Christian Eriksen

[Raees]

Personally I think selling Mata and buying this kid is an absolute no brainer. He is leagues ahead of the likes of Barkley/Kovacic and unlike many spanish playmakers out there, the perfect fit for a United style of play.

The last player who I absolutely adored in the premier league and thought would be a perfect fit for us was Luka Modric. I feel the same about this guy, he produces moments of class nearly every game and his energy/explosiveness is something which stands out considering the position he plays in.

I prefer playmakers like him than the likes of Fabregas/Mata.. players which require a more continental style to bring the best out of them, this guy for me is direct and he is a sure fire hit in the making.

Anyway I am sure Levy would charge the hell out of us, but I see quite a few Spurs games and he is the stand out player to me, not Harry Kane (I'd be willing to shell out £30-40m). This lad would instantly be a cult figure and the thought of him and Herrera in front of a strong leader in defensive mid would be perfect.

Anyway my #sellmatabuyeriksen campaign starts here. Thoughts?

 

[Massive Spanner]

Nah, he'd cost a fecking bomb and LvG doesn't seem to have a clue how to use his #10's. Plenty of other problems to solve first.

 

[Nighteyes]

Mata is twice the player and he sits on the bench every week. Don't want.

 

[Telcontar]

I remember the year he moved from Ajax to Tottenham, I kept saying 'Why the frak United is not in the race toget him' and there were quite a few people going on like that he's not good enough for Premier League or United. I believe after he's games for Tottenham, that he is probably one of the best creative attacking midfielders in the league. Hazard is probably better, maybe Silva and I rate him on the same level with Juan Mata when in form and that's it.

 

[Raees]

Nah, he'd cost a fecking bomb and LvG doesn't seem to have a clue how to use his #10's. Plenty of other problems to solve first.

I'd argue the reason why LVG is struggling with our number 10's is that none of them are good enough. Rooney is not technically gifted enough to dictate games to a world class level in this position and Mata lacks the industry and desire to run games from that position. Eriksen combines the best attributes of both and is worth a bomb..

If we are as rich as people say we are, I really think he can transform our midfield along with a stronger powerful version of Blind.

 

[Massive Spanner]

I'd argue the reason why LVG is struggling with our number 10's is that none of them are good enough. Rooney is not technically gifted enough to dictate games to a world class level in this position and Mata lacks the industry and desire to run games from that position. Eriksen combines the best attributes of both and is worth a bomb..

If we are as rich as people say we are, I really think he can transform our midfield along with a stronger powerful version of Blind.

Eriksen is not as good as Mata is at his best, so I disagree about them not being good enough.

 

[Sammyjunn]

Mata is twice the player and he sits on the bench every week. Don't want.

Not true even a little bit, especially this season.

 

[Raees]

Mata is twice the player and he sits on the bench every week. Don't want.

Eriksen is better than Mata. Mata gets better stats but Eriksen influences games, he is everywhere. Mata is so overrated it is untrue.. two top managers have decided he isn't good enough and I back them to the hilt on this, he is a pretty player but not effective.. he is an Arsenal player, similar to Ozil..

Post Chelsea, he has simply been poor.

 

[Bubz27]

Keep Mata and sign a pacy (top drawer) winger to stretch the pitch to give more space in the middle?

Get Mata in between Di Maria and Depay and Rooney just in front and a solid midfield 2 behind and I'm sure we'll start to see the best of Mata again.

 

[DWelbz19]

I'd rather sell Mata and not have a specialised #10, and play a three man midfield of Blind/Carrick, Herrera, new #8. Or an attacking midfielder who is competent playing as an actual third man in midfield like De Bruyne.

 

[Devil may care]

He's class, makes and score goals, takes a great set=piece and has a tonne of work rate, not sure how he'd fit into our system though unless he played as part of the front 3.

 

[RyRoc]

Eriksen is better than Mata. Mata gets better stats but Eriksen influences games, he is everywhere. Mata is so overrated it is untrue.. two top managers have decided he isn't good enough and I back them to the hilt on this, he is a pretty player but not effective.. he is an Arsenal player, similar to Ozil..

Post Chelsea, he has simply been poor.

Mata is not similar to Ozil at all imo... Ericksen is a very good player but I think the Spurs setup suits him. Him and Mata have similar ability and definetly not worth the money Spurs would want not for Man Utd anyway.

 

[Massive Spanner]

Why do so many scenarios involve having to sell Mata anyway? Surely we want quality throughout our squad? We'll likely be in some form of Europe next season so we're going to play playing a lot more games.

 

[izec]

Buy a #8 and let Herrera play there. Problem solved.

