McTominay - what’s his potential?

[zenith]

He has a higher ceiling than fletcher. Some of the performances he has put in well exceed fletch at his age.

Still is vital we get a proper DM first, so that he can continue to grow in a box to box role

 

[Classical Mechanic]

I was discussing this with my dad last night, letting Mctominay off the leash is what's best for his career, if you suppress that urge to get about the field then you are taking half of his ability away.

It's a moot point when playing a deep defence though. He's player for a certain kind of game.

 

[buckooo1978]

thought his performance yesterday was a throwback

reminiscent of a young Roy Keane in his early days at United when he played more box to box. Shades of Lampard too with that goal threat he had.

His running was superb yesterday and a couple of super strikes too.

Just hope he's fit soon as, coupled with Fred, we have our most effective pairing in midfield

 

[TrustInJanuzaj]

He’s a good squad player, if he ever wants to be more than that he has to get better and more accurate with his passing. Not impossible, but not that likely either.

 

[John Blund]

He’s a good squad player, if he ever wants to be more than that he has to get better and more accurate with his passing. Not impossible, but not that likely either.

If he plays like he did yesterday, even without his goals, he'll be considered one of the best box-to-box in the game. He's very accurate with his short passing, and I don't think he's been below 85 % in one game this season? I'd pick him over Pogba at the moment - even if Pogba had fired his agent. Sure, Pogba got flair, but you won't see him trailing back non-stop throughout a game.

 

[SecondFig]

He has a higher ceiling than fletcher. Some of the performances he has put in well exceed fletch at his age.

Still is vital we get a proper DM first, so that he can continue to grow in a box to box role

I really like McTominay - and think he is (and can continue to be) a really important part of our squad. But I disagree with this take - I think it hugely undervalues Fletcher's ability.

 

[dogwithabone]

Is it just my imagination or does McTominay concede a very low number of fouls considering the position he plays in and the type of player he is ? The first yesterday was a great hit but the touch and composure for the second was top class, would be great if we can get him and Fred contributing to the goal tally regularly.

 

[ClaytonBlackmoorLeftPeg]

Is it just my imagination or does McTominay concede a very low number of fouls considering the position he plays in and the type of player he is ? The first yesterday was a great hit but the touch and composure for the second was top class, would be great if we can get him and Fred contributing to the goal tally regularly.

fred is never going to score goals, he has no composure, and can’t shoot, so can’t expect that he’s ever going to do that. McT on the other hand, and not just yesterday has shown he’s capable - and has time to work on that part of his game.

the second goal yesterday, was sublime. His control was outstanding.

 

[DWelbz19]

He could be our Leon Goretzka.

I don’t see why not — he has the same build and skill set for it.

 

[Salil]

fred is never going to score goals, he has no composure, and can’t shoot, so can’t expect that he’s ever going to do that. McT on the other hand, and not just yesterday has shown he’s capable - and has time to work on that part of his game.

the second goal yesterday, was sublime. His control was outstanding.

I can't agree more. He seems very composed and was making excellent forward runs yesterday. If he continues this, no reason he can't contribute 8-10 goals every season.
It's funny how people say he has no place in a title winning squad. Actually, it's these kind of players who are essential to building a team that can challenge and win regularly. A team of 11 Pogbas won't win anything. Individual brilliance gives the necessary spark but you need such players to make sure the team plays as a cohesive unit.

 

[GueRed]

He's a very useful player to have in the squad.

Even when he doesnt have great games he puts in a good shift for the team (unlike some).

I dont get the stick he gets from the plastics.

He has the right mentality for a club like us. He isnt lazy. He works hard on his self development and works hard for the team.

Him coming through the system has saved us at least £20 million.

To think we paid £25 million for Morgan Schneiderlin!!

 

[ClaytonBlackmoorLeftPeg]

I can't agree more. He seems very composed and was making excellent forward runs yesterday. If he continues this, no reason he can't contribute 8-10 goals every season.
It's funny how people say he has no place in a title winning squad. Actually, it's these kind of players who are essential to building a team that can challenge and win regularly. A team of 11 Pogbas won't win anything. Individual brilliance gives the necessary spark but you need such players to make sure the team plays as a cohesive unit.

good post. Even if McT just ends up as a useful squad player, he will be worth his weight in gold. We can’t continue to spend £30-50m on squad players.

players like Fletcher, Butt, P.Neville, Evans, O’Shea, Brown were so important to our success.

the manager trusts him, and he plays the big games. It’s exciting to see him develop.

