Well thats not as bad as I first thought. Knowing us, I would have imagined he would be out at least 2 months.
I just hope him and Ando come back soon because I really can't watch our shithouse midfield get overrun every weekend.
Tom Cleverley | 2012-14 Performances
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I just hope him and Ando come back soon because I really can't watch our shithouse midfield get overrun every weekend.
And yet he was quite poor, got caught on the ball more than usual. Past a couple of balls to no-one.
But as I said, I don't judge players on nights like tonight. As you said, they were some good moments too.
Its a shame the injury came when it did because those two chances had come after about 40 minutes of seeing Cleverley play like someone who had fallen down the pecking order and was keenly conscious of it. Clev's confidence looked to be on the floor before he put Chico through and then all of a sudden it was like a switch got flipped and moments later he rolled the ball to Rooney for the chip. Just his luck a minute after that he was coming off injured...
It depends on extent of injury but can vary from days to weeks. I would think even with a mild strain it would take at least 5 days to heal. So would be very surprised if he started against City.
I don't think it's down to coincidence/luck anymore. There's definitely something wrong with our physiotherapy/training that's causing all these injuries.
Going up against City without Cleverley or Anderson = 
Cleverley got injured last night 
we can't catch a break can we. Looks like its going to be a scholes carrick midfield then against city :S
we can't catch a break can we. Looks like its going to be a scholes carrick midfield then against city :S
He was never going to start agaist City anyway
Shhh! You're not supposed to mention that.
I would have expected him to play some part in the game at the very least even if he didn't start. Not having him available is a blow as it leaves us with Scholes, Carrick, Fletcher only really unless you want to include Jones in there to. None of those pairs or even as a trio instill much confidence in me right now
The more I watch Cleverly play, the more I think he is a somewhat limited player. Shame about his injury though.
A calf strain could just be a few days, I did it on Monday and was fine by Wednesday.
We'll never see the best of Cleverley until we start playing him on a regular basis. How is he supposed to keep his sharpness when he only gets a game once every three weeks? To some extent this is the side effect of having a large squad(which I dislike), but we're compounding the problem by supposedly keeping him fresh.
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We'll never see the best of Cleverley until we start playing him on a regular basis. How is he supposed to keep his sharpness when he only gets a game once every three weeks? To some extent this is the side effect of having a large squad(which I dislike), but we're compounding the problem by supposedly keeping him fresh.
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Can't use that as an excuse for consistently average to poor performances though, as much as I agree he should be played more often. He has regressed since October and it is very disappointing particularly when he clearly has a measure of talent.
Agreed. He is good at simple passing, but lacks the creativity to do anything spectacular with it.
How can he be judged as consistently poor when he only plays every now and then? He can't be consistently anything.
Not getting regular game time is massive for a player, we see time and again what a run in the team can do for a player.
He's not creative. Said so a year ago, and I still think that's the case now.
What struck me when he burst onto the scene was his confidence and composure, he's really lacking those things at the moment.
He looked pretty good for a short period before he got injured and was actually helpful in creating a couple. I think we would have won had he stayed on the pitch as we ended up having no midfield whatsoever when Scholes and Giggs were on together.
He's going through a bit of a tough time. He certainly isn't playing with the freedom or confidence he did pre Kevin Davies injury.
He's at his best when we play the ball short, sharp and fast...something I've not seen in months.
He's at his best when we play the ball short, sharp and fast...something I've not seen in months.
So dramatic. He had a couple of stray passes due to misunderstandings and a missed chance. Otherwise kept it pretty well and set up a couple of chances. Overall he wasn't great but he was hardly what you'd call atrocious.
He definitely wasn't as bad as some people have made out on here.
I agree. He really needs to improve his all-round game...not sure he has it in him though.
How can he improve the aspects of his game when he's almost constantly injured... feck.
Let's wait for some encouraging news from medical staff.
Let's wait for some encouraging news from medical staff.