 

[Devil may care]

I'd rather sell Mata and not have a specialised #10, and play a three man midfield of Blind/Carrick, Herrera, new #8. Or an attacking midfielder who is competent playing as an actual third man in midfield like De Bruyne.

From what I have seen De Bruyne certainly doesn't do as much work as Eriksen, basically if the Nainngolan rumours are true Eriksen and Herrera would compete for the 3rd (AM)spot in midfield with Eriksen also capable of playing on the left of a the front 3.

 

[Barney]

Only has two assists this season.

 

[Nighteyes]

Sorry, this is just plain nonsense and I'm not even a big Mata fan. Eriksen more involved than Mata? A playmaker? Not even remotely true. He frequently goes missing for Spurs to the point where I've had to check if he was even playing. He's not even close to being one. Watch Isco or Silva to know what a playmaker does. Eriksen does not come close to matching that description. I'd argue he goes missing even more than Mata only to pop up with a late goal which ends up skewing perceptions. If we just want productivity Mata wins all day long.

The lesson from the Mata signing is not to go out and sign another fecking #10 (only a lot worse than Mata). It's to sign proper mobile midfielders who can go both ways very effectively and actively influence games.

 

[Hernandez - BFA]

Only has two assists this season.

That's shocking.

 

[DWelbz19]

From what I have seen De Bruyne certainly doesn't do as much work as Eriksen, basically if the Nainngolan rumours are true Eriksen and Herrera would compete for the 3rd (AM)spot in midfield with Eriksen also capable of playing on the left of a the front 3.

De Bruyne is just as pliant in positions, he can play either flank pretty well, also. Not to mention his season has been far greater than Eriksen's.

Why do so many scenarios involve having to sell Mata anyway? Surely we want quality throughout our squad? We'll likely be in some form of Europe next season so we're going to play playing a lot more games.

Is it worth whittling down our most valuable commodity who is somewhat out of sorts to keep for squad depth? He is mightily talented, but he has never completely fit in here, and keeping him simply for the occasional game is pointless for both parties, really. Particularly if we are to spend big again this summer, some departures of value must happen. Even we can't get away with another year of nominal exports.

 

[Devil may care]

De Bruyne is just as pliant in positions, he can play either flank pretty well, also. Not to mention his season has been far greater than Eriksen's.

I wouldn't say far greater, I know he is the assists king in Germany and all but I don't think his all round game is as good as Eriksen's nor does he work as much when the team doesn't have the ball, I imagine that is part of the reason Mata doesn't play much, LvG likes players that put a shift in as well as create, I also think you have to factor in that Eriksen is playing in a much tougher league than De Bruyne and in a poorer side and yet still excelling.

 

[Raees]

De Bruyne is not as talented as Eriken, the latter has more guile and is more technically gifted/nimble. Herrera is definitely a centre-mid for my money, he isn't a proper number 10, again he doesn't have enough silks for that role but as a central midfielder he is above average in terms of the technique you need for that role and putting him at the hub of a team is better for him and better for the team.

He would combine brilliantly with Eriksen in my opinion.



That is just one example of the type of performance he puts in consistently. Coutinho is a similar type 10, quite dynamic and arguably more technically gifted but Eriksen contributes more to the general running of the game whereas Coutinho can go missing a little.



De Bruyne isn't a great watch in my opinion, he's decent but not fit to tie Eriksen's laces.

 

[DWelbz19]

Nonsense is he not as talented.
Ask any avid Bundesliga watchers on here, De Bruyne is far more than just his very impressive stats.

 

[Nighteyes]

Coutinho shits all over Eriksen. De Bruyne is on a different planet altogether.

 

[Varun]

Top player. But we have a better No 10 on our bench

 

[Devil may care]

Nonsense is he not as talented.
Ask any avid Bundesliga watchers on here, De Bruyne is far more than just his very impressive stats.

Is this directed at me or Raees?

 

[gofelx]

I really rate Eriksen, but De Bruyne is "not fit to tie Eriksen's laces"?

He has 18 assists (League + EL) compared to Eriksens 2(!) (also League + EL), that is a major difference. And it also shows that Eriksen is a goalscoring number 10 , or rather an excellent free kick taker than a player who feeds the strikers with trough balls, at least this season.
I'm not watching Spurs enough to compare their influence on the field but all I can say is that De Bruyne is involved in basically every Wolfsburg attack.

 

[Barney]

Would rather have De Bruyne, Coutinho and Mata over Eriksen. Coutinho is a different style of number 10 compared to the others though.

