What I don't understand is why Fred's passing is constantly put down. Fred's passing doesn't have to be poor to make the point that Neves is a good passer or has a good range of long passing. Reading some opinions, it's as if he's a League 1 passer of the ball and his only skill is legging it around. I am convinced some people get individual actions stuck within their head, or form an opinion and religiously stick to it despite the fact Fred has probably been our key midfielder for some time.
If Neves was miles better than Fred at passing it would be seen in the numbers, there is no getting around that. He might be better at certain aspects, especially long passing as that's not really in Fred's game, but Fred is quite clearly a consistent passer that can also play through the lines. He's also our midfielder that is most available to team mates yet despite his willingness and productivity the odd miscontrol or stumble is the focus rather than the consistent performances.
If we want to find areas where our passing stumbles I would look at McT (who is also underrated in this respect by fans) as he's less available and less incisive. Or Pogba who has ability but will overcomplicate things, or Matic who's legs do not keep up with his technical ability. Fred is a ridiculous one to focus on in my opinion, not least because he's also incredibly tenacious and athletic.
Maybe these two would even be the choice combination. Fred would cover a lot of Neves shortcomings, and perhaps vice versa.
If Neves was miles better than Fred at passing it would be seen in the numbers, there is no getting around that. He might be better at certain aspects, especially long passing as that's not really in Fred's game, but Fred is quite clearly a consistent passer that can also play through the lines. He's also our midfielder that is most available to team mates yet despite his willingness and productivity the odd miscontrol or stumble is the focus rather than the consistent performances.
If we want to find areas where our passing stumbles I would look at McT (who is also underrated in this respect by fans) as he's less available and less incisive. Or Pogba who has ability but will overcomplicate things, or Matic who's legs do not keep up with his technical ability. Fred is a ridiculous one to focus on in my opinion, not least because he's also incredibly tenacious and athletic.
Maybe these two would even be the choice combination. Fred would cover a lot of Neves shortcomings, and perhaps vice versa.
