[Varun]

Mourinho wants the handsome 11 out.

 

[MrPooni]

I wouldn't read too much into it. We had a very staggered pre-season so it looks like Jose is going with a more familiar first eleven to avoid a silly opening day slip up. Consider it the opposite of Pep dropping Joe Hart and pushing two fullbacks into central midfield.

 

[prath92]

I think he is a good player. That said I think he will struggle this season. Stats wise he may be good with about 8 or 9 goals and around the same number of assists but I don't think people will really look at him and say 'he is an exceptional player and a definite starter'. In a way similar to mata

 

[Skills]

I think he is a good player. That said I think he will struggle this season. Stats wise he may be good with about 8 or 9 goals and around the same number of assists but I don't think people will really look at him and say 'he is an exceptional player and a definite starter'. In a way similar to mata

Tbf, that probably means he'll only last for a year then. Mourinho's signings generally need to hit the ground running, or else he gets rid of them quite quickly.

Cuadrado, Salah, Luis etc.

 

[Twigg]

Maybe Jose just feels he's unprepare dfor the intensity of the Premier League? Reckon he'll be on late in the game, probably wants to bed him in. Whereas Baily, Ibra, Pogba are all big, strong, physical fellas so I would expect them to start right away.

 

[Classical Mechanic]

Welcome to big school Henrikh.

 

[Shark]

There's nothing wrong with giving a player time to adapt but my fear with this guy is that he's 27 and really needs to adapt quickly considering that. Even Kagawa was younger when he arrived in England so you could afford one or two seasons of settling. Right now, we simply can't afford passengers, we need to start shooting back to the top.

 

[arthurka]

Exactly because of posts like that and people going 'WELL IF YOU LOOK AT HIS STATS'.

I'm not saying he's a bad player, but I'm saying that people have built him up to be better than he is, probably have an unfair sense of expectation for him and that he will need more time and patience to adapt then many will admit.

Dont think there is anything wrong with having expectations for good players.. And he is a good player. I have no reason what so ever to think he won't play a lot under José.. But he will be given time to settle..

Ps stats normally tell you a lot about players, if you take Zlatan who scored 51 last season stats will tell you he is a good player like Miki .

 

[NinjaFletch]

Dont think there is anything wrong with having expectations for good players.. And he is a good player. I have no reason what so ever to think he won't play a lot under José.. But he will be given time to settle..

Ps stats normally tell you a lot about players, if you take Zlatan who scored 51 last season stats will tell you he is a good player like Miki .

I disagree. I've been meaning to start a separate thread about this issue for a while and will do so once I've got some spare time to flesh out my thoughts.

Not a United issue, but the basic jist of it will be that I think the 'youtube era' of compilation videos, skills gifs, and easily accessible stats creates un-realistic expectations on players and leads to a completely unattainable ideal of 'good' or 'excellent' that very few players will actually reach consistently over the course of a season.

My best example of this is Mata who, although this might have changed, has been statistically better for us than he has for Chelsea but who, public perception would tell you, has been far short of the form that he reached as a Chelsea player.

Anyway, taking this thread off topic because this isn't really a great deal about Mhki at all but he's part of the issue.

 

[Shark]

He's very quiet isn't he? Not a good time to judge though when we're closing out a game.

 

[shamans]

I think he should fight for his position with Rooney/Mata/Martial.

I doubt it will happen this way but if he had the four of them competing for the three spots behind the striker it would be great.

 

[ricky-romeo]

I think he will get a start against soton.

I am expecting some serious rotation between micki, mata and lingard this season.

 

[Devil may care]

I want to see him get a run of starts before judging, these cameos wont show much and it could be a case of Mourinho wanting to ease him into a new league as he's not the physical beast that Ibra and Bailly are.

 

[arthurka]

I disagree. I've been meaning to start a separate thread about this issue for a while and will do so once I've got some spare time to flesh out my thoughts.

Not a United issue, but the basic jist of it will be that I think the 'youtube era' of compilation videos, skills gifs, and easily accessible stats creates un-realistic expectations on players and leads to a completely unattainable ideal of 'good' or 'excellent' that very few players will actually reach consistently over the course of a season.

