Nick Powell

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Another attack minded midfielder being "moulded". Not sure about this.
 
This was expected. He wasnt going to be a striker.. obviously he would have to work on his defensive duties. He was always going to be a midfielder.

Not really surprising.
 
Its not unusual for a young midfielder with good technical ability to be deployed further up the pitch early in his career where there is less defensive responsibility.
 
Anybody who has seen Powell play, what qualities does he have to make him a good midfielder? Is he a good enough passer and defensively?
 
He wouldn't get games if he was in the hole or an attacking midfield with kagawa and rooney in the hole anyway - but I'm sure he will still be encouraged to play an attacking role.
 
He's a central midfielder, he was just being pushed up to play off a striker because he has a great talent for striking the ball and scoring goals for Crewe.

For United, who dont need a player in this position given we have Rooney and Kagawa, he can play his prefered position in CM.

This also suggests we signed him because we think he's an exceptional talent regardless of where he's playing
 
De Selby said:
Didn't Scholes start as an attacking midfielder/striker?
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Striker actually I think. See, the thing is, all this experimentation is fine when the central midfield isn't the weakest part of the team or possibly in conjunction with a more immediate improvement of it. But right now we already have Anderson and Cleverley who are still learning how to play as pure central midfielders. Leaving just Carrick and a 38 year old who are genuine central midfielders. Add powell to that and you have more guys learning than learned, as odd as that sounds.
 
Not sure if this has been posted before but it's an interesting read.
Crewe mentor hails Powell

Crewe Alexandra director of football Dario Gradi says new Manchester United signing Nick Powell was in high demand prior to Sir Alex Ferguson's swoop.

In an exclusive interview with MUTV, Gradi - the man who has overseen the development of some top-class talent at Gresty Road - not only praised the young forward but also Sir Alex for the decisive way he acted during the negotiations.

"Nick Powell is a match winner," asserted the Crewe supremo. "He doesn't rely on other people to make the goals for him. He's not a six-yard box player. In fact, we've been trying to encourage him to get in that six-yard box more. But he picks the ball up, runs at people and finishes with a goal. He wins matches on his own.

"I used to watch him in Crewe's Under-16s, training on a Monday night, and he'd hit them in from everywhere. When he joined us and came with the first team, he was a little more reluctant to do that. Perhaps he lost a bit of confidence doing that and he was playing in a more central role for England, where he was passing the ball.

"We managed to persuade him not to do that if you can score. Don't become a 'steady Eddie' if you can become a special player. He scored a terrific goal at Wimbledon for us and it reminded us of the goals he used to score for the Under-16s, going on from there to score some terrific goals."

According to the Crewe supremo, Powell is a unique talent - different to players like Dean Ashton and David Platt who've rolled off the conveyor belt at Gresty Road. "We've had some terrific players at Crewe who went on to play for England, but Nick's not the same as any of them. He does a similarjob to [current England player] Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain."

United had to fend off competition from rival clubs for Powell's signature but Sir Alex was determined to win the chase for the 18 year-old after witnessing his talents first hand.

"There was a lot of speculation," revealed Gradi. "Sir Alex came to watch him and then rang me up a couple of days later and said: 'Do you want to do a deal?' I said: 'I thought you were going to watch him for the rest of the season!' Sir Alex explained they were not going to learn much more about him as they'd got him down to a tee. We didn't want to stop the boy joining United so we worked together on an agreement.

"There were [other clubs interested] but I have to say Sir Alex wanted Nick more than anybody else did and worked harder at it. I was very impressed with the way Sir Alex went about it and what he said. If he was trying to sign me, I'd have signed!

"What Sir Alex has done is challenge the boy to do what Ronaldo did. Young players worry about their chances of playing when they go to United. But Sir Alex told Nick, 'If you do well enough, you'll get a chance. Ronaldo went on as sub (on his debut against Bolton) and was outstanding so I picked him.' Nick has got to be good enough, first of all, in training to be named as a sub but that's the challenge Sir Alex has given him."
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The comparison with Oxlade-Chamberlain is a bit strange.

Mind you, I can see Fergie playing him out wide a fair bit. Seems to be a standard part of their development for a lot of our CMs (e.g. Fletcher, Gibson)
 
amolbhatia100 said:
Striker actually I think. See, the thing is, all this experimentation is fine when the central midfield isn't the weakest part of the team or possibly in conjunction with a more immediate improvement of it. But right now we already have Anderson and Cleverley who are still learning how to play as pure central midfielders. Leaving just Carrick and a 38 year old who are genuine central midfielders. Add powell to that and you have more guys learning than learned, as odd as that sounds.
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Otherwise known as Arsenal syndrome.
 
Pogue Mahone said:
Into a midfielder.

