Fred has also had MOTM games
Is Fred the worst regular starter for United in living memory?
- Thread starter PeteManic
- Start date
Exactly.
Scapegoat. Not sure why Mods haven't closed this embarrassing thread yet.
Sure Alex Ferguson had midfield 100x worse than fred and what we have now, yet he still managed to win title.
I have to nominate this as one of the worse thread this year.
One thing I noticed about Fred for the first time- despite it being obvious to anyone who can see- is that Fred is really short and doesn't win any headers. So teams who don't fancy their chances vs Varane and Maguire can try and stick it on Fred.
Personally, I'm a big McTominay fan and I hope when he comes back into the pivot we'll look much more solid.
Personally, I'm a big McTominay fan and I hope when he comes back into the pivot we'll look much more solid.
Bruno, Ronaldo/Cavani +1 up front? I don't know. We've been doing transfers without much planning so we have to find some solution.
The only thing I do know is even Ronaldo up front isn't going to help if we can get xG=0,6 (like against Wolves).
True
I agree 100%, he is an idiot for staying and losing his spot to mcfred, never even given a real chance. Donny should be in there NOW and Fred on the bench... If you look at stats, Fred on paper isn't bad at all, but you watch him on the field and you want to turn the channel from his stupid passes it drives you insane. Ole, PLEASE give Donny a fecking chance or let him go b/c you are killing this kid..
This. He's not even the worst midfielder who regularly starts, in our current squad. He's also trying to do the entire midfields job on its own when mctominay isn't there. The only player on earth who can do that even half competently is Kante.
Although in fairness I was half expecting an announcement that there was a lost child on the pitch yesterday.
The worst starter in living memory? holy overreaction...
Fred had an awful game and we don't need to discuss that. He had a lot of those when he had to deal with the midfield all by himself (paired with Pogba) but he also had some MOTM performaces when paired with McTominay in the big games and no one claimed he was the best footballer in living memory.
He should not be a starter in this team, that's right. In an ideal world, he'd be an MF backup who offers good and high energetic service when needed, especially against the ball.
Some of you must be pretty new to football if you've never witnessed a worse ManUtd regular...
Fred had an awful game and we don't need to discuss that. He had a lot of those when he had to deal with the midfield all by himself (paired with Pogba) but he also had some MOTM performaces when paired with McTominay in the big games and no one claimed he was the best footballer in living memory.
He should not be a starter in this team, that's right. In an ideal world, he'd be an MF backup who offers good and high energetic service when needed, especially against the ball.
Some of you must be pretty new to football if you've never witnessed a worse ManUtd regular...
Fellaini
Phil Jones
Come to mind...
In terms or 'how they performed for United' (so not how good they were in general) Lukaku should also be in there..
Phil Jones
Come to mind...
In terms or 'how they performed for United' (so not how good they were in general) Lukaku should also be in there..
I don't know the answer but I don't see how Bruno, Ronaldo, Cavani, Rashford, Sancho, Greenwood and Martial fit into 3 spots.
If we can't come up with a way for Bruno to play in a midfield 3 then I think we just need to get midfielders capable of playing in a 2 at a high level and allow Bruno to play where he has been operating.
Once we have fully fit McFred I think we will be fine. But until then I think we need to find compromise. Rashford is out, Martial and Cavani are barely match fit, and Sancho looks a bit overwhelmed so I think it won't be that difficult to pick a front 3.
Fred is not good enough for where this club supposedly intends to be. If the team wants to hobble around 4th he's the ideal candidate. It seems even pundits have spoken vehemently about the quality of the midfield. If Fred was half as good as many make out, the central areas would not be identified as a weakness / priority.
As soon as a defensive midfielder is signed Fred will no longer have any use in the team. He only offers balance in a double pivot, brings little qualities outside of this description. I also think there's shortfalls in the management which causes him to be less versatile tactically. If the team maintained possession more effectively from the coaching side of things, Fred would likely be more useful but this is hypothesis not reality.
