[Quagmire Maguire]

Rashford was excellent - miles above Antony and better than either Arsenal winger by a distance as well. AWB was also very good. The only starters who weren’t definitely better than Antony were Martial and Bruno.

It's crazy how we all see such different things in the same game. I thought Rashford was poor like usual, he had a moment and scored, bar that he offered nothing. Martenilli on the other hand was a constant threat the whole time he was on the pitch.

Antony I thought had a decent game yesterday. I would say a 5 out ofn10 performance. Needs to do much more but then so does pretty much every other player we have.

 

[cyberman]

It's crazy how we all see such different things in the same game. I thought Rashford was poor like usual, he had a moment and scored, bar that he offered nothing. Martenilli on the other hand was a constant threat the whole time he was on the pitch.

Antony I thought had a decent game yesterday. I would say a 5 out ofn10 performance. Needs to do much more but then so does pretty much every other player we have.

Martinelli didn’t do much apart from it being able to get past AWB. The amount of corners they won is the amount of times AWB owned him

 

[Chicharito_]

The lack of pace is concerning but he can still be a big player for us, he needs to watch a player like Mahrez for example..didn't have blistering speed but was so tricky, every defender thought he would just go onto his left foot and then he would roll over and go onto his right now and then defenders became terrified of him. Antony has the touch, ball control, skill, agility to be like this just needs to put it all together.

 

[Doracle]

It's crazy how we all see such different things in the same game. I thought Rashford was poor like usual, he had a moment and scored, bar that he offered nothing. Martenilli on the other hand was a constant threat the whole time he was on the pitch.

Antony I thought had a decent game yesterday. I would say a 5 out ofn10 performance. Needs to do much more but then so does pretty much every other player we have.

Yeah, I’m genuinely reading this thread thinking I must have been watching a different match, as people keep saying Antony looked after the ball well. The four wingers who started the match had pass completion of 91%, 88%, 87% and 59% according to WhoScored. Guess which one was Antony.

 

[philippexyz]

Frustrating player to watch. No end product whatsoever. I thought at first that he could shoot well, but nah. His shots often don't have enough venom, pace on them(looks like passing to a goalkeeper) and precision is often lackluster as well. Doesn't help that goalkeepers always know where he's aiming(top left corner), after cutting inside from the right. Don't know why coaching staff doesn't force him to add some variety there.

Lacks speed and power(strength), even dribbling abilities to some extent. His ball retention abilities are overrated by some people on this forum from what I read, he can get bullied by physical PL players and lose the ball - referee doesn't see enough contact to give him a foul. Kills counterattacks with his slow ball carrying and bad decision making/indecisiveness.

But, he also doesn't have a striker(until Hojlund gets established in the first team) or the right back with attacking quality to help him. With these additions, he would most likely look better. I really appreciate his defensive work rate in tracking back, it's helpful. We're definitely hard to be penetrated with him and Wan-Bissaka on the right flank, so at least that's a positive. That's the main reason he's still starting(and lack of proper competition). Ten Hag and his (scouting)reputation is also tied to him and he won't give up on him easily, we all see that and understand why - big money was splashed on Antony and he "must" be given all the possible chances in the world to succeed and come good eventually.

If ownership changes(Qataris), he will get benched/replaced very soon - Ten Hag would lose his job persisting with him. Maybe he has enough quality to be a back up right winger at this club, if he improves end product(goals, assists). But, his current level is a starter in PL relegation fodder, midtable(or worse) in Serie A, La Liga, Ligue 1, Bundesliga...

I think Antony works hard to improve even though he looks limited in terms of natural talent, which is admirable, and I hope he proves that my pessimism about him is wrong.

 

[kouroux]

A winger who has no hope of beating a man. Has he gotten past a single fullback since he joined the club? Even Dan Burn was comfortably keeping up with him.

He has actually, several times even. The issue is that he stops and turns to go back on his left. If his right foot is that shit then at least he should work the outside of his left foot.

 

[Fortitude]

He lost the ball cheaply so many times today.

For a player who offers close to zero attacking threat, you have to be perfect in possession to compensate for it. He's far from that, he's just very risk-averse so loses the ball slightly less than our other wide players.

This is the problem. The things he needs to excel at to compensate, he doesn't. It's the bigger cause for concern.

 

[Quagmire Maguire]

Martinelli didn’t do much apart from it being able to get past AWB. The amount of corners they won is the amount of times AWB owned him

Did their goal come from a corner by any chance? The fact they kept getting corner after corner was because of the constant pressure Martenilli was putting us under. Do you think it's good for United to keep having to defend corners? Would you not have preferred it was Rashford putting their full back under constant pressure and us racking up the corner count.

