We should bring him back, academy lad who will have passion and desire.
What happened to Tom Cleverley? | Retires due to injury
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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 always, and still do, liked Cleverley.I
Watford having him and Welbeck is all sorts of nostalgia. Good luck to 'em!
Watford having him and Welbeck is all sorts of nostalgia. Good luck to 'em!
Just goes to show what a phenomenal manager SAF was and how important psychology is in football, that a player like Cleverley could be a starter in a title winning team and hold his ground and look comfortable against players like Xavi Alonso and prime Ozil in the CL.
What sort of impact do you think it had on him? Physical? Psychological? Magically downgraded his footballing abilities?
The Fergie effect.
The guy was dicking Arsenal with O’Shea, Fabio and Park - and when he wasn’t doing that he was going toe to toe with Europe’s best with Gibson in midfield and Welbeck up front. The guy was just off the chain when it came to squeezing out every last drop from a player.
The guy was dicking Arsenal with O’Shea, Fabio and Park - and when he wasn’t doing that he was going toe to toe with Europe’s best with Gibson in midfield and Welbeck up front. The guy was just off the chain when it came to squeezing out every last drop from a player.
Overhyped as usual. Was fairly good with sideways passing but left a lot to be desired with every other aspect of midfield play
Yeah, he was seen as good prospect. Remember his goal in preseason which was very good and caf had high hopes when he was on loan at Watford. It didnt work out for him but he was seen as good prospect at times.
Most frustrating part was he always asked for the ball and then just passed it back. Became pointless player.
He's still a PL level player. The difference is not that much sometimes. Top teams always have some "PL level players" that could easily play for a bottom side team.
He was young and the hope was that we would kick on or something. I personally never saw what he offered. I rated Darren Gibson higher.
He was young and the hope was that we would kick on or something. I personally never saw what he offered. I rated Darren Gibson higher.
It is hard to know without actually being inside his head but injuries can do strange things and some players recover where others don't.
It could be a bit of everything really. Lost a bit of pace/lost a bit of confidence, suddenly what was second nature becomes laboured and the game is a lot harder. He went from taking risks with forward passes to taking the safe/sideways option every time.
It is possible he was over-performing as some young players do and the injury was coincidental but he wasn't always a sideways pass merchant.
Yes him, Welbz and JlingZ will kill it here.
Your parents let you message random internet men when you were 13?
You get the feeling if SAF hadn't moved him before he retired he'd still be here as deadwood. I'm certain SAF could also have moved 2 or all of Lingard, Young and Jones. He was never shy when he realised a young player he previously backed wasn't going to meet the club's high standards.
It's harsh on welbeck to throw him in the same class as Cleverly. Welbeck was a much better player
LVG was the one that moved him on. I remember he even gave him the captaincy once in a preseason friendly before loaning him out to Aston Villa.
I stand corrected then. Thanks
There is your answer
Agree - the differences in football levels can be huge - say a decent park player to a pro, but then it's fine lines at times, mid to higher level premier league player.
It must be one heck of a skilled job being a scout, and judging what level of player someone can turn into. Especially for all players who aren't like Owen/Rooney prodigies who despite being half the size of their age group smash them to pieces.
It's the brilliant or rubbish generation we're in and refusal to add balance.
He could have been a very good player, but never kicked on. An injury at the wrong time and change of manager can very easily do that.
He peaked with #clevzinasia
I remember the hype him and Anderson received on here, especially after the 8-2 game. 
The way he tries to copy Beckham in his crosses and set pieces kind of irks me. Not sure if it's his natural style of kicking or he's just trying to emulate Becks
He was injured the whole of 2018 because of 2 different injuries. Had to have a surgery on his achilles.
Yep. It's like a pyramid. The difference between your average street level player and league 1 player is massive but the higher up you go, margins become finer.
Take someone like Nani, he could have easily had a career in struggling La Liga and bottom half premier league teams with flashes of brilliance but never having a big club in for him due to not being good enough to displace what they already have.
Similarly, he could have been Robben level winger if he had slightly better decision making and consistency. Hatem Ben Arfa is another one who took the wrong turn.
You are describing Mctominay pretty well.
You should see what 13 year olds are up to these days on twitter in comparison.
In the Fergie, with our established form of playing and overall quality, we could always afford to have 1-2 nothing players in our team and still win. Greening, Chadwick, Gibson, Eagles... And to certain extend David May, O'Shea, P.Neville, Jones, Carroll
Or Carrick circa 09-12.
Started quite often before his injury. Now he's in and out the team. Pretty sure he started the other day, though. Be nice to see him get a game against Arsenal.
The performance he and Ando put in on that day was truly amazing.
The performance he and Ando put in on that day was truly amazing.
Found his level
One of the most nothing players who were regulars at United. The only thing he was good was passing the ball back to the defenders and hide.
I really hope so. He’s still young so he has time to improve his passing and creativity.
One of the worst players I have ever seen for United. Absolute nothing player, even when people saying he was playing well alongside Anderson in midfield I never seen it, no technique passing or shooting at all
Tom wasn't all that but i will never forget his pass from the middle of the pitch to Hernandez who headed it in looking like a fish flying out of the water. Someone post that please.
He was never United level and he found his level. One of the most uninspiring players I've ever seen start CM for United. Complete coward in possession, nothing but 5 yard sideways passes. I remember people using his passing accuracy statistics to prove he was a good player. Say what you want about Anderson but at least he got stuck in and tried to play through balls.
Lingard will follow in his footsteps if we ever get him off our books.
Lingard will follow in his footsteps if we ever get him off our books.
Great post and a fair summary. First post in a while where nobody is bashing him. Where's the respect afforded to a lad coming through our academy who for a while looked a great prospect. Where's the respect for SAF who rated him and played him. Let's not forget he excelled on loan several times too particularly for Watford. Let's face it not everyone makes it and people have different career trajectories.
Legend. Fess up, which Caftard did this? (Nice goal starting at the 3:45 mark)
Ryan Bertrand started a Champions League final. You can't really draw conclusions from a one-off appearance or performance.
This is what our midfield has been crying out for. Sign him up.
O'shea is becoming so underrated. He's was the ultimate utility player. Played everything at United from goal keeper to striker and every single position in between very competently .
I, for one, was very sad when he left.
Someone in this thread called him a coward.... I wouldn't go that far but the sentiment is correct and your line here sums him up perfectly..... calling for the Ball but often simply giving it straight back.
A player wanting to look 'busy, enthusiastic and involved' but with no intention of actually attempting to do a single thing.
All superficial and statistic padding pointless passes.
Basically trying to retain a starting spot by appearing to be industrious. Coward? No
Fraud? Quite a bit,yeah. Sorry.