Tom Cleverley | 2014/15 Performances (on loan at Aston Villa)

[villain]

Can I just ask a quick question guys. When we played 3-5-2 the other night, who did we have? Fletch - Herrera - Mata right? Who did we have tonight? Clev - Herrera - Mata right?

Forgive me if I am mistaken but Cleverley played in the same role as Fletcher and if you're asking the holding/DM to be threatening, you're asking the wrong question...

There were also 2x where Herrera knocked the ball out of play trying to pass it to Valencia, but his name is not Cleverley so...

There was also a few times where Herrera tackled at crucial moments either in the middle of the park, or one particular moment where he wrapped his legs around the ball from behind as the Roma player was entering our box.

I can't remember anything memorable that Cleverley did.
He passed forward a few more times which I remember making note of, but I honestly cannot remember anything else that he did.
If you can feel free to tell me I'm wrong.
Even Kagawa, who isn't a CM played better in that position.

 

[Cina sucks]

He's bang average, simple as that. If he played for Chelsea, Liverpool, City or Spurs we'd take the piss something chronic.

Get rid, we're Manchester United not Hull City.

 

[Ekeke]

Can I just ask a quick question guys. When we played 3-5-2 the other night, who did we have? Fletch - Herrera - Mata right? Who did we have tonight? Clev - Herrera - Mata right?

Forgive me if I am mistaken but Cleverley played in the same role as Fletcher and if you're asking the holding/DM to be threatening, you're asking the wrong question...

There were also 2x where Herrera knocked the ball out of play trying to pass it to Valencia, but his name is not Cleverley so...

Good points. However what you do expect from that deep central midfielder is to keep the ball and not give it away in silly areas. Cleverley did this more than any other player on the pitch, which isn't too like him generally but it happened tonight and was very poor

 

[marjen]

Poor today. Doesn't force the issue or control possession, and today he had three horrible losses of the ball as well. Disappointing after the faith LVG showed in him.

 

[Blue always red]

There was also a few times where Herrera tackled at crucial moments either in the middle of the park, or one particular moment where he wrapped his legs around the ball from behind as the Roma player was entering our box.

I can't remember anything memorable that Cleverley did.
He passed forward a few more times which I remember making note of, but I honestly cannot remember anything else that he did.
If you can feel free to tell me I'm wrong.
Even Kagawa, who isn't a CM played better in that position.

Just before we won the penalty he was involved in a 3 pass move before he switched play to the right and then the ball was played back and we won the penalty.
Around the 63-64 minute mark he played a 1-2 with Kagawa and hit a peach perfect ball over the top to Keane who failed to capitalise.

 

[Barney]

He's bang average, simple as that. If he played for Chelsea, Liverpool, City or Spurs we'd take the piss something chronic.

Get rid, we're Manchester United not Hull City.

If he played for us he'd perform about as well as Joe Allen. In the right system he can be good, but the right system for him is probably a 4-3-3.

 

[Bojan11]

He's bang average, simple as that. If he played for Chelsea, Liverpool, City or Spurs we'd take the piss something chronic.

Get rid, we're Manchester United not Hull City.

He's a youth team player. He'd come good when he's 30.

But you are right. If he played for Liverpool, we'd have a thread dedicated to mocking him.

 

[fallengt]

I thought he was going to play the full 90 today... Any ideaw hat happened?

van Gaal didn't need 90minutes to tell Clev is shite?
Anyway I do agree if he came from city/Liverpool's youth team and played in their 1st team regularly, we would be laughing our asses off right now.

 

[Roboc7]

Not good enough today, struggled for most of the game, did improve a bit but didn't really make the most of his opportunity, I agree with what Cleverley was saying about him being the type of player who LVG likes, the problem is he just isn't very good and doesn't offer enough to the team. I really do think he would struggle for games at least half the premier league sides because there is just nothing about him that stands out.

He runs around a lot and is an average all rounder who keeps possession ok but that is about it, unless he improves dramatically in a short period of time I wouldn't want to see him anywhere near the first team and with only a year left on his contract maybe it is time to move him on.

 

[Ekeke]

More importantly if he was playing for West Brom and United were linked with him for £6 million we'd laugh it off because he'd be tens of names down the list of cms to sign from premier league teams. We wouldnt be looking at him.

 

[Cina sucks]

If he played for us he'd perform about as well as Joe Allen. In the right system he can be good, but the right system for him is probably a 4-3-3.

