McTominay - what’s his potential?

[MadDogg]

Much better than Cleverely, oshea, Jones and Fletcher in my eyes if he had the luck of being managed by SAF.

What makes you think he would have been better than Fletcher in particular?

Fletcher's talent was hugely rated as he came through the youth ranks, always a big stand-out. SAF even tried to get special dispensation to play him when he was still on a schoolboy contract, when he would have been the youngest player to ever play in our first team. Once he did break into the team he struggled for a few years, but that was at least partly due to his physical limitations (obviously not particularly fast and at that time he was very skinny and weak). By the time he was 24 he had stepped up and become a very good and important midfielder for us, that was unfortunately cut short because of his illness.

Meanwhile, McTominay was never particularly highly rated in the youth teams. Honestly he is big, a decent dribbler and has a good shot. That's about it. In most of the key aspects of being a midfielder he's below the average mid-table PL midfielder.

It's not just a question of manager, there's a significant difference in talent between them.

 

[MadDogg]

I'd like to see him in the holding midfield role. He's definitely got more to offer.

That's the position he's been playing since Ralf took over. Scott was actually quite good for the first month (arguably his best ever run of games for us IMO) and had me wondering if maybe I'd been too harsh on him and he was going to be able to step up further. But since then he's completely fallen away again.

 

[lex talionis]

Scotty’s sole significant attribute is taking shots from distance. He can’t defend, can’t read the game, can’t pass and can’t dribble. To my knowledge he’s not even a significant scoring threat on crosses, despite his height. No top ten PL club would consider for a moment making an offer for him.

 

[Corridor of Uncertainty]

I think he'll make a top class technical director 10 years from now.

 

[Bebestation]

What makes you think he would have been better than Fletcher in particular?

Fletcher's talent was hugely rated as he came through the youth ranks, always a big stand-out. SAF even tried to get special dispensation to play him when he was still on a schoolboy contract, when he would have been the youngest player to ever play in our first team. Once he did break into the team he struggled for a few years, but that was at least partly due to his physical limitations (obviously not particularly fast and at that time he was very skinny and weak). By the time he was 24 he had stepped up and become a very good and important midfielder for us, that was unfortunately cut short because of his illness.

Meanwhile, McTominay was never particularly highly rated in the youth teams. Honestly he is big, a decent dribbler and has a good shot. That's about it. In most of the key aspects of being a midfielder he's below the average mid-table PL midfielder.

It's not just a question of manager, there's a significant difference in talent between them.

Well SAF rating Fletcher was one of the biggest reason he was rated in the first place. I don't really see much difference to mctominay and how much sAF rates him.

Fletchers best performances for me were nothing that special, nothing more in his career than world class performances that i could count in one hand and is a player I would sell right now if he was playing in our team being managed by Ole, Jose and Rangnick.

I'm not really here to convince anyone about Mctominay; the Same as no one can convince me that Fletcher, Cleverely and players like Jones or Oshea could do it to a top standard without SAF and in the middle of a well run team that had players like Rooney, Ronaldo Ferdinand, VDS and a list that is a different level to what we see now.

Mctominay for me is just being utelised more than he should and is therefore currently getting more blame than he should. To make matters worse he is not even being used in his best position or way by average managers and a club that has still not bought a CDM to replace matic.

 

[matt23]

I think he'll make a top class technical director 10 years from now.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

Lots of running and physicality as you'd expect from bottom half team's midfielders, and the odd driving run / long range shot. Great potential.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

Well SAF rating Fletcher was one of the biggest reason he was rated in the first place. I don't really see much difference to mctominay and how much sAF rates him.

Fletchers best performances for me were nothing that special, nothing more in his career than world class performances that i could count in one hand and is a player I would sell right now if he was playing in our team being managed by Ole, Jose and Rangnick.

I'm not really here to convince anyone about Mctominay; the Same as no one can convince me that Fletcher, Cleverely and players like Jones or Oshea could do it to a top standard without SAF and in the middle of a well run team that had players like Rooney, Ronaldo Ferdinand, VDS and a list that is a different level to what we see now.

Mctominay for me is just being utelised more than he should and is therefore currently getting more blame than he should. To make matters worse he is not even being used in his best position or way by average managers and a club that has still not bought a CDM to replace matic.

Obviously nobody can convince you when the opinion you hold is so flawed you bundled Fletcher with Tom Cleverley

 

[Champ]

Strange, not many United fans seem to rate him,

Yet so far, Jose, Ole, Carrick and Ragnick have all praised McT and started him, he constantly gets picked and starts for his national team, and is highly thought of by SAF and Warren Joyce amongst many others.

I think he's a very good footballer, good on the ball, great feet and a good strike as befits someone who started out as a striker. He isn't a defensive minded midfielder, he is much more natural as a number 8.