 

[ROFLUTION]

He's put in some fantastic displays alongside Fred against top teams like Liverpool and PSG - He actually suits us better when we sit deep and hit the counter in big games. A gem for the upcoming away CL ga.. argh

 

[Polar]

McT has potential to become a key player and the best box to box player United have had for many many years. Think he has greater potential than players like Carrick, Fletcher, Butt.

He has great leader skills and work capacity. Yesterday I was deeply impressed by his offensive drive and ability to cut through the midfield with the ball in high speed.

His passing skills are not bad in general, but I’ve observed he often make some sloppy passes when he have won the ball outside our own penalty area. Think that will improve a lot when he gets more experience. Have to remember he is still young, especially in the aspect of being a CM.

McT doesn’t remind me of any former United players. Have we had this kind of player before?

 

[JakeC]

McT has potential to become a key player and the best box to box player United have had for many many years. Think he has greater potential than players like Carrick, Fletcher, Butt.

He has great leader skills and work capacity. Yesterday I was deeply impressed by his offensive drive and ability to cut through the midfield with the ball in high speed.

His passing skills are not bad in general, but I’ve observed he often make some sloppy passes when he have won the ball outside our own penalty area. Think that will improve a lot when he gets more experience. Have to remember he is still young, especially in the aspect of being a CM.

McT doesn’t remind me of any former United players. Have we had this kind of player before?

Very very high praise. Michael Carrick was the best midfielder in the league for a couple of seasons.

 

[Bebestation]

For me he shines a bit more than Fletcher, Oshea or Nicky Butt did - I feel like people are rating them with them because of the homegrown decent average player type when Mctomminay is better than that already.

I'm not thinking his Carrick or Scholes, but I think at Mctomminay's prime he can be as important as Hargreaves was for us during a CL campaign who was a super underrated player in our CL winning squad and didn't make that last due to Injury problems, hopefully Mctomminay can be the consistency version of something similar.

 

[Web of Bissaka]

Is it just my imagination or does McTominay concede a very low number of fouls considering the position he plays in and the type of player he is ? The first yesterday was a great hit but the touch and composure for the second was top class, would be great if we can get him and Fred contributing to the goal tally regularly.

Yup, he's very discipline and calculative when to tackling or not. He normally just "contain" defending than go for the tackles straightaway.

 

[Tapori]

He has a higher ceiling than fletcher. Some of the performances he has put in well exceed fletch at his age.

Still is vital we get a proper DM first, so that he can continue to grow in a box to box role

This.
The Fletcher comparisons have a limit.
He can pass between lines and you can see Carrick's influence. Will grow. A solid player for the next 5 years at least and a good shout to Mourinho too.

 

[Conor]

When he's good, he is very good, but when he's bad, he literally can't pass the ball 5 yards. He would need to bring up the level of his bad games for him to have a chance here, I think.

 

[Polar]

Very very high praise. Michael Carrick was the best midfielder in the league for a couple of seasons.

Perhaps... But I’m still talking about potential. At the same time I have to admit I’ve never rated Carrick to be among the top 3 midfielders in the league, but that’s my personal opinion I absolutely agree he was a very very valuable player to us, but to me he was an excellent team player more than a world class individual player.

 

[Ollie Derbyshire]

When he's good, he is very good, but when he's bad, he literally can't pass the ball 5 yards. He would need to bring up the level of his bad games for him to have a chance here, I think.

To have a chance here? Come on that’s a bit harsh, the lad is a solid player who obviously has a higher ceiling than most thought.

 

[Conor]

To have a chance here? Come on that’s a bit harsh, the lad is a solid player who obviously has a higher ceiling than most thought.

Well, he could obviously just sit on the bench and play the odd game/couple of minutes, I more so meant if he wants to play every week. I really like him, but he can be so bad, and it's not a once in a blue moon occurrence.

