[moodyred]

The fact that we have to think about how to accommodate him already tells me that he is not the player for United.

Loses the ball to easily and in dangerous positions.
Light weight and doesn't win many balls.
Passing is nothing to shout about.

What exactly did we buy him for?

 

[RedRoach]

Said it before he loses the ball too easily. I had hoped that would improve, but looking doubtful IMO. Still too early to completely write him off though.

At the moment he could be a useful squad player and that is about it.

 

[JPRouve]

Its clear now why he was playing in the Ukrainian league. Nowhere near good enough at the basics.

Is he genuinely Brazilian? Never seen one have such poor touch and passing. The scout needs to be sacked.

Early on he was good for Lucescu but often played higher on the pitch and Fernandinho comes from the same league and moved around the same age. Fred has simply not been good for us.

 

[buckooo1978]

50 million down the drain
as Fred gives the ball away again

like the guys energy and he covered ground well - even as I type this you are searching for positives really. He's just a bit chaotic and doesn't seem to be in control of the ball - passing was pretty erratic - some good passes as well as surrendering possession a lot

 

[11101]

Early on he was good for Lucescu but often played higher on the pitch and Fernandinho comes from the same league and moved around the same age. Fred has simply not been good for us.

Fernandinho took a year or two to really settle down in England and he was much more experienced when he arrived. The term settle down is exactly what Fred needs to do.

 

[Di Maria's angel]

It's incredible, isn't it? RedCafe is willing to give time to an unproven manager with limited PL managing experience, but will do everything to throw an inexperienced player (PL) under the bus. What a time to be alive.

 

[Litch]

Fernandinho took a year or two to really settle down in England and he was much more experienced when he arrived. The term settle down is exactly what Fred needs to do.

Spot on. Fernandinho was never the player he is now. Whether he is good enough or not, I think his performances in Europe shows he's a player but the speed and pace of PL it takes time to adjust....

 

[Robbie Boy]

Not too sure how anyone expected him to perform well in that mess of a side / system last night.

 

[JPRouve]

Fernandinho took a year or two to really settle down in England and he was much more experienced when he arrived. The term settle down is exactly what Fred needs to do.

I agree with your sentiment, I wouldn't give up on Fred yet. My point was simply that Fernandinho came from the same league and that Fred being bad this season is not necessarily linked to where he played before joining us.

Edit: By the way Shakthar have their full games available on their website, so people can check Fred.

 

[Annihilate Now!]

I would describe his performance last night as negligent...

I would also describe it as shit... yeah, lets go with shit.

 

[Brophs]

His ability and willingness to (attempt to) take the ball under pressure is based on little more than the fact he seems to have no idea he's under any pressure.

 

[Ashley R1+O]

He looked like a player that when back in the old Fergie days we had "oh no, first, second third and fourth choice are out"..... "bring X up from the rezy's and we just have to play him I guess" (like a Possebon or something) he played and he looked raw as feck and I still just watched and scratched my head thinking "how did this guy cost 50m pounds it doesn't make any sense at all".

 

[edgar allan]

His ability and willingness to (attempt to) take the ball under pressure is based on little more than the fact he seems to have no idea he's under any pressure.

Brilliant

 

[FootballHQ]

Worked hard but he's not a good long range passer at all is he?

 

[Wayne's World]

Anyone know how many times he gave away the ball last night?

Must have been close to 20 times....

 

[Beej]

Not too sure how anyone expected him to perform well in that mess of a side / system last night.

Totally agree. He seemed like the only midfielder at times and I think he looked worse as a result because he was forced to play a lot of low-percentage vertical passes (he did seem a bit off with his passing as well) and also dribbling down blind alleys because he had no other options on.

 

[2mufc0]

Give the guy a break new country new league. He's shown that he can play to a high level, I'm sure he can improve and become a useful player for us next season.