Joe Allen is bang average too. Swansea City level. We're Man Utd, don't want that kind if player here if we're to improve and challenge for European trophies.

 

[Tompo]

He's just not good enough. We need to be looking at players that will help us win the champions league and the premier league. Players of the highest quality and he is no where near that.

 

[Blue always red]

Guys, I feel I'm coming across a bit to aggressive in my points but understand I am not saying Cleverley was the best player on the pitch. I just feel that sometimes the expectations and resulting analysis of him are a bit skewed. Had he played further forward I would have been very disappointed with his performance as in the 2nd half he offered nothing going forward, but I think he had a reasonable game and he was involved in some of the better attacking moves we had.

 

[Barney]

Joe Allen is bang average too. Swansea City level. We're Man Utd, don't want that kind if player here if we're to improve and challenge for European trophies.

You have to have players like Allen and Cleverley in your squad. You aren't going to have a team full of Vidals. They are more than good enough to be squaddies in teams that want to compete for major honours.

 

[villain]

Just before we won the penalty he was involved in a 3 pass move before he switched play to the right and then the ball was played back and we won the penalty.
Around the 63-64 minute mark he played a 1-2 with Kagawa and hit a peach perfect ball over the top to Keane who failed to capitalise.

You're reaching if you genuinely believe he was integral to that first goal, it was Mata's backwards deflection that caught the defenders off guard, not Cleverley's linear forward pass. But I'll give you that.

The 1-2 again isn't something that's memorable or game changing because honestly it's the type of thing that he should be doing every game. Kagawa provided that pass more often and he was on the pitch out if position for only 45 minutes.

And bringing up two instances in a 70minute appearance as captain, as evidence of him playing well doesn't really help your argument.

Again he wasn't the worst player but he's not more than a squad player

 

[Cina sucks]

You have to have players like Allen and Cleverley in your squad. You aren't going to have a team full of Vidals. They are more than good enough to be squaddies in teams that want to compete for major honours.

We've had too many Cleverly's and not enough Vidals for too long now. I know what you're saying but Tom has had his chances here, he's not good enough. It really is that simple in footy - if you're a bloody good player, you make a squad like Man Utd's. If you are bang average, you move to somewhere suited to your abilities i.e. Ipswich Town in Clev's case.

 

[marlowe78]

Quite honestly I think he was poor. van Gaal must have given him the armband today to gauge his mettle and he simply didn't do anything to take charge of the opportunity. I've lost track of how many times Cleverley has been almost stripped of the ball deep in our own half or he's gone to play a ball without having any awareness of who's around him. None of this hurt us today but in the PL matches any of these errors could cost us goals. He is simply not the surest player on the ball and doesn't have the physical presence to take control of what's going on around him. I also think Herrera's play this afternoon was compromised in having to play deeper.

Having said that, we cannot sell Clevs until another player has been signed. He is still probably the best MF option after Fletcher, which says a lot about the state we're in.

 

[Amethyst]

Was pretty average today in my opinion. I think the main problem with Cleverley overall is that doesn't really have any outstanding qualities. In terms of creativity and passing, I'd say Mata, Herrera, Carrick and Kagawa are all better than him. Carrick is better in the DM holding role recycling the ball and Fletcher can still just about put a shift in there. None of our central players are particularly good at tackling including Tom. Fellaini hasn't been good for us either, but at his best he can be a presence in either penalty area because of his height and he offers something different to our other CM players. I don't dislike Cleverley by any means, but I don't think he's going to make it. Would love to be proven wrong.

 

[RedPhil1957]

There was also a few times where Herrera tackled at crucial moments either in the middle of the park, or one particular moment where he wrapped his legs around the ball from behind as the Roma player was entering our box.



Just to point out it was Herrera's mistake that caused that moment and his tackle presented Roma with an easy chance. If Cleverly had done same I do not think you would be praising him for it.

 

[Raw]

Yeah I really wanted him to impress me but right now, he's a squad player at best.

 

[mazhar13]

No, actually it was Herrera who was mostly falling back, playing deeper because Tom was invisible most of the match. With Fletcher, he's had plenty of more freedom to go around and playmake.

Speaks volumes when a 30 year old midfielder that went through a lot of health problems that stopped him from playing football for nearly 2 years makes you look like a fecking pub team player.

For all the build-up tough talk it was yet another disappointment from him.

Playing deeper? Not from what I saw. Herrera got up the pitch quite a bit. If you expected him to be in and around the final third all of the time, that's not going to happen with a midfielder like Cleverley as he's not defensively solid enough in the deeper role.