 

[Bojan11]

Top player. But we have a better No 10 on our bench

Exactly.

Mata was showing much better form than Eriksen ever has, when he was at the centre of Chelsea a few seasons ago. But people want a shiny new toy, so they can abuse him next year when he's not playing well.

2 assists too? Pretty awful really especially when Kane has been scoring for fun.

 

[Sphaero]

I wouldn't say far greater, I know he is the assists king in Germany and all but I don't think his all round game is as good as Eriksen's nor does he work as much when the team doesn't have the ball, I imagine that is part of the reason Mata doesn't play much, LvG likes players that put a shift in as well as create, I also think you have to factor in that Eriksen is playing in a much tougher league than De Bruyne and in a poorer side and yet still excelling.

The EPL is not that much harder for an offensive midfielder to play in. More thant half of the Bundesliga consists of pressing based teams with the clear task to close down onto the opposing offense as fast as possible and create pressure that way. De Bruyne being the clear string puller of Wolfsburg is also the primary target of said pressing, which led him to basically being constantly doubled by the opposing defense in quite a few games.

The difference in work rate is also not that significant. De Bruyne averages around 10,5 km per game, while Eriksen is a bit over 11 km per game. Given that Eriksen had more appearances on the wing (where back tracking is more important than as CAM) than De Bruyne this season, the difference becomes even less clearer.

 

[saivet]

Not really a fan. He's a decent no.10, similar quality to Coutinho. Good but not and I don't think he will be top class. Also, this 'he influences games' is being over emphasised imo. He's been invisible in several big games that I've seen for them this season.

 

[Devil may care]

The EPL is not that much harder for an offensive midfielder to play in. More thant half of the Bundesliga consists of pressing based teams with the clear task to close down onto the opposing offense as fast as possible and create pressure that way. De Bruyne being the clear string puller of Wolfsburg is also the primary target of said pressing, which led him to basically being constantly doubled by the opposing defense in quite a few games.

The difference in work rate is also not that significant. De Bruyne averages around 10,5 km per game, while Eriksen is a bit over 11 km per game. Given that Eriksen had more appearances on the wing (where back tracking is more important than as CAM) than De Bruyne this season, the difference becomes even less clearer.

Tougher as in more physical, faster and a stronger depth of competition week in and week out, in the PL every game is a struggle where as Germany is similar to Spain and France in that some of the lower half teams are a bit like cannon fodder.

Have you got stats on tackles for each player? As when I think work rate I think of making telling contributions to regaining possession as opposed to just the amount of ground covered.

 

[Cheech Wizard]

Best free-kick taker in the league.

 

[Bojan11]

Tougher as in more physical, faster and a stronger depth of competition week in and week out, in the PL every game is a struggle where as Germany is similar to Spain and France in that some of the lower half teams are a bit like cannon fodder.

Have you got stats on tackles for each player? As when I think work rate I think of making telling contributions to regaining possession as opposed to just the amount of ground covered.

That's nonsense to be honest. German league is just as physical as the EPL hence why a lot of players from Germany do well here.

Can't believe people are arguing who is better between Eriksen and De Bruyne. It's a no contest for me that it is De Bruyne.

 

[Brwned]

Not really a fan. He's a decent no.10, similar quality to Coutinho. Good but not and I don't think he will be top class. Also, this 'he influences games' is being over emphasised imo. He's been invisible in several big games that I've seen for them this season.

I agree he's not quite at the top level, but there aren't many top class #10's around at the moment. 10 years ago it was Deco, Nedved, Zidane and Kaká; now its Iniesta, Silva, Ozil and ?. They're not quite at the same level, so the gap between Eriksen and the best isn't massive IMO.

 

[Sphaero]

Tougher as in more physical, faster and a stronger depth of competition week in and week out, in the PL every game is a struggle where as Germany is similar to Spain and France in that some of the lower half teams are a bit like cannon fodder.

Have you got stats on tackles for each player? As when I think work rate I think of making telling contributions to regaining possession as opposed to just the amount of ground covered.

Yeah, the EPL is more physical, mostly because the refereeing is more lenient there compared to Germany, which follows the UEFA standart closer. I don´t know about the speed of the game, though. This was certainly true lets say half a decade ago, but with more and more German teams leaning towards transitions, pressing and pace now the difference has certainly gotten smaller, if there is any difference at all anymore. Would be interesting to see some actual facts on that matter.

