[stevoc]

Like said, football is all about opinions. Please who is this CDM that everyone wants? Which CDM is creative, passing ability and scores, along with pressing etc.

Are you suggesting we couldn't find a better midfielder than Fred?

 

[Raven]

Are you suggesting we couldn't find a better midfielder than Fred?

If youre the one suggesting he should be replaced, you should really have some idea of who that replacement might be.

 

[stevoc]

If youre the one suggesting he should be replaced, you should really have some idea of who that replacement might be.

Well I haven't really suggested he should be replaced, not right away anyway. I like him for the most part he's fine for now as we have other areas in the team that need upgrading that are more of a priority.

But does anyone really think at 28 he's the answer long term (past the next 1-2 years) to try and build a title winning side around?

 

[stevoc]

They are miles from each other in terms of ability. Fred plays game in much higher tempo, not only he´s defending around the whole pitch but he´s always starting all attacks being available in all sorts of position while McTominay is hiding not imposing on the game enough and really slowly closing down players with really bad positioning at times. There is huge bias towards some players from south america on the british isles I reckon. Players with high pricetag always have to do much more then players without while it´s all bull. When we finally upgrade on McTominay and demote him to the squad role he belongs we will see some football. Really switch Mark Noble for Scott and I even think we would do better. He´s a good lad but he wouldn´t lift a team like Southampton one bit in midfield. It shows when he plays for Scotland, he´s absolutely average.

Short South American players?

 

[Foxbatt]

It is not Fred alone that is the problem. It is the combination of him and McTominay. None of them can pass well. If we have a better player than McTominay what Fred does best is not going to be such a huge issue.

 

[Litch]

Are you suggesting we couldn't find a better midfielder than Fred?

Kind of answered already by others but I could apply the same from the Owners, manager and pretty much every player including Bruno. I could equally argue some fans too. I was more interested in who 'you' think (?) especially based on that list you seem to require. It's funny, fans seem to think that Harry was the answer until he got here and played a few games. It's amazing how different players look with the weight of that Utd shirt when you watch them every week than someone in Europe. Closer to home, seen Rice last week and let's see if the Leicester dude does any better tmw....

 

[stevoc]

Kind of answered already by others but I could apply the same from the Owners, manager and pretty much every player including Bruno. I could equally argue some fans too. I was more interested in who 'you' think (?) especially based on that list you seem to require. It's funny, fans seem to think that Harry was the answer until he got here and played a few games. It's amazing how different players look with the weight of that Utd shirt when you watch them every week than someone in Europe. Closer to home, seen Rice last week and let's see if the Leicester dude does any better tmw....

You seem to be replying generally than to me in particular (at least i hope). Yeah we could improve on pretty much every player in the squad but some much easier than others.

I don't mind Fred for the most part but do think we should improve upon him in the next few years, I've been happy enough with Maguire to be honest and I don't rate Rice that highly from what I've seen.

 

[MadDogg]

Anyone have stats on number of touches? I like McT (because he’s homegrown etc) but he definitely seems to struggle to make himself available for a pass. Whereas Fred seems to touch the ball almost more than any other player. Constantly involved, all over the pitch.

Fred was on the ball 91 times (only Bruno at 93 was higher over both teams). McTominay 59. Pogba got 47 in his one half in comparison.

That's a bigger difference than normal, but McTominay is consistently about 20% lower in terms of touches and passes than any of our other three midfielders. I think there's only been one or two games all season that he's actually had more than his partner (and they were only by 2 or 3 touches).

 

[Litch]

Fred was on the ball 91 times (only Bruno at 93 was higher over both teams). McTominay 59. Pogba got 47 in his one half in comparison.

That's a bigger difference than normal, but McTominay is consistently about 20% lower in terms of touches and passes than any of our other three midfielders. I think there's only been one or two games all season that he's actually had more than his partner (and they were only by 2 or 3 touches).

I guess it's like the more a striker shoots, depending on how you view them, the more you notice that they miss. It's a bit like the nonsense about Andy Cole. Fred is generally on the ball more than every other player in both halves which I guess means you notice more the good, the bad and the ugly. I like Scott but he doesn't help as he hides in games, making himself less available so less options and makes the midfield easier to play against....

 

[Ekeke]

I guess it's like the more a striker shoots, depending on how you view them, the more you notice that they miss. It's a bit like the nonsense about Andy Cole. Fred is generally on the ball more than every other player in both halves which I guess means you notice more the good, the bad and the ugly. I like Scott but he doesn't help as he hides in games, making himself less available so less options and makes the midfield easier to play against....

Indeed. The more of the ball the player has, the more you're going to notice what he's doing with it when your team isnt attacking well. But at the same time, McTominay has been a player that gets on the end of the received pass to shoot and score goals. So theres more to it than passing. With McTominay he needs someone else to play the pass into him for a scoring chance. Whereas Fred doesnt have that in his game so he needs to be finding the attacking players in areas that can be converted to shots

 

[laughtersassassin]

Our problem is we play two DMs because neither McTominay or Fred can do it alone.

We have to sign a player who can sit in a midfield 3 and protect the back 4 and is ideally better at taking the ball of the defence and distributing than Fred is.

But yeah the biggest problem with McFred is we use two man to do the job of one man like Fabinho for instance.

 

[Bwuk]

Sure someone will post and let us all know how under rated he is.

 

[Based Adnan]

Gifted the first goal to Leicester, slow to react for the second goal and then passed the ball straight to Fofana on a 4v3 break which ended up in us conceding the free kick for the third.

Awful player. Bin him off to Roma or Inter for £15m and be done with it.

 

[mu4c_20le]

Just needs to be dropped for awhile. The purple patch is over.

