Pearson and Powell in midfield......
Ben Pearson
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How did he not get sent off? Lucky boy.
Word.
For all his talent he continues to find the step up to the u21s a bit tricky.
I wouldn't be too alarmed, he has done well and has still only just turned 19 earlier this year. He will be fine.
I'm not worried about his potential. I do wish Joyce would ease the shackles a little bit, though, and allow him to express himself. Sunderland parked the buss in the first half yet Pearson hardly crossed the half-way line. Learning positional discipline is well and good but at some stage his not being able to flaunt his over-all game in match situations will be detrimental to his development. I've got nothing against Petrucci but if the plan is for Pearson and Rothwell to play for the u21s next season, I hope he makes like a tree this summer.
Can't help thinking of Tunnicliffe. Pearson's got the same sort of drive and determination that made him stand out in underage games. Which is great, obviously, but he'll need more strings to his bow as he gets older.
Pearson is much more composed on the ball.
Seems more aware of space as well, when to stand, when to take the liberty of driving forward, more tactically aware,Tunnicliffe's best displays were always with him marauding around the pitch, I do like Pearson but I'm also a little sceptical simply because we've seen those type of player in our youth fail before.
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Think he is a lot better with the ball at his feet than Tunnicliffe so I'm confused as to why he is being pigeon holed.
He has brilliant feet even, the goal in the UYL (can't remember what team) where he showed so. He's young and developing, last year it was how quick can he be fast tracked into the first team, this year it's he is limited.
Have to give him a chance at u21, might take a little longer to adapt but doesn't mean he's no good
He has brilliant feet even, the goal in the UYL (can't remember what team) where he showed so. He's young and developing, last year it was how quick can he be fast tracked into the first team, this year it's he is limited.
Have to give him a chance at u21, might take a little longer to adapt but doesn't mean he's no good
He's superbly two-footed as well. Think he's being seriously underrated technically.
He's had a weird season. Was hampered early on by injury and the fact we had very few games and shedloads of players to give minutes to - think the club managed him (and all of the U19s really) pretty poorly all things considered, which I think they've acknowledged with the mass loan exodus in January. Given a run of games now through til the end of the season, I'm expecting him to remind everyone why there was so much praise this time last year.
He's had a weird season. Was hampered early on by injury and the fact we had very few games and shedloads of players to give minutes to - think the club managed him (and all of the U19s really) pretty poorly all things considered, which I think they've acknowledged with the mass loan exodus in January. Given a run of games now through til the end of the season, I'm expecting him to remind everyone why there was so much praise this time last year.
We're definitely playing some pretty good football with him, Rothwell and Petrucci in the centre of the park. In many ways its a shame that he's not given the licence to get forward and back, but I think he has to compensate for Petrucci's relative lack of mobility by being more disciplined. Would be good to see how he could play if he was allowed the freedom of having an Ekangamene or similar performing the defensive side.
Ben Pearson is a great one. So far what I watched from Youtube. He has good ball control, touch and pass compare to the other midfielders in our U21. And he likes to make tackle and work hard. And the most important thing is he plays for the badge with passion and show how much he loves this club. Though there are a lot of players who are looking good in our U21 right now but the most exciting ones in my opinion are Pearson and Wilson.
Why do we keep our players in the U21's for so long? I can't help but feel talented 18-20 year old players like Pearson/Rothwell/Wilson would be far better served by playing regularly in the Championship/League 1 than by playing in the reserves.
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All 3 are in their first season for the u21s and all 3 are progressing nicely. Nothing wrong with how they have been managed this season.
What I like about him is that he seems to be in control of everything going around him. Proper central midfielder instinct, and I whink it's quite uncommon amongst the younger players (they seem to rely on pace and strength a lot). Hopefully he can gain some experience in some proper football in next years.
Not so much that it's wrong, but that doesn't mean they/the team wouldn't be better served by fast tracking them, I can't imagine someone like Cleverley is a million miles in front of him..
Him as in Pearson? Pearson's had his hands full with stepping up the u21s this season so I'd imagine Cleverley is quite a bit in front of him at the mo.
Him as in the thread subject?