 

[MadDogg]

Fletchers best performances for me were nothing that special, nothing more in his career than world class performances that i could count in one hand and is a player I would sell right now if he was playing in our team being managed by Ole, Jose and Rangnick.

I'm not really here to convince anyone about Mctominay; the Same as no one can convince me that Fletcher, Cleverely and players like Jones or Oshea could do it to a top standard without SAF and in the middle of a well run team that had players like Rooney, Ronaldo Ferdinand, VDS and a list that is a different level to what we see now.

Cleverley yeah, you're probably right. O'Shea...maybe; there's quite a lot of similarities there now that I think about it. His ability to play so many different positions puts him ahead of Scott in my eyes, but with better management and development I think Scott might have been able to reach O'Shea's level. Jones is a bit harsh because it comes down to his injuries - if it weren't for them he would definitely have been better but with them...yeah, maybe.

It's Fletcher I do feel you are significantly underrating though. Fletch reached a much higher level than any of the others, and (as long as we're talking about him in his mid-20's before the illness) would easily be our best midfielder today.

 

[Bebestation]

Obviously nobody can convince you when the opinion you hold is so flawed you bundled Fletcher with Tom Cleverley

Sure. There is some people who see such players win whilst SAF is their manager and instantly cry about how these players are great

• Welbeck
• Cleverley
• Smalling
• Jones
• Fletcher
• Oshea
• Mikael Silvestre
• Quintin Fortune
• Rafael
• Tom Howard
• Chicharito
• Roy Carrol
• Smith
• Kzusack
• Richardson
• Van der gouw
• Ashley Young
• Lindegaard
• Gibson
• Ben Foster
• Djemba Djemba
• Kleberson
• Chadwick
• Bellion
• Macheda
• Greening
• Obertan
• Butner
• Liam Miller
• Phil Bardsley
• Ben Amos

Such such average players that were available to perform for SAF for different performances or lengths.

A manager that was always able to get better performances out of so many players than their actually footballing quality.

If you would like more average players that SAF used, I can find plenty more.

• Chris eagles
• De Laet
• Rossi
• Spector
• Possebon
• Powell
• Fabio
• Tosic

Plus more.

Mctominay would be a better player under SAF. These players were.

 

[alexanderplatz]

I think that United are in such a place right now that they should be retaining anyone with the right attitude and who shows a bit of fight. I also think he is good enough to play in a midfield rotation, maybe not in the biggest games but certainly to be in United’s core 14/15 players

 

[Remember the geese]

I think he's a very good footballer, good on the ball, great feet and a good strike as befits someone who started out as a striker. He isn't a defensive minded midfielder, he is much more natural as a number 8.

Sounds like Paul Scholes.

 

[MalaysianRed7]

He’s shown that he’s not an awful footballer, but he has to go imo. I think he’d be solid for a Palace or Brighton. Tenacious and energetic, but just not good enough technically to play for us.

 

[luke511]

Strange, not many United fans seem to rate him,

Yet so far, Jose, Ole, Carrick and Ragnick have all praised McT and started him, he constantly gets picked and starts for his national team, and is highly thought of by SAF and Warren Joyce amongst many others.

I think he's a very good footballer, good on the ball, great feet and a good strike as befits someone who started out as a striker. He isn't a defensive minded midfielder, he is much more natural as a number 8.

Yeah it's strange that fans have gotten bored of watching him after all the ineffective performances he's put in over the last 2 years, whilst never getting dropped for it.

 

[Gordon Godot]

Yeah it's strange that fans have gotten bored of watching him after all the ineffective performances he's put in over the last 2 years, whilst never getting dropped for it.

Yes most of those managers have also wanted a DM but not got one. So being the best of a poor group is hardly a ringing endorsement. Matic at 33, who was never mobile in his youth, is essentially who he competes with.

 

[United in sin]

Strange, not many United fans seem to rate him,

Yet so far, Jose, Ole, Carrick and Ragnick have all praised McT and started him, he constantly gets picked and starts for his national team, and is highly thought of by SAF and Warren Joyce amongst many others.

I think he's a very good footballer, good on the ball, great feet and a good strike as befits someone who started out as a striker. He isn't a defensive minded midfielder, he is much more natural as a number 8.

If doesn't matter if he's rated by those people. What he shows on the pitch shows he's not worthy of such lofty praise. He's shite and won't the the first player Fergie really liked that failed at the club. There have been a good number

 

[clarkydaz]

Strange, not many United fans seem to rate him,

Yet so far, Jose, Ole, Carrick and Ragnick have all praised McT and started him, he constantly gets picked and starts for his national team, and is highly thought of by SAF and Warren Joyce amongst many others.

