PARK-A true unsung hero

pocco

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I know he scored today, but he was fecking awful for the majority. Why does he always look like he's playing football on an ice-rink? As soon as pressure is applied to him he is all over the floor. I know he has a lot of fans on here, but I genuinely believe that when we start bringing in an upgrade for these types of players then we will be a lot better off.
 

SATA

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He was criminally rubbish apart from his very well-taken goal. Heavy touch when he received every single pass, falls over whenever he was challenged for the ball
 

pocco

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He was criminally rubbish apart from his very well-taken goal. Heavy touch when he received every single pass, falls over whenever he was challenged for the ball
:lol: I'm glad it's not just me that thinks this. It massively unbalances our team having him down one side as he doesn't pose a threat. This is probably why he moved inside for the majority.

If you were the opposition manager you would just tell your players to get stuck in to him, he just cannot cope with it at all.
 

kouroux

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He was criminally rubbish apart from his very well-taken goal. Heavy touch when he received every single pass, falls over whenever he was challenged for the ball
I think you're harsh in general but I agree with this part.It happens too much, he has a recurrent problem of balance
 

SATA

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The ironic thing is he has actually great balance, watch him play for South Korea prior to his retirement and you'll see that, and he's very good at receiving and keeping possession. But when he plays against the big men especially in a frantic pace, he's just quite the opposite
 

Cheesy

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I think his problem is that he's not the sort of player you want for a top team in the middle of the pitch. Sure, he'll work his socks off for you, but he's not known for his passing ability and retention of the ball, which is what you often need.
 

davisjw

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Much prefer him in the middle where his awareness and runs are put to better use. But he's a good winged backup, he's just getting older. Let's remember not everyone is like Scholes and Giggs who magically get better with age like Fergie's favorite wine.
 

RedDevilCanuck

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Love him.

His performance against Chelsea last year in the league at Old Trafford was one of the best I have seen.
 

Sean_RedDevil

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That he's in the team isn't the problem.

That Park plays as central midfielder with only one other player there is the big problem........Crystal Palace, Blackburn and now Ajax.............all defeats and our CM was always terrible.

I don't understand why Fergie and the other coaches can't see it.
 

manusteve

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Park had a wretched game. I don't think he IS a good squad player anymore. Fergie talked about the young defence in post-match interview (fair enough) but the central midfield was very poor - matched with Nani having one of his enigmatic games - ceded most of the midfield to Ajax.
Park and Cleverley, I hope, NEVER play as a pairing in central midfield again.
 

MacMUFC

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The thing with Park, is that he's an incredibly average player. One or two good hardworking performances in big games allow people to overlook the rest of his poor performances.

Amazing to think posters were adding him to their list of our competent midfielders. He's average on the wing and downright awful in the middle.
 

noodlehair

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The thing with Park is he's not a central midfielder.

He's completely incapable of playing there on even a basic level. In much the same way David De Gea can't play on the wing.

Playing him there once was extremely daft. It's unfair on him and makes the whole team's task more difficult. Playing him there in subsequent games afterwards when you had the option of playing an actual midfielder there instead is shocking.
 

tintedsepia

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Thing is he's not even a squad player anymore.

1. He used to be quick. He lost that but could still close down and cover. He's now too slow for that.

2. He's too slow on the ball and other teams close down too quickly while he's still getting it under control.

3. He's not a physical presence.

4. For a small player it shocking his lack of manipulation of the ball and movement.

If he were a young player SAF would have sent him out on loan or sold him. I couldn't believe it LAST SEASON when we were considering offering him a new contract. But this season he's no longer a United player - I'm sorry, but there it is.

This ISN'T one of those we lost moments because in Europe you can lose any game. But he now offers not much apart from eating up minutes on the pitch when you don't want to risk injuries to key players.
 

Mr Anderson

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He isnt a CM style player. When played there he gets lost and brushed off the ball too easily. The game has passed him by today because of that.
 

tintedsepia

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It's the same on the wing these days. Lost a lot of pace which is why SAF is trying to move him back inside.

I don't blame him I believe he's trying his hardest. But he isn't good enough now and SAF is doing him no favours!
 

Nathan

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I cant seem to find anything good to say about park. The commentator kept on about how you could be assured that he would give 100%. The question is 100% of what, he didnt close the ball down quick enough and just seemed to come up short.
 

devilish

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He's a winger played as a defensive midfielder. That's how we try to sort things these days.
 

