[The Mad Manc]

Before the match I said that McTominay should start in place of Herrera. Looks like Jose heard me. Performed well, better than how Herrera performed in his last few matches. Now he needs more game time. Won't be surprise if he starts again at the weekend against West Brom.

Agreed

 

[kopviolator]

Looks talented. Needs gametime in abundance. This will hardly happen at United.

 

[Robbie Boy]

I'm still convinced he's Scottish.

 

[Oldyella]

Looks talented. Needs gametime in abundance. This will hardly happen at United.

Think he might start getting some more time if Herrera doesn't improve. Imagine he will be out on loan next year similar to TFM this year.

 

[kopviolator]

Think he might start getting some more time if Herrera doesn't improve. Imagine he will be out on loan next year similar to TFM this year.

It will be hard for him regardless with Pogba, Fellaini and Matic in the way. I don't think Mourinho will let him go but if the right loan option was available for him in January I think that would be preferable for him.

 

[King.of.Red]

He has good long & short pass and he loves to battle. Strong kid. Well done

 

[Wednesday at Stoke]

He had a good game but I can't figure out how we had him and Matic being so combative and still let fecking Bournemouth run through our midfield.

 

[limerickcitykid]

He recorded 1 tackle. He was hardly combative, especially in the first half. He also forced Matic to take a lot of responsibility which led to Matic giving the ball away and making mistakes.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Hmmm.. Mixed performance. I thought he was more or less anonymous in the first half. Did better in the second half. Think he's a marginally better option than Hererra right now. But only just. Hererra's cameo was so fecking typical. Made one or two great tackles, worked his socks off but generally haired around like a brainless schoolboy. Almost comical watching him charge after the ball, while the opposition calmly pass triangles around him. It works as an irritant when we have two other CMs on the pitch but it's an absolutely disastrous flaw for someone to have when we've only one other CM alongside him. Then we had a textbook Herrera "Hooooof!" when he made that superb sliding tackle near our left hand corner, then got up and - in a state of blind panic- sliced the ball straight into touch under no pressure whatsoever.

 

[Champagne Football]

Think he's a marginally better option than Hererra right now. But only just. Hererra's cameo was so fecking typical. Made one or two great tackles, worked his socks off but generally haired around like a brainless schoolboy. Almost comical watching him charge after the ball, while the opposition calmly pass triangles around him. It works as an irritant when we have two other CMs on the pitch but it's an absolutely disastrous flaw for someone to have when we've only one other CM alongside him. Then we had a textbook Herrera "Hooooof!" when he made that superb sliding tackle near our left hand corner, then got up and - in a state of blind panic- sliced the ball straight into touch under no pressure whatsoever.

Herrera's a poor mans Hargreaves. Runs around a lot and not much else. Liam Miller with a decent first touch. Very frustrating player. Hasn't progressed at all since he arrived. Still looks every bit the lightweight 15 year old who you hope will work hard to become physically ready for the PL. Would much prefer a learning McTominay with all the rookie mistakes he will bring in that midfield as opposed to Herrera who I think Jose would be happy to offload once he has more back up options coming through

 

[Irish Jet]

Herrera's a poor mans Hargreaves. Runs around a lot and not much else. Liam Miller with a decent first touch. Very frustrating player. Hasn't progressed at all since he arrived. Still looks every bit the lightweight 15 year old who you hope will work hard to become physically ready for the PL. Would much prefer a learning McTominay with all the rookie mistakes he will bring in that midfield as opposed to Herrera who I think Jose would be happy to offload once he has more back up options coming through

Garbage.

He was absolutely brilliant last season and was justifiably voted our POTY. Amazing the revisionism that happens after a poor few months. He deserved to be dropped and I wouldn't cry if he was offloaded but to act he's never been anything more than mediocre is bullshit.

I have no idea what's happened him this season. Hopefully getting dropped for a kid lights a fire under him because he hasn't been the same force.

 

[CM]

Not really, he's starting for Valencia on this wings and judging by the preseason he'd have started on the wings for us too.

Mourinho has played Pereira at #6 in both pre-seasons since he arrived. It's difficult to say what the distribution of minutes would be like with him and McTominay when Mourinho generally prefers the bigger physical presence in midfield but Pereira offers the incisiveness we so desperately lack without Pogba.