Martenilli was effective throughout the full time he was on the pitch, Rashford wasn't and neither was Antony.

 

[BluesJr]

Pellestri and Amad time. Praise our lord.

 

[Jericho]

There was one moment where he did a full 360 degree turn twice while nobody was anywhere near him. I think he was a problem seeing what's going on around, seems to always be playing with his head down. And like so many of our players when he gets the ball I don't think he has any idea what he's going to do with it.

 

[Shipperley]

Aside from that, on a purely footballing level I still maintain Jordan Ayew is a better player. You got absolutely tucked up on the fee.

 

[UnitedSofa]

Pellestri and Amad time. Praise our lord.

100%

 

[Gandalf67]

Pellestri needs to be given a proper chance not just bit part minutes at the end of games. Also Amad when he recovers. Unfortunately Ten Hag seems to be another manager with 'favourites' so can't see Antony being dropped regardless ....shame

 

[lsd]

The amount of people bending over backwards to defend him saying he is good defensively and works hard is staggering.

That means nothing he is a 90 million pound winger who can create absolutely nothing.

That's the bottom line. We didn't spend that money so he could run backwards.

If a winger cannot create anything he shouldn't be on the pitch.

 

[SilentWitness]

Locked while I fix this.

 

[SilentWitness]

Okay - let's keep this about player performance please. Any other chat there is another thread - https://www.redcafe.net/threads/ant...zilian-authorities-for-domestic-abuse.479083/

 

[DJ_21]

Why does he never run in behind like say Garnacho does? Is it a tactical thing where he keeps width. I’ve seen him run in behind like once, I think it was against Everton and it resulted in a goal. Need to see more of it or he just becomes very predictable and it will make life harder for him in the prem.

 

[Ricardo de la Vega]

Why does he never run in behind like say Garnacho does? Is it a tactical thing where he keeps width. I’ve seen him run in behind like once, I think it was against Everton and it resulted in a goal. Need to see more of it or he just becomes very predictable and it will make life harder for him in the prem.

I think its a tactical thing Ive heard ETH talking about Ajax playing with minimum width and Anthony providing the free man on the touchline. That said, its so utterly predictable, and its so demoralizing to watch the same thing over and over again. He never even tries to take on his full-back one on one now even when there's no covering help like when Zinchenko had been caught upfield once or twice. He knows, that they know, he has to cut onto his left, and you just show him down that cul-de-sac to the corner flag and he's useless.

 

[Robertd0803]

The amount of people bending over backwards to defend him saying he is good defensively and works hard is staggering.

That means nothing he is a 90 million pound winger who can create absolutely nothing.

That's the bottom line. We didn't spend that money so he could run backwards.

If a winger cannot create anything he shouldn't be on the pitch.

Exactly this.

 

[Malkovich]

We miss him

 

[RedDevil@84]

Is he done with clearing his head? Can he comeback?

 

[Thom Merrilin]

I don't think he adds much to our team that game. Pellestri kept Davies pretty quiet and maybe he scores the chance but maybe not, he's not particularly clinical. I do hope we see him back soon as we need the bodies.

 

[Amar__]

We miss him

Why exactly? Our posession was decwnt, and we've scored 3 goals. We also haven't created anything from that right side - pretty much the same when he plays.

 

[Escobar]

Why exactly? Our posession was decwnt, and we've scored 3 goals. We also haven't created anything from that right side - pretty much the same when he plays.

Whilst I agree, he does still pose a threat which means the defenders cant just all move to Rashfords side

 

[Malkovich]

Why exactly? Our posession was decwnt, and we've scored 3 goals. We also haven't created anything from that right side - pretty much the same when he plays.

I was mostly referring to the previous games, I think Brighton for instance we pin them down into their own half much easier with Antony

 

[Amar__]

I was mostly referring to the previous games, I think Brighton for instance we pin them down into their own half much easier with Antony

Pretty weird timing then, posting minutes after Bayern away.

 

[sullydnl]

Just focusing on the football aspect of Antony's return, it's a slightly different scenario he's returning to.

Where before he was 100% nailed on at RW, now there's the option of shifting one of Bruno/Mount across to RW to allow Amrabat play alongside Casemiro in the middle. But also the option of playing all of the above by using Amrabat in that inverting LB role he had against or Palace. Or ETH effectively going with the same set-up he had at the start of the season and Amrabat starting on the bench. It'll be interesting to see how all that potential rotation and changes in team shape plays out.

