We are lacking that Star man/Match winner!

BringNaniBack

Leaves a bullshit trail behind him
Joined
Oct 26, 2014
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I know its the overall team that wins you titles but most great teams have at least 1 player who can create that moment of magic and win games on his own. I don't think we have that currently.

Chelsea have Hazard, Arsenal have Sanchez, Man City have Aguero/Silva, I wont even mention the big 3 teams in Europe who have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to these top players. Who do we have that will step up and win us a game when things are tight? We could of said that player was going to be Di Maria but that doesn't look like the case. Will it be Rooney no, Depay no, Mata no. They are all good players but none of them are going to drag us to a win on their own consistently. I know Van Gaals teams have usually been organised, workman like with 1 or 2 flare players; but the 1 or 2 flare players he had at Barca and Bayern were world class, we don't have that going forward IMO.

Im not desperate for us to sign a huge name just for the sake of it and I am happy we have strengthened in some areas but I really think we lack firepower. I don't think we will score enough goals or have enough to win those really tight games with the current attacking players we have. I just cant see us finishing above 3rd without that something special in attack.
 
Schweinsteiger
Rooney
Memphis
Mata
Herrera

All are capable of match winning, let us not forget Young, Fellaini and Blind who had several goals and assists that stopped us losing matches.
 
At the moment, it is Di Maria, in the long term hopefully Memphis or Periera if we do not a top attacker to our team. Memphis is still capable of being a match winner at the moment. It took hazard awhile at Chelsea, so I hope Memphis can imitate Hazard development and success.
 
We have plenty of match winners but the team needs to play to a certain level for any match winner to work his magic. No such thing as a one man team. Not even Zidane, Pele or Maradona can do it alone.
 
Ramshock said:
Yep way to give up on Memphis already @BringNaniBack
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Well, Memphis is young and is completely new to the EPL. Why would you depend and put pressure on this type of player?

Falcao, Di Maria, Ronaldo, Rooney, Mata, Morgan, Bastian, Young - these are the kinds of players who you expect match winning performances from, given their age and experience. These are big names and they know why they are in the teams.

Blackett, McNair, Memphis, Januzaj, Shaw, Perrera - these are young players who "may" become match-winners. I dont expect anything special from these guys yet. And I'm sure LVG will never put huge pressure on these guys to put in MOTM performances.

Some of you will use Rooney and Ronaldo as counter-arguments (ie. they were match winners when they were young), but these players are an exception. Most players will come into their own in their mid-20s.

prarek said:
We have plenty of match winners but the team needs to play to a certain level for any match winner to work his magic. No such thing as a one man team. Not even Zidane, Pele or Maradona can do it alone.
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Within reason, you are right.
But I remember when Shearer almost single handedly won games for Newcastle.
Maradona did the same.
Ronaldo scored a hattrick at Old Trafford and almost single handedly dumped us out of the CL. (I cant remember which year this was, but this was when we were one of the CL favourites).
Matt Le Tissier used to win games for Southampton.
Bale did the same for Tottenham, in his last year with them.
Dare I say it, De Gea did this for us last year.
 
It's true. We have no idea how Memphis will adapt to LvG philosophy and EPL game. It's far from certain that he will replicate Hazard/Sanchez form and IMO he's seriously overrated on here.

I thought Di Maria will be our guy but it seems highly unlikely (even if he stays). We have great options in midfield and in defence, but without one special player up front and class keeper I doubt we will be challenging for the title this season.

It’s very difficult to find those players though, we fecked up with Hazard who I though was something special, but right now I don’t see many options. I rate Pedro very high but I doubt he will be the game changer, the rest of our current players definitely won’t be at that level too. There are still question marks over Memphis and Januzaj. IMO van Gaal is aware of that too, and that’s why he’s trying to find players who fit his philosophy so desperately.
 
I really think it could be Rooney, but he has to be focused on simply scoring. He's so determined to play as a number 10, and then drifts into midfield. I thought his positioning sucked in the friendly the other night. Kept yelling at the TV "get in the box you idiot!". If he will play as an out and out striker, he can bag 30 goals this season. But if he keeps drifting back to midfield, we need another Van Persie.
 