 

[Di Maria's angel]

Hmmm.. Mixed performance. I thought he was more or less anonymous in the first half. Did better in the second half. Think he's a marginally better option than Hererra right now. But only just. Hererra's cameo was so fecking typical. Made one or two great tackles, worked his socks off but generally haired around like a brainless schoolboy. Almost comical watching him charge after the ball, while the opposition calmly pass triangles around him. It works as an irritant when we have two other CMs on the pitch but it's an absolutely disastrous flaw for someone to have when we've only one other CM alongside him. Then we had a textbook Herrera "Hooooof!" when he made that superb sliding tackle near our left hand corner, then got up and - in a state of blind panic- sliced the ball straight into touch under no pressure whatsoever.

I think Herrera would be a really good player for Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool. Pressing on your own normally leaves you looking like a fool as the opposition simply passes around you, however, as Liverpool have shown, press as a team and it can be very successful. If we don't see some success from Herrera in a midfield three with Pogba and Matic, I fear that he'll be sold in the summer but if that trio clicks, we'll have a terrific midfield going into Spring.

 

[iKeano]

Started well, faded out a bit during the end of the 1st half, but finished really strong. Hope he continues to develop at this rate, be good to see the likes of him, Tuanzabe, TFM etc coming good and being the spine of the future. Here's hoping!

 

[Alabaster Codify7]

He was adequate. Reminds me a lot of Cleverly to be honest, as in, pretty average/limited looking player but not bad by any means. The main issue most had with Clevs was the fact he became a first-11 player in the most important area of the field when Watford is very much his level.

If McTominay is of Clevs' level but remains a reliable squad player, i've no problem with him.

 

[Dante]

I struggle to understand why so many caftards underrate him. The kid might lack fancy skills, but he has all the hallmarks of a top midfielder.

 

[Champagne Football]

Garbage.

He was absolutely brilliant last season and was justifiably voted our POTY. Amazing the revisionism that happens after a poor few months. He deserved to be dropped and I wouldn't cry if he was offloaded but to act he's never been anything more than mediocre is bullshit.

I have no idea what's happened him this season. Hopefully getting dropped for a kid lights a fire under him because he hasn't been the same force.

Absolutely Brilliant is an overstatement. Inconsistently effective and decent YES in a very average team in the same way you could give that same description to Nani during his time here and also the same description for Darmian last season. I think Ibrahimovich, Rojo, De Gea, Bailly, Pogba were all just as deserving as POTY last season. I like Herrera but he's not first XI material going forward. Happy for him to stay as a squad player if he wants to stay

 

[Arka_BleedingRed]

Did ok vs Bournemouth. Had some good and anonymous moments. Needs chances to show his talents and I guess Mourinho kinda trusts him now. Looks a very box to box player with pretty good overall passing range, plenty of stamina and height, but not creative or defensive enough for a specialist role. What is not to be discounted is his goal scoring ability though. Having played as a striker in the reserves, I think if given chances we will see some contributions from him in terms of goal scoring.

 

[limerickcitykid]

What is not to be discounted is his goal scoring ability though. Having played as a striker in the reserves, I think if given chances we will see some contributions from him in terms of goal scoring.

Playing as a striker doesn't mean you are a good goal scorer, especially when he wasn't actually scoring any goals when he was playing there.

 

[afatzp]

I would rather watch McTominay play more games than Herrera, even they produce the same quality at this moment. I don't see Herrera going anywhere but another Cleverly, if JM keeps use his covering, which he willing to provide but not born to be good at. McTominay could be another Fletcher, Matic or even Lampard, and the potential really excites me

 

[POF]

I thought he did quite well. I was very much in the "not good enough" camp but he's growing on me. He's a good solid player with great athleticism and is neat and tidy on the ball. To get to the next level, he needs to add something extra to his game and I think that could be goals from midfield. It might mean that entire season he played up front for the u23s wasn't a complete waste. If he could develop into a Fellaini, he would be a great squad option.

 

[Robbie Boy]

Better option than the version of Herrera we currently have, that's for sure. However, I feel some are seeing things with him that simply aren't there and are going slightly overboard in what was a pretty average performance. He's been solid in most games but like, I just don't see anything exceptional there.

 

[wiz4231]

Did well, like that he passes and moves forward with the ball

 

[Arka_BleedingRed]

Playing as a striker doesn't mean you are a good goal scorer, especially when he wasn't actually scoring any goals when he was playing there.