Cleverley didn't do too badly on the ball and was decent at winning the ball back. However, he isn't a midfielder who possesses the defensive nous to play a deeper role. If Herrera or Kagawa is to partner Cleverley, we're going to have problems unless Cleverley develops the defensive nous and awareness to play a deeper role, which is almost impossible at this stage, IMO.

 

[Red Hand Devil]

Cleverley did feck all as usual & gave possession away due to his head facing the ground. He never looks up - he's a headless chicken!

Captain of United - what a frigging embarassing joke that was. Makes a mockery out of that honour!!

Anyone here thats gonna crap on about Cleverley's potential & all that bollox - can just refrer to the fact; LvG said at the presser yest that he'll play the full 90 mins. He played 63 mins if memory serves & was turfed off because he was as useless as ever.

I hope to God LvG has woken to what 95% of football fans have already seen from that lad. Who cares if he came through the ranks - he shouldnt be at United anymore..

Herrera didnt have a good game either, but he has it in him to excel & its only his 2nd game - after a stormer of a 1st game. Shaw was pretty average for most of the half, but improved. I've no worries about either Shaw or Herrera. Top players!

Same cant be said about "Clevz23". He's so far away from being good enough for a top 10 team thats it's unreal he gets to captain United.

Is he even good enough for a top 10 Championship club? I'm not so sure..

 

[Blue always red]

You're reaching if you genuinely believe he was integral to that first goal, it was Mata's backwards deflection that caught the defenders off guard, not Cleverley's linear forward pass. But I'll give you that.

The 1-2 again isn't something that's memorable or game changing because honestly it's the type of thing that he should be doing every game. Kagawa provided that pass more often and he was on the pitch out if position for only 45 minutes.

And bringing up two instances in a 70minute appearance as captain, as evidence of him playing well doesn't really help your argument.

Again he wasn't the worst player but he's not more than a squad player

Yes but again you're disregarding the fact he wasn't playing as a creative midfielder... We had Kagawa and Nani playing in the positions that Herrera and Mata had occupied in the 1st half and they were our creative outlet in the midfield. Cleverley played 1 position during the whole game. If LVG wanted him to be more attacking he would have brought Fletcher on, moved Cleverley forward and asked him to play some more memorable balls.

I think that certain position is cursed if I'm being honest. Fletch received stick after the Galaxy game with people saying he's finished as a CM and that CB should become his new position. It's not a glamorous position, however the speed at which we shifted the ball from midfield to attack is something Cleverley helped with in the first half.

 

[Red Hand Devil]

Yeah I really wanted him to impress me but right now, he's a squad player at best.

You reckon he could do a job when called upon?

If Cleverley, Anderson & Nani are squad players come the start of the season - we're f*cked. Fergie's project with that trio didnt work - so scrap it & do it now..

 

[Raw]

You reckon he could do a job when called upon?

If Cleverley, Anderson & Nani are squad players come the start of the season - we're f*cked. Fergie's project with that trio didnt work - so scrap it & do it now..

I reckon he could do a job in the easy FA Cup/League Cup games. Maybe come on as a sub for some of the lower midtable teams too.

I don't think he's so bad that he shouldn't be playing for any PL club, he's just not the quality United are looking for in a first team midfielder.

 

[Bojan11]

You reckon he could do a job when called upon?

If Cleverley, Anderson & Nani are squad players come the start of the season - we're f*cked. Fergie's project with that trio didnt work - so scrap it & do it now..

Atleast Anderson and Nani have shown some sort of promise. I could understand in the past why people wanted to give them another chance.

I'm not sure what Cleverley has shown that fans think he'd come good.

 

[ravi2]

Van Gaal will look at that performance and will realize that Cleverly isn't the man to pair Herrera with in the middle.
He is ok as a squad player but that's as far as it goes its sad to say.

 

[Devil may care]

No, actually it was Herrera who was mostly falling back, playing deeper because Tom was invisible most of the match. With Fletcher, he's had plenty of more freedom to go around and playmake.

Speaks volumes when a 30 year old midfielder that went through a lot of health problems that stopped him from playing football for nearly 2 years makes you look like a fecking pub team player.

For all the build-up tough talk it was yet another disappointment from him.

This sums up my view, if we are going to play with Herrera as an AM and Mata as a #10 then we need a boss in there with them. Cleverley is neither a DM or a deep lying playmaker, he's just a nothing midfield player of average ability who has had more than enough chances.

