[Ekeke]

He really didnt do a lot, with half as many touches and passes than Matic and Pogba and was also less accurate with them. However he had a couple of neat moments on the ball and won it back a little more in the second half to make it a more honest performance.

Reminded me of Anderson today. Capable of a couple of good bits of play but invisible for long periods and ultimately not involved as much as the other midfielders.

 

[Classical Mechanic]

Still not convinced. The reason he looked better in the second half was because Chelsea sat off. His performance against a decent side intent on attacking was worrying.

 

[Chrissypop]

Have the doubters been converted?

I have been mate, I wrote him off as a nothing player too early I also feel like he has some strength similar to Matic, he doesn't offer much going forward but what he showed today is potential to do that as well with his passing, especially the pass to Lukaku near the end. Look forward to seeing more of him and I also liked that he go in the Chelsea players faces when the confrontation happened.

 

[Icemav]

He lost his man for their goal but aside from that I thought it was a superb performance. And also Pogba played well with his extra assistance in midfield... we really took over that area of the game in the 2nd half, and when was the last time we could say that...

 

[KM]

He says, after posting the 'all the haterz' post.

You've the highest post count in this thread, mainly saying the same thing. Go outside, take a walk.

 

[A-man]

First half ok, second half really good. I am very impressed by this young man, think he can develop into a really good player.

 

[el3mel]

He grew heavily into the game as it went on. I thought the game maybe a bit too much for him but great second half.

 

[Enigma_87]

He did though, Fletcher was one of the players most talked about from his youth team.

You're wrong about Fletch. He was hugely rated from within the club from the age of like 14/15. Fergie wanted to give him his debut well before he did but he couldn't because of Fletchers young age and FA rules.

Really? At the time Richardson and Eagles were talked about probably at the same breath, as well as Dave Jones due to the FA youth cup triumph. Fletcher was talked about but I don't think he reached Rossi or Petrucci type of fame at youth level for example..

 

[Bastian]

I have been mate, I wrote him off as a nothing player too early I also feel like he has some strength similar to Matic, he doesn't offer much going forward but what he showed today is potential to do that as well with his passing, especially the pass to Lukaku near the end. Look forward to seeing more of him and I also liked that he go in the Chelsea players faces when the confrontation happened.

Good on you! He goes from strength to strength

 

[Ultimate Grib]

he was crap. Lets pretend his shite tracking didn't cost us a goal and he was still poor.

He was MoM for me but Lukaku edged it. I don’t know what game you were watching pal

 

[Jazz]

I thought he did well. Just needs to keep working like everyone else. Proud of the lad, and don't expect anything spectacular from him.
He's no nonsense and does the best with his ability at this stage of his development. Have no complaints whatsoever.

 

[Ekeke]

Really? At the time Richardson and Eagles were talked about probably at the same breath, as well as Dave Jones due to the FA youth cup triumph. Fletcher was talked about but I don't think he reached Rossi or Petrucci type of fame at youth level for example..

He got injured right before he was about to have his debut or be promoted iirc. So it took him a while to come back and actually come into the first team. He was the standout before that season where Eagles and Richardson did well in the cup.

 

[Jacko21]

He's testament to our academy - composure is the trait I most associate with our academy players who are tasked with promotion to the senior team.

If you can promote a youth player and he doesn't look out of place, then that's half the battle. The rest comes down to the individual himself.

 

[MuranoLover]

Maybe he did a mistake or two , but as a whole he had a great match and I think we have a new gem here

 

[ivaldo]

He was MoM for me but Lukaku edged it. I don’t know what game you were watching pal

The game where he did buggar all except allow Willian through on goal. Even if he did have a good game, which he didn't, gifting the opposition a goal should exclude him from MOTM.

 

[AngliaRed]

I slated him after Huddersfield but today was huge controlled performance of Hazard.

 

[ivaldo]

You've the highest post count in this thread, mainly saying the same thing. Go outside, take a walk.

I better. With you policing all the haterz I've got no place here.

