He’s a quality player, and is no worse than Kanté.
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik and Imran hold a long overdue conversation about United's awful league form with 1 win in 7. They discuss a disappointing draw at Bournemouth, a not so disappointing draw against Liverpool and a crushing defeat at Chelsea - Is time nearly over for Erik Ten Hag?
Then in a special second half of the pod, Nik welcomes Natalie ( https://twitter.com/natalie_17) to discuss the fortunes of Manchester United Women as they booked a place in the FA Cup Final after a historic first ever win vs. Chelsea.
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Not sure about that. I would say putting Fred in helped give us the proper shape and structure when we have the ball at least. Over the last 1-2 months we've consistently been playing with a one man midfield, with Matic sitting deep with the defenders and Bruno staying high with the attackers, and Pogba being left completely by himself in the middle of the park surrounded by 5-6 opposition players. Fred was a bit guilty of it himself against Copenhagen (although certainly not as bad as Matic has been) but against Sevilla he stayed in the midfield next to Pogba and we looked far better for it. Bruno also seemed to come a bit deeper to help out so for the first time in a while we actually had a functional midfield.
Matic does perhaps hold his position a bit more in defence, but if Fred is actually winning the ball with his pressing (which he often did) I'm not sure which is better.
he has been decent at times this year... but as good as Kanté?
Just like how everyone was saying McT was better than Casemiro after his first 2-3 games.
Good game but he's probably the worst Brazilian at finishing in the world.
A few months ago I thought he always needs a run of games to preform so great to see him slot in and do well. On another note his finishing is abysmal, really can't recall a player of his general level with such a terrible shot.
Anderson son son
I’d sell him he will never be good enough to start for us. Squad player at best. If we want to push on and win trophies we need top quality CMs like Kroos, Modric, Scholes, Carrick. I’d personally go sign Saul Niguez. He’s 25 Spanish and can take a man on from midfield. Fred doesn’t ever look comfortable on the ball. Add him to the pile of dead wood. We will never challenge with the likes of Mctominay, Fred and a sadly past it Matic in the middle. Oh what I’d do for a young Matic.
Such a dumb statement so you saying we shouldn’t even keep him as a squad player? Bloody hell we would be so light in midfield Matic would start every game!
Read what I said. “Squad player at best”. He isn’t good enough to start for united Bruno and Pogba are we need another top class CM with Matic gettin on.
The game against Sevilla and Copenhagen showed me that Fred is perfectly capable of playing the deeper position next to Pogba. It was something I wanted to see after the lockdown, but Matic deservedly held down his position.
He's not got the positioning of Matic and will sometimes get caught out because he likes to press the ball, but his dynamism allowed us not to get overrun in midfield. It felt like he was everywhere.
Going forward, I want to see more of him in that position. I was watching Thiago the other day for Bayern as the deepest midfielder, and I don't see why Fred can't develop into that type of deep-lying midfielder. Not quite got the passing ability of Thiago, but his dynamism and progressive play is really good when on song.
He's not got the positioning of Matic and will sometimes get caught out because he likes to press the ball, but his dynamism allowed us not to get overrun in midfield. It felt like he was everywhere.
Going forward, I want to see more of him in that position. I was watching Thiago the other day for Bayern as the deepest midfielder, and I don't see why Fred can't develop into that type of deep-lying midfielder. Not quite got the passing ability of Thiago, but his dynamism and progressive play is really good when on song.
You clearly said ‘’Add him to the pile of dead wood’’. ‘’Squad player’’ isn’t deadwood mate. That’s why the poster called it dumb.
Small sample.
Fred strong point is his dynamism as you pointed out. He's not that great in tackling. Fred could win possesion however, most of the time not cleanly won, so couldn't turn that into a counter quickly. Too many touches, to many passes to turn the phase of play. This is a big difference to someone like Kante. Even Ander Herrera was better in this aspect. Restricting him to a more cultured role may dismiss his best quality.
Thiago was protected by a system. Everyone working as a cohesive unit. The way we play, put Thiago in and our midfield would still get overrun.
He had very good season, IMO he should play as our third midfielder. He covers ground quickly, wins possession many times and he can pass the ball longer than 5 yards that something our other CMs struggle (except Pogba).
What system?
Small sample next to Pogba, but all those games which saw us go with a pivot or Fred and McTominay had Fred as the deepest midfielder.
The same system we played.
He really cracked me up with his stepovers to get the ball on his right foot and how he shot it.
When he was going through i thought it was unlikely he'd score, but then as soon as he shifted it onto his right foot... I don't think anyone on the planet thought he would score.