 

[OrcaFat]

Massive heart. Not enough quality.

 

[#07]

Its a cruel joke that Fred is one of United's most expensive signings of all time. He's simply not good enough. He just runs around and makes a nuisance of himself. On the ball, under pressure, in front of goal, he's a waste of space. If we put Fred up for sale none of the clubs competing for the top honours in England or in Europe would be interested. That tells its own story.

 

[united for life]

Terrible pass backwards. To be fair to him, Harry’s pass put him in trouble. Generally, a game to forget for him

 

[Murder on Zidane's Floor]

Massive heart. Not enough quality.

Massive heart? In place where his brain is meant to be?!

 

[Jeppers7]

Woeful....he’s normally better but he’s never great

 

[SadlerMUFC]

How Fred stayed on the field for almost 90 minutes is a real head scratcher. He should have been subbed and VdB stay on. No idea why Ole seems to think Fred and McT are so good. We are chasing a goal. Keep creative players on the pitch...

 

[Mainoldo]

I repeat. Can’t pass

 

[Mickeza]

He’s brilliant at winning the ball back which is handy for us because he gifts the opposition the ball so much. Central midfield is a big issue this summer - Fred shouldn’t be starting games for a club like us and Matic looks absolutely finished.

 

[MadDogg]

Just needs to be dropped for awhile. The purple patch is over.

Pretty much. He played well last season and the first few months of this season, but his form has been dropping basically since the turn of the year (with a few good games here and there). In a perfect world he'd drop to the bench for a while so that he both gets a rest and has to rediscover his form to get back into the main 11, but we don't really have the options to do that.

 

[Murder on Zidane's Floor]

Terrible pass backwards. To be fair to him, Harry’s pass put him in trouble. Generally, a game to forget for him

No, his touch put him into trouble. Why is the ball bouncing in the air from his touch? Is the floor lava?

 

[acnumber9]

They’ve yet to invent words to describe how bad he was. They may name it a Fred. Highlight was definitely that one minute spell where he decided he couldn’t get near their players so tackled Wan Bissaka and Pogba instead.

 

[spiriticon]

Indefensible performance.

Reminded me of why I wanted him sold in the first year.

Fecking awful.

 

[MyOnlySolskjaer]

50m well spent.

 

[Roboc7]

Absolute shocker, thought it was nailed on he’d be off at half time.

 

[Sultan]

Diabolical performance. Runs around without much quality anywhere on the pitch.

 

[united for life]

No, his touch put him into trouble. Why is the ball bouncing in the air from his touch? Is the floor lava?

fred handled the situation badly. But the pass shouldn’t have gone to him in the first place

 

[Eli Zee]

Worst performance this year. Think he had some decent moments, but a lot of misplaced passes including one that led to a goal.

 

[villain]

He has almost no composure at all, he's just erratic and energetic. Did well for the goal of course, but was also the source of a lot of broken down attacks because of his inability to field a through ball or pass longer than 10 yards.

We need a serious upgrade on him.

I understand that there are fans who prefer the workhorse in midfield who will run around for the entire game, like Fred. I personally think we won't be consistently challenging for titles and back among the European elite if he is a starter in our team. We need more players who can create chances, are better on the ball and have a wider range of passing ability. He can certainly be a squad option to provide depth, I don't think I have insulted him in any way, he's just not the standard we need to take us to the next level.

Said this after Milan, and his weaknesses are even more glaring after tonight.

He doesn't have the quality to take us to the next level, has no composure on the ball and cannot pass as part of an attacking phase of play.

He simply cannot be a starter in our midfield.

 

[RedDevil250]

50m for this fraud. He can't pass at all, can't shoot, and still loses out on 1v1s too often as well. Why am I supposed to care about his energy when he can't do any of those things?

He's a Championship level player and needs to go ASAP.

 

[Raw]

One of the most pathetic displays of football I've seen from a "player".

Feck me he can be proper shite but today was another level.

 

[AgentSmith]

I’m loathe to use stats typically, but I suspect they were similar. Fred’s team has typically not been praised for their seasons, so it’s hard for individuals to be celebrated much. Kanté has considerable strengths, but he isn’t great at everything. I don’t think he’s better at what he’s good at than Fred is at the same thing. Man for man, I don’t think Kanté is better personally. They are practically the same player, but with very different CVs which is the main differentiation I think. As an individual, and without the context of their teams and achievements, Kanté is no better. Fred has had huge games against top opposition, and if in the context of a title winning side the story would be different.

This one sticks in the memory.

 

[RedIan]

He had a stinker, howler after howler. He ain’t good enough for a top team. Get rid.

 

[Ekeke]

Incredible that he wasnt subbed off with the first set of subs. He was probably our worst player till that point.

He's clearly one of Ole's favourites and plays even when he isnt doing well. Today was an example of where that can be costly

Also his mistake for the opening goal reminded me of when Andreas was talked up by Mourinho as a DM, then got a couple of games and then received a pass just outside his own box. He lost the ball and we conceded and then Mourinho dropped him cold and I dont think he ever got much of a chance under him again.

What Fred did was worse than the young player playing a role he wasnt familliar with who then got tossed out because of the mistake. Fred did the one thing you cannot do as a DM in that position

 

[NinjaZombie]

I know he's doing it in the Championship with Forest, but would James Garner really be worse than Fred?

 

[marktan]

I know he's doing it in the Championship with Forest, but would James Garner really be worse than Fred?

Yeah. Not ready for the faster paced PL, he needs at least another season learning his trade imo.

 

[Devil may care]

Holy feck balls that was a shocker, he seemed to think were in blue and was almost as sluggish as Matic on the Tielemans goal.