As soon as a defensive midfielder is signed Fred will no longer have any use in the team. He only offers balance in a double pivot, brings little qualities outside of this description. I also think there's shortfalls in the management which causes him to be less versatile tactically. If the team maintained possession more effectively from the coaching side of things, Fred would likely be more useful but this is hypothesis not reality.
Let me guess, easy setting on fifa 21?
Lingard and Welbeck for me.
Gibson too but I guess he was a semi-regular at best.
Gibson too but I guess he was a semi-regular at best.
The mans played significant roles in cup wins ffs! give your head a wobble.
By the fact you named Gibson there are vastly inferior players in your time watching United.
Lingard
There’s another - extremely famous - name you can add to that list, as of a few days ago.
Enough said?
He was monumental last season whether you like him or not. This season he’s clearly exhausted from his Brazil commitments. He needs a few weeks off.
Time for Van de Beek to grow into his role
Time for Van de Beek to grow into his role
Fred needs muscle., we don’t have space for the extra man.
It depends upon who qualifies as a regualr starter. In fairly recent memory, Schneiderlin and Djemba-Djemba were horrific. However, those of us who grew up with 1980s United saw far worse: Peter Davenport, Peter Barnes, Russell Beardsmore, Billy Garton, Graeme Hogg (og), to name just a few, as regulars. Yes, it really did happen. Players like those were in the team most weeks when my dad first started taking me to matches. Bad times.
Fred has been terrible recently but it’s quite ridiculous that he is getting so much stick when the problem is due to the managers team selection. It’s been clear for some time that pogba isn’t good enough for us in a pivot. There is also the issue of the Ole being content with both our midfielders getting overrun.
Fred is our best progressive passer. Both him and matic are the only midfielders willing to pass through the middle. He is pivotal to us getting the ball forward very quick. Let’s lay off these silly threads.
Fred is our best progressive passer. Both him and matic are the only midfielders willing to pass through the middle. He is pivotal to us getting the ball forward very quick. Let’s lay off these silly threads.
He's been good at times but you wouldn't want him as the mainstay of your midfield and more as a squad player or utility player.
I think the issue is also that other options in that position like McTom aren't exactly brilliant either. We're actually quite reliant on Fred at the moment, and yet he's probably a weak link in the team.
I think the issue is also that other options in that position like McTom aren't exactly brilliant either. We're actually quite reliant on Fred at the moment, and yet he's probably a weak link in the team.
According to some stats, Fred is as good as Jorginho. I am not a fan of Jorginho, but some press claim he is 1 of the best in EPL. By mathematical equation, Fred is 1 of the best.
Honestly speaking, don't think Ole has any choice. He needs someone very mobile to cover for Pogba (mistake), someone who can pass, and someone who can intercept and block. His only options are Matic and Fred, hence Fred.
The original question should be asked, why did we buy Fred, instead of ..... Whether foreign or domestic.
IMO, Fred is short. Not just physically, but short in passing, short in shooting, short in header of course, short in physical challenge / tackle.
Terrible thread
Fred is another victim of the united curse. And that is not setting up players to succeed. Mata best number 10 when we bought him then played him RW. Rashford and Martial playing number 9 but better on the wing. Pogba all over the place, last seen as a holding midfielder. Lingard is a number 10 mainly played RW, last seen LW. McTominay and Fred as holding midfielders which neither of them are. Look at the Wolves game. Sancho starts on the LW and James on the RW. Yes they can both play there but surely Sancho was bought for RW and James is better as a LW. Could be that James was in to try stopping Adama but I didnt see him do that at all. Point being that yes we can rotate but in general players need to be not only in their right position but also tactically set up to succeed. Its no coincidence our payers play better away from United - Lingard at West Ham, Pogba for France, Fred for Brazil etc. James will be better for Leeds than he ever was at United. Not that we should have kept him.
We can go on and on. Fred is not good enough but he's a good player when he is used correctly. Hence he gets MOTM performances fairly regularly. Dont forget Pogba was trash at West Ham so was Bruno etc
We can go on and on. Fred is not good enough but he's a good player when he is used correctly. Hence he gets MOTM performances fairly regularly. Dont forget Pogba was trash at West Ham so was Bruno etc
How has this reached 9 pages? Horrendous thread.