I more meant in terms of ability, rather than squad ordering, I'd imagine he isn't that much worse of a player currently to what Cleverley is, and if his ceilings higher, I don't see the point of not pushing him forward, what's the worst that could happen? How many promising midfielders at this age, drop off after poor loans, getting him in the team now would see if he's up to it yet or not..
Touché. Lu Tze and I were on about 3 players so I wanted to make sure.Him as in the thread subject?
I more meant in terms of ability, rather than squad ordering, I'd imagine he isn't that much worse of a player currently to what Cleverley is, and if his ceilings higher, I don't see the point of not pushing him forward, what's the worst that could happen? How many promising midfielders at this age, drop off after poor loans, getting him in the team now would see if he's up to it yet or not..
I think Rothwell and Wilson are closer than Pearson in terms of ability but the two of them have a history of injuries so it's probably wise to not remove the cotton wool just yet. All in all, I'm pleased with how they have been handled and, consequently, how they have come along this season. Between the u19 CL and the now somewhat competitive u21 league, they've had enough on their plates.
I have only been able to watch videos of Ben playing and havent seen him live. There are a few videos out there of all his touches in games. The thing that strikes me is that he does all the things that Cleverley gets slated for. The overwhelming majority of his passes are sideways or backwards.
But also doesn't look like a frightened child in possession, and can put in a great tackle.
He's got a grand name. United have always done well with a Pearson in the team.
He gives the ball to a team mate almost immediately every time he gets it, i dont see much difference between that and Cleverley. I dont see much difference between the two of them.
Again I will reference the defensive side of his game which is much greater.
You don't just look at Pearson backward and sideways passes. Look at his ball control, touch, tackle and obviously he a very good passer. Let's take a look at his recently game video.
at 00:28 - 00:37 he took the ball forward and kept it on him while looking for option. Cleverley don't do that too often this season.
at 01:15 - 01:20 he had no option on the right so he switch it to the left and bring the ball forward towards Wilson. You don't see Cleverley do that anymore this season. And instead he's probably pass it back.
at 01:24 - 01:27 Great tackle. I don't remember when the last time Cleverley does it.
at 02:22 - 02:39 Great long ball to Wilson. Good vision too. One of the key why Cleverley got bashed about his passing
at 02:48 - 02:50 good challenge to win the ball back
at 03:34 - 03:37 Nice sideways pass. I don't remember Cleverley does that kind of sideway pass this season. He only does simple sideways passes.
at 05:11 - 05:15 Hustle to win the ball back.
at 5:20 - 05:26 Good skill with nice pass. I don't remember Cleverley does that this season.
There are no problem making backwards or sideways pass. Sometime you need to if there is no option. But what Cleverley does is he has option to make it forward but he's too afraid to do it. Cleverley's playing style isn't effective at all since last season. While Pearson is more effective for our U21. I don't like when someone criticize Cleverley just because he can't dribble like Iniesta to bring the ball forward. But the problem is Cleverley cannot do one of them "can't dribble and afraid of making forward pass".
On the ball thats mostly true yeah. The difference is when he doesn't have it, he's the energizer bunny running up and down the pitch to close people down and make tackles. Its this that would be a great option for our squad, even off the bench as we haven't had someone to get stuck in like that since Fletcher's illness. I dont know if he'll make it, he's not an amazing midfielder by any means. But his tenacity and energy would be a bonus for the squad if we can keep and develop him. Saves having to spend £10 million on someone else with legs and a tackle as a squad option
Awareness of space, the fact he actually takes up defensive positions and can put in a tackle, the fact his game is all about guts and discipline? his game is primarily defensive with the odd well timed attacking run thrown in, Cleverley was always far more an attack minded midfielder.. just right now nobody knows what he is as his confidence is shot.
I don't know if Pearson will make it here but hes a good prospect and I hope he keeps improving, reminds of a slightly more mobile Scott Parker more so than the Cleverley comparissons.
Sorry i just dont see the difference. The bit I find amusing is that Cleverley does everything Pearson does but Pearson is praised for it and Cleverley is slated.
