[BarryWinks]

He usually isn't bad, it's because of his price tag obviously that people will be more critical when he's quiet. Hopefully I don't jinx him but his bottom doesn't seem to be very low. He always works hard. Unfortunately his ceiling also doesn't look very high so far.

So........ Steady Eddie ?

We are due a steady eddie too.

 

[SAF is the GOAT]

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

 

[Big Ray]

We can't be hypocrites. We mock the scouse cnuts for saying Nunez will come good and even if he does it doesn't take away the fact that he looks like a terrible bit of business so far.

Same with Antony IMO, I can only imagine what this thread would look like if he played for one of our rivals and cost this amount.

I'm used to three profiles of wide players at top teams
1. The fast goalscoring forward - Son, Pedro, Sterling
2. The playmaker that uses less speed but dribbles and passes - Bernardo Silva, Kvaratskhelia, Sancho (Bvb version)
3. The hybrid of 1 and 2 - Neymar, Messi

I have no idea where Antony fits within this. Isn't particularly fast or a good finisher. He also hardly creates goalscoring opportunities. It's a head scratcher at the moment but hopefully he comes into his own and shows his full skillset because if this is all there is, we're in trouble.

So being clocked at over 35 km/h isn’t fast?!

 

[gza the genius]

It seems like he's mostly playing it safe right now but every once in a while you get a glimpse of what he could be. Obviously he doesn't look like a 100m player right now but I think the talent is there and that he offers us a balance in attack that we haven't had in a long time.

 

[croadyman]

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

Sounds like he has the determination to succeed but does he have the ability to do it. He will definitely benefit from Erik's coaching and just hope that can do the trick.

 

[Zetrio2002]

We can't be hypocrites. We mock the scouse cnuts for saying Nunez will come good and even if he does it doesn't take away the fact that he looks like a terrible bit of business so far.

Same with Antony IMO, I can only imagine what this thread would look like if he played for one of our rivals and cost this amount.

I'm used to three profiles of wide players at top teams
1. The fast goalscoring forward - Son, Pedro, Sterling
2. The playmaker that uses less speed but dribbles and passes - Bernardo Silva, Kvaratskhelia, Sancho (Bvb version)
3. The hybrid of 1 and 2 - Neymar, Messi

I have no idea where Antony fits within this. Isn't particularly fast or a good finisher. He also hardly creates goalscoring opportunities. It's a head scratcher at the moment but hopefully he comes into his own and shows his full skillset because if this is all there is, we're in trouble.

Son is no longer that fast and Sterling is very slow these days. And Antony is probably faster than Sterling.

Antony definitely fits a hybrid of 1 and 2.

 

[zenith]

Inclined to cut him more slack as he seems to have suffered some kind of personal issue which might be hampering his mindset

 

[Top]

Can someone link me to videos where he has actually successfully taken on a defender?
At this point I am not convinced he even has the ability.

 

[croadyman]

Can someone link me to videos where he has actually successfully taken on a defender?
At this point I am not convinced he even has the ability.

Yeah we need to see evidence of it

 

[Malone_Post]

Can someone link me to videos where he has actually successfully taken on a defender?
At this point I am not convinced he even has the ability.

I think we’ve seen enough to know by now that he absolutely can’t. It’s just not a part of his game.

We essentially now have a pair of £80 million wingers, neither of whom can dribble past a defender. It’s incredibly frustrating and massively blunts our attack.

 

[croadyman]

I think we’ve seen enough to know by now that he absolutely can’t. It’s just not a part of his game.

We essentially now have a pair of £80 million wingers, neither of whom can dribble past a defender. It’s incredibly frustrating and massively blunts our attack.

So what would you do if Erik

 

[Jeffthered]

So what would you do if Erik

Drop him and play Elanga, who isn't ideal but gives us more in a different way, effort and that disruptive nature to his game.

Elanga would cause me more problems as a defender, definitely.

Compare Antony to say, Ziyech... both rather one-dimensional, but at least Ziyech looks a danger when he can pick a pass or cross.

Antony doesn't even create many chances. Antony has a good first touch, so he retains possession well in the last third... but I would expect that for far, far less than £100m. Any Premiership forward should have a decent first touch.

 

[M Bison]

Way too early to be writing him off yet. Personally I trust EtH to get it right, if he thinks he’s the right fit and good enough then I’m fully behind him, he’s got everything else right up to now and players are flourishing under him, I’m sure Antony will do the same once he adapts.

 

[ThinkTank@Cafe]

I don’t get the skepticism about him. Hasn’t life taught you anything? Ten Hag is excellent at picking players and working with them. I completely trust him in this regard.

Rashford was written off by the Caf just 6 months ago. People claimed that we shouldn’t extend his contract. Now, look at him.

I regard Antony and Sancho as reserve power for our attack. Once both of them hit the form we will be as dangerous as SAF United. It is just matter of time.

Martial is just another Pogba in terms of consistency and form. No manager can fix it. I hope I’m mistaken and he’ll come good.

