[Djemba-Djemba]

I think he's got some talent and I quite like him.

But £50m? Oh dear oh dear.

 

[settembrini]

It's increasingly clear that our scouts and coaching staff have misjudged him. He spent the whole first half as a #10 today! What skills does he have that make him suitable for that position? It's like they think 'He's Brazilian therefore he must be a good attacker'. Well he's not.

 

[Classical Mechanic]

Along with Pereira had a 78% pass completion and lost the ball 5 times with bad touches and getting tackled, Pereira was 8 times.

They were the principle reason we were so wretched because our midfield couldn’t hold on to the ball.

 

[NoMidfielders]

Given the standard of the teams at the top of the league we can't afford to carry any deadwood. He's gonna need to improve a lot in a very short amount of team if he wants to stay and I don't see it happening unfortunately.

 

[NinjaFletch]

Prospect implies there'd be a possibility of something happening in the future.

You definitely get those glimpses of quality though. The bit in the second half where he juggled it past a few players, the raking cross field ball, and even the finish for the goal all were moments you wouldn't get from a player that didn't have talent. Yet they're interspersed amongst countless examples of him looking absolutely baffled at what he's supposed to be doing.

 

[JoaquinJoaquin]

Does alot of nice passes and that does show there is something about him, but he gets caught on the ball far too much and that is something he is going to have to improve upon.

 

[Dr. Dwayne]

He always thinks he has a lot more time than he does. It's like he has no awareness of his surroundings everytime he receives the ball and then ends up getting immediately pressured and dispossessed.

Maybe he's struggling with communication?

 

[BrianMcClair'sBarnet]

Has the balance of a leaf.

 

[Patrick08]

Isn't getting into starting line up this season.

 

[MyDevil]

Once again, failed to deliver when giving the opportunity.

 

[acnumber9]

Doesn’t look good at all. For any one good thing he does he’ll give the ball away or get dispossessed far too easily. He’s not even playing against good teams. Easy to see why he’s the first sub almost every time he plays.

 

[ClaytonBlackmoorLeftPeg]

I guess Pep didn't want Alexis too?

I think we should be patient with him. He needs games.

He's not going to get game though, he's done nothing to justify to - it's not like we have seen glimpses of a good player, he's been awful. Importantly, he's been awful under OGS.

Pogba, Matic, Herrera, Andreas, Fellaini and McTomney must all be ahead of him in the pecking order. There's no justification in him being on the pitch.

 

[Adisa]

Won't give up on him yet but whoever scouted him needs to be fired.

 

[Carl S Bridge]

Played some really good passes and then some atrocious ones. More bad then good. Might be a player in there... Guess we will know after next season

 

[Classical Mechanic]

Won't give up on him yet but whoever scouted him needs to be fired.

Already has been hasn’t he.

 

[NotoriousISSY]

Not looking good. I've seen bit and pieces in previous games that I liked, but he doesn't play like a midfielder at his age. He's like an academy kid, playing with fear and absolutely no awareness.

 

[Bobcat]

His awareness is fecking abysmal for a CM, especially a 50m CM. Every time he plays he concedes possession needlessly several times because he has no idea where his opponents are relative to him. Hitting a nice pass every now end then really isn't enough, if thats his only quality we might as well buy and wheel out Charlie Adam on the pitch

 

[Patrick08]

How is jorginho doing in Chelsea by the way compared to him?

 

[Ban]

He's not going to get game though, he's done nothing to justify to - it's not like we have seen glimpses of a good player, he's been awful. Importantly, he's been awful under OGS.

Pogba, Matic, Herrera, Andreas, Fellaini and McTomney must all be ahead of him in the pecking order. There's no justification in him being on the pitch.

He didn't play much under OGS didn't he. How can he price himself if he doesn't play. Oh and how is McT ahead of him? Pereira isn't either.

 

[Zoo]

Some very nice passes but constantly looks like he is surprised at the physicality in England. Hopefully this is a season of adaptation and he’ll eventually come good.

 

[bosnian_red]

When he gets space and time he shows really good plays but I do think hes one of those that just needs time to get used to the league and team. At the same time though, it's either that or hes really not cut out for the league if he doesnt. Gets caught on the ball loads and seems to lack a bit of awareness but we've seen players like that before who improve once they get up to speed.

 

[finneh]

You definitely get those glimpses of quality though. The bit in the second half where he juggled it past a few players, the raking cross field ball, and even the finish for the goal all were moments you wouldn't get from a player that didn't have talent. Yet they're interspersed amongst countless examples of him looking absolutely baffled at what he's supposed to be doing.

I think we can both agree that his negatives grossly outweigh any glimpses of positivity and as you previously implied with him being 26 in March, time is massively against him.

 

[Big Ben Foster]

Won't give up on him yet but whoever scouted him needs to be fired.

Pretty sure our "scouting" of him consisted of scanning the back pages and noticing that City were allegedly interested. Similar story with Alexis.