My best example of this is Mata who, although this might have changed, has been statistically better for us than he has for Chelsea but who, public perception would tell you, has been far short of the form that he reached as a Chelsea player.

Anyway, taking this thread off topic because this isn't really a great deal about Mhki at all but he's part of the issue.

I understand you totally but I think being a good player and making og at a top club are totally different things.. Your point with Mata is valid but sadly he has been one of the few good point here for a couple of seasons . At Chelsea he was a part of a good team, here the team hasnt done us or themselves any favours.

But back to Miki he is a great player but making it here is a different ball game all together..

 

[Jacky Quacky]

Needs to start against Southampton now.

 

[Scorpy]

Nothing to worry about, he's just being eased into the starting eleven. He's better than both Lingard and Mata, so I'm sure he'll start soon and be a very good player for us.

 

[charlenefan]

Strange the little football he's seeing whereas Zlatan and Bailly have been thrown straight in, guess he's not doing it in training

 

[Jacky Quacky]

Strange the little football he's seeing whereas Zlatan and Bailly have been thrown straight in, guess he's not doing it in training

I dont think so i think hes just not adapted to the league yet. You could see it in the Everton game where he kept getting hounded off the ball. Today he played it safe but maturely, hes still adapting and should hopefully start against Southampton.

 

[Classical Mechanic]

I dont think so i think hes just not adapted to the league yet. You could see it in the Everton game where he kept getting hounded off the ball. Today he played it safe but maturely, hes still adapting and should hopefully start against Southampton.

I thought you could see today that the pace was troubling him. He will have to get used top getting hounded.

 

[Scholesy]

We should have signed Mane instead to be honest but I still think Miki can have a good season. It would not surprise me if he is another Kagawa signing.

 

[Jacky Quacky]

I thought you could see today that the pace was troubling him. He will have to get used top getting hounded.

Really? I thought he was fine today, as good as Mata.

We should have signed Mane instead to be honest but I still think Miki can have a good season. It would not surprise me if he is another Kagawa signing.

Oh My God.

 

[Classical Mechanic]

Really? I thought he was fine today, as good as Mata.

Oh My God.

I thought he was OK but he seemed constantly on the back foot. He didn't really play long enough for me to rate him properly though.

 

[Raees]

We should have signed Mane instead to be honest but I still think Miki can have a good season. It would not surprise me if he is another Kagawa signing.

I fear too that we have missed out by not signing Mane.. he looked stunning today.

 

[thejtrain]

Tbf, that probably means he'll only last for a year then. Mourinho's signings generally need to hit the ground running, or else he gets rid of them quite quickly.

Cuadrado, Salah, Luis etc.

I fear this would happen. He's a quality player but he must adapt soon enough - he's hardly going to get a second season if he doesn't.

 

[3KDré]

I am a bit concerned with how well he will play. Not entirely sure how well he will do, based on how Dortmund have played today and in previous matches.

What I have noticed is that this and last season Dortmund played very attacking, fast paced football with loads and loads of movement. All three of Auba, Reus and Mkhi are fast and interchangeable. Their movement disrupts the opposition back and this was exploited by Gundogan and Weigl both of whom can pass the ball well.

Our setup is not like this. Zlatan does move around a fair bit but usually it is deep, not around the front four. Our front 3 is not as fluid and interchangeable as theirs, and our midfield is not as creative (yet). I fear that us not playing a 4-3-3 formation with a fluid and interchangeable front three and midfielders as creative as theirs we will not get the best out of him. I may be wrong, I may not be. But it seems like Mkhitaryan excelled last season as he did because of Dortmund's set up, one which we do not have. Our system will be probably be more defensive than theirs, and our front three is not yet as fluid.

 

[ThanksBoss26]

Easing him in might not be a bad thing. He'll get his chance soon enough.

Lingard and Mata have both scored after being selected ahead of him. That's what a bit of competition for places can do!

 

[Jacky Quacky]

I thought he was OK but he seemed constantly on the back foot. He didn't really play long enough for me to rate him properly though.