Anduin

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He played CM vs. Crystal Palace, Blackburn and now Ajax at home. No coincidence we lost all three games, we basically gave up the midfield battle before it even started. Park is clearly not capable of performing in a midfield two, he offers no protection for the back four and nothing going forward as well. Not his fault though, he's no CM, can't see why he is being picked by Fergie even in games we're expected to win.
 

marjen

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The thing with Park is he's not a central midfielder.

He's completely incapable of playing there on even a basic level. In much the same way David De Gea can't play on the wing.

Playing him there once was extremely daft. It's unfair on him and makes the whole team's task more difficult. Playing him there in subsequent games afterwards when you had the option of playing an actual midfielder there instead is shocking.
This is it, basically. It's really unfair to expect him to perform when shuffled into a central midfield spot in a makeshift team of players trying to get their fitness back.

It might work against Aldershot, but then again, playing David De Gea on the wing would probably work against Aldershot.

Can we please stop playing players who aren't central midfielders, in central midfield? It's annoying.
 

Orton

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If we stuck Carrick on from the start last night i'm positive the game would have been a lot more comfortable. That's all it needed.
 

mariachi-19

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He's started to lose what made him so special. He was always a high intensity player which made up for his flaws and complemented his strength, so it's not surprising that he's not been capable of adapting his game. Park is a cult hero and always will be, but his days at United are surely numbered. I hope he goes back to Korea and takes the piss for a while.
 

towcester_red

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This is it, basically. It's really unfair to expect him to perform when shuffled into a central midfield spot in a makeshift team of players trying to get their fitness back.

It might work against Aldershot, but then again, playing David De Gea on the wing would probably work against Aldershot.

Can we please stop playing players who aren't central midfielders, in central midfield? It's annoying.
This is what pisses me off when people say we have loads of options as people can fill in there. They arent centre mids.

De Gea looks good technically, maybe he can fill in too.
 

Brophs

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I never like seeing Park in areas where he has a lot of the ball and has to use it well. He's more about movement and discipline rather than keeping the ball in tight areas and being constructive.
 

marjen

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I never like seeing Park in areas where he has a lot of the ball and has to use it well. He's more about movement and discipline rather than keeping the ball in tight areas and being constructive.
I like Park as a winger with license to move infield. His movement and link-up play in advanced areas are his strengths offensively.

He's never, ever going to be able to dictate the play, or monopolize the ball, from a deeper central midfield position. It's not what he do. And his defensive game is about hustling and harrying, not covering space and reading the game.

It's basically a position he's so obviously not suited to play in. I can't for the life of me understand why Fergie decides to start him there with Carrick, Scholes, Giggs and Pogba available. Baffling.
 

Smores

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I like Park as a winger with license to move infield. His movement and link-up play in advanced areas are his strengths offensively.

He's never, ever going to be able to dictate the play, or monopolize the ball, from a deeper central midfield position. It's not what he do. And his defensive game is about hustling and harrying, not covering space and reading the game.

It's basically a position he's so obviously not suited to play in. I can't for the life of me understand why Fergie decides to start him there with Carrick, Scholes, Giggs and Pogba available. Baffling.
Because Park needs games and the others need resting? Fergie's intentions were pretty clear with that selection, the 2-0 lead gave him the opportunity, it was a massive gamble and one he probably shouldn't have taken. We're through though and it's not like he's going to start Park in CM in important games.
 

marjen

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Because Park needs games and the others need resting? Fergie's intentions were pretty clear with that selection, the 2-0 lead gave him the opportunity, it was a massive gamble and one he probably shouldn't have taken. We're through though and it's not like he's going to start Park in CM in important games.
No, it's not like he started Park and Rafael as a midfield-pairing against some shite team, and we lost 3-2..

Oh wait.

He's been starting people in strange positions all season, IMO. Often when he had other, more suited options available. And it's cost us, and could very well have cost us last night as well.
 

SATA

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Apparently rumours of interest from Galatasaray. He wants to retire at United which is entirely fair, but i can see Fergie accepting any offers for him if it comes in
 

Cheesy

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I wouldn't be surprised if he left myself. He's been a good servant for us, but we can't really afford to be too sentimental with players.

If he really begs with Fergie then he may be allowed to stick around here for another year, since Fergie has always seemed to have a soft spot for him, but I'm not sure.
 

JakeC

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He's not going. Not ITK or anything, just would make no sense whatsoever.