He makes Matic look mobile
Ruben Neves | Signed for Al Hilal (SA)
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik and Imran hold a long overdue conversation about United's awful league form with 1 win in 7. They discuss a disappointing draw at Bournemouth, a not so disappointing draw against Liverpool and a crushing defeat at Chelsea - Is time nearly over for Erik Ten Hag?
Then in a special second half of the pod, Nik welcomes Natalie ( https://twitter.com/natalie_17) to discuss the fortunes of Manchester United Women as they booked a place in the FA Cup Final after a historic first ever win vs. Chelsea.
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The difference between his efforts to bomb forward and get back to defend were absolutely hilarious today.
That one moment at the start of the 2nd half where he got pickpocketed and should have led to goal number 3 summed him up for me. Fred would have had a 1,000 hate tweets after that .
He has a decent passing range and can score a screamer, but doesn't dictate tempo (Moutinho does) and tackling is so so. Don't want.
He has a decent passing range and can score a screamer, but doesn't dictate tempo (Moutinho does) and tackling is so so. Don't want.
I wanted him last summer even though I knew he wasn't a top tier player.
But he wouldn't have needed to be in this squad. For creativity, we have Bruno and Sancho in front. For defensive solidity, we have Maguire and Varane behind. What United needed in midfield was somebody who could tackle and intercept (like Fred and McTominay), bring the ball out of the back (like Matic and VDB), and switch the play with long passes (like Pogba).
Neves isn't necessarily a CL level player in any other team. But as a missing piece in United's jig saw, I think he would have been a great fit. In any case, Ole didn't think so. So if United didn't buy Neves when he was available in the summer, we won't be buying him at any point in the future either.
Our scouts are obviously looking for all-rounders who can do a variety of things in order to make us more tactically flexible. Which is difficult to disagree with given our midfielders put on a shitshow on Tuesday after a red card and in the face of a high press. Which meant they had to be replaced by Lingard at DM (!).
Neves might be a better fit for United's current midfield than Pogba, Fred or McTominay. But he's also just as limited when the context of the game changes. So let's just move on and go for the next Bellingham or Camavinga - somebody who can do a bit of everything whenever the game demands it.
But he wouldn't have needed to be in this squad. For creativity, we have Bruno and Sancho in front. For defensive solidity, we have Maguire and Varane behind. What United needed in midfield was somebody who could tackle and intercept (like Fred and McTominay), bring the ball out of the back (like Matic and VDB), and switch the play with long passes (like Pogba).
Neves isn't necessarily a CL level player in any other team. But as a missing piece in United's jig saw, I think he would have been a great fit. In any case, Ole didn't think so. So if United didn't buy Neves when he was available in the summer, we won't be buying him at any point in the future either.
Our scouts are obviously looking for all-rounders who can do a variety of things in order to make us more tactically flexible. Which is difficult to disagree with given our midfielders put on a shitshow on Tuesday after a red card and in the face of a high press. Which meant they had to be replaced by Lingard at DM (!).
Neves might be a better fit for United's current midfield than Pogba, Fred or McTominay. But he's also just as limited when the context of the game changes. So let's just move on and go for the next Bellingham or Camavinga - somebody who can do a bit of everything whenever the game demands it.
That assist tonight.. sign him up - would fit perfectly in our team.
Don’t fall for it he’s a YouTube player. Scores only crackers and does some sublime passes but overall he’s decent at best
I disagree with you, think it’s way to easy disregarding him like that. He’s been instrumental for Wolves this season and solid for several seasons now. He would easy claim a spot in our midfield.
Is he better than fred ?
His passing certainly is.
His passing certainly is.
Any decent DM who can pass, would be great addition to our squad to be honest.
It's still a no thank you from me.
This would be one of my worst nightmares.
I just don't see it with him. It's like people see his ability to pass and think that this is all that makes a good midfielder.
I just don't see it with him. It's like people see his ability to pass and think that this is all that makes a good midfielder.
Worst nighmares?
He is not bad actually, I feel he certainly wouldn't be worth the fee required to bring him in, but he would be a good option for our team imo.
Isn't one of his issues that he is super immobile, on what planet would that fit into our newer more intensive pressing play style?
That’s what the experts in here are claiming yeah. Looking at his stats from the previous seasons as well as the current one he has more press-involvements than McTominay(but less than Fred). Judging by that he seems to fit in just fine, and probably better than McTominay.
Yeah, he's not an obvious fit for us with Rangnick here now. Seems like the style of player who does brilliantly in Serie A.
If he was so good he wouldn't still be at wolves after 4 seasons
can't see Ralf being too interested
Bruno was at Sporting.....
For only 2 1/2 seasons.
So Ward-Prowse has the most key passes from a CM/DM spot (plenty from corners) and Rice has 1 more pass into the final third than Neves, which I would imagine will surprise people more on Rice's end because he's not given that much credit for his passing but its pretty good and just being somewhere near Rodri and Neves is impressive from him.
Neves has played more through balls at 5 joint with McGinn as the largest amount from a CM/DM outside of the top clubs. So he does at least feature on the progressive passes and through balls where you would expect him to as a potential player for the top clubs in the league. So he is still currently producing something that teams might want to improve on from that area even if overall he isnt performing amazingly when we look at all areas.