Passing accuracy stats cam be misleading. A player could complete their pass, but if that pass was to a team mate who was being marked and lost the ball immediately after receiving it, it would still be a completed pass.
All these passing completed percentages shouldn't distract you from the fact that he made two mistakes that led to goal scoring chances in the first 4 minutes alone.
He has a habit of zipping balls into forwards at much to strong a rate and the forwards just can’t control them. I’m not sure who’s told him this is a good idea but I see it happen all the time.
I think this thread says more about how "in living memory" now means "since yesterday" than it does about Fred.
Kids of today. I don't know. /mumbles
Kids of today. I don't know. /mumbles
We would be better off if Pogba played the DM position. Both are shit at positioning and tackles but at least it isn't that easy to outmuscle him, and he'd win a few headers.
Playing Fred at DM is a disaster, no surprise he struggles as this role requires all the attributes he doesn't possess. I still think he's a decent all round supporting CM.
Playing Fred at DM is a disaster, no surprise he struggles as this role requires all the attributes he doesn't possess. I still think he's a decent all round supporting CM.
It's literally how a five year old thinks - no grey areas just extremes.
I more or less agree. I think we could certainly upgrade on Fred but in reality the bigger issue is who plays alongside him as I think he offers more in most games than Matic/McT and as you say the issue is more the other midfielder. If it's McT/Matic alongside Fred, then Fred is our best CM which isn't great (but with our attack I think it's something we can work with) and if it's Pogba how he played against Wolves (albeit 2nd half was better from him and the team in general) we're leaving ourselves exposed as Pogba doesn't want to do the hard work that comes with playing there and we compound the situation by how high we push the attacking players to try and beat the offside trap.
I personally don't think there's any midfielder who on their own could cover as much ground as we were asking Fred to cover against Wolves, he certainly made mistakes but the biggest issue for me was the tactics. I don't think it's impossible to have Pogba there either in a lot of games but not if we're going to push the attack so high and therefore leave so much space in midfield.
He is being played out of position. He does not have the skills nor the IQ to be a cdm.
Poor tactical choices for him in those last two games. Never played well with Pogba or Matic. I would like to see him with Van De Beek if McTominay is injured.
Will score a banger soon.
Will score a banger soon.
He truly baffles me. Sometimes he can play great games against top opposition. But in other games, he can't seem to pass a ball 5m to his teammate. I do think it's harsh playing him as a sole DM along with Pogba (last game), but that doesn't excuse the passes (or rather misplaced passes) he was doing.
Daley Blind was class on the ball and completely comfortable sitting in front of the back four. He would have been perfect for this side.
Pretty close, he's certainly well associated with Ole's shit style of play.
I’m not a fan, I think the minimum attributes needed for a United midfielder are being able to control the ball under press and pass forward, however he’s nowhere close to being the worst.
He isn’t helped by having Bruno play as a second striker at times, barely any teams play with number 10 that high, as well as two very attacking wide forwards. It’s the reason we can’t control a game, beat a press and have huge gaps defensively in midfield.
At times in the second half against Wolves he was covering at left back and you just look into midfield and there is a giant hole. Serious teams don’t allow that kind of space consistently.
He isn’t helped by having Bruno play as a second striker at times, barely any teams play with number 10 that high, as well as two very attacking wide forwards. It’s the reason we can’t control a game, beat a press and have huge gaps defensively in midfield.
At times in the second half against Wolves he was covering at left back and you just look into midfield and there is a giant hole. Serious teams don’t allow that kind of space consistently.
Neither was Blind worse than Fred nor is Fred the worst regular player. Our memories for past years are often clouded by the more recent events. There were quite a few dreadful players in the past decade that precede him. You named one of them.
He was quite effective in some games last season and often performs better with McT around him. However, we need to do better than him. It was appalling with how that beast kept shoving him aside throughout the first half.
He was quite effective in some games last season and often performs better with McT around him. However, we need to do better than him. It was appalling with how that beast kept shoving him aside throughout the first half.