It was never going to be Di Maria I my opinion as he simply doesn't score enough goals which is what most of those other players have in common. Don't want to put to much pressure on him... but Memphis buddy it's up to you
 
TrustInJanuzai said:
It was never going to be Di Maria I my opinion as he simply doesn't score enough goals which is what most of those other players have in common. Don't want to put to much pressure on him... but Memphis buddy it's up to you
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Completely agree. It baffles me slightly how people expect(ed) him to be the main man. Most 'main men' are winning games by scoring goals - something Di Maria doesn't do nearly enough.

You literally go through the list: Aguero, Hazard, van Persie 12-13, Kane, Messi, Ronaldo, Bale 13-14, Robben, Falcao pre-injury, Suarez 13-14...
...Goalscorers. Even in Di Maria's golden season, he wasn't the main man.
 
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At this moment and time, I have no idea.

Its easy to look back now but going into 2006, i had no idea who or what was going to be the star for us.

Edit - Memphis has the ego for it. Can he apply it on the field?
 
In times gone by I would have said Rooney, but he hasn't been that player in the last two seasons. Mata is our best bet, Depay too. Rooney can do it, just not with consistency.
 
Some people have already said it in the thread, but I really believe Memphis could turn out to be a big surprise. We already know that he can finish. The pace that he has combined with his ability to sniff out danger areas for himself like we saw for the goal is what I've felt that we've needed for a long time.
 
I can't believe people saying Memphis can truely say that. He did superb in the dutch league, but countless others have too. I think he'll do well but if we go into the season relying on him to carry us then we are setting ourselves up to fail.
 
Shaw might be a good shout too, if he can manage to stay injury free. He has the ability to go past players with his pace and create real danger.
 
Been preaching the same thing as the OP for what feels like about 6 months now.
 
Bwuk said:
I can't believe people saying Memphis can truely say that. He did superb in the dutch league, but countless others have too. I think he'll do well but if we go into the season relying on him to carry us then we are setting ourselves up to fail.
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I think the difference between Memphis and other players that have scored lots of goals in the Dutch league is that he creates opportunities for himself (and others), unlike say a Kuyt, van Nistelrooy, Kezman, Alves etc.

My feeling is that a poacher is much more dependent on capitalising on bad defending than a player who has pace, can dribble and shoot from distance, which is what we've seen from Memphis over the past season.
 
vidic blood & sand said:
From the 90 mins I've seen, he looks like being the provider for the match winner. Fantastic ball control and weight of passing.
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I still think he's still settling in and isn't really playing as the real Memphis just yet. Obviously he's still adapting and stuff but I look forward when he becomes a little bit more direct than how he is at the moment. A bit Ronaldo-esque in which scoring a goal is the only thing in their mind.
 
Mciahel Goodman said:
Shaw might be a good shout too, if he can manage to stay injury free. He has the ability to go past players with his pace and create real danger.
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I don't know any team who's full back is a match winner... I'd say potentially Memphis, and that's it.
 
As it stands, I still think we're going to struggle to break teams down. We don't have a consistent source of creativity (Fabregas/Silva) or a top level player who can win matches on his own (Sanchez/Aguero)

Di Maria should be that source of creativity and Memphis could be that match winner, but as it stands, I think we're clearly lacking up top, and wont have enough goals to win the title.

Keep Di Maria, get him playing well, and buy Pedro, then we're laughing.
 
Speak said:
Completely agree. It baffles me slightly how people expect(ed) him to be the main man. Most 'main men' are winning games by scoring goals - something Di Maria doesn't do nearly enough.

You literally go through the list: Aguero, Hazard, van Persie 12-13, Kane, Messi, Ronaldo, Bale 13-14, Robben, Falcao pre-injury, Suarez 13-14...
...Goalscorers. Even in Di Maria's golden season, he wasn't the main man.
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Yeh I completely I agree I think people a looking at the big name of Di Maria rather than what he actually provides. What Di Maria could do is provide a great pass or through ball to then provide a chance for that main man but he himself has always been a support cast, rather than the main event.
 