I think with the players we have available for midfield Ole can change the set up and shape to give United the best option for winning, depending on the opponent. The team that would face City, Chelsea or Liverpool might be quite a bit different to matches against teams like Villa, Fulham and West Ham, you might use Matic against the top teams as a DM, and could possibly not need that against the so called lesser teams. I felt that we looked quite solid with Fred and McTominay in tandem prior to lockdown, albeit that we weren't as creative, but with Bruno now in the mix, that creativity is there.
Fred was trusted with his on ball ability so he dropped deeper to receive the ball, and initiate the transition, when playing along side with McTominay. When we need to defend deep, however, McTominay was preferred as in front of our defense due to his physique/ presence, while Fred was given freedom to go out and press for the ball.
If we're gonna use high press as main way for defense trying to make it work, then we need some serious change in players profile: Pogba, Lindelof, Wan Bissaka, DDG, the right attacker. Maguire, Fred, Shaw are also upgradeable. And those are just players that often start. Would have to do a change over if we need a decent bench.
Goin no where with DDG distribution and inability to get off his line. Need some one to cover for Maguire lack of pace and Maguire alone can't contest for all the long ball, so Lindelof can't be that guy. With high press all positions can shuffle, so you need your full backs to deliver when they're in good position. For example, even if Sancho's signed, when Sancho was able to win the ball in central area, the full backs would need to act as wide attacker rather wasting time for Sancho to reposition to the wing.
Same old Pogba. He has potential to be complete midfielder, he's yet to flesh out his ability. Still make mistake that you don't expect from his calibre. The team has been trying to make it work around him all this time to no avail. With Bruno as #10, it would place burden for one sole defensive midfielder to cover for Pogba unpredictable mistake.
I can see a midfield 3 of Fred, Pogba and Bruno lining up for most of the new season.
His stamina and high work rate compliments pogba well. The amount of times he chased back and got a foot in to disrupt the attacks was fantastic.
Very true. I think next season they'll click together and we'll see them together in midfield a lot.
It was just good to finally see some energy and aggression in that midfield. He did a terrific job of moving the ball quickly to mitigate the Sevilla press, and other than a 15 minute period after we scored, when inexplicably our whole team withdrew, Pogba, Fred and Bruno absolutely dominated a midfield that was meant to give us real issues with the way they hound opposition. So much so that they largely went long after the hour mark.
I thought he was good on Saturday. He was so good at recovering and harrying for the ball, even if he had lost it initially. Great intensity
Against teams that will sit back and allow United to have the ball, it would be better to play Fred rather than Matic in that holding role as he is much quicker than Matic in moving the ball forward and has the pace to get back in case the opposition tries to counter attack.
He has been really good this season. Hopefully he works on his finishing and gets some goals.
But why did you say you would sell him?
I thought he was excellent against Sevilla. Our midfield is so much more dynamic with him on the field rather than Matic.
As many other posters on here have mentioned he HAS to be the worst finisher I've ever seen. I cringe every time he shoots.
As many other posters on here have mentioned he HAS to be the worst finisher I've ever seen. I cringe every time he shoots.
Fred is definitely not a suitable replacement for Matic, but in match situations where we overpower the opponent Fred can do a job behind Pogba and Bruno. He's tidy enough with the ball in the middle third, but Fred doesn't contribute all that much in the final job. And the less we discuss his shooting ability, the stronger his reputation will remain.
I don't know why there would be any criticism after the Sevilla match. Our midfield was on top all game; it wasn't a problem at all. The problem was poor defending and poor finishing.
Fred was all over their midfield; he is by far our best player at pressing the opposition. He is one of the few who looks like he actually knows what he is doing when pressing. His quick passing keeps our game flowing; his quick feet help him to dribble out of pressure quite a lot of times this season. He is easily good enough. It also works really well with Pogba and Fernandes.
For all people talk about him losing possession and the ball. He actually gets dispossessed less than any player in our midfield; he also has the highest pass completion rate along with the one of the highest total passes per match. The guy is a very safe player with the ball. There will be times he loses it, but every player in the world does at one point. It is just you don't see it because you don't watch other teams enough.
Fred was all over their midfield; he is by far our best player at pressing the opposition. He is one of the few who looks like he actually knows what he is doing when pressing. His quick passing keeps our game flowing; his quick feet help him to dribble out of pressure quite a lot of times this season. He is easily good enough. It also works really well with Pogba and Fernandes.
For all people talk about him losing possession and the ball. He actually gets dispossessed less than any player in our midfield; he also has the highest pass completion rate along with the one of the highest total passes per match. The guy is a very safe player with the ball. There will be times he loses it, but every player in the world does at one point. It is just you don't see it because you don't watch other teams enough.
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