Who will presumably still be attack minded.
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Weren't you in agreement with me in the hope that we sign a proper central midfielder this summer who we don't have to change a great deal to fit in? Granted Powell was probably signed with a view to make a potential impact in a few years and not immediately but the sentiment still stands.
 
amolbhatia100 said:
Weren't you in agreement with me in the hope that we sign a proper central midfielder this summer who we don't have to change a great deal to fit in? Granted Powell was probably signed with a view to make a potential impact in a few years and not immediately but the sentiment still stands.
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I still think we need a proper central midfielder.

What I don't have an issue with is taking an 18 year old player and making him a bit more well-rounded as a footballer.
 
Pogue Mahone said:
I still think we need a proper central midfielder.

What I don't have an issue with is taking an 18 year old player and making him a bit more well-rounded as a footballer.
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Powell's basically replacing Pogba in the squad.

The space for a central player, if Fergie is after one, is still there with the age of Scholes, Giggs and Fletcher crocked.

Still plenty of numbers in the position, mind you. Enough for Fergie to go into the season without adding someone he does not rate.
 
Ole'sbodyguard said:
Powell's basically replacing Pogba in the squad.

The space for a central player, if Fergie is after one, is still there with the age of Scholes, Giggs and Fletcher crocked.

Still plenty of numbers in the position, mind you. Enough for Fergie to go into the season without adding someone he does not rate.
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Yeah, it could go either way.

The one reason I really think Fergie would consider beefing up our midfield is the departure of Hargreaves combined with Fletcher's illness.

Even if he's willing to gamble that Giggs and Scholes won't experience a sharp decline due to their age the loss of Hargreaves and Fletcher in successive seasons can't possibly be filled by the likes of Anderson, Cleverley, Kagawa or Powell - none of whom possess the defensive attributes of the players we recently lost.
 
petrucci will probably play carling cup and fa cup games. we have to go all out attack to win the league this season. i honestly cant wait to see kagawa and powell shine.
 
Will Absolute said:
If he doesn't go on the tour, it's hard to see Petrucci featuring. Does anyone know if he's signed a new contract? It was talked of, but I can't remember seeing confirmation.
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It hasn't been confirmed by United yet, only an Italian journalist said on Italian TV he had signed a 3-year deal.

I have a feeling he's not going on the tour (I don't know why) which would be a disappointing news, as he's one of players who deserved it after last season's performance in Reserves. I hope it's only my feeling and he goest with the team to South Africa and China.
 

Tell us about your first day.
"Walking into the dressing room and seeing my name on my peg was a great feeling and the first people I saw were Giggsy and Scholesy. I’m just used to seeing them on TV so it was pretty amazing to see them stood there."

From the official site interview. I don't think confidence will be a problem for him if he's already on nickname basis with the two legends.
 
Gazza said:

Tell us about your first day.
"Walking into the dressing room and seeing my name on my peg was a great feeling and the first people I saw were Giggsy and Scholesy. I’m just used to seeing them on TV so it was pretty amazing to see them stood there."

From the official site interview. I don't think confidence will be a problem for him if he's already on nickname basis with the two legends.
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:lol:
 
So, people want us to sign a centre midfielder, we sign one, and now people are arguing that the centre midfielder we signed isn't really a centre midfielder. Fergie thinks he is, Dario Gradi reckons he is, and Nick Powell reckons he is. I'd say he probably is.

For a few years now we've lacked a midfielder capable of scoring goals, I've heard countless United fans, including plenty on here, complain about our lack of a Lampard type player. We've now signed two players potentially capable of scoring goals from midfield areas and still we aren't happy.
 
The Neviller said:
So, people want us to sign a centre midfielder, we sign one, and now people are arguing that the centre midfielder we signed isn't really a centre midfielder. Fergie thinks he is, Dario Gradi reckons he is, and Nick Powell reckons he is. I'd say he probably is.

For a few years now we've lacked a midfielder capable of scoring goals, I've heard countless United fans, including plenty on here, complain about our lack of a Lampard type player. We've now signed two players potentially capable of scoring goals from midfield areas and still we aren't happy.
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You seriously can't figure out why some might not be happy about this signing?
 
I understand what you're saying TN, but neither Kagawa or Powell fit the bill for the type of CM most people think we need.

People have mentioned, Modric, Martinez, Moutinho, and others, players who are capable of hard work, defensive duties but with a spark of flair, technique and great passing.

Personally, I think we do need a player of that ilk also. Actually I think Anderson, when fit and in form is as good as any of those players and exactly what we need, alas even I, one of his biggest admirers would be fearful in trusting that he stays injury free and would quite like to see someone come in, incase he has another bad season, injury wise.
 
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