McTominay or Fred - Who's the better DM?

padzilla

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McTominay is much better than Fred but neither are great. I think McTominay offers more going forward. Fred is just dire. Starting him and a long past it Matic against a hard working pressing side is asking for trouble.
 

Bastian

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Fred is better at pressing, McTominay is more useful for set pieces (last night notwithstanding). Neither is a defensive midfielder.

I do think both looked good against City away, taking the ball in tough positions and - at that particular time - were capable of the half turn, playing balls forward.
 

pars77

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McT all day long for me , definitely the better player by a mile .
 

Litch

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I've seen Fred outplay and have more influence in that position than Scott but the CDM argument is boring....
 

Ali Dia

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Fred is our best combative midfielder and he's also the only one that regularly attempts to set the tempo and win the midfield battle. I’m not sure he’s a DM in the same way I’m not really sure Pogba is a box to box. Fred would ideally play box to box and Pogba the most attacking of the 3. I think if Pogba goes we will sign a DM and it’ll be new dm - Fred - Bruno. If Pogba stays I think it’ll be Fred- Pogba- Bruno. I think Pogba - Bruno is sloppy and have done since last season. They don’t really compliment each other and constantly giving the ball away cheaply invites too much pressure but with the lack of creativity in the forward line we need our other players to take more chances to try and create from deeper positions which can be a hard watch sometimes.
 

Schmeichel's Cartwheel

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Neither are good enough but Fred is much better in a pivot. Scott isn’t a DM, I think he’d excel at a midtable club as the most advanced midfielder in a 4-3-3. 4-2-3-1 really doesn’t suit him. His biggest strengths are breaking forward into the box & getting shots off.
 

Devil may care

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Neither are DM's, their positioning is often poor and they lose track of runners, I think Fred is a better ball winner when he can hunt it down, where as McTominay offers more goal threat.
 

Dante

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Fred is a gadfly. Annoying when he gets in your face, but comfortably swatted away. For all the good he provides, his contributions are too unpredictable and easily negated by his errors.

McTominay is a much more imposing opponent with fewer weaknesses and a more reliable skillset. A squad player at his best, but still a significantly better one than Fred.

Neither is top class. But if you had to pick one functional midfielder who could carry his weight and not force his teammates into mopping up his mistakes, McTominay's the one. Any midfield with Fred would be getting turned aound on a regular basis.
 

Dr Fink

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Neither are true DMs. This is evident in each of their performances , they do however complement each other together. We need a true DM who will stay in there and break up play, like Fernandinho or Fabinho. We need a more adaptive DM who can do a bit of that but also pass. So in my opinion, we need upgrades. Maybe DvdB as the second player.
 

Brightonian

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'Neither is a specialist DM', as I'm sure everyone has said. But Fred plays the role better, despite McT being somewhat the better player.

McTominay is box-to-box, through and through. He is no more a DM than Pogba is.
 

Glorio

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Fred - I feel McTominay is really limited as a player.

He looks busy in defence but doesn't seem to actually break up play and retrieve the ball, he doesn't press, he rarely passes forward with purpose, his positioning is all over the place, and he requires multiple touches to turn.

That said he's a presence on set pieces, a powerful runner with the ball, and has a great shot on him. Not necessarily priority traits in a DM though, as a backup CM, maybe
 

lost7

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Looking at the midfields of the top teams in europe, it makes it painfully obvious how neither of them are even close to good enough if we wanna challenge against the very top teams
 

drunkmonkmeth

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Fred is better defensively but i prefer mctomonay as a midfielder. Has alot of room to grow
 

SpanishMain

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What do we want from a DM.
Protect the CBs
Good at defense
Speed to make up for our "slower" CBs
A tank of a fella, not to be pushed around, a little bit nasty
Good ball handling playing out of the back
Good forward passing, that when the ball is intercepted it isn't just givin back
Can go forward on teams that park the bus.

This sounds like a description of Shaw.
I'd like to see him there for a short while in a game that isn't close
 

Raveneye

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Fred's strengths help him make up a *lot* for his weaknesses as a DM. He doesn't have great positional sense, but he's got endless energy. He presses and tackles just fine. He gives the ball away a lot with his inconsistent passing, but he wins the ball back just as much. Honestly if he were simply more physically imposing while keeping all the same traits he'd be a decent DM for us.