 

[11101]

Totally agree. He seemed like the only midfielder at times and I think he looked worse as a result because he was forced to play a lot of low-percentage vertical passes (he did seem a bit off with his passing as well) and also dribbling down blind alleys because he had no other options on.

Yeah, he had very little movement around him last night. Pereira looked a step behind the pace of the game and was never able to get into good positions to receive the ball, and Pogba has never been that type of player.

 

[Toddler]

He plays it too slow. I dont know if he can adjust to the pace of league. Of course we will give him another year, which is reasonable. But if he is not succeeding next year then we must be ruthless and sell him. He will probably linger here 5-6 year without any real contribution and leave for free.

 

[Johan07]

Early on he was good for Lucescu but often played higher on the pitch and Fernandinho comes from the same league and moved around the same age. Fred has simply not been good for us.

This is factually true but it should be added that the Ukrainian league is nowhere close to the same animal it was when Fernandinho played here compared to when Fred did; and now. Back then Dynamo - who are Shakhtars only competition - had players like Vida, Yarmolenko and Dragovic. Now its basically Ukrainian U21-players.
The league has degraded immensely over the last couple of years due to monetary issues and today its not better than any of the Scandinavian leagues. If even that. I live in Kyiv and I have a season ticket to "my" Dynamo so I kind of know first hand. I would be surprised to see the Ukrainian league keep its one automatic CL-place for much longer.
To move from the Ukrainan league to a top European league is a much bigger step today than it was when Fernandinho moved. I am actually surprised that Fred has done as well as he has. Otherwise I agree, he needs more time to adapt and to be given a proper pre-season in England as well.

 

[Inigo Montoya]

Anyone know how many times he gave away the ball last night?

Must have been close to 20 times....

That was just the first half. Looked really nervous at times and scared to run at them

 

[Irwin99]

I don't like seeing him picking up possession from deep, it's very worrying in a team with De Gea and Smalling (no offence to those players but they're not the best with the ball at their feet).

I think there's a player there but he's too erratic and the pace of the league is too much for him at the moment. I'd give him another season though.

 

[Sylar]

I want to see what hes like given a proper pre-season and run in the team. But at the same time, I dont (if that make sense). The change of formations and partners wont help as he wont build a partnership that most top teams have in the middle.

 

[Beej]

I don't like seeing him picking up possession from deep, it's very worrying in a team with De Gea and Smalling (no offence to those players but they're not the best with the ball at their feet).

I think there's a player there but he's too erratic and the pace of the league is too much for him at the moment. I'd give him another season though.

Yeah, I don't think he can play that role, but could be good as an energetic box-to-box player in the Fletcher or Matuidi mold.

I like the way he buzzes around defensively. Not sure what the stats are but he seems to win the ball a lot and transitions to attack quickly.

 

[Wedge]

It's incredible, isn't it? RedCafe is willing to give time to an unproven manager with limited PL managing experience, but will do everything to throw an inexperienced player (PL) under the bus. What a time to be alive.

Its the caf version of taking a hit, sweet nirvana.

 

[TsuWave]

so wasteful in possession

 

[slored1]

He is proper bad. Another failed signing, what the hell were our scouts watching? He plays like a schoolboy, huffs and puffs but loses the ball everytime he tries to pass it.

 

[kkengvib]

If Lindelof can do a complete u-turn after a horrendous start, no reason why Fred can't do the same.
Remember how bad Lindelof was? I think it is the same with Fred. He doesn't have the feel for the English game yet (tends to perform better in Europe). Either takes too long on the ball or anticipates being closed down and rushes his decisions. He needs to play at a faster pace and improve his overall awareness of what is around him.

Hopefully he comes good

 

[Revaulx]

I think he'd really boss it in a slightly slower and less high pressure league.

There's enough good in him to justify keeping him another year and giving him more chances, but I'm not confident he will improve sufficiently. Could be the star of our Europa League campaign though.

 

[tomaldinho1]

What staggers me with this signing is that the main universally accepted difference about the PL compared to other leagues is that you get very little time on the ball and yet we sign someone for £50m with the most inconsistent touch I have ever seen.