 

[SATA]

Give him to grow ffs lads. He’s still very new to the league, hasn’t play more than 20 games for the club and he’s already been written off? Salah for example was a nothing player at a similar age

 

[ScholesyTheWise]

A bit like Nunez at Liverpool, where you can see an excellent player in there, but at the same time, some of the performances are utter garbage.

It is a problem though, that atm one can praise Antony for his defensive game and nothing else really. A bit like Dan James (looked to be the part at the beginning also offensively), or indeed Elanga.
I won't be surprised if he'll go on to be a better player than those two, if not at United then for another team someday.

If he was more akin to Ronaldo or Nani at their beginnings, where they could clearly beat a man and put in a wonderful cross,
but were also shit at decision-making... I'd be more excited about him.

as things stand,
If he's meant to be an inverted forward I'd like to believe there are better players than him out there.
If he's meant to be more of a winger, well that's odd as he only ever seems to cut inside, so how will he fare on the left side?

Not like I'm writing him off, just that he's a weird player to try and estimate.
Haven't seen him at all at Ajax so who knows.

 

[Dannn411]

Drop him and play Elanga, who isn't ideal but gives us more in a different way, effort and that disruptive nature to his game.

Elanga would cause me more problems as a defender, definitely.

Compare Antony to say, Ziyech... both rather one-dimensional, but at least Ziyech looks a danger when he can pick a pass or cross.

Antony doesn't even create many chances. Antony has a good first touch, so he retains possession well in the last third... but I would expect that for far, far less than £100m. Any Premiership forward should have a decent first touch.

No way in hell would I drop him for Elanga. Elanga is even worse in his own unique way. In fact I would move Elanga on permanently this summer as he is not good enough to play in the PL let alone at Manchester United.

Antony has qualities that can be worked with. He's just extremely one-legged which means all the space to his right on the byline is essentially useless because he will never move the ball to his right. So the best thing for him is to be moved to the left wing to play as a natural winger who can put in outswinging crosses. It will also suit him much more because the flow of play will be biased towards his left foot which is the only foot he can use apparently. This will raise his unpredictability up several levels. Downside is he'll just have to compete with Marcus Rashford for a spot every week which is a steep mountain to conquer.

And then we have to go and find an actual proper right winger (not these inverted wingers, a real one that takes players on) or move Garnacho to the right.

 

[EtH]

Missed the match today. Did he grow a right foot at any point or did he continue to play on one peg ?

 

[kps88]

There are plenty of one footed players who have gone on to have incredible careers. My problem is more with what he's able to do once he does come inside. The quality of passing isn't there yet.

 

[kirk buttercup]

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

He clearly says he finds the Premier league more intensive and more demanding. Kid needs time to grow and find his feet . And ETH is the perfect man to help him with that

 

[Jeffthered]

There are plenty of one footed players who have gone on to have incredible careers. My problem is more with what he's able to do once he does come inside. The quality of passing isn't there yet.

Exactly. He needs to develop his game. He isn't at his first club. He plays for his country. So he's not exactly new to the game. I'm not expecting a complete player.. but I expect more.

I actually agree, playing him on the left would help him, simplify and challenge his game... get him to understand to play more instinctively.

At the moment his game and impact are limited.
I just hope ETH knows how he can get the best out of his.

 

[EtH]

There are plenty of one footed players who have gone on to have incredible careers. My problem is more with what he's able to do once he does come inside. The quality of passing isn't there yet.

He hasn’t even been able to make space for himself cutting inside though. It’s a problem. He will have to sort it out or I worry for him. This coming from someone who wanted him here last season (same as ten Hag) and was elated when we signed him.

 

[Brophs]

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) date

I’ve found my new excuse for when my wife asks me to do something annoying eg spend time with the kids.

 

[Top]

A bit like Nunez at Liverpool, where you can see an excellent player in there, but at the same time, some of the performances are utter garbage.

I don’t see the potentially excellent player.

I don’t think he is particularly excellent at anything. His technique is at times excellent, but even that fails him quite often.

I really hope I am wrong, as I generally love watching flair players. Nani was my favorite for years, but I just don’t see it with Antony.

 

[DJ_21]

It’s obvious that there’s a talent in there somewhere but we’re yet to unlock it. Next season I think he’ll shine. Be good when we get a proper striker in, we’ll look miles better at the top then. I think he’ll chip in with some goals this season even if he’s not performing to good, he as an habit of cutting In and curling on his left foot, we’ll see a few of them go in just like the one against city.

 

[rimaldo]

I’ve found my new excuse for when my wife asks me to do something eg spend time with the kids.

i’ve often said that in jesus christ times there was no toilet roll or flushing toilets, so why should i wipe or flush the toilet now?

 

[Brophs]

i’ve often said that in jesus christ times there was no toilet roll or flushing toilets, so why should i wipe or flush the toilet now?

That’s just science.

 

[Borys]

He cuts back a lot because that's the only free passing angle. Defenders position themselves to Block him coming/passing inside. They can do it because they know Antony will never challenge them on the outside. I can see him improving but he has glaring limitations and that's quite a worry for a winger (I'm not even taking under consideration the fee).

