tjb
Full Member
- Joined
- Sep 6, 2013
- Messages
- 3,336
There were some positives , but a lot of bad things.
Bruno is a good player. One of the things I was worried about with him was he would not have the strength and balance to keep up with play in the premier league as we saw with Mhikhi. He rode challenges and never seemed like the game was too fast for him which is the fear from players coming in from a new league. He is also not as erratic as some would have you believe in game, and was consistently picking out attackers ( who had consistently poor control). He was also a bit more reserved than he will be moving forward, but given that we had no real presence in midfield alongside Fred, I could see the need for that.
Shaw and Fred looked good today. Maguire was and has been outstanding over the last few weeks, if he had another defensive partner capable of actually defending, we would not concede many goals. Get Tuanzebe in there and test it.
AWB was average to poor in attack, but as usual solid defensively. We need to find a way to accomodate this as he will never be an offensive juggernaut but is so good defensively that it would be daft to abandon him. We need a right winger that can attack and alleviate AWB of too much attacking responsibility.
We have a real dearth of attacking quality in this side and have had this for a long time. Martial was horrible today. He did not make any runs, he constantly drifted out of position and his control of the ball was terrible, and has been terrible over the last month. For me, LVG's second season was soo bad due to the lack of penetration brought from the lack of runners in the side. That season, Martial was our no.9. When Rashford came into the side, LVG quickly pushed Martial out wide. I'm starting to sense his reasoning now.
Daniel James is a good option to have, but today showcased what he looks like when he is off form. It's not good enough to start for us, but he can be a useful option off the bench. Pereira was poor again, so poor that Bruno had to take his role deep in midfield. Then was so poor in attacking midfielder that we shifted him to the left hand side. With a front line containing Mata, Martial and James, and a midfield containing Pereira, it is little wonder as to how we were not able to create chances today. These are players ( bar Mata) that literally need to be guided on how to move the ball offensively. I do not think Fred is a good play either, he is average. But at least he can consistently replicate a 6/10 midfield performance which is good enough to be a squad player for any utd side. As for the rest of the Front 6 (bar Bruno), I really think they would struggle to play for a lower table side.
The good thing for us is that we have 3 players that would otherwise have started today. The bad news is that none of them would have played as a no.9, right winger or centre back.
Bruno is a good player. One of the things I was worried about with him was he would not have the strength and balance to keep up with play in the premier league as we saw with Mhikhi. He rode challenges and never seemed like the game was too fast for him which is the fear from players coming in from a new league. He is also not as erratic as some would have you believe in game, and was consistently picking out attackers ( who had consistently poor control). He was also a bit more reserved than he will be moving forward, but given that we had no real presence in midfield alongside Fred, I could see the need for that.
Shaw and Fred looked good today. Maguire was and has been outstanding over the last few weeks, if he had another defensive partner capable of actually defending, we would not concede many goals. Get Tuanzebe in there and test it.
AWB was average to poor in attack, but as usual solid defensively. We need to find a way to accomodate this as he will never be an offensive juggernaut but is so good defensively that it would be daft to abandon him. We need a right winger that can attack and alleviate AWB of too much attacking responsibility.
We have a real dearth of attacking quality in this side and have had this for a long time. Martial was horrible today. He did not make any runs, he constantly drifted out of position and his control of the ball was terrible, and has been terrible over the last month. For me, LVG's second season was soo bad due to the lack of penetration brought from the lack of runners in the side. That season, Martial was our no.9. When Rashford came into the side, LVG quickly pushed Martial out wide. I'm starting to sense his reasoning now.
Daniel James is a good option to have, but today showcased what he looks like when he is off form. It's not good enough to start for us, but he can be a useful option off the bench. Pereira was poor again, so poor that Bruno had to take his role deep in midfield. Then was so poor in attacking midfielder that we shifted him to the left hand side. With a front line containing Mata, Martial and James, and a midfield containing Pereira, it is little wonder as to how we were not able to create chances today. These are players ( bar Mata) that literally need to be guided on how to move the ball offensively. I do not think Fred is a good play either, he is average. But at least he can consistently replicate a 6/10 midfield performance which is good enough to be a squad player for any utd side. As for the rest of the Front 6 (bar Bruno), I really think they would struggle to play for a lower table side.
The good thing for us is that we have 3 players that would otherwise have started today. The bad news is that none of them would have played as a no.9, right winger or centre back.