 

[fallengt]

Still can't see why Mourinho wanted him or this is just Ed showing us he can steal Pep's wanted player anytime.

Either case we got robbed.

 

[KennyBurner]

Looks like most of you haven’t learnt from your mistakes of writing players off of so early. Look at lindelof as a study case for example.

Still it has to be said that he is very sloppy on the ball. He might need more time to realize that he needs to release the ball quicker. I’m hoping carrick can work with him on checking his surroundings before the ball even gets to him. Herrera and matic are very good at this.

Even with that said he needs to bulk up as he has no excuse for his lack of balance and strength when under pressure. He isn’t even past 30 like mata and yet he gets bullied of the ball so easily.

He needs at least a year because his good qualities like passing through the lines is very rare in our squad. He is so elite when it comes to passing those through balls that I’m willing for us to be patient with him.

 

[Andersons Dietician]

He’s got this weird thing of one moment he’ll do something great then the next do something awful.

He’ll try stuff that Silva, Xavi and the likes would only try not under pressure and with a clear path but not Fred, he’ll try a first time side foot volly pass whilst under pressure from 2 and a ball dropping over his shoulder on his weaker foot trying to squeeze it through a space with only millimetres either side for it to pass through without even questioning if maybe it would be better to take it down then try the pass.

Just needs to calm down and simplify his game and of course get better at protecting ball. He did play some good through balls today and he was more involved first half than Pereira.

 

[Rossa]

It's clear to see that he has some talent. He has very quick feet and good dribbling ability. His passing is adventurous, but when it comes off he can make some defence splitting ones. On the other hand, he is sloppy in possession and loses the ball far too frequently.

 

[Adisa]

How is jorginho doing in Chelsea by the way compared to him?

Jorginho hasn't pulled up any trees but he's been infinitly better.
Feck me, we can't even risk playing this guy at the moment. Every third time he touches the ball, it's virtually a counter attacking opportunity for out opponent.

 

[charlenefan]

I guess Pep didn't want Alexis too?

I think we should be patient with him. He needs games.

Pep would have played Sanchez as a number 9, not sure he'd of worked out at City either

 

[Devil may care]

He had a couple of passes and a flick that will make the highlight reel for his next Youtube comp, but overall he barely looked in control of the ball or his body most of the time, he's like a dog chasing his tail.

 

[tonnas]

He look decent and has talent, he needs time. Lindelof started badly and now he is our best CB and is improving so who knows what Fred will do once he is fully integrated and has adapted to the EPL.

 

[iluvoursolskjær]

he has no future here. i don't see anything he's particularly good at and plenty of things he's not very good at. makes our midfield feel so lacking.

 

[bond19821982]

Getting better still short of our standards. I will just use him as a backup to Pogba for now.

 

[Buster15]

Won't give up on him yet but whoever scouted him needs to be fired.

How much did we spend to sign him?

 

[VP89]

He has all the qualities, but his passing is just messy. I hope it's something that can be worked on. Haven't given up on him being a good player for us just yet.

 

[Andycoleno9]

He is not bad player but how and why we payed 50mil for him i can't understand. For 50mil i expect midfielder who makes impact. Finished product. This guy is all over the place and he is not some kid for whom we can say that he needs time.
But on a positive side; if players like Solanke are 20mil then we can always sell him for 35mil.

 

[#07]

Still can't see why Mourinho wanted him or this is just Ed showing us he can steal Pep's wanted player anytime.

Either case we got robbed.

I listened to an Andy Mitten interview on the Malachians pod that made me suspect that we signed Fred because we thought City wanted him. Honestly, looking at how he plays, I wonder if the real reason we went for him was because we thought Barca would pony up big time for Pogba. Fred doesn't play like any top class defensive midfielder I have ever seen that's for sure. He looks much more likely to deliver playing as an advanced midfielder rather than someone we rely on to screen our defensive and start our play.

 

[Adisa]

Similar situation with Lukaku. Can be decent players but you don't spend that kind of money on players with serious flaws.

How much did we spend to sign him?

€60m.

 

[Bobski]

I listened to an Andy Mitten interview on the Malachians pod that made me suspect that we signed Fred because we thought City wanted him. Honestly, looking at how he plays, I wonder if the real reason we went for him was because we thought Barca would pony up big time for Pogba. Fred doesn't play like any top class defensive midfielder I have ever seen that's for sure. He looks much more likely to deliver playing as an advanced midfielder rather than someone we rely on to screen our defensive and start our play.

His competition is Herrera and Herrera for all his flaws displays far more poise than Fred has shown. You see glimpses of impressive play that could really help the team in an attacking sense but his flaws are more worrying than what he can bring offensively. I am just imagining the counter attacking opportunities we would give up with Pogba and Fred both tending to lose the ball overmuch in bad areas.

 

[Devil81]

When you spend 50 million on a player you expect an upgrade on your current midfield.

I think he's been subbed around 60 minutes of every game he's started and all have been because he's been bloody awful.