 

[charlenefan]

When you consider where he's came from (i.e. out of nowhere) he was bloody good today and personally my MOTM for that reason

Long term will he be good enough probably not but he's doing better than I ever would have expected at the moment

 

[red4ever 79]

Neat and tidy with a good work ethic. Very pleased to see him develop

 

[Enigma_87]

No, quite he isnt. Players like that can still stake a claim in the first team but the basics of their game has to be absolutely spot on. Otherwise there are plenty of more talented players who can just do the bare essentials and be as effective.

Can't really argue about that mate as I only follow an odd youth game, much less than before and McTominay has looked good but as you said not overly impressive. He doesn't have a fancy game at all so probably is a mixture of his style and used as a utility man for Jose.

Many of the talented midfielders who impressed at youth level lacked the grit and determination he has so probably he's bang down the middle in terms of flair and basic qualities. I don't think he'll made it as a proper United midfielder that we'll see as a first name on the team sheet but as a rotational player he looks good option to me.

 

[Snow]

His role was to keep Hazard down as much as he he could. He did it well enough for Conte to sub off Hazard in order to change up his game plan.

 

[Art]

I thought he did very well .

 

[Brwned]

Done very well for his age but I don't think he's doing anything Herrera wouldn't. I know he's injured now but if Mourinho is so keen on the modern all round midfielder, why did he freeze Herrera out?

 

[Hamadovich86]

The kid is solid, he has good fundamentals, nothing too fancy or great but hes proven he could do the job in midfield when asked.

 

[Ekeke]

I slated him after Huddersfield but today was huge controlled performance of Hazard.

Hazard created the most oppurtunities of the Chelsea team and was tackled 1 time, although he did lose the ball with a few loose touches.

Is this going to be the new myth like "Anderson marked Fabregas out of the game" when he won a header against Fabregas that led to a goal?

 

[ivaldo]

Can't really argue about that mate as I only follow an odd youth game, much less than before and McTominay has looked good but as you said not overly impressive. He doesn't have a fancy game at all so probably is a mixture of his style and used as a utility man for Jose.

Many of the talented midfielders who impressed at youth level lacked the grit and determination he has so probably he's bang down the middle in terms of flair and basic qualities. I don't think he'll made it as a proper United midfielder that we'll see as a first name on the team sheet but as a rotational player he looks good option to me.

It does sound like I berate him but if I was wrong about him id be very happy. There just seems to be this willingness to praise him just because he's an academy player. He does the bare minimum and this place buzzes with enthusiasm. I don't know. Maybe I'm missing something.

 

[Enigma_87]

He got injured right before he was about to have his debut or be promoted iirc. So it took him a while to come back and actually come into the first team. He was the standout before that season where Eagles and Richardson did well in the cup.

Yeah I can remember him getting injured before stepping up for the first team, but from memory Richardson was probably a tad more rated at the time, mainly because of his style.

 

[talking robot]

He had a very good match but was at fault for the first goal. He should have continued tracking Willian's run but instead decided to defend against Hazard. That decision allowed Willian to have a free run at goal. I understand why he made the error as his job was clearly to mark Hazard out of the game, but in the run of play he had to stick with Willian as no one else was available to do it. He'll learn from episodes like this though.

 

[breakout67]

He says, after posting the 'all the haterz' post.

McTominay didn't track Willian's run in the lead up to the goal (even then De Gea should have saved the shot, it was right at him). But he also did that pass to Lukaku which lead to our 2nd goal.

It's easy for young players to drop their heads after a mistake, but he provided a major contribution after a mistake. Surely you can give him credit for that?

 

[DeOddi]

Thought he was very average today. Big mistake for their goal, and from our midfield it was Matic who did by far the most defensive work today.

Obviously played his part in our win today with his closing down and pressure on their midfielders (esp. Hazard), but would love to see him offer more for us than just running around a lot and chasing their midfielders, without ever looking like actually winning the ball with a tackle. If he was a good tackler, he´d be ace as a midfield destroyer for us.