Also important to see that Henderson features in a lot of these categories, destroying the myth that he just runs around like people want to say in the Fred and McTominay threads. Henderson has the most passes into the penalty area from a CM/DM, 4th most passes into the final third, the joint most crosses from a CM/DM with McGinn and 3rd most progressive passes from the CM/DM role.
Henderson has always been a good attacking player, but he plays a lot of RM these days with TAA taking up different spots and Salah very high up. He's often the widest of those 3 players and hitting crosses and passes from that spot. I don't think you can really compare his output to McGinn or especially Neves, who are very central.
We'd definitely be better attacking-wise with McGinn or Neves paired with Fred instead of McTominay, but I think McGinn is the more obvious fit in the 4-2-2-2. That said, he's 27 and would cost a ton, so it might be a Zaha situation where he doesn't move because he's a 30M player whose team demands 60M for him.
I thought he was superb last night, definitely ran the show from the middle of the pitch, frankly, and this isn’t a wind up at all I promise but watching your midfield I have no idea how some of you come to the conclusion that he wouldn’t improve you.
Because some of our fans have their heads so far up their arses.
Because he just won't and we can do much better. Our midfield is a shamble and we make players great when played against us
Shelvey was a peak Iniesta last week and Neves was like Xavi today. Next week, it will be McGinn.
To be fair you can’t read too much into his performance last night, look at who he was up against.
There is improving then there is improving us to the required standard. Could he come in and do better than McFred? Well yes, but then after that we will want more and he won't have it in him just like Maguire, he came in and helped to stabilize us but after stability we wanted to challenge and he wilted.
I still wasn't that impressed by him except some decent shots and volleys.
Felt the whole Wolves played well rather than picking a single player that was making them tick.
Felt the whole Wolves played well rather than picking a single player that was making them tick.
He was ok. I like his attitude though, that alone would be a major plus for us.
There is always a danger of overestimating a midfielder, because they are good at long shots, free-kicks, etc. - especially if you only see highlights from their games once in a while. He should primarily be assessed based on his passing, positioning, dictating the tempo, etc. The other stuff is more of a bonus.
I'm sure Neves would improve us, but I am not sure he is necessarily the player we should go for.
I'm sure Neves would improve us, but I am not sure he is necessarily the player we should go for.
Sorry welcome to the Caf..
He is so far superior to what Utd have to offer in midfield it´s just sad, plus I think he hasn´t reached his ceiling yet.
Thought he ran the show last night with Moutinho doing his usual clean and tidy display.
He would be a huge upgrade to our midfield, he was really good last night.
He's good but a lot of midfielders look better than they are when you compare them to our shitshow of a midfield. There are big doubts over his mobility and his consistency.
Scholes coming out of retirement would improve this midfield
Improving on McTominay, Fred and Matic is not difficult though and Neves would cost more than he is worth.
There are probably 100 midfielders in world football available for less who would also come in and immediately improve our midfield
This. He's better than what we have and that's about it.
I know the caf won't like to hear neves , his name is not rice.
The difference between what we've got and what Neves offers is that Neves time and again gave the attacking players in front of him the ball in dangerous areas quickly.............
Thats a huge part of what we're missing. I'd rather an immobile Neves in the correct areas of the pitch, than a mctominay and Matic suffocating the centre backs and creating a gulf between defence and the front 4
Thats a huge part of what we're missing. I'd rather an immobile Neves in the correct areas of the pitch, than a mctominay and Matic suffocating the centre backs and creating a gulf between defence and the front 4
Still only 24 - Id be surprised if he didnt move onto a bigger club than wolves
Contract expires on 2024 so I suspect Wolves will offer him a new contract and if he does not except then will listen to offers for him in the summer
Contract expires on 2024 so I suspect Wolves will offer him a new contract and if he does not except then will listen to offers for him in the summer
Neves and Moutinho would both improve our midfield.
Im firmly in the Neves camp and have been for a while. Id take him in an instant.
There shouldn’t be much doubt whether he’s a better player than what we’ve got, especially after yesterdays game.
We need a CM that’s better on the ball, more composed, doesn’t get dispossessed easily, can dictate play, as well as having the mentality to compete. On all those counts he’s better than what we have today and will therefore be an obvious upgrade to our team.
Neves might not be a future Ballon D’or, or the key that guarantees a CL or PL trophy but he will surely contribute to making us a better team on our way to becoming a team actually compete for trophies that we’re far from today.
As long as we don’t hand out a stupid 250 a/week contract he should be able sell of again down the line, IF deemed not good enough for a CL or PL-winning team. My bet is that he is good enough for such a team.
We need a CM that’s better on the ball, more composed, doesn’t get dispossessed easily, can dictate play, as well as having the mentality to compete. On all those counts he’s better than what we have today and will therefore be an obvious upgrade to our team.
Neves might not be a future Ballon D’or, or the key that guarantees a CL or PL trophy but he will surely contribute to making us a better team on our way to becoming a team actually compete for trophies that we’re far from today.
As long as we don’t hand out a stupid 250 a/week contract he should be able sell of again down the line, IF deemed not good enough for a CL or PL-winning team. My bet is that he is good enough for such a team.
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