[Pogue Mahone]

Did people really think he was going to come back a completely different player?? He’s been here nearly two years now & played 56 times for the club. We know what kind of player he is, what he’s good and what he’s bad at. A few months away isn’t going to change that. He’s not going to suddenly become a faster more explosive player. He is what he is. He’s a good link up player, with good technique and a lovely first touch, but he’s never going to be the kind of player that can burst past defenders like a Garnacho or Rashford on a regular basis. He’s not going to consistently take games by the scruff of the neck or win them on his own with individual brilliance. He’s neat & tidy, and can play well in a system but in all honesty he’s just a bit…underwhelming. Not bad. But not great either.

Bit misleading to only quote the first half of my post.

 

[Irrational.]

I just don’t think he’s suited to a club expected to win every game. He doesn’t appear to have the mentality for it. It’s a question of mentality rather than talent.

Even with the chance he had today, I don’t think he believed in himself to score.

At a smaller underdog club like Dortmund he flourished in a weaker league with lesser expectations. That’s through no fault of his own though - you either have that desire and will to succeed or you don’t. Look at the difference and also in body language in how a player like Garnacho approaches a game and how Sancho does. The latter is meek, timid and doesn’t truly believe he can beat his man, whilst the former is fearless and approaches the field with a fire in his belly associated with the top players.

Hoping things improve for him and he turns it around, I wouldn’t expect it to be overnight though

 

[Pogue Mahone]

People mention him displaying more aggression, such as chasing the ball down and following his man. That is, after all, at the very least what is expected of a United player under ETH.

Now, his ability to make us better was a question before the break, and it remains so after he returns. Of course, he could improve. But I doubt it will be sufficient for us in the long run.

True. But he didn’t seem to have the cardio to do that before his stint in Holland. So that’s one positive.

 

[GledTheRed]

Judge him in a couple of months lads.

 

[Red the Bear]

Was kinda bad but it's fine, he's just come back after all.

I'd start him against Leicester.

 

[KikiDaKats]

I got called out for saying his is a bad footballer. Maybe, rightly so, in the minds of majority.
I’m not going to start with an argument on his lack of aggression or intensity but I believe a player has to earn the right to play football in every game. It’s not a given right for defenders to back off you because your London pals on tele say you’re a generational talent. A United player gets it tough in every game and you have to earn the right to impose your game.
I see a player with nice soft touches and wait for defenders to make mistakes either by over committing or losing their positions. It might be down to him not fully understanding his own game yet or him playing within himself or downright overrating himself. Any one of these make him a bad footballer at present in my opinion.

On a side note people have to stop mentioning peoples technical ability when they can’t show it under pressure. If it can’t be displayed under pressure then you’re incapable. Fred can do all sorts of foolishness with ball passing and carrying if allowed time/space. Or maybe we should start blaming everyone for not making themselves available for Fred to be creative.

 

[Smores]

Form is one thing but I'm still not entirely convinced he suits our style of play. He's a system player that benefits from a team that attacks as a unit where as we've always looked to individuals. He isn't suddenly going to change how he plays.

Would he have fit into Ten Hags Ajax? Most definitely, so it's how much we develop towards that and how quickly.

 

[Frankiekeane]

Really hoping he comes good but looks so short on confidence

 

[Cassidy]

Form is one thing but I'm still not entirely convinced he suits our style of play. He's a system player that benefits from a team that attacks as a unit where as we've always looked to individuals. He isn't suddenly going to change how he plays.

Would he have fit into Ten Hags Ajax? Most definitely, so it's how much we develop towards that and how quickly.

Were in the process of changing how we play. Patience

 

[Jim Beam]

Hm.. pretty timid performance overall. I have all the time in the world for Sancho as I think he is worth waiting for, but on paper this was a perfect game for him (or Dortmund Sancho). Open and end to end stuff where he can express himself and he also played a lot more in half-spaces or closer centrally which suits him better imo.

That self-belief is just not there yet and that's probably his biggest issue since coming to United. But, as I said, he is worth waiting for and in theory should suit ten Hag style of play. Would like to see him continue starting, think it will click with time.

 

[SirScholes]

He’s just a bit boring

right footed player on the left that doesn’t like to attacks his man, and go for goal
I don’t see the point

might as well play him as a 10
It’s like watching mata on the left (but with less drive)

 

[Dominos]

Just off the top of my head he fluffed 3 really promising moments. The cutback from Bissaka in 1st half and he scuffed it and it got deflected, when the ball dropped to his left foot in the box and he tamely put it wide, and the crossing opportunity he had in the 2nd half when we had players free begging for a good ball for an easy goal and he overhits it and puts the cross out of play.

Needs to be doing better in these key moments, you need to get a clean shots on target and deliver the right cross.

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

Almost every performance of his, you get the feeling that he should/could have done more.

He doesn't play with enough fire IMO. That's something Antony has over him.

 

[NinjaZombie]

Almost every performance of his, you get the feeling that he should/could have done more.

He doesn't play with enough fire IMO. That's something Antony has over him.

This. He just seems to do the bare minimum. I wonder if he thinks the same.

 

[Ali Dia]

He’s getting into the positions. He’s got the talent. It just needs to come together for him. I have faith but I wasn’t impressed tonight. If he was more clinical we’d have won that.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

Decent game. Hopefully improves with more starts.

 

[arthurka]

I fear for him, he just seems to lack interest and application. He defended well today that's the best I can do regarding his performance.

 

[AFC NimbleThumb]

Thought he did well enough, I’m a big fan though so will always see the best in the lad.

He’s been away from the team for months, not sure what people expect. We dominated them in Barcelona & he was on the pitch for a vast majority of it.