 

[ravi2]

We've had too many Cleverly's and not enough Vidals for too long now. I know what you're saying but Tom has had his chances here, he's not good enough. It really is that simple in footy - if you're a bloody good player, you make a squad like Man Utd's. If you are bang average, you move to somewhere suited to your abilities i.e. Ipswich Town in Clev's case.

That is the truth!

 

[Sid234]

I think the reason Tom came off was that the fans were chanting for Chicharito to come on since the 2nd half began..

 

[ravi2]

I think the reason Tom came off was that the fans were chanting for Chicharito to come on since the 2nd half began..

I seriously doubt that.

 

[surf]

Fletcher seems a better fit with Herrera, and Carrick should be too, so Cleverley looks to be a squad player at best.

 

[mattsville]

Seen he was given the captaincy in the press conference and LVG went out of his way to point questions to him, putting him in the spotlight, insisting he would play 90 minutes in public, clapping him on the back several times, think it was a test, he gave the ball away a lot and got pulled after 70 minutes, don't think it worked out.

 

[Sid234]

I seriously doubt that.

Tom and Blackett were the one's LvG could take off and I think he did it to please the fans.. nothing much to read into.. we had no need for another striker

 

[Tompo]

I think the reason Tom came off was that the fans were chanting for Chicharito to come on since the 2nd half began..

I seriously doubt that.

Dunno, I would say it's a real possibility that's exactly what happened.

 

[Devil may care]

Does LvG really strike you as someone who makes his team decisions on what the fans are chanting?

 

[Red Hand Devil]

I reckon he could do a job in the easy FA Cup/League Cup games. Maybe come on as a sub for some of the lower midtable teams too.

I don't think he's so bad that he shouldn't be playing for any PL club, he's just not the quality United are looking for in a first team midfielder.

I'm sorry Raw, he drives me up the walls when i see his name on the teamsheet. He thinks he's better than he is & thats pathetically bizarre given how mediocre he is.

Atleast Anderson and Nani have shown some sort of promise. I could understand in the past why people wanted to give them another chance.

I'm not sure what Cleverley has shown that fans think he'd come good.

United folk keep giving him chances because he's been at the club since he was 13 or something & that type of logic is becoming cringey. If you're not good enough - you shouldnt be there..

Fletch got alot of stick, but he was our top CM prospect before his career was held back with serious injury when he was on the fringes. He came good & full-filled his potential because he was aware of his limitations & he worked on them so hard to become a fantastic footballer for the club.

Cleverley is that typical English footballer living on Easy Street & has his people blowing smoke up his arse all the time. He thinks he's Xavi or something..

Anderson & Nani are on Easy Street - same as Clevz23.. Get rid of them asap & free up space for players that are good enough & are up for it!

 

[Red Hand Devil]

Dunno, I would say it's a real possibility that's exactly what happened.

So it had nothing to do with the basic fact, that he was his usual utter shite then?

Van Gaal said yest at the presser that Cleverley would play the whole match - yet he took him off around 60 mins?!

The penny has dropped for Van Gaal regarding Cleverley. Every football fan - apart from a minority of United fans, rate him as a Championship player at best!

I wish folk would wake up & show some ambition. Players like Cleverley, Nani, Smalling, Jones, Fellaini & Chicarito to name but a few - will not get us back to top of the tree Domestically or in Europe ever.

This place is sometimes like Rawk ffs!

 

[Litch]

Thought he looked poor today. I worry for Tom, I think his days are numbered here. Another utd player who could end up at either Everton, Hull or Stoke.

 

[Tompo]

So it had nothing to do with the basic fact, that he was his usual utter shite then?

Van Gaal said yest at the presser that Cleverley would play the whole match - yet he took him off around 60 mins?!

The penny has dropped for Van Gaal regarding Cleverley. Every football fan - apart from a minority of United fans, rate him as a Championship player at best!

I wish folk would wake up & show some ambition. Players like Cleverley, Nani, Smalling, Jones, Fellaini & Chicarito to name but a few - will not get us back to top of the tree Domestically or in Europe ever.

This place is sometimes like Rawk ffs!

Hold on a second, let me make it very clear I don't rate Cleverley at all, and don't believe he is anywhere near good enough to be playing for United.

All I was commenting on was that it seemed very possible to me Van Gaal heard the cheering and decided to bring Hernandez on.