I think we are when you compare us with top European teams - Chelsea with Hazard, Citeh with both Aguero and Silva, Arsenal with Sanchez, Real and Barca with a few each!
 
Orton said:
I don't know any team who's full back is a match winner... I'd say potentially Memphis, and that's it.
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A modern fullback can be a match winner, if he's good enough. Obviously he won't win you a bunch of matches individually, but can still make the difference in tight games.
 
Hernandez - BFA said:
I still think he's still settling in and isn't really playing as the real Memphis just yet. Obviously he's still adapting and stuff but I look forward when he becomes a little bit more direct than how he is at the moment. A bit Ronaldo-esque in which scoring a goal is the only thing in their mind.
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Yeah he reminds me of Ronaldo as well in his early days, when his shooting was a little rash and off target, and he used to frustrate Van nistelrooy. You're right though, he does have that arrogance about him that suggests he's gonna be a lethal finisher in a few years. Not convinced it'll be this year though. Pretty sure he'll be Mr provider.
 
In van Gaal's philosophy that match winner you're all discussing about is either one of the wingers or the 10. The striker is expected to score goals ofcourse but not like an Aguero does, a van Gaal striker is more bound by the system and won't dribble regularly but is more of a finisher/teamplayer.

If we look at the players we have for those 3 positions (maybe 4 if you count the striker) I think we could do with another addition but it isn't bad right now. Memphis, Mata, Herrera, Fellaini, Januzaj, Young and Di Maria are all capable of delivering a goal on a platter/finish said chance. With Memphis we've got a player who can do everything on his own, but it's not to be expected that we become reliant on him when he's only 21. Not expecting anything of him would be madness after breaking the Eredivisie record fee for him - he will contribute. Fellaini is a great target man and I expect we'll be utilising him in the same role to bypass the midfield against parked busses.

Since we're expecting a signing I wouldn't panic yet.
 
Sonny1972 said:
I admit Hazard is a great player . But he got a hell of alot more credit then he deserves . He scored 14 goals in 38 games . at least half of them were penalty's .
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Agreed. You need multiple match winners, more than one player who's going to save the team every week.

Hazard/ Costa/ Fabregas, Aguero/ Silva/ Toure, Sanchez/ Ramsey/ Ozil... Rooney/ Mata/ Depay? That's where I see the major difference this season.
 
Disagree. I rate Hazard immensely, but I think the OP would have been saying the same thing if he was with us. Mata has already won us a few games despite being on the periphery a bit (Juanfield?) Rooney has been written off at this stage of the summer on the caf for at least 2 or 3 years, but will almost certainly produce another couple of fantastic winners that will be overrated because he's English.
We still have AdM who most people would describe as a match winner. I would hope so, he's certainly not going to be offering us much structure.

We do have a manager that seems painfully aware of the percentages though. I haven't seen the stats but I suspect Fellaini and Young may have been involved in a few winners last season, and I think it's fair to assume LvG doesn't seem to have much of a preference for style over substance. My gut feeling is we have enough about us to get the ball in the back of the net enough, but we might not see as many diMaria Leicester away type goals.
 
I agree, and I think that the clubs hierarchy do as well, hence the apparent chasing after Bale/Muller. I thought that it would be Di Maria, but that seems to be over before its began. Although I wouldn't be surprised if something big happens before the windo shuts, especially with ADM off. In fact, if there was a 'superstar' available, I think that he would be here now. It's not for the want of trying that we haven't got one yet.
 
We have an adequate amount of match winners in this squad. They just need to be given the platform to go out there and do it. Sure Depay still has question marks over his head but we did make a substantial investment for him and should have all the faith that he's going to be a consistent match winner.

Then we have Mata and Rooney who have more than proven during their career that making the difference is right up their alley. However, what our attackers need firstly is the platform to perform. Our back 7 needs to play well enough to make their jobs easier. Even Messi and Ronaldo, the two best players of this era find it difficult to consistently provide decisive moments when they aren't playing in teams that don't provide a solid foundation. What makes anyone think these players inferior to them would be able to?

The concept is simple, we need to make our attackers job's as easy as possible. We seem intent on making it as hard as possible. These turgid, midfield displays need to come to an end if we're to have a fully functioning attack.
 
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