At 19?
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Some people don't stop growing until their mid twenties.
Only really watched highlights of our tour and a few youngsters have done well from waht I have seen. Is that so encouraging though as we have seen this a lot of times.
I dont think we should judge performances or application, more the technique and vision and intelligence reading the game and in possesion. For me Hannibal just has it. Another thread someone mentioned he started of as a deep lying playmaker and if we dont bring in DeJong he would be the "develop a player" shout of Ten Hag for me.
I think the hinderance for him, is he looks so versatile and seems 2nd or even 3rd choice for us. I would like to see him nailed down to a certain position and moulded into that by our staff. I still see that as a deep lying playmaker or a number 10 with the system we seem to play and with Greenwood out of the picture, he is the only youngster I can genuinely see having a big career here that is breaking through. oo many ifs and buts with lots of the other youngsters who dont seem ready to step up and grab there chances at the moment
I dont think we should judge performances or application, more the technique and vision and intelligence reading the game and in possesion. For me Hannibal just has it. Another thread someone mentioned he started of as a deep lying playmaker and if we dont bring in DeJong he would be the "develop a player" shout of Ten Hag for me.
I think the hinderance for him, is he looks so versatile and seems 2nd or even 3rd choice for us. I would like to see him nailed down to a certain position and moulded into that by our staff. I still see that as a deep lying playmaker or a number 10 with the system we seem to play and with Greenwood out of the picture, he is the only youngster I can genuinely see having a big career here that is breaking through. oo many ifs and buts with lots of the other youngsters who dont seem ready to step up and grab there chances at the moment
He was being developed at Monaco as a midfield metronome where the game flowed through him and he was the conduit in midfield where he connected both the defence and attack. And I know this because Monaco live streamed those games on their YouTube channel. But when he arrived at United we started utilising him in a advanced midfield role possibly due to the options we already had in deeper roles who didn't have as many strings to their bow compared to Hannibal.
Hannibal for me should be developed as a #6/#8 and has the well rounded skill-set to thrive in that role next to a positionally disciplined midfielder. And that's how I think one would make best use of his passing range, ability to dribble and high energy off the ball. If he does go on loan then I'm hoping someone like Graham Potter at Brighton is keen to bring him in.
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Seems strange to me how Erik gives more game time to Savage and Iqbal over Hannibal when Hannibal could easily cover those positions.
Early days yet but I thought he would make an impact in preseason.
Hair counts as well
Why can’t we start playing Hannibal on a regular basis? For instance, Barca is doing it all the time with some extremely young players (think Fati, Pedri to name a few)
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They are better players.
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Exactly. I’m sure Hannibal is a very good talent, but he’s not that good. We had one of those that good type players who was playing routinely on our right wing until he got arrested, and he was “extremely young” at the time.
Also, La Liga is in the pits a little with the FFP constraints massively affecting top 4 rivals like Atletico, Sevilla etc. — there’s a little bit more leeway for Barcelona to give the Fati’s and Pedri’s of the world game time with less ramifications than if the league was in a different year.
You're never going to know how good a player is unless they're given a fair crack of the whip. Hannibal is the best player in the academy, if the best player in United's academy isn't "that good" then we're clearly doing something wrong.
Or… players aren’t linear and develop in different ways when they hit senior level. Crazy, I know.
Best in the academy doesn't necessarily mean best transition to the first team
That isn't what you said at all.
No one said it did, but he's also not been given a chance so it's moot.
Well he's been training with the first team for ages, so he's been given chances in training. Maybe he doesn't convince his coaches when put up against grown men?
When you see him chatting to players like this, I don't know why, but you just feel like it's good. Like the player will probably never that conversation knowing exactly what is needed from them and how to do it. Just have a lot of confidence in the guy to get these players playing the way he wants. Hopefully that plus a bit more quality in the team will see us there or thereabouts in terms of challenging for top honours.
You implied it when you said that Manchester United football club must be doing something wrong if Hannibal Mejbri isn’t making it right now
The intimate personal conversations will always get your point across better than in a group setting.
It also makes the player feel like he's actually intested in you personally. It's nice to see him taking the young lads aside and really telling them how he wants them to improve.
I think Hannibal just needs to be a bit more solid on the pitch to compete with grown men. Particularly for the type of game he wants to play. If you're not solid then you need to be very elusive on the ball or move it very well.
Hannibal is an all action player that gets involved in the dogged side of things and likes to take people on by driving at them. He also likes to press and chase players. I think if he can be a bit more physically sound and control his tendency to chase the ball all over the pitch, then that's when he'll be fully ready. He's got the technical side, no problem, but the game he wants to play just needs a bit more physicality.
I see it in Savage who looks a bit sturdier but also doesn't overdo it with the ball and therefore doesn't get challenged as much due to his style. Iqbal is quite elusive but I think he's been caught out a few times for overplaying or not being quite strong enough.
