Fred - £47m well spent

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Judas

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I still believe once we replace him and people see the difference a player who is much more well rounded and tidy on the ball will make to this team, people will realise they've sensationalised the quality of Fred. He's fine, he's a good squad option, he has plenty of great performances, but yeah we can do better.
I've changed my mind on Fred to be honest. Wouldn't even have him as a squad option, he's simply not good enough on the ball, so messy, so scrappy, just the ultimate vibes player running around chasing things hoping for the best.
 

OhGee

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He is 28 years old and still claims to be learning the trade of his position - why do we bother with him….
 

Offside

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Never seen someone so messy on the ball. He’s so unbalanced he’s constantly making stabs at the ball without adjusting his body like a 5 year old girl. He’s a major weakness. Ole would have got rid long ago if it wasn’t for his mobility.
 

Chief123

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I don’t understand why he attempts so many passes with his right foot (which end up in a poor outcome) when he is predominantly left footed. Even the most basic passes go wayward.
 

lex talionis

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Composure on the ball most definitely is not Fred’s strongest quality. I still like him as a destructive force, but the less time he spends on the ball, the better.
 

Superden

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For someone who's an elite professional footballer, who plays for bloody Brazil, he doesn't half look uncomfortable kicking a ball sometimes...its very odd.
 

amolbhatia50k

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Never seen someone so messy on the ball. He’s so unbalanced he’s constantly making stabs at the ball without adjusting his body like a 5 year old girl. He’s a major weakness. Ole would have got rid long ago if it wasn’t for his mobility.
Was wondering how to describe his passing and you have absolutely nailed it. Fred - The Ball Stabber.
 

Tyrion

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Please get rid of Fred then what are people gonna moan about.....look over your shoulder Donny, be careful what you wish for.....
It's amazing that Fred gets so many chances while DvdB is right there.
 

Martialfc

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I got absolutely slated on here for slagging Fred off and now look everyone has the same opinion as me. He’s absolutely substandard and I don’t know what our board was smoking when they bought him.
He can’t pass, shoot, isn’t good in the air, isn’t strong. He’s garbage. Sell him now.
 

stevoc

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Composure on the ball most definitely is not Fred’s strongest quality. I still like him as a destructive force, but the less time he spends on the ball, the better.
None of Fred's best qualities involve him having possession of the ball to be fair.
 

lex talionis

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I got absolutely slated on here for slagging Fred off and now look everyone has the same opinion as me. He’s absolutely substandard and I don’t know what our board was smoking when they bought him.
He can’t pass, shoot, isn’t good in the air, isn’t strong. He’s garbage. Sell him now.
I got slated by rating Fred as a decent squad man but not a starter, the slate job being that I actually underrated Fred’s greatness. All opinions are welcome here, but the heat I took for not properly appreciating Fred was beyond the pale.
 

BlahRules

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Fred and McTominay needs a player that can dictate the game and able to play deep. A Carrick midfielder is what we need and these two players will be fine. Same for Pogba as well. I remember when Carrick played few games with Pogba he played so much better and so did the team. Unfortunately, that was his last season with us.
 

Tee27

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Genuine question what was he actually good at prior to joining us? Because surely for a player who has a good engine but fails to do the basics most of the time we wouldn’t have spent £52 million on him?

There must have been something we saw, Or was it just that apparently pep wanted him so we got him.

I mean he’s had decent patches but even then it’s not been great it’s just he’s done well in retrieving the ball and been less of a liability with it.
 

peridigm

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Genuine question what was he actually good at prior to joining us? Because surely for a player who has a good engine but fails to do the basics most of the time we wouldn’t have spent £52 million on him?

There must have been something we saw, Or was it just that apparently pep wanted him so we got him.

I mean he’s had decent patches but even then it’s not been great it’s just he’s done well in retrieving the ball and been less of a liability with it.
Knowing us it was solely off the back of his performance against City in CL.
 

Tee27

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Knowing us it was solely off the back of his performance against City in CL.
Highlights the incompetency of the people higher up, think we’ve become better in that regard with the recruitment but them sort of decisions amongst other factors is why we haven’t progressed as much as we should have.
 

Martialfc

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We should of signed Abdoulaye Doucouré instead of Fred. He’s a quality CM and is doing wonders for Everton at the moment. We haven’t had a proper midfield since Scholes and Carrick. It’s just painful to watch half the time.
 