But beyond that, he also has an actual CF to supply to now in the shape of Hojlund. Which might have an impact.

Comparing him last season to his previous season at Ajax, his goal threat increased (0.19 to 0.33 xG) while his creativity decreased (0.28 to 0.14 xAG). And that drop off in creativity allies with the fact that he was crossing the ball at around half the rate he was at Ajax. In other words a large chunk of that change could be to do with simply no longer having that Haller-type CF to fire the ball into.

If Antony is going to improve in terms of output, I'd think/hope we'd see it there with the amount he's able to create being boosted by having a more traditional #9 up front in the shape of Hojlund. Whereas if his assist output stays the same even with that CF in place.....

 

[Idxomer]

Can he play as a left-back?

 

[Bwuk]

Can he play as a left-back?

Couldnt be any worse than Amrabat there.

Amrabat tries but he’s never in position and it’s clear he’s not comfortable actually playing full back.

Means our LW is the only threat and Rashford looks like he’s forgotten what sport he’s playing.

 

[Em765]

I am ready to eat a lot of crow regarding Antony.
I always said we played with 10 men when he played, that he was absolutely useless etc but after seeing us without him it made me appreciate him a bit despite his shortcomings. He makes himself noticeable for sure, he has a lot of contact with the ball, helps us with the width, he is active if nothing else.
Now sure his end product leaves a lot to be desired and he is terribly one footed but there is a player there albeit a frustrating one.
Pellestri on the other hand that was playing with 10 men.

If only Antony could improve his end product, he normally gets himself into good positions but fails to score, how many times he hit the post or missed by a few inches.

 

[Son]

He’s not the best but certainly fills the void on the right hand side. Even defensively he adds a lot from the front. I hope he finds some form and can get over this mess he got himself into.

 

[Highfather_24]

Keeps width well, and we need someone who does that on the right.

 

[Doracle]

Can he play as a left-back?

That actually might not be a bad shout. His main attributes are tracking back and he has a good engine, plus he’s relatively tidy in possession so long as he doesn’t have to do anything actually creative.

 

[Matt851]

I am ready to eat a lot of crow regarding Antony.
I always said we played with 10 men when he played, that he was absolutely useless etc but after seeing us without him it made me appreciate him a bit despite his shortcomings. He makes himself noticeable for sure, he has a lot of contact with the ball, helps us with the width, he is active if nothing else.
Now sure his end product leaves a lot to be desired and he is terribly one footed but there is a player there albeit a frustrating one.
Pellestri on the other hand that was playing with 10 men.

If only Antony could improve his end product, he normally gets himself into good positions but fails to score, how many times he hit the post or missed by a few inches.

Pretty low bar to be honest. Pellistri might not be pl standard, and he has just been thrown in having not played for two years. Antony is definitely better but still think 3/4 of pl clubs have better right wingers

 

[RedDevil@84]

A hatrick of assists tomorrow will ease the pressure.

 

[Bastian]

How can journalists ask ETH about how other people feel about him selecting a player who has not been charged while Arsenal kept playing their player for a full season and not a fecking peep.

 

[Annihilate Now!]

A hatrick of assists tomorrow will ease the pressure.

That would literally double his assist count for us

 

[UnofficialDevil]

The amount of people bending over backwards to defend him saying he is good defensively and works hard is staggering.

That means nothing he is a 90 million pound winger who can create absolutely nothing.

That's the bottom line. We didn't spend that money so he could run backwards.

If a winger cannot create anything he shouldn't be on the pitch.

Yes but he can do the roulette

 

[Valencia Shin Crosses]

That actually might not be a bad shout. His main attributes are tracking back and he has a good engine, plus he’s relatively tidy in possession so long as he doesn’t have to do anything actually creative.

I actually think Antony's best chance of making it in top level football is being converted into an 8. He's got enough of an engine and is very good in tight spaces retaining the ball. Turning him into essentially a Fred type pressing 8 that isn't asked to carry the burden of production in the final third and I think he'd have a chance to be quite good because you'd be accentuating his best qualities (technical dribbling under pressure, off ball work) while minimizing what he does poorly (finishing/chance creation, attacking movement etc.)

 

[Silas]

I actually think Antony's best chance of making it in top level football is being converted into an 8. He's got enough of an engine and is very good in tight spaces retaining the ball. Turning him into essentially a Fred type pressing 8 that isn't asked to carry the burden of production in the final third and I think he'd have a chance to be quite good because you'd be accentuating his best qualities (technical dribbling under pressure, off ball work) while minimizing what he does poorly (finishing/chance creation, attacking movement etc.)

Not with his decision making.