I think he's a very good footballer, good on the ball, great feet and a good strike as befits someone who started out as a striker. He isn't a defensive minded midfielder, he is much more natural as a number 8.

remind us where he plays for...Scotland

 

[Champ]

remind us where he plays for...Scotland

Yeah.

What's the point you're trying to make here?
There's plenty of other Scottish CM and CBs yet he still gets picked first above them.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

Strange, not many United fans seem to rate him,

Yet so far, Jose, Ole, Carrick and Ragnick have all praised McT and started him, he constantly gets picked and starts for his national team, and is highly thought of by SAF and Warren Joyce amongst many others.

I think he's a very good footballer, good on the ball, great feet and a good strike as befits someone who started out as a striker. He isn't a defensive minded midfielder, he is much more natural as a number 8.

He starts for his national team.... at centre back because all their other CMs are better than him given they can the pass the ball. He starts for us because we have no midfielders .

 

[Champ]

If doesn't matter if he's rated by those people. What he shows on the pitch shows he's not worthy of such lofty praise. He's shite and won't the the first player Fergie really liked that failed at the club. There have been a good number

So the thoughts if multiple coaches, managers and ex professionals mean little now?
Why is it you think they keep on starting McT? Why is it Jose came up with a new award to give to McT? Just seems strange of he's not worthy of this praise!

 

[amolbhatia50k]

Yeah.

What's the point you're trying to make here?
There's plenty of other Scottish CM and CBs yet he still gets picked first above them.

He doesn't get picked ahead of their CMs which says it all.

 

[United in sin]

So the thoughts if multiple coaches, managers and ex professionals mean little now?
Why is it you think they keep on starting McT? Why is it Jose came up with a new award to give to McT? Just seems strange of he's not worthy of this praise!

Means feck all to me when he plays like a championship player. Fergie played his son Darren Ferguson and he wasn't good enough either. He played him enough to win a league title medal. Fergie lavished the late Liam Miller with praise and he couldn't cut it at united. Do you think McTominay would be a starter or even a bench option at any of our major rivals? Think for yourself

 

[wolvored]

Well SAF rating Fletcher was one of the biggest reason he was rated in the first place. I don't really see much difference to mctominay and how much sAF rates him.

Fletchers best performances for me were nothing that special, nothing more in his career than world class performances that i could count in one hand and is a player I would sell right now if he was playing in our team being managed by Ole, Jose and Rangnick.

I'm not really here to convince anyone about Mctominay; the Same as no one can convince me that Fletcher, Cleverely and players like Jones or Oshea could do it to a top standard without SAF and in the middle of a well run team that had players like Rooney, Ronaldo Ferdinand, VDS and a list that is a different level to what we see now.

Mctominay for me is just being utelised more than he should and is therefore currently getting more blame than he should. To make matters worse he is not even being used in his best position or way by average managers and a club that has still not bought a CDM to replace matic.

Fergie gave fletcher more chances of becoming an average player than any other player got who wasnt that good, imo. Scottish probably had something to do with it.

 

[Denis79]

Strange, not many United fans seem to rate him,

Yet so far, Jose, Ole, Carrick and Ragnick have all praised McT and started him, he constantly gets picked and starts for his national team, and is highly thought of by SAF and Warren Joyce amongst many others.

I think he's a very good footballer, good on the ball, great feet and a good strike as befits someone who started out as a striker. He isn't a defensive minded midfielder, he is much more natural as a number 8.

We watch him the most.

 

[baskinginthesun]

He starts for his national team.... at centre back because all their other CMs are better than him given they can the pass the ball. He starts for us because we have no midfielders .

I think he starts at CB because Scotland doesn't have any CB's. I mean, even Robertson and Tierney have played at CB at times for Scotland. He has played in CM when there are enough CB's available.

 

[Green_Red]

He has reached it I believe. He doesn't show much desire, at least when I watch him, to continue to improve his game. Gets caught ball watching too much for me. Another Cleverly, will do brilliantly for a mid table team when he is eventually sold on, but for a club with ambitions to win titles, he's not the answer. Sorry if that upsets him but he can either show he is capable by starting to dominate games from midfield like proper midfielders do or accept that where he is at currently is the limit of his professional development as a midfielder.

 

[tomaldinho1]

Yeah.

What's the point you're trying to make here?
There's plenty of other Scottish CM and CBs yet he still gets picked first above them.

Name an elite level Scottish CB or CM that he starts over.

 

[Green_Red]

Cleverley yeah, you're probably right. O'Shea...maybe; there's quite a lot of similarities there now that I think about it. His ability to play so many different positions puts him ahead of Scott in my eyes, but with better management and development I think Scott might have been able to reach O'Shea's level. Jones is a bit harsh because it comes down to his injuries - if it weren't for them he would definitely have been better but with them...yeah, maybe.