Speako

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I lost count the amount of times on Saturday, Fred should have played the transition pass to move us quickly up the pitch, but instead played the easy ball five yards backwards, then held his hand up in apology to the player who he knows should have got the ball. It happened time and again. He didn’t have the ability and strength to move it forward and at times it killed us. Seeing that happen with no one jumping from the bench to lambast him boiled my piss.
 

Demaw

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He is a worker with limited skill. He should have never got near United in his career. Not many games for Brazil either. We forget real midfield quality.
 

roonster09

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He gets around the park well but feck he can't complete a pass or make a good decision. There are good reasons him and AWB don't play for their country.
Fred plays regularly for Brazil, he started almost all their games in Copa America.
 

Sting

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He’s better suited for teams that play full throttle all the time. His energy and ability to press would be valuable for a high pressing, high tempo team where he wouldn’t have to dilly dally on the ball so much.
Still, I don’t think he’s the worst player we have in the squad. No other midfielder at Man United can come in and offer what Fred offers. Some of the criticism is a bit harsh tbh.
 

bugmat

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He gets around the park well but feck he can't complete a pass or make a good decision. There are good reasons him and AWB don't play for their country.
Um...Fred played the entire Copa America campaign (as a starter) and current WCQ qualifiers for Brasil (except the one the PL banned players from going to)?

I get the feeling a lot of posters here just parrot opinions they get off the itnernet on places liek twitter if they don't even post factual argments...
 

TheNewEra

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Not what we need as a CDM.

At this point last season he was fine, this season the bar has raised and he's out of his depth.

We need a CDM that can hold the midfield together, never be out of position and win the ball in key areas, plus spray passes around, he can't do that.

He, Matic, Mata are all ready to be moved on IMO. (Matic and Mata more for age)
 

Beans

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47 million pounds. It's not his fault, but it's still horrifying. To think what we could have gotten instead of him and VDB for their combined fees...
 

VorZakone

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None of Fred's best qualities involve him having possession of the ball to be fair.
Which is funny to me because when he was signed I had the impression he was this Brazilian playmaker CM. Wasn't that how he played at Shakhtar?
 

Judas

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He’s better suited for teams that play full throttle all the time. His energy and ability to press would be valuable for a high pressing, high tempo team where he wouldn’t have to dilly dally on the ball so much.
Still, I don’t think he’s the worst player we have in the squad. No other midfielder at Man United can come in and offer what Fred offers. Some of the criticism is a bit harsh tbh.
That says more about how poorly we've addressed the midfield area, and less of a compliment of Fred. The criticism he gets its more than fair, he won't be missed when we finally, in the year 2027 probably, replace him.
 

Flexdegea

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He's a massive problem for us at the moment. Normally in a game when we need to win ball back his hurrying is good. But lately when we've been dominating possession, his stray passes and generally trunks ability on the ball is really hurting us. Still baffling why he even trying to take shots outside the box then to so that wee stupid laugh.


Don't get me started on standing over free kicks either :lol:
 

stevoc

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Which is funny to me because when he was signed I had the impression he was this Brazilian playmaker CM. Wasn't that how he played at Shakhtar?
Never watched him for Shakhtar but I remember watching a highlight video of him when we signed him and yeah he looked pretty creative going off the video. Even scored some good goals from outside the box and a few nice free-kicks. Maybe he could do that at a lower level with more time on the ball against lesser opposition.

While I like Fred I don't rate him very highly, not as highly as some on here do. I honestly doubt I've seen a midfielder that plays for a top club and National team be so uncomfortable on the ball and such a poor passer. But he's probably still the best we have, whatever we think of him his form in 2021 has been dogshit. Not sure if that's temporary or his decline has started early, for a guy who's game relies mostly on energy and getting around the latter is a possibility for someone in their late 20's.
 

wolvored

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I got absolutely slated on here for slagging Fred off and now look everyone has the same opinion as me. He’s absolutely substandard and I don’t know what our board was smoking when they bought him.
He can’t pass, shoot, isn’t good in the air, isn’t strong. He’s garbage. Sell him now.
They heard City was after him same as Sanchez and made the decision to nab them, without thinking do they suit Mourinhos style. Didn't the manager of Shaktar say he couldn't believe we had paid that much money for Fred?
 
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