 

[roonster09]

His passing is erratic which is a big negative for a CM, not the simple passes but when he tries to play between the line passes. But he has lot of positives too. For me he is among the best CMs in the league when it comes to dribbling. His dribbling ability is very underrated. Yesterday was pure box to box performance, he was making attacking runs even in 90th min.

 

[Devil may care]

I think you have to take into context that no other team sets up like Leeds, yesterday you could have landed a Cargo Plane in the space left gy them in midfield at times. McTominay runs with the ball pretty well and he can shoot, I think one of the issues is we wwnt him to play deep most of the ti e and it doesn't play to his strengths as his positional sense is so-so, he gets ran off too easily and his passing from deep isn't great, he's best when he can hunt and press like Fred, while also being able to join the attack, he's a #8 that we mostly ask to play as a #6.

My view remains the same long term, good squad player to have but if we intend to challenge for PL and CL titles I think both him and Fred aren't starters week in and week out.

 

[sugar_kane]

He was an absolute beast yesterday, one of the best performances I've seen from a United player in years.

What I particularly liked about (and he shows it often when he's at his best) is the sheer confidence and swagger he plays with, he's come a long way since Mourinho was throwing him into the team to make a point to our board/show what a wonderful champion of youth he is.

 

[Schmeichel's Cartwheel]

Top 3 player off all time, Messi come outside McPlatini will see you now.

 

[Bobski]

Butt is a little underrated now. He fell off after 25 but he was a very good player, and often kept Scholes out of the team on merit .

He is characterized as a workhorse, but he was a good passer of the ball, with excellent range, and if you watch some of that era it is striking how good he could be at penetrative early passes to the strikers feet.

 

[kopviolator]

He seems to be growing in confidence. He's making very useful runs with and without the ball. Work ethic is top notch. But it's the same with him as everybody else, he needs to put in shifts like yesterday consistantly. He'll be a very useful player if he manages to do so.

 

[izec]

Rubbishing the DM talks yesterday. As i said, box to box is his best role and let him grow in it. He will never be a DM and replace Matic or whatever the talk was a while ago, his passing (especially long range) and positioning isn't good enough/consistent enough. You don't turn suddenly into a maestro in these areas in your mid twenties. You mostly have a high potential there or not, and he doesn't. That deep lying playmaker role can't be mastered just like that, you have to have a certain natural ability and be a great passer.

However, for a box to box player, he has all it takes. Great performance yesterday. Great energy, runs and he can score. He is competitive and wants to be it. Unleash the beast.

 

[Superden]

Didnt bother with the match day thread as its just one big knee jerk moan-fest nowadays, apart from 30 mins before kick off to check the line up, the tantrums at his being picked were already in full flow. wonder if any of them actually took on some of the humble pie?

 

[rcoobc]

The Caf is bipolar

 

[Superden]

He's potentially a very good midfielder, the fact that he's not showing signs of being a Xavi, Scholes or Pirlo (or a mixture of all three reading some of the posts here) doesnt mean he should be jettisoned. lets see how he develops, at worst he'll be great squad player and homegrown to boot. at best he could follow the trajectory Fletcher took, from being the boo boys favourite target to a key fixture in the starting lineup..

 

[harms]

Butt is a little underrated now. He fell off after 25 but he was a very good player, and often kept Scholes out of the team on merit .

He is characterized as a workhorse, but he was a good passer of the ball, with excellent range, and if you watch some of that era it is striking how good he could be at penetrative early passes to the strikers feet.

I agree. I'd say that they follow roughly the same career trajectories with McT at the moment.

edit: I didn't realise that McTominay was 24 already! I was sure that he was like 21 or 22.

 

[Ali Dia]

If he can chip in with goals like yesterday then he can become a really important first team player. Right now he’s a specialist and he can be a little bit headless. Effort never in question but as we’ve seen when he’s at it he can go and really hurt teams and that’s a big step up from just doing a job and being a spoiler. More of this!

 

[KiD MoYeS]

Keane rates him so that's good enough for me.

 

[simplyared]

The following was posted by 2 caf members a couple of weeks back:

Caf member 1:Fred carries him a lot in their partnership which makes people think he's playing better than what he actually shows on the pitch.

