astracrazy
Full Member
- Joined
- Feb 12, 2013
- Messages
- 1,568
Is this how far we have come? After years of knowing he isn't good enough for this club we now want him. The only way I'd have kept him is if it meant McT left.
I'll admit too that I'm not sure where he fits in, but I guess time will tell.In my opinion the plan is to have him converted to a B2B/deep lying playmaker the same he did with Eriksen and which worked to a certain extent. Call me old fashioned but I don't like to see us pay huge money so we can try to put a square peg in a round hole.
He has been injured all seasonThe mistake was buying Mount.
That hardly helps his cause. When he was playing he did feck all.He has been injured all season
Get a grip, two games.That hardly helps his cause. When he was playing he did feck all.
And here I was thinking Mystic Meg was dead, you’ve already seen his entire Utd career already!?The mistake was buying Mount.
I never wanted him. I hope he does come good but I'm doubtful.And here I was thinking Mystic Meg was dead, you’ve already seen his entire Utd career already!?
United fans always focused on the things he couldn’t do and not on things he could do to help the team win. Fred was plenty good enough to be starting right now and would provide cover for casameiro and his dead legs.Our only high-energy number 8 shouldn't have been sold and definitely not while keeping the likes of McTominay.
The hope is Hannibal could replace him but today's involvement seems more like desperation than a planned move.
That doesn't say much, to be fair. Almost anybody is better than McT and McT should not be here. Erik tries to sell him, except the m..f..r won't leaveHe was miles better than McTominay
Mount has played about a game and a half for us so far. To come to this conclusion already is truly baffling.His contract was up, and so was his time.
Replacing him with Mount was baffling.
That was actually a big weakness of Fred. Especially on “bad Fred” days. He had a habit of being too honest, getting out-muscled and forlornly chasing an opposition player half the pitch when he could have stopped the attack at source. For some reason, this seemed to happen repeatedly every time we played Leicester.Don't think it was wrong to sell him but watching players waltz through our midfield time and again, you can't help but wonder why nobody is even stepping in with those on-the-edge type of foul the Fred could pull off even when the opposition would get the better of him. There's been a timidity in our play all season. Mount and Amrabat need to bring that ability and willingness into the team.
Didn’t you just describe Amrabat?I don’t think selling Fred was a mistake at all, I think the mistake was not signing a similar player that was a massive upgrade and signing Mount instead as Mount wasn’t/isn’t needed with what we have/had already.
Obviously the prices for Rice and Caicedo were ridiculous so we wouldn’t have been in for them at those prices BUT that was the type of player we needed to bring in, a player who’s tactically and positionally sound with bundles of stamina to cover the pitch and make up for Casemiro’s lack of legs but also good on the ball so we wouldn’t struggle creatively.
If we had moved VdB and McTominay both on as well whilst bringing in Amrabat and not signing Mount we’d have been able to get the type of player we needed, Fred had to go and we’d all been saying this for years.
Didn’t you notice that ETH is trying to move on to this as well?What we lack is control, not running.
He's only missed when your ideal football side consists of four attacking players doing whatever the hell they want (which means little to nothing defensively) and the rest of the team trying desperately to mop up the mess. That was Solskjaer's cultural revolution that had us with Maguire/Varane and McT/Fred as our engine after half a billion Euros spent.
The fact that players with good vision and passing range look completely lost in our midfield at times and one of the best defensive midfielders in the world looks ready for a retirement home is an indictment for the way we play the game and a cry for the ship to change course. Not for doubling down. Feck me, we spent the most part from the late 00s to the early 10s winning titles with the 30+ Scholes and Giggs in the midfield, Real Madrid have wrapped Kroos and Modric in cotton wool, Klopp and Arteta have moved on to one DM with two creative players combos in the midfield, and here we are talking about the importance of Fred.
This is the correct take.I think the mistake was replacing him with Mount.
Selling him and using the funds to help buy a midfielder capable of controlling games against any opposition would've been the smart move.
It’s not the correct take at all. Not until Mount (and Amrabat) have at least had a chance to play a few games for us. Writing new signings off after a couple of games (or before they’ve even kicked a ball!) is never a correct take.This is the correct take.
I am not saying Mount was a bad buy, but he doesnt add balance to our midfield. I really hope Amrabat does and people who see him regular say he does, but his defensive stats are woeful on paper so I am worried.It’s not the correct take at all. Not until Mount (and Amrabat) have at least had a chance to play a few games for us. Writing new signings off after a couple of games (or before they’ve even kicked a ball!) is never a correct take.
I did notice. That's why i am not among the people screaming their lungs out about how much we miss Fred. Having said that, as we speak, the idea and its implementation are still miles apart.Didn’t you notice that ETH is trying to move on to this as well?
Just thought it strange you mention a new approach from two other managers and not the manager being discussed.I did notice. That's why i am not among the people screaming their lungs out about how much we miss Fred. Having said that, as we speak, the idea and its implementation are still miles apart.
It looks as though ETH wants to change the way we play out of possession this season. Pressing much higher up the pitch. Which, ironically, Fred is very good at but he’s way too chaotic in possession. The idea is, presumably, that Mount can also press high (which the stats seem to back up) and be a lot more careful in possession. I’m not quite sure how Amrabat fits in but he seems very well rounded. He didn’t defend much in Serie A (hence the poor stats) but he seemed to do a lot for Morocco in the WC.I am not saying Mount was a bad buy, but he doesnt add balance to our midfield. I really hope Amrabat does and people who see him regular say he does, but his defensive stats are woeful on paper so I am worried.
that’s what we do, 2 games? Awful signing!Mount has played about a game and a half for us so far. To come to this conclusion already is truly baffling.
You can say the same about Casemiro, Eriksen, Bruno, McTominay. There isnt a midfielder in the team that hasn't been dominated and we got batteredNo more booze. Fred had 10 good games ever. He was too small to perform his role, had energy, but not the capability. What I regret about Fred is the 50 million plus fee we paid which at the time was massive fee. If anyone thinks we made a mistake go re watch the wolves game when he was dominated by Traore and we got battered.
Spot on. Yep can struggle with consistency but the bigger the game, the bigger the performance. I wish the same could be said of some of the same players.Arguably our 3 best results last season were Spurs, Barcelona and City at home. Fred was man of match in all of them.