McTominay is a thorough box to box midfielder and a serviceable defender. He rarely gets dispossessed and has the energy and physicality to carry the ball forward reliably and win battles. He's terrible positionally and doesn't quite have Fred's energizer bunny levels to make up for it. He likes the play to be in front of him but doesn't have the passing flair to break lines. He also has a terrific shot on him. We see this translating into his forward passes often being almost like shots at players.
 

anant

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If you're playing with 2 DMs then Fred is better, if one then McT.

Fred commits himself way too early for my liking and it's quite easy to get him off his position leaving a giant hole in front of defence. Fred offers a lot of energy and doggedness and can even do a job on a non-elite player if asked of him, but apart from that, there's not much to write home about - his passing is erratic, shooting is atrocious, tackling is hurried, passing range is limited, not the greatest decision maker. Way too many fundamental issues in him to come a sole DM
 

Kostov

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None of them is good enough of a CDM, if I'd have to pick one I'd probably say Fred, but I wouldn't trust him because he isn't good enough. If I'd have to choose who to keep as a midfield option, Scotty in a split second gets the nod.
 

Cassidy

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Neither are good enough as a DM
 

SparkedIntoLife

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Both seem to be 8s (not that this is a great term; box to box is probably better) more than 6s.

My assumption is we'll sell Pogba this coming window. Fred and McTominay are good enough, for me, to warrant competing with each other for a starting position in the box to box role next season. I'd slightly give the edge to McTominay. Bruno Fernandes is obviously the attacking midfielder and there's a decision to be made about his backup - do we give Donny more chances (who could also come into consideration for the box to box role, though I don't think that's his game), does Lingard return, do we trust youngsters like Mejbri and Shoretire or get someone in cheaply like Calhanoglu?

With Bruno and Fred/McTominay as starters then, the big deficiency in the midfield would seem to be composure in possession and shielding the back 4. Therefore, we'd need someone more in the Carrick mode rather than the spoiler type. Most of the DMs linked to us seem to fall into the latter category. Matic is the right profile but is far too slow now and I doubt he'll offer much next season; especially as a bit part player where he can't build match rhythm. Garner probably needs another year out on loan. Tuanzebe might be being groomed for the DM role and he has many of the required attributes but is too much of a gamble. Ndidi seems to have good passing stats and is a phenomenal ball winner too. He'd be expensive but is probably my pick. Rice is another good option.
 

theklr

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As of now I'd put Fred there just because of his work rate and intensity.
 

SoCross

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Both are good solid members of the squad and each would be great 8s in a three man midfield but neither can be classed as solid DMs.

Fred - inconsistent touch
McT - Defensive positioning is a bit flawed.

Above two limitations make them a bit of a risk to be played as a sole DM. If I had to pick one of the two to play that role though, would probably plump for Fred since his other defensive attributes are better than McTs.

Oh for a prime Matic or Carrick.
 

DWelbz19

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What do we want from a DM.
Protect the CBs
Good at defense
Speed to make up for our "slower" CBs
A tank of a fella, not to be pushed around, a little bit nasty
Good ball handling playing out of the back
Good forward passing, that when the ball is intercepted it isn't just givin back
Can go forward on teams that park the bus.

This sounds like a description of Shaw.
I'd like to see him there for a short while in a game that isn't close
Shaw is genuinely playing to world class, one of the best in Europe level at LB for a consistent period of time like never before - what's the thought process from fans; take him from that position and shove him somewhere he has never played before. :lol:
 

JB7

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Shaw is genuinely playing to world class, one of the best in Europe level at LB for a consistent period of time like never before - what's the thought process from fans; take him from that position and shove him somewhere he has never played before. :lol:
I don't agree with the poster & certainly wouldn't move Shaw from left back but in fairness that was exactly what Guardiola did with Lahm at Bayern.
 

Polar

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McT has potential, but today the DM position is one of our weakest sides. Both Fred and McT is far from good enough to be starters on a title challenging team.
 

El Zoido

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Fred has gone back to being absolute dogshit. McT is fine imo, still got a lot of development too.
 

Ali Dia

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The problem isn’t the DM position. I’ve no idea why everyone is so hung up on this. The problem is our front 5 of Pogba Bruno Rashford and whoever else aren’t finding each other in good positions. The forwards aren’t making good runs and we are either way too slow or way too direct in our buildup. Like we literally have a fresh DM sitting on the bench in every game and he doesn’t get used at all. Our forwards and attackers huff and puff in every game and actually create very little. That’s the actual problem
 
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