I am so waiting for his appearance this season. Come on Louis!!!
Timothy Fosu Mensah
- Thread starter KM
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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.
I remember reading that he was training with the 1st team a while back around the time CBJ stepped up.. But I don't know where he is in the pecking order for a 1st team chance.
Depends on where the club think his best position is, if it's as a DM then we might have to wait a while before he gets a shot. I know he can play RB, LB and CB as well but he has more youngsters ahead of him already. I imagine if we need to look beyond Riley at LB then he'd be the next one up.. Same goes at RB, if we need to look beyond Donald Love (though I suspect Reid/Warren might be in the mix as well)
Very surprised he hasn't been involved with the first-team yet.
Yeah he has been training on and off with them for over a year. The training photos are usually only from the pre match training sessions
Matter of time, I reckon.
Ah right good. Surprised he hasn't been included in a squad yet then or named in the EL squad.
He's same age as Poole right, and similar profile in terms of centre-half/centre-mid. Seems Poole has been immediately considered a better prospect, or at least more ready.
I have only seen Poole play a couple of times but he looks very mature in his performances. He has already played 15 games at League Two level aged 16 as well.
Poole impressed me greatly against City in the 21s. Looks like we could have a real talent on our hands, and he's been fast-tracked into the first team squad by the looks of things.
I think in this regard rather than being seen as a better prospect Poole has actually been helped by the fact that his registration not coming through meant that he could train fairly regularly with the first team because he wasn't involved in match preparation with the u18s/19s/21s. He's also probably been helped by having played senior football and being involved in full time senior training before joining us.
In tomorrows squad.
Great news! Hopefully he can get some minutes!
Great. Hopefully he plays ahead of the train wreck McNair if Smalling isn't ready.
It's strange. TFM, CBJ and Taunzebe genuinely stand out at their under levels while McNair and Blackett were quite average.
It should be no surprise that CBJ has shown higher quality and more mature performances than either of them when given the chance in the first team and I expect the same from TFM and Taunzebe when they get their chance.
Hey im telling you Mcnair will make it!
Also fosu mensa at CB would be like playing David Luiz In CDM.
The thing is Mcnair was bought in initially at View or RB last year. Van goal now plays him at CB because that chance wasn't taken ( I still think he could be a good RB). Blackett was a left footed CB. Again that position was available.
If the place is available a kid will take it.
No he wasn't. He made 11 appearances at CB before making one at RB and he had never played at RB previously for the u21s.
McNair was being converted from a midfielder to centre back during his U18 days. As an U15, he was highly thought of. He was excellent at Stamford Bridge last April.
Blackett was always good at U18 level. CBJ wasn't faced with adjusting to a foreign 3-5-2 system. Expectations were higher at the time too. Blackett isn't going to make it here but has the necessary tools to play at high level. His mentality needs to improve.
McNair is not a RB, not even close
I think his dribbling is fantastic.
McNair was an attacking midfielder at U15 wasn't he? And then he's been moved backwards, and looked good at CB when he partnered Thorpe.
And I disagree about Blackett, he hasn't a hope of making it as a Premiership standard defender. He's genuinely one of the worst defenders I've seen play for United, it's just that he was a left-footer who could fit in a 352 and has good athleticism to make up for poor positioning and concentration.
I'm not sure, but there was a bit of hype about him. He was more of a sprayer of the ball like Carrick than an attack minded midfielder.
Blackett has had a disastrous loan move at Celtic but I wouldn't be surprised to see him fight his way to a Premier League club like Drinkwater did. Actually, Cathcart is probably a better comparison.His loan moves the year before weren't that bad. He provided 3 assists.
Physically, he has the tools. His technical ability is high too. But his positioning and decision making need to improve. He's still only 21. The next year or two will make or break his career. It won't be at United though.
Charni actually, Thorpe being injured is what opened the spot for him. They made an impressive pairing with 5 clean sheets in 9 matches just losing out in the finals.
Oh yeah, I remember them having a fantastic game against Spurs who had a very experienced team out I think? I'm dreadful at recalling match details!
Yep, 1-0 against a side with Bentaleb and Dembele. Pearson and Rothwell were great on the day.
If i ivanovic can be RB then so can Mcnair. He passes the ball wonderfully, he can dribble & this ability is absolutely wonderful to watch. What he obviously lacks is pace.
Even though most RB has pace there are ones who can benefit from the ball being crossed precisely I. E make the ball do the work.