True but thats because the whole team was sitting back. Lets see him when he has the full freedom like the beginning of the second half.

 

[Jacky Quacky]

I fear too that we have missed out by not signing Mane.. he looked stunning today.

And he looked stunning for one week then crap the next few months. Thing is, we cant go around buying players based on a few performances, otherwise we would end up like Liverpool. Take Mikis whole season into account and compare that to Mane's then you will be laughing. Hes the superior player, just needs a bit of time.

 

[Footyislife]

To be fair he's more of a no.10. Even at Dortmund he would cut in and play in space. Here he's been stuck on the right side of the pitch because of the 4-2-3-1. Stop accommodating Rooney, and lets play a 4-3-3 with Morgan, Herrera, Pogba, Martial, Mhki, and Zlatan. Then our offense will be flowing, and we will walk the league this year.

 

[bosnian_red]

Strange the little football he's seeing whereas Zlatan and Bailly have been thrown straight in, guess he's not doing it in training

Meh, Mkhitaryan is small and very slim so Mourinho might have reservations about throwing him straight in, in the first game of the season for an away game where it was bound to be very congested. Bailly and Ibra are both tanks physically, and we don't have much competition in those 2 places, so it was easier to throw them in. Mkhitaryan is competing with Mata, Rooney, Lingard, Memphis, Rashford, and whoever else we play out wide or in the hole, so it will just take time for him to fully adapt and force his way in. Think it's just Mourinho being cautious more then anything.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Mourinho usually likes a settled XI but we've a bigger squad than he's used to so I reckon we'll see some rotation this season.

 

[Jacky Quacky]

To be fair he's more of a no.10. Even at Dortmund he would cut in and play in space. Here he's been stuck on the right side of the pitch because of the 4-2-3-1. Stop accommodating Rooney, and lets play a 4-3-3 with Morgan, Herrera, Pogba, Martial, Mhki, and Zlatan. Then our offense will be flowing, and we will walk the league this year.

Mourinho allows the front four to be fluid, so Mkhi shouldnt have a problem with playing at RM since he will start moving into spaces occupied by the likes of Rooney, Martial, and his link up play will become sensational.

 

[berbatrick]

Especially after signing pogba, I'm puzzled what his role is supposed to be in the team. We have Rooney, Mata, pogba, and him competing for the 10, zlatan and martial settled into their positions, so what does a playmaking rw do in a setup like that? Someone who's best qualities are off the ball would've been a better fit.

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

Hopefully he starts against Southampton.

Still early days.

 

[ChaddyP]

he will get to show his stuff soon enough.

 

[Sarni]

The sense of disappointment on here at him not starting in two games at the beginning of his United career is extremely weird. I'm pretty sure he'll start more often than not as the season progresses and it's completely plausible that due to style of team Mourinho wants to make a smooth but slow transition rather than throw as many new faces as possible into the team immediately. It looks like people are almost willing to accept him as a failure already, it's baffling.

 

[Footyislife]

Mourinho allows the front four to be fluid, so Mkhi shouldnt have a problem with playing at RM since he will start moving into spaces occupied by the likes of Rooney, Martial, and his link up play will become sensational.

If you take Rooney out so the attack can actually flow instead of the ball being lost or passed sideways, then i'd agree with you.

 

[Freak]

The sense of disappointment on here at him not starting in two games at the beginning of his United career is extremely weird. I'm pretty sure he'll start more often than not as the season progresses and it's completely plausible that due to style of team Mourinho wants to make a smooth but slow transition rather than throw as many new faces as possible into the team immediately. It looks like people are almost willing to accept him as a failure already, it's baffling.

That's the cafe for you.

 

[Maradona10]

No one knows he mightvhave been injured in training or like depay have weight issues after moving yo a new enviornment or any other issue. I think he kept it simple after coming on.
Maybe he is taking time to understand other players, also he is known as a slow starter like he was at dortmund and is being eased into it so that press dont hammer him . I dont think it ll b a problem for him

 

[Z_Wolf]

Rooney must make way for him. We won't make the top 4 with Rooney playing week in and week out.