It's not really every now and then he gets ample games as do the other midfielders. It's not ideal but you can't blame poor form on the fact he isn't playing week-in, week-out. He was playing regularly in Sep-Oct and played his way into some form then began to dip around the Braga game in late October.
Anderson has had limited games but has impressed when called upon, Cleverley is wasting opportunities right now and he needs to get his arse in gear and show what he is about. If he cannot establish himself in perhaps the weakest United midfield for 10 years then he isn't going to become the player we all hope he can be.
He needs to start improving his variation or at least play his game to a good standard. Right now he is doing neither and it is a concern.
he was ok yesterday you Ihni binni dimi diniwiny anitaime. he didn't have a partner to play with (immobile Giggs).
if anything he wanted the ball and when he had it he used it well.
if anything he wanted the ball and when he had it he used it well.
Bollocks. As usual, a couple of bad performances and any player younger than Giggs or Scholes gets the 'hasn't played a good game for ages' treatment. He's had some great performances this season for us, and was Team GB's best player at the Olympics.
He's not had any terrible performances recently, despite the bizarre knee-jerks on here, but being a bit average is the inevitable result of only being given the odd game when the likes of Giggs, Scholes, and Powell are starting ahead of him.
And he's NOT injury prone. Since his season started with GB at the Olympics, he's played a lot of football, with his usual non-stop energetic style, and been clattered and hacked and shoved and stamped on hundreds of times. If people want I can list dozens of really nasty fouls that he's come out of unscathed. By any usual standards, he was due an injury.
When did football become this serious?
This game by game analysis does my head in, it's like a young player can't have a bad game, whatever the circumstances. His and Welbeck's future seems to change on a week by week basis depending how they played in the last game.
Its been an opinion on here for some time that it will change as soon as Cleverley gets playing time. Obviously its not that simple.
Our system lately is pretty turd and outdated, with static wingers tucked to the sideline and two deep midfielder who seem afraid to venture forward, topped off with two forwards who are sadly isolated unless the wingers have a blinder.
He was excellent i thought against Arsenal until he had to be subbed off, since then has only started in the 2 CL dead rubbers and the West Ham game where we didn't really function after the first half hour.
Bit frustrated he hasn't got more game time but we really need to get him and Anderson on the same pitch somehow, as both are on the same wavelength. He also links up well with Rooney and Welbeck, but not so much with Hernandez or RVP. He also seems to be a bit overawed when he's in the team with Giggs and Scholes.
With the right personnel around him i think we'll get him functioning, but with some of the disjointed and random lineups recently he's struggled a tad.
Bit frustrated he hasn't got more game time but we really need to get him and Anderson on the same pitch somehow, as both are on the same wavelength. He also links up well with Rooney and Welbeck, but not so much with Hernandez or RVP. He also seems to be a bit overawed when he's in the team with Giggs and Scholes.
With the right personnel around him i think we'll get him functioning, but with some of the disjointed and random lineups recently he's struggled a tad.
He was decent against Arsenal, and improved after a poor start against cluj. I don't think it's helped him find rhythm being in and out of the team and recently coming in to quite unbalanced teams. But at the same time I think some of his problems are due to his own lack of all-roundedness to his game. He seems like he can thrive in quick, high tempo games where he can push up the pitch but seems to struggle in slower tempo games.
You can blame midfield partners only so much, the top midfielders are able to influence games without always needing the perfect partner and I think clevs problem is his game is quite heavily focussed on short quick passes, but at the moment he lacks a cutting edge to his game to play higher up the pitch for us. When he has to play a deeper role such as against cluj he can struggle to impose himself. He doesn't have the power that Ando has to be able to pick the ball up and carry it, nor seemingly the same long range, so if the link man ahead isn't there, he can struggle.
But like I said he's not been helped by being in and out of the team and our general mixing and matching of teams/players at the moment. We've not really got into a rhythm as a team and so that impacts on everyone. Hopefully he can soon get a run in the team because at some point we're gonna need to settle on a first choice midfield, particularly now we're approaching a vital part of the season and with preparation for the CL knockout stage.