It's Fletcher I do feel you are significantly underrating though. Fletch reached a much higher level than any of the others, and (as long as we're talking about him in his mid-20's before the illness) would easily be our best midfielder today.

O'Shea was 10 times the player McTominay is, the fact he sat on the bench for most of his United career is a good indicator of the lack of quality in our current midfield options.

 

[Champ]

We watch him the most.

More than the managers??

 

[Champ]

Means feck all to me when he plays like a championship player. Fergie played his son Darren Ferguson and he wasn't good enough either. He played him enough to win a league title medal. Fergie lavished the late Liam Miller with praise and he couldn't cut it at united. Do you think McTominay would be a starter or even a bench option at any of our major rivals? Think for yourself

The only teams in the league that I feel McT wouldn't get into would be City, Chelsea and Liverpool.
He'd walk into Spurs and Arsenal's Midfield, ditto any team beneath United.

In fact I'd go so far as to say McT is a better player than Kieta and so would probably be a squad player at Liverpool instead of him.

Of course I expect to be lambasted by many on here for this view!

 

[amolbhatia50k]

I think he starts at CB because Scotland doesn't have any CB's. I mean, even Robertson and Tierney have played at CB at times for Scotland. He has played in CM when there are enough CB's available.

No Scottish posters have already said that they have better CMs which is why he's moved to CB. I'm not surprised given how mediocre he is with inability to pass

 

[Champ]

No Scottish posters have already said that they have better CMs which is why he's moved to CB. I'm not surprised given how mediocre he is with inability to pass

That's not the case.

He has started at CB often as a makeshift, but has started several times when fit in CM,
I don't see any posters claiming otherwise unless I've missed them?

 

[King Azaz the Unabridged]

The only teams in the league that I feel McT wouldn't get into would be City, Chelsea and Liverpool.
He'd walk into Spurs and Arsenal's Midfield, ditto any team beneath United.

Curious to see if fans of West Ham, Wolves, Leicester and Villa will agree with this. Because from what I've seen of their starting midfielders, McTominay's not walking in ahead of any of them. Not Spurs either.

 

[Idxomer]

No Scottish posters have already said that they have better CMs which is why he's moved to CB. I'm not surprised given how mediocre he is with inability to pass

From what I've seen, he's hardly anything special as a CB for them. He was abysmal against Croatia the last Euros and showed the usual weaknesses in his game.

 

[MadDogg]

The only teams in the league that I feel McT wouldn't get into would be City, Chelsea and Liverpool.
He'd walk into Spurs and Arsenal's Midfield, ditto any team beneath United.

In fact I'd go so far as to say McT is a better player than Kieta and so would probably be a squad player at Liverpool instead of him.

Of course I expect to be lambasted by many on here for this view!

The thing is that I'm trying to see your point of view, but I honestly don't understand what you're seeing in him. Defensively he is regularly caught badly out of position and is lazy at making his way back once the opposition are past him. When his teammates have the ball he is terrible at making himself available to receive a pass (it regularly looks like he is going out of his way to hide behind opposition players). And when he himself has the ball he is a below average passer in terms of both vision to see the pass and technique to make it, and he normally has to take too many touches to get control of the ball.

In terms of what he is good at, he's quite good at intercepting passes, winning aerial balls, shooting, dribbling, and once or twice a match playing that long diagonal ball out to the left wing. It's simply not enough. Every now and then he has a match where his passing does look quite sharp, but it's pointless if he's only doing that four or five games a season.

 

[United in sin]

The only teams in the league that I feel McT wouldn't get into would be City, Chelsea and Liverpool.
He'd walk into Spurs and Arsenal's Midfield, ditto any team beneath United.

In fact I'd go so far as to say McT is a better player than Kieta and so would probably be a squad player at Liverpool instead of him.

Of course I expect to be lambasted by many on here for this view!

Burnley is his level. Proper rubbish Brexit squad

 

[Foxbatt]

I can tell you his potential. Fighting with the fans?

 

[Denis79]

More than the managers??

Our managers no, other managers and pundits yes.

 

[Roboc7]

The only teams in the league that I feel McT wouldn't get into would be City, Chelsea and Liverpool.
He'd walk into Spurs and Arsenal's Midfield, ditto any team beneath United.

In fact I'd go so far as to say McT is a better player than Kieta and so would probably be a squad player at Liverpool instead of him.

Of course I expect to be lambasted by many on here for this view!

Have to go down to Brighton/Brentford in the table to find a team that he’d be a guaranteed starter for, other than us of course.

He’s not really a midfielder just someone with good attitude and good physical attributes. We’re shoe horning him into the team as a midfielder, Scotland shoe horn him in at CB. I understand Scotland doing it but no excuse for it happening at Utd.