How can you not see the difference after I told you everything what he does in the video and what Cleverley doesn't do unless you just don't read my post and watch the video vs Spurs. Do I need to give a mark so you can spot them? Here.. I will do it with pleasure.
at 00:28 - 00:37 he took the ball forward and kept it on him while looking for option. Cleverley don't do that too often this season.
at 01:15 - 01:20 he had no option on the right so he switch it to the left and bring the ball forward towards Wilson. You don't see Cleverley do that anymore this season. And instead he's probably pass it back.
at 01:24 - 01:27 Great tackle. I don't remember when the last time Cleverley does it.
at 02:22 - 02:39 Great long ball to Wilson. Good vision too. One of the key why Cleverley got bashed about his passing
at 02:48 - 02:50 good challenge to win the ball back
at 03:34 - 03:37 Nice sideways pass. I don't remember Cleverley does that kind of sideway pass this season. He only does simple sideways passes.
at 05:11 - 05:15 Hustle to win the ball back.
at 5:20 - 05:26 Good skill with nice pass. I don't remember Cleverley does that this season.
I make video in YouTube. And I always watch our games not only in live but also in the games which I download for my video. Everytime I wanted to make a note of what Cleverley does in the game.. I couldn't see many great things like long ball, great vision and tackle to make a video of him. And that's what Pearson can do but Cleverley can't do. What even better is Pearson offers more energy in the team while Cleverley doesn't offer that and we are lacking that energy in midfield right now.
Not so sure if all people who praised Pearson are the same people who bashed Cleverley.
I think it's ridiculous that you've convinced yourself that Cleverley ONLY makes short sideways passes or backwards passes. You've completely convinced yourself he doesn't pass forwards at all. Totally bought into the narrative his detractors throw around. He might not be penetrative enough but making out like he doesn't pass the ball forward at all is ridiculous. He's also a decent tackler and has a pretty good tackle success % iirc. He should actually do it more imo because he's quite good at it. I remember one weekend (vs Sunderland I think) he completed the most tackles in the league.
I like Pearson, I think he's progressing nicely atm with more game time now, compared to earlier in the season. Hopefully he will get a loan next season and we will see what he can do in regular first team matches. I have high hopes for him.
This insistence to call every youth player 'better than Cleverley' is stupid and agenda driven though. Probably from the section of our fanbase that were pathetic enough to abuse him on twitter.
Pearson is a youngster getting praised for his impressive step-up to the Under 21's this season, and rightly so. Like you, I have never seen him live and have only seen some videos but I have been generally impressed. He looks a willing runner, good tackler and a good passer.
Cleverley, lets not forget, was hailed as the second coming on here when he was younger. He gets criticised now because he has ,quite frankly, failed to build on what was a very promising start to his professional career.
Yeah but the point is The youngster is doing everything Cleverley does. Cleverley gets slated for it while the youngster is praised. So is it ok for Pearson to play in that style because he is young and we give him a free pass?. Cleverley has had a poor season and his confidence is shot right at present. However in terms of how they play the two are very similar. So is Pearson a good player?. If so then surely Cleverley falls in to the same category?.
And if Cleverley is a bad player then surely someone who plays in such a similar manner shouldnt be what we are looking for?.
Its the double standard that amuses me.
Okay my apologize if I haven't explain it clearly. May be I should say that most often his passes are short simple passes. I almost never seen him made a successfully (I'm not asking 100% accurate to the target) long ball or at least important ball for our forwards this season. Though I remember he did successfully once only a good long ball from all his games this season (can't remember which match is that). Yes I did. I think his tackle vs Sunderland and Chelsea were great. But I cannot judge a player from our first team from 2 - 4 matches (obviously he did well as well against Aston Villa and Arsenal in term of passing and defending which are total 4 matches) in 1 full season.
I don't think I ever say or most people will say he's better than Cleverley. We only say that what Pearson offers are what we need and what we are lacking in midfield at the moment. Someone is just coming on this thread and try to make an argument by comparing him and Cleverley which are unfair. Pearson is U21 not a first team member.
Once again. How can you try to compare Cleverley and Pearson. Different age, different level team. and different playing style. Just because they both don't dribble too often doesn't mean they are similar. Just because they make sideway passes and backward passes doesn't mean they are similar. They are different. One doesn't offer enough energy. The other one offers more energy. One afraid of making long ball while the other one isn't afraid of making long ball.
People call me a good football player. Does it mean I'm better than Cleverley? No!! He's better than me obviously he plays for Manchester United first team.