Even though most RB has pace there are ones who can benefit from the ball being crossed precisely I. E make the ball do the work.
Birmingham fans were saying he was the worst player they ever seen, I'd say that is pretty damn bad. He is big physically but is actually weak in the challenge, and has average pace. His technical ability isn't that good, good ball control but consistently resorts to long ball when pressured and is shit at attacking for a LB. He is meant to be a defender but can't defend, clueless in positioning and consistently has mental lapses. He needs to improve massively if he is to have any chance of having a career in the PL and there is nothing to suggest he will.
I disagree with this. I thought McNair looked better than CBJ, though I wasn't hugely impressed with either of them. Blackett on the other hand always had mistakes in him and never looked good.
I'm hopeful with TFM. He has qualities that are more apparent than the other defensive players. He's fast, strong, has great technique, can pass, and is the best tackler I've seen at youth level. I'm generally unsure about CBs. I'm excited about him.
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McNair used to play off the striker when he was 15 or so and gradually got moved back as he got older. I think you can see this in the way he keeps possession and strikes the ball. Unfortunately his calmness in defence is still a bit lacking. I like him but I'd be a little surprised if he manages to fend off the likes of TFM, Tuanzebe and Williams to stake a claim for a first team spot at CB. And to me Varela looks like a much better right back albeit older and a lot more experienced in the position.
Could yet stake a claim in midfield maybe?
Birmingham City fans aren't exactly great people. 3 assists from 11 starts in The Championship isn't a bad return from a 19 year old rookie adjusting to senior football. I think his pace is well above average. His ability on the ball is why LvG gave him an opportunity. He does hit the ball long but usually with decent accuracy. He's capable of spraying some excellent passes. I would say his mentality is his weakness. That can improve with experience. A few years in The Championship could be the making of him. He just needs to toughen up and realise he's a big, powerful lad.
He'll probably be moved on under Mourinho if he becomes manager. I could see the potential for him at right back. But yeah, maybe a midfield role would suit him. Dier at Spurs took to it well and McNair is a midfielder at heart.
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I don't even know what that means but are you trying to say a whole fanbase is stupid so you can try claim Blackett had a good loan spell? He was barely played for two of the worst teams in the league. He had to come back and play a game for our u21s in the middle of his Birmingham spell because he couldn't get played. You can bring up these 3 assists all you want but they mean nothing and completely ignore his overall performances which were dreadful and consisted of him not being able to defend for shit. His penultimate appearance of letting in 4 goals and being hooked at half time to never be seen for Birmingham again is an indicator of how his loan actually went. He also gave away a penalty on his debut. Sure he was also subbed off after 24 minutes against Sheffield Wednesday, how fecking shite do you have to be to get hooked that early? Certainly the signs of decent performances. He was average for Blackpool, shite for Birmingham, shite for us, and now shite for Celtic. His pace is average for a LB, sure a bit above average for a CB, unfortunately he has no clue how to use it anyway. He looked calm on the ball in pre-season games and in a back 3 where he played practically an open role because he never actually did much defensive work. When actually pressured in proper matches he shit the bed. His long ball accuracy was below 50% and he played the odd good one because he was trying bloody 12 a match. Yes, his mentality and his whole brain are a weakness. That can improve with experience but it is no easy feat and he has had 3 years of first team football with no signs of improvement in that area. A few years in the Championship could be the making of him, if he can even find a Championship side to play him. There have been many better players come through our academy who haven't made it in the PL.
So he's in the 18 man squad for tomorrow?
I think he's in the matchday squad, not sure if he'll make the bench.. Guess it depends on Smalling's fitness
I think Blakett looked good in his first U18 season but since then not very good at all. I think both he and McNair will be gone at the end of the season. Are their contracts not up anyway?
We should give a Mcnair a new deal in that case and loan him out next season.
Anyway, always thought Michael Keane was best of the 3 of Thorpe, Blackett and him. Don't know what to make of Mcnair at this stage honestly. He has some good attributes though and wouldn't write him off just yet. Young defenders are always inconsistent and in a struggling team stop start it looks more bad.
Anyway, always thought Michael Keane was best of the 3 of Thorpe, Blackett and him. Don't know what to make of Mcnair at this stage honestly. He has some good attributes though and wouldn't write him off just yet. Young defenders are always inconsistent and in a struggling team stop start it looks more bad.
McNair signed a contract last season, i am pretty sure of that.