Answer caf member 2: Yep. It's been starting to change recently, but for ages people have been talking about the Fred-McTominay partnership as if they are equals in there. McTominay is a decent partner for him in certain games, but he doesn't have anywhere close to the all-round game that Fred does so can't really replace him when played next to anyone else. He doesn't have the pressing ability, the ball-playing ability or the off-the-ball movement that Fred brings.

It's posts like this that get my goat and I can tell you they aren't alone!

 

[mark_a]

His potential is massive, as shown yesterday, BUT he has to improve his game on days where his shots don't go in & he doesn't get the space! It's stating the obvious really. McT has had some great performances for us already in big games, but we've struggled as a team to keep our focus, start well or battle when the going is tougher.

Positives have got to be the fact that he can learn off some class players who have good movement / attitude e.g. Bruno, Mata, Cavani etc.
What yesterday also showed was players capable of starting a game sharply & also following instructions. e.g. McTominay & James selections turned out to be spot on.

 

[Okey]

I'm careful not to get carried away with his barnstorming performance yesterday. He was afforded the freedom of midfield against poor midfielders. I do like and rate him though. He won't have many games like yesterday but he can comfortably spend his entire career here as a credible back up or squad player, exactly like Fletcher was.

 

[DavelinaJolie]

He's a good squad player and useful option to have. Yesterday was an exceptional performance, but it's not like he is routinely very good.

 

[Stacks]

First of all, we have to analyze the players when they were at the same age.

He's got all of the attributes Fletcher had at that age, and a few more besides.

For one he has that physicality to bully other players. While nowhere near the technical level of a Scholes, he is still slightly better in possession than Fletcher was. He doesn't dilly-dally, and while he needs a touch, it's not at the pedantic levels of a young Fletch.

He's got more of a goal threat and he looks like he's only going to get better in that department. The way he took his second goal today was very classy indeed. I've never seen Fletcher strike the ball with the same ferocity (and accuracy) that McTom has.

While he has a similar role in the team, he's not limited in the way that Fletcher was. You can see him imposing himself on the opposition as an attacking threat, not just as someone to contain them.

I don't think we are talking world class here or anything, but he's clearly a stronger prospect than Fletcher was at the same age.

At the same age Fletcher had 40 Scotland caps and got into a midfield with Carrick, Scholes, Giggs, Hargreaves

I was discussing this with my dad last night, letting Mctominay off the leash is what's best for his career, if you suppress that urge to get about the field then you are taking half of his ability away.

He's a box to box player who has an eye for goal as well, he could be the complete midfielder with development but making him hold is killing his career.

He is made to hold because he lacks the talent and requirements to play elsewhere. 2 different managers have identified this.

He has a higher ceiling than fletcher. Some of the performances he has put in well exceed fletch at his age.

Still is vital we get a proper DM first, so that he can continue to grow in a box to box role

Stop with the Fletcher disrespect. Scott is plays CB for Scotland nowadays which does not suggest he is the great Scottish midfielder that was Darren Fletcher.

McT has potential to become a key player and the best box to box player United have had for many many years. Think he has greater potential than players like Carrick, Fletcher, Butt.

He has great leader skills and work capacity. Yesterday I was deeply impressed by his offensive drive and ability to cut through the midfield with the ball in high speed.

His passing skills are not bad in general, but I’ve observed he often make some sloppy passes when he have won the ball outside our own penalty area. Think that will improve a lot when he gets more experience. Have to remember he is still young, especially in the aspect of being a CM.

McT doesn’t remind me of any former United players. Have we had this kind of player before?

So reactionary. literally one performance and now he is the GOAT? if you look at his performance thread it has very little praise and much talk of his limitations and the need of an upgrade and then one top performance vs Leeds and BANG, he can be the best all of a sudden. We will need to upgrade on Scott at some point if we want to be a serious team and compete in the CL.

For me he shines a bit more than Fletcher, Oshea or Nicky Butt did - I feel like people are rating them with them because of the homegrown decent average player type when Mctomminay is better than that already.

I'm not thinking his Carrick or Scholes, but I think at Mctomminay's prime he can be as important as Hargreaves was for us during a CL campaign who was a super underrated player in our CL winning squad and didn't make that last due to Injury problems, hopefully Mctomminay can be the consistency version of something similar.

O'shea yes. Butt was able to keep Paul Scholes out of our team. Fletcher made premier league team of the year. Scott could never.