Also, why do people think playing on the left would help Antony? His crossing is rather poor (or he's been hiding this ability so far), he also doesn't have strength/pace of "traditional" wingers. Imo this is exactly why he is playing on the right. We definitely didn't buy him to play on left wing.

 

[Glorio]

I’ve found my new excuse for when my wife asks me to do something annoying eg spend time with the kids.

 

[Escobar]

People need to chill

 

[Edwards6]

Crazy how people are writing him off already, probably the same people that were begging to sell Rashford last summer. Have some patience!

 

[Jeppers7]

Drop him and play Elanga, who isn't ideal but gives us more in a different way, effort and that disruptive nature to his game.

Elanga would cause me more problems as a defender, definitely.

Compare Antony to say, Ziyech... both rather one-dimensional, but at least Ziyech looks a danger when he can pick a pass or cross.

Antony doesn't even create many chances. Antony has a good first touch, so he retains possession well in the last third... but I would expect that for far, far less than £100m. Any Premiership forward should have a decent first touch.

White text ?

 

[RedIan]

Im a bit concerned that he wont take players on and always cuts inside to get on his left foot. However i still think we look better with him in the team and when he didn't play we missed him. To early for knee jerking. A lot wanted Rashford sold 8 months ago.

 

[#07]

Antony's lack of willingness to take on players is slightly concerning. We have seen him do it for Ajax and for Brazil. However, with us he seems to just want to take a touch, come backwards and keep it simple. I don't know if he's slightly overawed by the red shirt but, lately, he has been less than I thought he would be.

I hoped the early goal yesterday would get his tail up. However, even after that, his wing play was very pedestrian. The combinations with Dalot were not good at all either. He needs to show more because Garnacho is knocking at the door. Garnacho got an assist from the right against Bournemouth, wins a penalty from the left last night. Antony needs to be more direct.

 

[croadyman]

Antony's lack of willingness to take on players is slightly concerning. We have seen him do it for Ajax and for Brazil. However, with us he seems to just want to take a touch, come backwards and keep it simple. I don't know if he's slightly overawed by the red shirt but, lately, he has been less than I thought he would be.

I hoped the early goal yesterday would get his tail up. However, even after that, his wing play was very pedestrian. The combinations with Dalot were not good at all either. He needs to show more because Garnacho is knocking at the door. Garnacho got an assist from the right against Bournemouth, wins a penalty from the left last night. Antony needs to be more direct.

Yeah that element is the most frustrating

 

[GlasgowCeltic]

Dunno if I've just never noticed others doing it but his body position when hes on or receiving the ball feels wrong, almost parralel facing the opposite flank, it doesn't even hint at him going down the line

 

[Real Name]

I've defended him a lot but the criticism is justified. That said I believe ETH will still get the best out of him. Some people won't accept it if a 100m player needs time to settle and develop and I get that but it's just a reality we need to accept. I still believe in him and think he has big potential.

Price doesn't mean he shouldn't get time to settle in.

 

[dinostar77]

He needs a good attacking right back to provide the overlap and width for him to be really effective.

Its as @raaes said in his Pythagaros in boots anaylsis of antony before he signed for us. The anaylsis did say if he came to utd, we wouldnt see the best from him with wan bissaka and dalot supporting him. As it has proven so far.

 

[El Jefe]

So being clocked at over 35 km/h isn’t fast?!

That's no good if he can't use supposed pace to get by his fullback and stay in front of them.

Son is no longer that fast and Sterling is very slow these days. And Antony is probably faster than Sterling.

Antony definitely fits a hybrid of 1 and 2.

I was obviously talking about the in form versions or else I wouldn't have included Pedro.

How can Antony be a hybrid? Let's look at his numbers for creativity. Antony has zero assists this season and ranks in the 9th percentile for both key passes and expected assists. Also ranks 8th percentile in successful dribbles. Quite frankly Antony's creativity numbers are awful.

His opening three games are a purple patch if anything. Teams have caught onto his finishing and hasn't had a goal like he did vs Arsenal and Everton again, despite being in that position a few times since then.

Antony is neither a creative player or goal scorer. He's Bernardo Silva on the wing without the dribbling and key passes. Doesn't leave much

 

[croadyman]

That's no good if he can't use supposed pace to get by his fullback and stay in front of them.


I was obviously talking about the in form versions or else I wouldn't have included Pedro.

How can Antony be a hybrid? Let's look at his numbers for creativity. Antony has zero assists this season and ranks in the 9th percentile for both key passes and expected assists. Also ranks 8th percentile in successful dribbles. Quite frankly Antony's creativity numbers are awful.

His opening three games are a purple patch if anything. Teams have caught onto his finishing and hasn't had a goal like he did vs Arsenal and Everton again, despite being in that position a few times since then.

Antony is neither a creative player or goal scorer. He's Bernardo Silva on the wing without the dribbling and key passes. Doesn't leave much

So you have given up on him already