You can blame midfield partners only so much, the top midfielders are able to influence games without always needing the perfect partner and I think clevs problem is his game is quite heavily focussed on short quick passes, but at the moment he lacks a cutting edge to his game to play higher up the pitch for us. When he has to play a deeper role such as against cluj he can struggle to impose himself. He doesn't have the power that Ando has to be able to pick the ball up and carry it, nor seemingly the same long range, so if the link man ahead isn't there, he can struggle.
But like I said he's not been helped by being in and out of the team and our general mixing and matching of teams/players at the moment. We've not really got into a rhythm as a team and so that impacts on everyone. Hopefully he can soon get a run in the team because at some point we're gonna need to settle on a first choice midfield, particularly now we're approaching a vital part of the season and with preparation for the CL knockout stage.
I agree with the majority of your post, but not with that. He struggles more because he has to do all of the work getting available to receive the ball whenever anyone else needs to offload, but doesn't get any such help in return. That's particularly true of Giggs.
In the past I've played in teams where you realise you're just not at the level of the players around you, and the temptation is to take up those positions and make those runs which look like you're trying, but actually mean you're unlikely to have to take any responsibility either on or off the ball. That's exactly what Giggs was doing against Cluj - and for good reason, because he fecked up most of the times he did end up on the ball - and it gives Cleverley a ridiculous amount to try and do. Especially with Powell limping through most of the match after knocks to the rib and head.
People said exactly the same about Xavi at the same age.
Am I saying he will be as good as Xavi? Course not, but don't write him off either.
What Cleverley does is get the basics right. As the old saying gods, Football is an incredibly simple game that is difficult to play simply. I think it's a real sign of his talent how simple he can make the game seem at times. I have a lot of faith in him.
Looks like Shinji will have to start in midfield on Sunday, doesn't look as if we'll have the luxury of putting him on the bench anymore.
Did they really?
I find it hard to believe you knew enough about Xavi aged 23 to have actually considered his game and spoke to people about the flaws he had.
Heartily agree on all counts. Don't anyone misinterpret this as me suggesting that I won't be crushed when Fergie retires, but I sometimes worry that only then will we see the best of Tom. Someone like Guardiola would see his promise more clearly, and would have done a better job of bringing it out.
Yes.
Yea must admit I thought Xavi was a pretty useless player in the early 00's. But then again I was like 12 years old
All this Xavi stuff is complete bollocks to be honest. When Xavi was 23-24 he was already starting in a Barca team that included the likes of Rivaldo. And was racking up assists and scoring a few goals. Anyone who thought that of Xavi was quite frankly stupid.
Cleverley will never have the creativity Xavi has, or close to it. Xavi wasn't a great midfielder at 23/24 but you could clearly see the potential in him to become amazing, he was still racking up caps for Spain and an established first team player for Barca after all.
Cleverley is a good passer, especially at short range and one-twos, he's quick and certainly makes the team move quicker too, but creative he is not.
Cleverley is a good passer, especially at short range and one-twos, he's quick and certainly makes the team move quicker too, but creative he is not.
Cleverley's main downfall is that whilst he can be a very good distributer of the ball, he doesn't seem to be able to dominate a match in the way the very best midfielders can. He will never be able to dicate the pace of a game the same way for example that Scholes or Xavi have been able to. Having said that Cleverley is relatively young and can still improve.
This is the same weakness Carrick has IMO, and it sets apart the good midfielders from the great ones. Carrick will rarely take the game by the scruff of the neck and dominate the park, but he is good at keeping possession and moving the ball around the field.
This is the same weakness Carrick has IMO, and it sets apart the good midfielders from the great ones. Carrick will rarely take the game by the scruff of the neck and dominate the park, but he is good at keeping possession and moving the ball around the field.
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