Hannibal is an all action player that gets involved in the dogged side of things and likes to take people on by driving at them. He also likes to press and chase players. I think if he can be a bit more physically sound and control his tendency to chase the ball all over the pitch, then that's when he'll be fully ready. He's got the technical side, no problem, but the game he wants to play just needs a bit more physicality.
I see it in Savage who looks a bit sturdier but also doesn't overdo it with the ball and therefore doesn't get challenged as much due to his style. Iqbal is quite elusive but I think he's been caught out a few times for overplaying or not being quite strong enough.
I get what you are saying, the idea should be that the academy is a pathway to the first team. But 99% of the players never get a sniff of first team action.
The best academy players rarely ever make it in the first team. There's been loads who have been touted and tore it up at youth level only to fail and be gone by 20/21. The same goes for pretty much every top team.
I can count on one finger when the so called best academy player has made a proper impact in the first team since the class of 92. We all know where he is now.
Considering ETH’s history in different clubs he managed, I blindly trust he will do his best to bring out the potential from our young talent. It’s natural to help the players in different ways. Lack of game time in preseason doesn’t mean much because we simply don’t know what he is preparing Hannibal for behind the scene.
I can understand why you've mentioned Potter as I think he's a good manager and plays good football - but if we're going to send him out on loan, the main reason is to get game time, just like Garner did at Forest. I don't think he'll be getting enough game time at Brighton
I genuinely think he is our most talented youngster, and one who could reach the heights of football if developed correctly. I would only want to loan him to a club that already has a great culture and leaders in place.
Knowing jack shit...I feel he is soo close but he needs to listen to the coaches and ETH and not show any frustration whatsoever. Then takes his chance when it comes.
Very important times for Hannibal! I really hope he makes it.
Very important times for Hannibal! I really hope he makes it.
I said 'someone like Potter' , which means a head coach who aims to impose their game on the opposition with the ball.
I can only echo the sentiments of everyone else - I feel he is our most talented youth prospect, however in senior football the jump can suit some players and not others. In academy games, I have never thought Iqbal or Savage stood out as much as Hannibal but look at them now! The main thing for any of these youngsters is that we now have a manager with incredible development capabilities. If any of them go on loan we also need to be selective in the sense that the teams play a similar style to what we are implementing here.
Its the positions he is being picked for, LW or AM are possibly our most packed positions in terms of options with Bruno, VDB, Sancho, Rashford and Elanga. If he starts getting looked at for the deeper roles he will easily feature more
I do agree, he should've been given games under Solskjaer and then Rangnick, and we'd likely have a much better understanding of where Hannibal is right now in his development.
Both Rashford and Matic have highlighted Hannibal as someone that has really impressed them. Matic in particular has said that Hannibal really surprised him with the quality he possessed each time he was involved in first team training, and he was looking forward to Hannibal getting more minutes in the first team. That's high praise coming from a player like Matic.
And believe it or not mate, the games he was involved with in France with Monaco, he was utilised as a playmaking #8, who got involved in the deeper build up phase, where he would routinely drop deep to collect the ball from the CBs. And in the 5 or 6 games I watched with him in the Monaco u17s, he never once lost his temper. And then when he arrived at United, he was utilised as a #10, in a position the player himself said he had never played before. But credit to him, he adapted and showed his versatility in multiple areas of the pitch.
I think the reason he mentioned Potter is that among the major leagues in Europe, Pep, ETH, and Potter are three most recognized representatives constructing their teams for positional play philosophy with alternative elements. I actually voted Potter as our new manager here, but I don’t think Brighton will get a loan for Hannibal because they have a well established structure to manage their recruitment as I can see as an outsider.
You said "someone like Potter at Brighton is keen to bring him in". I think most people would read that as you're suggesting Hannibal should go to play under Potter at Brighton (or equivalent) because of the style. My reply was simply Brighton wasn't the right choice because I don't see him getting much game time there
'Someone like Potter at Brighton' who looks to dominate the ball when possible.
I would've said the following if I had meant Potter specifically - 'I hope he joins Potter at Brighton on loan' and would've left the word 'like' out of the sentence.
Any coach like Potter who implements positional play on the ball with a vertical axis is a good choice. Even a coach like Arne Slot at Feyenoord falls into that category. But I don't believe Hannibal will be going on loan to Feyenoord.
Classic case of "potato" "potato" i guess when reading things on the caf at times, mean one thing another poster takes it different.
But I agree if he does go out on loan it needs to be for a manager who plays in a similar style to what ETH would like to play - otherwise the loan is counter productive
My apologies mate, I should've explained things a little clearer.
I agree with what you're saying and even more important than playing under a head coach with a similar style of play, is game time. I've seen players like Giuseppe Rossi sit on the bench under Glenn Roeder at Newcastle in the past, So I'm always a little apprehensive with who we're loaning our players to.
No need to apologise, all clear what you meant.
Garner's loan worked out well last year so hopefully they can do the same for Hannibal if he goes. But we've definitely got it wrong - as in the cases of Amad and Pellistri - so you're right to be apprehensive
Another player that needs a loan move…..
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