Next is this "argument" of EPL games being an endless war compared to the walks in the park the top German clubs they enjoy every now and again vs. this so called cannon fodder. How exactly can this argument stand any ground, when the difference between the international spots and the relegation zone is quite a lot smaller (15 compared to 28 points) in the Bundesliga? Granted some comes down to the two less teams in Germany, but it still does not make the Bundesliga less competive. The top third of the EPL is probably stronger, but the Bundesliga has a very competive mid table consisting of a lot of decent teams, which can prove to be troublesome for the top teams on a good day.

The only team, which can occasionally view the opposing teams as cannon fodder in Germany is Bayern Munich. This does not mean, that the Bundesliga is overall poor, but that Bayern is a really freaking good team with a squad having world class all over the pitch and one of the best coaches in the game. Somehow I don´t have much trouble imagining them ripping apart the mighty English clubs QPR, Burnley or Sunderland on a regular basis similar to the weaker German teams.

 

[Devil may care]

That's nonsense to be honest. German league is just as physical as the EPL hence why a lot of players from Germany do well here.

Can't believe people are arguing who is better between Eriksen and De Bruyne. It's a no contest for me that it is De Bruyne.

I said this league is tougher because it is, I didn't say the German league was soft, what you said is nonsense though, how many top German players or stars from their league ply their trade for a top PL team? Ballack? Ozil has struggled at Arsenal, Kagawa was a dud here, in fact our top teams have barely ever bought players from the Bundesliga. This list is far shorter than the amount bought form Spain or even France.

It may be a no contest for you and that is fair enough, but we have people thinking we should buy Berahino or Ings which is far more ridiculous than the idea that Eriksen is as good as De Bruyne.

 

[DWelbz19]

There's no way the Premier League is harder than the Bundesliga, at all.

 

[Devil may care]

Yeah, the EPL is more physical, mostly because the refereeing is more lenient there compared to Germany, which follows the UEFA standart closer. I don´t know about the speed of the game, though. This was certainly true lets say half a decade ago, but with more and more German teams leaning towards transitions, pressing and pace now the difference has certainly gotten smaller, if there is any difference at all anymore. Would be interesting to see some actual facts on that matter.

I'm not sure how it would be determined given that there are stats for every time a player blows their nose these days. I'm just going off the fact I watch a number of games each week and I don't see the relentless type of play in the Bundesliga that I see in the PL. From my observation the Bundesliga is a good mix of the PL and La Liga, there is physicality and pace, but also a more technical aspect than you see in the hustle of a lot of PL games.

Next is this "argument" of EPL games being an endless war compared to the walks in the park the top German clubs they enjoy every now and again vs. this so called cannon fodder. How exactly can this argument stand any ground, when the difference between the international spots and the relegation zone is quite a lot smaller (15 compared to 28 points) in the Bundesliga? Granted some comes down to the two less teams in Germany, but it still does not make the Bundesliga less competive. The top third of the EPL is probably stronger, but the Bundesliga has a very competive mid table consisting of a lot of decent teams, which can prove to be troublesome for the top teams on a good day.

Wouldn't it be fair to say that there are only two teams in the Bunesliga with any real financial clout, vs 7 in the PL, and that this season has been a very odd one for Dortmund and in the start Shalke that has created the tighter bunching? Again I watch both most weeks and I don't see bus parking, kick the other team off the park tactics in Germany. Usually our top teams still dig out the points it's true, I just think it's a harder slog for creative players in the PL due to some of the type of teams we have in the league, I'm not saying it's a good thing either for the record.

The only team, which can occasionally view the opposing teams as cannon fodder in Germany is Bayern Munich. This does not mean, that the Bundesliga is overall poor, but that Bayern is a really freaking good team with a squad having world class all over the pitch and one of the best coaches in the game. Somehow I don´t have much trouble imagining them ripping apart the mighty English clubs QPR, Burnley or Sunderland on a regular basis similar to the weaker German teams.

Bayern are a great team there is no doubt about that and I wasn't saying the Bundesliga is poor, far from it, but the style is more geared towards playing the game offensively and thus you don't have the clogger matches we have, I mean you listed 3 teams there that have taken points off the PL's top teams this season simply because they are negative and hard to play against and use a rougher style than you see in other leagues, it's a remnant of our old culture and not a great one IMO.

 

[Balu]

De Bruyne isn't a great watch in my opinion, he's decent but not fit to tie Eriksen's laces.

You're losing the plot mate. Really.

 

[Devil may care]

There's no way the Premier League is harder than the Bundesliga, at all.

Most players disagree, Ozil for instance has been hitting the gym after admitting it's a harder transition than Germany to Spain which he managed with ease. Then you have our own manager who has worked in both openly admit he was not prepared for the physicality or pace of the PL and that it had taken him by surprise.