 

[Kostur]

His performance will go unnoticed but he's done great job on Hazard today, just like Herrera did when we won 2-0 against those cnuts. Great to see him taking his chance, Mou definitely rates him.

Him switching off on Willian wasn't as much of a problem for me as was Pogba's attempt at jumping for the ball, it's what cost us the goal, not McTominay switching off.

 

[yumtum]

He wins the ball back significantly more and has shown, despite his critics, time and time again he has the ability to pick an excellent pass. There's not a single facet of the game SM is better at.

Yet...Herrera has had a significant amount of game time more than Mctominay so far, while Herrera is at his peaa, Mctominay is still getting used to a new role.

Mctominay played a key pass forward for Lukaku today, a pinpoint pass that Herrera would have put into the corner and the chance wouldn't have came from it.

 

[ivaldo]

McTominay didn't track Willian's run in the lead up to the goal (even then De Gea should have saved the shot, it was right at him). But he also did that pass to Lukaku which lead to our 2nd goal.

It's easy for young players to drop their heads after a mistake, but he provided a major contribution after a mistake. Surely you can give him credit for that?

Thats like wildly praising Sanchez for the Lukaku goal. It was a decent pass over the top, nothing more. The two really aren't comparable.

 

[Bwuk]

He’s a solid and reliable 7/10 performer.

 

[ivaldo]

Yet...Herrera has had a significant amount of game time more than Mctominay so far, while Herrera is at his peaa, Mctominay is still getting used to a new role.

Mctominay played a key pass forward for Lukaku today, a pinpoint pass that Herrera would have put into the corner and the chance wouldn't have came from it.

Nonsense. You have to go all the way back to the previous game to see Herrera play a significantly better pass that actually put our striker in on goal. Bit of selective memory going on here

 

[AltiUn]

Done very well for his age but I don't think he's doing anything Herrera wouldn't. I know he's injured now but if Mourinho is so keen on the modern all round midfielder, why did he freeze Herrera out?

I reckon we'd be seeing a lot more of Herrera if Mourinho had started utilising a midfield 3 a lot sooner, we saw it once or twice early on but only the last few games has he seemingly decided to keep going with it.

 

[KM]

I better. With you policing all the haterz I've got no place here.

Alright, thanks.

 

[Enigma_87]

It does sound like I berate him but if I was wrong about him id be very happy. There just seems to be this willingness to praise him just because he's an academy player. He does the bare minimum and this place buzzes with enthusiasm. I don't know. Maybe I'm missing something.

He's inexperienced that's given - Chelsea's goal goes to show that. He didn't have an outstanding game far from that, neither should be talked as MoTM performance, but to me both Matic and Pogba were subpar today (although both picked up in the second) and he did his job apart from that brainfart for the goal, which to me is down to inexperience at this level.

He should get a bit of a pass when comparing him to our other midfielders as the expectations of him shouldn't be at the same level. Otherwise I agree that we do tend to get over the top praising academy players just for the sake of it..

 

[Terry Apogee]

A Mourinho player. Dependable, workman like and loyal to the cause. He does what Mourinho tells him. Good lad.

 

[Ekeke]

It does sound like I berate him but if I was wrong about him id be very happy. There just seems to be this willingness to praise him just because he's an academy player. He does the bare minimum and this place buzzes with enthusiasm. I don't know. Maybe I'm missing something.

I think you're correct.

We always overhype our young players with everyone assuming that they can only get better with time. But thats just not the case. Young players often stagnate or even go backwards and take time to get back to the level they seemed to be at when they came through.

McTominay was actually more influencial in his first couple of performances in terms of making a bunch of passes and keeping the ball and then helping us win it back when we didnt have it. He didnt look amazing, but he looked like someone trying hard to make an impact.

He's getting more praise now than he got at the time, whilst doing less on the pitch.

So far he looks Anderson/Cleverley level in that we could probably get away with using him for a while but he'll need to get a lot more involved if he's going to stick around longer than they did.