 

[zenith]

I swear the caf seems to think that he was away on superhero training and will come back flying into the new Ronaldo.

IMHO, it'll take time and lots of patience, our players deserve that and ETH deserves that. If he can turn around Fred and AWB, then i have faith that he can work miracles with sancho.

Besides, he was not terrible yesterday. He put in a solid effort and did pick up some important passes. The finishing left a lot to be desired and I still believe he's a fast better number 10 than winger

 

[Dannn411]

Not much has changed with his play. Still not aggressive enough on the ball and wilts far too easily for someone who hasn't played in two months. He was huffing and puffing 50 mins in. That's crazy.

 

[Dike_Manc]

He's so passive and soft. I mean better work rate but the game just passes him by. I don't know if it's nerves but I'm still not impressed.

 

[Fahad Jawaid]

Sancho for me was a big disappointment, he had a great chance which he missed, plus his overall involvement was very poor, from the whole team he looked the slowest with so little intensity, felt like he is just going through moments, plus he rarely attacked him full back, at one time, Bruno was instructing him to run at the player, because he had soo much space and time, and due to lack of confidence, he took a touch and crossed it in first time. He needs to sharpen up big time, because we are a goal scoring winger, Keeper and CM away from becoming a top side.

 

[Freak]

He should be expected to score at least one of those 2 chances he had. He made a mess of those

 

[Pronewbie]

Saw no difference before and after his individual training regime in this match. In the Leeds games I saw more aggressiveness and spark. His wildly over-hit cross when both him and Rashy were wide open in the 2nd half was unacceptable at this level. Comparing his desire vs Garnacho to get on the ball and make something happen is very stark indeed.

I'm just grateful we have Garnacho chomping at the bits to be a starter. That's the kind of United winger I'm more used to.

 

[Idxomer]

I'm surprised by all of the criticism tbh, I thought he did well and his stats look pretty good to me.

 

[Pexbo]

He’s definitely not quick and he’s definitely not a goalscorer, but I think he’s bringing quite a lot to the game and we’d definitely be worse off without him and that being said though he is an upgrade and you replace him with somebody like Kane and all of a sudden we are a very different team

 

[zenith]

Even at this point, I'd rather we play him than Antony.

 

[RedRonaldo]

He can be our new Mata.

 

[Fluctuation0161]

Judge him in a couple of months lads.

This.

He is only just returning FFS.

 

[shahzy]

Needs to train with a sports psychologist that gets him believing in himself. If he believes in himself then he will try and take people on. If he doesn't believe he can beat his man, then he'll turn back and pass back to the LB

 

[Matt851]

Almost every performance of his, you get the feeling that he should/could have done more.

He doesn't play with enough fire IMO. That's something Antony has over him.

Antony might be a bit more aggressive in the press but he hardly shows 'fire' when he has a chance to run at players.

Ultimately we seem to have bought two players for massive fees which have similar flaws.

The disappointing thing about sancho last night was how often his touch and passing let him down which are strengths of his. Hopefully it will come with more games

 

[Bebestation]

Maguire & AWB have had so many better 90 min perfomances than this guy. Sancho just stinks & Southgate got it right with him. The biggest flop in our history.

 

[flameinthesun]

Even at this point, I'd rather we play him than Antony.

For me at this moment in time Antony is not only the better player but a more effective player for the team. If we had Antony available for the Barca match I think we would have won it. Antony provides everything that Jadon has provided since he signed for us in terms of dribbling ability and passing. But Antony is more aggressive, offers better protection to the fullback and gets us up the pitch better than Sancho does. Both of them are lacking in the 1 v 1 take on's at the moment but in general Antony is the better player and better tactical choice at this point in time and if we throw in who is better on the right wing then its even less of a competition.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

Didn’t he play a good pass for the chance Rashford had to win it?

 

[Bebestation]

For me at this moment in time Antony is not only the better player but a more effective player for the team. If we had Antony available for the Barca match I think we would have won it. Antony provides everything that Jadon has provided since he signed for us in terms of dribbling ability and passing. But Antony is more aggressive, offers better protection to the fullback and gets us up the pitch better than Sancho does. Both of them are lacking in the 1 v 1 take on's at the moment but in general Antony is the better player and better tactical choice at this point in time and if we throw in who is better on the right wing then its even less of a competition.

Sancho looses the ball by running in to someone. Antony has defensive ability, doesnt lose possesion & atleast tries to take a shot.

 

[OrcaFat]

Judge him in a couple of months lads.

That’s right. I’m a tad concerned he won’t get the game time he needs to really kick on but it’s pretty pointless judging him now.

 

[Blood Mage]

He looks like a no.10 playing on the wing, the Mata comparisons aren't far off. I think he will be moved into the centre eventually.

 

[Matt851]

Sancho looses the ball by running in to someone. Antony has defensive ability, doesnt lose possesion & atleast tries to take a shot.

Antony turns backwards all the time and his shooting has generally been awful since the first few games.

Sancho wasn't great yesterday but I would still like to see him get more game time in the coming weeks to see if he can be more effective than Antony or enable eashford to go upfront

 

[Bwuk]

He should be moved centrally.

My concern with Sancho isn't ability, it's that he's not got the fight in him. In terms of technique, he's superb.

 

[El Jefe]

He should be moved centrally.

My concern with Sancho isn't ability, it's that he's not got the fight in him. In terms of technique, he's superb.

This couldn't have been proved more than in the play where a ball was in the air for what seemed like forever and he controlled it perfectly on a dime only to lose the ball in an extremely weak contested duel with Raphinha.

That one bit of play sums up his time here.