As far as I can remember, he scored a few, around 5-6, in the reserves last year. Not saying he will turn into Lampard or something, but hopefully could replace the contributions of Fellaini in the long term.

 

[DanClancy]

Hmmm.. Mixed performance. I thought he was more or less anonymous in the first half. Did better in the second half. Think he's a marginally better option than Hererra right now. But only just. Hererra's cameo was so fecking typical. Made one or two great tackles, worked his socks off but generally haired around like a brainless schoolboy. Almost comical watching him charge after the ball, while the opposition calmly pass triangles around him. It works as an irritant when we have two other CMs on the pitch but it's an absolutely disastrous flaw for someone to have when we've only one other CM alongside him. Then we had a textbook Herrera "Hooooof!" when he made that superb sliding tackle near our left hand corner, then got up and - in a state of blind panic- sliced the ball straight into touch under no pressure whatsoever.

Herrera has gone backwards at a worrying rate, he's turned into David Batty on the ball and seems incapable of passing forwards. I'd much rather McTominay play, given his age and lack of games he's played in the last 4/5 years and he'll only get better even more so given he's been converting to a centre mid.

 

[Dobbs]

If he can be Herrera with more physicality I'd take that. Him knocking King off the ball was impressive.

 

[limerickcitykid]

As far as I can remember, he scored a few, around 5-6, in the reserves last year. Not saying he will turn into Lampard or something, but hopefully could replace the contributions of Fellaini in the long term.

Stats show he got 3 goals in 22 appearances which were pretty much all at ST. Of course I don't remember his every appearance so maybe its missing a goal from a LSC or MSC game or something. Either way 3 goals in 22 games at u23s level isn't good at all and doesn't show any sort of scoring ability to get excited about.

 

[kundalini]

Predicting which midfield players will score goals at PL level is notoriously difficult. Nicky Butt got plenty of goals for the reserves. Tom Cleverley had no trouble scoring goals when on loan in the Championship yet barely made a clean contact when presented with a chance to score for United. Schneiderlin got 5, 2 then 4 goals for Southampton in the PL yet just one for United with 0 assists.

I have absolutely no idea if McTominay will turn into a United standard midfield player by the time he is say 24 or 25, when a decision has to be made to keep him or let him go. Will he be a player who makes costly errors in our box and fails to finish rare chances in the opposing area ? Or will he be the opposite, few defensive errors and capable of getting the occasional goal and some assists ?

As things stand, I'd be perfectly happy for him to replace Carrick as our 5th choice central midfielder next season, but would need to see a larger sample of games before I was comfortable with him replacing Fellaini as 4th choice central midfielder. Of course, Mourinho sees him in training so is in a far better position than us to make these judgement calls.

 

[Freak]

I like him. He's comfortable with the ball and has good physicality about him. His passes are really good too. He won't be the most creative midfielder that plays defence splitting passes but he'd be the sort that could keep things ticking and start attacks with his range of passing.

 

[ash_86]

He reminds me of carrick. Obviously has a long way to go , but i think he could do the job for us.

 

[Zoo]

Did well when he came on. We need to see more of him on a regular basis now.

 

[SwansonsTache]

Would rather start him than Herrera these days.

 

[BluesJr]

Would rather start him than Herrera these days.

I agree, really starting to loathe Herrera and his complete lack of brain and composure.

 

[MikeUpNorth]

Looks like he has an old head on young shoulders. Can see why Mourinho rates him.

 

[kundalini]

Showed more composure than several first team regulars managed in that 2nd half. Admittedly, not that difficult.

 

[Rossa]

I agree, really starting to loathe Herrera and his complete lack of brain and composure.

Wow. A little strong.

 

[BluesJr]

Wow. A little strong.

Nah it's getting ridiculous at this point how useless he's become at playing football.

 

[Van Piorsing]

Feels the tempo, not hesitating with quick one touch passing, not fully there yet but signs are decent.

 

[Nick7]

Feels the tempo, not hesitating with quick one touch passing, not fully there yet but signs are decent.

I feel the same. It's quite clear he's not reached his peak, so that's good. I'm hoping he can become good enough to nail a place in the squad or even first team. I like the lad.

 

[Rossa]

Nah it's getting ridiculous at this point how useless he's become at playing football.

Yeah, he’s been poor this season, but he’s still our player, and if you support United, why would you loathe him? It’s not like he’s a racist cannibal.