I have always hoped he'd come good but I wonder how much I'm buying into the hype around him before he came here, the fact he is Brazilian and seems a likeable character when my eyes see a players well and truly out of his depth.

 

[USREDEVIL]

I've more or less given up on Fred. Wasn't too keen on him when we signed, but he showed a bit of quality here and there. People thought he was coming around but he is pretty poor at keeping possession, not a great tackler, and his passing is erratic. Maybe another year of Premiership might make him good but i think we have seen what he is - not good enough.

 

[MAME DIOUF 32]

With Herrera about to go he's the only midfielder we have who will close down quickly and pressure opposition attackers. He's mostly crap but we have bigger problems.

 

[Silas]

Why do people think he'll suddenly 'get used to the tempo of the league'? He's been here for almost a season and isn't too different to what he was like at the start. Surely, getting used to the league is something that happens over time and we'd have seen gradual improvements in his play throughout the season if there was any hope of that happening? People are acting as if there are two states (not used to league/used to the league) and once he passes a certain threshold of appearances, he'll be transformed and suddenly control balls better, lose that erraticness and actually be able to keep possession. I see people using the fact that he plays decently in Europe as a reason to expect improvements, but not too long ago we had Mkhitaryan in the same situation. Did he suddenly become good or 'aware' enough for us in the PL? No. If it were simply tactical/mental issues like holding on to the ball too long, poor marking, lack of aggression etc. then yeah, I'd expect playing in the league for longer to help out. However, technical ability is completely different and not something that will just improve to match a higher level of competition, especially at the age of 26. I may be being harsh, but I'll be extremely surprised if there's anything more than minor improvements from him next season.

 

[fallengt]

Funny that Mourinho signed Fred for his "wide range of passing" from deep position. Every time he does that the ball lands right into oppo's feet.

The absolute state of United's recruitment

 

[reddevil80]

I want to see what hes like given a proper pre-season and run in the team. But at the same time, I dont (if that make sense). The change of formations and partners wont help as he wont build a partnership that most top teams have in the middle.

I agree with the first 13/14 words here. I would then have said he could carry on running, back to shakhtar preferably.

He is a 100% liability and should not be permitted to wear the shirt, tbh, most of the players aren't worthy of wearing the shirt at the moment either but I have never taken to him and his total inability to control the ball or play. Someone offers £50 and a bag of quavers!?, I'll take it.

 

[VorZakone]

Fernandinho took a year or two to really settle down in England and he was much more experienced when he arrived. The term settle down is exactly what Fred needs to do.

Nonsense. Fernandinho's first season (13/14) was already a good one, helping City to win the title and cover Toure in midfield.

 

[11101]

Nonsense. Fernandinho's first season (13/14) was already a good one, helping City to win the title and cover Toure in midfield.

He was good but he wasn't a patch on the player he is now. He was benched quite a few times in his first couple of years.

 

[fps]

His touch is appalling and he is currently a liability.

But having spent £52m on him, it would be crazy to give up on him. He didn't play much at the start of the season - probably due to his touch in training - but he cares, has energy, and shows intentions to link play well and look for a killer pass. It is a sad state when this much money is spent on a player who needs the kind of nurturing and development a youth team player might, but he also has the engine for the PL and the potential to improve - it must have been an enormous culture shock moving countries and league qualities.

I believe next season is make-or-break for him, and he would be best in a midfield 3 triangle of some kind. It's a shame Man Utd have no wide attackers, thus making the 4-3-3 which is so often played unsuited to the squad. Everyone in midfield, and in attack, is a central player... Crazy squad overloading/underloading.

 

[fergieisold]

He's a good player I think and has been one of our better players in the poor patch. He's got some issues with awareness though when receiving the ball in risky areas.

 

[Relevated]

I reckon he would have been amazing at City but its just our dead recruitment and misfortune that he's flopped