muscled a player and ran down the right. That was something he wasn't doing earlier in the season, he would slow the ball down rather than gas it and didn't have the confidence to beat the player. But please, please, PLEASE stop being selfish and lift your head up and find your team mates in the final third. We need more moments like the Martial assist and less moments of him trying to do it all by himself because he doesn't have the ability to do it.

 

[T00lsh3d]

I do think people are going overboard a bit. He was decent yesterday nothing more and obviously his performance was far less worrying than Sancho again so there is that in his favour.

It was only his 2nd assist of the season. He's got 1 PL goal and 2 assists since his first 3 game run in September.

He's a long long way away right now but at least he puts a shift in and looks bothered. I can live with that improvement time as long as he is trying.

As for Sancho.....I don't think he even seems like he wants to be on the pitch. The guy looks done at this club.

Imagine if Sancho had Antony’s attitude and aggression. What a player he’d be.

 

[redcucumber]

Jesus fecking Christ this place is tedious at the moment. He got an assist yesterday by putting his head up and playing the right ball. Not every attacking moment is going to lead to a goal, but he's increasingly influencing the outcome of games which he literally did yesterday and people are still relentlessly bitching.

 

[AndySmith1990]

Jesus fecking Christ this place is tedious at the moment. He got an assist yesterday by putting his head up and playing the right ball. Not every attacking moment is going to lead to a goal, but he's increasingly influencing the outcome of games which he literally did yesterday and people are still relentlessly bitching.

Heaven forbid people use a player performance thread on a message board to discuss a players performance

 

[SteveCoppellFan]

I'm not his biggest fan to be honest, but I'm starting to warm to him.

Yup, he can drive you mental at times with his behaviour and decision making but he's giving his all and there are signs of improvement !

More discipline, a better final ball and better finishing and he's there !!

What could possibly go wrong ?

 

[redcucumber]

Heaven forbid people use a player performance thread on a message board to discuss a players performance

Yes, because this place is renowned for its balance and level-headedness. Increasingly people on here are less patient and are eager to write players off and are seemingly never satisfied. Antony is young, he joined less than a year ago and has shown promise. People are moaning about his final ball and not going down the outside - he literally put his head up and got an assist yesterday, and also burst past his man on the outside to create an attacking opportunity. It's like, come on. Are we moaning for the sake of moaning at this point?

Without fail there is always at least one scapegoat that gets panned to the nth degree. It often gets toxic and tedious. Someone called him a rat faced cretin the other week.

 

[pascell]

This is the problem. I have no idea where the standards are now at Manchester United. Antony will probably be a little better next season, but so what?

Saka is miles, miles ahead of him as a footballer for example.

Antony is a limited player and it's almost as if we are willing to just keep players who aren't that good. He's ok, but no more than that. He stays at the club but he is a squad player, because we aren't going anywhere with him as a starter. Antony would not start for ANY top club in Europe. Yet some feel we should just keep him as a first XI starter.

No way. He needs to work on his game.

Standards are obviously nowhere near where the used to be but ten Hag will address that I'm sure.

Anyway, with Antony, next season is the better one to assess him. He didn't get a pre season with us this season, he's had a few injuries which have probably effected him, he's had to gel with new team mates and get up to speed with the PL.

I do feel the past 4-5 games he has improved though.

 

[Suv666]

He needs to improve but not really worried about him.
His movement is really good and he keeps getting in promising positions. Needs to improve his decision making and killer instinct which should come as he matures. Same can’t be said about Sancho.

 

[VivaObertan]

Antony's awesome. Another United player who's suffered from too much attention in the media because the squad becomes immediately reliant on them from the start.

Meanwhile Grealish, the transfer record, chilled on the bench for a year to acclimatize to a new system in a league he'd already been playing in for 5 years.

 

[Beachryan]

He's vastly more talented than some of the key players during Fergie's reign, and has a strong attitude. He'll be fine, and he's the least of our problems. People saying a right-winger needs X/Y contributions - we've not had a right-winger for about a decade that does that, so I'm still happy enough.

For me he's massively hamstrung by the system. His most dangerous moments are when he's released early down the wing. He can create a bit of space to cross but watch us play - we barely ever have someone in the box to cross to. Martial's position of choice is on the edge of the box - been here almost a decade and has what, 5 headed goals?. Bruno occasionally meanders in, but is typically wide, and also can't head the ball and has no acceleration, so is hardly dangerous in the box. Weghorst is slower than most centre backs. So who is it Antony is supposed to be finding exactly?

He looked much better with Haller up front last season, because at least Haller knows where to move in the box.

People are hugely underrating how impressive it is that ETH has us here with not a single true number 9 in the squad. Virtually every team in the league has someone who would improve us at that position, which is terrifying given how much money we've spent and what club this is.

Prime Valencia would have similar number of assits imo. He'd be creating that yard, whipping in a low cross and there'd be no one there with the means to do anything about it.

 

[redcucumber]

He's vastly more talented than some of the key players during Fergie's reign, and has a strong attitude. He'll be fine, and he's the least of our problems. People saying a right-winger needs X/Y contributions - we've not had a right-winger for about a decade that does that, so I'm still happy enough.

For me he's massively hamstrung by the system. His most dangerous moments are when he's released early down the wing. He can create a bit of space to cross but watch us play - we barely ever have someone in the box to cross to. Martial's position of choice is on the edge of the box - been here almost a decade and has what, 5 headed goals?. Bruno occasionally meanders in, but is typically wide, and also can't head the ball and has no acceleration, so is hardly dangerous in the box. Weghorst is slower than most centre backs. So who is it Antony is supposed to be finding exactly?

He looked much better with Haller up front last season, because at least Haller knows where to move in the box.

People are hugely underrating how impressive it is that ETH has us here with not a single true number 9 in the squad. Virtually every team in the league has someone who would improve us at that position, which is terrifying given how much money we've spent and what club this is.

Prime Valencia would have similar number of assits imo. He'd be creating that yard, whipping in a low cross and there'd be no one there with the means to do anything about it.

Good post and some interesting points. A proper forward that is consistently available will be transformative, as well as an attacking right back that can contribute to overloads. Nice to see a bit of positivity from the last few posts.