Maybe they should make all CB's start out as midfielders, would be for the better. Case study: Paddy McNair
33
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 18
- Clean sheets
- 5
- Goals
- 0
- Assists
- 0
- Yellow cards
- 2
I'd say Rio Ferdinand is a better example.
How did he get ahead of Thorpe in the pecking order? Im curious
LVG must really see something in him, because before his debut it was barely plausible that he'd debut before Thorpe. I think it's a good sign, there must be something about him that LVG really rates and wants to work with.
It's not laughable when you've got exactly those players to compare to. Remind yourself at how good Jones and Smalling were at that age. What kind of performance they were capable of, Jones especially. Jones played 28 PL games when he was younger than them. He was frankly better than them. McNair has been good but Jones was better. Injuries have not been kind to him but those two need to make a big progress to get to his standard.
It's not unreasonable to make guess work at this stage. After all, it's only guesswork. If someone would ask me I'd have to guess that neither of them are future starters for Man. United but to be fair, that's a very easy guess to make as the odds are stacked against them. Evans is 26 now and has only been a starter in his United career because of injuries. He's never been first choice. So if they end up being as good as Evans then they'd still only be good enough as backups.
I'm just happy that he's doing well. Maybe he's going to be the kind of a new generation of CB's. Started out as a MC but was moved back. Comfortable on the ball. There aren't many CB's like Vidic or Rio in sight so he might just be this new kind of breed of player.
The thing I like so far, is the fact he never seem's flustered. Jones still has that body language or panic at times, and I have noticed Blackett dithers too long and then ends up getting rushed too. Mcnair though just has that air of calmness which I think is important, especially in a vital role like a CB.
got to agree with you about his calmness. sometimes he does hoof the ball unnecessarily under no pressure but he does look calm most of the time.
Probably due to him being good vs. longer balls and making clearances, while Thorpe is a little bit short. LVG has mentioned lots of times that its difficult to defend against longballs and when we have injuries at the back and need to bring kids in, its only going to get harder. But Paddy has been one of our best at defending against them this season
He's 6'2! His official stats are outdated, they say he's 6'1. McNair's stats say he's 5'8 but he's at least 6'0 now.
Well thats that then. I certainly didnt expect him to be that tallHe's 6'2! His official stats are outdated, they say he's 6'1. McNair's stats say he's 5'8 but he's at least 6'0 now.
Still my point is that McNair has been one of our best clearing longer balls. It doesnt really matter if Thorpe is 7'4, if McNair is doing better dealing with them then he's doing better and I guess LVG is in the best place to judge who is doing it better.
That's what's wrong with todays football. His idol is fecking Sergio Ramos, that's just sad.
Ramos is a pretty good defender. I'm sure he wasn't idolizing his red cards.
Alright. McNair just popped out of nowhere for me, never heard of him before he got called up.
He said if he could pick his favourite defenders of all times he would pick Ramos and Rio.
Ramos isn't really good defender, but even if he is, you can surely agree that there were dozens of better ones to pick out even in last ten years.
McNair's history probably doesn't go back more than 4-5 years, during which Ramos has been quite good.
Seriously, don't let the red cards fool you. He's better than you give him credit for.
I've watched him more than enough to say he is average defender who is considered to be good mostly because of his abilities on the ball.
He really wasn't, but OK, we have different opinions on Ramos.
He's not the most likeable guy, but he is a very good defender. I'm sure McNair is more interested in the latter.
If anything, it's rather refreshing his idols are players in a similar-ish mould to him. I'd agree and say I'd prefer a Ramos or Rio over a 18 yard clogger.
Surely he's heard about other greats, like Baresi, Maldini, Nesta?
Dunno why dude's getting so worked up over McNair's opinion TBH. He likes Romos ? Big deal, maybe he intends on mimicking Ramos' effortless ability in possession, which is extremely good for a defensive player, or his extroverted passion for the game.
As an example Lionel Messi idolized Aimar, hardly the greatest player in the world, was considered a letdown in Valencia and is currently playing in the Malaysian League.
http://www.fcbarcelona.com/football/first-team/detail/article/aimar-messi-s-childhood-idol
That's what's wrong with footballers of the mid 2000s ?
As an example Lionel Messi idolized Aimar, hardly the greatest player in the world, was considered a letdown in Valencia and is currently playing in the Malaysian League.
http://www.fcbarcelona.com/football/first-team/detail/article/aimar-messi-s-childhood-idol
That's what's wrong with footballers of the mid 2000s ?
Maybe he wants to formulate his own opinion, based around players he's observed, than rely on hearsay in a display of name-dropping. Or maybe he's a hipster, and doesn't subscribe to conformity wrt the established order.
I wouldn't say Ramos and Rio are very alike myself.
I'm sure he just likes Ramos' goalscoring ability and some of the things he's done on the ball, something that McNair as a former attacking player can model his own game on
I like your second theory better. Anywho, he could model himself as Robert Huth for all I care, as long as he comes good.
He hasn't even played at CB for that long so probably wasnt modelling his game on defenders at all tbh growing up. Not sure why people are getting worked up.
wow he never watched jaap stam play..
He is 19, he would of been like 6 when he left. I only just saw/remember Stam playing and im a couple of years older
I didn't say "Kill him because he likes Ramos!", ffs, it's just stupid that someone has Ramos as his favourite defender of all times.
You don't think it's sad that Ramos is considered as one of the best defenders in the world year by year?
Yep, that's exactly what's wrong with football,,,
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Jaysus, this page. How is liking any player sad? Not everyone's favourite players are Ronaldo and Messi, they can like whoever the feck they want.
Ramos is a very 'modern' defender. Personally I don't think there's a single centre back currently playing at the top level that gets anywhere near the legends of the 90's and 00's (the latter for me ending with the decline of Rio + Vidic). Defensively speaking of course. Centre backs at the top level are geared more to being surrogate CM's these days, in my opinion of course. Granted you'll have a few that play with a more classic style but ball playing seems to be an important attribute now rather than halfway down the checklist.
If he had said David May was his favourite, would that be more or less acceptable?
If he'd said that he'd certainly need therapy, two spoonfuls of Cod-liver oil everyday and leeches applied to his genitals for an hour each morning..!
Southampton 1:2 Man Utd
Right decision to take him off. Hope it doesn't affect his confidence
That average rating will take a hell of a beating after the game.
Our Centre backs are a mess.
Tough decision, but the right thing to do. Seemed completely unconcentrated.
He was a liability. Had to be done. He's got good potential, hopefully he'll look at it as a learning experience.